Expanding Transportation Opportunities on Hawai`I Island

Residents of Hawai`i Island pay some of the highest rates for electricity and petroleum products among residents of the United States. Moreover, the islands of the Hawaiian archipelago rely almost entirely on imported petroleum fuels for both transportation and energy generation. Though Hawai`i Island has integrated more renewable energy onto its electrical grid than anywhere else in the U.S., the reliance on fossil fuel remains high because more than half the energy demand of the island can be attributed to transportation. Traditionally mass transit systems can be used to increase energy efficiency, as well as energy sustainability of a transportation system; as a result the University of Michigan team was engaged by The Kohala Center to examine and analyze the public transit system of Hawai`i Island for potential improvements. The primary objective of the project is to develop a set of recommendations for the County of Hawai`i focused on high-­‐impact solutions to reduce fossil fuel use in the island’s ground transportation system, while improving accessibility and lowering travel times for commuters. Our team completed initial research to gain a background on Hawai`i and its energy and transit challenges, completed data collection and analysis through a research trip to Hawai`i, and designed a set of recommendations for optimizing the current system, as well as potential alternatives that include the establishment of carpooling and ride-­‐sharing networks that would employ new business models to help solve some additional transit issues.Master of ScienceNatural Resources and EnvironmentUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106554/1/Hawaii Transit_Final_for distribution_2014.pd

Regresión ordinal para modelar logros de aprendizaje en educación primaria-Región La Libertad

La presente investigación explicativa, observacional, transversal y retrospectiva, tuvo el propósito de evaluar modelos de regresión ordinal para logros de aprendizaje en educación primaria en la Región La Libertad el 2016. Las variables dependientes son los logros de aprendizaje en la Evaluación Censal de Estudiantes realizada por el Ministerio de Educación: nivel de logro en comprensión de lectura y en matemática. La base de datos está disponible en la página web. Las variables explicativas fueron: Unidad de gestión educativa local, gestión, área, característica y sexo. Se seleccionó una muestra aleatoria de 70% de los 9220 estudiantes de segundo de primaria para estimación de modelos y 30% fue separada para validación de pronósticos, pero no fue finalmente empleada. Las técnicas estadísticas correspondieron a modelos de regresión ordinal. Habiéndose realizado las etapas de identificación, estimación y adecuacidad, con las funciones de enlace logit, probit y log-log complementaria, se concluyó en base a los resultados que los modelos no eran adecuados para modelar la realidad en estudio

La empresa Munay Compost y el desarrollo del uso masivo de sus composteras domésticas como alternativa ecoamigable para el aprovechamiento sostenible de residuos orgánicos

El presente trabajo de investigación, está dirigido a ofrecer una alternativa sencilla, pero con gran impacto para solucionar el problema en el manejo de desechos sólidos a nivel nacional a través de la valorización de los mismos, implementando la cultura del compostaje de manera doméstica, como contribución para lograr el equilibrio del ciclo natural del carbono en nuestro planeta. Como alternativa de solución a lo anteriormente expuesto, se propone crear la empresa “Munay Compost” para orientar a las familias desde sus propios hogares (viviendas unifamiliares y multifamiliares) en la implementación de compostaje doméstico con el uso masivo de composteras innovadoras generando un abono natural, este proceso de compostaje evitara la emanación de malos olores y la proliferación e infestación de vectores (moscas). El reciclaje de residuos orgánicos con este método también beneficiará a la reducción del contacto con terceras personas ante la pandemia de la COVID-19 evitando posibles contagios según la OMS. El trabajo de investigación es viable ya que propone una tecnología simple de construcción de composteras durables, ecoamigables y fáciles de manejar, lo cual puede ser atractivo para el segmento del mercado analizado. Cabe indicar que este mercado aun es poco competitivo y muy parecido a un océano azul. Por último, el trabajo de investigación demuestra financieramente que el modelo de negocio es factible ya que se obtiene un VAN financiero de S/ 325,812.49 y una TIR financiera de 128.71%.The main objective on the research work is to offer a simple, high-impact alternative for solving the problem of solid waste management and handling at the national level by valuing them and implementing the composting culture in a domestic way. As this is an impact in accomplishing the reduction of the carbon footprint on our planet. As an alternative solution to the above, it is proposed to create the company "Munay Compost" to guide families from their own homes (single-family and multi-family) in the execution of home composting with the massive use of innovative compost bins generating a natural compost. This composting process will prevent the emanation of bad odors and the proliferation and infestation of vectors (flies). Recycling organic waste with this method will also benefit the reduction of contact with third parties in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, avoiding possible infections according to the OMS. The research work is viable since it aims to a simple technology for the construction of durable, eco-friendly and easy-to-handle compost bins, which may be attractive for the analyzed market segment. It should be noted that this market is still not very competitive and very similar to a “blue ocean”. Lastly, the research work financially exhibits that the business model is feasible since a financial VAN of S /. 325,812.49 and a financial TIR of 128.71% its attained.Escuela de Postgrad

Haemoparasites in endemic and non-endemic passerine birds from central Mexico highlands

Haemosporidian parasites of birds are found worldwide and include the genera Haemoproteus, Plasmodium and Leucocytozoon. Infection with haemosporidian parasites can affect host physical condition and reproductive success. The aim of this study was to identify the blood parasites and parasitaemia in endemic and non-endemic passerine birds from central Mexico highlands. This study included 157 passerines representing 29 species from 17 families. Overall, 30.6% (48/157) of the birds were infected with blood parasites. Of those, Haemoproteus spp. were found in 14.0% (n = 22), Leucocytozoon spp. 12.1% (n = 19) and microfilariae 0.6% (n = 1). Blood parasites were found in 71.4% (5/7) of endemic bird species and 45.4% (10/22) of non-endemic species. Medium to high parasitaemia (number of parasites/number erythrocytes) was observed in birds with infections of Haemoproteus spp. and Leucocytozoon spp. Co-infections 3.8% (n = 6) were observed in two species of endemic birds. This study contributes to the knowledge of haemoparasites in endemic and non-endemic passerine birds from central Mexico highlands. Additional investigation on the molecular identification of haemosporidian parasites, pathogenicity and health status of these birds is necessary

Factors associated with citations of articles on circular economy in the Web of Science: modeling for main publishers

IntroductionThe publication of articles on the circular economy has different associated factors to explain the citations registered in the Web of Science.MethodArticles from the publishers Elsevier, MDPI, Taylor & Francis, Wiley, and Springer Nature were evaluated.ResultsIt was expected that the older the article was, the more citations it had received, but this was not always the case. It was also recognized that there was a lower number of citations if the articles were too large or if they had too many references.DiscussionThis analysis helps to establish the factors that must be addressed in order to publish in journals that have a high citation rate. Conclusion: Based on speci?c articles and with speci?c references, it will be possible to increase the probability of citations

Rickettsia Phylogenomics: Unwinding the Intricacies of Obligate Intracellular Life

BACKGROUND: Completed genome sequences are rapidly increasing for Rickettsia, obligate intracellular alpha-proteobacteria responsible for various human diseases, including epidemic typhus and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. In light of phylogeny, the establishment of orthologous groups (OGs) of open reading frames (ORFs) will distinguish the core rickettsial genes and other group specific genes (class 1 OGs or C1OGs) from those distributed indiscriminately throughout the rickettsial tree (class 2 OG or C2OGs). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We present 1823 representative (no gene duplications) and 259 non-representative (at least one gene duplication) rickettsial OGs. While the highly reductive (approximately 1.2 MB) Rickettsia genomes range in predicted ORFs from 872 to 1512, a core of 752 OGs was identified, depicting the essential Rickettsia genes. Unsurprisingly, this core lacks many metabolic genes, reflecting the dependence on host resources for growth and survival. Additionally, we bolster our recent reclassification of Rickettsia by identifying OGs that define the AG (ancestral group), TG (typhus group), TRG (transitional group), and SFG (spotted fever group) rickettsiae. OGs for insect-associated species, tick-associated species and species that harbor plasmids were also predicted. Through superimposition of all OGs over robust phylogeny estimation, we discern between C1OGs and C2OGs, the latter depicting genes either decaying from the conserved C1OGs or acquired laterally. Finally, scrutiny of non-representative OGs revealed high levels of split genes versus gene duplications, with both phenomena confounding gene orthology assignment. Interestingly, non-representative OGs, as well as OGs comprised of several gene families typically involved in microbial pathogenicity and/or the acquisition of virulence factors, fall predominantly within C2OG distributions. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: Collectively, we determined the relative conservation and distribution of 14354 predicted ORFs from 10 rickettsial genomes across robust phylogeny estimation. The data, available at PATRIC (PathoSystems Resource Integration Center), provide novel information for unwinding the intricacies associated with Rickettsia pathogenesis, expanding the range of potential diagnostic, vaccine and therapeutic targets