Resource recovery from used water

Single cell protein (SCP) defines the dried cells of microorganisms that can be used as a protein supplement both in animal feed or human food. SCP could represent an effective alterna-tive to meet the high and growing demand of feed products. This work aimed to develop a simple and economically feasible process to obtain SCP by adding value to an industrial waste stream. Spent sulfite liquor (SSL), pure glycerol and crude glycerol and two different types of wood oils were selected. However, the wood oils were early discharged (after characterization) as possible substrates due to their low chemical oxygen de-mand (COD) content and an unpleasant and undesirable smell. Thus, only SSL and pure and crude glycerol were tested. Crude glycerol proved to be the most viable choice given the high COD content – - g O2/L – and the low price per ton of COD – 200 €/ton COD. In continuous mode it was possible to achieve biomass concentrations of - g CDW/L (- g CDW/g COD) while efficiently removing - % of the COD of the influent stream. When tested in batch mode, biomass concentration reached a maximum of - g CDW/L (- g CDW/g COD) after - days of operation. After - days of operation, CDW per liter started to decrease which could indicate some sort of inhibition by fermentation by-products or other toxic compounds. Considering a batch operation mode, it was possible to produce SCP (- %w/w of protein content) with a commercial price of - €/ton protein. Thus, SCP production was considered feasible since it was possible to obtain a product that can highly compete with other feed products, for example, fishmeal (market price: 1.940 €/ton protein)

Bivalvia (Mollusca) do Pliocénico de Vale de Freixo (Pombal)

Durante o Pliocénico, as oscilações eustáticas no domínio atlântico terão sido responsáveis por vários episódios transgressivos na costa portuguesa, dos quais o mais significativo ocorreu durante o Placenciano e afetou, sobretudo, a Bacia do Mondego e a região de entre a Nazaré e as Caldas da Rainha. O registo estratigráfico correspondente é essencialmente arenoso, iniciando-se localmente com fácies conglomeráticas ricas de conchas marinhas, propiciando um conjunto de jazidas, das quais as das imediações de Carnide, no concelho de Pombal, descobertas na década de 1950, são as mais ricas e diversificadas em associações de invertebrados marinhos e foraminíferos (e.g. Carnide de Cima, Igreja de Carnide, Vale da Bouchada, Vale da Cabra e Vale Farpado). Destas, a jazida de Vale de Freixo (Pombal), apresenta uma das sucessões locais mais representativas deste intervalo, tendo a sua fauna de moluscos gastrópodes sido estudada exaustivamente por SILVA (1993, 2001). A associação de foraminíferos das jazidas convizinhas foi estudada por CARVALHO & COLON (1954), MARTINS FERREIRA (1960) e CARDOSO (1984). Os moluscos bivalves foram listados por TEIXEIRA & ZBYSZEWSKY (1951) e ZBYSZEWSKI (1959), mas quer estes, quer os de Vale de Freixo, nunca mereceram uma atualização taxonómica exaustiva. O presente estudo, inserido num projeto mais vasto de inventariação dos moluscos bivalves do Pliocénico português, visa colmatar esta lacuna. Assim, relativamente aos estudos e trabalhos anteriores, o número de espécies de moluscos bivalves reportados para o Pliocénico de Carnide passou de 48 para mais de nove dezenas. Identificámos um total de 86 taxa de BIVALVIA, dos quais 81 a nível específico, distribuídos por 32 famílias e 75 géneros, tendo a sua sistemática sido atualizada de acordo com os trabalhos mais recentes. As famílias mais representadas são: Veneridae (11 espécies), Pectinidae e Tellinidae (oito espécies cada). Constam, desta lista taxonómica, 23 primeiras citações de ocorrência para o registo estratigráfico do Pliocénico de Portugal (Ennucula laevigata, Centrocardita aculeata, Goodallia triangularis, Spaniorinus ambiguus, Diplodonta rotundata, Hiatella rugosa, Phaxas pellucidus, Parvicardium scriptum, Gari tellinella, Bosemprella incarnata, Oudardia compressa, Megaxinus transversus, Loripinus fragilis, Cardilia michelottii, Corbula revoluta, Gouldia minima, Pitar rudis, Limaria loscombi, Gregariella sp., Neopycnodonte cochlear, Heteranomia squamula, Pododesmus squama, Hinnites ercolanianus) e outras 19 são novidade para a sucessão marinha pliocénica de Carnide (Cardita calyculata, Scacchia oblonga, Acanthocardia aculeata, Papillicardium papillosum, Gari depressa, Abra alba, Gastrana fragilis, Peronidia albicans, Chama gryphoides, Lutraria lutraria, Anadara diluvii, Anadara pectinata, Arca tetragona, Lima lima, Modiolus sp., Aequipecten opercularis, Flexopecten flexuosus, Hinnites crispus, Mimachlamys varia). Analisando a repartição vertical da sequência fossilífera de Vale de Freixo (estratos “2” a “4”), verificamos que o estrato 2, de fácies conglomerática, é rico em valvas de espécies bivalves de maior tamanho, as quais tendem a apresentar dimensões próximas entre si, abrasão, bioerosão e epizoários, sugerindo uma seleção por paleocorrentes associada a fraca taxa de deposição. Observa-se, ainda, a sua acumulação preferencial em determinadas áreas, o que poderá ter sido potenciado pelas configurações morfológicas dos fundos marinhos locais e por correntes de vortex. O estado de desarticulação das valvas é generalizado, encontrando-se dispostas preferencialmente com a comissura voltada para baixo, situação de estabilidade que ocorre geralmente sob certas condições de hidrodinamismo mais elevadas. Para o topo do estrato 3 e no estrato 4 as valvas encontram-se frequentemente articuladas, o que, conjuntamente com a preservação de estruturas delicadas, indica níveis de hidrodinamismo fracos e taxas de deposição mais elevadas. A maior abundância relativa de bivalves endobentónicos suspensívoros, bem como a sua diversidade interespecífica, corrobora, para os estratos 3 e 4, a existência de fundos de substrato móvel, de granulometria fina e bem oxigenados. Bivalves como Spisula subtruncata, Circomphalus foliaceolamellosus, Macomopsis elliptica indicam que a batimetria não ultrapassaria o limite inferior do andar infralitoral. As espécies estenoalinas Lembulus pella e Papilicardium papillosum indicam ambiente francamente marinho. Os bivalves Cardita calyculata, Oudardia compressa, Circomphalus foliaceolamellosus, Tapes vetula, Procardium diluvianum, Europicardium multicostatum, Palliolum excisum ou Cardilia michelottii, que possuem forte afinidade tropical, sugerem paleotemperaturas das águas superficiais oceânicas acima das atuais registadas para a costa ocidental portuguesa

SARS-CoV-2 introductions and early dynamics of the epidemic in Portugal

Genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal was rapidly implemented by the National Institute of Health in the early stages of the COVID-19 epidemic, in collaboration with more than 50 laboratories distributed nationwide. Methods By applying recent phylodynamic models that allow integration of individual-based travel history, we reconstructed and characterized the spatio-temporal dynamics of SARSCoV-2 introductions and early dissemination in Portugal. Results We detected at least 277 independent SARS-CoV-2 introductions, mostly from European countries (namely the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland), which were consistent with the countries with the highest connectivity with Portugal. Although most introductions were estimated to have occurred during early March 2020, it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was silently circulating in Portugal throughout February, before the first cases were confirmed. Conclusions Here we conclude that the earlier implementation of measures could have minimized the number of introductions and subsequent virus expansion in Portugal. This study lays the foundation for genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal, and highlights the need for systematic and geographically-representative genomic surveillance.We gratefully acknowledge to Sara Hill and Nuno Faria (University of Oxford) and Joshua Quick and Nick Loman (University of Birmingham) for kindly providing us with the initial sets of Artic Network primers for NGS; Rafael Mamede (MRamirez team, IMM, Lisbon) for developing and sharing a bioinformatics script for sequence curation (https://github.com/rfm-targa/BioinfUtils); Philippe Lemey (KU Leuven) for providing guidance on the implementation of the phylodynamic models; Joshua L. Cherry (National Center for Biotechnology Information, National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health) for providing guidance with the subsampling strategies; and all authors, originating and submitting laboratories who have contributed genome data on GISAID (https://www.gisaid.org/) on which part of this research is based. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the view of the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the United States government. This study is co-funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia and Agência de Investigação Clínica e Inovação Biomédica (234_596874175) on behalf of the Research 4 COVID-19 call. Some infrastructural resources used in this study come from the GenomePT project (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme (Lisboa2020), Algarve Portugal Regional Operational Programme (CRESC Algarve2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), and by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterisation of microbial attack on archaeological bone

As part of an EU funded project to investigate the factors influencing bone preservation in the archaeological record, more than 250 bones from 41 archaeological sites in five countries spanning four climatic regions were studied for diagenetic alteration. Sites were selected to cover a range of environmental conditions and archaeological contexts. Microscopic and physical (mercury intrusion porosimetry) analyses of these bones revealed that the majority (68%) had suffered microbial attack. Furthermore, significant differences were found between animal and human bone in both the state of preservation and the type of microbial attack present. These differences in preservation might result from differences in early taphonomy of the bones. © 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved

Brazilian Flora 2020: Leveraging the power of a collaborative scientific network

International audienceThe shortage of reliable primary taxonomic data limits the description of biological taxa and the understanding of biodiversity patterns and processes, complicating biogeographical, ecological, and evolutionary studies. This deficit creates a significant taxonomic impediment to biodiversity research and conservation planning. The taxonomic impediment and the biodiversity crisis are widely recognized, highlighting the urgent need for reliable taxonomic data. Over the past decade, numerous countries worldwide have devoted considerable effort to Target 1 of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which called for the preparation of a working list of all known plant species by 2010 and an online world Flora by 2020. Brazil is a megadiverse country, home to more of the world's known plant species than any other country. Despite that, Flora Brasiliensis, concluded in 1906, was the last comprehensive treatment of the Brazilian flora. The lack of accurate estimates of the number of species of algae, fungi, and plants occurring in Brazil contributes to the prevailing taxonomic impediment and delays progress towards the GSPC targets. Over the past 12 years, a legion of taxonomists motivated to meet Target 1 of the GSPC, worked together to gather and integrate knowledge on the algal, plant, and fungal diversity of Brazil. Overall, a team of about 980 taxonomists joined efforts in a highly collaborative project that used cybertaxonomy to prepare an updated Flora of Brazil, showing the power of scientific collaboration to reach ambitious goals. This paper presents an overview of the Brazilian Flora 2020 and provides taxonomic and spatial updates on the algae, fungi, and plants found in one of the world's most biodiverse countries. We further identify collection gaps and summarize future goals that extend beyond 2020. Our results show that Brazil is home to 46,975 native species of algae, fungi, and plants, of which 19,669 are endemic to the country. The data compiled to date suggests that the Atlantic Rainforest might be the most diverse Brazilian domain for all plant groups except gymnosperms, which are most diverse in the Amazon. However, scientific knowledge of Brazilian diversity is still unequally distributed, with the Atlantic Rainforest and the Cerrado being the most intensively sampled and studied biomes in the country. In times of “scientific reductionism”, with botanical and mycological sciences suffering pervasive depreciation in recent decades, the first online Flora of Brazil 2020 significantly enhanced the quality and quantity of taxonomic data available for algae, fungi, and plants from Brazil. This project also made all the information freely available online, providing a firm foundation for future research and for the management, conservation, and sustainable use of the Brazilian funga and flora