Biology of Aphaereta sp. n (Hymenoptera: Braconidae: Alysiinae), a new larval parasitoid of Ceratitis capitata Wied. (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Dissertação de Mestrado - Biotecnologia em Controlo Biológico.As espécies que pertencem ao género Aphaereta estão distribuídas praticamente por todo o mundo, e vivem associadas a dípteros sinantrópicos e outros dípteros. Foi encontrado um total de 12 indivíduos, da população em estudo, em duas pupas de Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), estes indivíduos são endo-parasitóides gregários larva-pupa. Foram estimados pela primeira vez os parâmetros biológicos de Aphaereta sp., em relação ao tamanho do hospedeiro e temperatura. Foram testados três estados larvares, o primeiro (pequeno), o segundo (médio) e o terceiro (grande) estado, e cinco temperaturas (12, 15, 20, 25 e 30ºC). O tamanho do hospedeiro afecta significativamente o tempo de desenvolvimento, o número de indivíduos por pupa, a taxa de parasitismo, o sexo rácio, a fecundidade e a longevidade das fêmeas de Aphaereta sp. O segundo estado larvar de C. capitata, de todos os estados larvares testados, é o que promove uma maior taxa intrínseca de desenvolvimento (rm). Observou-se que o parasitóide e o seu hospedeiro possuem diferentes constantes térmicas e limites de desenvolvimento. Verificou-se também que a taxa de desenvolvimento de Aphaereta sp., aumenta linearmente com a temperatura e esta efeito significativo sobre os parâmetros reprodutivos (R0, rm, λ, DT e o T) deste parasitóide.ABSTRACT: The species of the genus Aphaereta occurs almost everywhere around the world and lives associated to sinatropic dipterous and other Diptera. Our population was collected from two pupae of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), in a total of 12 adults, and is a gregarious larval-pupal endoparasitoid. Biological and life table parameters of the Aphaereta sp. were evaluated for the first time, in relation to the size of host and temperature. Three host larval state, first (small), second (medium) and third state (large) and five temperature levels (12, 15, 20, 25 and 30ºC) were studied. The development time, progeny per pupa, number of offspring per female parasitism, female longevity and sex ratio of the Aphaereta sp. are affected by host larval sizes. From all larval instars of the C. capitata tested, the second state promotes a higher intrinsic rate of increase (rm). The lower developmental threshold and thermal constant of the host and the parasitoids differ. The rate of development of the parasitoids increased with a linear trend as the temperature increased from 15ºC to 30ºC. Temperature had a significant effect on the net reproductive rate, intrinsic rate of increase, finite capacity for increase and doubling time

Fotografia científica em Portugal, das origens ao séc. XX:investigação e ensino em química e instrumentação

Tese de doutoramento, Química (Química), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Ciências, 2013Foi objectivo desta investigação conhecer os aspectos científicos e históricos dos processos químicos e físicos da fotografia científica em Portugal, bem como da respectiva instrumentação, no período do seu desenvolvimento inicial, tendo como referência o contexto científico europeu. As provas fotográficas antigas apresentam uma estrutura complexa, constituída por vários compostos inorgânicos e orgânicos que resultam dos processos fotográficos usados bem como de possíveis alterações resultantes da passagem do tempo. Conhecer a constituição de uma prova fotográfica pode permitir datá-la, bem como perceber quais as melhores condições para a sua preservação ou exposição. Foi objectivo desta investigação conhecer a melhor metodologia para identificação de processos fotográficos históricos associando os métodos visuais e microscópicos com técnicas analíticas não destrutivas, nomeadamente: espectroscopia de fluorescência de raios X (XRF), microscopia electrónica de varrimento com espectrometria de Raios X (SEM‐EDS) e espectroscopia no infravermelho com transformada de Fourier (FTIR). Foi constituída uma colecção de provas fotográficas e fotomecânicas representativas, a que se adicionaram algumas imagens fotográficas de colecções de instituições científicas. Combinando os resultados obtidos mediante os diferentes métodos, foi possível identificar as provas analisadas. Até agora não tem sido realizada em profundidade a análise científica da instrumentação bem como dos processos físicos e químicos da Fotografia Científica dos séculos XIX e XX. Esta afirmação é ainda mais precisa no que se refere às actividades desenvolvidas em Portugal nas diferentes áreas científicas que usaram a fotografia. Neste estudo foram estudadas as áreas científicas da cartografia, medicina, oceanografia, meteorologia, geomagnetismo e espectroscopia, assim como o ensino e a divulgação da ciência. Pesquisou-se documentação, bibliografia, iconografia e instrumentação científica, existente em espólios de instituições científicas e de ensino. Foi feito um estudo comparado entre instituições portuguesas e as suas congéneres europeias, no que concerne ao papel da fotografia no desenvolvimento das várias ciências.This research aims to establish scientific and historical aspects of the chemical and physical processes of scientific photography in Portugal, as well as of its instrumentation, in the period of its initial development, with a focus on the scientific context of Europe. The old photographic proofs reveal a complex structure, which is constituted by several organic and inorganic compounds that have their origin on the photographic processes applied as well as in possible temporal changes. The knowledge of the constitution of a photographic proof may allow us to date it and to discover what the best conditions for its preservation or exhibition are. It was the aim of this research to find the best methodology to identify the historical photographic processes, drawing from the association between visual and microscopical methods and non-destructive analytical techniques, that is to say: X-Ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy (XRF), Scanning Electron Microscopy coupled with X Ray Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM‐EDS) Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). A collection of representative photographic and photomechanical proofs was assembled, to which a few photographical images belonging to collections of scientific institutions were added. Combining the results that were attained by the different methods, it was possible to identify the analyzed samples. Until now, the scientific analysis of instrumentation has not been carried in depth, and neither that of the physical and chemical processes of Scientific Photography of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This statement is even more factual regarding activities developed in Portugal in the different scientific fields in which photography was used. Scientific fields analyzed in this study were cartography, medicine, oceanography, meteorology, geomagnetism and spectroscopy, as well as the teaching and spreading of science. Research was carried on documentation, bibliography, iconography and scientific instrumentation existing in heritage of scientific and educational institutions. A study was performed comparing Portuguese institutions and its European counterparts, focusing on the role of photography in the development of the various sciences.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, projeto PTDC/HIS-HCT/102497/2008

The Case for Vertical Integration in the Developing Bioenergy Industry

For many countries, money grows on trees: woody biomass is one of the most important sources of renewable energy in the European Union. In the United States, biomass was the input for almost half of the renewable energy generated in 2000; of the energy generated by biomass, seventy-six percent was produced from wood.1 Currently, biomass is the largest source of renewable energy in the country. The ability to secure a reliable and stable supply of biomass is therefore extremely important for the future of the renewable energy industry. According to the United States Department of Energy, the success of the domestic bioenergy industry relies on many factors, including reliable, adequate supply of highquality biomass. In order for the bioenergy industry to continue to grow and provide energy and fuel to millions of American homes and vehicles, the organizational aspects of the biomass supply chain need to be clearly defined and efficiently arranged. Dedicated biomass crops, which significantly differ from traditional commodity crops, present unique characteristics that bring uncertainties and costs to transactions that parties must contract around. In this Article, we take a transaction cost economics approach to the relationships among biomass market players, and discuss organizational choices ranging from spot market transactions to vertical integration. One approach to vertical integration involves a firm controlling different stages of its input supply chain. Vertical integration internalizes incentives and helps to reduce opportunism. In a vertically integrated bioenergy industry, the biomass end-user would exercise substantial control over the planting, harvesting, transporting, and storage of its biomass feedstock. In this work, we argue that because the nascent bioenergy industry shows evidence of high asset specificity, parties would benefit from a vertically integrated structure rather than a contractual model. We draw our conclusions based on an analysis of model biomass contracts, and an empirical study of agricultural disputes resolved through arbitration. We conclude that at the outset of a dynamic bioenergy industry, vertical integration is the best organizational model to account for the asset specificity, uncertainties, and transaction costs that characterize supply chains for dedicated biomass crops

An Empirical Study of the Impact of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) on the Production of Fuel Ethanol in the U.S.

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, which mandates the commercialization of biofuels through 2022, is the United States’ most significant piece of legislation regarding renewable energy. It was first passed in 2005 and revised and expanded in 2007 in order to create a viable market for biofuels based on the policy goals of enhancing domestic U.S. energy security, reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and stimulating rural economic development. The RFS requires minimum levels of consumption for different kinds of biofuels and requires increasing blending amounts of biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuels by producers and importers each year. Mandates and targets for biofuels as required by the RFS are not a policy exclusive just to the U.S. Sixty-four other countries mandate fixed quantities of ethanol use in gasoline to generally stimulate renewable energy use and to specifically promote production of biofuels. In the past few years, there have been challenges in complying with the RFS in the U.S. As a result, legislative mandates were modified and reduced to respond to these difficulties. Proponents of the RFS argue that the policy reduces the risk of investing in renewable fuel projects, enhances the country’s energy security as well as the rural sector, and addresses climate change concerns. On the other hand, critics argue that policy makers are “picking a winner” by funding biofuels over other types of alternative energy sources, and mandates for biofuels have presented unintended consequences in other areas, such as the food markets, land use patterns and the current gasoline-market infrastructure. Many studies have observed beneficial impacts of mandates on the agricultural markets and on the environment. However, there are very few empirical studies of the actual impact of the RFS on the development of the biofuel industry and none that use an industrial policy approach to analyze this issue. In this Article, we intend to fill this gap and provide an empirical study addressing whether the RFS is an effective policy instrument that incentivizes an efficient and sustainable development of the biofuels industry. Our analysis uses data from the first-generation ethanol industry between the years 2000 and 2013, and we find that the industry life cycle mediates the effects of the RFS in contributing to production-related economies of scale. More specifically, our empirical findings suggest that the RFS had a significant positive effect on the production capacity of firstgeneration ethanol firms during the early stages of development of the first-generation ethanol industry. But the RFS does not have a statistically significant effect on plant or firm capacity after the first-generation ethanol market entered a mature stage in its product life cycle

Fenton processes for AOX removal from a kraft pulp bleaching industrial wastewater: optimisation of operating conditions and cost assessment

AOX emissions to water are a key environmental aspect in the pulp and paper industry being limited by EU Ecolabel criteria. In this work, response surface methodology was used to optimise Fenton and photo-Fenton processes for AOX removal from a kraft pulp mill bleaching wastewater. Focus on the specific stream where AOX is higher reduces the wastewater volume to treat and the associated costs. Moreover, there is a need to assess the effect of treatment in parameters other than AOX, such as BOD5, COD and colour content, which were also quantified in this work. Operational costs were determined for both processes, including chemical consumption and energy input (in the case of photo-Fenton process). The photo-Fenton process exhibited better performance than the classic Fenton process, achieving 90 % AOX removal against 80 % for the Fenton process, higher colour content removal and enhanced wastewater’s biodegradability (BOD5/COD ratio). Moreover, photo-Fenton process showed lower operational costs for maximum AOX removal: 46.5 € m−3 wastewater treated or 0.45 € g−1 AOX removed, against 70.0 € m−3 wastewater treated or 0.78 € g−1 AOX removed by the Fenton process.publishe

Optimization of Autohydrolysis of Olive Pomaces to Obtain Bioactive Oligosaccharides: The Effect of Cultivar and Fruit Ripening

The valorisation of agro-industrial residues presents a challenge in obtaining economically sustainable and environmentally friendly industrial processes. Olive pomace is a by-product generated in large quantities, from olive oil extraction. This residue mostly consists of lignocellulosic materials. The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential use of extracted olive pomaces (EOP) obtained from olives with different ripening indexes (RI) and from different cultivars (Cobrançosa; RI = 2.5; 3.3 and 4.7; and Galega Vulgar; RI = 1.8; 2.9 and 4.8), to produce bioactive oligosaccharides from hemicelluloses by autohydrolysis. The hydrothermal treatment conditions were optimized by Response Surface Methodology, following a central composite rotatable design (CCRD), as a function of temperature (T: 142–198 C) and time (t: 48–132 min), corresponding to severity factor (SF) values from 3.2 to 4.9. For all pomace samples, soluble sugar production was described by concave surfaces as a function of temperature and time. Autohydrolysis with SF equal or higher than 4.0 produced higher sugar yields, with maximum values around 180 g glucose equivalent/kg EOP for SF of 4.7 (190 C/120 min) or 4.9 (198 C/90 min). These values were similar for both cultivars and were not dependent on the ripening stage of the olives. Maximum oligosaccharide (OS) yields of 98% were obtained by autohydrolysis with SF of 4.0. The increase in SF to 4.9 resulted in a decrease in OS yield to 86–92%, due to the release of monomeric sugars. The monosaccharides were mostly xylose (55.8–67.7% in Galega; 50.4–69.0% in Cobrançosa liquid phases), and glucose, galactose, arabinose and rhamnose, in smaller quantities. Therefore, the production of bioactive xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS) from olive pomaces mainly depends on the hydrothermal conditions usedinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

AOX removal from pulp and paper wastewater by Fenton and photo-Fenton processes: a real case-study

D0 bleaching wastewater from E. globulus Kraft pulping industry was treated by Fenton and photo-Fenton processes. The aim was to optimise the operational conditions for adsorbable organic halides (AOX) removal, namely oxidant concentration, [H2O2], catalyst concentration, [Fe2+], and treatment time, using the central composite experimental design (CCED) tool. Temperature and pH were set at 60 ºC and 2, respectively, which are similar to the natural values of the D0 bleaching wastewater. Both processes showed potential to remove AOX from D0 with 177 - 178 mM H2O2 and 10 min reaction time. Maximum AOX removal was 85 % for the Fenton process with 8.5 mM Fe2+, and 95 % for the photo-Fenton process with 2.0 mM Fe2+ and UV irradiance 142 W.m- 2. For both methods, the only statistically significant variable (p=0.05) was the concentration of oxidant, [H2O2].publishe

Application of a potentiometric electronic tongue for assessing phenolic and volatile profiles of Arbequina extra virgin olive oils

The capability of determining the phenolic and volatile profiles of olive oils is of major relevance since these compounds are known to greatly influence the gustatory and olfactory positive attributes of olive oils. An electronic tongue with multiple linear regression models was used to evaluate both profiles based on olive oils potentiometric data generated during a single assay. The proposed electronic tongue-chemometric procedure enabled the quantification of flavonoids, phenolic acids and phenol alcohols of Arbequina extra-virgin olive oils with a similar accuracy of UPLC-MS (0.93 ± 0.03≤R2≤0.98 ± 0.08 for the repeated K-fold cross-validation procedure). Also, it was verified that the potentiometric device should not be applied to evaluate volatile compounds in solution (0.80 ± 0.14≤R2≤0.94 ± 0.05 for the repeated K-fold cross-validation procedure), showing a lower accuracy than HS-SPME-GS-MS. The overall satisfactory results showed that electronic tongue could be used as a practical sensing instrument to generate a chemical profile of the compounds known to influence the positive sensory attributes of olive oils.The authors would like to thank Consejo Regulador de Denominación de Origen (DOP) Estepa and DOP Les Garrigues; Casas Hualdo, Castillo Canena, Cortijo de Jara, Quaryat Dilar, EPAMIG and Olivas do Sul for the donation of samples. We would like to dedicate this work to the memory of Carmen Cabrera-Vique. We are grateful to the CAPES Foundation, (Ministry of Education, Brazil), for scholarship support provided to Thays Helena Borges (grant number 6073/13-1), being presently a Ph.D. student from the Official Doctoral Program ‘‘Nutrition and Food Sciences” of the Granada University. This work was also financially supported by Project POCI-01–0145-FEDER- 006984–Associate Laboratory LSRE-LCM, strategic project PEst-OE/ AGR/UI0690/2014 –CIMO all funded by FEDER - Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional through COMPETE2020-Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) – and by national funds through FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

O plano de negócios nas organizações sociais

Mestrado em Ciências EmpresariaisA crise económica e financeira sujeitou as organizações inseridas no Terceiro Setor a uma pressão constante no que concerne à sua viabilidade económica, perspetivando muitas semelhanças com o Segundo Setor. A falta de liquidez por parte do Estado impõe uma reestruturação das organizações sociais. Fatores como concorrência, planeamento, criatividade, inovação, e outros passam a fazer parte da agenda do dia como pontos fulcrais para o desenvolvimento das mesmas e a prossecução dos objetivos sociais. Neste contexto foi elaborado o Plano de Negócios (PN) da Associação de Apoio ao Domicílio do Recém-Nascido (A.A.D.R.N.), assumindo-o como uma ferramenta indispensável para a sua concretização: internamente utilizando esta ferramenta como forma de planeamento e avaliação de desempenho quanto à execução dos objetivos propostos e sua concretização; externamente utilizando-a junto da sociedade civil, por via da caracterização da associação, privilegiando desta forma, a relação com os stakeholders e as várias organizações inseridas no mercado do Terceiro Setor. Assim, o Plano de Negócios na AADRN foi elaborado espelhando a linha condutora da referida associação e delineando o seu rumo. O fato de a AADRN se encontrar no early stage provocou, em determinadas etapas da elaboração do PN, alguma dificuldade quanto a apresentação de dados e a sua perspetivação, no entanto, prevê-se que este gap seja colmatado nos anos subsequentes. A AADRN assume que o grande desafio deste PN será a sua aplicabilidade, com particular destaque para questões financeiras, na criação do negócio social e ainda relativamente aos recursos humanos.The economic and financial crisis has constrained the Third Sector’s organizations at a constant pressure with regard to their economic viability, which foresees many similarities with the Second Sector. The Government’s liquidity shortage, overthrew the old model of economic stability through the subsidy dependence, which requires a restructuring of the social organizations. Factors such as competition, planning, creativity, innovation, among other, become part of the daily schedule as key issues for their development and achievement of social goals to which they that are proposed. It is in this context that was prepared the Business Plan of the Associação de Apoio ao Domicílio do Recém-Nascido (A.A.D.R.N.), assumed as an indispensable tool: internally as a way of planning and performance evaluation of the implementation of the proposed objectives and consequently achieved; externally to civil society, through the characterization of the association, favoring this way the relationship with stakeholders and the various organizations included the market of the Third Sector. Therefore, the AADRN BP was prepared in order to reflect the guiding principle of that association and to set its course. The fact that AADRN is in its early stage resulted, in certain phases of the BP elaboration, some difficulty as to the presentation of data and its perspective. However, it is expected that this gap will be bridged in subsequent years. The AADRN assumes that the great challenge of this BP will be its applicability, with particular emphasis on financial matters, in the creation of social business and also for human resources