Introducing portable digital devices into science museum outreach activities: how diverse can it be?

Centro Ciência Viva do Algarve (CCVAlg) is an Interactive Science Museum located in southern Portugal, which mission is to promote scientific and technological culture among the population and especially the youth community. Besides the interactive modules in the permanent exhibition, we design and deploy a wide range of science activities inside and outside our facilities. However, as we are nowadays facing a society (and a science environment) more and more “digital”, the use of technological tools and channels to carry out this mission cannot be ignored, otherwise it will give a biased and obsolete view of today´s reality regarding the techniques and methodologies that the XXI century scientific community uses. On this basis, CCVAlg´s strategy for the last couple of years has been to try to overcome such technological gap introducing and developing new methodologies for our activities. Having this in mind, we approached a Portuguese hardware manufacturer and achieved to forge a partnership that granted 10 detachable tablets with several specific sensors and add-ons that allowed us to design new and innovative outreach activities. The integration of the received devices into the Center´s educational offer allowed us to diversify the pedagogical offer and to involve cerca 3300 participants in the new activities. This type of collaboration reinforces the fact that Science museums should play a key role as strategic partners in the implementation of Information and Communication Technologies (ITC) pilot projects.Mobility grant from project 2018-I-PT01-KA104-047194info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effective Targeting Of Proton Transfer At Ground And Excited States Of Ortho-(2 '-imidazolyl)naphthol Constitutional Isomers

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Steady-state and time-resolved spectroscopy and quantum chemical computational studies were employed to investigate ground and excited state proton transfer of a novel series of ortho-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)naphthol constitutional isomers: 1-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)naphthalen-2-ol (1NI2OH), 2-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)naphthalen-1-ol (2NI1OH) and 3-(1H-imidazol-2-yl)naphthalen-2-ol (3NI2OH). Proper Near Attack Conformations (NACs) involving a strong intramolecular hydrogen bond between the naphthol moiety and the ortho-imidazole group account for the highest ground state acidity of 2NI1OH compared with 1NI2OH and 3NI2OH. Moreover, ESIPT for 2NI1OH and 3NI2OH is further associated with planar chelate H-ring formation whereas 1NI2OH shows the highest ESIPT barrier and a noncoplanar imidazole group. In addition to energetic and structural requirements, the final state also depends on electronic configuration of the ESIPT product with the neutral 3NI2OH showing an ICT effect that correlates with the excited state pKa of the cationic species.17424042415Brazilian Foundation INCT-CataliseConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Brazilian Foundation Pro-Reitoria de Pesquisa da UFMGConselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq

Fathers’ parenting self-efficacy during the transition to parenthood

"Published online: 09 Jun 2016"Background: Little is known about the development of fathers’ parenting self-efficacy during the transition to parenthood. Objectives: To analyse (1) fathers’ parenting self-efficacy developmental path and (2) the effects of anxious and depressive symptoms and coparenting support on fathers’ parenting self-efficacy developmental path, from the first trimester of pregnancy to 6 months postpartum. Methods: Eighty-six fathers recruited at the first trimester of pregnancy completed self-report measures of anxious and depressive symptoms, coparenting support and parenting self-efficacy at the first and third trimesters of pregnancy, and at 1 and 6 months postpartum. Growth curve models were performed. Results: An increase in fathers’ parenting self-efficacy was found from the first trimester of pregnancy to 6 months postpartum. The main effects of anxious symptoms and interaction effects of anxious symptoms and time were found on fathers’ parenting self-efficacy. Fathers with higher anxious symptoms revealed lower levels of parenting self-efficacy at the first trimester of pregnancy and a lower increase of parenting self-efficacy from this time to 6 months postpartum. The main effects of coparenting support were found in fathers’ parenting self-efficacy. At the first trimester of pregnancy, fathers who perceived more coparenting support revealed higher levels of parenting self-efficacy. Conclusion: The present study may contribute to the literature by describing fathers’ parenting self-efficacy developmental path and the effects of anxious symptoms and coparenting support on fathers’ parenting self-efficacy developmental path during the transition to parenthood.PTDC/SAU/SAP/116738/201

Heat-shock responsive genes identified and validated in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) liver, head kidney and skeletal muscle using genomic techniques

Background: Daily and seasonal changes in temperature are challenges that fish within aquaculture settings cannot completely avoid, and are known to elicit complex organismal and cellular stress responses. We conducted a large-scale gene discovery and transcript expression study in order to better understand the genes that are potentially involved in the physiological and cellular aspects of stress caused by heat-shock. We used suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) cDNA library construction and characterization to identify transcripts that were dysregulated by heat-shock in liver, skeletal muscle and head kidney of Atlantic cod. These tissues were selected due to their roles in metabolic regulation, locomotion and growth, and immune function, respectively. Fish were exposed for 3 hours to an 8°C elevation in temperature, and then allowed to recover for 24 hours at the original temperature (i.e. 10°C). Tissue samples obtained before heat-shock (BHS), at the cessation of heat-shock (CS), and 3, 12, and 24 hours after the cessation of heat-shock (ACS), were used for reciprocal SSH library construction and quantitative reverse transcription - polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) analysis of gene expression using samples from a group that was transferred but not heat-shocked (CT) as controls.Results: We sequenced and characterized 4394 ESTs (1524 from liver, 1451 from head kidney and 1419 from skeletal muscle) from three "forward subtracted" libraries (enriched for genes up-regulated by heat-shock) and 1586 from the liver "reverse subtracted" library (enriched for genes down-regulated by heat-shock), for a total of 5980 ESTs. Several cDNAs encoding putative chaperones belonging to the heat-shock protein (HSP) family were found in these libraries, and "protein folding" was among the gene ontology (GO) terms with the highest proportion in the libraries. QPCR analysis of HSP90α and HSP70-1 (synonym: HSPA1A) mRNA expression showed significant up-regulation in all three tissues studied. These transcripts were more than 100-fold up-regulated in liver following heat-shock. We also identified HSP47, GRP78 and GRP94-like transcripts, which were significantly up-regulated in all 3 tissues studied. Toll-like receptor 22 (TLR22) transcript, found in the liver reverse SSH library, was shown by QPCR to be significantly down-regulated in the head kidney after heat-shock.Conclusion: Chaperones are an important part of the cellular response to stress, and genes identified in this work may play important roles in resistance to thermal-stress. Moreover, the transcript for one key immune response gene (TLR22) was down-regulated by heat-shock, and this down-regulation may be a component of heat-induced immunosuppression

A unified power converter for solar PV and energy storage in dc microgrids

This paper deals with the development and experimental validation of a unified power converter for application in dc microgrids, contemplating the inclusion of solar photovoltaic (PV) panels and energy storage systems (ESS), namely batteries. Considering the limitations presented by the current structure of the power grid, mostly highlighted by the accentuated integration of emerging technologies (ESS, renewables, electric vehicles, and electrical appliances that natively operate in dc), it is extremely pertinent to adopt new topologies, architectures, and paradigms. In particular, decentralized power systems, unified topologies, and correspondent control algorithms are representative of a new trend towards a reduction in the number of power converters. Thus, the developed solution is designed to operaSAVE-15te at a nominal power of 3.6 kW, with a switching frequency of 100 kHz, and in four operation modes concerning power flow: (i) solar PV panels to batteries (PV2B); (ii) solar PV panels to dc grid (PV2G); (iii) batteries to dc grid (B2G); (iv) dc grid to batteries (G2B). Moreover, a dual active bridge converter guarantees galvanic isolation, while two back-end dc–dc converters are responsible for interfacing solar PV panels and batteries. The experimental validation of the proposed unified power converter proves its application value to self-consumption production units.This work has been supported by FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. This work has been supported by the MEGASOLAR Project POCI-01-0247-FEDER-047220

Development, manufacturing and testing of small launcher structures from Portugal

During the last decades the industry has seen the number of Earth orbiting satellites rise, mostly due to the need to monitor Earth as well as to establish global communication networks. Nano, micro, and small satellites have been a prime tool for answering these needs, with large and mega constellations planned, leading to a potential launch gap. An effective and commercially appealing solution is the development of small launchers, as these can complement the current available launch opportunity offer, serving a large pool of different types of clients, with a flexible and custom service that large conventional launchers cannot adequately assure. Rocket Factory Augsburg has partnered with CEiiA for the development of several structures for the RFA One rocket. The objective has been the design of solutions that are low-cost, light, and custom-made, applying design and manufacturing concepts as well as technologies from other industries, like the aeronautical and automotive, to the aerospace one. This allows for the implementation of a New Space approach to the launcher segment, while also building a supply chain and a set of solutions that enables the industrialisation of such structures for this and future small launchers. The two main systems under development have been a versatile Kick-Stage, for payload carrying and orbit insertion, and a sturdy Payload Fairing. Even though the use of components off-the-shelf have been widely accepted in the space industry for satellites, these two systems pose different challenges as they must be: highly reliable during the most extreme conditions imposed by the launch, so that they can be considered safe to launch all types of payloads. This paper thus dives deep on the solutions developed in the last few years, presenting also lessons learned during the manufacturing and testing of these structures.Comment: 10 pages, 13 figures, Manuscript presented at the 73rd International Astronautical Congress, IAC 2022, Paris, France, 18 - 22 September 202

A review on power electronics technologies for power quality improvement

Nowadays, new challenges arise relating to the compensation of power quality problems, where the introduction of innovative solutions based on power electronics is of paramount importance. The evolution from conventional electrical power grids to smart grids requires the use of a large number of power electronics converters, indispensable for the integration of key technologies, such as renewable energies, electric mobility and energy storage systems, which adds importance to power quality issues. Addressing these topics, this paper presents an extensive review on power electronics technologies applied to power quality improvement, highlighting, and explaining the main phenomena associated with the occurrence of power quality problems in smart grids, their cause and effects for different activity sectors, and the main power electronics topologies for each technological solution. More specifically, the paper presents a review and classification of the main power quality problems and the respective context with the standards, a review of power quality problems related to the power production from renewables, the contextualization with solid-state transformers, electric mobility and electrical railway systems, a review of power electronics solutions to compensate the main power quality problems, as well as power electronics solutions to guarantee high levels of power quality. Relevant experimental results and exemplificative developed power electronics prototypes are also presented throughout the paper.This work has been supported by FCT-Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the R&D Units Project Scope: UIDB/00319/2020. This work has been supported by the FCT Project DAIPESEV PTDC/EEI-EEE/30382/2017 and by the FCT Project newERA4GRIDs PTDC/EEIEEE/30283/2017

A new methodology for assessment of pectus excavatum correction after bar removal in Nuss procedure: preliminary study

Purpose: The objective is to present a new methodology to assess quantitatively the impact of bar removal on the anterior chest wall, among patients with pectus excavatum who have undergone the Nuss procedure, and present a preliminary study using this methodology. Methods: We propose to acquire, for each patient, the surface of the anterior chest wall using a three-dimensional laser scanner at subsequent time points (short term: before and after surgery; long term: follow-up visit, 6 months, and 12 months after surgery). After surfaces postprocessing, the changes are assessed by overlapping and measuring the distances between surfaces. In this preliminary study, three time points were acquired and two assessments were performed: before vs after bar removal (early) and before vs 2-8 weeks after bar removal (interim). In 21 patients, the signed distances and volumes between surfaces were computed and the data analysis was performed. Results: This methodology revealed useful for monitoring changes in the anterior chest wall. On average, the mean, maximum, and volume variations, in the early assessment, were -0.1 +/- 0.1 cm, -0.6 +/- 0.2 cm, and 47.8 +/- 22.2 cm(3), respectively; and, in the interim assessment, were -0.5 +/- 0.2 cm, -1.3 +/- 0.4 cm, and 122.1 +/- 47.3 cm3, respectively (p < 0.05). Data analysis revealed that the time the bar was in situ was inversely and significantly correlated with postretraction and was a relevant predictor of its decrease following surgery (p < 0.05). Additionally, gender and age suggested influencing the outcome. Conclusions: This methodology is novel, objective and safe, helping on follow-up of pectus excavatum patients. Moreover, the preliminary study suggests that the time the bar was in situ may be the main determinant of the anterior chest wall retraction following bar removal. Further studies should continue to corroborate and reinforce the preliminary findings, by increasing the sample size and performing long-term assessments.FEDER funds, through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE), and by National funds, through the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under the scope of the projects PTDC/SAU-BEB/103368/2008 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007038; and by the projects NORTE-07-0124-FEDER-000017 and NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, supported by the Northern Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The evolving view of the hematopoietic stem cell niche.

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside in specialized microenvironments known as niches. The niche is essential to support HSC function and to maintain a correct balance between self-renewal and differentiation. Recent advances in defining different mesenchymal and endothelial bone marrow cell populations, as well as hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, greatly enhanced our understanding of these niches and of the molecular mechanisms by which they regulate HSC function. In addition to the role in maintaining HSC homeostasis, the niche has also been implicated in the pathogenesis of blood disorders including hematological malignancies. Characterizing the extrinsic regulators and the cellular context in which the niches interact with HSCs will be crucial to define new strategies to enhance blood regeneration. Furthermore, a better understanding of the role of the niche in leukemia development will open new possibilities for the treatment of these disorders by using therapies aiming to target the leukemic niche specifically. To update on recent findings on this topic, the International Society for Experimental Hematology (ISEH) organized a webinar, presented by Prof. Sean J. Morrison and Dr. Simón Méndez-Ferrer and moderated by Dr. Cristina Lo Celso, entitled "The evolving view of the hematopoietic stem cell niche," which we summarize here