Group Work as a Learning Strategy in Higher Education

This article presents the results of a research conducted with higher education teachers who work in the Pedagogy degree course of a private college in the city of S o Paulo The objective was investigating the criteria used in the organization of the students for the development of work in group activities in the classroom The qualitative research included questionnaires and interviews with higher education professors The research allowed to point out who the professors are - profile academic background time in teaching - if they make use of group work and how they use this methodology as a learning strategy The result confirmed the hypothesis that group work can offer a concrete opportunity to build knowledge in a cooperative way and with the potential for the student to relate with knowledge in various ways However in order to achieve the proposed learning objectives the student needs an active participation and willingness to cooperate and the teacher must have a systematic monitoring of the group

Caracterização do transporte de ozônio entre regiões metropolitanas

The aim of this work is to determine the interaction in terms of ozone transport between two metropolitan regions of São Paulo State: The Metropolitan Region of Campinas (MRC) and Metropolitan Region of São Paulo (MRSP), with different characteristics and dimensions. In order to describe the interaction between both regions, 3-D Eulerian photochemical CIT model was used with a new approach for São Paulo regions since most previous studies deal with individual areas considering the contribution of other areas only as boundary conditions. The results from the photochemical simulations showed that the ozone concentration in the MRC is associated to local emissions and the transport of ozone and its precursors from the MRSP, demonstrating the significant impact of a megacity in its neighborhood and the importance of meteorological and topography conditions in the transport of air pollutants from the local source to distant regions

Chemical characterization of organic particulate matter from on-road traffic in Sao Paulo, Brazil

This study reports emission of organic particulate matter by light-duty vehicles (LDVs) and heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, where vehicles run on three different fuel types: gasoline with 25 % ethanol (called gasohol, E25), hydrated ethanol (E100), and diesel (with 5 % biodiesel). The experiments were performed at two tunnels: Jânio Quadros (TJQ), where 99 % of the vehicles are LDVs, and RodoAnel Mário Covas (TRA), where up to 30 % of the fleet are HDVs. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected on quartz filters in May and July 2011 at TJQ and TRA, respectively. The samples were analyzed by thermal-desorption proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometry (TD-PTR-MS) and by thermal–optical transmittance (TOT). Emission factors (EFs) for organic aerosol (OA) and organic carbon (OC) were calculated for the HDV and the LDV fleet. We found that HDVs emitted more PM2.5 than LDVs, with OC EFs of 108 and 523 mg kg−1 burned fuel for LDVs and HDVs, respectively. More than 700 ions were identified by TD-PTR-MS and the EF profiles obtained from HDVs and LDVs exhibited distinct features. Unique organic tracers for gasoline, biodiesel, and tire wear have been tentatively identified. nitrogen-containing compounds contributed around 20 % to the EF values for both types of vehicles, possibly associated with incomplete fuel burning or fast secondary production. Additionally, 70 and 65 % of the emitted mass (i.e. the OA) originates from oxygenated compounds from LDVs and HDVs, respectively. This may be a consequence of the high oxygen content of the fuel. On the other hand, additional oxygenation may occur during fuel combustion. The high fractions of nitrogen- and oxygen-containing compounds show that chemical processing close to the engine / tailpipe region is an important factor influencing primary OA emission. The thermal-desorption analysis showed that HDVs emitted compounds with higher volatility, and with mainly oxygenated and longer chain hydrocarbons than LDVs

Urban air pollution: a representative survey of PM2.5 mass concentrations in six Brazilian cities

In urban areas of Brazil, vehicle emissions are the principal source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The World Health Organization air quality guidelines state that the annual mean concentration of PM2.5 should be below 10 μg m−3. In a collaboration of Brazilian institutions, coordinated by the University of São Paulo School of Medicine and conducted from June 2007 to August 2008, PM2.5 mass was monitored at sites with high traffic volumes in six Brazilian state capitals. We employed gravimetry to determine PM2.5 mass concentrations, reflectance to quantify black carbon concentrations, X-ray fluorescence to characterize elemental composition, and ion chromatography to determine the composition and concentrations of anions and cations. Mean PM2.5 concentrations and proportions of black carbon (BC) in the cities of São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Recife, and Porto Alegre were 28.1 ± 13.6 μg m−3 (38% BC), 17.2 ± 11.2 μg m−3 (20% BC), 14.7 ± 7.7 μg m−3 (31% BC), 14.4 ± 9.5 μg m−3 (30% BC), 7.3 ± 3.1 μg m−3 (26% BC), and 13.4 ± 9.9 μg m−3 (26% BC), respectively. Sulfur and minerals (Al, Si, Ca, and Fe), derived from fuel combustion and soil resuspension, respectively, were the principal elements of the PM2.5 mass. We discuss the long-term health effects for each metropolitan region in terms of excess mortality risk, which translates to greater health care expenditures. This information could prove useful to decision makers at local environmental agencies

O brincar com sucata na experiência com crianças pequenas/ Playing scrap in experience with young children

O presente estudo apresenta resultados de parte de uma pesquisa mais ampla, desenvolvida em cumprimento aos requisitos do programa de Pós-Graduação - Educação, Arte e História da Cultura da Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie. Na pesquisa, buscamos investigar como a criança pequena, ao brincar com sucata, no ambiente da creche pública em período parcial, constrói o seu processo de imaginação e criação, ao mesmo tempo procuramos valorizar a sucata como instrumento de construção de aprendizagens. A partir de uma abordagem qualitativa e tendo como referência a pesquisa-ação, efetivamos o estudo numa creche localizada no município de Carapicuíba na Zona Oeste da Região metropolitana de São Paulo. Foram realizados dez encontros, por meio de um trabalho em parceria com o professor da sala do berçário II, acompanhando as ações da criança no brincar com a sucata. Participaram nove crianças da creche, de ambos os sexos, com idades entre dois anos a dois anos e três meses. Da pesquisa realizada foi possível constatar que a criança amplia o processo de imaginação e criação quando, em contato com os materiais, os explora de diversas maneiras por meio dos sentidos, transforma-os em outros objetos movidos pelo seu desejo, interesse e necessidade e utiliza-os conforme a sua função social imitando a ação dos adultos de forma ressignificada e criativa. “Nesta pesquisa evidenciou-se que a sucata, por si só, na experiência com crianças bem pequenas, sem planejamento e organização em espaços não amplia o processo de imaginação e criação”.  Os aportes teóricos utilizados foram: Philippe Ariès (1981), Loris Malaguzzi (1999), Tizuko Morchida Kishimoto (1998, 2010ab), Gilles Brougère (2008), Luise Weiss (1989), Lev Vygotsky (2007, 2009), Aldo Fortunati (2009), Jens Qvortrup (2011), Ana Lúcia Goulart Faria (1999), Daniel B. Elkonin (2009) e Michel Thiollent (2009)

Loxosceles niedeguidonae (Araneae, Sicariidae) a new species of brown spider from Brazilian semi-arid region

A new species of recluse spider, Loxosceles niedeguidonae sp. n., is described from the Parque Nacional Serra da Capivara, State of Piauí, Brazil. This is the first endemic species described from Brazilian semi-arid environment. The species is included in gaucho group of Gertsch (1967) due to its spermathecal shape and is considered close to Loxosceles chapadensis Bertani, Fukushima & Nagahama, 2010 by the unusual long male palpal tibia, a character not common for species of this group. An updated key for Loxosceles species of gaucho group is presented

Identification of <i>Trichomonas vaginalis</i> alpha-actinin as the most common immunogen recognized by sera of women exposed to the parasite

A study on presence of antibodies to Trichomonis vaginalis in serum was done on a group of 500 pregnant, asymptomatic Angolan women. A serologic screening, done by ELISA, revealed that 41% of the women had IgG and IgM against the parasite. Analysis of sera by immunoblotting revealed that 94.4% of sera with anti-T. vaginalis IgG class antibodies were reactive against a common immunogenic protein of 115 kDa. The common immunogen was identified as the protozoan α-actinin. All sera recognizing the 115-kDa antigen were reactive against both native and recombinant T. vaginalis α-actinin and nonreactive against human α-actinin. The findings presented in this work offer a new tool for epidemiologic studies and open new perspectives for vaccination

Nefrotoxicidade da polimixina B: estudo experimental em células e implicações para a prática de enfermagem

O objetivo do estudo foi caracterizar os mecanismos de lesão celular envolvidos na fisiopatologia da citotoxicidade da polimixina B em células tubulares proximais (LLC-PK1) e discutir as proposições de intervenção do enfermeiro para identificar os pacientes de risco e considerar a prevenção ou o tratamento para lesão renal nefrotóxica. Estudo experimental in vitro , onde as células foram expostas ao sulfato de polimixina B. A viabilidade celular foi determinada pela exclusão dos corantes fluorescentes e o método morfológico com visualização de corpos apoptóticos à microscopia de fluorescência. As células expostas à polimixina B apresentaram redução de viabilidade, aumento do número de células em apoptose e maior concentração da enzima desidrogenase láctea. A administração de polimixina B in vitro demonstrou a necessidade de ações na prática clínica para minimizar os efeitos adversos como a nefrotoxicidade.

El objetivo del estudio fue caracterizar los mecanismos de daño celular implicado en la fisiopatología de la citotoxicidad de la polimixina B en las células tubulares proximales (LLC-PK1) y discutir las propuestas de intervención de enfermería para identificar a los pacientes de riesgo y considerar la prevención o el tratamiento de la lesión renal aguda nefrotóxica. Corresponde a un estudio experimental cuantitativo in vitro, en el cual las células fueron expuestas a sulfato de polimixina B. La viabilidad celular se determinó por exclusión de los colorantes fluorescentes y el método morfológico con la visualización de cuerpos apoptóticos a la microscopía de fluorescencia. Las células expuestas a polimixina B demostraron reducción de la viabilidad, aumento de células apoptóticas y mayor concentración de la enzima lactato deshidrogenasa. La administración de polimixina B in vitro demostró la necesidad de realizar acciones en la práctica clínica para minimizar los efectos adversos como la nefrotoxicidad.The aim of the study was to characterize the cell damage mechanisms involved in the pathophysiology of cytotoxicity of polymyxin B in proximal tubular cells (LLC - PK1) and discuss about the nurses interventions to identify at risk patients and consider prevention or treatment of nephrotoxicity acute kidney injury. This is a quantitative experimental in vitro study, in which the cells were exposed to 375μM polymyxin B sulfate concentration. Cell viability was determined by exclusion of fluorescent dyes and morphological method with visualization of apoptotic bodies for fluorescence microscopy. Cells exposed to polymyxin B showed reduced viability, increased number of apoptotic cells and a higher concentration of the enzyme lactate dehydrogenase. The administration of polymyxin B in vitro showed the need for actions to minimize adverse effects such as nephrotoxicity.