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Pesticides are among the most important contaminants worldwide due to their wide use, persistence, and toxicity. Their presence in soils is not only important from an environmental point of view, but also for food safety issues, since such residues can migrate from soils to food. However, soils are extremely complex matrices, which present a challenge to any analytical chemist, since the extraction of a wide range of compounds with diverse physicochemical properties, such as pesticides, at trace levels is not an easy task. In this context, the QuEChERS method (standing for quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe) has become one of the most green and sustainable alternatives in this field due to its inherent advantages, such as fast sample preparation, the minimal use of hazardous reagents and solvents, simplicity, and low cost. This review is aimed at providing a critical revision of the most relevant modifications of the QuEChERS method (including the extraction and clean-up steps of the method) for pesticide-residue analysis in soils.

Mining poses significant and potentially underestimated risks to tropical forests worldwide. In Brazil’s Amazon, mining drives deforestation far beyond operational lease boundaries, yet the full extent of these impacts is unknown and thus neglected in environmental licensing. Here we quantify mining-induced deforestation and investigate the aspects of mining operations, which most likely contribute. We find mining significantly increased Amazon forest loss up to 70 km beyond mining lease boundaries, causing 11,670 km 2 of deforestation between 2005 and 2015. This extent represents 9% of all Amazon forest loss during this time and 12 times more deforestation than occurred within mining leases alone. Pathways leading to such impacts include mining infrastructure establishment, urban expansion to support a growing workforce, and development of mineral commodity supply chains. Mining-induced deforestation is not unique to Brazil; to mitigate adverse impacts of mining and conserve tropical forests globally, environmental assessments and licensing must considered both on- and off-lease sources of deforestation. Industrial mining contributes to deforestation in the Amazon, and the extent of effect could occur beyond areas of land explicitly permitted for mining. Here, Sonter et al. show that deforestation in 70-km buffer zones around mines has led to an estimated 9% of Brazilian Amazon deforestation since 2005.

Protected areas are the leading forest conservation policy for species and ecoservices goals and they may feature in climate policy if countries with tropical forest rely on familiar tools. For Brazil's Legal Amazon, we estimate the average impact of protection upon deforestation and show how protected areas' forest impacts vary significantly with development pressure. We use matching, i.e., comparisons that are apples-to-apples in observed land characteristics, to address the fact that protected areas (PAs) tend to be located on lands facing less pressure. Correcting for that location bias lowers our estimates of PAs' forest impacts by roughly half. Further, it reveals significant variation in PA impacts along development-related dimensions: for example, the PAs that are closer to roads and the PAs closer to cities have higher impact. Planners have multiple conservation and development goals, and are constrained by cost, yet still conservation planning should reflect what our results imply about future impacts of PAs.

The aquatic plant species Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as water hyacinth, is indigenous to South America and is considered an invasive species. The invasive water hyacinth has caused significant economic and ecological damage by preventing sunlight from penetrating the surface of the water, resulting in the loss of aquatic life. To quantify the invasiveness and address the issue of accurately identifying plant species, water hyacinths have prompted numerous researchers to propose approaches to detect regions occupied by water hyacinths. One such solution involves the utilization of multispectral imaging which obtain detailed information about plant species based on the surface reflectance index. This is achieved by analyzing the intensity of light spectra at different wavelengths emitted by each plant. However, the use of multispectral imagery presents a potential challenge since there are various spectral indices that can be used to capture different information. Despite the high accuracy of these multispectral images, there remains a possibility that plants similar to water hyacinths may be misclassified if the right spectral index is not chosen. Considering this challenge, the objective of this research is to develop a low-cost multispectral camera capable of capturing multispectral images. The camera will be equipped with two infrared light spectrum filters with wavelengths of 720 and 850 nanometers, respectively, as well as red, blue, and green light spectrum filters. Additionally, the implementation of the U-Net architecture is proposed for semantic segmentation to accurately identify water hyacinths, as well as other classes such as lakes and land. An accuracy rate of 96% was obtained for the identification of water hyacinths using data captured by an autonomous drone constructed in the laboratory flying at an altitude of 10 m. We also analyzed the contribution each of the infrared layers to the camera’s spectrum setup.

The restoration of tropical forests has become a popular nature-based solution for climate change mitigation, protection of biodiversity, and improving the livelihoods of local populations. The Bonn Challenge and the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration underscore the international momentum of the restoration movement, with many countries committing to restore millions of hectares of deforested and degraded land in the next decade. Brazil and Indonesia are among the ones with the most ambitious restoration commitments globally. Since both their economies are highly dependent on the export of agricultural commodities, reconciling economic growth with environmental sustainability will be a major policy challenge. In this paper, we (a) identify the main restoration targets and the policies supporting their implementation in both countries, (b) provide a descriptive overview of these restoration-supportive policies, and (c) discuss the main challenges that Brazil and Indonesia face in the implementation of their restoration commitments. We find that Brazil has an explicit and dedicated strategy to achieve its restoration target, but that recent political developments have weakened environmental governance in the country, affecting the implementation of its restoration commitment. In the case of Indonesia, we find that the government has rather focused and progressed on the restoration of peatlands and mangroves, whereas its commitment to restore forestlands has yet to benefit from a dedicated plan that allows to coordinate policies and agencies’ efforts towards the achievement of its restoration target.

E-learning Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is an activity demonstrated to improve the quality of healthcare delivery. The CPD of medical and nursing staff in high income countries (HICs) is commonplace. CPD of administrative staff is less common, but increasingly frequent. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), CPD of any kind is infrequent, particularly in rural and remote areas. The aim of this study was to describe a hospital-based e-learning CPD program for clinical and non-clinical personnel as a unique example of a successful, ongoing educational pilot, quality improvement program involving a broad cohort of employees, in a country that does not require such activities. Using the online educational platform Chamilo, e-learning modules were created for eight groups including clinical and non-clinical employees. Upon completion of each module, one to two paragraph discussions were provided for each incorrect answer submitted. Two additional chances were offered for the employee to achieve a passing score of 70%. This study reports on the first 10-month period of the program. All participants achieved the 70% passing threshold after the first or second attempt. There was 100% participation by the employees required to complete the e-learning modules. Employee feedback suggested the modules were good for continuing education, but some felt the CPD was imposed on them. E-learning CPD is an important and emerging element for CPD and may provide opportunities for healthcare service quality improvement as part of broader pedagogical modalities, such as conferences and directed readings, in rural and remote areas of LMICs. These pilot programs could provide important information to develop Spanish-language e-learning CPD programs across a broader region, promote collaboration with regional professional societies, and possibly contribute to the establishment of national health program CPD standards.

Microplastics (MPs) are emerging pollutants that are ubiquitous in aquatic ecosystems and can affect the stability of aquatic food webs. They are intentionally produced in a size of less than 5 mm for specific purposes or are the result of the fragmentation of larger plastic debris. Zooplankton can be affected directly by the ingestion of MPs or indirectly by interference caused by suspended plastic particles. Various environmental agencies recommend the genus Moina for assessing risk from water pollutants. However, this genus has received less attention in research compared to non-indigenous cladocerans commonly used as test organisms. We evaluated the effects of artificially fragmented acrylonitrile butadiene styrene microplastics (ABS-MPs) on key demographic parameters such as survival, mortality, life expectancy, fecundity, and feeding rates of Moina macrocopa americana. We exposed M. macrocopa neonates to a diet consisting of the green microalgae Chlorella vulgaris and ABS-MP particles. Four treatments were set with different concentrations of ABS-MP particles (5, 10, and 20 mg L−1). Survivorship, mortality, and reproduction were recorded daily until the last individual from the original cohort died. ABS-MPs significantly reduced M. macrocopa consumption rates of C. vulgaris, with an 85% decrease compared to the control. Although no statistically significant differences were found in life expectancy, net reproduction, or generation time among the toxic treatments, these parameters were drastically reduced compared to the control, even at the lowest concentration (5 mg L−1); this resulted in a 34% reduction in average lifespan. The ABS-MPs interfere with the long-term population dynamics of M. macrocopa and change their consumption rates, potentially decreasing their fitness.

Diarrheal disease (DD) due to contaminated water is a major cause of child mortality globally. Forests and wetlands can provide ecosystem services that help maintain water quality. To understand the connections between land cover and childhood DD, we compiled a database of 293,362 children in 35 countries with information on health, socioeconomic factors, climate, and watershed condition. Using hierarchical models, here we find that higher upstream tree cover is associated with lower probability of DD downstream. This effect is significant for rural households but not for urban households, suggesting differing dependence on watershed conditions. In rural areas, the effect of a 30% increase in upstream tree cover is similar to the effect of improved sanitation, but smaller than the effect of improved water source, wealth or education. We conclude that maintaining natural capital within watersheds can be an important public health investment, especially for populations with low levels of built capital. Globally diarrheal disease through contaminated water sources is a major cause of child mortality. Here, the authors compile a database of 293,362 children in 35 countries and find that upstream tree cover is linked to a lower probability of diarrheal disease and that increasing tree cover may lower mortality.

Background Cytopenia is associated with cancer through mechanisms including clonal hematopoiesis and chronic inflammation. Cytopenia is more prevalent in Black people but its relationship with racial disparities in cancer mortality is unknown. Methods Cytopenia was defined in 19,028 Black and White participants recruited between 2003 and 2007 for the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke cohort, based on age‐, sex‐, and race‐adjusted ranges for blood counts. Cancer death was ascertained from Social Security Death and National Death Indexes. Multivariable Cox models estimated the risk of cancer mortality associated with cytopenia, adjusting for demographics (model1), anemia and cancer risk factors (model2), and socioeconomics (model3). Racial differences in the cytopenia‐cancer death association were tested by cross‐product interaction terms. Results Cytopenia was identified in 383 (2%) participants, 250 (65%) White, and 113 (35%) Black people. With median follow‐up 11.3 years, 1,224 (6.4%) cancer deaths occurred. Cytopenia was associated with increased risk of cancer mortality in model1 (HR = 1.57, 95%CI 1.15–2.24), model2 (HR = 1.67, 95%CI 1.22–2.30), and model3 (HR = 1.59, 95%CI 1.17–2.17). Participants with cytopenia had twofold increased cumulative incidence of cancer death (13% vs. 6.5%, p < 0.01). Race by cytopenia interaction terms showed higher HR for cancer death in Black compared to White participants: 2.01 versus 1.41 (pinteraction = 0.016, model1), 2.12 versus 1.45 (pinteraction = 0.009, model2), and 1.82 versus 1.44 (pinteraction = 0.04, model3). Conclusion In this large, observational biracial prospective study, cytopenia was a risk factor for cancer death, with stronger association in Black than White people. Though race impacted the association of cytopenia with cancer mortality, cytopenia was not a mediator of the racial disparity in cancer mortality. In a large biracial cohort, cytopenia was associated with increased risk of cancer mortality and constituted a race‐specific risk factor for cancer death, with stronger association in Black compared to White participants. Race was an effect modifier in the association of cytopenia and cancer mortality but not a mediator of the Black to White difference in cancer death.