Characteristics of Pump Performance in Major Irrigated Areas of California

Well pump tests (12,876) in three Central California groundwater basins were characterized and described according to their spatial distribution. The average overall pumping plant efficiency (wire-water, not including column losses and velocity head) was about 56%. Characteristics such as drawdown, total dynamic heads, kW, and flow rate vary greatly between pumps within and between sub-basins. This is the first well pump characterization of its type in California, although irrigation pump tests have been conducted for over 70 years in California. This paper provides a summary of the spatial variation of well pump performance and characteristics

Autonomous vehicle control in CARLA Challenge

Congreso Campus FIT 2020. 24-26 junio 2020, onlineThe introduction of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) in a realistic urban environment is an ambitious objective. AV validation on real scenarios involving actual objects such as cars or pedestrians in a wide range of traffic cases would escalate the cost and could generate hazardous situations. Consequently, autonomous driving simulators are quickly evolving to cover the gap to achieve a fully autonomous driving architecture validation. Most used 3D simulators in self-driving cars field are V-REP (Rohmer, E., 2013) and Gazebo (KOENIG, N. and HOWARD, A., 2004), due to an easy integration with ROS (QUIGLEY, 2009) platform to increase the interoperability with other systems. Those simulators provide accurate motion information (more appropriate for easier scenes like robotic arms) but not a realistic appearance and not allowing real-time systems, not being able to recreate complex traffic scenes. CARLA (DOSOVITSKIY, A., 2017) open-source AV simulator is designed to be able to train and validate control and perception algorithms in complex traffic scenarios with hyper-realistic environments. CARLA simulator allows to easily modify on-board sensors such as cameras or LiDAR, weather conditions and also the traffic scene to perform specific traffic cases. In Summer 2019, CARLA launched its driving challenge to allow everyone to test their own control techniques under the same traffic scenarios, scoring its performance regarding traffic rules. In this paper, the Robesafe researching group approach will be explained, detailing vehicle motion control and object detection adapted from Smart Elderly Car (GÓMEZ-HUÉLAMO, C., 2019) that lead the group to reach the 4th place in Track 3 challenge, where HD Map, Waypoints and environmental sensors data (LiDAR, RGB cameras and GPS) were provided.Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y UniversidadesComunidad de Madri

Aromatase: A neuroprotective enzyme

Estradiol, in addition to its participation in neuroendocrine regulation and sexual behavior, has neuroprotective properties. Different types of brain injury induce the expression of the enzyme aromatase in reactive astroglia. This enzyme catalyzes the conversion of testosterone and other C19 steroids to estradiol. Genetic or pharmacological inhibition of brain aromatase results in marked neurodegeneration after different forms of mild neurodegenerative stimuli that do not compromise neuronal survival under control conditions. Furthermore, aromatase mediates neuroprotective effects of precursors of estradiol such as pregnenolone, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and testosterone. These findings strongly suggest that local formation of estradiol in the brain is neuroprotective and that the induction of aromatase and the consecutive increase in the local production of estradiol are part of the program triggered by the neural tissue to cope with neurodegenerative insults. Aromatase may thus represent an important pharmacological target for therapies conducted to prevent aging-associated neurodegenerative disorders. © 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer Reviewe

A Family of Hybrid Space-Time Codes for MIMO Wireless Communications

Hybrid MIMO space-time codes combine the benefits of spatial multiplexing with diversity gain to achieve both high spectral efficiency and link reliability. In this paper, we present a family of hybrid codes, known as LD STBC-VBLAST codes, along with a receiver architecture suitable for low-complexity hardware implementation. We show that, under Rayleigh fading, the performance of LD STBC-VBLAST codes is superior to other recently proposed hybrid codes. We also present a technique to derive, from a given propagation scenario, spatially correlated MIMO channel models adequate for space-time coding performance analysis. Using this technique, we evaluate the performance of LD STBC-VBLAST codes under several correlated channels.ITESO, A.C.ITSONCINVESTAV-IPNPROME

Pharmacokinetics of doxycycline in sheep after intravenous and oral administration

P. 389-395The pharmacokinetics of doxycycline were investigated in sheep after oral (PO) and intravenous (IV) administration. The IV data were best described using a 2- (n = 5) or 3- (n = 6) compartmental open model. Mean pharmacokinetic parameters obtained using a 2-compartmental model included a volume of distribution at steady-state (Vss) of 1.759 ± 0.3149 L/kg, a total clearance (Cl) of 3.045 ± 0.5264 mL/ kg/min and an elimination half-life (t1/2b) of 7.027 ± 1.128 h. Comparative values obtained from the 3-compartmental mean values were: Vss of 1.801 ± 0.3429 L/kg, a Cl of 2.634 ± 0.6376 mL/kg/min and a t1/2b of 12.11 ± 2.060 h. Mean residence time (MRT0_1) was 11.18 ± 3.152 h. After PO administration, the data were best described by a 2-compartment open model. The pharmacokinetic parameter mean values were: maximum plasma concentration (Cmax), 2.130 ± 0.950 lg/mL; time to reach Cmax (tmax), 3.595 ± 3.348 h, and absorption half-life (t1=2k01 ), 36.28 ± 14.57 h. Non-compartmental parameter values were: Cmax, 2.182 ± 0.9117 lg/mL; tmax, 3.432 ± 3.307 h; F, 35.77 ± 10.20%, and mean absorption time (MAT0–∞), 25.55 ± 15.27 h. These results suggest that PO administration of doxycycline could be useful as an antimicrobial drug in sheep.S

A Cross-Sectional Study of Prisoners in Mexico City Comparing Prevalence of Transmissible Infections and Chronic Diseases with That in the General Population.

ObjectivesTo describe patterns of transmissible infections, chronic illnesses, socio-demographic characteristics and risk behaviors in Mexico City prisons, including in comparison to the general population, to identify those currently needing healthcare and inform policy.Materials and methodsA cross-sectional study among 17,000 prisoners at 4 Mexico City prisons (June to December 2010). Participation was voluntary, confidential and based on informed consent. Participants were tested for HIV, Hepatitis B & C, syphilis, hypertension, obesity, and, if at risk, glucose and cholesterol. A subset completed a questionnaire on socio-demographic characteristics and risk behaviors. Positive results were delivered with counseling and treatment or referral.Results76.8% (15,517/20,196) of men and 92.9% (1,779/1,914) of women participated. Complete data sets were available for 98.8%. The following prevalence data were established for transmissible infections: HIV 0.7%; syphilis: Anti-TP+/VDRL+ 2.0%; Hepatitis B: HBcAb 2.8%, HBsAg 0.15%; Anti-HCV 3.2%. Obesity: 9.5% men, 33.8% women. Compared with national age- and sex-matched data, the relative prevalence was greater for HIV and syphilis among women, HIV and Hepatitis C in men, and all infections in younger participants. Obesity prevalence was similar for women and lower among male participants. The prevalence of previously diagnosed diabetes and hypertension was lower. Questionnaire data (1,934 men, 520 women) demonstrated lower educational levels, increased smoking and substance use compared to national data. High levels of non-sterile tattooing, physical abuse and histories of sexual violence were found.ConclusionThe study identified that health screening is acceptable to Mexico City prisoners and feasible on a large-scale. It demonstrated higher prevalence of HIV and other infections compared to national data, though low rates compared to international data. Individual participants benefited from earlier diagnosis, treatment and support. The data collected will also enable the formulation of improved policy for this vulnerable group

Effect of glucomannan and the dosage form on ethinylestradiol oral absorption in rabbits

P. 423-427To the beneficial properties of dietary fiber in human health, several disadvantages can be added as the possible modification of the bioavailability of other drugs when administered by the oral route. In this study, the influence of glucomannan in the oral bioavailability of ethinyl estradiol (EE), when administered to female rabbits in two different dosage forms (enteric capsules and dispersed in water), was established. To carry out the study, three groups of six animals each were used. All animals received 1 mg kg 1 oral EE, and rabbits in groups 2 and 3 received 1.5 g glucomannan dispersed in water or in enteric capsules, respectively, immediately before EE. When comparing the results obtained after the administration of EE/glucomannan dispersed in water with those obtained after the administration of this estrogen without fiber, we can see that Cmax is 1.4 times lower, AUC 1.9 times lower and that tmax is identical (10 min). However, after the administration of fiber in enteric capsules, AUC and Cmax are higher (4.1 and 7.8 times, respectively) than when the estrogen was administered alone, and also, there is a delay in tmax (20 min). After the administration of glucomannan in the enteric capsule, the fiber forms, as in the stomach, a highly viscous solution in the gut that would limit EE access to the mucosal surface delaying its absorption. However, this effect could be compensated by a reduction of EE metabolism in the intestinal wall, leading to a higher absorption of the estrogen.S

The Radial Distribution of Dust Particles in the HL Tau Disk from ALMA and VLA Observations

Understanding planet formation requires one to discern how dust grows in protoplanetary disks. An important parameter to measure in disks is the maximum dust grain size present. This is usually estimated through measurements of the dust opacity at different millimeter wavelengths assuming optically thin emission and dust opacity dominated by absorption. However, Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) observations have shown that these assumptions might not be correct in the case of protoplanetary disks, leading to overestimation of particle sizes and to underestimation of the disk\u27s mass. Here, we present an analysis of high-quality ALMA and Very Large Array images of the HL Tau protoplanetary disk, covering a wide range of wavelengths, from 0.8 mm to 1 cm, and with a physical resolution of ~7.35 au. We describe a procedure to analyze a set of millimeter images without any assumption about the optical depth of the emission, and including the effects of absorption and scattering in the dust opacity. This procedure allows us to obtain the dust temperature, the dust surface density, and the maximum particle size at each radius. In the HL Tau disk, we found that particles have already grown to a few millimeters in size. We detect differences in the dust properties between dark and bright rings, with dark rings containing low dust density and small dust particles. Different features in the HL Tau disk seem to have different origins. Planet–disk interactions can explain substructure in the external half of the disk, but the internal rings seem to be associated with the presence of snow lines of several molecules

The Experience of Robesafe Team in CARLA Autonomous Driving Challenge

Robótica e Inteligencia Artificial: Retos y nuevas oportunidades. 10 de diciembre de 2019, ETSII UPM (RoboCity2030)The future of the automotive is focused on achieving total autonomous cars in realistic urban environments. To reach it, many researching teams are working with 3D simulators such as V-REP and Gazebo, due to an easy integration with ROS platform. ROS is a middle-ware for robot code development. It allows easy communication between different systems. It is multilanguage, admitting C++ and Python code programming. Those simulators provide precise motion information, but they are designed for smaller environments like robotic arms, providing unrealistic appearance and very slow performance, being unrecommended for real-time systems in rich worlds like urban cities. CARLA simulator provides high detailed environments in realistic urban situations, being able to train and test control and perception algorithms in complex traffic scenarios, very close to real situations. CARLA Autonomous Driving Challenge was launched in Summer 2019, allowing everyone to test their own control techniques under the same traffic scenarios, scoring its performance regarding traffic rules. Robesafe researching group, from Universidad de Alcalá, submitted to this challenge, with the aim of achieving high results and compare our control and perception techniques with others provided by other teams.Comunidad de Madri