Analysis and Inter-Calibration of Wet Path Delay Datasets to Compute the Wet Tropospheric Correction for CryoSat-2 over Ocean

Unlike most altimetric missions, CryoSat-2 is not equipped with an onboard microwave radiometer (MWR) to provide wet tropospheric correction (WTC) to radar altimeter measurements, thus, relying on a model-based one provided by the European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). In the ambit of ESA funded project CP4O, an improved WTC for CryoSat-2 data over ocean is under development, based on a data combination algorithm (DComb) through objective analysis of WTC values derived from all existing global-scale data types. The scope of this study is the analysis and inter-calibration of the large dataset of total column water vapor (TCWV) products from scanning MWR aboard Remote Sensing (RS) missions for use in the WTC computation for CryoSat-2. The main issues regarding the computation of the WTC from all TCWV products are discussed. The analysis of the orbital parameters of CryoSat-2 and all other considered RS missions, their sensor characteristics and inter-calibration is presented, providing an insight into the expected impact of these datasets on the WTC estimation. The most suitable approach for calculating the WTC from TCWV is investigated. For this type of application, after calibration with respect to an appropriate reference, two approaches were found to give very similar results, with root mean square differences of 2 mm

Mixtures and Their Separation Methods: The Use of Didactic Games, the Jigsaw Method and Everyday Life as Facilitators to Construct Chemical Knowledge in High School

One of the difficulties found in Chemistry teaching, mainly in High School, is to establish relations among society, environment, science and technology. It is notorious and has required Chemistry teachers to have certain skills, including some that refer to several situations in everyday life. Therefore, this study aimed at introducing three methodological proposals to teach the content “methods of mixture separation”. The first proposal aimed at addressing concepts and procedures based on different situations found in everyday life. The second offered students some strategies to encourage them to form different points of view and opinions. It favored both intellectual autonomy and access to production of chemical knowledge collectively and collaboratively (the jigsaw method). The third was related to the use of didactic games to make learning easier. The use of games in Chemistry teaching is a methodology that has been used because it enables students to have pleasure and fun while learning. Four classes of freshmen (first year in High School) that attend the Instituto Federal do Triângulo Mineiro - Campus Uberlândia Centro (IFTM-UDICENTRO), located in Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, took part in this study. Results suggest that all methodologies under investigation are also efficient in online lessons. Teachers can use them all together or individually. In addition, the didactic game under study was adapted so that it could be played in online Chemistry lessons, since the world has still been affected by the infectious disease caused by the coronavirus. The adaptation of the game called “SeparaMix” has not been published in the literature yet). DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v13i5.165

Percepção de Obstáculos à Inovação na Indústria Brasileira de Transformação

This article aims to identify the perception of the Brazilian manufacturing industry about the main obstacles to innovation. We used in the research "microdata” from the three years National Innovation Research – PINTEC 2011 (IBGE, 2013). Confirmed the results that innovative firms are more likely to report barriers to innovation that non-innovative companies. It is evident also that four factors had higher perceived importance as harmful to innovative activities in that sector: 1) high innovation costs; 2) excessive economic risk; 3) lack of qualified personnel and 4) lack of funding.Este artigo tem como objetivo identificar a percepção da indústria brasileira de transformação acerca dos principais obstáculos à inovação. Foram usados na pesquisa os “microdados’ do triênio 2009-10-11, da Pesquisa de Inovação – PINTEC 2011 (IBGE, 2013). Confirma-se nos resultados que as empresas inovadoras são mais propensas a relatar obstáculos à inovação que as empresas não inovadoras. Evidencia-se ainda que quatro fatores apresentaram maior percepção de importância como prejudiciais às atividades inovativas no referido setor: 1) elevados custos de inovação; 2) risco econômico excessivo; 3) falta de pessoal qualificado e 4) escassez de fontes de financiament

Mixtures and Their Separation Methods: The Use of Didactic Games, the Jigsaw Method and Everyday Life as Facilitators to Construct Chemical Knowledge in High School

One of the difficulties found in Chemistry teaching, mainly in High School, is to establish relations among society, environment, science and technology. It is notorious and has required Chemistry teachers to have certain skills, including some that refer to several situations in everyday life. Therefore, this study aimed at introducing three methodological proposals to teach the content “methods of mixture separation”. The first proposal aimed at addressing concepts and procedures based on different situations found in everyday life. The second offered students some strategies to encourage them to form different points of view and opinions. It favored both intellectual autonomy and access to production of chemical knowledge collectively and collaboratively (the jigsaw method). The third was related to the use of didactic games to make learning easier. The use of games in Chemistry teaching is a methodology that has been used because it enables students to have pleasure and fun while learning. Four classes of freshmen (first year in High School) that attend the Instituto Federal do Triângulo Mineiro - Campus Uberlândia Centro (IFTM-UDICENTRO), located in Uberlândia, MG, Brazil, took part in this study. Results suggest that all methodologies under investigation are also efficient in online lessons. Teachers can use them all together or individually. In addition, the didactic game under study was adapted so that it could be played in online Chemistry lessons, since the world has still been affected by the infectious disease caused by the coronavirus. The adaptation of the game called “SeparaMix” has not been published in the literature yet). DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.17807/orbital.v13i5.165

Comparison of the explosion characteristics and flame speeds of pulverised coals and biomass in the ISO standard 1 m3 dust explosion equipment

Pulverised coal has been known to pose explosion risks since the 19th century, with the advent of biomass use in coal fired power generation boilers the explosion risk may need revision. The objective of the present work was to compare the explosibility of two samples of bituminous coal used in UK power stations with two biomass fuels and to review available explosion data in the literature for pulverised coal and biomass. The 1 m3 ISO explosion vessel was used to determine the explosion characteristics: deflagration index (KSt), maximum explosion pressure (Pmax) and minimum explosible concentration (MEC). Flame speeds were also measured and these are relevant to understanding the mechanism of turbulent flame propagation in power station burners, which is related to the problem of flame flashback or blow-off. Despite the similarities in composition of both coals, the explosion reactivity of Colombian coal was much higher, with a KSt value of 129 bar m/s compared to 78 bar m/s for Kellingley coal. The main difference between the two fuels was the surface area of particles which was higher for Colombian coal. It was shown that the char burn out rate at 900 °C in air was higher for Colombian coal, due to the greater oxygen diffusion in the higher porosity of the char. Results for two biomass fuels are also presented with similar values for KSt and the literature review shows that both coal and biomass have very variable flame reactivities. There is no general trend that coal is less reactive than biomass, although this could be the case for specific coals and biomass

Implications of secondary findings in clinical context

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Explosion reactivity characterisation of pulverised torrefied spruce wood

Pulverised biomass is increasingly being used for power generation in 100% biomass plants or mixed with coal as a way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The fire and explosion hazards of pulverised wood and other agricultural waste materials have been recognised for some time. However, safety data for biomass are very scarce in the public literature, and non-existent for upgraded biomass products such as torrefied biomass. This is largely due to the challenges that biomass poses for explosion characterisation in the standard methods (1 m3 ISO vessel or 20 L sphere). The authors have developed and calibrated a new system for the 1 m3 ISO vessel that overcomes these challenges. In this work we present the first data in the open literature for the explosion characteristics of torrefied biomass. Results for untreated Norway spruce wood and Kellingley coal are also included for comparison. Flame speeds and post-explosion residue analysis results are also presented. Torrefied spruce wood was found to be more reactive than Kellingley coal and slightly more reactive than its parent material in terms of KSt, Pmax and flame speed. The differences between coal and biomass samples highlight that it should not be assumed that safety systems for coal can be applied to torrefied or raw wood materials without suitable modifications

Evidence for classification of c.1852_1853AA>GC in MLH1 as a neutral variant for Lynch syndrome

Background: Lynch syndrome (LS) is an autosomal dominant inherited cancer syndrome characterized by early onset cancers of the colorectum, endometrium and other tumours. A significant proportion of DNA variants in LS patients are unclassified. Reports on the pathogenicity of the c.1852_1853AA>GC (p.Lys618Ala) variant of the MLH1 gene are conflicting. In this study, we provide new evidence indicating that this variant has no significant implications for LS. Methods: The following approach was used to assess the clinical significance of the p.Lys618Ala variant: frequency in a control population, case-control comparison, co-occurrence of the p.Lys618Ala variant with a pathogenic mutation, co-segregation with the disease and microsatellite instability in tumours from carriers of the variant. We genotyped p.Lys618Ala in 1034 individuals (373 sporadic colorectal cancer [CRC] patients, 250 index subjects from families suspected of having LS [revised Bethesda guidelines] and 411 controls). Three well-characterized LS families that fulfilled the Amsterdam II Criteria and consisted of members with the p.Lys618Ala variant were included to assess co-occurrence and co-segregation. A subset of colorectal tumour DNA samples from 17 patients carrying the p.Lys618Ala variant was screened for microsatellite instability using five mononucleotide markers. Results: Twenty-seven individuals were heterozygous for the p.Lys618Ala variant; nine had sporadic CRC (2.41%), seven were suspected of having hereditary CRC (2.8%) and 11 were controls (2.68%). There were no significant associations in the case-control and case-case studies. The p.Lys618Ala variant was co-existent with pathogenic mutations in two unrelated LS families. In one family, the allele distribution of the pathogenic and unclassified variant was in trans, in the other family the pathogenic variant was detected in the MSH6 gene and only the deleterious variant co-segregated with the disease in both families. Only two positive cases of microsatellite instability (2/17, 11.8%) were detected in tumours from p.Lys618Ala carriers, indicating that this variant does not play a role in functional inactivation of MLH1 in CRC patients. Conclusions: The p.Lys618Ala variant should be considered a neutral variant for LS. These findings have implications for the clinical management of CRC probands and their relatives.Generalitat Valenciana in Spain (AP140/08) and the Biomedical Research Foundation from the Hospital of Elche, Spain (FIBElx0902). Conselleria de Educació (Generalitat Valenciana); Fundacion Juan Peran-Pikolinos; Fundacion Carolina-BBVA and Fondo Investigación Sanitaria (FI07/00303). Instituto de Salud Carlos III (INT09/208)

IgM and IgG against Plasmodium falciparum lysate as surrogates of malaria exposure and protection during pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Difficulties to disentangle the protective versus exposure role of anti-malarial antibodies hamper the identification of clinically-relevant immune targets. Here, factors affecting maternal IgG and IgMs against Plasmodium falciparum antigens, as well as their relationship with parasite infection and clinical outcomes, were assessed in mothers and their children. Antibody responses among 207 Mozambican pregnant women at delivery against MSP119, EBA175, AMA1, DBLalpha and parasite lysate (3D7, R29 and E8B parasite lines), as well as the surface of infected erythrocytes, were assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and flow cytometry. The relationship between antibody levels, maternal infection and clinical outcomes was assessed by multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: Placental infection was associated with an increase in maternal levels of IgGs and IgMs against a broad range of parasite antigens. The multivariate analysis including IgGs and IgMs showed that the newborn weight increased with increasing IgG levels against a parasite lysate, whereas the opposite association was found with IgMs. IgGs are markers of protection against poor pregnancy outcomes and IgMs of parasite exposure. CONCLUSIONS: Adjusting the analysis for the simultaneous effect of IgMs and IgGs can contribute to account for heterogeneous exposure to P. falciparum when assessing immune responses effective against malaria in pregnancy