Characteristics and variability of storm tracks in the north Pacific, Bering Sea, and Alaska

The North Pacific and Bering Sea regions represent loci of cyclogenesis and storm track activity. In this paper climatological properties of extratropical storms in the North Pacific/Bering Sea are presented based upon aggregate statistics of individual storm tracks calculated by means of a feature-tracking algorithm run using NCEP–NCAR reanalysis data from 1948/49 to 2008, provided by the NOAA/Earth System Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, Climate Diagnostics Center. Storm identification is based on the 850-hPa relative vorticity field (ζ) instead of the often-used mean sea level pressure; ζ is a prognostic field, a good indicator of synoptic-scale dynamics, and is directly related to the wind speed. Emphasis extends beyond winter to provide detailed consideration of all seasons. Results show that the interseasonal variability is not as large during the spring and autumn seasons. Most of the storm variables—genesis, intensity, track density—exhibited a maxima pattern that was oriented along a zonal axis. From season to season this axis underwent a north–south shift and, in some cases, a rotation to the northeast. This was determined to be a result of zonal heating variations and midtropospheric moisture patterns. Barotropic processes have an influence in shaping the downstream end of storm tracks and, together with the blocking influence of the coastal orography of northwest North America, result in high lysis concentrations, effectively making the Gulf of Alaska the “graveyard” of Pacific storms. Summer storms tended to be longest in duration. Temporal trends tended to be weak over the study area. SST did not emerge as a major cyclogenesis control in the Gulf of Alaska

Genome of Rhodnius prolixus, an insect vector of Chagas disease, reveals unique adaptations to hematophagy and parasite infection

Rhodnius prolixus not only has served as a model organism for the study of insect physiology, but also is a major vector of Chagas disease, an illness that affects approximately seven million people worldwide. We sequenced the genome of R. prolixus, generated assembled sequences covering 95% of the genome (∼702 Mb), including 15,456 putative protein-coding genes, and completed comprehensive genomic analyses of this obligate blood-feeding insect. Although immune-deficiency (IMD)-mediated immune responses were observed, R. prolixus putatively lacks key components of the IMD pathway, suggesting a reorganization of the canonical immune signaling network. Although both Toll and IMD effectors controlled intestinal microbiota, neither affected Trypanosoma cruzi, the causal agent of Chagas disease, implying the existence of evasion or tolerance mechanisms. R. prolixus has experienced an extensive loss of selenoprotein genes, with its repertoire reduced to only two proteins, one of which is a selenocysteine-based glutathione peroxidase, the first found in insects. The genome contained actively transcribed, horizontally transferred genes from Wolbachia sp., which showed evidence of codon use evolution toward the insect use pattern. Comparative protein analyses revealed many lineage-specific expansions and putative gene absences in R. prolixus, including tandem expansions of genes related to chemoreception, feeding, and digestion that possibly contributed to the evolution of a blood-feeding lifestyle. The genome assembly and these associated analyses provide critical information on the physiology and evolution of this important vector species and should be instrumental for the development of innovative disease control methods.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (NIH Grant NHGRI-HG003079)National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.) (Grant HHSN272200900039C)Seventh Framework Programme (European Commission) (Marie Curie PIOF-GA-2011-303312

DNA-psoralen: single-molecule experiments and first principles calculations

The authors measure the persistence and contour lengths of DNA-psoralen complexes, as a function of psoralen concentration, for intercalated and crosslinked complexes. In both cases, the persistence length monotonically increases until a certain critical concentration is reached, above which it abruptly decreases and remains approximately constant. The contour length of the complexes exhibits no such discontinuous behavior. By fitting the relative increase of the contour length to the neighbor exclusion model, we obtain the exclusion number and the intrinsic intercalating constant of the psoralen-DNA interaction. Ab initio calculations are employed in order to provide an atomistic picture of these experimental findings.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures in re-print format 3 pages, 4 figures in the published versio

Expansion business plan to HUB,S.A.: HUB and Aktion- defferent concepts, the same commitement

This Business Plan aims to study, analyse and conclude about the feasibility of HUB,S.A.'s intended strategy for the development of a hostel chain. In one side there is HUB, a brand associated to urban areas and characterized by having big units (between 125 and 200 beds) that targets not only groups of youth travellers but also the Student Housing segment. On the other side there is AKTION, a brand associated to rural areas where Active Tourism plays an important role and that functions in a franchise system basis; an idea that is still not developed in the Hostels Market

To ware or Vapourware passing through Solutionism and Paleo-Future

UID/SOC/04647/2013The object of this paper is to discuss the concept(s) of Design Fiction(s), and to elaborate a critical re-definition of the termsfrom Literary Theory and Narratology’s stand-points. By so doing, it aims to propose a clarification of the types of objects frameable by Design Fiction (DF), and shorten the gap between the latter and Interactive Fiction (IF), IoT (Internet of Things) fictions and AR (Augmented Reality) whenever these practices are being used to tell stories. Smart-houses will be used as an example of successful DF narratives.publishersversionpublishe

Acumulação de polihidroxialcanoatos por culturas microbianas mistas do tratamento do efluente urbano

Os microrganismos podem acumular intracelularmente inclusões de polihidroxialcanoatos (PHAs) durante o tratamento de águas residuais, utilizando o efluente urbano como fonte de carbono. Estes polímeros biodegradáveis surgem como alternativa aos plásticos convencionais, permitindo reduzir a quantidade de lamas enviadas para tratamento posterior. A monitorização da acumulação de PHAs nos microrganismos das lamas ativadas da ETAR de Penices foi efetuada durante 30 dias, recorrendo ao método de Cromatografia Gasosa (CG) e à técnica de coloração de Negro Sudão B (NSB). Os resultados obtidos por CG revelaram uma acumulação máxima, em fração mássica, de PHAs igual a 5.3 % nas lamas ativadas, relativamente ao teor de biomassa liofilizada e uma concentração máxima de 127 mg L-1. Os resultados obtidos por NSB corroboraram estes valores, pelo que esta técnica poderá ser uma alternativa viável para a quantificação de PHAs, sendo mais fácil de operar e menos dispendiosa. Concluiu-se ainda que a produção de PHAs com culturas mistas à escala industrial para este caso de estudo não é viável, dadas as baixas quantidades obtidas de polímero e o elevado investimento em unidades de extração e purificação do mesmo.The microorganisms can accumulate intracellularly inclusions of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs) during wastewater treatment, using the urban efluent as carbon source. These biodegradable polymers appear to emerge as an alternative to conventional plastics, allowing to reduce the amount of activated sludge sent to posterior treatment. The monitoring of the PHAs accumulation in the activated sludge microorganisms of the Penices wastewater treatment facility was performed for 30 days, using gas chromatography (GC) and Sudan Black B (SBB) staining. GC results revealed a maximum accumulation of PHAs mass fraction of 5.3 % in the activated sludge, in relation to the liophilized biomass content, and a maximum concentration of 127 mg L -1 . The SBB results corroborated these values, and therefor this technique can be a viable alternative to the PHAs quantification, being easier to operate and less costly. Still, it was possible to conclude that the PHAs production with mixed cultures at the industrial scale is not viable in this case, given the obtained low quantities of polymer and the high investment in extraction and purification units

Enhancing pedagogical innovation in a Portuguese vocational school: insights from a community of practice

The school mission addresses a social purpose: providing each student with quality and meaningful learning experiences that prepare them for a limitless future. In the Decree-Law nº55/2018 establishes changes in the curriculum and, consequently, expects that teachers play a more active role in its development. Teacher collaboration in the workplace is a key dimension to fostering school innovation (Kelchtermans, Smith & Vanderlinde, 2018), despite being a missing practice (Ben-Peretz & Flores, 2018). This study is part of an ongoing project carried out by SAME (Support Service for the Improvement of Education) from the Faculty of Education and Psychology of Universidade Católica Portuguesa (Porto, Portugal), in which is expected to enhance pedagogical innovation in a Portuguese vocation school, by re-thinking the planning of the curricula.The methodological approach of this project is based on action research, in which a team of researchers from SAME is closely working and collaborating with a group of teachers in the development of a solution based on the diagnosis of a problem identified (Bryman, 2012). The expected outcome of the project is to co-create a set of guidelines to support teachers in improving their practices. With this in mind, three phases were considered: 1) diagnosis of the problem based on a focus group carried out with leaders and teachers (September 2021); 2) development of solutions by creating a community of practice (December to June 2022); 3) delivering the final result (July 2022). This work aims to present and describe the insights of the teachers (n=13) engaged in this community of practice, regarding the co-creation process of developing solutions to enhancing pedagogical innovation in their schools. The data include the observation of the meetings by one researcher from SAME carried out since December 2021, and a questionnaire to be sent to this group of teachers, in the final of the second phase of the project. The expected outcomes will include the analyses of two dimensions, namely: 1) nature and content of the final solution (guidelines to improve teaching practice); 2) the community of practice value (level of collaboration and interaction, sense of belonging, focus on value, and sustainability). Implications for teachers’ professional development will be discussed and considered.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Removal of ibuprofen by an aerobic activated sludge system

O aumento de compostos farmacêuticos no meio ambiente levou à procura de métodos eficientes e amigos do ambiente capazes de solucionar o problema. Neste trabalho é proposta a utilização de lamas ativadas para a remoção de ibuprofeno (IBU). Foram testadas diferentes concentrações de IBU (0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8 e 1 mg L-1), em sistema fechado, num reactor de 4 L. Foram calculados valores de uptake e percentagem de remoção. Os valores de uptake cresceram com o aumento da concentração inicial de IBU (0.192 para 0.660 mg g-1), o que está de acordo com o teoricamente esperado. A remoção foi quase total (99.1-99.5 %) sendo independente da concentração inicial de IBU. O mecanismo de remoção é bem descrito pelo modelo de pseudo- 2ª ordem, para todas as concentrações testadas. O sistema utilizado mostrou ser eficiente na remoção de IBU e poderá ser utilizado na remoção de IBU em grande escala.The increasing presence of pharmaceutical compounds in the environment leads to the search of efficient and eco-friendly methods able to solve the problem. This work proposes the use of activated sludge for the removal of ibuprofen (IBU). Different concentrations of IBU were tested (0.4, 0.5, 0.6, 0.8, and 1 mg L-1) in a batch reactor with a working volume of 4 L. The uptake values and removal percentage were calculated. The uptake values increased with increasing initial concentration of IBU (0.192 to 0.660 mg g-1 ), which is in agreement with the theoretically expected. The removal was almost total (99.1-99.5 %) and independent of the initial IBU concentration. The removal mechanism is well described by the pseudo 2nd order model, for all concentrations tested. The system is efficient in removing IBU and may be used in the removal of IBU in large scale.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) através do projecto de financiamento estratégico à unidade de investigação (UID/BIO/04469/2013), COMPETE 2020 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006684)Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) - SFRH/BPD/82558/2011; SFRH/BPD/101338/2014