On modular decompositions of system signatures

Considering a semicoherent system made up of $n$ components having i.i.d. continuous lifetimes, Samaniego defined its structural signature as the $n$-tuple whose $k$-th coordinate is the probability that the $k$-th component failure causes the system to fail. This $n$-tuple, which depends only on the structure of the system and not on the distribution of the component lifetimes, is a very useful tool in the theoretical analysis of coherent systems. It was shown in two independent recent papers how the structural signature of a system partitioned into two disjoint modules can be computed from the signatures of these modules. In this work we consider the general case of a system partitioned into an arbitrary number of disjoint modules organized in an arbitrary way and we provide a general formula for the signature of the system in terms of the signatures of the modules. The concept of signature was recently extended to the general case of semicoherent systems whose components may have dependent lifetimes. The same definition for the $n$-tuple gives rise to the probability signature, which may depend on both the structure of the system and the probability distribution of the component lifetimes. In this general setting, we show how under a natural condition on the distribution of the lifetimes, the probability signature of the system can be expressed in terms of the probability signatures of the modules. We finally discuss a few situations where this condition holds in the non-i.i.d. and nonexchangeable cases and provide some applications of the main results

Attitudes of undergraduate nursing students to cultural diversity: (Portuguese-Spanish) in a transboundary context.

Our main goal was to identify the attitudes of nursing students to cultural diversity in a healthcare setting, and find the potential relationship between this and the students' national background and their knowledge of cultural diversity. A descriptive observational study comparing two culturally different populations within a cross-border area (Algarve-Huelva) was conducted. The attitudes of the participants were measured across six categories: this study will describe the most significant ones. The cultural context is essential to the development of attitudes to immigration. Nursing care is a communicative act and encountering the "other" the core of the nursing professionals' work. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Physiological responses of diploid and doubled diploid 'Rangpur' lime under water deficit

In citrus, the use of rootstocks promotes productivity, improves fruit quality and may confer resistance or tolerance to biotic and abiotic stress. 'Rangpur' lime (Citrus limonia, Osbeck) is one of the most tolerant rootstock to drought and is largely used by the Brazilian citrus industry. Previous studies have shown that, when grafted with a variety citrus doubled diploid (4x) 'Rangpur' lime rootstock is more tolerant to drought stress than the respective diploid (2x). In the present study, we characterized the water deficit tolerance in 2x and 4x 'Rangpur' lime seedlings. Water deficit was applied respectively for 21 days, followed by recovery irrigation. Physiological and biochemical parameters were measured periodically during the experiment and samples were collected for biochemical analysis. Doubled diploid seedlings were showed to be more water deficit tolerant than 2x. Water deficit caused a greater reduction in stomatal conductance in 2x compared to 4x. The 21st day of stress, leaf water potential in 2x was lower. Analyses of the activity of enzymes involved in detoxification process suggest that the better tolerance of 4x genotypes may be related to better scavenging of reactive oxygen species. (Résumé d'auteur

Fertirriego por goteo superficial y enterrado del melón (Cucumis melo L.) en invernadero

Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo determinar el efecto de dos posiciones de instalación de tubos porta goteros, tres láminas de riego y cuatro dosis de potasio sobre la productividad comercial de frutos de melón en invernadero. El experimento fue realizado en un invernadero de 420,0 m2, localizado en Piracicaba - São Paulo – Brasil. El diseño experimental fue en bloques completos al azar en esquema factorial de 2x3x4. Las posiciones de instalación de tubos porta goteros fueron superficial y enterrado a 0,2 m, las láminas de riego fueron 33, 67 y 100 % de la evaporación diaria de un mini tanque evaporimétrico y las dosis de potasio fueron 0, 6, 9 y 12 g de K2O planta-1. El fertirriego fue realizado basándose en la curva de absorción de N y K del cultivo. La evaporación total del mini tanque evaporimétrico durante la época de riego fue de 417,32 mm. La productividad comercial fue influenciada significativamente (P<0,01) por las dosis de potasio, láminas de riego y posición de los tubos porta goteros. Las dosis de potasio 6 y 9 g de K2O planta-1, combinadas con la lámina de 100% y la posición de los tubos porta goteros enterrados, alcanzaron mayor productividad comercial, 61.428 y 66.224 kg ha-1, respectivamente.Peer Reviewe

Quantitative radiographic evaluation of periapical bone resorption in dog's teeth contaminated with bacterial endotoxin (LPS) associated or not with calcium hydroxide

The aim of this study was to quantify radiographically the periapical bone resorption in dogs' teeth contaminated with bacterial endotoxin (LPS), associated or not with calcium hydroxide. After pulp tissue removal, 60 premolars were randomly assigned to 4 groups and were either filled with LPS (group 1), filled with LPS plus calcium hydroxide (group 2) or filled with saline (group 3) for a period of 30 days. In group 4, periapical lesion formation was induced with no canal treatment. Standardized radiographs were taken at the beginning of the treatment and after 30 days and the Image J Program was used for measurement of periapical lesion size. Periapical lesions were observed in groups 1 (average of 8.44 mm2) and 4 (average of 3.02 mm2). The lamina dura was intact and there were no areas of periapical bone resorption in groups 2 and 3. It may be concluded that calcium hydroxide was effective in inactivating LPS, as demonstrated by the absence of apical periodontitis in the roots that were filled with bacterial endotoxin plus calcium hydroxide.O objetivo deste estudo foi quantificar radiograficamente a reabsorção óssea periapical em dentes de cães contaminados com endotoxina bacteriana (LPS), associadas ou não ao hidróxido de cálcio. Sessenta pré-molares foram divididos em 4 grupos e preenchidos com LPS (grupo 1), LPS e hidróxido de cálcio (grupo 2), solução salina (grupo 3), ou lesões periapicais foram induzidas sem tratamento (grupo 4), por um período de 30 dias e o Programa Image J foi empregado para mensuração das lesões, em mm2. Radiografias foram realizadas no início do tratamento e após 30 dias. Lesões periapicais foram observadas no grupo 1 (média de 8,44 mm2) e 4 (média de 3,02 mm2). A lâmina dura estava intacta e não foram observadas áreas de reabsorção óssea periapical nos grupos 2 e 3. Concluindo, a avaliação radiográfica quantitativa do efeito do LPS associado ao hidróxido de cálcio demonstrou que quando juntos a endotoxina bacteriana é inativada, uma vez que não foram observadas lesões periapicais nas raízes deste grupo experimental

El paro juvenil no es el principal desequilibrio del mercado laboral. Informe de coyuntura sobre el mercado de trabajo en España y Andalucía (cuarto trimestre de 2011)

El artículo analiza la evolución de las principales variables laborales españolas y andaluzas en el cuarto trimestre de 2011. En primer lugar, se plantea el contexto de la evolución de la actividad económica en el ámbito internacional y nacional señalándose un cierto deterioro en el crecimiento económico especialmente en la segunda parte del año. A continuación se analiza con mayor detenimiento la evolución de las principales variables laborales relativas a la oferta y demanda de trabajo y desempleo. Esta misma estructura se sigue para el análisis del mercado de trabajo en Andalucía. Se presta especial atención a los trabajadores más jóvenes para indicar el impacto de la crisis económica sobre este grupo social

Intercultural mediation at the end of life. Different perceptions of the same process

The aim of this study was to identify the perceptions of palliative care professionals with regards to the management of patients from a different culture, and if there is a need to incorporate an intercultural mediator. To understand the influence of the intercultural mediator as a facilitator in the decision making of the patient and family at the end of life. The methodological approach is centered in pluralism, reinforced by triangulation of data and information. The intercultural mediator is crucial because they can provide light in a multitude of conflict situations caused by lack of knowledge about the patient's culture. (C) 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd

Contradiction between strong lensing statistics and a feedback solution to the cusp/core problem

Standard cosmology has many successes on large scales, but faces some fundamental difficulties on small, galactic scales. One such difficulty is the cusp/core problem. High resolution observations of the rotation curves for dark matter dominated low surface brightness (LSB) galaxies imply that galactic dark matter halos have a density profile with a flat central core, whereas N-body structure formation simulations predict a divergent (cuspy) density profile at the center. It has been proposed that this problem can be resolved by stellar feedback driving turbulent gas motion that erases the initial cusp. However, strong gravitational lensing prefers a cuspy density profile for galactic halos. In this paper, we use the most recent high resolution observations of the rotation curves of LSB galaxies to fit the core size as a function of halo mass, and compare the resultant lensing probability to the observational results for the well defined combined sample of the Cosmic Lens All-Sky Survey (CLASS) and Jodrell Bank/Very Large Array Astrometric Survey (JVAS). The lensing probabilities based on such density profiles are too low to match the observed lensing in CLASS/JVAS. High baryon densities in the galaxies that dominate the lensing statistics can reconcile this discrepancy, but only if they steepen the mass profile rather than making it more shallow. This places contradictory demands upon the effects of baryons on the central mass profiles of galaxies.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures. Largely improved compared with the version 1 to reflect the referees' reports, conclusions unchanged. Published in Research in Astronomy and Astrophysics (RAA

A text generation system that uses simple rhetorical figures

Este artículo describe el enriquecimiento de la calidad estilística de los textos generados por el sistema PRINCE, una aplicación de generación de lenguaje natural diseñada para construir textos de cuentos fantásticos. Para ello se explota el potencial de un recurso léxico (WordNet) y algoritmos de mapeamiento estructural para enriquecer los textos de salida con figuras retóricas simples como metáfora y analogía. El sistema enriquecido sigue la arquitectura para sistemas multi-agente OAA, con varios agentes cooperando para conseguir los textos finales. Los resultados de la versión enriquecida son presentados y discutidos. Finalmente, se describen algunos problemas y posibles extensiones.This paper describes the improvement of the stylistic quality of the texts generated by the PRINCE system, a natural language generation application designed for building texts for simple fairy tales. This is done by exploiting the potential of a lexical resource - such as WordNet - and structure mapping algorithms to enhance the output texts with simple rhetorical tropes such as metaphor and analogy. The enhanced system follows the OAA multi-agent system architecture, with various agents cooperating to achieve the final texts. The results of the enhanced version are presented and discussed. Finally, some problems and possible extensions are described.Partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, Acción Integrada Hispano-Portuguesa (HP2003-0068