Impact assessment of irrigation management transfer in the Alto Rio Lerma Irrigation District, Mexico

Irrigation managementPrivatizationAssessmentEconomic aspectsLegal aspectsData collectionWater rightsWater allocationWater distributionGroundwaterFinancingMaintenanceOperationsAgricultural productionWater users' associationsFarmer participation

CGIntrinsics: Better Intrinsic Image Decomposition through Physically-Based Rendering

Intrinsic image decomposition is a challenging, long-standing computer vision problem for which ground truth data is very difficult to acquire. We explore the use of synthetic data for training CNN-based intrinsic image decomposition models, then applying these learned models to real-world images. To that end, we present \ICG, a new, large-scale dataset of physically-based rendered images of scenes with full ground truth decompositions. The rendering process we use is carefully designed to yield high-quality, realistic images, which we find to be crucial for this problem domain. We also propose a new end-to-end training method that learns better decompositions by leveraging \ICG, and optionally IIW and SAW, two recent datasets of sparse annotations on real-world images. Surprisingly, we find that a decomposition network trained solely on our synthetic data outperforms the state-of-the-art on both IIW and SAW, and performance improves even further when IIW and SAW data is added during training. Our work demonstrates the suprising effectiveness of carefully-rendered synthetic data for the intrinsic images task.Comment: Paper for 'CGIntrinsics: Better Intrinsic Image Decomposition through Physically-Based Rendering' published in ECCV, 201

Crop-based irrigation operations in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. Vol.II: Research approach and interpretation. Final Report

Irrigation management / Crop-based irrigation / Research / Irrigation canals / Water demand / Performance evaluation / Agricultural production / Pakistan / North West Frontier Province

Relation entre notation sociale et structure financière des entreprises : une étude empirique.

Relation entre notation sociale et structure financière des entreprises : une étude empirique Cet article étudie le lien entre la structure du capital des entreprises et leur notation sociale. Notre modèle théorique montre que les entreprises les moins éthiques, pour échapper à la sanction du marché financier, recourent plus massivement à l'endettement, notamment à l'emprunt bancaire. En effet, l'intérêt croissant des investisseurs pour la responsabilité sociale fait que les entreprises non éthiques supportent un coût des capitaux propres plus élevé que leurs concurrentes éthiques. Inversement, le coût de la dette n'est pas lié à la qualité éthique de l'entreprise, les banques ne prenant pas en compte le critère éthique dans la fixation des taux d'intérêt. Nous proposons de vérifier que le niveau d'endettement des entreprises est en relation décroissante avec la note RSE (responsabilité sociale de l'entreprise). Nous tenons compte dans notre analyse de l'influence de plusieurs déterminants de la structure du capital, comme les coûts de faillite, le niveau de taxation, les variables d'agence et d'asymétrie d'information. L'étude porte sur un échantillon de 562 entreprises européennes pour lesquelles nous disposons de la note RSE fournie par l'agence de notation Vigéo. La période d'étude s'étend sur les années 1999 à 2007. Nos résultats montrent que la structure financière actuelle des entreprises est encore peu influencée par la note éthique. En revanche, lorsque l'on cherche à comprendre comment cette structure évolue, on identifie clairement la note éthique comme un facteur de changement : plus une entreprise a une bonne note éthique, plus elle se détourne de l'endettement.investissement socialement responsable ; notation éthique ; coût du capital ; endettement ; structure du capital ; optimum.

Job satisfaction and work–family policies through work-family enrichment

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of a bundle of work–family policies on employee’s job satisfaction and (affective) organizational commitment, by using work–family enrichment and conflict as explanatory. Design/methodology/approach: Empirical study is conducted with a sample of 322 employees from 30 Spanish firms that have been granted with the “Flexible Firm Award” or have been certified as “Family Responsible Firms.” Structural equation modeling is used to test hypotheses. Findings: The results show that the higher the use of work–family policies the more positive effects on work–family enrichment and conflict, and that job satisfaction is positively related to (effective) organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications: This is a cross-sectional study which may limit the establishment of causal relationships. Practical implications: Work–family policies may constitute a relevant management tool to balance work and family life by making employees more interested in their jobs, enhancing their well-being and reducing the conflicts between work and family domains. The positive role of work–family enrichment contributes to enhance employees’ job satisfaction and, at the same time, to increase their organizational commitment. Managers should pay attention at how work–family policies are justified because they may influence differently on their outcomes on satisfaction and commitment. Originality/value: There are two main original contributions of the paper. First, the authors study the joint effect of work–family policies on different dimensions of enrichment and conflict. Second, the authors analyze the relationship between different dimensions of enrichment and conflict on job satisfaction and organizational commitment

Stability Analysis of Single-Phase Low-Voltage AC Microgrids With Constant Power Terminals

This express brief presents the stability analysis of single-phase microgrids (SP-MG) operating under master-slave connection with constant power terminals. The SP-MG is composed of linear elements, nonlinear loads and distributed generators modeled as P Q constant terminals interconnected through power electronic converters. A Lyapunov?s direct method through a Hamiltonian representation of the grid is used to demonstrate stability. The non-autonomous model of the SP-MG is transformed into an autonomous equivalent model based on the dynamics of the error. The proposed analysis shows that if there exists an admissible trajectory x * solution of the power flow equations then the SP-MG is stable in the sense of Lyapunov.Fil: Montoya, O. D.. Universidad Tecnologica de Bolivar; ColombiaFil: Garces, A.. Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira; ColombiaFil: Avila Becerril, S.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Espinosa Pérez, G.. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Serra, Federico Martin. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Agropecuarias. Laboratorio de Control Automático; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Investigaciones en Tecnología Química; Argentin

ONGOING RESEARCH ON SPECIES OF DINOPHYSIS: ALTERNATIVES WITH UNCULTURABLE DINOFLAGELLATES

Dinophysis 200

PRODUCCIÓN DE CARNE CON MACHOS DE CEBA EN PASTOREO DE PASTO HÍBRIDO MULATO Y Brachiaria decumbens EN EL VAL LE DEL SINÚ.

El estudio se realizó en el Centro de investigación Turipaná de Corpoica Regional 2, con el objetivo de medir, en la fase de establecimiento, algunas variables agronómicas (plantas por metro cuadrado, altura planta, longitud y ancho de hojas) del híbrido mulato y evaluar la producción de carne obtenida con este pasto y la producida por Brachiaria decumbens en un área de cuatro y cinco hectáreas, respectivamente, manejados en un sistema rotacional con dos días de ocupación y 22 de descanso, en época de invierno, y tres días de ocupación y 33 de descanso, en época de sequía. La carga se ajustó de acuerdo a la disponibilidad de forraje. Se utilizo animales de dos grupos genéticos: Romosinuano puro y F1 de romo x cebú. La duración de la evaluación fue de 525 días, siendo los animales pesados cada 30 días. La producción promedia de materia seca del pasto mulato, en la época de lluvias, fue de 3235 kilos por hectárea y de 2580 kilos para la época seca; en B. decumbens fue de 2735 y 1248 kilos/ha, respectivamente para la época de lluvias y sequía. La ganancia promedia diaria fue de 0.532 y 0.503 kilos por animal para el pasto mulato y B. decumbens, respectivamente, no presentándose diferencia (Pe”0.05). La producción de carne promedia por hectárea año fue de 795.7 kilos en mulato, superior (Pd”0.05) a los 481.8 kilos obtenidos con B. decumbens , debido fundamentalmente a la mayor carga animal soportada por el mulato

Recurrent high-biomass blooms of Alexandrium taylorii (Dinophyceae), a HAB species expanding in the Mediterranean.

none9openGIACOBBE M.G., PENNA A., GANGEMI E., MASO' M; GARCES E., FRAGA S., BRAVO I., AZZARO F., PENNA N.Giacobbe, M. G.; Penna, Antonella; Gangemi, E.; Maso', M; Garces, E.; Fraga, S.; Bravo, I.; Azzaro, F.; Penna, N

Data quality monitoring and performance metrics of a prospective, population-based observational study of maternal and newborn health in low resource settings

BACKGROUND: To describe quantitative data quality monitoring and performance metrics adopted by the Global Network´s (GN) Maternal Newborn Health Registry (MNHR), a maternal and perinatal population-based registry (MPPBR) based in low and middle income countries (LMICs). METHODS: Ongoing prospective, population-based data on all pregnancy outcomes within defined geographical locations participating in the GN have been collected since 2008. Data quality metrics were defined and are implemented at the cluster, site and the central level to ensure data quality. Quantitative performance metrics are described for data collected between 2010 and 2013. RESULTS: Delivery outcome rates over 95% illustrate that all sites are successful in following patients from pregnancy through delivery. Examples of specific performance metric reports illustrate how both the metrics and reporting process are used to identify cluster-level and site-level quality issues and illustrate how those metrics track over time. Other summary reports (e.g. the increasing proportion of measured birth weight compared to estimated and missing birth weight) illustrate how a site has improved quality over time. CONCLUSION: High quality MPPBRs such as the MNHR provide key information on pregnancy outcomes to local and international health officials where civil registration systems are lacking. The MNHR has measures in place to monitor data collection procedures and improve the quality of data collected. Sites have increasingly achieved acceptable values of performance metrics over time, indicating improvements in data quality, but the quality control program must continue to evolve to optimize the use of the MNHR to assess the impact of community interventions in research protocols in pregnancy and perinatal health.Fil: Goudar, Shivaprasad S.. KLE University. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College; IndiaFil: Stolka, Kristen B.. Research Triangle Institute International; Estados UnidosFil: Koso Thomas, Marion. Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; Estados UnidosFil: Honnungar, Narayan V.. KLE University. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College; IndiaFil: Mastiholi, Shivanand C.. KLE University. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College; IndiaFil: Ramadurg, Umesh Y.. S. Nijalingappa Medical College; IndiaFil: Dhaded, Sangappa M.. KLE University. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College; IndiaFil: Pasha, Omrana. Aga Khan University; PakistánFil: Patel, Archana. Indira Gandhi Government Medical College and Lata Medical Research Foundation; IndiaFil: Esamai, Fabian. University School of Medicine; KeniaFil: Chomba, Elwyn. University of Zambia; ZambiaFil: Garces, Ana. Universidad de San Carlos; GuatemalaFil: Althabe, Fernando. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Instituto de Efectividad Clínica y Sanitaria; ArgentinaFil: Carlo, Waldemar A.. University of Alabama at Birmingahm; Estados UnidosFil: Goldenberg, Robert L.. Columbia University; Estados UnidosFil: Hibberd, Patricia L.. Massachusetts General Hospital for Children; Estados UnidosFil: Liechty, Edward A.. Indiana University; Estados UnidosFil: Krebs, Nancy F.. University of Colorado School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Hambidge, Michael K.. University of Colorado School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Moore, Janet L.. Research Triangle Institute International; Estados UnidosFil: Wallace, Dennis D.. Research Triangle Institute International; Estados UnidosFil: Derman, Richard J. Christiana Care Health Services; Estados UnidosFil: Bhalachandra, Kodkany S.. KLE University. Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College; IndiaFil: Bose, Carl L.. University of North Carolina; Estados Unido