Abordagem da história da ciência na construção de um terrário, numa perspetiva de educação para o desenvolvimento sustentável

Mestrado em Ensino de Biologia e Geologia no 3º Ciclo do Ensino Básico e no Ensino SecundárioEm Portugal, avanços têm-se feito notar no que toca à tecnologia, o que leva a que novas aptidões e competências sejam desenvolvidas pelos cidadãos de forma a adaptarem-se à Era da informação. Para tal, é necessário que os alunos saiam já bem preparados das escolas de modo a que as suas aprendizagens atendam a essas mudanças, pois o ensino também implica mudança, evolução e crescimento, não só por parte dos estudantes mas também dos professores, das escolas e de todos os órgãos associados. Desta forma, vários métodos poderão ser implementados nas salas de aulas e um deles é a abordagem à História da Ciência. O presente trabalho investigativo procurou conhecer quais as aprendizagens, comportamentos e atitudes que os alunos desenvolveram ao longo das aulas, dando a conhecer os contributos que a construção de um terrário, através da História da Ciência, pode levar à educação de cidadãos informados, numa perspetiva de Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável. A abordagem foi aplicada a alunos do 8.º ano, na disciplina de Ciências Naturais, utilizando várias técnicas e instrumentos de recolha de dados, nomeadamente, a observação, a análise documental e questionário. O recurso à construção e utilização de um material didático-pedagógico e a abordagem à História da Ciência, permitiram cativar o interesse dos alunos e centraliza-los no processo de ensino e de aprendizagem, no qual o aluno tem o principal papel. Dessa forma, foi possível averiguar como se contextualizam as aprendizagens através da abordagem utilizada, recolher e descrever as perspetivas dos alunos e em desenvolver as aprendizagens, comportamentos e atitudes, numa perspetiva de Educação para o Desenvolvimento Sustentável.In Portugal, advances have been made when it comes to Technology, which leads to new skills and competences to be developed by citizens in order to adapt to the Information age. To this end, it is necessary that students need to be well prepared when they conclude their studies, so that their acquired knowledge could meet these changes, for the teaching also implies changes, evolution and growth, not only by students but also by teachers, schools and all the associated teaching groups. This way, various methods can be implemented in the classroom and one of them is the approach to the History of Science. This research work was aimed to know which learnings, behaviors and attitudes that students developed during the lessons, so that it could be possible to publish the contribution of the construction of a terrarium, based in the History of Science, leading to the education of informed citizens, in a perspective of an Education for Sustainable Development. The approach was applied to 8th grade students, in the discipline of Natural Sciences, using various techniques and data collection instruments, like observation, documental analysis and a questionnaire. Building and using didactic-pedagogic material and applying History of Science knowledge, allowed to captivate the students' interest and it helped centralizing them in the process of teaching and learning, in which the student has the main role. Thus, it was possible to find out how to contextualize the learning through the used approaches, to collect and describe the perspectives of the students and developing the learning subject, behaviors and attitudes on a perspective of Education for the Sustainable Development

Consistency and differences between remotely sensed and surface observed total cloud cover over China

<div><p>In this study, we conducted a comparison between surface-observed total cloud cover (TCCs) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-derived total cloud cover (TCCm) over China. A statistical method was applied to estimate the average field of view (FOV) of surface observers, and the radius range of FOV was 20–25, 25–35, 35–50, and 25–45 km for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, respectively. More differences would be added in the comparison when the satellite’s FOV was smaller or larger than the average FOV. Monthly mean TCCs was 74.78%, 74.41%, 66.5%, and 74.06% for each season and the corresponding TCCm was 75.27%, 78.34%, 73.82%, and 82.12%. The correlation between two data sets was stronger in spring (0.727) and summer (0.736) than in autumn (0.710) and winter (0.667). Over 60% of the differences were within the −10% to 10% range, and more differences occurred for smaller TCCs. As a special feature, we found that the dust, haze, and snow cover over specific regions in China were the possible causes of the significant differences. Generally, these two data sets were in good agreement over China, and can complement each other especially in those significant difference cases to provide more accurate TCC data sets.</p></div

Agglomeration Behavior of Calcium Hydroxide/Calcium Oxide as Thermochemical Heat Storage Material: A Reactive Molecular Dynamics Study

Thermochemical energy storage is a promising alternation in heat recovery application compared to phase change energy storage. However, cycling instability caused by agglomeration of the reactant particles is the main problem that hinders the application of this system. The present paper focuses on the agglomeration behavior of the calcium hydroxide/calcium oxide particles as a thermochemical energy storage material at the molecular level. Molecular dynamics simulations with the reactive force field were carried out to investigate the agglomeration of two nano-CaO/Ca­(OH)₂ particles. The results indicated that the agglomeration rate of two Ca­(OH)₂ particles was faster than that of two CaO particles in the presence of H₂O, which was attributed to the greater spatial displacements of atoms in the reactant particles when thermochemical reaction occurred. The present of H₂O could accelerate the agglomeration of the CaO particles. Moreover, the hydration of the CaO agglomeration lump was more difficult than that of fresh particles. The agglomeration of reactant particles had a negative effect on cycling stability. Finally, SiO₂ particle was introduced to prevent the CaO/Ca­(OH)₂ particles from agglomerating during reaction. The results revealed that the presence of silica particles could reduce the agglomeration of reactant particles. This study might provide the guidelines on synthesizing or selecting themochemical energy storage materials with less agglomeration for the Ca­(OH)₂/CaO reaction cycle

Table_2_Effects of intensive vs. standard blood pressure control on cognitive function: Post-hoc analysis of the STEP randomized controlled trial.docx

BackgroundThe STEP (Strategy of Blood Pressure Intervention in the older Hypertensive Patients) trial showed that intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) control resulted in a lower incidence of cardiovascular events than standard treatment. This study analyzed the effects of intensive SBP lowering on cognitive function.MethodsSTEP was a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of hypertensive patients aged 60–80 years. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to SBP goals of 110–130 mmHg (intensive treatment) or 130–150 mmHg (standard treatment). Each individual was asked to complete a cognitive function test (Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE) at baseline and during follow-up. The primary outcome for this study was the annual change in MMSE score. Subjects with a score less than education-specific cutoff point were categorized as cognitive decline.ResultsThe analysis enrolled 6,501 participants (3,270 participants in the intensive-treatment and 3,231 participants in the standard-treatment groups). Median follow-up was 3.34 years. There was a minor change in MMSE score, with an annual change of −0.001 [95% confidence interval [CI] −0.020, 0.018] and 0.030 (95% CI 0.011, 0.049) in the intensive- and standard-treatment groups, respectively (p = 0.052). Cognitive decline occurred in 46/3,270 patients (1.4%) in the intensive-treatment group and 42/3,231 (1.3%) in the standard-treatment group (hazard ratio 0.005, 95% CI 0.654, 1.543, p = 0.983).ConclusionsCompared with standard treatment, intensive SBP treatment did not result in a significant change in cognitive function test score. The impact of intensive blood pressure lowering was not evident using this global cognitive function test.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT03015311.</p

Genetic screening for Bartter syndrome and Gitelman syndrome pathogenic genes among individuals with hypertension and hypokalemia

<p><b>Purpose</b>: Bartter syndrome (BS) and Gitelman syndrome (GS) are hereditary diseases characterized by hypokalemia with decreased or normal blood pressure (BP). However, BS or GS patients who present with elevated BP levels have been increasingly reported recently. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the presence of BS and GS among individuals with unexplained hypokalemia with hypertension in a clinical setting. <b>Methods</b>: Patients presented with unexplained hypertension and hypokalemia admitted to Hypertension Center of Fuwai Hospital from November 2015 to February 2017 were enrolled. High-throughput sequencing for five BS and GS causative genes were performed. Variants were classified using American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG) consensus guidelines. <b>Results</b>: Thirty-four patients with unexplained hypertension and hypokalemia were included for genetic analysis. A total number of 10 rare variants were identified in six individuals (mutation detection rate, 17.65%). One homozygous variant carried by one of the 34 patients, <i>KCNJ1</i> c.941A> G (p.Tyr314Cys), were categorized as likely pathogenic variant and resulted in a diagnostic yield of 2.94%. Eight of the remaining nine variants were predicted to be deleterious by ≥ three bioinformatics software and may give additional potential diagnostic yields. <b>Conclusions</b>: This is the first study performing combined genetic screening for BS and GS pathogenic genes among individuals with unexplained hypertension and hypokalemia. Our data suggested that BS or GS may contribute to the etiology of patients presented with hypertension and hypokalemia. Genetic testing for BS and GS pathogenic genes are recommended to facilitate precision diagnoses and targeted treatment.</p

Table_1_Effects of intensive vs. standard blood pressure control on cognitive function: Post-hoc analysis of the STEP randomized controlled trial.DOC

BackgroundThe STEP (Strategy of Blood Pressure Intervention in the older Hypertensive Patients) trial showed that intensive systolic blood pressure (SBP) control resulted in a lower incidence of cardiovascular events than standard treatment. This study analyzed the effects of intensive SBP lowering on cognitive function.MethodsSTEP was a multicenter, randomized controlled trial of hypertensive patients aged 60–80 years. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to SBP goals of 110–130 mmHg (intensive treatment) or 130–150 mmHg (standard treatment). Each individual was asked to complete a cognitive function test (Mini-Mental State Examination; MMSE) at baseline and during follow-up. The primary outcome for this study was the annual change in MMSE score. Subjects with a score less than education-specific cutoff point were categorized as cognitive decline.ResultsThe analysis enrolled 6,501 participants (3,270 participants in the intensive-treatment and 3,231 participants in the standard-treatment groups). Median follow-up was 3.34 years. There was a minor change in MMSE score, with an annual change of −0.001 [95% confidence interval [CI] −0.020, 0.018] and 0.030 (95% CI 0.011, 0.049) in the intensive- and standard-treatment groups, respectively (p = 0.052). Cognitive decline occurred in 46/3,270 patients (1.4%) in the intensive-treatment group and 42/3,231 (1.3%) in the standard-treatment group (hazard ratio 0.005, 95% CI 0.654, 1.543, p = 0.983).ConclusionsCompared with standard treatment, intensive SBP treatment did not result in a significant change in cognitive function test score. The impact of intensive blood pressure lowering was not evident using this global cognitive function test.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT03015311.</p

Vitamin D and hypertension: Prospective study and meta-analysis

<div><p>Objectives</p><p>The study sought to determine the link between vitamin D concentrations and incident hypertension in prospective study and meta-analysis.</p><p>Methods</p><p>The study was embedded in the Kailuan Study, a population-based cohort of adults that contains underground miners. In 2012, we studied 2,456 men and women free of prevalent hypertension, age 21 to 67 at baseline. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D was measured from previously frozen baseline samples using ELISA (Enzyme-Linked ImmunoadSorbent Assay). We use the logistic regression analysis to estimate the odd radio (ORs) 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations with incident hypertension. To help place our new data in context, we conducted a systemic review and meta-analysis of previous prospective reports of vitamin D and hypertension.</p><p>Results</p><p>During a median follow-up of 2 years, 42.6% of the cohort (n = 1047) developed hypertension. Compared with the 25-hydroxyvitamin D >30ng/ml, 25-hydroxyvitamin D <20 ng/ml was associated with a greater hypertension risk (OR: 1.225 [95% CI: 1.010 to 1.485] p = 0.04), although the association was attenuated and not statistically significant after adjusting for potential confounders (OR: 1.092 [95% CI: 0.866 to 1.377] p = 0.456). This meta-analysis included seven prospective studies for 53,375 participants using adjusted HR founded a significant association between vitamin D deficiencies and incident hypertension (HRs = 1.235 (95% CI: 1.083 to 1.409, p = 0.002)).</p><p>Conclusion</p><p>Lower serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations were not associated with a greater risk of incident hypertension. More research is needed to further determine the role of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in hypertension prevention and therapy.</p></div

Baseline characteristic of meta-analysis.

<p>Baseline characteristic of meta-analysis.</p

Forest plot for vitamin D sufficient VS normal.

<p>Hazard ratios of hypertension of the normal versus sufficient category of blood 25(OH)D concentration. CI indicates confidence interval. The size of each square is proportional to the study’s weight.</p

Forest plot for vitamin D sufficient VS deficient.

<p>Hazard ratios of hypertension of the deficient versus sufficient category of blood 25(OH)D concentration. CI indicates confidence interval. The size of each square is proportional to the study’s weight.</p