Abstract
Background: In many urban areas, 80% to 90% of pollutant emissions are generated by road traffic, particularly from heavy vehicles. With the anticipated surge in e-commerce logistics, the need for effective urban mobility control measures has become urgent, focusing on traffic restrictions and efficient enforcement tools. This work introduces Log-ON, a multi-stakeholder information system designed to facilitate the implementation and management of sustainable traffic restrictions. Methods: The proposed system was developed through extensive literature reviews, expert consultations, and feedback from logistics fleet managers. User-centered mock-ups were created for various stakeholders, including the public, regulatory authorities, logistics operators, and enforcement agencies, ensuring that the system effectively addresses a diverse set of needs. Results: By taking into account a wide range of influencing factors, Log-ON functions as a decision-support tool designed to optimize access restrictions for vehicles, particularly heavy vehicles, in urban environments. Conclusions: Log-ON's adoption promises significant improvements in urban mobility by reducing traffic-related pollution and fostering healthier, cleaner cities. However, traffic restrictions could increase delivery costs, potentially disrupting logistics operations. To address this, the development of new business models for last-mile delivery is essential, ensuring that sustainable traffic management strategies align with the economic challenges faced by logistics providers.

Abstract
Natural gas (NG) is commonly used in kitchens, powering stoves, ovens, and other appliances. While it is known for its efficiency and convenience, NG contributes to the release of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and can have significant implications for human health. In this study, the importance of the use of NG in kitchens on human exposure to NO2 was analyzed. An extensive literature review in the field was conducted, and the NO2 levels were assessed in kitchens with NG cookers in Aveiro and electric cookers in Porto, both in Portugal. Higher levels of NO2 were found in kitchens in Aveiro, where NO2 levels outdoors are lower than in Porto. This pollutant can spread to other rooms, especially when ventilation is lacking, which is particularly concerning during colder seasons and at night. As around 70% of the time is spent at home, this can have a significant impact on human exposure to NO2. Therefore, although Aveiro has low levels of NO2 outdoors, its population may be exposed to much higher levels of this pollutant than the Porto population, a city with air quality issues, but predominantly using electric cookers. This finding emphasizes the need for the stricter regulation of NG use indoors to protect human health and also suggests a shift in human health protection policies from mere monitoring/control of outdoor air quality to a comprehensive assessment of human exposure, including exposure to indoor air quality.

Abstract
The impacts of the e-commerce growth have increased the urgency in designing and adopting new alternative delivery strategies. In this context, it is important to consider the particularities of each city like its terrain conditions. This article aims at exploring the impact of road slopes on parcel delivery operations, and how they condition the adoption and implementation of alternative, more sustainable delivery strategies. To this end, a microscopic traffic simulator was used to evaluate different delivery strategies including ICE vans, electric vans, and cargo bikes in three different slope scenarios. This evaluation was based on a medium-sized European city and conducted by comparing the same parcel delivery route at three levels: operational (route length, duration, and waiting time), energy consumption, and emissions. The results revealed that as the road slopes increased, more time was needed to deliver all packages, waiting times grew longer, and vehicles' energy consumption and emissions levels intensified. From the flat terrain to the most sloped terrain, there was an increase in duration of around 5% for traditional and electric vans, 35% for large cargo bikes, and 14% for small cargo bikes. The ICE van suffers a 105% increase in waiting time; the electric van 71%; the large cargo bike 68% and the small cargo bike 52%. Energy consumption also varied, with ICE vans and small cargo bikes consuming nearly 30% more energy, while electric vans and large cargo bikes consumed 4% and 60% more energy, respectively. The ICE van's emissions of CO, HC, PMx, NOx, and CO2 are 13%, 10%, 1%, 20%, and 29% higher, respectively. Moreover, in flatter terrains, the better strategies are the electric van or a large cargo bike, while in more sloped terrains, the most adequate one is the electric van. These findings suggest that the electric van is the best overall strategy for different terrains and different decision-making profiles, ranking first in more than 70% of the profiles across all three terrains.

Abstract
The efficient management of assets delivers value and is essential for achieving service objectives, managing risks, and reducing costs. This paper proposes decision-support methods to help capital-intensive industries manage their assets and optimise their life cycle. Optimisation approaches were developed to support longterm investment planning by maximising the value created and minimising the budget used. Also, the trade-off for both objectives was analysed. Using the proposed models will lead to efficient management of available capital and excellent service delivery. Thus, water companies will fulfil the regulator's requirements and present well-founded decision-making. This study was applied to a Portuguese water utility.

Abstract
The expansion of ethanol production in Brazil sparks several sustainability concerns, including debates on “food versus fuel”, the environmental impacts of monocultures, and indirect land-use change. Since livestock farming occupies a significantly greater area than sugarcane for ethanol production in Brazil and has a large yield gap, sugarcane-livestock integration can be a promising alternative. This integrated system considers crop production systems, biorefinery processing and meat production in both intensive and extensive livestock farming. Optimizing this system for both economic and environmental aspects can be challenging to implement and computationally expensive as this system's complexity arises from nonlinear subsystems and their intertwining input-output flows. For these reasons, this paper develops metamodels from detailed models to: (i) Optimize the extensive livestock farming, (ii) Optimize the confined animal feeding, and (iii) Optimize the integrated system. The main objective is to maximize the Net Present Value relative to investment. This study contributes to the literature by developing innovative models for ethanol-beef integrated production systems and methods for optimizing such systems to avoid negative externalities on food security and environmental impacts. © 2024 Elsevier B.V.

Abstract
Renewable energy and electric mobility are crucial in addressing current environmental and energy challenges. As the number of electric vehicles increases, more charging infrastructure connected to the electricity distribution network is required. This paper proposes an approach to sizing a fast charging station for electric vehicles. This challenge is addressed by including a battery energy storage system (BESS) and considering the self-production from a renewable energy source (solar energy) in the system. The aim is to minimise the total energy costs, avoid future infrastructure upgrades, and take advantage of the integration of renewable energy resources. The methodology used is a Biased Random Key Genetic Algorithm (BRKGA) based meta-heuristic. Computational experiments were conducted for the sizing of a charging station under four different scenarios that minimise energy costs. The results show that incorporating BESS can lead to a significant reduction in the costs related to the purchase of energy from the grid. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.