Citizens’ perception on air quality in Portugal: how concern motivates awareness

This study aimed to understand the knowledge of Portuguese citizens about air quality and the extent to which the concerns about specific environmental problems can motivate their acquaintance of information. Moreover, this study also allowed to understand which information about air quality needs further dissemination to provide the citizens with all the available tools and the correct knowledge. For this, a national online survey about air quality perception was conducted, where 1131 answers were obtained and two different populations were compared: the general population and a sub-population from an urban-industrial area of Lisbon metropolitan area that had experienced frequent air pollution events in the past. Air pollution was considered the environmental topic of higher concern among this sub-population (61.4%), while in the general population it ranked thirdly (27.4%). Generally, the sub-population showed higher knowledge about air quality than the general population, with 61% being able to identify at least one air pollutant. The perception of the local air quality was also very different between populations, with 61% of the sub-population considering it poor or very poor, while only 14% of the general population had the same perception, which highlights the different levels of concern between populations. A weak knowledge about air pollutants (50% of the general population could not identify any air pollutant) and an erroneous perception of the contribution of the different pollution sources to air quality levels were found. More than 50% of the respondents of both populations were considered to not have enough information regarding the air quality in their area of residence, with the national air quality database being unknown to almost everyone. Overall, strong efforts should be made to increase the awareness about the importance of air quality, which may promote a higher acceptance of the implementation of future actions to improve air quality.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização térmica e hídrica da cultura do feijão-de-vagem na região da Grande Florianópolis

The study aimed to determine the basal temperature, the heat units and the irrigation moment in snap beans growing, in order to provide optimal water supply. Two variety groups were used: "macarrão" and "manteiga", sowed at ten different periods spaced approximately 20 days. The experiment was designed in blocks (bands) with four replicates in each sowing period. Temperature, relative humidity and rain were measured. The matricial potential of the soil water was determined by tensiometers installed at 10 cm depth. Phenological observations and radicular and foliar sampling were made, and the foliar area index was estimated. The heat units were estimated through the Degree-Days method, in which the basal temperature was estimated by the interception of X axis. The results showed that the basal temperature between sowing and first harvest was 7.03 °C and 6.35 °C for "macarrão" and "manteiga", respectively. Their heat sums were 954 and 1015 Degree-Days, respectively. In relation to the irrigation moment it was observed that until the third trifoliate leaf appearance, matricial potential accused irrigation requirement at about -0.015 MPa, decreasing to -0.025 MPa at the beginning of flowering, and falling bellow -0.030 MPa during harvest.O estudo teve por objetivo determinar a temperatura basal, as somas térmicas e o momento de irrigação da cultura do feijão-de-vagem (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Foram realizados plantios em dez épocas, com intervalo de 20 dias entre épocas, sendo dois os grupos envolvidos: "macarrão" e "manteiga". O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em faixas, com quatro repetições dentro de cada época de plantio. Os elementos meteorológicos medidos foram temperatura do ar, umidade relativa do ar e precipitação pluvial. O potencial de água no solo foi medido por tensiômetros instalados à profundidade de 10 cm. Observações fenológicas foram feitas juntamente com amostragem do sistema radicular e de área foliar, estimando-se em seguida o índice de área foliar. As somas térmicas foram estimadas pelo método graus-dia, e a temperatura basal, pelo método de interceptação do eixo X. Os resultados mostraram que os valores de temperatura basal obtidos no período do plantio até a primeira colheita foram 7,03 °C e 6,35 °C em relação aos grupos "macarrão" e "manteiga", e as somas térmicas, 954 e 1015 graus dias, respectivamente. Com relação ao momento de irrigação, verificou-se que até o período da terceira folha trifoliolada o potencial matricial que acusava a necessidade de irrigação era cerca de -0,015 MPa, e caiu para -0,025 MPa no início do florescimento, e abaixo de -0,030 MPa no período da colheita

Spatial Distribution of Air Pollution, Hotspots and Sources in an Urban-Industrial Area in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal—A Biomonitoring Approach

This study aimed to understand the influence of industries (including steelworks, lime factories, and industry of metal waste management and treatment) on the air quality of the urban-industrial area of Seixal (Portugal), where the local population has often expressed concerns regarding the air quality. The adopted strategy was based on biomonitoring of air pollution using transplanted lichens distributed over a grid to cover the study area. Moreover, the study was conducted during the first period of national lockdown due to COVID-19, whereas local industries kept their normal working schedule. Using a set of different statistical analysis approaches (such as enrichment and contamination factors, Spearman correlations, and evaluation of spatial patterns) to the chemical content of the exposed transplanted lichens, it was possible to assess hotspots of air pollution and to identify five sources affecting the local air quality: (i) a soil source of natural origin (based on Al, Si, and Ti), (ii) a soil source of natural and anthropogenic origins (based on Fe and Mg), (iii) a source from the local industrial activity, namely steelworks (based on Co, Cr, Mn, Pb, and Zn); (iv) a source from the road traffic (based on Cr, Cu, and Zn), and (v) a source of biomass burning (based on Br and K). The impact of the industries located in the study area on the local air quality was identified (namely, the steelworks), confirming the concerns of the local population. This valuable information is essential to improve future planning and optimize the assessment of particulate matter levels by reference methods, which will allow a quantitative analysis of the issue, based on national and European legislation, and to define the quantitative contribution of pollution sources and to design target mitigation measures to improve local air quality

Macrophage Resistance to Ionizing Radiation Exposure Is Accompanied by Decreased Cathepsin D and Increased Transferrin Receptor 1 Expression.

PurposeTo identify a molecular signature of macrophages exposed to clinically relevant ionizing radiation (IR) doses, mirroring radiotherapy sessions.MethodsHuman monocyte-derived macrophages were exposed to 2 Gy/ fraction/ day for 5 days, mimicking one week of cancer patient's radiotherapy. Protein expression profile by proteomics was performed.ResultsA gene ontology analysis revealed that radiation-induced protein changes are associated with metabolic alterations, which were further supported by a reduction of both cellular ATP levels and glucose uptake. Most of the radiation-induced deregulated targets exhibited a decreased expression, as was the case of cathepsin D, a lysosomal protease associated with cell death, which was validated by Western blot. We also found that irradiated macrophages exhibited an increased expression of the transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), which is responsible for the uptake of transferrin-bound iron. TfR1 upregulation was also found in tumor-associated mouse macrophages upon tumor irradiation. In vitro irradiated macrophages also presented a trend for increased divalent metal transporter 1 (DMT1), which transports iron from the endosome to the cytosol, and a significant increase in iron release.ConclusionsIrradiated macrophages present lower ATP levels and glucose uptake, and exhibit decreased cathepsin D expression, while increasing TfR1 expression and altering iron metabolism