This study investigated immune responses to Yersinia ruckeri in the olfactory organ and brain of Atlantic salmon parr and the influence of embryonic temperature history on immunity and disease resistance. Atlantic salmon were reared at 4 °C or 8 °C from fertilisation to the eyed stage of embryogenesis and maintained under standard rearing conditions until the parr stage (∼20 g). Fish were bath-exposed to Y. ruckeri, and immune responses were assessed at 1, 3, and 14 days post-infection (dpi). At 14 dpi, cumulative mortality in the 8 °C group (∼35 %) was significantly higher than in the 4 °C group (∼22 %). Low bacteria levels were detected in the olfactory organ and brain. Y. ruckeri antigens were present in the lamina propria of the olfactory lamellae and the optic tectum, including the meninges and nucleus of the vagus nerve. Mild histological changes, such as congestion and leukocyte infiltration were observed in the olfactory organ, although mucosal morphometric parameters were unaffected by infection or embryonic temperature history. Y. ruckeri modulated the expression of cytokines, antibacterial defence genes, and immunoglobulins in the olfactory organ. The most significant changes occurred at 3 and 14 dpi. Embryonic temperature history did not broadly alter immune gene expression, but interleukin-1β (il1b) and tumour necrosis factor-α (tnfa) had higher expression in the 8 °C group. In the brain, microglial markers including aif1 and cd45 were significantly upregulated at 14 dpi, particularly in the 8 °C group. This study provides insights into the nasal immune responses of Atlantic salmon to Y. ruckeri. Our findings suggest that lower embryonic temperature history influenced disease resistance against Y. ruckeri in Atlantic salmon parr, but only minimally shaped immune responses in the olfactory organ and brain following infection.

The artificial pulsed-flows impact associated with hydropower production on the downstream biological and physical processes has been extensively addressed, showing that it may cause fish drift while changing fish habitat selection toward lower water velocity patches, acting as refuge areas. We aimed to evaluate the attraction efficiency of two flow-refuges differing in their approaching angles, for Luciobarbus bocagei at an indoor experimental flume. We tested two flow-refuge insertion angles (45° and 70°), and two flow events (base 7 L/s and pulsed-flow 60 L/s) for each. To analyze flow-refuge efficiency, we quantified fish individual and group patterns, flow-refuge use, and permanence time, while measuring glucose and lactate responses. The results showed that the individual frequency of use during simulated pulsed-flow was higher, especially on the 45° flow-refuge. The simulated pulsed-flow condition did not disrupt group behavior for both approaching angles. Glucose and lactate analysis did not trigger physiological responses in the tested trials. The 45° flow-refuge was used more often than the 70°. The narrowing of the channel caused by the 45° flow-refuge, and the consequent higher flow homogeneity increased the attractiveness of the flow-refuge. Therefore, the flow-refuge insertion angle should be a decisive criterion in the construction and installation of flow-refuges for cyprinids, and be considered a potential indirect mitigation measure.

The growing anthropogenic pressure near estuarine areas is evidence of the relevance of these systems to human well-being, especially because of their delivery of essential ecosystem services and benefits. Estuaries are composed of a rich large selection of habitats frequently organised in complex patterns. Mapping and further understanding of these habitats can contribute significantly to environmental management and conservation. The main goal of this study was to integrate different data sources to perform a supervised image classification, using remote-sensing products with different spatial resolutions and features. It was focused on the Sado Estuary, located on the Portuguese Atlantic coast. Considering the limitation of using free satellite images to map estuary habitats (i.e. limited spectral range and spatial resolution), this study uses a semiautomated supervised and pixel-based classification to overcome some of the derived classification problems. Support Vector Machine classifier was used to map the estuary for future evaluation of ecosystem services provided by each habitat. High-resolution remote sensing data (i.e., Planet Scope satellite images, aerial photographs) with different spectral and spatial features (3 m and 20 cm resolution, respectively) were used with ground truthing data to train the classifier and validate the derived maps. The first step of the classification identified broader classes of habitats in the satellite images based on visual interpretation of ground-truth data. From this output, aerial images were classified into detailed classes, the same procedure was hindered on the satellite images due to spatial resolution constraints. The sand class had the best overall accuracy (96%), due to its contrasts with surrounding objects. While the vegetation (i.e., pioneer saltmarshes) and algae classes had lower accuracy values (49.6-89.0%), possibly due to being still damp or covered in fine sediment This is a common challenge in transitional systems across landwater interfaces, such as wetlands, where the abiotic conditions (e.g. solar exposure, tides) fluctuate heterogeneously over time and space. The findings presented herein revealed the consider able success of this approach. For the purpose of local decision-making, these are relevant outputs that can be replicated in other regions worldwide.

Mangroves act as buffer areas for marine systems, providing a barrier to contamination from continental sources by retaining metal pollutants. This study evaluates metal and semimetal contamination in the water column and sediments of four mangroves located on the volcanic island of São Tomé. Several metals had a widespread distribution, with occasional high concentrations, linked to potential sources of contamination. However, the two smaller mangroves, located in the northern part of the island, tended to have high metal concentrations. Arsenic and chromium concentrations were notably concerning, particularly if we consider this is an isolated and non-industrialized island. This work highlights the need for further assessments and a better understanding of processes and implications of metal contamination in mangroves. This assumes a particular relevance in areas that have specific geochemical compositions (i.e., volcanic origin) and in developing countries, where people often rely directly and heavily on resources obtained from these ecosystems.

This study evaluated the inhibitory effects and adhesion properties of the isolated Bacillus safensis strain VQV8 (abbreviated as VQV8) against pathogenic Vibrio species under different culture conditions. VQV8 was cultured under specific conditions of temperature, pH, and NaCl (%) before testing its antibacterial activities using the dot-spotting method. In addition, a medium from agriculture by-products was screened for replacing Marine broth (MB) medium to culture VQV8. The bacteriostatic activities of VQV8 against pathogenic Vibrio bacteria were also determined. The adhesion properties of this bacterium were evaluated based on three main attributes: hydrophobicity, aggregation, and biofilm formation. The results indicated that VQV8 had the highest antibacterial activities against the tested Vibrio species when cultured in a medium containing 2% NaCl and incubation temperature ranged from 25 to 37 °C. However, the antibacterial activities against V. parahaemolyticus, V. haveyi, and V. alginolyticus were not found at 45 °C. Additionally, the pH from 6 to 9 did not demonstrate a significant effect on the antibacterial activities of VQV8. On the other hand, the use of pineapple peel extract (20–30%) medium demonstrated no significant difference in either growth or antibacterial activities of VQV8 compared to those found in MB medium. These results suggest the potential ability of this bacterial strain to strongly inhibit the growth of all tested Vibrio spp. High adhesion ability was also confirmed through the results of the hydrophobicity, aggregation, and biofilm formation assays. Thus, our results suggest that VQV8 could be used as a potential probiotic candidate for the prevention of Vibrio spp. infections in aquaculture.

The artificial pulsed flows occurring downstream of hydropower plants due to electricity demand, i.e. hydropeaking, affect habitat selection by fish. This effect is particularly unknown for cyprinids, which are the most representative freshwater fish family in European rivers. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of two types of flow-refuge by Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei) at an indoor flume (6.5m x 0.7m x 0.8m) as a potential solution to mitigate the effects of pulsed flows associated to hydropower production. Based on previous comprehensive research conducted on cyprinids and with the results of this study, the best type of flow-refuge was selected, up-scaled and implemented downstream of small hydropower plants. Two different approach angles with the flume wall - 45⁰ and 70⁰ - were tested to assess the effectiveness of the created hydraulic conditions on attracting fish to the flow-refuge. For each type we tested a base flow event (7 l.s-1), simulating river natural conditions, and a peak flow event (60 l.s-1), simulating pulsed flows. For each setting, two flow-refuges (downstream and upstream) were installed in the flume and tested with a school of five Iberian barbels. The utility of the flow-refuges was assessed by the frequency and time of use by fish at two distinct flow-refuge locations i.e., downstream (area between the flume and the adjacent flow-refuge walls), and inside (the effective covered area of the flow-refuge). Blood glucose and lactate levels were quantified to identify potential physiological adjustments associated with the pulsed flows and the flow-refuge type. Preliminary results indicate that fish behavior differs according to flow event and the type of flow-refuge. The frequency of a single fish using the flow-refuge was higher in the 45⁰ refuge during pulsed flows than in the 70⁰. Overall, the average time spent inside the flow-refuges was higher during pulsed flows for both types and higher in the 45⁰ refuge. After the 60 l.s-1 events, the blood glucose and lactate levels were higher than in the 7 l.s-1 events. In addition, lactate levels for the 45⁰ flow-refuge during the 60 l.s-1 events, were the highest when compared to 7 l.s-1 events. These results may be explained by the higher velocities created in the presence of the 45⁰ flow-refuge, shown by ADV results, that favoured individual use and rheotactic behaviour, setting off physiological adjustments, increasing residency time and the efficiency to use the flow-refuge.

Invasive species can trigger profound effects on recipient ecosystems, namely through the food web. Despite being recognized as one of the worst invasive species, little is known about the feeding ecology of the Mozambique tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus . To understand how this invasive species might impact food webs, we applied metabarcoding to analyze its diet’s composition in two African mangroves, in the Obô Natural Park in the oceanic island of São Tomé. Given the particular importance of mangroves as fish nurseries, we specifically aimed to determine if this invader might predate on other fish species. However, we found that tilapia were mostly phytoplanktivorous and indication on predation of other fish was very limited. Instead, due to their local high densities, tilapia may impact basal trophic levels and nutrient availability with the potential to cascade through the food web by means of bottom-up disruption. In addition, we recorded important changes in the taxonomic composition of the diet, linked to locations and life stages, suggesting that its opportunistic feeding associated with its aggressive territorial behavior may result in resource competition with native species with which it has overlapping dietary niches.

Background Fish encounter oxidative stress several times during their lifetime, and it has a pervasive influence on their health and welfare. One of the triggers of oxidative stress in fish farming is the use of oxidative disinfectants to improve rearing conditions, especially in production systems employing recirculation technology. Here we report the physiological and morphological adaptive responses of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar L.) post-smolts to intermittent exposure to a potent oxidative agent peracetic acid (PAA). Fish reared in semi-commercial scale brackish water recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) were exposed to 1 ppm PAA every 3 days over 6 weeks. Mucosal and systemic responses were profiled before exposure, 22 and 45 days during the intermittent PAA administration. Results Oxidative stress was likely triggered as plasma antioxidant capacity increased significantly during the exposure period. Adaptive stress response to the periodic oxidant challenge was likewise demonstrated in the changes in plasma glucose and lactate levels. PAA-induced alterations in the transcription of antioxidants, cytokines, heat shock proteins and mucin genes showed a tissue-specific pattern: downregulation was observed in the gills and olfactory rosette, upregulation occurred in the skin, and no substantial changes in the liver. Further, PAA exposure resulted in histological changes in key mucosal organs (i.e. olfactory rosette, skin and gills); pathological alterations were predominant in the gills where cases of epithelial lifting, hypertrophy and clubbing were prevalent. In addition, intermittent PAA administration resulted in an apparent overproduction of mucus in the nasal mucosa. Lastly, PAA did not dramatically alter the ability of salmon to mount a physiological stress response in the presence of a secondary stressor, though some subtle interference was documented in the kinetics and magnitude of plasma cortisol and glucose response post-stress. Conclusions The present study collectively demonstrated that intermittent oxidant exposure was a mild environmental stressor that salmon could mount strong adaptive responses at systemic and mucosal levels. The results will be valuable in optimising the rearing conditions of post-smolts in RAS, especially in adopting water treatment strategies that do not considerably interfere with fish health and welfare.

Pathogenic Vibrio species have been notified as the main reason for mass mortality in marine aquaculture. In recent decades, the application of beneficial bacteria with antagonistic activity as probiotics has been chosen to be a promising disease prevention method which contributes signif-icantly to antibiotic use reduction. In the present study, ten shrimps from a co-culture pond with red tilapia were collected to screen for Bacillus bacteria with antagonistic activity against four main Vibrio pathogenic species namely Vibrio parahaemolyticus, V. harveyi, V. alginolyticus, and V. vulnificus. Within 398 isolates, only 8 isolates showed clear activity against all four tested Vibrio spp. All 8 isolates were identified and confirmed to be the same species Bacillus safensis by using both 16S-rRNA and gyrB gene sequences and the BLAST tool. The most potent isolate VQV8 with the highest antagonistic activity was selected for studying common biological characteristics, growth in different conditions, hemolytic activity and antibiotic assessment activity. The results indicated that Bacillus safensis VQV8 grew better at the temperature of 25-37 degrees C. It could tolerate wide ranges of salinity and pH. This strain was found with high antagonistic activity on the tested Vibrio spp. Bacillus safensis strain VQV8 was found to be a non-hemolytic strain and highly sensi-tive to most tested antibiotics. Hence, our results suggested that Bacillus safensis strain VQV8 is a safe strain for probiotic purposes and a potent candidate for Vibrio disease prevention in white -leg shrimp culture.

Bivalve mollusks are an important resource due to their socioeconomic value and to the historical and genetic value of some species. Two nationally important oyster species-Portuguese oyster (Crassostrea angulata) and Japanese oyster (Crassostrea gigas) from distinctive areas in Portugal were studied to evaluate their sanitary status. Oysters were sampled from four different sites in Portugal. Oysters collected from Japanese oyster populations were cultivated in a strong ocean-influenced environment and Portuguese oyster populations were cultivated in wild-beds. The histopathological examination of both oyster species revealed the presence of parasites in gills, mantle epithelium, digestive gland tubules and connective tissue, with a moderate prevalence. In both populations was observed hemocytosis in the connective tissue, edema and metaplasia in the digestive gland and tissues necrosis. In wild populations from Sado and Mira estuaries the prevalence of mud blisters and gill lesions were higher than from populations produced on 0.50 m tables from mudflats. Biosecurity measures and diagnostic techniques are fundamental to control pathogenic agents, including the identification of pathogens at an early stage in their life cycles. This will prevent diseases and improve pathogen reduction on transport of animals from different countries and regions to new production areas to avoid the transmission of diseases.

The biological activity and nutraceutical potential of two brown seaweed species (Bifurcaria bifurcata, Ericaria selaginoides) and one green seaweed (Codium sp.) were evaluated taking seasonal effects into account. The phenolic content of B. bifurcata was higher than those of the other two species regardless of season, 10.13–11.01 mg Gallic Acid Equivalent (GAE) g–1 dw seaweed. The ethanol extracts of B. bifurcata were more antioxidant as measured by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) technique than the equivalent extracts from E. selaginoides, 0.428–0.442 mg Ascorbic Acid Equivalent (AA Eq) g dw seaweed–1 vs 0.338–0.361 mg AA Eq g dw seaweed–1. Regarding Ferric Ion Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP), the highest activity was measured in Codium sp. extracts and no difference was detected between B. bifurcata and E. selaginoides. The 2,2'-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) results differed from the FRAP values in that the ethanol extracts from Codium sp. were less antioxidant as measured by ABTS than those of the other two species. Summer E. selaginoides extracts were more antioxidant. The most anti-inflammatory extract was obtained from E. selaginoides harvested in Summer, exhibiting 94.2 ± 4.0% inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). The extracts from Codium sp. had the lowest activity, 13.6–15.5%. For both B. bifurcata and E. selaginoides, Summer extracts were more anti-inflammatory than Winter extracts.

The present study investigated the involvement of key molecular regulators of oxidative stress in amoebic gill disease (AGD), a parasitic infestation in Atlantic salmon. In addition, the study evaluated how these molecular biomarkers responded when AGD-affected fish were exposed to a candidate chemotherapeutic peracetic acid (PAA). Atlantic salmon were experimentally infected with the parasite Neoparameoba perurans, the causative agent of AGD, by bath exposure and after 2 weeks, the fish were treated with three commercial PAA products (i.e., Perfectoxid, AquaDes and ADDIAqua) at a dose of 5 ppm. Two exposure durations were evaluated - 30 min and 60 min. Sampling was performed 24 h and 2 weeks after PAA treatment (equivalent to 2- and 4-weeks post infection). At each sampling point, the following parameters were evaluated: gross gill pathology, gill parasitic load, plasma reactive oxygen species (ROS) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC), histopathology and gene expression profiling of genes with key involvement in oxidative stress in the gills and olfactory organ. AGD did not result in systemic oxidative stress as ROS and TAC levels remained unchanged. There were no clear patterns of AGD-mediated regulation of the oxidative stress biomarkers in both the gills and olfactory organ; significant changes in the expression were mostly related to time rather than infection status. However, the expression profiles of the oxidative stress biomarkers in AGD-affected salmon, following treatment with PAA, revealed that gills and olfactory organ responded differently - upregulation was prominent in the gills while downregulation was more frequent in the olfactory organ. The expression of catalase, glutathione S-transferase and thioredoxin reductase 2 was significantly affected by the treatments, both in the gills and olfactory organ, and these alterations were influenced by the duration of exposure and PAA product type. Parasitic load in the gills did significantly increase after treatment regardless of the product and exposure duration; the parasite was undetectable in some fish treated with AquaDes for 30 mins. However, PAA treated groups for 30 min showed lower macroscopic gill scores than the infected-untreated fish. Histology disclosed the classic pathological findings such as multifocal hyperplasia and increased number of mucous cells in AGD-affected fish. Microscopic scoring of gill injuries showed that AGD-infected-PAA-treated fish had lower scores, however, an overall trend could not be established. The morphology and structural integrity of the olfactory organ were not significantly altered by parasitism or PAA treatment. Collectively, the results indicate that AGD did not affect the systemic and mucosal oxidative status of Atlantic salmon. However, such a striking profile was changed when AGD-affected fish were exposed to oxidative chemotherapeutics. Moreover, the gills and olfactory organ demonstrated distinct patterns of gene expression of oxidative stress biomarkers in AGD-infected-PAA-treated fish. Lastly, PAA treatment did not fully resolve the infection, but appeared not to worsen the mucosal health either.

Piezoelectric materials have been increasingly applied to a wide range of engineering and scientific applications in the past three decades. One application of interest involves wind tunnel testing to quantify and evaluate the aeroelastic behavior of aircraft wings. In this paper, the focus is on the suitability of piezoelectric sensors, namely PVDF (Polyinylidene Fluoride), to quantify the aeroelastic response of wing models by acquiring modal parameters, i.e. the natural frequencies and damping factors of the vibration modes. Concurrently, a complementary goal is to use PZT (Lead Zirconate Titanate) materials as actuators to better excite the vibration modes that are not adequately energized by the aerodynamic flow. During the setup phase of the experimental apparatus, several studies were performed to help define the test parameters. The aeroelastic tests were conducted in a wind tunnel using a single PZT as actuator and a single PVDF as sensor. The modal parameters obtained using a single PVDF sensor response were then compared with those estimated using laser doppler vibrometry. These parameters were then used to estimate the pre-flutter speed, using both sensing techniques, for three case studies with different mass ballast configurations. A very good agreement was observed between the two sensing techniques, when comparing the results in terms of the frequencies and damping factors of the mode shapes leading to flutter. The results show the suitability of using a single PVDF sensor to estimate the modal parameters, in very turbulent and noisy conditions that are characteristic in wind tunnel testing. PZT is found to reduce the exogenous noise caused by the aerodynamic flow when considering a high number of averages.

The aquaculture growth can be followed by the occurrence of more and new pathogenic agents, since the production leads to higher fish densities in confined areas more appropriate to the appearance and propagation of pathologies. Copper sulfate has been widely used in preventing and controlling fish parasites. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of copper treatments in the fish tissues (bioaccumulation and histological changes in different organs), mortality and evaluate what happens during the recovery period. White sea bream (Diplodus sargus) were exposed to copper sulfate (0.25 and 0.5 mg L−1) during 60 days followed with a 75-day recovery period. The results showed that the concentration of copper in fish liver was significantly higher in the 0.5 mg L−1 treatment than in the 0.25 mg L−1 treatment. Conversely, copper load in the muscle did not differ significantly between treatments and control. Copper levels in muscle, and especially in liver, increased during copper exposure (up to 60 days). In summary, at higher concentrations copper sulfate treatment (0.5 mg L−1) might be toxic to fish, which showed histological alterations and copper accumulation in their tissues, mainly in the liver. Nevertheless, individuals returned to their original state after a 75-day recovery period and the tested copper concentrations does not represents risk for food safety.

The Plasma Position Reflectometry (PPR) system for the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) consists of four reflectometers designed to measure the edge density profile at four locations, two of them with antennas installed inside the vacuum vessel in small apertures between blankets. To prevent damage, the antennas need to be removed/(re)installed by remote handling (RH) means before/after the removal/reinstallation of the blanket shield modules just above and below them. The RH operations shall be performed by the Blanket Remote Handling System (BRHS), [1], and require a tool not yet available in the ITER Remote Maintenance System. Herein, we describe a conceptual design of this tool that considers guidance and security to overcome some of the identified RH issues. The RH tool is designed to remove and (re)install the antenna in a single step using the translation and rotation capabilities of the BRHS (or a dual-arm manipulator attached to the BRHS) to bolt/unbolt the antenna to/from the support without extra operations. The RH tool is also designed to minimize the space required to operate between the blanket shield modules. However, the guidance pins of the tool are dimensioned according to the maximum positioning error allowed for the BRHS with a diagonal shape to guide the tool along the antenna. The design is implemented using pop-up fasteners and standard sizes authorised by the ITER Organization. A set of mechanical benchmarks are presented based on the CAD model of the tool.

ABSTRACTA current trend in the aeronautic industry is to increase the wing aspect ratio to enhance aerodynamic efficiency by reducing the induced drag and thus reduce fuel consumption. Despite the associated benefits of a large aspect ratio, such as higher lift-to-drag ratios and range, commercial aircraft usually have a relatively low aspect ratio. This is partially explained by the fact that the wing becomes more flexible with increasing aspect ratio and thus more prone to large deflections, which can cause aeroelastic instability problems such as flutter. In this work, an aeroelastic study is conducted on a rectangular wing model of 20 m span and variable chord for a low subsonic speed condition to evaluate the differences between linear and non-linear static aeroelastic responses. Comparisons between linear and non-linear displacements, natural frequencies and flutter boundary are performed. An in-house non-linear aeroelastic framework was employed for this purpose. In this work, the influence of the aspect ratio and geometric non-linearity (highly deformed states) is assessed in terms of aeroelastic performance parameters: flutter speed and divergence speed. A nearly linear correlation of flutter speed difference (relative to linear analysis results) with vertical-tip displacement difference is observed. The flutter and divergence speeds vary substantially as the wing aspect ratio increases, and the divergence speeds always remain above the flutter speed. Furthermore, the flutter mechanism was observed to change as the wing chord is decreased.

The increase in wing aspect ratio is gaining interest among aircraft designers in conventional and joined-wing configurations due to the higher lift-to-drag ratios and longer ranges. However, current transport aircraft have relatively small aspect ratios due their increased structural stiffness. The more flexible the wing is more prone to higher deflections under the same operating condition, which may result in a geometrical nonlinear behavior. This nonlinear effect can lead to the occurrence of aeroelastic instabilities such as flutter sooner than in an equivalent stiffer wing. In this work, the effect of important stiffness (inertia ratio and torsional stiffness) and geometric (sweep and dihedral angles) design parameters on aeroelastic performance of a rectangular high aspect ratio wing model is assessed. The torsional stiffness was observed to present a higher influence on the flutter speed than the inertia ratio. Here, the decrease of the inertia ratio and the increase of the torsional stiffness results in higher flutter and divergence speeds. With respect to the geometric parameters, it was observed that neither the sweep angle nor the dihedral angle variations caused a substantial influence on the flutter speed, which is mainly supported by the resulting smaller variations in torsion and bending stiffness due to the geometric changes.

ABSTRACT Commercial jets usually have relatively low-aspect-ratio wings, in spite of the associated benefits of increasing the wing aspect-ratio, such as higher lift-to-drag ratios and ranges. This is partially explained by the fact that the wing becomes more flexible by increasing the aspect-ratio that results in higher deflections which can cause aeroelastic instability problems such as flutter. An aeroelastic computational framework capable of evaluating the effects of geometric non-linearities on the aeroelastic performance of high-aspect-ratio wings has been developed and validated using numerical and experimental data. In this work, the aeroelastic performance of a base wing model with 20 m span and 1 m chord is analysed and the effect of changing the wing chord or the taper-ratio is determined. The non-linear static aeroelastic equilibrium solutions are compared in terms of drag polar, root bending moment and natural frequencies, and the change in the flutter speed boundary is assessed as a function of aspect-ratio using a time-marching approach.