Contém um relatório de estágio realizado no Laboratório de Microbiologia da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade do Porto e no Centro de Saúde da Carvalhosa, no âmbito da licenciatura em Ciências da Nutrição pela Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto | Tese de licenciatura em Ciências da Nutrição apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto | Resumo da tese: O uso das ervas aromáticas e especiarias para realçar as propriedades organolépticas dos alimentos remonta à Pré-História (Madrid, 1986). Ao longo da História da civilização, as especiarias e as ervas aromáticas constituiram um dos sectores mais importantes da economia mundial (Castro, 1985), pertencendo aos paises mais ricos e poderosos o controlo comercial desses produtos (Macrae et al, 1993). Embora o Homem das Civilizações Egípcia, Grega, Árabe, Romana e Chinesa tenha procurado monopolizar o comércio das especiarias (Tannahill, 1988), só durante a época dos Descobrimentos é que o uso desses produtos se generalizou na Europa, tendo a participação portuguesa contribuido significativamente para o crescente comércio mundial das especiarias (Castro, 1985). Através do estabelecimento de relações comerciais com o Oriente, os portugueses introduziram na Europa especiarias, como a pimenta, o gengibre, a canela, o cravo e a noz moscada, em troca de outras mercadorias que levavam da Europa (prata amoeda, mercúrio, cobre, vinho, azeite, tecidos, vidros e ferramentas, por exemplo). De todas as especiarias comercializadas com o Oriente, a pimenta tornou-se sem dúvida a mais importante, servindo até de moeda (Grande Enciclopédia Portuguesa e Brasileira). No entanto, ainda antes do afluxo das especiarias da Índia, os portugueses foram também responsáveis pela comercialização das especiarias africanas - malagueta e pimenta-de-rabo - na Europa do século xv (Castro, 1985). As especiarias eram utilizadas não só como condimentos para aromatizar os alimentos, mas também como ingredientes de perfumes, cores para tinturaria e para fins medicinais (Godinho, 1965; Tannahill, 1988).(...)

Contém um relatório de estágio realizado no Departamento de Pediatria do Hospital S. João, Porto, no Centro de Saúde de Ermesinde e no Hospital Santa Maria do Porto, no âmbito da licenciatura em Ciências da Nutrição pela Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto | Tese de licenciatura em Ciências da Nutrição apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências da Nutrição e Alimentação da Universidade do Porto | Resumo da tese: As leucemias formam um grupo heterogéneo de neoplasias, que surgem da transformação maligna de células hematopoiéticas, interferindo na hematopoiese normal e na imunidade1. As leucemias agudas caracterizam-se por uma rápida evolução clínica, levando à morte em meses, sem tratamento. Nos EUA, a incidência de leucemia Linfoblástica Aguda (LLA), em crianças com idade inferior a 15 anos, é de aproximadamente 2 4 por 10000. O pico de incidência da LLA ocorre por volta dos 4 anos de idade, e é mais frequente no sexo masculino que no feminino, aumentando esta diferença com a idade 3. A LLA é a doença maligna mais frequente diagnosticada na criança. Vários são os factores que poderão contribuir para o desenvolvimento da leucemia; entre eles estão factores genéticos, ambientais, imunológicos e víricos. Hursting et al4 afirma que a dieta, nomeadamente o aporte energético, pode influenciar o risco da LLA, sendo esta associação mais forte no sexo masculino que no feminino, o que sugere a existência de algumas característica feminina a alterar a susceptibilidade à leucemia. Em testes laboratoriais, Hursting verificou que a restrição calórica inibe o desenvolvimento da leucemia. Após ter analisado dados de inúmeros países, apenas relaciona o total calórico com a LLA e as leucemias totais, mas não com o suprimento de gordura,(...)

A statistical method is described which identifies whether survival patterns of culturable microbes over time are significantly different when compared to natural within replicate microcosm variability. The method is likelihood based and assumes that counts of numbers of microbes are Poisson or Poisson-like distributed. An example is presented to illustrate the methodology.

Intensification of agricultural practices has led to the production of liquid slurries in sufficient volumes that prohibits year round application. To reduce the risk of environmental pollution from inappropriate land applications, slurry is stored along with parlour and yard washings during the winter months, resulting in the accumulation of large volumea During storage, anaerobic conditions prevail, resulting in the breakdown of biological compounds into noxious and toxic chemicals which are of primary concern in environmental pollution. The introduction of large scale anaerobic digesters on every firm is impractical, as extensive supervision of the digester is required. The problems associated with the application of anaerobically stored shiny back to land, such as noxious odours, ground and surface water pollution and crop scorching are no longer tolerated by the general public and government pollution agencies. To alleviate some of the problems faced by farmers storing large quantities of slurry, aerobic treatment systems have been devised that can reduce the risk of pollution. Slurry aeration has become a widely used method in the treatment of cattle slurry, as it is effective in reducing odours, preventing crust formation and provides a semihomogenous mixture. The aeration system can vary dramatically in design and operation, from very simple bubble diffusers consisting of holes pierced into pipes which are laid across the floor of a tank, to complex Venturi systems which rely on the generation of negative pressures from tapered nozzles to draw air into a stream of slurry. The aeration systems used in this thesis are of a fine bubble difiliser and a mechanical surface aerator design. These systems were chosen because of their low capital and running costs. Aeration efficiency was studied at three scales, laboratory (up to 1 litre), intermediate (up to 80 litres) and pilot (up to 10, 000 litres) using volumetric mass transfer coefficient, standard oxygen transfer rate and oxygenation efficiency as the testing criteria. The fine bubble diffuser used throughout all the scale up experiments was of the same principle. Air was delivered through a compressor which was isolated outside of the reaction vessel. Sufficient air was delivered to the slurry at all scales to prevent the need for an additional mixing unit to maintain the solids in suspension. However, at pilot scale the design of the diffuser layout as critical in order to prevent biological fouling of the material. The mechanical surface aerator used at pilot scale was placed within the centre of the reaction vessel and could only be accessed by removing it from the tank. The mode of operation was to thaw liquid up through a central volumetric screw and release it radially outwards above the suthce of the liquid. The ability of the mechanical suthce aerator to transfer oxygen to both water and slurry was higher than that of the fine bubble difibser, with concomitant higher kLa, SOTK and OE being recorded. The introduction of oxygen into cattle slurry had two effects, the generation of a stable microbial culture and a major reduction in physical and chemical pollutants, such as chemical oxygen demand, total solids and total suspended solids. Each aeration device generated a microbial population which was distinctive in gross morphology and settling characteristic& Both microbial populations flocculated naturally and quickly settled to a clear liquor and brown sludge. Flocs generated through violent aeration were small and compact, unlike the large feathery flocs generated by the fine bubble diffliser. The mechanical surface aerator achieved higher reductions in all the measured pollutants than the fine bubble difihiser, with reductions of 75% for COD of the mixed liquor for the mechanical surface aerator compared to 67.2 % for the fine bubble diffuser. Untreated cattle slurry has a high concentration of nitrogen species in various forms. If treated correctly the nitrogen in the system can be conserved and utilised for the benefit of a growing plant. A discontinuous aeration regime was chosen from the experimentation so that the pollution of ground and surface waters from high concentrations of oxidised nitrogen species such as nitrite and nitrate could be minimised. The suppression of detectable nitrite and nitrate generation was achieved up to 6 days with both aeration devices. A greater fraction of the total nitrogen was removed from the system aerated with the mechanical surface aerator. The use of aerated shiny resulted in a higher fresh and dry weight yield for perennial rye grass when compared to unaerated slurry on a clay loam soil. The ability to predict the nitrogen value of aerated slurry would offset some of the cost for inorganic fertiliser.

This thesis considers the methodologies and organisational impacts of Environmental Reviews and Environmental Management Systems in Local Authorities, Universities and Conservation organisations. It assesses the practical impacts of these tools, identifies elements of good practice and discusses the organisational and political factors which affect the success of environmental management activity in these organisations. Chapter 1 describes the growth of global, European and national policy initiatives aimed at minimising environmental degradation and delivering sustainable development and the subsequent development of environmental strategies and environmental management tools in organisations. Chapter 2 discusses environmental management activity in Local Government in the context of Local Agenda 21, using the results of a survey of environmental management techniques in local authorities and a case study of Lancashire County Council. These findings are discussed in the context of changes to local government organisation in the UK and in relation to local government management theory. Chapter 3 considers environmental management activity in Universities in the context of institutional performance using the results of a survey of approaches to environmental management in Universities and a case study of environmental management in the University of Central Lancashire. These findings are then considered in relation to changes in the orgamsation of the Higher Education Sector in the UK and in the context of university management theory. Chapter 4 considers the use of environmental management techniques in the Conservation sector in the context of Local Agenda 21, using a survey of conservation organisations and a case study of The National Trust's environmental management strategy. These findings are then discussed with regard to changes occurring in the management and funding of NGOs and quangos in the UK. Based upon the research findings, a number of recommendations are made for successful organisational environmental management strategies and the long term application of these techniques within each of these sectors. These findings are then drawn together in Chapter 5 to identify common methodological, organisational and political factors which affect the success of organisational environmental management strategies and to discuss their potential contribution to sustainable development. An alternative approach to TQM based environmental management is offered for organisations, based upon the elements of good practice identified in the non-profit sector, which include conscensus building, wide participation, and democratic decision making. Within the organisation, this approach closely resembles the Local Agenda 21 process used by local government to consult and empower local communities in sustainable development.

Thesis | South African data regarding the extent of aerosol exposure and health effects in the workplace are limited. Furthermore, a shortage of industrial hygiene- and epidemiological data from large scale studies exist. Given the increasing concern about the health of industrial metal workers, an inhalation exposure study of South African iron foundry workers and welders at a large engineering plant in Bloemfontein, was undertaken. The aim of the study was to compile a source inventory, identifying and characterising all health related inorganic aerosols to which metal workers of the plant are potentially or actually exposed. In addition, the exposure risk was assessed by the integration of aerosol concentrations and biological data from urine analyses. Aerosols were sampled by means of time sequence particulate sampling on streaker filter frames and analysed with Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) on the Tandem van de Graaff accelerator of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. The streaker is analysed in 1 mm steps, corresponding to 1 hour of exposure. PIXE analysis yielded concentrations or detection limits of elements AI, Si, P, S, CI, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, In, Br and Pb. The urine of selected exposed workers was sampled according to NIOSH method 8310 and analysed using Atomic Absorption (AA) spectrometry for the urine-metal concentrations In, Cd, Co, Ni, Mn, Cu, Cr, AI, Fe, Pb, Si and V. Forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1 ), peak expiratory flow (PEF), peak inspiratory flow (PI F), average expiratory flow between 25 % and 75 % of FVC (FEF25-7S), expiratory flow at 25 % of FVC (Vmax2S), expiratory flow at 50 % of FVC (VmaxSO) , expiratory flow at 75 % of FVC (Vma>c7S) and forced expiration time (100 % FVC) (FET1oo), was conducted with a Cosmed Pony spirometer. This was done to provide a physical image of the workers' lungs. A new method for the assessment of aerosol inhalation exposure risk, called ,~ER, using aerosol concentrations and metal urine concentrations, is proposed for estimation of the inhalation risk. The assumptions and calculation for the new method are presented. A number of sources or source categories have been identified in the foundry's and welding shop's air by making use of patterns of time variations and elemental ratios. Six sources namely crustal particles, sulphur, In-Pb-CI, two distinct components of different castings and other heavy metals were identified as sources. The main pollutants and the relative contributions from other sources have been identified for iron foundries and welding shops with recognised air quality problems. Overexposure occurred during specific operations which was also quantified for rectification. The urine analysis of the foundry workers yielded high concentrations of Cd, Cu, Fe and Si. It is assumed that the Fe and Si concentrations are exposure related. The analysis of urine from the welders yielded high concentrations of Ni, Cr and Fe. Although Ni concentrations in the workroom air were low, the occurrence of all three elements in the urine may be as a result of chronic exposure to welding fumes in their workplace. Except for vanadium, no statistical significant differences (P > 0.05) were found between the different metal urine concentrations of the workers of the two localities. The total exposed foundry population showed a significant decrease in FEV1 and FVC which indicates that the pollution in the workplace contributes to the development of restrictive lung disorders in foundry workers. The dust created during the welding of steel in the welding shop is a contributing agent in the development of obstructive respiratory disorders in the welder population. Examination of the relationship between elemental variations has allowed identification of several sources and activities contributing to airborne particles. The aerosol profiles did not show similar diurnal time variation patterns in the foundry or the welding shop due to irregularities in the continuation of the processes. The AIER for the foundry resulted in a maximum value of 92.3 % while the corresponding value for the welding environment was 71.7 %. The resu lts pres~t the worst case scenario during winter conditions and it is expected that conditions will be more healthy during summer time when windows and doors are open. The planning and prioritisation for the improvement of indoor air quality in both workplaces can proceed, using the data on the sources of the pollutants. It can be concluded that workers exposed to conditions as found during this project, will experience health problems after chronic exposure. The results emphasised the importance of exposure characterisation in order to provide for identification of pollutants, control of sources and the application of industrial hygiene principles for the protection of human health. It is recommended that all industries implement exposure characterisation programmes as a tool in applying good occupational and environmental hygiene.