Testing water pollution in a two layer aquifer

Water bodies around urban areas may be polluted with chemical elements from urban or industrial activities. We study the case of underground water pollution. This is a serious problem, since under- ground water is high qualified drinkable water in a world where this natural resource is increasingly reduced. This study is focused on a two-layer aquifer. If the superficial layer is contaminated, the deeper layer could be spoiled as well. This contribution checks the equality of the mean or centered composition of the two layers, with the aim of inferring their possible hydraulic conectivity. The data to be examined are different hydro-chemical components of water, such as nitrates and nitrites (related to nitrate/nitrite poisoning of animal stock), tensoactives (toxic to the ecosystem) or potassium (it promotes eutrophization of the water), represented in mg/l. As the data are compositional, we can group the pertinent elements and compare them applying ilr transformation. The ilr transformation is used for simplicity when comparing compositional vectors. MANOVA (Multivariate Analysis of Variance) is applied on the transformed data from the two layers. This provides a hypothesis test to discern whether the two aquifer layers can be considered a homogeneous continuum or, on the contrary, they should be considered as isolated layers. An illustrative example is presented. Used data sets, being synthetic, are inspired by a real case. These analyses suggest that the two aquifers are connected.Postprint (published version

Validity evidence of the organizational justice scale in Spain

Resumen tomado de la publicaciónEvidencias de validez de la Escala de Justicia Organizacional en España. Antecedentes: el interés por la medición de la percepción de justicia organizacional ha aumentado en los últimos años debido a su demostrada relación con resultados organizacionales significativos, como el bienestar y el agotamiento emocional. En España, se puede destacar la Escala de Justicia Organizacional (OJS) como un instrumento que ha mostrado buenas propiedades psicométricas en estudios previos en el sector hotelero. Este estudio complementa la evidencia de las características de la OJS utilizando una amplia muestra multisectorial. Método: los participantes fueron 849 empleados de diferentes sectores ocupacionales. La estructura de la OJS se estudió mediante análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio dividiendo la muestra en dos submuestras aleatorias. Además, se analizó la fiabilidad y validez de cada dimensión. Resultados: los resultados indicaron que la escala está constituida por tres factores (distributiva, procedimental y en la interacción), con una fiabilidad y validez adecuadas. Por otra parte, como era de esperar, se encontraron correlaciones positivas entre la percepción de justicia organizacional y el bienestar, y negativas con el agotamiento emocional. Conclusiones: la OJS es una herramienta adecuada para su uso por parte de académicos y profesionales en el estudio de la percepción de justicia organizacional en España, garantizando una validez y fiabilidad adecuadas.Universidad de Oviedo. Biblioteca de Psicología; Plaza Feijoo, s/n.; 33003 Oviedo; Tel. +34985104146; Fax +34985104126; [email protected]

Detecting ground state qubit self-excitations in circuit QED: slow quantum anti-Zeno effect

In this work we study an ultrastrong coupled qubit-cavity system subjected to slow repeated measurements. We demonstrate that even under a few imperfect measurements it is possible to detect transitions of the qubit from its free ground state to the excited state. The excitation probability grows exponentially fast in analogy with the quantum anti-Zeno effect. The dynamics and physics described in this paper is accessible to current superconducting circuit technology.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figures. v2: extended published versio

Unified formalism for higher-order non-autonomous dynamical systems

This work is devoted to giving a geometric framework for describing higher-order non-autonomous mechanical systems. The starting point is to extend the Lagrangian-Hamiltonian unified formalism of Skinner and Rusk for these kinds of systems, generalizing previous developments for higher-order autonomous mechanical systems and first-order non-autonomous mechanical systems. Then, we use this unified formulation to derive the standard Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms, including the Legendre-Ostrogradsky map and the Euler-Lagrange and the Hamilton equations, both for regular and singular systems. As applications of our model, two examples of regular and singular physical systems are studied.Comment: 43 pp. We have corrected and clarified the statement of Propositions 2 and 3. A remark is added after Proposition

Daylight Spectrum Index: A New Metric to Assess the Affinity of Light Sources with Daylighting

The current scenario of colorimetry shows a wide variety of different metrics which do not converge in the assessment of the color rendering of light sources. The limitations of the Color Rendering Index have promoted the emergence of new metrics, such as the Color Quality Scale. As in the case of the previous metric, these new concepts are based on the analysis of the deviation of different color samples in a color space, contrasting the results with those obtained with a light source reference, which can vary depending on the color temperature. Within this context, the Daylight Spectrum Index is proposed. This new concept aims to determine the affinity with daylighting of electric light sources, comparing the resulting spectral power distributions of the lamps studied and that observed under natural light. The affinity of an electric light source with daylighting allows for lower energy consumption due to the better performance of human vision. The new metric proposed is evaluated following the results obtained from 80 surveys, demonstrating the usefulness of this new concept in the quantification of color rendering of LED lamps and the affinity of electric light sources with daylighting.Government of Spain BIA2017-86997-

Intertextualidad en un relato de Voltaire: "Micromegas"

Esta reflexión sobre la "historia filosófica", como se conoce a "Micromegas", llama la atención sobre la riqueza de las relaciones intertextuales que se entrelazan con la propia narración. El uso de las técnicas asociadas con los relatos de viajes y travesías, Voltaire hace una formulación filosófica interesante que recuerda Locke, Newton y al Papa. Todo esto está dentro de la tendencia de los textos de enseñanza del siglo XVIII, lo que significa que la filosofía tiene como fondo la realidad y los personajes franceses, que permiten a Voltaire proporcionar una nota cómica.This reflection on the “philosophical story”, as “Micromegas” is known, draws attention to the wealth of intertextual relationships that are interwoven with the narrative itself. Using the techniques associated with accounts of journeys and voyages, Voltaire makes an interesting philosophical formulation that recalls Locke, Newton and Pope. All of this is within the eighteenth-century trend of instructional texts, which means that the stated philosophy has as its background French social reality and characters, which allows Voltaire to provide a comic note.notPeerReviewe

The silver andas Virgen del Valle Écija

Se aportan documentos sobre la construcción de unas andas de plata para la patrona de Écija, la Virgen del Valle, que fueron realizadas en Córdoba en 1634 por el platero Gonzalo de Alcántara, y desmanteladas en 1772 para crear un gran retablo o “carro triunfal” sobre el que venerar a la imagen.Documents are provided about the construction of a silver processional throne for Écija´s Patroness, the Virgen del Valle, built in Córdoba in 1634 by the silversmith Gonzalo de Alcántara, and was dismantled in 1772 in order to create a large altarpiece or carro triunfal (triumphal chariot) on which worship to the image

El navío de plata de la Virgen del Rocío

El ambicioso programa de investigación del proyecto Andalucía Barroca 2007 ha implicado la restauración y preservación de gran parte del Patrimonio Artístico Andaluz de este periodo. Una de las restauraciones llevadas a cabo ha sido el barco de plata conservado en el santuario de Nuestra Señora del Rocío de Almonte. Tradicionalmente se había atribuido al orfebre francés del siglo XVII Claude Ballin, aunque, tras la restauración se ha comprobado que realmente se trataba de una obra de principios del siglo XX, realizada en el taller de platería de Ludwig Neresheimer en Hanau, Alemania

Forecasting Recharging Demand to Integrate Electric Vehicle Fleets in Smart Grids

Electric vehicle fleets and smart grids are two growing technologies. These technologies provided new possibilities to reduce pollution and increase energy efficiency. In this sense, electric vehicles are used as mobile loads in the power grid. A distributed charging prioritization methodology is proposed in this paper. The solution is based on the concept of virtual power plants and the usage of evolutionary computation algorithms. Additionally, the comparison of several evolutionary algorithms, genetic algorithm, genetic algorithm with evolution control, particle swarm optimization, and hybrid solution are shown in order to evaluate the proposed architecture. The proposed solution is presented to prevent the overload of the power grid