Membrane processing of grape must for control of the alcohol content in fermented beverages

The great demand of beverages, both alcohol-free and with low alcohol content, is a great challenge for the production of beverages with controlled alcohol content through the use of sustainable enological practices. The present work addresses this challenge with the processing of grape must by reverse osmosis (RO) for must reconstitution with different sugar contents prior to the alcoholic fermentation. The original must came from grapes grown in Quinta do Quinto, in Santarém, collected after destemming and mechanic crushing, and preserved in a refrigerated chamber at -1.6 °C until processing by RO. The RO processing was carried out in Escola Superior Agrária de Santarém, with a pilot plant equipped with RO spiral wound modules, M38RO, from Alfa Laval, Denmark. The total membrane permeation area is 15 m2. The work pressure was 55 bar. The original must had 23.7 oBrix, a density of 1108 g.L-1, 15.2% (v/v) of probable alcohol, and a conductivity of 2.01 mS.cm-1. The must reconstitution was carried out, by mixing the concentrated grape must with the vegetal water produced by RO (permeate) to obtain beverages with a nominal alcohol content of 5%, 7%, 10% and 13% (v/v). The fermentation average temperature was between 18.2 and 19.7 °C, and the final density rounded about 993 g.cm-3. The beverages were analysed by different parameters, including total polyphenols, total anthocyanins, colour intensity and hue, the coordinates CIELab, alcohol content, total acidity, volatile acidity, pH, free SO2 and total SO2. The attributes of the beverage, corresponding to the visual appearance, aroma and taste senses, as well as the overall judgment were evaluated by the tasters. The proposed method can produce beverages with controlled low alcohol content. The decrease of the alcohol content led to lower content of polyphenols compounds which influenced the sensory evaluation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The effects of grazing management in montado fragmentation and heterogeneity

The Portuguese silvo-pastoral system montado is broadly classified as a High Nature Value (HNV) system since it corresponds to farmland hosting high biodiversity levels, and such biodiversity depends on specific land use practices. However, in recent decades a decline both in the totalmontado area and in the tree cover density within the montado has been observed, driven mainly by management changes. This decline may result in biodiversity loss. Grazing is a central aspect determining the long-term sustainability of the montado system and it has implications also on themontado structural diversity, particularly on connectivity and heterogeneity, which is crucial for the maintenance of montado HNV. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how variations in montadostructural diversity are correlated with grazing management and its implications on the value of the system for conservation. The empirical data derives from a case study composed of 41 montadofarms in two municipalities of the Alentejo region. Data on grazing management, biophysical and spatial factors were collected and several metrics were calculated to assess montado fragmentation and heterogeneity. A multivariate analysis was performed using generalized additive models. Results show that different grazing patterns, depending on stocking density and grazing animal type, are correlated with variations in montado fragmentation and heterogeneity. Particularly, cattle’s grazing is shown to have adverse effects on the montado fragmentation, while sheep grazing is shown to have stronger impacts on the heterogeneity within the montado patches

Diretrizes curriculares nacionais para a educação ambiental : considerações sobre a sua implementação no Brasil

O trabalho tem por objetivo investigar ideias de professores do ensino fundamental e médio sobre legislação, inserção no currículo e formação continuada em Educação Ambiental (EA), temas das Diretrizes Curriculares Nacionais para a EA. Esse documento, de junho de 2012, visa orientar a implantação do que é determinado pela Constituição Federal Brasileira e pela lei que dispõe sobre EA. Os resultados que emergiram das respostas a um questionário, foram utilizados para tecer considerações sobre a sua implementação no Brasil. Os professores parecem caminhar alheios à discussão das Diretrizes. Dada a precariedade do trabalho docente, corre-se o risco dessas serem "cumpridas", devido à pressão dos órgãos oficiais, com a inserção de conhecimentos pontuais, mensuráveis pelos atuais sistemas nacionais de avaliação, num trabalho alienado por parte dos professores

Urban population looking for rural landscapes: Different appreciation patterns identified in Southern Europe

In the context of the peripheral European rural landscapes, the role of the urban population, generally referred to as the ‘outsiders’, has shown to be influential in the dynamics of rural space. This influence occurs namely through the demand for non-productive functions leading to the emergence of new modes of occupancy. In addition, the emerging policy framework concerning policies and planning in rural landscapes call for an improved understanding of the diversified social demands for these landscapes. We argue that a more profound knowledge on the urban demand for rural landscape is needed to better integrate the urban interests into rural policy and planning. The present paper aims to gain greater insight on this demand by identifying landscape preferences of urban users, framed by the multifunctional transition theory, and using a photo-based survey with contrasting land covers derived from CORINE Land Cover classes. Furthermore, the use of land cover classes as the main landscape component, and thereby relating preferences to specific land covers, offers a sound basis for a territorial approach, able to integrate landscape into rural policy and land use planning practice. A case-study in Southern Portugal was developed at the regional scale and results showed different appreciation patterns for rural landscapes varying from humanised and more naturalised landscapes according to the different functions sought by urban users. Another prominent result is that urban demand for rural landscapes, even if driven by consumption, is strongly influenced by both protection and production values. A deeper knowledge on the interests of urban population can be a step forward for rural communities, land managers, and sectoral policy decision-makers to better define investment strategies in rural-urban partnerships facing the growing urban demand over rural space

CNV Characterization, Inheritance and Phenotypic Correlations in Families With Autism

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) have a strong genetic component, with an estimated heritability of over 90%1. Recent studies carried out by the Autism Genome Project (AGP) consortium suggest that rare Copy Number Variants (CNVs), characterized by submicroscopic chromosomal deletions and duplications, are more frequent in ASD compared to controls, and may play an important role in susceptibility to this disorder2. However, to adequately assess pathogenicity, a detailed characterization of patients CNVs and phenotype is required. The goal of this study was to establish the clinical and etiological relevance for ASD of potentially pathogenic CNVs identified in a Portuguese population sample by whole genome CNV analysis, through the detailed characterization of CNVs and correlation with clinical phenotypes. Analysis of the AGP genome-wide CNV results using 1M SNP microarray2 identified a total of 14218 CNVs in 342 Portuguese probands. We selected 291 CNVs, present in 191 individuals (19 females and 172 males), using the following criteria: 1) CNVs that contained implicated/candidate genes for ASD; 2) CNVs in genomic regions known to be implicated/candidate for ASD; 3) CNVs in regions associated with syndromes with ASD symptoms; and 4) high confidence CNVs that did not overlap more than 20% with controls in available databases. We explored recurrence rates, genic content, regulatory elements, inheritance patterns and phenotypic correlations.This work was supported by the fellowships SFRH/BPD/74739/2010 to ICC, SFRH/BPD/64281/2009 to CC and SFRH/BD/79081/2011 to BO from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal)

Evaluating the effect of aging on interference resolution with time-varying complex networks analysis

In this study we used graph theory analysis to investigate age-related reorganization of functional networks during the active maintenance of information that is interrupted by external interference. Additionally, we sought to investigate network differences before and after averaging network parameters between both maintenance and interference windows. We compared young and older adults by measuring their magnetoencephalographic recordings during an interference-based working memory task restricted to successful recognitions. Data analysis focused on the topology/temporal evolution of functional networks during both the maintenance and interference windows. We observed that: (a) Older adults require higher synchronization between cortical brain sites in order to achieve a successful recognition, (b) The main differences between age groups arise during the interference window, (c) Older adults show reduced ability to reorganize network topology when interference is introduced, and (d) Averaging network parameters leads to a loss of sensitivity to detect age differencesThis work has been supported by the Spanish MINECO under project [FIS2013-41057], as well as Fundación Carolina Doctoral Scholarship Program and Colciencias Doctoral Program 56

Evaluating the effect of aging on interference resolution with time-varying complex networks analysis

In this study we used graph theory analysis to investigate age-related reorganization of functional networks during the active maintenance of information that is interrupted by external interference. Additionally, we sought to investigate network differences before and after averaging network parameters between both maintenance and interference windows. We compared young and older adults by measuring their magnetoencephalographic recordings during an interference-based working memory task restricted to successful recognitions. Data analysis focused on the topology/temporal evolution of functional networks during both the maintenance and interference windows. We observed that: (a) Older adults require higher synchronization between cortical brain sites in order to achieve a successful recognition, (b) The main differences between age groups arise during the interference window, (c) Older adults show reduced ability to reorganize network topology when interference is introduced, and (d) Averaging network parameters leads to a loss of sensitivity to detect age differencesThis work has been supported by the Spanish MINECO under project [FIS2013-41057], as well as Fundación Carolina Doctoral Scholarship Program and Colciencias Doctoral Program 56