O uso de mapas conceituais para avaliar a mudança conceitual de alunos do ensino médio sobre o tema corrente elétrica: um estudo de caso

Os objetivos deste trabalho foram elaborar uma seqüência de ensino sobre o tema corrente elétrica e usar mapas conceituais (MCs) para avaliar a mudança de complexidade do aspecto cognitivo de quatro alunos do ensino médio de uma escola pública estadual, que participaram do programa de Pré-Iniciação Científica (PIC) da Pró-Reitoria de Pesquisa da Universidade de São Paulo. Durante cinco meses, os estudantes realizaram atividades na universidade, como pesquisas do tema em fontes bibliográficas, elaboraram seminários sobre a temática, tiveram quinze aulas teóricas e cinco experimentais sobre eletricidade. A análise dos resultados revelou que os alunos, após as seqüências de ensino, foram capazes de construir proposições significativas baseadas nos conceitos abordados nas aulas e pelos mapas foi possível verificar uma mudança significativa dos alunos em relação ao tema corrente elétrica.The purposes of this work were to elaborate a teaching sequence on the theme “electric currents” and employ concept maps (CMs) to assess the variation in cognitive complexity of four students from a secondary public school, who participated in the Pre-Undergraduate Research Program (PIC – Pré-Iniciação Científica) of the University of São Paulo Research Pro-Rectory. For the period of five months, these students took part in activities conducted at the college facilities, such as bibliographical research, elaboration of seminars on the theme and they also attended fifteen theoretical lectures and five experimental classes on electricity. Analysis of the results revealed that, following the teaching sequence, the students were able to formulate meaningful propositions based on the concepts approached in class and through the maps; it was possible to verify a significant improvement in the students’ knowledge of the theme “electric current”

Development of self-assembled silk fibroin particles for wound healing

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Unravelling the potential of bioaerogels in fluid management, healing, and regeneration of wounds

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Coarse- and fine-scale patterns of distribution and habitat selection places an Amazonian floodplain curassow in double jeopardy

Patterns of habitat selection are influenced by local productivity, resource availability and predation risk. Species have taken millions of years to hone the macro- and micro-habitats they occupy, but these may now overlap with contemporary human threats within natural species ranges. Wattled Curassow (Crax globulosa), an endemic galliform species of the western Amazon, is threatened by both hunting and habitat loss, and is restricted to whitewater floodplain forests of major Amazonian rivers. In this study conducted along the Juruá River, Amazonas, Brazil, we quantified the ranging ecology and fine-scale patterns of habitat selection of the species. We estimated the home range size of C. globulosa using conventional VHF telemetry. To estimate patterns of habitat selection, we used geolocations of day ranges to examine the extent and intensity of use across the floodplain, which were then compared to a high-resolution flood-map of the study area. We captured two females and one male, which were monitored for 13 months between September 2014 and September 2015. Average home range size was 283 ha, based on the 95% aLoCoH estimator. Wattled Curassows selected areas of prolonged flood-pulses (6-8 months/year) and had a consistent tendency to be near open water, usually in close proximity to river banks and lakes, especially during the dry season. Amazonian floodplains are densely settled, and the small portions of floodplain habitat used by Wattled Curassows are both the most accessible to hunters and most vulnerable to deforestation. As a result, the geographic and ecological distribution of Wattled Curassows places them at much higher extinction risk at multiple spatial scales, highlighting the need to consider habitat preferences within their conservation strategy

Development of duplex real-time PCR for the detection of WSSV and PstDV1 in cultivated shrimp

BACKGROUND: The White spot syndrome virus (WSSV) and Penaeus stylirostris penstyldensovirus 1 (previously named Infectious hypodermal and hematopoietic necrosis virus-IHHNV) are two of the most important viral pathogens of penaeid shrimp. Different methods have been applied for diagnosis of these viruses, including Real-time PCR (qPCR) assays. A duplex qPCR method allows the simultaneous detection of two viruses in the same sample, which is more cost-effective than assaying for each virus separately. Currently, an assay for the simultaneous detection of the WSSV and the PstDV1 in shrimp is unavailable. The aim of this study was to develop and standardize a duplex qPCR assay for the simultaneous detection of the WSSV and the PstDV1 in clinical samples of diseased L. vannamei. In addition, to evaluate the performance of two qPCR master mixes with regard to the clinical sensitivity of the qPCR assay, as well as, different methods for qPCR results evaluation. RESULTS: The duplex qPCR assay for detecting WSSV and PstDV1 in clinical samples was successfully standardized. No difference in the amplification of the standard curves was observed between the duplex and singleplex assays. Specificities and sensitivities similar to those of the singleplex assays were obtained using the optimized duplex qPCR. The analytical sensitivities of duplex qPCR were two copies of WSSV control plasmid and 20 copies of PstDV1 control plasmid. The standardized duplex qPCR confirmed the presence of viral DNA in 28 from 43 samples tested. There was no difference for WSSV detection using the two kits and the distinct methods for qPCR results evaluation. High clinical sensitivity for PstDV1 was obtained with TaqMan Universal Master Mix associated with relative threshold evaluation. Three cases of simultaneous infection by the WSSV and the PstDV1 were identified with duplex qPCR. CONCLUSION: The standardized duplex qPCR was shown to be a robust, highly sensitive, and feasible diagnostic tool for the simultaneous detection of the WSSV and the PstDV1 in whiteleg shrimp. The use of the TaqMan Universal Master Mix and the relative threshold method of data analysis in our duplex qPCR method provided optimal levels of sensitivity and specificity

Silk fibroin aerogel particles for a wound healing treatment

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Fuzzy Inference System for fault detection in internal combustion engines in Thermoelectric Power Generating Plants

In this work, an approach to implement a simplified fuzzy inference model for monitoring the conditions of workings of power generators through the pressure values ​​of combustion temperature and engine water pressure is displayed. The model helps the supervisory system, through real-time evaluation of the operating conditions of the engine in percentage rates. The application of tools based on computational intelligence, have shown efficiency in various areas of industrial engineering

The larval diet of Mylossoma aureum and M. duriventre in Central Amazon

Mylossoma aureum and M. duriventre are two abundant species in the Amazon floodplain, but little is known about their larval ecology. Here, it is described the diet of 4,5 to 16mm long larvae sampled in the river and in five lakes along the Amazon. The larvae were caught with ichthyoplankton net and hand net in the main mesohabitats of the river and flood-plain. The stomach content of both species were analyzed by lake and larval size, and the contribution of the food particles accessed by their dry weight (µg). It was found that the fish fed primarily under the floating grass mats and rarely in river mesohabitats. The foremost food of both species were, initially, ciclopoid copepods and later chironomid larva. The main sources of variation in the proportion of food items in the diets were the lakes and larval length. Both species consumed particles smaller than 50% of their mouth gap. Great lenght food ingestion result in smaller amount of preys in the larva alimentary tract.Mylossoma aureum e M. duriventre são duas espécies abundantes na várzea do rio Solimões/Amazonas, entretanto, pouco se conhece sobre a ecologia de suas larvas. Aqui, são descritas as dietas de larvas de 4,5 a 16 mm de comprimento padrão, no rio e em cinco lagos de várzea. As capturas foram feitas com rede de ictioplâncton e rede de mão nos principais mesohabitats do rio e da sua planície de inundação. A contribuição relativa dos alimentos foi analisada pelos seus pesos secos no conteúdo estomacal. Os mesohabitats e o comprimento das larvas foram considerados na avaliação da dieta. Verificou-se que as duas espécies alimentaram-se com maior intensidade nas áreas inundadas, principalmente nos capins aquáticos, e raramente no canal do rio. Os alimentos que mais contribuíram nas dietas foram os copépodos ciclopóidos e os quironomídeos. As principais fontes de variação na composição da dieta foram os locais de captura e o comprimento da larva. Tanto as larvas de M. aureum como as de M. duriventre consumiram alimentos cujas larguras não ultrapassaram 50% do diâmetro de abertura bucal e larvas que ingerem alimentos maiores apresentam uma menor quantidade de presas no trato alimentar