Prioritizing the Chicken or Egg? Electric Vehicle Purchase and Charging Infrastructure Subsidies in Germany

To meet current targets for greenhouse gas emissions in Europe, emissions, especially those originating from the road transport sector, need to be reduced. Plans are to achieve this goal by substituting fossil fuel vehicles with electric vehicles (EVs). This article first discusses conceptually the impact of an increasing share of EVs on the electricity grid and suitable locations for charging stations with examples from a Case Study in Lower Bavaria. Secondly, the impact of purchase subsidies on EV purchases in Germany, a high-income country characterized by an important automotive industry and an increasing share of private vehicles is examined. To achieve this, yearly information on EV purchases were analyzed by applying the Synthetic Control Method. Combining data from different sources including the European Alternative Fuels Observatory, Eurostat, and the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, an overall picture was developed. Results indicate a difference between private, semi-public, and public charging infrastructures. Its spatial distribution does not correspond to a specific development strategy. Moreover, EV subsidies have a limited effect in Germany when controlling for market size. Limiting the discussion to a trade-off between subsidizing infrastructures or EV purchases obviates the multidimensionality of the problem as neither of them may be sufficient to accelerate the transition per se. Furthermore, if electricity provided for EVs comes mainly from fossil carriers, the changes in the road transport sector will not yield the expected emission reductions. The transition towards renewables is directly intertwined with the effects of EVs on emission reductions in the road transport sector

Contrastación de un modelo de ciberconsumo

El consumo de productos y servicios en Internet se ha estudiado a partir de dos hipótesis, según las cuales los usuarios compran productos o contratan servicios en la medida en que la información se percibe como útil o riesgosa. Por consiguiente, la utilidad percibida supone que los protocolos de in - formación digitales tienen mayores beneficios que costos, o bien, en comparación con otros modos de comercio, Internet resulta más compatible con estilos de vida implicados en dispositivos electrónicos. Sin embargo, la percepción de riesgo es un factor que no solo inhibe las transferencias electrónicas, sino que además hace más selectiva la búsqueda y compra de bienes de consumo o la contratación de servi - cios. Precisamente, el objetivo del presente trabajo fue establecer las dimensiones de la selectividad en torno al consumo electrónico. Para tal fin, se realizó una selección no probabilística de 188 internautas a los que se aplicó un cuestionario de ciberconsumo, el cual obtuvo una consistencia interna adecuada. A partir de un modelo estructural, se estimó la validez reflectiva de cuatro indicadores del consumo en Internet. Los resultados se discuten a partir del estado actual del conocimiento

Personal Skills, Job Satisfaction, And Productivity In Members Of High Performance Teams

The intention of the study is to identify the development of personal skills, as well as the increase of job satisfaction and productivity of the employee, as a result of their participation in high performance teams. Volunteered in the study 139 members of self-managed teams belonging to the Production Area, 39 of Operational Administrative teams, 19 members of Cross-Functional teams and 6 of 6-Sigma Projects, all of them belonging to a company of the Maquiladora Industry in Tijuana, B.C., Mico. The study indicates that 100% of the members of the Production Area teams and the Operational Administrative teams developed some personal skills or increased their satisfaction or productivity as a result of their participation in some kind of self-managed team. In Cross-Functional teams members, the changes took place in the 94.3% of the cases and in the 97% of the 6-Sigma teams members. There was also a significant difference found between the results of the four types of self-managed teams studied. This paper provides information to CEOs regarding the importance of the design and the implementation of working programs for self-managed teams; these not only will strengthen the employee achievement of a greater satisfaction and productivity, but will also allow them to develop personal skills

CO2 participation in cross-linking reactions and char formation during bio-oil pyrolysis

The integration of new CO2 capture and storage technologies into energy generation processes has led to the development and study of the oxy-fuel combustion, in which the nitrogen in the air is replaced by recirculated CO2 that facilitates its capture and storage to reduce polluting emissions. Currently, the integration of oxy-fuel technologies with the use of new fuels such as bio-oil obtained from the pyrolysis of biomass is a topic of interest. In this case, the CO2 content surrounding the bio-oil droplets modifies the pyrolysis mechanism due to barriers in the diffusion of light volatiles at low temperatures (less than 200°C) and formation of char as a result of the cross-linking reactions [1] explained by the hydrolysis of the heavy fraction of bio-oil is restricted in this atmosphere. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Inspección lumínica de la Institución Educativa Nuestra Señora de la Presentación Sede Primaria con base en el Retilap

Este trabajo tiene como objetivo principal realizar la inspección de la instalación eléctrica de iluminación de la Institución Educativa Nuestra Señora de la Presentación Sede Primaria, en el municipio de la Virginia, con el fin de detectar las posibles anomalías que existan en la instalación eléctrica, y que puedan poner en riesgo la salud de profesores y estudiantes que allí realizan sus actividades de aprendizaje o enseñanza, además de realizar la medición de los niveles de iluminación de cada una de sus diferentes áreas, de tal modo que se pueda determinar si los niveles de iluminación se encuentran en el rango requerido para llevar a cabo las actividades sin que se afecte el rendimiento de los estudiantes o el normal desempeño de las personas que allí trabajan. En el desarrollo de la inspección lumínica se tendrá en cuenta lo exigido en el Reglamento Técnico de Iluminación y Alumbrado Público RETILAP, ya que se hace obligatoria la inspección de toda instalación eléctrica y lumínica para verificar que estas cumplan debidamente con dicho reglamento y verificar cuales son las fallas del sistema que no garantizan los niveles y calidades de la energía lumínica requerida en la actividad visual. Con esta inspección, se pudo observar de qué manera fueron realizadas todas las instalaciones eléctricas de iluminación y se rediseñaron cada una de las zonas inspeccionadas donde se encontraron deficiencias siguiendo los criterios establecidos en el Reglamento Técnico de Iluminación y Alumbrado Público RETILAP, la herramienta utilizada para este trabajo fue el DIAlux

Calibration and validation of ET0 through an R-CRAN code in agricultural lands of south-east Spain

Currently, water demands from urban and agricultural use are increasing, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, such as the Mediterranean. This situation is expected to become worse with the climate change projections for the region, increasing the pressure, in both quantity and quality, on fresh water resources. Evapotranspiration (ET0) is a hydrologic variable with high uncertainty and considered incorrect in water balance estimations. However, its accurate assessment is essential to obtain the real value of available water to satisfy water demands, especially in extended agricultural areas such as the south-east of Spain. ET0 can be obtained using different equations with different levels of input data requirements, among them the Penman–Monteith option is the one recommended by the FAO (PMFAO), but its input data requirements are high. On the other hand, there are simpler options, such as the Hargreaves equation (ET0,HG), but there is not such a big agreement about its accuracy in the scientific literature. The main objection to the use of PMFAO is the lack of some of the required meteorological variables in most climate stations, forcing the use of simpler alternatives. This paper presents an R-CRAN code where the ET0,HG, parameterized by Samani, is calibrated and validated with the Allen model considering 18 statistical contrasts. Both ET0,HG results (pre- and post-calibrated) are compared with daily, monthly and annual results of the PMFAO. All meteorological data was provided by the CA52 Cartagena La Aljorra weather station, managed by the Agricultural Information System of the Murcia region (SE Spain). The main results show that daily, monthly and annual ET0,HG results after the Allen calibration and validation are similar to the PMFAO. However, a moderate underestimation of ET0,HG compared to PMFAO was identified. To sum up, the presented R-CRAN code provides an alternative to apply the ET0,HG method with few meteorological input requirements and, once calibrated, can be applied to extended data networks in other regions.This work was partially supported by the project GRE17-12 of the University of Alicante. Antonio Jodar-Abellan acknowledges financial support received from the Spanish FPU scholarship for the training of university teachers. In the same way, this work has been conducted within the Cátedra del Agua of the University of Alicante (https://catedradelaguaua.org/)

Identifying optimal monitoring strategies to predict soil hydraulic characteristics and water contents by inverse modeling

Aim of study: To investigate the monitoring strategies that let us to build effective models able to best estimate water contents, θ and pressure heads, h with the least amount of data. Area of study: Field data was acquired in an experimental plot at Bahía Blanca (Argentina). Material and methods: Field data of θ(t), h(t) for six soil depth were used to optimize the SHP (θr, θs, α, n and Ks) by inverse modeling with HYDRUS 1D. Several scenarios of available data from θ(t) and h(t) were considered: (1) six monitoring depths (6-MD); (2) five monitoring depths (5-MD); (3) four monitoring depths (4-MD). Model accuracy was assessed by comparing the measured and predicted θ and h for each monitoring strategy. Additionally, field measured SHP with independent methods were compared to inversely optimized SHP. Main results: The best fit between predicted and observed θ and h was achieved with the 6-MD strategy. Nevertheless, deterioration of statistics EF and rRMSE in the 5-MD or 4-MD schemes were lower than 10%, depending on the location of the missing data. The observation points that had less importance in parameter prediction corresponded to the intermediate vadose zone and to the deeper layers. The proposed strategies presented a better performance than field measured SHP to reproduce soil water retention curves for each layer of the soil profile. Research highlights: By reducing the number of vertical observations in the profile without harming the final SHP estimation, the resources needed in data monitoring strategies can be greatly enhanced.Universidad Nacional del Sur (UNS) 24/H145; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET)

Identifying optimal monitoring strategies to predict soil hydraulic characteristics and water contents by inverse modeling

Aim of study: To investigate the monitoring strategies that let us to build effective models able to best estimate water contents, θ and pressure heads, h with the least amount of data. Area of study: Field data was acquired in an experimental plot at Bahía Blanca (Argentina). Material and methods: Field data of θ(t), h(t) for six soil depth were used to optimize the SHP (θr, θs, α, n and Ks) by inverse modeling with HYDRUS 1D. Several scenarios of available data from θ(t) and h(t) were considered: (1) six monitoring depths (6-MD); (2) five monitoring depths (5-MD); (3) four monitoring depths (4-MD). Model accuracy was assessed by comparing the measured and predicted θ and h for each monitoring strategy. Additionally, field measured SHP with independent methods were compared to inversely optimized SHP. Main results: The best fit between predicted and observed θ and h was achieved with the 6-MD strategy. Nevertheless, deterioration of statistics EF and rRMSE in the 5-MD or 4-MD schemes were lower than 10%, depending on the location of the missing data. The observation points that had less importance in parameter prediction corresponded to the intermediate vadose zone and to the deeper layers. The proposed strategies presented a better performance than field measured SHP to reproduce soil water retention curves for each layer of the soil profile. Research highlights: By reducing the number of vertical observations in the profile without harming the final SHP estimation, the resources needed in data monitoring strategies can be greatly enhanced.Fil: Scherger, Leonardo Ezequiel. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca; ArgentinaFil: Valdes Avellan Javier. Universidad de Alicante; EspañaFil: Lexow, Claudio. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Departamento de Geología; Argentin

Development of neuronal connectivity in the central nervous system of Drosophila melanogaster

Our nervous system is made of billions of neurons that process sensory information and control behavior. It is organized into circuits with specifically tuned cell-to-cell connections that are essential for proper function. During development, neurons project to remote locations in search of their synaptic partners. Surrounded by numerous cells along their trajectory and in their target area, these developing neurons ignore most neurons with which they come into contact and connect with very specific partners. The mechanisms by which presynaptic axon terminals and postsynaptic dendrites recognize each other and establish the correct number of connections with the appropriate strength are poorly understood. Sperry’s chemoaffinity hypothesis proposes that pre- and postsynaptic partners express specific combinations of molecules that enable them to recognize each other. Alternatively, Peters’ rule proposes that presynaptic axons and postsynaptic dendrites use non-partner-derived global positional cues to independently reach their target area, and once there they randomly connect with any available neuron. These connections can then be further refined by additional mechanisms based on synaptic activity. I use the Drosophila embryo and larva, a tractable model system, to test these hypotheses and elucidate the roles of 1) global positional cues, 2) partner-derived cues and 3) synaptic activity in the establishment of selective connections in the developing nerve cord. I altered the position or activity of presynaptic partners and analyzed the effect of these manipulations on number of synapses with postsynaptic partners, strength of functional connections, and behavior controlled by these neurons. For this purpose, I combined developmental live imaging, electron microscopy reconstruction of circuits, functional imaging of neuronal activity, and behavioral experiments in wildtype and experimental animals. I found that postsynaptic dendrites are able to find, recognize, and connect to their presynaptic partners even when these have been shifted to ectopic locations through the overexpression of receptors for midline guidance cues. This suggests that neurons use partner-derived cues that allow them to identify and connect to each other. However, while partner-derived cues are sufficient for recognition between specific partners and establishment of connections; without orderly positioning of axon terminals by positional cues and without synaptic activity during embryonic development, the number and strength of functional connections are altered with significant consequences for behavior. Thus, multiple mechanisms including global positional cues, partner-derived cues, and synaptic activity contribute to proper circuit assembly in the developing Drosophila nerve cord.Funding provided by HHMI

Manufacturing compliance analysis for architectural design: a knowledge-aided feature-based modeling framework

Given that achieving nominal (all dimensions are theoretically perfect) geometry is challenging during building construction, understanding and anticipating sources of geometric variation through tolerances modeling and allocation is critical. However, existing building modeling environments lack the ability to support coordinated, incremental and systematic specification of manufacturing and construction requirements. This issue becomes evident when adding multi-material systems produced off site by different vendors during building erection. Current practices to improve this situation include costly and time-consuming operations that challenge the relationship among the stakeholders of a project. As one means to overcome this issue, this research proposes the development of a knowledge-aided modeling framework that integrates a parametric CAD tool with a system modeling application to assess variability in building construction. The CAD tool provides robust geometric modeling capabilities, while System Modeling allows for the specification of feature-based manufacturing requirements aligned with construction standards and construction processes know-how. The system facilitates the identification of conflicting interactions between tolerances and manufacturing specifications of building material systems. The expected contributions of this project are the representation of manufacturing knowledge and tolerances interaction across off-site building subsystems to identify conflicting manufacturing requirements and minimize costly construction errors. The proposed approach will store and allocate manufacturing knowledge as Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) design specifications for both single and multiple material systems. Also, as new techniques in building design and construction are beginning to overlap with engineering methods and standards (e.g. in-factory prefabrication), this project seeks to create collaborative scenarios between MBSE and Building Information Modeling (BIM) based on parametric, simultaneous, software integration to reduce human-to-data translation errors, improving model consistency among domains. Important sub-stages of this project include the comprehensive review of modeling and allocation of tolerances and geometric deviations in design, construction and engineering; an approach for model integration among System Engineering models, mathematical engines and BIM (CAD) models; and finally, a demonstration computational implementation of a System-level tolerances modeling and allocation approach.Ph.D