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ABSTRACT Aging phenomenon has a key role in the deterioration of the asphalt mixtures performance. The modification of asphalt binders with nanomaterials that can retard the aging process can be [...]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study is to evaluate the effects of nanomodifications in the asphalt mixture performance. Three types of nanoparticles were used: silica, zero-valent iron and bentonite. The [...]

In current society, body and beauty's cult emerge as one of the main factors of adolescence. That leads adolescents to be dissatisfied with their own appearance, to psychological maladjustment, and nutritional disorders. This quantitative, exploratory, and cross-sectional research evaluates how adolescents perceive their weight and the prevalence of obesity in a sample of adolescents from the district of Viseu (Portugal). It also attempted to compare the relation of body-image and obesity with sociodemographic (school, sex, age, socioeconomic status, family functioning), psychological (self-concept, depression, school success) and behavioral aspects (physical inactivity). After data analyses, it was verified that the prevalence of obesity was 8.8% but 12.7% considered themselves obese. These adolescents had higher physical inactivity, poorer family functioning, a lower self-concept, and a higher depression index. The really obese adolescents were older and had poorer academic results. Obesity was higher in boys, but girls perceived themselves more as being obese. In conclusion, it is essential to evaluate weight perception in addition to body mass index (BMI), because the main problem could be related not only to being obese, but also to the perception of having a higher than ideal weight.

Consensus-Degenerate Oligonucleotide Hybrid Primers (CODEHOP) were designed by using the WWW-implemented strategy, based on multiple alignments of nitrile hydratase (NHase) α subunit, available from EMBL database. These primers were successfully tested with known NHase-producing bacterial strains such as Agrobacterium tumefaciens DSM 9674, Rhodococcus erythropolis DSM 9675, R. erythropolis 9685 and R. erythropolis 11397 and also allowed amplification from organisms not previously referenced (Variovorax sp. DSM 11402 and Agrobacterium sp. DSM 11401). Hybrid primer utilisation was evaluated by analysing the incorporated sequences in cloned PCR fragments. Several primers from the oligonucleotide pool seemed to participate in the amplification of the correct fragment.  Common garden soil was used as a source for both acetonitrile culture enrichment screening and direct DNA extraction. A R. erythropolis strain (CCMI 1005) was isolated by culture enrichment and allowed the PCR amplification of a DNA sequence (AJ548493) identical to the NHase coding sequences commonly described for that species, while the direct use of soil DNA as template led to the CODEHOP detection of two putative NHase coding sequences (AJ548498 and AJ548499), which were significantly different from any other known sequence. The phylogenetic relationship between all sequences obtained and the published NHase coding sequences was assessed by neighbour-joining analysis. The results demonstrate the use of consensus-degenerate primers in NHase detection from organisms known to express it and in the screening for new NHase family members. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

•TEAGE ageing method simulates ageing due to the exposure to environmental conditions.•TEAGE ageing method seems to simulate well the climate effect on asphalt mixtures.•7-year field ageing from two locations, Lisbon and Huambo, was simulated using TEAGE.•The asphalt mixtures' performance under unaged and aged conditions was evaluated.