Timing the warm absorber in NGC 4051

We investigated, using spectral-timing analysis, the characterization of highly ionized outflows in Seyfert galaxies, the so-called warm absorbers. Here, we present our results on the extensive ~ 600 ks of XMM-Newton archival observations of the bright and highly variable Seyfert 1 galaxy NGC 4051, whose spectrum has revealed a complex multicomponent wind. Making use of both RGS and EPIC-pn data, we performed a detailed analysis through a time-dependent photoionization code in combination with spectral and Fourier spectral-timing techniques. The source light curves and the warm absorber parameters obtained from the data were used to simulate the response of the gas due to variations in the ionizing flux of the central source. The resulting time variable spectra were employed to predict the effects of the warm absorber on the time lags and coherence of the energy dependent light curves. We have found that, in the absence of any other lag mechanisms, a warm absorber with the characteristics of the one observed in NGC 4051, is able to produce soft lags, up to 100 s, on timescales of ~ hours. The time delay is associated with the response of the gas to changes in the ionizing source, either by photoionization or radiative recombination, which is dependent on its density. The range of radial distances that, under our assumptions, yield longer time delays are comparable to the existing estimates of the location of the warm absorber in NGC 4051. For this reason, we suggest that it is likely that the observed X-ray time lags may carry a signature of the warm absorber response time, to changes in the ionizing continuum. These results highlight the importance of understanding the contribution of the warm absorber to the AGN X-ray time lags, since it is also vital information for interpreting the lags associated with propagation and reverberation effects in the inner emitting regions.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication by A&

Challenges for the protection of unaccompanied foreign minors in the streets of Ceuta

Ceuta, as a Spanish enclave in Africa face specific challenges in terms of immigration. Due the proximity of Ceuta and Morocco, the residents of Moroccan provinces adjoining are exempted from visa requirements and can be authorized to enter and exit the Spanish city, on a daily basis, but not the rest of the national territory. A number of the people that cross this border are minors, many of them come from adjoining provinces and enter legally, with their passports, accompanied by their parents or a relative who abandon them in Spanish territory, with the aim that they could get a better life and help their family economically. Others come from other provinces and undertake this trip alone, often with the same responsibility, of helping their family, and stay on the land border between Morocco and Spain for days or even months trying to sneak across the border illegally. These minors scape from the system, they are unprotected, exposed to criminal and victimological risk. Besides, their presence on the streets generate a sense of public insecurity and social alarm, although the crime rate of this group is low, negative labels are applied to them. In this context, Ceuta, specifically the Department of Health, Social Affairs, Minors and Equality, has signed an agreement with the University of Málaga, implemented by the Observatory of the Crime control system towards Immigration (OCSPI), to develop a pilot project of research and social intervention to prevent juvenile delinquency and protect these minors.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Um algoritmo de filtros em optimização não linear: a admissibilidade independente da optimização

Dissertação de Mestrado em Engenharia IndustrialO objectivo deste trabalho é a implementação de um algoritmo para resolução de problemas de optimização não linear com restrições, utilizando o método dos filtros numa abordagem de restauração inexacta (IR, do inglês Inexact Restoration). Na abordagem IR, existem duas fases totalmente independentes em cada iteração - a admissibilidade e a optimalidade. A primeira tem como objectivo, conduzir o processo iterativo na direcção da região admissível, i.e., encontrar um ponto que viole menos as restrições. A partir deste ponto intermédio, efectua-se a fase da optimalidade, consistindo na optimização da função objectivo, no espaço das restrições satisfeitas. Na fase da admissibilidade, resolve-se um problema de optimização linear, cuja função objectivo é o somatório da linearização das restrições violadas, e cujas restrições são a linearização das restrições verificadas. A fase da optimalidade, consiste na resolução de um problema de optimização quadrático, cuja função objectivo é uma aproximação quadrática a partir do ponto obtido na fase anterior e as restrições são a linearização das restrições satisfeitas no mesmo ponto. Para avaliar as aproximações à solução calculadas em cada iteração, é utilizado um esquema baseado no método dos filtros, nas duas fases do algoritmo. Este método substitui as funções mérito, baseadas em esquemas de penalidade, evitando os inconvenientes associados, tais como a estimação do parâmetro de penalidade e a não diferenciabilidade de algumas delas. Implementou-se o método dos filtros no âmbito da técnica de globalização de procura unidimensional. Nas experiências computacionais, resolveram-se problemas teste codificados em AMPL. Para inferir a importância da fase de admissibilidade, foram realizados testes com duas versões do algoritmo desenvolvido - uma com as duas fases, a segunda apenas com a fase de optimalidade. Comparou-se o algoritmo com os pacotes de software LOQO e NPSOL.The purpose of this work is to develop an algorithm to solve nonlinear constrained optimization problems, using the filter method with inexact restoration (IR) approach. In the IR approach two independent phases are performed in each iteration - the feasibility and the optimality phases. The first one directs the iterative process into the feasible region, i.e., finds one point with less constraints violation. The optimality phase starts from this point and its goal is to optimize the objective function into the satisfied constraints space. At the feasibility phase an optimization problem is solved, whose objective function is the sum of the violated constraints linearization and the constraints are the satisfied constraints linearization. The optimality phase optimizes a quadratic approximation from the point obtained in the previous phase subject to the set of satisfied constraints in the same point. To evaluate the solution approximations in each iteration a scheme based on filter method is used in both phases of the algorithm. This method replaces the merit functions that are based on penalty schemes, avoiding the related difficulties such as the penalty parameter estimation and the nondiferentiability of some of them. The filter method is implemented in a context of line search globalization technique. A set of AMPL test problems is solved. To evaluate the relevance of the feasibility phase, two versions of the algorithm are tested - the first one, with feasibility and optimality phases and the second with optimality phase only. The algorithm developed is compared with LOQO and NPSOL software packages

Métodos matemáticos e computacionais para modelagem e edição de deformações

Orientador: Jorge StolfiTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de ComputaçãoResumo: Nesta tese, descrevemos primeiramente o algoritmo ECLES (Editing by Constrained LEast Squares), um método geral para edição interativa de objetos definidos por parâmetros sujeitos a restrições lineares ou afins. Neste método, as restrições e as ações de edição do usuário são combinadas usando mínimos quadrados restritos, ao invés da abordagem mais comum de elementos finitos. Usamos aritmética exata para detectar e eliminar redundâncias no conjunto de restrições e evitar falhas devido a erros de arredondamento. O algoritmo ECLES tem diversas aplicações. Entre elas, podemos citar a edição de deformações spline com continuidade C¹. Nesta tese, descrevemos um método interativo de edição de deformações do plano, o algoritmo 2DSD (2D Spline Deformation). As deformações são definidas por splines de grau 5 sobre uma malha triangular arbitrária. Estas deformações são editadas alterando-se as posições dos pontos de controle da malha. O algoritmo ECLES é usado em cada ação de edição do usuário para detectar, de forma robusta e eficiente, o conjunto de restrições de continuidade C¹ que são relevantes, garantindo que não existam redundâncias. Em seguida, como os parâmetros são modificados pelo usuário, o ECLES é chamado para calcular as novas posições dos pontos de controle satisfazendo as restrições e as posições especificadas pelo usuário. A fim de validar nosso método 2DSD, ele foi utilizado como parte de um editor interativo para deformações do espaço 2.5D, o editor PrisMystic. Este editor foi utilizado, principalmente, para deformar modelos tridimensionais de organismos microscópicos não-rígidos de modo a coincidir com imagens reais de microscopia ótica. Também utilizamos o editor para editar modelos de terrenosAbstract: In this thesis, we present the ECLES algorithm (Editing by Constrained LEast Squares), a general method for interactive editing of objects that are defined by parameters subject to linear or affine constraints. In this method, the constraints and the user editing actions are combined using constrained least squares instead of the usual finite element approach. We use exact integer arithmetic in order to detect and eliminate redundancies in the set of constraints and to avoid failures due to rounding errors. The ECLES algorithm has various applications. Among them, we can cite the editing of C¹-continuous spline deformations. In this thesis, we describe an interactive editing method for deformations of the plane, the 2DSD algorithm (2D Spline Deformation). The deformations are defined by splines of degree 5 on an arbitrary triangular mesh. The deformations are edited by changing the positions of its control points. The ECLES algorithm is first used in each user editing action in order to detect, in a robust and efficient way, the set of relevant constraints of C¹ continuity, ensuring that there are no redundancies. Then, as the parameters are changed by the user, ECLES is called to compute the new positions of the control points satisfying the constraints and the positions specified by the user. To validate our 2DSD algorithm, we used it as part of an interactive editor for 2.5D space deformations, the PrisMystic editor. This editor has been used, mainly, to deform 3D models of non-rigid living microscopic organisms as seen in actual optical microscope images. We also used the editor to edit terrain modelsDoutoradoCiência da ComputaçãoDoutora em Ciência da Computação140780/2013-001-P-04554-2013CNPQCAPE

Processes and National Dilemmas: The Interplay of Old and New Repertoires of Social Identity and Inclusion

In this article, we explore the impact of the global cultural transformation that reconciles the values of equality and difference as parameters of the good life. We argue that the idea that social justice incorporates both the value of equality and the value of difference expresses a broad cultural transformation, one that poses new challenges society has to confront to deal with the social distribution issue. Moreover, we sustain that while this challenge is present everywhere, responses to it vary not only as a matter of policy choice, but also as consequences of the fact that possibilities are circumscribed by the particular trajectories of nation and state building. While there are forces at play today that make us aware of fallacious conflations between nation and state, it remains relevant to look at national contexts as meaningful frameworks in order to understand what is going on and to explore possible alternatives to deal with emerging issues. Moreover, looking at ways people in different historical settings experience global transformations is relevant, not only to illuminate policy choices to deal with them, but also to enrich our theoretical understanding of the changes at play. The adoption of a historical sociological approach contributes to illuminate particular national trajectories without loosing sight of possible commonalities that make it possible to contribute to the effort to reach general explanations. Taking into account the above, we focus on the way Brazilians perceive both equality and difference and comment on the uncertain consequences of the interplay of old and new repertoires of social identity and inclusion. In particular, we look at the ethno-racial aspect, the most salient issue in the current debate about difference. Empirically, we analyze perceptions of inequality and difference among different segments of the Brazilian population. We confer special attention to two issues: the relationship between race and national identification and support to affirmative action, the most traditional policy to take into account particular identities while distributing social resources. First, we find that in Brazil racial and national identification do not seem to be in conflict. Second, we find that most Brazilians approve racially-targeted affirmative action with no significant different according to racial identification but with significant differences according to socio-economic differentiations

Menores marroquíes solos y en peligro: un programa de política pública para la prevención de su delincuencia y victimización en las calles de Ceuta

La existencia de menores extranjeros en la calle, en situación de desprotección y exposición a situaciones de riesgo victimológico y delictivo es una realidad en algunas ciudades españolas. Ceuta y Melilla son ciudades peculiares debido a las características físicas ypolíticas de estos enclaves en el continente africano. Las exigencias de protección de estos niños, niñas y adolescentes, alejadas de cualquier otra consideración por su condición de extranjeros, ha puesto en jaque a los sistemas de protección españoles, garantes del bienestar de todo menor en situación de desamparo. En este contexto, la Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta ha suscrito con la Universidad de Málaga (UMA) un convenio para poner en marcha un programa piloto de intervención comunitaria para prevenir la delincuencia infanto-juvenil de estos menores. El diseño, ejecución y evaluación de este programa corre a cargo del Observatorio criminológico del sistema penal ante la inmigración (OCSPI) - UMA. La intervención, que durará dos años (2018-2019), se basa en las recomendaciones realizadas por la Comisión del Consejo de Europa en abril de 2017 y en los fundamentos teóricos criminológicos sobre la prevención de la delincuencia de menores de edad e inmigración. El programa busca realizar un diagnóstico de la situación de los menores en situación de calle y darles respuestas individualizadas. A partir de la intervención, se recogen los datos fruto de la observación participante, y necesarios para la evaluación del programa. Los primeros resultados apuntan a que un programa de política pública de estas características permite conocer la cambiante realidad de los menores en situación de calle, fruto de una gran movilidad transfronteriza, y detectar menores invisibles para el sistema de protección. Además, permite proteger a menores en situaciones de especial vulnerabilidad, rebajar la tensión callejera y reducir oportunidades de delincuencia y victimización.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech