Lupin is part of the Mediterranean diet and is also used as a thickener of food products. It has been recognised as a cause of serious allergic reactions. This study aims at determining the prevalence of lupin sensitisation in 1,160 subjects consulting allergologists. This population performed skin prick tests (SPT) to lupin. In case of positivity, a clinical questionnaire was applied and the subjects were tested for other legumes, common inhalants and latex. We find a 4.1% sensitisation rate to lupin, a 75% co-sensitisation between lupin and legumes, a 82.1% co-sensitisation between lupin and pollen and a 28.5% co-sensitisation between lupin and latex. To conclude, we documented a high lupin sensitisation in a selected population, thus stressing the importance of lupin as a food allergen.

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There is some evidence of an association between excess body weight or obesity and atopy--particularly asthma.

The current analysis shows evidence that omalizumab is successful in improving asthma control as an add-on therapy GINA step 5 treatment.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the possibility of boron removal from synthetic wastewater using a vertical constructed flow (VFCW) planted with Vetiveria zizanioides. Two boron concentrations were used (15 ± 1 and 30 ± 1 mg L−1) and a hydraulic load (HL) of 191 ± 10 L m−2d−1. The wastewater samples were taken and the flow rate in the inlet and outlet of the VFCW were measured. The levels of dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, pH and boron were determined in the wastewater. The concentrations of the essential elements and nutrients, namely total Kjeldhal nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium in above growth biomass composition were measured. The results showed that: boron removal efficiencies depended on the boron concentration, so 60 ± 3% was obtained for the 15 mg L−1 concentration and 26 ± 2% for 30 mg L−1; calcium, magnesium, potassium and sodium concentrations in the vegetal biomass decreased to the boron concentration of 30 mg L−1, and boron may have interfered with Vetiveria zizanioides growth. Keywords: biomass composition, boron removal, light expanded clay aggregates, Vetiveria zizanioides, vertical flow constructed wetland

O porco Alentejano, actualmente é a raça suína autóctone portuguesa com maior efectivo pecuário e de reprodutores existentes no país. De acordo com os dados estatísticos da Direcção Geral de Alimentação e Veterinária (2017) entre as raças suínas: Alentejana, Bisara e Malhado de Alcobaça, verifica-se que a Alentejana manifesta um efectivo pecuário superior às restantes. Assim sendo, neste trabalho sobre o tema genérico biodiversidade apresenta-se apenas uma breve resenha da evolução histórica desde o registo do padrão da raça Alentejana (1959) até á actualidade. Faz-se, também uma breve descrição da “variedade mamilada” que foi recentemente inscrita no Livro Genealógico da raça suína Alentejana. Esta variedade foi objecto de um estudo de recuperação durante o século XXI, tendo-se sido confirmada a bondade reprodutiva do genótipo varrasco Alentejano Mamilado. Desde o seculo XVI, a biodiversidade das raças suínas autóctones, portuguesa e espanhola, constituem o tronco ibérico de porcos mediterrânicos.

The utilization of agro-industrial wastewaters (AIWWs), pretreated by immediate one-step lime precipitation + natural carbonation, as a nutritive solution for the hydroponic production of lettuce was evaluated. The AIWWs studied were olive mill wastewater (OMW), winery wastewater (WW), and cheese whey wastewater (CWW). Lettuces (Lactuca sativa L. var. crispa) were grown in a closed nutrient film technique hydroponic system, using the pretreated AIWWs (OMW-T, WW-T, and CWW-T) and a control nutrient solution (CNS). The growth and sensory analysis of lettuces and the environmental parameters of effluents after hydroponics were evaluated. The average number of lettuce leaves obtained with nutrient solutions prepared with AIWW-T was lower than that from CNS, but the highest lettuce chlorophyll content was attained with CWW-T, which also presented the best grow results. In general, sensory analysis did not show significant differences from the lettuces grown in the different pretreated AIWWs and CNS. As for the environmental parameters of the effluents from hydroponics, according to the Portuguese legislation, only the chemical oxygen demand of the OMW-T and WW-T presented slightly higher values than that of the environmental limit values for discharge in surface waters, showing the feasibility of using pretreated agro-industrial effluents in hydroponic lettuce cultivation, while obtaining a treated effluent, in a circular economy perspective.

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