EVOLUTION OF ENRICHMENT OF SEDIMENTS BY TRACE METALS (Ni AND Zn) IN A DAM OF URBANIZED WATERSHED

Sediments represent and provide a response to the condition of the environmental system in which they are found, acting as a point for deposition of contaminants. Upon developing studies of sediment columns, it is possible to obtain the historic records of substances arising from activities developed in the watershed over recent years. In this context, the present study investigates the enrichment of the sediments produced in an urban residential catchment area by the trace metals zinc and nickel. The sediment fraction smaller than 63 μm was analyzed in three sediment cores from the dam. Chemical analyses verified the concentration of trace metals by the acid digestion method EPA 3050. In carrying out analyses of the evolution of urban settlement in the watershed, the values corresponding to natural and human-impacted areas were determined through the use of different remote sensing products: aerial photographs (from 1972 and 1991) and high resolution satellite images (from 2003 and 2008). Natural areas were reduced in four decades, and population density in already human-impacted areas proved to be an important factor for understanding the urbanization process of the area. All sediment samples analyzed showed Zn and Ni concentrations above the local background value and with a pattern of growt

O Design em diálogo com o valor dos bivalves da Ria de Aveiro orientado à valorização do território

Este artigo aborda o papel do design enquanto ferramenta estratégica na agregação de valor à própria cadeia de valor, dos produtos da agrobiodiversidade, numa perspetiva de valorização do território. Concentra-se, na compreensão e visualização da cadeia de valor em prática dos bivalves, com um especial enfoque nas ostras, da Ria de Aveiro. O objetivo é apresentar uma abordagem sistémica sobre esse valor intrínseco existente nos produtos da agrobiodiversidade neste território. Com base na análise de dados resultantes de um trabalho de campo realizado, identificamos atores envolvidos nas atividades económicas de cariz tradicional na ria, dando conta dos sinais da complexidade e diversidade da sua rede de sistemas, e apresentamos um quadro que nos permite, por um lado dar visibilidade a essa realidade e por outro fazer uma aproximação ao valor cultural e emocional associado a este tipo de atividades neste território, que reforçam a qualidade. Sendo um produto que tem vindo a ocupar um espaço de destaque nos mercados internacionais, carece de uma equilibrada distribuição do valor ao longo da sua cadeia, resultando num défice de valor ao nível local. Desta aproximação, espera-se identificar oportunidades de ação do design como elemento estratégico para a inovação centrada nos recursos da ria e nas suas competências

Design and implementation of a new run-time life-cycle for interactive public display applications

Public display systems are becoming increasingly complex. They are moving from passive closed systems to open interactive systems that are able to accommodate applications from several independent sources. This shift needs to be accompanied by a more flexible and powerful application management. In this paper, we propose a run-time life-cycle model for interactive public display applications that addresses several shortcomings of current display systems. Our model allows applications to load their resources before they are displayed, enables the system to quickly pause and resume applications, provides strategies for applications to transition and terminate gracefully by requesting additional time to finish the presentation of content, allows applications to save their state before being destroyed and gives applications the opportunity to request and relinquish display time. We have implemented our model as a Google Chrome extension that allows any computer with the Google Chrome browser to become a public display driver without further software. In this paper we present our model, implementation, and evaluation of the system

Intestinal Barrier Function in Gluten-Related Disorders

Gluten-related disorders include distinct disease entities, namely celiac disease, wheat-associated allergy and non-celiac gluten/wheat sensitivity. Despite having in common the contact of the gastrointestinal mucosa with components of wheat and other cereals as a causative factor, these clinical entities have distinct pathophysiological pathways. In celiac disease, a T-cell mediate immune reaction triggered by gluten ingestion is central in the pathogenesis of the enteropathy, while wheat allergy develops as a rapid immunoglobulin E- or non-immunoglobulin E-mediated immune response. In non-celiac wheat sensitivity, classical adaptive immune responses are not involved. Instead, recent research has revealed that an innate immune response to a yet-to-be-defined antigen, as well as the gut microbiota, are pivotal in the development in this disorder. Although impairment of the epithelial barrier has been described in all three clinical conditions, its role as a potential pathogenetic co-factor, specifically in celiac disease and non-celiac wheat sensitivity, is still a matter of investigation. This article gives a short overview of the mucosal barrier of the small intestine, summarizes the aspects of barrier dysfunction observed in all three gluten-related disorders and reviews literature data in favor of a primary involvement of the epithelial barrier in the development of celiac disease and non-celiac wheat sensitivity

Celiac Disease Monocytes Induce a Barrier Defect in Intestinal Epithelial Cells

Intestinal epithelial barrier function in celiac disease (CeD) patients is altered. However, the mechanism underlying this effect is not fully understood. The aim of the current study was to evaluate the role of monocytes in eliciting the epithelial barrier defect in CeD. For this purpose, human monocytes were isolated from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from active and inactive CeD patients and healthy controls. PBMCs were sorted for expression of CD14 and co-cultured with intestinal epithelial cells (IECs, Caco2BBe). Barrier function, as well as tight junctional alterations, were determined. Monocytes were characterized by profiling of cytokines and surface marker expression. Transepithelial resistance was found to be decreased only in IECs that had been exposed to celiac monocytes. In line with this, tight junctional alterations were found by confocal laser scanning microscopy and Western blotting of ZO-1, occludin, and claudin-5. Analysis of cytokine concentrations in monocyte supernatants revealed higher expression of interleukin-6 and MCP-1 in celiac monocytes. However, surface marker expression, as analyzed by FACS analysis after immunostaining, did not reveal significant alterations in celiac monocytes. In conclusion, CeD peripheral monocytes reveal an intrinsically elevated pro-inflammatory cytokine pattern that is associated with the potential of peripheral monocytes to affect barrier function by altering TJ composition

Estado de nutrição, comportamento alimentar e estilos de vida : caracterização de uma população de adolescentes

Tese de mestrado, Saúde Escolar, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 2009Disponível no document

A Praça Maior da Universidade de Brasília : arquitetura paisagística e cotidiano

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Arquitetura e Urbanismo, 2019.A pesquisa apresenta uma análise sobre os espaços livres do Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, em Brasília, DF e seu uso e apropriação pelas pessoas. Investiga de que forma a configuração paisagística do campus contribui hoje com a vida pública, considerando que o encontro e a interação interpessoal são positivos, sobretudo para a experiência universitária. A área de estudo foi delimitada à porção central do campus, denominada Praça Maior, parte do projeto paisagístico de Fernando Chacel, e foi estudada em quatro momentos: a situação existente em 1971, à época do projeto; o projeto paisagístico de Chacel; a implantação do projeto, considerando as modificações entre o projetado e o executado; e a configuração atual da praça, em seus aspectos morfológicos e paisagísticos. Esta última etapa foca principalmente em como ela é apropriada hoje pela dinâmica social universitária, envolvendo a descrição dos sujeitos e atividades programadas e não programadas que nela ocorrem. Para isso, foram contextualizados os temas da vida pública, da arquitetura paisagística brasileira, do território universitário, na figura do campus, e da dimensão sociológica da arquitetura, que correlaciona espaço e sociedade. Estudouse, com técnicas de contagem de fluxo e registro de atividades estacionárias, os padrões de ocupação da Praça Maior, a partir de pesquisa de campo, utilizando um método de avaliação da vida pública que proporcionou as bases para correlacionar configuração paisagística e uso cotidiano. Complementarmente, com a aplicação de questionários, buscouse identificar questões de imagem e abairramento, e as atuais demandas, conflitos e potencialidades da Praça Maior. O trabalho conclui que há uma potencialidade não explorada de tratamento dos espaços para atrair e reter mais pessoas e favorecer a interação e o convívio.The present research offers an analysis on the free spaces of the Darcy Ribeiro University Campus, in Brasília, Federal District, and its use and appropriation by the people. It investigates how the campus landscape configuration contributes to public life today, considering that encounters and interpersonal interactions are positive, especially for university experience. The area studied was delimi-ted to the central portion of the campus called Praça Maior (Main Square), part of the landscaping project of Fernando Chacel, and was analyzed in four diffe-rent moments: the existing scenario in 1971, when the project was designed; Chacel’s landscaping project; the implementation of the project, considering the adjustments made from the project to the execution; and the current configura-tion of the square in its morphological and landscape aspects. This last section will focus especially on how it is now occupied by university social dynamics, involving the description of subjects and planned and spontaneous activities that take place in it. To this end there came the necessity to contextualize the themes of public life, Brazilian landscape architecture, the university grounds in form of the campus, and the sociological dimension of architecture which corre-lates space and society. Field research assessed occupation patterns of Praça Maior with surveys on flow count and record of stationary activities, using a me-thod of evaluation of public life that provided the basis for correlating landscape configuration and daily use. Besides that, the questionaires applied, aimed at identifying questions of image and perception of neighborhood as well as the present demands, conflicts and potentialities of Praça Maior. The research con-cludes that there is an unexplored potential on the treatment of space to attract and keep more people, thus favoring interactions between them