An objective perspective for classic flow classification criteria

Four classic criteria used to the classification of complex flows are discussed here. These criteria are useful to identify regions of the flow related to shear, elongation or rigid-body motion. These usual criteria, namely $Q$, $\Delta$, $\lambda_{2}$ and $\lambda_{cr}/\lambda_{ci}$, use the fluid's rate-of-rotation tensor, which is known to vary with respect to a reference frame. The advantages of using objective (invariant with respect to a general transformation on the reference frame) criteria are discussed in the present work. In this connection, we construct versions of classic criteria replacing standard vorticity, a non-objective quantity, by effective vorticity, a rate of rotation tensor with respect to the angular velocity of the eigenvectors of the strain rate tensor. The classic criteria and their corresponding objective versions are applied to classify two complex flows: the transient ABC flow and the flow through the abrupt 4:1 contraction. It is shown that the objective versions of the criteria provide richer information on the kinematics of the flowComment: 11 pages, 4 figures (minor corrections and improvements

Does education reduce wage inequality? Quantile regression evidence from 16 countries

Quantile regression estimates of returns to education are used to address the relation between schooling and wage inequality. Empirical evidence for male workers from 16 countries for the mid 1990s suggests a robust stylised fact: Returns to schooling are higher for the more skilled individuals, conditional on their observable characteristics. This suggests that schooling has a positive impact upon within-levels wage inequality. Factors such as over-education, ability – schooling interactions and school quality or different fields of study may be driving this result. D 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Integration of palliative care and psychiatry: ethico-clinical and organisational challenges based on professionals’ views

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How to enhance the informed consent process in persons unable to consent? Experiences from different contexts and settings

Background: Informed consent is the most scrutinized and controversial aspect of clinical research ethics. In palliative and end-of-life care, assessing decision-making capacity may be challenging. Patients, particularly those with cognitive impairment, deserve special attention when developing, implementing, and evaluating the informed consent process. Respecting patients’ autonomy in research includes obtaining informed consent; facilitating and supporting patients’ choices about research options; allowing patients to refuse participating in research; disclosing comprehensive and truthful information; and maintaining privacy and confidentiality. An autonomous decision requires that participants/patients have the capacity to provide informed consent. Aim: To explore how to enhance the informed consent process in persons unable to consent (e.g., persons with cognitive impairment, dementia, severe and persistent mental illness, and/or at the end-of-life) to increase equity and fair participant selection. Methods: This presentation is based on a series of systematic reviews and international research projects. It combines theoretical frameworks and ethical principles with empirical research conducted in different contexts and settings. Results: The informed consent process involves both consent and assent, which should be monitored throughout the research process. Informed consent must be an ongoing process of communication, understanding and decision-making that involves a wide range of key stakeholders (the patient and potential participant, possible surrogates, clinicians, and researchers) throughout the course of the study. Cognitive impairment, and other disorders affecting cognition, may have a negative impact on patients’ capacity to provide consent to research participation. Also, stereotypes among researchers can contribute to failures in the informed consent process. This might prevent patients with limited decision-making capacity from participating in relevant research. Conclusions: This presentation provides an overview of ethical frameworks and principles linked to the informed consent process and decision-making capacity in palliative care research, particularly in patients with cognitive impairment and/or limited decision-making capacity. A core set of ethical questions and recommendations is drawn to aid researchers, institutional review boards and potential research participants in the process of obtaining informed consent for palliative and end-of-life care research.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

What does “assisted dying” mean for professionals providing end-of-life care? Results from a nationwide qualitative study

info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Does Education Reduce Wage Inequality? Quantile Regressions Evidence from Fifteen European Countries

We address the impact of education upon wage inequality by drawing on evidence from fifteen European countries, during a period ranging between 1980 and 1995. We focus on within-educational-levels wage inequality by estimating quantile regressions of Mincer equations and analyzing the differences in returns to education across the wage distribution and across time. Four different patterns emerge: 1) a positive and increasing contribution of education upon within-levels wage inequality –the case of Portugal; 2) a positive but stable role of education in terms of inequality – Austria, Finland, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK; 3) a neutral role – Denmark and Italy; and 4) a negative impact – Germany and Greece. We thus find that in most countries dispersion in earnings increases with educational levels and that education is a risky investment. These results suggest a positive interaction between schooling and ability with respect to earnings.N/

Anticipatory medication in home palliative care: a systematic review of existing practices, challenges and safeguards

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Anticipatory medication in home palliative care: a systematic review of existing practices, challenges and safeguards

info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

How to improve ethical decision-making in clinical practice? Practical models and guidelines

Background: Clinical practice in palliative care is characterized by the need of making ethico-clinical decisions, particularly at the end-of-life. End-of-life situations are situations in which a severe deterioration in health, due to the evolution of a disease or another cause, threatens the life of a person irreversibly in the near future, posing the need to make ethico-clinical decisions. Often, these decisions are difficult and challenging; the so-called “ethical challenges” emerge. Despite its ubiquity, there is no consensualized definition of this expression. Various terms are used interchangeably, e.g., “ethical challenges”, “ethical problems”, “ethical issues”, “ethical dilemmas”. Moreover, even though there is a wide range of ethical decisions that need to be made in palliative and end-of-life care, there is no unique model or guideline to help professionals and teams in making difficult and complex decisions. Aim: To explore practical models and guidelines that can be used in clinical contexts to improve ethical decision-making in palliative and end-of-life situations. Methods: This presentation is based on the work developed within project DELiCare: Decisions, Decision-making, and End-of-Life Care: Ethical Framework and Reasoning. The overall project, its objectives, methods, results, and implications will be presented in an integrated fashion, including the application of ethical decision-making models and guidelines to specific clinical cases. Results: End-of-life decisions are rooted in clinical, sociocultural, political, legal, economic, and ethical concerns. Several models and guidelines for ethical decision-making at the end-of-life coexist but are rarely used in clinical practice. These models and guidelines can be a relevant aid for healthcare professionals and teams. They can stimulate the debate around disputed and controversial issues, helping professionals to follow a well-informed and shared decision-making model in order to meet patients’ values, wishes and preferences. Conclusions: Decision-making processes underlying end-of-life decisions are influenced by and foster clinical, ethical, sociocultural, religious, political, legal, and economic concerns and debates. Healthcare professionals working in palliative and end-of-life care often perceive these decision-making processes as complex and challenging. The use of practical models and guidelines can enhance professionals and teams’ competencies and effectiveness in making ethico-clinical decisions at the end-of-life.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Avaliação hídrica de um latossolo vermelho submetido a sistemas de manejo.

O conteúdo de água em sistemas de preparo do solo são essenciais para avaliar a sustentabilidade agrícola. O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar os efeitos do teor de água em um Latossolo Vermelho distrófi co sob diferentes sistemas de manejo: 1) Crotalária (Crotalaria juncea), em sistema de semeadura direta (SDC); 2) Milheto (Pennisetum americanum sin. Tiphoydes), em sistema de semeadura direta (SDM); 3) Lablabe (Dolechus lablab), em sistema de semeadura direta (SDL); 4) Semeadura convencional após uma gradagem aradora e duas niveladoras (SSC) e 5) pousio. A propriedade física do solo foi avaliada nas camadas 0,5-0,10 m e 0,15-0,20 m . A curva de retenção de água foi mais influenciada pelo SDM na camada 0,5-0,10 m