7 research outputs found
Mapping Greenhouse Plastic Wastes in the West Region of Portugal
Plastic materials are used in many applications in agriculture, as greenhouse and tunnel covering films, direct coverings, shading and protective nets, irrigation pipes, fertilizers bags, pots and others. In Mediterranean countries, plastic film is the most common greenhouse covering material. Due to the direct exposure to solar radiation and wind, greenhouse plastic cover needs to be replaced every 6 to 45 months, depending on the material. The huge quantities of plastic waste produced need a proper management in order to avoid environmental and economic impacts. The plastic waste is usually recycled by special companies that collect and treat this waste material. The aim of this study was to apply Geographical Information Systems and photointerpretation techniques to evaluate the amount of plastic waste produced in one of the most important regions of greenhouse production in Portugal, the West Region specifically the Torres Vedras municipality. The methodology has integrated the characterization of the type of plastic covering material and the cartography of the greenhouses land units. It was used the Land Use Map 2007, Bing Map images and administrative boundaries to determine the geographic position and the types of greenhouses. For each administrative unit it was calculated the frequency and total greenhouses area. The identification of the type of plastic material was made by photointerpretation and direct interviews in one Company that sells material for greenhouses in Torres Vedras. The database created allowed to determine the amount of plastic used as greenhouse cover materials and to identify the needs for recycling in this area. The geodatabase produced is a first step to monitoring plastic waste production in time and space
Viral genetic clustering and transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox outbreak in Portugal
Pathogen genome sequencing during epidemics enhances our ability to identify and understand suspected clusters and investigate their relationships. Here, we combine genomic and epidemiological data of the 2022 mpox outbreak to better understand early viral spread, diversification and transmission dynamics. By sequencing 52% of the confirmed cases in Portugal, we identified the mpox virus sublineages with the highest impact on case numbers and fitted them into a global context, finding evidence that several international sublineages probably emerged or spread early in Portugal. We estimated a 62% infection reporting rate and that 1.3% of the population of men who have sex with men in Portugal were infected. We infer the critical role played by sexual networks and superspreader gatherings, such as sauna attendance, in the dissemination of mpox virus. Overall, our findings highlight genomic epidemiology as a tool for the real-time monitoring and control of mpox epidemics, and can guide future vaccine policy in a highly susceptible population.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
The complete genome sequence of Chromobacterium violaceum reveals remarkable and exploitable bacterial adaptability
Chromobacterium violaceum is one of millions of species of free-living microorganisms that populate the soil and water in the extant areas of tropical biodiversity around the world. Its complete genome sequence reveals (i) extensive alternative pathways for energy generation, (ii) ≈500 ORFs for transport-related proteins, (iii) complex and extensive systems for stress adaptation and motility, and (iv) wide-spread utilization of quorum sensing for control of inducible systems, all of which underpin the versatility and adaptability of the organism. The genome also contains extensive but incomplete arrays of ORFs coding for proteins associated with mammalian pathogenicity, possibly involved in the occasional but often fatal cases of human C. violaceum infection. There is, in addition, a series of previously unknown but important enzymes and secondary metabolites including paraquat-inducible proteins, drug and heavy-metal-resistance proteins, multiple chitinases, and proteins for the detoxification of xenobiotics that may have biotechnological applications
Evaluación de los niveles de plomo y mercurio en población expuesta ambientalmente en la región centro-oeste de Brasil
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Previous issue date: 2018Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.Fundação Oswaldo Cruz. Escola Nacional de Saúde Pública Sérgio Arouca. Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.O objetivo foi avaliar o nível de exposição ao chumbo e mercúrio em população
do Pantanal Mato-grossense, Brasil. Chumbo no sangue (Pb-S) (n = 119)
e mercúrio na urina (Hg-U) (n = 109) de moradores da região foram determinados
por espectrometria de absorção atômica. A comparação de médias e
correlação entre as variáveis utilizaram o teste ANOVA e a regressão linear,
respectivamente, com 95% de confiança. Pb-S médio foi 2,82 ± 1,53µg dL-1. A
comparação de Pb-S estratificado por local de coleta (p ≤ 0,01), atividade laboral
(p ≤ 0,01) e consumo de leite produzido na região (p ≤ 0,05) mostrou diferenças
estatisticamente significativas. Também houve associações positivas
entre Pb-S e local de coleta (p ≤ 0,01), profissão dos participantes (p ≤ 0,05),
consumo de leite da região (p ≤ 0,01) e origem da água de consumo (p ≤ 0,01).
A média de Hg-U foi 1,41 ± 0,98µg L-1. Os teores mostraram diferenças significativas
apenas quanto à profissão dos participantes (p ≤ 0,01), e associações
positivas surgiram entre Hg-U e atividade profissional (p ≤ 0,01) assim como
índice de massa corporal dos sujeitos de estudo (p ≤ 0,01). As amostras apresentaram
baixos níveis de chumbo e mercúrio, semelhantes àqueles encontrados
em populações também expostas ambientalmente. Apesar dessas baixas
concentrações, o conhecimento atual sobre toxicidade desses metais mostra
que efeitos à saúde já podem ser sentidos em níveis antes considerados seguros,
o que caracteriza o perigo.The objective was to assess the level of exposure
to lead and mercury in a population in the Pantanal
region in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Blood
lead (PbB) (n = 119) and urinary mercury (HgU)
(n = 109) in local residents were measured by
atomic absorption spectrometry. Comparison of
means and correlations between variables used
analysis of variance (ANOVA) and linear regression,
respectively, with 95% confidence intervals.
Mean PbB was 2.82 ± 1.53µg dL-1. The comparison
of PbB stratified by collection site (p ≤ 0.01),
work activity (p ≤ 0.01), and consumption of locally
produced cow’s milk (p ≤ 0.05) showed statistically
significant differences. There were also
positive associations between PbB and collection
site (p ≤ 0.01), participants’ profession (p ≤ 0.05),
local milk (p ≤ 0.01), and source of drinking water
(p ≤ 0.01). Mean HgU was 1.41 ± 0.98µg L-1.
The levels only showed significant differences for
participants’ profession (p ≤ 0.01), and positive
associations emerged between HgU and work activity
(p ≤ 0.01) and body mass index (p ≤ 0.01).
The samples showed low lead and mercury levels,
similar to those found in other environmentally
exposed populations. Despite these low concentrations,
current knowledge on the toxicity of these
metals shows that health effects can already be felt
at levels that were previously considered safe, thus
characterizing a health hazard.El objetivo fue evaluar el nivel de exposición al
plomo y mercurio en una población del Pantanal
Mato-grossense, Brasil. El plomo en sangre (Pb-S)
(n = 119) y mercurio en la orina (Hg-U) (n = 109)
de los habitantes de esa región se determinó por
espectrometría de absorción atómica. La comparación
de medias y la correlación entre las variables
utilizaron el test ANOVA y la regresión lineal,
respectivamente, con un 95% de confianza. Pb-S
medio fue 2,82 ± 1,53µg dL-1. La comparación de
Pb-S estratificado por lugar de recogida (p ≤ 0,01),
actividad laboral (p ≤ 0,01) y consumo de leche que
se produjo en la región (p ≤ 0,05) mostró diferencias
estadísticamente significativas. También hubo
asociaciones positivas entre Pb-S y el lugar de
recogida (p ≤ 0,01), profesión de los participantes
(p ≤ 0,05), consumo de leche de la región (p ≤ 0,01)
y origen del agua de consumo (p ≤ 0,01). La media
de Hg-U fue 1,41 ± 0,98µg L-1. Los porcentajes
mostraron diferencias significativas sólo respecto a
la profesión de los participantes (p ≤ 0,01), y las
asociaciones positivas surgieron entre Hg-U y la
actividad profesional (p ≤ 0,01), así como índice de
masa corporal de los sujetos de estudio (p ≤ 0,01).
Las muestras presentaron bajos niveles de plomo
y mercurio, semejantes a aquellos encontrados en
poblaciones también expuestas ambientalmente. A
pesar de esas bajas concentraciones, el conocimiento
actual sobre toxicidad de estos metales muestra
que los efectos sobre la salud, ya pueden ser apreciados
en niveles antes considerados seguros, lo que
caracteriza el peligro
Recommended from our members
Viral genetic clustering and transmission dynamics of the 2022 mpox outbreak in Portugal.
Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge the engagement and willingness of all participants to share information critical to the investigation. We are grateful to the authors and laboratories that originated and submitted the genetic sequences released in GenBank. The acquisition of equipment associated with whole-genome sequencing used in this study (including the Illumina NextSeq 2000) was funded by the HERA (Human and Environmental Risk Assessment) project (Grant/2021/PHF/23776), supported by the European Commission through the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), and partially funded by the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 (Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI)), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020) under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT). This study was also supported by the ERINHA-Advance project (funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research & Innovation program, grant agreement no. 824061) and benefited from co-funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement no. 773830 (One Health European Joint Programme), in particular by the co-funding of the post-doctoral fellowships of J.S.D. and V.M. and the development of INSaFLU. We also thank M. Pinheiro (iBiMED at the Universidade de Aveiro) for his continuous support in updating the INSaFLU platform and the Infraestrutura Nacional de Computação Distribuída (INCD) for providing computational resources for testing it. INCD was funded by the FCT and FEDER under the project 22153-01/SAICT/2016. M.P.D. is funded by the Gates Cambridge Scholarship (no. OPP1144). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript. The GAT-Intendente team also thanks A. Vasques, L. Fortuna, J. Moreira, I. Correia and Á. Baginha.Pathogen genome sequencing during epidemics enhances our ability to identify and understand suspected clusters and investigate their relationships. Here, we combine genomic and epidemiological data of the 2022 mpox outbreak to better understand early viral spread, diversification and transmission dynamics. By sequencing 52% of the confirmed cases in Portugal, we identified the mpox virus sublineages with the highest impact on case numbers and fitted them into a global context, finding evidence that several international sublineages probably emerged or spread early in Portugal. We estimated a 62% infection reporting rate and that 1.3% of the population of men who have sex with men in Portugal were infected. We infer the critical role played by sexual networks and superspreader gatherings, such as sauna attendance, in the dissemination of mpox virus. Overall, our findings highlight genomic epidemiology as a tool for the real-time monitoring and control of mpox epidemics, and can guide future vaccine policy in a highly susceptible population