Evaluation of water quality at the source of streams of the Sinos River Basin, southern Brazil / Avaliacão da qualidade da água das nascentes de arroios da Bacia do Rio dos Sinos, região sul do Brasil

The Sinos River Basin (SRB) is located in the northeastern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul (29º20' to 30º10'S and 50º15' to 51º20'W), southern Brazil, and covers two geomorphologic provinces: the southern plateau and the central depression. It is part of the Guaíba basin, has an area of approximately 800 km 2 and contains 32 counties. The basin provides drinking water for 1.6 million inhabitants in one of the most important industrial centres in Brazil. This study describes different water quality indices (WQI) used for the sub-basins of three important streams in the SRB: Pampa, Estância Velha/Portão and Schmidt streams. Physical, chemical and microbiological parameters assessed bimonthly using samples collected at each stream source were used to calculate the Horton Index (HI), the Dinius Index (DI) and the water quality index adopted by the US National Sanitation Foundation (NSF WQI) in the additive and multiplicative forms. These indices describe mean water quality levels at the streams sources. The results obtained for these 3 indexes showed a worrying scenario in which water quality has already been negatively affected at the sites where three important sub-basins in the Sinos River Basin begin to form.

A Bacia Hidrográfica do Rio dos Sinos (BHRS) está localizada na região Nordeste do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (29º20' to 30º10'S and 50º15' to 51º20'W), na região Sul do Brasil, envolvendo duas regiões geomorfológicas, o planalto Sul e a depressão central. Esta bacia faz parte da Bacia do Guaíba e tem uma área de aproximadamente 800 km 2, atingindo 32 municípios. A BHRS fornece água de abastecimento para cerca de 1.6 milhões de habitantes e para um dos mais importantes centros industriais do Brasil. Este artigo apresenta a determinação de diferentes índices de qualidade de água (IQA) para as regiões de nascente de três importantes sub-bacias pertencentes à BHRS: arroios Pampa, Estância Velha/Portão e Schmidt. Utilizando parâmetros físicos, químicos e microbiológicos, analisados em amostras coletadas bimestralmente em cada ponto próximo à nascente, foram calculados os índices de Horton (IH), de Dinius (ID) e o índice de qualidade de água da National Sanitation Foundation, EUA (IQANSF) usando os métodos somatório e produtório. Os resultados foram analisados para verificação da qualidade da água nos pontos amostrais a fim de comparar e classificar a água na região das nascentes das três sub-bacias. Uma avaliação conjunta dos índices calculados indicou que a água nos três pontos amostrais apresenta qualidade média. Os resultados dos três índices convergem a um cenário preocupante que indica que, desde os pontos iniciais de formação de três importantes sub-bacias do rio dos Sinos, já ocorrem problemas de qualidade de água.

Dietary Pattern and Weight Loss in New-onset Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Sub-analysis of the St Carlos Study: A 3-year, Randomized, Clinic-based, Interventional Study.

Objective: To assess lifestyle patterns associated with weight loss in newly-diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM) in the St Carlos Study. Design: A 3-year, randomized, interventional study with three parallel groups. Setting: A single-center, outpatient clinic-based study. Participants: 195 newly-diagnosed T2DM were randomized to either the intervention group (self monitoring of blood glucose with-or-without an exercise program), or to the HbA1c control group. The same lifestyle-intervention protocol was applied in all patients. A questionnaire was applied to evaluate adherence to recommended lifestyle changes. Main outcome measures: Patients were grouped by quartiles of body-weight loss at the end of follow-up. Analysis: Multivariate linear-regression analyses were conducted to identify the independent effect of lifestyle patterns on three-year weight loss. Results: Following a 3-year follow-up, median body weight loss was 2kg (IQR: -6/2.3). A higher level and an increase on physical activity, both leisure-time activity and sport exercise, and an increase in the nutrition score, mainly due to a higher consumption of nuts in substitution of cured sausages as snacks, and to a higher consumption of vegetables, legumes, whole grain cereals and fruits instead of juices, potatoes and white cereals, were associated to a greater weight loss (p<0.05). There was no association between low-fat diet and reduced body weight. Conclusions and Implications: The application of simple recommendations (enhanced vegetable consumption, nuts for snacks, fruit instead of juices, wholegrain instead of processed cereals, legumes instead of potatoes, increased daily walking and stairclimbing) can achieve long-term, sustained weight loss in T2DM.