Morphodynamic modelling of a gravel beach at the NW Portuguese coast

Besides exhibiting an erosion trend for decades, the NW coastal zone of Portugal, since the end of 20th century, was the stage of a new phenomenon. Between Lima and Cávado rivers, previously dissipative, sandy beaches transformed in mixed sand-gravel beaches with gravelly beach cusps (by the end of 80?s) and progressively convert in entire reflective gravel beaches (since 2000), though maintaining the inherited dune systems on their backshore. This beach is being monitored since 2013 using DGPS, aerophotogrametic surveys and expedite gravel size characterization. Based on these monitoring results a modeling work was carried out to simulate the beach morphodynamics, applying XBeach-G software. The model was able to simulate the beach morphodynamics

Performance assessment of polymer based electrodes for in vitro electrophysiological sensing: the role of the electrode impedance

Conducting polymer electrodes based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) are used to record extracellular signals from autonomous cardiac contractile cells and glioma cell cultures. The performance of these conducting polymer electrodes is compared with Au electrodes. A small-signal impedance analysis shows that in the presence of an electrolyte, both Au and polymer electrodes establish high capacitive double-layers. However, the polymer/electrolyte interfacial resistance is 3 orders of magnitude lower than the resistance of the metal/electrolyte interface. The polymer low interfacial resistance minimizes the intrinsic thermal noise and increases the system sensitivity. However, when measurements are carried out in current mode a low interfacial resistance partially acts as a short circuit of the interfacial capacitance, this affects the signal shape

Perception of the special troops (comandos) soldiers regarding physical fitness, motor control and psychological skills

Physical fitness and motor skills are considered important attributes for the military, affecting their professional performance. The high physical and psychological demand that the special forces are subjected to requires the acquisition of a set of volitional skills such as resilience, effort, perseverance, or resistance to frustration, which are worthy of further research. This study aimed to analyse the perception of the special troops (commandos) in physical fitness, motor control and psychological skills. A total of 35 male soldiers that ended the commando recruit training program (21.69 ± 2.36 years old) were investigated. A questionnaire was applied to verify differences in perception of physical fitness, motor capacity, physical effort and military training during recruit training according to age, education, work experience and sports background. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the participants. All data collected were analysed using IBM-SPSS Statistics, version 24. Our results revealed differences in the importance given to the training of motor skills within military training (χ2 = 19.284; p = 0.023), conditional motor skills – speed (χ2 = 17.378; p = 0.043), coordinative motor skills—motor control (χ2 = 20.616; p = 0.014), psychological skills in a military context (χ2 = 13.730; p = 0.008), volitional skills—resistance to frustration (χ2 = 21.568; p = 0.043) and volitional skills—psychological resistance (χ2 = 29.144; p = 0.004). The participants highlighted the importance of instructors having scientific knowledge in physical education to provide military physical training to be better prepared for this purpose. We concluded that motor skills and psychological abilities tend to be equally important in the context of military training. Physical fitness and motor skill development can be considered essential in military training for most of the inquired participants.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterization of beach morphodynamics under the influence of geosynthetic cylinders: Ofirbeach, Portugal, case study

O fenómeno da erosão costeira afeta profundamente a costa portuguesa. O sistema praia-oceano não se pode considerar em situação de equilíbrio morfodinâmico, porque as praias são sistemas abertos, sendo os seus sedimentos constantemente transportados. Os ventos, marés e agitação marinha são os principais agentes erosivos, mas existem outras causas de origem antrópica que influenciam os processos erosivos. Este trabalho tem como objetivo avaliar as alterações morfológicas de muito curto termo em diferentes estados de agitação e tipologia de maré, na praia de Ofir, situada na costa NO Portuguesa. Esta praia foi intervencionada com cilindros geossintéticos como medida de defesa costeira. O trabalho é baseado num programa de monitorização, recorrendo a levantamentos topográficos de alta precisão com auxílio de equipamento DGPS. A aplicação de cilindros geossintéticos nesta praia revelou-se eficiente no período analisado e nas condições de agitação e maré verificadas, embora tenham sofrido erosão ficando expostos.The phenomenon of coastal erosion deeply affects the Portuguese coast. The beach-ocean system cannot be considered in a situation of morphodynamic balance because the beaches are open systems, and their sediments are being constantly transported. Winds, tides and waves are the main erosive actions, but there are other causes of anthropogenic origin that influence erosional processes. This work aims to evaluate the morphological changes of short time scale, considering different waves and tide conditions at Ofir beach, located at the NW Portuguese coast. This beach was intervened with geosynthetic cylinders as a coastal defense measure. The work is based on a monitoring program, using high-precision topographic surveys with DGPS equipment. The application of geosynthetic cylinders on this beach proved to be efficient in the analyzed period and in the verified conditions of waves and tides, although they have suffered erosion and have been exposed.Os autores agradecem aos projetos MarRisk (0262_MarRISK_1_E) e EcOffShorBE (Eco Offshore Built Environment - NORTE-01-0247- FEDER-037417), os quais apoiaram o desenvolvimento do programa de monitorização e análise granulométrica de sedimentos

Ultrastructural and biochemical changes induced by salt stress in jatropha curcas seeds during germination and seedling development

Jatropha curcas L. is a multipurpose species of the Euphorbiaceae family that is widespread in arid and semiarid regions. This study investigated the ultrastructural and biochemical changes induced by salt stress during J. curcas seed germination and seedling development. Salt stress negatively affected seed germination and increased Na+ and Cl– contents in endosperms and embryo-axis. Lipids represented the most abundant reserves (64% of the quiescent seed dry mass), and their levels were strongly decreased at 8 days after imbibition (DAI) under salinity stress. Proteins were the second most important reserve (21.3%), and their levels were also reduced under salt stress conditions. Starch showed a transient increase at 5 DAI under control conditions, which was correlated with intense lipid mobilisation during this period. Non-reducing sugars and free amino acids were increased in control seeds compared with quiescent seeds, whereas under the salt-stress conditions, minimal changes were observed. In addition, cytochemical and ultrastructural analyses confirmed greater alterations in the cellular reserves of seeds that had been germinated under NaCl stress conditions. Salt stress promoted delays in protein and lipid mobilisation and induced ultrastructural changes in salt-stressed endosperm cells, consistent with delayed protein and oil body degradation4286587

Efficacy of pilates in functional body composition : a systematic review

The aim of this review was to collect and systematize results of studies from the last 5 years concerning the influence of the Pilates method (PM) on functional body composition (FBC). Methods: The criteria of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) were used in this review. We conducted research in three scientific databases: (i) Web of Science Core Collection, (ii) SCOPUS, and (iii) search directory of the library catalog of the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education of the University of Coimbra—EBSCO Discovery Services. We found 334 articles, covering the period between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2021. After the selection process, we found 33 eligible articles. Results: The main results seem to point to a tendency to get a better body weight and body fat percentage (BFP), hip circumference (HC), waist, and skinfolds from the chest, abdomen, triceps, and supra-iliac in mostly female samples. Available evidence indicates that, in body composition (BC) and FBC, Pilates practice tends to be effective in reducing obesity as a multifactorial condition. Conclusions: It is concluded that there is a marked trend in the benefits of Pilates in FBC, which is in line with other systematic reviews at the BC level (which includes body weight (BW) and body mass index (BMI)) and in the reduction of the percentage of fat mass (FM). It is also concluded that there is a vast lack of studies on the male population, preventing further scientific development in this area. The limitations of this systematic review can be overcome with studies that bring together multidisciplinary aspects of FBC, better designed and methodologically more robust, which will allow more reliable analyses for the implementation of the Pilates method in terms of FBC. In addition, further studies with a male sample or mixed samples (men vs. women) could confirm the trend of no gender differences in the benefits of Pilates practice.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

On the behaviour of spin-orbit connection of exoplanets

Star-planet interactions play, among other things, a crucial role in planetary orbital configurations by circularizing orbits, aligning the star and planet spin and synchronizing stellar rotation with orbital motions. This is especially true for innermost giant planets, which can be schematized as binary systems with a very large mass ratio. Despite a few examples where spin-orbit synchronization has been obtained, there is no demographic study on synchronous regimes in those systems yet. Here we use a sample of 1,055 stars with innermost planet companions to show the existence of three observational loci of star-planet synchronization regimes. Two of them have dominant fractions of subsynchronous and supersynchronous star-planet systems, and a third less populated regime of potentially synchronized systems. No synchronous star-planet system with a period higher than 40 days has been detected yet. This landscape is different from eclipsing binary systems, most of which are synchronized. We suggest that planets in a stable asynchronous spin state belonging to star-planet systems in a supersynchronized regime offer the most favourable conditions for habitability.Comment: 15 pages, 1 figure in main paper, 6 supplementary figures. Published in Nature Astronomy, May 202