Percorrer por data de Publicação, começado por "2026-03"
A mostrar 1 - 8 de 8
Resultados por página
Opções de ordenação
- STE(A)M learning ecologies and creativity: a typology of open schooling projects based on stakeholder and learner engagementPublication . Hovardas, Tasos; Vakkou, Kyriaki; Arampatzi, Konstantina; Zacharia, Zacharias; Tasiopoulou, Evita; Mavromanolakis, Georgios; Liakopoulos, Vasilis; Koulouris, Pavlos; Sotiriou, Sofoklis; Cherouvis, Stephanos; Stekić, Katarina; Barella, Patricia; Deely, Mary; Mentini, Laura; Chatzidaki, Eleni; Giannakos, Michail; Tiemann, Ruediger; Horchemer, Melissa; Muscat, Mario; Veiga-Pires, CristinaDespite the considerable funding of open schooling projects from the EU, relevant publications have been scarce. We present an analysis of open schooling initiatives launched within the frame of the STE(A)M Learning Ecologies – SLEs Project. SLEs offer opportunities to promote creativity of both learners and stakeholders engaged through innovative pedagogical design and the delivery of original learning artefacts (learning products). We gathered and analyzed several forms of data reflecting learner and stakeholder engagement associated with these initiatives. They included two templates completed with stakeholder input (participatory pedagogical design template; participatory scenario development template), learning products delivered by students in each SLE, interviews with stakeholders and responses to open-ended questionnaire items. Our data analysis revealed four types of SLEs: (1) Learner-experience oriented, (2) Master-product oriented, (3) End-user oriented, and (4) Citizen-science oriented. We present similarities and differences of the various types of SLE with regard to stakeholder synthesis (diversity), learning objectives, female participation, career opportunities, their potential for transformative change, challenges encountered, and sustainability aspects. Based on the typology of SLEs and their characteristics, we identified a series of recommendations for future research and policy to optimize investment in and impact of open schooling projects. These include a focus on small wins to scale up SLEs, distributed leadership to empower teachers and increase availability of learning resources and learner support, and using learning products to decentralize formative assessment in SLEs and promote constructive stakeholder dialogue.
- A morphometric characterization of early CHICK embryo elongationPublication . Maia-Fernandes, Ana C; Pais de Azevedo, Tomás; Martins, Nísia Borralho; Ventura Ramalhete, Sara Maria; Martins, G. G.; Palmeirim, Isabel; dos Santos Duarte, Guilhermina Isabel; Marreiros, Ana; Martel, Paulo; Andrade, RaquelThe chicken embryo has long been a pivotal model system to understand the cellular and molecular mechanisms driving amniote embryo development. Its easy access for in vivo experimentation, together with the development of ex ovo culture techniques, has made it a choice model system for elaborate experimental manipulations. Temporal progression of chick embryo development is classically categorized using the Hamburger and Hamilton staging system (Hamburger, V., & Hamilton, 1951). However, this offers limited temporal resolution when comparing embryos within the same developmental stage and may further be hindered by experimental conditions that directly impact the morphological structures used for stage identification. Here, we performed timelapse imaging of early chick embryonic stages HH4 to HH10 and obtained quantitative elongation data of multiple embryonic portions, yielding two valuable and freely accessible data resources for the chick research community. We identified length measurements capable of describing developmental time, thus enabling the alignment of independent embryos with temporal resolution. Notably, the head-fold (C-HF) showed a strong time correlation, even though it elongates above the primary embryonic axis. A morphometric characterization of HH stages further showed that C-HF length can discriminate HH stages of development, albeit with limited resolution. Finally, we present ChEEQ: Chicken Embryo Elongation Quantification (https://colab.research.google.co m/github/EmbryoClock/ChickElong/blob/main/ChEEQ/ChEEQ.ipynb), a new morphometric tool describing HH4-HH10 embryo elongation, that allows the comparison of user-input data with our reference dataset and is capable of inferring quantitative alterations to embryo developmental time using length measurements alone. Together, these resources open new avenues for investigating vertebrate embryo elongation and quantitatively assessing the effects of experimental interventions on development.
- Environmental change in SW Portugal during the last 3900 years BP: an ostracoda assessmentPublication . Fernandes Martins, Maria João; Cabral, Maria Cristina; Magalhães, Vitor Hugo; Drago, Teresa; Fatela, Francisco; Oliveira, AnabelaOstracod, geochemical, mineralogical, and sedimentological proxies from a sediment core collected off Sagres (southwestern Portugal) were used to reconstruct Holocene environmental and hydrodynamic changes. Reduced variability of geochemical elements between ~4000 and ~1290 calibrated years before present suggests relatively stable conditions, regularly disturbed by higher-energy events. At ~1290 cal yrs BP, a transition from arid to wetter conditions is suggested based on enhanced terrestrial/detrital input after this time. Ostracod assemblages further captured fine-scale hydrodynamic variability, offering greater sensitivity to oceanographic changes. Our results support a broader pattern of middle-to-late Holocene drying conditions in southern Iberia, followed by a shift to wetter conditions during periods of negative North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index. Our study provides new data on offshore ostracods from the western Algarve, underscoring their value for high-resolution paleoenvironmental reconstructions.
- A Santacrucian record of Acarechimys minutus (Octodontoidea) from Laguna del Laja (Cura-Mallín Formation, Chile; late Early Miocene) and its biogeographic implicationsPublication . Solórzano, Andrés; Encinas, Alfonso; Núñez-Flores, Mónica; Carrasco, Gabriel; Buldrini, Karina; Campos-Medina, Jorge; Bobe, RenéThe fossil record of pre-Quaternary continental mammals from Chile remains less well-documented than that of neighboring Argentina and Bolivia. Among the most promising successions is the Miocene Cura-Mallin Formation at Laguna del Laja (37.5 degrees S), which preserves diverse mammalian assemblages spanning nearly 10 million years. One of the rodents previously reported from this locality is Acarechimys, a small octodontoid widely documented in Late Oligocene to Late Miocene continental deposits of South America. However, records from Laguna del Laja were based exclusively on fragmentary and undescribed material, leaving their taxonomic identity uncertain. Here, we describe a Santacrucian (late Early Miocene) occurrence of a caviomorph rodent from Laguna del Laja, represented by a partial mandible preserving m1-m3 and a fragment of the dp4. Dental traits, including a laterally compressed lower incisor and a developed posterior arm of the metaconid, support referral to Acarechimys minutus. This well-dated record provides a stratigraphically constrained occurrence of the species in south-central Chile and narrows the geographic gap between Chilean localities of Chucal in the north and Aysen in the south. The new evidence supports the hypothesis that the Laguna del Laja assemblage was not fully endemic, but rather integrated into the broader Santacrucian biogeographic continuum, reinforcing its value as a key reference point for Neogene faunal and biogeographic studies in the south-central Andes.
- Thermal performance experimental study of a robust funnel solar cooker using an enhanced evaluation methodPublication . Ruivo, Celestino; Azize, Semaan; Apaolaza-Pagoaga, Xabier; Carrillo-Andrés, AntonioThe Pucca solar cooker is a domestic funnel-type cooker, constructed of concrete and silvered glass mirrors. Its robust construction allows it to be kept outside permanently, in all weather conditions. However, its reflectors may gradually degrade over time, leading to diminished performance. To assess this issue, six Pucca cookers were tested side by side using a water load of 2 kg in each cooker. Two of the cookers had new mirrors, two had minimally degraded mirrors, and two had badly degraded mirrors. Non-linear efficiency curves were determined by a suitable enhanced evaluation method. Small differences were noted between the efficiency curves of the four cookers with the least degraded reflectors. By contrast, the points of maximum efficiency for the two cookers with badly degraded reflectors amounted to only about 70% of the value seen in the other cookers. The impact of this degradation on performance is illustrated by the figures predicted using the enhanced procedure, where the measured temperature data were fitted to a second-order polynomial with a time-dependent exponential term to derive nonlinear efficiency curves. The best performing cooker is expected to boil 2 kg of water in about three hours when the ambient temperature is 20 ◦C and the solar irradiance is 700 Wm 2, and in only 1.4 h when the ambient temperature is 30 ◦C and solar irradiance is 1000 Wm 2. The two cookers with badly degraded mirrors could not boil 2 kg of water at all under either of those conditions. The enhanced method is reliable.
- Stone tool shaping without direct cultural transmissionPublication . Ferar, Nolan; Moos, Elena T.; Karakostis, Fotios Alexandros; Snyder, William D.; Bolzmann, Maria; Haas, Michael; Kainz, Emanuela; Rau, Leonie; Sailer, Emil; Schönle, Jannik; Moore, Mark W.; Tennie, ClaudioWhile environment and biology play important roles, the complexity and variability of human life today depends in many ways on special cultural processes. Terminologies differ, but the key insight is that these processes are required to enable and to produce copies of behavior or artifacts that otherwise lie fully or partly beyond individual reach. Such “know-how copying” has proven rare in the animal kingdom, and is nearly or fully absent in contemporary apes, suggesting an evolution in hominins. It has been claimed that the earliest widely accepted instances of shaped stone artifacts – handaxes, which appear with the Acheulean (c. 1.9–1.6 Mya) – must have required know-how copying. The argument holds that the knowledge of how to shape (shaping know-how) handaxes is beyond individual reach in principle. If true, handaxes would be a valid marker for the presence of know-how copying. We tested this specific claim in two complementary studies using the “puppet method,” a new methodology that experimentally disentangles knapping know-how and shaping know-how. Knapping-naïve “puppeteers” were tasked with replicating target shapes by directing the flake removals of an expert “puppet” knapper, who was not shown the target shapes. As a validation of the puppet method, we first tested if knappingnaïve puppeteers could shape glass blanks into novel, non-archaeological shapes (Arbitrary Shape Study). Two types of analyses, a sorting task and geometric morphometric analyses, confirmed that they could. We then tested whether knapping-naïve puppeteers could replicate an Acheulean handaxe target shape in stone by directing the puppet knapper (Handaxe Study). Three expert lithic archaeologists independently classified the outcomes and confirmed that naïve participants successfully created handaxe shapes. Across both studies, our findings indicate that not all shaping know-how requires direct access to cultural models, and this also holds true for handaxe shaping per se. This conclusion aligns with recent calls for a reorientation in the search for the origins of knowhow copying in the hominin lineage.
- SAMMBA is a high-throughput pipeline for isolating and phenotyping macroalgal strainsPublication . Alves-Lima, Cicero; de Matos Barreto, Luís António; Monico, Carina; Gouvêa, Lidiane; Félix de Azeredo Pinto e Melo, Francisca; Varga, Brigitta; Filipe, Joana; Camacho, Rita; Lymperaki, Myrsini; Alberto, Filipe; Rörig, Leonardo R.; Engelen, Aschwin; Serrao, Ester A.; Pearson, Gareth Anthony; Martins, NeusaDespite successful preservation efforts, macroalgal diversity remains under-represented in global biobanks. A major limitation is the extreme morphological diversity of seaweed thalli, which hinders standardized isolation and phenotyping and often requires taxon-specific protocols. Here we present SAMMBA (Seaweed Automatable Microplate Microscopy for Breeding Approaches), an end-to-end pipeline for the high-throughput isolation, phenotyping and storage of macroalgal propagules in 384-well plates. By optimizing live-cell manipulation for chlorophyll autofluorescence (CAF) imaging and segmentation, multiple unialgal propagules can be isolated by dilution-based workflows. In a single plate, we obtained 68 singlet gametophyte fragments of Laminaria ochroleuca (17.7%) and 60 meiospores of Phyllariopsis purpurascens (31.25%). We demonstrated taxonomic and morphological versatility by isolating 60 unialgal cultures from three distinct Rhodophyta morphotypes (filamentous, crustose and foliose) and 10 strains of Ulva sp., also in a single plate. Furthermore, CAF-based area increase over 30 days enabled high-precision estimates of specific growth rates, yielding 0.130 ± 0.006 and 0.117 ± 0.01 day− 1 for male and female L. ochroleuca gametophytes, respectively (n = 768; p = 1.27e− 53). This precision substantially increases experimental reproducibility and statistical power compared to conventional methods, supporting high-throughput recovery of unialgal strains without motorized platforms, while remaining fully compatible with automation. SAMMBA expands operational capacity for strain discovery and phenotyping, providing a scalable foundation for phenomics, domestication workflows, and standardized macroalgal biobanking. We outline how the platform can benefit multiple areas of phycological research and facilitate the development of improved strains that can support aquaculture and restoration efforts.
- Anthropogenic particles ingestion by fish larvae in important nursery areas of Iberia (South Europe)Publication . Zeri, Giulia; Baptista, Vânia; Teodosio, Maria; Cruz, JoanaMicroplastics (MPs) are now widespread in the marine environment, and their levels are expected to rise as larger plastic debris continues to break down and new plastic waste enters the ocean. Microplastics ingestion has been documented in fish larvae, which are already particularly vulnerable to predation, environmental stressors, and starvation. This study examines for the first time MPs ingestion by wild fish larvae in Southern Iberia, focusing on two key nursery ecosystems of Portugal: the Ria Formosa coastal lagoon and the Guadiana River estuary. Fish larvae collected monthly from surface water, between April 2023 and March 2024, exhibited encounter rates (ER - Total number of ingested particles/ Total number of organisms analysed *100) of 12.99% in Ria Formosa and 11.54% in the Guadiana estuary. No significant differences were observed in ER among taxa and locations. The ingested particles ranged in size from 20 μm to 2 mm and were predominantly made of rayon, transparent and in the form of fibres. No correlation was found between the size of the larvae and that of the ingested particles. Although larval size had a positive effect on MP ingestion, this effect was not significant. There were no differences in polymer type ingestion among taxa. Our results underline the role of nursery areas as exposure spots and the underestimated pressure of the textile industry on marine ecosystems. Further research is needed to assess the potential consequences of this exposure for larval survival, recruitment success, and the health of adult fish populations.