Forest fires severity has increased in Portugal in the last decades. Climate change scenarios suggest the reinforcement of this severity. Forest ecosystem managers and policy-makers thus face the challenge of developing effective fire prevention policies. The characterization of forest fires is instrumental for meeting this challenge. An approach for characterizing fire occurrence in Portugal, combining the use of geographic information systems and statistical analysis techniques, is presented. Emphasis was on the relationships between ecological and socioeconomic features and fire occurrence. The number and sizes of wildfires in Portugal were assessed for three 5-year periods (1987-1991, 1990-1994, and 2000-2004). Features maps were overlaid with perimeters of forest fires, and the proportion of burned area for each period was modeled using weighted generalized linear models (WGLM). Descriptive statistics showed variations in the distribution of fire size over recent decades, with a significant increase in the number of very large fires. Modeling underlined the impact of the forest cover type on the proportion of area burned. The statistical analysis further showed that socioeconomic features such as the proximity to roads impact the probability of fires occurrence. Results suggest that this approach may provide insight needed to develop fire prevention policies.

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In a perspective entitled ‘From plant survival under severe stress to anti-viral human defense’ we raised and justified the hypothesis that transcript level profiles of justified target genes established from in vitro somatic embryogenesis (SE) induction in plants as a reference compared to virus-induced profiles can identify differential virus signatures that link to harmful reprogramming. A standard profile of selected genes named ‘ReprogVirus’ was proposed for in vitro-scanning of early virus-induced reprogramming in critical primary infected cells/tissues as target trait. For data collection, the ‘ReprogVirus platform’ was initiated. This initiative aims to identify in a common effort across scientific boundaries critical virus footprints from diverse virus origins and variants as a basis for anti-viral strategy design. This approach is open for validation and extension. In the present study, we initiated validation by experimental transcriptome data available in public domain combined with advancing plant wet lab research. We compared plant-adapted transcriptomes according to ‘RegroVirus’ complemented by alternative oxidase (AOX) genes during de novo programming under SE-inducing conditions with in vitro corona virus-induced transcriptome profiles. This approach enabled identifying a major complex trait for early de novo programming during SARS-CoV-2 infection, called ‘CoV-MAC-TED’. It consists of unbalanced ROS/RNS levels, which are connected to increased aerobic fermentation that links to alpha-tubulin-based cell restructuration and progression of cell cycle. We conclude that anti-viral/anti-SARS-CoV-2 strategies need to rigorously target ‘CoV-MAC-TED’ in primary infected nose and mouth cells through prophylactic and very early therapeutic strategies. We also discuss potential strategies in the view of the beneficial role of AOX for resilient behavior in plants. Furthermore, following the general observation that ROS/RNS equilibration/redox homeostasis is of utmost importance at the very beginning of viral infection, we highlight that ‘de-stressing’ disease and social handling should be seen as essential part of anti-viral/anti-SARS-CoV-2 strategies.

This study suggests for the first time a putative link between a specific gene and environment in the aetiopathogenesis of BD. The non-secretor phenotype affects mucosal glycosylation, which may explain its known association with dysbiosis and altered susceptibility to infections. A different antigenic stimulation in early life and consequent increased propensity for autoimmunity and inflammation may contribute to BD development.

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The analysis of the mineralogical composition of most rock wastes shows the presence of a high percentage of minerals with SiO 2 and Al 2 O 3 , which could be used as raw materials for ceramic products. The main objective of this work is to recover wastes from one primary rock industry, utilised in the production of tiles and¯ooring, for the manufacturing of ceramics, using powder technology: pressing and sintering. The sinterability of the powders, with and without previous heat treatment, was studied in order to obtain a product with the best performance. Powders from different quarries after being uniaxial pressed at 40 MPa, or isostatic pressed at 170 MPa and sintered within the range 1150±11708C present properties as follows: (a) hardness: 5.5±7.5 GPa; (b) transverse rupture strength: 55±94 MPa; (c) abrasion and erosion wear better than that of bulk to be drawn materials, and (d) water absorption of less than 0.5%. The results allow the conclusion that these wastes can be recovered and used successfully in the manufacture of ceramics with better performance than traditional tiles and ooring. #

Reprogramming of primary virus-infected cells is the critical step that turns viral attacks harmful to humans by initiating super-spreading at cell, organism and population levels. To develop early anti-viral therapies and proactive administration, it is important to understand the very first steps of this process. Plant somatic embryogenesis (SE) is the earliest and most studied model for de novo programming upon severe stress that, in contrast to virus attacks, promotes individual cell and organism survival. We argued that transcript level profiles of target genes established from in vitro SE induction as reference compared to virus-induced profiles can identify differential virus traits that link to harmful reprogramming. To validate this hypothesis, we selected a standard set of genes named ‘ReprogVirus’. This approach was recently applied and published. It resulted in identifying ‘CoV-MAC-TED’, a complex trait that is promising to support combating SARS-CoV-2-induced cell reprogramming in primary infected nose and mouth cells. In this perspective, we aim to explain the rationale of our scientific approach. We are highlighting relevant background knowledge on SE, emphasize the role of alternative oxidase in plant reprogramming and resilience as a learning tool for designing human virus-defense strategies and, present the list of selected genes. As an outlook, we announce wider data collection in a ‘ReprogVirus Platform’ to support anti-viral strategy design through common efforts.

© iForest -Biogeosciences and Forestry IntroductionFire is a major disturbance impacting the Mediterranean landscape (Rundel 1998). In recent decades its incidence has increased dramatically in southern Europe (Rego 1992, Moreno 1999, Pausas et al. 2008. The Portuguese territory is characterized by a Mediterranean climate and a rugged topography. Moreover, the Portuguese vegetation cover is mostly evergreen and drought resistant. The country is thus prone to vegetation fires. Recent demographic, socio-economic and climatic trends (e.g., Mather & Pereira 2006, Pereira et al. 2002 have further contributed to the country's vulnerability to wildfires. In Portugal, wildfire is the most important agent of land cover change (Pereira & Santos 2003). In fact, in the period extending from 1975 to 2007 the total burned area approximated 3.8 · 10 6 hectares, representing 40% of the country's area (Marques et al. 2011a).In Portugal, around 90% of the total forest land is managed by private landowners (DGRF 2006) and most stands are monospecific or dominated by one species. Eucalypt is the most important forest species in terms of area as it extends over 8.12 · 10 3 ha, corresponding to 26% of the country's forestland (ICNF 2013). Further, it provides key raw material to the export driven pulp and paper industry (about 5.75 million m 3 of pulpwood per year -DGRF 2007). Wildfires constrain the economic viability of eucalypt in commercial forestry and the competitiveness of this industry (Nogueira 1990, Moreira et al. 2001. The development of forest plans that may mitigate wildfire impacts on the profitability of eucalypt management scheduling is thus a key factor to the sustainability of this forestry sub-sector. This prompted the research of models to assess wildfire occurrence probability in eucalypt plantations as a function of variables that may be controlled by forest managers. The forestry literature has associated the term risk with the probability of occurrence of a natural hazard (González et al. 2006, Jactel et al. 2009. In this research, we will refer to risk as the probability of a stand to be affected by a wildfire (i.e., probability of burning) if an ignition exists ). Thus, rather than modeling fire ignition probability, the focus of this research is on modeling at stand level the probability of wildfire occurrence at stand level. This is understood as a spatial process related to forest structure as potential fire spread is impacted by fuel presence/composition (Fernandes 2009).In Portugal, former studies have focused on the characterization of wildfire ignition or of wildfire risk as a function of environmental or socioeconomic variables (Vasconcelos et al. 2001, Pereira & Santos 2003, Nunes et al. 2005, Catry et al. 2008, Marques et al. 2011a. It was demonstrated that in general wildfire impacts depend on the forest cover types where they occur (Moreira et al. 2001, Godinho-Ferreira et al. 2005, Nunes et al. 2005. The characterization of these impacts on eucalypt plantations was addressed recently by Fernande...