An integrated project of entrepreneurship and innovation in engineering education

This paper presents a new line of project based learning in the School of Engineering of University of Minho: the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Integrated Project (IEIP). Four groups, each one composed of students from different engineering integrated master courses – Mechanical, Industrial Electronics and Computers, Polymer, Industrial Management – compete against each other in developing or improving commercial products manufactured by actual industries. There have been so far five editions of the IEIP, with five different companies and five diverse products, however, all these products included components that required knowledge from all the engineering courses involved. Only with the cooperation between the students of the various courses that compose each multidisciplinary team, the success is attainable. As each student has to deal with various engineering scopes, students’ technical skills are greatly enlarged and they acquire a multidisciplinary knowledge that was not possible in another way. Their soft skills like project management, teamwork, communication ability and personal development, which are valuable requisites for their future employers, are also improved. The participating industries also take advantage of the project: the groups competing against each other act as a multiskilled work force, actually making proposals capable of improving their products, their efficiency, and reducing costs.     

Development of Breathing Rat-Lung Models for Particulate Deposition Studies

ABSTRACT

Techniques have been developed for casting both solid and hollow lung models from rat-lung specimens. To make a solid model, an air line at a positive pressure of 25 cm of water was connected to the trachea to air-dry lungs which had been removed surgically from the animal. Using the lost wax technique, a hollow cast of the airways and the nasopharynx was made. A mechanical breathing system, capable of simulating different breathing patterns, was developed.     

International psychological research that matters for policy and practice.

After a brief history of the Committee on International Relations of the American Psychological Association, 3 points are made about international psychological research that matters. First, it matters when the definition of the research problem area and the findings can potentially be reflected in policy change, in the practice of educators or psychologists, or in the mindsets of a new generation of researchers. Person-centered analysis of adolescents’ social and political attitudes has this potential and can complement variable-centered analysis. A cluster analysis of the IEA Civic Education Study’s data in 5 Western European and 5 Eastern European countries illustrates this. The following 5 clusters of adolescents were identified: those supportive of social justice but not participative, those active in conventional politics and the community, those indifferent, those disaffected, and a problematic cluster of alienated adolescents. Second, research that matters is situated in a cultural context. It is proposed that publications using data from any single country be required to include information about the cultural context in which the research was conducted. Finally, it matters that attention be given to the dynamics of the collaborative international research process, not only to research results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chemical Fertility Signaling in Termites: Idiosyncrasies and Commonalities in Comparison with Ants

Termites evolved eusociality independently from social Hymenoptera. As a common trait, reproductive monopoly is maintained through chemical communication. The queen (and in termites also a king) prevents workers from reproduction by conveying their reproductive status. In termites all soldiers are sterile, but workers’ potential to reproduce differs between species. It ranges from totipotency in wood-dwelling lower termites where workers are a transient stage from which all other castes develop, to sterile workers in some higher termites. Intermediate are species in which workers can develop into replacement sexuals within the nest but not into winged sexuals. I summarize the patchy picture about fertility signaling that we currently have for termites, pointing also to potential conflicts over reproduction that differ from those in social Hymenoptera. Recent findings imply that, similar to many social Hymenoptera, wood-dwelling termites that live in confined nests use long-chain cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) as fertility signals. Yet other compounds are important as well, comprising proteinaceous secretions and especially volatiles. For a subterranean termite, two volatiles have been identified as primer pheromones that prevent reproductive differentiation of workers. It requires more data to test whether wood-dwelling termites use CHCs, while species with larger colonies and less confined nests use volatiles, or whether all species rely on multicomponent signals. Ultimately, we need more effort to model and test potential conflicts over reproduction between queens, kings and workers. Here results from social Hymenoptera cannot be transferred to termites as the latter are diploid and commonly inbred. This review illustrates promising future research avenues.     

Sustainability metrics for eco-technologies assessment, Part II. Life cycle analysis

This work presents a sustainability analysis of CO₂ reuse to produce dimethyl carbonate (DMC) via ethylene oxide (ROUTE A) and via urea methanolysis (ROUTE B). Two different technologies are considered in ROUTE A: reaction followed by separation and reactive distillation. Life cycle analyses of the ROUTES are presented employing sustainability analysis performed in HYSYS process simulator, along with WAR Algorithm. Process economical optimization is performed to maximize the processes profitability. A sustainability function, defined as a 2D indicator involving both economical and environmental aspects, is calculated for the optimized processes. Additional sustainability indexes are evaluated: material index, energy index, and ecoefficiency. The results, under both economical and environmental aspects, show that ROUTE A is the most sustainable. The study also points to the relevance of the frontier set between the domains cradle-to-gate and gate-to-gate in assessing process sustainability during LCA.     

Optimization of a mist chamber (Cofer scrubber) for sampling water-soluble organics in air

While the atmospheric fate and transport of biogenic and anthropogenic hydrocarbons has been extensively studied, little is known about the behavior of first-, second-, and third generation photo-oxidation products that arise from OH radical oxidation of the parent species. The results of chamber experiments establish that *OH oxidation of biogenic and anthropogenic hydrocarbons yields carbonyls, dicarbonyls, hydroxycarbonyls, and keto-acids. However, little is known about the generation and fate of these products in the ambient atmospheric environment. This is changing because of the advent of methods that rely on 0-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine (PFBHA) derivatization of carbonyls in concert with gas chromatography/ion trap mass spectrometry. Such methods provide the means to identify and quantify water-soluble organics, which historically have been difficult to measure. A limitation of existing sampling methods, however, is the use of devices that require low flow rates (0.5-1 L min(-1)). Accordingly, long sampling times (3-4 h) are needed to obtain pptv-ppbv detection limits. The mist chamber is an attractive device because of the high flow rates (25-70 L min(-1)) compatible with its use. Herein, we evaluate a mist chamber using a flow rate of 25-30 L min(-1) to provide short (10 min) sampling times and pptv limits of detection. The results establish a relationship between the Henry's law constant (KH) and the collection efficiency and demonstrate the suitability of the method to measure analytes with KH > or = 10(3) M atm(-1). Adjusting the pH, adding quaternary ammonium salts, or decreasing the temperature of the collecting solution in the mist chamber did not significantly affect the collection efficiency. We tested the method by sampling photooxidation products of isoprene (glyoxal, methylglyoxal, hydroxyacetone, and glycolaldehyde) in the Blodgett Forest, CA. This is the first report of a study the employs the mist chamberto sample hydroxycarbonyls. The accuracy and the reproducibility of the method were evaluated by the analysis of duplicate samples and field spikes. The mean recovery of field spikes was > or =80%, and the relative standard deviation was < or =22% between duplicate measurements. The detection limits were 48, 15, 7.7, and 2.7 pptv for glycolaldehyde, hydroxyacetone, methylglyoxal, and glyoxal, respectively. This work demonstrates the power of the mist chamber in concert with PFBHA derivatization and mass spectrometry to measure pptv concentrations of water-soluble organics with a sampling time of 10 min.     

Imbalance diets in preschool children: study in a day-care center in the Province of Buenos Aires,Argentina

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of low fat diets in children aged 2 to 5. Eighty two children (40 females and 42 males) attending a school cafeteria (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina), in a cross sectional study, were evaluated. Body weight (W), height (H) and body composition (BC) by bioimpedance were recorded. The anthropometric raw data were processed as Z-score of the weight-for-age (WEZ) and of the height-for-age (HAZ). Serum insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) and Zinc/haemoglobin ratio (Zn/Hb) were also measured. Results showed that 73.2% of the children were adequate (A) according WEZ, 13.4% were lean (L) and 13.4% overweight (O). 8.5% presented simultaneously impairment in WEZ and HAZ. Body fat percentage and energy metabolism were higher in O than in L and A (p < 0.05). Serum IGF-1's children--aged 4 to 5 years--with HAZ deficit were low than adequate HAZ ones. No statistical differences in Zn/Hb ratio between A, L and O were found. This cross sectional study suggests metabolic disorders in young children attending school cafeterias. These conclusions will allow to design balanced diets in order to optimize the resources, promote optimal growth and development and prevent adult diseases through dietary practices in childhood.     

Study of the aromatic by-products formed from ozonation of anilines in aqueous solution

Aqueous solutions of aniline and p-chloroaniline were treated with ozone in order to study the reaction and oxidation by-products. Aniline solutions were ozonated at low and high pH, so as to compare both molecular and hydroxyl free radical mechanisms, respectively. The main identified aromatic by-products were nitrobenzene and azobenzene when the experiment was carried out at acid pH. Formation of nitrobenzene, azobenzene, azoxybenzene and 2-pyridine-carboxylic was observed when the ozonation was carried out at basic pH. p-Chloroaniline was treated with ozone only at high pH and the identified by-products were in accordance with those obtained in the ozonation of aniline: p-chloronitrobenzene, 4,4'-dichloroazobenzene and 4-chloro-2-pyridine-carboxylic acid. All the aromatic by-products found were less toxic than the raw materials. The pseudo-first-order constants in aniline concentration were calculated, whilst kinetic in p-chloroaniline concentration could not be adjusted to a first-order reaction.     

Promoting quality improvement research

The authors show how an internal grant program can stimulate quality improvement research by providing technical and financial support to clinicians and employees.