Imagens de satélite na escola: uma ferramenta para a percepção ambiental na construção do conhecimento.

A presente contribuição descreve a possibilidade de aprendizado dos conceitos da Geografia de paisagem e lugar usando imagens de satélite no ensino fundamental e introduz questões ambientais locais como forma de trabalhar a educação ambiental. São apresentados os requisitos metodológicos do sensoriamento remoto e da geografia relacionados aos processos de ensino aprendizagem. O objetivo do trabalho é inserir esses conceitos e mostrar a importância de alguns lugares no ambiente urbano de Campinas(SP), além de buscar despertar interesse dos professores diante de novas tecnologias a serem usadas na sala de aula. Como resultado, foi elaborado um livro paradidático e um jogo da memória. O material produzido auxiliou as crianças a compreenderem as questões ambientais locais e a desenvolverem uma visão das paisagens e lugares, usando as imagens de satélites de forma contextualizada e lúdica

Quantum causal histories

Quantum causal histories are defined to be causal sets with Hilbert spaces attached to each event and local unitary evolution operators. The reflexivity, antisymmetry, and transitivity properties of a causal set are preserved in the quantum history as conditions on the evolution operators. A quantum causal history in which transitivity holds can be treated as ``directed'' topological quantum field theory. Two examples of such histories are described.Comment: 16 pages, epsfig latex. Some clarifications, minor corrections and references added. Version to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Targeting Mitochondrial Protein Expression as a Future Approach for Cancer Therapy

Extensive metabolic remodeling is a fundamental feature of cancer cells. Although early reports attributed such remodeling to a loss of mitochondrial functions, it is now clear that mitochondria play central roles in cancer development and progression, from energy production to synthesis of macromolecules, from redox modulation to regulation of cell death. Biosynthetic pathways are also heavily affected by the metabolic rewiring, with protein synthesis dysregulation at the hearth of cellular transformation. Accumulating evidence in multiple organisms shows that the metabolic functions of mitochondria are tightly connected to protein synthesis, being assembly and activity of respiratory complexes highly dependent on de novo synthesis of their components. In turn, protein synthesis within the organelle is tightly connected with the cytosolic process. This implies an entire network of interactions and fine-tuned regulations that build up a completely under-estimated level of complexity. We are now only preliminarily beginning to reconstitute such regulatory level in human cells, and to perceive its role in diseases. Indeed, disruption or alterations of these connections trigger conditions of proteotoxic and energetic stress that could be potentially exploited for therapeutic purposes. In this review, we summarize the available literature on the coordinated regulation of mitochondrial and cytosolic mRNA translation, and their effects on the integrity of the mitochondrial proteome and functions. Finally, we highlight the potential held by this topic for future research directions and for the development of innovative therapeutic approaches

Produção e organização de dados agrícolas da região metropolitana de Campinas para apoiar a elaboração de material didático pedagógico.

A Região Metropolitana de Campinas (RMC), importante polo de alta tecnologia no Brasil, congrega uma grande diversidade de culturas agrícolas em seus 19 municípios. Na busca por entender melhor a dinâmica temporal e espacial dessas culturas, realizou-se um detalhado levantamento de dados gerados pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) e pela Coordenadoria de Assistência Técnica Integral (Cati). Esse levantamento resultou na organização de um banco de dados em agropecuária regional. A informação foi organizada em planilhas e mapas que contribuem para a identificação dos principais produtos agrícolas em escalas regionais. O material produzido agrega dados de área cultivada, quantidade produzida e, no caso da pecuária, do tamanho do efetivo de rebanho de animais, assim como informações referentes à evolução temporal desses produtos nos municípios da RMC. O banco de dados foi gerado com o objetivo de oferecer subsídios ao Projeto Geotecnologias como apoio à elaboração de material didático para o ensino fundamental (GeoAtlas). O atlas ambiental escolar, produto resultante do projeto GeoAtlas, utilizará a agropecuária regional como eixo principal de discussão dos conteúdos escolares, e sua elaboração ocorre em parceria com pesquisadores e professores da rede municipal de ensino de Campinas

Going Off-Piste: The Role of Status in Launching Unsponsored R&D Projects

Many established organizations rely on unsponsored R&D projects to sustain and support corporate renewal. These ideas that emerge from dark corners of the organization are often the result of inventors’ proactive creative efforts. Yet, little is known about the origins of these creative efforts, and what drives individuals to decide for or against engagement in such behavior. Building on the notion of middle-status conformity, we argue for the existence of a curvilinear (U-shaped) relationship between inventors’ status and their participation in autonomous inventive efforts. We argue that this effect is further moderated by factors influencing the salience of existing status-granting institutions, specifically the novelty of the technological domain of the invention, the competitive position of the wider organization, and the inventors’ geographic location. Using a unique dataset of invention disclosures from a global technology-based firm, we find general support for our hypotheses. We propose implications for theories of innovation, networks, and status that add to our understanding of proactive forms of creative effort

Control system for thermoelectric refrigerator

Apparatus including a power supply (202) and control system is provided for maintaining the temperature within an enclosed structure (40) using thermoelectric devices (92). The apparatus may be particularly beneficial for use with a refrigerator (20) having superinsulation materials (46) and phase change materials (112) which cooperate with the thermoelectric device (92) to substantially enhance the overall operating efficiency of the refrigerator (20). The electrical power supply (202) and control system allows increasing the maximum power capability of the thermoelectric device (92) in response to increased heat loads within the refrigerator (20). The electrical power supply (202) and control system may also be used to monitor the performance of the cooling system (70) associated with the refrigerator (20)

Levantamento de dados agropecuários da região metropolitana de Campinas: principais produtos e sua importância para fundamentar o atlas ambiental escolar.

Este trabalho pretende descrever os principais produtos agropecuários presentes na Região Metropolitana de Campinas (RMC). A descrição foi baseada em levantamento e organização de dados primários de acesso público.O trabalho de coleta de dados integra o projeto ?Geotecnologias como apoio à elaboração de material didático para o ensino fundamental: Atlas Ambiental Escolar da Região Metropolitana de Campinas (GeoAtlas)?. Este projeto visa elaborar, em conjunto com professores da rede municipal de Campinas, um material de apoio para estudantes do ensino fundamental com enfoque para a agropecuária como um agente modificador da paisagem (EMBRAPA MONITORAMENTO POR SATÉLITE, 2010). O atlas utilizará a RMC como estudo de caso, inserindo o local de vivência dos alunos em seu aprendizado.A coleta de dados primários é fundamental para a compreensão das atividades agropecuárias presentes na região. O uso de materiais e dados de acesso público permitirá que a metodologia desenvolvida para a elaboração do atlas possa ser disseminada para outros municípios do Brasil.Os dados censitários serão analisados, buscando compreender quais são os produtos agrícolas mais importantes na paisagem dos municípios que integram a RMC

Mitochondrial uncoupling as a regulator of life-history trajectories in birds: an experimental study in the zebra finch.

Mitochondria have a fundamental role in the transduction of energy from food into ATP. The coupling between food oxidation and ATP production is never perfect, but may nevertheless be of evolutionary significance. The 'uncoupling to survive' hypothesis suggests that 'mild' mitochondrial uncoupling evolved as a protective mechanism against the excessive production of damaging reactive oxygen species (ROS). Because resource allocation and ROS production are thought to shape animal life histories, alternative life-history trajectories might be driven by individual variation in the degree of mitochondrial uncoupling. We tested this hypothesis in a small bird species, the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), by treating adults with the artificial mitochondrial uncoupler 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) over a 32-month period. In agreement with our expectations, the uncoupling treatment increased metabolic rate. However, we found no evidence that treated birds enjoyed lower oxidative stress levels or greater survival rates, in contrast to previous results in other taxa. In vitro experiments revealed lower sensitivity of ROS production to DNP in mitochondria isolated from skeletal muscles of zebra finch than mouse. In addition, we found significant reductions in the number of eggs laid and in the inflammatory immune response in treated birds. Altogether, our data suggest that the 'uncoupling to survive' hypothesis may not be applicable for zebra finches, presumably because of lower effects of mitochondrial uncoupling on mitochondrial ROS production in birds than in mammals. Nevertheless, mitochondrial uncoupling appeared to be a potential life-history regulator of traits such as fecundity and immunity at adulthood, even with food supplied ad libitum

A Classical Sequential Growth Dynamics for Causal Sets

Starting from certain causality conditions and a discrete form of general covariance, we derive a very general family of classically stochastic, sequential growth dynamics for causal sets. The resulting theories provide a relatively accessible ``half way house'' to full quantum gravity that possibly contains the latter's classical limit (general relativity). Because they can be expressed in terms of state models for an assembly of Ising spins living on the relations of the causal set, these theories also illustrate how non-gravitational matter can arise dynamically from the causal set without having to be built in at the fundamental level. Additionally, our results bring into focus some interpretive issues of importance for causal set dynamics, and for quantum gravity more generally.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures, LaTeX, added references and a footnote, minor correction