Sustainability-focused international PBL project:Rethinking digital education for individuals of low socioeconomic status

Providing access to education for individuals of lower socio-economic status is a significant way to reduce poverty, as it empowers them to grow as professionals and as individuals. Although there is an increasing sense of urgency to promote these changes, notably motivated by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the UN 2030 Agenda, there are still few successful ways to solve this problem on a large-scale. As digital technology develops and affordability increases, new ways to share quality educational content are created. In an exploratory case study, with a qualitative approach, this paper presents the development of a digital application focused on providing quality educational content directed to vulnerable groups that lack access to formal learning experiences, specifically focused on waste pickers in Brasilia, Brazil. The main data collection methods used to make the decisions through the development process were observation, surveys, and interviews. Within the framework of Problem Based Learning (PBL) an international cross-disciplinary collaboration among different universities, the project, denominated “Mobile Education”, involved: (i) the design and implementation of a system consisting of both a web and mobile application; (ii) the research of a viable business model to provide long-term sustainability for the project; (iii) and the creation of a pilot course of financial education for the preliminary target group, i.e., waste pickers from Brasilia, Brazil. Conclusively, the project aims to positively impact social transformation for individuals who work at the Waste Sorting facilities and lack financial knowledge. The Mobile Education project resulted in a functional version of the app (Web and Mobile) as well as the delimitation of a viable business model to keep it providing digital equality in Brazilian education

Association of biological sex with clinical outcomes and biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome

The study of sex differences in Alzheimer's disease is increasingly recognized as a key priority in research and clinical development. People with Down syndrome represent the largest population with a genetic link to Alzheimer's disease (>90% in the 7th decade). Yet, sex differences in Alzheimer's disease manifestations have not been fully investigated in these individuals, who are key candidates for preventive clinical trials. In this double-centre, cross-sectional study of 628 adults with Down syndrome [46% female, 44.4 (34.6; 50.7) years], we compared Alzheimer's disease prevalence, as well as cognitive outcomes and AT(N) biomarkers across age and sex. Participants were recruited from a population-based health plan in Barcelona, Spain, and from a convenience sample recruited via services for people with intellectual disabilities in England and Scotland. They underwent assessment with the Cambridge Cognitive Examination for Older Adults with Down Syndrome, modified cued recall test and determinations of brain amyloidosis (CSF amyloid-β 42 / 40 and amyloid-PET), tau pathology (CSF and plasma phosphorylated-tau181) and neurodegeneration biomarkers (CSF and plasma neurofilament light, total-tau, fluorodeoxyglucose-PET and MRI). We used within-group locally estimated scatterplot smoothing models to compare the trajectory of biomarker changes with age in females versus males, as well as by apolipoprotein ɛ4 carriership. Our work revealed similar prevalence, age at diagnosis and Cambridge Cognitive Examination for Older Adults with Down Syndrome scores by sex, but males showed lower modified cued recall test scores from age 45 compared with females. AT(N) biomarkers were comparable in males and females. When considering apolipoprotein ɛ4, female ɛ4 carriers showed a 3-year earlier age at diagnosis compared with female non-carriers (50.5 versus 53.2 years, P = 0.01). This difference was not seen in males (52.2 versus 52.5 years, P = 0.76). Our exploratory analyses considering sex, apolipoprotein ɛ4 and biomarkers showed that female ɛ4 carriers tended to exhibit lower CSF amyloid-β 42/amyloid-β 40 ratios and lower hippocampal volume compared with females without this allele, in line with the clinical difference. This work showed that biological sex did not influence clinical and biomarker profiles of Alzheimer's disease in adults with Down syndrome. Consideration of apolipoprotein ɛ4 haplotype, particularly in females, may be important for clinical research and clinical trials that consider this population. Accounting for, reporting and publishing sex-stratified data, even when no sex differences are found, is central to helping advance precision medicine

Measurement of the cosmic ray spectrum above 4×10184{\times}10^{18} eV using inclined events detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory

A measurement of the cosmic-ray spectrum for energies exceeding $4{\times}10^{18}$ eV is presented, which is based on the analysis of showers with zenith angles greater than $60^{\circ}$ detected with the Pierre Auger Observatory between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2013. The measured spectrum confirms a flux suppression at the highest energies. Above $5.3{\times}10^{18}$ eV, the "ankle", the flux can be described by a power law $E^{-\gamma}$ with index $\gamma=2.70 \pm 0.02 \,\text{(stat)} \pm 0.1\,\text{(sys)}$ followed by a smooth suppression region. For the energy ($E_\text{s}$) at which the spectral flux has fallen to one-half of its extrapolated value in the absence of suppression, we find $E_\text{s}=(5.12\pm0.25\,\text{(stat)}^{+1.0}_{-1.2}\,\text{(sys)}){\times}10^{19}$ eV.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

On the nature of the brightest globular cluster in M81

We analyse the photometric, chemical, star formation history and structural properties of the brightest globular cluster (GC) in M81, referred to as GC1 in this work, with the intention of establishing its nature and origin. We find that it is a metal-rich ([Fe/H] = -0.60 +/- 0.10), alpha-enhanced ([alpha/Fe] similar to 0.20 +/- 0.05), core-collapsed (core radius r(c) = 1.2 pc, tidal radius r(t) = 76r(c)), old (> 13 Gyr) cluster. It has an ultraviolet excess equivalent of similar to 2500 blue horizontal branch stars. It is detected in X-rays indicative of the presence of low-mass binaries. With a mass of 1.0 x 10(7) M-circle dot, the cluster is comparable in mass to M31-G1 and is four times more massive than omega Cen. The values of r(c), absolute magnitude and mean surface brightness of GC1 suggest that it could be, like massive GCs in other giant galaxies, the left-over nucleus of a dissolved dwarf galaxy

Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives