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Influence of Produced Water and Light Irradiation on the Composition of Exopolysaccharide Produced by L. amnigena Evaluated by Raman Spectroscopy
No full textThis study aimed to compare the changes in the composition of the exopolysaccharide (EPS) produced by Lelliottia amnigena in culture medium containing distilled water (DW) and dialyzed produced water (DPW) irradiated by either Laser (λ660 nm, 8.0 J/cm2) or LED (λ630 nm, 12.0 J/cm2) during bacterial growth using Raman spectroscopy at 1064 nm. The cultures of L. amnigena were irradiated at 9‐ and 12‐h, and the EPS obtained from different production protocols were analyzed dehydrated. Raman spectra showed peaks assigned to saccharides from EPS polymer, and principal component analysis revealed differences in the composition of the EPS produced depending on the water used in production and the light source used for irradiation. Remarkably, the presence of acyl groups (acetyl and pyruvyl) in the mannose residues at the group DW and mannose without evidence of acetyl in the irradiated groups; the irradiated groups also presented evidence of carboxylate (succinyl).The authors received no specific funding for this work
Avaliação do Efeito da Reabilitação de Rios Urbanos na Biodiversidade e Condição Ecológica: O caso do Rio Fervença (Bragança, NE Portugal)
Get PDFDiferentes atividades antrópicas estão na origem da degradação de ecossistemas
terrestres e em particular de água doce, entre os mais ameaçados, à escala mundial.
Com efeito, a fragmentação de habitats aquáticos e ribeirinhos, a poluição da água, a
introdução de espécies invasoras, a sobre-exploração de recursos e as alterações
climáticas têm contribuído para uma contínua perda de biodiversidade e integridade
ecológica. Nos rios urbanos a influência humana ainda é mais expressiva, tendo
justificado a implementação de muitos projetos de reabilitação fluvial, maioritariamente
orientados para a regulação e controlo de cheias e embelezamento de áreas marginais,
sem preocupação de garantir a biodiversidade e serviços de ecossistema associados.
Neste enquadramento, o presente estudo teve como objetivo avaliar os efeitos da
reabilitação na biodiversidade e qualidade ecológica do rio Fervença, em particular no
setor urbano - zona POLIS da cidade de Bragança (NE Portugal). Assim, no ano de
2024, foram amostrados, com periodicidade sazonal (inverno, primavera e verão), 14
locais de amostragem distribuídos pelos rios Fervença e Sabor (locais de referência).
Foram aplicadas as metodologias definidas pela Agência Portuguesa do Ambiente
(APA), no âmbito da Diretiva Quadro da Água (DQA), para avaliação dos elementos 1)
físico-químicos da água e 2) hidromorfológicos, de suporte aos elementos 3) biológicos,
caso das comunidades de macroinvertebrados e peixes. Consideraram-se 6 setores
correspondentes às seguintes tipologias: 1) RM - Referência montante (S1 e S2); 2) MR-
Montante rural (F1, F2); MU - Montante urbano (F3, F4); 4) RP - Reabilitado POLIS (F5
a F8); JU - Jusante urbano (F9, F10); e RJ - Referência jusante (S3 e S4). Os resultados
obtidos para a qualidade da água, baseados em análises de redundâncias (dbRDA, 71%
da variância explicada) e testes univariados (testes H Kruskall-Wallis, P<0,05),
evidenciaram diferenças significativas, nomeadamente entre os setores urbanos (RP e
JU) e de referência (RM), para as variáveis físico-químicos da condutividade, total de
sólidos dissolvidos, fosfatos, cloretos e acidez total. No que respeita aos habitats
aquáticos e ribeirinhos, os índices de modificação (HMS) e qualidade (HQA) do habitat
(River Habitat Survey, RHS) foram suficientemente sensíveis para detetar a degradação
aquática e ribeirinha nos setores urbanos, com especial destaque para a zona
reabilitada POLIS. Relativamente às respostas bióticas foram também encontradas
diferenças significativas (testes PERMANOVA 2-way, P<0,05), nomeadamente entre os
setores e as estações do ano para as comunidades de invertebrados e apenas entre
setores para as comunidades de peixes. Nas comunidades de invertebrados, a análise
multivariada (ordenação nMDS, testes ANOSIM e SIMPER) permitiu identificar famílias
e diferenciar comunidades euribiontes, típicas de zonas perturbadas (RP e RJ), das comunidades estenobiontes, presentes nas zonas de referência. Com efeito, apesar de
superior abundância de organismos, a diversidade (H’) e equitabilidade (J’) foi inferior
nas zonas perturbadas, concentrada no domínio avassalador de Crustacea (Asellidae)
e ainda de Gastropoda (Physidae, Lymnaeidae), Hirudinea (Erpodbdellidae,
Glossiphoniidae), Oligochaeta e Diptera (Chiroinomidae, Simuliidae). Registo ainda para
a presença assinalável de espécies invasoras, como o lagostim-sinal (Pacifastacus
leniusculus). Por sua vez, sobressaem nas comunidades dos locais de referência
táxones pertencentes aos Ephemeroptera (Ephemerellidae, Siphlonuridae), Plecoptera
(Leuctridae, Perlidae) e Trichoptera (Sericostomatidae, Calamoceratidae), indicadores
da saúde do ecossistema fluvial. No caso da comunidade piscícola, os resultados
obtidos evidenciaram, à semelhança das comunidades de invertebrados, uma
separação evidente entre comunidades de setores de referência relativamente a setores
urbanos. Registo para o crescente domínio de espécies exóticas, caso góbio (Gobio
lozanoi), gambúsia (Gambusia holbrooki) e perca-sol (Lepomis gibbosus) nos locais
mais antropizados (RP e JU), particularmente sob efeito da poluição e regularização
(e.g., açudes), em detrimento das espécies reófilas nativas, caso da truta-de-rio (Salmo
trutta), boga-do-norte (Pseudochondrostoma duriense), em maior abundância em locais
de boa integridade ecológica (RM, RJ). Ficou ainda evidente que o verão parece ser a
estação do ano mais crítica para as comunidades de invertebrados e menos para os
peixes, provavelmente pelas condições ambientais mais adversas, potenciadas pelos
caudais inferiores detetados ultimamente em função das alterações climáticas patentes.
Os resultados baseados nos dados atuais e respetiva comparação com a situação de
pré-reabilitação, evidenciaram a inexistência de ganhos em termos de biodiversidade e
estado ecológico do rio Fervença, nomeadamente no setor urbano - zona POLIS, 20
anos após a execução das obras de reabilitação na cidade de Bragança. Neste sentido,
configura-se a necessidade de aplicar medidas/ações de melhoria do ambiente aquático
e ribeirinho, no sentido de recuperar serviços de ecossistema associados à valorização
da componente ecológica. Entre as ações sugerem-se a mitigação/minimização e/ou
eliminação de impactes negativos (e.g., inputs localizados de poluição), o recurso a
soluções baseadas na natureza (e.g., técnicas de engenharia natural nos habitats
degradados), a gestão eficiente da água (e.g., reuso de água da ETAR), a gestão
adaptativa às alterações climáticas (e.g., reforço de galerias ripícolas), com o intuito de
promover a recuperação e conservação do rio Fervença num quadro de sustentabilidade
ecológica.Different human activities are responsible for the degradation of many ecosystems, with
particular emphasis on freshwater systems, which are among the most threatened
worldwide. Indeed, the fragmentation of aquatic and riparian habitats, water pollution,
the introduction of invasive alien species, the overexploitation of resources and climate
change have contributed to an ongoing loss of biodiversity and ecological integrity. In
urban rivers, human influence is still more significant, justifying the implementation of
many river rehabilitation projects, mainly aimed at regulating and controlling floods and
beautifying marginal areas, without any concern for increasing biodiversity and
associated ecosystem services. In this context, the present study aimed to evaluate the
effects of the rehabilitation on the biodiversity and ecological quality of the Fervença
River, particularly in the urban sector - POLIS zone of the Bragança city (NE Portugal).
Thus, in 2014, 14 sampling sites distributed along the Fervença and Sabor (reference
sites) rivers were sampled seasonally (winter, spring and summer). The methodologies
defined by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), within the scope of the Water
Framework Directive (WFD), were applied to assess 3 different elements: 1) physical-
chemical water variables; and 2) hydromorphological evaluation supporting the 3)
biological communities, namely macroinvertebrate and fish. Six sectors corresponding
to the following typologies were also considered: 1) RM - Upstream reference (S1 and
S2); 2) MR- Rural Upstream (F1, F2); MU - Urban Upstream (F3, F4); 4) RP - POLIS
Rehabilitation (F5 to F8); JU - Urban downstream (F9, F10); and RJ - Downstream
reference (S3 and S4). The results obtained for water quality, based on redundancy
analysis (dbRDA, 71% of the variance explained) and univariate tests (Kruskall-Wallis H
tests, P<0.05), showed significant differences, notably between sectors under urban
influence (RP and JU) and reference (RM) condition, for the physical-chemical
parameters of water conductivity, total dissolved solids, phosphates, chlorides and total
acidity. Regarding aquatic and riparian habitats, habitat modification (HMS) and quality
(HQA) indices (River Habitat Survey, RHS) were enough sensitive to detect aquatic and
riparian degradation in urban sectors, with special emphasis on the POLIS rehabilitated
area. Relatively to the biotic responses, significant differences were also found (2-way
PERMANOVA tests, P<0.05), namely between sectors and seasons for invertebrate
communities and only between sectors for fish communities. Regarding invertebrate
communities, multivariate analysis (nMDS ordination, ANOSIM and SIMPER tests)
allowed the identification of families and the differentiation of eurybiont communities,
typical of disturbed areas (RP and RJ), from stenobiont communities, present in
reference areas. In fact, despite the higher abundance of organisms, diversity (H’) and equitability (J’) were lower in disturbed areas, concentrated in the overwhelming
dominance mainly of Crustacea (Asellidae) but also of Gastropoda (Physidae,
Lymnaeidae), Oligochaeta, Hirudinea (Erpodbdellidae, Glossiphoniidae) and Diptera
(Chiroinomidae, Simuliidae). Also noteworthy is the notable presence of invasive
species, such as the signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus). In contrast, taxa
belonging to the Ephemeroptera (Ephemerellidae, Siphlonuridae), Plecoptera
(Leuctridae, Perlidae) and Trichoptera (Sericostomatidae, Calamoceratidae) stand out
in the communities of the reference sites, being indicators of the health of the river
ecosystem. In the case of the fish community, the results obtained showed, similarly to
the invertebrate communities, a clear separation between communities in reference
sectors in relation to urban sectors. It must be highlight the dominance of exotic species,
such as Pyrenean gudgeon (Gobio lozanoi), mosquito-fish (Gambusia holbrooki) and
pumpkinseed (Lepomis gibbosus) in the most anthropized sites (RP and JU), particularly
under the effect of pollution and regulation of weirs, to the detriment of native rheophilic
species, such as brown trout (Salmo trutta), northern straight-mouth nase
(Pseudochondrostoma duriense), in greater abundance in reference sites of good
ecological integrity (RM, RJ). It was also evident that summer appears to be the most
critical season for invertebrate communities and less for fish, probably due to more
adverse environmental conditions, exacerbated by the lower flows, detected more
recently, due to evident climate changes.
The results obtained, based on current data and comparisons with the pre-rehabilitation
situation, showed the lack of gains in terms of biodiversity and ecological state of the
Fervença river, particularly in the urban sector - POLIS zone, 20 years after the execution
of the rehabilitation works in Bragança. In this sense, there is a need to apply measures/
actions to improve the aquatic and riparian environment, to recover associated
ecosystem services with the valorization of the ecological component. The suggested
actions include mitigation/ minimization and/or elimination of negative impacts (e.g.,
point-source pollution), the use of nature-based solutions (e.g., natural engineering
techniques in degraded habitats), efficient water management (e.g., reuse of water from
the WWTP), adaptive management of climate change (e.g., reinforcement of riparian
galleries), with the aim of promoting the recovery and conservation of the Fervença river,
within a framework of ecological sustainability
Occupational exposure to wildland firefighting and its effects on systemic DNA damage
No full textPortugal is among the European Union countries more devastated by forest fires. Wildland fire-
fighters are at the forefront of this battle, facing exposure to a wide range of harmful pollutants. Epidemiological
studies have highlighted a potential link between occupational firefighting exposure and several diseases,
including cancer. To date, very few studies have explored the biological mechanisms associated with such
exposure. The present longitudinal study aims to assess changes in early effect biomarkers following wildland
firefighters’ occupational exposure to a real wildfire event.
Paired blood samples from 59 healthy Portuguese wildland firefighters were collected at two different
time points: before wildfire season and after a fire event during wildfire season. Sociodemographic variables (e.
g., age, sex) and work-related factors (e.g., years of service) were assessed via a self-reported questionnaire.
Levels of early effect biomarkers, such as primary DNA damage and oxidative DNA damage (oxidised purines)
were assessed via comet assay. DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) were evaluated by phosphorylated H2AX
(γH2AX). Moreover, hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites (OHPAHs) and metal(loid)s
were quantified in urine samples. The influence of urinary OHPAHs, urinary metal(loid)s, and other exposure-
related factors (e.g., firefighting duration) on changes (Δ) in early effect biomarkers (post-vs. baseline levels)
was investigated.
Firefighting activities led to a significant increase in both primary DNA damage and oxidative DNA
damage by 22 % (95 % CI: 1.11–1.35; p < 0.05) and 23 % (95 % CI: 1.04–1.45; p < 0.05), respectively. Results
from linear regression revealed that per each unit increase of urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene (2-OHFlu) (μmol/mol
creatinine), the risk of ⧍ oxidative DNA damage increased by 20 % [FR: 1.20 (1.09–1.32); p < 0.01]. Addi-
tionally, each unit increase in urinary cesium (Cs) (μg/L) resulted in a significant 4 % increase in Δ primary DNA
damage [FR: 1.04 (1.01–1.06); p < 0.05] and a 3 % increase in Δ oxidative DNA damage [FR: 1.03 (1.01–1.05);
p < 0.05]. Post-exposure levels of γH2AX were significantly correlated with urinary 2-OHFlu levels assessed after firefighting (r = 0.30; p < 0.05). Furthermore, exposure duration and reported breathing difficulties during
firefighting were significantly associated with increased levels of primary DNA damage.
Results obtained provide insights into the potential human health effects of wildland firefighting
occupational exposure at the genetic and molecular levels, offering new and important mechanistic data. These
findings are crucial for implementing health and safety measures, recommendations, and best practices to
mitigate occupational risks and protect the health of wildland firefighters.This work received financial support from the project PCIF/SSO/
0017/2018 (https://doi.org/10.54499/PCIF/SSO/0017/2018) by the
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Ministério da Ciência,
Tecnologia e Ensino Superior (MCTES), through national funds. This
work is financed by national funds through the FCT within the scope of
projects UIDB/04750/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04750
/2020) and LA/P/0064/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0064/
2020). Filipa Esteves was supported by National Funds through FCT,
under the Ph.D. fellowship UI/BD/150783/2020. The work of Stefano
Bonassi was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Cor-
rente), Rome, Italy, and by the Competitive Funding for University
Research Projects [Finanziamento competitivo di progetti di ricerca di
ateneo (FIN/RIC)] San Raffaele University, Rome, Italy
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Food Safety Policies in Portugal: A Stakeholder-Based Analysis of Challenges and Opportunities for Food Safety Governance
Get PDFFood safety is a fundamental component of public health, economic stability, and consumer confidence. In Portugal, the National Integrated Multiannual Control Plan (NIMCP) serves as a strategic framework for ensuring food safety and compliance with European Union food regulations. However, challenges persist in policy implementation and enforcement, as well as in stakeholder engagement, which impact the effectiveness of food safety governance. This study employs a mixed-methods approach to assess stakeholder perceptions of the NIMCP, focusing on levels of compliance, barriers to its implementation, and potential improvement measures. A structured online survey was conducted with 217 stakeholders, including representatives of public institutions, private entities, associations, and consumer groups. The survey assessed the perceived importance of the NIMCP objectives and levels of compliance and identified barriers, such as a lack of communication between public entities, the dispersion of responsible agencies, and insufficient dissemination of information. The results indicate that stakeholders perceive a satisfactory level of compliance with the NIMCP objectives, especially in areas such as animal health and risk control. However, challenges persist in ensuring plant health and implementing official controls. Furthermore, stakeholders highlight systemic inefficiencies and resource constraints. The main barriers include fragmented governance structures, limited inter-agency collaboration, and insufficient professional training. Stakeholders proposed various improvement measures, emphasizing the need for better coordination, planning, and communication, including awareness campaigns for operators, the creation of an integrated IT network, and the development of training programs. The Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) revealed that risk control and consumer protection are top priorities for all stakeholder groups, while plant and animal health receive lower priority. The study concludes that while the NIMCP is generally perceived as effective, addressing systemic issues such as coordination, communication, and resource allocation is essential to improving food safety governance. Policymakers are encouraged to adopt a more structured and integrated approach to improve implementation of the NIMCP, ultimately strengthening public health protection and consumer confidence in the food supply chain.Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation (FCT): projects UIDB/CVT/00772/2020 and LA/P/0059/2020
Museums and the Art Reforms of the First Portuguese Republic (1910–1926)
No full textThis volume introduces a global perspective to Portuguese art history encompassing three centuries, from the eighteenth to the twentieth century. It aims to analyse the histories of objects, museums, exhibitions, and collections in Portugal and the Portuguese-speaking world between the beginning of the eighteenth century and the late twentieth century, after the fall of the Estado Novo (New State) dictatorship in 1974 and the dismantling of the scattered remains of the Portuguese colonial empire in 1975. This was also the historical period that witnessed the development and proliferation of different collecting and displaying practices throughout the world. The aim of this volume is, hence, twofold: to understand the ways in which objects, collections, exhibitions, and cultural institutions contributed to shape Portuguese culture and identity, and to set the Portuguese case against a global, transnational, and transcolonial context and to present it as a reference for similar studies concerned with other national and colonial contexts
Collaborative fault tolerance for cyber–physical systems: The detection stage
Get PDFIn the era of Industry 4.0, fault tolerance is essential for maintaining the robustness and resilience of industrial systems facing unforeseen or undesirable disturbances. Current methodologies for fault tolerance stages namely, detection, diagnosis, and recovery, do not correspond with the accelerated technological evolution pace over the past two decades. Driven by the advent of digital technologies such as Internet of Things, cloud and edge computing, and artificial intelligence, associated with enhanced computational processing and communication capabilities, local or monolithic centralized fault tolerance methodologies are out of sync with contemporary and future systems. Consequently, these methodologies are limited in achieving the maximum benefits enabled by the integration of these technologies, such as accuracy and performance improvements.
Accordingly, in this paper, a collaborative fault tolerance methodology for cyber–physical systems, named Collaborative Fault * (CF*), is proposed. The proposed methodology takes advantage of the inherent data analysis and communication capabilities of cyber–physical components. The proposed methodology is based on multi-agent system principles, where key components are self-fault tolerant, and adopts collaborative and distributed intelligence behavior when necessary to improve its fault tolerance capabilities. Experiments were conducted focusing on the fault detection stage for temperature and humidity sensors in warehouse racks. The experimental results confirmed the accuracy and performance improvements under CF* compared with the local methodology and competitiveness when compared with a centralized approach.This work was supported by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tec-
nologia (FCT) through Portugal National funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC):
CeDRI, UIDB/05757/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/05757/2020) and
UIDP/05757/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDP/05757/2020) and SusTEC,
LA/P/0007/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/LA/P/0007/2020). The author Luis
Piardi thank Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) for the PhD
Grant UI/BD/151286/2021 (DOI: 10.54499/UI/BD/151286/2021)
COI Metabarcoding as a Novel Approach for Assessing the Honey Bee Source of European Honey
Get PDFHoney is a widely consumed food product frequently subjected to adulteration, with the mislabeling of its botanical or geographical origin being one of the most common practices. Determining the entomological origin of honey is particularly challenging but of high relevance for ensuring its authenticity, especially for products with protected designation of origin (PDO) labels. This study presents a novel DNA metabarcoding approach targeting a highly informative 406 bp fragment of the cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) gene to differentiate among the three major mitochondrial lineages (A, M, and C) of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) native to Europe. The target region was selected based on the calculated fixation index (FST), which is frequently used in Population Genetics as a measure of differentiation between populations. The approach was validated with 11 honey samples of known entomological origin and applied to 44 commercial honeys from 13 countries. The approach demonstrated high sensitivity, accurately identifying the entomological origin of honey, including samples produced by honey bees of varying ancestries, which could not be resolved by previous methods based on real-time PCR coupled with high-resolution melting (PCR-HRM) analysis. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of COI metabarcoding in verifying honey authenticity and highlight the predominance of C-lineage honey bees in the production of commercial honeys from northwestern Europe. This finding suggests a limited presence of the native M-lineage ancestry, underscoring the need for conservation efforts.The authors are grateful to Bruno Martins (Fenapícola and Capemel) and Dinis
Silva for the Portuguese reference honeys, Antonio Nanetti (CREA-AA) for the Italian reference
honeys, and António Pajuelo (Pajuelo Consultores Apícolas S.L.) for the Spanish reference honey
Path planning and optimization of autonomous mobile robots in a logistics warehouse scenario
Get PDFMestrado de dupla diplomação com a Associação Educativa Evangélica – UniEvangélica – Universidade de GoiasThe use of robots in manufacturing and storage environments is increasing every day. Their benefits within a company’s logistics and their speed in performing tasks make them more productive in terms of carrying out tasks directed towards a common goal. With this, the main objective of this work is to optimize the path planning of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) for later use in various applications, focusing on logistics warehouse scenarios. The work involves the analysis and improvement of algorithms (and their variants) for control and movement of AMRs, focusing on reducing the execution time of the algorithm itself. Variants of the A* algorithm were implemented and used in path planning problems, aiming to find the shortest path for robots, even in environments with obstacles.
The adopted methodology includes a literature review of algorithm models for use in the context of this work, as well as the analysis of algorithm variants found for adaptation and use in the proposed scenario. After analyzing them, the obtained results were checked and compared for two different map models.
The performance of the algorithm depends on the functions programmed into it and the steps it must go through to get from the start point to the end point. The greater the number of functions in the algorithm, the longer its execution time will be. The generation of graphs to visualize the algorithm’s result requires most of this execution time, as it uses visual resources to show the user the proper functioning of the tested algorithm.
The analyses and tests conducted revealed that, although both algorithms have quick response times suitable for use in scenarios with entry warehouses, exit warehouses, and obstacles along the route, the Sakai A* algorithm variant proved to be more efficient due to its simple structure, fewer steps within the algorithm, and agile response time in generating optimal solutions. This had a shorter execution time compared to the Mehdi A* algorithm variant, which, although good, proved to be slower in obtaining the optimal path
Impact of occupational exposure to wildfire events on systemic inflammatory biomarkers in Portuguese wildland firefighters
No full textWhile occupational exposure as a firefighter is considered a dangerous occupation, research on the underlying
mechanisms remains limited, particularly in wildland firefighters. Inflammation, a key effect of wildfire expo-
sure, plays a significant role in the development of various diseases. The current study aims to investigate the
impact of wildland firefighting exposure on the levels of pro-inflammatory systemic biomarkers. A pre-post study
design investigated 59 wildland firefighters comparing data collected after participation in a wildfire event
(Phase II) with data obtained before wildfire season (Phase I). Data on demographics, lifestyle, health and
occupational-related factors were assessed. Exposure factors, such as fire combat (e.g., exposure duration), were
also registered. Inflammatory biomarkers (i.e. interleukin-6 [IL-6], interleukin-8 [IL-8], tumor necrosis factor α
[TNF-α] and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein [hs-CRP]) and hydroxylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
metabolites (1-OHNaph+1-OHAce, 2-OHFlu, 1-OHPhen, 1-OHPyr) were analysed in blood and urine samples,
respectively. Serum IL-8 and IL-6 levels were significantly increased after wildland fire combat. IL-8 levels were
2.62 times higher (95 % CI: 1.96–3.50; p < 0.01), whereas IL-6 levels were 1.25 times higher (95 % CI:
1.00–1.57; p = 0.04). Furthermore, IL-8 levels were significantly correlated with urinary 2-hydroxyfluorene
levels and fire combat duration (>12 h). In addition, the mean hs-CRP level, in both phases, was above 3.0
mg/L, indicating a potential risk for cardiovascular events. Given the long-term health implications of fire-
fighting occupational exposure, biomonitoring and early detection of occupational risks are essential for pro-
tecting firefighters’ health. Protective measures must be urgently implemented to enhance occupational health
and strengthen preventive strategies in this sector.This work received financial support from the project PCIF/SSO/
0017/2018
(https://doi.org/10.54499/PCIF/SSO/0017/2018) by the Fundaç˜ao
para a Ciˆencia e a Tecnologia (FCT), Minist´erio da Ciˆencia, Tecnologia e
Ensino Superior (MCTES), through national funds. This work is financed
by national funds through the FCT within the scope of projects UIDB/
04750/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/UIDB/04750/2020) and LA/
P/0064/2020 (https://doi.org/10.54499/LA/P/0064/2020). Filipa
Esteves was supported by National Funds through FCT, under the Ph.D.
fellowship UI/BD/150783/2020. The work of Stefano Bonassi was
supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente), Rome,
Italy, and by the Competitive Funding for University Research Projects
[Finanziamento competitivo di progetti di ricerca di ateneo (FIN/RIC)]
San Raffaele University, Rome, Ital
Climate Denialism on Social Media: Qualitative Analysis of Comments on Portuguese Newspaper Facebook Pages
Get PDFClimate denialism represents a significant challenge to public awareness and the implementation of effective environmental policies. In Portugal, as in other countries, social networks have been the place where denialist ideas are disseminated, influencing the public perception of the climate crisis. This research aims to understand how denialist discourse manifests and spreads on digital platforms. The research question of this work is: how does climate denialist discourse manifest itself on social media in Portugal? This work has two objectives: (1) to analyze the arguments and discursive strategies used by climate deniers in comments on Facebook, specifically on the pages of the three largest Portuguese newspapers, and (2) to understand the social and discursive dynamics that underpin their beliefs. This work adopted a qualitative methodology that involved manual data collection during the month of September 2024. Posts about climate that were informative were selected. The comments were examined manually and categorized by type of discourse. This approach enabled capturing specific nuances and contexts of denial discourses, providing a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. The study concluded that (I) comments that use fallacies or rhetoric that deny the climate crisis tended to receive more “likes” and approval from users; (II) fallacies that do not offer scientific evidence to refute the existence of climate change were identified in all these comments.This work has been supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the
Project Scope: UIDB/05777/2020.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio