Is supplemental stocking of brown trout (Salmo trutta) worthwhile in low productive streams?

The effect of trout stocking was evaluated in two headstreams located in northern Portugal in order to assess the impact on wild trout (Salmo trutta L.) and to analyze the success of this operation. The results obtained exhibited the limitation of stocking: 1) the clumped character of the release fishes created a high mortality and limited the increasing of salmonid population to a few weeks; 2) because density-dependent factors seem to prevail in the regulation of salmonid populations, stocking is beneficial only if a population has became scarce, otherwise, the autochthonous fish may be strongly impacted; 3) the relative vulnerability of each age class of the native trout may vary according with the site

Goat milk free fatty acid characterization during conventional and ohmic heating pasteurization

The disruption of the milk fat globule membrane can lead to an excessive accumulation of free fatty acids in milk, which is frequently associated with the appearance of rancid flavors. Solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography techniques have been shown to be useful tools in the quantification of individual free fatty acids in dairy products providing enough sensitivity to detect levels of rancidity in milk. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the short-chain and medium-chain free fatty acid profile in i) raw untreated goat milk; ii) raw goat milk passing through pumps and heating units (plate-and-frame heat exchanger and ohmic heater); and iii) processed goat milk by conventional and ohmic pasteurization to determine the influence of each treatment in the final quality of the milk. Multivariate statistical analysis has shown that the treatments studied were not responsible for the variability found on free fatty acid contents. In particular, it was possible to conclude that ohmic pasteurization at 72°C for 15 s did not promote an extended modification of free fatty acid contents in goat milk when compared with that of conventional pasteurization. Furthermore, principal component analysis showed that the capric acid can be used to discriminate goat’s milk with different free fatty acid concentrations. Hierarchical cluster analysis showed evidence of the existence of correlations between contents of short and medium chain free fatty acids in goat milk

Documenting modern Sri Lanka Portuguese

Sri Lanka Portuguese (SLP) is a Portuguese-lexified creole formed during Sri Lanka’s Portuguese colonial period, which lasted from the early 16th century to the mid-17th century. The language withstood several political changes and became an important medium of communication for a portion of the island’s population, but reached the late 20th century much reduced in its distribution and vitality, having essentially contracted to the Portuguese Burgher community of Eastern Sri Lanka. In the 1970s and 1980s, the language was the object of considerable research and documentation efforts, which were, however, curtailed by the Sri Lankan civil war. This chapter reports on the activities, challenges, and results of a recent documentation project developed in the post-war period and designed to create an appropriate and diverse record of modern SLP. The project is characterised by a highly multidisciplinary approach that combines linguistics and ethnomusicology, a strong focus on video recordings and open-access dissemination of materials through an online digital platform (Endangered Languages Archive), archival prospection to collect diachronic sources, a sociolinguistic component aimed at determining ethnolinguistic vitality with a view to delineating revitalisation strategies, and a strongly collaborative nature. This chapter describes the principal outputs of the documentation project, which, in addition to a digital corpus of transcribed and annotated materials representing modern manifestations of SLP and the oral/musical traditions of the Burghers, also include the findings of the sociolinguistic survey, an orthographic proposal for the language, as well as the copies and transcriptions of hard-to-obtain historical sources on SLP (grammars, dictionaries, biblical translations, liturgical texts, collections of songs).Endangered Languages Documentation Programme (MDP0357) / Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (IF/01009/2012

Renal allograft anastomotic pseudoaneurysm presenting with acute renal failure: a case of surgical treatment with graft preservation

AbstractRenal allograft anastomotic pseudoaneurysms (AP) are rare though associated with high rates of graft loss and mortality. Intrinsic transplantation mechanisms regarding active immunosuppression and/or chronic rejection increase susceptibility for their development, having a prognostic impact. We present a case report of successful surgical treatment of a 6cm right iliac transplant patch pseudoaneurysm, diagnosed following an episode of acute obstructive renal insufficiency caused by AP ureteral compression. Treatment consisted, by a transperitoneal approach, in partial AP resection, antegrade termino-terminal renal artery re-implantation in the external iliac artery and right lower limb revascularization with extra-anatomical femoro-femoral crossover 8mm PTFE bypass. There were no post-operative complications and renal function normalized to previous values

Assessing the conservation of Miombo timber species through an integrated index of anthropogenic and climatic threats

Aim: Angolan Miombo woodlands, rich in timber species of the Leguminosae family, go through one of the highest rates of deforestation in sub-Saharan Africa. This study presents, on the basis of updated information of the distribution of Leguminosae timber species native to Angola, an integrated index framing the main threats for trees, which aims to support new conservation measures. Location: Sub-Saharan Africa, Republic of Angola. Methods: The current distribution areas of six Leguminosae timber species (i.e., Afzelia quanzensis, Brachystegia spiciformis, Guibourtia coleosperma, Isoberlinia angolensis, Julbernardia paniculata, and Pterocarpus angolensis) were predicted through ensemble modeling techniques. The level of threat to each species was analyzed, comparing the species potential distribution with a threat index map and with the protected areas. The threat index of anthropogenic and climatic factors encompasses the effects of population density, agriculture, proximity to roads, loss of tree cover, overexploitation, trends in wildfires, and predicted changes in temperature and precipitation. Results: Our results revealed that about 0.5% of Angola's area is classified as of “Very high” threat, 23.9% as “High” threat, and 66.5% as “Moderate” threat. Three of the studied species require special conservation efforts, namely B. spiciformis and I. angolensis, which have a large fraction of predicted distribution in areas of high threat, and G. coleosperma since it has a restricted distribution area and is one of the most valuable species in international markets. The priority areas for the conservation of Leguminosae timber species were found in Benguela and Huíla.Main conclusions: This study provides updated data that should be applied to inform policymakers, contributing to national conservation planning and protection of native flora in Angola. Moreover, it presents a methodological approach for the predictions of species distribution and for the creation of a threat index map that can be applied in other poorly surveyed tropical regions.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Monitoring goat milk quality during pasteurisation and ohmic treatment using UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy

This study evaluates the effectiveness of UV-VIS-SWNIR spectroscopy of goat milk quality degradation during pasteurisation and ohmic heating, being performed on: i) raw goat milk; ii) non-processed milk but passing though pumps, pasteurizer and ohmic heater; and iii) processed milk by pasteurisation and ohmic heating. Spectra were collected by a transmittance probe for UV-VIS and UV-NIR wavelengths. The samples temperature was recorded (18.0 ± 2.0oC) and the probe was always checked for bubble formation or fat residues on lens/mirror system. The integration time was set to 25s and 4s for the collection of UV-VIS and VIS-NIR spectra respectively. Data analysis was performed on each product and for each spectral range independently. The spectra were normalized by its maximum intensity and the corrected for using a robust multiplicative scatter correction algorithm. A principal component analysis was performed to the pre-processed spectra. Results show that UV-VIS-SWNIR reflectance spectroscopy provides a quick and fast assessment of goat milk characteristics and thus it can be used as an indication of the overall product variability, allowing to develop monitoring and control models for both pasteurisation and ohmic heating of goat milk.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)EDERPRIME progra

Classification PDO olive oils on the basis of their sterol composition by multivariate analysis

The sterol compositions (GLC/FID/capillary column) of monovarietal olive oils (51 samples) from the most important cultivars of northeastern Portugal (Cvs. Cobranc¸osa, Madural and Verdeal Transmontana) and 27 commercial samples of olive oils with protected denomination of origin (PDO) from the same region and cultivars were evaluated. Δ-sitosterol, Δ5-avenasterol and campesterol were the most representative sterols. Cholesterol, stigmasterol, clerosterol and Δ7-stigmastenol were also found in all samples. All studied samples respected EC Regulation N. 2568, and in all cases total sterols were remarkably higher than the minimum limit set by legislation, ranging from 2003 to 2682 mg/kg. Results were analysed with the help of several statistical techniques, including reduction of dimensionality by principal component analysis with cross-validation of the number of components, followed by the use of canonical variate predictive biplots for model development and canonical variate interpolative biplots for approximate classification of monovarietal and PDO olive oils. These biplots proved to be a very interesting solution in the present case study, overcoming the problems of interpretation and classification that arise whenever different multivariate analyses are coupled together

Encapsulation of human articular chondrocytes into 3D hydrogel : phenotype and genotype characterization

This chapter is intended to provide a summary of the current materials used in cell encapsulation technology as well as methods for evaluating the performance of cells encapsulated in a polymeric matrix. In particular, it describes the experimental procedure to prepare a hydrogel matrix based on natural polymers for encapsulating and culturing human articular chondrocytes with the interest in cartilage regeneration. Protocols to evaluate the viability, proliferation, differentiation, and matrix production of embedded cells are also described and include standard protocols such as the MTT and [3H] Thymidine assays, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, histology, and immunohistochemistry analysis. The assessment of cell distribution within the 3D hydrogel construct is also described using APoTome analysis.(undefined

Low-Complexity Equalisers for Offset Constellations in Massive MIMO Schemes

This work was supported in part by the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER), through the Competitiveness and Internationalization Operational Program of the Portugal 2020 Framework, in part by the Regional OP Centro under Grant POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030588, in part by the Regional OP Lisboa under Grant Lisboa-01-0145-FEDER-03058, in part by the FCT/MEC through national funds of MASSIVE5G Project under Grant SAICT-45-2017-02 and PES3N Project under Grant 2018-SAICT-45-2017-POCI-01-0145-FEDER-030629, in part by the UID/EEE/50008/2019 Project, and in part by the FCT Ph.D. under Grant SFRH/BD/108522/2015.Massive multi-input-multi-output (m-MIMO) schemes require low-complexity implementations at both the transmitter and the receiver side, especially for systems operation at millimeter wave (mmWave) bands. In this paper, we consider the use of offset constellations in m-MIMO systems operating at mmWave frequencies. These signals are designed to have either an almost constant envelope or be decomposed as the sum of constant-envelope signals, making them compatible with strongly nonlinear power amplifiers, which can have low-implementation complexity and high amplification efficient, making them particularly interesting for mmWave communications. We design and evaluate low-complexity frequency-domain receivers for offset signals. It is shown that the proposed receivers can have excellent performance/complexity trade-offs in m-MIMO scenarios, making them particularly interesting for future wireless systems operating at mmWave bands.publishersversionpublishe