Exopolysaccharides production by aerobic granular sludge upon exposure to dual anthropogenic stresses

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bioprospecting microalgae for treatment of marine aquaculture wastewater

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Função do sistema nervoso autónomo em doentes com lúpus eritematoso sistémico

Trabalho Final do Curso de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, 2017A afecção do Sistema Nervoso Autónomo é cada vez mais reconhecida como parte integral das doenças reumatológicas devido às interacções entre os sistemas nervoso e imunitário. Os mecanismos pelos quais as doenças auto-imunes como o Lúpus Eritematoso Sistémico causam disautonomia são ainda obscuros, sendo incerto o papel da auto-imunidade ou de outros eventuais processos indirectos. Esta revisão bibliográfica evidencia que o conhecimento nesta área é ainda incipiente e merece exploração. Neste momento, impera a necessidade de reconhecer a evolução da disfunção autonómica no Lúpus Eritematoso Sistémico, se esta tem relação com outras manifestações clínicas ou laboratoriais da doença, o papel preditivo destas mesmas manifestações e a influência da terapêutica imunossupressora. O objectivo final do protocolo proposto deve ser estabelecer o valor prognóstico da disautonomia, de forma a enquadrar o papel dos testes de função autonómica nos doentes com o diagnóstico de lúpus.The disorders of the Autonomic Nervous System are increasingly recognized as an integral part of the rheumatologic diseases due to the interactions between the nervous and immune systems. The mechanisms by which diseases like Systemic Lupus Erythematosus cause dysautonomia are still obscure, with the uncertain role of autoimmunity or other indirect processes. This bibliographic revision highlights that the knowledge in this area is still incipient and deserves further exploration. At this time, the importance lies in recognizing the evolution of the autonomic dysfunction in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, if it has any correlation with other clinical or analytical manifestations of the disease, their predictive role and the influence of the imunossupressive treatment. The final objective of the proposed protocol must be the establishment of the predictive value of the dysautonomia, so that the role of the autonomic function tests in lupic patients can be found

As práticas de gestão nas empresas familiares portuguesas do sector textil

A empresa familiar ocupa um espaço importante nas economias industrializadas e emergentes. A relação entre família e empresa confere-lhe características especiais em que se confundem as esferas económica e familiar. Vários trabalhos têm surgido sobre esta realidade empresarial, sendo escasso o estudo dos domínios da gestão propriamente dita. O presente trabalho tem por base uma amostra de empresas familiares do Sector Têxtil do distrito de Castelo Branco, em Portugal. Procura-se estudar a particularidade deste tipo de empresa, identificando as práticas de gestão que orientam a sua actuação como empresa. Na sequência da metodologia de investigação utilizada, foi possível identificar, quanto às práticas de gestão, que se privilegia a manutenção da gestão na família, seguida das práticas relacionadas com os recursos humanos.The family firm occupies an important space in the industrialised and emergent economies. The relationship between family and business adds special characteristic in which economic and family spheres are fused. Various studies have appeared on this business reality, thus dealing little with the areas of management specifically. This study is based on a sample of family firms in the Textile Sector located in the district of Castelo Branco, in Portugal. It seeks to study the particularity of this type of organisation, identifying the management practices that guide its performance as business. Following the research methodology used, it was possible to identify, with regard to management practices, that maintaining the management in the family has priority, followed by practices related to human resources

Rapid granulation and stable performance of a microalgal-bacterial granular sludge system treating saline wastewater

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Efficient ammonium removal from marine aquaculture wastewater with microalgal-bacterial granular sludge technology

Water recirculation in marine aquaculture is fundamental for the protection of water resources and for the sector sustainability as it enables to reduce water usage 1. Microalgal-bacterial granular sludge (MBGS) has the potential to increase the removal efficiency of pollutants from wastewaters benefiting from the diverse metabolism allowing water recirculation. Moreover, MBGS would allow costs reduction both in biomass separation from the treated water given the rapid settling properties and in aeration due to microalgae oxygen production 2.This study aimed to develop MBGS able to treat marine aquaculture effluents. For that, a lab-scale photo sequencing batch reactor was inoculated with activated sludge, previously adapted to salty wastewater, and a microalgae consortium enriched from water collected at a marine aquaculture. Feeding composition was established to simulate marine aquaculture streams. The aggregation of microalgal and bacterial biomass to form granular structures occurred rapidly. Throughout the operation, dark green granules with a dense and compact structure became predominant together with an increase in chlorophyll and carotenoids content in biomass. Ammonia was absent from the reactor effluent, but the nitrite levels were often above the toxicity levels for fish. Nevertheless, the dissolved oxygen concentration in the treated water was high (> 8.63 mg/L). The microalgal-bacterial granules proved to be efficient in producing streams with high dissolved oxygen levels, lowering the needed of water oxygenation before reuse and without ammonium ions. However, for water recirculation, improvement of the nitrite removal is needed to maintain the levels below the fish toxicity levels.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microalgae-bacterial granular sludge systems - on the road for more sustainable processes in the aquaculture sector

With population growth and stagnation of capture fisheries, the aquaculture sector has been challenged to achieve remarkable production targets to meet the ever-increasing fish demand. However, land-based aquaculture industries need to capture high water volumes from nearby water bodies to ensure an adequate production and, consequently, high wastewater volumes, containing organic carbon, nutrients, and often contaminants of emerging concern, are produced. If not properly handled, aquaculture effluents pose a threat to receiving aquatic ecosystems. The rapid expansion of these industries, facing the increased demand for food worldwide, is only possible if more sustainable practices are adopted. To face the current water shortages and protect water resources, the development of environmentally friendly treatment systems that allow water recirculation is of utmost importance. This work aimed to develop a microalgae-bacteria granular sludge system able to efficiently treat marine aquaculture effluents so they can meet the requirements for recirculation. A photo-sequencing batch reactor was inoculated with a phototrophic microbial consortium obtained from water streams in a marine aquaculture facility and was fed with wastewater mimicking marine aquaculture streams. The aggregation of the microbial biomass occurred rapidly and, on day-21, ca. 49% of the total reactor biomass was in the form of granules. The system exhibited high and stable organic carbon removal (>80%), even when florfenicol, an antibiotic widely used in aquaculture, was present in the wastewater. Concerning the nitrogen content, a high-chemical quality effluent was obtained, complying with ammonium, nitrite, and nitrate concentrations for water recirculation within a marine aquaculture farm, even in periods where florfenicol was present in the wastewater. In addition, the dissolved oxygen levels in the treated effluents where within the ideal range for fish growth thus reducing the need for oxygenation and, consequently, the farms operational costs. Additionally, the coexistence of microalgae and bacteria within the granules allowed to treat wastewater at low air flow rates potentially reducing the energy needed for system’s aeration. Microalgae-bacterial granular sludge systems can contribute for the aquaculture sector sustainability as they enable to reduce energy and water usage whilst ensuring environmental protection.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Toxina Botulínica em Pacientes Bruxómanos

O bruxismo é uma atividade parafuncional cada vez mais prevalente na sociedade atual. Está relacionado com uma contração muscular oro-facial excessiva, que pode culminar em danos ao nível de todas as estruturas associadas à cavidade oral, bem como no resto do corpo, comprometendo o nível de vida. Ora, nestes casos, é fundamental conseguir diminuir a tensão provocada pelos músculos faciais. Uma das opções pode passar pelo uso de toxina botulínica. Esta neurotoxina atua reduzindo a hiperactividade muscular, amenizando assim os efeitos do bruxismo. Os objetivos desta revisão passam por entender mais sobre o fenómeno do bruxismo, estudar as características da toxina botulínica, e perceber a forma como se comporta esta toxina em pacientes com condição bruxómana, segundo artigos de estudo-caso dos autores mais relevantes. Para a elaboração desta revisão foram utilizados artigos científicos provenientes da base de dados “pubmed” desde 2010 a 2019. Entre as várias opções terapêuticas para casos de bruxismo, esta revisão enfoca autores que utilizaram a toxina botulínica nos seus estudos. Os artigos estudados focam-se em investigações realizadas com o intuito de avaliar a eficácia e desempenho de aplicações desta substância. Concluindo, após rever vários estudos, a toxina botulínica parece ser uma opção válida e segura para pacientes bruxómanos. Contudo, com o objetivo de apurar mais conclusões e conseguir uniformização nos procedimentos, os próximos estudos neste campo deverão ser feitos com amostras populacionais mais extensas

Phonological characteristics of children with speech sound disorders: a comparative study between speakers of European and Brazilian Portuguese

Trabalho apresentado em 30th World Congress of the I.A.L.P., 21-25 agosto 2916, Dublin, IrlandaN/

Experimental study on the effect of cover and vaccination on the survival of juvenile European rabbits

et al.In Mediterranean ecosystems, the European rabbit is a keystone species that has declined dramatically, with profound implications for conservation and management. Predation and disease acting on juveniles are considered the likely causes. In the field, these processes are managed by removing predators, increasing cover to reduce predation risk and by vaccinating against myxomatosis. These manipulations can be costly and, when protected predators are killed, they can also be damaging to conservation interests. Our goal was to test the effectiveness of cover and vaccination on juvenile survival in two large enclosures, free of mammalian predators, by adding cover and vaccinating juveniles. Rabbit warrens were our experimental unit, with nine replicates of four treatments: control, cover, vaccination, and cover and vaccination combined. Our results showed that improved cover systematically increased juvenile rabbit survival, whereas vaccination had no clear effect and the interactive effect was negligible. Our experimental data suggest that improved cover around warrens is an effective way of increasing rabbit abundance in Mediterranean ecosystems, at least when generalist mammalian predators are scarce. In contrast the vaccination programme was of limited benefit, raising questions about its efficacy as a management tool.Funding was provided by Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir and the projects CGL2009-11665/BOS, PEII 09-0097-4363, POII09-0099-2557. C.F. was supported by a PhD grant (Ref. SFRH/BD/22084/2005) funded by the Fundaçao para a Ciência e Tecnologia of the Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Portuguese government. S.R. was supported by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology and a grant from NERC.Peer Reviewe