Oportunidad de aplicación de la metodología FRONT END LOADING en la expansión de gasoductos en el sureste mexicano: una evaluación

Opportunity to apply the front end loading methodology in the expansion of gas pipelines in the mexican southeast: an evaluation

Raúl Enrique Trejo Alvarado Luis Rolando Méndez Miguel (2023)

Con la finalidad de impulsar el desarrollo de la región sureste de México, la actual administración del gobierno federal se ha propuesto la ampliación de la red nacional de gasoductos hacia esa zona del país, con el fin de suministrar energía a los megaproyectos de la región. No obstante, estas obras presentan actualmente retrasos, evidenciando la necesidad de metodologías de gestión que permitan solucionar este problema de raíz. Una de las metodologías más prometedoras en esta materia es la front-end loading (FEL), ampliamente aplicada en el sector extractivo y energético. El propósito del articulo estriba en evaluar la posibilidad de aplicar la metodología FEL a los proyectos de expansión del Sistema Nacional de Gasoductos en el sureste mexicano.

To boost the development of the southeast region of Mexico, the current federal government administration has proposed the expansion of the national gas pipeline network to this area of the country, to supply energy to the region's mega-projects. However, these projects are currently experiencing delays, demonstrating the need for management methodologies to solve this problem at its root. One of the most promising methodologies in this area is front-end loading (FEL), which has been widely applied in the extractive and energy sector. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the possibility of applying the FEL methodology to the expansion projects of the National Gas Pipeline System in the southeastern México.

Article

Gas natural Sector energético Front end loading (FEL) Evaluación de proyectos Sureste mexicano Natural gas Energy sector Project evaluation Mexican southeast INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA CIENCIAS TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS ESPECIALIDADES TECNOLÓGICAS OTRAS OTRAS

Gender, rainfall endowment, and farmers’ heterogeneity in wheat trait preferences in Ethiopia

Hom Nath Gartaula Moti Jaleta (2024)

Wheat is a vital cereal crop for smallholders in Ethiopia. Despite over fifty years of research on wheat varietal development, consideration of gendered trait preferences in developing target product profiles for wheat breeding is limited. To address this gap, our study used sex-disaggregated survey data and historical rainfall trends from the major wheat-growing regions in Ethiopia. The findings indicated heterogeneity in trait preferences based on gender and rainfall endowment. Men respondents tended to prefer wheat traits with high straw yield and disease-resistance potential, while women showed a greater appreciation for wheat traits related to good taste and cooking quality. Farmers in high rainfall areas seemed to prioritize high straw yield and disease resistance traits, while those in low rainfall areas valued good adaptation traits more highly. Most of the correlation coefficients among the preferred traits were positive, indicating that farmers seek wheat varieties with traits that serve multiple purposes. Understanding men's and women's preferences and incorporating them in breeding and seed systems could contribute to the development of more targeted and effective wheat varieties that meet the diverse needs of men and women farmers in Ethiopia.

Article

Trait Preferences Multivariate Probit Model CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA WHEAT AGRONOMIC CHARACTERS GENDER RAINFALL PROBIT ANALYSIS

Genome-wide association analyses of agronomic traits and Striga hermonthica resistance in pearl millet

Hussein Shimelis Chris Ojiewo Abhishek Rathore (2023)

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br.) is a nutrient-dense, relatively drought-tolerant cereal crop cultivated in dry regions worldwide. The crop is under-researched, and its grain yield is low (< 0.8 tons ha−1) and stagnant in the major production regions, including Burkina Faso. The low productivity of pearl millet is mainly attributable to a lack of improved varieties, Striga hermonthica [Sh] infestation, downy mildew infection, and recurrent heat and drought stress. Developing high-yielding and Striga-resistant pearl millet varieties that satisfy the farmers’ and market needs requires the identification of yield-promoting genes linked to economic traits to facilitate marker-assisted selection and gene pyramiding. The objective of this study was to undertake genome-wide association analyses of agronomic traits and Sh resistance among 150 pearl millet genotypes to identify genetic markers for marker-assisted breeding and trait introgression. The pearl millet genotypes were phenotyped in Sh hotspot fields and screen house conditions. Twenty-nine million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) initially generated from 345 pearl millet genotypes were filtered, and 256 K SNPs were selected and used in the present study. Phenotypic data were collected on days to flowering, plant height, number of tillers, panicle length, panicle weight, thousand-grain weight, grain weight, number of emerged Striga and area under the Striga number progress curve (ASNPC). Agronomic and Sh parameters were subjected to combined analysis of variance, while genome-wide association analysis was performed on phenotypic and SNPs data. Significant differences (P < 0.001) were detected among the assessed pearl millet genotypes for Sh parameters and agronomic traits. Further, there were significant genotype by Sh interaction for the number of Sh and ASNPC. Twenty-eight SNPs were significantly associated with a low number of emerged Sh located on chromosomes 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 7. Four SNPs were associated with days-to-50%-flowering on chromosomes 3, 5, 6, and 7, while five were associated with panicle length on chromosomes 2, 3, and 4. Seven SNPs were linked to thousand-grain weight on chromosomes 2, 3, and 6. The putative SNP markers associated with a low number of emerged Sh and agronomic traits in the assessed genotypes are valuable genomic resources for accelerated breeding and variety deployment of pearl millet with Sh resistance and farmer- and market-preferred agronomic traits.

Article

High-Yielding Varieties Striga-Resistant Agronomic Parameters CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES STRIGA HERMONTHICA PEARL MILLET

Author Correction: genome-wide association analyses of agronomic traits and Striga hermonthica resistance in pearl millet

Hussein Shimelis Chris Ojiewo Abhishek Rathore (2023)

Article

Agronomic Traits CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES STRIGA HERMONTHICA PEARL MILLET

Abiotic stress tolerance: Genetics, genomics, and breeding

Yunbi Xu Rajeev Varshney (2023)

Article

Wheat Ancestors Modern Varieties Agronomic Performance CIENCIAS AGROPECUARIAS Y BIOTECNOLOGÍA ABIOTIC STRESS GENETICS GENOMICS BREEDING GERMPLASM DROUGHT STRESS

Towards an Emotional Validation of Heuristic Approaches for Usability Evaluation

YAZMIN MAGALLANES VELAZQUEZ ARIEL MOLINA RUEDA JOSE ALFREDO SANCHEZ HUITRON MARIBEL YENNY MENDEZ BERNAL (2012)

Este artículo presenta una investigación inicial sobre las maneras en que la evaluación emocional de interfaces de usuario puede extender y validar la evaluación heurística de sistemasinteractivos. Mediante la recolección de respuestas de dos grupos de usuarios, este trabajo seenfoca a detectar si existe una correlación entre la evaluación emocional de aspectos específicos de interfaces de usuario y la evaluación correspondiente realizada por expertos en interacción. Primero se obtuvo retroalimentación de expertos en interacción acerca de los problemas potenciales de una interfaz multi-táctil, con base en un enfoque heurístico. Posteriormente, se plantearon escenarios para observar a usuarios inexpertos y obtener respuestas emocionales a los aspectos considerados problemáticos por los expertos. Nuestros hallazgos iniciales indican que hay una correlación importante entre los aspectos problemáticos señalados por los expertos y las respuestas emocionales de los usuarios inexpertos, pero también que algunos de los aspectos problemáticos no necesariamente implican emociones negativas duraderas. Sugerimos entonces que una evaluación emocional de sistemas interactivos puede enriquecer y validar los enfoques heurísticos para evaluación de usabilidad.

This paper presents an initial investigation on how an emotional assessment of user interfaces may extend and validate the heuristic evaluation of the usability of interactive systems. Through the elicitation of responses from two groups of users, we focused on detecting whether a correlation exists between emotional assessment of specific interface issues and the corresponding evaluation by interaction experts. Using a prototypical multi-tactile interface and a heuristic

approach, we first obtained feedback from interaction experts regarding its potential problems and issues. We then devised scenarios for observing novel users and eliciting their emotional responses to the issues raised by our experts. Our initial findings indicate a significant correlation exists between the issues raised by expert users and the emotional responses of novel users, but also that some of those issues do not necessarily lead to long lasting negative emotions. We thus posit that emotional evaluation of interactive systems may be helpful for enriching and validating heuristic approaches for usability evaluation.

Article

INGENIERÍA Y TECNOLOGÍA Usabilidad Evaluación emocional Evaluación Heurística Interfaces multi-táctiles Usability Emotional evaluation Heuristic evaluation Multi-tactile interfaces

A twelve years story of waste of social resources: The Mexico-Toluca Interurban Train

Rubén Chavarín (2024)

The general objective of this paper is to make an ex-post evaluation of the Mexico-Toluca Interurban Train project (TIMT) more than nine years after the beginning of its construction stage. The present study is based on the cost-benefit analysis approach, through which some analysis scenarios have been built and whose results are contrasted with the official project evaluations. The present research has focused on the analysis of the TIMT as a microcosm of the scarce efficiency of public investment in Mexico, resulting in a waste of social resources. According to the results of the study, the combination of delays and cost overruns (186% in nominal terms, 114% in real terms, and 90% in dollars) has configured a project (across two Federal Government Administrations) with negative social profitability, with losses valued at more than 550 million dollars, placing it in the most problematic quartile of train projects in the world.

Article

Artículo

cost-benefit analysis ex-post evaluation public investment transport projects Latin America análisis costo-beneficio evaluación ex-post inversión pública proyectos de transporte América Latina CIENCIAS SOCIALES CIENCIAS SOCIALES