Analyzing the atmospheric boundary layer using high-order moments obtained from multiwavelength lidar data: impact of wavelength choice

The lowest region of the troposphere is a turbulent layer known as the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and characterized by high daily variability due to the influence of surface forcings. This is the reason why detecting systems with high spatial and temporal resolution, such as lidar, have been widely applied for researching this region. In this paper, we present a comparative analysis on the use of lidar-backscattered signals at three wavelengths (355, 532 and 1064 nm) to study the ABL by investigating the highorder moments, which give us information about the ABL height (derived by the variance method), aerosol layer movement (skewness) and mixing conditions (kurtosis) at several heights. Previous studies have shown that the 1064 nm wavelength, due to the predominance of particle signature in the total backscattered atmospheric signal and practically null presence of molecular signal (which can represent noise in high-order moments), provides an appropriate description of the turbulence field, and thus in this study it was considered a reference. We analyze two case studies that show us that the backscattered signal at 355 nm, even after applying some corrections, has a limited applicability for turbulence studies using the proposed methodology due to the strong contribution of the molecular signature to the total backscatter signal. This increases the noise associated with the high-order profiles and, consequently, generates misinformation. On the other hand, the information on the turbulence field derived from the backscattered signal at 532 nm is similar to that obtained at 1064 nm due to the appropriate attenuation of the noise, generated by molecular component of backscattered signal by the application of the corrections proposedThis research has been supported by the Andalusian Regional Government (P12-RNM-618 2409 project), the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI, CGL2016-81092- R, CGL2017-90884-REDT and CGL2017-83538-C3-1-R projects), the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CGL2016- 81092-R, and CGL2017-90884-REDT projects), the European Union’s Horizon 2020 project (NACTRIS 2, grant no. 621654109), the University of Granada, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ, 152156/2018-6, 432515/2018-6 and 150716/2017-6 projects), the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, grant no. 2015/12793-0), and the FEDER program for the University of Granada

Análise parasitológica do solo da Praia Grande, ilha de Caratateua (Distrito de Outeiro), Belém, Pará, Brasil

As praias são locais atrativos para a realização de atividades de turismo e lazer, porém, também colaboram com a propagação de doenças, entre elas as enteroparasitoses. No cenário brasileiro, essas doenças compactuam com as desigualdades do acesso ao saneamento básico e às políticas educacionais de respeito ambiental, permitindo com que os indivíduos possam se expor a infecções. O presente estudo buscou identificar a presença de estruturas parasitárias na areia de uma praia pública localizada na ilha de Caratateua (Distrito de Outeiro) em Belém-PA. Foram analisadas 12 amostras superficiais de areia, com 3 lâminas produzidas a partir de cada amostra processada pelos métodos de Hoffman e Faust adaptados. As metodologias envolveram, respectivamente, a dissolução das amostras em 150 ml de solução salina a 0,9%, os cálices com gazes ficaram descansando por 24 horas e o sedimento formado foi pipetado em uma lâmina com lugol para a leitura por microscopia óptica. Logo após essa etapa, buscando a identificação de parasitos pelo método de Faust, utilizou-se os sedimentos do método de Hoffman que foram adicionados a um tubo Falcon com solução salina a 0,9% e centrifugados três vezes a 2.500 R.P.M. por 3 minutos, desprezou-se o sobrenadante e, por fim, foi adicionado Sulfato de Zinco a 33,3% e centrifugado novamente para posteriormente serem feitas as confecções e leituras das lâminas. Das 72 lâminas (36 por método) foi possível identificar em 13 lâminas algumas estruturas parasitárias, sendo 4 na parte seca da faixa de areia, entre elas cistos de Entamoeba spp. (1) e larvas Nematóides (3), enquanto nos pontos intermediários da praia houve 2, sendo cistos de Entamoeba spp. (1) e ovos de Dipylidium spp. (1) e na região mais úmida 7, sendo cistos de Entamoeba spp. (3), Cistos de Giardia spp. (1), Ovos de Ancilostomídeo (1) e Larvas  de Nematóides (2). Os achados parasitológicos encontrados nas areias analisadas na praia Grande representam um risco em potencial para infecção da população circulante, principalmente os imunocomprometidos. Sendo assim, nota-se a necessidade de implementação de políticas de reparação ambiental e educação para mitigar a insalubridade e chances de infecções por enteroparasitas

A Narrative Review of Motor Competence in Children and Adolescents: What We Know and What We Need to Find Out

Lack of physical activity is a global public health problem causing not only morbidity and premature mortality, but it is also a major economic burden worldwide. One of the cornerstones of a physically active lifestyle is Motor Competence (MC). MC is a complex biocultural attribute and therefore, its study requires a multi-sectoral, multi-, inter- and transdisciplinary approach. MC is a growing area of research, especially in children and adolescents due to its positive association with a plethora of health and developmental outcomes. Many questions, however, remain to be answered in this field of research, with regard to: (i) Health and Developmental-related Associations of MC; (ii) Assessment of MC; (iii) Prevalence and Trends of MC; (iv) Correlates and Determinants of MC; (v) MC Interventions, and (vi) Translating MC Research into Practice and Policy. This paper presents a narrative review of the literature, summarizing current knowledge, identifying key research gaps and presenting questions for future investigation on MC in children and adolescents. This is a collaborative effort from the International Motor Competence Network (IMCNetwork) a network of academics and researchers aiming to promote international collaborative research and knowledge translation in the expansive field of MC. The knowledge and deliverables generated by addressing and answering the aforementioned research questions on MC presented in this review have the potential to shape the ways in which researchers and practitioners promote MC and physical activity in children and adolescents across the worl

Lidar Observations in South America. Part I - Mesosphere and Stratosphere

South America covers a large area of the globe and plays a fundamental function in its climate change, geographical features, and natural resources. However, it still is a developing area, and natural resource management and energy production are far from a sustainable framework, impacting the air quality of the area and needs much improvement in monitoring. There are significant activities regarding laser remote sensing of the atmosphere at different levels for different purposes. Among these activities, we can mention the mesospheric probing of sodium measurements and stratospheric monitoring of ozone, and the study of wind and gravity waves. Some of these activities are long-lasting and count on the support from the Latin American Lidar Network (LALINET). We intend to pinpoint the most significant scientific achievements and show the potential of carrying out remote sensing activities in the continent and show its correlations with other earth science connections and synergies. In Part I of this chapter, we will present an overview and significant results of lidar observations in the mesosphere and stratosphere. Part II will be dedicated to tropospheric observations

Lidar Observations in South America. Part II - Troposphere

In Part II of this chapter, we intend to show the significant advances and results concerning aerosols’ tropospheric monitoring in South America. The tropospheric lidar monitoring is also supported by the Latin American Lidar Network (LALINET). It is concerned about aerosols originating from urban pollution, biomass burning, desert dust, sea spray, and other primary sources. Cloud studies and their impact on radiative transfer using tropospheric lidar measurements are also presented

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