scholarly journals The effects of irrigation modernization on the cost recovery of water in the Valencia Region (Spain)

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 414-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta García-Mollá ◽  
Mar Ortega-Reig ◽  
Carles Sanchis-Ibor ◽  
Llorenç Avellà-Reus
Keyword(s):  
Cost Recovery ◽  
Irrigation Systems ◽  
Structural Water ◽  
Regional Administration ◽  
Water Users ◽  
Recovery Percentage ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Made In ◽  
Main Strategy

The modernization of the irrigation systems has been the main strategy followed by the regional administration of the Valencia Region to cope with the structural water deficit of the region, which has been particularly severe during the last three decades. These policies have been oriented to the substitution of gravity irrigation systems for drip technology. The technological change has involved an important investment effort, developed by different public administrations and also the farmers and water users' associations (WUAs). This transformation, has also involved a change in the structure of costs of the WUAs. This paper analyzes the changes in costs and tariffs of irrigation after the important investments made in the modernization of irrigation. The effects of subsidies on the percentage of the cost recovery in the services of water for irrigation are also considered. All of them have developed modernization projects in the recent years. It can be concluded that conflict between two objectives proposed by the Water Framework Directive may exist. On the one hand, significant reductions of water supply are observed; meanwhile, on the other hand, the cost recovery percentage diminishes significantly.

scholarly journals Optimal fingerprinting strategies with one-sided error

2007 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-264
Author(s):  
A.J. Scott ◽  
J. Walgate ◽  
B.C. Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Message Passing ◽  
Tight Frames ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Classical Information ◽  
Equiangular Tight Frames ◽  
The One ◽  
Extremal Set ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Made In ◽  
Quantum Fingerprinting

Fingerprinting enables two parties to infer whether the messages they hold are the same or different when the cost of communication is high: each message is associated with a smaller fingerprint and comparisons between messages are made in terms of their fingerprints alone. In the simultaneous message passing model, it is known that fingerprints composed of quantum information can be made exponentially smaller than those composed of classical information. For small message lengths, we present constructions of optimal classical fingerprinting strategies with one-sided error, in both the one-way and simultaneous message passing models, and provide bounds on the worst-case error probability with the help of extremal set theory. The performance of these protocols is then compared to that for quantum fingerprinting strategies constructed from spherical codes, equiangular tight frames and mutually unbiased bases.

Simulation of the internal temperature in the Passol Laboratory, University of Debrecen

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Csáky ◽  
F. Kalmár
Keyword(s):  
Temperature Variation ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Indoor Air ◽  
Storage Capacity ◽  
Building Structures ◽  
Internal Temperature ◽  
The One ◽  
Heavy Structure ◽  
East West ◽  
Made In

Abstract Nowadays the facades of newly built buildings have significant glazed surfaces. The solar gains in these buildings can produce discomfort caused by direct solar radiation on the one hand and by the higher indoor air temperature on the other hand. The amplitude of the indoor air temperature variation depends on the glazed area, orientation of the facade and heat storage capacity of the building. This paper presents the results of a simulation, which were made in the Passol Laboratory of University of Debrecen in order to define the internal temperature variation. The simulation proved that the highest amplitudes of the internal temperature are obtained for East orientation of the facade. The upper acceptable limit of the internal air temperature is exceeded for each analyzed orientation: North, South, East, West. Comparing different building structures, according to the obtained results, in case of the heavy structure more cooling hours are obtained, but the energy consumption for cooling is lower.

scholarly journals Theoretical Modelling of Ion Exchange Processes in Glass: Advances and Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 5070
Author(s):  
Xesús Prieto-Blanco ◽  
Carlos Montero-Orille
Keyword(s):  
Ion Exchange ◽  
Diffusion Coefficients ◽  
Molten Salts ◽  
Theoretical Modelling ◽  
Copper Films ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Self Diffusion ◽  
Exchange Processes ◽  
The One ◽  
Made In

In the last few years, some advances have been made in the theoretical modelling of ion exchange processes in glass. On the one hand, the equations that describe the evolution of the cation concentration were rewritten in a more rigorous manner. This was made into two theoretical frameworks. In the first one, the self-diffusion coefficients were assumed to be constant, whereas, in the second one, a more realistic cation behaviour was considered by taking into account the so-called mixed ion effect. Along with these equations, the boundary conditions for the usual ion exchange processes from molten salts, silver and copper films and metallic cathodes were accordingly established. On the other hand, the modelling of some ion exchange processes that have attracted a great deal of attention in recent years, including glass poling, electro-diffusion of multivalent metals and the formation/dissolution of silver nanoparticles, has been addressed. In such processes, the usual approximations that are made in ion exchange modelling are not always valid. An overview of the progress made and the remaining challenges in the modelling of these unique processes is provided at the end of this review.

scholarly journals Modeling and evaluating beat gestures for social robots

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Unai Zabala ◽  
Igor Rodriguez ◽  
José María Martínez-Otzeta ◽  
Elena Lazkano
Keyword(s):  
Motion Capture ◽  
Motion Capture System ◽  
Generative Adversarial Network ◽  
Adversarial Network ◽  
Desirable Feature ◽  
Quantitative Results ◽  
Path Lengths ◽  
End Effectors ◽  
The One ◽  
Made In

AbstractNatural gestures are a desirable feature for a humanoid robot, as they are presumed to elicit a more comfortable interaction in people. With this aim in mind, we present in this paper a system to develop a natural talking gesture generation behavior. A Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) produces novel beat gestures from the data captured from recordings of human talking. The data is obtained without the need for any kind of wearable, as a motion capture system properly estimates the position of the limbs/joints involved in human expressive talking behavior. After testing in a Pepper robot, it is shown that the system is able to generate natural gestures during large talking periods without becoming repetitive. This approach is computationally more demanding than previous work, therefore a comparison is made in order to evaluate the improvements. This comparison is made by calculating some common measures about the end effectors’ trajectories (jerk and path lengths) and complemented by the Fréchet Gesture Distance (FGD) that aims to measure the fidelity of the generated gestures with respect to the provided ones. Results show that the described system is able to learn natural gestures just by observation and improves the one developed with a simpler motion capture system. The quantitative results are sustained by questionnaire based human evaluation.

scholarly journals When to Substitute a Missing Upper Lateral With a Canine: A Simplified Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 030157422098054
Author(s):  
Renu Datta
Keyword(s):  
Anterior Segment ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Simplified Approach ◽  
Special Cases ◽  
Randomized Control ◽  
The One ◽  
Individual Presentation ◽  
Available Information ◽  
Missing Tooth ◽  
Made In

Introduction: The upper lateral incisor is the most commonly missing tooth in the anterior segment. It leads to esthetic and functional imbalance for the patients. The ideal solution is the one that is most conservative and which fulfills the functional and esthetic needs of the concerned individual. Canine substitution is evolving to be the treatment of choice in most of the cases, because of its various advantages. These are special cases that need more time and effort from the clinicians due to space discrepancy in the upper and lower arches, along with the presentation of individual malocclusion. Aims and Objectives: Malocclusion occurring due to missing laterals is more complex, needing more time and effort from the clinicians because of space discrepancy, esthetic compromise, and individual presentation of the malocclusion. An attempt has been made in this article to review, evaluate, and tabulate the important factors for the convenience of clinicians. Method: All articles related to canine substitution were searched in the electronic database PubMed, and the important factors influencing the decision were reviewed. After careful evaluation, the checklist was evolved. Result: The malocclusions in which canine substitution is the treatment of choice are indicated in the tabular form for the convenience of clinicians. Specific treatment-planning considerations and biomechanics that can lead to an efficient and long-lasting result are also discussed. Conclusion: The need of the hour is an evidence-based approach, along with a well-designed prospective randomized control trial to understand the importance of each factor influencing these cases. Until that time, giving the available information in a simplified way can be a quality approach to these cases.

scholarly journals A Study on the Feasibility of Anaerobic Co-Digestion of Raw Cheese Whey with Coffee Pulp Residues

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (12) ◽  
pp. 3611
Author(s):  
Sandra Gonzalez-Piedra ◽  
Héctor Hernández-García ◽  
Juan M. Perez-Morales ◽  
Laura Acosta-Domínguez ◽  
Juan-Rodrigo Bastidas-Oyanedel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Methane Production ◽  
Kinetic Models ◽  
Cheese Whey ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Gompertz Model ◽  
Coffee Pulp ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Best Fit ◽  
Cheese Production

In this paper, a study on the feasibility of the treatment of raw cheese whey by anaerobic co-digestion using coffee pulp residues as a co-substrate is presented. It considers raw whey generated in artisanal cheese markers, which is generally not treated, thus causing environmental pollution problems. An experimental design was carried out evaluating the effect of pH and the substrate ratio on methane production at 35 °C (i.e., mesophilic conditions). The interaction of the parameters on the co-substrate degradation and the methane production was analyzed using a response surface analysis. Furthermore, two kinetic models were proposed (first order and modified Gompertz models) to determine the dynamic profiles of methane yield. The results show that co-digestion of the raw whey is favored at pH = 6, reaching a maximum yield of 71.54 mLCH4 gVSrem−1 (31.5% VS removed) for raw cheese whey and coffee pulp ratio of 1 gVSwhey gVSCoffe−1. The proposed kinetic models successfully fit the experimental methane production data, the Gompertz model being the one that showed the best fit. Then, the results show that anaerobic co-digestion can be used to reduce the environmental impact of raw whey. Likewise, the methane obtained can be integrated into the cheese production process, which could contribute to reducing the cost per energy consumption.

scholarly journals Electoral Incentives and the Allocation of Public Funds

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederico Finan ◽  
Maurizio Mazzocco
Keyword(s):  
Electoral System ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
Public Funds ◽  
Term Limit ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Projects ◽  
Electoral Incentives ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Politicians allocate public resources in ways that maximize political gains, and potentially at the cost of lower welfare. In this paper, we quantify these welfare costs in the context of Brazil’s federal legislature, which grants its members a budget to fund public projects within their states. Using data from the state of Roraima, we estimate a model of politicians’ allocation decisions and find that 26.8% of the public funds allocated by legislators are distorted relative to a social planner’s allocation. We then use the model to simulate three potential policy reforms to the electoral system: the adoption of approval voting, imposing a one-term limit, and redistricting. We find that a one-term limit and redistricting are both effective at reducing distortions. The one-term limit policy, however, increases corruption, which makes it a welfare-reducing policy.

scholarly journals A MEAN FIELD GAME ANALYSIS OF SIR DYNAMICS WITH VACCINATION

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-18
Author(s):  
Josu Doncel ◽  
Nicolas Gast ◽  
Bruno Gaujal
Keyword(s):  
Mean Field ◽  
Vaccination Strategy ◽  
Game Analysis ◽  
Total Cost ◽  
Mean Field Game ◽  
Vaccination Behavior ◽  
Switching Curve ◽  
The One ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Vaccination Period

We analyze a mean field game model of SIR dynamics (Susceptible, Infected, and Recovered) where players choose when to vaccinate. We show that this game admits a unique mean field equilibrium (MFE) that consists in vaccinating at a maximal rate until a given time and then not vaccinating. The vaccination strategy that minimizes the total cost has the same structure as the MFE. We prove that the vaccination period of the MFE is always smaller than the one minimizing the total cost. This implies that, to encourage optimal vaccination behavior, vaccination should always be subsidized. Finally, we provide numerical experiments to study the convergence of the equilibrium when the system is composed by a finite number of agents ( $N$ ) to the MFE. These experiments show that the convergence rate of the cost is $1/N$ and the convergence of the switching curve is monotone.

Water Pricing and Cost Recovery in Water Services in Portugal

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 333-354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra Aragão
Keyword(s):  
Water Pricing ◽  
Cost Recovery ◽  
Water Services ◽  
Member States ◽  
Economic Agents ◽  
European Water ◽  
Polluter Pays Principle ◽  
Resource Costs ◽  
The Cost

The European water directive forced the Member States to rethink the regulation of water services. Water pricing is now guided by the cost recovery principle. The costs to take into account are manly the environmental and resource costs, but also the financial ones. Portugal was no exception. The evolution from a heavily subsidized activity to a business bound by the polluter pays principle required fast changes and a somewhat difficult adaptation both of economic agents and households.

Recent progress in the freeze-etching technique

1971 ◽  
Vol 261 (837) ◽  
pp. 121-131 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
High Vacuum ◽  
Molecular Size ◽  
Etching Technique ◽  
Structural Distortions ◽  
Shadow Casting ◽  
Structural Details ◽  
Freeze Etching ◽  
The One ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Made In

The freeze-etching technique must be improved if structures at the molecular size level are to be seen. The limitations of the technique are discussed here together with the progress made in alleviating them. The vitrification of living specimens is limited by the fact that very high freezing rates are needed. The critical freezing rate can be lowered on the one hand by the introduction of antifreeze agents, on the other hand by the application of high hydrostatic pressure. The fracture process may cause structural distortions in the fracture face of the frozen specimen. The ‘double-replica’ method allows one to evaluate such artefacts and provides an insight into the way that membranes split. During etching there exists the danger of contaminating the fracture faces with condensable gases. Because of specimen temperatures below —110 °C, special care has to be taken in eliminating water vapour from the high vacuum. An improvement in coating freeze-etched specimens has resulted from the application of electron guns for evaporation of the highest melting-point metals. If heat transfer from gun to specimen is reduced to a minimum, Pt, Ir, Ta, W and C can be used for shadow casting. Best results are obtained with Pt-C and Ta-W . With the help of decoration effects Pt-C shadow castings give the most information about the fine structural details of the specimen.

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