J Radiol Prot
September 2024
Since 2013, the adoption of Directive 2013/59/EURATOM in the European Union has mandated emergency plans for facilities housing radiology equipment, including radiology and dental clinics, and required periodical testing of these plans. However, the testing procedures have sparked widespread confusion regarding the definition of radiological emergencies in clinical settings. A potential solution lies in broadening the scope to include 'radiological events', covering accidents, incidents or other type of unjustified exposures.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSeasonal and daily variations of gaseous emissions from naturally ventilated dairy cattle barns are important figures for the establishment of effective and specific mitigation plans. The present study aimed to measure methane (CH) and ammonia (NH) emissions in three naturally ventilated dairy cattle barns covering the four seasons for two consecutive years. In each barn, air samples from five indoor locations were drawn by a multipoint sampler to a photoacoustic infrared multigas monitor, along with temperature and relative humidity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLupins ( spp.) are legumes with high relevance for the sustainability of agricultural systems as they improve the soil quality, namely, through the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen, and have good adaptability to different climates and soil conditions. Besides, they possess high nutritive value, especially due to the high protein content of the seeds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe identification of crops that simultaneously contribute to the global protein supply and mitigate the effects of climate change is an urgent matter. Lupins are well adapted to nutrient-poor or contaminated soils, tolerate various abiotic stresses, and present relevant traits for acting as ecosystem engineers. Lupins are best studied for their seeds, but their full foraging potential needs further evaluation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Lupins and other legumes have been considered as alternative plant-based protein sources to soybeans for both humans and livestock. Furthermore, they can contribute to more sustainable agricultural systems. The productivity and chemical composition of legumes is highly variable between species, cultivars, and with the edaphoclimatic conditions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: The Portuguese donor Registry of CEDACE was the fifth largest bone marrow donor Registry of the WMDA as of 2019 and has yet to be thoroughly analyzed. We aimed to characterize its various aspects, including demographics and HLA allele and haplotype frequencies, to evaluate the genetic matching propensity score and ultimately further develop it.
Methods: We described and compared characteristics of the donor population with census data and used an Expectation-Maximization algorithm and analyses of molecular variance to assess haplotype frequencies and establish phylogenetic distances between regions and districts within the country.
is one of the most aggressive invaders worldwide whose invasion is potentiated after a fire, a common perturbation in Mediterranean climates. As a legume, this species establishes symbioses with nitrogen-fixing bacteria inside root nodules; however, the overall microbial diversity is still unclear. In this study, we addressed root nodules' structure and biodiversity through histology and Next-Generation Sequencing, targeting 16S and 25S-28S rDNA genes for bacteria and fungi, respectively.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe production of seeds for food and feed is increasing worldwide, which results in large amounts of post-harvest biomass residues, considered of low value and left in the field to be burned or incorporated in the soil. To valorize these agricultural wastes, this work aimed to assess their potential as an alternative feed for ruminants. Thus, the production yield, nutritive value, and alkaloid content of straws and pod shells from three native European species, 'Estoril' (white), 'Tango' (narrow-leafed), and 'Cardiga' (yellow), cultivated in two locations, were evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFLight intensity and spectral composition highly affect plant physiology, growth, and development. According to growing conditions, each species and/or cultivar has an optimum light intensity to drive photosynthesis, and different light spectra trigger photosynthetic responses and regulate plant development differently. For the maintenance of natural sports pitches, namely professional football competitions, turf quality is a key condition.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe main goal of this study is to characterise threshold contrast values and average glandular dose (AGD) in mammography examinations, as well as their relationship with acceptable (minimum quality values) and achievable (desirable quality values) values from the fourth edition of the EUREF protocol. Therefore, data from 84 mammography units from six different manufacturers comprising 15 different models were gathered across Portugal during 2020 and 2021. The contrast measurements were obtained with a CDMAM 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Europe, the most appropriate strategy to replace soybean meal (SBM) in animal feed has been the development of diets containing locally produced protein sources. One of these sources is lupine (Lupinus spp.).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDecomposition of dairy cows' excreta on housing floor leads to ammonia and greenhouse gases production, yet factors affecting total emissions have not been fully disclosed. This work aimed to assess the impact of lactation stage, feeding system and sampling time on gaseous emission potential of cow's faeces and urine in laboratory chambers systems. Individual faeces and urine were collected from two groups of four cows, at peak and post peak lactation, from three commercial farms with distinct feeding systems: total mixed ration (TMR), total mixed ration plus concentrate at robot (TMR + robot), and total mixed ration plus concentrate in automatic feeders (TMR + AF).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite its high frequency and clinical relevance, the pathogenesis of canine pyometra remains poorly understood. The most accepted hypothesis is that bacteria involved ascend from the intestinal tract, causing the uterine infection. Extraintestinal pathogenic (ExPEC) is the most frequent pathogen in canine pyometra, accounting for 57-100% of cases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn Portugal, computed tomography (CT) exposures for adult routine head, adult routine abdomen and paediatric abdomen (5 years old) were evaluated between 2019 and 2020 in 92 CT units. The third quartile value for CTDIwas 63.2 mGy for adult head exams, 15.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe goal of this systematic study was to compare the survival rate (SR), marginal bone loss (MBL) and clinical complications between extra-short implants (≤6 mm) and 6-mm-longer implants in randomized clinical trials. A systematic electronic and manual search was performed using the PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and DOAJ databases. A meta-analysis was conducted to compare the SR and MBL between both groups.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Aims: Invasive species may undergo rapid evolution despite very limited standing genetic diversity. This so-called genetic paradox of biological invasions assumes that an invasive species has experienced (and survived) a genetic bottleneck and then underwent local adaptation in the new range. In this study, we test how often Australian acacias (genus Acacia), one of the world's most problematic invasive tree groups, have experienced genetic bottlenecks and inbreeding.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWith the increase of animal slurry produced from livestock production, the monitoring and mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) and ammonia (NH) emissions represent a major issue. Life cycle assessment (LCA) has been used to evaluate the long-term environmental effects of applied strategies and technologies on cattle slurry management for mitigation of environmental harmful gases. This study was carried on two main aims: first, the effect of the addition of sulphuric acid (SA), biochar (SBi) or A + Bi to liquid cattle-slurry (treated systems) on gas emissions during storage compared to the untreated system (S) was investigated in a laboratory-controlled experiment; second, the environmental implications of each treated or untreated system were assessed through a LCA approach according to ISO 14040/44.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlmond is one of the most commonly consumed nuts worldwide, with health benefits associated with availability of bioactive compounds and fatty acids. Almond is often eaten raw or after some processing steps. However, the latter can positively or negatively influence chemical and sensorial attributes of almonds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The awareness of environmental and socio-economic impacts caused by greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector leverages the adoption of strategies to counteract it. Feed supplements can play an important role in the reduction of the main greenhouse gas produced by ruminants-methane (CH). In this context, this study aims to assess the effect of two biochar sources and inclusion levels on rumen fermentation parameters .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFData from dental extraoral and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) exposures in Portugal (2019) were gathered, and patient doses for standard adult exams were evaluated. In panoramic X-rays, 442 units (34% of the existing licensed units) were tested, with a third quartile value (PKA) of 82 mGy.cm2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF1,8-Cineole is the main volatile produced by Thymus albicans Hoffmanns. & Link 1,8-cineole chemotype. To understand the contribution of distinct plant organs to the high 1,8-cineole production, trichome morphology and density, as well as emitted volatiles and transcriptional expression of the 1,8-cineole synthase (CIN) gene were determined separately for T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThyme (Thymus spp.) is a valuable genus of Lamiaceae family with different pharmaceutical and food properties. Thymol has also been considered as the major essential oil compound in most of the studied Thymus species.
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