Assessment of exposure to airborne ultrafine particles in the urban environment of Lisbon, Portugal

The aim of this study was the assessment of exposure to ultrafine in the urban environment of Lisbon, Portugal, due to automobile traffic, and consisted of the determination of deposited alveolar surface area in an avenue leading to the town center during late spring. This study revealed differentiated patterns for weekdays and weekends, which could be related with the fluxes of automobile traffic. During a typical week, ultrafine particles alveolar deposited surface area varied between 35.0 and 89.2 μm2/cm3, which is comparable with levels reported for other towns such in Germany and the United States. These measurements were also complemented by measuring the electrical mobility diameter (varying from 18.3 to 128.3 nm) and number of particles that showed higher values than those previously reported for Madrid and Brisbane. Also, electron microscopy showed that the collected particles were composed of carbonaceous agglomerates, typical of particles emitted by the exhaustion of diesel vehicles. Implications: The approach of this study considers the measurement of surface deposited alveolar area of particles in the outdoor urban environment of Lisbon, Portugal. This type of measurements has not been done so far. Only particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters 10 (PM10) μm have been measured in outdoor environments and the levels found cannot be found responsible for all the observed health effects. Therefore, the exposure to nano- and ultrafine particles has not been assessed systematically, and several authors consider this as a real knowledge gap and claim for data such as these that will allow for deriving better and more comprehensive epidemiologic studies. Nanoparticle surface area monitor (NSAM) equipments are recent ones and their use has been limited to indoor atmospheres. However, as this study shows, NSAM is a very powerful tool for outdoor environments also. As most lung diseases are, in fact, related to deposition of the alveolar region of the lung, the metric used in this study is the ideal one

Connecting Regional Development to Environmental Education

<p>In this study we investigate how environmental education can be connected with the regional sustainable development We perceive that the dialogues surrounding Environmental Education in formal education have been dividing opinions over the last two decades. This does not happen only in relation to the conceptual precepts, but mainly in relation to the field of activity. Our theoretical support comes from authors engaged with the Critical Environmental Education, signaling for the construction of what we call Reference Framework. Our research is developed from a qualitative perspective, having as a strategy the exploratory case study. For the analysis of the documents we make reference to the methodology of content analysis proposed by Bardin (2011) and reflective application of the Reference Framework. We argue that so far in Brazil, environmental education is divided into two major theoretical trends that reflect the practices of environmental educators. On the one hand, supporting a behaviorist / liberal / conservative tendency of Environmental Education (CARVALHO, 2001; GUIMARÃES, 2000; LOUREIRO, 2008), understand environmental practices from its immediate resolution dimension, focusing actions that situate environmental practices through changes in social behaviors, mostly promoted by environmental activism. On the other hand, we have the opposite, that is, the popular / critical / emancipatory tendency which situates its argumentative and practical content situates in the significant assumption of a new societal posture in relation to the economic models adopted. It establishes the connection between environmental education and local / regional development, delineating a perception of reality, forming a dimension of creating other ways of relating human and non-human, including the emergence of a rationality that impresses ethical socio-environmental values, other forms of understanding of the world and the concept of environmental rationality.</p&gt

Advances on the development of novel heterogeneous catalysts for transesterification of triglycerides in biodiesel

This paper describes experimental work done towards the search for more profitable and sustainable alternatives regarding biodiesel production, using heterogeneous catalysts instead of the conventional homogenous alkaline catalysts, such as NaOH, KOH or sodium methoxide, for the methanolysis reaction. This experimental work is a first stage on the development and optimization of new solid catalysts, able to produce biodiesel from vegetable oils. The heterogeneous catalytic process has many differences from the currently used in industry homogeneous process. The main advantage is that, it requires lower investment costs, since no need for separation steps of methanol/catalyst, biodiesel/catalyst and glycerine/catalyst. This work resulted in the selection of CaO and CaO modified with Li catalysts, which showed very good catalytic performances with high activity and stability. In fact FAME yields higher than 92% were observed in two consecutive reaction batches without expensive intermediate reactivation procedures. Therefore, those catalysts appear to be suitable for biodiesel production

Physical-chemical properties of cross-linked chitosan electrospun fiber mats

Chitosan fiber mats were successfully processed by electrospinning. The as-spun fiber mats were neutralized with ethanol and cross-linked with glutaraldehyde. A decrease of the fiber average diameter from 243 ± 43 nm down to 215.53 nm was observed for the neutralized and cross-linking chitosan membrane. It was found that the processing conditions do not alter the initial deacetylation degree of the polymer. Polymer crystallinity index showed a decrease from 61 % for the Protasan material down to 17 % for the cross-linking fiber mats. A swelling index up to 1000 % was observed for the cross-linked samples. Preliminary MC-3T3-E1cell culture results showed good cell adhesion and proliferation in the cross-linked chitosan fiber mats.This work is funded by FEDER funds through the "Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETE" and by national funds by FCT- Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, project references NANO/NMed-SD/0156/2007. V.S. and SM thanks the FCT grants SFRH/BPD/63148/2009 and SFRH/BPD/64726/2009, respectively. The authors also thank the support of the COST Action MP1003, 2010 ‘European Scientific Network for Artificial Muscles’ (ESNAM). JLGR acknowledge the support of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through project No. MAT2010-21611-C03-01 (including the FEDER financial support) and Programa Nacional de Internacionalización de la I+D project EUI2008-00126. The authors also thank the National NMR Network (National Program for Scientific Re-equipment, REDE/1517/RMN/2005, funds from POCI 2010 (FEDER) and FCT) and Microscopy Service of the UPV for the use of their lab

Assessment of the impact of the European CO2 emissions trading scheme on the Portuguese chemical industry

This paper describes an assessment of the impact of the enforcement of the European carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions trading scheme on the Portuguese chemical industry, based on cost structure, CO2 emissions, electricity consumption and allocated allowances data from a survey to four Portuguese representative units of the chemical industry sector, and considering scenarios that allow the estimation of increases on both direct and indirect production costs. These estimated cost increases were also compared with similar data from other European Industries, found in the references and with conclusions from simulation studies. Thus, it was possible to ascertain the impact of buying extra CO2 emission permits, which could be considered as limited. It was also found that this impact is somewhat lower than the impacts for other industrial sectors

Registador de dados para aplicações de baixo consumo

Este artigo descreve uma arquitectura de um registador de dados para aplicações de baixo consumo. São apresentados resultados experimentais sobre o desempenho do oscilador, que é um dos módulos do registador. São ainda apresentadas estimativas do consumo do registador e dos respectivos módulos. A autonomia e a estabilidade são os critérios de projecto mais relevantes de um registador de dados para aplicações de baixo consumo que exijam precisão temporal, por exemplo a sismologia oceânica.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A novel two-switch three-level active rectifier for grid-connected electrical appliances in smart grids

A novel topology of two-switch three-level active rectifier (TSTL-AR) is proposed in order to connect electrical appliances to smart grids considering power quality aspects. The proposed active rectifier is presented as a powerful solution to mitigate the negative effects of current harmonic distortion of the diode-bridge rectifiers, besides the ability of operating with unitary power factor. These aspects are particularly relevant considering the new paradigm of smart grids, where almost all the electrical appliances should be controlled in order to comply normative impositions of power quality. In addition, active rectifiers are also fundamental devices regarding the electric vehicle battery chargers, which are a new and significant class of electrical appliances for smart grids. In this paper, a comprehensive and detailed description of the novel topology of TSTL-AR is presented and compared with the classical power factor correction topology. Along the paper, it is discussed in detailed a digital current control structure based on finite control set model predictive control, permitting an accurate, robust, and faster control of the grid current. A laboratory prototype was developed and experimental tests were performed, verifying the precise operation, and demonstrating the importance of the proposed active rectifier for electrical appliances in smart grids. The results show a low level of current THD, a unitary power factor, and a regulated dc-link voltage.This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007043 and FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013. This work is financed by the ERDF - European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation - COMPETE 2020 Programme, and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency, FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, within project SAICTPAC/0004/2015 - POCI − 01–0145-FEDER-016434.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Fabrication of poly(lactic acid) – poly(ethylene oxide) electrospun membranes with controlled micro to nanofiber sizes

Biodegradable poly(L-lactide acid) (PLLA) nanofiber membranes were prepared by electrospinning of PLLA and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO). The selective removal of PEO by water allows to obtain smaller fiber diameters and to increase the porosity of the membranes in comparison to PLLA membranes obtained under the same electrospinning conditions. After removal of PEO membranes with fiber sizes of 260 nm and average porosity close to 80% are obtained. Thermal and infrared results confirm the poor miscibility of PLLA and PEO, with the PEO randomly distributed along the PLLA fibers. On the other, PLLA and PEO mixing strongly affect their respective degradation temperatures. The influence of the PEO in the electrospinning process is discussed and the results are correlated to the evolution of the PLLA fiber diameter

Endogenous cathelicidin production limits inflammation and protective immunity to Mycobacterium avium in mice

The production of antimicrobial peptides, such as the cathelicidins, plays a prominent role in the innate immune response against microbial pathogens. Cathelicidins are widely distributed amongst living organisms, and the antimicrobial peptides generated by proteolysis of the precursor forms are typically cationic and [alpha]-helical, a structure that facilitates their interaction and insertion into anionic bacterial cell walls and membranes, causing damage and promoting microbial death. Here, we found that mouse cathelicidin (Camp) expression was induced in bone marrow-derived macrophages by infection with Mycobacterium avium in a TLR2- and TNF-dependent manner. However, the endogenous production of the cathelin-related antimicrobial peptide (CRAMP) was not required for the bacteriostasis of M. avium either in primary cultures of macrophages or in vivo, as shown by the use of CRAMP-null mice. In contrast, the lack of Camp led to a transient improvement of M. avium growth control in the spleens of infected mice while at the same time causing an exacerbation of the inflammatory response to infection. Our data highlight the anti-inflammatory effects of CRAMP and suggests that virulent mycobacteria may possess strategies to escape its antimicrobial activity.Funded through project PTDC/BIA-BCM/112138/2009FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER014185

Photodynamic inactivation of a RNA-virus model using water-soluble β-octa-Substituted pyridinium-pyrazolyl phthalocyanines

Among the various groups of microorganisms, viruses have generally a greater capacity for mutation, especially RNA viruses, as was demonstrated by SARS-CoV2 virus mutations. This high mutation rate promotes the development of their resistance to traditional antivirals and establishes the resistance behaviour in virus populations, decreasing their susceptibility to these drugs. In this context, the photodynamic treatment appears as a potentially effective method against microorganisms and, considering its mode of action is not likely to lead to the development of resistance. In this work, two newly zinc(II) phthalocyanines (ZnPcs) bearing pyridinium-pyrazolyl groups (2a and 3a) were synthesized, characterized, and applied in photodynamic inactivation (PDI) of bacteriophage Φ6 (or Phage Phi6) as a RNA-virus model. These quaternized dyes were applied at different concentrations (from 5.0 to 20 μM, and under white light irradiation in the irradiance range between 50 and 150 mW/cm2) to test their efficiency for possible clinical or environmental applications. The results showed that the new cationic ZnPcs 2a and 3a efficiently inactivate the RNA-virus model (bacteriophage Φ6), even at the lowest tested irradiance. These compounds are thus promising photosensitizers to be used in various contexts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio