Exchange rate dynamics in crawling-band systems

In this note we show that an exchange rate crawling-band system can borrow a portion of those aspects of a target zone that lead to its stabilizing effects on the exchange rate, depending on the relationship between the crawl rate and the drift of the fundamentals process. If the crawl rate is sufficiently high (with respect to the drift), the crawling-band is similar to a free float regime. As the crawl rate decreases, the crawling-band system collapses to a standard target zone.crawling band

The credibility of the Venezuela crawling-band system

This paper studies the credibility of the Venezuela crawling-band exchange rate regime during the period July, 1996-February, 2002. We show that, introducing some modifications, the credibility analysis widely applied to target zone regimes can also be used in studying the credibility of crawling- band regimes. In analyzing the credibility of the Venezuela crawling band, first we use the so-called simple credibility tests developed by Svensson (1991). Additionally, we estimate the expected rate of realignment using the drift- adjustment method. Both the credibility tests and the drift-adjustment method give similar results, showing that the crawling-band system was highly credible during the period.crawling band exchange rate system, credibility, realignments

Effects of abiotic conditions on the structure and dynamics of agricultural communities: Avocado agro-ecosystems as study model to evaluate the implications of climate change for biological pest control

Climate change might severely disrupt the effective maintenance of agricultural communities under biocontrol management. Most of pests and natural enemies used to control them are arthropods and, as ectothermic organisms, many of their physiological functions, and the features of many of the biotic interactions individuals will establish with other individuals during their life span, are climate-dependent. The future success of biological pest control, thus, might depend on the capacity of predicting how each agricultural community will respond to a changing climate. The main goal of this thesis was to generate knowledge on the effects of changes in abiotic conditions on the way how biotic interactions occur among species that inhabit agricultural communities under biological pest control, and how these effects determine the trophic structure and dynamics of these communities. To achieve this goal, in the present thesis I studied a mite community present in avocado agro-ecosystems in South-eastern Spain. Because this community is composed by a low number of species, it is an optimal study model to understand the effects of abiotic conditions on interactions between pests and their natural enemies. The avocado mite community is composed of the herbivore pest Oligonychus perseae (Tuttle, Baker & Abatiello) (Acari: Tetranychidae) and two species of phytoseiid mites: Neoseiulus californicus (McGregor), which is specialized in tetranychid mites, and Euseius stipulatus (Athias-Henriot), which is preferentially pollen feeder. The work presented in this thesis was addressed from two different approaches. On the one hand, the effects of abiotic conditions on the strength and direction of biotic interactions in the avocado mite community were evaluated at the individual level, and at three combinations of temperature and relative humidity: mild (M), hot and dry (HD) and very hot and dry (VHD). On the other hand, it was studied the impact of abiotic conditions on the community dynamics at M and HD conditions, i.e., how the observed effects on species interactions at the individual level were rendered at the population level, determining the trophic structure and dynamics of the community. The work started evaluating how abiotic conditions affected the strength of predator-prey interactions between either E. stipulatus or N. californicus, and their herbivore prey O. perseae, in the presence and the absence of alternative food (i.e. pollen). Results revealed that changes in abiotic conditions had different effects on predator-prey interactions depending on the species of predator. At M conditions both species of predatory mite preyed on O. perseae females, whereas at HD and VHD conditions only N. californicus fed on the prey. Furthermore, the strength of interaction between N. californicus and O. perseae varied among abiotic conditions, being the highest one at M conditions. The presence of alternative food (i.e. pollen) influenced in predator-prey interaction strength between E. stipulatus and O. perseae, but not between N. californicus and O. perseae. Euseius stipulatus preyed on O. perseae females in the absence of pollen at M conditions, but clearly preferred to forage on pollen when was available. Also, oviposition rates of E. stipulatus were increased in the presence of pollen at the three abiotic conditions. Therefore, the addition of pollen as alternative food for E. stipulatus might promote the growth of its populations and favour pest control through apparent competition between the pest and pollen. Next, I studied the effects of abiotic conditions and presence of alternative food on intraguild interactions between the two predatory mites, E. stipulatus and N. californicus, with O. perseae as shared prey. Results showed that the trophic structure of the avocado mite community changed with changes in abiotic conditions, resulting in community configurations that would be detrimental to pest control. At M conditions, results revealed that the community resembled a trophic chain, with juveniles of N. californicus preyed on O. perseae, and females of E. stipulatus preyed on juveniles of N. californicus. On the other hand, juveniles of E. stipulatus fed on O. perseae and induced antipredator behaviour in females of N. californicus, which did not interact with the pest at all. Increasing unfavourable abiotic conditions shifted the structure of the community to one dominated by exploitative competition between the two species of predators. However, results also revealed that adding pollen to the system would likely enhance pest population control, because trophic interactions between predators ceased due to E. stipulatus preference for pollen, what strengthened the predator-prey interaction between N. californicus and O. perseae, at the three abiotic conditions. Finally, mite predator/prey population dynamics were evaluated in the presence and the absence of alternative food at two different abiotic conditions, M and HD. Contrary to expectations, results revealed that the addition of pollen did not reduce negative trophic interactions occurring between predator species; instead, E. stipulatus excluded N. californicus at both abiotic conditions, independently of the presence or absence of pollen. Also, in spite that the addition of pollen to the system favoured a numerical response of E. stipulatus populations at M conditions, population increase did not translate into a better O. perseae population control. Furthermore, at HD conditions, the growth of E. stipulatus populations was negatively affected by high temperatures and drought. Therefore, results from this thesis evidence that abiotic conditions modify the way in which species interact, affecting trophic structure and dynamics of communities. This implies that in a changing climate the successful use of biocontrol agents will need to take into account the influence that abiotic factors exert on interactions occurring among the components of each specific agricultural community

Neurobehavioral changes in people with post-stroke aphasia

At present, research on neurobehavioral disorders in people with post-stroke aphasia is scarce, especially in Spanish. The objective of this study is to design a new scale on neurobehavioral change, the Scale of Neurobehavioral Affectation in Aphasia (EANA, in Spanish) and to evaluate 14 people affected by chronic post-stroke aphasia (mean age: 51/ DT: 7.2) together with their main informants. At the same time, psychiatric (Neuropsychiatric Inventory, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Stroke Aphasic Depression Questionnaire), cognitive (Mini Mental State examination, Informer Test) and functional instruments (Stroke and Aphaisa Quality of Life Scale and Barthel Index) have been used to provide a multidimensional description of the affected persons. The results show statistically significant neurobehavioral changes in multiple domains. According to the EANA, those affected with post-stroke aphasia communicate with less frequently, show more introversion, shyness, dependence and apathy, behave in a more infantile manner ("makes me grimaces"), in addition to showing heightened anxiety and impulsivity. Finally, the informants report more aggressive acts, both verbal (insults) and physical (throwing objects, hitting both objects as persons), that did not occur before the stroke. According to the psychiatric instruments, many of the affected cope with anxiety, agitation and apathy, as well as mild depression. At a cognitive level, affected individuals show mild to moderate deficits, especially in working memory and temporal orientation. Functionally most individuals maintain a medium-high level of functional independence in daily activities. These findings support the inclusion of recommendations for the routine assessment and management of neurobehavioral changes to help optimize long-term recovery in people with stroke and aphasia.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Full-scale combination of anaerobic digestion and concentration by evaporation in Garrigues (Lleida, Spain): evaluation after 2 years of operation

Evaporation process is a reliable strategy to manage pig slurry, removing water and recovering nutrients by concentration. The described treatment plant, TRACJUSA, applies the VALPURENTM process, which is based on the combination of anaerobic digestion and evaporation. The benefits of this combined process have been previously reported at laboratory scalePostprint (published version

Prototype of a robotic system to assist the learning process of English language with text-generation through DNN

In the last ongoing years, there has been a significant ascending on the field of Natural Language Processing (NLP) for performing multiple tasks including English Language Teaching (ELT). An effective strategy to favor the learning process uses interactive devices to engage learners in their self-learning process. In this work, we present a working prototype of a humanoid robotic system to assist English language self-learners through text generation using Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) Neural Networks. The learners interact with the system using a Graphic User Interface that generates text according to the English level of the user. The experimentation was conducted using English learners and the results were measured accordingly to International English Language Testing System (IELTS) rubric. Preliminary results show an increment in the Grammatical Range of learners who interacted with the system.Comment: Paper presented in the Mexican International Conference on Artificial Intelligence 202

Qualidade de vida no trabalho (QVT) e intenção de turnover : efeito preditor de dimensões de QVT na intenção de turnover

Tese de mestrado, Psicologia (Secção de Psicologia dos Recursos Humanos, do Trabalho e das Organizações), Universidade de Lisboa, Faculdade de Psicologia, 2010Actualmente a temática da qualidade de vida no trabalho (QVT) é encarada como uma área fundamental na vida organizacional pela importância que assume na satisfação dos objectivos e necessidades das organizações e dos seus trabalhadores. A presente investigação procura por isso aprofundar o conhecimento sobre as diferentes dimensões que compõem a QVT e a sua relação com a intenção de turnover. Neste contexto prevê-se a existência de uma relação negativa entre frequência de QVT e a intenção de turnover procurando determinar se as diferentes dimensões de QVT têm diferentes efeitos na intenção de turnover. Para avaliar a QVT foi aplicado o instrumento designado de Inventário sobre a Qualidade de Vida no Trabalho (Rafael & Lima, 2007a, 2008a) e, os indicadores utilizados por Huang et al., (2007) para medir a intenção de turnover. A amostra é constituída por 473 adultos empregados, com pelo menos seis meses de experiência profissional. Os resultados obtidos mostram que as dimensões relacionadas com o emprego e a carreira são as que melhor explicam a intenção de turnover, comprovando-se também uma relação negativa entre a frequência QVT e a intenção de turnover. No entanto, verifica-se que as diferentes dimensões de QVT têm um poder explicativo muito fraco da intenção de turnover. Apresentam-se também as principais limitações do estudo e sugestões para investigações futuras para o desenvolvimento de práticas de gestão de recursos humanos para promover a QVT nas organizações.Currently, the theme of Quality of Working Life (QWL) is regarded as a fundamental area within organizational life, due to the importance it assumes on the satisfaction of the corporates' and its workers' goals and needs. Thus, the present research seeks to explore the data behind the various dimensions that comprise QWL and its relation to the turnover intention. Within this context, a negative relation between the frequency of QWL and the turnover intention can be foreseen, whilst trying to determine if the numerous QWL dimensions have different effects on the turnover intention. The denominated Inventory on Quality of Working Life (Rafael & Lima, 2007a, 2008a) has been used in order to evaluate QWL, while the indicators referred by Huang et al., (2007) have been examined to measure the turnover intention. The sample consists of 473 working adults, having a minimum of six months of professional experience. The subsequent results have shown that the dimensions related to employment and career are the proper ones to describe the turnover intention, though it has been analyzed a negative relation between the QWL's frequency and the turnover intention. Nonetheless, it has been verified that the different QWL dimensions have a very low-rated understanding power over the turnover intention. The study also offers an insight on the primary limitations of this analysis and offers suggestions for future investigations on the development of management practices within human resources to promote corporate's QWL

Descripción epidemiológica del traumatismo dentoalveolar en pacientes atendidos en el sistema de salud público de Chile durante el periodo 2008-2016

Tesis (Cirujano Dentista)El siguiente estudio, es descriptivo observacional transversal, el cual desarrolló patrones de incidencia de TDA en la población a nivel nacional. El universo y muestra se obtuvo de casos notificados de TDA atendidos por prestaciones otorgadas por el GES en establecimientos de salud públicos, tanto Atención Primaria de Salud (APS) como en Centros de Especialidad, entre el periodo 2008-2016. Estos fueron recolectados a través de fuentes documentales de datos pre existentes que forman parte del sistema de información continua perteneciente a los Resúmenes Estadísticos Mensuales (REM), del Departamento de Estadísticas e Información de Salud (DEIS). Los datos son examinados y consolidados por parte del DEIS mes a mes en un año académico. En la base de datos REM, pertenecientes al Sistema Nacional de Servicios de Salud (SNSS), recolectamos específicamente información de la Serie A09, sección B.3.1, donde el código de prestación para el TDA notificado en APS es 09201613. En el caso de los TDA notificados en Centros de Especialidad, se recolectaron las notificaciones de la Serie A9 Sección F, donde el código de prestación es el 09203813. En el DEIS se encontraban disponibles las bases de datos REM de los años 2008 a 2013, razón por lo cual de manera personal solicitamos a través de la ley de transparencia datos de los años 2014 a 2016. Estos son preliminares y su proceso de certificación y validación tarda aproximadamente dos a tres años. Para el estudio sobre los casos notificados de TDA en APS se consideró el periodo 2008 -2014, excluyendo los años 2015 y 2016 por cambios en el sistema de registro. Por otro lado, para el estudio de los casos notificados en Centros de Especialidad se consideró el periodo 2009-2016. Se excluye el 2008 por tener un rango etario diferente a los años sucesores