Growing substrates for aromatic plant species in green roofs and water runoff quality: pilot experiments in a Mediterranean climate.

Green roof technology has evolved in recent years as a potential solution to promote vegetation in urban areas. Green roof studies for Mediterranean climates, where extended drought periods in summer contrast with cold and rainy periods in winter, are still scarce. The present research study assesses the use of substrates with different compositions for the growth of six aromatic plant species - Lavandula dentata, Pelargonium odoratissimum, Helichrysum italicum, Satureja montana, Thymus caespititius and T.

Laser spectroscopy of muonic deuterium.

The deuteron is the simplest compound nucleus, composed of one proton and one neutron. Deuteron properties such as the root-mean-square charge radius rd and the polarizability serve as important benchmarks for understanding the nuclear forces and structure. Muonic deuterium μd is the exotic atom formed by a deuteron and a negative muon μ(-).

Contributions to the design of rainwater harvesting systems in buildings with green roofs in a Mediterranean climate.

Green roofs (GRs) are becoming a trend in urban areas, favouring thermal performance of buildings, promoting removal of atmospheric pollutants, and acting as possible water collection spots. Rainwater harvesting systems in buildings can also contribute to the management of stormwater runoff reducing flood peaks. These technologies should be enhanced in Mediterranean countries where water scarcity is increasing and the occurrence of extreme events is becoming very significant, as a result of climate change.

Improved x-ray detection and particle identification with avalanche photodiodes.

Avalanche photodiodes are commonly used as detectors for low energy x-rays. In this work, we report on a fitting technique used to account for different detector responses resulting from photoabsorption in the various avalanche photodiode layers. The use of this technique results in an improvement of the energy resolution at 8.

Proton structure from the measurement of 2S-2P transition frequencies of muonic hydrogen.

Accurate knowledge of the charge and Zemach radii of the proton is essential, not only for understanding its structure but also as input for tests of bound-state quantum electrodynamics and its predictions for the energy levels of hydrogen. These radii may be extracted from the laser spectroscopy of muonic hydrogen (μp, that is, a proton orbited by a muon). We measured the 2S(1/2)(F=0)-2P(3/2)(F=1) transition frequency in μp to be 54611.

Modelling growth of, and removal of Zn and Hg by a wild microalgal consortium.

Microorganisms isolated from sites contaminated with heavy metals usually possess a higher removal capacity than strains from regular cultures. Heavy metal-containing soil samples from an industrial dumpsite in Northern Portugal were accordingly collected; following enrichment under metal stress, a consortium of wild microalgae was obtained. Their ability to grow in the presence of, and their capacity to recover heavy metals was comprehensively studied; the datasets thus generated were fitted to by a combined model of biomass growth and metal uptake, derived from first principles.

Metal uptake by microalgae: underlying mechanisms and practical applications.

Metal contamination of a few aquatic, atmospheric, and soil ecosystems has increased ever since the industrial revolution, owing to discharge of such elements via the effluents of some industrial facilities. Their presence to excessive levels in the environment will eventually lead to serious health problems in higher animals owing to accumulation throughout the food web. Current physicochemical methods available for recovery of metal pollutants (e.

The size of the proton.

The proton is the primary building block of the visible Universe, but many of its properties-such as its charge radius and its anomalous magnetic moment-are not well understood. The root-mean-square charge radius, r(p), has been determined with an accuracy of 2 per cent (at best) by electron-proton scattering experiments. The present most accurate value of r(p) (with an uncertainty of 1 per cent) is given by the CODATA compilation of physical constants.

Pulmonary disease in hamsters infected with Leptospira interrogans: histopathologic findings and cytokine mRNA expressions.

Our aim was to evaluate the pulmonary changes induced by Leptospira interrogans infection in hamsters, and the gene expression of endogenous mediators in lung fragments during 28 days of observation. The animals were euthanized on days 4, 7, 14, 21, and 28 post-inoculation. Histopathologic lung analysis showed hemorrhage, pneumonia, alveolar congestion, and infiltrated cellular areas, with increasing severity until day 21 post-inoculation.

Characterization of Desmodesmus pleiomorphus isolated from a heavy metal-contaminated site: biosorption of zinc.

Microalgae have been proven efficient biological vectors for heavy metal uptake. In order to further study their biosorption potential, a strain of Desmodesmus pleiomorphus (L) was isolated from a strongly contaminated industrial site in Portugal. Under different initial Zn(2+) concentrations, metal removal by that strain reached a maximum of 360 mg Zn/g biomass after 7 days, at 30 mg Zn/l, after an initial rapid phase of uptake.

Effects of pentoxifylline on TNF-alpha and lung histopathology in HCL-induced lung injury.

Objective: To evaluate the effects of pentoxifylline on hydrochloric acid-induced lung lesions in rats subjected to mechanical ventilation.

Methods: Twenty male, adult Wistar-EPM-1 rats were anesthetized and randomly grouped (n=5 animals per group) as follows: control-MV (mechanical ventilation, MV group); bilateral instillation of HCl (HCl group); bilateral instillation of HCl followed by pentoxifylline (50 mg/kg bw) infusion (HCl+PTX group) and pentoxifylline infusion followed by bilateral instillation of HCl (PTX+HCl group). At 20, 30, 90 and 180 min after treatments, the blood partial pressures of CO2 and O2 were measured.