Effects of Storm Type on the Variability of Rainfall Sampling Adjustment Factors

Even though rainfall is a continuous process, we are only able to measure it over discrete aggregation periods. This temporal discretization introduces negative biases when extracting rainfall maxima for short durations, similar to the instrument’s resolution. Empirically-derived correction factors known as Hershfield or rainfall sampling adjustment factors (SAF) have been widely used to correct this bias. Nevertheless, there are conflicting definitions for SAFs in the literature, and no one has looked in detail at how they vary spatially, between seasons, and as function of storm type. Concurrent, 34-yr long rainfall records from 52 weather stations distributed throughout Switzerland were used to study SAF variability. It was found that SAFs display a large variation both across and within stations, the latter because of the different ways of totalizing. On average, SAFs are higher for convective storms and during the warm season. There is no clear spatial pattern across Switzerland, nor any relationship with elevation

Influencia de las estrategias realizadas por las empresas multinacionales de bebidas gaseosas en la industria nacional

96 p.Las características actuales de la industria nacional de bebidas gaseosas; alto consumo per cápita, grandes montos invertidos en publicidad. Alta rentabilidad y una encarnizada competencia por lograr la preferencia de los consumidores, entre otras. Nos lleva a preguntarnos como y cuando fueron determinadas dichas características. El objetivo del presente trabajo es responder a esto, para lo cual ha sido dividido en tres partes. La primera abarca el Capítulo 3, en ella se recaban los antecedentes de la industria de bebidas gaseosas en Estados Unidos, identificando a los participantes, la forma en que se relacionan, las principales barreras de entrada, las estrategias implementadas a partir de la segunda mitad de la década de los setenta por los dos más grandes productores de concentrado y los cambios que éstas produjeron en los precios, en los productos, en publicidad, en integración y en las barreras de entrada a la industria. La segunda parte está constituida por el Capitulo 4. En ella se realiza un análisis de la industria de bebidas gaseosas en Chile donde se establece que operan solo dos productores de concentrado (COCA-COLA COMPANY y PEPSICO) y, por tanto, la existencia de dos sistemas de embotelladores. También se establece el dominio que tienen los productores de concentrado sobre los embotelladores, gracias a las ventajas del sistema de embotellado por franquicia. Finalmente, se concluye que las principales tendencias a futuro de la industria serán la preferencia por envases cada vez más grandes, la concentración de los embotelladores y las consecuencias para la industria de su ingreso a la etapa de madurez. En la última parte se realiza una comparación donde se identifican los efectos de los cambios estratégicos realizadas por los dos más grandes productores de concentrado tanto en Estados Unidos como en Chile De esta comparación se obtienen importantes conclusiones, siendo la más importante el hecho que las estrategias implementadas en Estados Unidos por COCA-COLA COMPANY y por PEPSICO provocaron importantes cambios en la industria nacional. Sin embargo, estos cambios no fueron iguales a los ocurridos en Estados Unidos, incluso algunos fueron radicalmente distintos a los ocurridos en ese país

Rediseno y construccion de una maquina cilindradora de helicoides para transportadores de tornillo

139 p.La presente memoria muestra cómo se realiza la construcción y rediseño de un prototipo de pruebas, de una máquina cilindradora de helicoides para transportadores de tornillos. La maquina tiene dimensiones aprox. de 440mm de alto por 440mm de ancho y produce segmentos helicoidales para construir hélices de tornillos transportadores de hasta 500mm de diámetros. El proceso de elaboración de los hélices o alabes con la maquina, se realiza introduciendo piezas de forma circular (como golillas circulares o arandelas pero de diámetros de 300 a 500mm aprox. y con un espesor hasta 1,5mm) entre dos rodillos cónicos los cuales deslizan la pieza y los rodillos conformadores que le proporcionan la forma helicoidal a la pieza. Este proceso se realiza reiteradas veces proporcionando varias piezas o segmentos los cuales se unen para formar el helicoide para el tornillo transportador

Asymmetric multilevel topology for photovoltaic energy injection to microgrids

The massive penetration of renewable energy sources in the utility grid has emerged as the solution to obtain clean energy in modern electric systems, which are gradually replacing their generators that produce CO2 emissions to achieve a sustainable growing. Power electronics is quite relevant in the deep penetration of renewable energy, because the use of such equipment is mandatory to integrate these new resources with the existing facilities. In order to reach higher power ranges, multilevel topologies are the state-of-the-art solution, due to the limited rating of the actual semiconductor devices. Furthermore, latest trends show that asymmetric multilevel configurations are an attractive technology to connect directly the power converters to the grid. This paper analyze the photovoltaic energy injection to microgrids using a hybrid approach that mixes the existing topologies: string, multistring and central inverter to implement an asymmetric structure that generate highly sinusoidal resulting waveforms. This document includes a simple analysis of the proposed configuration and highlights the advantages of using an asymmetric converter, supported with stationary and dynamic simulated results

Characterisation of wheel/rail roughness and track decay rates on a tram network

From the beginning of 2019, the new CNOSSOS-EU method shall be used for strategic noise mapping in application of Directive 2002/49/EC instead of national noise prediction methods. For the railway part, the operators are responsible for providing input data describing the different noise sources characterising the railway system. Concerning the rolling noise, the vehicle and the track have to be distinguished by providing specific transfer functions and wheel/rail roughness spectra. For conventional railways, default values are given in the CNOSSOS-EU method and national operators generally have experimental data at their disposal to evaluate these new input parameters. This is not the case for tram networks, for which very few measurements exist, notably concerning the wheel and rail roughness or the track transfer function. In 2018, Acoucité and IFSTTAR performed an acoustic test campaign on a French tram network in order to propose tram input data from pass-by measurements corresponding to various sites and vehicles. In this paper, the results concerning the direct measurements of wheel/rail roughness and track decay rates (a key parameter for the assessment of the track transfer function) are presented and discussed. The main differences with data corresponding to conventional railways are highlighted

Banco de ideas de proyectos para el fortalecimiento del Area E-Commerce en la Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales de la Universidad de Talca

117 P.Debido al auge que ha tenido el comercio electrónico (e-commerce) a nivel internacional en el ultimo ano y al creciente aumento de usuarios, es que nace la idea de formular proyectos para la Facultad, tendientes a capturar las mejores oportunidades de crecimiento y de crear defensas contra las amenazas a su posición competitiva. Existen en este momento oportunidades en el mercado relacionadas con el e-commerce, las cuales pueden ser aprovechadas por cualquiera institución, oportunidades que pueden ser amenazas si no son explotadas a tiempo o si no se crean defensas contra ellas. Chile se encuentra en una etapa de crecimiento en el área de e-commerce, por lo que es de suma importancia adecuarse a los cambios del macroentorno externo que escapan al control de la Facultad. Estos cambios afectaran a todas las instituciones, por lo que dependerá de cada una de ellas la manera en que lo hagan. En esta memoria se presenta un estudio del e-commerce, tendiente a caracterizarlo principalmente a nivel nacional. De la misma forma se presenta un análisis estratégico de la Facultad de Ciencias Empresariales en el área e-commerce, con el fin de determinar su posición con respecto a la competencia que sirva como base para una posterior evaluación de los proyectos propuestos en la presente memoria. El objetivo fundamental de este trabajo es generar un banco de ideas con los proyectos de fortalecimiento del área e-commerce en la FACE. Estas ideas de proyectos podrían ser formuladas en detalle y evaluadas en un trabajo posterior, que va mas allí del alcance de esta memoria

Estimation of Molecular Pairwise Relatedness in Autopolyploid Crops

A suitable pairwise relatedness estimation is key to genetic studies. Several methods are proposed to compute relatedness in autopolyploids based on molecular data. However, unlike diploids, autopolyploids still need further studies considering scenarios with many linked molecular markers with known dosage. In this study, we provide guidelines for plant geneticists and breeders to access trustworthy pairwise relatedness estimates. To this end, we simulated populations considering different ploidy levels, meiotic pairings patterns, number of loci and alleles, and inbreeding levels. Analysis were performed to access the accuracy of distinct methods and to demonstrate the usefulness of molecular marker in practical situations. Overall, our results suggest that at least 100 effective biallelic molecular markers are required to have good pairwise relatedness estimation if methods based on correlation is used. For this number of loci, current methods based on multiallelic markers show lower performance than biallelic ones. To estimate relatedness in cases of inbreeding or close relationships (as parent-offspring, full-sibs, or half-sibs) is more challenging. Methods to estimate pairwise relatedness based on molecular markers, for different ploidy levels or pedigrees were implemented in the AGHmatrix R package

Natural genetic diversity of nutritive value traits in the genus Cynodon

The Cynodon spp. collection maintained by United States Department of Agriculture National Plant Germplasm System (USDA-NPGS) has limited information on nutritive value (NV) traits. In this study, crude protein (CP), phosphorous concentration (P), in vitro digestible organic matter (IVDOM), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) were determined to (i) estimate genetic parameters for NV, (ii) obtain genetic values for the whole population across two harvests, (iii) estimate genotype by harvest interaction (GHI) for NV traits, and (iv) select accessions exhibiting improved NV traits compared to ‘Tifton 850 . The experiment was setup as a row-column design with two replicates and augmented representation of controls: Tifton 85, ‘Jiggs’, and ‘Coastal’. The whole-population was harvested twice, and data were analyzed using linear mixed models with repeated measures. In addition, a selected population of 15 genotypes were evaluated across 11 harvests to determine the extent of GHI. Genetic parameters revealed the presence of significant genetic variability, indicating potential improvements for NV through breeding. Specifically, P and IVDOM presented large variation, while NDF had lower diversity but some accessions exhibited lower NDF than Tifton 85. Low GHI, except for IVDOM, indicated genotypic stability and potential for selecting improved accessions under fewer harvests. Breeding line 240, PI-316510, and PI-3166536 presented superior NV than Tifton 85

Hydrogen Cyanamide Application Accelerates Vegetative Bud Break and Causes Earlier Yield in ‘Optimus’ and ‘Colossus’ Southern Highbush Blueberry

Southern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum interspecific hybrid) cultivation is a major industry in subtropical regions where low winter temperatures are infrequent and inconsistent. In Florida and other subtropical areas, growers use hydrogen cyanamide (HC) applications during endodormancy to mitigate the negative effects of low chill accumulation. Hydrogen cyanamide is a synthetic plant growth regulator that increases and expediates dormancy release and budbreak. However, southern highbush blueberry cultivars differ in their sensitivity to HC. Optimus and Colossus are two recently released cultivars from the University of Florida blueberry breeding program. The effects of HC in these cultivars are unknown. This research aimed to describe responses to HC applications at different rates for these new varieties. Experiments took place in a commercial farm in Waldo, FL, on 3- to 4-year-old deciduous blueberry bushes. HC was applied at rates of 3.8 g·L−1 (0.38%), 5.1 g·L−1 (0.50%), and 6.4 g g·L−1 (0.63%) in ‘Optimus’ and 3.8 g·L−1 (0.38%), 5.1 g·L−1 (0.50%), 6.4 g·L−1 (0.63%), and 7.7 g·L−1 (0.75%) in ‘Colossus’. In both cultivars, the control treatment was not sprayed. Vegetative bud count, and flower bud development, flower bud mortality, and yield were determined. HC application thinned reproductive buds and increased vegetative budbreak. Although seasonal yield was not increased, HC advanced fruit ripening early in the season

Dynamic Simulation and Optimization of Nuclear Hydrogen Production Systems

This project is part of a research effort to design a hydrogen plant and its interface with a nuclear reactor. This project developed a dynamic modeling, simulation and optimization environment for nuclear hydrogen production systems. A hybrid discrete/continuous model captures both the continuous dynamics of the nuclear plant, the hydrogen plant, and their interface, along with discrete events such as major upsets. This hybrid model makes us of accurate thermodynamic sub-models for the description of phase and reaction equilibria in the thermochemical reactor. Use of the detailed thermodynamic models will allow researchers to examine the process in detail and have confidence in the accurary of the property package they use