Transparent-Influx Boundary Conditions for FEM Based Modelling of 2D Helmholtz Problems in Optics

A numerical method for the analysis of the 2D Helmholtz equation is presented, which incorporates Transparent-Influx Boundary Conditions into a variational formulation of the Helmholtz problem. For rectangular geometries, the non-locality of those boundaries can be efficiently handled by using Fourier decomposition. The Finite Element Method is used to discretise the interior and the nonlocal Dirichlet-to-Neumann operators arising from the formulation of Transparent-Influx Boundary Conditions

Caracterização da condição oral dos pacientes da Clínica Universitária do Instituto de Ciências da Saúde da Universidade Católica Portuguesa

Introdução: Existem variados estudos sobre a condição oral da população por-tuguesa. No entanto, é relevante particularizar esta temática aos pacientes que frequentam as Clínicas Universitárias, uma vez que se trata de uma população específica e sobre a qual os estudantes exercem a sua ação clínica. Objetivos: O principal objetivo deste estudo é avaliar das necessidades tera-pêuticas, tendo como base a caracterização da condição de saúde oral da po-pulação que frequentou a Clínica Dentária Universitária do ICS-Viseu, no ano civil de 2018. Desta forma, pretende-se aferir e enquadrar os resultados obtidos nas três principais áreas clínicas que regem a Medicina Dentária: Reabilitação Oral, Medicina Dentária Conservadora e Cirurgia Oral. Materiais e Métodos: O estudo epidemiológico transversal, tem como amostra as fichas clínicas dos pacientes que realizaram ortopantomografia na Clínica Universitária do ICS-Viseu, no ano civil de 2018. Foram observadas 995 fichas clínicas, das quais resultou uma amostra de 771 após a aplicação dos critérios de exclusão. Da ficha clínica de cada paciente recolheram-se dados demográfi-cos e gerais a da avaliação radiográfica obtivemos dados referentes à condição de saúde de cada dente individualmente. Os dados foram interpretados no soft-ware IBM SPSS Statistics®, para um nível de significância de 5%. Resultados: A amostra obtida (n=771) é maioritariamente do sexo feminino com idade inferior a 65 anos. Na cavidade oral, e de uma forma geral, as situações mais problemáticas são identificadas no maxilar superior e nos setores posterio-res. Nas 3 áreas disciplinares abordadas, a pior condição dentária associa-se a pacientes do género feminino e de idade mais avançada. Conclusões: A caraterização da condição dentária da população estudada per-mitiu determinar as necessidades de tratamento, tendo sido estas mais eviden-tes na Medicina Dentária Conservadora e na Reabilitação Oral. Conhecer essas necessidades permite-nos orientar a formação dos futuros Médicos Dentistas nesse sentido.Introduction: There are several studies on the oral condition of the Portuguese population. However, it is relevant to understand better the needs of the patients who attend University Clinics, since it is a specific population on which the stu-dents carry out their clinical action. Aims: The main aim of this study is to evaluate the treatment needs, based on the oral health status characterization of the population that attended the Univer-sity Dental Clinic of ICS-Viseu, in the calendar year of 2018. In this way, we intend to measure and fit the results obtained in the three main clinical areas of Dental Medicine: Oral Rehabilitation, Conservative Dental Medicine and Oral Surgery. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional epidemiological study used the clinical files of the patients who performed orthopantomography at the University Clinic of ICS-Viseu, in the calendar year 2018. A total of 995 clinical files were observed, resulting in a sample of 771 after exclusion criteria application. From the clinical record of each patient we collected demographic and general data and from the radiographic evaluation we obtained data referring to each individual tooth health condition. The data were analysed in the IBM SPSS Statistics® soft-ware for a significance level of 5%. Results: The sample obtained (n = 771) is composed mostly by females under the age of 65. In the oral cavity, and in general, the most problematic situations are identified in the maxilla and in the posterior sectors. In the three disciplinary areas considered, the worst dental condition is associated with female patients and older age. Conclusions: The characterization of the oral health status of the study popula-tion allowed to determine the treatment needs, which were more evident in Con-servative Dental Medicine and Oral Rehabilitation. Knowing these needs enables a more efficient management of future Dentist’s training

Gender Differences in Writing Complex Sentences: a Case Study of Indonesian EFL Students

This study investigated the Indonesian EFL students' proficiency in writing complex sentences and explored the gender differences in their writing products. Thirty-eight (38) high school students – 19 males and 19 females – were instructed to write a narrative account of the silent movie, The Pear Film, immediately after watching it. The result of the study revealed that the students' production of sentence complexity exhibited a sequential degree of difficulty from simple sentence (1 T-unit) to more complex sentences (2 T-units or 3 T-units). Female students had higher frequencies in producing T-units, and they also exhibited a more powerful imagination and creativity in building complex sentences. However, the males outnumbered the females in the production of lexical variety. This indicated that longer sentences are not always directly related to the breadth of vocabulary knowledge

Synthesis and Characterization of Reinforced Chitosan Hydrogels for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Chitosan is the second most abundant natural polymer; it is biodegradable, biocompatible and bioactive. Even though chitosan has been used in various biomedical studies due these characteristics, its mechanical properties are the subject of investigations, as they still need to be improved. Therefore, a hydrogel prepared from composites of chitosan, polycaprolactone and nanodiamonds may offer enhanced mechanical properties compared to pure chitosan. We hypothesize that the mechanical properties of the hydrogel composites will be superior to the unaltered chitosan, while preserving the advantages of the material. The solutions were prepared using chitosan 1.5 wt%, PCL 5 wt% and nanodiamonds 0.016% suspended solutions. Triton X-100 was used as an emulsifier. The solutions were left in the -20 °C overnight prior lyophilization. The microemulsion technique was used in order to fabricate a porous hydrogel. Further analysis will be made, to characterize the hydrogels. Preliminary results suggest the successful formation of an aerogel based on their physical appearance. Additional studies are needed to fully understand the desired properties of the composite

Verificação, avaliação e processamento das informações do programa de melhoramento de trigo para acesso e consulta por meio de bancos de dados relacional e grafo.

Editores técnicos: Joseani Mesquita Antunes, Ana Lídia Variani Bonato, Márcia Barrocas Moreira Pimentel

Modelling bacteria and bacteriophage population dynamics

Moreover, it is necessary to evaluate and to understand the phage and bacteria population dynamics in order to foresee its potential for use in vivo. To understand how natural communities are affected by environmental factors and will respond in time, it is important to develop predictive models. The aim of the present work was the development of a dynamic model that predicts the interaction between a Salmonella phage and its respective host. Simulated data are compared with the data obtained experimentally to assess the suitability of the model for two multiplicity of infection (MOI): 0.1 and 1.0. For a high multiplicity of infection (MOI=1.0), the simulated and experimental data have a better correlation than for a low MOI (0.1). In this case, the differences were also more notorious for bacterial concentration. From the results it can be concluded that the model produces better correlations in terms of phage concentration, when a higher MOI is used. So, for a high MOI (MOI=1), given the initial values and the parameters used in the model, we can predict the concentration of phage and bacteria. In this way, the model can be used to predict the amount of phage obtained in the production process. It is expected that the developed model may help the optimization of phage production and the guidance of the experimental studies of population dynamics by identifying and evaluating the relative contribution of phage and bacteria in the course and outcome of an infection