Multidisciplinary design and flight testing of a remote gas/particle airborne sensor system

The main objective of this paper is to describe the development of a remote sensing airborne air sampling system for Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and provide the capability for the detection of particle and gas concentrations in real time over remote locations. The design of the air sampling methodology started by defining system architecture, and then by selecting and integrating each subsystem. A multifunctional air sampling instrument, with capability for simultaneous measurement of particle and gas concentrations was modified and integrated with ARCAA’s Flamingo UAS platform and communications protocols. As result of the integration process, a system capable of both real time geo-location monitoring and indexed-link sampling was obtained. Wind tunnel tests were conducted in order to evaluate the performance of the air sampling instrument in controlled nonstationary conditions at the typical operational velocities of the UAS platform. Once the remote fully operative air sampling system was obtained, the problem of mission design was analyzed through the simulation of different scenarios. Furthermore, flight tests of the complete air sampling system were then conducted to check the dynamic characteristics of the UAS with the air sampling system and to prove its capability to perform an air sampling mission following a specific flight path

First record of the banjo catfish Bunocephalus doriae Boulenger 1902 (Siluriformes: Aspredinidae) in the Bermejo River basin, Salta, Argentina

Intense sampling in the upper Bermejo River basin revealed the presence of specimens of the aspredinid genus Bunocephalus. After detailed morphological and morphometric analyses specimens were identified as Bunocephalus doriae. This is the first record of any member of the Aspredinidae in the upper Bermejo River basin.Fil: Aguilera, Gaston. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo. San Miguel de Tucumán; Argentina. Fundación Miguel Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Teran, Guillermo Enrique. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo. San Miguel de Tucumán; Argentina. Fundación Miguel Lillo; ArgentinaFil: Alonso, Felipe. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Parque Centenario. Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales "Bernardino Rivadavia"; ArgentinaFil: Mirande, Juan Marcos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico - Tucumán. Unidad Ejecutora Lillo. San Miguel de Tucumán; Argentina. Fundación Miguel Lillo; Argentin

One-loop conformal anomaly in an implicit momentum space regularization framework

In this paper we consider matter fields in a gravitational background in order to compute the breaking of the conformal current at one-loop order. Standard perturbative calculations of conformal symmetry breaking expressed by the non-zero trace of the energy-momentum tensor have shown that some violating terms are regularization dependent, which may suggest the existence of spurious breaking terms in the anomaly. Therefore, we perform the calculation in a momentum space regularization framework in which regularization dependent terms are judiciously parametrized. We compare our results with those obtained in the literature and conclude that there is an unavoidable arbitrariness in the anomalous term $\Box R$.Comment: in European Physical Journal C, 201

Prática de recuperação e dificuldade do item : um estudo normativo e um estudo experimental

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Psicologia, Departamento de Processos Psicológicos Básicos, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências do Comportamento, 2019.A prática de recuperação de informações da memória promove a retenção em longo prazo. De fato, recuperar informações por meio de testagem melhora a retenção mais que o estudo repetido dessa mesma informação, um fenômeno conhecido como efeito de prática de recuperação. Uma teoria sugere que testes envolvem maior esforço cognitivo que o reestudo, e que tal esforço adicional explica os benefícios de memória proporcionados pela testagem. Se essa hipótese de esforço de recuperação (HER) estiver correta, então itens de estudo difíceis deveriam se beneficiar mais da prática de recuperação que itens de estudo fáceis. Aqui, testou-se essa predição usando a memorabilidade do item como uma estimativa de sua dificuldade. Primeiro, conduzimos um estudo normativo (Manuscrito 1) para obter estimativas de dificuldade do item. No Estudo 1, os participantes julgaram o grau de familiaridade, concretude, valência e alerta de 80 palavras em português, bem como a wordlikeness (grau de similaridade com palavras em português) de suas 80 palavras suaíli correspondentes; no Estudo 2, os participantes realizaram três ciclos de estudo–teste de associações suaíli–português. Regressões múltiplas mostraram que familiaridade, wordlikeness e a memorabilidade prévia predizem a memorabilidade do item. Os pares de palavras normatizados nesses dois estudos foram então usados em dois experimentos de prática de recuperação (Manuscrito 2). Depois do estudo inicial de items fáceis e difíceis, os participantes repetidamente reestudaram metade dos pares e recuperaram a outra metade. Em ambos os experimentos, nós replicamos o efeito de prática de recuperação e o efeito de dificuldade do item. Mais importante, observou-se (a) um menor efeito de prática de recuperação para itens difíceis (Experimento 1) e, depois de controlar os níveis de recordação na fase de prática, (b) uma tendência (não significativa) em direção a um maior efeito de prática de recuperação para itens difíceis, especialmente para participantes que se beneficiaram da testagem (Experimento 2). Os resultados mistos fornecem somente evidências fracas para a HER, sendo discutidos à luz de teorias alternativas do efeito de prática de recuperação.Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).Retrieval practice promotes long-term retention. In fact, retrieving information by testing improves retention more than repeated study of that same information, a phenomenon known as the retrieval practice effect. One account suggests that tests involve greater cognitive effort than restudy, and that such additional effort explains the memory benefits afforded by testing. If this retrieval effort hypothesis (REH) is correct, then difficult study items (which require more retrieval effort) should benefit more from retrieval practice than easy study items (which require less retrieval effort). Here we tested this prediction by using item memorability as an estimate of item difficulty. First, we conducted a normative study (Manuscript 1) to obtain item difficulty estimates. In Study 1, participants judged 80 Portuguese words for familiarity, concreteness, valence, arousal and 80 corresponding Swahili words for wordlikeness (similarity to Portuguese); in Study 2, participants underwent three study–test cycles on Swahili–Portuguese associations. Multiple regressions showed that familiarity, wordlikeness, and previous memorability predicted current item memorability. The word pairs normed in these two studies were then used in two retrieval practice experiments (Manuscript 2). After the initial study of easy and difficult items, participants repeatedly restudied half of the pairs and retrieval practiced the other half. In both experiments, we replicated the retrieval practice effect and the item difficulty effect. More importantly, we also found (a) a smaller retrieval practice effect for difficult items (Experiment 1) and, after controlling for practice-phase recall levels, (b) a (non-significant) trend toward a greater retrieval practice effect for difficult items, particularly for positive testers (Experiment 2). The mixed results provide only weak evidence for the REH and are discussed in relation to alternative accounts of the retrieval practice effect

Citizen science set in motion: DIY light traps for phlebotomine sand flies

Phlebotomine sand flies are vectors of various diseases such as leishmaniasis making them a public health concern worldwide. To increase the tools available for the study of sand flies, we developed do it yourself (DIY) light traps made mainly from recycled materials and tested their effectiveness in the field. This new model is named Flebocollect light trap. In this report we describe how the DIY light traps are prepared and illustrate the process with a short video. Lowering costs makes this resource available for citizen science and educational projects, and for research groups with a low budget such as those in developing countries. Our preliminary results showed a capture rate increase of 37 % of DIY light traps over commercial CDC, although no statistical evidence has been obtainedThis study was conducted within the framework of the BRITEC (Bringing Research Into ThE Classroom) Research Project funded by the European Union in the Erasmus + KA2 Program (2018-1-PL01-KA201- 051080

La pseudociencia como (Des) información tóxica. Una taxonomía para comprender el fenómeno y sus manifestaciones

La presencia de contenidos pseudocientíficos en los medios de comunicación refleja la problemática de la capacidad tóxica del sistema mediático. La proliferación incontrolada de información provoca una sobredosis nociva de difícil decodificación y asimilación por parte del público. Se entiende habitualmente la pseudociencia como ‘falsa ciencia’, sin embargo, una definición genérica no es suficiente para la comprensión específica de las diversas manifestaciones del fenómeno. Por ello, la presente comunicación se centrará en la propuesta de una taxonomía creada a partir de las siguientes divisiones: (1) campos de acción; (2) nivel de status social; (3) grado de peligrosidad; y (4) familias

Modeling the influence of eucalypt plantation on wildfire occurrence in the Brazilian savanna biome

In the last decades, eucalypt plantations are expanding across the Brazilian savanna, one of the most frequently burned ecosystems in the world. Wildfires are one of the main threats to forest plantations, causing economic and environmental loss. Modeling wildfire occurrence provides a better understanding of the processes that drive fire activity. Furthermore, the use of spatially explicit models may promote more effective management strategies and support fire prevention policies. In this work, we assessed wildfire occurrence combining Random Forest (RF) algorithms and cluster analysis to predict and detect changes in the spatial pattern of ignition probability over time. The model was trained using several explanatory drivers related to fire ignition: accessibility, proximity to agricultural lands or human activities, among others. Specifically, we introduced the progression of eucalypt plantations on a two-year basis to capture the influence of land cover changes over fire likelihood consistently. Fire occurrences in the period 2010–2016 were retrieved from the Brazilian Institute of Space Research (INPE) database. In terms of the AUC (area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic curve), the model denoted fairly good predictive accuracy (AUC ≈ 0.72). Results suggested that fire occurrence was mainly linked to proximity agricultural and to urban interfaces. Eucalypt plantation contributed to increased wildfire likelihood and denoted fairly high importance as an explanatory variable (17% increase of Mean Square Error [MSE]). Nevertheless, agriculture and urban interfaces proved to be the main drivers, contributing to decreasing the RF’s MSE in 42% and 38%, respectively. Furthermore, eucalypt plantations expansion is progressing over clusters of high wildfire likelihood, thus increasing the exposure to wildfire events for young eucalypt plantations and nearby areas. Protective measures should be focus on in the mapped Hot Spot zones in order to mitigate the exposure to fire events and to contribute for an efficient initial suppression rather than costly firefighting.This research was funded by the Erasmus+ Programme student scholarship (grant to Luiz Felipe de Castro Galizia). This work has been financed by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; is a postdoctoral ‘Juan de la Cierva Formación’ research grant awarded by Marcos Rodrigues (FJCI-2016-31090)