Browsing by Author "Almeida, C."
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- Metabolic profile and biological activities of Lavandula pedunculata subsp. lusitanica (Chaytor) Franco: Studies on the essential oil and polar extractsPublication . Costa, P.; Gonçalves, Sandra; Valentão, Patrícia; Andrade, Paula B.; Almeida, C.; Nogueira, J. M. F.; Romano, AnabelaWe investigated the metabolic profile and biological activities of the essential oil and polar extracts of Lavandula pedunculata subsp. lusitanica (Chaytor) Franco collected in south Portugal. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis revealed that oxygen-containing monoterpenes was the principal group of compounds identified in the essential oil. Camphor (40.6%) and fenchone (38.0%) were found as the major constituents. High-performance liquid chromatography with diode array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis allowed the identification of hydroxycinnamic acids (3-O-caffeoylquinic, 4-O-caffeoylquinic, 5-O-caffeoylquinic and rosmarinic acids) and flavones (luteolin and apigenin) in the polar extracts, with rosmarinic acid being the main compound in most of them. The bioactive compounds from L. pedunculata polar extracts were the most efficient free-radical scavengers, Fe2+ chelators and inhibitors of malondialdehyde production, while the essential oil was the most active against acetylcholinesterase. Our results reveal that the subspecies of L. pedunculata studied is a potential source of active metabolites with a positive effect on human health. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- TRIDENT – Technology based impact assessment tool foR sustaInable, transparent Deep sEa miNing exploraTion and exploitation: A project overviewPublication . Silva, E.; Viegas, D.; Martins, A.; Almeida, J.; Almeida, C.; Neves, B.; Madureira, P.; Wheeler, A. J.; Salavasidis, G.; Phillips, A.; Schaap, A.; Murton, B.; Berry, A.; Weir, A.; Dooly, G.; Omerdic, E.; Toal, D.; Collins, P. C.; Miranda, M.; Petrioli, C.; Barrera Rodríguez, C.; Demoor, D.; Drouet, C.; Serafy, G. El; Jesus, Sergio; Dañobeitia, J.; Tegas, V.; Cusi, S.; Lopes, L.; Bodo, B.; Beguery, L.; VanDam, S.; Dumortier, J.; Neves, L.; Srivastava, V.; Dahlgren, T. G.; Thomassen Hestetun, J.; Eiras, R.; Caldeira, R.; Rossi, C.; Spearman, J.; Somoza, L.; González, F. J.; Bartolomé, R.; Bahurel, P.By creating a dependable, transparent, and cost-effective system for forecasting and ongoing environmental impact monitoring of exploration and exploitation activities in the deep sea, TRIDENT seeks to contribute to the sustainable exploitation of seabed mineral resources. In order to operate autonomously in remote locations under harsh conditions and send real-time data to authorities in charge of granting licenses and providing oversight, this system will create and integrate new technology and innovative solutions. The efficient monitoring and inspection system that will be created will abide by national and international legal frameworks. At the sea surface, mid-water, and the bottom, TRIDENT will identify all pertinent physical, chemical, geological, and biological characteristics that must be monitored. It will also look for data gaps and suggest procedures for addressing them. These are crucial actions to take in order to produce accurate indicators of excellent environmental status, statistically robust environmental baselines, and thresholds for significant impact, allowing for the standardization of methods and tools. In order to monitor environmental parameters on mining and reference areas at representative spatial and temporal scales, the project consortium will thereafter develop and test an integrated system of stationary and mobile observatory platforms outfitted with the most recent automatic sensors and samplers. The system will incorporate high-capacity data processing pipelines able to gather, transmit, process, and display monitoring data in close to real-time to facilitate prompt actions for preventing major harm to the environment. Last but not least, it will offer systemic and technological solutions for predicting probable impacts of applying the developed monitoring and mitigation techniques.
- Use of different intertidal habitats by faunal communities in a temperate coastal lagoonPublication . Almeida, C.; Coelho, R.; Silva, M.; Bentes, L.; Monteiro, P.; Ribeiro, J.; Erzini, Karim; Gonçalves, J. M. S.The faunal communities of four intertidal habitats namely sand, mud, seagrass (Zostera noltii) and seagrass patches (mixSM) of a temperate coastal lagoon, Ria Formosa (southern Portugal), were sampled. A total of 47 species were taken in 428 bottomless drop sampler samples, with the highest number of species and the more commonly occurring species belonging to the Mollusca phylum. The dominance of these gastropod species underlines the importance of the grazing food chain in these habitats. Bittium reticulatum was the most abundant species, being especially abundant in the seagrass habitat. The most frequent and highest biomass species in the community was Carcinus maenas, a predator that makes use of the available resources and that is adapted to the highly variable intertidal environment. Pomatoschistus microps was the most abundant fish species, with highest densities in the mud habitat, which demonstrates an ability to occupy a low depth area. The seagrass; habitat had the highest diversity, abundance and biomass, followed by the mixSM habitat and was different from all the others. Assemblages were highly influenced by the presence of vegetation, providing forage and refuge from predation. A well defined summer group was identified in all habitats. These results highlight the importance of seagrass beds and the idea that their decrease implies the decrease of lagoon production through the impoverishment of the trophic structure of the lagoon. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Weight-length relationships for 54 species of the Arade estuary, southern PortugalPublication . Veiga, Pedro; Machado, D.; Almeida, C.; Bentes, L.; Monteiro, P.; Oliveira, F.; Ruano, M. Graça; Erzini, Karim; Gonçalves, Jorge Manuel SantosP>Weight-length relationships (WLRs) are presented for 54 species sampled by several types of fishing gear between February 2004 and May 2007, in the Arade estuary (southern Portugal). WLRs for six species are presented for the first time.