LiDAR for Atmosphere Research over Africa (LARA)

International audienceThis paper describes the LIDAR for atmosphere research over Africa and current initiatives being undertaken in South Africa. A mobile LIDAR system is being developed at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) National Laser Centre (NLC), Pretoria (25°5 ′ S;28°2 ′ E), South Africa, for remote sensing the atmosphere. The initial results conclude that the system is capable of providing aerosol/cloud backscatter measurements for the height region from ground to 40 km with a 10 m vertical height resolution

Design of an inclusive & interactive educational textile toy

The market for educational toys is scarce in products specifically developed for blind and low sighted children, aiming not only at their motor and cognitive development as well as to the non-stigmatization of these children. Considering the development of educational toys, and based in previous research work [1], we found that textile materials offer an enormous application capability in this regard due not only to their flexibility in use and maintenance of properties, but also because of our familiarity with these materials.The main goal of this project is the study of the emotional response to an interactive educational textile toy by children with visual impairments - blind or partially sighted. In this way the project is based on four main axes: knowing the user, identifying his specific needs; knowing the product-user relationship with a special focus on tactile and emotional perception; study textile structures to best fit the design; and, finally, evaluate the user's response to the developed product by evaluating the product experience.- This work is supported by FEDER funding on the Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade-COMPETE and by national funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology within the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007136 and UID/CTM/00264.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Primeiro registro de um raro peixe parasita Pseudostegophilus paulensis no rio Paranapanema e sua distribuição atual no Brasil

Pseudostegophilus paulensis Miranda Ribeiro 1918 is an endemic parasitic species from the state of São Paulo, southeastern Brazil, with few registered occurrences in databases (15 records). Here, we present the first record of P. paulensis in the middle portion of the Anhumas River, a tributary of the Paranapanema River right bank. Specimens were collected in two environments with different ecological characteristics (lotic water running over gravel sediment and semi-lotic water with silty sediment on the bottom). We also present an updated occurrence map of the species in Brazil. This new record of P. paulensis in the upper Paraná River basin extends the geographic distribution of the species to the South of the state of São Paulo.  Furthermore, important ecological information remains unknown due to the lack of data about this group, such as habitat niches, vertical migration, growth patterns, reproduction, and feeding behavior.Pseudostegophilus paulensis Miranda Ribeiro 1918 é uma espécie de peixe parasita endêmica do estado de São Paulo, sudeste do Brasil, com poucas ocorrências registradas em bancos de dados (15 registros). Aqui, apresentamos o primeiro registro de P. paulensis na porção média do rio Anhumas, afluente da margem direita do rio Paranapanema. Os espécimes foram coletados em dois ambientes com características ecológicas distintas (água lótica correndo sobre sedimento pedregulho e água semilótica com sedimento arenoso no fundo). Apresentamos também um mapa de ocorrência atualizado da espécie no Brasil. Este novo registro de P. paulensis na bacia do alto rio Paraná estende a distribuição geográfica da espécie para o sul do estado de São Paulo. Além disso, informações ecológicas importantes permanecem desconhecidas devido à falta de dados sobre esse grupo, como nichos de habitat, migração vertical, padrões de crescimento, reprodução e comportamento alimentar

System description of the mobile LIDAR of the CSIR, South Africa

South Africa's first mobile LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) system is being developed at the National Laser Centre (NLC) of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria (25°45'S; 28°17'E). The system is designed primarily for remote sensing of the atmosphere. At present, the system is being optimised for measuring vertical atmospheric backscatter profiles of aerosols and clouds. In this paper, we describe the complete LIDAR system, including laser transmission, telescope configuration, data acquisition, data archival and post-processing

CSIR South Africa mobile LIDAR—First scientific results: comparison with satellite, sun photometer and model simulations

We present the first scientific results from the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research - National Laser Centre (CSIR-NLC) mobile LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) and its validation and comparison with other ground-based and space-borne measurements. The LIDAR results are compared with aerosol extinction measurements from the Stratosphere Aerosol Gas Experiment (SAGE) II, optical depth derived from sun photometers employed under the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) and backscatter coefficients simulated from weather balloon humidity measurements

Fatores de risco para consultas em pronto-socorro por crianças asmáticas no Sul do Brasil

OBJETIVOS: Traçar um perfil das crianças asmáticas do município de Pelotas, RS, conhecer o manejo da doença e os fatores de risco associados a consultas em pronto-socorro, motivadas por asma. MÉTODOS: Estudo transversal aninhado a um estudo de coorte, realizado na área urbana de Pelotas, cidade de médio porte do Sul do Brasil. Participaram 981 crianças de 4-5 anos, pertencentes à coorte de 1993. RESULTADOS: A prevalência de asma encontrada na amostra estudada foi de 25,4%. A morbidade por asma foi elevada: 31% das crianças asmáticas haviam procurado o pronto-socorro no último ano, 57% tinham consultado médico e 26%, de 1 a 4 anos, foram internadas por asma. Na análise geral, escolaridade e renda familiar baixas associaram-se com consultas em pronto-socorro (RO=4,1 para 0 a 4 anos de escolaridade e RO=6,5 para menos de 1 salário-mínimo). Dormir em quartos com 3 ou mais pessoas também mostrou-se associado (RO=2,2), bem como severidade das crises (RO=2,7), uso de medicamentos para asma no último ano (RO=1,9) e internações por asma (RO=3,0). CONCLUSÕES: A prevalência de asma entre crianças pré-escolares em Pelotas é alta, levando a grande morbidade. Encontraram-se como fatores preditores de consultas em pronto-socorro por asma, após análise multivariada, a baixa escolaridade das mães, severidade das crises e internação por asma.OBJECTIVES: To study a sample of asthmatic children to get to know how the disease is managed by caretakers and to identify predictive factors associated with attendance in emergency room for asthma. METHODS: A cross-sectional study nested in a cohort was undertaken in the urban area of Pelotas, Southern Brazil. 981 children aged 4-5 years, who belong to the cohort of 1993, participated in this study. RESULTS: The asthma prevalence in the children sample was 25.4%. Morbidity for asthma was quite high: 31% of the children were seen in emergency rooms in the last year, 57% attended medical clinics and 26% were hospitalized in the first 4 years of life. The crude analysis identified the following predictive factors for emergency room visits: low educational level (RO=4.1), low family income (RO=6.5), 3 or more children sleeping in the same room (RO=2.2), severity of asthma attacks (RO=2.7), use of asthma medicines in the last year (RO=1.9) and hospitalizations due to asthma (RO=3.0). Multivariate analyses using logistic regression were used to adjust each variable for the effect of the remainder. CONCLUSIONS: The asthma prevalence among preschool children in Pelotas is high, resulting therefore in high morbidity. The predictor factors for emergency room visits due to asthma found, after multivariate analysis, were mother's low educational level, severity of the asthma attacks and hospitalization