LpL^p-asymptotic stability analysis of a 1D wave equation with a boundary nonmonotone damping

This paper is concerned with the asymptotic stability analysis of a one dimensional wave equation with a nonlinear non-monotone damping acting at a boundary. The study is performed in an $L^p$-functional framework, $p\in [1,\infty]$. Some well-posedness results are provided together with exponential decay to zero of trajectories, with an estimation of the decay rate. The well-posedness results rely mainly on some results collected in [7]. Asymptotic behavior results are obtained by the use of a suitable Lyapunov functional if $p$ is finite and on a trajectory-based analysis if $p=\infty$

Application of a lab-made electronic nose for extra virgin olive oils commercial classification according to the perceived fruitiness intensity

An electronic nose, comprising nine metal oxide sensors, has been built aiming to classify olive oils according to the fruity intensity commercial grade (ripely fruity or light, medium and intense greenly fruity), following European regulated complementary terminology. The lab-made sensor device was capable to differentiate standard aqueous solutions (acetic acid, cis-3-hexenyl, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, hexanal, 1-hexenol and nonanal) that mimicked positive sensations (e.g., fatty, floral, fruit, grass, green and green leaves attributes) and negative attributes (e.g., sour and vinegary defects), as well as to semi-quantitatively classify them according to the concentration ranges (0.05 to 2.25 mg/kg). For that, unsupervised (principal component analysis) and supervised (linear discriminant analysis: sensitivity of 92% for leave-one-out cross validation) classification multivariate models were established based on nine or six gas sensors, respectively. It was also showed that the built E-nose allowed differentiating/discriminating (sensitivity of 81% for leave-one-out cross validation) extra virgin olive oils according to the perceived intensity of fruitiness as ripely fruity, light, medium or intense greenly fruity. In conclusion, the gas sensor device could be used as a practical preliminary non-destructive tool for guaranteeing the correctness of olive oil fruitiness intensity labelling.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support by national funds FCT/ MCTES to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020), to CEB (UIDB/04469/2020) and to BioTecNorte operation (NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000004) and Project “GreenHealth - Digital strategies in biological assets to improve wellbeing and promote green health” (Norte-01-0145-FEDER-000042) funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the scope of Regional Operational Program North 2020. ´Itala Marx acknowledges the Ph.D. research grant (SFRH/BD/137283/2018) provided by FCT. Nuno Rodrigues thanks the National funding by FCTFoundation for Science and Technology, P.I., through the Institutional Scientific Employment Program-contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Sweet peppers discrimination according to agronomic production mode and maturation stage using a chemical-sensory approach and an electronic tongue

Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.microc.2020.105034.The demand for organic foods has increased worldwide, in particular due to the association with healthier, more nutritious and tasty products, being a clear trend on sweet peppers consumption. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of agronomic production mode (conventional and organic) and maturation stage (associated to green, turning and red colours) on the chemical-sensory attributes of peppers grown in open field. It was found that organic peppers had a better visual/tactile aspect (greater firmness and more intense colours) but lower chemical quality (lower titratable acidity and total soluble solids). On the other hand, red peppers (higher maturation stage) had lower visual-tactile quality but higher chemical quality. From sensory analysis, conventional peppers had better overall aspect, colour intensity-homogeneity and brightness. Then again, the maturation stage of peppers mostly influenced the sensory visual attributes, being turning colour peppers the less appreciated, although organic red peppers were less succulent and had a lower global quality. Even so, the chemical-sensory parameters could be used to discriminate peppers taking into account the agronomic production mode and the maturation stage/colour (79±12% of correct classifications for the repeated K-fold cross-validation procedure). However, a trained sensory panel is required, which can be a major drawback considering their scarcity. This limitation was successfully overcome by using a potentiometric electronic tongue, which allowed discriminating the peppers with a higher predictive sensitivity (85±9%), showing that this device could be used as an accurate taste sensor for the qualitative analysis of sweet peppers.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) and FEDER under Program PT2020 for financial support to CIMO (UIDB/00690/2020) and to CEB (UIDB/04469/2020) units and to BioTecNorte operation (NORTE‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐000004) funded by the European Regional Development Fund under the scope of Norte2020 ‐ Programa Operacional Regional do Norte. Nuno Rodrigues thanks to National funding by FCT- Foundation for Science and Technology, P.I., through the institutional scientific employment program-contract.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Cytotoxic effect and oxidative damage of organic extract from Artemisia verlotorum in human cancer cell lines

Neste estudo, avaliamos os efeitos citotóxico e oxidativo dos extratos orgânico e aquoso de folhas da Artemisia verlotorum em linhagens celulares derivadas de câncer humano. Apenas o extrato orgânico demonstrou atividade citotóxica na linhagem celular de adenocarcinoma de cólon HT-29 na concentração de 100 µg/mL. O extrato orgânico foi, então, analisado em três linhagens celulares: adenocarcinoma de cólon, HT-29; carcinoma de pulmão de não-pequenas células, NCI-H460 e câncer renal, RXF-393, demonstrando valores de IC50 que variaram de 21 a 38 µg/mL. A linhagem celular RXF-393 apresentou maior sensibilidade ao extrato e foi usada nas análises seguintes. Nesta linhagem, o extrato orgânico induziu um significativo aumento dose-dependente na peroxidação lipídica. A maior concentração (IC80) do extrato reduziu em 50 % a atividade da isoforma mitocondrial da enzima superóxido dismutase (SOD2). Estes achados sugerem que o extrato orgânico de folhas da Artemisia verlotorum induz morte celular através de um aumento no dano oxidativo em linhagens celulares de câncer humano.In this study the cytotoxic and oxidative effects of organic and aqueous extracts from the leaves of Artemisia verlotorum in human cancer cell lines was evaluated. Only the organic extract demonstrated cytotoxic activity in HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma cell line at 100 µg/mL. The organic extract was then analyzed in three cell lines: HT-29 colon adenocarcinoma; NCI-H460 non-small-cell lung cancer cell line and RXF-393 renal cancer cell line, demonstrating values of IC50 ranging from 21 to 38 µg/mL. The RXF-393 cell line displayed higher sensibility to these extract and it was used in the following analyses. In these cells, the organic extract induced a significant dose-dependent increase in the lipid peroxidation. The highest concentration (IC80) of the extract reduced in 50 % the activity of the mitochondrial isoform of the enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD2). These findings suggest that the organic extract from the leaves of Artemisia verlotorum induces cell death through an increase in the oxidative damage in human cancer cell linesColegio de Farmacéuticos de la Provincia de Buenos Aire

Effect of ionic strength of the equilibrium solution upon cadmium adsorption in Brazilian Oxisols

O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da força iônica na adsorção de Cd em amostras de 17 Latossolos (horizonte A) de diversas regiões geográficas do Brasil. A reação dos solos com 0,167 mmol L-1 de Cd(NO3)2 foi avaliada por 72 horas em soluções de Ca(NO3)2 a 5, 50 e 150 mmol L-1 (pH 6,5; relação solo:solução 1:100) com forças iônicas de 15, 150 e 450 mmol L-1, respectivamente. A adsorção de Cd decresceu com o aumento da força iônica em todos os solos, com valores médios adsorvidos iguais a 12,17, 6,92 e 5,70 mmol kg-1 para as forças iônicas de 15, 150 e 450 mmol L-1, respectivamente. Na menor força iônica, a fração de Cd adsorvida foi positivamente correlacionada com argila, matéria orgânica, área superficial específica, caulinita, hematita e Fe2O3 extraído pelo ataque sulfúrico, ditionito-citrato-bicarbonato de sódio e pelo oxalato ácido de amônio, além do Al2O3 do ataque sulfúrico. Para a força iônica de 150 mmol L-1, não houve correlação entre a fração de Cd adsorvida e os atributos dos solos, enquanto em 450 mmol L-1 houve correlação com a matéria orgânica e área superficial específica. O Cd não é retido por sítios de adsorção específica, sendo potencialmente biodisponível nesses Latossolos.The objective of this work was to evaluate the effects of ionic strength upon Cd adsorption in samples of 17 Brazilian Oxisols. The reaction of the soil samples with 0.167 mmol L-1 Cd(NO3)2 at pH 6.5, using 5, 50 and 150 mmol L-1 Ca(NO3)2 as background solutions for ionic strength of 15, 150 and 450 mmol L-1, respectively (1:100 soil:solution ratio) was evaluated during 72 hours. Increasing ionic strength caused Cd adsorbed to decrease in all soils, with average adsorption values of 12.17, 6.92 and 5.70 mmol kg-1 for ionic strength of 15, 150, and 450 mmol L-1, respectively. In the lowest ionic strength, the adsorbed Cd fraction correlated positively with soil properties such as specific surface area, clay, organic matter, kaolinite and hematite content, ammonium oxalate-, DCB-, and sulfuric acid digestion-Fe, as well as sulfuric acid digestion-Al. For the ionic strength of 150 mmol L-1, there was not correlation between the adsorbed Cd fraction and the attributes of the soils, while in 450 mmol L-1 there was correlation with the organic matter and specific surface area. The Cd is not adsorbed by outer-sphere complex, and is potentiality bioavailable in those Oxisols

Effect of ionic strength of the equilibrium solution upon lead adsorption/desorption in Brazilian Oxisols

A adsorção/dessorção de metais pelos solos é afetada por vários fatores, dentre os quais, a concentração salina da solução do solo. Este estudo teve o objetivo de avaliar o efeito da variação da força iônica da solução de equilíbrio (I) sobre a adsorção/dessorção de Pb por Latossolos brasileiros. Amostras do horizonte A foram colocadas para reagir com Pb(NO3)2 0,15 mmol L-1 em Ca(NO3)2 5 e 50 mmol L-1 (pH 5,5; I = 15 e 150 mmol L-1; relação solo:solução 1:100), durante 72 horas. Em seguida, as amostras foram colocadas para dessorver em Ca(NO3)2 5 mmol L-1. Dos 17 Latossolos, apenas seis apresentaram diferenças significativas entre as quantidades adsorvidas nos dois valores de I. As correlações significativas obtidas entre as quantidades adsorvidas e alguns atributos dos solos (SiO2 e Fe2O3 do ataque sulfúrico, Fed e Feo, caulinita, hematita, CTC e superfície específica) foram as mesmas para os dois valores de I. A variação de I durante a adsorção teve pouco efeito sobre a dessorção de chumbo. A não-variação da quantidade adsorvida com a mudança de I indica que o Pb é adsorvido, na maioria dos Latossolos, como complexo de esfera interna. Conclui-se que, dentro destas condições experimentais, o Pb não fez parte do complexo de troca da maioria dos solos estudados.The ionic strength of soil solution influences metal availability and mobility in soils. Laboratory experiments were conducted in order to evaluate the effect of solution ionic strength (I) upon Pb adsorption/desorption in A-horizon samples of 17 Brazilian Oxisols. The effect of I upon Pb adsorption was evaluated after a 72-hour reaction of the soil samples with 0.15 mmol L-1 Pb(NO3)2 at pH 5.5, using 5 and 50 mmol L-1 Ca(NO3)2 as background solutions (I = 15 and 150 mmol L-1). Lead desorption was measured after a 72-hour reaction of the soil samples with 5 mmol L-1 Ca(NO3)2 at pH 5.5. All experiments were performed with a 1:100 soil:solution ratio. Increasing I caused Pb adsorption to decrease in six soils, while no significant change in Pb adsorption was observed for the remaining 11 Oxisols. Soil properties such as specific surface area, CEC, clay and hematite content, oxalate- and DCB-Fe, and sulfuric acid digestion-Si and -Fe correlated with Pb adsorption equally for both values of solution ionic strength. Changing I had a small effect on Pb desorption. The little change in the amount of Pb adsorbed upon variation of I indicates that Pb is adsorbed as an inner-sphere complex in most Oxisols. Therefore, this experiment suggests that Pb may not be part of the exchange complex of these soils

Uma oficina de novidades : a implantação de núcleos urbanos na capitania de São Paulo, 1765-1775

Este trabalho apresenta parte dos resultados da tese de doutorado Método e Arte: criação urbana e organização territorial na capitania de São Paulo, 1765-1811, desenvolvida na Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo da Universidade de São Paulo, com apoio de bolsa da Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo.Este artigo acompanha algumas dinâmicas de implantação de núcleos urbanos na capitania de São Paulo durante a administração do governador e capitão-general Morgado de Mateus (1765-1775). Destacam-se momentos significativos do processo de formação de paisagens urbanas, desde o recrutamento de povoadores e a busca de sítios até a definição dos traçados. A intenção é mostrar que a Coroa portuguesa foi tentando organizar determinados modos de conduzir a expansão urbana, ao passo que experiências e circunstâncias locais constantemente exigiram arranjos novos e específicos. A análise fundamenta-se numa seleção da documentação oficial já publicada e também em correspondência, em boa parte inédita, proveniente de agentes locais encarregados de tarefas ligadas ao povoamento. Procura-se tratar da política urbanizadora daquele período como um processo desenvolvido num contexto de conflitos mais do que como produto de um projeto pré-delineado por autoridades metropolitanas ou alheio a realidades do lugar. ______________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACTThis article investigates some of the dynamics associated with the establishment of urban nuclei in the captaincy of São Paulo during the administration of the Morgado de Mateus, governor and captain-general of the captaincy from 1765 to 1775. Several significant aspects about the formation process of urban landscapes stand out, from the recruitment of settlers and the search for suitable sites to the definition of urban layouts. The intention of this study is to show that the Portuguese crown made efforts to organize certain processes for conducting urban expansion, whilst local experience and circumstances continually demanded new and specific arrangements. The analysis is based on a selection of previously-published official documents, as well as mostly unpublished correspondence from local agents in charge of settlement-related tasks. The urbanization policy of the period is dealt with as a process that was executed in the context of conflicts, rather than as the product of a project pre-planned by metropolitan authorities or detached from the realities of the place at that time

Canine Cutaneous Leishmaniasis: Dissemination and Tissue Tropism of Genetically Distinct Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis

Little is known regarding the internal dissemination of initial cutaneous lesions and tissue tropism of Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis populations in naturally infected dogs. The aim of this study was to investigate genetic polymorphisms of L. (V.) braziliensis populations in different anatomic sites of naturally infected dogs by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and low-stringency single specific primer-PCR (LSSP-PCR) techniques. The amplified products were analyzed by LSSP-PCR to investigate the genetic variability of the parasite populations present in different anatomical sites. Twenty-three out of the 52 samples gave PCR-positive results. The existence of L. (V.) braziliensis strains that remained restricted to cutaneous lesions and others showing characteristics of dissemination to internal organs and healthy skin was observed. LSSP-PCR and numerical analyses revealed that parasite populations that do not disseminate were genetically similar and belonged to a separate phenetic cluster. In contrast, populations that showed spreading to internal organs displayed a more polymorphic genetic profile. Despite the heterogeneity, L. (V.) braziliensis populations with identical genetic profiles were observed in popliteal and cervical lymph nodes of the same animal. Our results indicate that infection in dogs can be manifested by dissemination and tissue tropism of genetically distinct populations of L. (V.) braziliensis

Mirizzi Syndrome Type IV: A challenging diagnosis

Mirizzi Syndrome type IV is an extremely rare condition, which is confused with the diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma in many cases. This report describes a case of a forty-three-year old patient, who was forwarded to our department of general surgery with a high suspicion of a choledochal neoplasic lesion. During the hospitalization he was diagnosed with Mirizzi Syndrome type IV. We concisely describe the case and the literature review about this pathology

Força iônica da solução de equilíbrio na adsorção de arsênio em latossolos brasileiros

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of ionic strength of the equilibrium solution on adsorption and desorption of arsenic, in 17 Oxisols of different Brazilian geographic regions. Arsenic adsorption was evaluated at two values of ionic strength (15 and 150 mmol L-1), two doses of As (15 and 150 mmol L-1), soil:solution ratio of 1:100 and pH 5.5. There were no differences in percentages of adsorption between the values of ionic strength 15 and 150 mmol L-1 (63.51 and 64.46%). Desorption percentage at the dose 15 mmol L-1 was smaller than 15% at the two values of ionic strength, except for LVd4 and LAd1, in which the desorption percentage was higher than 20%.O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito da força iônica da solução de equilíbrio sobre a adsorção e dessorção de arsênio, em 17 latossolos, de diferentes regiões geográficas brasileiras. A adsorção de As foi avaliada em dois valores de força iônica (15 e 150 mmol L-1), duas doses de As (15 e 150 mmol L-1), relação solo:solução final de 1:100 e pH 5,5. Não houve diferença nas porcentagens de adsorção, entre os valores de força iônica 15 e 150 mmol L-1 (63,51 e 64,46%). A porcentagem de dessorção na dose 15 mmol L-1 foi inferior a 15%, nos dois valores de força iônica, exceto para os solos LVd4 e LAd1, em que a porcentagem de dessorção foi superior a 20%