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This paper addresses the attainment of a methodology aimed at obtaining simplified models embedding the regulatory constraints imposed by the country-specific remuneration mechanisms in the energy management system of long operating life renewable assets under a high degree of uncertainty. This methodology, composed of different steps in which sensitivity analysis as well as Monte Carlo simulation play a key role, is focused on a significant case study that has implemented two of the most widely used worldwide remuneration mechanisms in the promotion of renewable energies, i.e., feed-in tariffs and auctions. The earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization have been used as the output variable of the energy management model, as it is essential to take into account both revenues and operating costs of these renewable assets to manage them optimally. Some valid simplified models have been achieved by applying the proposed methodology to the case study with generalized errors below 5%. Specifically, one simplified energy management system model has been obtained under the feed-in tariff scheme, which involves acting on almost 40% of the equations of the original model and reducing the initial input parameters by 22%. Meanwhile, two simplified energy management system models have been obtained under the auction scheme. The most conservative simplified model involves acting on almost 50% of the equations of the original model and reducing the initial input parameters by 35%, while in the less conservative case it involves acting on more than 50% of the equations of the original model and reducing the initial input parameters by 42%. In short, although the uncertainty on the energy assets cannot be completely eliminated, it can be considerably reduced by facilitating the assessment of its prospective financial results. The validity of the achieved simplified models demonstrates the suitability and usefulness of the proposed simplifying methodology, providi, Peer Reviewed, Postprint (author's final draft)

Microsimulation is a useful tool to analyze traffic operation. On two-lane highways, the complexity of passing and the interaction with oncoming traffic requires specific models. This study focused on the development of a passing desire, decision and execution model. Results of the observation of 1752 maneuvers on 10 rural roads in Spain were used for this development. The model incorporated the effect of new factors such as available sight distance, delay and remaining travel time until the end of the highway segment. Outputs of the model were compared to observed data: firstly, individual passing maneuvers; secondly, traffic flow, percent followers and number of passing maneuvers in four single passing zones with two different traffic levels. The model was validated in four alternative passing zones

With the aim of better understanding the fusion process mediated by the envelope proteins of the hepatitis G virus (HGV/GBV-C), we have investigated the interaction with model membranes of two overlapping peptides [(267–284) and (279–298)] belonging to the E2 structural protein. The peptides were compared for their ability to perturb lipid bilayers by means of different techniques such as differential scanning calorimetry and fluorescence spectroscopy. Furthermore, the conformational behaviour of the peptides in different membrane environments was studied by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and circular dichroism. The results showed that only the E2(279–298) peptide sequence was able to bind with high affinity to negatively charged membranes, to permeabilize efficiently negative lipid bilayers, to induce haemolysis, and to promote inter-vesicle fusion. This fusogenic activity could be related to the induced peptide conformation upon interaction with the target membrane.