New directions in water resources management: The role of water pricing policies

Water resources will face increasing competition and higher environmental concerns during this century. To meet these challenges, the new Water Framework Directive has drawn up an integrated framework and established the basic principles for a sustainable water policy in the European Union. The introduction of water prices reflecting the true cost of irrigation is one of its most innovative components. In this paper, a positive mathematical programming model is developed to assess the environmental and socio-economic impacts of water pricing policies in Spanish irrigated lands. The model interface allows friendly use and easy replication in a large number of irrigation districts, selected throughout the Spanish territory. The model results show the impact on environmental indicators, water consumption, cropping patterns, technology adoption, labor, farmers' income, and the water agency revenues when different scenarios of cost recovery are considered. It is argued that this modeling approach may be used as a management tool to assist in the implementation of the cost recovery approach of the new Water Framework Directive

A special family of stacked central configurations: Lagrange plus Euler in one

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Journal of dynamics and differential equations. The final authenticated version is available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10884-018-9647-1We show the existence of a family of stacked central configurations in the planar five-body problem with a special property. Three bodies m1, m2 and m3, ordered from left to right, are collinear and form an Euler central configuration, and the other two bodies m4 and m5, together with m2 are at the vertices of an equilateral triangle and form a Lagrange central configuration.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

A fluorometric method for the assay of protein kinase activity

Protein kinases constitute one of the largest protein families in nature. Current methods to assay their activity involve the use of radioactive ATP or very expensive reagents. In this work, we developed a highly sensitive, cost-effective and straightforward protocol to measure protein kinase activity using a microplate layout. Released ADP is converted into NAD+, which is quantified by its fluorescent properties after alkaline treatment (linear range 0–10 nmol ADP). To validate our protocol, we characterized a recombinant calcium-dependent protein kinase from potato. Overall, this tool represents a critical step forward in the functional characterization of protein kinases.Fil: Rojas, Bruno Ezequiel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Santin, Franco. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Ulloa, Rita Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Iglesias, Alberto Alvaro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; ArgentinaFil: Figueroa, Carlos Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Agrobiotecnología del Litoral; Argentin

Writers In Between Languages : minority Literatures in the Global Scene

Mari Jose OLAZIREGUI (ed.), Writers in between languages : minority literatures in the global sceneWriters in Between Languages reúne las ponencias presentadas en el simposio internacional del mismo nombre organizado por el Centro de Estudios Vascos de la Universidad de Nevada. Mari Jose Olaziregi, editora del volumen, ha debido enfrentarse a la difícil tarea de dar unidad a un libro que nace fragmentado, un libro donde la unidad debe buscarse en un discurso base capaz de hilvanar los diferentes artículos. Dividido en dos grandes bloques, el de los escritores y el de los académicos, el libro se pregunta por la significación que todavía hoy tiene el hecho de escribir en vasco..

Modelos clássicos para o estudo do atrito microscópico

O atrito é um fenômeno extremamente onipresente, a ponto de que a maior parte do tempo não percebemos como isso afeta nossas vidas, desde pequenos detalhes até aspectos fundamentais. Geralmente é considerado um problema relacionado com a perda de energia e desgaste das peças das máquinas, mas sem sua existência não ouviríamos o violino, as unhas seriam inúteis, e a vida não poderia ser possível, pois num regime sem desgaste, o equilíbrio térmico seria inalcançável. As técnicas experimentais atuais capazes de estudar a força de atrito, abriram um novo campo de pesquisa envolvendo escalas de comprimento atômico, chamado de nano-tribologia. Apesar disso, a origem microscópica da força de atrito permanece principalmente não resolvida até hoje. Nesta tese de doutorado, foi estudada a base da origem da força de atrito, primeiro investigando sua dependência com a velocidade através do conhecido modelo de Prandtl-Tomlinson para temperatura igual a zero. A essência da troca de energia, que poderia explicar o surgimento do atrito foi investigada pela dinâmica entre duas partículas. Uma ligada a uma mola e a outra lançada em sua direção com certa velocidade, sendo a interação entre elas do tipo gaussiano (curto alcance). Para simular um substrato mais realista, o sistema de partículas-mola foi estendido para uma disposição periódica de partículas, independentes entre elas, e a partícula que no primeiro modelo era lançada, foi substituída por uma ponta, geralmente usada para escanear as superfícies no microscópio de força atômica. A principal técnica utilizada foi dinâmica molecular, ferramenta ideal para abordar o estudo da dinâmica de sistemas clássicos de muitas partículas.Friction is an extremely ubiquitous phenomenon, to the point that most of the time we do not realize how it affects our lives, from tiny details to fundamental aspects. It is usually regarded as a nuisance related with the loss of energy and wear of machine parts, but without it, we would not hear the violin, the nails would be useless, and life could not be possible because in a wearless regime, the thermal equilibrium would be unattainable. The current experimental techniques able to study friction forces, opened a new field of research involving atomic length scales, called nano-tribology. Despite this, the microscopic origin of friction force remains mostly unsolved until date. In this PhD thesis, was studied the basis of the origin of the friction force, first investigating its dependence with the velocity through the well-known Prandtl-Tomlinson model for zero temperature. The essence of the energy exchange that could explain the emergence of friction was investigated by the dynamics between two particles. One attached to a spring and the other sliding in its direction with a certain speed. The interaction between them represented by Gaussian potential (short range). To simulate a more realistic substrate, the springparticle system was extended to a periodic arrangement of particles, independent between them, and the particle that was thrown against it was replaced by a tip, generally used to scan the surfaces on the atomic force microscope. The main used technique was molecular dynamics, an ideal tool to address the study the dynamics of many particles classical systems

Does a family-first philosophy affect family business profitability? An analysis of family businesses in the midwest

Previous family business literature has analyzed how various management strategies or family tension has impacted profit. However, profit can vary due to the different family values and goals placed on the firm. The purpose of this study was to investigate how the business philosophy of a family business influenced profit. The present study sought to examine how the family business\u27 philosophy, as in if they have a family-first or business-first orientation, influences profit. This study also investigates how the distribution of the business to the next generation, as well as how hiring family members who may not have the qualifications to key management positions, could decrease family business profit. Results showed that a family-first philosophy did not have a statistically significant effect on profit, while distributing the business to a family successor positively affected profit. The attitude that family members should be hired to a key management position regardless of their qualification did not significantly affect business profit. A firm\u27s transfer plan positively impacted business profit

The new challenges of the manufacturing industry applying the norm ISO 45001:2018

The present work reflects the impact that the manufacturing industries must solve in the application of the ISO 45001: 2018 Standard on Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems. In such, a globalized market where human and material assets must be preserved for the survival of organizations, management systems based on continuous improvement play an important role in ensuring compliance with applicable legal requirements, risk management and the opportunities, as well as the achievement of the best working conditions. The manufacturing industry has not been alien to this evolution; the nature of the risks present in the different industries, the operations carried out, the machinery, the use of work teams and their processes make this sector a priority and strategic sector that should be at the forefront of new technologies and rules. The implementation of the ISO 45001: 2018 standard in the manufacturing industry is a challenge for the implementation of high-level management systems that guarantee a healthy and safe environment for workers and a strategic and operational decision from the business point of view based on improving the performance of health and safety at work and increasing competitiveness in an increasingly demanding market.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech