Diversity and Agronomic Performance of Lupinus mutabilis Germplasm in European and Andean Environments

Original ResearchThe introduction of Lupinus mutabilis (Andean lupin) in Europe will provide a new source of protein and oil for plant-based diets and biomass for bio-based products, while contributing to the improvement of marginal soils. This study evaluates for the first time the phenotypic variability of a large panel of L. mutabilis accessions both in their native environment and over two cropping conditions in Europe (winter crop in the Mediterranean region and summer crop in North-Central Europe), paving the way for the selection of accessions adapted to specific environments. The panel of 225 accessions included both germplasm pools from the Andean region and breeding lines from Europe. Notably, we reported higher grain yield in Mediterranean winter-cropping conditions (18 g/plant) than in the native region (9 g/plant). Instead, North European summercropping conditions appear more suitable for biomass production (up to 2 kg/plant). The phenotypic evaluation of 16 agronomical traits revealed significant variation in the panel. Principal component analyses pointed out flowering time, yield, and architecturerelated traits as the main factors explaining variation between accessions. The Peruvian material stands out among the top-yielding accessions in Europe, characterized by early lines with high grain yield (e.g., LIB065, LIB072, and LIB155). Bolivian and Ecuadorian materials appear more valuable for the selection of genotypes for Andean conditions and for biomass production in Europe. We also observed that flowering time in the different environments is influenced by temperature accumulation. Within the panel, it is possible to identify both early and late genotypes, characterized by different thermal thresholds (600 C–700 C and 1,000–1,200 C GDD, respectively). Indications on top-yielding and early/late accessions, heritability of morpho-physiological traits, and their associations with grain yield are reported and remain largely environmental specific, underlining the importance of selecting useful genetic resources for specific environments. Altogether, these results suggest that the studied panel holds the genetic potential for the adaptation of L. mutabilis to Europe and provide the basis for initiating a breeding program based on exploiting the variation described hereininfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sustainability-focused international PBL project:Rethinking digital education for individuals of low socioeconomic status

Providing access to education for individuals of lower socio-economic status is a significant way to reduce poverty, as it empowers them to grow as professionals and as individuals. Although there is an increasing sense of urgency to promote these changes, notably motivated by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN 2030 Agenda, there are still few successful ways to solve this problem on a large-scale. As digital technology develops and affordability increases, new ways to share quality educational content are created. In an exploratory case study, with a qualitative approach, this paper presents the development of a digital application focused on providing quality educational content directed to vulnerable groups that lack access to formal learning experiences, specifically focused on waste pickers in Brasilia, Brazil. The main data collection methods used to make the decisions through the development process were observation, surveys, and interviews. Within the framework of Problem Based Learning (PBL) an international cross-disciplinary collaboration among different universities, the project, denominated “Mobile Education”, involved: (i) the design and implementation of a system consisting of both a web and mobile application; (ii) the research of a viable business model to provide long-term sustainability for the project; (iii) and the creation of a pilot course of financial education for the preliminary target group, i.e., waste pickers from Brasilia, Brazil. Conclusively, the project aims to positively impact social transformation for individuals who work at the Waste Sorting facilities and lack financial knowledge. The Mobile Education project resulted in a functional version of the app (Web and Mobile) as well as the delimitation of a viable business model to keep it providing digital equality in Brazilian education

Para o estudo da evolução do ensino e da formação em administração educacional em Portugal

Estudos sobre a evolução do ensino de disciplinas, na formação de professores em Portugal, são recentes. O controle burocrático centralizado reteve as dimensões do controle político-administrativo. De certo modo, protegeu a esfera educativa das influências modernizantes, do capitalismo industrial e das lógicas mercantis e gerencialistas. Defendeu a educação do domínio político, da intervenção de movimentos sociais, das propagandas de ideais democráticos e da cidadania. A utilização da designação "Administração educacional" ilustra as dificuldades sentidas, ao longo dos últimos anos, em termos da construção acadêmica de uma área, seja pela falta de tradição, seja pelos antecedentes históricos.In Portugal, studies about the evolution of disciplines teaching in the teachers formation are recent. The centralized bureaucratic control has held back the dimensions of politic administrative control. In a certain way, it has protected the education against the new-fashioned influences, manufacturing capitalism, and mercantile and managerial logics. This centralized bureaucratic control has also profected the education against the politic dominion, the intervention of social movements, the advertising of democratic ideals, and against the citizenship. The use of the term "Educational administration" shows the difficulties met by the searchers along the latest years, since there is no tradiction nor historic antecedence

Persistent toxic substances in the Brazilian Amazon: contamination of man and the environment

The organochlorine insecticide DDT was extensively used in Brazil since 1945, both for agricultural purposes and for vector control measures. In 1986 its uses were forbidden in agriculture and in 1997 it was also phased-out in vector controls programs. However, the presence of DDT in urban and forested soils, breast milk and aquatic biota is still common, especially at the Amazon region. The results gathered since the middle of the 90s indicate that environmental contamination with this pesticide is still relatively high. Due to the high fish consumption by traditional riverside populations, human breast milk may represent an important source of DDT exposure to newborns. New results on DDT and PCBs in red dolphin (Inia geoffrensis), an endemic aquatic mammal of the Amazon region, is also reported

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Brominated flame retardants and natural organobrominated compounds in a vulnerable delphinid species along the Brazilian coast

Guiana dolphins, Sotalia guianensis, are vulnerable to extinction along their distribution on the Brazilian coast and assessing chemical pollution is of utmost importance for their conservation. For this study, 51 carcasses of Guiana dolphins were sampled across the Brazilian coast to investigate legacy and emerging brominated flame retardants (BFRs) as well as the naturally-produced MeO-BDEs. PBDEs and MeO-BDEs were detected in all samples analyzed, whereas emerging BFRs were detected in 16 % of the samples, all in Rio de Janeiro state. PBDE concentrations varied between 2.24 and 799 ng.g-1 lipid weight (lw), emerging BFRs between 0.12 and 1.51 ng.g-1 lw and MeO-BDEs between 3.82 and 10,247 ng.g-1 lw. Concentrations of legacy and emerging BFRs and natural compounds varied considerably according to the sampling site and reflected both the local anthropogenic impact of the region and the diversity/mass of biosynthesizers. The PBDE concentrations are lower than what was found for delphinids in the Northern Hemisphere around the same sampling period and most sampling sites presented mean concentrations lower than the limits for endocrine disruption known to date for marine mammals of 460 ng.g-1 lw, except for sampled from Santa Catarina state, in Southern Brazil. Conversely, MeO-BDE concentrations are higher than those of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly close to the Abrolhos Bans and Royal Charlotte formation, that are hotspots for biodiversity. Despite the elevated concentrations reported for this group, there is not much information regarding the effects of such elevated concentrations for these marine mammals. The distinct patterns observed along the Brazilian coast show that organobrominated compounds can be used to identify the ecological segregation of delphinids and that conservation actions should be planned considering the local threats.A.F. Azevedo and J. Lailson-Brito thank the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) for grants PQ-1B and 1D, respectively; and UERJ (Prociência). We thank the students from Aquatic Mammal and Bioindicator Lab (UERJ - Brazil), Environmental Chemistry Lab (CSIC - Spain) and Radioisotope Lab (UFRJ - Brazil). L.G. Vidal thanks the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES - Finance Code 001) for providing her PhD grant. The authors thank the ICMBio - Estação Ecológica de Tamoios (ESEC Tamoios) and APA de Guapi-Mirim/ESEC da Guanabara for supporting the collection of carcasses in Ilha Grande Bay.Peer reviewe