Water-energy-pollutant nexus assessment of water reuse strategies in urban water systems using metabolism based approach

In this study a combined water-energy-pollutant nexus and water metabolism assessment was developed to study the impacts of implementing water reuse in an Urban Water System (UWS). The model was based on the WaterMet2 tool which was able to track down water, energy and eutrophication flows over the main components of the UWS. The suggested method was demonstrated in a real case study in Mexico. Eight hypothetical reuse strategies including six greywater (GW) recycling options (decentralised) and two reclaimed water distribution (centralised) were simulated and compared with Business As Usual (BAU) strategy ('do nothing') over a long-term planning (30 years). The intervention options were set up at either 10% or 50% of adoption rates (proportional to household and demands within the UWS) to be implemented at years 10 and 20. The analysis showed that centralised strategies consume less energy but produce more eutrophication emissions than the BAU as opposed to GW strategies. The treatment technologies (efficiency, energy consumption) and adoption rates are key variables in selecting the least impacting reuse strategy. Combining GW strategies using low-energy treatment (such as wetlands) with high adoption rates the system outperforms the rest of the options in all of the impact categories. The proposed metabolic-nexus approach was able to provide useful information about the performance and environmental impacts of centralised and decentralised water reuse options to support management decisions

Estimación de la producción energética solar fotovoltaica en las cubiertas del área metropolitana de Madrid

La dependencia a los combustibles fósiles provoca impactos medioambientales, sociales, geopolíticos y económicos que hacen replantearse su uso. Acuerdos como el de Kyoto y el de París han impulsado a los países a reducir sus emisiones y buscar alternativas energéticas más respetuosas. España, en el cumplimiento de estos objetivos presentó el Plan Nacional Integrado de Energía y Clima, en el que se aborda una profunda reforma del modelo energético y una implantación de las energías renovables, siendo la fotovoltaica la de mayor crecimiento. El beneficio de la energía fotovoltaica se fundamenta en la capacidad de integración a nivel local, usando los propios núcleos de consumo como fuentes de generación eléctrica, sin necesidad, por tanto, de ocupar espacios naturales. El objetivo es desarrollar una metodología de cálculo de la potencialidad de generación eléctrica de origen fotovoltaico en las cubiertas de los edificios en una gran ciudad a partir de fuentes públicas disponibles y calcular cuál sería la potencia instalable y la cobertura que ofrecería en el municipio de Madrid. La metodología propuesta sirve para realizar cálculos genéricos y poder hacer una aproximación, que puede ser mejorada añadiendo otros criterios, y aplicable a cualquier territorio. Para la potencialidad fotovoltaica en las cubiertas de Madrid se ha estimado una superficie de 38,8km2 y una cobertura del 46,5% de la demanda eléctrica del año 2030, suponiendo una reducción del 48% de emisiones. Este estudio confirma la viabilidad de este tipo de proyectos, suponiendo una mejora a nivel ambiental, social y económico, que, con el desarrollo tecnológico ofrecerá un mayor beneficio.Fossil fuels' dependency carries environmental, social, geopolitical and economic issues, which leads to re-think the usage of these. Agreements, such as Kyoto's or Paris' have motivated the countries to reduce their emissions and to look for more respectful energy alternatives. In order to achieve these goals, Spain presented the Integrated National Plan for Energy and Climate, where it makes a deep reform of the energetic system and there is an implantation of renewable energies. Photovoltaic increased the most. The benefits of the photovoltaic are founded in the capacity of integration at a local level, using the centres of consumption as sources of electric generation, without the need of occupying natural spaces. The objective is to develop a calculation methodology of the potentiality of electric generation from photovoltaic sources on building rooftops in a big city, by using public sources and calculating the installable potential and the available surface of Madrid's municipality. The method gives general estimation and an approximation, which can be improved by adding other criteria, and applicable to any territory. For photovoltaic potentiality on Madrid's rooftops, an available surface of 38.8km2 and a 46.5% electricity demand cover for 2030 was estimated, resulting in a 48% reduction of emissions. This study confirms the viability of this kind of projects, and improving at environmental, social and economic levels, besides a higher future benefit with technological development.Grado en Ciencias Ambientale

Evaluating indoor positioning systems in a shopping mall : the lessons learned from the IPIN 2018 competition

The Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation (IPIN) conference holds an annual competition in which indoor localization systems from different research groups worldwide are evaluated empirically. The objective of this competition is to establish a systematic evaluation methodology with rigorous metrics both for real-time (on-site) and post-processing (off-site) situations, in a realistic environment unfamiliar to the prototype developers. For the IPIN 2018 conference, this competition was held on September 22nd, 2018, in Atlantis, a large shopping mall in Nantes (France). Four competition tracks (two on-site and two off-site) were designed. They consisted of several 1 km routes traversing several floors of the mall. Along these paths, 180 points were topographically surveyed with a 10 cm accuracy, to serve as ground truth landmarks, combining theodolite measurements, differential global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and 3D scanner systems. 34 teams effectively competed. The accuracy score corresponds to the third quartile (75th percentile) of an error metric that combines the horizontal positioning error and the floor detection. The best results for the on-site tracks showed an accuracy score of 11.70 m (Track 1) and 5.50 m (Track 2), while the best results for the off-site tracks showed an accuracy score of 0.90 m (Track 3) and 1.30 m (Track 4). These results showed that it is possible to obtain high accuracy indoor positioning solutions in large, realistic environments using wearable light-weight sensors without deploying any beacon. This paper describes the organization work of the tracks, analyzes the methodology used to quantify the results, reviews the lessons learned from the competition and discusses its future

Diseño de malla de perforación Smooth Blasting para mejorar la estabilidad de las excavaciones en Mina Huarón - Compañía Minera Pan American Silver S.A.

La investigación se refiere al diseño de una malla de perforación Smooth Blasting para mejorar la estabilidad de las excavaciones en Mina Huarón de la Compañía Minera Pan American Silver S.A., lo cual se ha realizado en la zona Norte, tratando de evitar de esta manera los problemas de inestabilidad y sobrerotura, tomando muy en cuenta el perfil de la labor y el avance de las operaciones. El problema general menciona la forma en que el diseño de malla de perforación Smooth Blasting influye en el mejoramiento de la estabilidad de las excavaciones en Mina Huarón - Compañía Minera Pan American Silver. El Objetivo general trata de determinar la forma en que el diseño de malla de perforación Smooth Blasting influye en el mejoramiento de la estabilidad de las excavaciones. La hipótesis general señala que la malla de perforación Smooth Blasting influye positivamente en el mejoramiento de la estabilidad de las excavaciones. La metodología de la investigación: Método científico, tipo aplicado y nivel descriptivo; siendo la muestra una galería de 4.0 m x 4.0 m de la Zona Norte. La conclusión refiere que la malla de perforación Smooth Blasting surte un efecto en el RMR, donde se incrementó de 61 a 73, obteniendo un ahorro de US $ 2,43/m3.Tesi

Non-L\'evy mobility patterns of Mexican Me'Phaa peasants searching for fuelwood

We measured mobility patterns that describe walking trajectories of individual Me'Phaa peasants searching and collecting fuelwood in the forests of "La Monta\~na de Guerrero" in Mexico. These one-day excursions typically follow a mixed pattern of nearly-constant steps when individuals displace from their homes towards potential collecting sites and a mixed pattern of steps of different lengths when actually searching for fallen wood in the forest. Displacements in the searching phase seem not to be compatible with L\'evy flights described by power-laws with optimal scaling exponents. These findings however can be interpreted in the light of deterministic searching on heavily degraded landscapes where the interaction of the individuals with their scarce environment produces alternative searching strategies than the expected L\'evy flights. These results have important implications for future management and restoration of degraded forests and the improvement of the ecological services they may provide to their inhabitants.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. First version submitted to Human Ecology. The final publication will be available at http://www.springerlink.co

Desafíos de la Administración Pública. El retorno de la democracia y el proyecto informático en Argentina

During the second half of the 1980s, the Argentine government tried to carry out a project to transform the computer-electronic complex (CEI) by means of the construction of a tripartite institutional design that would be in charge of the formulation and execution of policies aimed at that sector. When executing the formulated policies, the national administration encountered certain obstacles that had not been considered, and which conditioned the success of the project. Therefore, the aim of this research is to reflect critically on the difficulties faced by public administrations when planning and managing public technological policies such as the ones concerning information technology. To carry out the intended analysis, a theoretical-methodological approach was created, which included the concepts of public policy, analysis of public policies, science and technology policies and, more specifically, political cultures.Con el retorno de la democracia en 1983, el gobierno argentino intentó llevar adelante un proyecto de transformación del complejo informático-electrónico (CIE) por medio de la construcción de un diseño institucional tripartito que se encargaría de la formulación y ejecución de las políticas destinadas a ese sector. Al momento de ejecutar las políticas formuladas, la administración nacional se encontró con ciertos obstáculos que no habían sido considerados y que condicionaron el éxito del proyecto. Se trata, en consecuencia, de una investigación orientada a reflexionar críticamente sobre las dificultades que afrontan las administraciones públicas al momento de planificar y gestionar políticas públicas tecnológicas como las de informática. Para llevar a cabo el análisis pretendido es que se conformó un abordaje teórico-metodológico que integra los conceptos de política pública, de análisis de políticas públicas, de políticas de ciencia y tecnología y más específicamente de culturas políticas

Factor structure of the 10-item CES-D scale among patients with persistent COVID-19

The presence of persistent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) might beassociated with significant levels of psychological distress that would meet thethreshold for clinical relevance. The Center for Epidemiologic Studies DepressionScale (CES-D) version 10 has been widely used in assessing psychological distressamong general and clinical populations from different cultural backgrounds. To ourknowledge, however, researchers have not yet validated these findings amongpatients with persistent COVID-19. A cross-sectional validation study wasconducted with 100 patients from the EXER-COVID project (69.8% women;mean (±standard deviation) ages: 47.4 ± 9.5 years). Confirmatory factor analyses(CFAs) were performed on the 10-item CES-D to test four model fits: (a)unidimensional model, (b) two-factor correlated model, (c) three-factor correlatedmodel, and (d) second-order factor model. The diagonal-weighted least-squares estimator was used, as it is commonly applied to latent variable modelswith ordered categorical variables. The reliability indices of the 10-item CES-D in patients with persistent COVID-19 were as follows: depressive affect factor(α=0.82Ord;ω=0.78u−cat), somatic retardation factor (α=0.78Ord;ω=0.56u−cat),and positive affect factor (α=0.56Ord;ω=0.55u−cat). The second‐order model fitshowed good Omega reliability (ω=0.87ho). Regarding CFAs, the unidimensional‐factor model shows poor goodness of fit, especially residuals analysis (root meansquare error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.081 [95% confidence interval,CI = 0.040–0.119]; standardized root mean square residual [SRMR] = 0.101). The two‐factor correlated model, three‐factor correlated model, and second‐order factormodel showed adequate goodness of fit, and theχ2difference test (∆X2) did not show significant differences between the goodness of fit for these models(∆X= 4.11282;p= 0.127). Several indices showed a good fit with the three‐factor correlated model: goodness‐of‐fit index = 0.974, comparative fit index = 0.990,relative noncentrality index = 0.990, and incremental fit index = 0.990, which were all above 0.95, the traditional cut‐off establishing adequate fit. On the other hand RMSEA = 0.049 (95% CI = 0.000–0.095), where an RMSEA < 0.06–0.08 indicates anadequate fit. Item loadings on the factors were statistically significant (λ≥0.449j;p's < 0.001), indicating that the items loaded correctly on the corresponding factors and the relationship between factors (φ≥0.382;p's≤0.001. To our knowledge, thisis the first study to provide validity and reliability to 10‐item CES‐D in a persistentCOVID‐19 Spanish patient sample. The validation and reliability of this shortscreening tool allow us to increase the chance of obtaining complete data in aparticular patient profile with increased fatigue and brain fog that limit patients' capacity to complete questionnaires.The EXER‐COVID study was supported by “Proyectos de I+D+i” de los Programas Estatales de Generación de Conocimiento y Fortalecimiento Científico y Tecnológico del Sistema de I+D+i Orientadaa los Retos de la Sociedad, en el marco del Plan Estatal deInvestigación Científica y Técnica y de Innovación 2017‐2020(PID2020‐113098RB‐I00). Open access funding provided by Uni-versidad Pública de Navarra

Public administration challenges: the return of democracy and the computer project in Argentina

Con el retorno de la democracia en 1983, el gobierno argentino intentó llevar adelante un proyecto de transformación del complejo informático-electrónico (CIE) por medio de la construcción de un diseño institucional tripartito que se encargaría de la formulación y ejecución de las políticas destinadas a ese sector. Al momento de ejecutar las políticas formuladas, la administración nacional se encontró con ciertos obstáculos que no habían sido considerados y que condicionaron el éxito del proyecto. Se trata, en consecuencia, de una investigación orientada a reflexionar críticamente sobre las dificultades que afrontan las administraciones públicas al momento de planificar y gestionar políticas públicas tecnológicas como las de informática. Para llevar a cabo el análisis pretendido es que se conformó un abordaje teórico-metodológico que integra los conceptos de política pública, de análisis de políticas públicas, de políticas de ciencia y tecnología y más específicamente de culturas políticas.During the second half of the 1980s, the Argentine government tried to carry out a project to transform the computerelectronic complex (CEI) by means of the construction of a tripartite institutional design that would be in charge of the formulation and execution of policies aimed at that sector. When executing the formulated policies, the national administration encountered certain obstacles that had not been considered, and which conditioned the success of the project. Therefore, the aim of this research is to reflect critically on the difficulties faced by public administrations when planning and managing public technological policies such as the ones concerning information technology. To carry out the intended analysis, a theoretical-methodological approach was created, which included the concepts of public policy, analysis of public policies, science and technology policies and, more specifically, political cultures.Facultad de Ciencias Económica

Public administration challenges: the return of democracy and the computer project in Argentina

Con el retorno de la democracia en 1983, el gobierno argentino intentó llevar adelante un proyecto de transformación del complejo informático-electrónico (CIE) por medio de la construcción de un diseño institucional tripartito que se encargaría de la formulación y ejecución de las políticas destinadas a ese sector. Al momento de ejecutar las políticas formuladas, la administración nacional se encontró con ciertos obstáculos que no habían sido considerados y que condicionaron el éxito del proyecto. Se trata, en consecuencia, de una investigación orientada a reflexionar críticamente sobre las dificultades que afrontan las administraciones públicas al momento de planificar y gestionar políticas públicas tecnológicas como las de informática. Para llevar a cabo el análisis pretendido es que se conformó un abordaje teórico-metodológico que integra los conceptos de política pública, de análisis de políticas públicas, de políticas de ciencia y tecnología y más específicamente de culturas políticas.During the second half of the 1980s, the Argentine government tried to carry out a project to transform the computerelectronic complex (CEI) by means of the construction of a tripartite institutional design that would be in charge of the formulation and execution of policies aimed at that sector. When executing the formulated policies, the national administration encountered certain obstacles that had not been considered, and which conditioned the success of the project. Therefore, the aim of this research is to reflect critically on the difficulties faced by public administrations when planning and managing public technological policies such as the ones concerning information technology. To carry out the intended analysis, a theoretical-methodological approach was created, which included the concepts of public policy, analysis of public policies, science and technology policies and, more specifically, political cultures.Facultad de Ciencias Económica

Public administration challenges. The return of democracy and the computer project in Argentina

Con el retorno de la democracia en 1983, el gobierno argentino intentó llevar adelante un proyecto de transformación del complejo informático-electrónico (CIE) por medio de la construcción de un diseño institucional tripartito que se encargaría de la formulación y ejecución de las políticas destinadas a ese sector. Al momento de ejecutar las políticas formuladas, la administración nacional se encontró con ciertos obstáculos que no habían sido considerados y que condicionaron el éxito del proyecto. Se trata, en consecuencia, de una investigación orientada a reflexionar críticamente sobre las dificultades que afrontan las administraciones públicas al momento de planificar y gestionar políticas públicas tecnológicas como las de informática.Para llevar a cabo el análisis pretendido es que se conformó un abordaje teórico-metodológico que integra los conceptos de política pública; de análisis de políticas públicas, de políticas de ciencia y tecnología y más específicamente de culturas políticas.During the second half of the 1980s, the Argentine government tried to carry out a project to transform the computerelectronic complex (CEI) by means of the construction of a tripartite institutional design that would be in charge of the formulation and execution of policies aimed at that sector. When executing the formulated policies, the national administration encountered certain obstacles that had not been considered, and which conditioned the success of the project. Therefore, the aim of this research is to reflect critically on the difficulties faced by public administrations when planning and managing public technological policies such as the ones concerning information technology. To carry out the intended analysis, a theoretical-methodological approach was created, which included the concepts of public policy, analysis of public policies, science and technology policies and, more specifically, political cultures.Fil: Blasquiz Landa, Gaston Alejandro. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Andina. Centro de Estudios en Ciencia, Tecnología, Cultura y Desarrollo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Aguiar, Diego Sebastian. Universidad Nacional de Río Negro. Sede Andina. Centro de Estudios en Ciencia, Tecnología, Cultura y Desarrollo; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; Argentin