Decadal-scale climate variations over the Pacific Ocean and its surroundings are strongly related to the so-called Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) which is coherent with wintertime climate over North America and Asian monsoon, and have important impacts on marine ecosystems and fisheries. In a near-term climate prediction covering the period up to 2030, we require knowledge of the future stat...

Butanol and 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PDO) are simultaneously produced by Clostridium pasteurianum from glycerol. In this study, random chemical mutagenesis of C. pasteurianum DSM 525 was conducted to improve its tolerance to butanol. Selected nutritional and operational parameters were evaluated to identify strategies that favour the production of each metabolite. From those experiments, it was pos...

Chemical composition of eight sweet chestnut cultivars from the three protected designation of origin (PDO) areas in the Trás-osMontes region were studied: Aveleira, Rebordã, Trigueira and Zeive from PDO ‘Terra Fria’, Demanda, Longal and Martaı́nha from PDO ‘Soutos da Lapa’ and Judia from PDO ‘Padrela’. Chestnuts were characterised by high moisture content ( 50%), high levels of starch (43 g 100...

Among the economically viable and ecologically acceptable solutions for the safe disposal of waste glycerol coming from biodiesel production, the biotechnological conversion of glycerol into a very high-value-added bioplastic raw material, namely 1,3 propanediol (1,3-PDO) seems to be very promising. This process is easy and environmentally friendly since it produces no toxic wastes. The results...

The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) account for a large part of modern climate variability. Over the last decades, understanding of these modes of climate variability has increased but prediction in the context of global warming has proven difficult because of the lack of pertinent and reproducible paleodata. Here, we infer the dynamics of these osc...

INTRODUCTION Composite mesh prostheses incorporate the properties of multiple materials for ventral hernia repair. This study evaluated a polypropylene/ePTFE composite mesh with a novel internal polydioxanone (PDO) absorbable ring. METHODS Composite mesh was placed intraperitoneally in 16 pigs through an open laparotomy and explanted at 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Intraabdominal adhesions were mea...

This study reflects the effect of different microwave heating times (1, 3, 5, 10 and 15 min) on physical and chemical characteristics of three Portuguese olive oils from three protected designation of origin (PDO), "Azeite de Trás-os-Montes PDO", "Azeites da Beira Interior PDO", and "Azeite de Moura PDO". The parameters evaluated were free acidity, peroxide value, specific extinction coefficien...

In this study the characterization of a total of 60 honey samples with Protected Denomination of Origin (PDO) collected over three harvests (2009-2011, inclusive), from the Northeast of Portugal was carried out based on the presence of pollen, physicochemical and microbiological characteristics. All samples were found to meet the European Legislation, but some didn't meet the requirements of th...

Haze is a serious issue in China with increasing concerns, and understanding the factors driving decadal-scale variations in haze occurrence is relevant for government policymaking. Using a comprehensive observational haze dataset, we demonstrate notable decadal fluctuations in the number of haze days (HD) during winter in central eastern China, showing a decline since the mid-1980s. The leadin...

Disulfide bonds are required for the stability and function of a large number of proteins. Recently, the results from genome analysis have suggested an important role for disulfide bonds concerning the structural stabilization of intracellular proteins from hyperthermophilic Archaea and Bacteria, contrary to the conventional view that structural disulfide bonds are rare in proteins from Archaea...