APICULTURA: REVISÃO DE LITERATURA

A apicultura constitui um setor pecuário da máxima importância. A abelha é considerada um inseto valioso do ponto de vista económico e da diversidade biológica dos ecossistemas. As abelhas melíferas (Apis mellifera) são consideradas biossensores da saúde dos ecossistemas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo apresentar uma revisão de literatura sobre a apicultura, descrevendo as espécies de abelhas envolvidas nesta atividade, os produtos apícolas, a evolução da apicultura e a situação atual desta atividade em Portugal. Em Portugal, o setor apícola encontra-se fortemente ligado à agricultura e a apicultura portuguesa é maioritariamente de pequena escala, sendo exercida como complemento a uma atividade principal. O Algarve é a região a nível nacional onde se encontra o maior número de apicultores profissionais e a maior concentração de colmeias e apiários por apicultor, o que se traduz num impacto significativo na cadeia alimentar

Tsunami vulnerability assessment of Casablanca-Morocco using numerical modelling and GIS tools

Earthquakes and tsunamis along Morocco's coasts have been reported since historical times. The threat posed by tsunamis must be included in coastal risk studies. This study focuses on the tsunami impact and vulnerability assessment of the Casablanca harbour and surrounding area using a combination of tsunami inundation numerical modelling, field survey data and geographic information system. The tsunami scenario used here is compatible with the 1755 Lisbon event that we considered to be the worst case tsunami scenario. Hydrodynamic modelling was performed with an adapted version of the Cornell Multigrid Coupled Tsunami Model from Cornell University. The simulation covers the eastern domain of the Azores-Gibraltar fracture zone corresponding to the largest tsunamigenic area in the North Atlantic. The proposed vulnerability model attempts to provide an insight into the tsunami vulnerability of building stock. Results in the form of a vulnerability map will be useful for decision makers and local authorities in preventing the community resiliency for tsunami hazards

Apicultura: revisão de literatura

A apicultura constitui um setor pecuário da máxima importância. A abelha é considerada um inseto valioso do ponto de vista económico e da diversidade biológica dos ecossistemas. As abelhas melíferas (Apis mellifera) são consideradas biossensores da saúde dos ecossistemas. Este trabalho teve como objetivo apresentar uma revisão de literatura sobre a apicultura, descrevendo as espécies de abelhas envolvidas nesta atividade, os produtos apícolas, a evolução da apicultura e a situação atual desta atividade em Portugal. Em Portugal, o setor apícola encontra-se fortemente ligado à agricultura e a apicultura portuguesa é maioritariamente de pequena escala, sendo exercida como complemento a uma atividade principal. O Algarve é a região a nível nacional onde se encontra o maior número de apicultores profissionais e a maior concentração de colmeias e apiários por apicultor, o que se traduz num impacto significativo na cadeia alimentar

Design of a sea-level tsunami detection network for the Gulf of Cadiz

The devastating impact of the Sumatra tsunami of 26 December 2004, raised the question for scientists of how to forecast a tsunami threat. In 2005, the IOC-UNESCO XXIII assembly decided to implement a global tsunami warning system to cover the regions that were not yet protected, namely the Indian Ocean, the Caribbean and the North East Atlantic, the Mediterranean and connected seas (the NEAM region). Within NEAM, the Gulf of Cadiz is the more sensitive area, with an important record of devastating historical events. The objective of this paper is to present a preliminary design for a reliable tsunami detection network for the Gulf of Cadiz, based on a network of sea-level observatories. The tsunamigenic potential of this region has been revised in order to define the active tectonic structures. Tsunami hydrodynamic modeling and GIS technology have been used to identify the appropriate locations for the minimum number of sea-level stations. Results show that 3 tsunameters are required as the minimum number of stations necessary to assure an acceptable protection to the large coastal population in the Gulf of Cadiz. In addition, 29 tide gauge stations could be necessary to fully assess the effects of a tsunami along the affected coasts of Portugal, Spain and Morocco

Formulation, characterization, and cytotoxicity evaluation of lactoferrin functionalized lipid nanoparticles for riluzole delivery to the brain

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease with a very poor prognosis. Its treatment is hindered by a lack of new therapeutic alternatives and the existence of the blood–brain barrier (BBB), which restricts the access of drugs commonly used in ALS, such as riluzole, to the brain. To overcome these limitations and increase brain targeting, riluzole-loaded nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) were prepared and functionalized with lactoferrin (Lf), facilitating transport across the BBB by interacting with Lf receptors expressed in the brain endothelium. NLC were characterized with respect to their physicochemical properties (size, zeta potential, polydispersity index) as well as their stability, encapsulation efficiency, morphology, in vitro release profile, and biocompatibility. Moreover, crystallinity and melting behavior were assessed by DSC and PXRD. Nanoparticles exhibited initial mean diameters between 180 and 220 nm and a polydispersity index below 0.3, indicating a narrow size distribution. NLC remained stable over at least 3 months. Riluzole encapsulation efficiency was very high, around 94–98%. FTIR and protein quantification studies confirmed the conjugation of Lf on the surface of the nanocarriers, with TEM images showing that the functionalized NLC presented a smooth surface and uniform spherical shape. An MTT assay revealed that the nanocarriers developed in this study did not cause a substantial reduction in the viability of NSC-34 and hCMEC/D3 cells at a riluzole concentration up to 10 μM, being therefore biocompatible. The results suggest that Lf-functionalized NLC are a suitable and promising delivery system to target riluzole to the brain.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How to mitigate flood events similar to the 1979 catastrophic floods in the lower Tagus

The floods that struck the lower Tagus valley in February 1979 correspond to the most intense floods in this river and affected the largest number of people in a river flow event in Portugal during the last 150 years. In fact, the vast area affected significantly impacted circa 10 000 people in the lower Tagus sector (and an additional 7000 in other regions of Portugal), including thousands of people evacuated or made homeless. In this context, the present study focuses on an in-depth analysis of this event from a hydrodynamic perspective by means of the Iber+ numerical model and on developing strategies to mitigate the flood episodes that occur in the lower section of the Tagus River using the exceptional floods of February 1979 as a benchmark. In this sense, dam operating strategies were developed and analyzed for the most important dam along the Tagus River basin in order to propose effective procedures to take advantage of these infrastructures to minimize the effect of floods. Overall, the numerical results indicate a good agreement with watermarks and some descriptions of the 1979 flood event, which demonstrates the model capability to evaluate floods in the area under study. Regarding flood mitigation, results obtained indicate that the frequency of floods can be reduced with the proposed strategies, which were focused on providing optimal dam operating rules to mitigate flooding in the lower Tagus valley. In addition, hydraulic simulations corroborated an important decrease in water depth and velocity for the most extreme flood events, and also a certain reduction in the flood extension was detected. This confirms the effectiveness of the proposed strategies to help in reducing the flood impact in the lower Tagus valley through the efficient functioning of dams.</p

The future for Mediterranean wetlands: 50 key issues and 50 important conservation research questions

Wetlands are critically important for biodiversity and human wellbeing, but face a range of challenges. This is especially true in the Mediterranean region, where wetlands support endemic and threatened species and remain integral to human societies, but have been severely degraded in recent decades. Here, in order to raise awareness of future challenges and opportunities for Mediterranean wetlands, and to inform proactive research and management, we identified (a) 50 key issues that might affect Mediterranean wetlands between 2020 and 2050, and (b) 50 important research questions that, if answered, would have the greatest impact on the conservation of Mediterranean wetlands between 2020 and 2050. We gathered ideas through an online survey and review of recent literature. A diverse assessment panel prioritised ideas through an iterative, anonymised, Delphi-like process of scoring, voting and discussion. The prioritised issues included some that are already well known but likely to have a large impact on Mediterranean wetlands in the next 30 years (e.g. the accumulation of dams and reservoirs, plastic pollution and weak governance), and some that are currently overlooked in the context of Mediterranean wetlands (e.g. increasing desalination capacity and development of antimicrobial resistance). Questions largely focused on how best to carry out conservation interventions, or understanding the impacts of threats to inform conservation decision-making. This analysis will support research, policy and practice related to environmental conservation and sustainable development in the Mediterranean, and provides a model for similar analyses elsewhere in the world

3D LOCAL SCALE SOLAR RADIATION MODEL BASED ON URBAN LIDAR DATA

The aim of the present study is to obtain the direct, diffuse and reflected solar energy that reaches a generic point of an urban landscape regardless of its location on a roof, on the ground or on a façade. The vertical façades embody a discontinuity in a digital elevation surface function and most models fail in the determination of solar radiation for points on façades. The presented algorithm solves the problem in an integrated way: starting with a georreferenced LIDAR data cloud covering a 400 &times; 400 m2 urban area resampled in a 1m &times; 1m mesh, applies a new shadow algorithm over roofs, terrain and façades for each time frame, applies the Kumar solar radiation model for the calculation of direct, diffuse and reflected irradiation for each 1x1m raster cell on non vertical surfaces of roof and terrain, and calculates total and mean irradiation of each 1 meter wide column of vertical façade based on the illuminated area at each time frame. The results for each time frame are integrated for the wished time period from one hour to one year, being the time steps also selectable, allowing several kinds of solar radiation and shadowing studies. GIS were used to evaluate monthly averages of solar radiation for a particular location as well as to map the photovoltaic potential of the building façades and their roofs according to determined classes of potential

Comparison of neutral lipid fatty acids composition in organisms from different trophic levels

The profiles of total fatty acids (TFAs) and the neutral lipid fatty acids (NLFAs) were compared for the bacterium Rhodopirellula rubra and the alga Raphidocelis subcapitata (conventional food source for Daphnia magna). D. magna NLFAs were assessed when this crustacean was fed with bacterium and alga, individually or in combination. After NLFA extraction, the profiles of the various organisms were characterized by gas chromatography. Results evidenced the relevance of the different composition of the fatty acid (FAs) fractions in the different organisms, R. rubra and R. subcapitata. In these species, the NFLA analyses revealed high amounts of long chain FAs (C19). The FA profile of D. magna was influenced by the different diets provided although the preferred diet was the alga. D. magna showed the capacity to adapt to the available food resources as it defines its FA profile according to its needs, namely for the long chain FAs (C19).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Impact of citric acid on the impregnation of CoMoP/γ-Al 2 O 3 catalysts: time and spatially resolved MRI and Raman Imaging study

International audienceAn in-situ characterization methodology based on the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Raman Imaging is applied to investigate the effect of citric acid in the impregnation step of molybdenum catalysts promoted with cobalt in the presence of phosphorus and support on γ-alumina. MRI provides temporal and spatial information of the transport of species of the impregnation solutions within the porosity with a spatial resolution of 39×39µm. Raman Imaging gives information about the chemical nature of the species deposited on the support with a spatial resolution of 16.2×16.2µm. The effect of citric acid strongly depends on the ratio between the additive and molybdenum used in the impregnation solution. For a ratio of 0.2, at the end of impregnation, molybdenum ions are in an egg-yolk distribution either in polymeric or monomeric form. For a ratio of 0.7, cobalt ions can be in the form of aqua complexes in an egg-yolk distribution or in the form of H 2 PMo 11 CoO 40 5-heteropolyanion, which can improve the proximity between molybdenum and cobalt ions. This work gives new insights concerning the role of citric acid on the metal distribution profiles obtained at the end of impregnation, which can be used to control the final active phase distribution