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- The contribution of a portion of meat, fish and eggs for climate changePublication . Ferreira, Vicente; Domingos, Idalina; Esteves, Bruno; Cruz-Lopes, LuísaIntrodução: A mudança nos padrões alimentares dos cidadãos implicará uma pegada ambiental maior em termos de emissões de gases de efeito estufa e uso de recursos naturais. Por exemplo, dietas ricas em leite e carne, especialmente de ruminantes, estão associadas ao aumento das emissões de metano da fermentação entérica, do dióxido de carbono da deflorestação para dar origem ao pasto e do óxido nitroso da produção de ração. Objetivos: Para um consumo mais sustentável, o objetivo deste estudo foi quantificar e comparar a contribuição para as alterações climáticas de uma porção do que se come em geral, proveniente da Roda dos Alimentos, relacionados com carnes, aves, peixes e ovos, para alcançar uma dieta equilibrada e saudável. Métodos: A Avaliação do Ciclo de Vida, baseada nas normas ISO 14040/44 (2006), foi a metodologia utilizada. A análise de inventário e, posteriormente a análise de impacte foram realizadas utilizando o software SimaPro 8.5. O método escolhido para a avaliação de impacte ambiental foi o IPCC 2013 GWP 100a. Resultados: Os resultados mostram que uma porção de cavala (peixe) apresenta a pegada ecológica inferior seguida da porção de bacalhau, frango, lombo de porco, ovos, lagosta e bife de vaca, respetivamente. Conclusões: A principal conclusão deste estudo é que a avaliação do impacte de ciclo de vida usando o método IPCC 2013 GWP 100a, pode ajudar as pessoas a escolherem os melhores alimentos para uma refeição mais amiga do ambiente, ajudando a mitigar as alterações climáticas.
- Nanopartículas no tratamento da doença de alzheimerPublication . Cruz-Lopes, Luísa; Lopes, Ana; Escudeiro, Maria; Duarte, Cláudia; Ferreira, Rafaela; Graça, Francisco; Silva, Isaura; Esteves, BrunoIntrodução: A Doença de Alzheimer é uma patologia neurodegenerativa primária, de etiologia desconhecida e influenciada por vários fatores com aspetos neuropatológicos e neuroquímicos característicos. Atualmente, os fármacos aprovados para o tratamento desta doença apenas permitem aliviar os sintomas sendo acompanhados por diversos efeitos secundários. A nanotecnologia aparece como alternativa para o tratamento do Alzheimer, por oferecer muitas vantagens para a medicina contemporânea permitindo um diagnóstico e tratamento não invasivos e direcionados, reduzindo as reações adversas e os efeitos sistémicos. Objetivo: Reconhecer as potencialidades do uso de nanopartículas no tratamento da Doença de Alzheimer, identificando os tratamentos mais promissores e quais os seus possíveis efeitos secundários. Métodos: Revisão bibliográfica narrativa a partir de consulta a bases de dados como Science Direct, Web of Science, PubMed e Scielo. Resultados: As nanopartículas de ouro mostram-se capazes de atravessar a barreira hematoencefálica (BHE), carregando fármacos essenciais para a inibição da agregação dos péptidos Aβ, bem como dissolver fibrilhas pré-existentes. Polímeros biodegradáveis e biocompatíveis, como o polilactídeo poliglicólico (PLGA), constituem uma abordagem promissora e segura, tendo sido muito utilizados. As melhores técnicas são aquelas que garantem que as nanopartículas são capazes de atravessar a barreira hematoencefálica (BHE), atingir o seu alvo terapêutico, bem como garantir que estas partículas não induzem efeitos tóxicos no organismo. Apesar das nanopartículas serem capazes de tratar algumas doenças de forma eficiente, pouco se conhece sobre os seus efeitos secundários, estes poderão ou não ser mais danosos para o organismo do que a doença que pretenderam tratar. Conclusão: Existem várias abordagens terapêuticas promissoras, porém nenhuma ainda aprovada, uma vez que é difícil manter concentrações adequadas de fármaco no espaço intraneuronal. Estabelecer a dose tóxica é necessário para o uso aprovado de uma nanopartícula num tratamento, porém é quase impossível prever os seus efeitos citotóxicos em regiões extra-neuronais.
- Avaliação de impacte ambiental da gestão de resíduos da produção de uma bancada com base na abordagem de ACVPublication . Silva, Luiza; Ferreira Silva, Maria Elisabete; Brás, Isabel; Domingos, Idalina; Ferreira Wessel, Dulcineia; Ferreira, JoséIntroduction: Consumerism has led to an increase in environmental problems, and for this reason, sustainable solutions must be the priority when designing new products or services. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is one of the most important analytical tools available for choosing the best decision when it comes to sustainability. Objective: The focus of this study was to apply an LCA to the management of wastes from a kitchen/bathroom countertop production. The waste management scenarios studied were landfill (current practice) and waste recycling. The panel consists of a ceramic layer on a lamellar panel substrate, formed by glassliner and PVC, which is intended to be resistant to water, scratches and impacts. The residues generated from the panel production are glassliner and PVC plastics and ceramics. Methods: The LCA methodology was followed and the EPD 2018 method available in the SimaPro software was chosen to quantify the environmental impacts of waste management. The environmental impact categories studied were eutrophication, global warming, photochemical oxidation, ozone layer depletion, abiotic depletion and acidification. Results: The results showed that the two plastic wastes are the main contributors to acidification, eutrophication and global warming. However, for photochemical oxidation and water scarcity, the ceramic component residue is the main contributor. Comparing the two scenarios, waste recycling reduces the impacts in all environmental impact categories, in comparison with landfill. Conclusion: Recycling the residues from the production of panels brings improvements in environmental impacts in all categories analyzed.
- Adhesives from liquefied eucalypt bark and branchesPublication . Esteves, Bruno; Cruz-Lopes, Luisa; Fernandes, Ana Paula; Martins, Jorge Manuel; Domingos, Idalina; Ferreira, José; Silva, Silvia Helena Fuentes; Labidi, JalelAdhesives made from lignin are one of the most promising alternatives to common ureaformaldehyde adhesives. One of the possible sources is from wood or bark liquefaction at low temperatures and pressure. The possibility of using forest wastes for the production of adhesives was the objective of this work. Eucalypt bark and branches are wastes produced in the company Pedrosa & Irmãos, which is a forest management company based in Portugal (Leiria). The wastes were liquefied with polyalcohols catalyzed by sulfuric acid. The water insoluble fraction of the liquefied material was used for the production of the bio-adhesive. Both fractions were characterized and the bonding performance of the bio-adhesive was tested by ABES. The bio-adhesives obtained from bark or branches were similar, exhibiting a bonding strength approximately half of the conventional UF resin.
- Valorization of beer brewing wastes by compostingPublication . Silva, Maria Elisabete; Brás, IsabelThe aim of this work was to study the viability of recycling the residual yeast and diatomaceous earth (RYDE) slurry generated by the beer brewing industry by composting with animal manures, as well as to evaluate the quality of the composts obtained. Two pilot composting trials were carried out with different mixes: cow manure/RYDE slurry (Pile CM) and sheep manure/RYDE slurry (Pile SM). For all piles, wood chips were applied as bulking agent. The process was monitored by evaluating standard physical and chemical parameters. The compost quality was assessed by the heavy metals content and phytotoxicity. Both piles reached a thermophilic phase in the first day, however having different trends. The pH showed a slight alkaline character. The C/N reached values lower than 19 at the end of composting process. Generally, all the piles exhibited absence of heavy metals. However, the pile SM exhibited phytotoxicity. This study showed that RYDE slurry can be valorized by composting with cow manure
- Production of Polyurethane Foams from Bark WastesPublication . Cruz-Lopes, Luísa; Rodrigues, Liliana; Domingos, Idalina; Ferreira, José; Lemos, Luís Teixeira de; Esteves, BrunoCurrently, the polyurethanes industry is dependent on fossil resources to obtain their basic raw materials (polyols and isocyanate), as these are obtained from petroleum products. The aim of this work was to use biopolyols from liquefied Pseudotsuga (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and Turkey oak (Quercus cerris) barks for the production of polyurethane foams and optimize the process. Liquefaction was done with glycerol catalyzed by KOH. Foams were produced following different formulations and using biopolyols from both barks. Subsequently, the foams were characterized according to their mechanical properties and the reaction of the foam formation was monitored by FTIR-ATR. The results show that it is possible to produce polyurethane foams using bio-based polyols and the liquefaction conditions are very important because they influence the characteristics of biopolyols and, consequently the characteristics of the foams. However, the process has to be further optimized so that it can obtain better quality foams
- Natural ventilation and indoor air quality in educational buildings: experimental assessment and improvement strategiesPublication . Almeida, Ricardo; Pinto, Manuel; Pinho, Paulo G.; Lemos, Luís T. deIndoor environmental conditions in classrooms, in particular temperature and indoor air quality, influence students’ health, attitude and performance. In recent years, several studies regarding indoor environmental quality of classrooms were published and natural ventilation proved to have great potential, particularly in southern European climate. This research aimed to evaluate indoor environmental conditions in eight schools and to assess their improvement potential by simple natural ventilation strategies. Temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration were measured in 32 classrooms. Ventilation performance of the classrooms was characterized using two techniques, first by fan pressurization measurements of the envelope airtightness and later by tracer gas measurements of the air change rate assuming different envelope conditions. A total of 110 tracer gas measurements were made and the results validated ventilation protocols that were tested afterward. The results of the ventilation protocol implementation were encouraging and, overall, a decrease on the CO2 concentration was observed without modifying the comfort conditions. Nevertheless, additional measurements must be performed for winter conditions.
- New Foods, New Consumers: Innovation in Food Product DevelopmentPublication . Guiné, Raquel; Ramalhosa, Elsa; Cruz-Lopes, LuísaBACKGROUND: Today, new lifestyles, higher incomes and consumer awareness are creating consumer demand for a year-round supply of high-quality, diverse and innovative food products. However, when it comes to innovation, the food sector is less changeable when compared to other sectors, such as high technology. Still, in the past decades much and important developments have been achieved in several areas related to foods and the food industry. METHODS: A systematic review of scientific literature was conducted on Science Direct. The topics investigated were: aspects related to innovation in food development (such as the transfer of innovation, open innovation, collaborative innovation and consumer perception and its role in the developing process); the innovation in the food industry (particularly regarding the processing technologies and packaging, which are two prominent areas of innovation in this sector nowadays); the innovation in the cooking sector (particularly in regards to the molecular gastronomy and science based cooking). RESULTS: A total of 146 articles were included in the review and the aspects focused allowed confirming that innovation has been recognized as a key driver of economic growth. Within the framework of ‘open innovation’, a number of key issues related to the acquisition of external knowledge in food technology must be taken into consideration. Food product development is highly dependent on the consumer perception and acceptance, and hence it is of utmost importance to include the consumer in the development process to minimize failure probabilities. The sectors of the food industry where important developments and innovation are registered include the processing technologies and the packaging systems, where the latest progresses have produced very significant outcomes. CONCLUSION: The present work allowed verifying the latest improvements and trend towards food product development from two perspectives, the product itself and the industrial processing. This sector is undoubtedly a major key for the success and competitiveness nowadays in the food industry.
- Experimental assessment of IAQ improvement in naturally ventilated educational buildingsPublication . Pinto, Manuel; Almeida, Ricardo; Pinho, Paulo; Lemos, Luís; Lanzinha, JoãoIndoor environmental conditions in classrooms, in particular temperature and indoor air quality, influence students’ health, attitude and performance. In recent years several studies regarding indoor environmental quality of classrooms were published and natural ventilation proved to have great potential, particularly in southern European climate. This research aimed to evaluate indoor environmental conditions in 8 schools and to assess their improvement potential by simple natural ventilation strategies. Temperature, relative humidity and carbon dioxide concentration were measured in 32 classrooms. Ventilation performance of the classrooms was deeply characterized by tracer gas measurements of the air change rate assuming different windows related boundary conditions. A total of 110 tracer gas measurements were made. The complete characterization of the classrooms ventilation performance was relevant for the definition of the ventilation protocol since air change rate helped to pinpoint the best ventilation strategy for each case study. The results of the ventilation protocol implementation were very encouraging and, globally, a significant decrease on the CO2 concentration was observed without modifying the comfort conditions. This paper presents and discusses the main conclusions of the measurements campaign performed in the referred classrooms.
- A Importância da Integração dos Riscos Geológicos, no Planeamento, no Ordenamento do Território e na Protecção do Meio Ambiente: Conceitos e Algumas IdeiasPublication . Simões, Luís Manuel FernandesDe forma resumida e simplificada, explana-se um conjunto de conceitos e ideias acerca da importância crescente que o tratamento dos riscos naturais, e em particular o tratamento dos riscos geológicos, ocupa (ou deve ocupar) nas diferentes etapas do planeamento, ordenamento do território e da preservação da sua envolvente ambiental. São comentados as acções e aspectos gerais da prevenção de riscos naturais em geral, e de riscos geológicos em particular, como a identificação de zonas de risco, a estimação da periodicidade das fases paroxísmicas dos processos naturais, a previsão do momento em que tais podem ocorrer e a prevenção e correcção de danos. O zonamento do território baseado na avaliação da vulnerabilidade e do risco é considerado o instrumento fundamental para a integração dos riscos no planeamento ambiental; distingue-se entre o zonamento para o planeamento e ordenamento do território, o de carácter preventivo e o de carácter correctivo. Os níveis de vulnerabilidade e de risco são estabelecidos por elaboração e análise de cartas de unidades integradas (zonas) ou de cartas temáticas específicas. Em ambos os casos o risco é um factor primordial para a avaliação da capacidade das unidades territoriais para os distintos usos. Com base na informação recolhida nas cartas de riscos, podem estabelecer-se normas de carácter preventivo, determinar prioridades quanto às medidas correctivas dos danos, estabelecer planos de protecção civil e implementar sistemas de vigilância dos fenómenos e alerta às populações.