Alguns teoremas limites para sequências de variáveis aleatórias

O Teorema Central do Limite e a Lei dos Grandes Números estão entre os mais importantes resultados da teoria da probabilidade. O primeiro deles busca condições sob as quais [fórmula] converge em distribuição para a distribuição normal com parâmetros 0 e 1, quando n tende ao infinito, onde Sn é a soma de n variáveis aleatórias independentes. Ao mesmo tempo, o segundo estabelece condições para que [fórmula] convirja a zero, ou equivalentemente, para que [fórmula] convirja para a esperança das variáveis aleatórias, caso elas sejam identicamente distribuídas. Em ambos os casos as sequências abordadas são do tipo [fórmula], onde [fórmula] e [fórmula] são constantes reais. Caracterizar os possíveis limites de tais sequências é um dos objetivos dessa dissertação, já que elas não convergem exclusivamente para uma variável aleatória degenerada ou com distribuição normal como na Lei dos Grandes Números e no Teorema Central do Limite, respectivamente. Assim, somos levados naturalmente ao estudo das distribuições infinitamente divisíveis e estáveis, e os respectivos teoremas limites, e este vem a ser o objetivo principal desta dissertação. Para as demonstrações dos teoremas utiliza-se como estratégia principal a aplicação do método de Lyapunov, o qual consiste na análise da convergência da sequência de funções características correspondentes às variáveis aleatórias. Nesse sentido, faremos também uma abordagem detalhada de tais funções neste trabalho.

A representação social da violência de gênero contra a mulher no Espírito Santo

O objetivo principal deste trabalho é analisar como os meios de comunicação ajudam a construir a representação social da violência de gênero contra a mulher no Espírito Santo, que lidera o ranking nacional de feminicídios, com taxa de 9,8 homicídios para cada 100 mil mulheres. Elegemos como corpus de pesquisa notícias sobre violência de gênero no ES, veiculadas no ano de 2013, nos jornais A Gazeta e A Tribuna. Em hipótese, acreditamos que essas notícias ajudam a construir representações sociais acerca da violência de gênero a partir da apresentação de estereótipos de vítima e agressor na sociedade, da individualização do problema da violência, da associação desse problema às classes sociais menos privilegiadas e da apresentação do crime de violência de gênero como crime passional. O estudo dessas notícias apresenta-se como algo complexo, do qual não participam apenas informações de ordem linguística, mas também de carácter social, histórico, cultural e cognitivo, uma vez que a análise discursiva não pode ser dissociada do contexto, dos atores sociais e das instituições envolvidas na produção da notícia, bem como das ideologias presentes nesse processo. Por esse motivo, assumimos como base teórica de nossa investigação uma proposta multidisciplinar: a Teoria Sociocognitiva de Teun A. van Dijk (1999a; 2011a; 2012; 2014b). Ademais, contamos com as contribuições dos estudos sobre gênero e discurso de Cameron (1985, 1997), Wodak (1997), West, Lazar e Kramarae (2000), Fernández Díaz (2003), Lazar (1993, 2005, 2007), Magalhães (2005; 2009), Heberle, Ostermann e Figueiredo (2006). Além das análises discursivo-analíticas, também utilizamos o programa de linguística de corpus WordSmith Tools para realizar análises quantitativas. Os resultados das análises nos levaram à confirmação das hipóteses iniciais: o discurso das notícias reforça estereótipos de vítima e agressor, típicos de uma estrutura social patriarcal, na qual é atribuída à vítima ou aos vícios (álcool e drogas) a responsabilidade da violência sofrida; além disso, a violência de gênero é apresentada como um problema individual e associada às classes sociais menos favorecidas; e, por último, o discurso das notícias apresenta grande parte dos crimes de violência de gênero como crimes passionais.

A constituição do Instituto de Educação de Vitória/ES e a formação de professores primários no Espírito Santo (1971-2000)

Investiga o processo de transição da Escola Normal para outro espaço físico sob a forma de Instituto de Educação e os desdobramentos dessa mudança na formação de professores no Espírito Santo, segundo as diretrizes instituídas pela Lei nº. 5.692/71, durante o Regime Ditatorial Brasileiro (1964-1985). O recorte temporal inicia-se em 1971, quando ocorreu a transição, e encerra-se no ano 2000, momento em que o Instituto passa a denominar-se Escola Estadual de 2º grau Professor Fernando Duarte Rabelo. Privilegia, como interlocutores teóricos, os historiadores Carlo Ginzburg (1986, 2006), Marc Bloch (2001) e Michel de Certeau (2004) e toma, como corpus documental, propostas curriculares do Estado, portarias, matérias de jornais, fotografias de eventos realizados pela instituição e entrevistas com sujeitos que atuaram naquele espaço como professoras, diretora e aluna. As fontes foram interrogadas a partir das seguintes questões: como se deu a transição da Escola Normal D. Pedro II para o Instituto de Educação de Vitória? Que motivos levaram a essa transição? Como se configurou a formação de professores no Instituto de Educação? Quais os desdobramentos das mudanças ocorridas, em se tratando da formação de professores capixabas? Pareceram intrigantes silêncios e lacunas observados em relação à transição da Escola Normal para o Instituto de Educação e aos motivos que desencadearam essa mudança. Das falas das professoras, depreende-se que decisões sobre a transferência do espaço físico e as modificações no currículo vieram prontas, de cima para baixo. O discurso da modernização alardeia a técnica e o tecnicismo e anuncia novidades. A Escola Normal e as suas tradições passam a habitar o passado como algo que se apaga em nome do avanço técnico. Ainda que sutilmente, o cheiro do cafezinho gratuito e do mingau fizessem espargir o aroma da saudade de um outro tempo em que o lanche dos professores da Escola Normal era um encontro “solene”. Conclui-se que a abrupta descontinuidade da Escola Normal, cujo prédio passou a abrigar a atual Escola Estadual Maria Ortiz, possivelmente não se esgota nas questões de ordem técnico-pedagógica que os documentos deixam explícitas. Entretanto, tendo em vista o cronograma limitado desta pesquisa e a lacuna das fontes, não foi possível explorar outras possibilidades de resposta.

Brazilian foreign policy under President Lula (2003-2010): an overview

Foreign Minister of Brazil since 2003, Ambassador Celso Amorim outlines the main guidelines and accomplishments of Brazil's foreign policy under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The article provides a full-fledged, although not exhaustive, narrative of a number of diplomatic initiatives championed by Brazil over the last eight years: from the gathering of the group of developing countries in a World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting in Cancun to the negotiations that led to the Declaration of Tehran, as well as the challenges the country has been facing as its international weight grows.

Trends in South American weapons purchases at the beginning of the new millennium

In recent years, with some frequency it is heard that Latin America, especially South America, is witnessing the rise of an arms race. Frequent reports in the press and strong statements made by politicians in the region have fueled this fear. At the same time, scholars have also reached to this conclusion, as pointed out by Malamud and Garcia: "The famous arms race in Latin America, led by Venezuela, is no longer just talk."

Mao's steps in Monroe's backyard: towards a United States-China hegemonic struggle in Latin America?

Contrary to what could be expected given the United States' historical hegemony of Latin America, growing Chinese influence in this region has not led to a dispute between China and the US. Despite activism of hard-line groups in the United States, both parties have faced the issue with noticeable pragmatism. This attitude could be explained by three variables: the US political negligence towards Latin America in the Post-Cold War, the focus of Sino-Latin American relations on economic rather than geopolitical or ideological affairs, and the scanty relevance of the region in the top priorities of overall Washington-Beijing relations.

Swords into ploughshares? China's Soft Power strategy in Southeast Asia and its challenges1

Since the 1990s, alongside China's economic growth, the international community has fostered a general anxiety towards a "China threat." In order to relieve itself from suspicion, China adopted the dual strategies of "harmonious worldview" and "good neighbor policy." The strategies led to the use of soft power in China's foreign policy. China aimed to reduce security concerns implied by the threat theory by supporting an image that caters to international peace and development. This article seeks to explain how China achieves its interests in Southeast Asia through the use of soft power. The authors address the concepts of "harmonious worldview" and "good neighbor policy" and how the twin strategies and soft power have shaped China's foreign policy in recent years. This article aims to provide insights into China's policy options in Southeast Asia in the near future.

South-South relations and the English School of International Relations: Chinese and Brazilian ideas and involvement in Sub-Saharan Africa

The rise of large developing countries has led to considerable discussions of re-balancing global relations and giving greater priority to understanding South-South relations. This paper, in exploring the central ideas of Chinese and Brazilian foreign policy and the behavior of these two rising Southern countries toward Sub-Saharan Africa, argues that the English School of International Relations is well suited to understanding the intentions and actions that characterize South-South relations.

Relationship between fruit traits of custard apple trees (Annona squamosa L.)

The objective of this study was to estimate simple and partial coefficients of correlation, as well as to divide their effects into direct and indirect using path analysis for custard apple tree traits. Twenty half-sibling progenies were evaluated in a randomized block design with five replicates, and plots consisting of four plants. Six traits were evaluated in the first cropping season (mean number of seeds per fruit and mean weight of the pericarp, pulp, pedicel, seeds per fruit, and the whole fruit), while five traits were evaluated in the first three cropping seasons (mean fruit length and width, total number of fruits ha-1, mean fruit weight (in both types of analyses), and fruit yield in kg ha-1). The results of this work led to the conclusion that doing selection based on simple correlation estimates may not be convenient, since not always a cause and effect relationship can be verified between two traits. Positive correlations were obtained between number of seeds and seed weight, and between number of fruits and yield. The greatest direct effects were those obtained for pulp weight on fruit weight and for mean number and weight of fruits on fruit yield. The most important indirect effects were obtained for number of seeds and pericarp weight, obtained via pulp weight, on fruit weight, and for fruit length and width, obtained via mean fruit weight, on fruit yield.

Finite element analysis of pectus carinatum surgical correction via a minimally invasive approach

Pectus carinatum (PC) is a chest deformity caused by a disproportionate growth of the costal cartilages compared to the bony thoracic skeleton, pulling the sternum towards, which leads to its protrusion. There has been a growing interest on using the ‘reversed Nuss’ technique as minimally invasive procedure for PC surgical correction. A corrective bar is introduced between the skin and the thoracic cage and positioned on top of the sternum highest protrusion area for continuous pressure. Then, it is fixed to the ribs and kept implanted for about 2–3 years. The purpose of this work was to (a) assess the stresses distribution on the thoracic cage that arise from the procedure, and (b) investigate the impact of different positioning of the corrective bar along the sternum. The higher stresses were generated on the 4th, 5th and 6th ribs backend, supporting the hypothesis of pectus deformities correction-induced scoliosis. The different bar positioning originated different stresses on the ribs’ backend. The bar position that led to lower stresses generated on the ribs backend was the one that also led to the smallest sternum displacement. However, this may be preferred, as the risk of induced scoliosis is lowered.

Disclosure of Intangible Assets: an Empirical Study of Financial Corporations in the Iberian Peninsula

The purpose of this paper is to analyse, firstly, to what extent intangible assets in the consolidated accounts of seven Portuguese banks and seven Spanish banks between 2006 and 2009 are disclosed and, secondly, to analyse what the most influential factors are in the above mentioned disclosure. In order to do this, before reviewing the existing literature and on the basis of other studies on this topic, a disclosure index has been created based on the requirements related to the intangible assets as stated in IAS 38. Then, two statistical analyses have been made: a univariate one for each of the explanatory variables and a multivariate one, in which all variables have been analysed. Both analyses led to the conclusion that the disclosure index of intangible assets is 0.96, where the bank dimension and the internationalization degree are the variables that are considered explanatory of the variation of the disclosure index in the regression analysis.

Money laundering and virtual money: the bitcoin example

Money laundering operations faced multiple changes and become more complex, in line with financial innovation. Often, regulation does not follow that innovation, giving opportunity to take advantage of thes e gaps in less lawful activities. The bitcoin is a virtual currency that has grown significantly, both in value and in volume of transactions, in recent years. The dimension of the phenomenon led to an increasing surveillance from the financial supervisors . We search for evidence of the relationship between money laundering and transactions carried out in bitcoins, the most popular virtual currency at the moment. We analyse the official publications relating the two themes, academic research and the notori ety within the international media. The attitudes toward the bitcoin are diverse, but all share concerns about its future impact. Some sparse evidence indicates that bitcoin may be an opportunity for money laundering, however more data is required.

Juvenile tree growth correlates with photosynthesis and leaf phosphorus content in central Amazonia

Light and soil water availability may limit carbon uptake of trees in tropical rainforests. The objective of this work was to determine how photosynthetic traits of juvenile trees respond to variations in rainfall seasonality, leaf nutrient content, and opening of the forest canopy. The correlation between leaf nutrient content and annual growth rate of saplings was also assessed. In a terra firme rainforest of the central Amazon, leaf nutrient content and gas exchange parameters were measured in five sapling tree species in the dry and rainy season of 2008. Sapling growth was measured in 2008 and 2009. Rainfall seasonality led to variations in soil water content, but it did not affect leaf gas exchange parameters. Subtle changes in the canopy opening affected CO2 saturated photosynthesis (A pot, p = 0.04). Although A pot was affected by leaf nutrient content (as follows: P > Mg > Ca > N > K), the relative growth rate of saplings correlated solely with leaf P content (r = 0.52, p = 0.003). At present, reduction in soil water content during the dry season does not seem to be strong enough to cause any effect on photosynthesis of saplings in central Amazonia. This study shows that leaf P content is positively correlated with sapling growth in the central Amazon. Therefore, the positive effect of atmospheric CO2 fertilization on long-term tree growth will depend on the ability of trees to absorb additional amount of P

The internationally standardized process of public accounting: the perspective of different stakeholders in Portugal

New Public Management (NPM) led to great pressures for to introduce and adapt businesslike accounting in the public sector (Hood, 1995; Lapsley, 2008; Lapsley et al., 2009), specially the transition from cash basis to accrual-based accounting. In consequence, since the last 20 years we assist to a movement towards internationally standardized of public sector accounting that led to the publication of 32 International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) for all public sector entities from national central governments to local governments (IFAC, 2008). These standards are accrual-basis and they emphasize the balance sheet approach, the fair value measurement and the revenue-expense approach (Hints, 2007). The main innovations are associated with the use of the balance sheet approach and the fair value measurement because, traditionally, public accounting systems are mainly focused on the revenue-expense approach and on historical cost valuation (Oulasvirta, 2014).

Targeting lactate transport suppresses in vivo breast tumour growth

Background: Most cancers, including breast cancer, have high rates of glucose consumption, associated with lactate production, a process referred as “Warburg effect”. Acidification of the tumour microenvironment by lactate extrusion, performed by lactate transporters (MCTs), is associated with higher cell proliferation, migration, invasion, angiogenesis and increased cell survival. Previously, we have described MCT1 up-regulation in breast carcinoma samples and demonstrated the importance of in vitro MCT inhibition. In this study, we performed siRNA knockdown of MCT1 and MCT4 in basal-like breast cancer cells in both normoxia and hypoxia conditions to validate the potential of lactate transport inhibition in breast cancer treatment. Results: The effect of MCT knockdown was evaluated on lactate efflux, proliferation, cell biomass, migration and invasion and induction of tumour xenografts in nude mice. MCT knockdown led to a decrease in in vitro tumour cell aggressiveness, with decreased lactate transport, cell proliferation, migration and invasion and, importantly, to an inhibition of in vivo tumour formation and growth. Conclusions: This work supports MCTs as promising targets in cancer therapy, demonstrates the contribution of MCTs to cancer cell aggressiveness and, more importantly, shows, for the first time, the disruption of in vivo breast tumour growth by targeting lactate transport.