Determinants of nursing homes performance: the case of portuguese Santas Casas da Misericórdia

This study aims to evaluate the economic efficiency of Nursing Homes owned by 96 Santas Casas da Misericórdia (SCM) and the determinants that influenced their efficiency in 2012 and 2013. The SCM are the oldest non-profit entities, which belong to Third Sector in Portugal, provide this social response and receive significant financial contributions annually from the state. The study is developed in two stages. In the first stage, the efficiency scores were calculated through the non-parametric DEA technique. In the second stage, Tobit regression is used to verify the effect of certain organizational variables on efficiency, namely the number of users and existence of Nursing Home chains. The results of the DEA model show that the efficiency average is 81.9%, and only 10 out of 96 Nursing Homes are efficient. Tobit regression shows that the number of users has a positive effect on the efficiency of Nursing Homes, whereas the existence of Nursing Home chains affects their efficiency negatively.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

On the Complexity of Case-Based Planning

We analyze the computational complexity of problems related to case-based planning: planning when a plan for a similar instance is known, and planning from a library of plans. We prove that planning from a single case has the same complexity than generative planning (i.e., planning "from scratch"); using an extended definition of cases, complexity is reduced if the domain stored in the case is similar to the one to search plans for. Planning from a library of cases is shown to have the same complexity. In both cases, the complexity of planning remains, in the worst case, PSPACE-complete

Factors That Could Impact on Liver Fibrosis Staging by Transient Elastography.

PublishedReviewTransient elastography (TE) based on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) is one of the most validated noninvasive methods for liver fibrosis staging in patients with chronic liver diseases. This method is painless, has no potential complications, is rapid (100 exams), in a 3-hour fasting status, and its results should be handled by specialist clinicians that are aware of the limitations of this method.This work was supported by funding from Newton Fund RCUK-CONFAP Research Partnerships Call, Fundac¸ao Car- ˜ los Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio ` de Janeiro (FAPERJ) under Grant E-26/170.021/2015 (Brazil), and Medical Research Council (MRC) Grant reference MR/ M026515/1 (UK); from Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient´ıfico e Tecnologico (CNPq)/Bolsa Jovem Talento ´ (BJT) under Grant 301520/2014-3; from FAPERJ under Grant E-26/110.268/2014; and from Fundac¸ao para Desenvolvi- ˜ mento Cientifico e Tecnologico em Sa ´ ude (FioTec), Rio de ´ Janeiro, Brazil

Quotient probabilistic normed spaces and completeness results

Quotient spaces of probabilistic normed spaces have never been considered. This note is a first attempt to fill this gap: the quotient space of a PN space with respect to one of its subspaces is introduced and its properties are studied. Finally, we investigate the completeness relationship among the PN spaces considered

Simulation of VUV electroluminescence in micropattern gaseous detectors: the case of GEM and MHSP

Electroluminescence produced during avalanche development in gaseous avalanche detectors is an useful information for triggering, calorimetry and tracking in gaseous detectors. Noble gases present high electroluminescence yields, emitting mainly in the VUV region. The photons can provide signal readout if appropriate photosensors are used. Micropattern gaseous detectors are good candidates for signal amplification in high background and/or low rate experiments due to their high electroluminescence yields and radiopurity. In this work, the VUV light responses of the Gas Electron Multiplier and of the Micro-Hole Strip Plate, working with pure xenon, are simulated and studied in detail using a new and versatile C++ toolkit. It is shown that the solid angle subtended by a photosensor placed below the microstructures depends on the operating conditions. The obtained absolute EL yields, determined for different gas pressures and as functions of the applied voltage, are compared with those determined experimentally.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Instrumentatio

A dynamic method for charging-up calculations: the case of GEM

The simulation of Micro Pattern Gaseous Detectors (MPGDs) signal response is an important and powerful tool for the design and optimization of such detectors. However, several attempts to simulate exactly the effective charge gain have not been completely successful. Namely, the gain stability over time has not been fully understood. Charging-up of the insulator surfaces have been pointed as one of the responsible for the difference between experimental and Monte Carlo results. This work describes two iterative methods to simulate the charging-up in one MPGD device, the Gas Electron Multiplier (GEM). The first method uses a constant step for avalanches time evolution, very detailed, but slower to compute. The second method uses a dynamic step that improves the computing time. Good agreement between both methods was reached. Despite of comparison with experimental results shows that charging-up plays an important role in detectors operation, should not be the only responsible for the difference between simulated and measured effective gain, but explains the time evolution in the effective gain.Comment: Minor changes in grammatical statements and inclusion of some important information about experimental setup at section "Comparison with experimental results

Simulation of gain stability of THGEM gas-avalanche particle detectors

Charging-up processes affecting gain stability in Thick Gas Electron Multipliers (THGEM) were studied with a dedicated simulation toolkit. Integrated with Garfield++, it provides an effective platform for systematic phenomenological studies of charging-up processes in MPGD detectors. We describe the simulation tool and the fine-tuning of the step-size required for the algorithm convergence, in relation to physical parameters. Simulation results of gain stability over time in THGEM detectors are presented, exploring the role of electrode-thickness and applied voltage on its evolution. The results show that the total amount of irradiated charge through electrode's hole needed for reaching gain stabilization is in the range of tens to hundreds of pC, depending on the detector geometry and operational voltage. These results are in agreement with experimental observations presented previously

Arte(Fatos): Silvio Nunes Pinto

A investigação contempla a obra de Silvio Nunes Pinto, trabalhador rural que, no exercício de suas atividades cotidianas e para atender às demandas de suas realidades concreta e psíquica, produziu objetos ricos em detalhes e acabamentos, apesar de não se restringir somente às funções a elas destinadas. Sua obra é regida pelo modelo de fabricação que dá forma à matéria, indistinta do doméstico e do político. A “diferença política” de seu fazer em interação com os demais outros à sua volta, principalmente com o casal de artistas Vera Barcellos e Patrício Farias, possibilitou-lhe configurar um espaço para fazer, ver, nomear, na “partilha do sensível”. (RANCIÈRE, 2005