Landscape change in a mountainous area in Northeastern Portugal: implications for management

In this paper we analyzed changes in landscape composition and structure over the 1958-2005 period in the França parish (Bragança, northeastern Portugal). Agriculture decreased from 22% to 5% of the area of study. Forests and shrublands became the dominant land uses occupying together 73% of the area of study in 2005. Structurally the landscape became more homogeneous. We speculate that the types of change observed and the tendency for their magnification in the near future will have functional effects on this landscape, namely the creation of condition for the occurrence of catastrophic disturbance events such as wildfires

Produção de sabão líquido a partir de óleo alimentar usado

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Química. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 200

Efeitos ambientais do abandono da agricultura em áreas de montanha

As paisagens das regiões de montanha em Portugal encontram-se em acelerada alteração por efeito do abandono da agricultura. Neste trabalho analisámos as modificações da composição e da configuração da paisagem nos últimos 50 anos em duas freguesias do nordeste de Portugal e os efeitos dessas alterações no risco de incêndio e no sequestro de carbono. A paisagem foi classificada e cartografada para os anos de 1958, 1968, 1978 e 1992/3 e 2005/6 e descrita através de métricas. O efeito da alteração da paisagem no comportamento do fogo foi avaliado na freguesia de França por modelação e simulação em FlamMap. O carbono fixado na paisagem foi analisado na freguesia de Deilão a partir da estimação da biomassa dos sistemas naturais e de produção presentes. Em ambas as freguesias houve uma redução acentuada na área agrícola e um aumento da área florestal. Estas alterações, do mesmo tipo, conduziram à diminuição da heterogeneidade em França e ao seu aumento em Deilão. Em França, as alterações na paisagem criaram condições para a ocorrência de incêndios de maior dimensão e intensidade ao longo do tempo. Em Deilão conduziram a um aumento de 267% no carbono sequestrado na paisagem e a stocks médios, em 2005, de 17.97t/ha. Concluiu-se que as alterações da paisagem de montanha no nordeste de Portugal causadas por abandono da agricultura afectaram a estrutura da paisagem de forma distinta de acordo com as suas condições biofísicas e que essas alterações aumentaram o risco de incêndio e aumentaram a fixação de carbono na paisagem

Functional expression of Yarrowia lipolytica acetyl- CoA carboxylase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Malonyl coenzyme A (Malonyl-CoA) is an important precursor for a range of economically valuable compounds such as biodiesel, 3-hydroxypropionic acid, fatty alcohols, flavonoids, stilbenoids and polyketides. Even though Saccharomyces cerevisiae is one of the most used cell factories for the production of a variety of compounds, it is limited in its ability to generate malonyl-CoA and derived products. In this yeast, the only source of malonyl-CoA is the ATP-dependent carboxylation of acetyl coenzyme A (acetyl-CoA) catalyzed by acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC), the rate-limiting step in fatty acid biosynthesis. In this work, expression of Yarrowia lipolytica ACC in S. cerevisiae was attempted with the objective of establishing an alternative malonyl-CoA production system in this yeast. A S. cerevisiae strain with a tetracycline repressible ACC1 was used for functional testing. Since ACC1 is an essential gene, this strain is not capable of growing in medium supplemented with tetracycline. Expression of S. cerevisiae or Yarrowia lipolytica ACC1 from a plasmid complemented the conditional phenotype and enabled growth in tetracycline containing medium. Expression of ACCs from plasmids caused prolonged lag phase, and specific growth rates were considerably lower than the ones obtained for the wild type strain. This result is consistent with previous studies where ACC activity was increased and likely results from the metabolic imbalance this increase might cause. Results of in-vivo measurements of malony—CoA levels in the recombinant strain will be discussed.FatVal POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032506. Ph.D. scholarship SFRH/BD/140039/201

Landscape change and fire hazard in a mountainous area in northeastern Portugal.

Human abandonment in Mediterranean regions of Europe has led to vegetation encroachment and landscape homogenization reducing biodiversity and favoring the occurrence of wild fires. In Portugal, landscape changes driven by human abandonment were not observed until the late twentieth century. The full extent of these recent changes and their economic, social and ecological consequences, particularly by the creation of favorable conditions for the occurrence of large wild fires, are just partially described and understood. Additionally, research on these issues is urgently required to provide guidelines for future ecosystem and landscape planning and management. We studied land use and land cover over the last 50 years in the França Parish (Bragança, North Eastern Portugal) to evaluate change in pattern and to infer on change in function, particularly fire occurrence and propagation. We interpreted digitized and orthocorrected aerial photographs from 1958, 1968, 1980, 1993, and 2005, based on the “Carta de Ocupação do Solo” (Instituto Geográfico Português) land use/land cover system. Landscape structure for each of these dates was described based upon landscape metrics calculated for major land cover classes. Fire hazard was evaluated in terms of abundance and configuration of highly combustible cover classes. We also used the FARSITE 4 software (Finney, 1998) to simulate fire propagation at the landscape level based on land cover, terrain, and meteorological data

A novel D-xylose isomerase from the gut of the wood feeding beetle Odontotaenius disjunctus efficiently expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Carbohydrate rich substrates such as lignocellulosic hydrolysates remain one of the primary sources of potentially renewable fuel and bulk chemicals. The pentose sugar D-xylose is often present in significant amounts along with hexoses. Saccharomyces cerevisiae can acquire the ability to metabolize D-xylose through expression of heterologous D-xylose isomerase (XI). This enzyme is notoriously difficult to express in S. cerevisiae and only fourteen XIs have been reported to be active so far. We cloned a new D-xylose isomerase derived from microorganisms in the gut of the wood-feeding beetle Odontotaenius disjunctus. Although somewhat homologous to the XI from Piromyces sp. E2, the new gene was identified as bacterial in origin and the host as a Parabacteroides sp. Expression of the new XI in S. cerevisiae resulted in faster aerobic growth than the XI from Piromyces on D-xylose media. The D-xylose isomerization rate conferred by the new XI was also 72% higher, while absolute xylitol production was identical in both strains. Interestingly, increasing concentrations of xylitol (up to 8 g L-1) appeared not to inhibit D-xylose consumption. The newly described XI displayed 2.6 times higher specific activity, 37% lower KM for D-xylose, and exhibited higher activity over a broader temperature range, retaining 51% of maximal activity at 30 °C compared with only 29% activity for the Piromyces XI.This work was supported by the project FatVal PTDC/EAM-AMB/32506/2017 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-032506), co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalization (COMPETE 2020), under Portugal 2020, and by the Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia-FCT I.P through national funds. CBMA was supported by the "Contrato-Programa" UIDB/04050/2020 funded by national funds through the FCT I.P. PCS is recipient of a FCT PhD fellowship (SFRH/BD/140039/2018), and was supported by a Fulbright Scholarship Portugal grant from January to May 2020 at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA. BJ was awarded a Fulbright grant from The Swedish Fulbright Commission for Visiting Lecturers and Research Scholars between September 2014 and January 2015 visiting Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, USA. This work was supported in part by the United States Department of Energy's Genomic Science Program (grant SCW1039). Part of this work was performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory under US Department of Energy contract number DE-AC02-05CH11231. DNA sequencing was performed at the Vincent J. Coates Genomics Sequencing Laboratory at the University of California Berkeley, supported by NIH S10 Instrumentation grants S10RR029668 and S10RR027303

Auto e heterorregulação em crianças com Necessidades Educativas Especiais

O presente estudo pretende averiguar a autorregulação no processo de aprendizagem dos alunos e os seus efeitos nos resultados escolares, entre alunos sem e com Necessidades Educativas Especiais (NEE). Especificamente, procuramos averiguar se a capacidade de identificar o objetivo da tarefa, o recurso a estratégias cognitivas, sociocomunicativas da atenção e de solicitação, motivacionais e de autoavaliação é diferente entre os dois grupos. A amostra foi constituída por uma turma de 25 alunos de 4º ano onde estão incluídos cinco alunos com NEE, sendo os dados recolhidos através da grelha de análise das estratégias autorreguladoras da criança em situação de aprendizagem de Nader-Grosbois (2007). A análise dos resultados permitiu perceber diferenças entre os géneros, com as raparigas mais motivadas para a aprendizagem e com melhores resultados globais nas tarefas. Percebeu-se ainda que os resultados académicos relacionam-se com a capacidade de autorregulação e com a motivação para a aprendizagem. Comparando os alunos sem e com NEE, foi possível concluir que os primeiros apresentam um perfil mais autorregulado e melhores resultados globais nas tarefas. Os alunos com NEE foram os que obtiveram pior desempenho na tarefa e na autorregulação, revelando alterações nas funções cognitivas que intervêm nos processos autorregulatórios. São apresentadas as limitações do estudo e sugeridas novas linhas de investigação.This study aims to explore the self-regulation learning process of students and their effects on school outcomes among students with and without special educational needs (SEN). Specifically, we examined whether the ability to identify the purpose of the task, the use of cognitive, sociocommunicative attention and request strategies, motivational and self-assessment is different between the two groups. The sample consisted of a group of 25 students of the 4th grade where five students with SEN are included, and the data was collected through the analysis of grid of selfregulatory strategies in the child learning situation from Nader-Grosbois (2007). Results allowed us to find gender differences, with girls more motivated to learning and with overall better results in the tasks. We realized also that academic outcomes are related to self-regulation abilities and motivation for learning. Comparing students with and without special needs, it was concluded that the first group have a more self-regulated profile and better overall performance in the tasks. Pupils with SEN were the ones with the worst performance in the task and self-regulation, revealing changes in cognitive functions involved in self-regulatory processes. Some limitations of the study and suggested new lines of research are presented.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of repeated disinfections by microwave energy on the physical and mechanical properties of denture base acrylic resins

The present study evaluated the effect of repeated simulated microwave disinfection on physical and mechanical properties of Clássico, Onda-Cryl and QC-20 denture base acrylic resins. Aluminum patterns were included in metallic or plastic flasks with dental stone following the traditional packing method. The powder/liquid mixing ratio was established according to the manufacturer's instructions. After water-bath polymerization at 74ºC for 9 h, boiling water for 20 min or microwave energy at 900 W for 10 min, the specimens were deflasked after flask cooling and finished. Each specimen was immersed in 150 mL of distilled water and underwent 5 disinfection cycles in a microwave oven set at 650 W for 3 min. Non-disinfected and disinfected specimens were subjected to the following tets: Knoop hardness test was performed with 25 g load for 10 s, impact strength test was done using the Charpy system with 40 kpcm, and 3-point bending test (flexural strength) was performed at a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min until fracture. Data were analyzed statistically by ANOVA and Tukey's test (α= 0.05%). Repeated simulated microwave disinfections decreased the Knoop hardness of Clássico and Onda-Cryl resins and had no effect on the impact strength of QC-20. The flexural strength was similar for all tested resins.Este estudo verificou o efeito de repetidas desinfecções por microondas sobre a dureza, impacto e resistência à flexão das resinas acrílicas Clássico, Onda-Cryl e QC-20. Matrizes de alumínio foram incluídas em muflas metálica ou plástica com gesso pedra tipo III, de acordo com a técnica de inclusão tradicional. A proporção polímero/monômero usada foi de acordo com as recomendações dos fabricantes. Depois da polimerização em água à temperatura de 74ºC por 9 h, água em ebulição por 20 min ou por energia de microondas a 900 W por 3 min, os corpos-de-prova foram demuflados após esfriamento da mufla em temperatura ambiente e submetidos ao polimento convencional. Testes de dureza, impacto e resistência à flexão foram feitos nos corpos-de-prova controle e experimentais. Cada corpo-de-prova foi submetido individualmente a 5 desinfecções por microondas em forno doméstico com 900 W de energia por 3 min, imersos em 150 mL de água destilada. O teste de dureza Knoop foi realizado com carga de 25 g por 10 s, de resistência ao impacto pelo sistema Charpy com 40 kpcm e de resistência à flexão por três pontos com velocidade de 0,5 mm/min até fratura. Os dados obtidos foram submetidos à análise de variância e ao teste de Tukey (α=0,05%). Repetidas desinfecções por microondas diminuíram a dureza das resinas Clássico e Onda-Cryl, não promoveram nenhum efeito sobre a resistência ao impacto da resina QC-20. A resistência à flexão foi similar para todas as resinas.CNP

A novel D-xylose isomerase from the gut of the wood feeding patent-leather beetle Odontotaenius disjunctus

D-Xylose Isomerase (XI) is a key enzyme for the metabolism of D-xylose in renewable carbohydrate rich feedstocks such as lignocellulosic hydrolysates. The widely used industrial organism baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae can metabolize xylose upon heterologous expression of this enzyme. This enzyme is notoriously difficult to express in S. cerevisiae and only about ten active genes are known from prokaryotic and eukaryotic sources. We cloned a new XI from microorganisms in the gut of the wood feeding beetle Odontotaenius disjunctus. The new enzyme was functionally screened from a pool of enzymes with potential XI activity based on its sequence similarity to XI from Piromyces sp. strain E2. Interestingly, the newly identified enzyme and XI from Piromyces shared the highest sequence identity among the assayed enzymes. Cells carrying the new XI grew in media with D-xylose as the sole carbon source at a superior rate to that of XI from Piromyces, yet at a considerably inferior rate to that of the alternative xylose reductase–xylitol dehydrogenase pathway. Furthermore, optimal conditions of temperature and pH, kinetic parameters, and inhibition kinetics by xylitol were determined for the new enzyme. The physiological characterization of D-xylose fermenting S. cerevisiae expressing the new XI will be further discusse