Online Circle and Sphere Packing

In this paper we consider the Online Bin Packing Problem in three variants: Circles in Squares, Circles in Isosceles Right Triangles, and Spheres in Cubes. The two first ones receive an online sequence of circles (items) of different radii while the third one receive an online sequence of spheres (items) of different radii, and they want to pack the items into the minimum number of unit squares, isosceles right triangles of leg length one, and unit cubes, respectively. For Online Circle Packing in Squares, we improve the previous best-known competitive ratio for the bounded space version, when at most a constant number of bins can be open at any given time, from 2.439 to 2.3536. For Online Circle Packing in Isosceles Right Triangles and Online Sphere Packing in Cubes we show bounded space algorithms of asymptotic competitive ratios 2.5490 and 3.5316, respectively, as well as lower bounds of 2.1193 and 2.7707 on the competitive ratio of any online bounded space algorithm for these two problems. We also considered the online unbounded space variant of these three problems which admits a small reorganization of the items inside the bin after their packing, and we present algorithms of competitive ratios 2.3105, 2.5094, and 3.5146 for Circles in Squares, Circles in Isosceles Right Triangles, and Spheres in Cubes, respectively

Comparison between standard and drift reducing nozzles for pesticide application in citrus: Part I. Effects on wind tunnel and field spray drift

The objective of this study was to evaluate and to compare spray drift potential and field spray drift from pesticide application in citrus orchards carried out mainly comparing standard nozzles with drift reducing nozzles. Two different standard nozzles (hollow cone and full cone) and one Venturi drift reducing nozzle (hollow cone) were tested. Spray drift potential was measured by means of wind tunnel experiments (ISO 22856:2008 method). To estimate field airborne and sedimenting spray drift, two trials with 5 replicates each were carried out (ISO 22866:2005 method) in two different commercial orchards of Clementine mandarins. Results showed that Venturi nozzles significantly reduced drift with the two methodologies. Moreover, the wind tunnel method showed the same trend as the field results. Additionally, spray drift deposition variability was lower for the Venturi nozzles. Therefore, it could be concluded that Venturi nozzles can be recommended to be used in citrus orchards to prevent human and environmental risks and their use could be appropriate for different scenarios where spray drift risk must be mitigated.Authors would like to thank to Cítrics Terres de l’Ebre, S.A.T. and Manantiales Entrepinos, S.L. for allowing the use of their fields and sprayers. Also, Agrícola la Realense Coop.V. for allowing the use of their fields and Pulverizadores Fede S.A. for the use of equipments. Besides, Universitat de Lleida is also thanked for Mr. X. Torrent's pre-doctoral fellowship

Testing the resilience of agro-pastoralists communities in arid margins through ABM

This paper presents the latest model developed within Case Study 1 (hereafter CS1) of the SimulPast project: Hunter-Gatherer persistence in arid margins. The case of North Gujarat (India). The aim of this model is to test the resilience of agro-pastoralists (AP) communities in semi-arid ecosystems. We created a simple Agent Based Model in which agents relied on a pure subsistence strategy based on domesticated plants and animals. We tested our model against previously published climatic record for the area and concluded that a pure agropastoral strategy was not enough to sustain the population in conditions of high climatic variability. Further tests were performed to check the climatic conditions in which this type of subsistence strategy is self-sustained in order to extrapolate the model to areas with different specificities than the one understudy

Addressing the life cycle of sewers in contrasting cities through an eco-efficiency approach

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: [Petit‐Boix, A. , Arnal, C. , Marín, D. , Josa, A. , Gabarrell, X. and Rieradevall, J. (2017), Addressing the Life Cycle of Sewers in Contrasting Cities through an Eco‐Efficiency Approach. Journal of Industrial Ecology. . doi:10.1111/jiec.12649], which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/jiec.12649. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-ArchivingEvaluating the sustainability of the urban water cycle is not straightforward, although a variety of methods have been proposed. Given the lack of integrated data about sewers, we applied the eco-efficiency approach to two case studies located in Spain with contrasting climate, population, and urban and sewer configurations. Our goal was to determine critical variables and life cycle stages and provide results for decision making. We used life cycle assessment and life cycle costing to evaluate their environmental and economic impacts. Results showed that both cities have a similar profile, albeit their contrasting features, that is, operation and maintenance, was the main environmental issue (50% to 70% of the impacts) and pipe installation registered the greatest economic capital expenditure (70% to 75%) due to labor. The location of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is an essential factor in our analysis mainly due to the topography effects (e.g., the annual pump energy was 13 times greater in Calafell). Using the eco-efficiency portfolio, we observed that sewers might be less eco-efficient than WWTPs and that we need to envision their design in the context of an integrated WWTP-sewer management to improve sewer performance. In terms of methodological approach, the bidimensional nature of eco-efficiency enables the benchmarking of product systems and might be more easily interpreted by the general public. However, there are still some constraints that should be addressed to improve communication, such as the selection of indicators discussed in the article.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Comparison between standard and drift reducing nozzles for pesticide application in citrus: Part II. Effects on canopy spray distribution, control efficacy of Aonidiella aurantii (Maskell), beneficial parasitoids and pesticide residues on fruit

Venturi nozzles are often recommended to reduce drift, which is one of the major pollution sources caused by the application of plant protection products on high growing crops. The coarse droplets produced by this type of nozzle could however also affect the spray distribution and therefore the efficacy of pesticide treatments, the population of beneficial parasitoids and levels of residues on fruit. For these reasons, this work aimed at providing scientific evidence of any effect in these parameters when using standard (cone) or drift reducing (Venturi) nozzles for citrus foliar applications against California red scale (CRS) applied with conventional axial fan airblast sprayers. Results showed that Venturi nozzles did not affect efficacy in the conditions of the experiment. Moreover, in general terms, no differences were found in the distribution of the spray deposits over the tree canopy, on levels of residues on fruit or on the effects on the population of parasitoids. All these findings suggest that Venturi nozzles can be regarded as a good alternative to the standard cone nozzles for reducing drift of pesticide applications against CRS in citrus under Mediterranean conditions.his research was funded by Dow AgroSciences LLC. Authors would like to thank Grupo Martinavarro S.L. for allowing the use of their fields and equipments in Valencia orchards, Pulverizadores Fede S.L. for lending one of the sprayers, Plant Health Services -Generalitat de Catalunya for the monitoring data and Agrofruit Export S.A. for allowing the use of their field and equipment in the Tortosa trial

Produção de Suco Concentrado de Limão

Projeto apresentado à disciplina de Projeto de Engenharia Química do curso de Bacharelado em Engenharia Química da Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana - UNILA, como requisito parcial de avaliação. Professora: Dra. Ivana Helena da CruzDevido à grande produção de lima ácida Tahiti no Brasil (segundo maior produtor mundial), a Quantum Limão é uma empresa que visa produzir suco concentrado de limão, sem o uso de aditivos, como matéria-prima para indústrias de produtos alimentícios. A empresa tem como objetivo a saúde e bem-estar do consumidor, com preços justos e um produto de qualidade. A Quantum tem como foco a produção para o mercado atacadista, destinando também uma parcela de 5% para o mercado varejista. A produção do suco é feita de maneira, relativamente, simples, após a recepção, lavagem e remoção de defeitos das frutas, o processo passa pelas seguintes etapas: clarificação, pasteurização, evaporação, resfriamento e armazenamento. Os resíduos líquidos serão destinados a estação de esgoto da região e os sólidos podem ser utilizados para alimentação animal. Serão processados 384.000 kg de limão, mensalmente, produzindo 25.171,20 kg de suco de limão concentrado, gerando um lucro bruto de R$376.100,21. A empresa será localizada na região de Guarulhos, na cidade de São Paulo (SP), devido a fatores como acesso a diferentes meios de transporte e incentivos fiscais. O investimento total da Quantum Limão será de R$16.575.180,93, com previsão de retorno simples de 3 anos e 9 meses.Due to the large production of Tahiti lime in Brazil (second largest production worldwide), Quantum Limão is a business that intends to produce lime juice concentrate, without the use of additives, as raw material for food industries. The company has as a goal the consumer’s health and well-being, with fair prices and a quality product. Quantum focus on production to the wholesale market, leaving a 5% quota towards the retail market. Juice production was made in a relatively simple manner, after the reception, washing and removing flaws from the fruits, the process goes through these steps: clarification, pasteurization, evaporation, cooling and storing. Liquid waste will be destined to the local sewer facility and solid ones can be used as food for animals. 384.000 kg of lime will be processed, monthly, producing 25,171.20 kg of lime juice concentrate, with a liquid income of R$376,100.21. The company will be located in the Guarulhos region, of the city of São Paulo (SP), due to various factors as an access to different means of transportation and fiscal incentives. Quantum Limão’s total investment will be of R$ 16,575,180.93 with a simple payback of 3 years and 9 month

Direct and indirect effects of tree canopy facilitation in the recruitment of M editerranean oaks

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/106739/1/jpe12189.pd

Environmental impacts of an imidaclopridcontaining formulation: from soils to waters

The neonicotinoid pesticide imidacloprid is among the top sold agrochemicals worldwide. Due to its widespread use in mixtures with different solvents and co-adjuvants, studying the environmental impact of its derived commercial formulations has become mandatory. In this study we used laboratory ecotoxicological tests to quantify the impact of the imidacloprid-containing formulation Confidor® 20SL on the terrestrial and aquatic compartments. Lethal and sublethal effects of recommended application doses of the product were assessed on standard terrestrial invertebrates Eisenia fetida and Folsomia candida whereas the toxicity of leachates from contaminated soils was evaluated in the aquatic model organisms Daphnia magna and Raphidocelis subcapitata. The exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of imidacloprid causedno mortality to earthworms (LC50 of 4.23 mg imidaclopridkg-1 dry soil) but altered their behavior and reproductionpatterns (EC50 values for avoidance and reproduction testsof 0.43 and 1.40 mg imidacloprid kg-1 dry soil, respectively).Effects on collembolans F. candida were negligible.Imidacloprid presented moderate leachability, with recoveryrates that ranged from 25.4 to 50.4% of the amountpresent in soils and concentrations in water extracts from13.05 to 71.8 μg L-1. Standard aquatic ecotoxicity testswere not able detect chronic or acute toxicity in standardtest organisms. Nonetheless, concentrations of the insecticidein water extracts were high enough to pose a lethalthreat to several other non-standard aquatic organisms

Determining cellular CTCF and cohesin abundances to constrain 3D genome models.

Achieving a quantitative and predictive understanding of 3D genome architecture remains a major challenge, as it requires quantitative measurements of the key proteins involved. Here, we report the quantification of CTCF and cohesin, two causal regulators of topologically associating domains (TADs) in mammalian cells. Extending our previous imaging studies (Hansen et al., 2017), we estimate bounds on the density of putatively DNA loop-extruding cohesin complexes and CTCF binding site occupancy. Furthermore, co-immunoprecipitation studies of an endogenously tagged subunit (Rad21) suggest the presence of cohesin dimers and/or oligomers. Finally, based on our cell lines with accurately measured protein abundances, we report a method to conveniently determine the number of molecules of any Halo-tagged protein in the cell. We anticipate that our results and the established tool for measuring cellular protein abundances will advance a more quantitative understanding of 3D genome organization, and facilitate protein quantification, key to comprehend diverse biological processes