Evaluating the effectiveness of Mangrove rehabilitation: A novel approach for sustainable coastal management.

We used UAV-LiDAR technology and other advanced remote sensing techniques to evaluate mangrove rehabilitation projects along the eroding shoreline of the Upper Gulf of Thailand. Our results delineate the necessary biophysical conditions for successfully rehabilitating mangroves, establishing optimal conditions under which mangroves can naturally re-establish and thrive. Furthermore, we investigated the effectiveness of different coastal defense structures in fostering mangrove recolonization. Our analysis shows that nearshore breakwaters markedly outperform submerged breakwaters and bamboo fences, with a success rate of over 65% by significantly reducing wave energy that aids sediment trapping. These findings suggest that refinements in the configuration of coastal structures, including the elevation of breakwater crests and selective deployment of bamboo fences, will enhance mangrove rehabilitation success. These insights affirm the role of UAV-LiDAR surveys for optimizing mangrove restoration initiatives, thereby facilitating sustainable development for coastlines plagued by erosion. The insights gleaned offer a blueprint for bolstering the success rate of mangrove rehabilitation projects, directing them toward sustainable coastal development.

Scaffold geometry and computational fluid dynamics simulation supporting osteogenic differentiation in dynamic culture.

Geometry of porous scaffolds is critical to the success of cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation in bone tissue engineering. In this study, the effect of scaffold geometry on osteogenic differentiation of MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblasts in a perfusion bioreactor was investigated. Three geometries of oligolactide-HA scaffolds, named Woodpile, LC-1000, and LC-1400, were fabricated with uniform pore size distribution and interconnectivity using stereolithography (SL) technique, and tested to evaluate for the most suitable scaffold geometry. Compressive tests revealed sufficiently high strength of all scaffolds to support new bone formation. The LC-1400 scaffold showed the highest cell proliferation in accordance with the highest level of osteoblast-specific gene expression after 21 days of dynamic culture in a perfusion bioreactor; however, it deposited less amount of calcium than the LC-1000 scaffold. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation was employed to predict and explain the effect of flow behavior on cell response under dynamic culture. The findings concluded that appropriate flow shear stress enhanced cell differentiation and mineralization in the scaffold, with the LC-1000 scaffold performing best due to its optimal balance between permeability and flow-induced shear stress.