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Cultural-historical research has had a relevant presence in Spain and, to a lesser extent, in Portugal, since the 1970s. A review of the state of the art of the cultural-historical approach in these two countries allows us to identify four general lines of research: 1) sociocultural activities, mental actions, and semiotic mediation; 2) education in schools; 3) education beyond schools, including educational practices in community-cultural contexts; and 4) identity construction in (other) sociocultural settings. This perspective has been developed by an active community of researchers in the fields of psychology, education, and other social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A numerical optimisation method, previously applied to a large industrial cogeneration plant, has been adapted for a small-scale unit that must be driven by the heat demand of a medium-size building located in the north of Portugal. The unit is based on a micro-gas turbine and includes an internal pre-heater (typical of these types of small-scale units) and a water heater. The mathematical model yields a non-linear objective function, subject to physical constraints of system operation, and defined as the maximisation of the annual worth of the CHP system. Seven decision variables were selected for the optimization algorithm, including performance of internal gas turbine components and the electrical and thermal powers. The latter is linked to the estimated thermal load of the building via the number of working hours. A purchase cost equation was used for each major plant component and takes into account size and performance variables. The optimal solution was obtained for a feed-in-tariff and natural gas price reference scenario, and shows higher standards than models currently available in the market. A sensitivity analysis was carried out for the two variables that significantly affect the annual worth. Regarding the physical aspects of the major system components, the analysis revealed that the most relevant and susceptible variables are the compressor pressure ratio, the internal pre-heater effectiveness and the turbine inlet temperature. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Fuel break (FB) networks are strategic locations for fire control and suppression. In order to be effective for wildfire control, they need to be maintained through regular interventions to reduce fuel loads. In this paper, we describe a monitoring system relying on Earth observations to detect fuel reduction inside the FB network being implemented in Portugal. Two fast automated pixel-based methodologies for monthly monitoring of fuel removals in FB are developed and compared. The first method (M1) is a classical supervised classification using the difference and postdisturbance image of monthly image composites. To take into account the impact of different land cover and phenology in the detection of fuel treatments, a second method (M2) based on an innovative statistical change detection approach was developed. M2 explores time series of vegetation indices and does not require training data or user-defined thresholds. The two algorithms were applied to Sentinel-2 10 m bands and fully processed in the cloud-based platform Google Earth Engine. Overall, the unsupervised M2, which is based on a Welch t-test of two moving window averages, gives better results than the supervised M1 and is suitable for an automated countrywide fuel treatment detection. For both methods, two vegetation indices, the Modified Excess of Green and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, were compared and exhibited similar performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In temporary (or intermittent) rivers the first storm event after a dry period is responsible for transferring large amounts of sediment and nutrients into water reservoirs, thereby justifying close monitoring. The objective of this study was to analyse the contribution of storm events to sediment and nutrient transport in the Enxoé temporary river (southern Portugal) using detailed monitoring collected during three hydrological years (September, 2010 to August, 2013), and identify possible sediment and nutrient source areas based on the interpretation of hysteresis in the concentration–discharge relationship. The Enxoé River was monitored for suspended sediment concentration (SSC), total phosphorus (TP), particulate phosphorus (PP), soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP), and nitrate (NO 3 − ). An empirical model was used to describe changes in solute concentrations, and the magnitude and rotational patterns of the hysteretic loops. Twenty-one storm events were registered. SSC, TP, PP, SRP, and NO 3 − concentrations varied between 1.6 and 3790.1, 0.05–11.4, 0–7.6, 0–0.67, and 0–27.84 mg l − 1 , respectively. The highest SSC, TP, and PP concentrations were registered during the first storm event after an extended drought period. Annual sediment yields (13–480 kg ha − 1 y − 1 ) and nitrate (4.4–45.5 kg ha − 1 y − 1 ) were relatively low, while phosphorus losses (0.04–0.96 kg ha − 1 y − 1 ) reached relatively high values during humid years. Sediment and phosphorus transport was influenced by the stream transport capacity and particle availability, whereas nitrate loads were influenced by rainfall, soil hydraulic characteristics, and land management. This work highlights the main processes involved in sediment and nutrients loads in a temporary river during storm events, with a quantification of the relevant elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on intraspecific variation in ciliates is scarce, and in scuticociliate parasite of fish, virtually nonexistent. In this study, seven isolates obtained from turbots affected by scuticociliatosis in different parts of the Iberian Peninsula (northwest Spain and southwest Portugal) were morphologically and genetically characterized to investigate the intraspecific divergence in these amphizoic ciliates. The isolates were stained with ammoniacal silver carbonate and examined in an optical microscope; all were found to have the typical morphological characteristics described for Philasterides dicentrarchi (syn. Miamiensis avidus). Sixteen biometric characteristics of the seven isolates were used in a canonical discrimination analysis (CDA) to select a subset of those that best identified each isolate. Discriminant analysis indicated that the OPK3 width, length of the PM2, length of the buccal field, the body width, L:W ratio, the body length, the OPK1 width and the distance between OPK2 and OPK3 were the most important morphological variables for discriminating the isolates. The first three canonical functions accounted for 86% of the total variance. The scatter plots of the first two canonical variables grouped and separated the P. dicentrarchi isolates into five clusters. Flow cytometry analysis of isolates also indicated intraspecific polymorphisms among P. dicentrarchi isolates. Nuclear markers (a 349-bp and a 390-bp fragment of 18S rRNA and β-tubulin genes) and a 398-bp of the mitochondrial cytocrome oxidase subunit I (Cox1) gene were then used to investigate the intraspecific genetic variation in P. dicentrarchi. Haplotype analysis and neighbour-joining phylogenies of nucleotide sequences of seven isolates revealed a high degree of intraspecific genetic variation among the isolates. Analysis of Cox1 and β-tubulin genes revealed six haplotypes (and clusters) in both cases; however, analysis of the 18S rRNA gene revealed only two haplotypes. The results show clear intraspecific variation at morphological and genetic levels in the scuticociliate P. dicentrarchi, and verify the suitability of mitochondrial (Cox1) and nuclear (β-tubulin) genes for detecting intraspecific genetic variation within populations of scuticociliates that infect cultured turbot. The existence of this intraspecific variation must be taken into account in the design of an effective vaccine to control scuticociliatosis., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)