Heritability and inheritance of tolerance to copper in Daphnia magna

Dissertação de mestrado em Ecologia apresentada ao Departamento Ciências da Vida da Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnolofgia da Universidade de CoimbraGenetic erosion is a case of microevolution where genetic information is lost through the loss of genotypes. Although there are many factors that may contribute to the loss of genotypes, contaminants originating from human activities such as mining and agriculture are among the most concerning. Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a product of mining activity that is a very acidic effluent with high concentrations of various metals, contamination which may lead a population to genetic erosion. In Daphnia sp., tolerance to copper was found to be correlated with tolerance to AMD and can be used to study AMD driven genetic erosion. To better understand it two specific objectives were delineated with the present work, to calculate the heritability and inheritance of the tolerance to copper in Daphnia magna. Ephippia of D. magna were obtained from the following two different sources: (1) a commercial source producing ephippia from uni-clonal mass cultures and (2) a natural pond where ephippia were collected once in time. Heritability of the tolerance to copper was studied, based on time to death toxicity tests on over 200 clones from two different sources, where values of 71 and 82% were calculated for clones from source M and B, respectively. Relative spread was also calculated for each clone and compared with the tolerance of the respective clones, showing that more extreme clones (the most tolerant and the most sensitive) have smaller variabilities. To assess inheritance, sexual reproduction was attempted by stimulating ephippia production within a group of 24 selected clones, 12 clones from each source, being the six most sensitive and the six most tolerant to copper. However, iv ephippia production was not successfully achieved. Therefore it was not possible to study the inheritance of tolerance to copper in D. magna. Overall, the wide distribution of tolerances, the lower variability in extreme clones, and the high heritability show that tolerance to copper can easily be involved in microevolution episodes. Although not all objectives proposed were achieved, this work still represents new information and one significant contribution to the study of the microevolution of tolerance in Daphnia magna.A erosão genética é um caso de microevolução em que a informação genética é perdida através da perda de genótipos. Apesar de haverem muitos fatores que podem contribuir para a perda de genótipos, contaminantes oriundos de atividades humanas como a indústria mineira e a agricultura estão entre os mais preocupantes. A drenagem ácida de minas (AMD) é um produto da atividade mineira que é um efluente acídico com altas concentrações de vários metais, contaminação esta que pode levar à erosão genética de populações. Em Daphnia sp., foi descoberto que a tolerância ao cobre está correlacionada com a tolerância à AMD e pode ser utilizada para estudar a erosão genética provocada pela AMD. Para melhor perceber dois objetivos específicos foram delineados no presente trabalho, calcular a heritabilidade e a herança da tolerância ao cobre em Daphnia magna. Ephippia de D. magna foram obtidos de duas fontes diferentes: (1) uma fonte comercial que produz ephippia apartir de culturas de massa uni-clonais e (2) um lago natural onde ephippia foram colhidas de uma única vez. A heritabilidade da tolerância ao cobre foi estudada, baseada em testes de toxicidade de tempo até à morte em mais de 200 clones de duas fontes diferentes, onde foram obtidos valores de 71 e 82% de heritabilidade para os clones oriundos da fonte M e B, respetivamente. O relative spread foi também calculado para cada clone e comparado com a tolerância do respetivo clone, mostrando que os clones mais extremos (os mais tolerantes e os mais sensíveis) têm variabilidades menores. vi Para avaliar a herança, a indução da reprodução sexuada foi tentada através da estimulação da produção de ephippia num grupo de 24 clones selecionados, 12 clones de cada fonte, sendo os 6 mais sensíveis e os 6 mais tolerantes ao cobre. No entanto, não tenha sido conseguida qualquer produção de ephippia. Assim, não foi possível estudar a herança da tolerância ao cobre em D. magna. Em suma, a larga distribuição de tolerâncias, as variabilidades baixas em clones extremos e a alta heritabilidade mostram que a tolerância ao cobre pode facilmente ser envolvida em episódios de microevolução. Apesar de em todos os objetivos propostos terem sido alcançados, este trabalho representa nova informação e uma contribuição significante para o estudo da microevolução da tolerância em Daphnia magna

Homossexualidade e resistência durante a ditadura portuguesa: estudos de caso

Em Portugal, o estudo acerca da não-heterossexualidade tem um início mais vincado a partir da década de 90 do século XX. Os estudos que se iniciam nesta década abordam os mais variados assuntos e as mais diferenciadas pessoas, que compõem a população LGBT em Portugal. Como é sabido, durante o século XX, vários países europeus estiveram sobre alçada de ditaduras fascistas, na qual a homossexualidade era condenada, a nível legislativo, médico, religioso ou a nível social. Neste sentido, em anos recentes começaram a surgir estudos sobre a memória das vítimas homossexuais destes regimes antidemocráticos, como é o caso de Espanha ou Alemanha, por exemplo. Em Portugal, apesar de já se ter iniciado o estudo acerca da homossexualidade na ditadura salazarista, pouco se sabe acerca das lésbicas e dos gays que viveram este período, principalmente a vida das pessoas comuns. Assim, este trabalho de investigação nasceu da tentativa de dar voz a essas pessoas e pretende refletir acerca da homossexualidade durante o período do Estado Novo e de como viviam os homossexuais durante estas décadas. Durante esse período, esta era observada enquanto crime e doença, encarada como antissocial, um desvio da normatividade. Nesta dissertação aborda-se a visão da homossexualidade durante o salazarismo, através dos parâmetros estatais, a partir de três eixos centrais e que fazem o fundo científico do Estado Novo: a diferença de tratamento devido à classe social; o eixo do não-dito, e a visão da sexualidade a partir da referência do masculino. Desenvolve-se ainda a vida quotidiana de gays e lésbicas que viveram clandestinamente a sua sexualidade, analisando-se a opressão social a que estavam sujeitos a partir das suas redes de sociabilização mais próximas, como a família ou os amigos. Compreendendo que a homossexualidade era reprimida, haveria também formas de resistir, de manter estas práticas, veladamente. Assim, pretende-se analisar as formas de resistência quotidiana, que passavam pela dissimulação ou ocultação da homossexualidade mas, também, pela prática clandestina da mesma, em locais que eram identificados pelos homossexuais como lugares de encontro ou de prática sexual. Aborda-se ainda o final da ditadura e o início da democracia, que permite compreender que, apesar do 25 de Abril de 1974 ser um marco importante, não foi aí que a liberdade chegou para a homossexualidade, sendo preciso esperar até à década de 90 para se ver mudanças de maior, apesar das várias tentativas pós-25 de Abril de 1974.In Portugal the study of non-heterosexuality was more pronnunced since the 90’s of the 20th century. The studies that begin in this decade approach the most varied subjects and the most differentiated people, who make up the LGBT population in Portugal. As it is known, during the 20th century, several European countries were under the power of fascists dictatorships, in which homosexuality was condemned, at the legislative, medical, religious or social level. In this sense, in recent years studies have begun to emerge about the memory of the homosexual victims of these antidemocratic regimes, as is the case of Spain or Germany, for example. In Portugal, although the study about homosexuality in the Salazarist dictatorship has already begun, little is known about the lesbians and gays who lived through this period, especially the lives of ordinary people. Thus, this research work was born of the attempt to give voice to these people and aiming to reflect on homosexuality during the Estado Novo period and on how homosexuals lived during these decades. During this period, it was considered a crime and a disease, seen as antissocial, a deviation from normativity. This dissertation approaches the vision of homosexuality during the salazarismo, through the state parameters, from three central axes that make the scientific bottom of Estado Novo: the difference of treatment due to the social class; the axis of the unsaid, and the vision of sexuality from the reference of the masculine. It also develops the daily life of gays and lesbians who have lived clandestinely their sexuality, analyzing the social opression to which they were subjeted from their networks of closer social networks, such as family or friends. Realizing that homosexuality was suppressed, there would also be ways to resist, to keep these practices, covertly. Thus, it is intended to analyze the forms of daily resistance, which went trough the concealment of homosexuality, but also the clandestine practice of it, in places that were identified by homosexuals as places of encounter or sexual practice. The end of the dictatorship and the beginning of democracy are also discussed, which allows us to understand that although 25th of April, 1974 was an important milestone, it was not the time that lead to freedom of homosexuality, and it was necessary to wait until de 90’s to see greater changes, in spite of several attemps after April 25th, 1974

Populações de insetos numa fábrica de arroz e milho. Competição interespecífica como fator regulador

Mestrado em Engenharia Alimentar - Qualidade e Segurança Alimentar - Instituto Superior de AgronomiaThe present work aimed to identify the key pests of a mill factory that processes rice and maize, for risk assessment, and the effect of the interspecific competition between two primary pests in maize. For risk assessment, data were collected from a previously implemented sampling program, using traps with kairomone. The traps were observed weekly and the insects identified and counted. For interspecific competition in maize, bioassays were carried out in laboratory, and compared G1 and G2 of the two primary pests Sitophilus zeamais Motsch (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) and Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera, Bostrichidae), in both isolated and competition environment of temperature and r.h. ANOVA and Tukey tests were used for data analyses. At mill factory, the key-pests were S. zeamais and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae). There was not meaningfully differences between both populations. Although T. castaneum follow the temperature fluctuations while S. zeamais might be present when the environmental conditions are not favorable for its activity. Bioassays on maize showed that S. zeamais was the dominant species. When growing in competition the presence of both species might reduce the populations between 50% (R. dominica) and 83, 8% (S. zeamais), developing a regulatory factor on insects populatio

Virtual reality rehabilitation’s impact on negative symptoms and psychosocial rehabilitation in schizophrenia spectrum disorder: a systematic review

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder with symptoms that can severely affect patients’ quality of life. While drug administration inhibits most of the positive symptoms, it fails to effectively treat the negative symptoms and in turn relies on rehabilitation therapies. With technological progress, virtual reality (VR) has been the target of recent studies in terms of mental health rehabilitation and has been shown to be a tool with ecological validity in order to introduce the individual to situations similar to their daily life. Methods: From July to August 2021, we conducted a systematic review with the purpose of understanding the impact of virtual reality rehabilitation on negative symptoms and psychosocial rehabilitation in the schizophrenia spectrum. The searches were performed in the databases Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed. Results: In our search, we identified 201 results, where 108 duplicates were excluded, resulting in a final balance of 93. After reading and assessing the titles and abstracts, 66 studies were excluded. Of the remaining 27 reports, 23 were excluded for not meeting the previously defined eligibility criteria, resulting in the inclusion of four studies in this systematic review. Conclusions: The available data on the specific topic was limited and could have been more complete. However, in our review, we were able to identify statistically relevant results demonstrating the effectiveness of intervention. We could find medium to large effects, allowing VR to be an ally for rehabilitation of symptoms related to schizophrenia.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

Background Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide.Methods A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study-a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital.Findings Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3.85 [95% CI 2.58-5.75]; p<0.0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63.0% vs 82.7%; OR 0.35 [0.23-0.53]; p<0.0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer.Interpretation Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised

COMPRESSIBILITY AND SHEAR STRENGTH OF CONTAMINATED SANDS

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Engenharia do Ambiente apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências e TecnologiaAo longo dos anos, a vertente ambiental está cada vez mais presente em todas as áreas em desenvolvimento da sociedade, particularmente as que envolvem as áreas das engenharias. Apesar das crescentes preocupações ambientais, continuam a existir casos em que, por acidente ou por ações humana consciente, os solos são contaminados com materiais derivados do petróleo. Assim, o tema dos solos contaminados é não só atual como uma emergência, quer do ponto de vista ambiental quer do ponto de vista da decisão sobre como utilizar estes materiais.Para ajudar a resolver este tipo de problemas, é necessário conhecer as características de um solo não-contaminado, e de um solo contaminado, através de ensaios laboratoriais. Realizaram-se ensaios de compressibilidade, através de testes com o edométrico, e resistência ao corte, realizados com a caixa de corte. As amostras eram preparadas por camadas de areia limpa intercaladas com os vários contaminantes: óleo novo de motor de carro (10W40), mistura de óleos usados de motores de carros e crude. No estudo da intervenção destes contaminantes nas propriedades da areia, foram tidas em conta a contaminação das percentagens de 6% e de 10% do peso seco da areia.Com base nos resultados dos ensaios realizados verificou-se que a presença de óleos, de uma maneira geral, aumenta a compressibilidade e diminui a resistência ao corte. Sendo por isso importante conhecer o tipo de solo que vai ser utilizado numa construção, de forma a prever a sua reação às cargas a que o solo vai estar sujeito, ou para o poder descontaminar da melhor maneira possível.Over the years, the environmental dimension is increasingly present in all developing areas of society, particularly those involving engineering areas. Despite growing environmental concerns, there are still cases where, by accident or by conscious human actions, soils are contaminated with petroleum-derived materials. Thus, the issue of contaminated soils is not only current but also an emergency, from an environmental point of view and from the point of view of the decision on how to use these materials.To help solve this type of problem, it is necessary to know the characteristics of an uncontaminated soil, and contaminated soil, through laboratory tests. Tests of compressibility, through tests with the oedometric, and resistance to the cut, were carried out with the direct shear test. The samples were prepared by layers of clean sand interspersed with the various contaminants: new car engine oil (10W40), blend of used oils from car engines and crude oil. In the study of the intervention of these contaminants in the sand properties, contamination of the percentages of 6% and 10% of the dry weight of the sand was taken into account.Based on the results of the performed tests it has been found that the presence of oils, in general, increases compressibility and decreases the shear strength. It is therefore important to know the type of soil that will be used in a construction, in order to predict its reaction to the loads to which the soil will be subjected, or to be able to decontaminate in the best possible way