A 2-set-up Routley-Meyer Semantics for the 4-valued Relevant Logic E4

The logic BN4 can be considered as the 4-valued logic of the relevant conditional and the logic E4, as the 4-valued logic of (relevant) entailment. The aim of this paper is to endow E4 with a 2-set-up Routley-Meyer semantics. It is proved that E4 is strongly sound and complete w.r.t. this semantics

Efficiency Analysis of Graduate Alumni Insertion into the Labor Market as a Sustainable Development Goal

The assumption that greater education levels of a given population leads to better employability levels thanks to higher education institutions (HEI) is widely known. However, most of the research related to HEI is focused on the determination of efficiency levels from an eminently academic perspective. The objective of this research is to carry out a comparative analysis of the efficiency degree of Latin American universities in terms of labor insertion for their graduate alumni, in order to evaluate the Sustainable Development Goal 8 related to decent work and economic growth. The data enveloping analysis (DEA) methodology was implemented. Main results showed different levels of labor efficiency among the studied institutions that were classified into eight groups of universities. Likewise, it was noted that Latin American university students showed employment levels above those of workers with lower levels of education and training

Territorial Analysis of the European Rural Development Funds (ERDF) as a Driving Factor of Ecological Agricultural Production

The Europe 2030 project identified the need to create a growth model that is based on a dynamic balance between economic, social, and environmental dimensions. This involves, among other objectives, redirecting the resources that are allocated to the Common Agricultural Plan (CAP) toward more ecological agriculture and livestock. In recent decades, two packages of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) approved funds for projects related to agriculture. This study carried out a regional evaluation of the effects on production and employment that were generated in the Spanish organic farming sector. For this, a methodology that is frequently used by researchers to analyze territorial differences was used, namely, the shift-share analysis. The main results showed important differences at the regional level in the production of crops. Likewise, constant shift and constant share analyses were used to forecast the evolution of the sector from the recent data. Pending the approval of the new EAFRD 2021-2030, the results obtained in this research allowed for the identification of the regions that showed a favorable evolution to change the agricultural model and to identify the projects that generated employment and ecological production in the sector

Analysis of Regional Efficiency in the Use of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (FEMP) in the Eurozone Countries

The European Union (EU) launched the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) in the 1970s. Currently, a large part of the CFP has been financed with the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (FEMP). This research aims to determine whether there is a high degree of homogeneity in the levels of efficiency achieved by the fishing projects financed by European Funds for the period 2014 to 2020. The Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology was adopted. The main results showed that there is a high degree of heterogeneity in the level of efficiency achieved by European countries during the analyzed period. Moreover, despite the fact that regional efficiency has been increasing during the years under study, territorial disparities persist over time. This research provides a contribution for policymakers targeting better use of the FEMP funds for the upcoming funding package 2021–202

A Data Envelopment Analysis of the Impact of European Funds on Environmental Indicators

The European Union (EU) has launched two regional investment programs of European Funds (FE) in the last decade. One covers the period of 2007 to 2013, and the second from 2014 to 2020. Among the goals contained in FE regulations is that of achieving sustainable growth through the conversion of fossil energy production systems to renewable energy. This research has had a goal to determine whether the countries of the Eurozone maintain homogeneous levels of efficiency in the use of these resources to improve the levels of environmental quality related to the use of this type of energy. The adopted research method for efficiency analyses was Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Findings revealed that the efficiency in the use of renewable energies is very uneven among the analyzed countries and that these differences are maintained throughout the analyzed period. These results suggest that the criteria for the distribution of the funds should be modified. The current distribution is mainly based on the per capita income of the countries and/or regions. In this way, compliance with the European Green Pact approved in September 2020 would be guaranteed

Evaluation of the Effects on Regional Production and Employment in Spain of the Renewable Energy Plan 2011–2020

The Renewable Energy Plan for the period 2011–2020 established as a general goal to ensure that renewable sources represent at least 20% of final energy consumption in 2020, together with a minimum contribution of 10% from renewable energy sources in transportation for that year. Then, the goal of this research is to evaluate the effects of the regional production of clean energy, identifying the employment generated in the renewable sector. The adopted methodology was the shift-share analysis, frequently used by researchers to analyze territorial differences. Main results showed important differences, at regional level, in the production of this type of energy. Likewise, we used constant shift and constant share methodology to make a forecast on the evolution of the sector from the data of last published years. Pending the approval of the new Renewable Energy Plan for the period 2021–2030, the results obtained in this research allow the identification of the regions that showed a favorable evolution to the energy change and identifies the projects that generate employment and production in the sector

Analysis of the Regional Efficiency of European Funds in Spain from the Perspective of Renewable Energy Production: The Regional Dimension

During the 2010-2020 period, the European Union (EU) launched a growth strategy based on three fundamental pillars: smart growth, sustainable growth, and inclusive growth. Aiming to finance the projects related to these growth pillars, the EU used mainly the Rural Development Funds, the Structural Funds, those derived from the R&D Framework Program, the Trans-European Networks, and the European Investment Bank. This research aimed to determine whether the Spanish regions maintain homogeneous efficiency levels by using these resources to improve the levels of environmental quality related to renewable energies. A methodology that is frequently used by researchers in efficiency analyses was chosen, the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The main findings revealed that the efficiency in the use of renewable energies is very uneven among the Spanish regions and these differences are maintained throughout the period analyzed. These results highlighted the need of changes regarding the proposed criteria for allocating European resources to finance the projects presented by each Spanish region

Relational semantics for the 4-valued relevant logics BN4 and E4

The logic BN4 was defined by R.T. Brady in 1982. It can be considered as the 4-valued logic of the relevant conditional. E4 is a variant of BN4 that can be considered as the 4-valued logic of (relevant) entailment. The aim of this paper is to define reduced general Routley-Meyer semantics for BN4 and E4. It is proved that BN4 and E4 are strongly sound and complete w.r.t. their respective semantics

Supercapacitor modified with methylene blue as redox active electrolyte

MWCNT-based supercapacitors (SC) containing methylene blue (MB) as redox active electrolyte were studied. MWCNTs were employed as model of electrode active material due to their ideal double-layer behavior facilitates the investigation of the energy storage mechanisms involved. MB led to a cell capacitance enhancement equal to 4.5 times the original cell capacitance of MWCNTs in sulphuric acid with a capacitance reduction of only 12% after 6000 charge–discharge cycles. The potential evolution of each electrode during galvanostatic cycling revealed that MB redox reaction develops in both electrodes simultaneously in the voltage range of 0–0.104 V and that this is the main cause of cell capacitance enhancement. Beyond this voltage range, the Faradaic contribution from the MB redox reaction decreases because the anode behaves as a capacitative electrode with a rather reduced charge-capacity due to the small surface area of MWCNTs. By means of a modified assembly composed of a Nafion membrane and MB and sulfuric acid solutions located in the cathode and anode compartments, respectively, it was demonstrated the limiting role of the capacitative electrode in the cell charge-capacity in this type of hybrid devices.The authors acknowledge the financial support of the MICINN (Project MAT2010-20601-C02-01). Silvia Roldán thanks MICINN for a FPI predoctoral research grant.Peer reviewe

Stimuli-responsive metal-directed self-assembly of a ring-in-ring complex

[Abstract] Concentration, temperature and/or solvent polarity control the speciation on the metal-directed self-assembly of a ditopic pyridyl ligand L with cis-protected Pd(II) metal centers. This results into a controllable dynamic system, involving a [Pd2L2]6+ metallacycle and a [Pd4L4]12+ ring-in-ring complex.Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; CTQ-201341097-PXunta de Galicia; EM2014/05