Avaliação da esposição à contaminação do solo em Portugal e na UE

Doutoramento em Ciências Aplicadas ao AmbienteEste estudo baseou-se na análise dos mecanismos de transferência de elementos potencialmente tóxicos (PTE’s) entre o solo, a solução do solo e as plantas como forma de realizar uma avaliação mais eficaz do risco em áreas agrícolas. Foram aplicados conceitos recentemente desenvolvidos para a avaliação da reactividade biogeoquímica de contaminantes no solo e da sua partição sólido:solução recorrendo-se a modelos empíricos (tipo Freundlich). Estes modelos permitiram analisar a transferência de PTE’s ao longo da cadeia alimentar e avaliar o impacto da contaminação do solo na qualidade da alimentação animal (forragens) e Humana (vegetais e carne) em Portugal. Os modelos empíricos de transferência solo-planta de PTE’s foram utilizadas para obter limites críticos para estes elementos em solos agrícolas em Portugal, a partir dos seus limites legais nos alimentos para animais e teores máximos nos géneros alimentícios. Simultaneamente, modelos de exposição Humana a contaminantes do solo, desenvolvidos noutros países da UE foram analisados e foi proposto um modelo de exposição para Portugal. Este trabalho é uma contribuição para o desenvolvimento de critérios de qualidade de solos para áreas agrícolas em Portugal, tendo em vista a protecção da saúde animal e Humana. Contribuiu também para o desenvolvimento de uma estratégia de harmonização de políticas de protecção do solo (nomeadamente no que diz respeito aos problemas de contaminação) na União Europeia.This study focused on the geochemical reactivity of contaminants in soils and on the solid:solution partition of PTE’s using Freundlich-type empirical models to assess the transfer of contaminants along feed and food supply chains in Portugal. The evaluation of the impact of soil contamination on feed and food quality allowed a more accurate identification of sites actually at risk. Such assessment was developed considering the specificity of Portuguese soils and it took into account soil properties. Furthermore, soil-to-plant transfer empirical models were applied in the calculation of threshold concentrations of PTE’s in Portuguese agricultural soils. Threshold concentrations of PTE’s in Portuguese agricultural soils - soil contaminant levels above which impacts in human health (resulting from intake of food crops and animal products and exceedance of human acceptable daily intake) and impacts on animal health (due to exceedance of animal acceptable daily intake) may occur – were backcalculated from legal standards for feedstuff and food. Finally, models to assess human exposure to soil contaminants in use in the EU were analysed and a framework for exposure assessment for Portugal was proposed. This PhD program was a contribution for development and improvement of soil quality criteria for PTE’s in agricultural areas in view of animal and human health effects as well as into the development of a contaminated soil exposure assessment strategy in Portugal and provided insight into harmonization perspectives for soil policy within the European Union.FCT/FSEPOH

Extractability and mobility of mercury from agricultural soils surrounding industrial and mining contaminated areas

This study focussed on a comparison of the extractability of mercury in soils with two different contamination sources (a chlor-alkali plant and mining activities) and on the evaluation of the influence of specific soil properties on the behaviour of the contaminant. The method applied here did not target the identification of individual species, but instead provided information concerning the mobility of mercury species in soil. Mercury fractions were classified as mobile, semi-mobile and non-mobile. The fractionation study revealed that in all samples mercury was mainly present in the semi-mobile phase (between 63 and 97%). The highest mercury mobility (2.7 mg kg-1) was found in soils from the industrial area. Mining soils exhibited higher percentage of non-mobile mercury, up to 35%, due to their elevated sulfur content. Results of factor analysis indicate that the presence of mercury in the mobile phase could be related to manganese and aluminum soil contents. A positive relation between mercury in the semi-mobile fraction and the aluminium content was also observed. By contrary, organic matter and sulfur contents contributed to mercury retention in the soil matrix reducing the mobility of the metal. Despite known limitations of sequential extraction procedures, the methodology applied in this study for the fractionation of mercury in contaminated soil samples provided relevant information on mercury's relative mobility

Assessment of Soil Physicochemical Characteristics and As, Cu, Pb and Zn Contamination in Non-Active Mines at the Portuguese Sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt

This study aimed to evaluate soil physicochemical characteristics (pH, electrical conductivity, organic matter, total N, and extractable P and K), and potentially toxic elements (As, Cu, Pb, and Zn), in non-active mines located in the Portuguese sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB). A total of 70 sampling sites were surveyed at Aljustrel and Lousal, in areas already rehabilitated, and at São Domingos, where rehabilitation was only beginning. The soils at São Domingos were very heterogeneous, with extreme values for some properties (e.g., minimum soil pH 2.0 and maximum As concentration, 4382.8 mg kg1 dry weight basis (DW)). Aljustrel was the site that presented soils with a higher total As, Cu, Pb, and Zn concentration (median values: 441.5, 545.9, 1396.8, and 316.5 mg kg1 DW, respectively), above the soil quality guidelines values proposed by the Portuguese Environmental Agency (18, 230, 120, and 340 mg kg1 DW, respectively). A principal component analysis identified the most relevant soil properties to explain the data variance, which were the soil pH and Pb total concentration, followed by Cu and Zn total concentrations, allowing a separation of Aljustrel from the other mines. Pearson correlation coefficients revealed very strong associations between Pb and As, markedly found at higher concentrations in São Domingos, whereas Aljustrel had an elevated concentration of As and Pb, but also of Cu and Zn. It is evident the risk that persists in the Aljustrel mine area, which was not alleviated by the “dig, dump, and cover” techniques that were implemented to rehabilitate the areainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Potentially Toxic Elements’ Contamination of Soils Affected by Mining Activities in the Portuguese Sector of the Iberian Pyrite Belt and Optional Remediation Actions: A Review

Both sectors of the Iberian Pyrite Belt, Portuguese and Spanish, have been exploited since ancient times, but more intensively during and after the second half of the 19th century. Large volumes of polymetallic sulfide ore were extracted in open pits or in underground works, processed without environmental concerns, and the generated waste rocks and tailings were simply deposited in the area. Many of these mining sites were abandoned for years under the action of erosive agents, leading to the spread of trace elements and the contamination of soils, waters and sediments. Some of these mine sites have been submitted to rehabilitation actions, mostly using constructive techniques to dig and contain the contaminated tailings and other waste materials, but the remaining soil still needs to be treated with the best available techniques to recover its ecosystem functions. Besides the degraded physical structure and poor nutritional status of these soils, they have common characteristics, as a consequence of the pyrite oxidation and acid drainage produced, such as a high concentration of trace elements and low pH, which must be considered in the remediation plans. This manuscript aims to review the results from studies which have already covered these topics in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, especially in its Portuguese sector, considering: (i) soils’ physicochemical characteristics; (ii) potentially toxic trace elements’ concentration; and (iii) sustainable remediation technologies to cope with this type of soil contamination. Phytostabilization, after the amelioration of the soil’s properties with organic and inorganic amendments, was investigated at the lab and field scale by several authors, and their results were also consideredinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Reabilitação respiratória em pessoas com doença pulmonar obstrutiva crónica – Protocolo de estudo

Introduction: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease is one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with an important and growing economic and social burden. The benefits of Pulmonary Rehabilitation (PR) include better control of dyspnoea and major improvements in exercise capacity and health-related quality of life. The general objective of this study is to evaluate the impact of implementing a Pulmonary Rehabilitation program in Outpatients with COPD and with Follow-up at Home.Methodology: A quasi-experimental single-group, descriptive and correlational study. Participants will be subject to PR sessions 3 times a week in a total of 36 sessions, in the Health Center of the area of residence and teleconsultation, in a previously defined scheme. Evaluations will be carried out at the beginning of the intervention, at the 18th and 36th sessions and 6 and 12 weeks after the 36th session. Throughout the PR sessions, physical exercise plans will be developed, education about exacerbating factors and control of risk factors, respiratory functional re-education techniques and inhalotherapy training. Participants will be provided with a customized plan to be implemented at their home, with teleconsultation monitoring after the end of the PR program (12th week).Expected results: The aim is to achieve clinical and statistically significant improvements in the ability to perform ADL, in the quality of life, in the management of symptoms and the therapeutic regimen, in the ability to walk and in the reduction of costs associated with exacerbations. It is also intended to verify whether there are significant differences between the two modalities of implementation of the program.Conclusion: Through the planned intervention, it is expected to reach the end of 2023 with data that allow to optimize the response to the needs of people with COPD in the district of Bragança and highlight the value of the specialized intervention in Rehabilitation Nursing in Primary Health Care.Introducción: La Enfermedad Pulmonar Obstructiva Crónica (EPOC) es una de las principales causas de morbilidad y mortalidad a nivel mundial, con una importante carga económica y social. Los beneficios de la Rehabilitación Respiratoria (RR) incluyen un mejor control de la disnea y mejoras importantes en la capacidad de ejercicio y la calidad de vida relacionada con la salud. El objetivo general de este estudio es evaluar el impacto de la implementación de un programa de rehabilitación respiratoria en pacientes con EPOC en ambulatorio y seguimiento a domicilio. Metodología: Estudio cuasi-experimental de grupo único, de carácter descriptivo y correlacional. Los participantes serán objeto de sesiones de RR 3 veces por semana en un total de 36 sesiones, en el Centro de Salud del área de residencia y en teleconsulta, en esquema previamente definido. Se realizarán evaluaciones al comienzo de la intervención, a la 18ª y a la 36ª sesiones y 6 y 12 semanas después de la 36ª sesión. A lo largo de las sesiones de RR se desarrollarán planes de ejercicio físico, enseñanza sobre factores exacerbantes y control de los factores de riesgo, técnicas de reeducación funcional respiratoria y entrenamiento de inaloterapia. Se proporcionará a los participantes un plan personalizado para ser implementado en su domicilio, con monitoreo por teleconsulta después del término del programa de RR (12ª semana). Resultados esperados: Se pretende lograr mejoras clínicas y estadísticamente significativas en la capacidad para el desempeño de las AVD, en la calidad de vida, en la gestión de los síntomas y del régimen terapéutico, en la capacidad para la marcha y en la reducción de los costes asociados a las exacerbaciones. También se pretende comprobar si existen diferencias significativas entre las dos modalidades de aplicación del programa. Conclusión: A través de la intervención planeada, se prevé llegar al final de 2023 con datos que permitan optimizar la respuesta a las necesidades de las personas con EPOC en el distrito de Braganza y evidenciar la másvalía de la intervención especializada en Enfermería de Rehabilitación en los Cuidados de Salud Primarios.Introdução: A Doença Pulmonar Obstrutiva Crónica é uma das principais causas de morbilidade e mortalidade em todo o mundo, com peso económico e social importante e crescente. Os benefícios da Reabilitação Respiratória (RR) incluem um melhor controlo de dispneia e melhorias importantes na capacidade de exercício e qualidade de vida relacionada com a saúde. O objetivo geral deste estudo é avaliar o impacto da implementação de um programa de Reabilitação Respiratória em pessoas com DPOC em Ambulatório e com Follow-up no Domicílio. Metodologia: Estudo quasi-experimental de grupo único, de caráter descritivo e correlacional. Os participantes serão alvo de sessões de RR 3 vezes por semana num total de 36 sessões, no Centro de Saúde da área de residência e em teleconsulta, em esquema previamente definido. Serão efetuadas avaliações no início da intervenção, à 18ª e à 36ª sessões e 6 e 12 semanas depois da 36ª sessão. Ao longo das sessões de RR serão desenvolvidos planos de exercício físico, ensino sobre fatores exacerbantes e controlo dos fatores de risco, técnicas de reeducação funcional respiratória e treino de inaloterapia. Será fornecido aos participantes um plano personalizado para ser implementado no seu domicílio, com monitorização por teleconsulta após o término do programa de RR (12ª semana). Resultados esperados: Pretende-se obter melhorias clínica e estatisticamente significativas na capacidade para o desempenho das AVD, na qualidade de vida, na gestão dos sintomas e do regime terapêutico, na capacidade para a marcha e na redução dos custos associados às exacerbações. Pretende-se, ainda, verificar se existem diferenças significativas entre as duas modalidades de implementação do programa. Conclusão: Através da intervenção planeada, prevê-se chegar ao final de 2023 com dados que permitam otimizar a resposta às necessidades das pessoas com DPOC no distrito de Bragança e evidenciar a mais-valia da intervenção especializada em Enfermagem de Reabilitação nos Cuidados de Saúde Primários

Transcriptional responses of Candida glabrata biofilm cells to fluconazole are modulated by the carbon source

The datasets generated in this study are available at public repositories or from the corresponding author upon request. The raw RNA-seq data in fastq format, as well as the processed data have been deposited in NCBI’s Gene Expression Omnibus and are accessible through GEO Series accession number GSE121074.Candida glabrata is an important human fungal pathogen known to trigger serious infections in immune-compromised individuals. Its ability to form biofilms, which exhibit high tolerance to antifungal treatments, has been considered as an important virulence factor. However, the mechanisms involving antifungal resistance in biofilms and the impact of host niche environments on these processes are still poorly defined. In this study, we performed a whole-transcriptome analysis of C. glabrata biofilm cells exposed to different environmental conditions and constraints in order to identify the molecular pathways involved in fluconazole resistance and understand how acidic pH niches, associated with the presence of acetic acid, are able to modulate these responses. We show that fluconazole treatment induces gene expression reprogramming in a carbon source and pH-dependent manner. This is particularly relevant for a set of genes involved in DNA replication, ergosterol, and ubiquinone biosynthesis. We also provide additional evidence that the loss of mitochondrial function is associated with fluconazole resistance, independently of the growth condition. Lastly, we propose that C. glabrata Mge1, a cochaperone involved in iron metabolism and protein import into the mitochondria, is a key regulator of fluconazole susceptibility during carbon and pH adaptation by reducing the metabolic flux towards toxic sterol formation. These new findings suggest that different host microenvironments influence directly the physiology of C. glabrata, with implications on how this pathogen responds to antifungal treatment. Our analyses identify several pathways that can be targeted and will potentially prove to be useful for developing new antifungals to treat biofilm-based infections.This study was supported by the Portuguese National Funding Agency for Science, Research, and Technology FCT (grant PTDC/BIAMIC/5184/2014). R.A. received FCT Ph.D fellowship (PD/BD/113813/2015). We gratefully acknowledge Edinburgh Genomics for RNA-Seq library preparation and sequencing. The work on CBMA was supported by the strategic programs UID/BIA/04050/2013 (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007569) and UID/BIA/04050/2019. The work on CEB was supported by PEst-OE/EQB/LA0023/2013, from FCT, “BioHealth-Biotechnology and Bioengineering approaches to improve health quality”, Ref. NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000027, co-funded by the Programa Operacional Regional do Norte (ON.2–O Novo Norte), QREN, FEDER and the project “Consolidating Research Expertize and Resources on Cellular and Molecular Biotechnology at CEB/IBB”, Ref. FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-027462. The work in Aberdeen was also supported by the European Research Council through the advanced grant “STRIFE” (C-2009-AdG-249793), by the UK Medical Research Council (MR/M026663/1) and by the Medical Research Council Center for Medical Mycology and the University of Aberdeen (MR/N006364/1). The work at KU Leuven was supported by the Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) through a short-term fellowship awarded to R.A. and by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO; WO.009.16N). We thank Beatriz Herrera-Malaver for technical assistance with the GC-MS analysis.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A comprehensive assessment of the transcriptome of cork oak (Quercus suber) through EST sequencing

Background: Cork oak (Quercus suber) is one of the rare trees with the ability to produce cork, a material widely used to make wine bottle stoppers, flooring and insulation materials, among many other uses. The molecular mechanisms of cork formation are still poorly understood, in great part due to the difficulty in studying a species with a long life-cycle and for which there is scarce molecular/genomic information. Cork oak forests are of great ecological importance and represent a major economic and social resource in Southern Europe and Northern Africa. However, global warming is threatening the cork oak forests by imposing thermal, hydric and many types of novel biotic stresses. Despite the economic and social value of the Q. suber species, few genomic resources have been developed, useful for biotechnological applications and improved forest management. Results: We generated in excess of 7 million sequence reads, by pyrosequencing 21 normalized cDNA libraries derived from multiple Q. suber tissues and organs, developmental stages and physiological conditions. We deployed a stringent sequence processing and assembly pipeline that resulted in the identification of ~159,000 unigenes. These were annotated according to their similarity to known plant genes, to known Interpro domains, GO classes and E.C. numbers. The phylogenetic extent of this ESTs set was investigated, and we found that cork oak revealed a significant new gene space that is not covered by other model species or EST sequencing projects. The raw data, as well as the full annotated assembly, are now available to the community in a dedicated web portal at http://www.corkoakdb.org. Conclusions: This genomic resource represents the first trancriptome study in a cork producing species. It can be explored to develop new tools and approaches to understand stress responses and developmental processes in forest trees, as well as the molecular cascades underlying cork differentiation and disease response.Peer Reviewe

Dinâmicas de (investig)ação em contextos de promoção da língua portuguesa: a presença do CIDTFF na rede Camões, I.P.

Sem resumo disponível.publishe

Significance of glycolytic metabolism-related protein expression in colorectal cancer, lymph node and hepatic metastasis

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most common malignancies and a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Most cancer cells display high rates of glycolysis with production of lactic acid, which is then exported to the microenvironment by monocarboxylate transporters (MCTs). The main aim of this study was to evaluate the significance of MCT expression in a comprehensive series of primary CRC cases, lymph node and hepatic metastasis. Methods: Expressions of MCT1, MCT4, CD147 and GLUT1 were studied in human samples of CRC, lymph node and hepatic metastasis, by immunohistochemistry. Results: All proteins were overexpressed in primary CRC, lymph node and hepatic metastasis, when compared with non-neoplastic tissue, with exception of MCT1 in lymph node and hepatic metastasis. MCT1 and MCT4 expressions were associated with CD147 and GLUT1 in primary CRC. These markers were associated with clinical pathological features, reflecting the putative role of these metabolism-related proteins in the CRC setting. Conclusion: These findings provide additional evidence for the pivotal role of MCTs in CRC maintenance and progression, and support the use of MCTs as biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets in primary and metastatic CRC.This work was supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) grant ref. PTDC/SAU-FCF/104347/2008, under the scope of ‘Programa Operacional Temático Factores de Competitividade’ (COMPETE) of ‘Quadro Comunitário de Apoio III’ and co-financed by the Fundo Europeu De Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER). Ricardo Amorim was recipient of the fellowship SFRH/BD/98002/2013, from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT Portugal).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio