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Radon is a radioactive gas that has no smell, colour or taste and them its half-life are approximately 3.825 days. It is produced from the natural radioactive decay of uranium, which is found in all rocks and soils. Is the heaviest of all noble gases and has a total of 36 isotopes ranging from 193Rn to 228Rn. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas which may be found in high concentrations in indoor environments, such as homes and workplaces. Radon signals at shallow depths are mainly influenced by environmental parameters, such as atmospheric pressure, temperature, groundwater level, and precipitation. The values observed by several researchers for the seasonal and diurnal oscillations of subsurface radon concentrations, show correlations between this gas and atmospheric temperature. Radon concentrations were highest during heatwaves lasting several days and exhibited seasonal trends (winter and summer). Since 1900, radon has been widely studied including for its impact on human health, because inhalation of radon is the largest source of exposure to ionizing radiation for the world's population, contributing more than 40% to the effective dose of environmental radioativity.However, the literature is poor in the correlation between environmental radioativity and respiratory diseases. This work is assumed in the insular context of the Azores - Portugal. The base information (epidemiological and environmental radioativity) used in this work corresponds to daily data from 2010 to 2020 and provided by the Statistics Service of the Hospital da Horta (Açores) and The Network for the Continuous Surveillance of Radioactivity in the Environment, with a fixed station in Ponta Delgada (São Miguel_Azores), whose management being the responsibility of the Portuguese Environment Agency.With the selected data, monthly averages were calculated and a statistical analysis was performed using the SPSS software (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 28 for Windows. The null hypothesis (H0)_ “there is no correlation between environmental radioativity levels and the number of hospitalized individuals by respiratory diseases”. The alternative hypothesis (Ha)_”there is a correlation between environmental radioativity levels and the number of hospitalized individuals by respiratory diseases” was formulated. The level of significance (α) to accept or reject the null hypothesis was fixed a α ≤ 0.05. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used for inferential statistics. It was obtained, r =0.486 and p < 0.001, being r the Pearson correlation coefficient and p the p_value. It was found that p < α, therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected with a confidence level of 95%.The correlation between environmental radioativity levels and the value of the monthly averages of respiratory pathologies is statistically significant, positive and moderate (r = 0.486, p < 0.001). Thus, as environmental levels of environmental radioativity increase, also the number of pacients with respiratory pathologies increase. The practical study’s conclusions show an interesting relationship between hospitalization patterns and environmental radioativity levels.

Funding Information: This research was funded by (1) FEDER, through Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade (COMPETE) and Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) by the project No. UIDP/FIS/04559/2020 (LIBPhys); (2) FEDER, through POACORES-Valorização e Desenvolvimento de Produtos da Conteira (Hedychium gardnerianum)-01-0247-FEDER-000011; (3) Regional Government of the Azores-Fundo Regional da Ciência e Tecnologia (Fellowship M3.1.a/F/040/2015). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors. TiO2 thin films were deposited on ginger lily (Hedychium gardnerianum) fibers using a custom-made DC reactive magnetron sputtering system with Ar/O2 mixture at two O2/(O2 + Ar) ratios (50% O2 and 75% O2) and sputtering powers (500 and 1000 W), and their effects on the structure and surface morphology of TiO2 films were investigated. XRD analysis showed the presence of the mainly anatase phase in the deposited films, with a small fraction of rutile phase detected for TiO2 deposited with the higher oxygen percentage and sputtering power. SEM imaging revealed that the films exhibited distinct surface features depending on the deposition conditions. Specifically, films deposited with 50 O2 % and 1000 W exhibited porosity, while the films deposited under other conditions appeared either dense with a cauliflower-like appearance or displayed surface features resembling lines and mountain ranges of coalesced particles. The grain size of dense films increased with increasing sputtering power. The deposition conditions significantly affected the resulting surface topography, with an increase in surface roughness parameters observed for both power levels when the oxygen concentration in the deposition atmosphere was increased from 50% to 75%. The adhesion tests conducted using sonication and EDS analysis revealed that almost all of the studied films exhibited good adhesion, as evidenced by the atomic content (at. %) of Ti remaining intact after sonication, indicating good adhesion. However, the porous film exhibited a slightly lower adhesion grade, suggesting that the porous structure may have influenced the adhesion properties. publishersversion published

The surface functionalization of natural fibers, mainly using TiO2 films, shows a growing interest in its application as yarns in fabrics that require advanced properties, allowing the use of their excellent physical and chemical properties in the textile area. The DC magnetron sputtering technique is a potential method for depositing TiO2 films onto natural fibers, allowing for the creation of advanced and competitive properties compared to synthetic fibers. Different crystalline phases of TiO2 have been shown to be effective in photocatalytic applications. Reactive discharges like the Ar/O2 gas mixture can be used to deposit TiO2 films with desired characteristics, and controlling deposition parameters can further manipulate the properties of the coatings. Analytical techniques such as XRD, XPS, and SEM/EDS can be used to study the surface properties of TiO2 films. XRD determines crystal structure, XPS provides information on chemical composition, and SEM/EDS examines morphology and elemental composition.

The energy sector is the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, but could also be seriously affected by climate change, calling into question society’s current consumption patterns. In this communication, climate projections based on a set of numerical models of global circulation are used to simulate the climate until the end of the century and keep in mind the alternative scenarios of pollutant emissions. Apart from solar energy, the results for the Azores region show a negative impact on the production and consumption of renewable energies. In the regional context, this issue assumes special relevance, given the geographical constraints, such as territorial discontinuity and insularity. Based on these assumptions, measures and recommendations are pointed out for the sectors that most penalize greenhouse gas emissions, considering the energy sustainability in the Azores and the commitments and goals assumed under international agreements. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

A secção UAciência é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues. O Clima da Terra é o resultado de um enorme conjunto de interações não lineares entre vários subsistemas do Sistema Climático. O termo Alterações Climáticas (AC) tem sido adotado como uma mudança do clima devida a causas naturais ou antropogénicas. O setor da energia é o maior contribuinte para as emissões de gases com efeito de estufa à escala global, mas poderá também ser seriamente afetado devido à mudança climática. Neste trabalho, utilizam-se as projeções climáticas baseadas num conjunto de modelos numéricos de circulação global, para simular o clima até ao final do século e tendo presente os cenários alternativos de emissões poluentes. Na Região Autónoma dos Açores (RAA), apesar dos esforços na implementação de energias renováveis, a dependência dos combustíveis fósseis para a produção de energia continua a ser elevada. […]. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion