Urban form analysis employing land cover and spatial metrics: the case of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

In order to face the challenges of urban planning, there is an increasing need to monitor and quantify urban occupation. This study, conducted within the research project "FURBS: Sustainable Urban Form - Methodological development for Portugal (PTDC/GEO/69109/2006), seeks to examine the urban form of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), and its occupation between 1990 and 2000, using spatial metrics. The LMA congregates nearly 3 million inhabitants, around 26% of the Portuguese total population. A relevant characteristic of the region is that it has been subject to a constant opening of new areas of urbanization, which had caused in this region, an increase of 18.6% of housing units between 1991 and 2001, while the total population grew only 4.3%. In this study, we sought to apply the use of spatial metrics to CORINE Land Cover urban classes, analysing the evolution of urban area with a wide range of spatial metrics in order to quantify the urban evolution in the region. Spatial metrics have been used in ecology studies where they are known as landscape metrics. These metrics represent the geometric characteristics of the landscape units and the spatial relationships between them. Only recently these metrics started to be used to analyse and classify the urban form in a more systematic way. The applications of quantitative indicators are one of the methodologies showing greatest potential in characterizing urban form, allowing researchers a tool to evaluate the urban form. In a nutshell we aim to contribute to the knowledge of the LMA and to the development of one of the most innovative approaches to the study of urban dynamics.Peer Reviewe

Urban form analysis employing land cover and spatial metrics: the case of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area

In order to face the challenges of urban planning, there is an increasing need to monitor and quantify urban occupation. This study, conducted within the research project "FURBS: Sustainable Urban Form - Methodological development for Portugal (PTDC/GEO/69109/2006), seeks to examine the urban form of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA), and its occupation between 1990 and 2000, using spatial metrics. The LMA congregates nearly 3 million inhabitants, around 26% of the Portuguese total population. A relevant characteristic of the region is that it has been subject to a constant opening of new areas of urbanization, which had caused in this region, an increase of 18.6% of housing units between 1991 and 2001, while the total population grew only 4.3%. In this study, we sought to apply the use of spatial metrics to CORINE Land Cover urban classes, analysing the evolution of urban area with a wide range of spatial metrics in order to quantify the urban evolution in the region. Spatial metrics have been used in ecology studies where they are known as landscape metrics. These metrics represent the geometric characteristics of the landscape units and the spatial relationships between them. Only recently these metrics started to be used to analyse and classify the urban form in a more systematic way. The applications of quantitative indicators are one of the methodologies showing greatest potential in characterizing urban form, allowing researchers a tool to evaluate the urban form. In a nutshell we aim to contribute to the knowledge of the LMA and to the development of one of the most innovative approaches to the study of urban dynamics.Peer Reviewe

Fungiculture in termites is associated with a mycolytic gut bacterial community

ABSTRACT Termites forage on a range of substrates, and it has been suggested that diet shapes the composition and function of termite gut bacterial communities. Through comparative analyses of gut metagenomes in nine termite species with distinct diets, we characterize bacterial community compositions and use peptide-based functional annotation method to determine biomass-degrading enzymes and the bacterial taxa that encode them. We find that fungus-growing termite guts have relatively more fungal cell wall-degrading enzyme genes, while wood-feeding termite gut communities have relatively more plant cell wall-degrading enzyme genes. Interestingly, wood-feeding termite gut bacterial genes code for abundant chitinolytic enzymes, suggesting that fungal biomass within the decaying wood likely contributes to gut bacterial or termite host nutrition. Across diets, the dominant biomass-degrading enzymes are predominantly coded for by the most abundant bacterial taxa, suggesting tight links between diet and gut community composition, with the most marked difference being the communities coding for the mycolytic capacity of the fungus-growing termite gut. IMPORTANCE Understanding functional capacities of gut microbiomes is important to improve our understanding of symbiotic associations. Here, we use peptide-based functional annotation to show that the gut microbiomes of fungus-farming termites code for a wealth of enzymes that likely target the fungal diet the termites eat. Comparisons to other termites showed that fungus-growing termite guts have relatively more fungal cell wall-degrading enzyme genes, whereas wood-feeding termite gut communities have relatively more plant cell wall-degrading enzyme genes. Across termites with different diets, the dominant biomass-degrading enzymes are predominantly coded for by the most abundant bacterial taxa, suggesting tight links between diet and gut community compositions

ESTIMATIVA DA EVAPOTRANSPIRAÇÃO POTENCIAL PROVÁVEL EM DIVINÓPOLIS – MG - BRASIL

A evapotranspiração (ET) é um parâmetro fundamental na estimativa da exigência hídrica de uma determinada região, principalmente quando se trata de planejamento ou desenvolvimento de sistemas que envolvam o manejo da água, sendo a ET provável a lâmina de ET que pode ser igualada ou superada a determinado nível de probabilidade. Assim, objetivou-se neste estudo analisar a ET potencial provável mensal do município de Divinópolis – MG e, a partir da definição de distribuições estatísticas, identificar a que melhor representa as séries históricas de evapotranspiração mensal. Para isso, os dados diários coletados da estação meteorológica convencional do Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia foram analisados utilizando frequência de excedência de 90, 75, 50, 25 e 10%. Foram ajustadas, às séries observadas as distribuições de frequência Gumbel para Máximos, Fréchet, Gama, Log-Normal 2P e Beta, sendo as aderências destes modelos testadas pelos métodos de Kolmogorov-Smirnov e Qui-Quadrado, ambos a 5% de probabilidade. A distribuição Beta foi a que melhor aderiu à maioria das séries de evapotranspiração mensal, e a distribuição Log-Normal a 2 Parâmetros obteve a pior aderência. A ET potencial média mensal pode ser utilizada de forma satisfatória para estimar a ET potencial provável com diferentes níveis de probabilidade de ocorrência

Synthesis and thermal behaviour of an amorphous solid polymer electrolyte

In this study the synthesis of an amorphous polymer network, poly[oxymethylene-oligo(oxyethylene)], designated as aPEO, is described. This polymer has been characterized by gel permeation chromatography, thermal analysis, conductivity measurements, evaluation of electrochemical stability and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The synthetic procedure developed permits partial fractionation of the product of the polymerization reaction. This linear macromolecule appears to be a promising polymer for application in batteries and electrochromic devices since it provides access to an amorphous polymer structure with good mechanical properties and promising electrochemical behavior.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Synthesis and electrochemical characterization of aPEO-based polymer electrolyte

In this paper the preparation and purification of an amorphous polymer network, poly[oxymethylene-oligo(oxyethylene)], designated as aPEO, are described. The flexible CH2CH2O segments in this host polymer combine appropriate mechanical properties, over a critical temperature range from -20 to 60 ºC, with labile salt-host interactions. The intensity of these interactions is sufficient to permit solubilization of the guest salt in the host polymer while permitting adequate mobility of ionic guest species. We also report the preparation and characterization of a novel polymer electrolyte based on this host polymer with lithium tetrafluoroborate, LiBF4, as guest salt. Electrolyte samples are thermally stable up to approximately 250 ºC and completely amorphous above room temperature. The electrolyte composition determines the glass transition temperature of electrolytes and was found to vary between –50.8 and –62.4 ºC. The electrolyte composition that supports the maximum room temperature conductivity of this electrolyte system is n = 5 (2.10×10-5 S cm-1 at 25 ºC). The electrochemical stability domain of the sample with n = 5 spans about 5 V measured against a Li/Li+ reference. This new electrolyte system represents a promising alternative to LiCF3SO3 and LiClO4-doped PEO analogues.Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi

On the essence of parallel independence for the double-pushout and sesqui-pushout approaches

Parallel independence between transformation steps is a basic notion in the algebraic approaches to graph transformation, which is at the core of some static analysis techniques like Critical Pair Analysis. We propose a new categorical condition of parallel independence and show its equivalence with two other conditions proposed in the literature, for both left-linear and non-left-linear rules. Next we present some preliminary experimental results aimed at comparing the three conditions with respect to computational efficiency. To this aim, we implemented the three conditions, for left-linear rules only, in the Verigraph system, and used them to check parallel independence of pairs of overlapping redexes generated from some sample graph transformation systems over categories of typed graphs

Forage intake and botanical composition of feed for cattle fed Brachiaria/legume mixtures

Uma contribuição fundamental para o estudo da ciclagem de nutrientes no sistema solo/planta/ animal é a avaliação do consumo pelo gado de forragem e dos nutrientes nela contidos. Testaram-se, sob condições controladas, técnicas para avaliar a produção fecal, digestibilidade in vitro, consumo de forragem e a proporção de leguminosa ingerida na dieta. Cinco novilhos de Zebu foram confinados e alimentados com quantidades conhecidas de cinco rações com diferentes proporções de Brachiaria dictyoneura e Desmodium ovalifolium. Todas as fezes bovinas foram recolhidas e pesadas e estes valores foram comparáveis com as estimativas da produção fecal derivadas do uso da técnica de óxido de cromo. A digestibilidade in vitro variou de 7 a 10% acima da digestibilidade in vivo atual. Amostras de fezes de novilhos alimentados com dietas com 25% ou mais de capim na mistura apresentaram abundância de 13C por entre 1,7 e 2,1, mas este empobrecimento isotópico não foi observado quando a dieta era com 100% D. ovalifolium. Houve correlação positiva linear (r² = 0,97***) entre δ13C da dieta com o δ13C das fezes, mas o conteúdo de leguminosa foi subestimado em mais de 10% quando a dieta ingerida foi de 100% de leguminosa. Nenhum dos indicadores internos, como o conteúdo de lignina ou cinzas, foram úteis para prever o consumo de forragem, mas os resultados da técnica utilizando óxido crômico como indicador externo foram satisfatórios. A abundância de 13C das fezes foi indicador adequado da proporção da leguminosa na dieta.A key contribution to study the cycling of nutrients in soil/plant/animal systems is the evaluation of the consumption of forage and their nutrients by cattle. The objective of this study was to test techniques to evaluate faecal production, in vitro digestibility, forage consumption and the proportion of legume in the acquired diet. Five Zebu steer calves were confined and fed five diets of different combinations of Brachiaria dictyoneura and Desmodium ovalifolium. All quantities of faeces were collected per animal and these values were found to compare favourably with those derived from using the chromium oxide technique. In vitro digestibility ranged from 7 to 10% higher than the actual in vivo digestibility. Faecal samples from steers fed with diets with 25% or more of grass in the mixture were found to be depleted in δ13C between 1.7 and 2.1, but no depletion was observed when the diet was 100% D. ovalifolium. There was a positive linear regression (r² = 0.97***) of the δ13C of the diet with the δ13C of faeces, but if the acquired diet contained a very high proportion of legume, the legume content could be underestimated by as much as 10%. None of the internal indicators, such as lignin or ash content of the diets, were useful to predict feed intake, but the chromium oxide external indicator performed satisfactorily. The 13C analysis of the faeces was an effective predictor of the proportion of the legume in the consumed diet

Otimização do sistema de produção de clones por transferência nuclear de célula somática (NTSC)

A técnica de transferência nuclear é uma ferramenta que possibilita a produção de embriões clones que podem ser utilizados tanto na clonagem reprodutiva como no modelo para o estudo de diversos mecanismos fisiológicos durante o desenvolvimento embrionário. Neste sentido, embriões clones bovinos foram produzidos por transferência nuclear, com o objetivo de estabelecer a técnica de clonagem, bem como otimizála para as condições do Laboratório de Embriologia e Biotécnicas de Reprodução da UFRGS. Durante este estudo, 1.123 estruturas foram reconstruídas em diferentes condições, sendo que 95 blastocistos foram produzidos em 56 replicações. O primeiro blastocisto foi produzido na 5ª rotina. Após a transferência de parte destes embriões, 13 prenhezes foram estabelecidas, entretanto, a maioria delas foi interrompida no terço inicial da gestação. Uma prenhez gemelar alcançou 260 dias, momento em que os fetos foram abortados. Outra gestação foi a termo, com o nascimento de um clone vivo, porém, o animal veio a óbito 42 horas após o nascimento