Browsing by Author "Pereira, R."
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- Effect of the pharmaceuticals metformin, escitalopram and furosemide in cyanobacteria growthPublication . Oliveira, L.; Pereira, R.; Costa, J.; Barros, PiedadeWorldwide one of the most prevalent water problems is eutrophication, a result of high nutrient concentration, mainly phosphorus and nitrogen. In freshwater environments, anthropogenic inputs of nutrients and other substances are a major contributing to eutrophication and consequent formation of cyanobacteria and algal blooms. The formation of cyanobacteria blooms can result in toxin production and have ecological and human health impacts. Another emerging water quality concern is the impact of personal care products and pharmaceuticals in the environment. In eutrophic waters the increased availability of pharmaceuticals can interfere with cyanobacteria cells and disrupt or enhance cyanobacteria growth. This study describes the effect of metformine, escitalopram and furosemide in the cyanobacteria Microcystis aeruginosa. Cyanobacteria tests were conducted following the European Guideline (OECD 201) for algal and cyanobacteria growth inhibition test. Cyanobacteria were incubated in microplate with pharmaceuticals solutions prepared in Z8 medium under continuous light and shaking at 22ºC. Results were quantified in terms of average growth rates calculated from cell numbers based on OD determination at 24h period until 120h. Pharmaceuticals used were metformin an anti-diabetic, escitalopram an antidepressive and furosemide a diuretic in ten concentrations. At 120h exposure and at the higher concentration tested the three pharmaceuticals (metformin-10mg/mL; 100% inhibition; escitalopram- 0.1mg/ml; 100% inhibition and furosemide-0.4 mg/mL; 50% inhibition) inhibited Microcystis growth rate. Escitalopram response showed hormesis but at higher concentrations it was more toxic than metformin and furosemide. Time related response was different between pharmaceuticals. The three pharmaceuticals interfere with Microcystis growth rate in different ways.
- Effects of dietary exposure to herbicide and of the nutritive quality of contaminated food on the reproductive output of Daphnia magnaPublication . Silva, M. Bessa da; Abrantes, N.; Rocha-Santos, T.A.P.; Duarte, A.C.; Freitas, A.C.; Gomes, A.M; Carvalho, A.P.; Marques, J.C.; Gonçalves, F.; Pereira, R.Risk assessment of pesticides has been based on direct toxic effects on aquatic organisms. Indirect effects data are taken into account but with limitations, as it is frequently difficult to predict their real impacts in the ecosystems. In this context the main aim of this work was to assess how the exposure to the herbicide pendimethalin (Prowl®), under environmentally relevant concentrations, may compromise the nutritional composition of food for a relevant group of primary consumers of freshwater food webs—the daphnids, thus affecting their reproduction performance and subsequently the long-term sustainability of active populations of this grazer. Therefore, Daphnia magna individuals were chronically exposed in a clean medium to a control diet (NCF – i.e., non-contaminated green algae Raphidocelis subcapitata) and to a contaminated diet (CF – i.e., the same monoalgal culture grown in a medium enriched with pendimethalin in a concentration equivalent to the EC20 for growth inhibition of algae), during which reproductive endpoints were assessed. The algae were analysed for protein, carbohydrate and fatty acid content. The chemical composition of R. subcapitata in the CF revealed a slight decrease on total fatty acid levels, with a particular decrease of essential !9 monounsaturated fatty acids. In contrast, the protein content was high in the CF. D. magna exposed to CF experienced a 16% reduction in reproduction, measured as the total number of offspring produced per female. Additionally, an internal pendimethalin body burden of 4.226 "g g−1 was accumulated by daphnids fed with CF. Hence, although it is difficult to discriminate the contribution of the pesticide (as a toxic agent transferred through the food web) from that of the food with a poor quality—compromised by the same pesticide, there are no doubts that, under environmentally relevant concentrations of pesticides, both pathways may compromise the populations of freshwater grazers in the long term, with consequences in the control of the primary productivity of these systems.
- Validation of app and phone versions of the Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT)Publication . Jácome, C.; Pereira, R.; Almeida, R.; Amaral, Rita; Correia, M. A.; Mendes, S.; Vieira-Marques, P.; Ferreira, J. A.; Lopes, I.; Gomes, J.; Vidal, C.; López Freire, S.; Méndez Brea, P.; Arrobas, A.; Valério, M.; Chaves Loureiro, C.; Santos, L. M.; Couto, M.; Araujo, L.; Todo Bom, A.; Azevedo, J. P.; Cardoso, J.; Emiliano, M.; Gerardo, R.; Lozoya, C.; Pinto, P. L.; Neves, A. Castro; Pinto, N.; Palhinha, A.; Teixeira, F.; Ferreira-Magalhães, M.; Alves, C.; Coelho, D.; Santos, N.; Menezes, F.; Gomes, R.; Rodrigues, J. C. Cidrais; Oliveira, G.; Carvalho, J.; Alves, R. Rodrigues; Moreira, A. S.; Costa, A.; Abreu, C.; Silva, R.; Morête, A.; Falcão, H.; Marques, M. L.; Câmara, R.; Cálix, M. J.; Bordalo, D.; Silva, D.; Vasconcelos, M. J.; Fernandes, R. M.; Ferreira, R.; Freitas, P.; Lopes, F.; Fonseca, J. AlmeidaAssessment of asthma control at every opportunity is recommended. Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) is a patient reported outcome measure commonly used to assess asthma control in clinical practice.It includes ten questions answered in a 4 point Like rt scale that address upper and lower airway symptoms, sleep interference, limitation of activities , and the need to increase medication over a 4 week period. CARAT is frequently administered on paper during medical visits, but digital versions through website and mobile apps are available.
- Wind resource modelling in complex terrain using different mesoscale–microscale coupling techniquesPublication . Carvalho, David; Rocha, Alfredo; Santos, Carlos Silva; Pereira, R.Wind resource evaluation in two sites located in Portugal was performed using the mesoscale modelling system Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) and the wind resource analysis tool commonly used within the wind power industry, the Wind Atlas Analysis and Application Program (WAsP) microscale model. Wind measurement campaigns were conducted in the selected sites, allowing for a comparison between in situ measurements and simulated wind, in terms of flow characteristics and energy yields estimates. Three different methodologies were tested, aiming to provide an overview of the benefits and limitations of these methodologies for wind resource estimation. In the first methodology the mesoscale model acts like “virtual” wind measuring stations, where wind data was computed by WRF for both sites and inserted directly as input in WAsP. In the second approach, the same procedure was followed but here the terrain influences induced by the mesoscale model low resolution terrain data were removed from the simulated wind data. In the third methodology, the simulated wind data is extracted at the top of the planetary boundary layer height for both sites, aiming to assess if the use of geostrophic winds (which, by definition, are not influenced by the local terrain) can bring any improvement in the models performance. The obtained results for the abovementioned methodologies were compared with those resulting from in situ measurements, in terms of mean wind speed, Weibull probability density function parameters and production estimates, considering the installation of one wind turbine in each site. Results showed that the second tested approach is the one that produces values closest to the measured ones, and fairly acceptable deviations were found using this coupling technique in terms of estimated annual production. However, mesoscale output should not be used directly in wind farm sitting projects, mainly due to the mesoscale model terrain data poor resolution. Instead, the use of mesoscale output in microscale models should be seen as a valid alternative to in situ data mainly for preliminary wind resource assessments, although the application of mesoscale and microscale coupling in areas with complex topography should be done with extreme caution.