This thesis takes EV from the late 90’s as a baseline, assess the capability of today’s EV technology, and establishes its near-term and long-term prospects. Simulations are performed to evaluate EVs with different combinations of new electric machines and battery chemistries. Cost assessment is also presented to address the major challenge of EV commercialization. This assessment is based on two popular vehicle classes: subcompact and mid-size. Fuel, electricity and battery costs are taken into consideration for this study. Despite remaining challenges and concerns, this study shows that with production level increases and battery price-drops, full function EVs could dominate the market in the longer term. The modeling shows that from a technical and performance standpoint both range and recharge times already fall into a window of practicality, with few if any compromises relative to conventional vehicles. Electric vehicles are the most sustainable alternative personal transportation technology available to-date. With continuing breakthroughs, minimal change to the power grid, and optimal GHG reductions, emerging electric vehicle performance is unexpectedly high.

A Sliding Mode Control System for a Bidirectional DCDC Converter was designed and a low voltage prototype was constructed. The control system based its decisions solely on the latest available measurements, which improves performance when changing operative quadrant, since no memory needs reinitializing (such as for PI and state prediction methods). A boost control philosophy was presented, based on a current source approximation. The control was found to be stable without steady-state errors when the variance of the input/output dynamics was high. The target application for the DCDC Converter is an EV (Electric Vehicle) with a flywheel driveline, which puts additional requirements of the converter. Among these are current and voltage control, bidirectionality, and a broad input voltage range. Simulations were performed in Simulink prior to physical implementation, proving functionality of the proposed control system. The physical implementation of the control was done on a digital signal processor with code compiled from C. A median filter was designed to increase measurement efficiency for the current sensors which had shot-like noise distortions.

Background: What is a share and what determines the value of a company? This is a constant issue that many in the financial world are facing. Many argue that there has been some decoupling between stock valuation and how the company in question is developing operationally after the financial crisis that the world faced during 2008-2009. Problem: It is important to distinguish between the company and the share. A company that is good and well maintained may not be worth buying only because of it. The share is judged by other elements also. It can be a problem when people doesn´t make this distinction. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to test the following hypothesis: The higher operating profit (performance) a company has, the higher will the valuation for the share on the market be. Question: Is there a relationship between a listed company's operating performance and its share valuation? Method: In our study we will focus on figures from annual reports, called "hard" data and therefore it is most natural to make use of the quantitative research approach. One reason that we chose the deductive approach is that it usually forms the basis for our research strategy. Theory: We use key performance indicators that measure the operational development of the business and sets them against the key indicators for the stock valuation. The following ratios are used for operational activities; Solidity, revenue growth, return on equity and return on capital employed. The figures for stock valuation is EV/EBIT and P/E-ratio. Conclusion: There is a weak positive correlation between a company's operational development and its share valuation, but it is very weak when looking at a sample group as a whole. In individual cases, there is relatively strong correlation.

Power converters are used in many distributed energy resources (DER) applications. With proper controls, DER systems can reduce losses and achieve higher energy efficiency if various power sources and loads are integrated through DC bus. High voltage electric vehicle (EV) DC charging station is becoming popular in order to reduce charging time and improve energy efficiency. A DC EV charging station model involving photovoltaic, energy storage system (ESS), fuel cell and DC loads is studied in this work. A dynamic programming technique that considers various uncertainties involved in the system is adopted to obtain optimal dispatch of ESS and fuel cell system. The effects of different tariffs, demand response programs and contract capacities of demand in the power scheduling are investigated and the results are presented.

This thesis evaluates emerging electric vehicle technology and estimates what effect it might have on how an oil company decides on its gas station network. It is conducted using data from South Korea, a country poised for a fast adoption of electric vehicles. The study first reviews the literature to gather reasonable cases of electric vehicle penetration. Also, after researching technology-diffusion theories, the study selects a model that can well explain the literature review data. The scenarios induced by this function are utilized as the main uncertainties confronting an oil company’s network decision model. Based on a probabilistic simulation, the study finds that the effects of technology diffusion alter the priority order of an oil company’s network decision alternatives. Namely, after the overall uncertainty level rises, directly owning gas station, with its heavy initial investment, is not preferred for an oil company’s network strategy. From the result, the study also estimates the scale of the new technology’s effect. Such effect is found to be significant enough to alter a part of an oil company’s retail strategy. Nevertheless, such effect cannot be shown to be so great as to change the current retail oil market structures. / text

There has been a significant increase in private vehicle ownership in the last decade leading to substantial increase in air pollution, depleting fuel reserves, etc. One of the alternatives known as battery operated electric vehicles (BEVs) has the potential to reduce carbon footprints due to lesser or no emissions and thus the focus on shifting people from gasoline operated vehicles (GVs) to BEVs has increased considerably recently. However, BEVs have a limited ‘range’ and takes considerable time to completely recharge its battery. In addition, charging stations are not as pervasive as gasoline stations. As a result a new fear of getting stranded is observed in BEV drivers, known as range anxiety. Range anxiety has the potential to substantially affect the route choice of a BEV user. It has also been a major cause of lower market shares of BEVs. Range anxiety is a latent feeling which cannot be measured directly. It is not homogenous either and varies among different socio-economic groups. Thus, a better understanding of BEV users’ behavior may shed light on some potential solutions that can then be used to improve their market shares and help in developing new network models which can realistically capture effects of varying EV adoptions. Thus, in this study, we analyze the factors that may impact BEV users’ range anxiety in addition to their route choice behavior using the integrated choice latent variable model (ICLV) proposed by Bhat and Dubey (2014). Our results indicate that an individual’s range anxiety is significantly affected by their age, gender, income, awareness of charging stations, BEV ownership and other category vehicle ownership. Further, it also highlights the importance of including disutility caused by distance while considering network flow models with combined GV and BEV assignment. Finally, a more concentrated effort can be directed towards increasing the awareness of charging station locations in the neighborhood to help reduce the psychological barrier associated with range anxiety. Overcoming this barrier may help increase consumer confidence, resulting in increased BEV adoption and ultimately will lead towards a potentially pollution-free environment. / text

Educar es una tarea compleja que exige un trabajo constante y sistemático, además de una vocación esencial para ir superando los obstáculos que se nos presentan a diario y dada la naturaleza del proceso de evaluación del aprendizaje, en nuestro caso la adquisición de Inglés en el contexto de lengua extranjera (EFL), parece lógico pensar que ello requiere que, por un lado, el profesor posea un posicionamiento pedagógico y un conocimiento de la materia que enseña y de su estructura interna y, por otro, que exista una planificación y programación para dar respuesta a los interrogantes: ¿qué, cómo y cuándo enseñar y evaluar? Igualmente, es importante que el profesor asuma un enfoque multivariado hacia la enseñanza- aprendizaje y evaluación para promover la apropiación de hechos, conceptos, principios, procesos, valores y actitudes en congruencia con un proceso evaluativo que permite a los alumnos expresar sus percepciones, opiniones, sentimientos sobre su aprendizaje, el desarrollo del programa y el desenvolvimiento del profesor desde un enfoque formativo complementado con un enfoque formador. Con este planteamiento en mente se elaboró un marco teórico donde se indagaron las propuestas actuales de la evaluación de programas, la evaluación del aprendizaje y la evaluación del aprendizaje de Inglés. Todo ello bajo una metodología centrada en la mejora de la cultura de evaluación formativa del Área de Inglés de la Universidad de Los Andes Táchira a través de una fase diagnóstica y una intervención dirigida a la mejora de los programas, la sensibilización del profesorado y la aplicación de un modelo de evaluación formativa. Los resultados nos llevaron a concluir que el programa constituye el punto de referencia de la práctica docente y que la evaluación formativa conduce al aprendizaje significativo del alumno y del profesor. / Teaching is a complex activity which demands a constant and systematic process and an essential vocation to overcome the obstacles that arise daily and due to the nature of the assessment process, in our case English as a foreign language (EFL), it seems logical to think that it conveys an educational posture and a practical and methodological approach by the teacher as well as a knowledge of the subject he is teaching, altogether with a syllabus that can answer the questions of what, how and when to teach and to assess? At the same time, if the teacher assumes a multivariate theoretical, practical and pragmatic posture towards evaluation through the appropriation of facts, concepts, principles, procedures, algorithms, etc. combined with the sensibility to let students express their perceptions, feelings and opinions about his learning process, the syllabus, and the methodology of the teacher from on a formative approach, an interesting combination arises that promotes personal and professional growth. With these principles in mind, the theoretical framework was based on the syllabus design, the assessment of the teaching-learning process, and the assessment of the English language learning. The methodology involved the improvement of the culture of formative assessment of the English Area in the Language Department of the Universidad de Los Andes Táchira through a diagnostic phase and a proposal to improve the syllabuses, induce teacher reflection and develop a formative approach to English assessment in the English classroom. It was concluded that the syllabus is the point of reference to the educational process and that formative assessment induces meaningful learning of the student and the teacher.

Plasma contains small, non-protein coding RNA species, microRNAs (miRNAs). Circulating miRNAs originate from tissues throughout the body and circulate in the blood bound to proteins or encapsulated in extracellular vesicles (EVs). The pattern of circulating miRNAs changes in different pathological states, leading to the hypothesis that they could act as biomarkers or mediators of inter-organ signalling. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is associated with high morbidity worldwide. Recent work has highlighted a potential role for EV signalling in the delivery of functional exogenous miRNA into kidney cells, which may contribute to the pathogenesis of AKI. The studies described in this thesis investigate the effects of circulating miRNAs on renal proximal tubular (PT) cells. Utilising next generation sequencing technology, circulating miRNA profiles were demonstrated to change significantly following myocardial injury. These findings were translated from humans into a mouse model of myocardial injury. Investigation of EV cell signalling, using flow cytometry and nanoparticle tracking analysis, demonstrated that PT cell EV uptake was not affected by known physiological agonists. By contrast, EV release from PT cells was regulated by purinergic P2Y1 and dopamine D1 receptors. Toxic cisplatin injury of PT cells resulted in increased EV release and reduced EV uptake in a dose-dependent manner. Cisplatin toxicity in PT cells was unaffected by EVs from mice with myocardial injury, but toxicity was reduced by EVs from mice with drug-induced liver injury (DILI). Circulating EVs from mice with DILI transferred the liver specific miRNA, miR-122, into PT cells in both in vivo and in vitro models. The consequence of miR-122 transfer was modulation of downstream target genes including Foxo3 which has been implicated in cell injury by apoptosis. These findings therefore show that circulatory miRNA profiles change in different models of organ injury and suggest miRNAs can be transferred to PT cells in vivo and in vitro. The improved viability of injured PT cells following co-incubation with DILI EVs, and subsequent transcriptomic work, suggests this may be as a consequence of miRNA transfer. In conclusion, circulatory miRNAs may act as mediators of inter-organ signalling and could play a crucial role in the propagation of systemic illness.

Debatten kring huruvida det är möjligt att överavkasta aktiemarknaden över tid har existerat i många år. Forskare som Eugene Fama (1965) konkluderar att aktiemarknader i allmänhet är effektiva och menar att högre avkastning inte kan genereras utan ökat risktagande. Andra forskare som exempelvis Shiller (2003) har dock dragit slutsatsen att det finns investeringsstrategier som överavkastar marknaden över tid. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka effektiviteten på den nordiska aktiemarknaden genom att utvärdera prestationen av olika portföljer sammansatta av utvalda nyckeltal. Vidare utreder författarna huruvida valet av beräkningsmodell påverkar bedömningen av portföljernas prestationer.   Studien utreder samtliga kombinationer av variablerna EV/S, EV/EBIT och momentum. De första två nyckeltalen beaktar bolagets värde (EV) i relation till dess försäljning (S) respektive vinst (EBIT). Den tredje variabeln som undersöks i studien är momentum, vilket är en indikator som används för att finna de aktier som ökat mest i pris den senaste tiden. Tidigare forskning visar att kombinationen av värdeaktier (exempelvis EV/S och EV/EBIT) och momentum kan generera överavkastning tack vare en negativ korrelation mellan variablerna. För att utreda hur samtliga kombinationer presterar så skapas portföljer sammansatta av de olika nyckeltalen. Studien undersöker hur portföljerna presterar över en tioårsperiod på den nordiska aktiemarknaden. Portföljerna utvärderas med hjälp av tre olika teoretiska beräkningsmodeller som alla är vedertagna inom anomali-forskningen. Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) skattar portföljers avkastning baserat på den tagna risken, trefaktormodellen inkluderar även proportionen småbolag och andelen värdeaktier medan fyrfaktormodellen inkorporerar momentum som en ytterligare faktor.     Studien resulterar i att fem av de totalt sju portföljerna genererar en riskjusterad avkastning som skiljer sig från marknaden. Författarna kan konkludera att tre av dessa överavkastar marknaden medan två uppvisar en lägre riskjusterad avkastning än index. Portföljer innehållandes nyckeltalet EV/S presterar generellt sett undermåligt medan EV/EBIT ingår i flertalet framgångsrika portföljer.  Författarna kan se tendenser till att kombinationer av värdenyckeltal genererar extra värde samt att momentum i kombination med värdenycketal verkar vara fördelaktigt. De sistnämnda slutsatserna kan dock inte statistiskt säkerställas eftersom ingen av de undersökta kombinationerna var signifikant bättre än beståndsdelarna separat. Beroende på vilken av CAPM, trefaktormodellen eller fyrfaktormodellen som används för att skatta portföljernas prestationer varierar antalet signifikanta överpresterande portföljer. Författarna drar därav slutsatsen att det är viktigt att betänka valet av vilken beräkningsmodell som bör tillämpas för att skatta portföljernas riskjusterade avkastning.

Application of recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) has increased recently as a sustainable alternative in concrete construction. Although application of RCA has substantially grown over the past decades, issues related to its structural performance and long-term behaviour still prevent its widespread application, especially in structural purposes. In this study, a new mixture proportioning method called the “Equivalent Volume (EV)” method is proposed for RCA concrete, which is developed on the assumption that the RCA mix is based on a companion conventional concrete mix having the same volume of “cement paste and aggregates” as the companion mixture. RCA mixes containing different aggregate types and mechanical properties were designed using the EV method. Chemical, mechanical and non-destructive tests were performed and their performance was investigated. Finally, a quality control protocol for evaluating the suitability of RCA sources for structural applications is proposed. Results show that the EV method seems a promising approach to mix-proportion eco-friendly recycled concrete mixes. Moreover, the RCA type and properties seem to influence in the behaviour of RCA concrete and thus should be accounted in the mix- design.