Complexity analysis of Klein-Gordon single-particle systems

The Fisher-Shannon complexity is used to quantitatively estimate the contribution of relativistic effects to on the internal disorder of Klein-Gordon single-particle Coulomb systems which is manifest in the rich variety of three-dimensional geometries of its corresponding quantum-mechanical probability density. It is observed that, contrary to the non-relativistic case, the Fisher-Shannon complexity of these relativistic systems does depend on the potential strength (nuclear charge). This is numerically illustrated for pionic atoms. Moreover, its variation with the quantum numbers (n, l, m) is analysed in various ground and excited states. It is found that the relativistic effects enhance when n and/or l are decreasing.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, Accepted in EPL (Europhysics Letters

Argumentos ontológicos

In this paper we propose a deep revisten of the classical ontological arguments of Anselm, Descartes, Leibniz and Spinoza. The introduction c1arifies the concept of ontological argument and point out the important logic distinction between the validity of an argument and its soundness, where besides validity it is required that all premises are actually true. The following sections discuss in turn the arguments of Anselm, Descartes, Spinoza and Leibniz. In all cases we have translated the relevant passages of the original argument and formalized its hypothesis and conclusion. In some cases we reconstructed the whole argument and added as hypothesis all statements that served the authors to prove their thesis. By doing this we detached ourselves from what is traditionally considered the argument (for example, as seen in Logic and Theism [Sobel]) and most of the arguments become formally valid.We are aware of the fact that in this way we made explicit the hidden assumptions that made the argument valid while weakening its strength. The reason why is that the new hypothesis are hard to justify as in many cases they have philosophical import and they even committed the fallacy known as petitio principii. Very often the new hypothesis are existential statements, which c1early allow passing from a definition, which simply establishes a correspondence between properties, to an assumption of consistency, stating that certain sets are not empty. The paper includes the issues relevant to this study: the consideration of existence as a predicate, improper descriptions, existential import of universal statements, modal categories and the eventual modal collapse. We should highlight the effort of formalization for which we have used several logics: classical first order logic, higher order (with a description operator) and modal logic. We conclude by pointing out that the subject of ontological arguments still fascinate logicians and philosophers and received attention in the twentieth and the twenty first century.En este artículo proponemos una revisión a fondo de los argumentos ontológicos clásicos: de Anselmo, Descartes, Spinoza y Leibniz. En la introducción se precisa la noción de argumento ontológico y señalamos la importante distinción que hacemos en lógica entre la validez de un argumento y su solidez, esta última tiene en cuenta no sólo la corrección formal del mismo sino también la verdad de las hipótesis. En las siguientes secciones se analizanpor turno los argumentos de Anselmo, Descartes, Spinoza y Leibniz. En todos los casos hemos traducido los pasajes correspondientes del argumento original y formalizado sushipótesis y conclusión. En algunos casos hemos reconstruido el argumento y destacado como hipótesis todos los enunciados que de hecho se usan en la demostración por parte de los autores en estudio. De esta forma a veces nos separamos de lo que tradicionalmente es considerado el argumento (por ejemplo, tal y como se presentan en Logic and Theism [Sobel]) y la mayor parte de los argumentos deviene en formalmente válidos. Somos conscientes de que de esa manera hemos explicitado las premisas ocultas que validan el argumento pero a la vez disminuyen la solidez del mismo por tratarse de hipótesis de dificil justificación y con carga filosófica en muchos casos, incluso de falacias de petición de principio. Frecuentemente se trata de hipótesis existenciales, que claramente permiten pasar de una definición, que simplemente establece una correspondencia entre propiedades, a una asunción de consistencia, estableciendo que no son vacíos ciertos conjuntos. Se mencionan los temas relevantes a este estudio: el de la consideración de la existencia como un predicado, el de las descripciones impropias, el compromiso o aporte existencial de los enunciados universales, las categorías modales y el eventual colapso modal. Habría que destacar el esfuerzo de formalización para la que hemos empleado varias lógicas: clásica de primer, de orden superior (con descriptores como operadores lógicos) y lógica modal. Finalizamos señalando que el tema de los argumentos ontológicos sigue fascinando a los lógicos y filósofos, recibió mucha atención en el siglo XX y también en el XXI

Insufficiently studied factors related to burnout in nursing: Results from an e-Delphi study

Objective: This study aimed to identify potentially important factors in explaining burnout in nursing that have been insufficiently studied or ignored. Methods: A three-round Delphi study via e-mail correspondence was conducted, with a group of 40 European experts. The e-Delphi questionnaire consisted of 52 factors identified from a literature review. Experts rated and scored the importance of factors in the occurrence of burnout and the degree of attention given by researchers to each of the variables listed, on a six-point Likert scale. We used the agreement percentage (>80%) to measure the level of consensus between experts. Furthermore, to confirm the level of consensus, we also calculated mean scores and modes. Regardless of the degree of consensus reached by the experts, we have calculated the mean of the stability of the answers for each expert (individual's qualitative stability) and the mean of the stability percentages of the experts (qualitative group stability). Results: The response rate in the three rounds was 93.02% (n = 40). Eight new factors were suggested in the first round. After modified, the e-Delphi questionnaire in the second and third rounds had 60 factors. All the factors reached the third round with a consensus level above 80% in terms of the attention that researchers gave them in their studies. Moreover, the data show a total mean qualitative group stability of 96.21%. In the third round 9 factors were classified by experts as 'studied very little', 17 as 'studied little' and 34 as 'well studied' Conclusion: Findings show that not all the factors that may influence nursing burnout have received the same attention from researchers. The panel of experts has identified factors that, although important in explaining burnout, have been poorly studied or even forgotten. Our results suggest that further study into factors such as a lack of recognition of part of the tasks that nurses perform, feminine stereotype or excessive bureaucracy is needed for a better understanding of this syndrome and improve the quality of life in nurses. © 2017 Manzano-García, Ayala.This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Market power and welfare in asymmetric divisible good auctions

We analyze a divisible good uniform-price auction that features two groups, each with a finite number of identical bidders, who compete in demand schedules. In the linear-quadratic-normal framework, this paper presents conditions under which the unique equilibrium in linear demands exists and derives novel comparative statics results that highlight the interaction between payoff and information parameters with asymmetric groups. We find that the strategic complementarity in the slopes of traders' demands is reinforced by inference effects from prices, and we display the role of payoff and information asymmetries in explaining deadweight losses. Furthermore, price impact and the deadweight loss need not move together, and market integration may reduce welfare. The results are consistent with the available empirical evidence

PENGARUH BRAND IMAGE DAN HARGA TERHADAP LOYALITAS PELANGGAN PADA DISTRO HYB SUPPLY

ABSTRAK Manajemen pemasaran merupakan seni dan ilmu untuk memilih pasar sasaran dan meraih, mempertahankan, serta menumbuhkan pelanggan dengan menciptakan, menghantarkan dan, mengkomunikasikan niai pelanggan yang unggul. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui seberapa besar pengaruh brand image dan harga terhadap loyalitas pelanggan pada distro Hyb Supply Bandung baik secara parsial maupun simultan. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah deskriptif dan verifikatif dengan jumlah sample 100 responde n. Teknik pengumpulan data yang digunakan adalah observasi, wawancara, dan menyebarkan kuisioner. Metode analisis data yang digunakan adalah regresi linier berganda, korelasi ganda dan koefisien determinasi, dan uji hipotesis. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan besar pengaruh brand image dan harga terhadap loyalitas pelanggan pada distro Hyb Supply Bandung dapat dikatakan cukup baik. Brand image memberikan pengaruh yang lebih kecil pada loyalitas pelanggan dibandingkan dengan harga terhadap loyalita pelanggan. Kata Kunci : Brand Image, Harga dan Loyalitas Pelangga

Oil subsidies and renewable energy in Saudi Arabia:a general equilibrium approach

In 2016, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) announced its Vision 2030 strategic plan incorporating major changes to the economic structure of the country, including an intention to deploy 9.5 GW of renewable energy in an effort to reduce the penetration of oil in the electricity generation system. This paper assesses the macroeconomic impact of such changes in the KSA, coupled with reductions in implicit energy subsidies. Based on a dynamic general equilibrium model, our analysis suggests that if the KSA government were to deploy a relatively small quantity of renewable technology, consistent with the country’s Vision 2030 plans, there would be a positive impact on the KSA’s long run GDP and on households’ welfare. However, we demonstrate that if the integration costs of renewable technology were high, then households’ welfare would be maximized at around 30–40 percent renewables penetration. In addition, we show that a policy favoring renewable energy would increase the dependence of the KSA on oil, given that a larger share of GDP would be linked to oil exports and so, potentially, to oil price shocks. Finally, it is shown that exporting significantly more oil onto the international market could have a negative impact on the international oil price and thus could offset the potential gains from the renewable energy policy

Active Listening by Hospital Chaplaincy Volunteers: Benefits, Challenges and Good Practice

Active listening (AL) is a communication technique frequently used in counselling. This study explored the feasibility of implementing a ward-based AL intervention for patients by chaplaincy volunteers in the UK National Health Service. Seven focus groups (n=47) included healthcare researchers, lecturers, nurses, patients, AL tutors, active listeners volunteers and chaplaincy volunteers. Acceptability and perceived effectiveness of a patient/volunteer listener intervention were explored. Analysis followed the framework approach. Four themes emerged: (a) Listening as a wellbeing generator; (b) Benefits of AL delivered by volunteers; (c) Spirituality and public perceptions of hospital chaplaincy; (d) Challenges of structured communication techniques in acute care. Participants reported positive attitudes towards the introduction of AL provided by volunteers in acute wards. They shared a common belief that when people are listened to, wellbeing improves through control, choice and empowerment. Patients’ acceptability of the intervention increased if it was delivered by volunteers

Cyclosporin A and doxorubicin-ifosfamide in resistant solid tumours: a phase I and an immunological study.

In order to test whether circumvention of clinical resistance can be obtained in common solid tumours by targeting different drug resistance mechanisms, a phase I clinical and immunological study was designed. The purpose of the study was to determine the dose of cyclosporin A (CsA), in combination with doxorubicin (DOX) and ifosfamide (IFX), needed to achieve steady-state whole-blood levels of 2000 ng ml-1 and the associated toxicity of this combination. Treatment consisted of CsA 5 mg kg-1 as a 2 h loading infusion, followed by a CsA 3 day continuous infusion (c.i.) (days 1-3) at doses that were escalated from 10 to 18 mg kg-1 day-1. Chemotherapy consisted of DOX 55 mg m-2 by i.v. 24 h c.i. (day 2) and IFX 2 g m-2 i.v. over 1 h on days 1 and 3. Treatments were repeated every 4 weeks. Eighteen patients with previously treated resistant solid tumours received 39 cycles. Mean steady-state CsA levels > or = 2000 ng ml-1 were reached at 5 mg kg-1 loading dose followed by a 3 day c.i. of 16 mg kg-1 day-1 or greater. Haematological toxicity was greater than expected for the same chemotherapy alone. One patient died of intracranial haemorrhage due to severe thrombopenia. Other observed toxicities were: asymptomatic hyperbilirubinaemia (46% cycles), mild nephrotoxicity (20% cycles), hypomagnesaemia (72% cycles), mild increase in body weight (100% cycles), hypertension (15% cycles) and headache (15% cycles). Overall the toxicity was acceptable and manageable. No alterations in absolute lymphocyte number, the lymphocyte subsets studied (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD19) or CD4/CD8 ratio were observed in patients receiving more than one treatment cycle, although there were significant and non-uniform variations in the values of the different lymphocyte subsets studied when pre- and post-treatment values were compared. There was also a significant increase in the CD4/CD8 ratio. Tumour regressions were observed in two patients (epidermoid carcinoma of the cervix and Ewing's sarcoma). The CsA dose recommended for phase II trials is a 5 mg kg-1 loading dose followed by a 3-day c.i. of 16 mg kg-1 day-1 simultaneously with DOX and IFX at the doses administered in this study

The Dynamics of Labour Informality in Brazil, 2003-2019

This article examines the evolution of labour informality in Brazil between 2003 and 2019, a period marked by strong political, economic and social inflections. In the first section, we offer a brief reflection on the terms of the historical debate on informality and its relation to the transformations of the Brazilian economy. In section two we describe the remarkable process of labour formalisation that took place in the country between 2003 and 2014, pointing out its exceptionality and principal determinants. In section three, we note the reversal of this formalisation trend. With the recession of 2015–2016, informal and precarious work increased sharply, exacerbated by newly flexible labour laws and the emergence of new precarious labour relations. We conclude that the Brazilian experience in this new century shows that the formalisation of labour relations is strongly related to more general conditions of economic development and the solidity of public institutions. Furthermore, and in contrast to the views held in mainstream economics, initiatives to simplify and ease the regulatory framework appear to coexist with increasing levels of precariousness and informal work. KEYWORDS: labour informality; Brazilian labour market; public policy; labour regulation; gig econom

Óleo de soja e gordura animal na alimentação de eqüinos.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estudar os efeitos da gordura animal e do óleo de soja como fontes de energia em potras da raça Árabe e Cruza/Árabe. Forarm utilizados 21 animais, com peso médio inicial de 228 kg e 13 meses de idade media, distribuidos em três tratamentos