Unsupervised Physics-Informed Health Indicator Discovery for Complex Systems

Discovering health indicators (HI) is essential for prognostics and health management of complex systems, as an HI enables timely interventions and effective maintenance strategies. However, most of the existing methodologies for HI discovery rely on labeled data which is expensive and complicated to obtain in the real world. In this paper, we propose a novel, unsupervised physics-informed model structured after expert knowledge in the form of a graphical representation of the expected relationships between sensor readings, operating conditions, and degradation. In addition, a soft constraint is used to guide the representation of the HI according to generally available expert knowledge about degradation. We evaluated the model on a turbofan engine dataset and conducted four experiments by manipulating the original data to create realistic real-world scenarios. The proposed method discovers an HI that exhibits better intrinsic qualities than the current state-of-the-art methodologies, leading to enhanced prognostic performance. Notably, in situations where the initial health state of each system varies, the proposed method achieves an average prognostic performance improvement of approximately 20% compared to existing state-of-the-art methods.Air Transport & Operation

Generic Hybrid Models for Prognostics of Complex Systems

Hybrid models combining physical knowledge and machine learning show promise for obtaining accurate and robust prognostic models. However, despite the increased interest in hybrid models in recent years, the proposed solutions tend to be domain-specific. As a result, there is no compelling strategy of what, where, and how physics-derived knowledge can be integrated into deep learning models depending on the available representation of physical knowledge and the quality of data for the development of prognostic models for complex systems. This Ph.D. project aims to develop a general strategy for hybridizing prognostic models by exploring multiple methods to incorporate physical knowledge at various stages of the learning algorithm. The project will prioritize general expert knowledge as the primary source of information, while domain-specific knowledge will serve as an additional feature when applicable.Air Transport & Operation

O ensino médio e o exercício profissional no contexto da enfermagem brasileira Enseñanza a nivel medio y la práctica profesional en el contexto de la enfermería brasileña Teaching at the secondary level and professional practice in the context of brazilian nursing

A formação profissional na área de enfermagem brasileira tem sido motivo de preocupação ao longo da história da enfermagem moderna, em nosso país. No contexto histórico em que a enfermagem brasileira se desenvolveu, buscamos analisar a evolução da legislação norteadora da formação dos seus profissionais de nível médio, bem como as leis que regem a prática destes trabalhadores.<br>La formación del profesional del área de enfermería ha sido motivo de preocupación en la historia de la enfermería moderna en nuestro país. En ese contexto histórico en que la enfermería brasileña se desarrolló, las autoras analizaron la evolución de la legislación sobre la formación de profesionales a nivel medio y las leyes que regulan la práctica de estos trabajadores.<br>The formation of nursing professionals has been a concern through nursing history in our country. Within the context of development of nursing history, authors analysed the evolution of the legislation about the formation of nursing professionals at the secondary level as well as the legislation about their practice

Padrões tecnológicos e processo de inovação de produtos: o caso da Itautec-Philco S.A. Technology standards and product innovation process: the case of itautec-philco

O objetivo deste trabalho é apresentar e discutir a influência dos padrões tecnológicos no processo de inovação de produtos da indústria de computadores, focalizando o caso em que se tem de lidar com padrões já estabelecidos. Com este fim foi estudado o processo de definição de produtos da linha de microcomputadores fabricados pela Itautec-Philco S.A. O trabalho mostra que os padrões tecnológicos da indústria devem ser cuidadosamente considerados nas análises das decisões de projeto da empresa, pois condicionam as direções e os ritmos das estratégias tecnológicas e das mudanças técnicas implementadas.<br>This article seeks to illustrate the influence of technology standards in the process of product innovation. An analysis of the situation in which firms have to deal with industry standards already established was carried out as well as the analysis of the product definition process of the microcomputer line developed by Itautec-Philco S.A, a Brazilian computer company. This article shows that computer technology standards are a core element to consider in the analysis of the project decisions, because they condition directions and rates of technology strategies and technical changes implemented

Comunidades de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares associados ao amendoim forrageiro em pastagens consorciadas no Estado do Acre, Brasil Communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi associated with peanut forage in mixed pastures in the state of Acre, Brazil

O objetivo deste trabalho foi identificar e estimar a diversidade de comunidades de fungos micorrízicos arbusculares (FMAs) autóctones associados ao amendoim forrageiro (Arachis pintoi), em monocultivo e consorciado com outras forrageiras. A amostragem foi realizada em sete áreas, em Rio Branco, AC, sendo coletadas quatro amostras de solo em cada área, na profundidade de 0-10 cm, nas estações seca (junho de 2004) e chuvosa (janeiro de 2005). As áreas cultivadas com A. pintoi foram: monocultivo, consórcio com pastagens de gramíneas e outras leguminosas e como cobertura do solo em cafeeiro, além de capoeira e mata adjacentes como testemunhas. Foi verificada a ocorrência de 21 espécies de FMAs nas duas estações, sendo 18 espécies no período seco e 16 no chuvoso. As espécies foram distribuídas em cinco gêneros: Acaulospora, Entrophospora, Gigaspora, Glomus e Scutellospora. A densidade de esporos foi maior no consórcio A. pintoi x Brachiaria brizantha x Pueraria phaseoloides e a menor nas áreas de A. pintoi x cafeeiro, capoeira e mata. As colonizações radiculares foram maiores na estação chuvosa (15 a 63%) do que na estação seca (5 a 37%). Os índices de diversidade no monocultivo foram semelhantes aos das demais áreas avaliadas, indicando que o amendoim serve como hospedeiro de diferentes espécies de FMAs e que o seu cultivo pode aumentar a presença desses organismos nos sistemas produtivos, melhorando a qualidade biológica do solo.<br>The purpose of this study was to identify the autochthonous communities of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associated with Arachis pintoi and estimate its diversity. Samples of soil were collected in a Field at Rio Branco, AC. The sampling was carried out in seven areas, being collected four samples from soil in each area, in a depth of 0-10cm, in dry season (June 2004) and rainy season (January 2005). The areas cultivated with A. pintoi were: monoculture, grass pasture and others legumes intercropped, coffee plant under cover of A. pintoi, besides brush and forest adjacent like a control. It was verified the occurrence of 21 species of AMF in the two seasons, 18 species in the dry period and 16 in the rainy. The species were distributed in five genres: Acaulospora, Entrophospora, Gigaspora, Glomus and Scutellospora. The densities of spores were higher in A. pintoi x Brachiaria brizantha x Pueraria phaseoloides intercropped and lowest in the areas of A. pintoi x coffee plants, brush and forest. Mycorrhizal colonization was higher in the rainy season (15 to 63%) than in the dry season (5 to 37%). The diversity indices in monoculture were similar to those of other areas evaluated, indicating that the A. pintoi serves as host of AMF of different species and that its cultivation may increase the presence of these organisms in production systems, improving the biological soil quality

Narcissism and the Strategic Pursuit of Short-Term Mating:Universal Links across 11 World Regions of the International Sexuality Description Project-2

Previous studies have documented links between sub-clinical narcissism and the active pursuit of short-term mating strategies (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality, marital infidelity, mate poaching). Nearly all of these investigations have relied solely on samples from Western cultures. In the current study, responses from a cross-cultural survey of 30,470 people across 53 nations spanning 11 world regions (North America, Central/South America, Northern Europe, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, Middle East, Africa, Oceania, Southeast Asia, and East Asia) were used to evaluate whether narcissism (as measured by the Narcissistic Personality Inventory; NPI) was universally associated with short-term mating. Results revealed narcissism scores (including two broad factors and seven traditional facets as measured by the NPI) were functionally equivalent across cultures, reliably associating with key sexual outcomes (e.g., more active pursuit of shortterm mating, intimate partner violence, and sexual aggression) and sex-related personality traits (e.g., higher extraversion and openness to experience). Whereas some features of personality (e.g., subjective well-being) were universally associated with socially adaptive facets of Narcissism (e.g., self-sufficiency), most indicators of short-term mating (e.g., unrestricted sociosexuality and marital infidelity) were universally associated with the socially maladaptive facets of narcissism (e.g., exploitativeness). Discussion addresses limitations of these cross-culturally universal findings and presents suggestions for future research into revealing the precise psychological features of narcissism that facilitate the strategic pursuit of short-term mating