Exploring the correlations between indicators of COVID-19 and the concentration of pharmaceutical compounds in wastewater treatment plants in Northern Portugal.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus led to changes in the lifestyle and human behaviour, which resulted in different consumption patterns of some classes of pharmaceuticals including curative, symptom-relieving, and psychotropic drugs. The trends in the consumption of these compounds are related to their concentrations in wastewater systems, since incompletely metabolised drugs (or their metabolites back transformed into the parental form) may be detected and quantified by analytical methods. Pharmaceuticals are highly recalcitrant compounds and conventional activated sludge processes implemented in wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are ineffective at degrading these substances.

East Timor as an important source of cashew ( L.) genetic diversity.

Background: Cashew ( L.) is a crop currently grown in several tropical countries because of the economic importance of cashew nuts. Despite its enormous economic worth, limited research has been conducted on the molecular diversity of cashew genetic resources.

Ovule Transcriptome Analysis Discloses Deregulation of Genes and Pathways in Sexual and Apomictic Species (Plumbaginaceae).

The genus Mill. (sea lavenders) includes species with sexual and apomixis reproductive strategies, although the genes involved in these processes are unknown. To explore the mechanisms beyond these reproduction modes, transcriptome profiling of sexual, male sterile, and facultative apomictic species was carried out using ovules from different developmental stages.

Valorisation of Wasted Immature Tomato to Innovative Fermented Functional Foods.

In this study, the lactic fermentation of immature tomatoes as a tool for food ingredient production was evaluated as a circular economy-oriented alternative for valorising industrial tomatoes that are unsuitable for processing and which have wasted away in large quantities in the field. Two lactic acid bacteria (LAB) were assessed as starter cultures in an immature tomato pulp fermentation to produce functional food ingredients with probiotic potential. The first trial evaluated the probiotic character of (LAB97, isolated from immature tomato microbiota) and (C1090, from the INIAV collection) through in vitro gastrointestinal digestion simulation.

Diversity and biological activities of medicinal plants of Santiago island (Cabo Verde).

Plants continue to constitute key elements of medical practice in West African countries. The Cabo Verde archipelago hosts a great diversity of medicinal plants and local markets are considered important sites for trading plants harvested by rural communities. This study has two main goals: (i) to assess the medicinal uses of native species in Santiago, the biggest island of the archipelago, and (ii) to evaluate the antioxidant, antimicrobial and antidiabetic/antihyperglycemic activities of two native trees ( and ) used in traditional medicine and traded in local markets.

A global analysis of avian island diversity-area relationships in the Anthropocene.

Research on island species-area relationships (ISAR) has expanded to incorporate functional (IFDAR) and phylogenetic (IPDAR) diversity. However, relative to the ISAR, we know little about IFDARs and IPDARs, and lack synthetic global analyses of variation in form of these three categories of island diversity-area relationship (IDAR). Here, we undertake the first comparative evaluation of IDARs at the global scale using 51 avian archipelagic data sets representing true and habitat islands.

Influence of Air-Drying Conditions on Quality, Bioactive Composition and Sensorial Attributes of Sweet Potato Chips.

The drying process is an essential thermal process for preserving vegetables and can be used in developing dried products as healthy alternative snacks. The effects of air-drying conditions using a convection dryer with hot air at different temperatures (60°, 65°, 70°, 75°, and 80 °C, in the range 5-200 min, at a fixed air speed of 2.3 m/s) were tested on the quality of slices (2.

Dietary Exposure to Toxic Metals (Cd, Pb and Hg) from Cereals Marketed in Madeira and the Azores.

Cereals and cereal-based foods continue to be basic foods in all diets. Despite being known for their high nutritional value; they can also contain contaminants (hazards) such as toxic metals. This study assesses the Cd, Pb and Hg dietary exposure from cereals and derivatives marketed in Madeira and the Azores and characterizes the risks by evaluating the Cd and Hg intake contributions to the tolerable intakes and by estimating the Margin of Exposure (MOE) in the case of Pb.

Valorization of Seaweed Wracks: Inclusion as Additive in Diets for Grass Carp ().

Macroalgae have been recently described as a potential ingredient for aquafeeds, exerting several physiological benefits. Grass carp () is a freshwater species, which has been the major fish species produced in the world in the last years. In order to determine the potential use of macroalgal wracks in fish feeding, juveniles were fed with an extruded commercial diet (CD) or the CD supplemented with 7% of a wind dried-powder (1 mm) from either a multispecific macroalgal wrack (CD + MU7) or a monospecific macroalgal wrack (CD + MO7) obtained from Gran Canaria island (Spain) coasts.

Detection of Geothermal Anomalies in Hydrothermal Systems Using ASTER Data: The Caldeiras da Ribeira Grande Case Study (Azores, Portugal).

Current-day volcanic activity in the Azores archipelago is characterized by seismic events and secondary manifestations of volcanism. Remote sensing techniques have been widely employed to monitor deformation in volcanic systems, map lava flows, or detect high-temperature gas emissions. However, using satellite imagery, it is still challenging to identify low-magnitude thermal changes in a volcanic system.

The Potential of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi to Modulate below and Aboveground Communities May Be Mediated by 1-Octen-3-ol.

It is known that ectomycorrhizal (ECM) fungi can modulate below and aboveground communities. They are a key part of belowground communication as they produce a vast array of metabolites, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as 1-octen-3-ol. Here, we tested if the VOC 1-octen-3-ol may be involved in the ECM fungal mechanisms that modulate below and aboveground communities.

The Association between Prematurity, Antibiotic Consumption, and Mother-Infant Attachment in the First Year of Life.

Antibiotics have individual and public-health drawbacks. Nevertheless, mother-infant attachment quality and maternal sensitivity are associated with antibiotic use. Ambivalent-attached infants are more likely to consume antibiotics than other infants.

In search of the Goldilocks zone for hybrid speciation II: hard times for hybrid speciation?

Hybridization opens a unique window for observing speciation mechanisms and is a potential engine of speciation. One controversially discussed outcome of hybridization is homoploid hybrid speciation by reciprocal sorting, where a hybrid population maintains a mixed combination of the parental genetic incompatibilities, preventing further gene exchange between the newly formed population and the two parental sources. Previous work showed that, for specific linkage architectures (i.

Geographical shifts in the successional dynamics of inland dune shrub communities.

Species' environmental requirements and large-scale spatial and evolutionary processes determine the structure and composition of local communities. However, ecological interactions also have major effects on community assembly at landscape and local scales. We evaluate whether two xerophytic shrub communities occurring in SW Portugal follow constrained ecological assembly dynamics throughout large geographical extents, or their composition is rather driven by species' individualistic responses to environmental and macroecological constraints.

Long-term changes in macroinvertebrate communities across high-latitude streams.

Long-term records of benthic macroinvertebrates in high-latitude streams are essential for understanding climatic changes, including extreme events (e.g. floods).

How genomics can help biodiversity conservation.

The availability of public genomic resources can greatly assist biodiversity assessment, conservation, and restoration efforts by providing evidence for scientifically informed management decisions. Here we survey the main approaches and applications in biodiversity and conservation genomics, considering practical factors, such as cost, time, prerequisite skills, and current shortcomings of applications. Most approaches perform best in combination with reference genomes from the target species or closely related species.

Survey data of public awareness on climate change and the value of marine and coastal ecosystems.

The long-term provision of ocean ecosystem services depends on healthy ecosystems and effective sustainable management. Understanding public opinion about marine and coastal ecosystems is important to guide decision-making and inform specific actions. However, available data on public perceptions on the interlinked effects of climate change, human impacts and the value and management of marine and coastal ecosystems are rare.

Past history shapes evolution of reproductive success in a global warming scenario.

Adaptive evolution is critical for animal populations to thrive in the fast-changing natural environments. Ectotherms are particularly vulnerable to global warming and, although their limited coping ability has been suggested, few real-time evolution experiments have directly accessed their evolutionary potential. Here, we report a long-term experimental evolution study addressing the evolution of Drosophila thermal reaction norms, after ∼30 generations under different dynamic thermal regimes: fluctuating (daily variation between 15 and 21 °C) or warming (daily fluctuation with increases in both thermal mean and variance across generations).

The Impact of Non-Pathogenic Bacteria on the Spread of Virulence and Resistance Genes.

This review discusses the fate of antimicrobial resistance and virulence genes frequently present among microbiomes. A central concept in epidemiology is the mean number of hosts colonized by one infected host in a population of susceptible hosts: . It characterizes the disease's epidemic potential because the pathogen continues its propagation through susceptible hosts if it is above one.

Pinniped (Carnivora, Phocidae) occurrences in the Azores Archipelago (NE Atlantic).

Background: The last Pinniped species update was in 2010, as part of the list of the terrestrial and marine biota from the Azores. This list includes a chapter dedicated to marine mammals, based on previously published bibliography.

New Information: No new species were added since that list was publlished.

Arthropods and other biota associated with the Azorean trees and shrubs: (Seub) Franco (Magnoliophyta, Magnoliopsida, Laurales, Lauraceae).

This study explores the composition and structure of species communities associated with the native Azorean tree species (Seub) Franco (Magnoliophyta, Magnoliopsida, Laurales, Lauraceae). Communities were sampled in six Islands covering the occidental (Flores), central (Faial, Pico, Terceira) and eastern (São Miguel, Santa Maria) groups of Azores Archipelago during the BALA project, using standardised sampling protocols for surveying canopy arthropod fauna. In addition, the study characterises the distribution of species regarding their colonisation status and feeding modes and, finally, compares communities of different Islands.

Diversity of Lepidoptera (Insecta) recorded in a forest nursery of Nordeste County on São Miguel Island (Azores).

Background: The diversity of moth species (Insecta, Lepidoptera) recorded in the forest nursery of Nordeste County on São Miguel Island (Azores) is given. Adults were sampled between March and December 2019 using three methods: (i) light trap to catch Noctuidae species, (ii) open-sided delta trap baited with a synthetic female sex pheromone lure to attract (Walker) males and (iii) entomological net to collect microlepidopteran moths. This contribution focuses mainly on the diversity of moths present in one forest nursery of Nordeste County of São Miguel Island (Azores), especially on the species associated with endemic and native plant species.