Socio-economy of peri-urban areas: the case of Lisbon metropolitan area

The chapter presents typologies of peri-urban areas of Lisbon Metropolitan Area (LMA) regarding social and economic dimensions. These typologies are the outcome of a trans-disciplinary research developed by the project PERI-URBAN involving different Portuguese universities, crossing academic fi elds and integrating the knowledge of stakeholders from diverse institutional and territorial (local and regional) backgrounds. By bridging science and society, transdisciplinarity allows the translation of knowledge acquired in research into useful and relevant information for planners and decision-makers. The analysis reveals diverse socioeconomic realities demanding different and specifi c political approaches envisaging sustainable peri-urban territories in a changing world. The socioeconomy of peri-urban areas considers identities and lifestyle issues (e.g., age, family patterns, living and working conditions) and economic characteristics (e.g., main economic activities, economic organisation and structuring, attractiveness). The infl uence of a metropolitan area is expressed by continuing investments in peripheral areas that offer sources of labour and natural resources such as land. The presence of industries, services, logistics and distribution platforms, enterprises, housing, big store chains, etc., constitutes manifestations of this realm. Plus, and in parallel, the coexistence of a rural-agriculture matrix establishes a hybrid territory where distinct activities co-exist defi ning distinct degrees of specialisation/diversity of the economic tissueinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Induced four fold anisotropy and bias in compensated NiFe/FeMn double layers

A vector spin model is used to show how frustrations within a multisublattice antiferromagnet such as FeMn can lead to four-fold magnetic anisotropies acting on an exchange coupled ferromagnetic film. Possibilities for the existence of exchange bias are examined and shown to exist for the case of weak chemical disorder at the interface in an otherwise perfect structure. A sensitive dependence on interlayer exchange is found for anisotropies acting on the ferromagnet through the exchange coupling, and we show that a wide range of anisotropies can appear even for a perfect crystalline structure with an ideally flat interface.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure

Griscelli syndrome-type 2 in twin siblings: case report and update on RAB27A human mutations and gene structure

Griscelli syndrome (GS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by mutation in the MYO5A (GS1, Elejalde), RAB27A (GS2) or MLPH (GS3) genes. Typical features of all three subtypes of this disease include pigmentary dilution of the hair and skin and silvery-gray hair. Whereas the GS3 phenotype is restricted to the pigmentation dysfunction, GS1 patients also show primary neurological impairment and GS2 patients have severe immunological deficiencies that lead to recurrent infections and hemophagocytic syndrome. We report here the diagnosis of GS2 in 3-year-old twin siblings, with silvery-gray hair, immunodeficiency, hepatosplenomegaly and secondary severe neurological symptoms that culminated in multiple organ failure and death. Light microscopy examination of the hair showed large, irregular clumps of pigments characteristic of GS. A homozygous nonsense mutation, C-T transition (c.550C>T), in the coding region of the RAB27A gene, which leads to a premature stop codon and prediction of a truncated protein (R184X), was found. In patient mononuclear cells, RAB27A mRNA levels were the same as in cells from the parents, but no protein was detected. In addition to the case report, we also present an updated summary on the exon/intron organization of the human RAB27A gene, a literature review of GS2 cases, and a complete list of the human mutations currently reported in this gene. Finally, we propose a flow chart to guide the early diagnosis of the GS subtypes and Chédiak-Higashi syndrome.FAPESPCNPq(FAEPA) Fundação de Apoio ao Ensino, Pesquisa e Assistência do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão PretoCoordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior (CAPES

Avaliação Da Influência Das Condições Meteorológicas Em Dias Com Altas Concentrações De Material Particulado Na Região Metropolitana Do Rio De Janeiro

In the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro, high levels of particulate matter concentrations (PM10) with violations of the limits established by CONAMA Resolution 03/90 are routinely recorded. Analyzing data recorded between 1998 and 2008, 146 days with concentrations above these values were identified. In those days, it was possible to verify the influence of South Atlantic Subtropical Anticyclone, the lack of precipitation and temperature inversions in the lower troposphere, which confirm the strong relationship between high PM10 concentration and the atmospheric conditions in region. © 2016, ABES - Associacao Brasileira de Engenharia Sanitaria e Ambiental. All rights reserved.21230731

Eight decades of adaptive changes in herring reproductive investment: the joint effect of environment and exploitation

publishedVersio

Mammalian sphingoid bases: Biophysical, physiological and pathological properties

Sphingoid bases encompass a group of long chain amino alcohols which form the essential structure of sphingolipids. Over the last years, these amphiphilic molecules were moving more and more into the focus of biomedical research due to their role as bioactive molecules. In fact, free sphingoid bases interact with specific receptors and target molecules, and have been associated with numerous biological and physiological processes. In addition, they can modulate the biophysical properties of biological membranes. Several human diseases are related to pathological changes in the structure and metabolism of sphingoid bases. Yet, the mechanisms underlying their biological and pathophysiological actions remain elusive. Within this review, we aimed to summarize the current knowledge on the biochemical and biophysical properties of the most common sphingoid bases and to discuss their importance in health and disease

Fermentation characteristics and chemical composition of elephant grass silage with ground maize and fermented juice of epiphytic lactic acid bacteria

This study aimed to evaluate the microbial populations, fermentation profile, dry matter recovery and chemical composition of elephant grass silage with ground maize (GM) and the fermented juice of epiphytic lactic acid bacteria (FJLB). A factorial design was used with four levels of GM (0 g/kg, 50 g/kg, 100 g/kg and 200 g/kg), untreated or treated with FJLB, in a completely randomized design with five replicates. A pre-experiment was undertaken to determine the optimum level of sucrose to be added to fermented juice for the development of epiphytic microflora. In this pre-experiment, a completely randomized design with three replications was used. The treatments were represented by the levels of sucrose (0 g/kg, 5 g/kg, 10 g/kg, 20 g/kg, 40 g/kg, 60 g/kg and 80 g/kg, fresh matter basis). The microbial populations, dry matter recovery, and effluent losses were affected by the interaction between GM and FJLB. Dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) contents increased linearly with the inclusion of GM. The addition of GM enhanced the fermentation process via a reduction in losses, and improvements were identified in the nutritional value of elephant grass silages. The use of fermented juice increased dry matter recovery, and its effect was more pronounced when ground maize was added.Keywords: dry matter recovery, lactic acid, microbiology, Pennisetum purpureu

Qubits from Number States and Bell Inequalities for Number Measurements

Bell inequalities for number measurements are derived via the observation that the bits of the number indexing a number state are proper qubits. Violations of these inequalities are obtained from the output state of the nondegenerate optical parametric amplifier.Comment: revtex4, 7 pages, v2: results identical but extended presentation, v3: published versio