Castor fiber na gruta do Caldeirão. Existência, distribuição e extinção do castor em Portugal

Beaver only had been found in Portugal in a Chalcolithic locality, the Vila Nova de S. Pedro castrum. It has now been identified in the Upper Paleolithic (Solutrean) from Gruta do Caldeirão, near Tomar. The species has been found recently at «Gruta do Almonda»; 4 teeth were collected in bed C, older than a Solutrean sequence (see Anexo for details). The species seems to have been rare, as it was also the case with portuguese Miocene Castoridae Enroxenomys minutus and Chalicomys jaegeri. If account is taken of the presence in the Middle Ages until Castille of words meaning beaver (relared to the popular latin Fiber/Biber), it is obvious that these animais still existed then. Such nouns were largely predominant over rhe rather erudite latin (greek deríved) words as Castor,-óris and derived ones, as it could be expected. This allowed us to recognize that veiro should be the corresponding word with Fiber affinities in archaic portuguese. It was previously supposed to mean only expensive furs then imported into Portugal. Indeed it was also a zoonym. Anywày, beaver should be scarce by XIIIth century since it is not included in the quite detailed price list imposed by the «Lei da Almotaçaria» from December 26, 1253 (see Quadro II). Toponyms in veiro and derived words (fig. 2; Quadro III) (plural, feminines, diminutives, inhabited places) give a resrrictive view of rhe Middle Age distribution. Some of them are certainly older than Portugal itself (firsr half of XIlth cenrury); others existed by the XIVth century bur were probably older. Some rare toponyms seem to be derived from the erudite latin Castor,-óris. Nothing suggests that these words were still in use as zoonyms during the Middle Ages. All toponyms are located in regions near rivers and other freshwaters ecologically suitable for beavers, so we can approximately retrace its former, Middle Age disrribution in Portugal (fig. 2; Quadro III). Most of them are locared in the Center-West and Northwest of Portugal, with a suitable c1imate (rainfall in general over 800 mílimerers per year); the only sure geographical exception is Veiros, in Alto Alentejo province, in a region with comparable precipitations and less dry climate conditions than mosr of the territories South of rhe Tagus. There are less and less of these toponyms towards rhe South and the inner part of the country, and they are enrirely lacking in all drier regions from Trás-os-Montes, Beira, Alentejo beyond Tagus' basin, and in Algarve. Nothing suggests beavers lived there, No post-medieval toponym is known, nor any reference after middle XVth century. No such locality was at, or close by to, any frontier. Hence the hypothesis of veiro (et al.} as meaning but points where expensive furs (supposedly known as veiros in general but without c1early saying from what animal they were obrained from) is to be discarded. During the Middle Ages, beaver discriburion concerned all the main river basins from Minho to Tagus ones. Quite rarefied in rhe XIIIth, the beavers may have disappeared from Portugal during the XVth century. Ecological requiremenrs restricted their former distriburion. Vulnerability to natural causes (i.e., severe drought) and to human pressure may have accounted heavily for this species' extinction. Last (1446) reference for Portugal known to us suggests the species was by then almost extinct.

High-performance flexible hybrid field-effect transistors based on cellulose fiber paper

IEEE Electron Device Letters, VOL. 29, NO. 9,

Castor fiber na gruta do Caldeirão Existência, distribuição e extinção do castor em Portugal

Beaver only had been found in Portugal in a Chalcolithic locality, the Vila Nova de S. Pedro castrum. It has now been idenrified in the Upper Paleolithic (Solurrean) from Gruta do Caldeirão, near Tomar. The species has been found recently at «Gruta do Almonda»; 4 teeth were collected in bed C, older than a Solutrean sequence (see Anexo for details). The species seems to have been rare, as it was also the case with portuguese miocene Castoridae Enroxenomys minutus and Chalicomys jaegeri. If account is taken of the presence in the Middle Ages until Castille of words meaning beaver (related to the popular latin Fiber/Biber), it is obvious that these animals still existed then. Such nouns were largely predominant over the rather erudite larin (greek derived) words as Castor, -óris and derived ones, as it could be expected. This allowed us to recognize that veiro should be the corresponding word with Fiber affinities in archaic portuguese. It was previously supposed to mean only expensive furs then imported into Portugal. Indeed it was also a zoonym. Anyway, beaver should be scarce by XIIIth century since it is not included in the quite detailed price list imposed by the «Lei da Almotaçaria» from December 26, 1253 (see Quadro II). Toponyms in veiro and derived words (fig. 2; Quadro III) (plural, feminines, diminutives, inhabited places) give a restrictive view of the Middle Age distribution. Some of them are certainly older than Portugal itself (first half of XIIth century); others existed by the XIVth century but were probably older. Some rare toponyms seem to be derived from rhe erudite latin Castor, -óris. Nothing suggests that these words were still in use as zoonyms during the Middle Ages. All toponyms are located in regions near rivers and other freshwaters ecologically suitable for beavers, so wecan approximately retrace irs former, Middle Age distribution in Portugal (fig. 2; Quadro III). Most of them are located in the Center-West and Northwest of Portugal, with a suitable c1imate (rainfall in general over 800 milimeters per year); the only sure geographical exception is Veiros, in Alto Alentejo province, in a region with comparable precipitations and less dry climare conditions than most of the territories South of the Tagus. There are less and less of these toponyms towards the South and the inner part of the country, and they are enrirely lacking in ali drier regions from Trás-os-Montes, Beira, Alentejo beyond Tagus' basin, and in Algarve. Nothing suggests beavers lived there, No pose-medieval toponym is known, nor any reference after middle XVth century. No such locality was at, or close by to, any frontier. Hence the hypothesis of veiro (e: al.) as meaning but points where expensive furs(supposedly known as veiros in general but without clearly saying from what animal they were obtained from) is to be discarded. During the Middle Ages, beaver distribution concerned all the main river basins from Minho to Tagus ones. Quice racefied in the XIIIth, the beavers may have disappeared from Portugal during the XVth century. Ecological requirements restricted their former distribution. Vulnerability to natural causes (i.e., severe drought) and to human pressure may have accounted heavily for this species extinction. Last (1446) reference for Portugal known to us suggests the species was by then almost extinct.

Can the complex mixture of sediment contaminants cause endocrine disruption on a benthic fish? A case study with Solea senegalensis

Pollution in coastal ecosystems is a serious threat to the biota and human populations there residing. Anthropogenic activities in these ecosystems are the main cause of contamination by endocrine disruption compounds (EDCs), which can interfere with hormonal regulation and cause adverse effects to growth, stress response and reproduction. Although the chemical nature of many EDCs is unknown, it is believed that most are organic contaminants. Under an environmental risk assessment for a contaminated estuary (the Sado, SW Portugal), the present work intended to detect endocrine disruption in a flatsfish, Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858, and its potential relationship to organic toxicants. Animals were collected from two areas in the estuary with distinct influences (industrial and rural) and from an external reference area. To evaluate endocrine disruption, hepatic vitellogenin (VTG) concentrations in males and gonad histology were analysed. As biomarkers of exposure to organic contaminants, cytochrome P450 (CYP1A) induction and the ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity were determined. The results were contrasted to sediment contamination levels, which are overall considered low, although the area presents a complex mixture of toxicants. Either males or females were found sexually immature and showed no significant evidence of degenerative pathologies. However, hepatic VTG concentrations in males from the industrial area in estuary were superior than those from the Reference, even reaching levels comparable to those in females, which may indicate an oestrogenic effect resulting from the complex contaminant mixture. These individuals also presented higher levels of CYP1A induction and EROD activity, which is consistent with contamination by organic substances. The combination of the results suggest that the exposure of flatfish to an environment contaminated by mixed toxicants, even at low levels, may cause endocrine disruption, therefore affecting populations, which implies the need for further research in identification of potential EDCs, their sources and risks at ecosystem scale.

Adaptation as a part of system resilience. insights from fish producers organizations in Portugal

Complex problems of globalized society challenge its adaptive capacity. However, it is precisely the nature of these human induced problems that provide enough evidence to show that adaptability may not be on a resilient path. This thesis explores the ambiguity of the idea of adaptation (and its practice) and illustrates the ways in which adaptability contributes to resilience of social ecological systems. The thesis combines a case study and grounded theory approach and develops an analytical framework to study adaptability in resource users’ organizations: from what it depends on and what the key challenges are for resource management and system resilience. It does so for the specific case of fish producers’ organizations (POs) in Portugal. The findings suggest that while ecological and market context, including the type of crisis, may influence the character of fishers’ adaptation within POs (i.e. anticipatory, maladaptive and reactively adaptive), it does not determine it. Instead, it makes agency even more crucial (i.e. leadership, trust and agent’s perceptions in terms of their impact on fishers’ motivation to learn from each other). In sum, it was found that internal adaptation can improve POs’ contribution to fishery management and resilience, but it is not a panacea and may, in some cases, increase system vulnerability to change. Continuous maladaptation of some Portuguese POs points at a basic institutional problem (fish market regime), which clearly reduces fisheries resilience as it promotes overfishing. However, structural change may not be sufficient to address other barriers to Portuguese fishers’ (PO members) adaptability, such as history (collective memory) and associated problematic self-perceptions. The agency (people involved in structures and practices) also needs to change. What and how institutional change and agency change build on one another (e.g. comparison of fisheries governance in Portugal and other EU countries) is a topic to be explored in further research.

Bioinspired polyethersulfone-based hollow fiber membranes as the scaffolds in renal assist device for protein-bound toxins removal from blood

Dissertation for obtaining the Master degree in Membrane Engineering

Fiber functionalization for biomedical applications

Deep-eutectic solvents (DES) are considered novel renewable and biodegradable solvents, with a cheap and easy synthesis, without waste production. Later it was discovered a new subclass of DES that even can be biocompatible, since their synthesis uses primary metabolites such as amino acids, organic acids and sugars, from organisms. This subclass was named natural deep-eutectic solvents (NADES). Due to their properties it was tried to study the interaction between these solvents and biopolymers, in order to produce functionalized fibers for biomedical applications. In this way, fibers were produced by using the electrospinning technique. However, it was first necessary to study some physical properties of NADES, as well as the influence of water in their properties. It has been concluded that the water has a high influence on NADES properties, which can be seen on the results obtained from the rheology and viscosity studies. The fluid dynamics had changed, as well as the viscosity. Afterwards, it was tested the viability of using a starch blend. First it was tested the dissolution of these biopolymers into NADES, in order to study the viability of their application in electrospinning. However the results obtained were not satisfactory, since the starch polymers studied did not presented any dissolution in any NADES, or even in organic solvents. In this way it was changed the approach, and it was used other biocompatible polymers. Poly(ethylene oxide), poly(vinyl alcohol) and gelatin were the others biopolymers tested for the electrospinning, with NADES. All polymers show good results, since it was possible to obtain fibers. However for gelatin it was used only eutectic mixtures, containing active pharmaceutical ingredients (API’s), instead of NADES. For this case it was used mandelic acid (antimicrobial properties), choline chloride, ibuprofen (anti-inflammatory properties) and menthol (analgesic properties). The polymers and the produced fibers were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). With the help of these techniques it was possible to conclude that it was possible to encapsulate NADES within the fibers. Rheology it was also study for poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(vinyl alcohol), in a way to understand the influence of polymer concentration, on the electrospinning technique. For the gelatin, among the characterization techniques, it was also performed cytotoxicity and drug release studies. The gelatin membranes did not show any toxicity for the cells, since their viability was maintained. Regarding the controlled release profile experiment no conclusion could be drawn from the experiments, due to the rapid and complete dissolution of the gelatin in the buffer solution. However it was possible to quantify the mixture of choline chloride with mandelic acid, allowing thus to complete, and confirm, the information already obtained for the others characterization technique.

Dynamics of serotonergic neurons revealed by fiber photometry

This work was developed in the context of the MIT Portugal Program, area of Bioengineering Systems, in collaboration with the Champalimaud Research Programme, Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal. The project entitled Dynamics of serotonergic neurons revealed by fiber photometry was carried out at Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal and at the Champalimaud Research Programme, Champalimaud Center for the Unknown, Lisbon, Portugal