The goal of this study is to understand the influence of event sponsorship on children and their ability to fully understand its persuasive intent. A wide range of research addresses the effects of sponsorship on adults, but not much looks at children. We study the effects of sponsorship on a new target: children between the ages of 7 and 11. We analyse effects on the sponsor's brand image and on purchase intentions, and study the moderator effects of product involvement and brand familiarity. A structured questionnaire was completed by a sample of 334 children in the defined age range. Findings suggest that sponsorship can influence children's image of the advertised brand and their purchasing intentions, especially in the case of non-familiar brands. Additionally, our research suggests that sponsorship can affect the purchasing intention for low-involvement products, while brand image is more affected in the case of high-involvement products, contrary to our expectations. Moreover, results show that the majority of children do not recognize sponsorship's persuasive intent, and therefore our research has important managerial implications, highlighting the caution that should be used in the case of sponsoring activities with children.

• Soils in kitchen gardens near pyrite mines are heavily contaminated with As, Cu, Pb, and Zn. • Soil is mainly neutral, due to soil amendment, which contributes to the low bioavailability of TE. • Generally, vegetables contain levels of these elements characteristic of uncontaminated plants. • Risk is considerable where the soil pH is acidic, triggering high Zn bioavailable concentrations. • If the soil pH is not controlled, there is a risk of consuming metal contaminated vegetables.

Mining activities at the Portuguese sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) have been responsible for the pollution of water, sediments, and biota, caused by the acid mine drainage (AMD) from the tailing deposits. The impact has been felt for years in the rivers and streams receiving AMD from the Aljustrel mine (SW sector of the IPB, Portugal), such as at the Água Forte stream, a tributary of the Roxo stream (Sado and Mira Hydrographic Region). To evaluate the extent of that environmental impact prior to the remediation actions, surface water, sediments, and the macrophyte Scirpus holoschoenus L. were sampled at the Água Forte and the Roxo streams, upstream and downstream from the confluence. The surface water and the sediments were extremely acidic at the Água Forte stream (pH ranges 2.22–2.92 for the water and 2.57–3.32 for the sediment), with high As, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations of 2.1, 120, 0.21, and 421 mg kg−1, respectively, in the water, and 661, 1746, 539, and 1994 mg kg−1, respectively, in the sediment, in the location closer to the mine. Two aquatic bioassays evidenced the high ecotoxicity of the Água Forte water at that site, with very low EC50 values for Vibrio fischeri luminescence inhibition (<3.1% v/v) and Daphnia magna 48-hour immobilization/mortality assays (<6.3% v/v). The impact of the AMD was also evident in the sediments of the Roxo stream, but not so marked in the water, with circa neutral pH and lower As, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentrations. Consistently, the ecotoxicological response was only felt in the sampling point closer to the confluence of the Água Forte with the Roxo stream, with an EC20 of 27.0% (v/v) towards the V. fischeri. One of the dominant and well adapted macrophytes, S. holoschoenus L., presented low bioaccumulation factors for Cu (0.04) and Zn (0.15) in their emerging parts, and very low concentrations for As and Pb, making this plant a potential candidate to be used in phytoremediation actions to treat and control AMD in the IPB.

The objective of the study was to assess the integrated use of macroinvertebrate indexes and ecotoxicological parameters in the evaluation of the ecological status of a temporary stream with a strong agricultural influence. Water quality was analysed at two sampling sites along the stream, considering: chemical supporting parameters; hazardous substances (pesticides); benthic macroinvertebrate communities, through quality (Iberian Biological Monitoring Working Party and Iberian Average Score Per Taxon) and multi-metric indices (Southern Portuguese Index of Invertebrates and Ecological Quality Ratio); and ecotoxicological responses using lethal and sub-lethal bioassays. The water chemical characterization showed high levels of organic matter and nutrients, mainly in the dry period ((biochemical oxygen demand (BOD): 18.5-25.5mgL, chemical oxygen demand (COD): 60.8-193.7mgL; total phosphorus (TP): 0.17-0.33mgL)), which may compromise the support of biological life. In accordance with the physicochemical results, the stream had an ecological status less than good. Of the 25 pesticides analysed, only five, namely terbuthylazine, 2-methyl-chlorophenoxyacetic acid, bentazone, mecoprop and metolachlor were quantified. In general, the concentrations of pesticides detected were low, except at the source of the stream in January 2012 (sum of pesticides 2.29μgL), mainly due to the concentration of bentazone (1.77μgL), both values surpassing the European Commission threshold values. The analysis of benthic macroinvertebrates showed low levels of abundance and family diversity, with communities dominated by resistant groups to organic pollution and pesticides, such as the Chironomidae family. In general, the reproduction ecotoxicological results showed a very marked decrease in the number of juveniles per female. The Spearman correlation identified pesticides, namely MCPA (R=-0.89; p<0.05), as the main responsible for the observed effect. The results showed the linearity and complementarity of the two groups of biological responses, allowing to cover the interactions between the ecosystem's species and the different types of pollutants.

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE Treatment limitation, as well as do-not-resuscitate (DNR) directives, are difficult but important to improve patients’ quality of life and minimize dysthanasia. We aimed to study the approach to withholding, withdrawal, and DNR decisions, patients’ characteristics, and process documentation in a general Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in Portugal. METHODS A retrospective analysis of data regarding the limitation of treatment decisions collected from previously-designed forms and complemented by medical record consultation. RESULTS A total of 1602 patients were admitted to the ICU between 2011 and 2016. DNR decisions were documented in 127 cases (7.9%). Patients with treatment limitations were older and had higher Simplified Acute Physiology Score II. The most frequent diagnosis preceding these decisions was sepsis (52.0%, n = 66); the most common main reason for limiting treatment was a poor prognosis of acute illness. Of the patients to whom a DNR was implemented, 117 (92.1%) died in the ICU (40.1% of the total number of ICU deaths), and hospital mortality was 100%. Participants in these decisions, as well as types of treatment withdrawn and their respective timings, were not registered in medical records. CONCLUSION Treatment limitation and DNR decisions were relatively common, in line with other Southern European studies, but behind Northern European and North American centers. Patients with these limitations were older and more severely ill than patients without such decisions. Documentation of these processes should be clear and detailed, either in specific forms or computerized clinical records; there is room for improvement in this area.