Uma proposta de jogo para desenvolvimento do Pensamento Computacional e da consciência ambiental

INTRODUCTION: Discussions around the development of Computational Thinking have demanded efforts to propose methods, techniques and tools that can assist in this process, especially in the school context. This paper deals with the development of an educational game with the theme "Environment and Sustainability" involving the pillars of Computational Thinking. OBJECTIVE: The game aims to assist the development of Computational Thinking by solving the problems to be solved in the missions of the heroine Sofia. The proposal for creating the game points out ways to create tools that work across curriculum themes. Tactics usually incorporated into the algorithmic language that permeate the problem solving processes in Computer Science be used. METHOD: The creation of the game followed a development process based on agile methodologies. The human cognitive structure was considered together with the intertwining between the games and the four pillars of Computational Thinking for the composition of an architecture applied to the game map. RESULTS: The evaluation of the game map regarding the "algorithmization" of the phases fulfilled the requirements regarding the location of the pillars (Decomposition, Pattern, Abstraction and Algorithm). The game, as an entertainment product, was evaluated using the E-Game Flow which pointed to acceptance by the evaluators (undergraduate students in the Computing area) and some suggestions for improvement were recorded. CONCLUSION: Games are presented as an important tool regarding the development process of Computational Thinking considering the engagement they can cause in their users and the possibilities of using their mechanics for directed learning.INTRODUÇÃO: As discussões em torno do desenvolvimento do Pensamento Computacional, têm demandado esforços no sentido de propor métodos, técnicas e ferramentas que possam auxiliar nesse processo, sobretudo em contexto escolar. O presente artigo trata do desenvolvimento de um jogo educacional com o tema “Ambiente e Sustentabilidade” envolvendo os pilares do Pensamento Computacional. OBJETIVO: O jogo tem como objetivo auxiliar no desenvolvimento do Pensamento Computacional através da resolução dos problemas a serem resolvidos nas missões da heroína Sofia. A proposta de criação do jogo aponta formas de criar ferramentas que trabalhem temas curriculares de forma transversal. São usadas táticas usualmente incorporadas à linguagem algorítmica que permeiam os processos de resolução de problemas em Ciência da Computação. MÉTODO: A criação do jogo seguiu um processo de desenvolvimento baseado em metodologias ágeis. Foi considerada a estrutura cognitiva humana juntamente com o entrelaçamento entre os jogos e os quatro pilares do Pensamento Computacional para a composição de uma arquitetura aplicada ao mapa do jogo.. RESULTADOS: A avaliação do mapa do jogo no que tange a "algoritmização" das fases cumpriu os requisitos quanto à localização dos pilares (Decomposição, Padrão, Abstração e Algoritmo). O jogo, enquanto produto de entretenimento, foi avaliado usando o E-Game Flow que apontou para aceitação dos avaliadores (alunos de graduação da área de Computação) e foram registradas algumas sugestões de melhoria. CONCLUSÃO: Os jogos se apresentam como uma importante ferramenta no que tange o processo de desenvolvimento do Pensamento Computacional considerando o engajamento que podem causar em seus usuários e as possibilidades de utilização de suas mecânicas para aprendizagem direcionada.

Effect of Nickel Nanocatalyst Loading on Supercritical Water Gasification of Coconut Shell

Impregnation of metal catalysts into biomass before thermochemical conversion may provide benefits of increased selective reactivity to obtain desirable products. In this work, coconut shells impregnated with increasing loadings of nickel were successfully prepared using a room-temperature impregnation method using a nickel salt solution at 1 and 2 molar (M) concentrations. The physicochemical characterization of the 2 M impregnated sample revealed the presence of 5.6 wt% of nickel with a particle size of 13.5 nm. The nickel-impregnated samples’ supercritical water gasification (SCWG) was conducted with biomass loading ranging from 20 wt% to 30 wt%, at temperatures between 400 °C and 500 °C, and residence times from 20 to 60 min. Higher nickel loading, higher temperatures and longer reaction times promoted the production of H2 and CO2 up to 15 and 79 mol%. Higher nickel loading also led to an increased Hydrogen Gasification Efficiency value of up to 133%. The analysis of hydrochars suggested that increasing nickel loading enhanced the reduction in nickel ions to the Ni0 nanoparticles, leading to higher H2. Additionally, the chemical composition of the liquid product showed the significant ability of nickel to promote lignin decomposition into phenol, facilitating the phenol hydrogenation reaction and subsequent gas production

Differences in the immune response elicited by two immunization schedules with an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine in a randomized phase 3 clinical trial

BACKGROUND: The development of vaccines to control the COVID-19 pandemic progression is a worldwide priority. CoronaVac® is an inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine approved for emergency use with robust efficacy and immunogenicity data reported in trials in China, Brazil, Indonesia, Turkey, and Chile. METHODS: This study is a randomized, multicenter, and controlled phase 3 trial in healthy Chilean adults aged ≥18 years. Volunteers received two doses of CoronaVac® separated by two (0-14 schedule) or four weeks (0-28 schedule). 2,302 volunteers were enrolled, 440 were part of the immunogenicity arm, and blood samples were obtained at different times. Samples from a single center are reported. Humoral immune responses were evaluated by measuring the neutralizing capacities of circulating antibodies. Cellular immune responses were assessed by ELISPOT and flow cytometry. Correlation matrixes were performed to evaluate correlations in the data measured. RESULTS: Both schedules exhibited robust neutralizing capacities with the response induced by the 0-28 schedule being better. No differences were found in the concentration of antibodies against the virus and different variants of concern between schedules. Stimulation of PBMCs with MPs induced the secretion of IFN-g and the expression of activation induced markers for both schedules. Correlation matrixes showed strong correlations between neutralizing antibodies and IFN-g secretion. CONCLUSIONS: Immunization with CoronaVac® in Chilean adults promotes robust cellular and humoral immune responses. The 0-28 schedule induced a stronger humoral immune response than the 0-14 schedule. FUNDING: Ministry of Health, Government of Chile, Confederation of Production and Commerce & Millennium Institute on Immunology and Immunotherapy, Chile. CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: NCT04651790

Mapping geographical inequalities in access to drinking water and sanitation facilities in low-income and middle-income countries, 2000-17

Background: Universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is an essential human right, recognised in the Sustainable Development Goals as crucial for preventing disease and improving human wellbeing. Comprehensive, high-resolution estimates are important to inform progress towards achieving this goal. We aimed to produce high-resolution geospatial estimates of access to drinking water and sanitation facilities. Methods: We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and data from 600 sources across more than 88 low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) to estimate access to drinking water and sanitation facilities on continuous continent-wide surfaces from 2000 to 2017, and aggregated results to policy-relevant administrative units. We estimated mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive subcategories of facilities for drinking water (piped water on or off premises, other improved facilities, unimproved, and surface water) and sanitation facilities (septic or sewer sanitation, other improved, unimproved, and open defecation) with use of ordinal regression. We also estimated the number of diarrhoeal deaths in children younger than 5 years attributed to unsafe facilities and estimated deaths that were averted by increased access to safe facilities in 2017, and analysed geographical inequality in access within LMICs. Findings: Across LMICs, access to both piped water and improved water overall increased between 2000 and 2017, with progress varying spatially. For piped water, the safest water facility type, access increased from 40·0% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 39·4–40·7) to 50·3% (50·0–50·5), but was lowest in sub-Saharan Africa, where access to piped water was mostly concentrated in urban centres. Access to both sewer or septic sanitation and improved sanitation overall also increased across all LMICs during the study period. For sewer or septic sanitation, access was 46·3% (95% UI 46·1–46·5) in 2017, compared with 28·7% (28·5–29·0) in 2000. Although some units improved access to the safest drinking water or sanitation facilities since 2000, a large absolute number of people continued to not have access in several units with high access to such facilities (>80%) in 2017. More than 253 000 people did not have access to sewer or septic sanitation facilities in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe, despite 88·6% (95% UI 87·2–89·7) access overall. Many units were able to transition from the least safe facilities in 2000 to safe facilities by 2017; for units in which populations primarily practised open defecation in 2000, 686 (95% UI 664–711) of the 1830 (1797–1863) units transitioned to the use of improved sanitation. Geographical disparities in access to improved water across units decreased in 76·1% (95% UI 71·6–80·7) of countries from 2000 to 2017, and in 53·9% (50·6–59·6) of countries for access to improved sanitation, but remained evident subnationally in most countries in 2017. Interpretation: Our estimates, combined with geospatial trends in diarrhoeal burden, identify where efforts to increase access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities are most needed. By highlighting areas with successful approaches or in need of targeted interventions, our estimates can enable precision public health to effectively progress towards universal access to safe water and sanitation

Post-intervention Status in Patients With Refractory Myasthenia Gravis Treated With Eculizumab During REGAIN and Its Open-Label Extension

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether eculizumab helps patients with anti-acetylcholine receptor-positive (AChR+) refractory generalized myasthenia gravis (gMG) achieve the Myasthenia Gravis Foundation of America (MGFA) post-intervention status of minimal manifestations (MM), we assessed patients' status throughout REGAIN (Safety and Efficacy of Eculizumab in AChR+ Refractory Generalized Myasthenia Gravis) and its open-label extension. METHODS: Patients who completed the REGAIN randomized controlled trial and continued into the open-label extension were included in this tertiary endpoint analysis. Patients were assessed for the MGFA post-intervention status of improved, unchanged, worse, MM, and pharmacologic remission at defined time points during REGAIN and through week 130 of the open-label study. RESULTS: A total of 117 patients completed REGAIN and continued into the open-label study (eculizumab/eculizumab: 56; placebo/eculizumab: 61). At week 26 of REGAIN, more eculizumab-treated patients than placebo-treated patients achieved a status of improved (60.7% vs 41.7%) or MM (25.0% vs 13.3%; common OR: 2.3; 95% CI: 1.1-4.5). After 130 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 88.0% of patients achieved improved status and 57.3% of patients achieved MM status. The safety profile of eculizumab was consistent with its known profile and no new safety signals were detected. CONCLUSION: Eculizumab led to rapid and sustained achievement of MM in patients with AChR+ refractory gMG. These findings support the use of eculizumab in this previously difficult-to-treat patient population. CLINICALTRIALSGOV IDENTIFIER: REGAIN, NCT01997229; REGAIN open-label extension, NCT02301624. CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class II evidence that, after 26 weeks of eculizumab treatment, 25.0% of adults with AChR+ refractory gMG achieved MM, compared with 13.3% who received placebo