Decision support system for surface irrigation design

The SADREG decision support system was developed to help decision makers in the process of design and selection of farm surface irrigation systems to respond to requirements of modernization of surface irrigation—furrow, basin, and border irrigation. It includes a database, simulation models, user-friendly interfaces, and multicriteria analysis models. SADREG is comprised of two components: design and selection. The first component applies database information, and through several simulation and computational tools, produces a set of design alternatives in agreement with the user options. These alternatives are characterized by several hydraulic, economic, and environmental indicators that allow appropriate selection and ranking. The selection component bases upon multicriteria analysis using composite programming and ELECTRE II ranking models, which support the decision maker to select the best alternative. The decision maker participates in all decision processes through a user-friendly interface that allows expressing design options and priorities. SADREG was tested with data collected from field experiments. In addition to describing the modeling approach, an application to a sector of the Lower Mondego Irrigation Project, Portugal, is presente

Abundance and diversity of soil arthropods in the olive grove ecosystem

Arthropods are part of important functional groups in soil food webs. Recognizing these arthropods and understanding their function in the ecosystem as well as when they are active is essential to understanding their roles. In the present work, the abundance and diversity of soil arthropods is examined in olive groves in the northeast region of Portugal during the spring. Five classes of arthropods were found: Chilopoda, Malacostraca, Entognatha, Insecta, and Arachnida. Captures were numerically dominated by Collembola within Entognatha, representing 70.9% of total captures. Arachnida and Insecta classes represented about 20.4 and 9.0%, respectively. Among the predatory arthropods, the most representative groups were Araneae and Opiliones from Arachnida, and Formicidae, Carabidae, and Staphylinidae from Insecta. From the Formicidae family, Tetramorium semilaeve (Andre 1883), Tapinoma nigerrimum (Nylander 1856), and Crematogaster scutellaris (Olivier 1792) were the most representative ant species. Arthropods demonstrated preference during the day, with 74% of the total individuals recovered in this period, although richness and similarity were analogous during the day and night

A note on the cylindrical collapse of counter-rotating dust

We find analytical solutions describing the collapse of an infinitely long cylindrical shell of counter-rotating dust. We show that--for the classes of solutions discussed herein--from regular initial data a curvature singularity inevitably develops, and no apparent horizons form, thus in accord with the spirit of the hoop conjecture.Comment: 8 pages, LaTeX, ijmpd macros (included), 1 eps figure; accepted for publication in Int. J. Mod. Phys.

Physiological variables and burden in adult children of cancer patients

La presente investigación tuvo como objetivo evaluar el modo como los hijos adultos reaccionan frente a la enfermedad oncológica de los progenitores. Este estudio incluye dos muestras, cada una constituida por 78 sujetos. Así, una de las muestras corresponde a los hijos adultos con progenitores en situación oncológica. La otra incluye la participación de los hijos adultos con padres saludables. Los instrumentos utilizados fueron el Burden Assesment Scale y el International Affective Picture System. Los resultados indican que hay diferencias entre las dos muestras. Se constata que los hijos cuidadores de enfermos oncológicos presentan niveles más elevados de sobrecarga familiar y valores más elevados en los registros psicofisiológicos, lo que significa que manifiestan una mayor reactividad emocional.The present study have as main purpose assess how the adult children react to malignant disease of the parents. This study includes two samples, each of them consisting of 78 subjects. One sample corresponds to adult children in a situation of parental cancer. The other includes the participation of adult children with healthy parents. The measures used were the Burden Assessment Scale as well as the International Affective Picture System. The results indicate that there are differences between the children of cancer patients and children of healthy parents. It appears that the caregiving children have higher levels of familiar burden and higher values in psychophysiological records, which means higher reactivity towards the emotional stimuli.(undefined

Family variables and drug addiction

Este trabalho teve como objectivo avaliar o impacto das variáveis familiares: coesão, adaptabilidade, recursos familiares, satisfação familiar e exaustão familiar no toxicodependente e família, no sentido de contribuir para a elaboração de futuros programas de intervenção na área da educação para a saúde. Para o efeito foi utilizada uma amostra constituída por 208 indivíduos: 113 toxicodependentes e 95 familiares, divididos em 3 grupos: primeira vez em tratamento, recaídas e reabilitados. Os dados foram recolhidos no Projecto Homem em Braga. Os instrumentos utilizados foram: “Escala da Adaptabilidade e Coesão Familiar” (Faces II) de Olson, Portner & Bell (1982); “Questionário Satisfação Familiar” (FSS) de Olson & Wilson (1982) e “Questionário Recursos Familiares” de Olson, Larsen & McCubbin (1982). Verificamos maior nível de coesão, adaptabilidade, satisfação familiar e mais recursos familiares nos toxicodependentes reabilitados. Os familiares dos toxicodependentes reabilitados percebem a família como mais adaptável quando comparados com os outros dois grupos. Por sua vez, os toxicodependentes percepcionam menos satisfação familiar, coesão e recursos do que o seu familiar. As implicações dos resultados são abordadas.The current project assesses the impact of family variables: cohesion, adaptability, family strengths, family satisfaction, burden assessment in drug users and families with the intent of contributing to elaborate future intervention programs in the field of health education. The sample of our study is composed of 208 subjects: 113 drug users and 95 family members, divided into 3 groups: drug users who were in treatment for the first time, relapsed drug users and rehabilitated drug users. The data was gathered at “Projecto Homem” in Braga. The following instruments were used: “Family Cohesion and Adaptability Scales” (Faces II) by Olson, Portner & Bell; “Family Satisfaction Scale” (FSS) by Olson & Wilson (1982) and “Family Strengths” by Olson, Larsen & McCubbin (1982). Results showed greater level of cohesion, adaptability, family satisfaction and more family resources in the rehabilitated drug users. Family members of rehabilitated drug users perceive more adaptability in the family than family members from the other two groups. Drug users perceive less family satisfaction, cohesion and resources than their family member. Implications of results are addressed

Self-assembled hydrogel nanoparticles for drug delivery applications

Hydrogel nanoparticles—also referred to as polymeric nanogels or macromolecular micelles—are emerging as promising drug carriers for therapeutic applications. These nanostructures hold versatility and properties suitable for the delivery of bioactive molecules, namely of biopharmaceuticals. This article reviews the latest developments in the use of self-assembled polymeric nanogels for drug delivery applications, including small molecular weight drugs, proteins, peptides, oligosaccharides, vaccines and nucleic acids. The materials and techniques used in the development of self-assembling nanogels are also described