Predicting grower choices in a regulated environment

The analysis of farmers’ decision making process in the framework of agricultural policy is particularly complex as they take action within a structure of interacting opportunities, preferences, benefits and social factors which ultimately account for their behavior. This paper will study viticulturists’ behaviour vis-à-vis this scenario. Their decisions in the face of different possible alternatives are analysed using a multinomial logit model and a sample of 74,502 plots in Castilla-La Mancha (Spain). The conclusion is that viticulturists from this region are more prone to maintaining the status quo in their plots due to the current public support security issues, uncertain scenarios and their natural risk aversion

Comparison of the accumulation of astaxanthin in Haematococcus pluvialis and other green microalgae under N-starvation and high light conditions

Haematococcus pluvialis gave the highest astaxanthin accumulation rate (2.7 mg l−1 day−1) and total astaxanthin content ( 22.7 mg g−1 biomass). Astaxanthin accumulation in Neochloris wimmeri, Protosiphon botryoides, Scotiellopsis oocystiformis, Chorella zofingiensis and Scenedesmus vacuolatus was, respectively, 19.2, 14.3, 10.9, 6.8 and 2.7 mg astaxanthin g−1 biomass, respectively.Xunta de Galicia; PGIDT00PXI10301PR

La reputación regional como el diferencial de precio: estimación de un modelo hedónico de precios para los vinos de Castilla-La Mancha

Wine is a multi-attribute product and one of great differentiation. Consumers do not know wines’ intrinsic properties before its purchase; consumers need and look for extrinsic signals that allow them to infer those intrinsic properties. To evaluate those intrinsic wine properties, the article uses price as an extrinsic signal to express their value. The price used is a comparison between the prices suggested by the specialized guides and the ones proposed directly to the consumer at the on-line stores. With the hedonic price methodology, which relates price and attributes, the article shows the convergence between the value referenced (price) by the Spanish experts and the one paid (price) in the Spanish market, the former being independent of the interests of the economic agents and the latter not. Regional reputation is the only attribute that positively impacts the price of Castilian wine and is prioritized in the ranking of attributes.El vino es un producto de atributos múltiples y de gran diferenciación. Los consumidores no conocen las propiedades intrínsecas de los vinos antes de su compra; los consumidores necesitan y buscan señales extrínsecas que les permitan inferir esas propiedades intrínsecas. Para evaluar esas propiedades intrínsecas del vino, este artículo usa el precio como una señal extrínseca para expresar su valor. El precio utilizado es una comparación entre los precios sugeridos por las guías especializadas y los que se proponen directamente al consumidor en las tiendas en línea. Con la metodología de precios hedónicos, que relaciona precios y atributos, este artículo muestra la convergencia entre el valor referenciado (precio) por los expertos españoles y el valor pagado (precio) en el mercado español, siendo el primero independiente de los intereses de los agentes económicos y el último no. La reputación regional es el único atributo que impacta positivamente en el precio del vino castellano y se prioriza en el ranking de atributos al momento de compra

Classification, filtering, and identification of electrical customer load patterns through the use of self-organizing maps

Different methodologies are available for clustering purposes. The objective of this paper is to review the capacity of some of them and specifically to test the ability of self-organizing maps (SOMs) to filter, classify, and extract patterns from distributor, commercializer, or customer electrical demand databases. These market participants can achieve an interesting benefit through the knowledge of these patterns, for example, to evaluate the potential for distributed generation, energy efficiency, and demand-side response policies (market analysis). For simplicity, customer classification techniques usually used the historic load curves of each user. The first step in the methodology presented in this paper is anomalous data filtering: holidays, maintenance, and wrong measurements must be removed from the database. Subsequently, two different treatments (frequency and time domain) of demand data were tested to feed SOM maps and evaluate the advantages of each approach. Finally, the ability of SOM to classify new customers in different clusters is also examined. Both steps have been performed through a well-known technique: SOM maps. The results clearly show the suitability of this approach to improve data management and to easily find coherent clusters between electrical users, accounting for relevant information about weekend demand patterns.This work was supported by European Union Sixth Frame work Program under Project EU-DEEP SES6-CT-2003-503516.Paper no.TPWRS-00633-200

Attributing trends in extremely hot days to changes in atmospheric dynamics

This paper presents a method for attributing regional trends in the frequency of extremely hot days (EHDs) to changes in the frequency of the atmospheric patterns that characterize such extraordinary events. The study is applied to mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands for the extended summers of the period 1958–2008, where significant and positive trends in maximum temperature (Tx) have been reported during the second half of the past century.This study was supported by the Spanish government and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) through the projects SPEQTRES (CGL2011-29672-C02-02) and REPAIR (CGL2014-59677-R). J. P. Montavez also acknowledges the financial support from Fundacion Seneca (Ref 19640/EE/14)

FAQs sobre la adaptación de las asignaturas al EEES

Muchas son las preguntas y las dudas que se plantean los profesores a la hora de adaptar una asignatura al Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior. Pasar de un modelo de docencia centrado en la enseñanza a un modelo centrado en el aprendizaje plantea diferentes tipos de preguntas, que suelen repetirse en todos los foros de discusión. Algunas de estas preguntas tienen que ver con la pertinencia de los planteamientos que se hacen (¿Es este enfoque realmente mejor?). Otras tienen que ver con la dificultad de implantar los nuevos enfoques en el contexto actual (¿Puede hacerse esto en nuestras aulas y con nuestros alumnos?). Y finalmente, algunas preguntas tienen que ver con aspectos técnicos, que surgen cuando uno se pone manos a la obra (¿Cómo se estima el tiempo de dedicación del alumno a una tarea?). En este artículo respondemos a ocho de estas preguntas típicas, agrupadas en los tres apartados comentados, con la esperanza de que las respuestas ayuden a los profesores a adaptar sus asignaturas al nuevo entorno

Una colección de metáforas para explicar (y entender) el EEES

La implantación del sistema europeo de créditos dentro del marco del Espacio Europeo de Educación Superior tiene implicaciones profundas en nuestra labor como profesores al pasar de una docencia centrada en la enseñanza (en el profesor) a otra centrada en el aprendizaje (en el estudiante). Con frecuencia, estas implicaciones no son bien explicadas o comprendidas. En este artículo se propone un conjunto amplio de metáforas que pueden resultar útiles para explicar y comprender mejor dichas implicaciones, con una nota de humor y con una mirada fresca y diferente al problema, que nos ayude a tomar un poco de distancia con nuestras circunstancias particulares y prejuicios

Aspectos organizativos que dificultan o facilitan la adaptación al EEES de asignaturas con varios profesores y grupos de clase

La adaptación de una asignatura al EEES requiere, desde nuestro punto de vista, el diseño de un programa de actividades de las que los alumnos no puedan escapar sin haber aprendido. Esta tarea, ya de por sí bastante complicada, puede verse dificultada por cuestiones organizativas. En particular, en el caso de que la asignatura tenga varios grupos de clase y varios tipos de sesiones (por ejemplo, teoría, problemas y laboratorio) el diseño de un único programa de actividades que sea válido para todos los grupos de clase resulta una tarea muy compleja. El hecho de que las fiestas durante el curso afecten de diferente manera a los distintos grupos de clase obliga a que cada uno de ellos tenga una secuencia de actividades particular, adaptada a las peculiaridades de ese calendario. Estas secuencias de actividades deben volverse a planificar para cada grupo y para cada año, con el sobreesfuerzo que ello significa. Analizamos este problema en detalle y ofrecemos algunas soluciones, que van desde cambios que ayudan a mejorar parcialmente la situación y que no requieren una reorganización profunda de la asignatura, hasta cambios que resuelven los problemas en gran medida, pero que requieren cambios profundos en la organización y un soporte importante por parte de la dirección del centro. Las soluciones propuestas se ilustran con casos reales procedentes de asignaturas de primeros cursos de Informática sobre la enseñanza de programación de ordenadores y arquitectura de computadores.Este trabajo se ha realizado con la ayuda del Departamento de Arquitectura de Computadores, la Facultad de Informática de Barcelona y la Escuela Politécnica Superior de Castelldefels, de la Universidad Politécnica de Cataluña

Preharvest or a combination of preharvest and postharvest treatments with methyl jasmonate reduced chilling injury, by maintaining higher unsaturated fatty acids, and increased aril colour and phenolics content in pomegranate

In the present research the effects of preharvest 5mM methyl jasmonate (MeJa) treatments, alone (Pre) or in combination with postharvest 5mM MeJa treatment (Pre+Post), on reducing chilling injury (CI) of pomegranate during 90 d of storage at 2 °C plus 3 d at 20 °C and its relationship with changes in fatty acid composition of cell membranes were assayed. In addition, fruit and aril quality traits, total content in phenolics and anthocyanins and antioxidant activity of the arils were evaluated. Both, external and internal CI symptoms and the increase in ion leakage (IL) were reduced by Pre and Pre+Post MeJa treatments. The major fatty acids in pomegranate husk were palmitic, oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. MeJa treatments led to higher concentration of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) at harvest, which wasmaintained at higher levels during storage, while saturated fatty acid (SFA) concentration was lower in treated fruit than in controls. The concentration of total phenolics and anthocyanins were lower in the arils from control fruit than in arils of Pre and Pre+Post treated fruit during the whole storage period. In general, there were no significant differences between Pre and Pre+Post MeJa treatments on their effects on reducing CI, maintaining membrane stability and bioactive compounds with antioxidant activity. Thus, preharvest MeJa treatments may be sufficient to increase the cold storage potential of pomegranate fruit by reducing CI symptoms and enhancing the content bioactive compounds with antioxidant activit

Gut microbiota in canine idiopathic epilepsy: Effects of disease and treatment

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders in humans and dogs. The structure and composition of gut microbiome associated to this disorder has not yet been analyzed in depth but there is evidence that suggests a possible influence of gut bacteria in controlling seizures. The aim of this study was to investigate the changes in gut microbiota associated to canine idiopathic epilepsy (IE) and the possible influence of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on the modulation of this microbiota. Faecal microbiota composition was analyzed using sequencing of bacterial 16S rRNA gene in a group of healthy controls (n = 12) and a group of epileptic dogs both before (n = 10) and after a 30-day single treatment with phenobarbital or imepitoin (n = 9). Epileptic dogs showed significantly reduced abundance of GABA (Pseudomonadales, Pseudomonadaceae, Pseudomonas and Pseudomona_graminis) and SCFAs-producing bacteria (Peptococcaceae, Ruminococcaceae and Anaerotruncus) as well as bacteria associated with reduced risk for brain disease (Prevotellaceae) than control dogs. The administration of AEDs during 30 days did not modify the gut microbiota composition. These results are expected to contribute to the understanding of canine idiopathic epilepsy and open up the possibility of studying new therapeutic approaches for this disorder, including probiotic intervention to restore gut microbiota in epileptic individuals. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland