Building a Portuguese Coalition for Biodiversity Genomics

The diverse physiography of the Portuguese land and marine territory, spanning from continental Europe to the Atlantic archipelagos, has made it an important repository of biodiversity throughout the Pleistocene glacial cycles, leading to a remarkable diversity of species and ecosystems. This rich biodiversity is under threat from anthropogenic drivers, such as climate change, invasive species, land use changes, overexploitation or pathogen (re)emergence. The inventory, characterization and study of biodiversity at inter- and intra-specific levels using genomics is crucial to promote its preservation and recovery by informing biodiversity conservation policies, management measures and research. The participation of researchers from Portuguese institutions in the European Reference Genome Atlas (ERGA) initiative, and its pilot effort to generate reference genomes for European biodiversity, has reinforced the establishment of Biogenome Portugal. This nascent institutional network will connect the national community of researchers in genomics. Here, we describe the Portuguese contribution to ERGA’s pilot effort, which will generate high-quality reference genomes of six species from Portugal that are endemic, iconic and/or endangered, and include plants, insects and vertebrates (fish, birds and mammals) from mainland Portugal or the Azores islands. In addition, we outline the objectives of Biogenome Portugal, which aims to (i) promote scientific collaboration, (ii) contribute to advanced training, (iii) stimulate the participation of institutions and researchers based in Portugal in international biodiversity genomics initiatives, and (iv) contribute to the transfer of knowledge to stakeholders and engaging the public to preserve biodiversity. This initiative will strengthen biodiversity genomics research in Portugal and fuel the genomic inventory of Portuguese eukaryotic species. Such efforts will be critical to the conservation of the country’s rich biodiversity and will contribute to ERGA’s goal of generating reference genomes for European species.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Utilization of sub/supercritical fluids in Eucalyptus grandis e Pinus taeda

A utilização de dióxido de carbono em condições sub e supercríticas (em associação com co-solventes) em processos de deslignificação/polpação já se encontra descrito na literatura especializada. Esta técnica se beneficia da elevada difusibilidade apresentada por fluidos no estado sub/supercrítico. Quando aplicada em processos de polpação, a utilização destes fluidos nestas condições pode proporcionar vantagens nas etapas de impregnação e de processamento dos efluentes gerados no processo. Visando aplicar o potencial da elevada difusibilidade apresentada pelo dióxido de carbono supercrítico, realizou-se o estudo comparativo do desempenho dos processos kraft, organossolve convencional e supercrítico frente à deslignificação de diferentes espécies (Eucalyptus grandis e Pinus taeda), empregando-se amostras de diferentes dimensões. O processo kraft se mostrou mais eficiente com o emprego de cavacos, enquanto que a utilização de dióxido de carbono supercrítico, com o uso de co-solvente etanol/água (processo SFE), foi mais eficiente com amostras de maiores dimensões (cubos de 3,5 x 3,5 x 4,0cm). Dentro dos intervalos considerados para as variáveis utilizadas nos diferentes processos de polpação, as polpas obtidas pelo processo SFE a partir de amostras de seção quadrada 3,5 x 3,5cm apresentaram maior conteúdo de holocelulose e maior alvura, evidenciando um elevado rendimento livre de lignina. Estudou-se também o uso de acetona/água e de dioxano/água como co-solventes em processos realizados com dióxido de carbono no estado supercrítico. Os resultados obtidos foram comparados com estudos anteriores realizados com álcoois alifáticos e indicaram a maior efetividade do uso de dioxano/água e 1-propanol/água. Foram realizados também estudos empregando amônia como fluido supercrítico no tratamento de cavacos de Pinus taeda, com o intuito de verificar a capacidade nucleofílica da amônia frente às reações de deslignificação. As reações foram realizadas com o uso exclusivo de amônia e na presença de etanol, água e misturas etanol/água como cosolventes. A análise dos resultados obtidos evidenciou a ocorrência pouco significativa de remoção de lignina, com migração desta para a periferia dos cavacos. As ligninas obtidas nos diferentes estudos foram caracterizadas por diferentes técnicas analíticas e não apresentaram diferenças significativas entre as amostras obtidas nos diferentes processos estudados.The utilization of carbon dioxide under sub/supercritical conditions (in association with co-solvents) in delignification/pulping reactions has already been reported in the literature. This technique takes advantage of the high diffusivity presented by fluids at the supercritical state. When applied to pulping processes the utilization of these fluids can lead to advantages mainly in the impregnation and effluent treatment steps. In an attempt to apply the high diffusivity exhibited by supercritical carbon dioxide, this work presents the results obtained in the comparative study of the performance of the kraft, organosolv and supercritical processes in the delignification of different species (Eucalyptus grandis and Pinus taeda), employing samples with different dimensions. The kraft process presented a higher efficiency in the treatment of wood chips while the supercritical carbon dioxide, with ethanol/water as co-solvent, (SFE process) was more efficient in the treatment of high dimension samples (3.5 x 3.5 x 4.0 cm). In the experimental conditions applied in this study, the pulps obtained in the SFE treatment of samples with square section 3.5 x 3.5 cm showed higher holocellulose content and higher brightness which corresponds to high free of lignin pulp yield. It was also studied the utilization of acetone/water and dioxane/water as co-solvents in the carbon dioxide supercritical pulping process. The results were compared with previous studies performed with aliphatic alcohols and indicated a higher efficiency of the dioxane/water and 1-propanol/water mixtures. The utilization of supercritical ammonia in the treatment of Pinus taeda wood chips was also studied in order to verify the nucleophilic capability of this fluid in the delignification reactions. The reactions were performed with ammonia, exclusively, and in the presence of different co-solvents (ethanol, water and ethanol/water mixtures). The results of the delignifications showed the occurrence of low amount of lignin removal, with migration of lignin to the periphery of the wood chips. The lignins isolated from the reactions performed in this work were characterized by different analytical techniques. The results indicated no significant differences among the samples obtained in the different delignification processes

Enhancing liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment of sugarcane bagasseby high pressure carbon dioxide (HP-CO2).

Liquid hot water (LHW) pretreatment associated with high pressure carbon dioxide (HP-CO2) was eval-uated as a potential green pretreatment technology for extraction of hemicelluloses from depithedsugarcane bagasse to produce fermentable sugars. Developing a technology based on the use of lowcost, non-corrosive, and recoverable chemicals as CO2can result in a more efficient and economic pro-cess. In this study, depithed sugarcane bagasse was treated with LHW and HP-CO2at milder temperaturesin comparison with LHW pretreatment alone. To assess the effects of varying pretreatment operationalconditions on extraction of xylo-oligosaccharides and xylose release with cellulose preservation a centralcomposite design (CCD) of experiments was used. The pretreatments were carried out at temperaturesranging from 93.8◦C (8.62 MPa) to 136.2◦C (12.96 MPa) and times from 17.6 to 102.4 min with a liquid-to-solid ratio of 12:1. The maximum xylan and xylose concentrations were achieved by treating depithedbagasse at 100◦C for 30 min and 115◦C for 60 min, respectively. At these conditions the amount of xylanequivalent ranged 10–12 g/L. At 115◦C for 60 min, the cellulose preservation achieved 97.2%. The obtainedresults showed that HP-CO2proved to be an efficient hydrolysis agent. Samples of LHW-HP-CO2pre-treated bagasse were tested for enzymatic digestibility. Depithed bagasse pretreated at 115◦C for 60 minafter enzymatic hydrolysis had a glucose yield of 30.43 g/L and a cellulose conversion of 41.17%

Assessment of sugarcane trash for agronomic and energy purposes in Brazil

Due to new possibilities for using sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) trash for electricity generation, and the production of 2nd generation ethanol and others chemicals, the interest for its recovery has increased. However, the question of how much trash can be removed from sugarcane field still needs to be clarified. This study evaluated the amount of dry matter, nutrients content, structural compounds and efficiency of the enzymatic hydrolysis of the hydrothermal pretreated materials for tops and dry leaves in samples from sugarcane varieties. Tops and dry leaves present differences in nutrients content and moisture. Therefore, the amount of trash to be collected should not be simply based on percentages, but also should take into account the different fractions of the crop residues. For instance, around 80 % of N, P and K were derived from tops. Therein, the environmental indicators of the entire chain of sugarcane could be benefited because more nutrients would be recycled and less mineral fertilizers might be used for sugarcane production if tops are left on the field. Further, the tops have seven times more moisture than dry leaves and higher amounts of extractives (organic compounds of low molecular weight). Moreover, as the result of yield obtained in the pretreatment steps for dry leaves were superior to the tops and the glucose yields obtained in the enzymatic hydrolysis step were similar, it can be predicted that for second generation ethanol production, it is more viable to recover parts of the dry leaves fraction, leaving the tops on the field

Two-stage fractionation of sugarcane bagasse by autohydrolysis and glycerol organosolv delignification in a lignocellulosic biorefinery concept.

Bioethanol production from lignocellulose biomass offers a solution to current environmental challenges caused by fossil fuel energy resources, while satisfying the biorefinery concept. In this study, two-stage fractionation (autohydrolysis (AH) followed by glycerol organosolv delignification (GOD)) of sugarcane bagasse (SCB) was studied as a function of temperature, time, glycerol content and liquid-to-solid (LSR) ratio using experimental designs. The effect of three different AH pretreatment severities on delignification extents (DE) of the solid fractions were also evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy was used to examine the changes in the surface of SCB pretreated by AH. Energy balances of four fractionation conditions were estimated, and the use of pure and crude glycerol in GOD was evaluated based on DE and lignin contents. A DE of ?64% was obtained at 210.3 ?C, 40 min, LSR of 6.5 (v/w) and 80% (v/v) pure glycerol for GOD of SCB pretreated by AH at 175.8 ?C, 49 min and LSR of 5.3 (v/w), which resulted in an energetic profitability (EP) of 141.48 MJ/kgSCB. The use of crude glycerol at 80% (v/v) under the same process conditions optimized for pure glycerol also proved to be feasible (DE of ?64% and EP of 142.67 MJ/kgSCB), widening the possibilities for its direct use in GOD of SCB pretreated by AH in a 2G bioethanol integrated plant

Televisão digital: informação e conhecimento

Constituem a obra capítulos derivados de diferentes perspectivas acerca do tema da televisão digital terrestre, compondo um panorama prismático de diversos aspectos integrantes da inovação a partir das plataformas já existentes e da problemática da implantação, abarcando tópicos distintos componentes da implantação e manutenção do novo sistema - autores na sociedade tecnológica, diversidade cultural e política de informação, educação e participação por meio da interatividade, produção de conteúdos audiovisuais, regulação e políticas de educação, mobilidade e democracia, modelos de negócio, a viabilidade da interatividade, cenários e desafios para as emissoras públicas, a implantação no Brasil e na Espanha, a convergência com instituições educacionais, gestão de conteúdos narrativos, democracia digital, a implantação no Pará e a atuação de emissoras em cada estado, a transição do sinal analógico para o digital, a repercussão midiática sobre a implantação e as controvérsias e desinformações sobre o apagão digital