1,838 research outputs found

    Joining sustainable design and internet of things technologies on campus : the IPVC smartbottle practical case

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    Higher education institutions (HEIs) are favored environments for the implementation of technological solutions that accelerate the generation of smart campi, given the dynamic ecosystem they create based on the involvement of inspired and motivated human resources (students, professors, and researchers), moving around in an atmosphere of advanced digital infrastructures and services. Moreover, HEIs have, in their mission, not only the creation of integrated knowledge through Research and Development (R&D) activities but also solving societal problems that address the academic community expectations concerning environmental issues, contributing, therefore, towards a greener society embodied within the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This article addresses the design and implementation of a Smartbottle Ecosystem in which an interactive and reusable water bottle communicates with an intelligent water refill station, both integrated by the Internet of Things (IoT) and Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), to eliminate the use of single-use plastic water bottles in the premises of the Polytechnical Institute of Viana do Castelo (IPVC), an HEI with nearly 6000 students. Three main contributions were identified in this research: (i) the proposal of a novel methodology based on the association of Design Thinking and Participatory Design as the basis for Sustainable Design; (ii) the design and development of an IoT-enabled smartbottle prototype; and (iii) the usability evaluation of the proposed prototype. The adopted methodology is rooted in Design Thinking and mixes it with a Participatory Design approach, including the end-user opinion throughout the Smartbottle Ecosystem design process, not only for the product design requirements but also for its specification. By promoting a participatory solution tailored to the IPVC academic community, recycled plastic has been identified as the preferential material and a marine mammal was selected for the smartbottle shape, in the process of developing a solution to replace the single-use plastic bottles.7519-C505-DF9E | Ant?nio Jos? Candeias CuradoN/

    Lethal concentration (LC50) (120h) of neutral household detergent Limpol in guppy Poecilia reticulata.

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    Aquatic environments have been destroyed because of increase of pollutants dumped into waters. In some poor countries or in developing ones, like Brazil, detergents are one of the main responsible to impact these environments. Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a common fish in Central and South America, being very used in vitro experiments, since it is an easy specimen to keep in laboratories. This work aimed to determine the LC50 (120h) of neutral household detergent for guppy. We tested seven different concentrations (0, 10, 20, 30, 40, 70 and 100 mg/L), and Probit analysis showed that approximately 33.4 mg/L was the lethal dose that killed 50% of guppies in 120h, with doses below 30 mg/L did not killing any fish, while doses above 30 mg/L killed all individuals in few hours. We concluded that even small doses of detergent can be lethal to aquatic organisms, especially if the exposition time is prolonged

    Wearables and Internet of Things (IoT) Technologies for Fitness Assessment: A Systematic Review

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    Wearable and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in sports open a new era in athlete?s training, not only for performance monitoring and evaluation but also for fitness assessment. These technologies rely on sensor systems that collect, process and transmit relevant data, such as biomark ers and/or other performance indicators that are crucial to evaluate the evolution of the athlete?s condition, and therefore potentiate their performance. This work aims to identify and summarize recent studies that have used wearables and IoT technologies and discuss its applicability for fitness assessment. A systematic review of electronic databases (WOS, CCC, DIIDW, KJD, MEDLINE, RSCI, SCIELO, IEEEXplore, PubMed, SPORTDiscus, Cochrane and Web of Science) was undertaken according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. From the 280 studies initially identified, 20 were fully examined in terms of hardware and software and their applicability for fitness assessment. Results have shown that wearable and IoT technologies have been used in sports not only for fitness assessment but also for monitoring the athlete?s internal and external workloads, employing physiological status monitoring and activity recognition and tracking techniques. However, the maturity level of such technologies is still low, particularly with the need for the acquisition of more?and more effective?biomarkers regarding the athlete?s internal workload, which limits its wider adoption by the sports community.4811-99FE-2ECD | Luis Paulo RodriguesN/

    Corn hybrids height in different eucalyptus trees distances in systems agroforestry

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    Todos os textos, informa??es e resultados apresentados s?o de inteira responsabilidade dos autores.Objetivou-se avaliar as alturas de plantas de milho a diferentes dist?ncias das ?rvores de eucalipto em cons?rcio com capim-marandu, cultivado em diferentes arranjos de eucalipto em sistemas agrossilvipastoris, estabelecido h? cinco anos. Utilizou-se o delineamento experimental em blocos completos casualizados, com tr?s repeti??es e os tratamentos consistiram do arranjo fatorial (2x2)+2, sendo dois h?bridos de milho (duplo ? BM207, com folhas planiformes e triplo ? BM502, com folhas eretas) em cons?rcio com a Brachiaria brizantha cv. Marandu (capim-marandu), dois espa?amentos entre ?rvores de eucalipto (12x2 e 12x4 m), e os dois h?bridos de milho em monocultivo. Aos 110 dias ap?s a semeadura, ?poca de gr?os pastoso farin?ceo, foram determinadas as alturas de plantas de milho em tr?s diferentes distancias das ?rvores (2, 4 e 6 m) e determinada a m?dia entre as tr?s diferentes distancias, em cada unidade experimental. A altura dos h?bridos de milho foi influenciada pelas dist?ncias das ?rvores, pelos diferentes espa?amentos das ?rvores e entre os h?bridos utilizados nos sistemas em agrossilvipastoris j? estabelecidos h? cinco anos.ABSTRACT It was aimed to evaluate the height of corn plants at different distances from eucalyptus trees in consortium with marandugrass, grown in different eucalyptus arrangements in agroforestry systems, from five years ago. We used the experimental randomized complete block design, with three replications and the treatments consisted of a factorial arrangement (2x2) +2, two corn hybrids (double - BM207 with planiformes leaves and triple - BM502, with erect leaves) in consortium with Brachiariabrizantha cv. Marandu (marandugrass), two spacing between eucalyptus trees (12x2 and 12x4 meters), and the two corn hybrids in monoculture. At 110 days after sowing, period of pasty chalky grains, it was determined the height of corn plants in three different distances from the trees (2, 4 and 6 meters) and it was determined the average of the three different distances in each experimental unit. The height of the corn hybrids was influenced by the distances of the trees, by different spacing from the trees and among the hybrids used in the systems agroforestry from five years ago

    Histomorphometric analysis of inflammatory response and necrosis in re-implanted central incisor of rats treated with low-level laser therapy

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    Low-level laser therapy is a tool employed in the management of post-operative inflammation process and in the enhancement of reparative process. The aim of the study was to perform histological evaluation of dental and periodontal ligament of rats central upper-left incisor teeth re-implanted and irradiated with low-level laser (InGaAl, 685 nm, 50 J/cm2) 15, 30, and 60 days after re-implantation. Seventy-two male rats had the central upper left incisor removed and kept for 15 min on dry gauze before replantation. Laser was irradiated over the root surface and empty alveolus prior replantation and over surrounding mucosa after the re-implantation. After histological procedures, all slices were analyzed regarding external resorption area and histological aspects. We observed an increase of root resorption (p < 0.05) in the control group compared to the laser group at 15, 30, and 60 days. These results showed that the laser groups developed less root resorption areas than the control group in all experimental periods. Additionally, histological analysis revealed less inflammatory cells and necrotic areas in laser groups

    nutrition and performance in football

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    Nutrition is an undeniable part of promoting health and performance among football (soccer) players. Nevertheless, nutritional strategies adopted in elite football can vary significantly depending on culture, habit and practical constraints and might not always be supported by scientific evidence. Therefore, a group of 28 Portuguese experts on sports nutrition, sports science and sports medicine sought to discuss current practices in the elite football landscape and review the existing evidence on nutritional strategies to be applied when supporting football players. Starting from understanding football?s physical and physiological demands, five different moments were identified: preparing to play, match-day, recovery after matches, between matches and during injury or rehabilitation periods. When applicable, specificities of nutritional support to young athletes and female players were also addressed. The result is a set of practical recommendations that gathered consensus among involved experts, highlighting carbohydrates periodisation, hydration and conscious use of dietary supplements.D915-7373-ED16 | Cesar LeaoN/

    Variable flocculation profiles of yeast strains isolated from cacha?a distilleries.

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    In cacha?a production, the use of yeast cells as starters with predictable flocculation behavior facilitates the cell recovery at the end of each fermentation cycle. Therefore, the aim of this work was to explain the behavior of cacha?a yeast strains in fermentation vats containing sugarcane through the determination of biochemical and molecular parameters associated with flocculation phenotypes. By analyzing thirteen cacha?a yeast strains isolated from different distilleries, our results demonstrated that neither classic biochemical measurements (e.g., percentage of flocculation, EDTA sensitivity, cell surface hydrophobicity, and sugar residues on the cell wall) nor modern molecular approaches, such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and real-time PCR (q-PCR), were sufficient to distinctly classify the cacha?a yeast strains according to their flocculation behavior. It seems that flocculation is indeed a strain-specific phenomenon that is difficult to explain and/or categorize by the available methodologie

    The glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase gene of Moniliophthoraperniciosa, the causal agent of witches' broom disease of Theobroma cacao

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    This report describes the cloning, sequence and expression analysis of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GAPDH) gene of Moniliophthora perniciosa, the most important pathogen of cocoa in Brazil. Southern blot analysis revealed the presence of a single copy of the GAPDH gene in the M. perniciosa genome (MpGAPDH). The complete MpGAPDH coding sequence contained 1,461 bp with eight introns that were conserved in the GAPDH genes of other basidiomycete species. The cis-elements in the promoter region of the MpGAPDH gene were similar to those of other basidiomycetes. Likewise, the MpGAPDH gene encoded a putative 339 amino acid protein that shared significant sequence similarity with other GAPDH proteins in fungi, plants, and metazoans. Phylogenetic analyses clustered the MPGAPDH protein with other homobasidiomycete fungi of the family Tricholomataceae. Expression analysis of the MpGAPDH gene by real-time PCR showed that this gene was more expressed (~1.3X) in the saprotrophic stage of this hemibiotrophic plant pathogen than in the biotrophic stage when grown in cacao extracts

    Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) and Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) Conceptual Design Report Volume 2: The Physics Program for DUNE at LBNF

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    The Physics Program for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) at the Fermilab Long-Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) is described

    Search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu channel in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

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    A search for the standard model Higgs boson in the H to ZZ to 2l 2nu decay channel, where l = e or mu, in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV is presented. The data were collected at the LHC, with the CMS detector, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 4.6 inverse femtobarns. No significant excess is observed above the background expectation, and upper limits are set on the Higgs boson production cross section. The presence of the standard model Higgs boson with a mass in the 270-440 GeV range is excluded at 95% confidence level.Comment: Submitted to JHE
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