Learning and training on the use of prescribed burning techniques

Many of the technicians who applied the technique of prescribed burning were forest and range managers, but they could also be fire fighters, among many other professions. We will use the term fire professional for all of those trained in fire. In our point of view, agreeing with Kobziar et al. (2009), fire professionals should have not only specific training on prescribed burning (professional/continuous training) and practical experience in the field, but also a good fire education (university courses). Following this premise, the objectives of this chapter are to: • Describe and assess the current context on prescribed burning training in Europe (Spain, Portugal and France); • Propose ways to continue the efforts to harmonise qualifications in Europe and to permanently exchange experiences on prescribed training; • Describe and assess the current situation with regard to forest education, university level in Europe (Spain and Portugal) and compare it to the US forest education; • Propose new ways for the example of an International Graduate Program in Fire Science and Management http://www.efi.int/files/attachments/publications/efi_rr23.pdfN/

ANALYSIS OF NOx EMISSIONS AND SPECIFIC FUEL CONSUMPTION OF A DIESEL ENGINE OPERATING WITH DIESEL/BIODIESEL BLENDS

This study aims to examine experimentally the NOx emissions and the performance of a motor AGRALE M90, single cylinder, operating with diesel and biodiesel blends. The engine was linked to an electric generator, which provided 1500 W, 3000 W and 4500 W to an electrical system. The engine was tested with fuel blends containing different amounts of commercial diesel (B4) with palm biodiesel (B100). NOx emissions, as well as the specific fuel consumption of diesel, biodiesel and their mixtures were measured and analyzed. In this study, emissions of NOx have been prioritized over other pollutants by environmental issues and techniques. Air pollution by NOx causes serious respiratory problems. Furthermore, emissions of NOx enable a qualitative assessment of the combustion process. The results show that the commercial diesel has better performance in terms of energy efficiency and NOx emissions

Socio-economy of peri-urban areas: the case of Lisbon metropolitan area

The chapter presents typologies of peri-urban areas of Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) regarding social and economic dimensions. These typologies are the outcome of a trans-disciplinary research developed by the project PERI-URBAN involving different Portuguese universities, crossing academic fi elds and integrating the knowledge of stakeholders from diverse institutional and territorial (local and regional) backgrounds. By bridging science and society, transdisciplinarity allows the translation of knowledge acquired in research into useful and relevant information for planners and decision-makers. The analysis reveals diverse socioeconomic realities demanding different and specifi c political approaches envisaging sustainable peri-urban territories in a changing world. The socioeconomy of peri-urban areas considers identities and lifestyle issues (e.g., age, family patterns, living and working conditions) and economic characteristics (e.g., main economic activities, economic organisation and structuring, attractiveness). The infl uence of a metropolitan area is expressed by continuing investments in peripheral areas that offer sources of labour and natural resources such as land. The presence of industries, services, logistics and distribution platforms, enterprises, housing, big store chains, etc., constitutes manifestations of this realm. Plus, and in parallel, the coexistence of a rural-agriculture matrix establishes a hybrid territory where distinct activities co-exist defi ning distinct degrees of specialisation/diversity of the economic tissueinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effect of pH of H2O2 solutions on the morphology and wear resistance of human dental enamel: an AFM study

Abstract in proceedings of the Fourth International Congress of CiiEM: Health, Well-Being and Ageing in the 21st Century, held at Egas Moniz’ University Campus in Monte de Caparica, Almada, from 3–5 June 2019.This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Assessment of portuguese community forestry: using the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure and FAO community-based forestry framework

In the last five decades, Community-Based Forestry (CBF) has become a subject of special attention. It is assumed that the transfer of rights to local communities will improve forest management. In Portugal more than 13% of the forest area belongs to local communities (termed baldios). Following FAO tools, assessments of Forest Tenure and CBF were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of four baldio management types. The results revealed the most common challenges for baldios, vis- a-vis, rights associated with their management, protection of these rights, weak land administration, weak mechanisms for conflict resolution, problems with decentralized state support, cash flow management, and environmental challenges leading to wildfires, loss of biodiversity, and inadequate control of pests and invasive species. Resolution of these challenges is urgently needed at the legal, administrative and local levels. Future research should include assessments of CBF in other European countries to reduce the existing knowledge gapinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Educação ambiental e os incêndios florestais: a importância da formação superior dos técnicos florestais

Os técnicos florestais são um dos principais intervenientes no território rural. Os incêndios são a maior ameaça aos espaços florestais portugueses e são maioritariamente um problema social. Com o objetivo de perceber se as competências fornecidas nos diversos cursos universitários da área florestal respondem às diversas solicitações laborais destes profissionais e aos desafios do séc. XXI, realizou-se um levantamento das necessidades formativas dos técnicos, confrontando-as com as diferentes atividades profissionais e a sua formação universitária ao nível da licenciatura e mestrado. A metodologia utilizada incluiu a análise de conteúdos das licenciaturas e mestrados na área das ciências florestais e um questionário enviado por correio eletrónico aos 220 técnicos que trabalham nos Gabinetes Técnico Florestal em Portugal. A taxa de resposta foi de 71%. Desta análise verificou-se que existem diversas novas funções ligadas principalmente às componentes sociais como por exemplo na área da educação ambiental e sensibilização. Assim concluiu-se que as maiores discrepâncias entre o que é importante para o desempenho profissional e a preparação dos técnicos, encontram-se maioritariamente na dimensão humana da gestão dos recursos florestais, nomeadamente na integração da componente social da perceção do risco por parte da população na gestão. Esta componente social reflete-se nas competências ligadas à comunicação com diferentes públicos (competências gerais) e as que estão ligadas às competências sociais e relacionais como gestão de conflitos, dinâmica de grupos e a componente pedagógicainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Static Safety for an Actor Dedicated Process Calculus by Abstract Interpretation

The actor model eases the definition of concurrent programs with non uniform behaviors. Static analysis of such a model was previously done in a data-flow oriented way, with type systems. This approach was based on constraint set resolution and was not able to deal with precise properties for communications of behaviors. We present here a new approach, control-flow oriented, based on the abstract interpretation framework, able to deal with communication of behaviors. Within our new analyses, we are able to verify most of the previous properties we observed as well as new ones, principally based on occurrence counting

A Hubble Constant Estimate from Galaxy Cluster and type Ia SNe Observations

In this work, we constrain the Hubble constant parameter,$H_0$, using a combination of the Pantheon sample and galaxy clusters (GC) measurements from minimal cosmological assumptions. Assuming the validity of the cosmic distance duality relation, an estimator is created for $H_0$ that only depends on simple geometrical distances, which is evaluated from Pantheon and a GC angular diameter distance sample afterward. The statistical and systematic errors in GC measurements are summed in quadrature in our analysis. We find $H_0 = 67.22 \pm 6.07$ ${\rm \,km\, s^{-1}\, Mpc^{-1}}$ in $1\sigma$ confidence level. This measurement presents an error of around 9\%, showing that future and better GC measurements can shed light on the current Hubble tension.Comment: 7 pages, two figure

Assessment of "social" and "economic" sustainability in peri-urban territories: A proposal of methodological framework and its application to Lisbon Metropolitan Area

Carried out within the framework of the multidisciplinary research project PERIURBAN (Peri-urban areas faced with the challenges of sustainability: developing scenarios for Lisbon Metropolitan Area) this article aims to propose, discuss and implement criteria for assessing the sustainability of peri-metropolitan territories at the social and economic level, starting from its application to the specific case of 5 parishes in Lisbon Metropolitan area.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Technical Report: Technique of Bladder Catheterization in Female Mice and Rats for Intravesical Instillation in Models of Bladder Cancer

Animal models offer a system that enables a better understanding of basic biological questions. Urinary bladder catheterization is a common procedure in models of female urothelial tumours and yet the technique does still need to be described further. The methods described in the existing literature do not outline how the procedure should be adapted for different research goals. In this report, we describe systematically catheterization of female mice and rats as well as analysing several anaesthetic protocols, which can be used to carry out this technical procedure