Modal Analysis by State Space Approach in Frequency Domain

This report tests a new procedure to identify the eigenvalue problem matrix A by utilizing the frequency response of a system in state-space for a given sinusoidal forcing input. Two sample identification tests are performed and a detailed explanation of both cases is presented. The method proved to be correct and the results obtained were accurate in both cases. A random error was then added to both sample tests in order to simulate real measuring conditions. Results indicate that it is more difficult to identify the A matrix of an undamped system. The error in the system must be very small for this type of system to be identified. However, when the identification is repeated several times and then averaged, the identification becomes more accurate

A long and winding road: a brief history of the idea of a ‘government of national unity’ in Timor-Leste and its current implications

Abstract In this Discussion Paper, I consider first the academic debate on the establishment of democracy and the role of political competition and cooperation as a background to the current Timorese government formula. This is followed by a brief historical tour of the idea of institutional inclusion in the Timorese recent past (including actual opposition to it) in order to frame the following discussion of some problems that the inauguration of a new form of government may pose in the process of democratic consolidation. I shall then address the rationale for change that may explain the decision to revert to the new formula, whose merits and limitations will also be discussed. Finally, one and a half years after the inauguration of the new government, Timor- Leste has been shaken by political events that call into question whether the scope of ‘inclusion’ of its basis is actually so broad as to embody ‘national unity’, as important players (such as President Taur Matan Ruak) appear to be challenging critical decisions of Rui Maria de Araújo and his government. The end of History is not in sight

Estudio de la dificultad de los cuidados enfermeros ante las infecciones víricas en la unidad de diálisis del Área Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela

[Resumen] Las enfermedades víricas constituyen un problema de interés mundial en el ámbito de la salud pública. Dichas enfermedades tienen una mayor importancia en las unidades de diálisis ya que la prevalencia en estas es mayor, siendo las más comunes la hepatitis B, C y VIH, jugando un papel importante el personal de enfermería en este servicio. Los pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica en terapia dialítica son particularmente susceptibles a las infecciones asociadas a la atención en salud, debido a su inmunosupresión y a las demandas propias de la diálisis, tales como accesos y punciones vasculares, necesidad periódica de un sistema de circulación extracorpórea, transfusiones sanguíneas y medicamentos parenterales entre otros. No obstante, existen datos de transmisión cruzada por medio de las manos del personal a partir del contacto previo con equipos, dispositivos o máquinas de diálisis contaminadas con sangre o líquidos corporales. Por eso con esta investigación, nos proponemos evaluar e identificar el cumplimiento de las medidas de precaución universal, observando si existen dificultades a la hora de realizar el trabajo de enfermería en esta unidad de diálisis. Para ello, se realizará un estudio descriptivo con abordaje cuantitativo, mediante una técnica observacional, dirigido a profesionales de enfermería del Área Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela.[Abstract] Viral diseases are a problem of global concern in the field of public health. Such diseases are more important in dialysis units because the prevalence in these is greater, hepatitis B, C and HIV being the most common, playing an important role nurses in this service. Patients with chronic kidney disease on dialysis therapy are particularly susceptible to those associated with healthcare infections due to immunosuppression and own demands of dialysis, such as access and vascular punctures, periodic need for a heart-lung machine, blood transfusions and parenteral medications among others. However, there is evidence of cross-transmission through the hands of personnel from prior Dificultad de los cuidados enfermeros ante las infecciones víricas en la unidad de diálisis 7 contact with equipment, dialysis machines or devices contaminated with blood or body fluids. So with this research, we propose to evaluate and identify compliance with universal precautions, noting if there are difficulties when performing nursing work in the dialysis unit. For this, a descriptive study with a quantitative approach was made through an observational technique, aimed at professionals in nursing area of Santiago de Compostela.Traballo fin de grao (UDC.FEP). Enfermaría. Curso 2014/201

Capital Accumulation, External Restriction, Technology Gap and Structural Change: Theory and the Brazilian Experience

Brazilian economy was the most dynamic in terms of growth among developed and developing economies from post-War until 1980, when a severe external constraint interrupted this trend. We propose in this paper a model, based on Kaldor, where capital accumulation, technological gap and long run external constraint are connected. Our hypothesis is that capital accumulation, under certain circumstances, can overcome external constraint if the accumulation effort promotes structural change increasing the importance of sectors more technological-intensive. It is expected that the structural change in this direction will contribute to an increase in the income-elasticity of exports and to a decrease in income-elasticity of imports, resulting in the increase in the growth rate of real product compatible with the balance of payments equilibrium in the long period. The last part of the paper shows that the high investment rate observed in the Brazilian economy from the post-War until the end of the 1970s resulted in the deepening of the import substitution process, what, in our interpretation, contributed to partially increase the long run growth rate of the Brazilian economy compatible with the balance of payment equilibrium.structural change, technological progress, industrialization, external restriction

DESEMPENHO DA AGRICULTURA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO (1999-2006): ÁREA, PRODUÇÃO, PRODUTIVIDADE, PREÇOS E CONFLITO AGRÁRIO

O objetivo deste ensaio é o de apresentar e discutir o desempenho recente da agricultura paulista em período de oito anos. Para tanto, utilizam-se as bases de dados do IEA, do ITESP e da FGV. Analisam-se variáveis de área plantada, preços e produção de produtos agrícola, rendimento físico do trabalhador rural em culturas específicas, preço da terra nua, número de famílias acampadas e inflação dos preços. As informações estão agrupadas por regiões do Estado de São Paulo. Dados sobre preços e produção foram utilizados para a construção de um índice de Laspeyres indicador de produção agrícola. Médias ponderadas de preços de produtos agrícolas foram empregadas na obtenção da variável dos termos de troca. Aqueles dois dados, mais área e rendimento físico do trabalho agrícola foram usados na construção de um índice Tornqvist de produtividade. Ao cabo, selecionam-se informações de um período de quatro a oito anos, dependendo da variável em foco, sobre a evolução, por região e para o Estado, de área plantada e área de mata natural, do índice de produção agrícola, do índice de produtividade agrícola, dos preços das terras rurais nuas de segunda, bem como do número de famílias acampadas na ocupação forçada de estabelecimentos rurais ou nas suas imediações. De posse destes dados, geram-se gráficos, diagramas de dispersão de pontos relacionando mudanças anuais de pares de variáveis e a análise da matriz de correlação entre as variáveis consideradas. -----------------------------------------------------The proposal of this essay is to argue about the recent performance of São Paulo agriculture during eight years. For that, we are using the databases of the Institute of Agriculture Economics (IEA), the Land Institute (ITESP) and the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV). We intent to analyze the change of a set of agriculture and agrarian variables. Data on prices and production was used for the construction of a Laspeyres index for agricultural production. Weighed means of prices of agricultural products were used in the attainment of the exchange terms variable. Those two data, more area and physical return of the agricultural worker had been used in the construction of Tornqvist productivity index. To handle the information related to four to eight years, depending on the variable in focus, we selected variables like planted area, area of natural juggle, the index of agricultural production, the index of agricultural productivity, the prices of empty agricultural lands of second class, as well as the number of families involved with forced occupation of agricultural establishments. After that, we generate a set of graphs, dispersion diagram of points relating annual changes of pairs of variable and the analysis of the correlation matrix between the variable in question.Farm Management,

Nitric oxide is involved in growth regulation and re-orientation of pollen tubes

Nitric oxide (NO) controls diverse functions in many cells and organs of animals. It is also produced in plants and has a variety of effects, but little is known about their underlying mechanisms. In the present study, we have discovered a role for NO in the regulation of pollen tube growth, a fast tip-growing cellular system. Pollen tubes must be precisely oriented inside the anatomically complex female ovary in order to deliver sperm. We hypothesized that NO could play a role in this guidance and tested this hypothesis by challenging the growth of pollen tubes with an external NO point source. When a critical concentration was sensed, the growth rate was reduced and the growth axis underwent a subsequent sharp reorientation, after which normal growth was attained. This response was abrogated in the presence of the NO scavenger CPTIO and affected by drugs interfering in the cGMP signaling pathway. The sensitivity threshold of the response was significantly augmented by sildenafil citrate (SC), an inhibitor of cGMP-specific phosphodiesterases in animals. NO distribution inside pollen tubes was investigated using DAF2-DA and was shown to occur mostly in peroxisomes. Peroxisomes are normally excluded from the tip of pollen tubes and little if any NO is found in the cytosol of that region. Our data indicate that the rate and orientation of pollen tube growth is regulated by NO levels at the pollen tube tip and suggest that this NO function is mediated by cGMP