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Knowledge about consumption of fruits and vegetables: comparison between Portuguese and French consumers
Get PDFAntioxidant and Antimicrobial Activity Characteristics of Seven Biopreparations Used in Organic Farming
No full textAgroecological transition is a major societal challenge and it is urgent to support technical solutions to answer farmers demand towards the necessary changes. The project RESTORE - biopReparados Em SisTemas prOdução agRoEcológicos aimed to study and validate the production, conservation, and use of seven biopreparations by characterizing and testing them in lettuce nurseries. The biopreparations used include prickly pear vinegar, purslane vinegar, fermented orange juice, garlic extract, nettle infusion, horsetail decoction and a biopreparation of garlic and chilli. The in vitro microbiological characterization and chemical analysis of the biopreparations, which included phenolic composition and antioxidant capacity, allowed us to understand their properties and to propose the most appropriate conservation strategy. The tests were conducted in four different moments: during the biopreparations’ manufacturing, after six months of frozen storage, and after three and six months of fresh storage. One-Way ANOVA in SPSS 29.0 and PCA comparison tests were used to analyze the results. Fermented orange juice and vinegars were the biopreparations that showed the greatest outcomes in terms of antioxidant capacity and phenolic composition. Purslane vinegar had the highest average inhibition against germs. The concentration of phenolic compounds, the antioxidant capacity, and the antibacterial activity of the biopreparations varied with time and type of conservation. It is crucial to conduct more trials, using different species and recipes, to support farmers’ decision making and adoption of agroecological solutions
Vamos falar sobre acessibilidade? Proposta de plano estratégico de turismo acessível para a cidade de Viseu
No full textEste projeto explora a importância da acessibilidade no turismo, focando-se no seu impacto
social e económico, bem como na sua relevância para a criação de políticas inclusivas. A
acessibilidade no turismo beneficia não apenas as pessoas com deficiência, mas também os
idosos, famílias com crianças pequenas e pessoas que enfrentam barreiras temporárias ou
permanentes, para que possam desfrutar de espaços e serviços públicos. O crescente número
da população mundial de pessoas com deficiência e o aumento do número de idosos,
destacam a necessidade de destinos turísticos acessíveis. O trabalho visa contribuir para a
criação de um Plano Estratégico de Turismo Acessível para a cidade de Viseu, oferecendo
recomendações práticas para o Município e outros intervenientes. Foi desenvolvido no
contexto da cidade de Viseu, tendo como objetivo identificar desafios e propor estratégias
para melhorar a experiência turística de todos.
A partir da experiência prática da autora na cidade, incluindo o desenvolvimento da aplicação
móvel Walk Viseu e a realização de conferências sobre acessibilidade, a investigação enfatiza
a necessidade de práticas urbanas e turísticas inclusivas. As entrevistas aplicadas ao grupo de
pessoas com deficiência, foram centrais na investigação, fornecendo valiosos insights sobre as
suas experiências e contribuindo para a elaboração das propostas que serão apresentadas no
capítulo cinco. Também as entrevistas realizadas aos profissionais da área, permitiram
conhecer o outro lado da moeda, o de quem idealiza os espaços, e das dificuldades que podem
ter em realizar adaptações ou modificar infraestruturas pré-existentes.
Este é um projeto inovador, relevante e promissor, que pretende estabelecer Viseu como um
modelo de turismo acessível a nível nacional e internacional, promovendo um ambiente mais
inclusivo e equitativo tanto para os habitantes locais como para os visitantes.This project explores the importance of accessibility in tourism, focusing on its social and
economic impact, as well as its relevance in the development of inclusive policies.
Accessibility in tourism benefits not only people with disabilities but also the elderly, families
with young children, and individuals facing temporary or permanent barriers, allowing them
to fully enjoy public spaces and services. The global growing of population with disabilities
and the increasing number of elderly individuals highlight the need for accessible tourist
destinations.
The study aims to contribute to the creation of an Accessible Tourism Strategic Plan for the
city of Viseu, offering practical recommendations for the Municipality and other stakeholders.
Developed within the context of the city of Viseu, the project seeks to identify challenges and
propose strategies to enhance the tourism experience for all.
Drawing on the author's practical experience in the city, including the development of the
Walk Viseu mobile app and the organization of accessibility conferences, the research
emphasizes the need for inclusive urban and tourism practices. Interviews conducted with a
group of people with disabilities were central to the study, providing valuable insights into
their experiences and contributing to the elaboration of proposals that will be presented on
chapter five. Additionally, interviews with professionals in the field offered a different
perspective - that of those who design spaces shedding light on the challenges they face when
implementing adaptations or modifying pre-existent infrastructures.
This is an innovative, relevant and promising project that aims to establish Viseu as a model
for accessible tourism in Portugal, promoting a more inclusive and equitable environment for
both local residents and visitors
Automatic detection of pathologies in buildings from thermal images
No full textThe application of thermography, as a non-destructive technique to evaluate pathologies
in buildings where destructive tests are unfeasible or difficult to perform, stands out as a
valuable tool with high potential. InfraRed Thermography (IRT) offers the ability to
identify structural pathologies and abnormalities by inspecting thermal radiation from
building surfaces. While widespread, the applicability of IRT is generally constrained by
the quality of the resultant thermal images as well as their interpretative subjectivity. The
aim of this research is to circumvent these shortcomings by developing an automatic
system for the identification of construction pathologies using thermal images, which
would make building inspections more accurate and efficient.
The approach employed in this work involved the collection and categorization of a
database of thermal images, which served as the foundation for developing the automatic
detection tool. The research process was structured into several primary phases, including
problem definition, data collection, image processing, implementation of software, and
assessment.
The results of this study confirmed the instrument to be useful in detecting and mapping
construction irregularities. The presence of noise in the thermal images, nonetheless,
posed a significant threat to the accuracy of the detection process. Comparative studies
indicated that color detection methods outperformed percentile-based methods in terms
of accuracy and reliability. The image processing functions were highlighted, although
drawbacks like fixed resolution and potential memory utilization issues were noted.
In conclusion, this research contributes to automated pathology detection in building
diagnostics using infrared thermography. The developed tool can potentially assist
technicians with a more efficient and objective means of interpreting thermal images. The
tool's performance should be further enhanced, with the inclusion of machine learning
algorithms for improved accuracy, and the database populated to enable stronger neural
network training. Additionally, the incorporation of a report features to categorize
discovered pathologies by extent of damage would also make the tool more realistically
functional.A aplicação da termografia, como técnica não destrutiva para avaliar patologias em
edificações onde os ensaios destrutivos são inviáveis ou de difícil execução, destaca-se
como uma ferramenta valiosa e de alto potencial. A termografia infravermelha (IRT)
oferece a capacidade de identificar patologias e anormalidades estruturais inspecionando
a radiação térmica das superfícies dos edifícios. Embora difundida, a aplicabilidade é
geralmente limitada pela qualidade das imagens térmicas resultantes, bem como por sua
subjetividade interpretativa. O objetivo desta pesquisa é contornar essas deficiências
desenvolvendo um sistema automático para a identificação de patologias construtivas
usando imagens térmicas, o que tornaria as inspeções prediais mais precisas e eficientes.
A abordagem empregada neste trabalho envolveu a coleta e categorização de um banco
de dados de imagens térmicas, que serviu de base para o desenvolvimento da ferramenta
de detecção automática. O processo de pesquisa foi estruturado em várias fases primárias,
incluindo definição do problema, coleta de dados, processamento de imagens,
implementação de software e avaliação.
Os resultados deste estudo confirmaram que o programa é útil na detecção e mapeamento
de irregularidades na construção. A presença de ruído nas imagens térmicas, no entanto,
representou uma ameaça significativa à precisão da detecção. Estudos comparativos
indicaram que os métodos de detecção de cores superaram os métodos baseados em
percentil, em termos de precisão e confiabilidade. O processamento de imagem fora
destacado, embora tenham sido observadas desvantagens como resolução fixa e possíveis
problemas de utilização de memória.
Em conclusão, esta pesquisa contribui para a detecção automática de patologias em
edifícios usando termografia infravermelha. A ferramenta desenvolvida pode auxiliar
técnicos com um meio mais eficiente e objetivo de interpretar imagens térmicas. O
desempenho da ferramenta deve ser aprimorado ainda mais, com a inclusão de
aprendizado de máquina para maior precisão e banco de dados para permitir um
treinamento da rede neural. Além disso, recomenda-se a incorporação de funcionalidades
de relatório que permitam categorizar as patologias identificadas conforme a extensão dos
danos observados
Sustainable valorisation of local resources to promote food security: palm wine & tiger nuts
No full textThe need to utilize valuable natural resources and turn them into valuable food products is rising both for economic as well as sustainable purposes. The utilization of valuable local products helps deal with pollution, with scarcity of natural resources while also being able to provide possible alternative solutions to traditional foods and beverages, that help fight the problem of food insecurity in some areas of the globe.
This work explores the utilization of palm wine and tiger nut “milk”, to, through a fermentative process, obtain a safe alcoholic beverage, free from microbial contamination. This will allow to valorize natural resources while also preventing food insecurity.
The raw materials were obtained from Nigeria, and appropriately prepared and stored until further utilization. In brief, the sugar syrup was prepared by dissolution of fermentable sugar (sucrose), heating and cooling processes, while the tiger nut “milk” was obtained from the nuts by soaking, blending and filtering. The preparation of the fermented beverage was carried out until reaching an alcohol content between 5 and 8%. The proximate composition of the product was determined following standard chemical methodologies. Microbial as well as sensorial analyses were also conducted.
The results showed that, based on all the analyses made, including proximate composition, physicochemical properties, microbiological analyses and sensory evaluation, the sensory scores confirm that the palm wine analogue obtained competes favorably with the natural palm wine. In this way it can be used as a valuable replacement, while also exploring the utilization of alternative resources
Suggestions for resin research under the COST Action EU-PoTaRCh
No full textForest management and planning are often challenging, specifically because of the irregular income flow available to landowners. In timber production, for example, producers must wait several years before receiving returns on their investments in forested land. As a result, such economic uncertainty can make forest activities less attractive to investors and discourage effective management strategies. The forest by-products appear as an opportunity to increase the profitability of the forest lands and motivate the landowners for more effective planning. This is crucial, namely in countries where, for example, forest fires are real problems for economic activity, populations and the environment. In this context, this study, developed within the scope of the COST Action EUPoTaRCh, intends to bring more insights and suggestions for the scientific research about resin. To give suggestions, a search was performed in the Scopus database (article title, abstracts and keywords), on 02 November 2024, for the following topics: “natural resin” or “plant resin”. In the search, 4127 documents were obtained and assessed through bibliometric analysis. The results obtained show that scientific research has focused mainly on biological and chemical aspects, while social, economic, cultural, and policy dimensions remain unexplored. The study suggests promoting transdisciplinary and international collaboration, principally in countries with limited research on resin, to support more comprehensive and inclusive policies and strategies on forest byproduct
Properties of dry pasta enriched with bee drone brood powder
Get PDFThe enrichment of staple food is one of the goals of modern technologies. Pasta is one of the most appreciated foods enjoyed across diverse cultures and produced all around the world. This food makes a significant contribution to the population's energy intake, although it is generally deficient in essential nutrients. Edible insects have become an emerging trend in the search for greener and more
environmentally friendly foods. They are considered a rich source of valuable nutrients and health- related compounds. Thus, the contribution of insects to sustainability, nutrition and health can emphasise the potential of pasta through the preparation of dry pasta by partially replacing wheat semolina flour with drone brood powder (DP), which is rich in protein (27-38%). DP was obtained by cold (CE) and hot (HE) extraction processes, and after was lyophilized and milled to obtain powder. After several trials, it was possible to incorporate 10% DP-CE and 20% DP-HE in pastas and decrease the durum wheat (Triticum durum) semolina, in the same proportion. To optimise the dough drying process, three time/temperature (t/T) binomial conditions were tested for oven drying of the doughs: 12h/ 40°C, 10h/ 30°C, and 5h/ 45°C. Also, the shape (tagliatelle and lasagne plate) was tested. Pastas were evaluated in terms of its technological characteristics (optimum cooking time (OCT), cooking losses, swelling index (SI)), physical characteristics (colour and texture), chemical characteristics (nutritional composition) and sensory characteristics, and compared with a control pasta (0% DP). The optimum t/T for drying the pasta was 5h /45°C. The best shape of pastas was the tagliatelle because the lasagne plates were deformed after drying for all the drying conditions tested. The OCT, cooking loss, SI and ardness
increased with the addition of DP. The water absorption was higher in 10% DP-CE pasta. Pasta produced with 20% DP-HE presented a dark colour and higher Total Colour Difference, comparing with control
pasta. Furthermore, pasta with added DP had a higher protein, fat and ash content, meaning more nutritional quality. Sensorially, the DP pastas had an overall appreciation and a preferential purchase
intention by the tasters compared to the control pasta. DP is a promising ingredient in pasta production, contributing to human health and at the same time promoting economic returns, since beekeepers can valorise a product from the hive that is usually not used. Moreover, the produced pastas presented satisfactory technological properties, and they were also appreciated by the consumers
Harmonizando Natureza e Hospitalidade: Proposta de um Resort Ecológico na Ilha de São Miguel, Açores
Get PDFEste projeto propõe a criação de um Eco Resort na ilha de São Miguel, Açores,
com o objetivo de valorizar os recursos naturais e culturais da região e promover o
Turismo de Natureza, Turismo Sustentável e o Ecoturismo. Denominado Nature
Experiences, este empreendimento será desenvolvido com base nos princípios de
sustentabilidade, de acordo com o crescimento do setor turístico, alinhando-se pelos 17
Objetivos de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ODS).
Esta proposta é apresentada depois de um estudo realizado a potenciais turistas,
através da análise de dados de um questionário online, onde se obtiveram 109
respostas. Desta forma, pretendeu-se compreender a viabilidade da proposta e as
motivações e preferências dos turistas. Os resultados destacam o forte interesse por
iniciativas relacionadas com o contacto com a natureza e com a responsabilidade
ambiental.
O Eco Resort “Nature Experiences” será desenvolvido com infraestruturas
sustentáveis e autossuficientes, atividades que valorizam a conexão com a natureza,
preservação ambiental e integração com a comunidade local. Este projeto não apenas
contribuirá para o aumento da oferta turística nos Açores, mas também reforça o
posicionamento de São Miguel como um destino de eleição em práticas sustentáveis.This project proposes the creation of an Eco Resort on the island of São Miguel,
Azores, with the aim of enhancing the region's natural and cultural resources and
promoting Nature Tourism, Sustainable Tourism, and Ecotourism. Named Nature
Experiences, resort will be based on sustainability principles and aligned with the growth
of the tourism sector, in line with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
After a study conducted with potential tourists through data analysis from an
online survey, which gathered 109 responses. The objective was to understand the
project's feasibility, as well as the motivations and preferences of tourists. The results
highlight strong interest in initiatives that combine connection with nature and
environmental responsibility.
The Eco Resort will be developed with sustainable, self-sufficient infrastructures,
activities that enhance the connection with nature, environmental preservation, and
integration with the local community. This project will not only contribute to increase
the tourism offering in Azores but will also strengthen São Miguel's position as a top
destination for sustainable practices
Spain Is the Problem; Europe Is the Solution
Get PDFThis chapter addresses Spain’s philosophical and culture milieu at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. Particular attention will be given to the Krausist movement and its impact in politics and culture. The failure of Spanish Krausism and of the regime of “Regeneración,” largely inspired by its most prominent representatives, will give rise to the Generation of ‘98 and of a cultural movement intending to raise Spain from its social and political backwardness. Here begins a discussion about the relation of Spain to Europe and European philosophy and science. Particularly important is the debate between Ortega and Unamuno about this issue. The chapter will evaluate the position of Ortega and Unamuno, attested by an almost uninterrupted mail correspondence until 1912. The young Ortega, a proponent of “Europeanization,” will react to Unamuno’s position, who questions the benefits of becoming “European,” although finally acknowledging some of the reasons beyond Unamuno’s doubts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio