Meat yield of Bolinus brandaris (Gastropoda: Muricidae): comparative assessment of the influence of sex, size and reproductive status

The present study assessed the influence of sex, size and reproductive status on the meat yield (soft tissues proportion) of the purple dye murex (Bolinus brandaris) from the Ria Formosa lagoon (southern Portugal). During one year of monthly sampling (October 2008-September 2009), average meat yield of B. brandaris was 40.5 +/- 6.1% (range: 25.8-56.1% wet weight), with no significant differences between sexes. Relationships established between specimen size and soft parts weight indicated that both shell length and total weight are excellent indicators of meat yield. Significant differences in meat yield between size classes further reinforced the trend of increasing meat yield during ontogeny. Meat yield exhibited significant monthly variation and a similar temporal trend in both sexes, which were directly related to the reproductive status. Meat yield of B. brandaris was compared with that of other muricid species and the marked influence of the reproductive status on meat yield prompted a comparative assessment of the spawning season and peak of three sympatric muricids (B. brandaris, Hexaplex trunculus and Stramonita haemastoma). Overall, these findings have implications at diverse levels, including the management, regulation and inspection of this fishing/ harvesting activity and the commercialization and consumption of this seafood product.postdoctoral grant [SFRH/BPD/26348/2006]; Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT - Portugal); Fisheries Operational Programme (PROMAR); European Fisheries Fund [EFF 2007-2013]info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Práticas Jazzísticas no Ensino do Clarinete

Com a chegada da estética do jazz ao ensino superior português e consequente integração das suas especificidades nas metodologias de ensino da música, é oportuno questionar a relação entre o ensino tradicional de instrumento e o ensino de instrumento jazz. Neste artigo iremos abordar de que forma as “práticas jazzísticas” poderão ser um conjunto relevante de ferramentas a integrar no ensino tradicional do clarinete. Como ponto de partida indicar-se-ão algumas das principais diferenças estéticas e culturais entre os géneros afro-americanos e o cânone dos géneros de tradição europeia. Por outro lado, e numa perspectiva inclusiva, analisaremos o método para ensino do clarinete da autoria de Benny Goodman publicado em 1942 – sendo Goodman reconhecido internacionalmente como um dos melhores exemplos de um clarinetista multifacetado. Observa-se também que a forma como o músico de jazz aborda o estudo do seu instrumento, em especial a nível da exploração de materiais melódicos, harmónicos e rítmicos poderá ser de grande importância para o ensino tradicional do clarinete bem como para a abordagem (estudo/interpretação) do seu repertório tradicional. Ao integrar estas práticas, o clarinetista não só ficará equipado com um espectro mais largo de exercícios para o estudo do seu instrumento, bem como incorporará no seu dia-a-dia o estudo da sempre tão “inacessível” improvisação

Integração do Hospital de Alcobaça: do Centro Hospitalar do Oeste para o Centro Hospitalar de Leiria

O principal objetivo do presente documento consiste em apresentar e descriminar o trabalho desenvolvido na área de sistemas de informação, durante o processo de integração do Hospital de Alcobaça Bernardino Lopes Oliveira, no Centro Hospitalar Leiria Pombal E.P.E. O processo de integração deste hospital foi transversal a todos os serviços: Recursos Humanos, Gestão Financeira, Aprovisionamento, Gestão Doentes, Serviços Médicos e de Enfermagem, Meios Complementares de Diagnostico, Serviço de Instalações e Equipamentos. Na base deste processo esteve o Gabinete de Sistemas de Informação que em conjunto com o Serviço de Gestão de Doentes delinearem o plano de trabalho faseado, de forma a ser possível na data especificada pela tutela (Ministério da Saúde), avançar com este hospital devidamente integrado no Centro Hospitalar Leiria Pombal. Havia como objetivo que a transição fosse o mais transparente possível para os utentes e profissionais de saúde, de forma a não existir qualquer falha de serviço, que de alguma forma pudesse comprometer o funcionamento normal da unidade hospitalar que serve os doentes 24 horas por dia. Para garantir este objetivo foram definidas sete fases no processo de integração de ambos os hospitais, as quais serão detalhadas. Estas fases foram identificadas e planeadas pela equipa responsável pelo processo e correspondem às seguintes fases: Fase 1 - Prélevantamento, Fase 2 - Comunicações, Fase 3 - Levantamento exaustivo das existências e necessidades, Fase 4 - Parametrizações, Fase 5 - Importação de dados e Formação, Fase 6 - Arranque e por fim a Fase 7 – Acompanhamento e Apoio

Performance Analysis of IoTWireless Cellular Systems

The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming a reality and with it comes the need to support more devices with better coverage and low power consumption on the wireless network. One of the Low-Power Wide Wan (LPWA) technologies that aims to meet these requirements is Narrow-Band IoT (NB-IoT). NB-IoT is a 4G cellular technology particularly focused on IoT scenarios demanding for low throughput and very low energy consumption. This dissertation investigates the capacity and performance of NB-IoT technology in real-world scenarios by comparing the results of measurements performed under different radio conditions around Lisbon’s metropolitan area. Inspired by related works presented in the dissertation, the approaches adopted in this work are explained and the metrics collected are described in detail. Through practical measurements campaigns we characterize different metrics of NB-IoT performance for different propagation scenarios, identifying hypothetical causes for the observed performance.A Internet das Coisas (IoT) está a tornar-se uma realidade e com ela surge uma necessidade de albergar mais dispositivos com melhor cobertura e menor consumo de energia nas redes sem fios. Uma das tecnologias Low-Power Wide Area (LPWA) que visa atender a esses requisitos é Narrow Band IoT (NB-IoT). NB-IoT é uma tecnologia celular 4G particularmente focada em cenários de IoT que exigem baixo débito e baixo consumo de energia. Esta dissertação investiga a capacidade e o desempenho da tecnologia NB-IoT em cenários do mundo real, comparando os resultados das medições realizadas sob diferentes condições de rádio na área metropolitana de Lisboa. Tomando como inspiração alguns trabalhos relacionados apresentados na dissertação, as abordagens adotadas neste trabalho são devidamente explicadas e as métricas descritas em detalhes. Através de medições práticas, são caracterizadas diferentes métricas de desempenho de NB-IoT para diferentes cenários de propagação, identificando causas hipotéticas para o desempenho observado

Review and future trend of energy harvesting methods for portable medical devices

Portability improvement of technological devices have not been followed by energy availability of its batteries. Considering the low power consumption features of a variety of portable devices, the concept of energy harvesting from environmental sources and human body has gained a new relevance. In the search of methods and materials that suit this need, are the energy generated from the piezoelectricity, thermoelectricity and electromagnetism, among others.This paper reviews the advantages, disadvantages and future trend of energy harvesting methods, as well as its mechanisms in portable medical devices with low power consumption. The medical field is a promising sector for the use of these technologies by the need to extend the energy availability for several parameter monitoring as too allow various forms of continuous therapy. Therefore, coupling a energy harvesting system to existing battery in these devices may significantly improve their energy sustainability that at present, is one of its biggest limitations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Lysossomal acid lipase activity in dried blood spots - preliminar results

Lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs) are a group of heterogeneous and multisystemic disorders caused by defects in enzymes responsible for the intralysosomal degradation of particular compounds. One of them is Lysosomal Acid Lipase Deficiency (LALD) that is caused by the deficiency of the enzyme Lysosomal Acid Lipase (LAL), which is responsible for the hydrolysis of cholesterol esters and triglycerides in the lysosome.N/

Part 1

Traceability can be a tool for safety and quality assurance for food perishables as well as for process optimization and economic gain. However, it is often considered mere bureaucracy and an economic burden. Such is prevalent in small and medium-sized enterprises. As they constitute most of food sector, the adoption of traceability systems is quite slow and mostly to satisfy legal requirements. To determine the main advantages and disadvantages of traceability models, implementation and technologies, a literature review and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) focused analysis was performed in the part I of this study. In Part II, a low cost open-source traceability focused on food safety and quality is developed. It is based on HACCP flowcharts to define gateways for quality evaluation and encompasses external verification and product history maintenance. Economic gains, more quality and safety, better efficiency and a more direct contact with consumers are some of the main advantages. High implementation costs, poorly defined benefits, lack of compatibility, consumer focused perspective and exposure of sensitive information are some of the main issues. This study serves to expose these issues and suggest solutions, aiming to encourage the adoption of traceability systems, with last-end benefits to producers, retailers, and consumers.This study is within the activities of project PrunusPós—Otimização de processos de armazenamento, conservação em frio, embalamento ativo e/ou inteligente, e rastreabilidade da qualidade alimentar no póscolheita de produtos frutícolas (Optimization of processes of storage, cold conservation, active and/or intelligent packaging, and traceability of food quality in the postharvest of fruit products), Operation n.º PDR2020-101-031695 (Partner), Consortium n.º 87, Initiative n.º 175 promoted by PDR2020 and co-financed by FEADER under the Portugal 2020 initiative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Investors' perspective on portfolio insurance : expected utility vs prospect theories

This study supports the use of behavioural finance to explain the popularity of portfolio insurance. Portfolio insurance strategies are important financial solutions sold to institutional and individual investors, that protect against downside risk while maintaining some upside valuation potential. The way some of these strategies are engineered has been criticised, and portfolio insurance itself blamed for increasing market volatility in depressed markets. Despite this, investors keep on buying portfolio insurance that has a solid market share. This study contributes to understand the phenomenon. We compare investors' decision using two distinct frameworks: expected utility theory and behavioural theories. Based upon Monte Carlo simulation techniques we compare portfolio insurance strategies against uninsured basic benchmark strategies. We conclude that cumulative prospect theory may be a viable framework to explain the popularity of portfolio insurance. However, among portfolio insurance strategies, naïve strategies seem to be preferable to most commonly traded strategies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Bycatch and discard survival rate in a small-scale bivalve dredge fishery along the Algarve coast (southern Portugal)

Although the bivalve dredge used on the Algarve coast (southern Portugal) is highly selective for the target species, in some periods of the year the bycatch can exceed the catch of the commercial species. The present study aimed to quantify the bycatch and discards, estimate damage and mortality, and propose management measures to minimize discards and mortality. A total of 15 fishing surveys (60 tows) were performed using two types of dredges (“DDredge” targeting Donax trunculus and “SDredge” targeting Spisula solida and Chamelea gallina). Of the 85257 individuals (392.4 kg) of 52 taxa that were caught, 73.4% belonged to the target species, 22.1% to commercially undersized target species and 4.5% to bycatch species. Bycatch rates were lower for SDredge (13.5% in number and 6.3% in weight) than for DDredge (46.0% in number and 32.9% in weight). Damage and mortality rates were also lower using SDredge (1.3% and 1.0% of the total catches, respectively) than using DDredge (4.0% and 2.8% of the total catches). Survival experiments revealed the diverse vulnerability of the taxa and confirmed the influence of the damage score on the mortality rate. The results gathered in the present study encourage the adoption of a bycatch reduction device to reduce both direct and indirect mortality.This study was performed within the framework of the research project “Science Technology and Society Initiative to Minimize Unwanted Catches in European Fisheries (MINOUW)” funded by the Research and Innovation Action (RIA) of the EU Horizon 2020 programme.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of indices for nonsacrificial sexing of imposex-affected Hexaplex (Trunculariopsis) Trunculus (Gastropoda : Muricidae)

The muricid Hexaplex (Trunculariopsis) trunculus lacks external sexual dimorphism and is highly affected by imposex, which further complicates its sexual identification. In this context, the aim of this study was to develop sexual indices based on the dimensions of male and imposex-affected female penis, which could constitute a useful, simple and nonsacrificial tool for sexing live specimens of T. trunculus. The adoption of sexual indices consisting of penis dimensions of both sexes relative to individual size revealed a high accuracy in the sexual identification of sacrificed specimens (> 95% correct sexing). Additionally, multivariate discriminant analysis allowed correct sexing of 98.8% of the original 1053 sacrificed individuals, with accurate sexual identification being higher for males (99.5%) than for imposex-affected females (97.7%). An anaesthetization experiment was performed to investigate the effects produced by the anaesthetic (MgCl2) on penis measurements, to test this nonsacrificial approach and to validate the previously developed sexual indices. The anaesthetic provoked an expected enlargement in penis dimensions but, despite this side effect, the sexual indices developed for sacrificed specimens were still highly successful in sexing anaesthetized T. trunculus (generally more than 95% correct sexual identification). The practical application and some limitations of developing and employing this kind of index for the sexual identification of T. trunculus and other imposex-affected gastropod species are discussed.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio