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Objetivo: Analisar os dados da COVID-19 entre as regiões do Brasil, comparando as realidades distintas, levando em consideração as taxas de mortalidade, letalidade, incidência e isolamento social. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo observacional analítico. Foram analisadas a partir da densidade demográfica, as taxas de incidência, mortalidade, letalidade e isolamento social. Ademais, foram levantados dados referentes ao número de leitos público e privados disponíveis para COVID-19 em cada estado do país. Para análise das associações foi utilizado a correlação de Spearman entre as variáveis densidade populacional, número de casos, número de leitos e quantidade de óbitos nos estados brasileiros. Resultados: O estudo avaliou 3.817.904 casos confirmados e 120.530 óbitos em todo o Brasil, sendo que a letalidade geral foi de 3,15. A Região Norte apresentou as maiores taxas de incidência e a região Sul apresentou as menores taxas de incidência. Com esses dados, foi possível verificar a existência de uma relação positiva entre as taxas de incidência e mortalidade. Conclusão: O estudo demonstrou uma enorme discrepância epidêmica e socioeconômica entre as regiões brasileiras, implicando diretamente na incidência e mortalidade por COVID-19.

Objectives: To examine the relationship between young Australians' cyberbullying experiences, their help-seeking practices and associated mental well-being and social connectedness, with a view to informing national health and well-being agendas. Methods: An online survey was administered to young people aged 12-18 years (n = 2,338), recruited across Australia in year 2 of a larger 4-year study. Results: Youth with no experience of cyberbullying had better well-being profiles and mental health overall. Conversely, cyberbully victims, had poorer well-being and mental health and tended not to engage with online support services, in spite of being more likely to be online after 11 pm. Parents and peers were identified as key sources of help for most young people when dealing with problems. Conclusions: Cyberbullying is a public health issue particularly for vulnerable youth whose mental health and well-being is impacted more than those not involved. As youth are spending increasing time in the 24/7 online environment, there is a need to develop initiatives that engage young people and encourage help-seeking online, whilst concomitantly building capacity of parents and peers to support their well-being Refereed/Peer-reviewed

This article focuses on the elemental analysis of glass material found at the 17th c. glass bead production site at the Hammersmith Embankment in London, UK, using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). The glass beads manufactured at this site are similar to those found at some North American Native sites. In order to better understand how bead production was organized in Europe and assess the possibility of sourcing glass trade beads found in North America and perhaps Africa, data obtained for the Hammersmith Embankment site are compared to that obtained from the Kg10 site located in Amsterdam, Netherland. This site yielded very similar material also dating from the 17th c. Results, including major, minor and trace elements reveal that the glass at both sites was manufactured according to similar recipes involving soda plant ash purified to different degrees. This recipe was quite likely imported from Venice. Trace elements reveal that sand from different origins was selected. Four different sub-groups were identified in the London samples and three in the Amsterdam samples. This indicates that the glass was not manufactured on site but instead obtained from different primary glass workshops. Although it is possible to distinguish most of the beads from the Hammersmith Embankment from the beads from Kg10, a slight compositional overlap between the sites makes provenance attribution for some types of glass beads difficult.

A collection of glass beads found in Lumbu (Mbanza Kongo, Angola) were analyzed by means of a multi-analytical minimally invasive methodology, which included handheld X-ray fluorescence (hXRF), variable pressure scanning electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (VP-SEM-EDS), micro-Raman spectroscopy and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Trace element analysis, and rare earth element pattern analysis in particular, was found to be essential to establish the provenance of the European trade beads in this study. The glass beads from types 30, 31, 32, 36, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43 and 45 were found to have been produced in Venice, and the glass beads from types 26 and 28 have been assigned to the Bohemian glass industry. While determining the provenance of each glass artefact was a major goal of this study, the process of glass coloring and opacification was also studied in an attempt to establish the technology employed in the production of these artefacts. Chemical data indicate that cobalt and copper were used to produce blue hues, while a combination of copper and iron ions was used to produce green glass. Black colored glass was obtained by the combined use of iron and manganese ions, whereas the iron-sulfur chromophore was used to impart a distinct amber hue to the glass. Red was produced using trace amounts of metallic gold particles (ruby red glass) and metallic copper nano-particles or cuprous oxide (brownish-red glass). Lead arsenates, calcium phosphate, and cassiterite were used as opacifying agents. The use of both morphological and chemical analysis enabled the identification of distinct European production centers, allowing a glimpse into the consumption patterns and economic interactions in place between Europe and West-Central Africa throughout the 17th-19th centuries.

The glass bead assemblages recovered during the 2014 excavations of the ruins of Kulumbimbi located in Mbanza Kongo (Angola) were analyzed by means of a multi-analytical minimally invasive methodology, which includes handheld X-ray fluorescence (hXRF), variable pressure scanning electron microscope coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (VP-SEM-EDS), micro-Raman spectroscopy and laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS). Chemical data indicate that cobalt, copper, iron and manganese ions were used to produce the blue, green, reddish-brown and black hues, respectively. Lead arsenates, calcium phosphate, calcium antimonate, lead stannate, cassiterite and Pb-Sb-Sn oxide were used as opacifying agents. Chondrite-normalized trace element distribution and chondrite-normalized rare earth element patterns were used to determine the sand source used in the production of the different glass bead types. These distributions were also used to identify the manufacture location of the glass beads with previously unknown origin and production date. Based on the data collected, the glass beads from types 16, 20, 22, 24, 25, 46 and 47 have been assigned as Venetian.

Fulltext Soil investigation may be carried out on various levels of knowledge, research capacity and proficiency. Scientists commonly apply advanced methodology for soil resources inventory, including the professional terminology for landscape and soil description, data acquisition and processing, soil classification and mapping, soil and land evaluation. By default, an internationally accepted system should be recommended. An implementation of such methodology is also recommended in more advanced courses of soil science studies on bachelor and master study levels. However, the long-term teaching experience reveals difficulties connected mainly with complicated terminology and excessive number of characteristics obligatory to know, and justifies some simplification of the language, rules and structure at the introductory stage of teaching. This was the base and rationale for the preparation of simplified Guidelines for Soil Description and Classification: Central and Eastern European Students' Version. This book is divided into three parts. The first one - Site and soil description - follows the layout and content of professional edition of Guidelines for Soil Description, 4th ed., published by FAO (2005), simplified for educational purposes. The order of description has been modified to correspond to the layout of an original Soil description sheet. The second part - Soil classification - is a simplified WRB classification (based on a 2014/2015 edition) limited to reference soil groups known from Central Europe. The third part is an Illustrated explanatory guide that includes: i) examples of typical soil profiles for all Central European Reference Soil Groups; ii) morphological features important for soil description and identification in the field; iii) soil-landscape relationships. The photos have been enriched with graphical tips helpful at the recognizing of important soil features. The textbook was developed in the framework of EU Erasmus+ FACES project (Freely Accessible Central European Soil) aiming to facilitate the knowledge and implementation of an international rules of soil characterization adopted by the FAO. It will be used to unify the presentation of soil data collected in the partner countries. The interpretation of soil data fully based on the international soil classification WRB (World Reference Base for Soil Resources 2015) as WRB was endorsed by the lnternational Union of Soil Sciences (lUSS) and accepted by the European Commission as an official system for the European Union. Therefore, this guideline might be a starting point for preparation of basic teaching materials to spread the knowledge on an internationally recommended rules and terminology for soil description and classification. However, this guideline is designed as teaching tool for students in Central and Eastern European countries and therefore it may not be applicable worldwide. Moreover, it is suited for the "first step" training, and it is not substituting any professional original classification. Authors of this guidebook assume that the users are familiar with the basic knowledge in soil science. Therefore, the guidelines do not contain explanations related to basic soil forming factors, soil forming processes and basic physico-chemical features.

Täistekst This is the second book in the series of Soil Sequence Atlases. The first volume was published in 2014. Main pedogeographic features are presented in the form of sequences to give a comprehensive picture of soils - their genesis and correlations with the environment in typical landscapes of Central Europe from Estonia furthest north, through Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary to the southernmost Slovenia. Soils of natural landscapes - loess and sand (continental dunes) - are presented, as well as those of plains of various origin, karst lands, low mountains, and anthropically modified soils. Each chapter presents soil profiles supplemented by landscape information and basic analytical data. Then, genetic interpretations of soil properties related to soil forming agents are given as schematic catenas. When one factor changes while the others are more or less stable, the soil sequence can be recognised. Depending on the dominant soil-forming factor affecting repeated soil patterns, different types can be distinguished. Chapters are arranged roughly in accordance with the main soil-forming process in sequences, and referring to the WRB key (peat formation, vertic and gleyic process, podzolisation, humus accumulation, clay illuviation), with one small exception - the Technosols have been placed at the end of book. The main objective of this book is to present the diversity of relations between soil and landscape, climate, hydrology and human relations, and to present interpretations reflecting the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (2015) classification with comments on the choice of qualifiers. Sixteen Reference Soil Groups are featured, and represented by 67 soil profiles. The secondary objective is pedological education. One of the aims of soil science education is to explain to students the relations between landscape and soil cover. The patterns of soil units within landscapes are to some extent predictable. The collected data is intended as a useful educational tool in teaching soil science, supporting understanding of the reasons for the variability of soil cover, and also as a WRB classification guideline. The Atlas was developed as part of the EU Erasmus+ FACES project (Freely Accessible Central European Soil). Marcin Šwitoniak, Przemyslaw Charzynski

Highbush blueberries are a relatively new crop in Latvia raising interest in farmers who wish to diversify their commercial horticultural activities. It is considered that soil properties are one of the possible shortcomings limiting establishment of high-productive plantations in areas where soil reaction is close to neutral. The research objective was to test the main soil characteristics in a commercial highbush blueberry plantation where initial soil properties were changed as a result of soil modification (deep tillage, peat additions) before planting of bushes and afterwards maintained (mulching with acid peat and sawdust) periodically. The research was carried out in 2011 - in a farm where the blueberry plantation had been established seven years ago. The experimental plots were arranged on a complex slope, by choosing different parts of terrain. Soil - Haplic Cambisol, sandy loam, formed on a low calcareous moraine. Original topsoil’s reaction was pH KCl 5.37. Five experimental plots, each consisting of seven bushes, were set up. Research showed that modification of topsoil significantly changed the physical and agrochemical properties of soil. Soil bulk density reduced, porosity and soil aeration increased. Sphagnum peat (pH KCl 3.0) as a soil modifier allowed efficiently reducing the soil reaction at the soil root zone and provided an optimal environment for blueberries. Soil properties were not the determinant factor that limited establishment of a productive blueberry plantation. Soil properties adjusted accordingly to the requirements of highbush blueberry gave the possibility of establishing plantations also in typical mineral soils that develop on a low calcareous moraine.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the use of contraception in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa; to assess changes in met need for contraception associated with wealth-related inequity; and to describe the relationship between the use of long-term versus short-term contraceptive methods and a woman's fertility intentions and household wealth. METHODS: The analysis was conducted with Demographic and Health Survey data from 13 sub-Saharan African countries. Wealth-related inequities in the use of contraception were calculated using household wealth and concentration indices. Logistic regression models were fitted for the likelihood of using a long-term contraceptive method, with adjustments for: wealth index quintile, fertility intentions (to space births versus to stop childbearing), residence (urban/rural), education, number of living children, marital status and survey year. FINDINGS: The use of contraception has increased substantially between surveys in Ethiopia, Madagascar, Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia but has declined slightly in Kenya, Senegal and Uganda. Wealth-related inequalities in the met need for contraception have decreased in most countries and especially so in Mozambique, but they have increased in Kenya, Uganda and Zambia with regard to spacing births, and in Malawi, Senegal, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania and Zambia with regard to limiting childbearing. After adjustment for fertility intention, women in the richest wealth quintile were more likely than those in the poorest quintile to practice long-term contraception. CONCLUSION: Family planning programmes in sub-Saharan Africa show varying success in reaching all social segments, but inequities persist in all countries.

We present results, analyses, and an in-depth historical contextualization of the fieldwork undertaken in 2012 and 2013 at the Kindoki site in the Lower Congo (DRC). This site is linked to Mbanza Nsundi, one of the Kongo Kingdom’s provincial capitals, which turns out to be archaeologically ‘elusive’. Pinpointing its location proved to be particularly challenging. To this end, a historically informed survey methodology was applied that has rarely been implemented on such a scale in Central Africa before. We combined a strategy of systematic test pits with a large-scale 50-m grid approach. A cemetery was identified on Kindoki Hill with distinct but probably contemporaneous quarters of a sixteenth–seventeenth-century settlement on both sides. The cemetery itself contains mainly eighteenth-century burials, in all likelihood of successive high-ranking Nsundi nobles, perhaps even of Nsundi rulers. The foreign, especially Portuguese, ceramics excavated on the hilltop and the hundreds of Venetian and likely Bavarian beads found in the graves are indicative of Mbanza Nsundi’s connection to trade routes linking the Atlantic coast with the Pool region. The most striking discovery is that of a previously unknown type of comb-impressed pottery, from a pit with a calibrated radiocarbon date of AD 1294–1393 (at 2 sigma). This suggests that a settlement had been developing at Kindoki since at least the fourteenth century, which allows us, for the first time, to spatially bridge Kongo history and “prehistory.” For the entire Lower Congo region, only three 14C dates posterior to AD 1000 were available before the start of our project; 12 have been added for just Kindoki.

Ngongo Mbata, the main and most affluent center of the Kongo kingdom’s Mbata province in the seventeenth century, is well known from the historical sources, but virtually unexplored in archaeological publications. Ngongo Mbata is unique in that it hosted a monumental stone building about which the historical record remains silent. This makes it particularly challenging from the point of view of historical archaeology. In this paper historical data, unpublished excavation results from the 1930s and our own fieldwork undertaken in 2012–13 are brought together, to tell a new story of early African-European contacts in the interior of West Central Africa.