Essays on Factor Adjustment Dynamics

This study analyzes dynamic production input factor decisions using the annual Census of Manufacturing firms from Colombia and monthly production data from a glass mould firm. It proposes a model able to explain the mix of smooth and lumpy adjustment and both the static and dynamic interrelation in capital and employment adjustment observed in these datasets. The key points of the explanation are the joint analysis of capital and employment adjustment and the existence of adjustment costs for capital and labor. These adjustment costs take the form of disruption in the production process and reallocation of internal resources, lagged in the adjustment represented by a convex cost function, fixed costs and congestion effects, meaning that it is more costly for firms to adjust simultaneously capital and employment. The study uses a structural approach and a simulated minimum distance algorithm to estimate the adjustment cost parameters in the case of the Census of Manufacturing Firms and a calibration procedure to explore the fit of the model in the specific case of the glass mould firm

Resultados diferenciales de la aplicación de dos programas en competencias emocionales en contexto escolar

El objetivo del presente estudio es analizar los efectos de dos programas breves de intervención en inteligencia emocional; uno de ellos basado en el modelo de habilidades de inteligencia emocional, el programa INTEMO, y el otro un protocolo de intervención para el fomento de la flexibilidad psicológica con estrategias de mindfulness. Ambos protocolos se aplicaron a lo largo de cinco sesiones, cada una con una duración de una hora y con frecuencia semanal. Se sigue un diseño cuasi-experimental pretest-posttest con dos grupos independientes de medidas repetidas; la muestra inicial es de 215 sujetos, finalmente participaron 120 adolescentes españoles (54.2% varones, con edad media de 12 años), procedentes de un centro de educación secundaria durante dos meses. Los resultados muestran diferencias entre los grupos en supresión emocional, regulación emocional e inteligencia emocional percibida. Igualmente se hallan conexiones entre inteligencia emocional y habilidades en mindfulness. El programa INTEMO obtiene puntuaciones significativamente diferentes y mayores en supresión emocional, regulación emocional e inteligencia emocional percibida. En el análisis de regresión se han hallado factores que parecen estar a la base del desarrollo de inteligencia emocional y mindfulness, encontrando conexión entre ambas

Nonlinear waves in a chain of magnetically coupled pendula

A motivation for the study of reduced models like one-dimensional systems in Solid State Physics is the complexity of the full problem. In recent years our group has studied theoretically, numerically and experimentally wave propagation in lattices of nonlinearly coupled oscillators. Here, we present the dynamics of magnetically coupled pendula lattices. These macroscopic systems can model the dynamical processes of matter or layered systems. We report the results obtained for harmonic wave propagation in these media, and the different regimes of mode conversion into higher harmonics strongly influenced by dispersion and discreteness, including the phenomenon of acoustic dilatation of the chain, as well as some results on the propagation of localized waves i.e., solitons and kinks.Generalitat Valenciana APOSTD/2017/042Umiversitat Politècnica de València PAID-01-14Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO), Spain FIS2015-65998-C2-2-PJunta de Andalucía 2017/FQM-28

Combination of DROOL rules and Protégé knowledge bases in the ONTO-H annotation tool

ONTO-H is a semi-automatic collaborative tool for the semantic annotation of documents, built as a Protégé 3.0 tab plug-in. Among its multiple functionalities aimed at easing the document annotation process, ONTO-H uses a rule-based system to create cascading annotations out from a single drag and drop operation from a part of a document into an already existing concept or instance of the domain ontology being used for annotation. It also gives support to the detection of name conflicts and instance duplications in the creation of the annotations. The rule system runs on top of the open source rule engine DROOLS and is connected to the domain ontology used for annotation by means of an ad-hoc programmed Java proxy

Sexually Selected Egg Coloration in Spotless Starlings

It has been recently proposed that the blue-green coloration in eggs of many avian species may constitute a sexually selected female signal. Blue-green color intensity would reflect the physiological condition of females, and hence it might also affect the allocation of male parental care. In this study, we use three different experimental approaches to explore the importance of sexual selection on blue-green egg coloration of spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor) eggs. First, experimental deterioration of female body condition (by means of wing feather removal) negatively affected the intensity of blue-green egg coloration. Second, blue-green color intensity of artificial model eggs had a significant positive influence on paternal feeding effort. Finally, we found a negative relationship between the effect of experimental food supply on nestling immunocompetence and the intensity of blue-green coloration of eggs, suggesting that egg color predicts nutritional conditions that nestlings will experience during development. All these results taken together strongly support a role of sexual selection in the blue-green coloration of spotless starling eggs.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER; CGL2004-01777/BOS).Peer reviewe

An updated report on the distribution and conservation status of the endangered Cat’s Head Rockrose Helianthemum caput-felis (Magnoliopsida: Violales: Cistaceae) in Algeria

Helianthemum caput-felis is an Endangered plant species growing in the western Mediterranean basin. Its distribution is well known to the European and Moroccan regional populations, but no data from its distribution in Algeria have been reported since the middle 20th century. In this study, we provide an up-to-date report on the distribution of the species in Algeria. Fieldwork surveys in the classical locations were unsuccessful in finding the species, probably due to human habitat disturbances; however, a relict location was found in Ain-el-Kerma, near one of the historical known locations. As there is reduced distribution we point out the main causes that threaten the habitat of H. caput-felis according to IUCN threats classification scheme and we also propose to label it in the Algerian Red List as regionally Critically Endangered (CRreg B1ab(i,ii,iii, v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,v); C2a(i,ii); D).Helianthemum caput-felis es una planta amenazada del Mediterráneo occidental. Aunque la distribución de sus poblaciones regionales europeas y marroquís se conoce bien, no se ha publicado nada sobre su distribución en Argelia desde mediados del siglo XX. En este estudio presentamos una actualización de la distribución de la especie en Argelia. La visita a las localidades históricas no permitió encontrar la planta, seguramente debido a su extinción por el deterioro del hábitat. No obstante, encontramos una localidad en Ain-El-Kerma, cerca de una de las localidades históricas conocidas de esta especie. También indicamos las amenazas que afectan al hábitat y a la especie, y proponemos su inclusión en la Lista Roja de Argelia como “En Peligro Crítico” a nivel regional (CRreg B1ab(i,ii,iii,v)+2ab(i,ii,iii,v); C2a(i,ii); D)

Fatores de estresse percebidos entre carreiras de enfermagem recém entradas

Objective: To determine the prevalent stress factors among new students to the Faculties of Nursing at the Faculties of Nursing at the Universities of Cadiz, Cordoba, Huelva and Seville, and the influence of socio-demographic, academic, socio-economic, orientation and health factors. Design: A descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study. Methodology: 617 first year nursing students were surveyed (with a 95.66 % response rate) by means of two questionnaires, one for socio-demographics and health, the other for the stress perceived by new students. A descriptive analysis of the stress factors was then carried out for the frequency, mean and standard deviation. The relation between factors was examined through differential analysis by means of the Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric tests. Results: The situations of greatest anxiety among new undergraduates are “taking examinations” and “the amount of work I have to do”. Consequently, the most stressful factor is “academic stress” whilst the least stressful is “feelings of loneliness”. The students who feel most stress across various factors can be identified as: over 25, women, studying outside their home province, and living in rented accommodation during the academic year. Conclusions: Starting a degree in nursing is a stressful time, and students can find their health, quality of life and academic performance negatively affected. The main determinants of stress among new undergraduates are the joint demands of examinations and workload. It would undoubtedly be enlightening to examine this issue further in order to find the possible causes of the problem and to develop strategies that can help in its prevention and so improve the students’ experience of university.Objetivo: Conocer los factores de estrés más prevalentes en el alumnado novel de las Facultades de Enfermería de las Universidades de Cádiz, Córdoba, Huelva y Sevilla, así como su relación con sus características sociodemográficas, académicas, socioeconómicas, de orientación y de salud. Diseño: Estudio observacional, descriptivo, transversal. Metodología: Se encuestó a un total de 617 estudiantes (tasa de respuesta del 95,66 %) del primer curso del grado en Enfermería. Los participantes completaron dos cuestionarios: uno sociodemográfico y de salud; y un  cuestionario de estrés percibido por alumnos noveles. Se realizó un análisis descriptivo de los factores de estrés con frecuencia, media y desviación típica. Las relaciones se examinaron con análisis diferencial a través de estudios no paramétricos U Mann-Whitney y Kruskal-Wallis. Resultados: Las situaciones que más estrés causan a los nuevos universitarios son: “hacer frente a los exámenes” y “la cantidad de trabajo que tengo que afrontar”. En consecuencia, el factor más estresante es el “estrés académico” y el menos estresante el “sentimiento de soledad”. Los estudiantes que perciben mayor estrés en varios factores son: mayores de 25 años, mujeres, el alumnado que procede de otras provincias y los que viven de alquiler durante el curso académico. Conclusiones: La entrada a la universidad produce factores de estrés en el alumnado de enfermería, que pueden afectar a su salud, su calidad de vida y su rendimiento académico. Hacer frentes a los exámenes y la alta carga académica son las principales determinantes de estrés. Sin embargo, sería conveniente indagar más en esta línea con el fin de conocer las posibles causas de este problema y poder desarrollar estrategias de prevención que mejoren la calidad de vida de estos estudiantes.Objetivo: Conhecer os fatores de estresse mais prevalentes em novos alunos das Faculdades de Enfermagem das Universidades de Cádis, Córdoba, Huelva e Sevilha, bem como sua relação com suas características sociodemográficas, acadêmicas, socioeconômicas, de orientação, educacionais e saúde. Delineamento: Estudo observacional, descritivo, transversal. Metodologia: Foram pesquisados ​​617 alunos (taxa de resposta de 95,66 %) do primeiro ano do curso de Enfermagem. Os participantes responderam a dois questionários: sociodemográfico e de saúde; e questionário de estresse percebido por alunos iniciantes. Foi realizada análise descritiva dos fatores de estresse com frequência, média e desvio padrão. Os relacionamentos foram examinados com análise diferencial por meio de estudos não paramétricos de U Mann-Whitney e Kruskal-Wallis. Resultados: As situações que mais estressam os novos estudantes universitários são “fazer exames” e “a quantidade de trabalho que tenho que enfrentar”. Conseqüentemente, o fator mais estressante é o “estresse acadêmico” e o menos estressante são os “sentimentos de solidão”. Os alunos que percebem o maior estresse em vários fatores são: maiores de 25 anos, mulheres, alunos que vêm de outras províncias e aqueles que vivem de aluguel durante o ano letivo. Conclusões: O ingresso na universidade produz fatores estressantes nos estudantes de enfermagem, que podem afetar sua saúde, sua qualidade de vida e seu desempenho acadêmico. A realização de exames e a alta carga acadêmica são apontados como os principais determinantes do estresse. No entanto, seria conveniente aprofundar as investigações nesse sentido para conhecer as possíveis causas desse problema e poder desenvolver estratégias de prevenção que melhorem a qualidade de vida desses alunos