Pollution sources in Cunha Baixa uranium mining area (Viseu, Portugal)

[Abstract] One of the most significant environmental issues that have arisen in the abandoned Cunha Baixa uranium mine area is the Acid Drainage (AD). Downward the mining site AD affects surface and irrigation water quality. ln order to evaluate their contribution as a pollution source, this paper discusses: i) the composition of mine water, pit lake water and effluent water discharged after chemical treatment and settling, and ii) the conrribution of rocks and mine wastes as acid generators materials. Pit lake and mine waters are acidic (pH 3- 4) with high 226 Ra activity (1.8-12 Bq/l), sulphate (1000-2400 mg/l) and heavy metals concentration (Al: 8-70 mg/l; Mn: 4-35 mg/l; Fe: 1-55 mg/l; U: 1.2-6.3 mg/l; Zn: 0.5-2.9 mg/l). ln spite of mine water treatment and settling efficiency to remove the main dissolved species (50-80 %), the overflow effluent can be a source of pollution, due to high contents of sulphate, uranium as well fluorine and calei um. The chemical treatment was also responsible for the water hardness in this granitic region. Rocks and mine wastes submitted to static and kinetic laboratory tests (Acid-Base accounting test and Humidity Cell test) did not show capacity to generate acid drainage from sulphide oxidation through testing rime, nevertheless Thiobacillus ferrooxidans bacterium was detected in mine waters. However, the open pit wastes showed low acid neutralising potential and capacity to generate an acid leachate (pH < 5) with potentialities to release sulphate and heavy metals. The running water or the pit lake water percolating through these wastes was able to mobilise elements and increase its dispersion by contínuos contaminating leaching. The acid drainage in Cunha Baixa can be the remaining result of heap leaching process used in past, to recover uranium from low-grade ore when opening the pit area, although this process ceased in 1993

Fast Hierarchical Clustering and Other Applications of Dynamic Closest Pairs

We develop data structures for dynamic closest pair problems with arbitrary distance functions, that do not necessarily come from any geometric structure on the objects. Based on a technique previously used by the author for Euclidean closest pairs, we show how to insert and delete objects from an n-object set, maintaining the closest pair, in O(n log^2 n) time per update and O(n) space. With quadratic space, we can instead use a quadtree-like structure to achieve an optimal time bound, O(n) per update. We apply these data structures to hierarchical clustering, greedy matching, and TSP heuristics, and discuss other potential applications in machine learning, Groebner bases, and local improvement algorithms for partition and placement problems. Experiments show our new methods to be faster in practice than previously used heuristics.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures. A preliminary version of this paper appeared at the 9th ACM-SIAM Symp. on Discrete Algorithms, San Francisco, 1998, pp. 619-628. For source code and experimental results, see http://www.ics.uci.edu/~eppstein/projects/pairs

The Imprint of Lithium Recombination on the Microwave Background Anisotropies

Following Loeb (2001), we explore the imprint of the resonant 6708A line opacity of neutral lithium on the temperature and polarization anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) at observed wavelengths of 250-350 micron (0.9-1.2 THz). We show that if lithium recombines in the redshift range of z=400-500 as expected, then the standard CMB anisotropies would be significantly modified in this wavelength band. The modified polarization signal could be comparable to the expected polarization anisotropies of the far-infrared background on sub-degree angular scales (l>100). Detection of the predicted signal can be used to infer the primordial abundance of lithium, and to probe structure in the Universe at z~500.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, submitted to ApJ (5/18/01

Ductus venosus agenesis and fetal malformations: what can we expect? - a systematic review of the literature

Background: The ductus venosus agenesis (DVA) is a rare condition with a variable prognosis that relies partly on the presence of associated conditions. The purpose of our study was to analyze the literature regarding the postnatal outcome of fetuses with DVA associated with fetal malformations, in order to discuss the best management options for couples. Methods: We performed a systematic review of the literature of MEDLINE and SCOPUS electronic databases in a 25-year period from 1992 to September 2017. Results: We found 340 cases of DVA associated with fetal abnormalities. The most common chromosomal abnormalities were: monosomy X (12/48, 25%), trisomy 21 (11/48, 22.9%) and trisomy 18 (6/48, 12.5%). From the 340 cases with DVA, in 31 cases the umbilical venous shunt type was not reported. Of the fetuses, 60.8% (188/309) had an extrahepatic umbilical venous drainage while 39.2% (121/309) presented an intrahepatic connection. The DVA was associated in 71 cases (23.0%) with cardiac abnormalities, in 82 cases (26.5%) with extracardiac abnormalities and in 85 cases (27.5%) with both cardiac and extracardiac abnormalities. Conclusion: DVA associated with both cardiac and extracardiac malformations may confer a poorer fetal outcome, a clinically relevant fact that should clarify what can be expected from this entity and help prenatal counseling

OncoLog Volume 49, Number 06, June 2004

Despite Initial Setbacks, Researchers Are Focusing on Antiangiogenic Therapy More Than Ever Dynamic Contrast-Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging Predicts Response to Antiangiogenesis Agents Smart Bombs : Targeted Therapies Home in on Increasingly Well-Defined Targets House Call: Understanding Angiogenesis DiaLog: Gene Therapy for Cancer: Safety First, by Jack Roth, MD, Chair, Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgeryhttps://openworks.mdanderson.org/oncolog/1130/thumbnail.jp

Characterization of tasks and skills of workers, middle and top managers in the Industry 4.0 context

This study intends to make a characterization of the main tasks and skills needed to face the Industry 4.0. Moreover, it gives special attention to the different company’s hierarchical levels. To achieve the goals of this paper, a methodology based on Collaborative Decision Making method was used. Firstly, thirty participants were interviewed to understand their point of views. Next, they were split into Group Works to refine the results. Finally, a Group Concordance took place to create the final list of tasks and skills. The skills were organized into four categories: Technical, Social, Methodological and Personal. The results show different requirements in each level. In the Workers level, due to the presence of more technical tasks, eight of the top ten skills belong to the Technical category. In the Middle Managers level, there are tasks of both leading and analyzing nature and thus the top ten skills needed are split through the four categories. Finally, in the Top Managers level, due to the presence of mainly strategy tasks, the top ten skills are split between the Methodological and Social categories. To the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies to use a Collaborative Decision Making methodology to develop a set of tasks and skills that future work environments will demand on the different hierarchical levels of the organization.This work was supported by the research unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policy (UIDB/04058/2020) and by Algoritmi Research Unit (UIDB/00319/2020), funded by national funds through FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia

Digital transformation and knowledge management in the public sector

UID/CPO/04058/2019 UIDB/00667/2020Digitizing public services is, at the moment, an essential necessity for numerous governments around the world. An improved government through digitization will not only have a growing effect on businesses, but it will also be able to intensify citizen engagement and push for economic growth. During the last 10 years more countries have progressively begun to provide digital services to their citizens. Therefore, in order to address this development, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the evolution of the digital government literature in order to describe the aspects of digital transformation in the public sector and how it is related to knowledge management. In this study the methodology is quantitative and it is based on a review and a survey made with the main goal being the estimation from several collected data on how the digital transformation process in the Public Administration takes place and what its relationship is with knowledge management. The review study is based on articles found on Scopus database and it addresses the role that digital government research plays in the theory and practice of knowledge management. In the survey study, 54 employees working for the services of the two governmental areas of the Portuguese Ministry of the Environment were surveyed. The results show that the research on the theme is still at an exploratory stage due to the lack of studies relating digital government to knowledge management effectiveness in the public sector. The results also show that the success of digital government seems to be related with the quality of the organizations' knowledge management, complementing each other for significant improvements in the public sector. In terms of originality, this study aims to contribute and stimulate data-driven discussions regarding the impacts of the digital transformation in the public sector and their relation with the implementation of knowledge management practices. The results offer insights into future research needs.publishersversionpublishe

Current status, emerging challenges, and future prospects of industrial symbiosis in Portugal

Radu Godina would like to acknowledge financial support from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (UID/EMS/00667/2019).Industrial symbiosis has proven to be an important tool for improving business sustainability with numerous environmental, economic, and social benefits. The literature on this subject has been provided with countless case studies of the application of this practice in different geographical locations. However, studies concerning Portugal in this area are still scarce. Thus, this article aims to map and analyze the existing cases of industrial symbiosis in Portugal, as well as the current state and the legislative context regarding this practice. It also aims to analyze the main barriers to the growth of synergy relations and outline new paths for the development of industrial symbiosis in Portugal. From the analysis to the case studies, it was possible to conclude that most industrial symbiosis networks have few actors, and networks with two and three are common. However, owing to strategic plans, the type of existing economic activities, and the waste generated, there is much potential for industrial symbiosis networks to be established and to contribute to emission reductions, more efficient use of resources, and reduced external dependence. However, in order to increase industrial symbiosis, concerted action must be taken at various levels to encourage companies to develop synergy relations. Changing the legislative framework, making funds available, the role of local governments, the existence of a facilitator, and the use of some industries as anchor tenants are some of the aspects that can contribute to the increase of industrial symbiosis in Portugal.publishersversionpublishe

Design and Implementation of a New Layout in a New Production Area of a Cork Stopper Factory Following Lean Manufacturing Principles

Publisher Copyright: © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.The current market conditions and purchasing power put pressure on selling prices. To maintain corporate profits, it is important to increase manufacturing efficiency and lower costs. The industrial unit in which this project was developed aims to increase the annual production of cork stoppers and by doing so, maintain the high standards of the quality and accuracy in their processes. To respond to this growth, Lean Manufacturing was implemented, and it was decided to build a new production area. The goal is to create a new production area for cork stoppers capable of producing around half a million cork stoppers per day. The use of Total Flow Management (TFM) tools allowed for the design of the layout and to level production. With the construction of a continuous flow between processes, the storage areas were gradually reduced, and the volume of WIP stock decreased by 63%. The results have also shown a decrease in the complaint rate of 3.5%, which was reduced under the established threshold of 5%, fulfilling the objectives proposed by the company for the project.publishe

Optimizing Electroactive Organisms: The Effect of Orthologous Proteins

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