a b s t r a c tThis survey evaluated the presence of AFM 1 in human urine samples from a specific Brazilian population, as well as corn, peanut, and milk consumption measured by two types of food inquiry. Urine samples from donors who live in the city of Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil were analyzed to detect the presence of aflatoxin M 1 (AFM 1 ), an aflatoxin B 1 metabolite, which may be used as aflatoxin B 1 exposure biomarker. The AFM 1 analysis was performed using immunoaffinity clean-up and detection by high-performance-liquid chromatography with fluorescence detector. A total of 69 samples were analyzed and 45 of them (65%) presented contaminations P1.8 pg ml À1 , which was the limit of quantification (LOQ). Seventy eight percent (n = 54) of the samples presented detectable concentrations of AFM 1 (>0.6 pg ml À1 ). The AFM 1 concentration among samples above LOQ ranged from 1.8 to 39.9 pg ml À1 . There were differences in food consumption profile among donors, although no association was found between food consumption and AFM 1 concentration in urine. The high frequency of positive samples suggests exposure of the populations studied to aflatoxins.

We examine the Holocene environmental changes in a wet dune slack of the Portuguese coast, Poço do Barbarroxa de Baixo. Lithology, organic matter, biological proxies and high-resolution chronology provide estimations of sediment accumulation rates and changes in environmental conditions in relation to sea-level change and climate variability during the Holocene. Results show that the wet dune slack was formed 7.5 cal. ka BP, contemporaneous with the last stages of the rapid sea-level rise. This depositional environment formed under frequent freshwater flooding and water ponding that allowed the development and post-mortem accumulation of abundant plant remains. The wetland evolved into mostly palustrine conditions over the next 2000 years, until a phase of stabilization in relative sea-level rise, when sedimentation rates slowed down to 0.04 mm yr−1, between 5.3 and 2.5 cal. ka BP. Later, about 0.8 cal. ka BP, high-energy events, likely due to enhanced storminess and more frequent onshore winds, caused the collapse of the foredune above the wetlands’ seaward margin. The delicate balance between hydrology (controlled by sea-level rise and climate change), sediment supply and storminess modulates the habitat’s resilience and ecological stability. This underpins the relevance of integrating past records in coastal wet dune slacks management in a scenario of constant adaptation processes.

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