Spectral solution for the air stripping pollutants removal dynamic model with non linear steady state conditions

This work deals with the numerical simulation of air stripping process for the pre-treatment of groundwater used in human consumption. The model established in steady state presents an exponential solution that is used, together with the Tau Method, to get a spectral approach of the solution of the system of partial differential equations associated to the model in transient state

Plant assays in the risk assessment of the Ervedosa mine (Portugal)

Mestrado em Biologia Aplicada - Toxicologia e EcotoxicologiaA exploração mineira é uma das actividades antropogénicas que mais perturba o ambiente, quer em termos físicos e químicos, como paisagísticos. A característica dominante nos locais onde esta actividade decorre é a Os resultados do ensaio de inibição do crescimento com Lemna minor indicaram o comprometimento da função de retenção do solo, nos segmentos próximos do Rio Tuela, o levanta preocupações sobre a possível transferência de contaminação para este curso de água. No seu conjunto os diversos parâmetros fisiológicos e de fluorescência avaliados, mostraram uma maior sensibilidade e permitiram avaliar o comprometimento da performance de plantas sujeitas a outros solos. Esta informação a ser integrada numa análise de risco pelo peso das evidências iria reduzir o grau de incerteza relativamente à avaliação de riscos dos diferentes solos. Contudo, antes da integração destes novos parâmetros em ensaios de crescimento com plantas terrestres, é necessário perceber a influência das propriedades do solo na sua variabilidade.acumulação de escórias e desperdícios da exploração e do tratamento de minério. Estes desperdícios são, geralmente, ricos em elementos metálicos, alguns com toxicidade elevada, e minerais que em contacto com o ar (e.g. sulfuretos), dão origem a águas e escorrências ácidas, que comprometem igualmente a sustentabilidade das comunidades terrestres e aquáticas das zonas adjacentes. Deste modo, surge uma grande preocupação com as áreas mineiras, sendo reconhecido que as mesmas necessitam de ser recuperadas e/ou remediadas, de forma a mitigar os riscos que representam para os ecossistemas. Neste contexto, a análise de risco ecológico (ARE) é uma ferramenta importante na gestão destes locais, permitindo avaliar a probabilidade de existirem ou virem a ocorrer efeitos ambientais adversos. Assim e tendo por base Novais (2006), que indicava uma séria contaminação por metais nas zonas adjacentes à mina de Ervedosa (Vinhais, Bragança, Nordeste de Portugal), onde entre 1857 e 1969 se fez exploração, a céu aberto e subterrânea, de arsénio (As) e estanho (Sn), deu-se início a uma avaliação ecotoxicológica dos solos, para a obtenção de dados, a integrar futuramente numa ARE para o local. Após uma avaliação preliminar com base na linha de evidência química ter apontado para a possível existência de riscos, avançou-se para a segunda etapa, recolhendo informação ecotoxicológica, utilizando espécies de plantas para avaliar a capacidade de habitat, de produção e de retenção dos solos. Para o efeito, foram realizados ensaios de inibição do crescimento com Lemna minor (lentilha-de-água), para avaliar a toxicidade de elutriados dos solos e ensaios de germinação, crescimento e performance com Zea mays (milho). A presente dissertação teve ainda como objectivo avaliar a possível integração de outros parâmetros fisiológicos e de stress oxidativo nos ensaios de crescimento com plantas superiores terrestres, nomeadamente conteúdo hídrico, conteúdo em pigmentos (clorofilas e carotenóides) e parâmetros de fluorescência (Fv/Fm e Rendimento ΦPSII), permeabilidade da membrana, conteúdo em prolina e conteúdo em MDA, medindo a sensibilidade destes parâmetros à contaminação do solo e fornecerem informação sobre o estado fisiológico das plantas.Mining is one of the anthropogenic activities with deeper deleterious effects (physical, chemical and landscape) in the environment. The dominant feature of mining areas is the accumulation of several tons of solid wastes resulting from ore exploration and treatments. These wastes are often rich in various metallic elements, some of high toxicity, and minerals which in contact with atmospheric conditions (e.g. sulphides), give rise to acidic waters and runoffs, which also threat terrestrial and aquatic communities in surrounding zones. Thus, there is great concern about the mining areas, and recognition that they need to be restored and remediated to mitigate the risks posed to ecosystems. In this context the ecological risk assessment (ERA) becomes a valuable tool for the management of these sites. Based on previous studies, which indicated a serious metal contamination in areas adjacent to Ervedosa mine (Vinhais, Bragança, NE Portugal), where between 1857 to 1969 open-pit and underground exploration of arsenic (As) and tin (Sn), the collection of ecotoxicological data with potential to be integrated on ERA has started. After a preliminary assessment based on the chemical line of evidence which has pointed for the possible existence of risks, it was decided to collect ecotoxicological information using mainly plant species to assess habitat, production and retention function of soils. For this purpose, tests with the whole soil matrix and soil elutriates were performed, namely: germination and growth assays with Zea mays (maize) and growth inhibition assays with Lemna minor, (common duckweed), respectively. This work was also aimed at assessing the possible integration of other physiological and oxidative stress parameters in the growth tests with terrestrial higher plants, namely water content, pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids), fluorescence (Fv / Fm and Yield ΦPSII), membrane permeability, proline and MDA content by measuring the sensitivity of these parameters to soil contamination, as well as the possibility of giving additional information on the physiological status of plants. In a general way, with the exception of a soil collected near a the old mill where the ore was treated, for which a total inhibition of Zea mays seed germination has occurred, the growth parameter only allowed to detect the toxicity of another soil, collected near the exploration area. Further the results from the growth inhibition assay with Lemna minor pointed out for the impact in the retention function of some soils, collected near the Tuela River, giving rise to concerns about the possible mobility of contaminants to this aquatic system. Together the other biochemical and fluorescence parameters, aimed in evaluating the performance of plants, have shown to be more sensitive showing that plants exposed to other soils also have their performance compromised. This information integrated in the ERA process, based in a weight of evidence approach, will reduce the uncertainty of the evaluation. However, before suggesting the integration of these parameters in standard protocols for growth assays with terrestrial plants is necessary to perceive the influence of soil parameters in their variability

Conceito de mínimo na Arquitetura: proposta para a Quinta do Canavial (Covilhã)

A presente dissertação irá abordar como tema fulcral a Habitação tendo de conceito principal o mínimo nas suas múltiplas vertentes. Desta forma, intrínsecos a esta temática, estão conceitos como o Minimalismo, a Flexibilidade e Funcionalidade. Apesar do Minimalismo ter tido as suas origens nas Artes Plásticas, em meados do séc. XX, já anteriores movimentos arquitétónicos tinham revelado resultados concordantes com os do Minimalismo (enquanto corrente estilística), como poderemos analisar através de exemplos escolhidos a nível do património histórico e do património contemporâneo da cela mínima e da habitação mínima, na Parte I. Respetivamente, o primeiro refere-se às celas monásticas e o segundo é relativo ao habitar mínimo tipicamente japonês, analisando pormenorizadamente os seus componentes e formas de habitar. Conclui-se a Parte I com um estudo da flexibilidade e multifuncionalidade de uma habitação, anunciando a filosofia “a forma segue a função”. Seguidamente, a Parte II, é exclusivamente dedicada à proposta do protótipo da habitação minimalista. Analisa-se primeiramente o terreno em questão, avaliando as suas considerações juntamente com as condicionantes da família do cliente. Reúne-se a história familiar e a memória de uma infância passada no local, como um estudo dos hábitos e atividades exercidas no quotidiano, percebendo-se o papel da habitação e prevendo a vivência dos espaços sociais e privados da habitação nesta família. Deste modo, pretende-se levar à mínima expressão a questão da habitação com uma proposta que resultará na concetualização de um protótipo de uma habitação segundo a corrente estilística Minimalismo, que surge como conclusão e consequência da Parte I.This present thesis has as a crucial theme Housing related to the concept of minimal in its multiple aspects. Thus, fundamental to this subject, there are notions like Minimalism, Flexibility and Functionality. Despite the Minimalism had had its origins in the Plastic Arts in the mid of the twentieth century, earlier architectural movements had revealed similar results to those of Minimalism (as stylistic trend) as one can analyze through the selected examples of historical and contemporary heritage of the minimum cell and the minimum housing described in Part I of this present thesis. Correspondingly, the first example refers to the monastic cells and the second one is for the typically minimum Japanese lodge, further analyzed in its all components and ways of living. Part I is concluded with a study of flexibility and multi-functionality of a lodging, announcing the philosophy "the form follows function". Following, Part II, is exclusively dedicated to the minimal housing prototype proposal. The property in question it is firstly analyzed, the client and family requirements were taken into consideration. The work meets the family history and the memory of their childhood spent on the site, as well as the study of the habits and activities performed in daily life, realizing the role of housing and providing the experience of social and private spaces of the house to this family. As a result, we intend to bring the minimum to the housing with a proposal that will result in the conceptualization of a prototype of a housing according to minimalism as a stylistic trend which ascends as a result and conclusion of Part I

Dataset of the preparation and characterization of an artificial sludge for ecotoxicological purposes

This work describes the protocol developed for preparing an artificial digested sludge to be used for the ecotoxicological evaluation and risk assessment of chemical substances that are previewed to attain the soil through sewage sludge applications for fertilization (e.g. pharmaceutical compounds). Such evaluations have been made with standard protocols for ecotoxicological tests with terrestrial species in which the chemical substances are directly spiked to the test soil. This procedure lacks ecological relevance in terms of the role the sludge organic matter plays on the bioavailability and fate of chemical substances. Here we describe the protocol and the composition for obtaining the artificial sludge, prepared with commercial pet food and eggs white to mimic the composition of domestic sewage sludge in terms of proteins, carbon hydrates, fat and fibers content. Further, the conditions ascertained for the anaerobic digestion of the organic mixture are described, and the final properties of the sludge are presented, after repeating the procedure twice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Toxicity abatement of wastewaters from tourism units by constructed wetlands

The present research intended to investigate the toxicity abatement of domestic wastewater after passing a biosystem composed of a constructed wetland (CW) followed by a pond. The wastewater was generated in a tourism house in a rural and mountainous context and passed through a septic tank before being diverted to a CW followed by a pond. A battery of ecotoxicological tests, comprising microalgae (Raphidocelis subcapitata), macrophytes (Lemna minor), cladocerans (Daphnia magna), and bacteria (Aliivibrio fischeri), was used to assess the toxicity of the wastewater collected before and after the CW and the water of the pond. Physicochemical parameters (pH, conductivity, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, phosphates, ammonium, and nitrate) were also determined. The CW was able to remove carbon and nutrients from the water with a concomitant reduction of its toxicity. This study, reinforced the added value of using toxicity tests as a complement to CW operational monitoring to validate the solution and to analyze possible readjustments that may be required to improve efficiency. This study lends further support to the claim that CWs can be a sustainable solution for treating small volumes of domestic wastewater in a rural context.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sex differences in LDL-C control in a primary care population: the PORTRAIT-DYS study

© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by- nc-nd/4.0/).Background and aims: Cardiovascular (CV) diseases show clear differences in clinical manifestation and treatment outcomes between men and women. To reduce sex disparities in achieving lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) goals, a sex-focused assessment is essential and more studies are needed to bring new evidence to clinicians. This study aims to assess the role of sex in attaining low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals, after correction for age, CV risk category, LLT intensity, and presence of mental health disorder and social deprivation. Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis of patients aged 40-85, followed in 1 hospital and 14 primary care centers in Portugal, using electronic health records from 1/1/2012 to 31/12/2020, was performed. The analysis considered an episode-based design, where exposure consists of any time when LLT was started or intensity changed. The likelihood of reaching the LDL-C goal according to contemporary ESC/EAS guidelines was modeled using multivariate Cox regression. LDL-C goal achievement at 180 days was defined as the outcome. The analysis was repeated at 30-day follow-up intervals up to 360 days, and also stratified by CV risk category. Results: We identified 40,032 exposure episodes (LLT initiation or intensity change) in 30,323 distinct patients. Male sex, older age, lower CV risk and increasing LLT intensity were associated with improved LDL-C control. Women were 22% less likely to reach the LDL-C goal than men (HR = 0.78, 95% CI:0.73, 0.82) independently of covariates. Conclusions: Women have a lower likelihood of attaining LDL-C goals than men after adjustment for LLT intensity, age, CV risk category, presence of mental health disorder and social deprivation. This finding underscores the need for further investigation and tailoring of LLT management strategies in women.This study was funded by Daiichi Sankyo Europeinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Definition of the productivity regions

Eucalyptus productivity is strongly related with climate and soil types of the area where it is planted. To accurately assess the potential productivity of that species in Portugal, plantations were monitored at different management units compartments (MUC) at several locations all over Portugal. Certain indices of productivity of the Eucalyptus at each MUC were recorded, as well as the type of climate and soil characteristics of the region. Both climate and soil, factors that affects Eucalyptus grow, were classified in in ten classes 1, 2, . . . , 10 of expected growing productivity for the Euca- lyptus. Thus, every MUC belongs to a unique pair (c, s), with 1 \leq c \leq 10 and 1 \leq s \leq 10 indicating the type of climate and the type of soil of the region where MUC is located, respectively, and it is expected that to have high (low) productivity indices when c and s are both close to 10 (1). The aim of this work is to identify regions that have similar productivity levels based on the classifications of soil and climate types and to check if the available data provided by RAIZ show that those factors affect the productivity indices. During the 5-days ESGI this team worked on the datasets provided by RAIZ, presented an update for the existing MAI productivity chart and developed new clusters for the Density, Yeld and Consumption productivity indices. The definition of some quality measures for the clusters, allowed to compare the different approaches and also point out some fragilities on the datasets. Indeed, a review of classification regarding climate and/or soil characteristics is suggested, as well as the need of a bigger sample for the Density, Yeld and Consumption productivity indices in order to get more reliable outputs

Can physiological endpoints improve the sensitivity of assays with plants in the risk assessment of contaminated soils?

Site-specific risk assessment of contaminated areas indicates prior areas for intervention, and provides helpful information for risk managers. This study was conducted in the Ervedosa mine area (Bragança, Portugal), where both underground and open pit exploration of tin and arsenic minerals were performed for about one century (1857-1969). We aimed at obtaining ecotoxicological information with terrestrial and aquatic plant species to integrate in the risk assessment of this mine area. Further we also intended to evaluate if the assessment of other parameters, in standard assays with terrestrial plants, can improve the identification of phytotoxic soils. For this purpose, soil samples were collected on 16 sampling sites distributed along four transects, defined within the mine area, and in one reference site. General soil physical and chemical parameters, total and extractable metal contents were analyzed. Assays were performed for soil elutriates and for the whole soil matrix following standard guidelines for growth inhibition assay with Lemna minor and emergence and seedling growth assay with Zea mays. At the end of the Z. mays assay, relative water content, membrane permeability, leaf area, content of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls and carotenoids), malondialdehyde levels, proline content, and chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm and ΦPSII) parameters were evaluated. In general, the soils near the exploration area revealed high levels of Al, Mn, Fe and Cu. Almost all the soils from transepts C, D and F presented total concentrations of arsenic well above soils screening benchmark values available. Elutriates of several soils from sampling sites near the exploration and ore treatment areas were toxic to L. minor, suggesting that the retention function of these soils was seriously compromised. In Z. mays assay, plant performance parameters (other than those recommended by standard protocols), allowed the identification of more phytotoxic soils. The results suggest that these parameters could improve the sensitivity of the standard assays

Contribution for the derivation of a soil screening value (SSV) for uranium, using a natural reference soil

In order to regulate the management of contaminated land, many countries have been deriving soil screening values (SSV). However, the ecotoxicological data available for uranium is still insufficient and incapable to generate SSVs for European soils. In this sense, and so as to make up for this shortcoming, a battery of ecotoxicological assays focusing on soil functions and organisms, and a wide range of endpoints was carried out, using a natural soil artificially spiked with uranium. In terrestrial ecotoxicology, it is widely recognized that soils have different properties that can influence the bioavailability and the toxicity of chemicals. In this context, SSVs derived for artificial soils or for other types of natural soils, may lead to unfeasible environmental risk assessment. Hence, the use of natural regional representative soils is of great importance in the derivation of SSVs. A Portuguese natural reference soil PTRS1, from a granitic region, was thereby applied as test substrate. This study allowed the determination of NOEC, LOEC, EC20 and EC50 values for uranium. Dehydrogenase and urease enzymes displayed the lowest values (34.9 and ,134.5 mg U Kg, respectively). Eisenia andrei and Enchytraeus crypticus revealed to be more sensitive to uranium than Folsomia candida. EC50 values of 631.00, 518.65 and 851.64 mg U Kg were recorded for the three species, respectively. Concerning plants, only Lactuca sativa was affected by U at concentrations up to 1000 mg U kg1. The outcomes of the study may in part be constrained by physical and chemical characteristics of soils, hence contributing to the discrepancy between the toxicity data generated in this study and that available in the literature. Following the assessment factor method, a predicted no effect concentration (PNEC) value of 15.5 mg kg21dw was obtained for U. This PNEC value is proposed as a SSV for soils similar to the PTRS1