Seasonal climate patterns and their influence on calibration of the Hargreaves Samani Equation

The purpose of this work is to study the annual patterns in climate parameters and to evaluate how these influence the quality of reference evapotranspiration (ETo) estimates obtained from the Hargreaves Samani (HS) equation, since the method only uses the measured temperature parameter directly. To conclude, the work evaluates how these patterns can be used to improve the HS ETo estimates. Ten year moving averages from a set of CIMIS stations were used to evaluate the relations between solar radiation (Rs), temperature (T) and ETo. The results indicate that T treads behind solar radiation and its value peaks some 25 days later. As a result, the main irrigation season in the Mediterranean climate (May 1-September 30) can be divided into three phases: increasing Rs and T; decreasing Rs with increasing T; decreasing Rs and T. Non univocal annual cycles were observed between Rs and T, ETo and Rs, and ETo and T. These annual patterns result in important seasonal changes in the ratio between the Hargreaves Samani and Penman Monteith (FAO PM) ETo estimates. The changes are particularly important during the irrigation season, where the FAO PM initially calculates greater ETo values than the HS methodology and from the end of May to early September, the HS equation overestimates the ETo values. The total overestimation by the HS equation during this period is 17 mm, or 3%. These patterns obtained from 2000-2009 data were used to calibrate and improve HS ETo estimates at new sites during the 2010-2011 period. Calibration based on the proposed seasonal region-wide FAO PM/ HS ETo ratios improved both the bias, which decreased from 0.40 to 0.36 mm day −1, and r2, which increased from 0.67 to 0.87 of the ETo estimates during the irrigation season. The proposed methodology can be easily applied to other regions, even when the existing weather stations are sparse

Phytochemical Characterization and Biological Evaluation of the Aqueous and Supercritical Fluid Extracts from Salvia sclareoides Brot

Plants belonging to the genus Salvia (Lamiaceae) are known to have a wide range of biological properties. In this work, extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Salvia sclareoides Brot. were evaluated to investigate their chemical composition, toxicity, bioactivity, and stability under in vitro gastrointestinal conditions. The composition of the supercritical fluid extract was determined by GC and GC-MS, while the identification of the infusion constituents was performed by HPLC-DAD and LC-MS. The in vitro cytotoxicity of both extracts (0-2 mg/mL) was evaluated in Caco-2 cell lines by the MTT assay. The anti-inflammatory and anticholinesterase activities were determined through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-1 and acetylcholinesterase enzymes, while β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching test and the DPPH assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity. The infusion inhibited cyclooxygenase-1 (IC50 = 271.0 μg/mL), and acetylcholinesterase (IC50 = 487.7 μg/ mL) enzymes, also demonstrated significant antioxidant properties, as evaluated by the DPPH (IC50 = 10.4 μg/mL) and β-carotene/linoleic acid (IC50 = 30.0 μg/mL) assays. No remarkable alterations in the composition or in the bioactivities of the infusion were observed after in vitro digestion, which supports the potential of S. sclareoides as a source of bioactive ingredients with neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Project UID/MULTI/00612/2013 and UID/QUI/50006/2013. FCT is also acknowledged for PJAM post-doctoral fellowship (SFRH/BPD/86948/2012) and for CG FCT Investigator (IF/01332/2014). The European Commission is also acknowledged for approval of the INOVAFUNAGEING commitment and the support of the projects PERSSILAA-FP7-ICT-2013-10, Project Nr. 610359, and D3i4AD, FP7-PEOPLE-2013-IAPP, GA 612347. The authors also gratefully acknowledge the collaboration of Prof. Ana Cristina Figueiredo (DBV-FCUL), for GC and GC-MS analysis, and of Prof. Maria Helena Florêncio (DQB-FCUL) for LC-MS support.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Phytochemical Characterization and Biological Evaluation of the Aqueous and Supercritical Fluid Extracts from Salvia sclareoides Brot

Plants belonging to the genus Salvia (Lamiaceae) are known to have a wide range of biological properties. In this work, extracts obtained from the aerial parts of Salvia sclareoides Brot. were evaluated to investigate their chemical composition, toxicity, bioactivity, and stability under in vitro gastrointestinal conditions. The composition of the supercritical fluid extract was determined by GC and GC-MS, while the identification of the infusion constituents was performed by HPLC-DAD and LC-MS. The in vitro cytotoxicity of both extracts (0-2 mg/mL) was evaluated in Caco-2 cell lines by the MTT assay. The anti-inflammatory and anticholinesterase activities were determined through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase-1 and acetylcholinesterase enzymes, while β-carotene/linoleic acid bleaching test and the DPPH assays were used to evaluate the antioxidant activity. The infusion inhibited cyclooxygenase-1 (IC50 = 271.0 μg/mL), and acetylcholinesterase (IC50 = 487.7 μg/ mL) enzymes, also demonstrated significant antioxidant properties, as evaluated by the DPPH (IC50 = 10.4 μg/mL) and β-carotene/linoleic acid (IC50 = 30.0 μg/mL) assays. No remarkable alterations in the composition or in the bioactivities of the infusion were observed after in vitro digestion, which supports the potential of S. sclareoides as a source of bioactive ingredients with neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties

The emergence of volcanic oceanic islands on a slow-moving plate:The example of Madeira Island, NE Atlantic

The transition from seamount to oceanic island typically involves surtseyan volcanism. However, the geological record at many islands in the NE Atlantic—all located within the slow-moving Nubian plate—does not exhibit evidence for an emergent surtseyan phase but rather an erosive unconformity between the submarine basement and the overlying subaerial shield sequences. This suggests that the transition between seamount and island may frequently occur by a relative fall of sea level through uplift, eustatic changes, or a combination of both, and may not involve summit volcanism. In this study, we explore the consequences for island evolutionary models using Madeira Island (Portugal) as a case study. We have examined the geologic record at Madeira using a combination of detailed fieldwork, biostratigraphy, and urn:x-wiley:15252027:media:ggge20671:ggge20671-math-0001 geochronology in order to document the mode, timing, and duration of edifice emergence above sea level. Our study confirms that Madeira's subaerial shield volcano was built upon the eroded remains of an uplifted seamount, with shallow marine sediments found between the two eruptive sequences and presently located at 320–430 m above sea level. This study reveals that Madeira emerged around 7.0–5.6 Ma essentially through an uplift process and before volcanic activity resumed to form the subaerial shield volcano. Basal intrusions are a likely uplift mechanism, and their emplacement is possibly enhanced by the slow motion of the Nubian plate relative to the source of partial melting. Alternating uplift and subsidence episodes suggest that island edifice growth may be governed by competing dominantly volcanic and dominantly intrusive processes

Análise do processo de adaptação estratégica de uma empresa produtora de cachaça à luz da Teoria Institucional e da Visão Baseada em Recursos Analisys of strategic adaptation process of a suggar cane brandy company producer under the light of Institutional Theory and Resour-Based View

A realização deste trabalho teve como objetivo principal conhecer o processo de adaptação estratégica da empresa Vargem Bela, produtora de cachaça no Brejo paraibano. Primeiro, identificou-se os eventos críticos ocorridos no período de 1961 a 2007 e verificou-se sob quais condições estes eventos ocorreram, para então, analisá-los sob a perspectiva da Teoria Institucional e da Visão Baseada em Recursos. Com essa finalidade, foi feita uma revisão na literatura existente sobre as referidas teorias, com ênfase nos trabalhos de DiMaggio e Powell (2005), no que diz respeito à Teoria Institucional, e Peteraf (1993) e Barney e Herterly (2007) no que se refere à Visão Baseada em Recursos. O trabalho é uma pesquisa qualitativa, descritiva e exploratória, que se deu através de um estudo de caso que teve sua sustentação metodológica baseada no trabalho de Pettigrew (1987), sobre métodos de adaptação estratégica de empresas, onde são investigados três elementos da mudança: o contexto (interno e externo), o conteúdo e o processo. A pesquisa possibilitou concluir que o processo de adaptação estratégica vivido pela empresa, apresenta características diferentes em dois períodos temporais distintos. O primeiro período, que vai de 1961 até 1986, em que a postura organizacional assumida no processo de mudança é mais proativa, foram realizadas aquisições de ativos tangíveis e intangíveis capazes de construir vantagens competitivas sustentáveis tornando a empresa mais competitiva e líder de mercado. Entretanto, no segundo período, que vai de 1986 a 2007, a postura assumida pela empresa passa a ser mais reativa, numa demonstração de inércia organizacional, passando a atuar no sentido de atender às pressões ambientais.<br>The accomplishment of this work had as main goal knowing the process of strategic adaptation of Vargem Bela Company, producer of sugar cane brandy in the swamp of Paraiba. First of all, the critical events occurred during the period between 1961 to 2007 were identified, and were verified the conditions under which these events occurred, to then analyze them under the perspective of Institutional Theory and the Resource Based View. With this purpose, a review was made in the existing literature on these theories, with emphasis on the work of DiMaggio and Powell (2005), when referring to the Institutional Theory, and Peteraf (1993) and Barney and Herterly (2007) in what refers to the Resource Based View. The work is a qualitative, descriptive and exploratory, that was made through a case study that had his support methodology based on the work of Pettigrew (1987), on methods of strategic adaptation of firms, where three elements of change are investigated: the context (internal and external), content and process. The research led us to conclude that the strategic adaptation process experienced by the company, presents different characteristics in two different time periods. The first period, which runs from 1961 until 1986, in which the organizational posture assumed in the change process is more proactive, tangible and intangible assets were purchased that were able to build sustainable competitive advantages by making the company more competitive and market leader. However, in the second period, which lasts from 1986 to 2007, the posture taken by the company becomes more reactive, in a show of organizational inertia, starting to act in order to convene environmental pressures

Effects of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery: an international prospective cohort study an international prospective cohort study

We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4–7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04–1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11–1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care. We aimed to determine the impact of pre-operative isolation on postoperative pulmonary complications after elective surgery during the global SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. We performed an international prospective cohort study including patients undergoing elective surgery in October 2020. Isolation was defined as the period before surgery during which patients did not leave their house or receive visitors from outside their household. The primary outcome was postoperative pulmonary complications, adjusted in multivariable models for measured confounders. Pre-defined sub-group analyses were performed for the primary outcome. A total of 96,454 patients from 114 countries were included and overall, 26,948 (27.9%) patients isolated before surgery. Postoperative pulmonary complications were recorded in 1947 (2.0%) patients of which 227 (11.7%) were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients who isolated pre-operatively were older, had more respiratory comorbidities and were more commonly from areas of high SARS-CoV-2 incidence and high-income countries. Although the overall rates of postoperative pulmonary complications were similar in those that isolated and those that did not (2.1% vs 2.0%, respectively), isolation was associated with higher rates of postoperative pulmonary complications after adjustment (adjusted OR 1.20, 95%CI 1.05–1.36, p = 0.005). Sensitivity analyses revealed no further differences when patients were categorised by: pre-operative testing; use of COVID-19-free pathways; or community SARS-CoV-2 prevalence. The rate of postoperative pulmonary complications increased with periods of isolation longer than 3 days, with an OR (95%CI) at 4–7 days or ≥ 8 days of 1.25 (1.04–1.48), p = 0.015 and 1.31 (1.11–1.55), p = 0.001, respectively. Isolation before elective surgery might be associated with a small but clinically important increased risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. Longer periods of isolation showed no reduction in the risk of postoperative pulmonary complications. These findings have significant implications for global provision of elective surgical care