Manuais escolares de ciências físico-químicas do 3º ciclo de ensino básico

Mestrado em Ensino de Física e QuímicaAs políticas educativas actuais para o 3º ciclo do Ensino Básico (EB) em Portugal e a investigação em Educação em Ciências valorizam, e defendem, a integração do Trabalho Laboratorial (TL) no Ensino das Ciências em geral e da Física em particular. A implementação do TL deverá contribuir para o desenvolvimento de competências transversais e específicas nos e com os alunos. O principal objectivo desta investigação foi caracterizar as actividades laboratoriais propostas em Manuais Escolares (ME’s) e Cadernos de Actividades (CA) de Ciências Físico-Químicas, na componente de Física, do 3º ciclo do EB. No sentido de enquadrar e fundamentar o estudo, assim como orientar a sua vertente empírica, foi sendo construído um referencial teórico a partir da literatura existente sobre Ensino das Ciências, TL e relevância didáctica de ME’s. Para além dessa fonte, foram integradas outras, do domínio do discurso político e normativo, relativas ao Ensino Básico, Ensino das Ciências Físicas e Naturais e ME’s. O estudo empírico envolveu, num primeiro momento, a análise das Actividades Laboratoriais (AL´s) propostas nos três ME’s e CA mais adoptados no Distrito de Aveiro, no ano lectivo de 2006/07, para o 7º, 8º e 9º ano de escolaridade, perfazendo um total de 18. Nesta análise utilizaram-se grelhas, adaptadas de outros estudos, que permitiram fazer a caracterização das propostas de AL´s quanto à tipologia e grau de abertura. Deste estudo constatou-se que as AL´s analisadas: · são valorizadas, atendendo ao número de propostas existentes; · não são diversificadas, predominando as do tipo de “reforço de conhecimento conceptual” e de “construção de materiais”; · são genericamente fechadas; · afastam-se das actuais perspectivas defendidas pelos investigadores em Ensino das Ciências e dos princípios preconizados nas Orientações Curriculares actuais, nomeadamente por não serem dirigidas ao desenvolvimento de competências nos e com os alunos. Sendo os ME’s um dos recursos privilegiados pelos professores, as propostas neles apresentadas fazem-se reflectir frequentemente nas suas práticas de ensino. Os resultados atrás mencionados corroboram a necessidade, referida em diversos estudos, de os professores adoptarem uma atitude crítica face aos ME’s existentes, atitude essa que pode/deve ser trabalhada com os mesmos ao nível da formação, nomeadamente da formação contínua. Assim, optou-se pela realização de um outro estudo empírico, se bem que de natureza muito exploratória, que envolveu os Centros de Formação Contínua de Professores do Distrito de Aveiro. Após um primeiro contacto, para preenchimento de uma ficha informativa, foram entrevistados três Directores desses Centros no sentido de se averiguar a importância atribuída na formação proposta à problemática dos ME’s. A análise dos dados emergentes deste estudo exploratório permite afirmar que, segundo os inquiridos não existem iniciativas de formação versando a temática dos ME’s e que esse facto é devido (a1) à falta de propostas dos órgãos pedagógicos das Escolas e dos professores nesse sentido e (a2) ao facto de o Ministério da Educação não considerar esta temática relevante ao nível da formação contínua de professores. Embora a adopção de ME’s seja da responsabilidade dos professores, aprender a escolhê-los e a usá-los, de um modo crítico, não parece estar nos horizontes próximos da formação contínua de professores, pelo menos se atendermos ao resultados do nosso estudo exploratório. Parece-nos, assim, indispensável que se que se proporcione formação aos professores uma vez que estes devem reflectir e tomar decisões acerca da adopção e da utilização do ME. Conjugando esta necessidade com os resultados do estudo sobre a caracterização das propostas de TL presentes em ME’s, parece-nos importante reflectir nessa formação, se dirigida a professores de ciências, sobre: · as (in)compatibilidades das proposta de actividades laboratoriais com as orientações actuais para o ensino das ciências; · formas de transformar as actividades laboratoriais em propostas didácticas mais relevantes. Para que os ME’s contemplem as finalidades actuais do Ensino das Ciências parece-nos, também, necessário (re)pensar as políticas de concepção, produção e avaliação dos mesmos no sentido de melhorar a sua qualidade. ABSTRACT: Current educational policies in Portugal and current research in Educational Sciences seem to advocate and value the integration of Laboratorial Work in Science and Physics Education, in middle school curricula. Implementation of Lab Work should contribute to the development of transversal and specific competencies in and with the students. The main objective of our research was the characterization of proposed laboratorial activities in school books and activity notebooks, for Physics and Chemistry Sciences, specifically covering Physics, for the 7th, 8th and 9th educational levels. Existing bibliography on Science Teaching, lab work and didactic relevance of school books was analysed in order to build a theoretical framework on which to base our research. Other political and normative sources, related to Middle Level School, Physics and Natural Sciences Teaching and School Books were also used. Our empirical study started with the analysis of laboratorial activities proposed in the three most used books and activity notebooks, for the 7th, 8th and 9th levels, on the 2006/07 school year, in the Aveiro district, totalling 18 books and activity notebooks. The analysis was done with grids, adapted from similar studies, allowing the characterization of the proposed laboratorial activities regarding type and openness degree. From the study, several conclusions regarding laboratorial activities can be drawn: · activities are seen as valued resources, if we consider the number of existing proposals; · they are not much diversified, the predominant types being “conceptual knowledge reinforcement” and “materials construction”; · in general, they are closed; · they do not follow the current views of Science Teaching researchers nor the current curricula development guidelines, since they are not meant to develop competences in the students or with them. With school books being one of the most widely used resources by teachers, the proposals they include influence, quite frequently, their teaching habits. Our conclusions are in agreement with other studies, that have stated that teachers need to have a critical approach regarding existing books. This critical approach can/should be emphasized during teacher’s education, namely during teacher’s continued education and training. Even with the choice of school books being a teacher’s responsibility, educating teachers to choose and use books in a critical manner, does not seem something likely to be included in continued teacher’s education curricula in a near future. To us, training teachers in these areas seems indispensable, if it is intended that teachers continue to take decisions on the choice and use of books. If we couple this need with the results of our study regarding lab work proposals, the curricula for science teacher’s continued education should address: · (in)compatibility between proposals for laboratorial activities and the current orientations in science teaching; · ways to change lab activities into didactically more relevant proposals. Current policies regarding the conception, production and evaluation of school books need to be rethinked, if these books are to better reflect the current goals of Science Teaching

I Diretriz brasileira de cardio-oncologia pediátrica da Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia

Sociedade Brasileira de Oncologia PediátricaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Instituto de Oncologia Pediátrica GRAACCUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Universidade de São Paulo Faculdade de Medicina Instituto do Coração do Hospital das ClínicasUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul Hospital de Clínicas de Porto AlegreInstituto Materno-Infantil de PernambucoHospital de Base de BrasíliaUniversidade de Pernambuco Hospital Universitário Oswaldo CruzHospital A.C. CamargoHospital do CoraçãoSociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia Departamento de Cardiopatias Congênitas e Cardiologia PediátricaInstituto Nacional de CâncerHospital Pequeno PríncipeSanta Casa de Misericórdia de São PauloInstituto do Câncer do Estado de São PauloUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP) Departamento de PatologiaHospital Infantil Joana de GusmãoUNIFESP, Instituto de Oncologia Pediátrica GRAACCUNIFESP, Depto. de PatologiaSciEL

Energy Estimation of Cosmic Rays with the Engineering Radio Array of the Pierre Auger Observatory

The Auger Engineering Radio Array (AERA) is part of the Pierre Auger Observatory and is used to detect the radio emission of cosmic-ray air showers. These observations are compared to the data of the surface detector stations of the Observatory, which provide well-calibrated information on the cosmic-ray energies and arrival directions. The response of the radio stations in the 30 to 80 MHz regime has been thoroughly calibrated to enable the reconstruction of the incoming electric field. For the latter, the energy deposit per area is determined from the radio pulses at each observer position and is interpolated using a two-dimensional function that takes into account signal asymmetries due to interference between the geomagnetic and charge-excess emission components. The spatial integral over the signal distribution gives a direct measurement of the energy transferred from the primary cosmic ray into radio emission in the AERA frequency range. We measure 15.8 MeV of radiation energy for a 1 EeV air shower arriving perpendicularly to the geomagnetic field. This radiation energy -- corrected for geometrical effects -- is used as a cosmic-ray energy estimator. Performing an absolute energy calibration against the surface-detector information, we observe that this radio-energy estimator scales quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy as expected for coherent emission. We find an energy resolution of the radio reconstruction of 22% for the data set and 17% for a high-quality subset containing only events with at least five radio stations with signal.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

Measurement of the Radiation Energy in the Radio Signal of Extensive Air Showers as a Universal Estimator of Cosmic-Ray Energy

We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we obtain a radiation energy of 15.8 \pm 0.7 (stat) \pm 6.7 (sys) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principle calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DOI. Supplemental material in the ancillary file

Height and body-mass index trajectories of school-aged children and adolescents from 1985 to 2019 in 200 countries and territories: a pooled analysis of 2181 population-based studies with 65 million participants

Summary Background Comparable global data on health and nutrition of school-aged children and adolescents are scarce. We aimed to estimate age trajectories and time trends in mean height and mean body-mass index (BMI), which measures weight gain beyond what is expected from height gain, for school-aged children and adolescents. Methods For this pooled analysis, we used a database of cardiometabolic risk factors collated by the Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factor Collaboration. We applied a Bayesian hierarchical model to estimate trends from 1985 to 2019 in mean height and mean BMI in 1-year age groups for ages 5–19 years. The model allowed for non-linear changes over time in mean height and mean BMI and for non-linear changes with age of children and adolescents, including periods of rapid growth during adolescence. Findings We pooled data from 2181 population-based studies, with measurements of height and weight in 65 million participants in 200 countries and territories. In 2019, we estimated a difference of 20 cm or higher in mean height of 19-year-old adolescents between countries with the tallest populations (the Netherlands, Montenegro, Estonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for boys; and the Netherlands, Montenegro, Denmark, and Iceland for girls) and those with the shortest populations (Timor-Leste, Laos, Solomon Islands, and Papua New Guinea for boys; and Guatemala, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Timor-Leste for girls). In the same year, the difference between the highest mean BMI (in Pacific island countries, Kuwait, Bahrain, The Bahamas, Chile, the USA, and New Zealand for both boys and girls and in South Africa for girls) and lowest mean BMI (in India, Bangladesh, Timor-Leste, Ethiopia, and Chad for boys and girls; and in Japan and Romania for girls) was approximately 9–10 kg/m2. In some countries, children aged 5 years started with healthier height or BMI than the global median and, in some cases, as healthy as the best performing countries, but they became progressively less healthy compared with their comparators as they grew older by not growing as tall (eg, boys in Austria and Barbados, and girls in Belgium and Puerto Rico) or gaining too much weight for their height (eg, girls and boys in Kuwait, Bahrain, Fiji, Jamaica, and Mexico; and girls in South Africa and New Zealand). In other countries, growing children overtook the height of their comparators (eg, Latvia, Czech Republic, Morocco, and Iran) or curbed their weight gain (eg, Italy, France, and Croatia) in late childhood and adolescence. When changes in both height and BMI were considered, girls in South Korea, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and some central Asian countries (eg, Armenia and Azerbaijan), and boys in central and western Europe (eg, Portugal, Denmark, Poland, and Montenegro) had the healthiest changes in anthropometric status over the past 3·5 decades because, compared with children and adolescents in other countries, they had a much larger gain in height than they did in BMI. The unhealthiest changes—gaining too little height, too much weight for their height compared with children in other countries, or both—occurred in many countries in sub-Saharan Africa, New Zealand, and the USA for boys and girls; in Malaysia and some Pacific island nations for boys; and in Mexico for girls. Interpretation The height and BMI trajectories over age and time of school-aged children and adolescents are highly variable across countries, which indicates heterogeneous nutritional quality and lifelong health advantages and risks

Clonal chromosomal mosaicism and loss of chromosome Y in elderly men increase vulnerability for SARS-CoV-2

The pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19) had an estimated overall case fatality ratio of 1.38% (pre-vaccination), being 53% higher in males and increasing exponentially with age. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, we found 133 cases (1.42%) with detectable clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations (mCA) and 226 males (5.08%) with acquired loss of chromosome Y (LOY). Individuals with clonal mosaic events (mCA and/or LOY) showed a 54% increase in the risk of COVID-19 lethality. LOY is associated with transcriptomic biomarkers of immune dysfunction, pro-coagulation activity and cardiovascular risk. Interferon-induced genes involved in the initial immune response to SARS-CoV-2 are also down-regulated in LOY. Thus, mCA and LOY underlie at least part of the sex-biased severity and mortality of COVID-19 in aging patients. Given its potential therapeutic and prognostic relevance, evaluation of clonal mosaicism should be implemented as biomarker of COVID-19 severity in elderly people. Among 9578 individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 in the SCOURGE study, individuals with clonal mosaic events (clonal mosaicism for chromosome alterations and/or loss of chromosome Y) showed an increased risk of COVID-19 lethality

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Heterogeneous contributions of change in population distribution of body mass index to change in obesity and underweight NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)

From 1985 to 2016, the prevalence of underweight decreased, and that of obesity and severe obesity increased, in most regions, with significant variation in the magnitude of these changes across regions. We investigated how much change in mean body mass index (BMI) explains changes in the prevalence of underweight, obesity, and severe obesity in different regions using data from 2896 population-based studies with 187 million participants. Changes in the prevalence of underweight and total obesity, and to a lesser extent severe obesity, are largely driven by shifts in the distribution of BMI, with smaller contributions from changes in the shape of the distribution. In East and Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, the underweight tail of the BMI distribution was left behind as the distribution shifted. There is a need for policies that address all forms of malnutrition by making healthy foods accessible and affordable, while restricting unhealthy foods through fiscal and regulatory restrictions