Scientific-technological Area Research Articles

New fabrication method for producing reduced graphene oxide flexible electrodes by using a low-power visible laser diode engraving system

The fabrication of bendable electronic devices is a scientific-technological area of very rapid advance in which new materials and fabrication techniques are being continuously developed. In these kinds of devices, the fabrication of flexible conductive electrodes adherent to the substrate is a key factor. Further, eco-friendliness, low cost and fast production are essential requirements for the successful progress of new technologies. In this work, a novel method for obtaining graphene-based flexible electrodes is presented. Conductive films were obtained by means of the visible laser irradiation of graphene oxide layers deposited on polyethylene terephthalate substrates and self-standing membranes sandwiched between glass slides. Despite the low power of the laser system, the numerical simulations indicate the development of temperatures over 1000 K throughout the irradiated material. The laser-induced spatially confined heating leads to the reduction of the graphene oxide material, whereas the glass-based sandwich assembly avoids reoxidation from the surrounding air. By scanning and pixelated modes, reduced graphene oxide electrodes, up to 100 μm in thickness, and with a resistivity as low as 6 × 10−4 Ωm, were obtained in an easy and versatile way. Proof-of-concept microsupercapacitors and electrochemical sensors were fabricated with this technique, showing promising performance.

Erratum: Correction of Affiliation.

This corrects the article "Anastomotic healing in a rat model of peritonitis after non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug administration " in volume 64(1):3085 In the published article "Anastomotic healing in a rat model of peritonitis after non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug administration" Eur J Histochem 2020;64(1):3085, https://doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2020.3085," one affiliation was published incorrectly. The authors apologize for any inconvenience that it may have caused. Roberto Ghiselli,1 Guendalina Lucarini,2 Monica Ortenzi,1 Eleonora Salvolini,3 Stefania Saccomanno,2 Fiorenza Orlando,4 Mauro Provinciali,4 Fabio Casciani,1 Mario Guerrieri1 1Clinic of Surgery, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona 2Department of Clinical and Molecular Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona 3Department of Odontostomatologic and Specialized Clinical Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona 4Experimental Animal Models for Aging Units, Research Department, Italian National Institute on Aging (INRCA) IRCCS, Ancona, Italy The affiliation should be corrected as follows: 4Experimental Animal Models for Aging Units, Scientific Technological Area, IRCCS INRCA, Ancona, Italy.

Knowledge Analysis of the Prospective Secondary School Teacher on a Key Concept in Sustainability: Waste

The framework of sustainable development encompasses a series of behaviours which include the proper management of the waste we produce. This concept should be addressed in classrooms to ensure proper waste management. The amount of knowledge of the teachers and the inclusion of these concepts in the education curricula are essential factors when providing proper teaching about waste and waste management. The general objective was to analyse the amount of knowledge about waste of teachers in training within the framework of sustainable development. The sample consisted of 72 secondary school teachers in training belonging to three scientific-technological areas (Physics & Chemistry, Biology & Geology, and Technology). The methodology used was exploratory and quantitative. As a measuring instrument, a questionnaire was elaborated based on the educational curricula and based on previous research, made up of five categories (Waste and Society, Regulations, Awareness, Technological Development, and Typology). The results of the study show that teachers in training lack knowledge regarding waste. Within teacher education programs, it is, therefore, necessary to address issues of sustainability including waste in order to prepare teachers that are competent and willing to teach such important topics.

Choosing scientific-technological priorities with a potential for creating new industries: a system of measurable indicators

The challenge of building a robust technological base to ensure an advancing growth of the economy and global competitiveness of domestic companies can be achieved only by target-focused channeling of state funds and private resources into a limited number of priority areas. The purpose of the research is to develop a system with measurable indicators of scientific-technological areas, which will allow one to compare, range, and insightfully validate scientific-technological areas, which have a maximum potential for creating new industries in Russia with minimal risks and barriers. The article shares results of this system’s approbation. It is expected that using a system of such measurable indicators will help to rationalize management decisions, leading to the concentration of intellectual, financial, organizational and infrastructure resources on priority areas, which need to be developed for Russia it to meet its challenges.

La metodología de resolución de problemas como investigación (MRPI): una propuesta indagativa para desarrollar la competencia científica en alumnos que cursan un programa de diversificación

Para la enseñanza-aprendizaje de las ciencias, las organizaciones internacionales recomiendan el uso de metodologías basadas en la indagación en lugar de los métodos tradicionales. Estas diferentes metodologías son clave en los programas de diversificación. Con el presente estudio se pretende valorar si un método indagativo como es la metodología de resolución de problemas como investigación (MRPI) es adecuado para desarrollar la competencia científica en el ámbito científicotecnológico de cuarto de ESO. Por ello, se ha estudiado la evolución de los alumnos en la resolución de situaciones problemáticas para diferentes dimensiones de la competencia científica. Los resultados indican que la MRPI ayuda a desarrollar estas diferentes dimensiones competenciales con un buen nivel de satisfacción por parte del alumno.

Integration of educational and scientific–technological areas during the process of education of aerospace engineers

National priorities, defined by modern state of high-tech industries, demand adequate problem solving of training professionals possessing required modern qualifications. Modern tendencies of the development of aerospace technologies, harsh competition in the market of space services and expansion of international cooperation for implementation of space projects, demand sharp increase of the scientific/technical level and competitiveness of the developed projects. Especially important is to be able to solve technological problems, which in turn define the cost and quality attributes of the designed item, as well as the ability to utilize the most modern design principles. Training of highly efficient, creative professionals who are capable of generating and implementing new ideas is a very important factor driving not only the development of national economy and industry, but also enriching the human capital of the country. Moscow State Technical University named after N.E. Bauman developed and successfully implemented the project-oriented technology of professional training for aerospace industry. It assumes a multitude of forms, methodologies and organizational events, which allow preparing the specialists – on the basis of integration of scientific/technological and educational environment – who are adapted to the conditions of the intellectual market. The Youth Space Center of the University is the base where graduate and post-graduate students attend unique lectures as a part of the facultative course “Applied Cosmonautics”, participate in annual International Youth Science School “Space Development: Theory and Practice” and develop innovative technical projects aimed at creation of real-life space hardware. Microsatellite technologies are being developed in Bauman University through various projects, which are implemented in a coordinated manner by way of accomplishing the following steps: – development of small-size satellites by universities, using them as test-beds for quick and affordable trial-and-test of new technologies and design solutions in aerospace followed by implementation of selected efficiencies in the industry; – development and improvement of ground control infrastructure based in the university, which includes the Mission Control Center and the Earth Remote Sensing Center; – development of cooperative partnerships with international partners in the field of microsatellite technologies with the goal of sharing experience, uniting efforts in preparing and running scientific and educational experiments and creating next-generation spacecraft by multi-national student groups. Such approaches allow creating seamless environment that unites educational, scientific and innovative processes. This allows students to develop high professionalism, modern engineering thinking and stable engineering skills at an early stage of education at the university.

To exist or not to exist: example generation in Real Analysis

This article deals with the activity of example generation as a special case of problem solving. We asked university students in the scientific-technological area to produce examples (which may exist or not) of mathematical objects fulfilling given requirements. For the analysis of students’ performances, we have developed a model that attempts to grasp the nature of the different stages in the solving process. The discussion of the findings allows us to outline specificities and educational potentialities of example generation activities.

A contrastive study of the rhetorical organisation of English and Spanish PhD thesis introductions

This paper presents an analysis of the introductory sections of a corpus of 20 doctoral theses on computing written in Spanish and in English. Our aim was to ascertain whether the theses, produced within the same scientific-technological area but by authors from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, employed the same rhetorical strategies to introduce the work presented. The analysis follows the Swalesian approach and is based on a move/step/sub-step model proposed for PhD introductions in Spanish ( Carbonell-Olivares, Gil-Salom, & Soler-Monreal, 2009). The Spanish academic conventions appear to be that move 1 (M1- Establishing the Territory) and move 3 (M3- Occupying the Niche) are obligatory moves in PhD thesis introductions in Spanish, while move 2 (M2- Establishing the Niche) is optional. The structure of English thesis introductions reveals that they conform more closely to the M1–M2–M3 arrangement. Moreover, combinations of moves and patterns, cyclicity and embedding make their organisation more complex. The step analysis suggests that introductions in both languages rely mainly on the presentation of background information and the work carried out. However, the English introductions tend to stress the writer’s own work, its originality and its contribution to the field of study. They also present more embedding and overlapping of steps and sub-steps than the Spanish texts.

Challenges of an exhibit on nanoscience and nanotechnology

This article presents some of the challenges faced in developing an interactive exhibit on nanoscience and nanotechnology in Brazil. Presenting a scientific-technological area which is still in formation and which is little known by the population leads to a (re)consideration of the role of museums and science centers in the conformation and consolidation of scientific practice itself. Museographically, the exhibit deals with the challenge of making matter visible in an expression which is distant from the human perception. Some reflections are presented here on the option of musealization chosen which come from a broader evaluation of the exhibit.

Recent Trends in Scholarly Communications: 2001-2005

A review of the impressive outpouring of journal articles and books on scholarly communications, covering the years 2001–2005, provides readers with a substantive understanding of the pivotal issues, concerns, and problems confronting a wide array of academics, administrators, and librarians in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. While much of this scholarly literature addresses ‘traditional’ issues and problems confronting academics in the humanities, the social sciences, and the diverse scientific–technological areas, an extraordinary number of these papers deals with the nature of ‘change,’ specifically the changing world of research and libraries, the transformation of information, and the rapid emergence of the Open Access movement. Some of the major research studies and themes in this bibliography include the following: Numerous papers confronting the often daunting (if not downright convoluted) problem of the price of information were rather intriguing. Anglada and Comellas pondered the issue of ‘‘fairness’’ in the prevalent pricing models of journals in an electronic era, issues also addressed successfully by Ball as well as Lawal; McCabe’s work on this issue is especially noteworthy because of his analysis of substantive issues. The evaluation of a scholar’s output was a frequent and intriguing thread in the literature. Baumgartner and Pieters evaluated the use and usefulness of journal citation indices, issues also addressed: by Hamermesh and Oster; by Norris and Oppenheim; and by Goodrum, McCain, Lawrence, and Giles. Erkut seeks to evaluate the research output of Canadian academics. Cronin, on the other hand, grapples with the thorny issue of effective academic writing. While Peters studies usage statistics and Rowlands concentrates on research