Multi-criteria analysis applied to multi-objective optimal pump scheduling in water systems

This work presents a multi-criteria-based approach to automatically select specific non-dominated solutions from a Pareto front previously obtained using multi-objective optimization to find optimal solutions for pump control in a water supply system. Optimal operation of pumps in these utilities is paramount to enable water companies to achieve energy efficiency in their systems. The Fuzzy Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (FTOPSIS) is used to rank the Pareto solutions found by the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-II) employed to solve the multi-objective problem. Various scenarios are evaluated under leakage uncertainty conditions, resulting in fuzzy solutions for the Pareto front. This paper shows the suitability of the approach for quasi real-world problems. In our case-study, the obtained solutions for scenarios including leakage represent the best trade-off among the optimal solutions, under some considered criteria, namely, operational cost, operational lack of service, pressure uniformity and network resilience. Potential future developments could include the use of clustering alternatives to evaluate the goodness of each solution under the considered evaluation criteria

THE DRIFT OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC FUNCTIONALISM.

Abstract: In the wider scenario of the internationalization of legal concepts, marked by phenomena of legal transplants, migration of constitutional ideas, constitutional dialogues, …, the constitutional foundations and their related historical semantics are manipulated by the international process. The “legal flows” have emerged as useful tools to move concepts, cultures and histories through the formal channels of the legislative and judicial processes. Geopolitical relationships of power and especially of economic interest are hidden behind the “dialogues”, covered by words that “do not cost” and in the dialogue between courts, fundamental rights are de-socialized, eradicated from their related social context. In this framework, the continuous migration flows have cultural elements suitable to require new forms of local interaction, a new governance for the future sustainability that takes into account changes on the territory, possible socio-environmental conflicts, a new balance between nature and human structures, a new relationship between the local environment, people's movements and human rights. The European constitutionalism of the global era discusses the “culture of rights” by linking the constitutional development of the irreversible conquest of “new” rights, within a “neutral” framework of economic development and apart from the role of the state within the development itself.  RESUMO: No cenário mais amplo da internacionalização dos conceitos jurídicos, marcado por fenômenos de legal transplants, migração de ideias constitucionais, diálogos constitucionais, ..., as bases constitucionais e sua semântica históricos são manipulados pelo processo internacional. Os "legal flows" surgiram como úteis para mover conceitos, culturas e histórias através dos canais formais dos processos legislativos e judiciais. Relações geopolíticas do poder e, especialmente, de interesse económico estão escondidos por "diálogos" e por palavras que "não custam"; no diálogo entre os tribunais, os direitos fundamentais são deslocalizados, arrancados de seu contexto social. Neste quadro, os fluxos migratórios contínuos têm elementos culturais apropriados para exigir novas formas de interação local, uma nova governança para a sustentabilidade futura que leva em conta as mudanças no território, os possíveis conflitos sócio-ambientais, um novo equilíbrio entre a natureza e estruturas humanas , uma nova relação entre o meio ambiente local, os movimentos das pessoas e os direitos humanos. O constitucionalismo europeu da era global discute a "cultura de direitos", relacionando o desenvolvimento constitucional da conquista irreversível de "novos" direitos, dentro de um quadro "neutro" do desenvolvimento económico e para além do papel do estado dentro do próprio desenvolvimento

THE DRIFT OF THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC FUNCTIONALISM.

Abstract: In the wider scenario of the internationalization of legal concepts, marked by phenomena of legal transplants, migration of constitutional ideas, constitutional dialogues, …, the constitutional foundations and their related historical semantics are manipulated by the international process. The “legal flows” have emerged as useful tools to move concepts, cultures and histories through the formal channels of the legislative and judicial processes. Geopolitical relationships of power and especially of economic interest are hidden behind the “dialogues”, covered by words that “do not cost” and in the dialogue between courts, fundamental rights are de-socialized, eradicated from their related social context. In this framework, the continuous migration flows have cultural elements suitable to require new forms of local interaction, a new governance for the future sustainability that takes into account changes on the territory, possible socio-environmental conflicts, a new balance between nature and human structures, a new relationship between the local environment, people's movements and human rights. The European constitutionalism of the global era discusses the “culture of rights” by linking the constitutional development of the irreversible conquest of “new” rights, within a “neutral” framework of economic development and apart from the role of the state within the development itself.  RESUMO: No cenário mais amplo da internacionalização dos conceitos jurídicos, marcado por fenômenos de legal transplants, migração de ideias constitucionais, diálogos constitucionais, ..., as bases constitucionais e sua semântica históricos são manipulados pelo processo internacional. Os "legal flows" surgiram como úteis para mover conceitos, culturas e histórias através dos canais formais dos processos legislativos e judiciais. Relações geopolíticas do poder e, especialmente, de interesse económico estão escondidos por "diálogos" e por palavras que "não custam"; no diálogo entre os tribunais, os direitos fundamentais são deslocalizados, arrancados de seu contexto social. Neste quadro, os fluxos migratórios contínuos têm elementos culturais apropriados para exigir novas formas de interação local, uma nova governança para a sustentabilidade futura que leva em conta as mudanças no território, os possíveis conflitos sócio-ambientais, um novo equilíbrio entre a natureza e estruturas humanas , uma nova relação entre o meio ambiente local, os movimentos das pessoas e os direitos humanos. O constitucionalismo europeu da era global discute a "cultura de direitos", relacionando o desenvolvimento constitucional da conquista irreversível de "novos" direitos, dentro de um quadro "neutro" do desenvolvimento económico e para além do papel do estado dentro do próprio desenvolvimento

How do Supranational Processes Anesthetize National Political Powers?

The theme of revision of the Constitution is a central point in the analysis of the constitutional text and its relationship with the State and popular sovereignty. On one hand, it is linked to a question of legitimacy and effectiveness of the regulations, given that it represents the process of written rules; on the other hand, it is also linked to the recognition of the authority of “pouvoir constituant” on which the whole legitimacy of the Constitution is based. But in the global scenario, characterized by an indefinite multiplication of sovereignties, where the law is fragmented into the “law of peculiarity”, the law of global market exchanges produces not only anti‑states but also undemocratic effects

How do Supranational Processes Anesthetize National Political Powers?

The theme of revision of the Constitution is a central point in the analysis of the constitutional text and its relationship with the State and popular sovereignty. On one hand, it is linked to a question of legitimacy and effectiveness of the regulations, given that it represents the process of written rules; on the other hand, it is also linked to the recognition of the authority of “pouvoir constituant” on which the whole legitimacy of the Constitution is based. But in the global scenario, characterized by an indefinite multiplication of sovereignties, where the law is fragmented into the “law of peculiarity”, the law of global market exchanges produces not only anti‑states but also undemocratic effects

Biological activity of Citrus spp. metabolites on Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann).

The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is one of the most injurious pest at global level. During the last years, several electrophysiological and behavioural studies have been carried out in order to investigate plant volatile compound-insect interactions with the aim to use this knowledge in sustainable control techniques. It has been observed that lemons are not attacked by medfly, probably because of the peel oil, that is toxic to other fruit flies. In the present paper electrophysiological recordings were conducted to evaluate the insect sensitivity to peel extract and peel oil of two Sicilian cultivars (Interdonato and Lunario) of Citrus x limon (L.) Burm.f. on C. capitata females. Behavioural bioassays were also performed to show their possible biological activity (repellent, antioviposition, insecticidal). C. limon peel extracts in different solvents (petroleum ether, dichloromethane and methanol) were investigated at various concentrations using a single cell recording technique (stimulation of tarsal taste chemosensilla). Different tarsal taste cell responses to the two cultivars were recorded. The higher sensitivity was evoked by C. limon Interdonato, particularly to the methanol extract, which elicited significant increases in the spike frequency at increasing concentrations. The peel oil of the same cultivars as well as that ones of other two C. limon varieties (Monachello and Femminello) have been tested by EAG techniques. The EAG data showed a high sensitivity (about -8.0/8.5mV) of the medfly antennae to the oils of Citrus spp. and a clear dose-response relationship. Responses of adult females (virgin and mated) to Citrus spp. peel extract were quantified in a double-choice test using yellow spheres (diameter 7.0cm) housed in field cages. Preliminary tests conducted on three extracts of C. limon Interdonato and Lunario have provided interesting results. It was recorded a general decrease of the oviposition on treated spheres compared to control and in the case of the cultivar Lunario, a mortality of insects

Low-cost and environmentally friendly physic-mechanical pre-treatments to recycle lithium iron phosphate cathodes

Recycling Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries is challenging, as their low economic value hinders the profitability of full-scale processes. Optimized pre-treatments are crucial for the overall efficiency and economic profitability of recycling processes. This study explored chemicals-free physic-mechanical pre-treatment processes aimed to detach waste LFP cathodes (production scraps and end-of-life, EoL) from aluminium current collectors. The technical performances of ultrasounds (35 kHz, in water at 25 °C for 5, 15, 30 min), ball milling (840–1080 rpm for 8, 16, 24 min), and thermal treatment (30 min at 200, 250, 300, 350,°C) coupled with ball milling (840 rpm for 5 min) have been compared. Environmental impacts and economic cost were calculated based on energy demand. The highest separation efficiency achieved were 95 ± 5% for Li, 99 ± 6% for Fe, and 80 ± 3% for P in scrap cathodes, treated at 200 °C for 30 min and ball milled at 840 rpm for 5 min; 93 ± 15% for Li, 97 ± 21% for Fe and 82 ± 20% for P in EoL cathodes, treated at 250 °C for 30 min and ball milled. The global warming impacts were: 3.33 ± 0.55 kg CO2 eq/kg of detached cathode for scraps and 3.08 ± 0.25 kg CO2 eq/kg for EoL cathodes; the costs were 1.45 ± 0.24 €/kg of detached cathode for production scraps samples and 1.34 ± 0.11 €/kg for EOL samples. In conclusion, chemicals-free mechanical detachment was effective both for production scraps and EoL cathodes, while thermal treatment was especially beneficial for EoL cathodes, and reducing milling time improved the environmental impacts and costs of the pre-treatment processes

Material Flow Analysis of Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling in Europe: Environmental and Economic Implications

This study aimed at a quantitative analysis of the material flows associated with End of Life (EoL) lithium-ion batteries’ (LIBs) materials in Europe. The European electric vehicles fleet in 2020 was taken as a case study, assuming a 10-year lifetime for the batteries and that the related EoL LIBs would be processed by existing recycling plants via pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy, or their combination in sequence. The economic implications (recycling operative costs compared to the revenues from the sales of the recycled metals) and the environmental performances (CO2 eq. emitted, energy demand and circularity performances) were assessed. Based on the gathered results, the existing European recycling capacity will overlook over 78% of the forecasted EoL LIBs. The treatment efficiencies of the full-scale recycling processes allow for the recovery of over 90% of copper, cobalt, nickel, and manganese, 87% of aluminum, and only 42% of lithium and 35% of iron entering the recycling facilities. In overall, LIBs recycling in 2030 will involve the emission of 3.7 Mt of CO2 eq. and an energy demand of 33.6 GWh. Hydrometallurgy presents the best economic and environmental trade-off compared to other recycling strategies. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that current European LIBs’ recycling infrastructure will be inadequate in the near future and the direction (i.e., hydrometallurgy) that its strengthening should pursue

STUDYING THE “LEGAL FLOWS” AS A MULTIDISCIPLINARY METHOD TO PROMOTE CONSTITUTIONALISM AS A COMMON PROPERTY OF MANKIND

This paper tackles the problems concerned the constitutional comparison, paying special attention to the “legal flows” in the Era of globalization of information and legal practices. With “legal flows” we mean the communicative interactions that occur between the legal operators from different parts of the world. These “flows” produce “imitations”, judicial dialogue, migrations of constitutional ideas, constitutional borrowing between various legal orders. The analysis of these dynamic phenomena requires two methodological needs: the transdisciplinarity opening to social history, to sociolinguistics and anthropology of communication; and the knowledge of the ideological dimensions of geopolitics and geography in the globalized Era. The comparison of “legal flows” becomes a necessary tool for the contemporary education of each legal scholar, dealing him to be used to dialogue, to accept the “other”, to understand the difficulties of the comparison and the respect of the complexity of cultures. This is the only way to promote constitutionalism as common property of mankind

A mathematical model for Alzheimer's disease: An approach via stochastic homogenization of the Smoluchowski equation

In this note, we apply the theory of stochastic homogenization to find the asymptotic behavior of the solution of a set of Smoluchowski's coagulation-diffusion equations with non-homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions. This system is meant to model the aggregation and diffusion of β-amyloid peptide (Aβ) in the cerebral tissue, a process associated with the development of Alzheimer's disease. In contrast to the approach used in our previous works, in the present paper we account for the non-periodicity of the cellular structure of the brain by assuming a stochastic model for the spatial distribution of neurons. Further, we consider non-periodic random diffusion coefficients for the amyloid aggregates and a random production of Aβ in the monomeric form at the level of neuronal membranes