A Tale of Two Dams: The Impact of Reservoir Management on Rural Depopulation in Central Spain

In rural areas, depopulation is mainly due to a lack of economic and employment opportunities. In this context, the reservoirs already built can be a source of socioeconomic development based on tourism and outdoor leisure activities. The condition for this development to materialize is that reservoir management considers these activities. In Central Spain, a process of rural depopulation has been generated in the municipalities around the reservoirs at the Upper Tagus River, as water management allows water transfers from the Tagus to the Segura River without taking into account regulations that prioritize and protect donor basin users. Through the comparison of reservoir water management and demographic data of two rural areas close to the reservoirs, this article reveals the direct relationship between reservoir management that enables recreational uses with its consequent socioeconomic development and the maintenance of the population in the territory. Consequently, reservoir water management based on the socioeconomic development of reservoir banks is necessary and a priority over transfers to another basin.

     

Retraction of “Using ergonomic digital human modeling in evaluation of workplace design and prevention of workrelated musculoskeletal disorders onboard small fishing vessel”

The following article from Human Factors and Ergonomics in Manufacturing & Service Industries, “Using ergonomic digital human modeling in evaluation of workplace design and prevention of workrelated musculoskeletal disorders onboard small fishing vessel,” by Enrique Álvarez‐Casado, Bing Zhang, Sonia Tello Sandoval and Mondelo Pedro, published online on October 11, 2011 in Wiley Online Library ( www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com ), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal Editors‐in‐Chief, Waldemar Karwowski and Gavriel Salvendy, and Publisher Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The retraction has been agreed as these articles were mistakenly published after being rejected.     

A comparative study between dynamic adapted PSO and VNS for the vehicle routing problem with dynamic requests

Combinatorial optimization problems are usually modeled in a static fashion. In this kind of problems, all data are known in advance, i.e. before the optimization process has started. However, in practice, many problems are dynamic, and change while the optimization is in progress. For example, in the dynamic vehicle routing problem (DVRP), new orders arrive when the working day plan is in progress. In this case, routes must be reconfigured dynamically while executing the current simulation. The DVRP is an extension of a conventional routing problem, its main interest being the connection to many real word applications (repair services, courier mail services, dial-a-ride services, etc.). In this article, a DVRP is examined, and solving methods based on particle swarm optimization and variable neighborhood search paradigms are proposed. The performance of both approaches is evaluated using a new set of benchmarks that we introduce here as well as existing benchmarks in the literature. Finally, we measure the behavior of both methods in terms of dynamic adaptation.     

Solving differential equations with Fourier series and Evolution Strategies

A novel mesh-free approach for solving differential equations based on Evolution Strategies (ESs) is presented. Any structure is assumed in the equations making the process general and suitable for linear and nonlinear ordinary and partial differential equations (ODEs and PDEs), as well as systems of ordinary differential equations (SODEs). Candidate solutions are expressed as partial sums of Fourier series. Taking advantage of the decreasing absolute value of the harmonic coefficients with the harmonic order, several ES steps are performed. Harmonic coefficients are taken into account one by one starting with the lower order ones. Experimental results are reported on several problems extracted from the literature to illustrate the potential of the proposed approach. Two cases (an initial value problem and a boundary condition problem) have been solved using numerical methods and a quantitative comparative is performed. In terms of accuracy and storing requirements the proposed approach outperforms the numerical algorithm.     

Changes in free amino acids content in albacore (Thunnus alalunga) muscle during thermal processing

Summary The effects of cooking and sterilization at several temperatures on the free amino acids (FAA) content in albacore (Thunnus alalunga) muscle were studied during the processing of canned tuna. FAAs were derivatized witho-phtalaldehyde, separated on a C18 column by HPLC and detected by both fluorescence and ultra-violet detectors. After cooking the loss of FAAs was not significant. However, in the final product sterilized at 115 °C and 110 °C (throughout the whole process) there were significant losses with regard to the start material, but not at 118 °C (all temperatures leading to the same lethal F-value). The influence of the thermal process time at 115 °C was evaluated for 60 and 100 min. Significant losses were found between both canned products (25%) and between the raw fish and the final product (12% and 34%, process time 60 and 100 min, respectively). The determination of the content of FAA present in canned albacore may be a useful indication of the severity of the thermal processing.

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Veränderung im Gehalt an freien Aminosäuren in Thunfischmuskel (Tunnus alalunga) während der Wärmebehandlung

Zusammenfassung Die Wirkung des Kochens und Sterilisierens bei verschiedenen Temperaturen auf den Gehalt an freien Aminosäuren (FAA) im Thunfischmuskel (Thunnus alalunga) wurde während der Herstellung von Thunfischkonserven untersucht. Die freien Aminosäuren wurden mito-Phtalaldehyd derivatisiert, auf einer C-18-Kolonne mit HPLC abgetrennt und durch Fluorescenz und UV-Detektoren nachgewiesen. Nach dem Kochen war der Verlust an FAA nicht signifikant, jedoch in dem bei 110° und 115 °C sterilisierten Endprodukt ergaben sich signifikante Verluste bezogen auf das Ausgangsmaterial, aber nicht auf das bei 118 °C erhitzte; alle Erhitzungstemperaturen führen zu demselben letalen F-Wert. Der Zeiteinfluß der Erhitzung bei 115 °C wurde bei 60 und 100 min bewertet. Signifikante Verluste sind bei beiden Dosenkonserven aufgetreten (25%) und zwischen diesen und dem Rohfisch ( 12% und 34%) bei einer Erhitzungszeit von 60 und 100 min). Die Bestimmung des FAA-Gehalts in Thunfischkonserven kann für den Nachweis der Einwandfreiheit des thermischen Prozesses sehr nützlich sein.

     

Proton nuclear magnetic resonance rapid and structure-specific determination ofω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in fish lipids

Based on proton nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR) spectroscopy, a rapid and structure-specific method for the determination of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in fish lipids is presented. The different chemical shift observed for the methyl resonance of ω-3 PUFAs (δ=0.95 ppm) with respect to the methyl resonance of all other fatty acids (δ=0.86 ppm) has provided the possibility of proposing a new and rapid method for the determination of ω-3 PUFA content. Twenty-four fish lipid samples (raw, cooked and canned albacore tuna) produced results that showed good agreement between¹H-NMR analysis and gas chromatographic determination. Raw and cooked samples showed significantly higher levels of ω-3 PUFA than canned tuna.     

Participatory Modeling Workshops in a Water-Stressed Basin Result in Gains in Modeling Capacity but Reveal Disparity in Water Resources Management Priorities

Participatory modeling workshops were held in Sonora, México, with the goal of developing water resources management strategies in a water-stressed basin. A model of the water resources system, consisting of watershed hydrology, water resources infrastructure, and groundwater models, was developed deliberatively in the workshops, along with scenarios of future climate and development. Participants used the final version of the water resources systems model to select management strategies. The performance of the strategies was based on the reliability of meeting current and future demands at a daily time scale over a year’s period. Pre- and post-workshop surveys were developed and administered. The survey questions focused on evaluation of participants’ modeling capacity and the utility and accuracy of the models. The selected water resources strategies and the associated, expected reliability varied widely among participants. Most participants could be clustered into three groups with roughly equal numbers of participants that varied in terms of reliance on expanding infrastructure vs. demand modification; expectations of reliability; and perceptions of social, environmental, and economic impacts. The wide range of strategies chosen and associated reliabilities indicate that there is a substantial degree of uncertainty in how future water resources decisions could be made in the region. The pre- and post-survey results indicate that participants believed their modeling abilities increased and beliefs in the utility of models increased as a result of the workshops.     

Effects of physical refining on contents of waxes and fatty alcohols of refined olive oil

Changes in the contents of waxes and fatty alcohols during deodorization/physical refining of bleached olive oil were studied. Experiments were carried out with 1.85% acidity oil, which was physically refined in a discontinuous deodorizer of 250-kg maximum capacity using nitrogen as stripping gas instead of steam. The variables studied were load and temperature of oil in the deodorizer as well as N₂ flow. Analyses of waxes and alcohols were carried out at different operation times. The maximum content of wax was always observed when the oil reached the deodorization temperature. The variation in the wax content depended on temperature and N₂ flow. Wax decomposition started and continued during the operating time, and a progressive decrease, which was pronounced between 3 and 4 h, was observed. Small changes in waxes were observed between 4 and 5 h. Total content of fatty alcohols diminished throughout the operating time, and changes did not depend on the variables studied.     

Event-driven,pattern-based methodology for cost-effective development of standardized personal health devices

Experiences applying standards in personal health devices (PHDs) show an inherent trade-off between interoperability and costs (in terms of processing load and development time). Therefore, reducing hardware and software costs as well as time-to-market is crucial for standards adoption. The ISO/IEEE11073 PHD family of standards (also referred to as X73PHD) provides interoperable communication between PHDs and aggregators. Nevertheless, the responsibility of achieving inexpensive implementations of X73PHD in limited resource microcontrollers falls directly on the developer. Hence, the authors previously presented a methodology based on patterns to implement X73-compliant PHDs into devices with low-voltage low-power constraints. That version was based on multitasking, which required additional features and resources. This paper therefore presents an event-driven evolution of the patterns-based methodology for cost-effective development of standardized PHDs. The results of comparing between the two versions showed that the mean values of decrease in memory consumption and cycles of latency are 11.59% and 45.95%, respectively. In addition, several enhancements in terms of cost-effectiveness and development time can be derived from the new version of the methodology. Therefore, the new approach could help in producing cost-effective X73-compliant PHDs, which in turn could foster the adoption of standards.