CRISP (crayfish and rice integrated system of production): 2. Modelling crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) population dynamics

An ecological sub-model of crayfish (Procambarus clarkii) population dynamics is presented for integration into the CRISP (crayfish and rice integrated system of production) series of models. The present structure is directed towards simulation of crayfish population responses under different human interventions, namely different capture rates. The crayfish population was subdivided into seven age classes of 80 days, each one constituting a state variable. The increase in weight for each 80-day period was considered dependent on the temperature, the oxygen level and the water level. Mortality was assumed to be dependent on the dry weight of the crayfish and regulated by the total crayfish biomass. Food, water and oxygen content of the water were considered to be non limiting. Total crayfish biomass and total wet weight of crayfish captures were very sensitive to both the temperature for maximum growth and the mortality rates. Our most optimistic simulation, with a 50% decrease in the mortality rates, resulted in a fourfold increase in captures, from 230 to 917 kg ha-1 per year. Without capture, a value of 121 kg ha-1 was simulated for the average crayfish biomass, which is close to the 124 kg ha-1 obtained with crayfish capture. Our simulated average crayfish biomass was approximately 120 kg ha-1 in a natural situation, which lies inside the reported ranges from areas at approximately the same latitude.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6VBS-3XM2SN8-2/1/c3c8d93a43ea0ffd5fc0055b9347934

Non-native freshwater fauna in Portugal: a review

We present the most updated list of non-native freshwater fauna established in Portugal, including the Azores and Madeira archipelagos. This list includes 67 species at national level but corresponds to 84 species records, of which 53 are in the mainland, 23 in the Azores and 8 in Madeira archipelagos. We also discuss the progression of the cumulative number of introductions since 1800 and identify the most probable vectors of introduction, main taxonomic groups and their regions of origin. Furthermore, we review the existing knowledge about ecological and economic impacts, invasion risk and potential distribution of invaders, under present and future climatic conditions, and the applied management actions, including the production of legislation. Along the 20th century the number of successful introductions increased at an approximate rate of two new species per decade until the beginning of 1970s. Since then, this rate increased to about 14 new species per decade. These introductions were mainly a result of fisheries, as contaminants or for ornamental purposes. Fish and mollusks are the taxonomic groups with more established species, representing more than half of the total. Most species (>70%) are native from other regions of Europe and North America. Studies about ecological or socioeconomic impacts are more common for fish, crustaceans and mollusks. Impacts for most amphibians, reptiles and mammals are not thoroughly studied. A few studies on the impacts and management actions of health-threatening mosquitoes are also available. The potential distribution in the Portuguese territory was modelled for 26 species. Only a minority of these models provides projections of distributions under scenarios of future climate change. A comparison of the Portuguese and EU legislation shows large discrepancies in the invasive species lists. Using the EU list and a ranking procedure for the national context, we identify freshwater species of high national concern for which actions are urgently needed.This work was supported by the FRISK Project (Ref. PTDC/AAG-MAA/0350/2014) to F. Ribeiro and by the strategic plan of MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre (UID/MAR/04292/2013) to F. Banha with a short term post-doc grant on the University of Evora and a small project. A. F. Filipe was supported by the FRESHING project funded by FCT and COMPETE (PTDC/AAG-MAA/2261/2014 - POCI-01-0145-FEDER-356 016824). R. Sousa was supported by FRESHCO project (contract: PTDC/AGRFOR/1627/2014) funded by FCT

evidência de dois países da África Subsariana

Saúde Global e Doenças TropicaisResumo Introdução Na última década, em alguns dos Países Africanos de Língua Oficial Portuguesa, foi criado o grau de licenciado em enfermagem (4 anos de formação de nível superior) que passou a co-existir com a formação de nível médio (3 anos). Não existe evidência sobre as expectativas profissionais dos alunos de nível superior e se estas diferem das dos de nível médio. Contudo, quando as expectativas profissionais não são atingidas, os profissionais podem ficar insatisfeitos e desmotivados o que, em última análise, condiciona a qualidade dos cuidados prestados. Objetivos Identificar e comparar as expectativas profissionais futuras dos alunos de enfermagem de nível médio e de nível superior. Material e métodos Estudo observacional, transversal, multicêntrico, realizado em duas escolas de Enfermagem da Guiné Bissau e uma de SãoTomé e Príncipe, no ano letivo de 2010/2011.A população do estudo incluiu todos os alunos do último ano das escolas selecionadas. Foi aplicado um questionário de perguntas de resposta fechada utilizado anteriormente em estudos semelhantes. De modo a identificar grupos de alunos que partilhavam caraterísticas sociodemográficas e expectativas profissionais comuns, foi usada a análise de correspondência múltipla da Escola de Leiden do software SPSS v.20. Resultados Os alunos de enfermagem de nível médio não diferiam dos de nível universitário em termos de caraterísticas sociodemográficas, independentemente do país de origem. Os estudantes de enfermagem de nível universitário esperavam trabalhar no setor privado e no público (duplo emprego), na administração central do sistema de saúde e ter um salário de mais de 200 euros esperavam trabalhar no setor público, num hospital e ganhar menos de 200 euros mensais. Discussão: O aumento do número de anos de formação dos enfermeiros não pode ser dissociado das expectativas profissionais dos recém-formados e da capacidade dos sistemas de saúde para dar resposta a estas expectativas. Se o aumento do número de anos de formação de enfermeiros for dissociado de uma política de recursos humanos da saúde mais abrangente, pode dar lugar à insatisfação e desmotivação dos enfermeiros cujo desempenho pode ser inferior, podendo mesmo abandonar a profissão ou emigrar. Abstract Background In the last decade, in some of the Portuguese Speaking African Countries, a nursing degree with four years of training (graduate/university- -level) has been created along with the pre-existing middle level /diploma training (3 years). There is no evidence on what university level students course expect of their professional life and if their expectations differ from middle-level nursing students. Nevertheless, when professional expectations are not met, professionals might get dissatisfied and unmotivated which, ultimately, will influence the quality of care they provide. Aims To identify and compare the expectations of middle level and university level nursing students towards professional life. Material and methods Multicentric cross sectional study, conducted in two nursing schools in Guinea Bissau and one nursing school in Sao Tome and Principe in 2010/2011 school year. The population of the study comprised all last year students from selected schools. We used a close ended questionnaire previously used in similar studies to collect data. We used SPSS v.20 Leiden’s School optimal scaling multiple correspondence analysis to identify groups of students that shared common socio-demographic characteristics and expectations towards professional life Results Middle level nursing students did not differ significantly from university level nursing students in terms of socio-demographic characteristics, despite the country of origin. University level nursing students expected to work in both the private and the public setor (dual practice), in the central administration of the health system and to earn more than 200 euros per month. Middle level students from SaoTome and Principe and from Guinea Bissau, expected to work in the public setor, at the hospital level and to earn 200 or less euros. Discussion The skilling up of the training of nurses cannot be dissociated from the expectations of newly graduate and the capacity of the health system to address those expectations. If not part of a broader human resources for health policy, the isolated skilling-up of nursing training can lead to unsatisfied and demotivated nurses who ultimately will deliver poor quality services, leave their job and/or migrate.publishersversionpublishe

Liquid mixtures involving hydrogenated and fluorinated alcohols: thermodynamics, spectroscopy, and simulation

This article reports a combined thermodynamic, spectroscopic, and Computational study on the interactions and structure of binary mixtures of hydrogenated and fluorinated substances that simultaneously interact through strong hydrogen bonding. Four binary mixtures of hydrogenated and fluorinated alcohols have been studied, namely, (ethanol + 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE)), (ethanol + 2,2,3,3,4,4,4-heptafluoro-1-butanol), (1-butanol (BuOH) + TFE), and (BuOH + 2,23,4,4,4-heptafluoto-1-butanol). Excess molar volumes and vibrational spectra of all four binary mixtures have been measured as a function of composition at 298 K, and molecular dynamics simulations have been performed. The systems display a complex behavior when compared with mixtures of hydrogenated alcohols and mixtures of alkanes and perfluoroalkanes. The combined analysis of the results from different approaches indicates that this results from a balance between preferential hydrogen bonding between the hydrogenated and fluorinated alcohols and the unfavorable dispersion forces between the hydrogenated and fluorinated chains. As the chain length increases, the contribution of dispersion increases and overcomes the contribution of H-bonds. In terms of the liquid structure, the simulations suggest the possibility of segregation between the hydrogenated and fluorinated segments, a hypothesis corroborated by the spectroscopic results. Furthermore, a quantitative analysis of the infrared spectra reveals that the presence of fluorinated groups induces conformational changes in the hydrogenated chains from the usually preferred all-trans to more globular arrangements involving gauche conformations. Conformational rearrangements at the CCOH dihedral angle upon mixing are also disclosed by the spectra

Supercritical CO2 Extraction as a Tool to Isolate Anti-Inflammatory Sesquiterpene Lactones from Cichorium intybus L. Roots

Funding: This work was conducted under the “CHIC” project (H2020-NMBP-BIO-2017) with financial support received from the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement N. 760891.Cichorium intybus L. or chicory plants are a natural source of health-promoting compounds in the form of supplements such as inulin, as well as other bioactive compounds such as sesquiterpene lactones (SLs). After inulin extraction, chicory roots are considered waste, with most SLs not being harnessed. We developed and optimized a new strategy for SL extraction that can contribute to the conversion of chicory root waste into valuable products to be used in human health-promoting applications. In our work, rich fractions of SLs were recovered from chicory roots using supercritical CO2. A response surface methodology was used to optimize the process parameters (pressure, temperature, flow rate, and co-solvent percentage) for the extraction performance. The best operating conditions were achieved at 350 bar, 40 °C, and 10% EtOH as a co-solvent in a 15 g/min flow rate for 120 min. The extraction with supercritical CO2 revealed to be more selective for the SLs than the conventional solid-liquid extraction with ethyl acetate. In our work, 1.68% mass and a 0.09% sesquiterpenes yield extraction were obtained, including the recovery of two sesquiterpene lactones (8-deoxylactucin and 11β,13-dihydro-8-deoxylactucin), which, to the best of our knowledge, are not commercially available. A mixture of the abovementioned compounds were tested at different concentrations for their toxic profile and anti-inflammatory potential towards a human calcineurin/NFAT orthologue pathway in a yeast model, the calcineurin/Crz1 pathway. The SFE extract obtained, rich in SLs, yielded results of inhibition of 61.74 ± 6.87% with 50 µg/mL, and the purified fraction containing 8-deoxylactucin and 11β,13-dihydro-8-deoxylactucin inhibited the activation of the reporter gene up to 53.38 ± 3.9% at 10 µg/mL. The potential activity of the purified fraction was also validated by the ability to inhibit Crz1 nuclear translocation and accumulation. These results reveal a possible exploitable green technology to recover potential anti-inflammatory compounds from chicory roots waste after inulin extraction.publishersversionpublishe

Biometric conversion factors as a unifying platform for comparative assessment of invasive freshwater bivalves

Invasive bivalves continue to spread and negatively impact freshwater ecosystems worldwide. As different metrics for body size and biomass are frequently used within the literature to standardise bivalve-related ecological impacts (e.g. respiration and filtration rates), the lack of broadly applicable conversion equations currently hinders reliable comparison across bivalve populations. To facilitate improved comparative assessment among studies originating from disparate geographical locations, we report body size and biomass conversion equations for six invasive freshwater bivalves (or species complex members) worldwide: Corbicula fluminea, C. largillierti, Dreissena bugensis, D. polymorpha, Limnoperna fortunei and Sinanodonta woodiana, and tested the reliability (i.e. precision and accuracy) of these equations. Body size (length, width and height) and biomass metrics of living-weight (LW), wet-weight (WW), dry-weight (DW), dry shell-weight (SW), shell free dry-weight (SFDW) and ash-free dry-weight (AFDW) were collected from a total of 44 bivalve populations located in Asia, the Americas and Europe. Relationships between body size and individual biomass metrics, as well as proportional weight-to-weight conversion factors, were determined. For most species, although inherent variation existed between sampled populations, body size directional measurements were found to be good predictors of all biomass metrics (e.g. length to LW, WW, SW or DW: R2 = 0.82–0.96), with moderate to high accuracy for mean absolute error (MAE): ±9.14%–24.19%. Similarly, narrow 95% confidence limits and low MAE were observed for most proportional biomass relationships, indicating high reliability for the calculated conversion factors (e.g. LW to AFDW; CI range: 0.7–2.0, MAE: ±0.7%–2.0%). Synthesis and applications. Our derived biomass prediction equations can be used to rapidly estimate the biologically active biomass of the assessed species, based on simpler biomass or body size measurements for a wide range of situations globally. This allows for the calculation of approximate average indicators that, when combined with density data, can be used to estimate biomass per geographical unit-area and contribute to quantification of population-level effects. These general equations will support meta-analyses, and allow for comparative assessment of historic and contemporary data. Overall, these equations will enable conservation managers to better understand and predict ecological impacts of these bivalves. © 2021 The Authors. Journal of Applied Ecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Societ

Medidas de Adaptação às Alterações Climáticas na Gestão dos Riscos Naturais e Ambientais

Foram apresentados os resultados do projeto ClimRisk. De entre os resultados obtidos, verificou-se um aumento global da temperatura média para o período entre 2041-2070 em todas as estações, com particular expressão no verão. As anomalias da temperatura média indicam um aumento entre 1,6 a 2,7°C para o verão. As regiões mais afetadas serão as do interior norte e sul. Na área de estudo, os concelhos do interior (Vila de Rei, Sertã, Sardoal, Abrantes, Mação, Proença-a-Nova e Oleiros) serão os mais afetados, com particular intensidade no outono e verão. Para a precipitação, os resultados apontam para uma diminuição global em todas as estações, com exceção do inverno, para o qual se prevê um aumento até 28 mm no nordeste, sendo residual a Sul do Tejo (Alentejo e Algarve). Os resultados indicam que as regiões mais afetadas serão as do noroeste de Portugal (litoral). Na área de estudo, os concelhos do interior (Oleiros, Sertã, Ferreira do Zêzere, Vila de Rei, Mação, Proença-a-Nova) serão os mais afetados, com particular intensidade no outono e na primavera. Na bacia hidrográfica do rio Lis, foram analisados os impactes decorrentes dos vários cenários climáticos e os resultados apontam para que, no período 2041-2070, ocorram mais eventos de inundação, com cerca de 40 dias com caudal superior ao caudal associado à cheia centenária. Na região Centro, os resultados projetam um aumento do índice meteorológico de perigo de incêndio (FWI) para o período entre 2041-2070, com a consequente previsão de um acréscimo da área ardida no território rural.N/