Nested-multiplex PCR detection of Orthopoxvirus and Parapoxvirus directly from exanthematic clinical samples

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Metodologia de análise de um sistema de produção FV para empresa industrial

Na última década, o desenvolvimento de sistemas fotovoltaicos (FV) tem contribuído para a evolução da produção de eletricidade utilizando fontes de energia renovável. Os sistemas FV aproveitam a energia que é fornecida pelo sol sob a forma de radiação solar que incide sobre o planeta terra, para a produção de eletricidade. O sol é uma fonte de energia renovável praticamente inesgotável que permite produzir eletricidade livre de poluição (sem emissões de CO2), quando comparado com fontes de energia fóssil. Neste contexto de política energética, vigora atualmente em Portugal o Decreto-Lei n.º 153/2014 que prevê a produção de eletricidade para autoconsumo e a venda à rede elétrica de serviço público (RESP) com recurso a fontes de energia renovável. Pretendese induzir comportamentos de eficiência energética e contribuir para a otimização dos recursos endógenos. A presente dissertação enquadra-se no atual contexto de produção de eletricidade com recurso a fontes de energia renovável para autoconsumo, possuindo como objetivo principal o estudo da viabilidade da instalação de uma fonte FV, para alimentação de dois sistemas de produção de frio numa unidade industrial real, sedeada na região de Viseu. No estudo realizado, analisou-se o perfil solar concreto da zona e o perfil de carga. O primeiro, tendo em conta diversos cenários, como por exemplo, períodos em que a radiação solar é insuficiente para as necessidades energéticas. A abordagem tecnológica baseou-se numa revisão de literatura associada ao tema e à pesquisa sobre as alternativas existentes comercialmente. A estrutura tecnológica proposta engloba aspetos como: a análise da potência a instalar (área); a localização dos módulos FV (problemas de sombreamento) e a seleção dos equipamentos (tipo de tecnologia dos módulos FV, proteções, cabos e inversores). Também a análise de possibilidades de exploração como a venda da energia excedente em períodos que as necessidades energéticas estão satisfeitas, a adaptação da solução ao programa POSEUR (Programa Operacional Sustentabilidade e Eficiência no Uso de Recursos) e a análise económica, são abordadas. Tendo em conta que o trabalho desenvolvido poderá ter interesse por parte das empresas que pretendam instalar um sistema FV, foi elaborada uma ferramenta de apoio que poderá ajudar as empresas a encontrar uma solução mais apropriada para a sua instalação. Tendo as empresas acesso a uma ferramenta deste tipo, dá-se a conhecer a forma como os cálculos do tempo de recuperação do investimento devem ser feitos, nomeadamente tendo em conta que a radiação solar não é constante ao longo do tempo. Deste modo, evitam-se erros de cálculos do tempo de recuperação do investimento que entram com a energia máxima expectável.Abstract: In the last decade the development of photovoltaic systems (PV) has contributed for the evolution of production of electricity using renewable energy sources. PV systems harness the energy provided by the sun (solar radiation) for electricity production. Moreover, the sun is a source of renewable energy practically inexhaustible and free from CO2 emissions when compared to traditional fossil energy sources. In the context of energy policy, Portugal currently uses legislation n.º153/2014 that sustains the self-consumption production of electricity as well as the sale of electricity surplus to the grid (“Rede Elétrica de Serviço Público” RESP) that it is generated from renewable energy sources. It is intended to induce behaviors of energy efficiency and to contribute to optimize endogenous resources. The present dissertation falls in the actual context of electricity production based on renewable sources for self-consumption. Its main goal lies in a feasibility study for the installation of a PV source in an industrial enterprise in the region of Viseu (Portugal), to supply two cooling units. In the present study both the specific solar profile as well as the load profile has been analyzed. The former, considering different scenarios such as periods where solar radiation is insufficient to attain load needs. The technological approach is based on literature review, restrained to commercial alternatives. The proposed structure includes aspects as: analysis of the power to install (PV area); location of modules (shading problems) and selection of equipment (type of module technology, protections, cables and inverters). Analysis of operating potentialities, as the sale of surplus energy in periods where power needs are already satisfied, the adaptation of this solution to the POSEUR (“Programa Operacional Sustentabilidade e Eficiência no Uso de Recursos”) program and economic analysis are also addressed in this study. Enterprises can have interest in this study to install PV systems. A support tool was developed in order to help them to find a more appropriate solution for this type of installations. This tool, among others capabilities, gives an insight about the investment recovery time computation which is a major source of erroneous investment analysis, particularly when taking into consideration that solar radiation is nor constant nor maximal over the time (something that exerts an incorrect but irresistible attraction)

Impact of a Citywide Sanitation Program in Northeast Brazil on Intestinal Parasites Infection in Young Children

BACKGROUND: Sanitation affects health, especially that of young children. Residents of Salvador, in Northeast Brazil, have had a high prevalence of intestinal parasites. A citywide sanitation intervention started in 1996 aimed to raise the level of sewer coverage from 26% to 80% of households. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the impact of this intervention on the prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichuria, and Giardia duodenalis infections in preschool children. METHODS: The evaluation was composed of two cross-sectional studies (1998 and 2003-2004), each of a sample of 681 and 976 children 1-4 years of age, respectively. Children were sampled from 24 sentinel areas chosen to represent the range of environmental conditions in the study site. Data were collected using an individual/household questionnaire, and an environmental survey was conducted in each area before and after the intervention to assess basic household and neighborhood sanitation conditions. Stool samples were examined for the presence of intestinal parasites. The effect of the intervention was estimated by hierarchical modeling, fitting a sequence of multivariate regression models. FINDINGS: The prevalence ofA. lumbricoides infection was reduced from 24.4% to 12.0%, T. trichuria from 18.0% to 5.0%, and G. duodenalis from 14.1% to 5.3%. Most of this reduction appeared to be explained by the increased coverage in each neighborhood by the sewage system constructed during the intervention. The key explanatory variable was thus an ecological measure of exposure and not household-based, suggesting that the parasite transmission prevented by the program was mainly in the public (vs. the domestic) domain. CONCLUSION: This study, using advanced statistical modeling to control for individual and ecological potential confounders, demonstrates the impact on intestinal parasites of sanitation improvements implemented at the scale of a large population

Rarity of monodominance in hyperdiverse Amazonian forests.

Tropical forests are known for their high diversity. Yet, forest patches do occur in the tropics where a single tree species is dominant. Such "monodominant" forests are known from all of the main tropical regions. For Amazonia, we sampled the occurrence of monodominance in a massive, basin-wide database of forest-inventory plots from the Amazon Tree Diversity Network (ATDN). Utilizing a simple defining metric of at least half of the trees ≥ 10 cm diameter belonging to one species, we found only a few occurrences of monodominance in Amazonia, and the phenomenon was not significantly linked to previously hypothesized life history traits such wood density, seed mass, ectomycorrhizal associations, or Rhizobium nodulation. In our analysis, coppicing (the formation of sprouts at the base of the tree or on roots) was the only trait significantly linked to monodominance. While at specific locales coppicing or ectomycorrhizal associations may confer a considerable advantage to a tree species and lead to its monodominance, very few species have these traits. Mining of the ATDN dataset suggests that monodominance is quite rare in Amazonia, and may be linked primarily to edaphic factors

Dor e trabalho nas enfermeiras

Ap?s revis?o da literatura, verificamos necessidade de evid?ncia referente ? dor em Enfermeiros de Cuidados de Sa?de Prim?rios (CSP). A amostra constitu?da por 7 Enfermeiras dos CSP da regi?o Norte. Foi aplicado, sob forma de entrevista semi-dirigida, o inqu?rito INSAT 2010 e realizada a an?lise de conte?do. Os dados evidenciaram que as Enfermeiras apresentam qualidade de vida e sa?de afetadas, devido a constrangimentos f?sicos, organizacionais e relacionais no ambiente de trabalho que podem, eventualmente, causar stresse, fadiga, sofrimento e dor.B910-DDDF-6BB2 | Lu?s Carlos Carvalho da Gra?ainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comparative ecology of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.1758), in a large Iberian river

A total of 1,816 eels were sampled in 1988, from seven sampling areas. Four areas were located in brackish water and the remaining three were located in freshwater reaches of the Tagus river basin. Eels were more abundant in the middle estuary and decreased both in the upstream and in the downstream directions, with a predominance of males in higher density areas. Smaller individuals preferred more peripheral areas, such as margins and upper reaches in the brackish water zone, and the tributaries of the freshwater habitats. It was assumed that this distribution pattern resulted from three main factors: (i) the dominance of larger specimens; (ii) the need to avoid predators and; (iii) the search for better trophic conditions. The condition of the individuals generally decreased toward the upper reaches, apparently due to a corresponding decrease in feeding intensity. The presence of the Belver dam in the main river, 158 km upstream from the sea, seemed to impose major alterations to the described patterns. The concentration of specimens below this impassable obstacle yielded a reduction in the proportion of females and a decrease in the condition and survival of the eels, contributing to a reduction in the spawning success of this population. Suggestions to diminish the effects of the dam, and to preserve the fishery are also presente

Purification, characterization and structural determination of chitinases produced by Moniliophthora perniciosa

The enzyme chitinase from Moniliophthora perniciosa the causative agent of the witches' broom disease in Theobroma cacao, was partially purified with ammonium sulfate and filtration by Sephacryl S-200 using sodium phosphate as an extraction buffer. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimum pH and temperature conditions. Four different isoenzymes were obtained: ChitMp I, ChitMp II, ChitMp III and ChitMp IV. ChitMp I had an optimum temperature at 44-73ºC and an optimum pH at 7.0-8.4. ChitMp II had an optimum temperature at 45-73ºC and an optimum pH at 7.0-8.4. ChitMp III had an optimum temperature at 54-67ºC and an optimum pH at 7.3-8.8. ChitMp IV had an optimum temperature at 60ºC and an optimum pH at 7.0. For the computational biology, the primary sequence was determined in silico from the database of the Genome/Proteome Project of M. perniciosa, yielding a sequence with 564 bp and 188 amino acids that was used for the three-dimensional design in a comparative modeling methodology. The generated models were submitted to validation using Procheck 3.0 and ANOLEA. The model proposed for the chitinase was subjected to a dynamic analysis over a 1 ns interval, resulting in a model with 91.7% of the residues occupying favorable places on the Ramachandran plot and an RMS of 2.68