Quality control and productivity in oak timber - from forest to the primary processing

Oak timber is valuated for its beauty, good mechanical properties and natural durability and may have multiple uses. An understanding of the factors that affect oak timber quality is essential. It is important to have quality control of physical, mechanical and technological wood characteristics in order to define the better primary processing and end-use. Silviculture may significantly impact wood quality and final stand value. Specific prescriptions will depend on species, site conditions, desired end product and management options. An appropriate silviculture with optimized technological operations allows a well use of wood even with small diameters. Adequate wood classification is required in order to optimize industrial processes and improve product quality. Quality criteria and procedures for round and sawtimber are referenced

Magnetic Properties of the Metamagnet Ising Model in a three-dimensional Lattice in a Random and Uniform Field

By employing the Monte Carlo technique we study the behavior of Metamagnet Ising Model in a random field. The phase diagram is obtained by using the algorithm of Glaubr in a cubic lattice of linear size $L$ with values ranging from 16 to 42 and with periodic boundary conditions.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figure

Gene knockdown in Paracoccidioides brasiliensis using antisense RNA

Paracoccidioides brasiliensis is a thermal dimorphic fungus which at host environment exhibits a multinucleated and multibudding yeast form. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying these phenotypes remain to be clarified, mostly due to the absence of efficient classical genetic and molecular techniques. Here we describe a method for gene expression knockdown in P. brasiliensis by antisense RNA (aRNA) technology taking advantage of an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) system. Together, these techniques represent a reliable toolbox that can be employed for functional genetic analysis of putative virulence factors and morphogenic regulators, aiming to the identification of new potential drug targets.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Portugal (FCT) - Ref. PTDC/BIA-MIC/108309/2008, Ref. SFRH/BD/33446/2008)

SINTETIZAÇÃO DE HÍBRIDOS DE Eucalyptus POR CRUZAMENTOS CONTROLADOS

Este trabalho teve como objetivo estabelecer um método funcional de hibridação para intercruzar algumas espécies de Eucalyptus. Os resultados mostraram a viabilidade de sintetização de híbridos inter e intraespecíficos mediante a utilização de metodologia simplificada, mais adequada do ponto de vista operacional. Foi constatado para E. tereticornis que a emasculação deve ser feita sem o corte do anel estaminal, e a possibilidade de armazenamento da flor inteira, sem extrair o pólen, até um período de 12 mêses, com viabilidade a níveis adequados, para as espécies de Eucalyptus estudadas

Rotators-Translators to Mean Curvature Flow in H2×R\mathbb H^2\times\mathbb R

We establish the existence of one-parameter families of helicoidal surfaces of $\mathbb H^2\times\mathbb R$ which, under mean curvature flow, simultaneously rotate about a vertical axis and translate vertically.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2307.1413

Electronic doping of graphene by deposited transition metal atoms

We perform a phenomenological analysis of the problem of the electronic doping of a graphene sheet by deposited transition metal atoms, which aggregate in clusters. The sample is placed in a capacitor device such that the electronic doping of graphene can be varied by the application of a gate voltage and such that transport measurements can be performed via the application of a (much smaller) voltage along the graphene sample, as reported in the work of Pi et al. [Phys. Rev. B 80, 075406 (2009)]. The analysis allows us to explain the thermodynamic properties of the device, such as the level of doping of graphene and the ionisation potential of the metal clusters in terms of the chemical interaction between graphene and the clusters. We are also able, by modelling the metallic clusters as perfect conducting spheres, to determine the scattering potential due to these clusters on the electronic carriers of graphene and hence the contribution of these clusters to the resistivity of the sample. The model presented is able to explain the measurements performed by Pi et al. on Pt-covered graphene samples at the lowest metallic coverages measured and we also present a theoretical argument based on the above model that explains why significant deviations from such a theory are observed at higher levels of coverage.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure

COMFORT SEAT MODULE - FIRST CLASS COMFORT FOR ALL

The Comfort Seat Module (CSM) is a project developed in the scope of the EDAM focus area of the MIT – Portugal program, within the Product Design and Development course. The team members involved in the project come from several Engineering backgrounds and includes research students and engineering professionals, from different geographical origins. In this project the team had the purpose of designing and developing a solution, from idea into concept and then onto a valid product that could potentially be produced and even marketed. In parallel, the objective was to train the product development competences and team’s working skills as much as possible, considering the physical distance between the team members.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

On the Computational Complexity of the Strong Geodetic Recognition Problem

A strong geodetic set of a graph~$G=(V,E)$ is a vertex set~$S \subseteq V(G)$ in which it is possible to cover all the remaining vertices of~$V(G) \setminus S$ by assigning a unique shortest path between each vertex pair of~$S$. In the Strong Geodetic problem (SG) a graph~$G$ and a positive integer~$k$ are given as input and one has to decide whether~$G$ has a strong geodetic set of cardinality at most~$k$. This problem is known to be NP-hard for general graphs. In this work we introduce the Strong Geodetic Recognition problem (SGR), which consists in determining whether even a given vertex set~$S \subseteq V(G)$ is strong geodetic. We demonstrate that this version is NP-complete. We investigate and compare the computational complexity of both decision problems restricted to some graph classes, deriving polynomial-time algorithms, NP-completeness proofs, and initial parameterized complexity results, including an answer to an open question in the literature for the complexity of SG for chordal graphs

Paving the way for predictive diagnostics and personalized treatment of invasive aspergillosis

Invasive aspergillosis (IA) is a life-threatening fungal disease commonly diagnosed among individuals with immunological deficits, namely hematological patients undergoing chemotherapy or allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Vaccines are not available, and despite the improved diagnosis and antifungal therapy, the treatment of IA is associated with a poor outcome. Importantly, the risk of infection and its clinical outcome vary significantly even among patients with similar predisposing clinical factors and microbiological exposure. Recent insights into antifungal immunity have further highlighted the complexity of host-fungus interactions and the multiple pathogen-sensing systems activated to control infection. How to decode this information into clinical practice remains however, a challenging issue in medical mycology. Here, we address recent advances in our understanding of the host-fungus interaction and discuss the application of this knowledge in potential strategies with the aim of moving toward personalized diagnostics and treatment (theranostics) in immunocompromised patients. Ultimately, the integration of individual traits into a clinically applicable process to predict the risk and progression of disease, and the efficacy of antifungal prophylaxis and therapy, holds the promise of a pioneering innovation benefiting patients at risk of IA.CC is supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal (SFRH/BPD/96176/2013

Sintetização de híbridos de Eucalyptus por cruzamentos controlados.

This research had for objective to establish a functional hibridization method to intercross some species of Eucalyptus. The results showed the viability of inter and intraspecific hybrids synthesizing using a simplified methodology, more appropriate for the operational point of view. It was verified that for E. tereticornis the emasculation must be done without cutting the staminal ring, and the possibility of storing the whole flower, for up to 12 months, maintaining a satisfactory viability level, for the Eucalyptus species studied.Este trabalho teve como objetivo estabelecer um método funcional de hibridação para intercruzar algumas espécies de Eucalyptus. Os resultados mostraram a viabilidade de sintetização de híbridos inter e intraespecíficos mediante a utilização de metodologia simplificada, mais adequada do ponto de  vista operacional.  Foi  constatado  para  E. tereticornis que a emasculação deve ser feita sem o corte do anel estaminal, e a possibilidade de armazenamento da flor inteira, sem extrair o pólen, até um período de 12 meses, com viabilidade a níveis adequados, para as espécies de Eucalyptus estudadas