Saracura-Mirá, a Proposed Brazilian Amazonian Adaptogen from Ampelozizyphus amazonicus

The Amazon Forest is known all over the world for its diversity and exuberance, and for sheltering several indigenous groups and other traditional communities. There, as well as in several other countries, in traditional medical systems, weakness, fatigue and debility are seen as limiting health conditions where medicinal plants are often used in a non-specific way to improve body functions. This review brings together literature data on Ampelozizyphus amazonicus, commonly known in Brazil as “saracura-mirá” and/or “cerveja de índio”, as an Amazonian adaptogen, including some contributions from the authors based on their ethnographic and laboratory experiences. Topics such as botany, chemistry, ethnopharmacological and pharmacological aspects that support the adaptogen character of this plant, as well as cultivation, market status and supply chain aspects are discussed, and the gaps to establish “saracura-mirá” as an ingredient for the pharmaceutical purposes identified. The revised data presented good scientific evidence supporting the use of this Amazonian plant as a new adaptogen. Literature data also reveal that a detailed survey on natural populations of this plant is needed, as well as agronomical studies that could furnish A. amazonicus bark as a raw material. Another important issue is the lack of developed quality control methods to assure its quality assessment.

Ebatronics: A New Paradigm for Experimental Laboratory in Applied Science and Technology

In this paper, the main concepts and the preliminary results related to a new approach for creating innovative green laboratory experiences in applied science and technology will be discussed. The term ebatronics is here introduced for the first time in the literature to indicate a kind of experimental laboratory based on the conjunction of wooden recycled materials and microcontroller based devices. In particular, tensegrity based systems are presented. A gallery of prototypes developed by the authors is shown. An intense set of photos will illustrate the real effectiveness of the proposed laboratory project.

A Review of Open Educational Resources in the Geosciences: Guidelines and Criteria

Open Educational Resources (OER) offer a link between new trends in learning and instruction, and the promise of transparency and inclusion offered by open science practices. Open textbooks, virtual field and laboratory experiences, interactive computational environments, and openly licensed media are among the many types of OER in use today. Adoption of subject-specific OER has the potential to replace expensive textbooks with free alternatives that can be adapted and reused. While globally, instructors in all scientific disciplines are becoming familiar with OER, geoscientists in particular have been slow to utilize these resources.This study examines the creation and adoption of OER in the geosciences with a goal of providing guidance for institutions, libraries and librarians who support and fund OER initiatives. Beginning with a review of student and faculty perceptions and awareness regarding OER, the study expands to consider OER availability in STEM overall. Furthermore, the creation and adoption of OER in geosciences is discussed. An environmental scan, employed to identify and characterize available college-level OER in this discipline, provided a baseline for the study. Analysis of the scan along with a review of OER, textbook and field guide standards informs a new set of proposed guidelines for geoscience OER. This work will describe these guidelines and offer a call for community feedback.Several of the guidelines are applicable to STEM fields in general, but we also propose specific aspirational criteria unique to geoscience instructional settings. The study is a starting point for authors and adopters to create OER that are discoverable, accessible, authoritative, shareable and sustainable. OER also double as research objects, offering an entry point into understanding student engagement and providing a path to welcome and include a diverse set of students into the study of geoscience.

Virtual Laboratory and Mobile Devices as a Support Tool for the Teaching-Learning Processes of Physics in Pandemic Times

<p class="0abstract"><strong>The COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to close their doors creating the largest disruption of education systems in history. It was necessary to find new ways and new alternatives to classical teaching methods. This paper presents the proposal made by the Faculty of Engineering of the Catholic University of Cordoba (UCC) for the continuity of practical laboratory work in the teaching of Physics. To this end, the data obtained from a survey of university students at the end of the academic year 2020 are analyzed. The survey covers first-year students, as well as students from higher education who took Physics I under the classroom modality. It should be noted that the number of students in the Faculty of Engineering of the UCC is very small to obtain conclusive results in a first research, therefore, the authors consider that the project is at an introductory stage that, in the future, will continue to pursue. So far, the results showed that the application of Physics laboratory experiences through simulation can become an excellent tool to facilitate students' understanding of abstract and complex concepts in the face of lack of presence.</strong></p>

Inverse and forward uncertainty quantification of models for foam–assisted enhanced oil recovery

Like many other engineering applications, oil recovery and enhanced oil recovery are sensitive to the correct administration of economic resources. Pilot tests and core flood experiments are crucial elements to design an enhanced oil recovery (EOR) project. In this direction, numerical simulators are accessible alternatives for evaluating different engineering configurations at many diverse scales (pore, laboratory, and field scales). Despite the advantages that numerical simulators possess over laboratory experiences, they are not fully protected against uncertainties. In this thesis, we show advances in analyzing uncertainties in two-–phase reservoir simulations, focusing on foam–based EOR. The methods employed in this thesis analyze how experimental uncertainties affect reservoir simulator’s responses. Our framework for model calibration and uncertainty quantification uses the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method. The parametric uncertainty is tested against identifiability studies revealing situations where posterior density distributions with high variability are related to high uncertainties and practical non–identifiability issues. The model’s reliability was evaluated by adopting surrogate models based on polynomial chaos expansion when the computational cost was an issue for the analysis. Once we quantified the model’s output variability, we performed a global sensitivity analysis to map the model’s uncertainty to the input parameters distributions. Main and total Sobol indices were used to investigate the model’s uncertainty and highlight how key parameters and their interactions influence the simulation’s output. As a consequence of the results presented in this thesis, we show a technique for parameter and uncertainty estimation that can be explored to reduce the uncertainty in foam–assisted oil recovery models, which in turn can provide reliable computational simulations. Such conclusions are of utmost interest and relevance for the design of adequate techniques for enhanced oil recovery.

Benefits of Using the Invertebrate Model Organism C. Elegans in an Inquiry-Based Laboratory Activity

Background: The goals of laboratory experiences include developing knowledge base, research skills, and scientific communication abilities. Objective: The aim was to assess an inquiry-based laboratory activity using the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans in relation to learning goals. Method: Students in a Biopsychology laboratory course worked in groups to test the effect of various drugs (e.g., nicotine, ethanol, fluoxetine, and melatonin) on C. elegans behavior. The activity included literature review, experimental design, and a final lab report. A cumulative final exam included a synaptic communication question related to the content of the activity. Results: Students showed better retention of laboratory-related content compared to other topics from the course, as demonstrated through performance on the final exam and were able to replicate previous research demonstrating effects of drug on locomotion. However, students did not improve writing ability compared to performance on a previous American Psychological Association style lab report. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that using a student-designed, multi-week laboratory assignment in an undergraduate Biopsychology course supports the growth of psychology knowledge and the development of research skills. Teaching Implications: Instructors should consider using the described laboratory activity for biopsychology or behavioral neuroscience classes or consider similarly designed laboratory formats for other courses in Psychology.

A build-at-home student laboratory experiment in mechanical vibrations

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused many university educators to redesign their teaching to online delivery. This can be an effective approach for theoretical and conceptual teaching, but it is challenging to provide practical laboratory experiences. The objective here is to design a hands-on laboratory experience that can safely be undertaken by students remotely and that has substantial educational content. A new experiment was designed featuring a bifilar pendulum that students build themselves from readily available low-cost materials. This simple vibrating system has a surprisingly rich set of interesting physical characteristics that provide several important learning points. Initial trials indicate good student experience with the new experiment, notably an appreciation for the “do-it-yourself” aspect of the apparatus construction. The self-directed features and multiple learning features of the new student experiment make it attractive for use during Covid-19 times and beyond.

Evaluation of the Chemistry curriculum at the lower secondary level: feedback from educators

Mauritius is presently witnessing a major educational reform, which has necessitated a review of the lower secondary curriculum in all subjects, including Science. Educators were called to evaluate the Science curriculum (which includes Biology, Chemistry and Physics components) by providing feedback on the curriculum content and content organisation. One hundred and thirty-three educators took part in this exercise. This paper focuses on a detailed analysis of the feedback obtained from educators regarding the lower secondary Chemistry curriculum (LSCC) to identify the challenges encountered in its implementation. The Process component of the Stufflebeam’s (Stufflebeam DL. The CIPP model for evaluation. In: Evaluation models. Dordrecht: Springer; 2000:279–317 pp) Context, Input, Process and Product (CIPP) Evaluation model has been used as a framework for the study. Based on qualitative thematic analysis, four main challenges were identified in the implementation of the LSCC namely, ensuring curriculum continuity, avoiding curriculum overload, the need for more laboratory experiences and knowledge transfer.