Based on ecosystem approaches to health (Ecohealth), this study sought to identify neurobehavioral disorders in children exposed to several levels of toxic metal pollution from gold mining in the Puyango River Basin, Southern Ecuador. Ninety-three children born or living in the study area participated in the study. A neurobehavioral test battery consisting of 12 tests assessing various functions of the nervous system was applied as well as a questionnaire regarding events of exposure of children's mothers to contaminants during perinatal period. Hair samples were taken from children to determine manganese concentrations. Descriptive and inferential statistics were applied in order to examine possible relationships between exposure events, hair manganese, and neurobehavioral disorders. Having controlled co-variables such as age and educational level, it was found that children with elevated levels of hair manganese (over 2 μg/g) had poor performance in the test of general intelligence (Raven's Progressive Color Matrices Scale PCM). The Ecohealth approach helped to identify that children in the lower Puyango Basin with very elevated levels of manganese in the river water (970 µg/L) are the ones who have the highest levels of hair manganese and the worst performance in the intelligence test.
Abstract. The use of satellite images is a modern strategy for the evaluation and prediction of various weather scenarios. In addition, this is a key tool for the development of environmental sciences. Since the end of the last decade, Chile has been suffering from a megadrought associated with climate change. In this context, this study proposes to evaluate the role of land use change in the Middle Maule River sub-basin, located in the Maule Region, Chile. This is an important sector characterized by a significant agricultural and hydroelectric contribution. To do so, this study performs a supervised classification of land cover through the usage of QGIS software and Landsat images for the years 1999 and 2019. The results show the growth of areas without vegetation due to a great drought facing the Central Zone of the country. Additionally, there is a decrease in available bodies of water. This article leaves open future research on the impact of the main economic activities of the region.
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