Using real options for an eco-friendly design of water distribution systems

Copyright © 2015 IWA Publishing. The definitive peer-reviewed and edited version of this article is published in Journal of Hydroinformatics volume 17 (1), pp. 20-35 (2015), DOI 10.2166/hydro.2014.122 and is available at www.iwapublishing.com.This paper presents a real options approach to handling uncertainties associated with the long-term planning of water distribution system development. Furthermore, carbon emissions associated with the installation and operation of water distribution networks are considered. These emissions are computed by taking an embodied energy approach to the different materials used in water networks. A simulated annealing heuristic is used to optimise a flexible eco-friendly design of water distribution systems for an extended life horizon. This time horizon is subdivided into different time intervals in which different possible decision paths can be followed. The proposed approach is applied to a case study and the results are presented according to a decision tree. Lastly, some comparisons and results are used to demonstrate the quality of the results of this approach.Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETEFCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi

Decision support for optimal design of water distribution networks: A real options approach

12th International Conference on Computing and Control for the Water Industry, CCWI2013There is a growing concern about how the technical, managerial and financial capacity of drinking water systems can be sustained in the long run with future uncertainties. A water supply system is critical for the well- being of a community and it must provide water in sufficient quantity, of appropriate quality and without interruption. People have high expectations for the proper functioning of these systems but the future is uncertain and it is very difficult to conceive an infallible infrastructure. This work proposes a real options (ROs) approach that takes into account future uncertainty associated with water distribution networks. The ROs methodology extends traditional analysis to include flexible strategic implementation. This work describes a decision support methodology to design water networks that are adaptable over a long-term planning horizon. Representing design strategies as decision trees allows decision makers to easily adapt the system according to future circumstances. Results show that the ROs solution makes it possible to save on resources through an analysis based on an extended and uncertain planning horizonPrograma Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETEFCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi

Impact of dietary plant protein levels on the consumer acceptability of senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis Kaup, 1858)

The aim of the present work was to assess the impact of different vegetable diets in the sensory acceptability of Senegalese sole.This work was carried out by Project PROAMBIENTE for enhancing SMEs organizational and management structure to enter foreign markets. PROAMBIENTE has the financial support of Quadro de Referência Estratégico Nacional – QREN and Programa Operacional Regional do Norte – ON2, supported by the European fund for regional development FEDER

Robust optimization methodologies for water supply systems design

Open Access journalWater supply systems (WSSs) are vital infrastructures for the well-being of people today. To achieve good customer satisfaction the water supply service must always be able to meet people's needs, in terms of both quantity and quality. But unpredictable extreme conditions can cause severe damage to WSSs and lead to poorer levels of service or even to their failure. Operators dealing with a system's day-to-day operation know that events like burst water mains can compromise the functioning of all or part of a system. To increase a system's reliability, therefore, designs should take into account operating conditions other than normal ones. Recent approaches based on robust optimization can be used to solve optimization problems which involve uncertainty and can find designs which are able to cope with a range of operating conditions. This paper presents a robust optimization model for the optimal design of water supply systems operating under different circumstances. The model presented here uses a hydraulic simulator linked to an optimizer based on a simulated annealing heuristic. The results show that robustness can be included in several ways for varying levels reliability and that it leads to more reliable designs for only small cost increases.Programa Operacional Factores de Competitividade – COMPETEFundação para a Ciência e Tecnologi

Microbial activity in the gut of piglets: effect of prebiotic and probiotic supplementation

Four groups of six 21 days-old piglets were used to evaluate the effect of a prebiotic or probiotic on the intestinal fermentative activity. In each group, piglets received one of the following diets: basal diet (C); basal diet supplemented with xylooligosaccharide (C-XOS); basal diet supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (C-SC); and basal diet supplemented with xylooligosaccharide and S. cerevisiae (C-XOS+SC). The short chain fatty acids in the colon of piglets were decreased with the inclusion of S. cerevisiae in the diet (Pb0.01). The xylanolytic activity was higher (Pb0.05) in the small intestine of piglets fed C-XOS+SC diet, but no significant differences were found in the caecum and colon. In the caecum contents, the cellulolytic activity was increased (Pb0.05) by the C-XOS and C-SC diets, but remained similar when the diet was supplemented with the two additives combined

Tannic acid is not mutagenic in germ cells but weakly genotoxic in somatic cells of Drosophila melanogaster

Tannic acid (TA) was tested for genotoxic activity in three different assays (1-3) in Drosophila melanogaster by feeding of larvae or adult flies. TA did not induce sex-linked recessive lethals (1) nor sex-chromosome loss, mosaicism or non-disjunction (2) in male germ cells. In the wing somatic mutation and recombination test (SMART) (3) TA was found to be toxic for larvae of the high bioactivation cross and produced a weak positive response. These results suggest that this compound, when administered orally to larvae or adults of D.melanogaster, is not mutagenic and clastogenic in male germ cells, but weakly genotoxic in somatic cells of the wing imaginal dis

Decay rate and decoherence control in coupled dissipative cavities

We give a detailed account of the derivation of a master equation for two coupled cavities in the presence of dissipation. The analytical solution is presented and physical limits of interest are discussed. Firstly we show that the decay rate of initial coherent states can be significantly modified if the two cavities have different decay rates and are weakly coupled through a wire. Moreover, we show that also decoherence rates can be substantially altered by manipulation of physical parameters. Conditions for experimental realizations are discussed.Comment: 19 pages, 1 table, accepted by Physica

Analysing a complementarity experiment on the quantum-classical boundary

The complementarity experiment reported in Bertet [{\it{et al.}} (2001), {\it{Nature}} {\bf{411}}, 166.] is discussed. The role played by entanglement in reaching the classical limit is pointed out. Dissipative and thermal effects of the cavity are calculated and a simple modification of the experiment is proposed in order to observe the progressive loss of the capacity of ``quantum erasing''as a manifestation of the classical limit of quantum mechanics.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Cryptococcal Pneumonia and Meningitis in a Horse

AbstractGross and microscopic evidence of Cryptococcus neoformans in the lungs and central nervous system of a mature Thoroughbred horse presenting with granulomatous pneumonia and meningitis has been described in this article