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To identify the best low level laser photobiomodulation application site at the same irradiation time to increase the viability of the skin flap in rats. Eighteen male rats (Rattus norvegicus: var. Albinus, Rodentia Mammalia) were randomly distributed into three groups (n = 6). Group I (GI) was submitted to simulated laser photobiomodulation; group II (GII) was submitted to laser photobiomodulation at three points in the flap cranial base, and group III (GIII) was submitted to laser photobiomodulation at 12 points distributed along the flap. All groups were irradiated with an Indium, Galium, Aluminum, and Phosphorus diode laser (InGaAlP), 660 nm, with 50 mW power, irradiated for a total time of 240 s in continuous emission mode. The treatment started immediately after performing the cranial base random skin flap (10 × 4 cm2 dimension) and reapplied every 24 h, with a total of five applications. The animals were euthanized after the evaluation of the percentage of necrosis area, and the material was collected for histological analysis on the seventh postoperative day. GII animals presented a statistically significant decrease for the necrosis area when compared to the other groups, and a statistically significant increase in the quantification of collagen when compared to the control. We did not observe a statistical difference between the TGFβ and FGF expression in the different groups evaluated. The application of laser photobiomodulation at three points of the flap cranial base was more effective than at 12 points regarding the reduction of necrosis area.

Abstract The objective of this study was to evaluate the internal morphology of seeds of Campomanesia pubescens (Mart. ex DC.) O. Berg with varying water content through X-ray image analysis, and correlate the images with the germination of these seeds. Fruits were collected in Jataí, Goiás, Brazil, and taken to the Seed Laboratory of the Federal Institute Goiano, Rio Verde Campus, where they were processed and the seeds were extracted. To establish the predetermined water content (43%, 37%, 34%, 31%, and 28% wet basis), seeds with an initial water content of 43% were kept in an oven with forced air circulation at a temperature of 40 °C until they reached the predetermined water content levels. Next, the seeds were placed in acrylic holders with double-sided tape and transported to the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA), where they were exposed to different intensities of radiation. The X-ray test was conducted with 200 seeds per treatment, and images of the internal structures of the seeds were evaluated. The seeds were returned to the Seed Laboratory of the Federal Institute Goiano, Rio Verde Campus, where the germination test was initiated. The experimental design was completely randomized, in a factorial design (5 × 4), in which there were five water content levels and four seed classes, with four replications. The X-ray test was efficient in the identification of filled, malformed, damaged and empty seeds, which germination rate above 50% in the filled seeds. This visualization of the internal morphology of the seed can be useful to select seeds of better quality, improving the percentage of germination of C. pubescens seeds. Resumo O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a morfologia interna de sementes de Campomanesia pubescens (Mart. ex DC.) O.Berg com diferentes teores de água por meio de análise de imagens de raios-X, e correlacionar as imagens com a germinação dessas sementes. Os frutos foram coletados no município de Jataí, Goiás, Brasil, e levados ao Laboratório de Sementes do Instituto Federal Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, onde foram processados e as sementes foram extraídas. Para estabelecer o teor de água predeterminado (43%, 37%, 34%, 31% e 28% base úmida), as sementes com um teor inicial de água de 43% foram mantidas em estufa com circulação de ar induzida, a uma temperatura de 40 °C até atingirem os níveis de conteúdo de água predeterminados. Em seguida, as sementes foram colocadas em suportes acrílicos com fita dupla face e transportadas para a Universidade Federal de Lavras (UFLA), onde foram expostas a diferentes intensidades de radiação. O teste de raios-X foi realizado com 200 sementes por tratamento, e imagens das estruturas internas das sementes foram avaliadas. As sementes foram devolvidas ao Laboratório de Sementes do Instituto Federal Goiano, Campus Rio Verde, onde foi iniciado o teste de germinação. O delineamento experimental foi inteiramente casualizado, em esquema fatorial (5 × 4), no qual foram encontrados cinco níveis de umidade e quatro classes de sementes, com quatro repetições. O teste de raios-X foi eficiente na identificação de sementes preenchidas, malformadas, danificadas e vazias, com taxas de germinação acima dos 50% nas sementes cheias. Essa visualização das morfologia interna da semente pode ser útil para selecionar sementes de melhor qualidade, melhorando a porcentagem de germinação das sementes de C. pubescens.

Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH) method is a mesh-free, Lagrangian, particle method for modeling free-surface flows. The potential range of applications is very wide (waves, impact on dams, offshore...) as the mesh-free technique facilitates the simulation of highly distorted fluids/bodies, whereas Eulerian methods can be difficult to apply. Models based on SPH are an option to address coastal processes, particularly the interaction between waves and coastal structures, i.e. wave overtopping, that is a practical problem in coastal engineering. It involves complicated free surface deformations and SPH model is an ideal approach to simulate such a process. The paper presents an engineering application of SPH model to define the efficiency of a typical coastal structure of the Portuguese coast under stormy conditions. The model is used to characterize the run-up, free surface elevation near the structure and overtopping of the coastal structure, determining the maximum water velocity and water height over the structure. It is shown that numerical results, obtained for the prototype, present a similar trend comparing with data from physical modeling performed in test flume, using a model scale of 1:40.

This work explores the contributive role that architecture plays in sustaining the biodiversity and the thermal waters present in the rural landscape of Manteigas, Portugal. The study proposes the design of a modern day treatment and research center in the rural town, situated on one of the largest glacier valleys in Europe in the heart of the Serra da Estrela mountain range. Once alive with all the quaint characteristics that typify an idyllic rural identity, this town now faces a steep population decrease. A new approach for maintaining an authentic character, and a “sense of place” is presented which defends the rural space as a genuinely experiential realm. The design accepts and interprets the natural geology of the site, harnessing the therapeutic thermal waters that continue to flow from the glacier line of the valley. This research is a proposal for an environmental sustainable cycle of local and regional rejuvenation that will not be easily broken. The design proposal aims to build an infrastructure that will revive the identity of the community as a place of study; an investigative laboratory for modern day natural healing therapies that will act as a catalyst to fuel future development and stimulate the local and regional economies.

This paper illustrates the application of the new version of a nonlinear shallow water numerical model, AMAZON, to study the mean wave overtopping discharge at a porous breakwater that protects the Portuguese harbor of Póvoa de Varzim. The results are compared with two-dimensional physical model data collected at the National Civil Engineering Laboratory, Portugal. The implications of using different porous flow parameters in the Forchheimer equation for stationary turbulent flow within the porous layer of the breakwater are discussed. The maximum velocity that the water can reach during the exchange between the free-flow and porous layers has been included as an input to AMAZON and its impact on the overtopping results is analyzed. A suitable choice of the values of the porous flow parameters and of the maximum velocity leads to a good agreement between the AMAZON results and the data. The specified maximum velocity was found to be the parameter which mostly affects the obtained results.

Knowing the vertical structure of particle velocity is very important for the sediment transportation study. Recent development of computer resources and high performance computing enable us to use numerical models with more information in the vertical direction. In this paper, the performance of multi-layered Boussinesq model (COULWAVE) and RANS model (COBRAS-UC) on a bar-trough profile beach is examined. Results, in terms of wave heights computed by both models and the time series of the horizontal velocity (computed with COBRAS-UC model) are compared with the experimental data collected by Okamoto et al. (2008) for the test case with an incident wave of period T=1.5sec and height of H=8cm, in which the detailed vertical structure of particle velocity was measured. Both models can predict the wave height change very well until the wave breaking initiates and specially COBRAS-UC model. However, it does not agree to the experimental data after the wave breaking initiation. The COBRAS-UC model calculates the horizontal velocity near the free surface very well, but it does not agree to the experimental data in the lower section of the water column.

Portugal is one of many countries in the world to suffer from coastal erosion. Conventional ways of protecting a coastline appear to entail some disadvantages. An innovative and interesting way of protecting a local coastal zone by means of multi-functional artificial reefs avoids some of them. A multi-functional artificial reef is a submerged breakwater which protects the local coastline and may also enhance the surfing possibilities and the environmental value of the local area. The structure has several positive side-effects: first, it provides an unimpaired visual amenity; second, it offers tourist and economic benefits by improving the surfing. A physical and numerical study has been undertaken to investigate the influence of the length and submergence of the reef. Preliminary conclusions on the length of the reef suggest that it should be 0.5 times the wave length at the start of the reef, and regarding the submergence they indicate that a value smaller than the offshore wave height is necessary to get a surfable wave for a reef slope of 1:10.

This paper describes a study performed at LNEC where the wave regime characteristics at the Porto Santo beach were found by first defining an offshore wave regime and then propagating some selected offshore wave conditions to the beach. The definition of the offshore wave regime was made upon about 6 years of observed wave buoy data in the vicinity of Madeira. Post-processing of these wave records produced a wave regime characterized by waves coming from 70° to 105° and from 165° to 305°, with wave periods between 3 and 14 s and wave heights between 0 and 7 m. The wave propagation from offshore to the Porto Santo beach was done by using two different numerical models, SWAN and REFDIF, for a number of selected offshore wave conditions. The results show that both models give similar general results when refraction is the principal phenomenon involved. When diffraction plays an important role, REFDIF results appear to be more reliable, although when this phenomenon is less significant SWAN results are more realistic since this model allows the propagation of irregular nonlinear waves.

Metalloporphyrins (MPs) are known to catalyze in vitro a broad range of cytochrome P -mediated reactions occurring in vivo. Most of the biomimetic research using MPs in oxidative catalysis has been directed towards the oxidation of organic compounds presenting significant reactivity features in one functional group. Much less effort has been made to imitate the oxidation of more complex molecules, with a range of functionalities, such as drugs or other xenobiotics. By varying the structure of the porphyrin, the metal ion, the oxidant, and the reaction conditions, it is possible to modulate the regioselectivity of the oxidation reactions. Recently, and along with studies on the synthesis and reactivity of porphyrins, chlorins, and phthalocyanines, our group was able to develop an interesting line of research in the field of biomimetic oxidation of organic compounds using environmentally benign hydrogen peroxide as oxidant and Mn(III) or Fe(III) porphyrin complexes as catalysts. The more up to date results obtained in such work are reviewed here.

Dengue and leptospirosis are prevalent diseases in tropical and subtropical regions, posing significant public health challenges. These illnesses exhibit overlapping symptoms, including fever, muscle pain, and headaches, which complicates diagnosis and delays appropriate treatment. This study explores the use of attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) combined with multivariate analysis to distinguish between the two infections by analyzing blood plasma in both liquid and dry states. A total of 114 patient samples at varying infection stages ( n  = 43 for leptospirosis and n  = 71 for dengue) were examined using linear discriminant analysis (LDA), quadratic discriminant analysis (QDA), and support vector machine (SVM) in conjunction with genetic algorithms (GA), successive projection algorithms (SPA), and principal component analysis (PCA) for feature selection and extraction. The SPA-QDA model applied to dried plasma delivered exceptional results, achieving 100% sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy in distinguishing the two diseases using only 30 spectral variables. ANOVA calculations, conducted with a 95% confidence level, identified four key wavenumbers (1601 cm −1 , 1735 cm −1 , 1747 cm −1 , and 1870 cm −1 ) as critical for class differentiation.