Lapas : pequenas Ilhas de diversidade

A secção UAciência é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues.[…]. Um estudo recente feito por investigadores do Centro de Investigação em Recursos Naturais da Universidade dos Açores examinou a diversidade de organismos que vivem sob as conchas da lapa Patella aspera. As lapas desempenham um papel importante nos ecossistemas uma vez que controlam a abundancia de algas prevenindo desta forma que estas monopolizem o espaço, permitindo assim a fixação de outro tipo de organismos como por exemplo a pequena craca Chthamalus stellatus. No entanto, o presente estudo mostrou que para alem do papel importante na ecologia das nossas costas, as lapas desempenham ainda um outro papel ao suportarem em si mesmas uma extraordinária diversidade. Foram observados um total de 707 conchas de lapa recolhidas em todas as ilhas do arquipélago nas quais se registaram uns surpreendentes 190 registos de espécies diferentes. […].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ANN based day-ahead spinning reserve forecast for electricity market simulation

Electricity market players operating in a liberalized environment require adequate decision support tools, allowing them to consider all the business opportunities and take strategic decisions. Ancillary services represent a good negotiation opportunity that must be considered by market players. This paper deals with short-term predication of day-ahead spinning reserve (SR) requirement that helps the ISO to make effective and timely decisions. Based on these forecasted information, market participants can use strategic bidding for day-ahead SR market. The proposed concepts and methodologies are implemented in MASCEM, a multi-agent based electricity market simulator. A case study based on California ISO (CAISO) data is included; the forecasted results are presented and compared with CAISO published forecast

DB-HERITAGE: A database of mortars composition and characteristics

Mortars are materials that are present in constructions from the antiquity to nowadays, being complex in terms of their constituents, incorporating traditions and techniques related to the local knowledge. Furthermore, mortar characteristics are also dependent of its role and use in a particular local and environment. The knowledge of the mortars constituents, characteristics and behavior in their specific conditions is important in several contexts, namely in terms of materials history and for better definition of conservation strategies. That knowledge, obtained by many different researchers and practitioners of the area, should be easily available for all the people who need it, both for research and for direct use in the field. This was the context of the DB-HERITAGE database project (http://dbheritage.lnec.pt/), which intends to build a repository for historical building materials, and a free-access IT-tool to collect the related data on this construction material, including from conservative interventions made on mortars applied on historic constructions. An overview of the database tools will be presented in this paper, exemplifying some of its outputs and potentialities related to historic mortars in different case studies in Portugal.authorsversionpublishe

A new control strategy with saturation effect compensation for an autonomous induction generator drivenby wide speed range turbines

This paper presents a variable speed autonomous squirrel cage generator excited by a current-controlled voltage source inverter to be used in stand-alone micro-hydro power plants. The paper proposes a system control strategy aiming to properly excite the machine as well as to achieve the load voltage control. A feed-forward control sets the appropriate generator flux by taking into account the actual speed and the desired load voltage. A load voltage control loop is used to adjust the generated active power in order to sustain the load voltage at a reference value. The control system is based on a rotor flux oriented vector control technique which takes into account the machine saturation effect. The proposed control strategy and the adopted system models were validated both by numerical simulation and by experimental results obtained from a laboratory prototype. Results covering the prototype start-up, as well as its steady-state and dynamical behavior are presented. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Genetic population structure and connectivity of Azorean limpets

Ocean Science Meeting. Hawaii Convention Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 23-28 de Fevereiro.There is growing consensus that anthropogenic activities significantly rarefy the structure and functioning of marine ecosystems. Oceanic islands such as the Azores (NE Atlantic) constitute unique habitats with fragile communities, which are highly susceptible to degradation and ecosystem disruption. . Patellid limpets have traditionally been collected as a food resource and in 1988 the limpet fishery in São Miguel Island collapsed, and after a one-year ban throughout the archipelago, the stocks were allowed to recover, avoiding catastrophic overexploitation effects. In 1993, legislation was passed to protect this resource, i.e. limpet no-take areas were created, seasonal harvesting restrictions were applied and minimum legal catch sizes were established. However, a recent survey has shown that limpet populations still show clear signs of overexploitation and some populations are virtually extinct in some islands. Here we have developed new multiplexed and described microsatellite markers for the species Patella aspera and P. candei and have examined their genetic diversity, gene flow and population connectivity in the Azores Archipelago. Overall, such information is a fundamental asset to inform conservation strategies and to promote the sustainable exploitation of macaronesian limpets.FC

Ethnobotanical survey in Canhane village, district of Massingir, Mozambique: medicinal plants and traditional knowledge

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Medicinal plants are used by 80% of people from developing countries to fulfill their primary health needs, occupying a key position on plant research and medicine. Taking into account that, besides their pharmaceutical importance, these plants contribute greatly to ecosystems' stability, a continuous documentation and preservation of traditional knowledge is a priority. The objective of this study was to organize a database of medicinal plants including their applications and associated procedures in Canhane village, district of Massingir, province of Gaza, Mozambique.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In order to gather information about indigenous medicinal plants and to maximize the collection of local knowledge, eleven informants were selected taking into account the dimension of the site and the fact that the vegetation presents a great homogeneity. The data were collected through intensive structured and semi-structured interviews performed during field research. Taxonomical identification of plant species was based on field observations and herbarium collections.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 53 plant species have been reported, which were used to treat 50 different human health problems. More than half of the species were used for stomach and intestine related disturbances (including major diseases such as diarrhea and dysentery). Additionally, four species with therapeutic applications were reported for the first time, whose potential can further be exploited. The great majority of the identified species was also associated with beliefs and myths and/or used as food. In general, the community was conscientious and motivated about conservational issues and has adopted measures for the rational use of medicinal plants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The ethnomedicinal use of plant species was documented in the Canhane village. The local community had a rich ethnobotanical knowledge and adopted sound management conservation practices. The data compiled in this study show the social importance of the surveyed plants being a contribution to the documentation of PGR at the national and regional level.</p

Azores cetaceans field guide

Os Cetáceos (baleias e golfinhos) são um dos 5 grupos de mamíferos marinhos, juntamente com os pinípedes (focas, otárias e morsas), os sirénios (manatins e dugongos), as lontras e os ursos polares. Evidências moleculares e fósseis sugerem que baleias e golfinhos incluem-se dentro dos artiodáctilos, o grupo de mamíferos com cascos em número par, e.g. porcos, vacas e hipopótamos.ABSTRACT: Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) are one of the 5 groups of marine mammals, which also include pinnipeds (seals, sea lions, and walruses), sirenians (dugongs and manatees), sea otters, and polar bears. Fossil and molecular evidence suggests that whales and dolphins are a group within the artiodactyls (the group of eventoed, hoofed mammals that includes pigs, cattle and hippopotamus).N/

Depression, anxiety and stress in adult children caregivers of oncological patients

Te aim of this study is to describe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress in adult ofspring of cancer patients; and to analyze gen der diferences in psychological morbidity, as well as the association between psychological morbidity and traumatic symptomatology. Tis study is correlational with a sample of 214 adult ofspring who completed the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scales (DASS-21) and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Te results revealed that 6-60% of the participants showed ‘normal’ or ‘mild’ levels of stress, anxiety, or depression; 15-26% ‘moderate’ levels; and 4-12% ‘severe’ or ‘extremely severe’ levels. Women had higher levels of anxiety and stress than men. Positive correlations were found between the DASS 21 and the IES-R. In conclusion, some adult ofspring caregivers re veal severe levels of psychological morbidity. Te results show a need for psychological intervention in this population, particularly in the female gender.Tis study was conducted at Psychology Research Centre (PSI/01662), University of Minho, and supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology and the Portuguese Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education through national funds, and co-fnanced by FEDER through COMPETE2020 under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007653)

TDF/FTC electrospun nanofibers for topical prevention of HIV transmission

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is still a problem for global health so, there is a strong need to develop effective microbicides that can be used safely to protect from infection during sexual intercourse. This pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) may be formulations containing oral or topical microbicides. Topical formulations have advantages as they are suitable for vaginal or rectal application and allow a higher local concentration of drug. It is recognized that the use of electrospun nanofibers for drug carriers is very promising in the biomedical field. So, the objective of this study is to develop a novel device for local application of antiretroviral microbicides enabling a controlled release of tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (FTC), based on electrospun polymeric nanofibers. The aim of this study is to encapsulate TDF and FTC into electrospun polymeric nanofibers. Chosen polymers were polycaprolactone (PCL) and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA).info:eu-repo/semantics/submittedVersio

Improving circumbinary planet detections by fitting their binary's apsidal precession

Apsidal precession in stellar binaries is the main non-Keplerian dynamical effect impacting the radial-velocities of a binary star system. Its presence can notably hide the presence of orbiting circumbinary planets because many fitting algorithms assume perfectly Keplerian motion. To first order, apsidal precession ($\dot{\omega}$) can be accounted for by adding a linear term to the usual Keplerian model. We include apsidal precession in the kima package, an orbital fitter designed to detect and characterise planets from radial velocity data. In this paper, we detail this and other additions to kima that improve fitting for stellar binaries and circumbinary planets including corrections from general relativity. We then demonstrate that fitting for $\dot{\omega}$ can improve the detection sensitivity to circumbinary exoplanets by up to an order of magnitude in some circumstances, particularly in the case of multi-planetary systems. In addition, we apply the algorithm to several real systems, producing a new measurement of aspidal precession in KOI-126 (a tight triple system), and a detection of $\dot{\omega}$ in the Kepler-16 circumbinary system. Although apsidal precession is detected for Kepler-16, it does not have a large effect on the detection limit or the planetary parameters. We also derive an expression for the precession an outer planet would induce on the inner binary and compare the value this predicts with the one we detect.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures Re-submitted to MNRAS after reviewer comment