Introducing use cases in a small organization: An experience and lessons learned

In this paper we report the adoption of use cases by a small organization in a university setting. Use cases were first introduced in the middle of a huge project and adopted thereafter for later projects. The paper mostly focuses in the first experience, whose most interesting characteristics were the large size of the resulting specification, the fact that it took place once the project had started (for documentation purposes instead of driving the development) and the limitation that resources allocated were not as much as required. We present the lessons learned from this experience

Assessment of the application of enzymes in the production of sewage sludge in WWTP

Motivation: In the urban wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) a large volume of sewage sludge is produced due to the growth of microorganisms in the biological reactors. This sludge cannot spill directly to the environment, because it is legally forbidden (Directive 91/271/EEC). Nowadays, the searching of alternatives for treating/reducing this sludge is increasing. Some previous works [1] focused on different strategies for sewage sludge reduction in conventional activated sludge systems not interfering in the efficiency of the process. Among the different strategies, the use of hydrolytic enzymes seemed to be effective in the reduction of the excess sludge production (up to 30% reduction, [2]). On the other hand, the overgrowth of microorganisms and the accumulation of non-biodegradable organic matter in the filtering media of constructed wetlands produce the clogging and collapse of these natural treatment systems.The above mentioned problems could be mitigated if reducing the amount of refractory matter in the influent and limiting the growth of microorganisms by the use of enzymes’ technology. However, the application of enzymes is limited, mainly, by their high cost of acquisition. One alternative of commercial enzymes could be enzymes generated in the fermentation of sewage sludge or other by-products coming of WWTP [3]. This study aims at (1) the determination of the optimum conditions for the application of enzymes in the wastewater treatment and (2) the assessment of the effects on both intensive and extensive treatment systems.Methods: In this study, lab scale pilot plants are employed for the assessment of the application enzymes to biological reactors. One pilot plant works as an activated sludge system (intensive tech.) and the other will simulate a constructed wetland (extensive tech.). Both pilot plants are fed with real wastewater. Commercial enzymes will be tested initially, and later, with the by-product obtained in the fermentation of sewage sludge. Physicochemical and microbiological parameters will be monitored in both systems to assess the effect of enzyme’s addition on both systems. Besides, sludge production and “clogging” phenomena will be studied. According to the results of Lab scale tests, the study will continue extrapolating to a large- scale pilot plants, to verify the sewage sludge reduction and identify possible operative problems under real conditions

Carbon and oxygen in HII regions of the Magellanic Clouds: abundance discrepancy and chemical evolution

We present C and O abundances in the Magellanic Clouds derived from deep spectra of HII regions. The data have been taken with the Ultraviolet-Visual Echelle Spectrograph at the 8.2-m VLT. The sample comprises 5 HII regions in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) and 4 in the Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC). We measure pure recombination lines (RLs) of CII and OII in all the objects, permitting to derive the abundance discrepancy factors (ADFs) for O^2+, as well as their O/H, C/H and C/O ratios. We compare the ADFs with those of other HII regions in different galaxies. The results suggest a possible metallicity dependence of the ADF for the low-metallicity objects, but more uncertain for high-metallicity objects. We compare nebular and B-type stellar abundances and we find that the stellar abundances agree better with the nebular ones derived from collisionally excited lines (CELs). Comparing these results with other galaxies we observe that stellar abundances seem to agree better with the nebular ones derived from CELs in low-metallicity environments and from RLs in high-metallicity environments. The C/H, O/H and C/O ratios show almost flat radial gradients, in contrast with the spiral galaxies where such gradients are negative. We explore the chemical evolution analysing C/O vs. O/H and comparing with the results of HII regions in other galaxies. The LMC seems to show a similar chemical evolution to the external zones of small spiral galaxies and the SMC behaves as a typical star-forming dwarf galaxy.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 17 pages, 11 figures, 8 table

Formulación de estrategias de marketing mix a partir del estudio del comportamiento del consumidor de leche en la ciudad de Riobamba/Formulation of marketing mix strategies based on the study of milk consumer behavior in the city of Riobamba

El estudio económico de la conducta del consumidor supone teorías de enfoque positivista y normativo. En este contexto las decisiones de consumo se basan no siempre en un modelo racional, considerando además factores de tipo emocional, experiencias que determinan la decisión de compra. El objetivo de este artículo fue formular estrategias de marketing mix a partir del estudio del comportamiento del consumidor de leche en la ciudad de Riobamba. La metodología utilizada se fundamentó en un estudio cuasi experimental que tomó como base un modelo predeterminado que sirvió para diseñar una encuesta que permitiese identificar y evaluar variables determinantes en la conducta de los consumidores. La investigación permitió determinar las preferencias de marcas de leche, nivel de aceptación del precio, tipo de empaque, medios de comunicación y frecuencia de consumo. Los resultados de la investigación permitieron formular estrategias que contribuyen a incentivar el consumo de leche en la población local. The economic study of consumer behavior supposes theories of positivist and normative approach. In this context, consumer decisions are not always based on a rational model, considering factors of an emotional nature, experiences that determine the purchase decision. The objective of this article was to formulate marketing mix strategies based on the study of milk consumer behavior in the city of Riobamba. The methodology used was based on a quasi-experimental study that took as a basis a predetermined model that served to design a survey that would identify and evaluate determinant variables in the behavior of consumers. The investigation allowed to determine the preferences of milk brands, level of acceptance of the price, type of packaging, means of communication and frequency of consumption. The results of the research allowed to formulate strategies that contribute to encourage the consumption of milk in the local population. Palabras clave: comportamiento del consumidor, neuroeconomía, marketing mix. Keywords: consumer behavior, neuroeconomics, marketing mix

Predicción de amputación mediante MESS (Mangled Extremity Severity Score) en pacientes con lesión traumática vascular grave

En este estudio retrospectivo y ciego se analizan las historias clínicas de 60 pacientes (63 miembros inferiores), que ingresaron en nuestro hospital desde 1978 a 1992 a causa de una lesión traumática vascular grave; en este grupo no se incluyeron los pacientes con traumatismo vascular localizado por encima de la cadera o debajo del tobillo. El objetivo del estudio ha sido investigar si el MESS (Mangled extremity severity score) es un sistema útil para decidir entre la amputación precoz o el intento de reconstrucción en este tipo de pacientes. De 36 miembros que terminaron en amputación, 34 tuvieron un MESS de 7 o más, demostrando una sensibilidad del test del 94,4%. De 27 miembros que se salvaron, 22 tuvieron un MESS de 6 o menos, demostrando una especificidad del 81,4%. Así pues, el MESS es un test útil para predecir la necesidad o no de amputar un miembro con lesión vascular traumática grave, pero no es absolutamente fiable. Parece más fiable cuando se aplica a pacientes con traumatismo vascular grave que cuando se aplica a pacientes con traumatismo, tengan o no lesión vascular.60 patients (63 limbs) suffering from a severe vascular injury of the lower extremities between 1978-1992 have been retrospectively reviewed. Those cases wherein vascular injury was located above the hip level or under the ankle level were not included. The aim of this study was to investígate whether the Mangled Extremity Severity Score (MESS) is a useful test to decide between limb salvage or early amputation in this type of patients. Among 36 amputated limbs. 34 had a score equal or greater than 7, the rate of sensitivity of the test was 94,4%. Among 27 salvaged limbs, 22 had a score equal or lower than 6, showing a rate of specificity of 81,4%. The MESS seems to be a very useful test for prediction of limb salvage versus amputation with severe vascular injury, although it is not totally reliable. It seems better when applied to patients with vascular injury, rather than to those with mangled extremity, with or without vascular injury

Small-spatial scale variations of nebular properties and the abundance discrepancy in three Galactic HII regions

We present results of long-slit spectroscopy in several slit positions that cover different morphological structures of the central parts of three bright Galactic HII regions: M8, M17 and NGC7635. We study the spatial distributions of a large number of nebular parameters such as the extinction coefficient, line fluxes, physical conditions and ionic abundances at the maximum spatial resolution attainable with our instrumentation. Particularly, our goal is to study the behaviour of the abundance discrepancy factor of O^{2+}, ADF(O^{2+}), defined as the logarithmic difference of the O^{2+} abundances derived from collisionally excited and recombination lines. We find that the ADF(O^{2+}) remains fairly constant along the slit positions of M8 and M17. In the case of NGC7635, we only detect the OII recombination lines in the integrated spectrum along the whole slit, where the ADF(O^{2+}) reaches a remarkably high value of about 0.59 dex. We compare our results with previous ones obtained for the Orion Nebula. We find several evidences that suggest the presence of a candidate to Herbig-Haro object in M8.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures. Table A1 available only in the online version. Accepted for publication in MNRAS

Implicancias del nuevo marco legal sobre los roles de la institución educativa, los gobiernos regionales, locales y el Ministerio de Educación

Informe final de consultoríaPresentar los nudos y contradicciones en la distribución de roles y competencias en el marco de los ejes principales del sistema educativo, y como evalúa las implicancias de una estrategia adecuada de transferencia que refleja la diversidad del contexto y que permita avizorar algunas tareas primordiales para el logro de mejores resultados

Peculiar properties of chlorophyll thermoluminescence emission of autotrophically or mixotrophically grown Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The microalgae Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and Chlorella sp. CCAP 211/84 were grown autotrophically and mixotrophically and their thermoluminescence emissions were recorded above 0 °C after excitation by 1, 2 or 3 xenon flashes or by continuous far-red light. An oscillation of the B band intensity according to the number of flashes was always observed, with a maximum after 2 flashes, accompanied by a downshift of the B band temperature maximum in mixotrophic compared to autotrophic grown cells, indicative of a dark stable pH gradient. Moreover, new flash-induced bands emerged in mixotrophic Chlamydomonas grown cells, at temperatures higher than that of the B band. In contrast to the afterglow band observed in higher plants, in Chlamydomonas these bands were not inducible by far-red light, were fully suppressed by 2 μM antimycin A, and peaked at different temperatures depending on the flash number and growth stage, with higher temperature maxima in cells at a stationary compared to an exponential growth stage. These differences are discussed according to the particular properties of cyclic electron transfer pathways in C. reinhardtii.Ministerio de Educación y Cultura BFU2007-68107-C02-01/BMCJunta de Andalucía PAIDI CVI-26