Non-heat related impacts of climate change on working populations

Environmental and social changes associated with climate change are likely to have impacts on the well-being, health, and productivity of many working populations across the globe. The ramifications of climate change for working populations are not restricted to increases in heat exposure. Other significant risks to worker health (including physical hazards from extreme weather events, infectious diseases, under-nutrition, and mental stresses) may be amplified by future climate change, and these may have substantial impacts at all scales of economic activity. Some of these risks are difficult to quantify, but pose a substantial threat to the viability and sustainability of some working populations. These impacts may occur in both developed and developing countries, although the latter category is likely to bear the heaviest burden

Práticas de regulação das aprendizagens de estagiários do 1º ciclo do ensino básico de Portugal

O estudo sobre as práticas de regulação das aprendizagens de estagiários do 1º ciclo do ensino básico permitiu-nos concluir que, resultante da prática da avaliação formativa contínua, a regulação incide, sobretudo, nas dificuldades de aprendizagem dos alunos. Utilizam estratégias de regulação corretivas, mas também, de regulação interativa. Mais condicionadas foram as estratégias de regulação dos diferentes ritmos de trabalho e de aprendizagem dos alunos

Ensino de língua materna: dificuldades e necessidades formativas apontadas por professores na Educação Fundamental

Resumo Há muitos desafios postos ao professor para o ensino de língua materna na perspectiva da alfabetização e do letramento como práticas sociais. No caso específico do município de Presidente Prudente, torna-se essencial compreender como ocorre o processo de formação continuada dos professores atuantes nos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental para que sejam pensadas ações formativas, tanto no âmbito do sistema municipal quanto nas escolas, que enfatizem o ensino de língua materna. Nesse sentido, este artigo objetiva refletir sobre a formação do professor dos anos iniciais do Ensino Fundamental, a partir das dificuldades e das necessidades formativas apresentadas pelos docentes com relação ao ensino de língua materna. Trata-se de uma pesquisa de base qualitativa, financiada pelo CNPq, por meio da qual analisamos os dados referentes a 22 escolas vinculadas à Secretaria de Educação do município, no que diz respeito às respostas dos professores emitidas por meio de questionários. Para este artigo, estabelecemos um recorte com o intuito de apresentar os dados relativos às respostas a duas questões dentre as que compuseram o questionário respondido pelos professores: uma referente às dificuldades que enfrentam para o ensino de língua materna e outra que diz respeito às necessidades formativas para este ensino. O que os participantes da pesquisa apontam como principais dificuldades relacionadas ao ensino de língua materna comparecem também no que evidenciam como necessidades formativas

The Surface Texturization of Solar-cells - a New Method Using V-grooves With Controllable Sidewall Angles

The bulk recombination mechanisms (such as the Auger recombination, for instance) that prevent the collection of photogenerated carriers are determining the present tendency of designing thinner silicon solar cells. Such an evolution requires light trapping methods in order to keep the average light path to good values. Light trapping can be obtained through surface texturization. A texturization method using a HF-HNO3 solution in an isotropic etching has been investigated. This method has allowed us to obtain a surface of periodic V-grooves with controllable sidewall angles. Beside the fact that this new texturization method of silicon may lead to new light trapping structures, it also shows a simple way to texturize polycrystalline silicon solar cells. A ray tracing program has been devised in order to calculate the average light path for rays having a long wavelength (those rays being not readily absorbed by the Si substrate) and the generated photocurrent (without recombination effects) in cells with varying surface texturization angles

the metalloproteinase ADAM-12 regulates bronchial epithelial cell proliferation and apoptosis.

Objectives: The ADAMs (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase) enzymes compose a family of membrane-bound proteins characterized by their multi-domain structure and ADAM-12 expression is elevated in human non-small cell lung cancers. The aim of this study was to investigate the roles played by ADAM-12 in critical steps of bronchial cell transformation during carcinogenesis. Materials and methods: To assess the role of ADAM-12 in tumorigenicity, BEAS-2B cells were transfected with a plasmid encoding human full-length ADAM-12 cDNA, and then the effects of ADAM-12 overexpression on cell behaviour were explored. Treatment of clones with heparin-binding epidermal growth factor (EGF)-like growth factor (HB-EGF) neutralizing antibodies as well as an EGFR inhibitor allowed the dissection of mechanisms regulating cell proliferation and apoptosis. Results: Overexpression of ADAM-12 in BEAS-2B cells promoted cell proliferation. ADAM-12 overexpressing clones produced higher quantities of HB-EGF in their culture medium which may rely on membrane-bound HB-EGF shedding by ADAM-12. Targeting HB-EGF activity with a neutralizing antibody abrogated enhanced cell proliferation in the ADAM-12 overexpressing clones. In sharp contrast, targeting of amphiregulin, EGF or transforming growth factor-α failed to influence cell proliferation; moreover, ADAM-12 transfectants were resistant to etoposide-induced apoptosis and the use of a neutralizing antibody against HB-EGF activity restored rates of apoptosis to be similar to controls. Conclusions: ADAM-12 contributes to enhancing HB-EGF shedding from plasma membranes leading to increased cell proliferation and reduced apoptosis in this bronchial epithelial cell line