Estratégias para a gestão da água em espaços verdes: Jardins complexos vs relvados.

Os espaços verdes urbanos são hoje em dia bastante comuns em qualquer ambiente Mediterrâneo, em forma de jardins complexos e/ou relvados, ocupando em alguns casos vastas áreas. A estratégia de gestão da água irá proporcionar a sua manutenção de acordo com os padrões de qualidade visual requeridos. Atendendo a que, estes espaços não visam a produção máxima de biomassa então, a estratégia para a gestão da água de rega não deverá ser a mesma da utilizada na produção de alimentos. A rega dos relvados deverá ser estabelecida com base no conhecimento da evapotranspiração da paisagem (ETL, mm/dia), função da evapotranspiração de referência (ETo, mm) e do coeficiente da paisagem (KL). A gestão da rega deverá ser estabelecida atendendo às características do solo existente no local. Nos jardins complexos onde existem misturas de plantas com diferentes exigências em água (com diferentes valores de KL) a gestão da rega torna-se mais complicada. Este estudo visa assim classificar as diferentes áreas verdes existentes em ambiente Mediterrâneo e mostrar de que forma é possível melhor adequar as estratégias de rega à gestão da água em relvados e jardins complexos, atendendo às diferentes necessidades hídricas das plantas, de forma a torná-los mais sustentáveis numa região sujeita a escassez hídrica.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Social network measures to match analysis in soccer : a survey

In this study we will present the most common and adequate network measures to analyse graph properties and to inspect the prominence of each player on a soccer team. Both approaches can provide a range of useful information. This kind of analysis will help to identify the prominence of players and also characterize the collective organization and patterns of the teams. General measures and centrality levels will be described and the applications will be discussed. By using social network analysis will be possible to quantify the structure of play and predict some behaviour. Such methodology will add new options to the field of match analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An assessment of forest fires and CO2 gross primary production from 1991 to 2019 in Mação (Portugal)

Forest-fire rates have increased in Southern European landscapes. These fires damage forest ecosystems and alter their development. During the last few decades, an increase in fast-growing and highly fuel-bearing plant species such as bush, Eucalyptus globulus Labill., and Pinus pinaster Ait. has been observable in the interior of Portugal. This study aims to verify this assumption by the quantification of the biomass carbon sink in the forests of the Mação municipality. Maps of fire severity and forest biomass evolution after a wildfire event were produced for the period of 1991 to 2019. To quantify carbon retention in this region, this evolution was correlated with gross primary production (GPP) on the basis of satellite imagery from Landsat 5, Landsat 8, and MODIS MYD17A2H. Results show that wildfires in Mação increased in area and severity with each passing decade due to the large accumulation of biomass promoted by the abandonment of rural areas. Before the large fires of 2003, 2017, and 2019, carbon rates reached a daily maximum of 5.4, 5.3, and 4.7 gC/m2/day, respectively, showing a trend of forest-biomass accumulation in the Mação municipality.UIDB/04020/2020; UIDB/04292/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Performance analysis tool for network analysis on team sports: a case study of FIFA Soccer World Cup 2014

The study of teammates’ interaction on team sports has been growing in the last few years. Nevertheless, no specific software has been developed so far to do this in a user-friendly manner. Therefore, the aim of this study was to introduce a software called the Performance Analysis Tool that allows the user to quickly record the teammates’ interaction and automatically generate the outputs in adjacency matrices that can then be imported by social network analysis software such as SocNetV. Moreover, it was also the aim of this study to process the data in a real-life scenario, thus the seven matches of the German national soccer team in the FIFA World Cup 2014 were used to test the software and then compute the network metrics. A dataset of 3032 passes between teammates in seven soccer matches was generated with the Performance Analysis Tool software, which permitted a study of the network structure. The analysis of variance of centrality metrics between different tactical positions was made. The two-way multivariate analysis of variance revealed that the strategic position (γ=1.305 ; F = 24.394; p = 0.001; η2p=0.652 ; large effect size) had significant main effects on the centrality measures. No statistical differences were found in the phase of competition (γ=0.003 ; F = 0.097; p = 0.907; η2p=0.003 ; very small effect size). The network approach revealed that the German national soccer team based their attacking process on positional attacks and not in counter-attack, and the midfielders were the prominent players followed by the central defenders. The Performance Analysis Tool software allowed the user to quickly identify the teammates’ interactions and extract the network data for process and analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Caracterização e medidas mitigadoras das inundações em Vilamoura, Algarve

Este artigo visa analisar as inundações da Ribeira do Vale Tesnado, zona poente de Vilamoura (Algarve), e as soluções integradas que geram a diminuição da probabilidade e da magnitude das mesmas. Para tal, esta análise foi dividida em quatro etapas: i) estudo hidrológico da bacia hidrográfica a montante, com vista à determinação de caudais de cheia; ii) estudo hidrodinâmico, no qual se efetua a modelação numérica do escoamento na zona com risco potencial significativo, considerando o efeito das diversas estruturas hidráulicas existentes; iii) identificação dos níveis atingidos pela inundação associada a períodos de retorno de 10 e 100 anos e mapeamento das áreas inundáveis; iv) análise de resultados e identificação de soluções integradas com vista à minimização da frequência e da magnitude das inundações. A aferição do modelo foi realizada através da comparação dos níveis de cheia observados a 8 de novembro de 2012 (com base em testemunhos locais, marcas de cheia, fotografias e vídeos) com os obtidos da modelação numérica.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comparison of ratioing and RCNA methods in the detection of flooded areas using Sentinel 2 Imagery (case study: Tulun, Russia)

Climate change and natural disasters caused by hydrological, meteorological, and climatic phenomena have a significant impact on cities. Russia, a continental country with a vast territory of complex geographic–ecological environments and highly variable climatic conditions, is subject to substantial and frequent natural disasters. On 29 June 2019, an extreme precipitation event occurred in the city of Tulun in the Irkutsk oblast, Russian Federation, which caused flooding due to the increase in the water level of the Iya River that passes through the city, leaving many infrastructures destroyed and thousands of people affected. This study aims to determine the flooded areas in the city of Tulun based on two change detection methods: Radiometric Rotation Controlled by No-change Axis (RCNA) and Ratioing, using Sentinel 2 images obtained before the event (19 June 2019) and during the flood peak (29 June 2019). The results obtained by the two methodologies were compared through cross-classification, and a 98% similarity was found in the classification of the areas. The study was validated based on photointerpretation of Google Earth images. The methodology presented proved to be useful for the automatic precession of flooded areas in a straightforward, but rigorous, manner. This allows stakeholders to efficiently manage areas that are buffeted by flooding episodes.LA/P/0069/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bacterial cellulose as a novel stabilizer and texturizer for cosmetic and food applications

Book of Abstracts of CEB Annual Meeting 2017[Excerpt] Bacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a sophisticated material produced biotechnologically by different microorganisms, but most efficiently by acetic acid bacteria from the genera Gluconacetobacter. While chemically identical to plant cellulose, BNC is chemically pure. Each BNC nanofiber is a bundle of cellulose nanofibrils. Due to their nano-size, these aggregates of extended cellulose chains have a rather large surface area. The unique properties of BNC account for an extraordinary physico-chemical and mechanical behaviour. For industrial applications, hydrocolloidal microcrystalline cellulose from vegetable sources is widely used to regulate the texture, rheology, stability and organoleptic properties of the formulations [1]. Several studies are being carried out to investigate the technological role of BNC. Preliminary results already showed that BNC is technically superior to these vegetable celluloses, and can outperform plant celluloses in several applications within the food industry. As a novel hydrocolloid, BNC presents important features such as the stabilization of heterogeneous systems (air-liquid, solid-liquid and liquidliquid): it is able to stabilize aerogels, increasing the incorporation of air in the liquid matrix (overrun), so it can be used as an additive in ice cream, smoothies and whipped cream; it can stabilize solid particles in a liquid matrix (e.g. cocoa particles in chocolate milk); BNC also stabilizes of oil-in-water emulsions, in spoonable and pourable dressings, without the need to add any other emulsifying agents. [...]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Study of network process in children during cooperation games

While playing, the child progresses in reasoning ability, develops thinking and other skills, creates social relations, understands the environment, develops knowledge and creativity, and satisfies desires (Dallabona& Mendes, 2004). Thus, playing “increases their independence, stimulates their visual and auditory sensibility, values their popular culture, develops motor skills, exercises their imagination, their creativity, socializes, interacts, rebalances, recycles their emotions, their need to know and reinvent, and thus builds their knowledge” (Dallabona& Mendes, 2004, p.4). However, the interaction with a medium that is still unknown requires the child to explore new spaces, new situations, and new contexts, watching for visible behavioral changes, acquiring patterns of communication and interaction with each other (Martins, Clemente,& Mendes, 2015), all of which is essential for the child’s development.The aim of the present study was to analyze the variance between groups of different sizes in different playful games of cooperation. The groups were randomly formed and consisted of groups of 5 (G5) or 10 (G10) members.In the results obtained, it was possible to verify that there are no significant differences in the groups of 5 and 10 children in the values of proximity prestige, whereas in centroid value statistically significant differences were found in the comparison between groups of 5 and those of 10 children, regarding interaction in the cooperation games.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Indoor air pollution on nurseries and primary schools: impact on childhood asthma – study protocol

BACKGROUND: Several studies have demonstrated an association between the exposure to indoor air pollution (IAP) and childhood asthma. Evidence is suggesting that several air pollutants may contribute to both exacerbation and development of asthma, but some uncertainty remains concerning the specific causative role of IAP. This paper reports an epidemiologic study aiming to reduce the existing lacks on the association between long-term exposure to pollution mixtures and the development and exacerbation of childhood asthma. METHODS/DESIGN: Based on the implementation of the study in 8 nurseries and 8 primary schools, from which, 2 nurseries and 2 primary schools in sites influenced by traffic and other 2 nurseries and 2 primary schools in background sites at urban and rural areas, the study will analyse the exposure to both urban and rural pollution as well as to traffic emissions (some homes of the children will be included in the study). Furthermore, based on the answers to validated questionnaires (as those used in the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood - ISAAC) filled in by the parents and on medical exams, the study will assess the prevalence, incidence and exacerbation of asthma, thus considering both short and long-term effects. The approximate number of children in the study will never be less than 600, guaranteeing 80% of study power (significant at a 5% level). DISCUSSION: This study intends to contribute for the understanding of the role of environmental factors, namely indoor air pollution, on asthma considering a risk group of different ages, and for the development of preventive measures, which are considered priority issues by the European Commission, according to the European Environmental Agency and the World Health Organization