The rational search for natural neolignans

A rational method of search for natural neolignans of desired structures is outlined. This involves consultation of a collection of chemical profiles of plant families. The profiles are assembled considering the biosynthetic class (in the present case lignoids), subclass (neolignans), structural types (neolignan skeleta) and relative frequency of substitutional derivatives belonging to each type (known compounds). The method is of course applicable to ani class of natural products. Its use in the case of neolignans is here selected as an exemple in view of the recently discovered antagonism towards PAF of kadsurenone, a representative of this subclass of phytochemicals. Application of the chemical profiles to phylogenetic studies is illustrated.

Col·laboració a l'estudi de les plantes invasores del Parc Natural de l'Alt Pirineu: cartografia de detall i recull de mesures de gestió

La intrusió de les plantes exòtiques invasores en els espais naturals protegits de Catalunya s’ha convertit en un problema de primer ordre. En alguns d’aquests espais fa temps que s’han començat a gestionar aquestes espècies exòtiques. No és el cas del PNAP, que degut a la seva recent creació, encara no ha pogut tractar a fons aquesta problemàtica. Per tant, amb el present estudi s’ha treballat en conèixer la distribució d’aquetes espècies en el Parc i en crear una base de referència. La major part de les plantes trobades estan situades en llocs on la pressió humana es molt forta. Un cop establertes prop de les àrees més antropitzades, aquestes espècies es disseminen pel territori aprofitant-se de les zones degradades per establir-se. Per aquesta raó, també es proposen les mesures d’actuació més adients per a gestionar aquestes espècies en el territori de l’Alt Pirineu, prenent com a referent les actuacions que es duen a terme avui arreu del món.

A Importância do Ecoturismo no Património Arquitectónico de Cabo Verde das Potencialidades à Prática

Desde a última década do séc. XX, o turismo em Cabo Verde tem sido um dos sectores que mais cresce, atraindo maior investimento directo estrangeiro. Contudo, este crescimento gerou também maior pressão sobre os recursos existentes, com impactes negativos a vários níveis. Tem-se reflectido e discutido a sustentabilidade do turismo em território nacional, com objectivos claros de valorização do destino turístico cabo-verdiano, através da conservação e melhoria do ambiente natural, social e cultural. A aposta das autoridades cabo-verdianas no incremento do turismo para o séc. XXI levou a eleição do ecoturismo como a actividade de futuro, com o objectivo de melhorar a competitividade da oferta turística, ser uma alternativa no sector. Uma actividade que pode ser implementada em qualquer ilha, desde que bem aproveitada a vasta oferta de produtos existentes, envolva e forme a população da importância da conservação da biodiversidade e contribua para a erradicação da pobreza ao gerar recursos económicos para as comunidades locais. Deste modo, se requer pensar que arquitectura para o planeamento e realização de infra- estruturas físicas para o adequado desenvolvimento do ecoturismo em Cabo Verde. Os actores directos como os arquitectos, engenheiros civis e planeadores têm uma enorme responsabilidade ao desenhar e executar obras para o turismo, sobre tudo em ecossistemas de grande fragilidade como os que caracterizam as áreas naturais. Sendo um assunto relativamente recente no país, ainda não se criaram normas, regras, directivas claras para o desenvolvimento deste tipo de infra-estruturas turísticas. Em muitos casos, são os próprios desenhadores e construtores, bem como aos seus clientes, quando demonstram alguma sensibilidade na conservação e preservação de áreas de significação ecológica, estabelecem os seus próprios critérios de desenho e códigos éticos que garantam o mínimo de impacte ambiental e uma interacção harmoniosa e sustentável entre a obra física e os espaços circundantes. O presente trabalho tem como objectivo discutir e analisar qual a importância do ecoturismo no panorama arquitectónico cabo-verdiano e se este turismo sustentável será apenas uma ideia teórica, um modelo ideal de actividade ou passível de ser aplicável, de se observar na prática.

Evaluation of physical quality indices of a soil under a seasonal semideciduous forest

The concept of soil quality is currently the subject of great discussion due to the interaction of soil with the environment (soil-plant-atmosphere) and practices of human intervention. However, concepts of soil quality relate quality to agricultural productivity, but assessment of soil quality in an agronomic context may be different from its assessment in natural areas. The aim of this study was to assess physical quality indices, the S index, soil aeration capacity (ACt/Pt), and water storage capacity (FC/Pt) of the soil from a permanent plot in the Caetetus Ecological Reserve (Galia, São Paulo, Brazil) under a seasonal semideciduous forest and compare them with the reference values for soil physical quality found in the literature. Water retention curves were used for that purpose. The S values found were higher than the proposed limit for soil physical quality (0.035). The A and E horizons showed the highest values because their sandy texture leads to a high slope of the water retention curve. The B horizons showed the lowest S values because their natural density leads to a lower slope of the water retention curve. The values found for ACt/Pt and FC/Pt were higher and lower than the idealized limits. The values obtained from these indices under natural vegetation can provide reference values for soils with similar properties that undergo changes due to anthropic activities. All the indices evaluated were effective in differentiating the effects of soil horizons in the natural hydro-physical functioning of the soils under study.

An improved approach for predicting the distribution of rare and endangered species from occurrence and pseudo-absence data

1. Few examples of habitat-modelling studies of rare and endangered species exist in the literature, although from a conservation perspective predicting their distribution would prove particularly useful. Paucity of data and lack of valid absences are the probable reasons for this shortcoming. Analytic solutions to accommodate the lack of absence include the ecological niche factor analysis (ENFA) and the use of generalized linear models (GLM) with simulated pseudo-absences. 2. In this study we tested a new approach to generating pseudo-absences, based on a preliminary ENFA habitat suitability (HS) map, for the endangered species Eryngium alpinum. This method of generating pseudo-absences was compared with two others: (i) use of a GLM with pseudo-absences generated totally at random, and (ii) use of an ENFA only. 3. The influence of two different spatial resolutions (i.e. grain) was also assessed for tackling the dilemma of quality (grain) vs. quantity (number of occurrences). Each combination of the three above-mentioned methods with the two grains generated a distinct HS map. 4. Four evaluation measures were used for comparing these HS maps: total deviance explained, best kappa, Gini coefficient and minimal predicted area (MPA). The last is a new evaluation criterion proposed in this study. 5. Results showed that (i) GLM models using ENFA-weighted pseudo-absence provide better results, except for the MPA value, and that (ii) quality (spatial resolution and locational accuracy) of the data appears to be more important than quantity (number of occurrences). Furthermore, the proposed MPA value is suggested as a useful measure of model evaluation when used to complement classical statistical measures. 6. Synthesis and applications. We suggest that the use of ENFA-weighted pseudo-absence is a possible way to enhance the quality of GLM-based potential distribution maps and that data quality (i.e. spatial resolution) prevails over quantity (i.e. number of data). Increased accuracy of potential distribution maps could help to define better suitable areas for species protection and reintroduction.

Patrons de distribució de la flora invasora a la Vall d'Alinyà, evolució de la presència i propostes de gestió des de la perspectiva de l'ecologia aplicada

Tot i que la creixent amenaça de les plantes exòtiques invasores en els espais naturals és un fet evident, aquest problema és gairebé desconegut a la Vall d'Alinyà. Es van estudiar set punts de mostreig associats a quatre tipologies d'hàbitat per esbrinar la distribució de les plantes invasores en la Vall d'Alinyà, així com canvis recents en la seva composició, abundància i en el rang de distribució a partir de fonts bibliogràfiques. Es va desenvolupar un índex per quantificar la problemàtica de les invasions de flora exòtica en els diferents hàbitats estudiats. Els focus d'invasió van resultar estar associats a zones pertorbades, nuclis de població i baixes altituds. El canvi climàtic i els canvis en els usos del sòl podrien estar jugant un paper essencial en l'aparició de noves plantes invasores i en l'increment tant de l'abundància com de la cota altitudinal dels nivells més grans d'invasió. Tot i que la problemàtica associada a les plantes invasores en la Vall d'Alinyà és generalment baixa, algunes espècies com Senecio inaequidens representen una amenaça per a l'espai, motiu pel qual es proposa un pla de gestió per a la flora invasora.

Pla de gestió sostenible de la finca de la Casanova de dalt

En aquest Treball de Final de Grau es proposa un pla de gestió per a la finca de propietat privada de la Casanova de Dalt, situada al municipi de les Masies de Voltregà, a Osona. Aquesta finca no disposa de cap element que gestioni el patrimoni natural i cultural que conté, per aquest motiu és de gran interès la seva redacció. L’objectiu del projecte és analitzar els valors que posseeix la finca: faunístics, florístics, paisatgístics, culturals, etc. per avaluar la importància d’aquesta com a punt estratègic dins la comarca, ja que actua com a connector ecològic entre diferents espais protegits de la zona. Un cop obtinguda tota la informació s’han proposat uns objectius per a la finca i un seguit d’estratègies per aconseguir els objectius establerts. Com a resultats del projecte s’han elaborat 7 fitxes d’actuació per dur a terme a la finca. Aquestes fitxes corresponen a estratègies per a la gestió de l’espai i es basen en dues línies principals de treball, la conservació de la biodiversitat i l’ordenació d’usos. La primera està enfocada en conservar els principals valors naturals que presenta la finca i la segona està dirigida a fer compatibles les activitats ago-ramaderes que s’hi duen a terme amb els anteriors valors.

Effect of Seasonal Dynamics on Queen Densities of the Argentine Ant (Linepithema Humile) in an Invaded Natural Area of the NE Iberian Peninsula

The annual elimination of large numbers of Argentine ant queens near the advance front of an invasion could be a useful tool for weakening the species’ dispersion and, therefore, limiting its establishment in non-invaded areas. However, before carrying out trials to test the effectiveness of this method it would be essential to have sufficient knowledge of the effect of seasonal dynamics acting on the queens’ densities of the species in order to determine the most favourable period of the year to act. We analyzed the seasonal densities and nest dynamics of Argentine ant queens in an invaded Mediterranean natural ecosystem. We observed that the queens’ density varied depending on the season of the year and that this variation was mainly due to the seasonal dynamics of nest aggregations in winter and ant dispersions in summer. The greatest densities per litre of nest soil were observed in winter (December to March, approximately) and the lowest densities were observed in summer ( June to July). This information is essential for improving current knowledge of the Argentine ant’s biology and developing control methods based on the elimination of queens in invaded natural areas

Managing the Pricing of Integrated Solutions in Export Partnerships

Little research has been conducted to guide the management of marketing variables, such as pricing, in systems business context. Furthermore, given that international partnering has become a popular mode of operation for SMEs, the objective of the current thesis was to explore the scantly researched topic of managing the pricing of integrated solutions in an export partnership. Specifically, the thesis synthesizes literature findings from the three areas of export pricing, systems business, and export partnerships. The empirical section of the study consists of a qualitative single-case study of a Finnish systems integrator that has recently launched its export operations. Primary data was collected by conducting four interviews of the case company’s managers and by organizing one group interview session. The study findings indicate that a systems integrator’s pricing strategy in an export partnership can be very multidimensional and dependant on international pricing environment and partner characteristics, that an export partnership appears to have unique implications on a systems integrator’s pricing process, and that customer value –based pricing strategies might be particularly suited to pricing integrated solutions.

Seasonality of net radiation in two sub-basins of Paracatu by the use of modis sensor products

The net radiation (Rn) represents the main source of energy for physical and chemical processes that occur in the surface-atmosphere interface, and it is used for air and soil heating, water transfer, in the form of vapor from the surface to the atmosphere, and for the metabolism of plants, especially photosynthesis. If there is no record of net radiation in certain areas, the use of information is important to help determine it. Among them we can highlight those provided by remote sensing. In this context, this work aims to estimate the net radiation, with the use of products of MODIS sensor, in the sub-basins of Entre Ribeiros creek and Preto River, located between the Brazilian states of Goiás and Minas Gerais. The SEBAL (Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land) was used to obtain the Rn in four different days in the period of July to October, 2007. The Rn results obtained were consistent with others cited in the literature and are important because the orbital information can help determine the Rn in areas where there are not automatic weather stations to record the net radiation.

Inulin production by Vernonia herbacea as influenced by mineral fertilization and time of harvest

The underground organs of Vernonia herbacea (Vell.) Rusby, known as rhizophores, acumulate 80% of their dry mass as fructans of the inulin type. In view of the growing industrial use of fructans as dietetic and general food products, and of their medical application, the present investigation aimed at evaluating the effect of mineral fertilization and period of cultivation on the production of these carbohydrates in field trials. Plants used in the experiments were obtained by vegetative propagation from rhizophores collected from plants growing in natural areas of the cerrado, and cultivated for two years. Fertilization consisted of N:P2O5:K2O (80:200:150 kg.ha-1) plus 80 kg.ha-1 nitrogen as dressing. Soil fertilization did not stimulate biomass or inulin production, but in the second year of cultivation a dramatic gain in biomass and inulin was detected in both treated and control plants. Inulin production varied from 113 to 674 kg.ha-1 which corresponds to 43% of the rhizophore dry mass. The composition of fructans was not altered by fertilization, although treated plants had a higher proportion of sucrose and fructans with degree of polymerization 3-8 in the second year of cultivation. The results identify this species as a fructan source similar to other commercial crops and recommend further agronomic studies, aimed at increasing the production of this polysaccharide.

Le toit comme outil de régulation environnementale : le cas montréalais.

Cette recherche s’inscrit dans le cadre du programme interdisciplinaire de recherche Ignis Mutat Res et vise à éclairer l’univers de l’architecture sur la capacité des toits à amener des solutions efficaces aux problématiques environnementales dans un contexte urbain dense et à forte consommation d'énergie. La volonté de réduire l’empreinte écologique des villes est aujourd’hui bien présente dans le monde de la recherche architecturale et urbaine, ayant ainsi fait preuve de son importance. Pourtant, la réduction de l’empreinte écologique des villes serait une approche globale difficile à quantifier économiquement. Le manque de méthodologie standardisée fait en sorte que les travaux sur le sujet empruntent des démarches qui ne dépassent pas l’étape exploratoire. Dans ce contexte, le mémoire porte sur l’élaboration d’un dispositif numérique d’évaluation des potentialités des toits horizontaux comme un outil d’aide à la décision pour les interventions urbaines visant à réduire l’empreinte écologique des villes, en utilisant le cas de Montréal. Ce type de toit est abordé comme un territoire d’investigation en contribution aux préoccupations reliées à la gestion de l’eau et à l’atténuation des îlots de chaleur. Plus précisément, cette recherche porte sur trois secteurs de l'île de Montréal. Ces échantillons correspondent à deux types de formes urbaines (résidentielle versus commerciale ou industrielle) et sont décortiqués dans le but d’identifier les déséquilibres entre les espaces naturels, faisant référence aux espaces verts (jardins, parcs et canopées) et les étendues minérales occasionnées par l'urbanisation. Ces rapports exprimés en superficies démontrent que l’étendue des toits est assez considérable pour compenser le manque d’espaces naturels en ville. La végétalisation des toits à l’échelle d’un secteur pourrait donc atténuer considérablement les problèmes environnementaux liés aux îlots de chaleur et à la gestion du ruissellement des eaux de pluie. La stratégie consistant à explorer l'hypothèse des 50 % de naturel versus 50 % de minéral pourrait contribuer grandement à l’autonomisation des villes et à la diminution de leurs dépendances vis-à-vis des ressources fossiles.

Studies on the Bioactive Natural Antioxidants From Oilseeds

Antioxidants are substances that when present at low concentrations compared to that of an oxidisable substrate significantly delays or inhibits oxidation of that substrate in food products or in living systems. Antioxidants are either endogenous to the body or derived from the diet. Several types of synthetic antioxidants like BHT, BHA, TBHQ etc. are also used in the food industry. However, findings and subsequent publicity has fostered significant consumer resistance to the use of synthetic food additives as antioxidants, colourants etc. and therefore food industry is in search of potential natural antioxidants from edible sources.The major dietary sources of antioxidant phytochemicals are cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, beverages, spices and herbs. In the present study, we have focused on rice bran and its byproducts. Rice is one of the oldest of food crops and has been a staple food in India from very ancient times. It is also the staple food for about 60% of the world's population. Rice bran is a byproduct of the rice milling industry and is a potential commercial source of a healthy edible oil viz. rice bran oil and a variety of bio-active phytochemicals.Defatted rice bran (DRB), a byproduct of rice bran oil extraction, is also a good source of insoluble dietary fiber, protein, phytic acid, inosito I, vitamin B and a variety of other phytochemicals. Though the antioxidant potential of DRB has been demonstrated, it still remained a relatively unexplored source material, which demanded further investigation especially with regard to its detailed phytochemical profile leading to practical application. The focus of the present investigation therefore has been on DRB primarily to establish its phytochemical status and feasibility of using it as a source of bio-active phytochemicals and natural antioxidants leading to value addition of DRB otherwise used as cattle feed. To gain a better understanding of the value of rice bran as a source of phytochemicals, five popular rice varieties of the region viz. PTB 50, PTB 39, PTB 38, JA Y A, and MO 10 and a wild variety (oryza nivara) that is mainly used for medicinal applications in traditional ayurvedic system were characterized along with commercial samples of rice bran. The present study also explains the feasibility of a process for the extraction, enrichment, and isolation of antioxidant compounds from DRB. The antioxidant potential of the extracts were evaluated both in bulk oils and in food relevant model emulsions, using standard in vitro models. Radical scavenging effects, indicative of possible biological effects, were also evaluated.

Spatio-Temporal Changes in the Wetland Ecosystem of Cochin City using Remote Sensing and GIS

Urban developments have exerted immense pressure on wetlands. Urban areas are normally centers of commercial activity and continue to attract migrants in large numbers in search of employment from different areas. As a result, habitations keep coming up in the natural areas / flood plains. This is happening in various Indian cities and towns and large habitations are coming up in low-lying areas, often encroaching even over drainage channels. In some cases, houses are constructed even on top of nallahs and drains. In the case of Kochi the situation is even worse as the base of the urban development itself stands on a completely reclaimed island. Also the topography and geology demanded more reclamation of land when the city developed as an agglomerative cluster. Cochin is a coastal settlement interspersed with a large backwater system and fringed on the eastern side by laterite-capped low hills from which a number of streams drain into the backwater system. The ridge line of the eastern low hills provides a welldefined watershed delimiting Cochin basin which help to confine the environmental parameters within a physical limit. This leads to an obvious conclusion that if physiography alone is considered, the western flatland is ideal for urban development. However it will result in serious environmental deterioration, as it comprises mainly of wetland and for availability of land there has to be large scale filling up of these wetlands which includes shallow mangrove-fringed water sheets, paddy fields, Pokkali fields, estuary etc.Chapter 1 School 4 of Environmental Studies The urban boundaries of Cochin are expanding fast with a consequent over-stretching of the existing fabric of basic amenities and services. Urbanisation leads to the transformation of agricultural land into built-up areas with the concomitant problems regarding water supply, drainage, garbage and sewage disposal etc. Many of the environmental problems of Cochin are hydrologic in origin; like water-logging / floods, sedimentation and pollution in the water bodies as well as shoreline erosion