Azorean Agriculture Efficiency by PAR

Copyright © 2013 Springer Netherlands.

Exposure to volatile organic compounds, particulate matter and fungi in a composting plant

Composting is an important process of solid waste management and it can be used for treatment of a variety of different wastes (green waste, household waste, sewage sludge and more). This process aims to: 1. Reduce the volumes of waste and; 2. Create a valuable product which can be recycled as a soil amendment in agriculture and gardening. A natural self-heating process involving the biological degradation of organic matter under aerobic conditions. The handling of waste and compost is responsible for the release of airborne microorganisms and their compounds in the air. Possible contaminants: a) Dust; b) Mesophilic and thermophilic microorganisms; c) Volatile organic compounds; d) Endotoxins and mycotoxins…. Aim: assess exposure/contamination to: a) Volatile organic compounds (VOCs); b) Particulate matter (PM); c) Fungi. In a composting plant located in Lisbon. An additional goal was to identify the workplace with higher level of contamination. In a totally indoor composting plant. The composting operations consisted: 1º Waste already sorted is unloaded in a reception area; 2º Pretreatment - remove undesirable materials from the process (glass, rocks, plastics, metals…); 3º Anaerobic digestion; 4º Dehydration; 5º Open composting with forced aeration. All the process takes thirteen weeks.

Domesticating portuguese television

This chapter discusses the role of television within Portuguese family life. In particular, it examines how the domestication of television within the home is influenced by the social context in which different types of families live. The research is framed around the theory of domestication and based on 50 semi-structured interviews.1 “Domestication” is the process by which the household and its surroundings (both private and the public), together with the moral and formal or objective economy, are related to each other and become mutually constitutive (Silverstone, Hirsch and Morley 1999). The metaphor of “domestication” originally comes from the taming of wild animals, but has been usefully applied to the “domestication” of information communication technology (ICT), including television, within the home. Silverstone et al. (1999) have developed a range of concepts to capture this process, of which the best known are: “appropriation”, “objectification”, “incorporation” and “conversion”. These categories describe how the entry of ICT into the home is managed; how artefacts are physically (and symbolically) placed within the home; how they are adapted into everyday routines; and how they are displayed to others (Haddon 2007, 26). These four key concepts will be used in this chapter to discuss the importance of television within Portugal as an example of a small country in which there has been little research using this particular theoretical approach. Most studies on Portuguese television have focused on televisual history or come from research into trends in television consumption. The domestication theory is a holistic framework, useful to explain the meaning of television in Portuguese homes in all the stages of its presence in daily life. This forms part of a larger international project entitled Digital Inclusion and Participation: Comparing the Trajectories of Digital Media Use by Majority and Disadvantage Groups in Portugal and in the USA (UT Austin/Portugal Program).

Occurrence of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts in activated sludge samples in Campinas, SP, Brazil

Giardia and Cryptosporidium have caused several outbreaks of gastroenteritis in humans associated with drinking water. Contaminated sewage effluents are recognized as a potential source of waterborne protozoa. Due to the lack of studies about the occurrence of these parasites in sewage samples in Brazil, we compared the efficiency of two procedures for concentrating cysts and oocysts in activated sludge samples of one sewage treatment plant. For this, the samples were submitted to i) concentration by the ether clarification procedure (ECP) and to ii) purification by sucrose flotation method (SFM) and aliquots of the pellets were examined by immunofluorescence. Giardia cysts were present in all samples (100.0%; n = 8) when using ECP and kit 1 reagents, while kit 2 resulted in six positive samples (85.7%; n = 7). As for SFM, cysts were detected in 75.0% and 100.0% of these samples (for kit 1 and 2, respectively). Regarding Cryptosporidium, two samples (25.0%; kit 1 and 28.5% for kit 2) were detected positive by using ECP, while for SFM, only one sample (examined by kit 1) was positive (12.5%). The results of the control trial revealed Giardia and Cryptosporidium recovery efficiency rates for ECP of 54.5% and 9.6%, while SFM was 10.5% and 3.2%, respectively. Considering the high concentration detected, a previous evaluation of the activated sludge before its application in agriculture is recommended and with some improvement, ECP would be an appropriate simple technique for protozoa detection in sewage samples.

Exposure of Lycopersicon Esculentum to Microcystin-LR: Effects in the Leaf Proteome and Toxin Translocation from Water to Leaves and Fruits

Natural toxins such as those produced by freshwater cyanobacteria have been regarded as an emergent environmental threat. However, the impact of these water contaminants in agriculture is not yet fully understood. The aim of this work was to investigate microcystin-LR (MC-LR) toxicity in Lycopersicon esculentum and the toxin accumulation in this horticultural crop. Adult plants (2 month-old) grown in a greenhouse environment were exposed for 2 weeks to either pure MC-LR (100 μg/L) or Microcystis aeruginosa crude extracts containing 100 μg/L MC-LR. Chlorophyll fluorescence was measured, leaf proteome investigated with two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time-of-Flight (MALDI-TOF)/TOF, and toxin bioaccumulation assessed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS)/MS. Variations in several protein markers (ATP synthase subunits, Cytochrome b6-f complex iron-sulfur, oxygen-evolving enhancer proteins) highlight the decrease of the capacity of plants to synthesize ATP and to perform photosynthesis, whereas variations in other proteins (ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase large subunit and ribose-5-phosphate isomerase) suggest an increase of carbon fixation and decrease of carbohydrate metabolism reactions in plants exposed to pure MC-LR and cyanobacterial extracts, respectively. MC-LR was found in roots (1635.21 μg/kg fw), green tomatoes (5.15–5.41 μg/kg fw), mature tomatoes (10.52–10.83 μg/kg fw), and leaves (12,298.18 μg/kg fw). The results raise concerns relative to food safety and point to the necessity of monitoring the bioaccumulation of water toxins in agricultural systems affected by cyanotoxin contamination.

Assessment of groundwater contamination in an agricultural peri-urban area (NW Portugal): an integrated approach

The excessive use of pesticides and fertilisers in agriculture has generated a decrease in groundwater and surface water quality in many regions of the EU, constituting a hazard for human health and the environment. Besides, on-site sewage disposal is an important source of groundwater contamination in urban and peri-urban areas. The assessment of groundwater vulnerability to contamination is an important tool to fulfil the demands of EU Directives. The purpose of this study is to assess the groundwater vulnerability to contamination related mainly to agricultural activities in a peri-urban area (Vila do Conde, NW Portugal). The hydrogeological framework is characterised mainly by fissured granitic basement and sedimentary cover. Water samples were collected and analysed for temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, chloride, phosphate, nitrate and nitrite. An evaluation of groundwater vulnerability to contamination was applied (GOD-S, Pesticide DRASTIC-Fm, SINTACS and SI) and the potential nitrate contamination risk was assessed, both on a hydrogeological GIS-based mapping. A principal component analysis was performed to characterised patterns of relationship among groundwater contamination, vulnerability, and the hydrogeological setting assessed. Levels of nitrate above legislation limits were detected in 75 % of the samples analysed. Alluvia units showed the highest nitrate concentrations and also the highest vulnerability and risk. Nitrate contamination is a serious problem affecting groundwater, particularly shallow aquifers, especially due to agriculture activities, livestock and cesspools. GIS-based cartography provided an accurate way to improve knowledge on water circulation models and global functioning of local aquifer systems. Finally, this study highlights the adequacy of an integrated approach, combining hydrogeochemical data, vulnerability assessments and multivariate analysis, to understand groundwater processes in peri-urban areas.

Determination of permethrin and its metabolites in hearts and urines of rats by GC-ECD and GC-MS

Pyrethroids are pesticides very used in agriculture, which tend to replace organophosfate and carbamate insecticides. These pesticides have shown to exhibit cardiotoxicity. The aim of this study was to assess if cardiotoxicity is due to direct or indirect effects (metabolites) of permethrin on hearts. There were studies 8 rats; three of them were sacrificed after 24 of the end of treatment with permethrin and the other four were sacrificed after 14 days of the end of treatment. Afterwards hearts and urines were collected. The amounts of permethrin and its main metabolite (3-PBA) were evaluated on hearts and urines of female rats which were treated with permethrin and sacrificed the day after and 14 days after the treatment. Moreover has been highlighted the difference of amount of permethrin and its metabolite between rats sacrificed immediately at the end of treatment and those sacrificed after 14 days. The study of permethrin was accomplished by liquid-liquid extraction and GC-ECD. The evaluation of 3-PBA was performed by SPE procedure with 2-PBA as internal standard and gas-chromatography GC-MS. The concentration of permethrin in hearts is basically the same in 24h and 14 days. The 3-PBA concentration in urines decreased 50 times from 24h to 14 days. In hearts the 3-PBA level also decrease but only 2.24 times and a high variation of results were achieved in rats after 14 days.

Characterization of pesticide consumption in the county of Santarém, Pará, Brazil

Many potentially harmful pesticides for both human health and the environment are used in Brazilian Amazon. However, no scientific datum on pesticide usage is presently available for this region. Consequently, it is difficult to assess which substances arc used and in which quantities. As an important premise for future work on pesticide contamination in the county of Santarém (State of Pará, Brazil), a survey was conducted in order to qualify and quantify the use of some pesticides in this region. This investigation was made between January and March 1997 and August and October 1998 and revealed use of several organophosphates, synthetic pyrethroids and carbamates insecticides. Furthermore, many herbicides and fungicides were listed. These pesticides are used for agriculture, domestic, and sanitary programs. This paper also provides a first estimation of quantities of some insecticides commonly used in agriculture (chlorpyrifos, malathion, metamidophos and methyl-parathion). The annual consumption for these four compounds is estimated at ca. 1 910 kg. Organophosphate insecticide consumption in the county of Santarém seems to be lower than the Brazilian average in terms of «per capita» and «per agricultural area» consumptions. Nevertheless, this county uses toxic substances on sensitive environments such as floodplains (várzeas), making relevant a thorough study on the potential contamination of this environment and its biota.

Mulheres (in)visíveis: que "género" de comentadores no horário nobre da televisão?

Dissertação de mestrado em Ciências da Comunicação (área de especialização em Informação e Jornalismo)

Combustion of alternative biomass fuels in a domestic boiler and in a large-scale furnace

Programa Doutoral em Engenharia Mecânica.

Between specialization and globalization. The marketing of agrarian products and its environmental impacts seen from a historical perspective: the province of Barcelona in the mid-nineteenth century

Ecological economics has five good reasons to consider that economic globalisation, spurred by commercial and financial fluxes, to be one of the main driving forces responsible for causing environmental degradation to our planet. The first, is the energy consumption and the socio-environmental impacts which long-distance haulage entails. The second, is the ever-increasing flow of goods to far-away destinations which renders their recycling practically impossible. This is particularly significant, because it prevents the metabolic lock of the nutrients present in food and other agrarian products from taking place. The third, is that the high degree of specialization attained in agriculture, forestry, cattle, mining and industry in each region, generates deleterious effects not only on the eco-landscape structure of the uses of the soil, but on the capability to provide habitat and environmental functions to maintain biodiversity as well

Television and the construction of identity: Barcelona, Olympic host

This document, originally published as part of the book The Keys of success: the social, sporting, economic and communications impact of Barcelona’92, comes from a larger study that looked at all aspects of television in the Olympics and can be found in its original version, in Miquel de Moragas Spà, Nancy K. Rivenburgh and James F. Larson (1996). Television in the Olympics. London: John Libbey.

Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/APCI-MS/MS) methods for the quantification of captan and folpet phthalimide metabolites in human plasma and urine.

Captan and folpet are fungicides largely used in agriculture. They have similar chemical structures, except that folpet has an aromatic ring unlike captan. Their half-lives in blood are very short, given that they are readily broken down to tetrahydrophthalimide (THPI) and phthalimide (PI), respectively. Few authors measured these biomarkers in plasma or urine, and analysis was conducted either by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry or liquid chromatography with UV detection. The objective of this study was thus to develop simple, sensitive and specific liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure chemical ionization-tandem mass spectrometry (LC/APCI-MS/MS) methods to quantify both THPI and PI in human plasma and urine. Briefly, deuterated THPI was added as an internal standard and purification was performed by solid-phase extraction followed by LC/APCI-MS/MS analysis in negative ion mode for both compounds. Validation of the methods was conducted using spiked blank plasma and urine samples at concentrations ranging from 1 to 250 μg/L and 1 to 50 μg/L, respectively, along with samples of volunteers and workers exposed to captan or folpet. The methods showed a good linearity (R (2) > 0.99), recovery (on average 90% for THPI and 75% for PI), intra- and inter-day precision (RSD, <15%) and accuracy (<20%), and stability. The limit of detection was 0.58 μg/L in urine and 1.47 μg/L in plasma for THPI and 1.14 and 2.17 μg/L, respectively, for PI. The described methods proved to be accurate and suitable to determine the toxicokinetics of both metabolites in human plasma and urine.

New records of Mansonella ozzardi: a parasite that is spreading from the state of Amazonas to previously uninfected areas of the state of Acre in the Purus River region

Mansonella ozzardi infections are common in the riverside communities along the Solimões, Negro and Purus Rivers in the state of Amazonas (AM). However, little is known about the presence of this parasite in communities located in regions bordering AM and the state of Acre. The prevalence rate of M. ozzardi infections was determined in blood samples from volunteers according to the Knott method. A total of 355 volunteers from six riverine communities were enrolled in the study and 65 (18.3%) were found to be infected with M. ozzardi. As expected, most of the infections (25%) occurred in individuals involved in agriculture, cattle rearing and fishing and an age/sex group analysis revealed that the prevalence increased beginning in the 40-50-years-of-age group and reached 33% in both sexes in individuals over 50 years of age. Based on the described symptomatology, articular pain and headache were found to be significantly higher among infected individuals (56 and 65% prevalence, respectively, p < 0.05). Sera from volunteers were subjected to ELISA using a cocktail of recombinant proteins from Onchocerca volvulus to evaluate the specificity of the test in an endemic M. ozzardi region. No cross-reactions between M. ozzardi-infected individuals and recombinant O. volvulusproteins were detected, thus providing information on the secure use of this particular cocktail in areas where these parasites are sympatric.

Agriculture, technological change and environmental sustainability: Looking for a win-win water policy strategy

This paper analyses the effects that technological changes in agriculture would have on environmental, social and economic indicators. Specifically, our study is focused on two alternative technological improvements: the modernization of water transportation systems versus the increase in the total factor productivity of agriculture. Using a computable general equilibrium model for the Catalan economy, our results suggest that a water policy that leads to greater economic efficiency is not necessarily optimal if we consider social or environmental criteria. Moreover, improving environmental sustainability depends less on the type of technological change than on the institutional framework in which technological change occurs. Keywords: agricultural technological changes, computable general equilibrium model, economic impact, water policy