U.S./Mexico Bilateral Security Cooperation and Outlook for American Multinational Corporations

This research project seeks to analyze current bilateral security initiatives between the United States of America and Mexico in terms of tackling the issue of transnational organized crime. This project will assess the impact that past security policies have had on U.S./Mexico relations and how they affected levels of crime in Mexico. In addition, current policies will be evaluated based on their effectiveness in addressing drug trafficking and crime. This research project will also anticipate the actions of the newly elected Mexican president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, and then provide an assessment as to how his policies will affect security cooperation between Mexico and the United States. Besides that, this project will consider how the issue of transnational organized crime in relations to the Mexican Drug War might affect American multinational corporations operating in Mexico. Structured analytic techniques will be employed in this research project to carefully analyze the contemporary U.S./Mexico security environment and develop key assumptions about the future of U.S./Mexico relations with respect to transnational organized criminal syndicates. This research project will present its audience with appropriate statistical data and information that indicates certain patterns, measures the success of specific bilateral security policies, and outlines regions where there are high degrees of criminal activity and violent crimes. Ultimately, this research project will deliver an estimate detailing which bilateral security policies will change or remain the same under the Obrador Administration, how crime levels in Mexico could be affected over time, and the outlook for American multinational corporations operating in Mexico as a result of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s policies

Superfícies mínimas singulares invariantes

Dissertação (mestrado) — Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Ciências Exatas, Departamento de Matemática, 2022.Uma superfície mínima singular M no espaço Euclidiano R 3 é uma superfície cuja curvatura média satisfaz 2H = α ⟨N,a⟩ ⟨p,a⟩ , em que α é uma constante real, p ∈ M, a é um vetor fixo não nulo de R 3 e N é o vetor normal unitário de M em p. Superfícies mínimas singulares são pontos críticos de um determinado funcional energia e também são dadas por superfícies mínimas em (R 3 ,g), em que g pertence a uma classe de métricas conformes à métrica Euclidiana. Baseado no artigo López [Ann. Global Anal. Geom. 53 (2018)], apresentamos nesta dissertação um estudo de superfícies mínimas singulares invariantes sob as ações de dois tipos de grupos a 1-parâmetro de movimentos rígidos de R 3 , a saber, o grupo de rotações e o grupo de translações.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) e Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq).A minimal singular surface M in Euclidean space R 3 is a surface whose mean curvature satisfies 2H = α ⟨N,a⟩ ⟨p,a⟩ , where α is a real constant, p ∈ M, a is a fixed vector of R 3 , N is the unit normal vector of M in p. Singular minimal surfaces are critical points of a determined functional energy and they are also given by minimal surfaces in (R 3 ,g), where g belongs to a class of metrics conformal to the Euclidean metric. Based on the article López [Ann. Global Anal. Geom. 53 (2018)], we present in this dissertation a study of singular minimal surfaces that are invariant by two types of uniparametric groups of rigid motions of R 3 , namely, the rotation group and the translation group

El principio variacional de Ekeland y aplicaciones

En este trabajo se estudia el Principio Variacional de Ekeland y algunas aplicaciones a la teoría de puntos críticos y a ecuaciones diferenciales parciales. Se prueba a partir del Principio Variacional de Ekeland el Teorema del Paso de la Montaña y el Teorema de Punto de Silla; también se demuestra la existencia de soluciones débiles para problemas de Dirichlet semilineal.Maestrí

Expert control applied to electric submersible pumps

Orientador: Janito Vaqueiro FerreiraTese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia MecânicaResumo: Na indústria do petróleo, é comum o uso de bombas centrífugas submersas (BCS) para elevar o óleo até a superfície. Normalmente as bombas BCS operam com fluido bifásico ''gás-líquido''. A presença de grandes quantidades de gás dentro da bomba gera instabilidades que deterioram o desempenho da bomba, o que pode causar até mesmo a interrupção da produção. Assim, nesta pesquisa, utilizou-se um controle especialista que tem como núcleo um sistema complexo adaptativo, o qual a partir da experiência pode gerar conhecimento sobre o funcionamento da BCS. Deste modo, o sistema especialista pode ser capaz de controlar o sistema BCS mantendo-o numa condição estável. Baseado em um modelo não-linear de uma BCS, que representa o comportamento da bomba operando com vazão bifásica, foi treinado um sistema especialista usando um algoritmo genético que gera um conjunto de regras (conhecimento adquirido) que com o tempo controlará e manterá o sistema BCS em condições operacionais seguras. No início do treinamento, o sistema de controle criado por algoritmos genéticos gerou comportamentos erráticos. No entanto, ao longo do tempo, o sistema especialista começou a entender o desempenho do sistema BCS, levando-o para condições estáveis. Além disso, se colocarmos o sistema BCS em condições instáveis, o sistema de controle o coloca de volta em condições seguras. O controle especialista, através do conhecimento adquirido com a experiência, possibilita manter uma BCS trabalhando com fluidos bifásicos em condições estáveis, o que permite evitar danos e paradas repentinas do equipamento durante a produção de petróleoAbstract: In the oil industry, it is common to use electric submersible pumps (ESP) to lift oil to the surface. It is usual for ESP to operate with biphasic fluid flow ''gas-liquid''. The presence of large amounts of gas within the pump generates instabilities and a deterioration in the performance of the pump, which can even cause production to be interrupted. Thus, in this research we aimed to use a control system, which has as its core an adaptive complex system, to generate knowledge about the operation of the ESP. In this way the expert system was able to control the ESP keeping it in the best possible condition. Based on a nonlinear model of an ESP, which represents the behavior of the pump operating with two-phase flow, has trained an expert system using a genetic algorithm that generate a set of rules (acquired knowledge) that over time would control and maintain the ESP in safe operating conditions. At the beginning of the training, the expert system created by genetic algorithms generated erratic behaviors. However, over the time, the expert system began to understand the performance of the ESP system and set it to stable conditions. Furthermore, if the ESP system starts to operate in unstable conditions, the control system sets it back within safe conditions. The expert control, through acquired knowledge with experience, may keep an ESP that is working with biphasic fluids in stable condition, which avoids equipment damage sudden stops during the oil production.DoutoradoMecatrônicaDoutor em Engenharia Mecânic

Simulation control of multiphase flow an electrical submersible pump - EPS

Orientador: Janito Vaqueiro FerreiraDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia MecânicaResumo: Na indústria do petróleo é comum à utilização de bombas centrífugas submersas (BCS) operando em escoamento multifásico líquido-gás. A presença de elevadas vazões de gás causam uma degradação severa no desempenho da bomba, gerando instabilidades nas curvas de pressão-vazão, como o `surging¿ e o `gas locking¿. Portanto o conhecimento destas instabilidades é fundamental para a adequada operação da bomba e assim evitar falhas prematuras no equipamento. Na atualidade não existem modelos matemáticos que representem de forma adequada o comportamento da BCS na região de `surging¿ e no `gas locking¿, gerando a necessidade de empregar circuitos de testes para fazer o levantamento das curvas de desempenho das bombas. A maioria dos circuitos de testes é operada de forma manual para obter às condições de operação da bomba, tornando os ensaios repetitivos, cansativos e trabalhosos. Por isto nasce a necessidade de automatizar estas bancadas com a finalidade de facilitar o processo do levantamento das curvas de desempenho das bombas. Este trabalho apresenta o projeto e simulação de um controle robusto tipo H_? que permita manter o escoamento multifásico na entrada de uma BCS em diferentes condições de operação da bomba. Este controlador é projetado a partir de um circuito de testes para BCS virtual que é modelado empregando formulações físicas e modelos ajustados mediante dados experimentais usando algoritmos de aprendizagem de máquinas baseados em máquinas de suporte vetorial para regressão (SVMr). Após o projeto de controle, o controlador projetado é testado no circuito de testes virtual mediante simulações em tempo real `software in the loop¿ (SIL)Abstract: In the oil industry, it is common to use electrical submersible pumps (ESP) operating with gas -liquid multiphase flow. The presence of high gas flows cause severe degradation in performance of the pump, generating instabilities in the flow-pressure curves, as "surging" and "gas locking". Therefore knowledge of these instabilities is essential for the proper functioning of the pump and thereby prevents premature failure of the equipment. Currently there are no mathematical models that adequately represent the behavior of the EPS in the region of "surging" and "gas locking", creating the need to use test circuits to make a study of the performance curves of the pumps. Most test circuits are operated manually to reach the operating conditions of the pump, making repetitive, tedious and laborious trials. Therefore there is a need to automate these circuits in order to facilitate the process of obtaining the performance curve of the pump. In this paper the project and simulation of a robust control type H_? for keeping the multiphase flow in the entrance of a EPS operating at different conditions is performed. This controller is designed based on a test circuit virtual for EPS which is modeled using physical formulations and adjusted models obtained by experimental data using machine learning algorithms based on support vector machines for regression (SVMR). After the controller design, the control is tested in the virtual test circuits using simulations in real time "software in the loop" (SIL)MestradoMecanica dos Sólidos e Projeto MecanicoMestre em Engenharia Mecânic

Estrategias de aprendizaje: efecto en el rendimiento académico por sexo en la licenciatura de administración

Las instituciones de educación superior plantean un nuevo modelo de educación, a través del desarrollo de conocimientos y aplicación de estrategias de aprendi- zaje que sirvan para aprovechar la diversidad, la gran cantidad de información disponible y nuevos descubrimientos que aportan la ciencia y la tecnología. Por lo anterior, se hace necesario conocer en qué medida los estudiantes aplican las estrategias de aprendizaje y cómo estas impactan en su rendimiento académico. El objetivo fue describir y relacionar estrategias de aprendizaje y rendimiento académico por sexo en la licenciatura de administración del Centro Universitario Temascaltepec. La población fue el total de hombres y mujeres que integran la licenciatura. Se aplicó el instrumento escala de estrategias de aprendizaje de Román y Gallego (2001). Se midió el grado de utilización de estrategias y la corre- lación en mujeres y hombres se procesó con el SPSS. Las estrategias de aprendizaje más utilizadas en mujeres y hombres corresponden a una educación tradicional; respecto a la correlación, en las mujeres sí impacta en su rendimiento académico, no así en el caso de los hombres. Lo anterior da pautas para fortalecer la actividad docente en esta licenciatura

Minimal Inflation

Using the universal X superfield that measures in the UV the violation of conformal invariance we build up a model of multifield inflation. The underlying dynamics is the one controlling the natural flow of this field in the IR to the Goldstino superfield once SUSY is broken. We show that flat directions satisfying the slow roll conditions exist only if R-symmetry is broken. Naturalness of our model leads to scales of SUSY breaking of the order of 10^{11-13} Gev, a nearly scale-invariant spectrum of the initial perturbations and negligible gravitational waves. We obtain that the inflaton field is lighter than the gravitino by an amount determined by the slow roll parameter eta. The existence of slow-roll conditions is directly linked to the values of supersymmetry and R-symmetry breaking scales. We make cosmological predictions of our model and compare them to current data

Potential ecological and socio-economic effects of a novel megaherbivore introduction: the hippopotamus in Colombia

Introduced species can have strong ecological, social and economic effects on their non-native environment. Introductions of megafaunal species are rare and may contribute to rewilding efforts, but they may also have pronounced socio-ecological effects because of their scale of influence. A recent introduction of the hippopotamus Hippopotamus amphibius into Colombia is a novel introduction of a megaherbivore onto a new continent, and raises questions about the future dynamics of the socio-ecological system into which it has been introduced. Here we synthesize current knowledge about the Colombian hippopotamus population, review the literature on the species to predict potential ecological and socio-economic effects of this introduction, and make recommendations for future study. Hippopotamuses can have high population growth rates (7–11%) and, on the current trajectory, we predict there could be 400–800 individuals in Colombia by 2050. The hippopotamus is an ecosystem engineer that can have profound effects on terrestrial and aquatic environments and could therefore affect the native biodiversity of the Magdalena River basin. Hippopotamuses are also aggressive and may pose a threat to the many inhabitants of the region who rely upon the Magdalena River for their livelihoods, although the species could provide economic benefits through tourism. Further research is needed to quantify the current and future size and distribution of this hippopotamus population and to predict the likely ecological, social and economic effects. This knowledge must be balanced with consideration of social and cultural concerns to develop appropriate management strategies for this novel introduction

Enzimas amilolíticas exógenas en la alimentación de rumiantes

Recientemente, las enzimas exógenas se están usando para mejorar la degradabilidad ruminal de la fibra dietaria y del almidón presente en los alimentos utilizados en la alimentación de rumiantes. Estas enzimas representan una alternativa para incrementar la productividad y reducir los costos por alimentación, ya que se podría reducir el uso de granos, debido al mayor aporte de energía que realizarían los sustratos fibrosos. La actividad amilolítica de los microorganismos ruminales se da principalmente por la acción de enzimas extracelulares, las que en cocultivo han manifestado su máximo potencial para digerir el almidón. Diversas investigaciones han demostrado que la digestión ruminal del almidón es incompleta y más para aquellos granos de tasas de digestión lenta como el sorgo. Esta digestión incompleta es el resultado de la interacción entre las características del almidón (tipo de grano), condiciones fisicoquímicas del rumen y las enzimas amilolíticas microbiales. Las enzimas exógenas, producto de la biotecnología, actúan en intervalos amplios de pH (4 - 9) y temperatura (30 - 90 C), las cuales podrían actuar sinérgicamente con las bacterias microbiales del rumen e incrementar la degradabilidad ruminal del almidón. Los avances en el uso de enzimas amilolíticas exógenas para incrementar el aprovechamiento del valor energético de los granos utilizados en la elaboración de alimentos para rumiantes, es una excelente alternativa para mejorar la producción animal

Automated Axial Right Ventricle to Left Ventricle Diameter Ratio Computation in Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography

Background and Purpose Right Ventricular to Left Ventricular (RV/LV) diameter ratio has been shown to be a prognostic biomarker for patients suffering from acute Pulmonary Embolism (PE). While Computed Tomography Pulmonary Angiography (CTPA) images used to confirm a clinical suspicion of PE do include information of the heart, a numerical RV/LV diameter ratio is not universally reported, likely because of lack in training, inter-reader variability in the measurements, and additional effort by the radiologist. This study designs and validates a completely automated Computer Aided Detection (CAD) system to compute the axial RV/LV diameter ratio from CTPA images so that the RV/LV diameter ratio can be a more objective metric that is consistently reported in patients for whom CTPA diagnoses PE. Materials and Methods The CAD system was designed specifically for RV/LV measurements. The system was tested in 198 consecutive CTPA patients with acute PE. Its accuracy was evaluated using reference standard RV/LV radiologist measurements and its prognostic value was established for 30-day PE-specific mortality and a composite outcome of 30-day PE-specific mortality or the need for intensive therapies. The study was Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved and HIPAA compliant. Results The CAD system analyzed correctly 92.4% (183/198) of CTPA studies. The mean difference between automated and manually computed axial RV/LV ratios was 0.03±0.22. The correlation between the RV/LV diameter ratio obtained by the CAD system and that obtained by the radiologist was high (r=0.81). Compared to the radiologist, the CAD system equally achieved high accuracy for the composite outcome, with areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of 0.75 vs. 0.78. Similar results were found for 30-days PE-specific mortality, with areas under the curve of 0.72 vs. 0.75. Conclusions An automated CAD system for determining the CT derived RV/LV diameter ratio in patients with acute PE has high accuracy when compared to manual measurements and similar prognostic significance for two clinical outcomes.Madrid-MIT M+Vision Consortiu