How impactful are public policies on environmental sustainability? Debating the Portuguese case of PO SEUR 2014–2020

Sustainable development is a key feature of national, European Union and global development strategies. The main research goal is to provide evidence on how impactful public policies on environmental sustainability in Portugal are at the regional level, in various policy areas. In this context, this paper analyses the main impacts of the Portuguese Operational Programme for Sustainability and Efficient Use of Resources (PO SEUR 2014–20). The research uses a territorial impact assessment (TIA) methodology (TARGET_TIA) to assess these impacts in five analytic dimensions (economy with low emissions, adaptation to climate change, risk prevention and management, environmental protection and resource efficiency) in the five mainland Portuguese NUTS 2. It concludes that, in overall terms, PO SEUR produced low to moderate positive impacts in all NUTS II and analysed dimensions, but it was particularly positive in measures fostering adaptation to climate change, and less impactful in measures supporting an economy with low emissions and resource efficiency in Portugal. Despite data limitations, the research provided adequate evidence that key public policies supporting environmental sustainability in Portugal are largely ineffective and inefficient in view of their policy goals and allocated funding. To turn this scenario around, the process of project selection needs to undergo significant improvements to better adjust the regional needs on environmental sustainability-related issues to the available funding. Moreover, on a policy strategic level, there needs to be support for a prosperous, modern, competitive and climate-neutral economy in Portugal via concrete actions exploring environmental capital and a green economy in urban areas.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Detection of Mycobacterium spp. in Coalho cheese commercialized in the city of Caicó-RN, Brazil.

Artisanal Coalho cheese is a popular dairy product, widely consumed in the Northeast region of Brazil, and is produced with raw or pasteurized milk. Microbial contamination of cheeses has very important consequences, both for the dairy industry, given the potential economic losses, and for public health, due to the risk of outbreaks of foodborne diseases. The present study aimed to detect Mycobaterium spp. in Coalho cheese commercialized in the city of Caicó-RN Brazil, using bacterial culture and molecular diagnosis. 50 samples of Coalho cheese obtained from local street market were analyzed, 35 of which were made from raw milk (artesanal cheese) and 15 with pasteurized milk (industrialized cheese)

A population of Lychnophora Ericoides Mart. (arnica) (Asteraceae) is prone to extinction in a savanna of Central Brazil.

Made available in DSpace on 2018-01-16T23:20:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 populationoflychnophoraericoidesmartarnicaasteraceaeispronetoextinctioninasavannaofcentralbrazil.pdf: 1003063 bytes, checksum: 991d82dd7e0315dc542a499ae93b6f01 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-01-16bitstream/item/171141/1/population-of-lychnophora-ericoides-mart-arnica-asteraceae-is-prone-to-extinction-in-a-savanna-of-central-brazil.pd

Efeito do consórcio cultural no manejo ecológico de insetos em tomateiro.

bitstream/item/103069/1/cot-65.pd

Fortalecimento do manejo florestal comunitário em assentamento rural na amazônia ocidental, Rondônia, Brasil.

O assentamento rural Nilson Campos, um dos mais recentes do Estado de Rondônia, localizado no Distrito de Jacy Paraná, a 90 km da capital do Estado, Porto Velho, pode ser considerado um retrato do acelerado processo de ocupação humana na região, caracterizado pelas mudanças na paisagem e no padrão de uso da terra, que tem por base uma agricultura regional continuamente apoiada em práticas de derruba e queima, consideradas mais acessíveis em termos econômicos, porém, causadoras de grandes perdas do capital natural. Preocupada com essas questões, a Embrapa Rondônia vem conduzindo, desde julho de 2005, o projeto: Organização comunitária em apoio ao manejo florestal em assentamento rural ? Jacy Paraná ? Rondônia, cujo objetivo central é preparar produtores familiares, assentados de programas da reforma agrária, para implementar o manejo florestal comunitário mediante um programa sócio-educativo que inclui quatro etapas operacionais: sensibilização, capacitação, planejamento e difusão. A partir da metodologia proposta, que inclui a participação dos produtores em grupos de estudo mediante oficinas temáticas com o uso de música como ferramenta de base para a discussão e reflexão sobre a temática ambiental, o fortalecimento do aprendizado sobre a importância, as técnicas, e o esclarecimento sobre os desafios e oportunidades da adoção do manejo florestal têm sido trabalhadas. São apresentados os principais avanços conseguidos até o momento com a formação de um grupo comunitário de estudo (GCE) local sobre manejo florestal comunitário, a realização de uma oficina de trabalho sobre os cenários futuros plausíveis com o manejo florestal no assentamento, e curso introdutório sobre manejo florestal sustentável, englobando a legislação florestal, e a importância e função de recursos madeireiros e não-madeireiros para a melhoria de suas estratégias de vida

Aharonov-Bohm signature for neutral excitons in type-II quantum dot ensembles

It is commonly believed that the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) effect is a typical feature of the motion of a charged particle interacting with the electromagnetic vector potential. Here we present a magnetophotoluminescence study of type-II InP/GaAs self-assembled quantum dots, unambiguously revealing the Aharonov-Bohm-type oscillations for neutral excitons when the hole ground state changes its angular momentum from lh = 0 to lh = 1, 2, and 3. The hole ring parameters derived from a simple model are in excellent agreement with the structural parameters for this system.Comment: Revised version, 10 pages, 3 figure

The variability behavior of CoRoT M-giant Stars

For 6 years the Convection, Rotation, and Planetary Transits (CoRoT) space mission has acquired photometric data from more than one hundred thousand point sources towards and directly opposite from the inner and outer regions of the Galaxy. The high temporal resolution of the CoRoT data combined with the wide time span of the observations has enabled the study of short and long time variations in unprecedented detail. From the initial sample of 2534 stars classified as M-giants in the CoRoT databasis, we selected 1428 targets that exhibit well defined variability, using visual inspection. The variability period and amplitude of C1 stars (stars having Teff < 4200 K) were computed using Lomb-Scargle and harmonic fit methods. The trends found in the V-I vs J-K color-color diagram are in agreement with standard empirical calibrations for M-giants. The sources located towards the inner regions of the Galaxy are distributed throughout the diagram while the majority of the stars towards the outer regions of the Galaxy are spread between the calibrations of M-giants and the predicted position for Carbon stars. The stars classified as supergiants follow a different sequence from the one found for giant stars. We also performed a KS test of the period and amplitude of stars towards the inner and outer regions of the Galaxy. We obtained a low probability that the two samples come from the same parent distribution. The observed behavior of the period-amplitude and period-Teff diagrams are, in general, in agreement with those found for Kepler sources and ground based photometry, with pulsation being the dominant cause responsible for the observed modulation. We also conclude that short-time variations on M-Giant stars do not exist orare very rare and the few cases we found are possibly related to biases or background stars.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Spectroscopic Study of IRAS 19285+0517(PDS 100): A Rapidly Rotating Li-Rich K Giant

We report on photometry and high-resolution spectroscopy for IRAS 19285+0517. The spectral energy distribution based on visible and near-IR photometry and far-IR fluxes shows that the star is surrounded by dust at a temperature of $T_{\rm {d}}$ $\sim$ 250 K. Spectral line analysis shows that the star is a K giant with a projected rotational velocity $v sin i$ = 9 $\pm$ 2 km s$^{-1}$. We determined the atmospheric parameters: $T_{\rm {eff}}$ = 4500 K, log $g$ = 2.5, $\xi_{t}$ = 1.5 km s$^{-1}$, and [Fe/H] = 0.14 dex. The LTE abundance analysis shows that the star is Li-rich (log $\epsilon$(Li) = 2.5$\pm$0.15), but with essentially normal C, N, and O, and metal abundances. Spectral synthesis of molecular CN lines yields the carbon isotopic ratio $^{12}$C/$^{13}$C = 9 $\pm$3, a signature of post-main sequence evolution and dredge-up on the RGB. Analysis of the Li resonance line at 6707 \AA for different ratios $^{6}$Li/$^{7}$Li shows that the Li profile can be fitted best with a predicted profile for pure $^{7}$Li. Far-IR excess, large Li abundance, and rapid rotation suggest that a planet has been swallowed or, perhaps, that an instability in the RGB outer layers triggered a sudden enrichment of Li and caused mass-loss.Comment: To appear in AJ; 40 pages, 9 figure

X-ray Evidence of the Common Envelope Phase of V471 Tauri

Chandra Low Energy Transmission Grating Spectrograph observations of the pre-cataclysmic binary V471 Tau have been used to estimate the C/N abundance ratio of the K dwarf component for the first time. While the white dwarf component dominates the spectrum longward of 50 AA, at shorter wavelengths the observed X-ray emission is entirely due to coronal emission from the K dwarf. The H-like resonance lines of C and N yield an estimate of their logarithmic abundance ratio relative to the Sun of [C/N]=-0.38+/-0.15 - half of the currently accepted solar value. We interpret this result as the first clear observational evidence for the presumed common envelope phase of this system, during which the surface of the K dwarf was contaminated by CN-cycle processed material dredged up into the red giant envelope. We use the measured C/N ratio to deduce that 0.015-0.04 Msun was accreted by the K dwarf while engulfed, and show that this is consistent with a recent tentative detection of 13C in the K dwarf photosphere, and with the measured Li abundance in the scenario where the red giant companion was Li-rich during the common envelope phase.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, ApJL accepte