RCAAP Repository

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Cork oak (Quercus suber) is native to southwest Europe and northwest Africa where it plays a crucial environmental and economical role. To tackle the cork oak production and industrial challenges, advanced research is imperative but dependent on the availability of a sequenced genome. To address this, we produced the first draft version of the cork oak genome. We followed a de novo assembly strategy based on high-throughput sequence data, which generated a draft genome comprising 23,347 scaffolds and 953.3 Mb in size. A total of 79,752 genes and 83,814 transcripts were predicted, including 33,658 high-confidence genes. An InterPro signature assignment was detected for 69,218 transcripts, which represented 82.6% of the total. Validation studies demonstrated the genome assembly and annotation completeness and highlighted the usefulness of the draft genome for read mapping of high-throughput sequence data generated using different protocols. All data generated is available through the public databases where it was deposited, being therefore ready to use by the academic and industry communities working on cork oak and/or related species.

Although it is generally accepted that δ15N in lichen reflects predominating N isotope sources in the environment, confirmation of the direct correlation between lichen δ15N and atmospheric δ15N is still missing, especially under field conditions with most confounding factors controlled. To fill this gap and investigate the response of lichens with different tolerance to atmospheric N deposition, thalli of the sensitive Evernia prunastri and the tolerant Xanthoria parietina were exposed for ten weeks to different forms and doses of N in a field manipulation experiment where confounding factors were minimized. During this period, several parameters, namely total N, δ15N and chlorophyll a fluorescence, were measured. Under the experimental conditions, δ15N in lichens quantitatively responded to the δ15N of released gaseous ammonia (NH3). Although a high correlation between the isotopic signatures in lichen tissue and supplied N was found both in tolerant and sensitive species, chlorophyll a fluorescence indicated that the sensitive species very soon lost its photosynthetic functionality with increasing N availability. The most damaging response to the different N chemical forms was observed with dry deposition of NH3, although wet deposition of ammonium ions had a significant observable physiological impact. Conversely, there was no significant effect of nitrate ions on chlorophyll a fluorescence, implying differential sensitivity to dry deposition versus wet deposition and to ammonium versus nitrate in wet deposition. Evernia prunastri was most sensitive to NH3, then NH4+, with lowest sensitivity to NO3−. Moreover, these results confirm that lichen δ15N can be used to indicate the δ15N of atmospheric ammonia, providing a suitable tool for the interpretation of the spatial distribution of NH3 sources in relation to their δ15N signal.

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Os estudos internacionais de avaliação das aprendizagens dos alunos têm vindo a ganhar uma importância e uma notoriedade crescentes a partir dos anos 80 do passado século. Em particular, houve um claro incremento destes estudos com o Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) da International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), em meados dos anos 90, e o Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) da Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), na primeira década deste século. Pelo menos três razões podem justificar este facto. As sociedades de hoje são bem mais interdependentes dos pontos de vista económico, social, político e tecnológico, são mais abertas e as pessoas têm uma capacidade muito maior de mobilidade. As sociedades são mais multiculturais, mais competitivas e mais exigentes a todos os níveis. Os sistemas educativos confrontam-se com populações de estudantes que nada têm a ver com as populações, essencialmente homogéneas, de há 30 ou 40 anos atrás. O incremento de estudos de avaliação terá um pouco a ver com tudo isto, pois os países precisam que os seus sistemas educativos respondam melhor às necessidades de formação, às legítimas aspirações e às motivações dos jovens, assim como aos desafios da competitividade, da mobilidade e de uma variedade de interdependências (e.g., económica, tecnológica, cultural, científica). Os decisores políticos começaram a interessar-se pela avaliação em geral, pressionados pelas exigências do mundo da economia, pelos meios de comunicação social e pelos próprios cidadãos, através das suas organizações cívicas e culturais, que, cada vez mais, querem saber se os serviços públicos de educação, de saúde ou de justiça, prestam o serviço que são supostos prestar. Ou seja, a grande maioria dos países a nível mundial tem vindo a investir muito significativamente no desenvolvimento de uma diversidade de processos de avaliação externa (e.g., exames nacionais; avaliações do tipo das provas aferidas; avaliações internacionais). Os governos, pressionados por uma variedade de intervenientes sociais (e.g., associações empresariais; organizações científicas; associações profissionais; associações de pais), procuram assim garantir, através destas medidas de política, que se saiba o que os alunos aprendem nas escolas. Se o conseguem ou não, e como, é matéria que continua a ser objecto de análise e discussão.

We live in a world characterized by biodiversity loss and global environmental change. The extinction of large carnivores can have ramifying effects on ecosystems like an uncontrolled increase in wild herbivores, which in turn can have knock-on impacts on vegetation regeneration and communities. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) serve important ecosystem functions as apex predators; yet, they are quickly heading towards an uncertain future. Threatened by habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and illegal trafficking, there are only approximately 7100 individuals remaining in nature. We present the most comprehensive genome-wide analysis of cheetah phylogeography and conservation genomics to date, assembling samples from nearly the entire current and past species' range. We show that their phylogeography is more complex than previously thought, and that East African cheetahs (A. j. raineyi) are genetically distinct from Southern African individuals (A. j. jubatus), warranting their recognition as a distinct subspecies. We found strong genetic differentiation between all classically recognized subspecies, thus refuting earlier findings that cheetahs show only little differentiation. The strongest differentiation was observed between the Asiatic and all the African subspecies. We detected high inbreeding in the Critically Endangered Iranian (A. j. venaticus) and North-western (A. j. hecki) subspecies, and show that overall cheetahs, along with snow leopards, have the lowest genome-wide heterozygosity of all the big cats. This further emphasizes the cheetah's perilous conservation status. Our results provide novel and important information on cheetah phylogeography that can support evidence-based conservation policy decisions to help protect this species. This is especially relevant in light of ongoing and proposed translocations across subspecies boundaries, and the increasing threats of illegal trafficking.

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Admiré par Baudelaire et Mallarmé, Théophile Gautier n’est plus vu aujourd’hui comme le « génie limité » dont l’affubla Lanson au début du XXe siècle. L’effervescence des études critiques de ces dernières décennies a bien rendu justice à l’oeuvre d’un écrivain à la fois idolâtré et marginalisé par ses contemporains. La présence de Théophile Gautier au Portugal, du fait soit du nombre de traductions, soit de l’impact de son imaginaire sur les artistes lusophones justifie pleinement que l’on s’y attache et que l’on accorde à cet écrivain une place au sein de la collection Exotopies. Les études présentées ici portent aussi bien sur des écrits romanesques notamment les récits fantastiques et quelques récits de voyage, que sur d’autres facettes de l’oeuvre de Gautier moins retenues par la critique, tels que les rapports de la création gautierienne avec d’autres manifestations artistiques : avec la peinture, le théâtre ou la danse. Elles éclairent les contours de sa vision du monde et de ce qu’il appela la « transposition de l’art ». Oui ! Gautier assume son temps. Mais il l’assume en s’évadant.

In Mediterranean catchments, such as the Sorraia catchment in Portugal, it is expected that climate change will increase drought stress and the deterioration of water quality in reservoirs. Sustainable land management (SLM) practices are seen as an adaption measure for those problems, but the effectiveness on improving climate change impacted water availability and quality on catchment scale is still poorly understood. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of SLM practices in adapting the impacts of climate change on water availability and quality of the Montargil and Maranhão reservoirs in the Sorraia catchment. A well-calibrated Soil Water Assessment Tool model is used to simulate four scenarios (2041–2071 and 2071–2100; representative climate pathways 4.5 and 8.5), to investigate the effects of climate change on total phosphorus load (TP) in streams, reservoir volume, irrigation use and water exploitation index (WEI). Results showed that WEI will not exceed any water stress level while reservoir water quality will worsen. In particular since the TP load in streams flowing into the reservoirs increases and the volume decreases, it is likely that the existing P limitation for eutrophication will be counteracted. Nevertheless, tested SLM practices were able to decrease the TP load in those streams and increase the reservoir volume under future climates. Overall, this study shows that the SLM practices are effective in adapting to the climate change effects regarding reservoir water quality, without worsening the water availability; thus, it is a promising tool that should be investigated further for application by e.g. local land-users and decision makers.

Wildlife vehicle collisions (WVC) are a threat to wildlife and humans, killing millions of animals of numerous species, as well as causing significant damage to vehicles, drivers and passengers. Road fencing is a highly effective mitigation measure at reducing WVC, however its large-scale implementation requires a high investment. We questioned how long it would take for savings from avoided collisions to offset the investments in road fencing mitigation, focusing on vehicle damage costs. Using the information of a 3-year systematic roadkill monitoring of 1158 km in Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, we estimated the real number of casualties accounting for bias in roadkill counting. We obtained information on the material costs on cars and trucks due to WVC and, considering the road traffic volume characteristics, estimated the total material costs resulting from collisions with larger animals. Cost-benefit analyses allowed estimating the time required to amortize the investment in fencing, considering its application along the full surveyed roads or only in hotspots of mortality. We recorded over 10,000 WVC, 40% of which involved animals that can cause significant material damage to vehicles, namely the endangered lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris, n = 267) and giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla, n = 608). The average material cost per accident was US$ 885 ± 1575 (mean ± SD). We show that investments are likely to pay off in 16–40 years for the mitigation of the full roads, and in 9–25 years for hotspots of mortality. Thus, road mitigation is a win-win solution for increasing traffic safety for humans and reduces road-related negative effects on biodiversity.

One of the UN agenda 2030 Sustainable Development goals is associated with water availability and its sustainable management. The present study intends to improve multipurpose reservoir management under climate change scenarios in water scarce regions such as the Mediterranean. Implemented methods include the sequential use of climate model results, hydrological modelling, and reservoir water balance simulation, which are used to estimate future water availability. This work focuses on developing an innovative reservoir management approach based on rule curves and a dynamic assessment of water needs, to improve the management of reservoirs that are dependent on a water transfer system. The proposed methods are implemented in two reservoirs located in a typical Mediterranean river basin and assessed under long-term climate change scenarios up to the year 2100. The results show that the proposed approach can ensure 100% of the urban water supply, improve the reliability of the irrigation supply from 75% to 86–91%, and provide 92–98% of the river ecological flow. It is also demonstrated that this management approach is beneficial, particularly in the case of multipurpose reservoirs in watersheds facing water scarcity risks, to optimize the balance between supply reliability, water transfer volumes, and costs.

O acto de ler significa, a prática de fazer as palavras fazerem sentido, de compreender e de relacionar as vivências que a compreensão das palavras proporciona e, deste modo, com o passar dos tempos o Homem foi percebendo o valor que a leitura tem para o seu desenvolvimento pessoal e social. O presente Trabalho de Projecto de Intervenção tem como principal finalidade a o desenvolvimento de um projecto de dinamização da leitura para indivíduos com atraso de desenvolvimento intelectual. O principal intuito da finalidade apresentada, relaciona-se com a importante necessidade de o público-alvo compreender a importância da leitura no processo de desenvolvimento pessoal. O projecto terá por base a realidade da Associação Qe Sintra. Com o desenvolvimento deste Projecto de Intervenção espera-se que os alunos da Associação Qe desenvolvam o gosto e o nível de compreensão da leitura, promovendo o desenvolvimento pessoal e educativo para que a cada dia os alunos da presente Instituição consigam transforma-se em cidadãos críticos e criativos para conseguirem uma integração plena na sociedade do conhecimento.

Drought is a worldwide problem, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Detection of drought stress at the initial stages, before visible signs, to adequately manage irrigation and crop fertilization to avoid crop yield loss, is a desire of most farmers. Here, we evaluated the response of tomato plants to water scarcity, through changes in leaf reflectance due to modification in leaf pigments’ content, which translates into differences in spectral reflectance indices (SRI) values. Our methodology is innovative, as we were able to easily calculate and identify several SRIs for the early detection of drought stress “invisible” responses. We used a handheld spectro-radiometer to obtain SRI values from leaves of tomato plants growing under two different water regimes for 37 days. In an ensemble of 25 SRIs, we identified 12 that showed a consistent trend of significant differences between treatments along the experiment and within these, NDVI, SR, ZMI, Ctr2, GM1, and GM2 were already significantly different between treatments at day 7 after the start of the experiment and Ctr1 at day 9; although, no signs of damage were visible. Therefore, our results pinpoint these SRIs as promising proxies for the early detection of “invisible” responses to drought onset. We also analyzed the relationship between the monitored SRIs and plant morphological parameters measured during the experiment, highlighting a relationship between GM1 and plant height and leaf number. Finally, we observed a high abundance of putative beneficial bacteria among isolates collected from the tomato water-limited rhizo-environment at the terminus of the experiment, suggesting the active recruitment or selection of Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria by tomato roots as a response to drought. Our work may be adapted into an easy protocol, of rapid execution, to be used in small-scale fields for early drought stress detection.

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Background: CKD is a significant cause of morbidity, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. CHA2DS2-VASc is a score used in patients with atrial fibrillation to predict thromboembolic risk; it also appears to be useful to predict mortality risk. The aim of the study was to evaluate CHA2DS2-VASc scores as a tool for predicting one-year mortality after hemodialysis is started and for identifying factors associated with higher mortality. Methods: Retrospective analysis of patients who started hemodialysis between January 2014 and December 2019 in Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte. We evaluated mortality within one year of hemodialysis initiation. The CHA2DS2-VASc score was calculated at the start of hemodialysis. Results: Of 856 patients analyzed, their mean age was 68.3 ± 15.5 years and the majority were male (61.1%) and Caucasian (84.5%). Mortality within one-year after starting hemodialysis was 17.8% (n = 152). The CHA2DS2-VASc score was significantly higher (4.4 ± 1.7 vs. 3.5 ± 1.8, p < 0.001) in patients who died and satisfactorily predicted the one-year risk of mortality (AUC 0.646, 95% CI 0.6-0.7, p < 0.001), with a sensitivity of 71.7%, a specificity of 49.1%, a positive predictive value of 23.9% and a negative predictive value of 89.2%. In the multivariate analysis, CHA2DS2-VASc ≥3.5 (adjusted HR 2.24 95% CI (1.48-3.37), p < 0.001) and central venous catheter at dialysis initiation (adjusted HR 3.06 95% CI (1.93-4.85)) were significant predictors of one-year mortality. Conclusion: A CHA2DS2-VASc score ≥3.5 and central venous catheter at hemodialysis initiation were predictors of one-year mortality, allowing for risk stratification in hemodialysis patients.

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