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Enfermagem pediátrica
Guyton & Hall tratado de fisiologia médica
Contém referências bibliográficas
Infection by the larval stage of the cestode Echinococcus granulosus causes a disease
known as cystic echinococcosis or hydatidosis, which is one of the most widespread
zoonotic infections of veterinary and medical importance. Numerous studies have
shown that E. granulosus exists as a complex of strains differing in a wide variety of
criteria. Ten distinct genotypes (G1-G10) have been identified with potential impact on
the pathology, epidemiology and the effect of the measures implemented for the control
of hydatidosis. Our main objective was to carry out a preliminary analysis of the
genotypes of E. granulosus circulating in the central inland region of Portugal.
Parasite samples (hydatid cysts, n=27) were isolated from the liver and lung of sheep
and cattle. The DNA extracted from protoscoleces isolated from the fertile cysts served
a template for the PCR amplification of part of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase
subunit 1 (cox1), ATP synthase F0 subunit 6 (atp6) as well as the large (rrnL/16S) and
small (rrnS/12S) ribosomal RNA genes. Similarity searches with homologous
sequences in the databanks indicated very high similarity with references assigned to the
G1, G3 and/or G1-G3 complex of Echinococcus strains. Phylogenetic analysis
(Bayesian approach) supported these observations, and confirmed the assignment of all
the analyzed sequences to the G1-G3 genetic cluster.
Pulp mill sludge produced in the Cova da Beira region (Portugal) contains organic matter (11–47%), nitrogen (38–2560mg N/kg) and phosphorus (167–370mg P/kg), which may be valuable for increasing soil productivity. The levels of heavy metals are below the limits recommended by legislation and the amount of nitrogen and phosphorous to be introduced in soils does not present a risk for nutrient leaching.
After identifying the environmental and technical restrictions on its application, an area of 1650 ha was identified where the sludge can be applied in forage crops, fruit trees, olive groves and vineyards. A suitable area was also found for a biosolids storage centre. The use of GIS allowed to define a sludge application index and to produce land-use suitability maps, which can be useful for sludge management.
The increase of Web pages (school Web pages mainly) is considered as a positive factor in the Portuguese educational system. However many of these pages were developed chaotically, i. e. there were no criteria. Due to this situation, in spite of the increase of the number of sites the quality did not improve and a result is frustration among the users because their Web searches do not match their expectations. The present paper tries to show some results of recent research related to criteria that must be kept in mind when designing a Web page with quality.
Among the different existing methods to characterise the aerodynamic sealing effect provided by an air curtain device placed over the opening between two contiguous compartments, infrared thermography has revealed to be a very useful tool. Besides allowing the capture, in an expedite way, of instantaneous images of the temperature field in the neighbourhood of the door, the technique hereon described has other advantages, in terms of quick and easy setup, low intrusive character and liability of obtained results.
To apply this method, a large sheet of paper was stretched in the direction perpendicular to the opening where the air curtain device has placed to allow the registration of pictures or video sequences with an infrared camera setup in its maximum sensitivity.
Good concordance between the thermographs obtained with this technique and the temperature fields measured for the same plane with a rack of 16 low velocity omni-directional thermal anemometer probes allowed its validation.
Various elucidative examples of the use of this technique as a complementary tool for analysis and visualization of the complex physical phenomena occurring for the studied flow are presented in this article.
This document is available online at at www.sciencedirect.com
This article presents a comparison of artificial neural networks andneuro-fuzzy systems appliedfor modelling andcontrolling a
real system. The main objective is to model and control the temperature inside of a kiln for the ceramic industry. The details of all
system components are described. The steps taken to arrive at the direct and inverse models using the two architectures: adaptive
neuro fuzzy inference system and feedforward neural networks are described and compared. Finally, real-time control results using internal model control strategy are resented.
Using available Matlab software for both algorithms, the objective is to show the implementation steps for modelling and controlling a real system. Finally, the performances of the two solutions were comparedthrough different parameters for a specific real didactic case
Objetivo: Traduzir e adaptar culturalmente o Living with Asthma Questionnaire (LWAQ) para a língua Portuguesa e testar a sua fiabilidade e validade. Métodos: A versão Portuguesa desta medida de qualidade de vida relacionada com a saúde, específica de doença, foi obtida através de traduções e retroversões, painéis de consenso e pré-teste. A versão Portuguesa dos questionários LWAQ e Medical Outcomes Study - 36 item Short Form (SF-36), e um formulário das características dos doentes foram administrados a 61 asmáticos. Resultados: A fiabilidade das pontuações do LWAQ foi considerada boa com coeficientes alfa de Cronbach a variarem entre 0.70 e 0.97 [com exceção do constructo “preocupações” (0.62), e dos domínios “sono” (0.67) e “efeitos nos outros” (0.47)] e coeficientes de correlação intraclasse entre 0.86 e 0.99. A validade de construção foi suportada pela confirmação de hipóteses pré-definidas envolvendo as correlações esperadas entre os constructos, domínio e pontuação total do LWAQ, e as dimensões do SF-36 com conceitos semelhantes. Conclusão: A versão Portuguesa do LWAQ apresentou características psicométricas adequadas em termos de coerência interna, reprodutibilidade e validade de construção.
The present legislation concerning Professional Qualifications for Teaching (Law n.437, 2007) was created in the context of the Higher Education reorganization according to the Bologna Process. By situating the professional qualification of preschool
teachers and primary school teachers at the second cycle level (Master’s), this law may contribute to reinforce the recognition of these actors‟ importance in the promotion of quality development, which is so necessary in the Portuguese society, and necessarily refers to the need of a demanding, qualitative initial teacher education.
Having this context as background, the present communication intends to present and analyse some of the foundations of the curriculum organization for the Master’s Cycle in Pre-School and Primary School Education from the Castelo Branco
School of Education, giving special attention to the integration of educational research methodologies in supervised teaching practice.
Whereas the “voice” of the master’s is a fundamental tool for the analysis we want to achieve, we conclude with the presentation and analysis of results obtained with the administration of the experimental version of the questionnaire “Conceptions of Research Process and Teaching Practice” and the “Reflective Report” asked students in the final phase of the curricular component of the course.
The Early Ordovician Oledo pluton consists of four distinct granodioritic to granitic phase (G1–G4), which
intruded a Cambrian schist-metagraywacke complex, but were themselves intruded by a Late Carboniferous
pluton. ID-TIMS U–Pb ages for zircon and monazite from these granitic rocks indicate emplacements within
a short period of time at 479–480 Ma. Granodiorite G1 is the most deformed rock with shear zones and
deformation at the border. G1 and G3 contain fine-grained biotite tonalite and biotite granodiorite
microgranular enclaves, which are darker and richer in mafic minerals than the host granodiorites. The
geological, mineralogical, geochemical and Sr, Nd and O isotopic data show that tonalitic and granodioritic
enclaves and host G1 are of I-type and were related predominantly by a fractional crystallization process.
Least-square analysis of major elements and modelling of trace elements indicate that granodioritic enclaves
and host G1 could be derived from the tonalitic enclave magma by fractional crystallization of plagioclase,
grunerite, biotite and ilmenite. Granodiorite G2 is of hybrid origin. Most variation diagrams for granodioritic
enclaves and host G3 granodiorite and their biotites show linear trends. Modelling of major and trace
elements of granodioritic enclaves indicate that they result from mixing of relatively primitive granodiorite
magma with magma derived from crustal melting. Tonalitic enclaves correspond to globules of a more mafic
relatively primitive magma. Granite G4 has the most pronounced crustal signature and is of S-type.
The zoned pluton from Castelo Branco consists of Variscan peraluminous S-type granitic rocks. A muscoviteNbiotite granite in
the pluton's core is surrounded successively by biotiteNmuscovite granodiorite, porphyritic biotiteNmuscovite granodiorite grading
to biotite=muscovite granite, and finally by muscoviteNbiotite granite. ID-TIMS U–Pb ages for zircon and monazite indicate that
all phases of the pluton formed at 310±1 Ma. Whole-rock analyses show slight variation in 87Sr/86Sr310 Ma between 0.708 and
0.712, ɛNd310 Ma values between −1 and −4 and δ18O values between 12.2 and 13.6. These geological, mineralogical,
geochemical and isotopic data indicate a crustal origin of the suite, probably from partial melting of heterogeneous Early Paleozoic
pelitic country rock. In detail there is evidence for derivation from different sources, but also fractional crystallization linking some
of internal plutonic phases. Least-squares analysis of major elements and modelling of trace elements indicate that the porphyritic
granodiorite and biotite=muscovite granite were derived from the granodiorite magma by fractional crystallization of plagioclase,
quartz, biotite and ilmenite. By contrast variation diagrams of major and trace elements in biotite and muscovite, the behaviours of
Ba in microcline and whole-rock δ18O, the REE patterns of rocks and isotopic data indicate that both muscovite-dominant granites
were probably originated by two distinct pulses of granite magma.
The quartz veins containing scheelite from Fonte Santa mine cut the Lower Ordovician quartzites. A
muscovite–biotite granite (G1) and a muscovite granite (G2), both S-type, crop out close to the Fonte Santa
mine and are related to the Moncorvo–Bemposta shear zone. The most altered samples of G2 show intense
muscovitization and microclinization and contain chlorite, columbite–tantalite, wolframite, W-ixiolite and
Fe-oxides. The tin-bearing granites contain 18 ppm (G1) and 73 ppm (G2) Sn. The most altered samples of
G2 correspond to a tungsten granite. The quartz veins contain muscovite, chlorite, tourmaline, scheelite,
pyrrhotite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena, arsenopyrite, iron oxides, Fe sulfates, phosphates of Pb, Fe
and Al. The Fonte Santa mine area was exploited for W between 1942 and 1982. At the end of November
2006, a flood event damaged the tailings dam of Fonte Santa mine, releasing contaminated material and
increasing contaminant levels in water within the area of influence of the mine. The waters related to the
Fonte Santa mine are poorly mineralized, with electrical conductivity of b965 μS/cm, and of a mixed type or
HCO3
− and SO4 2− types. Most pH values (5.0−8.5) indicate that there is no significant acidic drainage in the
region, as found in other areas. More acidic values (pH=3.4) were found in the mine's lagoon. Waters
associated with mineralized veins and old mine activities have Fe and Mn concentrations that forbid their
use for human consumption and agriculture. Natural Na, Mg and K water contents are associated with the
alteration of albite, chlorite and muscovite of country rock, while Ca with the W-bearing quartz veins.
Weathering agents are carbonic and sulphuric acids and the latter has a strong influence in areas draining
fine-grained mine tailings.
A biotite granodiorite and seven Sn-bearing two-mica granites crop out in the Gouveia area, central Portugal.
A SHRIMP U–Th–Pb zircon age from the granodiorite, and monazite ages from four of the two-mica granites,
show that they are of Early Ordovician (~480 Ma) and Permo-Carboniferous, i.e. Variscan (~305 and 290 Ma)
age respectively. The Variscan two-mica granites are late- and post-D3. Major and trace element variation in
the granitic rocks and their biotite and muscovite indicate mainly individual fractionation trends. The granitic
rocks are mostly depleted in HREE relative to LREE. The biotite granodiorite is probably derived from igneous
lower crust, as evidenced by low initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7036), high εNdT (+2.5) and moderate δ18O (8.8‰). The
two-mica granites are probably derived by partial melting of heterogeneous mid-crustal metasediments,
mainly metapelite and some metagraywacke, as evidenced by their high initial 87Sr/86Sr (0.7076–0.7174),
δ18O (10.7–13.4‰) and major element compositions. However, variation diagrams for major and trace
elements from two of the muscoviteNbiotite granites and their micas define fractionation trends. Rb–Sr
whole-rock analyses from the two granites are perfectly fitted to a single isochron and the rocks have subparallel
REE patterns; the younger granite is derived from the older by fractional crystallization of quartz,
plagioclase, biotite and ilmenite (tested by modelling major and trace elements). Most of the Sn-bearing
granites are derived from distinct magma batches. They result from partial melting of a heterogeneous midcrustal
metasediment. They do not represent a crustal anomaly in tin. Fractional crystallization is responsible
for the increase in the Sn contents of the granites and their micas. Muscovite has a higher Sn content than
coexisting biotite and is the principal host mineral for Sn in these rocks.
At Segura, granitic pegmatite veins with cassiterite and lepidolite, hydrothermal Sn–W quartz veins and Ba–Pb–Zn quartz
veins intruded the Cambrian schist–metagraywacke complex and Hercynian granites. Cassiterite from Sn–W quartz veins is
richer in Ti and poorer in Nb and Nb + Ta than cassiterite from granitic pegmatite. Wolframite from Sn–W quartz veins is
enriched in ferberite component. The Sn–W quartz veins contain pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, stannite,
matildite and schapbachite and the Ba–Pb–Zn quartz veins have cobaltite, pyrite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, galena and barite,
which were analyzed by electron microprobe. The presently abandoned mining area was exploited for Sn, W, Ba and Pb until
1953. Stream sediments and soils have higher concentrations of metals than parent granites and schists. Sn, W, B, As and Cu
anomalies found in stream sediments and soils are associated with Sn–W quartz veins, while Ba, Pb and Zn anomalies in
stream sediments and soils are related to Ba–Pb–Zn quartz veins. Sn, W, B, As, Cu, Ba, Pb and Zn anomalies in stream
sediments and soils are also related to the respective old mining activities, which increased the mobility of trace metals from
mineralized veins to soils, stream sediments and waters. Stream sediments and soils are sinks of trace elements, which depend
on their contents in mineralized veins and weathering processes, but Sn, Wand B depend mainly on a mechanic process. Soils
must not be used for agriculture and human residence due to their Sn, B, As and Ba contents. Waters associated with
mineralized veins were analyzed by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS) and ICP-AES have high As, Fe and Mn and
should not be used for human consumption and agriculture activities. The highest As values in waters were all related to Sn–W
quartz veins and the highest Fe and Mn values were associated with the Ba–Pb–Zn quartz veins. No significant acid drainage
was found associated with the old mine workings.
The production of granules by wet granulation in a fluidized bed was assessed after the construction of a quality index based on a file of attributes (relevant factors). These attributes are combined by a methodology relying on Correspondence Analysis, as a discriminant procedure, using two extreme simulated active vectors representing, respectively, the best and the worst cases for the granules quality output (“bad” and “good” pole). From those, a single continuous synthetic variable – the quality index – can be produced referring to a more significant set of samples. As an application of the methodology, the work compares the quality of granules produced at a laboratory scale and a pilot scale. The factors contribution to the bad or good pole allowed the identification of the most relevant factors that affect the quality of the granules. The factors studied, according to a center of gravity design, included formulation (solubility of a drug, different grades of polyvinylpyrrolidone, the polarity of the granulation solution) and processing factors (the rate of administration of the granulation solution, the atomizing air pressure and the fluidizing air rate). Granules were evaluated for production yield, drug content, size, densities (true, bulk and tapped), friability, flowability and compressibility. The study has emphasized the differences between the laboratory and pilot scales and the relative importance of each factor for the quality of the granules produced.
In this paper, we propose a method to mitigate the temporal power transients arising from Erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs) on packeted/bursty scenario. The technique, applicable on hybrid WDM/TDM-PON for extended reach, is based on a low power clamping provided by a distributed feedback (DFB) laser and a fiber Bragg grating (FBG). An mprovement in the data signal Q factor was achieved keeping the clamping control signal with a low power, accompanied by a maximum reduction in the gain excursion of 1.12 dB
DOI:10.1016/j.gexplo.2010.05.001
A production and materials flow control mechanism for quick response manufacturing (QRM) is proposed. This is
called generic paired-cell overlapping loops of cards with authorization (GPOLCA). It is an adaptation of the POLCA
mechanism developed as part of the QRM strategy. GPOLCA implements an input–output control order release strategy
based on an inventory of production authorization cards instead of materials. It is best suited for companies that
manufacture large variety of products with variable demand. A description of GPOLCA is made together with a
comparative study of its performance in relation with other mechanisms namely MRP and POLCA. The results show that
GPOLCA attains better performance.
In this study samples of the monofloral honeys more common in Castelo Branco region were tested:
Eucalyptus ssp., Erica spp. and Lavandula spp. Evaluation of unifloral conformity was carried out by
laboratorial pollen analysis.
The aim of the present work was to assess the impact of different vegetable diets in the sensory
acceptability of Senegalese sole.
In the present work four olive groves were selected: two in organic agriculture and two in integrated
production. Olives were handpicked at two ripening stages and processed by a low-scale mill with a
working capacity of 0.05 tons h-1. Differences between olive oils were evaluated through a sensory
quantitative descriptive analysis (QDA) for positive attributes; moreover, some chemical parameters
that could be related with bitterness, like phenol content and the specific absorbance at 225 nm (K225),
were determined as well. Some analyses were also conducted with an Alpha MOS electronic nose
system, FOX 2000.
This review outlines the use of documentary evidence of historical flood events in contemporary flood frequency estimation in European countries. The study shows that despite widespread consensus in the scientic literature on the utility of documentary evidence, the actual migration from academic to practical application has been limited. A detailed review of flood frequency estimation guidelines from dierent countries showed that the value of historical data is generally recognised, but practical methods for systematic and routine inclusion of this type of data into risk analysis are in most cases not available. Studies of historical events were identied in most countries, and good examples of national databases attempting to collate the available information were identied. The conclusion is that there is considerable potential for improving the reliability of the current flood risk assessments by harvesting the valuable information on past extreme events contained in the historical data sets.
Under a Creative Commons license
The old Senhora das Fontes uranium mine, in central Portugal, consists of quartz veins which penetrated along fracture shear zones at the contact between graphite schist and orthogneiss. The mine was exploited underground until a depth of 90 m and was closed down in 1971. The ores from this mine and two others were treated in the mine area by the heap-leach process which ended in 1982. Seven dumps containing a total of about 33,800 m3 of material and partially covered by natural vegetation were left in the mine area. A remediation process took place from May 2010 to January 2011. The material deposited in dumps was relocated and covered with erosion resisting covers. Surface water and groundwater were collected in the wet season just before the remediation, in the following season at the beginning of the remediation and also after the remediation in the following dry season. Before, at the beginning and after the remediation, surface water and groundwater have an acid-to-alkaline pH, which decreased with the remediation, whereas Eh increased. In general, before the remediation, uranium concentration was up to 83 μg/L in surface water and up to 116 μg/L in groundwater, whereas at the beginning of the remediation it increases up to 183 μg/L and 272 μg/L in the former and the latter, respectively, due to the remobilization of mine dumps and pyrite and chalcopyrite exposures, responsible for the pH decrease. In general, after the remediation, the U concentration decreased significantly in surface water and groundwater at the north part of the mine area, but increased in both, particularly in the latter up to 774 μg/L in the south and southwest parts of this area, attributed to the remobilization of sulphides that caused mobilization of metals and arsenic which migrated to the groundwater flow. Uranium is adsorbed in clay minerals, but also in goethite as indicated by the geochemical modelling. After the remediation, the saturation indices of oxyhydroxides decrease as pH decreases. The remediation also caused decrease in Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb, Zn, Cu, As, Sr and Mn concentrations of surface water and groundwater, particularly in the north part of the mine area, which is supported by the speciation modelling that shows the decrease of most dissolved bivalent species. However, in general, after the remediation, Th, Cd, Al, Li, Pb, Sr and As concentrations increased in groundwater and surface water at south and southwest of the mine area. Before and after the remediation, surface water and groundwater are contaminated in U, Cd, Cr, Al, Mn, Ni, Pb, Cu and As. Remediation caused only some improvement at north of the mine area, because at south and southwest part, after the remediation, the groundwater is more contaminated than before the remediation.
The Pinhal do Souto mine exploited a quartz vein containing uranium minerals, mainly autunite and
torbernite. This vein intersects a two-mica granite containing 10 ppm U and uraninite. The mine was
exploited underground and produced 93091 kg U3O8 between 1978 and 1989 and was then closed down.
Two dumps were left in the mine area and these are partially covered by natural vegetation. Groundwater
and surface water have a similar slightly acid-to-alkaline pH. The 2
2
UO is abundant and complexed
with 2
3 CO , under neutral to alkaline pH. Metals and arsenic concentrations in the water increase during the
dry season due to the evaporation. Uranium concentration in the water increases (up to 104.42 g/l) in the
wet season, because secondary uranium minerals are dissolved and uranium is released into the water. Soils
tend to retain a higher concentration of several metals, including U (up to 336.79 mg/kg) than stream
sediments (up to 35.68 mg/kg), because vermiculite from the former could adsorb it more easily than could
kaolinite from the latter. The Fe-oxides precipitate retains the highest concentrations of several metals,
including U and Th (up to 485.20 and 1053.12 mg/kg, respectively) and the metalloid As, because it is richer in oxyhydroxides and organic matter than stream sediments and soils. The median concentrations of Fe, As,
Cd, Pb, Sb, Th, U, W and Zn in soils from this area are higher than in European soils of the FOREGS data.
Waters from dry and wet seasons, stream sediments and soils are contaminated and must not be used. This
area was compared with another Portuguese abandoned uranium mine area. The former mine caused a lower
environmental impact attributable to it having lower sulfide concentration and mineral alteration than in the
latter.
Este artigo deriva de uma comunicação apresentada em International workshop “Uranium, Environment and Public Health”
Comunicação oral apresentada no Ist World Congress of Children and Youth Health Behaviors / 4th National Congress on Health Education que decorreu em Viseu‑Portugal, de 23 a25 May 2013, da qual só está disponível um resumo.
Documento originalmente apresentado em International workshop “Uranium, Environment and Public Health”, UrEnv 2013.
In the Segura area, Variscan S-type granites, aplite veins and lepidolite-subtype granitic aplite-pegmatite veins intruded the Cambrian schist-metagraywacke complex. The granites are syn D3. Aplite veins also intruded the granites. Two-mica granite and muscovite granite have similar ages of 311.0 ± 0.5 Ma and 312.9 ± 2.0 Ma but are not genetically related, as indicated by their geochemical characteristics and (87Sr/86Sr)311 values. They correspond to distinct pulses of magma derived by partial melting of heterogeneous metapelitic rocks. Major and trace elements suggest fractionation trends for: (a) muscovite granite and aplite veins; (b) two-mica granite and lepidolite-subtype aplite-pegmatite veins, but with a gap in most of these trends. Least square analysis for major elements, and modeling of trace elements, indicate that the aplite veins were derived from the muscovite granite magma by fractional crystallization of quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar and ilmenite. This is supported by the similar (87Sr/86Sr)311 and δ18O values and the behavior of P2O5 in K-feldspar and albite. The decrease in (87Sr/86Sr)311 and strong increase (1.6‰) in δ18O from two-mica granite to lepidolite-subtype aplite-pegmatite veins, and the behaviors of Ca, Mn and F of hydroxylapatite indicate that these veins are not related to the two-mica granite.
The occurrence of amblygonite–montebrasite, lepidolite, cassiterite, columbite-(Fe), columbite-(Mn) and microlite suggests that lepidolite-subtype granitic aplite-pegmatite veins are highly differentiated. Montebrasite shows a heterogeneous Na distribution and secondary lacroixite was identified in some montebrasite areas enriched in Na. Unusual Mn > Fe cassiterite is zoned, with the alternating darker zones being strongly pleochroic, oscillatory zoned, and containing more Nb and Ta than the lighter zones. Inclusions of muscovite, apatite, tapiolite-(Fe), ixiolite and microlite are present both in lighter and darker zones of cassiterite. It shows exsolutions of columbite-(Fe), columbite-(Mn,Fe) and columbite-(Mn), particularly in darker zones.
Mining and mineral-processing activities canmodify the environment in a variety of ways. Sulfide mineralization
is notorious for producing waters with high metal contents. Arsenic is commonly associated with sulfide mineralization
and is considered to be toxic in the environment at low levels. The studied abandoned mining area is
located in central Portugal and the resulting tailings and rejected materials were deposited and exposed to the
air and water for the last 50 years. Sixteen water sample-points were collected. One of these was collected
outside the mining influence, with the aim of obtaining a reference background.
The risk assessment, concerning the proximity to abandoned mineralized deposits, needs the evaluation of
intrinsic and specific vulnerabilities aiming the quantification of the anthropogenic activities. In this study,
two indicator variables were constructed. The first one (I1), a specific vulnerability, considers the arsenic
water supply standard value (0.05 mg/L), and the probability of it being exceeded is dependent on the
geologic and hydrological characteristics of the studied area and also on the anthropogenic activities. The
second one (I2), an intrinsic vulnerability, considers arsenic background limit as cut-off value, and depends
only on the geologic and hydro-geological characteristics of the studied area.
At Segura, the arsenic water content found during December 2006 (1.190 mg/L) was higher than the arsenic
water content detected in October 2006 (0.636 mg/L) which could be associated to the arsenic released from
Fe oxy-hydroxide. At Segura abandoned mining area, the iso-probability maps of October 2006 and December
2006, show strong anomalies associated with the water drainage from abandoned mining activities. Near the
village, the probability of exceeding the arsenic background value is high but lower than the probability of
exceeding the arsenic water supply value. The arsenic anomalies indicate a high probability for water arsenic
contamination and those waters should not be used for human consumption.
An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that postpartum anoestrus in beef cows is prolonged in cows in low condition (BC) because they have a reduced LH pulse frequency compared with cows in high BC.
The management of water resources is a priority for development of the places and welfare of people that supply, especially in
water bodies most affected by anthropic pressures. Moreover, the increasing of sudden and extreme climatic phenomena
appearance urges to resource planning in specific situations. In this research, the evolution of the piezometric surface has been
simulated as the basis of a flow model draft, in the karstic aquifer of Cuellar Moor, located in the Douro watershed, all along the
hydrologic years between 2010 and 2012. The use of geostatistical tools has been the starting point for estimating the piezometric
surfaces, based on the median values. From the point of view of planning two scenarios showing extreme situations have been
simulated: one of them synthesizes the most favorable conditions, in which piezometric level is at the recorded highest median
levels (wet scenario); and the other one synthesizes the toughest conditions with the lowest recorded median piezometric levels
(dry scenario). It likewise shows the estimated nitrate concentrations surface.
Este artigo deriva de uma comunicação apresentada em International workshop “Uranium, Environment and Public Health”, UrEnv 2013.
ranulomatous sesions and Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Portuguese wild boars (Sus scrofa).
Pulmonary lesions consistent with disseminated adiaspiromycosis in Egyptian mongooses (Herpestes ichneumon) from Portugal.
Numerical models have been successfully developed to predict plasticity induced crack closure (PICC).
However, despite the large research effort a full understanding of the links between physical parameters,
residual plastic wake and PICC has not been achieved yet. The plastic extension of material behind crack
tip, Dyp, obtained by the integration of vertical plastic deformation perpendicularly to crack flank, is proposed
here to quantify the residual plastic field. The values of Dyp and PICC were obtained numerically in
a M(T) specimen using the finite element method. An excellent correlation was found between PICC and
Dyp which indicates that this parameter controls the phenomenon, and can be used to quantify the effect
of physical parameters. An empirical model was developed to predict PICC assuming that the residual
plastic field is a set of vertical plastic wedges, that the linear superposition principle applies and that
the influence of a particular wedge exponentially decreases with distance to crack tip. The model was
applied successfully to predict PICC for different residual plastic fields which provided an additional validation
of Dyp as the parameter controlling PICC.
The aim of this work was to develop computational intelligence models based on neural networks (NN), fuzzy models (FM), and support vector machines (SVM) to predict physicochemical composition of bee pollen mixture given their botanical origin. To obtain the predominant plant genus of pollen (was the output variable), based on physicochemical composition (were the input variables of the predictive model), prediction models were learned from data. For the inverse case study, input/output variables were swapped. The probabilistic NN prediction model obtained 98.4% of correct classification of the predominant plant genus of pollen. To obtain the secondary and tertiary plant genus of pollen, the results present a lower accuracy. To predict the physicochemical characteristic of a mixture of bee pollen, given their botanical origin, fuzzy models proven the best results with small prediction errors, and variability lower than 10%.
Forest fires and forest biodiversity are related issues of major concern in Mediterranean countries and require an integrated approach to landscape planning. The aim of this study was to develop a GIS approach for regulating forest production while promoting landscape diversity and mitigating fire hazard. A study area located in the centre of Portugal was chosen. The area was primarily occupied by maritime pine and had a high fire hazard, low tree species diversity and an extensive protection area. The classical area control method was used to assist in forest production regulation. Species suitability maps were produced for 21 recommended species for afforestation in the study area. Maritime pine management compartments were defined, and a 50-year harvesting plan was proposed. In each harvested compartment, protection areas were identified for species conversion (e.g., native oaks and/or broadleaves). Afforestation species were proposed according to the species suitability maps produced earlier. Low flammability species that produce high-quality wood, non-wood products and landscape enhancement were preferred. A comparison of the land cover in the study area in 2007 to that anticipated in 2064 via the proposed plan showed that a more fragmented landscape structure could be achieved by introducing 16 species of lower flammability than maritime pine into the study area. This study proved the usefulness of this methodological approach for guiding sustainable changes in homogeneous, unmanaged forest landscapes prone to fire. Further research is needed regarding integrated planning approaches that incorporate environmental, economic and social dimensions (e.g., human desertification of rural areas).
The main goal here is to optimise the finite element mesh used to predict plasticity induced crack closure (PICC). A numerical
model was developed for a M(T) specimen made of 6016-T4 aluminium alloy. The parameters studied were the size of most
refined region perpendicularly to crack flank (ym) and along propagation direction (xr), the size of finite elements near crack tip
(L1) and the vertical size of refinement close to crack flank (yA/B). A maximum size of about 1.3mm was found for ym, but a
smaller value has a limited impact on PICC. An analytical expression was proposed for xr, dependent on δK and Kmax. An
optimum value seems to exist for L1.
Compressive stresses play an important role on tension-compression fatigue which can be attributed to plasticity induced crack
closure (PICC). The objective here is to study numerically the effect of compressive stresses on PICC and to discuss the
applicability of PICC to explain the effect of negative stress ratios on fatigue crack growth rate. The compression produces
reversed plastic deformation at the crack tip, reducing linearly the crack opening level. The incursion to negative stress ratios
did not produce sudden changes in the behavior of PICC and no saturation with the decrease of minimum load was observed
for δKeff. Crack closure was able to collapse da/dN-δK curves with negative stress ratios, indicating the applicability of the
crack closure concept to explain the effect of negative R. The analysis of crack tip plastic strain range with and without contact
of crack flanks confirmed the validity of crack closure concept.
Crack closure concept has been widely used to explain different issues of fatigue crack propagation. However, some authors
have questioned the relevance of crack closure and have proposed alternative concepts. The main objective here is to check
the effectiveness of crack closure concept by linking the contact of crack flanks with non-linear crack tip parameters.
Accordingly, 3D-FE numerical models with and without contact were developed for a wide range of loading scenarios and the
crack tip parameters usually linked to fatigue crack growth, namely range of cyclic plastic strain, crack tip opening
displacement, size of reversed plastic zone and total plastic dissipation per cycle were investigated. It was demonstrated that:
(i) LEFM concepts are applicable to the problem under study; (ii) the crack closure phenomenon has a great influence on crack
tip parameters decreasing their values; (iii) the ΔKeff concept is able to explain the variations of crack tip parameters produced
by the contact of crack flanks; and (iv) the analysis of remote compliance is the best numerical parameter to quantify the crack
opening level. Therefore the crack closure concept seems to be valid. Additionally, the curves of crack tip parameters against
stress intensity factor range obtained without contact may be seen as master curves.
Order release is a key component of Workload Control - a production planning and control system that aims at balancing workloads across workstations, while ensuring the timely release of jobs (or orders) to the shop floor in order to meet due dates. Several release methods have been proposed and evaluated in the WLC literature. A major criterion to distinguish between release methods is whether they take the release decision at periodic time intervals or continuously. This paper aims at improving WLC order release by incorporating a starvation avoidance trigger into continuous release. Using simulation, we demonstrate that significant performance improvements in terms of mean tardiness and standard deviation of lateness can be obtained. These results are expected to have important implications for industrial practice and for future research on WLC.
Industrial and agricultural activities heavily constrain soil quality. Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) are a threat to public health and the environment alike. In this regard, the identification of areas that require remediation is crucial. In the herein research a geochemical dataset (230 samples) comprising 14 elements (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ag, Ni, Mn, Fe, As, Cd, V, Cr, Ti, Al and S) was gathered throughout eight different zones distinguished by their main activity, namely, recreational, agriculture/livestock and heavy industry in the Avilés Estuary (North of Spain). Then a stratified systematic sampling method was used at short, medium, and long distances from each zone to obtain a representative picture of the total variability of the selected attributes. The information was then combined in four risk classes (Low, Moderate, High, Remediation) following reference values from several sediment quality guidelines (SQGs). A Bayesian analysis, inferred for each zone, allowed the characterization of PTEs correlations, the unsupervised learning network technique proving to be the best fit. Based on the Bayesian network structure obtained, Pb, As and Mn were selected as key contamination parameters. For these 3 elements, the conditional probability obtained was allocated to each observed point, and a simple, direct index (Bayesian Risk Index-BRI) was constructed as a linear rating of the pre-defined risk classes weighted by the previously obtained probability. Finally, the BRI underwent geostatistical modeling. One hundred Sequential Gaussian Simulations (SGS) were computed. The Mean Image and the Standard Deviation maps were obtained, allowing the definition of High/Low risk clusters (Local G clustering) and the computation of spatial uncertainty. High-risk clusters are mainly distributed within the area with the highest altitude (agriculture/livestock) showing an associated low spatial uncertainty, clearly indicating the need for remediation. Atmospheric emissions, mainly derived from the metallurgical industry, contribute to soil contamination by PTEs.
Natural ventilation as a part of a buildinǵs function that has a strong effect on human comfort. The reduction of natural ventilation and infiltration, as a part of the ventilation system in the old existing buildings, due to intervention actions, have been causing a reduction in indoor air quality and an increment of relative humidity levels in the indoor environment.
Providing optimal indoor condition is not only related to the renewal of the air but also with its distribution. Hence airflow patterns in historical buildings influence interior comfort conditions. The aim of this work is to assess the effectiveness of the existing natural ventilation system in the old and historical buildings by different natural ventilation strategies.
To achieve the proposed objective, the research was developed resorting to in-situ measurements and simulation methods The simulation was performed with the Design-Builder software and the main goal was answering to the following question:
- What are the existing conditions of the building in concern of the airflow circulation and distribution?
The in-situ measurements were performed using Blower Door Test method in order to determine the existing building airtightness. Based on the obtained results for each building the intention is answering the following question:
- Due to the limitation of the historical urban areas, which natural ventilation strategy is more effective?
The results of this research can be interesting for architects, engineers, and people, who are working on intervention and renovation of old existing buildings.
POLCA (i.e. Paired-cell Overlapping Loops of Cards with Authorization) is a card-based production control approach developed to support the adoption of Quick Response Manufacturing. The approach has received significant research attention but has remained largely unchanged since its introduction in the late 1990s. The main improvements have occurred in the context of an electronic POLCA system, but such developments undermine the simplicity of the original card-based concept. We ask: is there any refinement possible to enhance the performance of POLCA without jeopardizing its simplicity? By analyzing POLCA, two possible refinements are identified: (i) the choice of rule to support both the card allocation and dispatching decisions; and (ii) the use of a starvation avoidance mechanism to overcome premature station idleness, as reported in the context of load limiting order release. Using simulation, we demonstrate that performance gains can be obtained by using different rules for card allocation and dispatching other than the earliest release date rule typically applied in POLCA for both decisions. Further, results demonstrate performance improvements for all combinations of card allocation and dispatching rules considered via the addition of a simple starvation avoidance mechanism. Both refinements significantly enhance POLCA performance, potentially furthering its application in practice.
It is currently recognized that the residential building sector is one of the largest energy consumers in the world. The energy crisis of the 1970s was important for drawing attention to the subject of energy consumption and the necessity to save energy. The airtightness of buildings is an important factor affecting a building’s energy consumption and also energy-saving potential. On the other hand, the ventilation rate has also a significant effect on indoor air quality and is assumed to be an essential criterion of a building’s performance. However, most of the existing research in this area has been developed in cold climates and there is a research gap with regard to countries in warmer climates such as those close to the Mediterranean Sea. Therefore, this research aimed to study the airtightness and ventilation rate of existing buildings by employing in-situ measurements.
In-situ measurements were achieved using the fan pressurization test (Blower Door Test) method.
According to the selected case studies, the results of the measurements indicate a correlation between building typology, airtightness, and ventilation rate.
Building airtightness assumes an important role in the energy saving and the indoor thermal comfort. Ventilation rates bring significant impacts on energy usage in the constructions and indoor contaminant concentrations and also setting them as the key parameters in building performance. Ventilation rate have been measured in building for a long time, and there are some developed measurement methodologies related to it in the research domains. However, most of the investigations in recent years have been done usually in the cold climate conditions, while Mediterranean construction are not deeply investigated in the literature. In this paper, the authors present the obtained results of an experimental research which is carried out on the Portuguese residential buildings. The investigation is done by fan pressurization methods, also known as “Blower Door Test (BDT)” as the measurement method as well as Design Builder (DB) as the simulation software. The airtightness measurement of the existing buildings and the influence of air leakage on energy consumption and indoor comfort in different Portuguese construction typologies are focused on the aim of the research. The important parameters of the building such as whole-building air change rates, building infiltration rates, and ventilation effectiveness rate in the residential building are also considered in this research.
The odorants compounds of aged wine brandies comprise compounds deriving from the wood, from the distillate and from the reactions that occur inside the barrel. The aim of this work was to study the kinetics of the odorant compounds of a wine brandy during two years of ageing in two ageing systems. The odorant compounds in the analysed brandies changed significantly over the time, but with different evolution patterns. The wood related compounds increased over time, with the highest increase in the first months of ageing. The kinetics of cis, trans-β-methyl-γ-octalactone, acetovanillone and of seven volatile phenols are established for the first time in brandies. Moreover, a significant effect of the ageing system was found on the kinetics of the wood related compounds. These results pointed out the interest of these compounds as a tool to discriminate different ageing technologies.
The Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopic method with attenuated total reflectance (ATR) was used for predicting the alcoholic strength, the methanol, acetaldehyde and fusel alcohols content of grape-derived spirits. FTIR-ATR spectrum in the mid-IR region (4000-400 cm(-1)) was used for the quantitative estimation by applying partial least square (PLS) regression models and the results were correlated with those obtained from reference methods. In the developed method, a cross-validation with 50% of the samples was used for PLS analysis along with a validation test set with 50% of the remaining samples. Good correlation models with a great accuracy were obtained for methanol (r(2)=99.4; RPD=12.8), alcoholic strength (r(2)=97.2; RPD=6.0), acetaldehyde (r(2)=98.2; RPD=7.5) and fusel alcohols (r(2) from 97.4 to 94.1; RPD from 6.2 to 4.1). These results corroborate the hypothesis that FTIR-ATR is a useful technique for the quality control of grape-derived spirits, whose practical application may improve the efficiency and quickness of the current laboratory analysis.
In this study, the accuracy of mathematical techniques such as multiple linear regression, clustering, decision trees (CART) and neural networks was evaluated to predict Young’s modulus, compressive stress at 30% strain and instantaneous recovery velocity of cork. Physical properties, namely test direction, density, porosity and pore number, as well as test direction were used as input. The better model was achieved when a classification problem was performed. Only compressive stress at 30% strain can be predicted with neural networks with an error rate of about 20%. The prediction of Young’s modulus and instantaneous recovery velocity led to unacceptably high error rates due to the heterogeneity of the material.
A Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic method with attenuated total reflectance (FTIR-ATR) and partial least squares (PLS) regression model for the prediction of sugar content in honey samples was calculated. Standards of trehalose, glucose, fructose, sucrose, melezitose, turanose and maltose were used to identify and quantify the individual sugar components in 63 honey samples by HPAEC-IPAD. Fructose and glucose are the highest sugars in honey with an average value of 36% and 26%, respectively. The 1stDer spectra with MSC or SLS in the wave number range from 1500 to 750cm(-1) provide the best calibration model with a r(2) of 86.60 and 86.01 with RPD of 2.6 and 2.55, respectively for fructose and glucose. For turanose and melezitose good models were also found. The FTIR-ATR showed to be a good methodology to quantify the main sugar content in honey and easily adapted to routine analysis.
The aim of this work is develop a tool based on neural networks to predict the botanical origin of honeys using physical and chemical parameters. The managed database consists of 49 honey samples of 2 different classes: monofloral (almond, holm oak, sweet chestnut, eucalyptus, orange, rosemary, lavender, strawberry trees, thyme, heather, sunflower) and multifloral. The moisture content, electrical conductivity, water activity, ashes content, pH, free acidity, colorimetric coordinates in CIELAB space (L(∗), a(∗), b(∗)) and total phenols content of the honey samples were evaluated. Those properties were considered as input variables of the predictive model. The neural network is optimised through several tests with different numbers of neurons in the hidden layer and also with different input variables. The reduced error rates (5%) allow us to conclude that the botanical origin of honey can be reliably and quickly known from the colorimetric information and the electrical conductivity of honey.
We examined commercial growth curves of three sheep genotypes in a Second-Grade cooperative context, with Spanish Merino used as a maternal base, Fleischschaf as a paternal base, and crossbred (Fleischschaf × Merino) lambs as the commercial product. We included weight-age data collected from 2013 to 2016 for 9846 lambs of both sexes belonging to 14 herds across the three genotypes. Five of the most-cited models (Brody, von Bertalanffy, Verhulst, Logistic, and Gompertz) were applied to the data, using the determinative coefficient, mean square error, number of iterations, Akaike information coefficient, and the biological coherence of the estimated parameters as best-fitting criteria. The dataset included lamb weights at different ages and sexes, grouped across nine age levels, for a total of 23,299 wt records. Models were fitted according to non-linear regression. The von Bertalanffy model was found to best fit lambs of both sexes for the Spanish Merino breed, whereas the Verhulst model best fit Fleischschaf and crossbred lambs. Parameters of the best-fit curve and derived parameters (inflection age and weight, asymptotic value, growth rate, maturity degree) were estimated for all sex-genetic groups to examine capacities for use as complementary selection criteria in the breeding program, resulting in promising traits for this purpose. Our findings demonstrate that current crossbreeding strategies implemented at the OVISO cooperative, which seek complementarities and/or heterosis, are not achieving the expected results; therefore, we recommend a new strategy for the breeding program. We also found that artificially conceived Spanish Merino lambs exhibited better performance than those conceived naturally, likely due to superior genetics of carefully selected sires.
It is essential that the society understands the importance of sustainable development, its implication for the existing living standards and the need to implement management policies that promote sustainability. Rehabilitation assumes a fundamental role in this process; however, we are faced with the lack of specific, adequate and simplified tools for the sustainability assessment in rehabilitation actions.
In this paper, the analysis of different sustainability assessment systems was conducted, comparing them in order to identify the adjustments to be made to a Portuguese model taken under consideration. Subsequently, the model was cross-checked with current European and national urban rehabilitation and regeneration policies, analysing their contribution to sustainability, in order to define the assessment criteria and create a Simplified Method for the Sustainability Assessment for rehabilitation in old urban centres, which can be a useful tool, easy to use by all actors in the process and as a way of preserving the history of this areas, and the memory of those who inhabit them. This Method considers five major areas: Water, Energy, Materials, Emissions and Cultural, Economic and Social Environments. For each of these criteria, measurement indicators and levels of assessment were settled, adjusted to the context of old urban centres.
This study aimed to evaluate the potential of FT-Raman spectroscopy in the prediction of the chemical composition of Lavandula spp. monofloral honey. Partial Least Squares (PLS) regression models were performed for the quantitative estimation and the results were correlated with those obtained using reference methods. Good calibration models were obtained for electrical conductivity, ash, total acidity, pH, reducing sugars, hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), proline, diastase index, apparent sucrose, total flavonoids content and total phenol content. On the other hand, the model was less accurate for pH determination. The calibration models had high r2 (ranging between 92.8% and 99.9%), high residual prediction deviation - RPD (ranging between 4.2 and 26.8) and low root mean square errors. These results confirm the hypothesis that FT-Raman is a useful technique for the quality control and chemical properties' evaluation of Lavandula spp honey. Its application may allow improving the efficiency, speed and cost of the current laboratory analysis.
When considering complex scenarios involving several attributes, such as in environmental characterization, a
clearer picture of reality can be achieved through the dimensional reduction of data.
In this context, maps facilitate the visualization of spatial patterns of contaminant distribution and the identification
of enriched areas. A set, of 15 Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) – (As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg,Mo, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se,
Tl, V, and Zn), was measured in soil, collected in Langreo's municipality (80 km2), Spain.
Relative enrichment (RE) is introduced here to refer to the proportion of elements present in a given context. Indeed,
a novel approach is provided for research into PTE fate. This method involves studying the variability of PTE
proportions throughout the study area, thereby allowing the identification of dissemination trends.
Traditional geostatistical approaches commonly use raw data (concentrations) accepting that the elements analyzedmake
up the entirety of the soil. However, in geochemical studies the analyzed elements are just a fraction
of the total soil composition. Therefore, considering compositional data is pivotal. The spatial characterization of
PTEs considering raw and compositional data together allowed a broad discussion about, not only the PTEs
concentration's distribution but also to reckon possible trends of relative enrichment (RE).
Transformations to open closed data are widely used for this purpose. Spatial patterns have an indubitable interest.
In this study, the Centered Log-ratio transformation (clr) was used, followed by its back-transformation, to
build a set of compositional data that, combined with raw data, allowed to establish the sources of the PTEs
and trends of spatial dissemination.
OBJECTIVES:
To evaluate the effect of manual lymphatic drainage (MLD) on venous flow when applied to the medial and lateral aspects of the thigh and leg in patients with chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) and healthy subjects.
DESIGN:
Cross-sectional study.
SETTING:
Participants were assessed in a school-based health community attendant service.
PARTICIPANTS:
Fifty-seven subjects participated in this study {mean age: 43 [standard deviation (SD) 14] years, 38 women and 19 men}. Of these, 28 subjects had CVI [mean age 47 (SD 12) years] and 29 subjects did not have CVI [mean age 39 (14) years].
INTERVENTION:
MLD was applied by a certificated physical therapist to the medial and lateral aspects of the thigh and leg.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS:
Cross-sectional area; blood flow velocities in the femoral vein, great saphenous vein, popliteal vein and small saphenous vein at baseline and during MLD, measured by duplex ultrasound.
RESULTS:
Flow volume in the femoral vein increased from baseline [5.19 (SD 3.25)cm3/second] when MLD was applied to the medial [7.03 (SD 3.65)cm3/second; P≤0.001; mean difference -1.69; 95% confidence interval (CI) -2.42 to -0.97] and lateral [6.16 (SD 3.35)cm3/second; P≤0.001; mean difference -1.04; 95% CI -1.70 to -0.39] aspects of the thigh. Venous flow augmentation in the femoral vein and great saphenous vein was higher when MLD was applied to the medial aspect of the thigh (P<0.001), while MLD had a similar effect on venous blood flow regardless of whether it was applied to the medial or the lateral aspect of the leg (P=0.731).
CONCLUSIONS:
MLD increases blood flow in deep and superficial veins. MLD should be applied along the route of the venous vessels for improved venous return.
The objectives of this study were to describe growth curve of Raeini Cashmere goat applying the Gompertz growth model and genetic evaluation of growth curve-related traits including model parameters of A, B and K, inflection age (IA) and inflection weight (IW) under animal model. The data used in this study, collected in Raeini Cashmere goat breeding station from 1997 to 2009 and were included 12,831 body weights records measured at birth, weaning, 6-months of age, 9-month of age and yearling of age. The Pearson’s correlation coefficient between observed and predicted body weights was 0.98, which means that Gompertz model adequately described the growth curve in Raeini Cashmere goat. The estimated value for growth curve parameters of A, B and K were 17.97, 1.97 and 0.017, respectively. The weight and age at point of inflection were 6.63 kg and 52.94 days, respectively. Direct heritability estimates for A, B, K, IA and IW were low values of 0.14, 0.10, 0.03, 0.14 and 0.14, respectively. Low estimated values for direct heritability of the studied growth curve traits in Raeini Cashmere goat indicated that direct selection for these traits may not be useful in terms of achieving genetic change. Direct genetic correlations ranged from −0.76 (K-IW) to 0.98 (A-IW). Phenotypic correlation estimates were generally lower than the direct genetic ones and ranged from −0.30 (K-IW) to 0.69 (A-B and B-IA). IA and IW had high positive phenotypic (0.86) and genetic (0.99) correlations, implying IA and IW were highly correlated in terms of phenotypic and genetic effects. The studied growth curve parameters of Raeini Cashmere goat have shown low levels of additive genetic variation.
Eucalyptus and maritime pine forests provide most of the wood harvested in Portugal. Due mainly to forest fires maritime pine forest has been converted to eucalyptus plantations. In the central inland of Portugal these species are well represented, and their productivities are quite the same. The objectives of the study were: (1) to assess average wood volume, biomass production and carbon content of eucalyptus plantations and naturally regenerated maritime pine stands; (2) to evaluate biomass nutrients concentration of eucalyptus sprouts selection and maritime pine non-commercial thinning; (3) to analyse these forests cover change in relation to the annual burnt areas; and (4) to produce the species ecological envelope maps to foresee future environmental impacts of these forests current distribution. Simulation models were used to assess wood volume, biomass production and carbon content. Field data was collected to evaluate biomass nutrients concentration and to validated simulated data. Forest inventory data and forest cover maps were used to analyse forest cover change. Biogeographical variables were used to produce species ecological envelope maps. It was found that eucalyptus plantations provide higher mean annual wood volume, biomass production and carbon content. Biomass nutrients concentration in eucalyptus sprouts selection were higher than in maritime pine non-commercial thinning, particularly in calcium and potassium. Overall eucalyptus forests area did not increase substantially but the fires in maritime pine forests gave the opportunity for eucalyptus afforestation. That has precluded the opportunity for introducing native broadleaves to respond to climate changes, improve landscape biodiversity and mitigate fire hazard. Implementing good management practices to prevent losses of soil fertility by nutrients exhaustion, organic matter depletion or erosion were found more relevant in eucalyptus plantations than in naturally maritime pine forest. Species ecological envelope maps and production simulation models are key tools for supporting decision in afforestation planning.
When urban waste is not separately collected its phosphorus content cannot be recovered. The production of phosphorus-based fertilisers from urban waste could generate phosphorus added-value products, reduce environmental impacts from waste disposal and lower the consumption of virgin raw materials in the fertiliser industry. The main objective of this work was to evaluate the short-term agronomic value of a phosphorus fertiliser, which has the same chemical composition and mineralogical structure as struvite, but is artificially produced using phosphorus recovered from the anaerobically digested organic fraction of municipal solid waste (herein referred to as “secondary struvite”). To evaluate the release of phosphorus forms over time a 30 d incubation experiment was performed. Then the cultivation of rye (Secale cereale L.) was done in pot scale during 45 d to assess the phosphorus phytoavailability and the agronomic potential of secondary struvite, when compared with the commercial mineral fertiliser, single superphosphate. This work contributes to fill a knowledge gap about the effects of this secondary struvite as a source of phosphorus on soil phosphorus forms as well as on phosphorus’ soil and plant availability.
At the end of the incubation experiment, a similar distribution of phosphorus forms in soil for both secondary struvite and single superphosphate was observed; however, the soil Olsen phosphorus was significantly higher in the soils fertilised using secondary struvite than in those fertilised by single superphosphate, which indicates that secondary struvite provided a higher amount of immediately phytoavailable phosphorus.
The shoot biomass production (1.7 g dry-matter kg−1 soil) and the agronomic efficiency (66 g dry-matter g−1 phosphorus) were similar for both fertilisers. But the crop's phosphorus uptake and the apparent phosphorus recovery were higher (5.9 mg phosphorus kg−1 soil and 45%) in the secondary struvite treatment than in the single superphosphate treatment (4.7 mg phosphorus kg−1 soil and 36%). The results suggest that the secondary struvite can be used as a phosphorus fertiliser and lower rates of the secondary struvite are required to achieve the same agronomic efficiency as the single superphosphate.
nEl objetivo principal de este estudio es analizar la predicción que los procesos motivacionales tienen enla adopción de hábitos de estilos de vida que realzan la salud en adolescentes, en las clases de EducaciónFísica. La muestra se compone por 214 estudiantes de Ense ̃nanza Secundaria en Portugal, entre los 15y 19 a ̃nos (M = 16.46, DT = .96), de ambos sexos (104 chicos y 110 chicas). Se administran los siguientescuestionarios: Escala del Locus Percibido de Causalidad en Educación Física, Escala de medición de lasnecesidades psicológicas básicas, el Cuestionario de Estilos de Vida Saludables y la Escala de Medida de laIntencionalidad para ser Físicamente Activo. Se utiliza un análisis de ecuaciones estructurales, y se mues-tra que la satisfacción de las necesidades psicológicas básicas predice la motivación intrínseca, y esta a suvez predice las variables relacionadas con los estilos de vida que realzan la salud, ambas predicciones deforma positiva y significativa. Se destaca la relevancia de desarrollar la motivación más autodeterminadaa través de la satisfacción de las necesidades psicológicas básicas en las clases de Educación Física parafomentar estilos de vida saludables en el alumnado.
Production control in make-to-order must address the companies’ need for short delivery times and on-time deliveries. Several production control systems may be used to meet these needs. This paper presents a simulation study to evaluate the delivery performance of the TKS, GKS and POLCA production control systems, in the context of a make-to-order flexible flow shop. Since TKS is used for make-to-stock manufacturing, an adaptation of it is made to use in make-to-order. Results of a simulation study show that the adapted TKS outperforms POLCA, but performs worse than GKS. The study is a contribution for the alignment of production control theory to the industrial practice.
This work assesses the possibility of energy optimisation during the electrodialytic extraction of phosphorus
from the municipal solid waste digestate. Strategies tested for energy optimisation consisted in (i) using a dualstage extraction approach; (ii) replacement of continuous stirring by pulse stirring and; (iii) utilisation of pulse electric current as an alternative to a constant current. Experiments were carried out using different stirring profiles (continuous stirring, pulsed stirring, manual stirring and no stirring) and different profiles for generating the electric field (continuous current and pulsed current). Dual-stage approach decreased the energy consumption by 30%. Energy was mainly used in the stirring operation (80%). Applying this strategy caused a faster acidification of the waste suspension and reduced the time required for the extraction. As for the second strategy, use of pulse stirring, it is possible to save energy by operating the stirrer 25% of the time, without compromising the phosphorus extraction values, which are close to 90%. Corresponding energy savings reached 70%. The third strategy tested, use of pulse current, had as side-effect a significant decrease of the phosphorus extracted, so the implementation of pulse current is not recommended. Overall, the energy efficiency of the electrodialytic extraction of phosphorus can be improved by 80% through the use of the dual-stage approach and the use of stirring for 25% of the time. There is also a potential in further reducing the energy use by further improving the stirring system.
Improving the thermal performance of the historic building stock has the potential to revitalise these buildings
and reduce the operational energy share. To achieve that, the first requirement should be to identify and clearly
characterise the building stock. However, currently, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the thermal behaviour of traditional wall solutions, and, consequently, energy auditors often use assumptions and simplifications to predict it. Wrong estimations or excessive simplifications may have a severe impact on the thermal behaviour assessment and consequently on the effectiveness of the retrofitting measures. In the scope of buildings thermal comfort and energy efficiency, the thermal resistance of both the external and internal envelope is one of the most relevant parameters for the characterisation of building elements. This work investigates the in situ thermal resistance of a traditional wall solution (“tabique” wall) of a historic building located in the north region of Portugal. The Simple Hot Box - Heat Flow Meter Method (SHB-HFM), based on the procedure described in the standard ISO 9869, is considered in the present study and its applicability to heterogeneous traditional wall solutions is discussed. The importance of controlling the radiative part of the heat transfer onto the measuring sensors is highlighted, and new development to the method is proposed in this paper via the introduction of a baffle inside the SHB. Furthermore, a finite element computer model of the case study was developed in order to ensure that some important premises allowing improving the accuracy of the final results were achieved during the measurement period as well as to enhance the robustness of the obtained conclusions. The achieved results contribute to explore the applicability of the SHB-HFM to highly heterogeneous constructive solutions present in historic buildings, where the traditional HFM method may not be applicable. In addition, this research also aims to better understand the thermal behaviour of “tabique” walls, upon which the available information is scarce. The experimental measurements and numerical simulation results present a good agreement, and an R-value of 0.56 m2 °C W−1 is measured and computed.
The distribution patterns of trace elements are very useful for predicting mineral
deposits occurrence. Machine learning techniques were used for the computation of
adequate models in trace elements’ prediction.
The main subject of this research is the definition of an adequate model to predict the
amounts of Sn and W in the abandoned mine area of Lardosa (Central Portugal). Stream
sediment samples (333) were collected within the study area and their geochemical
composition - As, B, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, P, Sn, U, V, W, Y, and Zn - used as
input attributes. Different machine learning techniques were tested: Decision Trees
(CART), Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) and Support Vector Machines (SVM).
For regression and clustering, CART, MLP approaches were tested and for the
classification, problem SVM was used. These algorithms used six different inputs – N1
to N6 – aiming to pick out the best-performing model.The results show that CART is the optimized predictor for Sn and W. Concerning the
regression approach, correlation coefficients of 0.67 for Sn (with Input N1) and 0.70 for
W (with Input N3) were obtained. Regarding the classification problem, an error rate of
0.10 was reached for both Sn (Input N1) and W (Input N2).
The classification process is the best methodology to predict Sn and W, using as
input the trace element concentrations in the collected stream sediment samples,
Lardosa area, Portugal.
The impact of mining activities on the environment is vast. In this regard, many mines were operating well before the introduction of environmental law. This is particularly true of cinnabar mines, whose activity has declined for decades due to growing public concern regarding Hg high toxicity. Here we present the exemplary case study of an abandoned Hg mine located in the Somiedo Natural Reserve (Spain). Until its closure in the 1970s, this mine operated under no environmental regulations, its tailings dumped in two spoil heaps, one of them located uphill and the other in the surroundings of the village of Caunedo. This study attempts to outline the degree to which soil and other environmental compartments have been affected by the two heaps. To this end, we used a novel combination of multivariate statistical, geostatistical and machine-learning The techniques used included principal component and clustering analysis, Bayesian networks, indicator kriging, and sequential Gaussian simulations. Our results revealed high concentrations of Hg and, secondarily, As in soil but not in water or sediments. The innovative methodology abovementioned allowed us to identify natural and anthropogenic associations between 25 elements and to conclude that soil pollution was attributable mainly to natural weathering of the uphill heap. Moreover, the probability of surpassing the threshold limits and the local backgrounds was found to 31 be high in a large extension of the area. The methodology used herein demonstrated to be effective for addressing complex pollution scenarios and therefore they are applicable to similar cases.
This paper presents the results of an experimental research on the assessment of the residual mechanical properties of calcareous and granite aggregate concretes after fire. The influence of the following parameters was tested: the loading level (0.3 and 0.7fcd); the cooling process (cooling in the air and by water jet) and the
maximum temperature that the concrete was subjected to (20, 300, 500 and 700 °C). The mechanical properties studied were the residual compression, direct and splitting tensile and flexural strengths, modulus of elasticity and Poisson's ratio. The results showed in general that the higher the temperature and faster the cooling process
is, as the one by water jet, the higher the negative impact on the residual mechanical properties of the concrete is, being the strength nearly null for above 600 °C.
Surface water is exposed to contaminants which change the natural hydrological parameters and consequent
contaminant dispersion. Water self-depuration is an ecological process aiming to restore the natural watercourse balance, which depends on the quality and quantity of topical and diffuse contributions. The main goal of this research is the evaluation of surface water quality in the Águeda River (Portugal-Spain transboundary watershed) and its self-depuration ability considering different predicted scenarios. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), dissolved oxygen (DO), dry residue, Ptotal, Ntotal, pH, temperature and microbiological parameters were analyzed, in thirty-six surface water samples. Simulation of different quality scenarios was undertaken using Qual2Kw software and the river's self-depuration ability discussed. The obtained model's calibration achieved a score of 95% confidence interval, for almost analyzed parameters. The calibrated model was used for two prediction scenario construction. The first one, intending to assess the influence of topical contaminated discharge and the second one, aiming to evaluate the influence of minimum flow rates, representing an extremely dry year. The two considered scenarios revealed that self-depuration capacity is more affected by the presence of minimum flow rates than topical discharges, attesting a large potential for self-depuration along the Águeda River.
Pollution from mining activities is a significant problem in various regions of the Republic of Macedonia. A geochemical survey of the surface deposits of Lake Kalimanci in the easterly region of the Republic of Macedonia was carried out before (2001) and later (2007) the dam failure and thus allowing the measurement of the tailings’ material from Sasa Pb-Zn Mine-Osogovo Mountains (Eastern Macedonia). The concentrations of potentially toxic elements (PTE): Ag, Au, Cd, Co, Cu, Pb, Sb, Th, S, U and Zn were obtained by ICP Mass Spectrometry (ACME Laboratories in Vancouver, Canada). Data analysis, through Principal Component Analysis (PCA), was performed in order reduce the space of analyses by the construction of synthesis variables (Principal Factors). Geostatistical modeling was used, throughout conventional variography and the Sequential Gaussian Simulation algorithm (SGS), to model the new factors' spatial distribution. A hundred simulations, differing in their initial random-number seed, were performed and a Mean Image (MI) obtained. Spatial uncertainty evaluation (simulation’s Standard Deviation) allowed the definition of future monitoring and sampling strategies as well as the measurement of remediation possibilities.
The impact of mining activities on the environment is vast. In this regard, many mines were operating well before the introduction of environmental law. This is particularly true of cinnabar mines, whose activity has declined for decades due to growing public concern regarding Hg high toxicity. Here we present the exemplary case study of an abandoned Hg mine located in the Somiedo Natural Reserve (Spain). Until its closure in the 1970s, this mine operated under no environmental regulations, its tailings dumped in two spoil heaps, one of them located uphill and the other in the surroundings of the village of Caunedo. This study attempts to outline the degree to which soil and other environmental compartments have been affected by the two heaps. To this end, we used a novel combination of multivariate statistical, geostatistical and machine-learning methodologies. The techniques used included principal component and clustering analysis, Bayesian networks, indicator kriging, and sequential Gaussian simulations. Our results revealed high concentrations of Hg and, secondarily, As in soil but not in water or sediments. The innovative methodology abovementioned allowed us to identify natural and anthropogenic associations between 25 elements and to conclude that soil pollution was attributable mainly to natural weathering of the uphill heap. Moreover, the probability of surpassing the threshold limits and the local backgrounds was found to be high in a large extension of the area. The methodology used herein demonstrated to be effective for addressing complex pollution scenarios and therefore they are applicable to similar cases.
Lot splitting is an important approach for shops that compete on short delivery times. Similarly, such shops can benefit from load-limiting order release mechanisms that balance workloads and regulate throughput times. Yet few studies have examined the combined effect of lot splitting and load-limiting order release. We use simulation to assess the combined effect of lot splitting and Paired-cell Overlapping Loops of Cards with Authorization (POLCA), an important load-limiting order release mechanism in the context of time-based competition. The experimental design includes different lot sizes, lot transfer policies, and POLCA quanta, i.e. the limit on the size of jobs represented by a single POLCA card. Lot splitting improves performance if lots can proceed independently as this ensures the quick replenishment of queues at downstream stations. However, we find that enforcing the synchronization of all lots that make up a job at every routing step leads to a deterioration in performance. This extends previous research, which appears to have overemphasized the positive effects of lot splitting. Meanwhile, although POLCA cards were originally used to represent lots, we demonstrate that using cards to represent a certain amount of workload can improve percentage tardy performance. This may also have resonance with other card-based solutions, including kanban.
A probabilistic Structural Equation Model (SEM) based on a Bayesian network construction is introduced to perform effective safety assessments for technicians and managers working on-site. Using novel AI software, the introduced methodology aims to show how to
deal with complex scenarios in blasting operations, where typologically different variables are involved. Sequential Bayesian networks, learned from the data, were developed while variables were grouped into different clusters, representing related risks. From each cluster, a latent variable is induced giving rise to a final Bayesian network where cause and effect relationships maximize the prediction of the accident type. This hierarchical structure allows to evaluate different operational strategies, as well as analyze using information theory the weight of the different risk groups. The results obtained unveil hidden patterns in the occurrence of accidents due to flyrock phenomena regarding the explosive employed or the work characteristics. The integration of latent class clustering in the process proves to be an effective safeguard to categorize the variable of interest outside of personal cognitive biases. Finally, the model design and the software applied to show a flexible workflow, where workers at different corporate levels can feel engaged to try their beliefs to design safety interventions.
Workers around the world spend nearly a quarter of their time at work Occupational health is gaining great importance due to the profound impact on people long term health. The health status of the primary sector workforce is a great unknown for medical geography where health maps and spatial patterns have not been able to explain years of changing disease rates. This article proposes a new approach based on a solid characterization of the health status, which is the target node of an information theory-based Bayesian network machine-learnt from 13,000 medical examinations undertook to rural workers in Spain between 2012 and 2016. From the main health risks identified, a supervised binary logistic regression is used to produce a classification of adverse medical conditions giving rise to not healthy workers. Finally, Area-to-Point Poisson kriging is computed to provide a spatial analysis representing the incidence rate and spatial patterns of the main adverse medical conditions over the Spanish territory. The study illustrates how to overcome the challenges of working with discrete occupational data. Conceptually, high cholesterol and high glucose can be pinpointed with accuracy as the two main health risks for the working population in the primary sector.
Manual operations in manufacturing companies are still a common practice. This often results in high costs, high cycle times and therefore in lower productivity, particularly for companies operating in western countries. This is why many manufacturing companies relocated their production facilities in low age countries. This study was developed at a leading Portuguese material construction manufacturing company. The objective was to improve the packaging and labeling processes, that were identified as main bottlenecks in the factory. Lean was used to streamline these processes before being automated. This allowed for annual savings of 12432 €, with human operators being reallocated to other departments where they are more useful. Furthermore, cycle times were reduced by 42,9%, non-value-added activities were minimized, and operations with potentially high ergonomic risks were eliminated. In addition, a reduction of 84,3% in lithographed packaging was achieved, with a cost reduction of around 36 000 €/year, which is expected to continue in the forthcoming years.
This project was carried out at a company in the electric mobility sector, which manufactures chargers for electric vehicles, specifically in the wiring section. The main objective of the developed work was to improve the production processes in order to enhance responsiveness to the growing demand. After analyzing the processes in the section, the objectives were outlined to enable the improvement of some practices in the production department, such as the ones related to the organization of the raw material supermarket, as well as the calculation of the wiring consumption by chargers, and the implementation of a production control system. After the improvement actions were implemented, it was possible to observe a 14,9% reduction in the changeover process of the cable cutting process; weekly wiring consumptions were estimated, and procedures were defined to generate orders of raw material and supply to the workstation, which led to the elimination of stock shortages. In addition, worker autonomy increased and production downtime was reduced.
A survey was made in 1995–1996 for Listeria spp. in 63 soft cheeses, made from raw ewe’s milk using traditional methods, in the
Province of Beira Baixa (Portugal). Listeria spp. were isolated from 47 (75%) of the cheeses, L.monocytogenes was isolated from 29
(46%), and L.innocua but not L.monocytogenes from 18 (29%). Of 24 isolates of L.monocytogenes that were serotyped, 20 were
serotype 4b, three were serotype 1/2b and one was serotype 1/2a. Phage typing of isolates of L.monocytogenes and L.innocua showed
that in some cases a particular phage type was associated with cheese from a particular source. Twenty four strains of
L.monocytogenes tested were able to grow at 30 Cin culture medium adjusted with HCl to a pH in the range from 4.4 to 6.0 within 3
days; in the pH range 4.4–6.8 a representative strain grew most rapidly at pH 6.8. The pH range in the cheeses during maturation
was between about 5.2–6.4. Whether L.monocytogenes could multiply in the cheeses would depend on factors such as concentration
of organic acids and of salt, and storage temperature.
Each country has its spatial planning system, which comprises several instruments and objectives focused on city
issues and territorial development. On June 25, 1975, the independence of Mozambique was proclaimed,
following the end of the colonial war with the military coup of April 25 in Portugal and the Lusaka agreements on
September 7, 1974. Consequently, a new framework establishes the bases of public policies for this country,
whose main objective is to fulfill territorial quality concerning the collective culture that integrates the local
cultural values. Mozambique was an administrative part of Portugal until 1975. There is still a substantial
identity between the two countries, sharing the same language and politics, cultural aspects, and administrative
organization. In this sense, the present study aims to present a comparative analysis between Mozambique and
Portugal's spatial planning systems, seeking to find common characteristics. In conclusion, this research shows
similarities based on spatial land use in Mozambique and Portugal. However, there is a clear contrast between
land ownership and access. The level of implementation at a diverse level is notorious. We highlight the example
of Beira which has a comprehensive plan based on sustainable development and climate-change-resilient mitigation
proposals.
The rainfall intercepted by an isolated olive tree was measured in a traditional olive-grove/ pasture system with a sparse canopy cover. Results from a two-year period of observations are presented. The data are then used to test models of the interception process in this type of agricultural system. Modelling was performed at the single tree level using the sparse-forest version of the Gash analytical model combined with two other methodologies: the wet bulb approach, to estimate the evaporation rate from the wet canopies of individual olive trees, and a newly developed procedure to estimate the canopy structure parameters. Good model performance was achieved at the storm level with model simulations within 1.5% of the observed value, clearly within the expected error of interception loss measurements.
Floods are one of the natural disasters not preventable, affecting people and causing significant damage to economic activities and infrastructures. Thus, it is of foremost importance to, within a disaster risk-reduction strategy, develop a useful flood forecast and alert system to prevent people from suffering flood disasters and mitigate its consequences. This article presents the Flood Forecast and Alert System in operational mode since 2019 for the Águeda river basin located in Portugal’s centre region. This system is technologically advanced, differing from others since it uses a coupled real-time hydrologic and 2D hydrodynamic modelling supported on numerical weather prediction and a high-resolution digital terrain surface model. The system components are automatically activated and linked: i) a rainfall forecasting model (WRF), ii) a hydrological model (HEC-HMS), iii) a hydraulic model (HEC-RAS 2D), and a iv) Web-GIS platform. The hydrological model is forced with forecast precipitation for the next three days and updated every 6 h, which is crucial to generate pre-flood hazard maps. It also includes a Web GIS service for flood hazard dissemination available for civil authorities and citizens. A flood forecast and alert system is highly relevant to the community since, by enhancing knowledge, it provides the authorities responsible for assessing and managing the flood risk, responsiveness to disasters and timely decision-making, which is even more evident in the context of climate change.
This research was focused on identifying gallotannins and ellagitannins degradation pathways to better understand their behavior in complex media such as wine spirits (WS). A WS was aged with chestnut wood staves with three levels of micro-oxygenation, nitrogen, and using wooden barrels. Gallotannins and ellagitannins were identified by LC-ESI-HRMS/MS using a Q-TOF in samples collected at 8, 21, 60, 180, 270, and 365 days of ageing, allowed comparing their relative abundances according to the ageing technology. It was established for the first time, the importance of oxygen in gallotannins and ellagitannins formation/degradation pathways in WS and shading light into the explanation for the steady increase of gallic and ellagic acid contents on WS during
ageing. The results also highlighted the presence of penta-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, tetra-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, tri- O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, di-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, and mono-O-galloyl-β-D-glucose, 2,3-(S)-hexahydroxydiphenoyl-β-D-glucose, pedunculagin, isomers vescalagin/castalagin and two products stemming from ethanol-promoted oxidation of castalagin/vescalagin and vescalin/castalin, in the composition WS aged with chestnut wood.
The purpose of this paper is to shed light on the impact of laboratory procedures for air void content determination on the design and mechanical performance of an asphalt mixture. A dense-graded AC20 and gap-graded SMA12.5 mixtures were designed using empirical and volumetric design methods. Volumetric properties are determined based on several bulk gravity procedures: dry, SSD (saturated surface dry), paraffin coated, vacuum-sealed and dimensions. Relationships between the mixtures designed with bulk specific gravity procedures and their performance made it possible to analyze the impact of these procedures on the properties and performance of the mixtures. Global performance variations were relevant, although the differences were moderate considering the common procedures (less than 10%). Impact on a determined performance property can be considerable, with variations up to 70%. For specific applications, this can have a significant effect on the overall in-service performance.
The use of numerical modelling tools allows optimizing the development of complex anatomical artefacts, such as customized prostheses for lower limb amputees. These numerical tools make it possible to characterize the interfacial interactions taking place between different parts of the prosthesis and the residual limb. This allows for understanding which rectifications and fittings having to be made on the custom design of the artificial body part without the need for manufacturing and donning prostheses. To such end, current research focused on the development of a preliminary Finite Element Model to assess the effects of friction on the residual limb of a transfemoral amputee, as the friction on the contact between the soft tissues, the liner and the prosthesis of the amputee is of major importance for his/her health and comfort.
This paper aims to illustrate the entrepreneurial performance of economies taking into account the variables present in the entrepreneurial framework conditions. The methodology used in the research is exploratory, descriptive and quantitative. We used a process that combines Factorial Analysis with Cluster Analysis. Considering the entrepreneurial framework variables conditions, our results indicate that there are four groups in economies: 1) Moderate Entrepreneurial Performance; 2) Emerging Entrepreneurial Performance; 3) High-Income Economies; and 4) Advanced Entrepreneurial Economies. Our research also denotes where economies need to develop new policies to improve their entrepreneurial performance and competitiveness. This research brings new contributions to science and existing literature as it helps to understand and clarify the entrepreneurial performance of economies relative to entrepreneurial framework conditions.
Climate change is already a reality, and habitat loss is affecting relentlessly tree species distributions. The
strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L., Ericaceae) is a Mediterranean evergreen tree used in this article as a case study
to evince its expected threatening situation in the upcoming age. This research work seeks to identify the
bioclimatic and physiographic variables that have the most impact on the strawberry tree’s spatial distribution in
Portugal, acquiring vital knowledge for the design of accurate conservation and afforestation plans for the use
and conservation of strawberry tree, working as a guide under a climate change scenario. For that, twenty-one
bioclimatic variables, two physiographic attributes (altitude and slope), and the Emberger Index (EI) were used
together with 318 observations of strawberry trees, to build a scalable Bayesian procedure, based on machine
learning techniques, aimed to assess the species’ future habitat evolution through three temporal scenarios: (i)
Control Run (1960–1990); (ii) 2050 and (iii) 2070. The results indicate for 2050 a 30% loss of the humid subregion
and a 35% increase in the semi-arid sub-region towards the north. In 2070, it is expected a 2% recuperation
for the sub-humid area, but an 8% loss of the humid sub-area. Under these extreme climate change
conditions, it is anticipated an almost complete loss of habitat for the strawberry tree in the south of Portugal.
The expected ecological evolvability may trigger future migration paths and new refuges’ settlement in the
northern sub-region for the succeeding decades and suggesting after 2070 the possibility of habitat switch and
species drifting.
The evolution of production systems has established major challenges in internal logistics. In order to overcome these challenges, new automation solutions have been developed and implemented. This paper is a literature review and analysis of selected scientific studies, which has as the main focus the existing solutions in robotics for internal logistics. The review aims to provide a broad perspective of the existing robotic systems for internal logistics to determine which research paths have been followed to date and highlight the current and future research directions. The survey has been subdivided into the following topics: localisation and path planning; task planning; optimisation and knowledge representation in robotic systems; and applications. The analysis of the works developed until the date of this review highlights the appearance of strategies in the different disciplines based on meta-heuristics. These are replacing the classical and heuristic approaches due to their limitations in dealing with a large amount of information in internal logistic systems. Due to the increase of information that robotic agents have to process, strategies based on semantic knowledge have been gaining prominence to make the domain knowledge explicit and eliminate ambiguities, allowing agents to reason and facilitate knowledge sharing between robotic agents and humans.
Background
Intangible cultural heritage includes knowledge and skills transmitted throughout times, and this also applies to the food sector. Traditional knowledge assumes important social and economic value, which is relevant both for sectorial clusters as well as for majority social groups.
Scope and approach
The objective of this review was to analyse the constraints and motivations for development in the sector of traditional foods, from the point of view of marketing and consumer trends. This review was based on published works searched for in scientific databases, such as ScienceDirect, PubMed, Scopus and web of Science.
Key findings and conclusions
This review showed that the value of tradition, recognized in many sectors of society, is also important in the food sector, which is particularly rich in ethnical elements, local ingredients, traditional formulations and social aspects, linked not only to the food itself but also to the act of eating and sharing. However, the food industry seeks development of new products that follow modern trends and are able to conquer today's consumers, while at the same time maintaining the identity of specific products, valued as traditional.
Cistus ladanifer is a persistent, abundant and widespread underexplored resource in the Iberian Peninsula. The
seeds have been used as food for centuries, although their nutritional value and potential as food ingredients
have not been exploited until now. In this study seeds from natural shrubland were collected three times during
summer for two consecutive years. Analytical evaluation of the macronutrient content, fatty acids, and mineral
composition was performed. Regarding the macronutrients, seeds showed a carbohydrate content of 46.1 ±
1.6%, a fibre content of 20.9 ± 1.4%, a protein content of 16.2 ± 0.4%, a lipid content of 13.0 ± 1.1%, and an
ash content of 3.87 ± 0.16%. The fatty acids were found to be mostly unsaturated (74.05 ± 0.59%). Potassium
was the most abundant mineral (975 ± 53 mg/100 g) followed by phosphorous, magnesium and calcium. In
conclusion, several nutrient-related label claims may be used for C. ladanifer seeds as food ingredient. Compared to common cereals, nuts and seeds, C. ladanifer seeds are close to flax and chia seeds in relation to nutritional composition, and to pine nuts in relation to mineral composition.
Urbanization alters hydrological processes and is often associated with increasing flood
risks, which threaten human wellbeing and social and economic development. The conventional
paradigm of flood protection relying on structural measures based on hard
engineering solutions (e.g., dams, piped systems) has proven insufficient to mitigate
floods. Sustainable water management, including solutions to enhance natural processes
within urban areas, is a promising approach to enhance flood resilience and
address the multiple sustainability challenges faced by cities. However, implementation
of solutions based on mimicking natural processes has been slow. Mainstreaming
of urban sustainable flood management is inhibited by governance aspects (e.g., limited
collaborative governance), and knowledge gaps on effectiveness compared with conventional engineering approaches. The increasing flood hazards driven by growing
urban populations and climate change projections of increasing frequency and intensity
of large precipitation events demand improvements in spatial planning. This
also provides opportunities for sustainable water management mainstreaming in order
to complement the relatively limited drainage capacity of conventional systems.
Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) are contaminants with high toxicity and complex geochemical behaviour and, therefore, high PTEs contents in soil may affect ecosystems and/or human health. However, before addressing the measurement of soil pollution, it is necessary to understand what is meant by pollution-free soil. Often, this background, or pollution baseline, is undefined or only partially known. Since the concentration of chemical elements is compositional, as the attributes vary together, here we present a novel approach to build compositional indicators based on Compositional Data (CoDa) principles. The steps of this new methodology are: 1) Exploratory data analysis through variation matrix, biplots or CoDa dendrograms; 2) Selection of geological background in terms of a trimmed subsample that can be assumed as non-pollutant; 3) Computing the spread Aitchison distance from each sample point to the trimmed sample; 4) Performing a compositional balance able to predict the Aitchison distance computed in step 3. Identifying a compositional balance, including pollutant and non-pollutant elements, with sparsity and simplicity as properties, is crucial for the construction of a Compositional Pollution Indicator (CI). Here we explored a database of 150 soil samples and 37 chemical elements from the contaminated region of Langreo, Northwestern Spain. There
were obtained three Cis: the first two using elements obtained through CoDa analysis, and the third one selecting a list of pollutants and non-pollutants based on expert knowledge and previous studies. The three indicators went through a Stochastic Sequential Gaussian simulation. The results of the 100 computed simulations are summarized through mean image maps and probability maps of exceeding a given threshold, thus allowing characterization of the spatial distribution and variability of the CIs. A better understanding of the trends of relative enrichment and PTEs fate is discussed.
Adequate planning of soil and water conservation requires understanding and prediction of the interactions between soil, climate and management scenarios. These interactions have been investigated over the last decades by means of modelling tools. Some of the most widely used models, namely KINEROS, WEPP, SWAT, and AnnAGNPS have been compared in terms of interfaces, processes, data and parameter requirements, to describe their application domain. Some applicative cases are also added to evidence the importance of rainfall regimes, processes scale, land typologies and management for soil and water conservation modelling, to support the needs of farmers, researchers, extension services and land planners. In general, there is evidence of a large number of parameters to satisfy common users' perception of reliability on simulation results, while they are all good teaching and research tools.
Agricultural policies and social change influence irrigation management decisions and their associated effects.
The changes in the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union have deeply affected irrigated agriculture in the Mediterranean region. In this region, hydrology is rather complex and the environment particularly vulnerable. We monitored cropping patterns and the water balance in a sprinkler-irrigated catchment in Central Portugal over thirteen irrigation seasons and twelve rainfall seasons. There was wide variation in annual rainfall (from 283 mm to 667 mm) and in the intensity of rainfall events from year to year. A monitoring station at the catchment outlet was installed to measure runoff which, together with field observations, allowed us to compute a water balance for both the rainfed and the irrigation seasons. Changes in cropping intensity led to changes in the depth of irrigation. Irrigation runoff followed irrigation depth and both followed the trend of cropping intensity. Less intensive cropping also reduced the off-site effects of agricultural activities. The runoff coefficient was 0.28 in the rainfed seasons and 0.02 in the irrigation seasons. The changes in the irrigation hydrology and in the off-site effects of agricultural activities in the catchment were caused by changes in cropping intensity induced by the European Union Common Agricultural Policy reforms, rather than by environmental or technical factors.
The purpose of this article is to review the literature related to urbanism and climate change. First, an overview
of climate change policies is presented. A review of articles published in recent years that examine the various
research subareas related to urbanism climate change and the present pandemic situation is performed. The
concepts of green and biophilic urbanism have been growing and getting strength, as a holistic concept for tomorrows sustainable urban areas based on the consistent and safe use of energy, soil, water, green spaces,
materials, and mobility. These new trends are based on social needs, with integrated strategies and policies that combine adaptation and mitigation to face urban growth’s negative impact. The review focused on articles
published in the last 20 years with the keywords “urbanism” and “climate change”. This literature review became evident that there is a gap in urban studies about interdisciplinary research.
