¿Debe Chile Dolarizar?

This article analyzes the costs and benefits of the dollarization of the Chilean economy. The conclusion is that at the present time the costs are more than the benefits. one of the basic arguments is that the adjustment process of a dollarized economy toDollarization, common currency, adjustment costs, real exchange rate

White Gaussian Noise Based Capacity Estimate and Characterization of Fiber-Optic Links

We use white Gaussian noise as a test signal for single-mode and multimode transmission links and estimate the link capacity based on a calculation of mutual information. We also extract the complex amplitude channel estimations and mode-dependent loss with high accuracy.Comment: submitted to The Optical Networking and Communication Conference (OFC) 201

Portrait d’initiatives québécoises de recherche ayant utilisé une méthode dite d’enquête citoyenne

Ce rapport de recherche présente, dans un premier temps, un cadre de réflexion propice à la réalisation d’activités de recherche qui reposent sur une mobilisation de connaissances détenues par la population d’un territoire local. Dans un deuxième temps, cinq expériences de collecte de données impliquant une participation citoyenne sont présentées. Deux de ces expériences illustrent des démarches ayant pour objectif de mobiliser des citoyennes. Les trois autres sont des exemples où la collecte d’informations détenues par la population locale est vue comme un plus pour définir des projets qui soient mieux ancrés dans leur communauté

Modal Analysis of Fiber-optical Devices using Digital Holography

Digital holography is a device characterization technique that provides the full optical field, both phase and amplitude, as a function of input port and polarization. Further offline digital signal processing of these fields can provide meaningful insight in to the device-under-test. Here, digital holography is used to characterize a polarization-dependent loss emulation stage and a three-mode photonic lantern. Digital demultiplexing yields the full polarization-diverse transfer matrix from which important metrics such as mode-dependent loss and cross-talk deduced

New Species in the Old World: Europe as a Frontier in Biodiversity Exploration, a Test Bed for 21st Century Taxonomy

The number of described species on the planet is about 1.9 million, with ca. 17,000 new species described annually, mostly from the tropics. However, taxonomy is usually described as a science in crisis, lacking manpower and funding, a politically acknowledged problem known as the Taxonomic Impediment. Using data from the Fauna Europaea database and the Zoological Record, we show that contrary to general belief, developed and heavily-studied parts of the world are important reservoirs of unknown species. In Europe, new species of multicellular terrestrial and freshwater animals are being discovered and named at an unprecedented rate: since the 1950s, more than 770 new species are on average described each year from Europe, which add to the 125,000 terrestrial and freshwater multicellular species already known in this region. There is no sign of having reached a plateau that would allow for the assessment of the magnitude of European biodiversity. More remarkably, over 60% of these new species are described by non-professional taxonomists. Amateurs are recognized as an essential part of the workforce in ecology and astronomy, but the magnitude of non-professional taxonomist contributions to alpha-taxonomy has not been fully realized until now. Our results stress the importance of developing a system that better supports and guides this formidable workforce, as we seek to overcome the Taxonomic Impediment and speed up the process of describing the planetary biodiversity before it is too late

Alignment of Free-Space Coupling of Few-Mode Fibre to Multi-Mode Fibre using Digital Holography

Off-axis digital holography is used to align a few-mode fiber to a multi-mode fiber in a free-space optical setup. Alignment based on power coupling measurements alone cannot guarantee low mode-dependent loss. The proposed alignment method enables reliable fiber coupling with low mode-dependent loss and crosstalk

Invasive Mutualists Erode Native Pollination Webs

Plant–animal mutualisms are characterized by weak or asymmetric mutual dependences between interacting species, a feature that could increase community stability. If invasive species integrate into mutualistic webs, they may alter web structure, with consequences for species persistence. However, the effect of alien mutualists on the architecture of plant–pollinator webs remains largely unexplored. We analyzed the extent of mutual dependency between interacting species, as a measure of mutualism strength, and the connectivity of 10 paired plant–pollinator webs, eight from forests of the southern Andes and two from oceanic islands, with different incidences of alien species. Highly invaded webs exhibited weaker mutualism than less-invaded webs. This potential increase in network stability was the result of a disproportionate increase in the importance and participation of alien species in the most asymmetric interactions. The integration of alien mutualists did not alter overall network connectivity, but links were transferred from generalist native species to super-generalist alien species during invasion. Therefore, connectivity among native species declined in highly invaded webs. These modifications in the structure of pollination webs, due to dominance of alien mutualists, can leave many native species subject to novel ecological and evolutionary dynamics