Latest Altimetry-Based Sea Ice Freeboard and Volume Inter-Annual Variability in the Antarctic over 2003–2020

The relatively stable conditions of the sea ice cover in the Antarctic, observed for almost 40 years, seem to be changing recently. Therefore, it is essential to provide sea ice thickness (SIT) and volume (SIV) estimates in order to anticipate potential multi-scale changes in the Antarctic sea ice. For that purpose, the main objectives of this work are: (1) to assess a new sea ice freeboard, thickness and volume altimetry dataset over 2003–2020 and (2) to identify first order impacts of the sea ice recent conditions. To produce these series, we use a neuronal network to calibrate Envisat radar freeboards onto CryoSat-2 (CS2). This method addresses the impacts of surface roughness on Low Resolution Mode (LRM) measurements. During the 2011 common flight period, we found a mean deviation between Envisat and CryoSat-2 radar freeboards by about 0.5 cm. Using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) and the dual-frequency Altimetric Snow Depth (ASD) data, our solutions are compared with the Upward looking sonar (ULS) draft data, some in-situ measurement of the SIMBA campaign, the total freeboards of 6 Operation Ice Bridge (OIB) missions and ICESat-2 total freeboards. Over 2003–2020, the global mean radar freeboard decreased by about −14% per decade and the SIT and SIV by about −10% per decade (considering a snow depth climatology). This is marked by a slight increase through 2015, which is directly followed by a strong decrease in 2016. Thereafter, freeboards generally remained low and even continued to decrease in some regions such as the Weddell sea. Considering the 2013–2020 period, for which the ASD data are available, radar freeboards and SIT decreased by about −40% per decade. The SIV decreased by about −60% per decade. After 2016, the low SIT values contrast with the sea ice extent that has rather increased again, reaching near-average values in winter 2020. The regional analysis underlines that such thinning (from 2016) occurs in all regions except the Amundsen-Bellingshausen sea sector. Meanwhile, we observed a reversal of the main regional trends from 2016, which may be the signature of significant ongoing changes in the Antarctic sea ice

Prática da episiotomia e fatores maternos e neonatais relacionados

A episiotomia trata-se de uma incisão cirúrgica realizada no momento da expulsão do concepto. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o uso da episiotomia e sua associação com as alterações maternas e neonatais em duas maternidades públicas. A população constituiu-se de parturientes submetidas ao parto normal, no período de junho de 2009 a maio de 2010, mediante revisão dos prontuários. Foram analisados 1.129 prontuários. A episiotomia foi utilizada em 57,55% (n=636) de todos os partos normais e em 83,7% (n=325) dos partos de primíparas. A associação entre o uso da episiotomia e a primiparidade é estatisticamente significante (p<0,001). Os dados sugerem a associação da episiotomia e aumento do risco de lacerações graves (p<0,001). O emprego da episiotomia mostrou-se semelhante nas duas maternidades. Os resultados deste estudo ratificam o uso indiscriminado da episiotomia e apontam para a necessidade de propor estratégias para reduzir o emprego dessa técnica

Repurposing of auranofin and honokiol as antifungals against Scedosporium species and the related fungus Lomentospora prolificans.

peer reviewedThe slowing-down de novo drug-discovery emphasized the importance of repurposing old drugs. This is particularly true when combating infections caused by therapy-refractory microorganisms, such as Scedosporium species and Lomentospora prolificans. Recent studies on Scedosporium responses to oxidative stress underscored the importance of targeting the underlying mechanisms. Auranofin, ebselen, PX-12, honokiol, and to a lesser extent, conoidin A are known to disturb redox-homeostasis systems in many organisms. Their antifungal activity was assessed against 27 isolates belonging to the major Scedosporium species: S. apiospermum, S. aurantiacum, S. boydii, S. dehoogii, S. minutisporum, and Lomentospora prolificans. Auranofin and honokiol were the most active against all Scedosporium species (mean MIC50 values of 2.875 and 6.143 μg/ml, respectively) and against L. prolificans isolates (mean MIC50 values of 4.0 and 3.563μg/ml respectively). Combinations of auranofin with voriconazole or honokiol revealed additive effects against 9/27 and 18/27 isolates, respectively. Synergistic interaction between auranofin and honokiol was only found against one isolate of L. prolificans. The effects of auranofin upon exposure to oxidative stress were also investigated. For all species except S. dehoogii, the maximal growth in the presence of auranofin significantly decreased when adding a sublethal dose of menadione. The analysis of the expression of genes encoding oxidoreductase enzymes upon exposure of S. apiospermum to honokiol unveiled the upregulation of many genes, especially those coding peroxiredoxins, thioredoxin reductases, and glutaredoxins. Altogether, these data suggest that auranofin and honokiol act via dampening the redox balance and support their repurposing as antifungals against Scedosporium species and L. prolificans

Rackham: An Interactive Robot-Guide

International audienceRackham is an interactive robot-guide that has been used in several places and exhibitions. This paper presents its design and reports on results that have been obtained after its deployment in a permanent exhibition. The project is conducted so as to incrementally enhance the robot functional and decisional capabilities based on the observation of the interaction between the public and the robot. Besides robustness and efficiency in the robot navigation abilities in a dynamic environment, our focus was to develop and test a methodology to integrate human-robot interaction abilities in a systematic way. We first present the robot and some of its key design issues. Then, we discuss a number of lessons that we have drawn from its use in interaction with the public and how that will serve to refine our design choices and to enhance robot efficiency and acceptability

CryoSat Ice Baseline-D validation and evolutions

The ESA Earth Explorer CryoSat-2 was launched on 8 April 2010 to monitor the precise changes in the thickness of terrestrial ice sheets and marine floating ice. To do that, CryoSat orbits the planet at an altitude of around 720 km with a retrograde orbit inclination of 92∘ and a quasi repeat cycle of 369 d (30 d subcycle). To reach the mission goals, the CryoSat products have to meet the highest quality standards to date, achieved through continual improvements of the operational processing chains. The new CryoSat Ice Baseline-D, in operation since 27 May 2019, represents a major processor upgrade with respect to the previous Ice Baseline-C. Over land ice the new Baseline-D provides better results with respect to the previous baseline when comparing the data to a reference elevation model over the Austfonna ice cap region, improving the ascending and descending crossover statistics from 1.9 to 0.1 m. The improved processing of the star tracker measurements implemented in Baseline-D has led to a reduction in the standard deviation of the point-to-point comparison with the previous star tracker processing method implemented in Baseline-C from 3.8 to 3.7 m. Over sea ice, Baseline-D improves the quality of the retrieved heights inside and at the boundaries of the synthetic aperture radar interferometric (SARIn or SIN) acquisition mask, removing the negative freeboard pattern which is beneficial not only for freeboard retrieval but also for any application that exploits the phase information from SARIn Level 1B (L1B) products. In addition, scatter comparisons with the Beaufort Gyre Exploration Project (BGEP; https://www.whoi.edu/beaufortgyre, last access: October 2019) and Operation IceBridge (OIB; Kurtz et al., 2013) in situ measurements confirm the improvements in the Baseline-D freeboard product quality. Relative to OIB, the Baseline-D freeboard mean bias is reduced by about 8 cm, which roughly corresponds to a 60 % decrease with respect to Baseline-C. The BGEP data indicate a similar tendency with a mean draft bias lowered from 0.85 to −0.14 m. For the two in situ datasets, the root mean square deviation (RMSD) is also well reduced from 14 to 11 cm for OIB and by a factor of 2 for the BGEP. Observations over inland waters show a slight increase in the percentage of good observations in Baseline-D, generally around 5 %–10 % for most lakes. This paper provides an overview of the new Level 1 and Level 2 (L2) CryoSat Ice Baseline-D evolutions and related data quality assessment, based on results obtained from analyzing the 6-month Baseline-D test dataset released to CryoSat expert users prior to the final transfer to operations

Soil microbial CNP and respiration responses to organic matter and nutrient additions: evidence from a tropical soil incubation

Soil nutrient availability has a strong influence on the fate of soil carbon (C) during microbial decomposition, contributing to Earth's C balance. While nutrient availability itself can impact microbial physiology and C partitioning between biomass and respiration during soil organic matter decomposition, the availability of labile C inputs may mediate the response of microorganisms to nutrient additions. As soil organic matter is decomposed, microorganisms retain or release C, nitrogen (N) or phosphorus (P) to maintain a stoichiometric balance. Although the concept of a microbial stoichiometric homeostasis has previously been proposed, microbial biomass CNP ratios are not static, and this may have very relevant implications for microbial physiological activities. Here, we tested the hypothesis that N, P and potassium (K) nutrient additions impact C cycling in a tropical soil due to microbial stoichiometric constraints to growth and respiration, and that the availability of energy-rich labile organic matter in the soil (i.e. leaf litter) mediates the response to nutrient addition. We incubated tropical soil from French Guiana with a ¹³C labeled leaf litter addition and with mineral nutrient additions of +K, +N, +NK, +PK and +NPK for 30 days. We found that litter additions led to a ten-fold increase in microbial respiration and a doubling of microbial biomass C, along with greater microbial N and P content. We found some evidence that P additions increased soil CO² fluxes. Additionally, we found microbial biomass CP and NP ratios varied more widely than CN in response to nutrient and organic matter additions, with important implications for the role of microorganisms in C cycling. The addition of litter did not prime soil organic matter decomposition, except in combination with +NK fertilization, indicating possible P-mining of soil organic matter in this P-poor tropical soil. Together, these results point toward an ultimate labile organic substrate limitation of soil microorganisms in this tropical soil, but also indicate a complex interaction between C, N, P and K availability. This highlights the difference between microbial C cycling responses to N, P, or K additions in the tropics and explains why coupled C, N and P cycling modeling efforts cannot rely on strict microbial stoichiometric homeostasis as an underlying assumption

Conflitos e negociações nas organizações um estudo de casos: na Empresa Kaizen do Brasil LTDA / Conflicts and negotiations in organizations a case study: at Kaizen do Brasil LTDA

Na história da humanidade a sociedade passa por diversas transformações sociais, políticas, industriais e tecnológicas. Dentre essas transformações os avanços, em especial, da ciência e tecnologia tornaram os ambientes de trabalho mais competitivos e com maior possibilidade de conflitos. Logo, a interdependência de pessoas nas situações relacionadas ao âmbito de trabalho tem merecido estudos para compreender como se dão e como minimizar possíveis problemas dela decorrentes. Há pouco tempo uma sociedade sem conflitos era encarado como um lugar saudável para as pessoas, já nas organizações isto era visto como sinal de competência. Por isso os conflitos que foram aparecendo eram vistos de forma negativa, resultado do mau comportamento prejudicando o bom relacionamento das pessoas e consequentemente o bom desempenho das organizações. Em qualquer organização que exista interação entre indivíduos há situações conflituosas e, cabe ao gestor pensar a melhor maneira de resolvê-las e/ou negociá-las. De acordo com os especialistas, as divergências de ideias e percepções dos indivíduos envolvidos dentro da organização pode gerar instabilidade tornando-se fator preocupante, ou seja, se as emoções determinarem como conduzir o conflito há grande probabilidade criar efeitos desastrosos nas relações. Desta forma, o objetivo deste trabalho é identificar na literatura formas de conflitos ocorridos dentro das organizações, os níveis existentes, os estilos de gestão, e as estratégias de negociação para solucioná-los. Através deste trabalho, espera-se que os objetivos aqui propostos sejam alcançados e que este sirva de embasamento para outros trabalhos e que esta temática continue sendo a cada dia mais estudada. No contexto extraordinariamente dinâmico em que mudanças ocorrem dentro das organizações, impulsionadas quer por novas tecnologias massificadas através da tecnologia da informação, quer pela globalização e interação entre as tantas culturas presentes em uma mesma corporação concluímos serem inevitáveis e até mesmo necessários que ocorram os conflitos. Concluímos também que para conduzir estas mudanças as maturidades da liderança e da chefia podem minimizar, podem evitar ou mesmo ampliar os conflitos que são provindos de uma transformação. Em nosso estudo de caso específico, a falta de alinhamento de metas entre as parte envolvidas acabou por suscitar um conflito que ainda que tenha que o causador tenha alcançado seu objetivo, lhe custou o cargo em que trabalhava. Assim, portanto, devemos estar atentos a todos os aspectos geradores do conflito, os tipos de comportamento dos envolvidos no conflito e realizarmos umas chamadas críticas construtivas a fim de obtermos os melhores resultados possíveis entre as partes ou situações conflitantes

Resultados organizacional e o fortalecimento da gestão / Organizational results and management strengthening

A liderança é um tema recorrente no mundo acadêmico, e, há muito tempo vem sendo tema importante de pesquisa, tendo em vista os benefícios alcançados a partir de seu desenvolvimento dentro das organizações, que vão desde aprimoramento das relações interpessoais até mesmo resultados diretos dentro das organizações focada em vantagem competitiva. Como as organizações podem elevar seus resultados a partir do fortalecimento da gestão de pessoas? Analisar como as organizações podem elevar seus resultados a partir do fortalecimento da gestão de pessoas. Enquanto objetivos específicos apresenta os seguintes tópicos: descrever gestão organizacional gestão de processo, gestão de resultados e gestão de pessoas, apresentar os conceitos de motivação, liderança e comunicação. Por meio de pesquisa bibliográfica foram analisadas as razões pelas quais as organizações podem elevar seus resultados a partir do fortalecimento da gestão de pessoas