ALTERNATIVE CYCLING STRATEGIES FOR SHRIMP FARMING IN ARID ZONES OF MEXICO: DEALING WITH RISK AND UNCERTAINTY

Northwest Mexican coastal waters have large seasonal temperature variations, high salinity, and are subject to intense solar radiation. Shrimp farms in this region have been using two annual production strategies; six- to eight-month cycle with one complete harvest and several partial harvests, or two, three- to four-month cycles with complete harvests. The preferred strategy depends on two uncertain variables; shrimp growth, which varies across the region, and market price, which varies across the season. A bioeconomic model was used to compare the economic yield of the two cycling strategies for three zones across the region, under three alternative average annual temperatures states. Simple decision theory criteria are used to show that the two-cycle strategy dominates the one-cycle strategy in the Bahia de La Paz zone. Results for central and northern Sonora are conditional on temperature.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The fate of non-trivial entanglement under gravitational collapse

We analyse the evolution of the entanglement of a non-trivial initial quantum field state (which, for simplicity, has been taken to be a bipartite state made out of vacuum and the first excited state) when it undergoes a gravitational collapse. We carry out this analysis by generalising the tools developed to study entanglement behaviour in stationary scenarios and making them suitable to deal with dynamical spacetimes. We also discuss what kind of problems can be tackled using the formalism spelled out here as well as single out future avenues of research.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figures. v2: Added Journal reference and small changes to match published versio

Nitrogen use efficiency for wheat in semiarid region of Buenos Aires (Argentina): effects of the dose and timing application

En las regiones semiáridas, la erraticidad de las precipitaciones dificulta la optimización de la fertilización. El objetivo fue analizar la influencia de la variabilidad climática sobre la respuesta a diferentes dosis y momentos de fertilización en la productividad del trigo y en la eficiencia en el uso del nitrógeno en un sitio de la región semiárida bonaerense. Durante cinco años se realizaron ensayos de fertilización con trigo, combinando dosis de N (0, 25, 50 y 100 kg ha-1) y momentos de fertilización: siembra (Ns) y macollaje (Nm). Se evaluó la eficiencia agronómica en el uso del fertilizante aplicado (EUF) para la producción de materia seca (MS) y de grano, así como la recuperación aparente del nitrógeno (RAN). Se detectaron interacciones entre variables y las eficiencias. Para Nm se encontraron correlaciones significativas de todos los parámetros con las precipitaciones de octubre. La proteína en ambos momentos estuvo significativa e inversamente correlacionada con las precipitaciones del ciclo. Se observaron correlaciones significativas de EUF de MS y grano siguiendo el orden: Prec. Ciclo completo>Prec. primavera> Prec. Oct > Prec. Set. La variabilidad climática interanual demostró la mayor influencia sobre las eficiencias en el uso del N, independientemente del momento de aplicación.In semiarid regions optimal fertilization is difficult due to erratic rainfall. The aim of this study was to analyze the influence of climate variability on the response to different rates and timing of fertilization on wheat productivity and on efficiencies in the use of nitrogen in a site of the semiarid region of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina. For five years, fertilization trials were conducted in wheat combining N rates (0, 25, 50 y 100 kg ha-1) and times of fertilization: Seeding (Ns) and tillering (Nm). Agronomic efficiency (EUF) for dry matter (MS) and grain, and apparent recovery of nitrogen (RAN) were evaluated. Interactions between variables (year, rates and times) and efficiencies were found. In Nm, significant correlations of all parameters were found with October rainfall. Protein for Ns and Nm was significantly and inversely correlated with full cycle rainfall. Significant correlations were found in EUF of MS and grain in this order: Full cycle rainfall> Spring rainfall> Oct rainfall> Set rainfall. Interannual climate variability showed the greatest influence on the nitrogen use efficiencies, regardless the application timing.Fil: Martinez, Juan Manuel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida(i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Galantini, J. A.. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernación. Comisión de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida(i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; ArgentinaFil: Landriscini, Maria Rosa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Bahía Blanca. Centro de Recursos Naturales Renovables de la Zona Semiárida(i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Sur; Argentin

Self-Organizing Maps to Analyze Value Creation in Mergers and Acquisitions in the Telecommunications Sector

A great effort has been made in recent years to refine the study methods that emerged in the 1990s to assess long-term abnormal returns in the stock markets as a way to evaluate the value creation or destruction of merger and acquisition (M&A) in the sector of telecommunications. It is regularly addressed in generic merger and acquisition studies, with a short-term time horizon or just with a qualitative focus. In this work, we use a visual data-mining tool, Self-Organizing-Maps (SOM), to analyze mergers and acquisitions in telecommunications sector. The relationship among variables influencing the M&A was only observed due to the capabilities of the visual neural map method that allow to relate variables, which is not possible with other classical methods. In this work, the relationship obtained with the SOM linking M&A language, M&A cross-border, and size of the acquiring company is an important result

The inverse behavior of a reversible one-dimensional cellular automaton obtained by a single welch diagram

Reversible cellular automata are discrete dynamical systems based on local interactions which are able to produce an invertible global behavior. Reversible automata have been carefully analyzed by means of graph and matrix tools, in particular the extensions of the ancestors in these systems have a complete representation by Welch diagrams. This paper illustrates how the whole information of a reversible one-dimensional cellular automaton is conserved at both sides of the ancestors for sequences with an adequate length. We give this result implementing a procedure to obtain the inverse behavior by means of calculating and studying a single Welch diagram corresponding with the extensions of only one side of the ancestors. This work is a continuation of our study about reversible automata both in the local and global sense. An illustrative example is also presented

Topographical Organization of the Pedunculopontine Nucleus

Neurons in the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) exhibit a wide heterogeneity in terms of their neurochemical nature, their discharge properties, and their connectivity. Such characteristics are reflected in their functional properties and the behaviors in which they are involved, ranging from motor to cognitive functions, and the regulation of brain states. A clue to understand this functional versatility arises from the internal organization of the PPN. Thus, two main areas of the PPN have been described, the rostral and the caudal, which display remarkable differences in terms of the distribution of neurons with similar phenotype and the projections that originate from them. Here we review these differences with the premise that in order to understand the function of the PPN it is necessary to understand its intricate connectivity. We support the case that the PPN should not be considered as a homogeneous structure and conclude that the differences between rostral and caudal PPN, along with their intrinsic connectivity, may underlie the basis of its complexity

Molecular Modeling of the M3 Acetylcholine Muscarinic Receptor and Its Binding Site

The present study reports the results of a combined computational and site mutagenesis study designed to provide new insights into the orthosteric binding site of the human M3 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor. For this purpose a three-dimensional structure of the receptor at atomic resolution was built by homology modeling, using the crystallographic structure of bovine rhodopsin as a template. Then, the antagonist N-methylscopolamine was docked in the model and subsequently embedded in a lipid bilayer for its refinement using molecular dynamics simulations. Two different lipid bilayer compositions were studied: one component palmitoyl-oleyl phosphatidylcholine (POPC) and two-component palmitoyl-oleyl phosphatidylcholine/palmitoyl-oleyl phosphatidylserine (POPC-POPS). Analysis of the results suggested that residues F222 and T235 may contribute to the ligand-receptor recognition. Accordingly, alanine mutants at positions 222 and 235 were constructed, expressed, and their binding properties determined. The results confirmed the role of these residues in modulating the binding affinity of the ligand

Tracer test modeling for characterizing heterogeneity and local-scale residence time distribution in an artificial recharge site

Artificial recharge of aquifers is a technique for improving water quality and increasing groundwater resources. Understanding the fate of a potential contaminant requires knowledge of the residence time distribution (RTD) of the recharged water in the aquifer beneath. A simple way to obtain the RTDs is to perform a tracer test. We performed a pulse injection tracer test in an artificial recharge system through an infiltration basin to obtain the breakthrough curves, which directly yield the RTDs. The RTDs turned out to be very broad and we used a numerical model to interpret them, to characterize heterogeneity, and to extend the model to other flow conditions. The model comprised nine layers at the site scaled to emulate the layering of aquifer deposits. Two types of hypotheses were considered: homogeneous (all flow and transport parameters identical for every layer) and heterogeneous (diverse parameters for each layer). The parameters were calibrated against the head and concentration data in both model types, which were validated quite satisfactorily against 1,1,2-Trichloroethane and electrical conductivity data collected over a long period of time with highly varying flow conditions. We found that the broad RTDs can be attributed to the complex flow structure generated under the basin due to three-dimensionality and time fluctuations (the homogeneous model produced broad RTDs) and the heterogeneity of the media (the heterogeneous model yielded much better fits). We conclude that heterogeneity must be acknowledged to properly assess mixing and broad RTDs, which are required to explain the water quality improvement of artificial recharge basins.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version