Evolution of the Dependence of Residual Lifetimes

We investigate the dependence properties of a vector of residual lifetimes by means of the copula associated with the conditional distribution function. In particular, the evolution of positive dependence properties (like quadrant dependence and total positivity) are analyzed and expressions for the evolution of measures of association are given

Can altering the structure of financial support payments aid work retention amongst lone parents? Qualitative evaluation of the In Work Retention Pilot

Wage supplementations in the form of temporary ‘in-work credits’ have been introduced in recent years for a number of claimant groups entering work, to encourage enhanced work entry and retention rates. For lone parents, the In Work Credit was piloted from April 2004 and then rolled out nationally in April 2008. It is a wage supplement paid at £40 a week (£60 in London) for 12 months to eligible lone parents moving in to work. From July 2008 to June 2010, a variant on this, the In Work Retention Pilot (IWRP), was trialled in two Jobcentre Plus districts. The IWRP was intended to test the effectiveness of using In Work Credit payments as an aid to job retention and progression, by changing the payment structure of the credits and offering additional advisory support on retention and advancement. This report presents findings from a qualitative evaluation of the IWRP, examining the delivery of the pilot and the views of lone parents and Jobcentre Plus staff on: the distinctive IWRP payment structure; the retention and progression challenges facing lone parents and the support received; and whether and how the IWRP made a difference to work behaviour and decisions. The study is based on interviews, focus groups and observations with Jobcentre Plus delivery staff and participating lone parents

Performances analysis of a semi-displacement hull by numerical simulations

The flow field generated by the towing of a semi-displacement hull, free to heave and pitch, is numerically investigated in the velocity range 18 34 Kn. The numerical code adopted is the in-house developed Xnavis, which is a general purpose unsteady RANS based solver; the solver is based on a Finite Volume approach together with a Chimera technique for overlapping grids and a Level Set approach to handle the air/water interface. The generated wave pattern shows many interesting features with an evident wave plunging near the hull bow, while the stern remains completely dry for velocities over 30 Kn. The numerical outcomes are discussed in terms of total resistance, sinkage and trim

Thyroid ultrasonography reporting: consensus of Italian Thyroid Association (AIT), Italian Society of Endocrinology (SIE), Italian Society of Ultrasonography in Medicine and Biology (SIUMB) and Ultrasound Chapter of Italian Society of Medical Radiology (SIRM)

Thyroid ultrasonography (US) is the gold standard for thyroid imaging and its widespread use is due to an optimal spatial resolution for superficial anatomic structures, a low cost and the lack of health risks. Thyroid US is a pivotal tool for the diagnosis and follow-up of autoimmune thyroid diseases, for assessing nodule size and echostructure and defining the risk of malignancy in thyroid nodules. The main limitation of US is the poor reproducibility, due to the variable experience of the operators and the different performance and settings of the equipments. Aim of this consensus statement is to standardize the report of thyroid US through the definition of common minimum requirements and a correct terminology. US patterns of autoimmune thyroid diseases are defined. US signs of malignancy in thyroid nodules are classified and scored in each nodule. We also propose a simplified nodule risk stratification, based on the predictive value of each US sign, classified and scored according to the strength of association with malignancy, but also to the estimated reproducibility among different operators

Polymorphisms of seed storage proteins in Olea europaea L. cultivars

The use of Olea europaea globulins as genetic markers for the identification of the cultivars was perfomed in the laboratory of Genetics of Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa. The major component of Olea europaea L. seed storage proteins is represented by globulins. These fractions were characterised by electrophoresis and compared with the proteins extracted from protein bodies. The biochemical analysis of the olive seed globulins was carried out in sixteen different cultivars coming from several geographical areas of Italy. The electrophoretic patterns in polyacrylamide gels electrophoresis in denaturing conditions (SDS-PAGE) evidenced both qualitative and quantitative differences. It was possible to identify all the cultivars by their electrophoretic spectra. Number and position of the electrophoretic bands allowed the construction of a similarity matrix and of a dendrogram that allowed the separation into groups, according to their phylogenetic relationships. The several clusters seem to be related with agronomic traits such as fruit size or oil production; no relationships were found with the geographical cultivation area

Clustering of concurrent flood risks via Hazard Scenarios

The study of multiple effects of a number of variables, and the assessment of the corresponding environmental risks, may require the adoption of suitable multivariate models when the variables at play are dependent, as it often happens in environmental studies. In this work, the flood risks in a given region are investigated, in order to identify specific spatial sub-regions (clusters) where the floods show a similar behavior with respect to suitable multivariate) criteria. The reason of the work is three-fold, and the outcomes have deep implications in the hydrological practice: (i) such a regionalization (as it is called in hydrology) may provide useful indications for deciding which gauge stations have a similar (stochastic) behavior; (ii) the spatial clustering may represent a valuable tool for investigating ungauged basins present in a given ‘‘homogeneous’’ Region; (iii) the estimate of extreme design values may be improved by using all the observations collected in a cluster (instead of only single-station data). For this purpose, a Copulabased Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering algorithm – a key tool in geosciences for the analysis of the dependence information – is proposed. The procedure is illustrated via a case study involving the Po river basin, the largest Italian one. A comparison with a previous attempt to cluster the gauge stations present in the same spatial region is also carried out. The sub-regions picked out by the clustering procedure outlined here agree with previous results obtained via heuristic hydrological and meteorological reasonings, and identify spatial areas characterized by similar flood regimes

2-Increasing binary aggregation operators

In this work we investigate the class of binary aggregation operators (=agops) satisfying the 2-increasing property, obtaining some characterizations for agops having other special properties (e.g., quasi-arithmetic mean, Choquet-integral based, modularity) and presenting some construction methods. In particular, the notion of P-increasing function is used in order to characterize the composition of 2-increasing agops. The lattice structure (with respect to the pointwise order) of some subclasses of 2-increasing agops is presented. Finally, a method is given for constructing copulas beginning from 2- increasing and 1-Lipschitz agops