University of Lisbon

About: University of Lisbon is a education organization based out in Lisbon, Lisboa, Portugal. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 19122 authors who have published 48503 publications receiving 1102623 citations. The organization is also known as: Universidade de Lisboa & Lisbon University.

Rosmarinus officinalis L.: an update review of its phytochemistry and biological activity

Abstract: The worldwide interest in the use of medicinal plants has been growing, and its beneficial effects being rediscovered for the development of new drugs. Based on their vast ethnopharmacological applications, which inspired current research in drug discovery, natural products can provide new and important leads against various pharmacological targets. This work pioneers an extensive and an updated literature review on the current state of research on Rosmarinus officinalis L., elucidating which compounds and biological activities are the most relevant. Therefore, a search was made in the databases PubMed, ScienceDirect and Web of Science with the terms ‘rosemary’, ‘Rosmarinus officinalis’, ‘rosmarinic acid’ ‘carnosol’ and ‘carnosic acid’, which included 286 articles published since 1990 about rosemary's pharmacological activities and their isolated compounds. According to these references, there has been an increasing interest in the therapeutic properties of this plant, regarding carnosic acid, carnosol, r...

New toxic emerging contaminants: beyond the toxicological effects.

Abstract: As members of the International scientific community, our responsibility to our planet is based on three main pillars. First, to develop new techniques and methodologies to detect and control all class of contaminants; second, to use our abilities to deliver new modes to clean our waters, soils, and polluted air; and third, and much more importantly, to teach the new generations respect for the environment, the land, and all animal species. If these three pillars are not achieved soon, a future history can be the following: An extra-terrestrial intelligence approaching planet Earth would see an incredible blue color spotted with white clouds here and there. Such alien would easily recognize liquid water on Earth’s surface, and every member of the space ship’s crew would be anxious to contact the intelligent native species of that bluewhite-green planet. The aliens know there is intelligence living on Earth for two reasons: one is because they found an invitation to visit the planet traveling through the deep space (Voyager mission), and the second one is because they detected the radio signals coming from our solar system long time ago. As the spaceship approaches, the scientific instruments with which the ship is provided start to deliver data. Firstly, the aliens discover that humans organize themselves mostly in colonies, ranging in size and complexity. The data reaching the alien computers also continuously confirms that there are sophisticated structures, such as the pyramids of Egypt and Mexico, the Chinese Wall, the New York and LA skyscrapers, the bridges, the satellites, and even the international spaceships orbiting among the other planets. The aliens are pleased. After searching for intelligence thousands of years, they find that planet they are traveling to is inhabited by an intelligent species. How much new knowledge does this species treasure? How will the colonies react upon their arrival? However, other more disturbing data soon replace such questions. Some of the data reaching their computers do not match what the aliens are expecting. The atmosphere of the planet is full of chemical compounds, which the aliens know are not formed by natural processes. They find molecules that can only be produced by sophisticated processes, other than life. This is not what scares them the most, as they also produce similar compounds. What scares them the most are the amounts of such compounds. These data do not match those of an intelligent species, and so they decide to hide their presence and send in some explorers, to bring back some water and animal samples. The secret mission goes back to the mother ship and brings water from the Great Lakes and Oceans, some fishes and small animals from the same place, and thousands of pictures from the planet. The pictures reveal something intriguing to the aliens. The human colonies spread through the entire planet, but in a number that is considered unsustainable. The advanced alien software reveals that the resources needed to maintain such colonies will collapse soon. Furthermore, the pictures reveal that the organisms that sustain life in the planet by producing the molecule that enables chemical reactions in living organisms (O2) are systematically destroyed by the intelligent species. Evenworse, they find out that there is no initiative to stop Special Issue: 2nd PTIM, International Caparica Conference on Pollutant Toxic Ions and Molecules.

Design and implementation of hybrid renewable energy systems on micro-communities: A review on case studies

Abstract: In a world struggling for sustainable access to energy for all, renewable energy systems can be a solution to implement on isolated micro-communities. However, such an implementation is still a challenge. This paper aims to review several types of projects developed in different micro-communities, namely small islands and remote villages, both in cases of real implementation and only evaluation studies. To do that, we analyzed documented projects in micro-communities with less than 100,000 people. We looked into different indicators related to island characterization, energy demand and proposed technical solution, in order to identify the determinant factors for the success of the implementation and how do they differ for islands and remote villages. In islands, the main factors that influence the achievement of higher percentages of renewable source (RES) are the design of the existing energy system, the presence of a reliable energy storage system and the profile of the electricity demand, especially the occurrence of peak demand and seasonal oscillations. In general, the more popular configuration is a diesel/wind/photovoltaic. In remote villages, higher percentages of RES are meet more easily in cases of very low demand, unstructured previous electric supply and the capability of using batteries as storage. The more popular configuration is the photovoltaic/diesel/batteries. Having detailed demand information, estimates from the local renewable resources and the adequacy of the storage system are critical aspects for the system's design and its successful and reliable application. This review also shows that the data reported in many different case studies is often incomplete, which makes it hard to benchmark and evaluate the different projects. Thus, this paper proposes a methodology to report the data regarding the design and implementation of hybrid renewable energy systems, to enable the comparison of future projects and contribute to the discovery of new insights about the implementability of these systems.

In Situ Accessibility of Small-Subunit rRNA of Members of the Domains Bacteria, Archaea, and Eucarya to Cy3-Labeled Oligonucleotide Probes

Abstract: Low accessibility of the rRNA is together with cell wall impermeability and low cellular ribosome content a frequent reason for failure of whole-cell fluorescence hybridization with fluorescently labeled oligonucleotide probes. In this study we compare accessibility data for the 16S rRNA of Escherichia coli (gamma Proteobacteria, Bacteria) with the phylogenetically distantly related organisms Pirellula sp. strain 1 (Planctomycetes, Bacteria) and Metallosphaera sedula (Crenarchaeota, Archaea) and the 18S rRNA accessibility of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Eucarya). For a total of 537 Cy3-labeled probes, the signal intensities of hybridized cells were quantified under standardized conditions by flow cytometry. The relative probe-conferred fluorescence intensities are shown on color-coded small-subunit rRNA secondary-structure models. For Pirellula sp., most of the probes belong to class II and III (72% of the whole data set), whereas most of the probes targeting sites on M. sedula were grouped into class V and VI (46% of the whole data set). For E. coli, 45% of all probes of the data set belong to class III and IV. A consensus model for the accessibility of the small-subunit rRNA to oligonucleotide probes is proposed which uses 60 homolog target sites of the three prokaryotic 16S rRNA molecules. In general, open regions were localized around helices 13 and 14 including target positions 285 to 338, whereas helix 22 (positions 585 to 656) and the 3 half of helix 47 (positions 1320 to 1345) were generally inaccessible. Finally, the 16S rRNA consensus model was compared to data on the in situ accessibility of the 18S rRNA of S. cerevisiae.