Leveraging Insights from Unique Artifacts for Creating Sustainable Products

Sustainablemanufacturingpursuestheachievementofeconomic,environmental, and societal benefits by promoting the long-term use of materials, products, and components within a circular economy. The analysis of one-of-a-kind classical products reveal some designs that exhibit a creative combination of parts from a variety of industrial sectors. For example, Italian designers behind some innovative artifacts have managed to integrate components from different sources into attractive and emotional-oriented objects that are revered to this day. The present work aims to combine 6R-based sustainable manufacturing with insights gained from some classical products of Italian design characterized by simplicity and decontextualization of common objects. This manuscript presents the design process for leveraging concepts embodied in some unique artifacts from the Italian design movement to inspire the realization of sustainable products. A commercial household item was redesigned to demonstrate the application of the approach by utilizing end-of-life items collected from municipal solid waste. The potential benefits of the triple bottom line approach associated with leveraging concepts, such as those from Italian design, to develop more sustainable products is also discussed

Modulatory antimicrobial activity of Piper arboretum extracts (Zingiberaceae)

The side effects of certain antibiotics have been a recent dilemma in the medical arena. Due this fact, the necessity of natural product discovery could provide important indications against several pharmacological targets and combat many infectious agents. Piper arboreum Aub. (Piperaceae) has been used by Brazilian traditional communities against several illnesses including rheumatism, bronchitis, sexually transmitted diseases and complaints of the urinary tract. Medicinal plants are a source of several remedies used in clinical practice to combat microbial infections. In this study, ethanol extract and fractions of Piper arboreum leaves were used to assay antimicrobial and modulatory activity. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined using microdilution method of ethanol extract and fractions from the leaves of P. arboreum ranging between 8 and 1024 mgmL–1. The capacity of these natural products to enhance the activity of antibiotic and antifungal drugs was also assayed. In these tests, natural products were combined with drugs. The natural products assayed did not demonstrate any clinically relevant antimicrobial activity (MIC ³ 1024 mg mL–1). However, the modulation of antibiotic activity assay observed a synergistic activity of natural products combined with antifungal (such as nystatin and amphotericin B) and antibiotic drugs (such as amikacin, gentamicin and kanamycin). According to these results, these natural products can be an interesting alternative not only to combat infectious diseases caused by bacteria or fungi, but also to combat enhanced resistance of microorganisms to antibiotic and antifungal drugs

Preparo do solo e adubação nitrogenada na produtividade do milho em latossolo sob vegetação de cerrado.

O efeito de sistemas de preparo do solo e doses de nitrogenio na producao de materia seca total da parte aerea, palhada e de graos e no nitrogenio acumulado por plantas de milho cultivadas sob irrigacao foi avaliado em ensaio de campo em um Latossolo Vermelho-Escuro sob vegetacao de cerrado, em uma area experimental da EMBRAPA - Centro Nacional de Pesquisa de Milho e Sorgo, Sete Lagoas (MG), no periodo de novembro de 1995 a junho de 1996. Os sistemas de preparo do solo estudados foram: plantio direto convencional com arado de discos e plantio convencional com arado de aiveca. As doses de nitrogenio, 0, 60, 120 e 240 kg ha-1 de N, foram aplicadas em cobertura. As maiores producoes de materia seca e de graos e o nitrogenio acumulado foram obtidos sob o sistema de plantio direto. As plantas nao responderam linearmente a aplicacao de N, considerando a producao de palhada e de graos. No sistema de plantio direto, na dose de 60 kg de N ha-1, ocorreu maior eficiencia de utilizacao do N pela cobertura, constatada pela maior recuperacao do N aplicado

The Surface Detector System of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Pierre Auger Observatory is designed to study cosmic rays with energies greater than 10{sup 19} eV. Two sites are envisaged for the observatory, one in each hemisphere, for complete sky coverage. The southern site of the Auger Observatory, now approaching completion in Mendoza, Argentina, features an array of 1600 water-Cherenkov surface detector stations covering 3000 km{sup 2}, together with 24 fluorescence telescopes to record the air shower cascades produced by these particles. The two complementary detector techniques together with the large collecting area form a powerful instrument for these studies. Although construction is not yet complete, the Auger Observatory has been taking data stably since January 2004 and the first physics results are being published. In this paper we describe the design features and technical characteristics of the surface detector stations of the Pierre Auger Observatory

Doses e métodos de aplicação de fertilizantes nitrogenados na cultura do milho sob irrigação.

Com o objetivo de determinar a curva de resposta e a eficiencia de fontes de nitrogenio em funcao do metodo de aplicacao na producao do milho, realizou-se um experimento em latossolo vermelho-escuro, fase cerrado, em Sete Lagoas, MG. Seu delineamento foi em blocos casualizados, com quatro repeticoes e oito tratamentos. Os tratamentos se iniciaram 37 dias apos a semeadura, quando as plantas atingiram 7 a 8 folhas, e constataram da aplicacao de 0,30, 60, 120 e 240 kg/ha de N na forma de ureia incorporada ao solo a 7,5cm; 60 kg/ha de N na forma de ureia sulfato de amonio aplicados na superficie do solo e, ainda, de uma testemunha sem aplicacao de N no plantio ou cobertura. Houve pronunciada resposta na producao a aplicacao de N, com um incremento de 80% no rendimento de graos da dose zero para 120kg/ha de N. A dose de N necessaria para atingir 90% da producao maxima foi de 80kg/ha. A capacidade do solo em suprir N a cultura foi de 54kg/ha, suficiente para produzir 3.900kg/ha de graos. As fontes de N nao diferiram em seus efeitos na producao de graos e N absorvido, sendo a eficiencia de utilizacao do N de 58 e 56kg de grao/kg de N absorvido, respectivamente, para ureia e sulfato de amonio. O metodo de aplicacao da ureia, na superficie e incorporada ao solo, nao afetou a eficiencia de utilizacao do fertilizante nitrogenado pelo milho

A student-centered approach for developing active learning: the construction of physical models as a teaching tool in medical physiology

BACKGROUND: Teaching physiology, a complex and constantly evolving subject, is not a simple task. A considerable body of knowledge about cognitive processes and teaching and learning methods has accumulated over the years, helping teachers to determine the most efficient way to teach, and highlighting student's active participation as a means to improve learning outcomes. In this context, this paper describes and qualitatively analyzes an experience of a student-centered teaching-learning methodology based on the construction of physiological-physical models, focusing on their possible application in the practice of teaching physiology. METHODS: After having Physiology classes and revising the literature, students, divided in small groups, built physiological-physical models predominantly using low-cost materials, for studying different topics in Physiology. Groups were followed by monitors and guided by teachers during the whole process, finally presenting the results in a Symposium on Integrative Physiology. RESULTS: Along the proposed activities, students were capable of efficiently creating physiological-physical models (118 in total) highly representative of different physiological processes. The implementation of the proposal indicated that students successfully achieved active learning and meaningful learning in Physiology while addressing multiple learning styles. CONCLUSION: The proposed method has proved to be an attractive, accessible and relatively simple approach to facilitate the physiology teaching-learning process, while facing difficulties imposed by recent requirements, especially those relating to the use of experimental animals and professional training guidelines. Finally, students' active participation in the production of knowledge may result in a holistic education, and possibly, better professional practices