Impact of a School-Based Intervention on Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Substitution by Water in Mexican Scholars.

INTRODUCTION: The prevalence of overweight and obesity in children has increased in recent years, associated with substituting plain water intake with sugar-sweetened beverages. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of a school-based intervention that aimed to replace sugar-sweetened beverages with water on Mexican scholars. METHODS: We included 314 children aged 9-11 from three public schools of the State of Hidalgo, Mexico, randomized to intervention (two schools from the municipality of Apan; six classes with 146 participants) or control group (one school from the municipality of Emiliano Zapata; six classes with 168 participants) and followed for 6 months. The intervention consisted of placing drinking fountains at schools and classrooms with nutritional education lessons to increase water consumption and decrease sugar-sweetened beverages. Mixed models for repeated measures were used to assess the impact of the intervention. RESULTS: At the end of the study, water consumption was higher (200 mL/day, p = 0.005), and flavored milk consumption was lower (94 mL/day, p = 0.044) in the intervention group compared with the control group. There was also a statistically significant reduction in energy (p = 0.016) and sugar intake (p = 0.007). CONCLUSIONS: The school-based intervention favorably modified the consumption pattern of sugar-sweetened beverages and water in Mexican students.

Prevalência de ingestão hídrica e fatores associados entre idosos não institucionalizados do Sul do Brasil / Prevalence of water intake among non-institutionalized elderly individuals in Southern Brazil

Resumo O objetivo deste estudo foi descrever a prevalência de idosos com uma ingestão adequada de água e seus fatores associados. Estudo transversal de base populacional realizado em 2014 com idosos (≥ 60 anos) participantes do estudo "COMO VAI?". Investigou-se o número de copos de água ingeridos/dia pelos entrevistados, considerando-se adequada a ingestão de pelo menos oito copos/dia. As variáveis independentes foram características sociodemográficas, comportamentais e de saúde. A regressão de Poisson foi utilizada para a investigação das associações. Foram entrevistados 1.451 idosos, sendo observado que uma baixa percentagem, 12,6% (IC95% 10,8; 14,7) referiu consumo adequado de água. Maior percentagem de consumo adequado de água foi observada nos idosos mais jovens, com excesso de peso, que apresentaram cinco ou mais doenças e que eram mais dependentes quanto à capacidade funcional. A tendência decrescente de ingestão de água em relação à idade torna essencial o desenvolvimento de ações voltadas para essa população de maior risco acerca da importância de uma ingestão hídrica adequada e das possíveis consequências do seu consumo inadequado.

Abstract The scope of this study was to determine the percentage of elderly individuals receiving an adequate water intake and associated factors among non-institutionalized elderly individuals in the urban area of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. It involved a cross-sectional, population-based study carried out in 2014 with elderly participants (≥ 60 years) of the "COMO VAI?" survey. The amount of water ingested per day of the interviewees was investigated, considering the intake of at least eight glasses per day to be adequate. The independent variables were sociodemographic, behavioral, and health characteristics, and Poisson Regression was used to investigate associations. A total of 1,451 elderly people were interviewed, with only 12.6% (95%CI 10.8; 14.7) drinking a sufficient amount. A higher percentage of the elderly with adequate water consumption was observed in younger elderly individuals, those overweight, those with five or more diseases, and those who were more impaired. A low percentage of the elderly with an adequate water intake was observed among the elderly adults in the study. The decreasing trend of water intake in relation to age highlights the importance of developing actions for the higher risk population to stress adequate water intake and the possible consequences of the lack of adequate consumption.

A Smart Crop Water Stress Index-Based IoT Solution for Precision Irrigation of Wine Grape.

The Scholander-type pressure chamber to measure midday stem water potential (MSWP) has been widely used to schedule irrigation in commercial vineyards. However, the limited number of sites that can be evaluated using the pressure chamber makes it difficult to evaluate the spatial variability of vineyard water status. As an alternative, several authors have suggested using the crop water stress index (CWSI) based on low-cost thermal infrared (TIR) sensors to estimate the MSWP. Therefore, this study aimed to develop a low-cost wireless infrared sensor network (WISN) to monitor the spatial variability of MSWPs in a drip-irrigated Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard under two levels of water stress. For this study, the MLX90614 sensor was used to measure canopy temperature (Tc), and thus compute the CWSI. The results indicated that good performance of the MLX90614 infrared thermometers was observed under laboratory and vineyard conditions with root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) values being less than 1.0 °C. Finally, a good nonlinear correlation between the MSWP and CWSI (R2 = 0.72) was observed, allowing the development of intra-vineyard spatial variability maps of MSWP using the low-cost wireless infrared sensor network.

Life cycle inventory data for ethyl levulinate production from Colombian rice straw.

This data article is associated with the research article "Sustainable production of ethyl levulinate by levulinic acid esterification obtained from Colombian rice straw". This paper shows the methodology to calculate the Life Cycle Inventory (LCI) of the foreground system to perform the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of the ethyl levulinate (EL) production from Colombian rice straw (RS). This process encompasses two main stages: (i) RS production (involving cultivation and harvesting) and (ii) EL production (involving acid hydrolysis, levulinic acid (LA) purification, and El production). On one hand, foreground data related to paddy rice cultivation was gathered from the literature review. Besides, emissions of the cultivation stage were calculated using the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) methodology. The SQCB (Sustainable Quick Check for Biofuels) methodology was used to calculate NH3, NOx, N2O and NO3 emissions, whereas the SALCA (Swiss Agricultural Life Cycle Assessment) model was used to calculate phosphorous emissions to water. The Turc method was employed to calculate the irrigation requirements based on the rainfall and agrological features of rice culture. On the other hand, foreground data related to RS conversion to EL within a biorefinery scheme was obtained from simulation using Aspen Plus v.12. Lastly, background data associated with raw materials, catalysts, and utilities were gathered from Ecoinvent database. All the inventories are meaningful to carry out future environmental assessments involving sustainable production processes using RS as raw material or biorefinery processes using dilute acid hydrolysis.

Risk perceptions of drinking bottled vs. tap water in a low-income community on the US-Mexico Border.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that low-income Latinos generally drink bottled water over tap water and might be at increased risks for cavities from unfluoridated bottled water. In order to better design interventions, it is important to understand the risk perceptions of this unique high-risk yet historically marginalized group. METHODS: We interviewed low-income Latino households (n = 90) from Nogales, Arizona who primarily drink bottled water and asked them to evaluate potential health risks of drinking tap water compared to 16 other voluntary activities. Unpaired t-tests were used to determine if statistically significant (α = 0.05) differences occurred in perceived risk by drinking-water source and differences among demographic groups in their level of (dis)agreement with statements regarding tap or bottled water safety. To assess significant differences (α = 0.05) in perceived risks and voluntariness to engage in a number of activities, including drinking local tap water and drinking water in different geographic regions, a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Scheffe's post-hoc test (a conservative post-hoc test) with adjustment for the number of pairwise comparisons was used. RESULTS: Participants viewed bottled water to be significantly safer to consume than tap water (p < 0.001). On a Likert scale from 1 (low risk) to 5 (high risk), "drinking tap water in Nogales, Arizona" received an average score of 4.7, which was significantly higher than the average perceived risk of drinking San Francisco, California tap water (µ = 3.4, p < 0.001), and as risky as drinking and driving (µ = 4.8, p = 1.00) and drinking Nogales, Sonora, Mexico tap water (µ = 4.8, p = 1.00). Ninety-eight percent of participants feared that drinking local tap water could result in illness, 79% did not drink their water because of fear of microbial and chemical contamination and 73% would drink their water if they knew it was safe regardless of taste. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that fear of illness from tap-water consumption is an important contributing factor to increased bottled water use. Future efforts should focus on the development of educational and outreach efforts to assess the safety and risks associated with tap-water consumption.

Water demand profile before and during COVID-19 pandemic in a Brazilian social housing complex.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way resources are consumed around the world. The relationship between the pandemic and water consumption has important implications for the management of water use and must be evaluated in depth. The main goal of this research paper is to establish a comparison between pre-pandemic and pandemic water consumption profiles for 14 social-housing buildings located in Joinville, Southern Brazil. Telemetry data from each apartment were collected on an hourly basis before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis was based on descriptive statistics on the hourly and daily water consumption in addition to its profile plots. The best probability distribution fitting was also determined. To assess the differences in water consumption due to de pandemic, the Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test was employed and a Generalized Linear Model with mixed effects was fitted to the data. The Lognormal distribution was shown to be the most appropriate to model the water consumption data. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two daily peak consumption periods changed from 12 h to 15 h and from 19 h to 21 h. The COVID-19 pandemic also impacted daily water consumption, leading to a small, yet significant, increase in demand in the first quarter of the pandemic period.

Water footprint and productivity in broilers and swine production in Brazil from 2008 to 2018.

In many countries, the adverse impact of agriculture on water sources has been discussed with more attention recently by the water footprint estimation. Brazil is the second largest animal protein' exporter, and this demand has a tendency to increase significantly until 2050, and in this context the water management will be crucial. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the water footprint and productivity in the broiler and swine slaughtered in Brazil from 2008 to 2018. The results showed that the herds of broiler and swine were concentrated in three main regions: Midwest, Southeast and South, representing 97.1% of the broilers and 99.7% of the swine slaughtered in Brazil. During the studied decade, the slaughter of broiler and swine increased 9.1 and 25.8%, respectively. The broiler and swine water footprint decreased by 15.4 and 3.5%, respectively. The average volume of water needed for the production of broiler and swine meat was 2533 L kg-1 and 3754 L kg-1, respectively. The average water productivity per kg of broiler meat was 0.397 kg m-3, while for swine it was 0.269 kg m-3. The average water productivity for soybean was 0.497 kg m-3, and for corn it was 1.18 kg m-3. The decrease in the water footprint is a result of the improvement of management practices, highlighting that it is necessary to improve the knowledge about the use of the water footprint methodology as a tool for water management to help public policies.

Water footprint of lemon production in Argentina.

This work comes to fill a knowledge gap regarding the sustainability of the lemon industry. The motivation is the prominent role of the citrus sector in the economy of the northwest of Argentina and in the world: Argentina is the eighth largest producer of fresh citrus fruits, one of the four leading lemon-producing countries and the world's first lemon processor. A water footprint study is conducted to obtain relevant information on the water consumption and degradation associated with citrus production, according to the Water Footprint Network guidelines. A remarkable aspect is that most data used come mainly from actual practices and sources considering daily weather data of seven weather stations from 2012 to 2018. The green, blue and grey water footprints linked to the primary production of lemons are evaluated every year. The water footprint is distributed approximately in 69% (234 m3t-1) green, 8% (30 m3t-1) blue and 23% (82 m3t-1) grey. In addition, the Available Water Remaining (AWARE) indicator is used for outlining the blue water sustainability, resulting in a potential for blue water deprivation of 102 m3 world eq. per tonne of harvested lemons. This work is expected to serve as a baseline to provide diagnosis and improvement opportunities in the lemon sector for public and private stakeholders.

Reference values for the water load test in healthy school children and adolescents.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: The water load test (WLT) is an easy and cheap tool, useful in evaluating gastric accommodation and visceral hypersensitivity. This test can be used in diagnosing functional gastrointestinal disorders, like functional dyspepsia. Our main aim was to propose reference values for the WLT. Our secondary aim was to correlate the water volume drunk with the students' gender, age, and anthropometric measures. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We performed the WLT in students aged 8 to 17 years. Students drank water ad libitum for 3 minutes or until pain, satiety or vomiting occurred. We correlated anthropometric variables with water volumes drunk. Upper and lower limit for the maximum tolerated volume were calculated as the 5th and 95th percentile. Pain and nausea were recorded before and after the test. RESULTS: We evaluated 99 students, with a median age (inter quartile range) of 11 years 10-13 years) and 55.6 % were girls. Median water volume drank was 380 ml (190-540 ml). Boys (523 ml, interquartile range : 275-760 ml) drank more water than girls (380 ml, interquartile range : 190-570 ml) (p = 0.016). There was a significant correlation between water volume drank and students´ age, weight, height, and body mass index. Of the students that completed the WLT, 22.2 % had nausea and 30.3 % had mild abdominal pain after the test. CONCLUSIONS: We proposed reference values for the WLT in children aged 8 to 17 years. Adverse effects are minimal, it is safe to perform, and well tolerated.

Corrigendum: Partial Substitution of K by Na Alleviates Drought Stress and Increases Water Use Efficiency in Eucalyptus Species Seedlings.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.632342.].

Partial Substitution of K by Na Alleviates Drought Stress and Increases Water Use Efficiency in Eucalyptus Species Seedlings.

Eucalyptus, the most widely planted tree genus worldwide, is frequently cultivated in soils with low water and nutrient availability. Sodium (Na) can substitute some physiological functions of potassium (K), directly influencing plants' water status. However, the extent to which K can be replaced by Na in drought conditions remains poorly understood. A greenhouse experiment was conducted with three Eucalyptus genotypes under two water conditions (well-watered and water-stressed) and five combination rates of K and Na, representing substitutions of 0/100, 25/75, 50/50, 75/25, and 100/0 (percentage of Na/percentage of K), to investigate growth and photosynthesis-related parameters. This study focused on the positive effects of Na supply since, depending on the levels applied, the Na supply may induce plants to salinity stress (>100 mM of NaCl). Plants supplied with low to intermediate K replacement by Na reduced the critical level of K without showing symptoms of K deficiency and provided higher total dry matter (TDM) than those Eucalyptus seedlings supplied only with K in both water conditions. Those plants supplied with low to intermediate K replacement by Na had improved CO2 assimilation (A), stomatal density (Std), K use efficiency (UE K ), and water use efficiency (WUE), in addition to reduced leaf water potential (Ψw) and maintenance of leaf turgidity, with the stomata partially closed, indicated by the higher values of leaf carbon isotope composition (δ13C‰). Meanwhile, combination rates higher than 50% of K replacement by Na led to K-deficient plants, characterized by the lower values of TDM, δ13C‰, WUE, and leaf K concentration and higher leaf Na concentration. There was positive evidence of partial replacement of K by Na in Eucalyptus seedlings; meanwhile, the ideal percentage of substitution increased according to the drought tolerance of the species (Eucalyptus saligna < Eucalyptus urophylla < Eucalyptus camaldulensis).

The water load test in school children and adolescents with functional gastrointestinal disorders.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: We hypothesize that patients with functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID) drink less water volume than healthy subjects during water load test. We evaluated and compared the water load test in students with and without FGID using the Rome III questionnaire. METHODS: We performed the water load test in 142 students from two schools in Colombia. Students were diagnosed using the Spanish version of the Rome III questionnaire. Students drank water ad libitum for 3 min or until pain, satiety, or vomiting occurred. We correlated anthropometric variables with water volumes drunk. We recorded symptoms like pain and nausea, before and after the water load test. RESULTS: We evaluated 142 students, with a mean age of 12.1 ± 0.2 years and 59.9% girls. Mean water volume drunk was 459 ± 22 mL. There was no significant difference between water volume drunk by students with and without FGID (466 ± 36 vs. 453 ± 27 mL, p = 0.108). We found a significant correlation between water volume drunk and gender, age, weight, height, and body mass index. CONCLUSIONS: Students with and without FGID ingest similar volumes of water. Test adverse effects are minimal, and the test is safe to perform and well tolerated.

Determination of evapotranspiration and crop coefficient for cauliflower at Paranánorthwest region / Determinação da evapotranspiração e coeficiente da cultura da couve-flor na região noroeste do Paraná

Evapotranspirationand the estimation of crop coefficient (Kc) are essential information for irrigation management, contributing to increase the water use efficiency and optimizing resources, mainly using local data. This study aimed to determine the water consumption and the crop coefficient of cauliflower (Barcelona hybrid) in the northwestern region of Paraná. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Technical Irrigation Centerbelonging to the State University of Maringá, in Maringá -PR. The crop evapotranspiration was determined using constant water table lysimeters, and the reference evapotranspiration was estimated by the Penman-Monteith method (FAO), using climatological data collected in an automatic meteorological station. The cultivation was carried out from April to July. The total water consumption by the cauliflower was 215.11 mm, a higher value than that available in the FAO recommendations. The crop coefficient (Kc) recommended values for local conditions are 0.74 for the initial stage, 1.86 for the intermediate stage, and 1.50 for the final stage.

A evapotranspiraçãoe a estimativa dos coeficientes da cultura (Kc) são informações fundamentais para o manejo da irrigação, contribuindo para o aumento da eficiência no uso da água e otimização dos recursos, principalmente a utilizar dados locais. O trabalho teve como objetivo determinar o consumo hídrico e o coeficiente da cultura da couve-flor (híbrido Barcelona) na região noroeste do Paraná. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação no Centro Técnico de Irrigação pertencente à Universidade Estadual de Maringá, em Maringá -PR. A evapotranspiração da cultura foi determinada utilizando lisímetros de lençol freático constante, e a evapotranspiração de referência foi estimada pelo método de Penman-Monteith (FAO), a partir de informações climatológicas coletadas em estação meteorológica automática. O cultivo foi realizado no período de abril a julho. O consumo total de água pela cultura da couve-flor foi de 215,11 mm, sendo um valor maior do que o disponível nas recomendações da FAO. Os valores recomendados de coeficiente da cultura (Kc) para as condições de cultivo são de 0,74 para o estádio inicial, 1,86 para o estádio intermediário e 1,50 para o estádio final.

Evapotranspiration mapping of commercial corn fields in Brazil using SAFER algorithm

SAFER (Simple Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving) is a relatively new algorithm applied successfully to estimate actual crop evapotranspiration (ET) at different spatial scales of different crops in Brazil. However, its use for monitoring irrigated crops is scarce and needs further investigation. This study assessed the performance of SAFER to estimate ET of irrigated corn in a Brazilian semiarid region. The study was conducted in São Desidério, Bahia State, Brazil, in corn-cropped areas in no-tillage systems and irrigated by central pivots. SAFER algorithm with original regression coefficients (a = 1.8 and b = -0.008) was initially tested during the growing seasons of 2014, 2015, and 2016. SAFER performed very poorly for estimating corn ET, with RMSD values greater than 1.18 mm d-¹ for 12 fields analyzed and NSE values 0 in most fields. To improve estimates, SAFER regression coefficients were calibrated (using 2014 and 2015 data) and validated with 2016 data, with the resulting coefficients a and b equal to 0.32 and -0.0013, respectively. SAFER performed well for ET estimation after calibration, with r² and NSE values equal to 0.91 and RMSD = 0.469 mm d-¹. SAFER also showed good performance (r² = 0.86) after validation, with the lowest RMSD (0.58 mm d-¹) values for the set of 14 center pivots in this growing season. The results support the use of calibrated SAFER algorithm as a tool for estimating water consumption in irrigated corn fields in semiarid conditions.(AU)

Determination of evapotranspiration and crop coefficient for cauliflower at Paranánorthwest region / Determinação da evapotranspiração e coeficiente da cultura da couve-flor na região noroeste do Paraná

Evapotranspirationand the estimation of crop coefficient (Kc) are essential information for irrigation management, contributing to increase the water use efficiency and optimizing resources, mainly using local data. This study aimed to determine the water consumption and the crop coefficient of cauliflower (Barcelona hybrid) in the northwestern region of Paraná. The experiment was conducted in a greenhouse at the Technical Irrigation Centerbelonging to the State University of Maringá, in Maringá -PR. The crop evapotranspiration was determined using constant water table lysimeters, and the reference evapotranspiration was estimated by the Penman-Monteith method (FAO), using climatological data collected in an automatic meteorological station. The cultivation was carried out from April to July. The total water consumption by the cauliflower was 215.11 mm, a higher value than that available in the FAO recommendations. The crop coefficient (Kc) recommended values for local conditions are 0.74 for the initial stage, 1.86 for the intermediate stage, and 1.50 for the final stage.(AU)

A evapotranspiraçãoe a estimativa dos coeficientes da cultura (Kc) são informações fundamentais para o manejo da irrigação, contribuindo para o aumento da eficiência no uso da água e otimização dos recursos, principalmente a utilizar dados locais. O trabalho teve como objetivo determinar o consumo hídrico e o coeficiente da cultura da couve-flor (híbrido Barcelona) na região noroeste do Paraná. O experimento foi conduzido em casa de vegetação no Centro Técnico de Irrigação pertencente à Universidade Estadual de Maringá, em Maringá -PR. A evapotranspiração da cultura foi determinada utilizando lisímetros de lençol freático constante, e a evapotranspiração de referência foi estimada pelo método de Penman-Monteith (FAO), a partir de informações climatológicas coletadas em estação meteorológica automática. O cultivo foi realizado no período de abril a julho. O consumo total de água pela cultura da couve-flor foi de 215,11 mm, sendo um valor maior do que o disponível nas recomendações da FAO. Os valores recomendados de coeficiente da cultura (Kc) para as condições de cultivo são de 0,74 para o estádio inicial, 1,86 para o estádio intermediário e 1,50 para o estádio final.(AU)

Evapotranspiration mapping of commercial corn fields in Brazil using SAFER algorithm

SAFER (Simple Algorithm for Evapotranspiration Retrieving) is a relatively new algorithm applied successfully to estimate actual crop evapotranspiration (ET) at different spatial scales of different crops in Brazil. However, its use for monitoring irrigated crops is scarce and needs further investigation. This study assessed the performance of SAFER to estimate ET of irrigated corn in a Brazilian semiarid region. The study was conducted in São Desidério, Bahia State, Brazil, in corn-cropped areas in no-tillage systems and irrigated by central pivots. SAFER algorithm with original regression coefficients (a = 1.8 and b = -0.008) was initially tested during the growing seasons of 2014, 2015, and 2016. SAFER performed very poorly for estimating corn ET, with RMSD values greater than 1.18 mm d-¹ for 12 fields analyzed and NSE values 0 in most fields. To improve estimates, SAFER regression coefficients were calibrated (using 2014 and 2015 data) and validated with 2016 data, with the resulting coefficients a and b equal to 0.32 and -0.0013, respectively. SAFER performed well for ET estimation after calibration, with r² and NSE values equal to 0.91 and RMSD = 0.469 mm d-¹. SAFER also showed good performance (r² = 0.86) after validation, with the lowest RMSD (0.58 mm d-¹) values for the set of 14 center pivots in this growing season. The results support the use of calibrated SAFER algorithm as a tool for estimating water consumption in irrigated corn fields in semiarid conditions.

Impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) spread-prevention actions on urban water consumption.

This article aims to assess the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) spread-prevention actions on water consumption, based on a case study in Joinville, Southern Brazil. Residential water consumption data, obtained through telemetry in two periods (before and after a governmental action imposing quarantine and social isolation), were analyzed. Complementarily, the analyses were also applied to the commercial, industrial and public consumption categories. For the analysis, Wilcoxon and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests were applied and Prais-Winsten regression models were adjusted. The results of the Wilcoxon test show that there are significant differences between the analyzed periods, indicating a water consumption drop in the commercial, industrial and public categories, and an increase in the residential category. The regression model results confirm the effect of the restrictive actions in reducing consumption in non-residential categories. The results also indicate an increase in water consumption, which was steeper in apartment buildings than in houses, whether isolated or grouped in condominiums. A weak association was found between the variation in water consumption and the spatial distribution of buildings. Understanding water consumption related aspects is important to gather essential information to ensure the urban water supply system is resilient in a pandemic situation.

Brazilian Environmental-Economic Accounting for Water: A structural decomposition analysis.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals constitute a bench of directives with a universal scope to establish actions to mitigate poverty and protect the environment. Benefiting from the Environmental-Economic Accounting for Water recently published in Brazil, it is possible to harmonize the demand of water and the economic sectors. To this end, this study conducted an input-output analysis and structural decomposition analysis to explore the water consumption of the Brazilian Economy and its driving forces during an unprecedented drought and economic recession between 2013 and 2015. The results indicate that the total variation of the water consumption in the period is 15%. Between 2013 and 2014, the total effect was positive, causing an increase of 45% in the embodied water consumption, having as main driver the final demand and the intensity effect. In the second period, the total intensity effect was negative, provoking a decrease of -10% in the total water consumption. The "Agriculture, livestock, forestry and fishing" is the main sector responsible for these positive and negative results, while the "Energy and gas natural supply" sector has a strategic position to avoid a structural increase on the economic water demand.

Effects of feedback information on the household consumption of water and electricity: A case study in Colombia.

Cities are the point of concentration for most of the current environmental problems, due to their fast growth and their dependence on ecosystems beyond urban limits. Changes in cities and cultural patterns that shape modern life have accelerated the metabolism of cities and consequently have negatively impacted the environment. Different approaches have been explored to understand and manage this situation. In this sense, various studies have been developed regarding the impacts of feedback information on water and electricity consumption in order to determine and understand ways to manage domestic demand. This paper presents the results obtained through the execution of an experiment on the effects of feedback information on water and electricity consumption at the household scale. During the study, participating households were exposed to different types of information, including their own consumption, comparisons with their neighbors and saving tips. The results obtained show that feedback information has a significant but differentiated effect on water and electricity consumption, and that the way in which feedback information is perceived is different in both flows.

Proposta de reuso da água utilizada no pré-preparo de hortifrutigranjeiros e na higienização de pratos e talheres em um restaurante universitário no Estado do Rio de Janeiro / Prpoposal for reuse of water for the pre-preparation of fruit and vegetables and the sanitization of dishes and flatware in a university restaurant in the state of Rio de Janeiro

Objetivo: O presente estudo teve como objetivo elaborar uma proposta para o reuso de água em um restaurante universitário no Estado do Rio de Janeiro, além de propor medidas para redução do seu consumo. Metodologia: Foi aplicado um formulário para quantificação do consumo de água nas etapas de pré-preparo de hortifrutigranjeiros e na higienização de pratos e talheres, em um período de 9 e 13 dias, respectivamente. Em seguida, foi estimado o volume, em litros, de água potável utilizado diariamente em cada etapa. Resultados: Na etapa de pré-preparo de hortifrutigranjeiros, calculouse que são utilizados 2.400 litros por dia; e na etapa de higienização de pratos e talheres, estimou-se o uso de 478 litros por dia. Desta forma, pôde-se calcular o volume total de 2.878 litros por dia que ficarão armazenados para o reuso com fins não potáveis, como por exemplo, a higienização do piso dos refeitórios do restaurante, o que representa 31,97% da quantidade necessária para limpeza de todo o restaurante universitário. Além disso, realizou-se a quantificação dos pontos de água para possível instalação de arejadores nas torneiras, no intuito de reduzir o consumo. Em seguida, elaborou-se o projeto do reservatório de água para reuso. Conclusão: Por fim, atestou-se a importância da proposta apresentada, tendo em vista a significativa quantidade de água com possibilidade de reuso que é desperdiçada diariamente, contribuindo-se assim com a preservação ambiental e diminuição dos custos do restaurante universitário. (AU)

Objective: The aim of the present study was to propose the reuse of water in a university restaurant in the state of Rio de Janeiro, as well as measures to reduce consumption. Methods: A form was applied to quantify water consumption during the pre-preparation of fresh produce and the sanitization of dishes and flatware, within a period of 9 and 13 days, respectively. Later, the volume of potable water used daily was estimated in liters. Results: The estimated volume of water used per day was 2.400 liters for pre-preparation of fresh produce and 478 liters of water per day for sanitization of dishes and flatware. Thus, a total volume of 2.878 liters of water per day for non-potable reuse was estimated, such as, for example, for the sanitization of the dining hall floor of the restaurant. In addition, the quantification of water points for possible installation of faucet aerators was made aiming to reduce consumption. Next, a project of the storage container for the reuse of water was developed. Conclusion: It may be concluded that the importance of the proposal is related to the significant quantity of daily wasted water that could be reused and thus, contribute to environmental preservation and decrease the water expenses of the university restaurant. (AU)