Sustainable driving operations of urban plugin hybrid buses considering restricted emission mapping zones

Road traffic is the major source of air and noise pollution. It is also one of the largest contributors to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Transport electrification can significantly reduce these negative externalities. However, electric buses do not often meet public transport requirements, due to their limited battery capacity. In contrast, plug-in hybrid electric buses offer a versatile alternative, providing zero-emission capabilities that depend on battery capacity, charging frequency, and the distribution of electric drive along a route. However, current electric drive assignment systems are oversimplified, thus not fully leveraging their potential. This work extends our previous research, which introduced a novel combinatorial optimization problem aimed at determining optimal electric drive assignment strategies for Plugin Electric Hybrid (PEH) buses. A large number of bus lines as well as zero-emission and restricted-emission zones are considered. The objectives are to maximize the buses’ electric range and minimize the overall pollution while adhering to mandatory zero-emission and restricted-emission zones. In this study, we analyze seventy bus lines from Barcelona’s urban public bus network (Spain), and tackled this large problem with two parallel implementations of the Cooperative Co-evolutionary Multi-objective Cellular Genetic Algorithm (CCMOCell). The strategies provided by both CCMOCell versions are validated against GreenK, a state of the art heuristic that only focuses on the electric range. Results demonstrate that the obtained solutions achieve up to 7.67% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO) emissions, compared to GreenK, at the cost of a slight decrease in terms of electric range, i.e. 2.28%. However, the strategy found by GreenK is unfeasible, because it exceeds the pollution threshold established for one restricted-emission zone by 635 COkilograms per day

Electric Drive Assignment Strategies Optimization for Plugin Hybrid Urban Buses on Tailored Emissions Mapping

Traffic congestion, noise and tailpipe emissions are negative externalities from transportation that need to be reduced to make cities more livable. Electric buses can help significantly reducing noise and tailpipe emissions. However, they provide nowadays limited range due to battery capacity, affecting their operating flexibility. Plug-in electric hybrid buses are a versatile solution that offer certain zero-emission capability, which de-pends on the battery capacity and how electric drive is distributed over a route. This is managed by an electric drive assignment system that determines the optimal locations to use the electric motor. Today's assignment systems are in their early development stages, and do not exploit the full potentials. This work introduces a novel combinatorial optimization problem to find optimal electric drive assignment strategies for a number of bus lines under the presence of zero- and restricted-emissions zones. The latter is a new concept introduced here where tailpipe emissions are allowed but restricted to a predefined limit. The goal is to maximize the electric range of the buses and minimize the total pollution emitted, while at the same time complying with the mandatory zero-emission zones and the restricted-emission zones. CCMOCell, a parallel Cooperative Co-evolutionary version of the well-known Multi-objective Cellular genetic algorithm, MOCell, is proposed to solve the problem, and solutions are compared against those found by MOCell itself, and validated using a heuristic from the literature, GreenK. Six lines from Barcelona's bus network (Spain), are considered, and real topological data obtained from administrations and digital elevation models are used. The two multi-objective algorithms reduced pollutant emissions by up to 20% with respect to GreenK. Also, CCMOCell outperformed it in terms of electric range by up to 6.26%

Lecciones básicas de Derecho e instituciones de la Unión Europea

Los materiales docentes que aquí se presentan pretenden ser un texto de ayuda y consulta para aquellos que se acercan al Derecho de la Unión Europea; en ellos no sólo se contienen los conceptos básicos de la materia, sino que se han añadido a éstos, una serie de actividades didácticas y formativas específicamente orientadas al estudiante, y que le han de servir como instrumento para poder asentar sus conocimientos mediante la realización de prácticas y autoevaluaciones.The teaching materials presented here are intended as a help text and consultation for those who come to the European Union law; they not only contain the basic concepts of matter, but that have been added to these, a series of educational activities and training specifically geared toward the student, and that you have to serve as the instrument to be able to hone their knowledge through practical work and self-evaluations

Experiencias de Innovación docente en los Estudios Jurídicos: una visión práctica

Esta publicación se enmarca dentro de las actividades del Grupo de Investigación de la Universidad de Extremadura Fiscalitas & Iuris.Este trabajo surge con el objetivo principal de dar visibilidad y publicidad a las nuevas técnicas docentes en el seno de la Facultad de Derecho de la UEx. Como se sabe, se ha producido un innegable y significativo avance en el uso de nuevas técnicas docentes y también de las TICs aplicadas a la docencia en la Facultad de Derecho, no obstante, aún es necesario profundizar en el uso de las mismas y extenderlas entre todos los miembros del claustro de profesores, y fundamentalmente entre aquellos que llevan más años ejerciendo la docencia a través de la colaboración y la coordinación con los profesores noveles, que son quienes principalmente se sirven en mayor medida de tales instrumentos docentes. De otra parte, también era necesario que los docentes más experimentados pudieran encontrar un foro en el que transmitir y compartir con los noveles cuales son las técnicas e instrumentos docentes que ellos han venido utilizando durante el ejercicio de su magisterio, de modo que, en el marco de una relación sinalagmática, se produjera una interacción entre uno u otro grupo de docentes, a fin de fomentar el necesario debate y el intercambio de experiencias e instrumentos docentes, y en su caso el desarrollo y perfeccionamiento de los mismos; algo que hemos pretendido realizar con este trabajo, y que en buena medida hemos logrado. Las finalidades y objetivos concretos que perseguíamos, en atención a la situación expuesta eran fundamentalmente tres: • En primer lugar, la implementación de un proyecto de innovación docente integrado por una diversidad de actividades coordinadas, cada uno de ellas bajo la directa coordinación de un profesor o profesora de la UEx, aplicado a una o varias asignaturas impartidas en la Facultad de Derecho. • En segundo lugar, el establecimiento en la Facultad de Derecho de un foro de coordinación e intercambio de buenas prácticas docentes sobre la base de cada uno de las actividades coordinadas, en el que pudieran participar profesores noveles y veteranos. Para ello se desarrolló espacio virtual de innovación docente en estudios jurídicos, a través del Campus Virtual de la UEx, en el que los Profesores noveles y veteranos pudieron y puede compartir recursos e informaciones sobre prácticas de innovación. • Y, en tercer lugar, la difusión y consolidación de instrumentos de innovación docente directamente aplicadas a la docencia de los estudios jurídicos, mediante la transferencia de los resultados y la publicación de los mismos; a fin de que esta transferencia sirva de base a futuras profundizaciones en el campo de la innovación docente en los estudios jurídicos.Proyecto “Desarrollo, profundización e intercambio de buenas prácticas de innovación docente en la Facultad de Derecho” (UEx 2015-2016

Protohistoric mining in the Extremadura: The case of in the Cerro de San Cristóbal de Logrosán (Cáceres)

Este artículo resume los trabajos realizados en el Cerro de San Cristóbal (Logrosán, Cáceres) entre  1998  y 2002.  Dichos  trabajos,  impulsados  por  el Dr.  Craig  Merideth  hasta  su muerte en 2005,  permitieron  reconocer  un asentamiento  minero-metalúrgico especializado  en el be- nef icio de la casiterita. Pese a estar muy alterado por las explotaciones de los años cincuenta del siglo XX, se pudieron  documentar  restos de cabañas,  trazas de labores  antiguas  y ciertos aspectos de la “cadena operativa” de la explotación y uso del estaño en este enclave. Todo ello  se enmarca  en un contexto  crono-cultural  de los  siglos  IX/VIII-VII/VI  a.C.,  durante  el cual el actual territorio extremeño se conformó como periferia tartésica. Por otra parte, se avanzan los resultados metalúrgicos preliminares de las nuevas actuaciones llevadas a cabo en 2013 en el Cerro de San Cristóbal  tras su declaración  como “geositio”  dentro del Geoparque “Villuercas-Ibores-Jara”.In this paper the archaeological work carried out in Cerro de San Cristóbal (Logrosán, Cáceres) during the period 1998 to 2002 is summarized. The work, led by Dr. Craig Merideth until his  death  in 2005, allowed  to document  what was interpreted  as a mining-metallurgical site specialized  in the  treatment  of cassiterite.  Despite  being  the prehistoric  layers  disturbed by  contemporary,  1950´s,  mining  works,  it  was  possible  to  document  traces  of  prehistoric mining,  remains  of  elliptical  huts  and  some  of  the  steps  of  the  proposed  operational  chain for the mining and processing of tin in the site. The chronological/cultural context for the archaeological register was placed between the 9th-8th/7th-6th  centuries B.C., during which the present-day Extremadura territory was conformed as a Tartesian periphery. Also, the preliminary metallurgical results of the recent (summer 2013, after its declaration as a “Geosite” within the “Villuercas-Ibores-Jara” Geopark) archaeological  excavation in Cerro de San Cristóbal are presented

Relationship between self-reported dietary intake and physical activity levels among adolescents: The HELENA study

Background Evidence suggests possible synergetic effects of multiple lifestyle behaviors on health risks like obesity and other health outcomes. Therefore it is important to investigate associations between dietary and physical activity behavior, the two most important lifestyle behaviors influencing our energy balance and body composition. The objective of the present study is to describe the relationship between energy, nutrient and food intake and the physical activity level among a large group of European adolescents. Methods The study comprised a total of 2176 adolescents (46.2% male) from ten European cities participating in the HELENA (Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence) study. Dietary intake and physical activity were assessed using validated 24-h dietary recalls and self-reported questionnaires respectively. Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA) were used to compare the energy and nutrient intake and the food consumption between groups of adolescents with different physical activity levels (1st to 3rd tertile). Results In both sexes no differences were found in energy intake between the levels of physical activity. The most active males showed a higher intake of polysaccharides, protein, water and vitamin C and a lower intake of saccharides compared to less active males. Females with the highest physical activity level consumed more polysaccharides compared to their least active peers. Male and female adolescents with the highest physical activity levels, consumed more fruit and milk products and less cheese compared to the least active adolescents. The most active males showed higher intakes of vegetables and meat, fish, eggs, meat substitutes and vegetarian products compared to the least active ones. The least active males reported the highest consumption of grain products and potatoes. Within the female group, significantly lower intakes of bread and cereal products and spreads were found for those reporting to spend most time in moderate to vigorous physical activity. The consumption of foods from the remaining food groups, did not differ between the physical activity levels in both sexes. Conclusion It can be concluded that dietary habits diverge between adolescents with different self-reported physical activity levels. For some food groups a difference in intake could be found, which were reflected in differences in some nutrient intakes. It can also be concluded that physically active adolescents are not always inclined to eat healthier diets than their less active peers.The HELENA study took place with the financial support of the European Community Sixth RTD Framework Programme (Contract FOOD-CT: 2005-007034). This work was also partially supported by the European Union, in the framework of the Public Health Programme (ALPHA project, Ref: 2006120), the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (FAS), the Spanish Ministry of Education (EX-2007-1124, and EX-2008-0641), and the Spanish Ministry of Health, Maternal, Child Health and Development Network (number RD08/0072) (JPRL, LAM)