Fundo los Ulmos: una encrucijada en la industria lechera chilena

The case introduces the reader to the problems of a family business in the milk industry, Fundo Los Ulmos (FLU), which had to choose between two main alternatives to survive. The first option was to sell all the land belonging to the family business – a highly emotional situation for the person making the decision. The second option was to conduct an operational analysis intended to improve dairy management based on a model that optimizes milk production. This case highlights the typical problems of a family business where the decision-maker must deal with decisions that involve both analytical and socioemotional aspects. This case is especially relevant for determining competitive strategies in Latin American family businesses.El caso introduce al lector en una problemática de una empresa familiar de la industria de la leche, Fundo Los Ulmos (FLU), que debía elegir la mejor opción entre las dos principales alternativas que tenía disponible. Una de las opciones era vender todos los terrenos de la empresa familiar que tienen un arraigo emocional con el tomador de la decisión. En cambio, la segunda opción era realizar un análisis operativo que mejorará la gestión de la lechería basado en un modelo de optimización de la producción de leche. Este caso muestra una típica problemática de empresa familiar donde el tomador de decisión debe lidiar con decisiones que mezclan aspectos analíticos y socioemocionales. Este caso es especialmente relevante para un curso de estrategia competitiva en empresas familiares latinoamericanas

Propuesta de un diseño de una planta de compostaje a partir de lodos de filtración y afrecho de cebada fermentado de la empresa Maestría en Servicios Diligentes SAC para aumentar los ingresos

Maestría en Servicios Diligentes S.A.C. es una empresa dedicada al tratamiento y acondicionamiento de los residuos generados por otras empresas. Actualmente se encarga del manejo de los residuos generados por una de las más grandes empresas cerveceras del país. El giro de la empresa es transformar los residuos cerveceros en productos de valor comercial a través de la innovación y creatividad con miras al cuidado del medio ambiente. Sin embargo, cuentan con un residuo que hasta el momento no genera ningún valor a la empresa: lodos de filtración; residuo que se recibe en cantidades industriales y solo es acondicionado para reducir el impacto ambiental. Cabe resaltar que la empresa dentro del proceso de acondicionamiento de otro residuo genera en promedio 25 toneladas de afrecho de cebada fermentado. Realizando análisis de pH, relación carbono- nitrógeno y humedad se determinó que dichos residuos, en porcentajes brindados por investigaciones anteriores realizadas, junto a estiércol de vaca y paja seca se puede llevar a compostar obteniendo un compost de calidad. Es por ello que se realizó una investigación de mercado para conocer la demanda insatisfecha de abono orgánico en Lambayeque cubriéndose con la producción de compost a partir de los residuos mencionados un 0,96%. De esta manera, se realizó un diseño de ingeniería que permita producir la cantidad de compost proyectada, arrojando un área necesaria de 3087,5 2 para la instalación de una pequeña planta de compostaje, con un sistema abierto, utilizando pilas o hileras de compostaje para un mejor proceso. Finalmente se realizó un análisis económico financiero del proyecto para determinar si es viable y rentable, obteniendo un Valor Actual Neto de S/. 104 947,67 y un TIR del 31%, mayor a la tasa de 12%, con un periodo de recuperación de la inversión de 2 años 4 meses y 14 días, concluyendo que el proyecto es rentable y que por cada sol invertido se gana 0,39 soles

Identification and quantification of the interaction mechanisms between the cationic surfactant HDTMA-Br and montmorillonite

Using a montmorillonite and the cationic surfactant hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (HDTMABr), a series of organoclays were synthesized with progressively increasing surfactant loads of between 0.2 and 4.0 times the cation exchange capacity of the starting clay. Different experimental techniques were used (thermal techniques, XPS, zeta potential) for characterizing the solids. The results obtained allowed to distinguish between the fraction of surfactant adsorbed by strong interactions and the fraction adsorbed by weak interactions. Adsorption isotherms of each of these processes were constructed, and were then adjusted using the Langmuir and Dubinin-Radusquevich adsorption models. Three types of interaction between the surfactant and the clay were identified and described, qualitatively and quantitatively. Two of these interactions, strong and weak, involve the hexadecyltrimethylammonium cation (HDTMA+). The third is a weak interaction involving the ion pair HDTMA+Br-.Fil: Naranjo, Pablo Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta. Instituto de Investigación Para la Industria Química (i); ArgentinaFil: Sham, Edgardo Ling. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ingenieria; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta. Instituto de Investigación para la Industria Química (i); ArgentinaFil: Rodriguez Castellón, Enrique. Universidad de Malaga; EspañaFil: Torres Sanchez, Rosa Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico la Plata. Centro Tecnológico de Recursos Minerales y Cerámica (i); ArgentinaFil: Farfan Torres, Elsa Monica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Salta. Instituto de Investigación Para la Industria Química (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas; Argentin

A New Carleman Inequality for a Linear Schrödinger Equation on Some Unbounded Domains

This article presents a new Carleman inequality for a linear Schrödinger equation which is suitable for both bounded and unbounded domains. We characterize the conditions on the auxiliary function necessary to obtain the global inequality. The novelty of this result is the construction of the auxiliary function on some unbounded domains and for a corresponding valid control region ω. As a consequence, we prove some results on the controllability of a linear Schrödinger equation on unbounded domains.Fil: Sanchez Fernandez de la Vega, Constanza Mariel. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Matemática; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Calculo. - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Calculo; ArgentinaFil: de Teresa, Luz. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; MéxicoFil: Torres, Pablo Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Investigaciones Matemáticas "Luis A. Santaló". Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Matemáticas "Luis A. Santaló"; Argentin

Grupo SMU: su compleja reestructuración corporativa

This case examines the corporate restructuring process of SMU Group, a Chilean retail supermarket chain. The restructuring process was triggered by an internal situation involving operational inefficiencies between the years 2007 and 2012, following an aggressive acquisition process. These problems were the result of an aggressive “Buy-and-Build” strategy, thanks to which by the end of 2012 the Group had grown to become the third largest player in the supermarket industry in Chile. Although this strategy allowed the conglomerate to consolidate its competitive position, it was based on inorganic growth that hid the differences in the operational performance of the different chains and did not allow the Group to take advantage of its own synergies in the process of consolidating the holding company. Around mid-2013, this lack of definition in SMU's competitive strategy resulted in a serious deterioration of its financial position, due to the significant indebtedness taken on to finance acquisitions, as well as the insufficient generation of cash flow. Furthermore, when compared to the two main players in the industry, SMU showed lower levels of profitability and sales per square meter. To overcome this crisis, SMU implemented a three-year strategic plan (2014-2016), reinforcing three fundamental areas: finance, operations and commercial. The goal was to restore financial viability to the conglomerate by the end of 2016. After executing its plan, SMU achieved an improvement at the operational and commercial levels. However, in the first months of 2017, the risk rating agencies still had doubts about SMU's future performance and its crisis management capacity. For this reason, Álvaro Saieh, who was serving at the time as Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors, had several questions: could SMU's 3-year operational and strategic restructuring plan be considered successful? what are the critical variables that will ensure the sustainability of the company and its growth in the coming years? will I be questioned again like I was in 2013? and finally, what possibilities do I have to create corporate value in the future?El presente caso relata el proceso de reestructuración corporativa del Grupo SMU, ligado a la industria chilena de supermercados minoristas, detonado por una situación interna provocada por ineficiencias operativas posteriores a un agresivo proceso de adquisiciones ocurrido entre los años 2007 y 2012. Esta problemática la experimentó el Grupo SMU, quien a través de una política de “Buy and Build” se convirtió en el tercer actor de la industria de supermercados en Chile a finales del año 2012. Si bien esta estrategia le permitió afianzar la posición competitiva del conglomerado, causó un crecimiento inorgánico que ocultó las diferencias en el desempeño operacional de las diferentes cadenas y no permitió el aprovechamiento de sinergias propias en el proceso de consolidación de un holding. Por ello, a mediados del año 2013, la falta de definición en la estrategia competitiva de SMU tuvo como consecuencia un fuerte debilitamiento en su posición financiera debido al significativo endeudamiento que se utilizaba para financiar las adquisiciones, así como por la insuficiente generación de flujos de caja. Por otro lado, comparado con los dos principales actores de la industria, SMU mostraba menores niveles de rentabilidad y de ventas por metro cuadrado. Así, para hacer frente a la crisis, SMU implementó un plan estratégico trianual (2014-2016) sobre el fortalecimiento de tres pilares fundamentales: financiero, operacional y comercial, cuya meta era devolver la viabilidad financiera al conglomerado a finales del año 2016. Tras la implementación de dicho plan, SMU logró una mejora a nivel operacional y comercial. Sin embargo, en los primeros meses de 2017 las Clasificadoras de Riesgo aún tenían dudas sobre el desempeño futuro de SMU y su capacidad de gestión de la crisis. Por ello, Álvaro Saieh, quien se desempeñaba en ese momento como presidente del Directorio de la empresa, tenía diversas interrogantes relacionadas principalmente a si: ¿Fue exitoso el plan de reestructuración operacional y estratégico que llevó a cabo SMU en los últimos tres años? ¿Cuáles serían las variables críticas para asegurar la sostenibilidad de la compañía y su crecimiento en los próximos años? ¿Volveré a ser cuestionado como en 2013? Finalmente, ¿qué posibilidades tengo para crear valor corporativo en el futuro

Immunohistological study of the unexplored vomeronasal organ of an endangered mammal, the dama gazelle (Nanger dama)

Dama gazelle is a threatened and rarely studied species found primarily in northern Africa. Human pressure has depleted the dama gazelle population from tens of thousands to a few hundred individuals. Since 1970, a founder population consisting of the last 17 surviving individuals in Western Sahara has been maintained in captivity, reproducing naturally. In preparation for the future implementation of assisted reproductive technology, certain aspects of dama gazelle reproductive biology have been established. However, the role played by semiochemical-mediated communications in the sexual behavior of dama gazelle remains unknown due partially to a lack of a neuroanatomical or morphofunctional characterization of the dama gazelle vomeronasal organ (VNO), which is the sensory organ responsible for pheromone processing. The present study characterized the dama gazelle VNO, which appears fully equipped to perform neurosensory functions, contributing to current understanding of interspecies VNO variability among ruminants. By employing histological, lectin-histochemical, and immunohistochemical techniques, we conducted a detailed morphofunctional evaluation of the dama gazelle VNO along its entire longitudinal axis. Our findings of significant structural and neurochemical transformation along the entire VNO suggest that future studies of the VNO should take a similar approach. The present study contributes to current understanding of dama gazelle VNO, providing a basis for future studies of semiochemical-mediated communications and reproductive management in this speciesThis work was partially supported by a grant from “Consello Social Universidade de Santiago de Compostela” 2022-PU004S

Environmentally driven transcriptomic and metabolic changes leading to color differences in “Golden Reinders” apples

Apple is characterized by its high adaptation to diverse growing environments. However, little is still known about how different environments can regulate at the metabolic or molecular level specific apple quality traits such as the yellow fruit peel color. In this study, changes in carotenoids and chlorophylls, antioxidants as well as differences in the transcriptome were investigated by comparing the peel of “Golden Reinders” apples grown at different valley and mountain orchards. Mountain environment favored the development of yellow color, which was not caused by an enhanced accumulation of carotenoids but rather by a decrease in the chlorophyll content. The yellow phenotype was also associated to higher expression of genes related to chloroplast functions and oxidative stress. Time-course analysis over the last stages of apple development and ripening, in fruit from both locations, further revealed that the environment differentially modulated isoprenoids and phenylpropanoid metabolism and pointed out a key role for H2O2 in triggering apple peel degreening. Overall, the results presented herein provide new insights into how different environmental conditions regulate pigment and antioxidant metabolism in apple leading to noticeable differences in the apple peel colorinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Effects of dietary chromium-yeast level on growth performance, blood metabolites, meat traits and muscle fatty acids profile, and microminerals content in liver and bone of lambs

To assess the effect of dietary supplement levels of chromium-yeast (Cr-yeast) on growth performance, blood glucose and triglycerides, fatty acid (FA) profile in intramuscular fat, carcase and meat traits, iron, copper, chromium and zinc concentrations in liver and bone, 24 Rambouillet male lambs (29.2 ± 0.17 kg body weight) were randomly assigned to four diets with 0, 0.2, 0.4 and 0.6mg Cr/kg DM. The growth performance trial lasted 49 d. Supplemental Cryeast did not affect growth performance and carcase characteristics (p>.05), but reduced (p<.05) perirenal and intramuscular fat, as well as 3 h post-feeding blood glucose and triglycerides concentration. In liver, Fe and Cu concentration decreased (p<.05), while Cr concentrations in liver increased with increasing Cr-yeast dietary levels. In bone, Fe decreased (p<.05) as Cryeast dietary levels increasing, and Cr-yeast supplementation increased Cr concentrations (p<.05). As Cr-yeast dietary level increased, palmitic (C16:0) and stearic (C18:0) SFA decreased linearly (p<.05), while palmitoleic (C16:1n-7), vaccenic (C18:1n-7), linoleic (C18:2n-6) and arachidic (C20:4) unsaturated fatty acids (UFA) increased linearly (p<.01). In conclusion, Cr-yeast did not affect growth performance and carcase quality, but decreased the perirenal and intramuscular fat, blood glucose and triglyceride content, and Fe and Cu concentrations in liver as increased Cr-yeast levels in the diet. Because supplemental Cr-yeast improved index of atherogenicity and unsaturated to saturated FA ratio in muscle of lambs, it could be of human nutritional interest

Mineral status and interrelationship in soil, forage, and blood serum of horses in the rainy and dry seasons

The feeding and nutrition of livestock becomes less of an empirical endeavor when the information necessary to scientifically balance diets is available [1]. Equine performance is influenced by genetic, nutritional, health, and management factors. Thus, optimal nutrition is essential for a foal to achieve maximal performance. Likewise, nutrition is fundamental for husbandry purposes as several reproductive problems due to nutritional deficiencies have been identified [2].The objective was to evaluate the content of P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, Cu, Fe, Zn, Se, and Mn in soil, forage, and serum of horses in several production units (PU) during rainy and dry seasons and predict their concentration in serum from their content in soil and forage. Soil and pastures were sampled in the dry (November–December) and in rainy seasons (June–July), and blood samples were collected from the jugular vein of 76 horses in both seasons at four PU. The experimental design was a completely random design within a 4 2 (PU season) factorial arrangement of treatments. Concentration of minerals in soil differed (P < .05) among PU, and contents of P, Ca, Mg, and K were low; Zn and Fe were high; and Cu and Mn were adequate. Mineral concentrations in forage differed among PU and season, and among PU within season (interaction P <.05). Contents of Ca, Mg, Na, Zn, and Cu were low; Fe was high; and P, K, Se, and Mn adequate. The mineral concentration in equine blood serum differed (P <.05) among PU and season. Overall, there were deficiencies of P, Ca, Mg, Na, Cu, and Se, but adequate amounts of K, Zn, and Fe. There are imbalances of minerals in soil and forages which effected their concentration inequine blood