A Priori Knowledge-Based Post-Doppler STAP for Traffic Monitoring with Airborne Radar

Die Verkehrsüberwachung gewinnt aufgrund des weltweiten Anstiegs der Verkehrsteilnehmer immer mehr an Bedeutung. Sicherer und effizierter Straßenverkehr erfordert detaillierte Verkehrsinformationen. Häufig sind diese lediglich stationär, räumlich stark begrenzt und meist nur auf Hauptverkehrsstraßen verfügbar. In dieser Hinsicht ist ein Ausfall des Telekommunikationsnetzes, beispielsweise im Falle einer Katastrophe, und der damit einhergehende Informationsverlust als kritisch einzustufen. Flugzeuggetragene Radarsysteme mit synthetischer Apertur (eng. Synthetic Aperture Radar - SAR) können für dieses Szenario eine Lösung darstellen, da sie großflächig hochauflösende Bilder generieren können, unabhängig von Tageslicht und Witterungsbedingungen. Sie ermöglichen aufgrund dieser Charakteristik die Detektion von Bewegtzielen am Boden (eng. ground moving target indication – GMTI). Moderne GMTI-Algorithmen und -Systeme, die prinzipiell für die Verkehrsüberwachung verwendbar sind, wurden in der Literatur bereits diskutiert. Allerdings ist die Robustheit dieser Systeme oft mit hohen Kosten, hoher Hardwarekomplexität und hohem Rechenaufwand verbunden. Diese Dissertation stellt einen neuartigen GMTI-Prozessor vor, der auf dem Radar-Mehrkanalverfahren post-Doppler space-time adaptive processing (PD STAP) basiert. Durch die Überlagerung einer Straßenkarte mit einem digitalen Höhenmodell ist es mithilfe des PD STAP möglich, Falschdetektionen zu erkennen und auszuschließen sowie die detektierten Fahrzeuge ihren korrekten Straßenpositionen zu zuordnen. Die präzisen Schätzungen von Position, Geschwindigkeit und Bewegungsrichtung der Fahrzeuge können mit vergleichsweise geringerer Hardware-Komplexität zu niedrigeren Kosten durchgeführt werden. Ferner wird im Rahmen dieser Arbeit ein effizienter Datenkalibrierungsalgorithmus erläutert, der das Ungleichgewicht zwischen den Empfangskanälen sowie die Variation des Dopplerschwerpunkts über Entfernung und Azimut korrigiert und so das Messergebnis verbessert. Darüber hinaus werden neue und automatisierte Strategien zur Erhebung von Trainingsdaten vorgestellt, die für die Schätzung der Clutter-Kovarianzmatrix wegen ihres direkten Einflusses auf die Clutter-Unterdrückung und Zieldetektion essentiell für PD STAP sind. Der neuartige PD STAP Prozessor verfügt über drei verschiedene Betriebsarten, die für militärische und zivile Anwendungen geeignet sind, darunter ein schneller Verarbeitungsalgorithmus der das Potential für eine zukünftige Echtzeit-Verkehrsüberwachung hat. Alle Betriebsarten wurden erfolgreich mit Radar-Mehrkanaldaten des flugzeuggetragenen F-SAR-Radarsensors des DLR getestet

Synthesis and biological evaluation of novel imidazolidine derivatives as candidates to schistosomicidal agents

Introduction: Schistosomiasis is an infectious parasitic disease caused by trematodes of the genus Schistosoma, which threatens at least 258 million people worldwide and its control is dependent on a single drug, praziquantel. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-Schistosoma mansoni activity in vitro of novel imidazolidine derivatives. Material and methods: We synthesized two novel imidazolidine derivatives: (LPSF/PTS10) (Z)-1-(2-chloro-6-fluorobenzyl)-4-(4-dimethylaminobenzylidene)-5-thioxoimidazolidin-2-one and (LPSF/PTS23) (Z)-1-(2-chloro-6-fluoro-benzyl)-5-thioxo-4-(2,4,6-trimethoxy-benzylidene)-imidazolidin-2-one. The structures of two compounds were determined by spectroscopic methods. During the biological assays, parameters such as motility, oviposition, mortality and analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy were performed. Results: LPSF/PTS10 and LPSF/PTS23 were considered to be active in the separation of coupled pairs, mortality and to decrease the motor activity. In addition, LPSF/PTS23 induced ultrastructural alterations in worms, after 24 h of contact, causing extensive erosion over the entire body of the worms. Conclusion: The imidazolidine derivatives containing the trimetoxy and benzylidene halogens showed promising in vitro schistosomicidal activity

A pandemia de COVID-19 e mudanças nos estilos de vida dos adolescentes brasileiros

Objective: To analyze changes in the lifestyles of Brazilian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out with adolescents who participated in the “Covid Adolescentes - Behavior Survey”. The indicators related to lifestyles before and during the pandemic were evaluated: consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods, physical activity and sedentary behavior, smoking and consumption of alcoholic beverages. Prevalence and 95% confidence intervals were calculated for the total population and according to sex and age group. Results: 9,470 adolescents participated in the study. During the period of social distance, there was an increase in the prevalence of consumption of vegetables (from 27.34% to 30.5%), frozen foods (from 13.26% to 17.3%), chocolates and sweets (from 48.58% to 52.51%) and time in front of screens (from 44.57% to 70.15%). On the other hand, there was a decrease in the practice of physical activity (from 28.7% to 15.74%) and in the consumption of alcoholic beverages (from 17.72% to 12.77%). Differences were observed according to sex and age group. Conclusion: The results show changes in the adolescents' lifestyles and an increase in health risk behaviors.Objetivo: Analisar as mudanças nos estilos de vida dos adolescentes brasileiros durante pandemia de COVID-19. Métodos: Estudo transversal realizado com adolescentes que participaram do inquérito “Convid Adolescentes - Pesquisa de Comportamentos”. Foram avaliados os indicadores relacionados aos estilos de vida antes e durante a pandemia: consumo de alimentos saudáveis e não saudáveis, prática de atividade física e comportamento sedentário, tabagismo e consumo de bebidas alcóolicas. Foram calculadas as prevalências e intervalos de confiança de 95% para população total e segundo sexo e faixa etária. Resultados: Participaram do estudo 9.470 adolescentes. Durante o período de distanciamento social, foi observado aumento nas prevalências de consumo de hortaliças (de 27,34% para 30,5%), de pratos congelados (de 13,26% para 17,3%), de chocolates e doces (de 48,58% para 52,51%) e do tempo em frente às telas (de 44,57% para 70,15%). Por outro lado, houve diminuição da prática de atividade física (de 28,7% para 15,74%) e do consumo de bebidas alcóolicas (de 17,72% para 12,77%). Foram observadas diferenças segundo sexo e faixa etária. Conclusão: Os resultados apontam mudanças nos estilos de vida dos adolescentes e aumento de comportamentos de risco à saúde. Objetivo: Analisar as mudanças nos estilos de vida dos adolescentes brasileiros durante pandemia de COVID-19. Métodos: Estudo transversal realizado com adolescentes que participaram do inquérito “Convid Adolescentes - Pesquisa de Comportamentos”. Foram avaliados os indicadores relacionados aos estilos de vida antes e durante a pandemia: consumo de alimentos saudáveis e não saudáveis, prática de atividade física e comportamento sedentário, tabagismo e consumo de bebidas alcóolicas. Foram calculadas as prevalências e intervalos de confiança de 95% para população total e segundo sexo e faixa etária. Resultados: Participaram do estudo 9.470 adolescentes. Durante o período de distanciamento social, foi observado aumento nas prevalências de consumo de hortaliças (de 27,34% para 30,5%), de pratos congelados (de 13,26% para 17,3%), de chocolates e doces (de 48,58% para 52,51%) e do tempo em frente às telas (de 44,57% para 70,15%). Por outro lado, houve diminuição da prática de atividade física (de 28,7% para 15,74%) e do consumo de bebidas alcóolicas (de 17,72% para 12,77%). Foram observadas diferenças segundo sexo e faixa etária. Conclusão: Os resultados apontam mudanças nos estilos de vida dos adolescentes e aumento de comportamentos de risco à saúde

High anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroconversion rates before the second wave in Manaus, Brazil, and the protective effect of social behaviour measures: results from the prospective DETECTCoV-19 cohort

Background: The city of Manaus, Brazil, has seen two collapses of the health system due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We report anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibody seroconversion rates and associated risk factors in Manaus residents before the second wave of the epidemic in Brazil. Methods: A convenience sample of adult (aged ≥18 years) residents of Manaus was recruited through online and university website advertising into the DETECTCoV-19 study cohort. The current analysis of seroconversion included a subgroup of DETECTCoV-19 participants who had at least two serum sample collections separated by at least 4 weeks between Aug 19 and Oct 2, 2020 (visit 1), and Oct 19 and Nov 27, 2020 (visit 2). Those who reported (or had no data on) having a COVID-19 diagnosis before visit 1, and who were positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibodies at visit 1 were excluded. Using an in-house ELISA, the reactivity index (RI; calculated as the optical density ratio of the sample to the negative control) for serum anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibodies was measured at both visits. We calculated the incidence of seroconversion (defined as RI values ≤1·5 at visit 1 and ≥1·5 at visit 2, and a ratio >2 between the visit 2 and visit 1 RI values) during the study period, as well as incidence rate ratios (IRRs) through cluster-corrected and adjusted Poisson regression models to analyse associations between seroconversion and variables related to sociodemographic characteristics, health access, comorbidities, COVID-19 exposure, protective behaviours, and symptoms. Findings: 2496 DETECTCoV-19 cohort participants returned for a follow-up visit between Oct 19 and Nov 27, 2020, of whom 204 reported having COVID-19 before the first visit and 24 had no data regarding previous disease status. 559 participants were seropositive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid IgG antibodies at baseline. Of the remaining 1709 participants who were seronegative at baseline, 71 did not meet the criteria for seroconversion and were excluded from the analyses. Among the remaining 1638 participants who were seronegative at baseline, 214 showed seroconversion at visit 2. The seroconversion incidence was 13·06% (95% CI 11·52–14·79) overall and 6·78% (5·61–8·10) for symptomatic seroconversion, over a median follow-up period of 57 days (IQR 54–61). 48·1% of seroconversion events were estimated to be asymptomatic. The sample had higher proportions of affluent and higher-educated people than those reported for the Manaus city population. In the fully adjusted and corrected model, risk factors for seroconversion before visit 2 were having a COVID-19 case in the household (IRR 1·49 [95% CI 1·21–1·83]), not wearing a mask during contact with a person with COVID-19 (1·25 [1·09–1·45]), relaxation of physical distancing (1·31 [1·05–1·64]), and having flu-like symptoms (1·79 [1·23–2·59]) or a COVID-19 diagnosis (3·57 [2·27–5·63]) between the first and second visits, whereas working remotely was associated with lower incidence (0·74 [0·56–0·97]). Interpretation: An intense infection transmission period preceded the second wave of COVID-19 in Manaus. Several modifiable behaviours increased the risk of seroconversion, including non-compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions measures such as not wearing a mask during contact, relaxation of protective measures, and non-remote working. Increased testing in high-transmission areas is needed to provide timely information about ongoing transmission and aid appropriate implementation of transmission mitigation measures. Funding: Ministry of Education, Brazil; Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Amazonas; Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/WHO.World Health OrganizationRevisión por pare

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Educomunicação, Transformação Social e Desenvolvimento Sustentável

Esta publicação apresenta os principais trabalhos dos GTs do II Congresso Internacional de Comunicação e Educação nos temas Transformação social, com os artigos que abordam principalmente Educomunicação e/ou Mídia-Educação, no contexto de políticas de diversidade, inclusão e equidade; e, em Desenvolvimento Sustentável os artigos que abordam os avanços da relação comunicação/educação no contexto da educação ambiental e desenvolvimento sustentável

ATLANTIC-PRIMATES: a dataset of communities and occurrences of primates in the Atlantic Forests of South America

Primates play an important role in ecosystem functioning and offer critical insights into human evolution, biology, behavior, and emerging infectious diseases. There are 26 primate species in the Atlantic Forests of South America, 19 of them endemic. We compiled a dataset of 5,472 georeferenced locations of 26 native and 1 introduced primate species, as hybrids in the genera Callithrix and Alouatta. The dataset includes 700 primate communities, 8,121 single species occurrences and 714 estimates of primate population sizes, covering most natural forest types of the tropical and subtropical Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina and some other biomes. On average, primate communities of the Atlantic Forest harbor 2 ± 1 species (range = 1–6). However, about 40% of primate communities contain only one species. Alouatta guariba (N = 2,188 records) and Sapajus nigritus (N = 1,127) were the species with the most records. Callicebus barbarabrownae (N = 35), Leontopithecus caissara (N = 38), and Sapajus libidinosus (N = 41) were the species with the least records. Recorded primate densities varied from 0.004 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta guariba at Fragmento do Bugre, Paraná, Brazil) to 400 individuals/km 2 (Alouatta caraya in Santiago, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil). Our dataset reflects disparity between the numerous primate census conducted in the Atlantic Forest, in contrast to the scarcity of estimates of population sizes and densities. With these data, researchers can develop different macroecological and regional level studies, focusing on communities, populations, species co-occurrence and distribution patterns. Moreover, the data can also be used to assess the consequences of fragmentation, defaunation, and disease outbreaks on different ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, species invasion or extinction, and community dynamics. There are no copyright restrictions. Please cite this Data Paper when the data are used in publications. We also request that researchers and teachers inform us of how they are using the data. © 2018 by the The Authors. Ecology © 2018 The Ecological Society of Americ

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ