Modeling Porphyra Haitenansis grouth in Huangdun Bay

Dissertação de Mestrado, Gestão da Água e da Costa, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2007

The role of papyrus plants (Cyperus papyrus) and internal waves in the nutrient balance of Lake Victoria, East Africa

Dissertação mest., Gestão da água e da costa, Universidade do Algarve, 2007

Absorption coefficient of particulate matter on the south-west coast of Europe: a contribution to the validation of the MERIS-Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer sensor

Dissolved oxygen (DO) is one of the most important environmental variables of water quality, especially for marine life. Consequently, oxygen is one of the Chemical Quality Elements required for the implementation of European Union Water Framework Directive. This study uses the example of the Ria Formosa, a meso-tidal lagoon on the south coast of Portugal to demonstrate how monitoring of water quality for coastal waters must be well designed to identify symptoms of episodic hypoxia. New data from the western end of the Ria Formosa were compared to values in a database of historical data and in the published literature to identify long-term trends. The dissolved oxygen concentration values in the database and in the literature were generally higher than those found in this study, where episodic hypoxia was observed during the summer. Analysis of the database showed that the discrepancy was probably related with the time and the sites where the samples had been collected, rather than a long-term trend. The most problematic situations were within the inner lagoon near the city of Faro, where episodic hypoxia (<2 mg dm3 DO) occurred regularly in the early morning. These results emphasise the need for a balanced sampling strategy for oxygen monitoring which includes all periods of the day and night, as well as a representative range of sites throughout the lagoon. Such a strategy would provide adequate data to apply management measures to reduce the risk of more persistent hypoxia that would impact on the ecological, important natural resource. economic and leisure uses of this important natural resource.

Eutrophication and some European waters of restricted exchange

Regions of Restricted Exchange (RREs) are an important feature of the European coastline. They are historically preferred sites for human settlement and aquaculture and their ecosystems, and consequent human use, may be at risk from eutrophication. The OAERRE project (EVK3-CT1999-0002 concerns ‘Oceanographic Applications to Eutrophication in Regions of Restricted Exchange’. It began in July 2000, and studies six sites. Four of these sites are fjords: Kongsfjorden (west coast of Spitzbergen); Gullmaren (Skagerrak coast of Sweden); Himmerfj.arden (Baltic coast of Sweden); and the Firth of Clyde (west coast of Scotland). Two are bays sheltered by sand bars: Golfe de Fos (French Mediterranean); and Ria Formosa (Portuguese Algarve). Together they exemplify a range of hydrographic and enrichment conditions. The project aims to understand the physical, biogeochemical and biological processes, and their interactions, that determine the trophic status of these coastal marine RRE through the development of simple screening models to define, predict and assess eutrophication. This paper introduces the sites and describes the component parts of a basic screening model and its application to each site using historical data. The model forms the starting point for the OAERRE project and views an RRE as a well-mixed box, exchanging with the sea at a daily rate E determined by physical processes, and converting nutrient to phytoplankton chlorophyll at a fixed yield q: It thus uses nutrient levels to estimate maximum biomass; these preliminary results are discussed in relation to objective criteria used to assess trophic status. The influence of factors such as grazing and vertical mixing on key parameters in the screening model are further studied using simulations of a complex‘research’ model for the Firth of Clyde. The future development of screening models in general and within OAERRE in particular is discussed. In addition, the paper looks ahead with a broad discussion of progress in the scientific understanding of eutrophication and the legal and socioeconomic issues that need to be taken into account in managing the trophic status of RREs.

Microplankton composition, production and upwelling dynamics in Sagres (SW Portugal) during summer 2001

Microplankton community, production, and respiration were studied alongside physical and chemical conditions at Sagres (SW Portugal) during the upwelling season, from May to September 2001. The sampling station was 5 km east of the upwelling center off Cabo S. Vicente, and 2 km of an offshore installation for bivalve aquaculture.

Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone, LOICZ: lessons from Banda Aceh, Atlantis, and Canute

This special issue of Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science synthesizes and updates the developments in science related to Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ). Frequent updates about the dynamic coastal zone are useful and necessary as global change accelerates. There is an urgent need to improve the knowledge and understanding of the vulnerability of society and ecosystems to global change hazards in the coastal zone (Vermaat et al., 2005). The collection of papers in this special issue places new developments, findings, techniques and insights within the context of LOICZ science. For the convenience of the reader, the references to papers included in this special issue are printed in italic, whereas other references to LOICZ science are in normal print.

Understanding the importance of sediments to water ouality in coastal shallow lagoons

The undesirable enrichment of water by nutrients may be a problem, especially in areas with restricted exchange with the sea. The tidal regime flushes the system and contributes for the removal of phytoplankton, favouring phytobenthos as the target of enhanced nutrients. Water samples were collected during the years of 2006 and 2007-08 for nutrients, chlorophyll a and dissolved oxygen. Sediment sample s were also collected for pore water nutrients and benthic chlorophyll a. From comparison with previous work, a decrease in the nitrogen concentration in the water column can be pointed out, which may indicate an improvement of the water quality. Pore water DAIN represents approximately 75% of the total DAIN of the whole lagoon. Benthic chlorophyll a concentrations were much larger than in the water column, representing around 99% of the total chlorophyll existent in the lagoon. Benthic microalgae play a relevant role in this system and therefore standard monitoring programs of the WFD, which do not consider this component, may fail to track nutrient-driven changes in primary producers. Dissolved oxygen concentration could be near critical levels during the summer (early in the morning), especially in the inner channels.

Water framework directive implementation: intercalibration exercise for biological quality elements: a case study for the south coast of Portugal

This work summarises the Intercalibration Exercise (IE) required for the Common Implementation Strategy of the Water Framework Directive (WFD; 2000/60/EC) that was carried out in Portugal, and applied to a coastal region. The WFD aims to achieve good ec ological status for all waters in the European Community by 2015. The Ecological Status of a water body is determined us ing a range of Hydromorphological and Physico-Chemical Quality Elements as well Biological Quality Elements (BQE ). In coastal waters, the Biological Elements include Phytoplankton, Other Aquatic Flora and Benthic Inverteb rate Fauna. Good cooperation with the other Member States allowed the IE to proceed without a complete da ta set, and Portugal was ab le to intercalibrate and harmonise methods within the North Ea st Atlantic Geographica l Intercalibration Group for most of the BQE. The appropriate metrics and corre sponding methods were agreed under the framework of the RECITAL (Reference Conditions and Intercalibra tion) project, funded by the Port uguese Water Institu te, INAG. Some preliminary sampling was undertaken, but not su fficient to establish the Reference Conditions. The study area was a coastal lagoon in the southern part of Portugal. The focus was on the Phytoplankton Quality Element, but other BQE were also taken into account. Two sampli ng stations in Ria Formosa coastal lagoon were considered in this exercise: Ramalhete a nd Ponte. The metrics adopted by the Intercalibration Exercise groups were applied enabli ng the classification for the two sta tions of Good/High Status for the majority of the BQE parameters.

Beach quality assessment and management in the Sotavento (Eastern) Algarve, Portugal

The purpose of this study on beach quality assessment and management was to evaluate the quality of five beaches in the Algarve Sotavento region of Portugal and to identify beach users’ preferences and priorities regarding their visit to a beach. The Algarve is one of the country’s most internationally known regions and it is generally perceived as a major tourist destination. Because of the increasing level of tourists, there is a specific need to address beach quality, as overcrowding can result in excessive litter, reduce water quality and consequently reduce the socio-economic value of the area. The main methodology for the evaluation of the beach quality in this pilot project was the Bathing Area Registration and Evaluation framework (BARE), which recognizes five beach types (rural, remote, resort, urban and village) through five main priority issues of concern to beach users (water quality, scenery, litter, safety, facilities) and evaluates the beach quality, ranging from one (low) to five (high) stars. After overall bathing area classification, Quarteira-Vilamoura, Ilha do Farol, Ilha Deserta and Ilha da Armona received three-star rating and Quinta do Lago site obtained a one-star rating. The quantitative research data on beach users’ preferences and priorities was obtained through administration of 50 questionnaires per beach and showed that beach users at all sites expressed the need for improved cleanliness, safety and facilities on the beach. The BARE framework, together with the questionnaire surveys, allowed the identification of management priorities required to improve the quality of individual beaches and therefore increase income from tourism.

Processamento de emoções em traumatismos crânio-encefálicos frontais

Os traumatismos crânio-encefálicos (TCE) são a causa mais frequente de lesão cerebral em jovens adultos, integrando o campo de intervenção mais frequente na prática neuropsicológica (Portellano, 2005), sendo o lobo frontal uma das estruturas cerebrais mais vulneráveis ao impacto que ocorre no cérebro durante um TCE. Lesões nesta estrutura cerebral estão frequentemente associadas a sequelas em diferentes funções cognitivas, alterações a nível do comportamento emocional e social e que podem alterar gravemente o estilo de vida do doente. Está bem documentado na literatura a relação entre o reconhecimento visual de emoções e o lobo frontal (ver, por exemplo Green, Turner, & Thompson, 2004; Croker & McDonald, 2005; Radice-Neumanet al., 2007). Os estudos indicam uma marcada dificuldade por partes destes sujeitos no reconhecimento visual de emoções básicas e uma associação entre esta dificuldade e as sequelas comportamentais (ver, por exemplo, Radice-Neumanet al., 2007). Relativamente à valência das emoções, investigações prévias indicam que existe uma maior dificuldade no reconhecimento das emoções negativas, comparativamente às emoções positivas, sendo consensual que a alegria é a emoção básica mais bem reconhecida no grupo clínico de sujeitos com TCE, quando comparados com grupos não-clínicos. Pretendemos com a presente investigação dar continuidade ao estudo sobre o processamento de emoções e verificar se existe um compromisso no reconhecimento visual de emoções básicas em doentes com TCE frontais. Adicionalmente, procuramos investigar se existe uma associação entre o reconhecimento de emoções e o desempenho dos sujeitos em provas que avaliam o funcionamento executivo. Participaram no estudo 17 sujeitos com TCE recente no lobo frontal, e/ou em regiões subcorticais com conexão aos lobos frontais, recrutados nas unidades de Neurotraumatologia, Neuropsicologia e de Neurocirurgia do Hospital de S. José, em Lisboa. Este grupo foi emparelhado a um grupo de controlo constituído por 17 sujeitos saudáveis. A ambos os grupos foi aplicada uma entrevista clínica para recolha de dados sócio-demográficos e clínicos, testes neuropsicológicos para avaliação das funções executivas e cinco sub-testes adaptados da Florida Affect Battery (FAB) para avaliar o processamento de emoções. No geral, os resultados revelam um desempenho estatisticamente inferior no grupo TCE nas provas de avaliação do reconhecimento visual de emoções, quando comparado com o grupo de controlo, sobretudo para as emoções “triste” e “zangada”. Contudo, não existe compromisso no reconhecimento da emoção “alegria”. Relativamente às funções executivas, os resultados do estudo indicam que existe correlação entre a maioria das componentes avaliadas e o reconhecimento de emoções. Em suma, o nosso estudo indica a existência de um compromisso no reconhecimento visual de emoções no grupo clínico com TCE, sendo a dificuldade superior no reconhecimento de emoções negativas. Demonstramos também uma correlação inequívoca entre a disfunção executiva e a dificuldade no reconhecimento de emoções nos doentes com TCE.

"Picture yourself in my place": Fitzgerald em Hollywood

Esta dissertação estuda a intertextualidade entre as obras literárias de F. Scott Fitzgerald e a escrita para cinema nos anos formativos de Hollywood das décadas de 1920 e 30, assim como a influência da sétima arte não só nos romances de Fitzgerald, como em alguma literatura norte-americana da época. Por outro lado, considerando o trabalho de Fitzgerald como argumentista em Hollywood, analisa-se alguns dos guiões em que colaborou, comparando a linguagem cinematográfica da sua prosa com a literária do seu cinema. Na experiência e obra de Fitzgerald está representada uma questão paradigmática sobre a eterna relação de amor e ódio, influência e angústia, ou “angústia da influência” (para tomar emprestado o conceito de Harold Bloom), entre a literatura e o cinema, ao mesmo tempo que nos leva a parafrasear a pergunta de Michel Foucault: o que é um autor no cinema?

Otimização da fragmentação e dos processos de fixação na reprodução assexuada do coral mole Sarcophyton sp.

Dissertação de mestrado, Aquacultura e Pescas (Aquacultura), Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2015

Prediction of breast cancer risk based on profiling with common genetic variants

BACKGROUND: Data for multiple common susceptibility alleles for breast cancer may be combined to identify women at different levels of breast cancer risk. Such stratification could guide preventive and screening strategies. However, empirical evidence for genetic risk stratification is lacking. METHODS: We investigated the value of using 77 breast cancer-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for risk stratification, in a study of 33 673 breast cancer cases and 33 381 control women of European origin. We tested all possible pair-wise multiplicative interactions and constructed a 77-SNP polygenic risk score (PRS) for breast cancer overall and by estrogen receptor (ER) status. Absolute risks of breast cancer by PRS were derived from relative risk estimates and UK incidence and mortality rates. RESULTS: There was no strong evidence for departure from a multiplicative model for any SNP pair. Women in the highest 1% of the PRS had a three-fold increased risk of developing breast cancer compared with women in the middle quintile (odds ratio [OR] = 3.36, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.95 to 3.83). The ORs for ER-positive and ER-negative disease were 3.73 (95% CI = 3.24 to 4.30) and 2.80 (95% CI = 2.26 to 3.46), respectively. Lifetime risk of breast cancer for women in the lowest and highest quintiles of the PRS were 5.2% and 16.6% for a woman without family history, and 8.6% and 24.4% for a woman with a first-degree family history of breast cancer. CONCLUSIONS: The PRS stratifies breast cancer risk in women both with and without a family history of breast cancer. The observed level of risk discrimination could inform targeted screening and prevention strategies. Further discrimination may be achievable through combining the PRS with lifestyle/environmental factors, although these were not considered in this report.

Desenvolvimento e estudo de modelos de FACTS para o trânsito de energia: aplicação ao estudo das condições técnicas de ligação de linhas MAT

Dissertação para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Electrotécnica Ramo de Energia