Motivating for Reading through Transmedia Storytelling: A Case Study with Students from a Middle School in the Médio Tejo Region

The evolution of information and communication technologies has changed the way we relate to each other and how we build our knowledge. This creates challenges for education systems, as school must provide all students with the educational experiences that will enable them to develop the skills reflected in the profile of the 21st-century student on completion of compulsory schooling. It is up to teachers to find new ways of teaching, making the most of the resources and digital tools made available by mobile technologies. Technology can make a significant contribution to increasing students' motivation because it is closer to what they like and use in their daily lives. And this introduction of technology into the classroom can promote student-oriented teaching, which contributes to the development of skills such as autonomy, critical thinking and self-esteem. One of the areas that can contribute to this paradigm shift is the creation of experiences in immersive learning environments such as Transmedia Storytelling. Immersive learning environments can favour the creation and implementation of projects that promote reading skills in schools. This is the focus of this article. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of transmedia storytelling on the level of motivation of students and on the improvement of pedagogical practices implemented by the teachers involved. This case study was carried out in the subject of Portuguese in three 7th-grade classes of a school from the Médio Tejo region. The results obtained suggest a high level of motivation of students and teachers. The latter recognise that pedagogical routes using Transmedia Storytelling contribute to the motivation, autonomy and improvement of students' learning.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Integration of high temperature phase change materials in thermal storage systems for advanced energy recovery in industrial furnaces

The energy considered as waste heat in industrial furnaces owing to inefficiencies represents a substantial opportunity for recovery and storage. Nevertheless, the application of thermal energy storage (TES) systems based on phase change materials (PCM) in energy-intensive industries (EII) at very high temperatures is scarce and restricted by technological and economic barriers. The topic of this PhD thesis is framed on the study and analysis of PCM-TES to be used as a waste heat recovery and storage unit for high temperature applications (up to 1000ºC). The main objective of PCM-TES integration is recovering and storing waste heat from combustion gases or other surplus sources, currently unused, to preheat the air temperature entering the furnace, or other heat demanding processes. In this vein, implementing PCM-TES is a sustainable and innovative option to increase energy efficiency (5-10%) and to reduce the environmental impact associated. The combustion air preheated with the recovered thermal energy reached an increase up to 200-300ºC in the cases analysed in the dissertation.Design of latent heat TES requires knowledge of the heat transfer process, as well as the phase change behaviour of the PCM used. On the one hand, the configuration design is specifically adapted to the plant operational requirements, by a methodology combining the search of the best conceptual design and a proper PCMs selection. To that end, key technical, energy and economic factors are weighted by an in-house multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to define the most promising design configuration. The final chosen conceptual design consists of a shell-and-tube system, where the exhaust gases flow inside the tubes, the air combustion is placed in the shell side and the PCM is contained in doubled concentric tubes. On the other hand, thermal characterisation and stability cycle tests were performed on the candidate storage materials for two representative application cases in the ceramic and steel industries. Both metal alloys and inorganic salts were analysed to select the most suitable alternative of PCMs working at high temperature. To investigate the operation of PCM systems, computational simulations can assess the thermal behaviour and expected operational performance. In this sense, temperature profiles of the PCM and the heat transfer fluids are defined by means of 3D numerical model implemented in MATLAB® and COMSOL Multiphysics®. In both models, the energy equation considers both heat conduction and natural convection to predict its effect on the behaviour of the PCM. The first approach is the MATLAB® in-house-developed modelling of the melting and solidification processes. This tool sets the basis for an appropriate system design and sizing, thermal stress resistance and material selection ensuring the technical feasibility of these systems working at critical temperature ranges. The results are reliable and less time consuming; thus, it is a useful tool during the early design stages and for practical application in the engineering and industry. Specifically, for the ceramic sector, the design resulted in a shell-and-tube system with 1188 kg of a PCM melting at 885ºC involving a latent storage capacity of 227 MJ. In this case, it was demonstrated the achievability of very high temperature levels in the combustion air for preheating (over 700ºC, higher than conventional sensible heat exchangers). Similarly, 1606 kg of PCM, whose phase-change temperature is 509ºC, is considered for the steel sector providing a latent capacity of 420 MJ. The combustion air was preheated from 300 to 480°C, matching the intermittent heat treatment and batch processes of the steel plant.In the second model approach, the obtained results from the COMSOL Multiphysics® modelling aims at simulating multiphysics problems and allows predicting the thermal performance with high precision; conversely, it presents a higher computational time cost. This model is used to simulate the industrial prototype and to perform a prospective validation of the MATLAB® model. This thesis aims at promoting and facilitating the integration of PCM-TES systems at industrial scale. In this line, technical documentation and process specifications for the PCM-TES prototype were established to achieve the level of reliability, efficiency and safety required. As a result, the configuration of the system was adapted to the plant requirements and the procedures for working operation and the instrumentation of the monitoring and control system were developed. Regarding simulated PCM-TES prototype performance, the combustion air received 338 kWh of heat from the PCM within 3 hours. During the charging, the PCM absorbed 351 kWh from the flue gas stream for 6 hours. In total, the annual energy savings are 230 MWh. The predicted thermal behaviour provides the PCM-TES design validation and reduces the uncertainty risks in the operational performance and its on-site implementation at large scale.With the aim of proofing the feasibility of a cross-sectorial approach by enlarging its replicability in many industrial sectors, a simplified tool based on the MATLAB® model was developed based on correlations among the most relevant system parameters. Along this line, the thesis conducted a parametric and sensitivity analysis to assess the techno-economic performance of the PCM-TES solution under different working conditions and sectors. This assessment highlighted that a suitable design, material selection and sizing are crucial parameters to obtain energy and economic benefits. Additionally, a multicriteria assessment was conducted with the tool outputs comparing metal alloys and inorganic hydrated PCM salts. Overall, the inorganic PCMs presented NG savings up to 2.6%, which means a higher net economic and energy savings (26,400 €; 480 MWh/year); while metal alloys involved shorter charge/discharge cycles and competitive economic ratios, its commercial development is, conversely, still limited. Finally, acceptable payback periods are observed when operating under 800ºC (between 5-8 years in the steel sector). This fact highlighted the technical and economic barriers existing in working at high temperature levels.All things considered, this thesis aims at demonstrating the feasibility of implementing, at industrial scale, a PCM-TES system of recover wasted energy from EIIs and overcoming the current lack of information, especially at high temperatures. The results obtained are a starting point for consolidating and promoting novel technological solutions and materials towards a more sustainable and efficient industry.<br /

A survey of genes encoding H2O2-producing GMC oxidoreductases in 10 Polyporales genomes

15 p.-4 fig.-1 tab.The genomes of three representative Polyporales (Bjerkandera adusta, Phlebia brevispora and a member of the Ganoderma lucidum complex) recently were sequenced to expand our knowledge on the diversity and distribution of genes involved in degradation of plant polymers in this Basidiomycota order, which includes most wood-rotting fungi. Oxidases, including members of the glucose-methanol-choline (GMC) oxidoreductase superfamily, play a central role in the above degradative process because they generate extracellular H2O2 acting as the ultimate oxidizer in both white-rot and brown-rot decay. The survey was completed by analyzing the GMC genes in the available genomes of seven more species to cover the four Polyporales clades. First, an in silico search for sequences encoding members of the aryl-alcohol oxidase, glucose oxidase, methanol oxidase, pyranose oxidase, cellobiose dehydrogenase and pyranose dehydrogenase families was performed. The curated sequences were subjected to an analysis of their evolutionary relationships,followed by estimation of gene duplication/ reduction history during fungal evolution. Second,the molecular structures of the near one hundred GMC oxidoreductases identified were modeled to gain insight into their structural variation and expected catalytic properties. In contrast to ligninolytic peroxidases,whose genes are present in all white-rot Polyporales genomes and absent from those of brown-rot species, the H2O generating oxidases are widely distributed in both fungal types. This indicates that the GMC oxidases provide H2O2 for both ligninolytic peroxidase activity (in white-rot decay) and Fenton attack on cellulose (in brown-rot decay), after the transition between both decay patterns in Polyporales occurred.This work was supported by the INDOX (www.indoxproject.eu; KBBE-2013-7-613549) European project and by the Spanish HIPOP (BIO2011-26694) project. The work conducted by the U.S. Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute was supported by the Office of Science of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231, in the frame of the JGI Saprotrophic Agaricomycotina project coordinated by D.S. Hibbett (Clark University, USA).Peer reviewe

Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis and characterisation of phase change materials for waste heat recovery at high temperature for sustainable energy-intensive industry

A latent heat storage system based on Phase Change Materials (PCMs) is proposed to increase the energy and environmental efficiency by recovering and storing waste heat from combustion gases or other surplus sources at in the energy-intensive industries (EII), currently unused. The final configuration design is specifically adapted to the plant operational requirements, by means of a methodology combining the search of the best conceptual design and a proper selection of core PCMs. To that end, a selection of suitable PCM is carried out by using characterisation techniques and thermal stability testing. Furthermore, relevant key factors are weighted by an in-house Multiple-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) to define the most promising design options to be implemented in two plants belonging to the EII sector. For the ceramic sector, the design resulted in a shell-and-tube system with 1188 kg of a PCM melting at 885 °C and encapsulated in double concentric tubes, involving a storage capacity of 227 MJ. Similarly, 1606 kg of PCM, whose phase-change temperature is 509 °C, is selected for the steel sector providing a PCM-TES system capable to store 420 MJ

Expanding the Physiological Role of Aryl-Alcohol Flavooxidases as Quinone Reductases

Aryl-alcohol oxidases (AAOs) are members of the glucose-methanol-choline oxidase/dehydrogenase (GMC) superfamily. These extracellular flavoproteins have been described as auxiliary enzymes in the degradation of lignin by several white-rot basidiomycetes. In this context, they oxidize fungal secondary metabolites and lignin-derived compounds using O2 as an electron acceptor, and supply H2O2 to ligninolytic peroxidases. Their substrate specificity, including mechanistic aspects of the oxidation reaction, has been characterized in Pleurotus eryngii AAO, taken as a model enzyme of this GMC superfamily. AAOs show broad reducing-substrate specificity in agreement with their role in lignin degradation, being able to oxidize both nonphenolic and phenolic aryl alcohols (and hydrated aldehydes). In the present work, the AAOs from Pleurotus ostreatus and Bjerkandera adusta were heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli, and their physicochemical properties and oxidizing abilities were compared with those of the well-known recombinant AAO from P. eryngii. In addition, electron acceptors different from O2, such as p-benzoquinone and the artificial redox dye 2,6-Dichlorophenolindophenol, were also studied. Differences in reducing-substrate specificity were found between the AAO enzymes from B. adusta and the two Pleurotus species. Moreover, the three AAOs oxidized aryl alcohols concomitantly with the reduction of p-benzoquinone, with similar or even higher efficiencies than when using their preferred oxidizing-substrate, O2. IMPORTANCE In this work, quinone reductase activity is analyzed in three AAO flavooxidases, whose preferred oxidizing-substrate is O2. The results presented, including reactions in the presence of both oxidizing substrates—benzoquinone and molecular oxygen—suggest that such aryl-alcohol dehydrogenase activity, although less important than its oxidase activity in terms of maximal turnover, may have a physiological role during fungal decay of lignocellulose by the reduction of quinones (and phenoxy radicals) from lignin degradation, preventing repolymerization. Moreover, the resulting hydroquinones would participate in redox-cycling reactions for the production of hydroxyl free radical involved in the oxidative attack of the plant cell-wall. Hydroquinones can also act as mediators for laccases and peroxidases in lignin degradation in the form of semiquinone radicals, as well as activators of lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases in the attack of crystalline cellulose. Moreover, reduction of these, and other phenoxy radicals produced by laccases and peroxidases, promotes lignin degradation by limiting repolymerization reactions. These findings expand the role of AAO in lignin biodegradation

School climate and teachers\u27 professional wellbeing in Portugal. A School Climate Analytical Framework (SCAF)

The study reported in this chapter is part of an Erasmus KA3 project about teachers’ professional wellbeing. The aim of the study is to gain a better understanding of how Portuguese school teachers perceive the contribution of the school climate to their professional wellbeing. For this purpose, we conducted a qualitative interpretive study with a group of 57 Portuguese teachers. The data were collected through focus group interviews and the thematic analysis followed a hybrid approach. The deductive approach to the analysis, which was guided by a five-factor school climate model, indicated the sufficient adequacy of the teachers’ testimonials to the theoretical model. An inductive approach looking for latent meaning led to the inclusion of a new dimension related to Social and Emotional Literacy as a potential new factor impacting school climate. Accordingly, we propose a School Climate Analytical Framework (SCAF), which can be used and validated in future research. We hope to contribute to filling a gap in the empirical literature on school climate in the Portuguese context. (DIPF/Orig.

Procedimento de validação de distribuição clássica no Centro Hospitalar de São João, EPE

Introdução: Em linhas gerais, a Distribuição Clássica baseia-se na distribuição de medicamentos para um determinado Serviço Clínico que efectua um pedido de reposição de stock, electrónico ou manual. Esse pedido tem por base um stock previamente definido entre Serviços Farmacêuticos e Serviços Clínicos, no que respeita aos medicamentos e produtos farmacêuticos que irão constituir esse stock fixo, bem como as respectivas quantidades. O presente trabalho incide no procedimento de validação de requisições efectuadas segundo este sistema de distribuição no Centro Hospitalar de São João, EPE, efectuado por um Técnico de Farmácia, sistematizando-o, de forma a demonstrar os diferentes processos envolvidos na actividade de interpretação e validação de requisições de Distribuição Clássica, conforme o tipo de requisição efectuada. Material e Métodos: Foi realizado um estudo observacional descritivo simples, incidindo no processo que decorre entre a recepção do pedido de reposição de stock pelos Serviços Farmacêuticos e a dispensa da medicação. Resultados: Os resultados do estudo foram representados na forma de esquemas com os quais se pretendeu sintetizar os seguintes procedimentos de validação: validação de requisições on-line, validação de requisições em papel que não carecem de Justificação ou Prescrição Médica, validação de requisições em papel que carecem de Justificação ou Prescrição Médica – Ambulatório e validação de outras requisições em papel que carecem de Justificação ou Prescrição Médica. Discussão/Conclusão: O processo de validação a que os pedidos de reposição de stock são sujeitos varia consoante o formato de requisição utilizado. A substituição das requisições manuais pelas electrónicas seria um passo fundamental para a desburocratização de todo o circuito da Distribuição Clássica, beneficiando do inevitável preenchimento de campos obrigatórios, simplificando assim todo o processo de validação, agilizando a dispensa da medicação

ESTADO E AGRICULTORES FAMILIARES: UMA ANÁLISE INTERPRETATIVA SOBRE O DESENVOLVIMENTO RURAL NO SUL DE MINAS GERAIS

Este trabalho procurou identificar como os atores sociais vinculados à agricultura familiar (lideranças de produtores familiares, profissionais de ciências agrárias, autoridades municipais, pesquisadores e professores universitários) interpretam o papel do Estado para o desenvolvimento dessa categoria na Região Sul de Minas Gerais. Com relação à coleta de dados, utilizou-se a técnica "focused interview". Os entrevistados foram selecionados pelo método não-probabilístico de amostragem por julgamento. Os resultados revelaram que a interpretação feita pelos entrevistados aproxima-se mais da perspectiva do Estado patrimonialista burocrático autoritário, uma vez que os depoimentos apontam para a necessidade de uma maior intervenção do Estado. Por outro lado, alguns atores reconhecem a necessidade de uma estruturação do espaço público não-estatal, no entanto, salientaram que a mobilização dos produtores familiares na região ainda é incipiente e desarticulada. --------------------------------------------This work tried to identify how the social individuals linked to family agriculture (leadership of familiar producers, professionals of agrary sciences, town authorities, researchers and university professors) play the role of the State for the development of this category in the South Region of Minas Gerais. In relation to the data collection, the technique called “focused interview” was used. The interviewees were selected by the non probabilistic sampling by judgement method. The results revealed that the interpretation done by the interviewees is closest to the patrimonialistic bureaucratic authoritative State’s perspective, as the statements suggest a bigger State’s intervention. On the other side, some individuals recognize the necessity of a better structure of the non State public space, although mentioning that the familiar producers’ mobilization in the region is still incipient and inarticulate.agricultura familiar, Estado, desenvolvimento rural, análise interpretativa, familiar agriculture, State, rural development, interpretative analysis, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Mexico: inpoverishment and the conditional cash transfers programmes of the World Bank

Abstract Poverty reproduces into the system, which generates it. The system creates conditions to prevail and to secure functionality. The erosion of the possibilities of intergenerational social mobility, associated with the reproduction or poverty, is not a big deal to the system as long as it allows the State legitimation. In Mexico, at the present time, policies aimed at alleviating poverty, in terms of such legitimation, play a very important role as a means to redistribute income. These policies are linked to other programmes which correspond to the so called structural reforms of neoclassical style, but have nothing to do with the real structural conditions which produce the economics slumps, inflation, concentration of income and other restrictive policies. Programmes like these are known as programmes of Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT). Our paper focuses on analysing the official results of poverty measurement and the evolution of the factors which affect the impoverishment process in order to demonstrate that the official programme to fight against poverty constitutes in fact an instrument to regulate it quantitatively, without improving the social conditions for the reproduction of the social forces. This paper intends to draw elements in order to consider the evolution of poverty itself and the impoverishment of people and their conditions of restrictive perspective growth, based on the official records of poverty. The CCT programmes based their policies on income-consumption, and these obey only to a particular conception of poverty. Consequently, these programmes try to raise the income, in order to raise consumption. Although it is important for people to receive money to purchase consume goods, and this is a short-term aid, in the long run, it does not eradicate poverty. In fact, the CCT programmes try to invest in people as a human capital in order to secure the reproduction of the labour force. In these terms, programmes aim at people being trained or having better salaries, but do not necessarily create a better life for them