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Respiratory viruses, such as COVID-19, are spread over time and space based on human-to-human interactions. Human mobility plays a key role in the propagation of the virus. Different types of sensors in smart cities are able to continuously monitor traffic-related human mobility, showing the impact of COVID-19 on traffic volumes and patterns. In a similar way, traffic volumes measured by smart traffic sensors provide a proxy variable to capture human mobility, which is expected to have an impact on new COVID-19 infections. Adding traffic data from smart city sensors to machine learning models designed to estimate upcoming COVID-19 incidence values should provide optimized results compared to models based on COVID-19 data alone. This paper proposes a novel model to extract spatio-temporal patterns in the spread of the COVID-19 virus for short-term predictions by organizing COVID-19 incidence and traffic data as interrelated temporal sequences of spatial images. The model is trained and validated with real data from the city of Madrid in Spain for 84 weeks, combining information from 4372 traffic measuring points and 143 COVID-19 PCR test centers. The results are compared with a baseline model designed for the extraction of spatio-temporal patterns from COVID-19-only sequences of images, showing that using traffic information enhances the results when forecasting a new wave of infections (MSE values are reduced by a 70% factor). The information that traffic data has on the spread of the COVID-19 virus is also analyzed, showing that traffic data alone is not sufficient for accurate COVID-19 forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study formulates a mathematical dynamic Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model within a rational expectations framework, adhering to neo-classical principles. It emphasizes the significant role of agents' expectations in determining the broader economic trajectory over time. The model combines microeconomic and macroeconomic perspectives by merging the concept of intertemporal choice with savings behavior. Its mathematical foundations are derived and calibrated using data from a social accounting matrix to enhance its simulation capabilities. The paper presents a practical simulation investigating the economic implications of a strategic investment impact within an specific European region, Madrid as the case of study. Such demand shock affects sectors such as electronics, food, pharmaceuticals, and education. The study models the long-term effects of heightened investment and persistent demand-side shocks. The research demonstrates the CGE model's ability to forecast economic shifts toward a new equilibrium after an investment shock, proving its utility for assessing the impacts of extensive environmental policies within a European context. The work's originality lies in its detailed mathematical formulation, contributing to theoretical discourse and practical application in business analytics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe an educational experience in the context of the Master's degree that is compulsory in Spain to become a secondary education mathematics teacher. Master's students from two universities in Madrid (Spain) attended lectures that addressed—emphasizing the concourse of a dynamic geometry software package—some historical, didactic and mathematical issues related to linkage mechanisms, such as those arising in the 18th and 19th centuries during the development of the steam engine. Afterwards, participants were asked to provide three different kinds of feedback: (i) working on an assigned group task, (ii) individually answering a questionnaire, and (iii) proposing some classroom activity, imagining it would be addressed to their prospective pupils. All three issues focused on the specific topic of the attended lectures. In the framework of Mason's reflective discourse analysis, the information supplied by the participants has been analyzed. The objective was to explore what they have learned from the experience and what their perception is of the potential interest in linkages as a methodological instrument for their future professional activity as teachers. This analysis is then the basis upon which to reflect on the opportunities (and problems) that this particular bar-joint linkages methodological approach could bring towards providing future mathematics teachers with attractive tools that would contribute to enhancing a STEAM-oriented education. Finally, the students' answers allow us to conclude that the experience was beneficial for these pre-service teachers, both in improving their knowledge on linkages history, mathematics, industrial, technological and artistic applications, and in enhancing the use in the classroom of this very suitable STEAM context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting from the contribution of such thinkers as the famous Giordano Bruno (1583) and the great mathematician and physicist Henri Poincaré (1889) and the surprising discovery of the meteorologist Edward Lorenz (1963), we consider the expansion of the mathematics of chaos in this article, paying attention to topology, qualitative geometry, and Catastrophe Theory, on the one hand, and addressing the possibilities derived from the new Computer Science as Quantum Algorithms and the advances in Artificial Intelligence, on the other. We especially highlight the section on computing chaos, which we consider to be new calculation and analysis instruments, such as machine learning and its algorithm called reservoir computing, through which we can know the dynamics of a chaotic system. With past data, with equations like Karamoto–Sivashinsky, one can improve predictions of the system eight times further ahead than in previous methods. Integrating the machine learning approach and traditional model-based prediction, one could obtain accurate predictions twelve Lyapunov times. As we know, in the framework of chaos theory, it is habitually accepted that the idea of long-term prediction seems impossible because we live under a veil of uncertainty. But with technological advances, the landscape begins to change, both in chaos theory and in its applications, especially in the field of economics, to which we devote particular attention, carrying out as an example the analysis of the evolution of the Madrid Stock Exchange in the 2006–2013 crisis. Above all this, a reflection of a general nature is necessary to enlighten us on the possibility of opening a new horizon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this research is to help public transport managers to make decisions on the type of buses that should compose their public transport fleet, taking into account economic, environmental and social criteria from the point of view of sustainability. This paper fills a knowledge gap by including the social dimension of sustainability in addition to the economic and environmental dimensions. The original nature of this study lies in analyzing complementarities in the structuring of an efficiency and multicriteria problem. Our research analyzes Madrid public bus system data; the problem is structured in a comparative way between two analytical methods, a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and an ELimination Et Choice Translating REality (ELECTRE) III. Our research results show that two main groups of vehicles could play a part in part the theoretical solution. The main conclusions of this research are that (a) plug-in and induction electric vehicles are not comparable to GNC and diesel–hybrid vehicles in terms of cost, pollution and service; and (b) the ELECTRE III model provides more information in solving this problem than the DEA model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution control is one of the main challenges facing modern societies. Consequently, the estimation of population, affluence, and technology impacts on air pollution concentrations (STIRPAT modeling) has become the cornerstone of environmental decision-making. Spatial effects are not usually included in STIRPAT modeling of air pollution. However, space matters: accounting for spatial dependencies significantly improves the accuracy of estimates and forecasts, especially (or only) when dealing with small information units rather than with large ones (countries, large regions, provinces in China, counties and states in the USA, etc.). The latter scale is typical in the literature on air pollution due to the difficulties in finding data on its drivers at a true local scale. Accordingly, this paper has a double objective. The first is the estimation of a spatial panel data STIRPAT model, with the spatial units being both very small and also highly autonomous, developed municipalities. The second is to examine whether an environmental Kuznets curve relationship exists between income per capita and NOx concentrations. A case study has been carried out in the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain, at the municipal level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mathematical modeling of language in Artificial Intelligence is of the utmost importance for many research areas and technological applications. Over the last decade, research on text representation has been directed towards the investigation of dense vectors popularly known as word embeddings. In this paper, we propose a cognitive-emotional scoring and representation framework for text based on word embeddings. This representation framework aims to mathematically model the emotional content of words in short free-form text messages, produced by adults in follow-up due to any mental health condition in the outpatient facilities within the Psychiatry Department of Hospital Fundación Jiménez Díaz in Madrid, Spain. Our contribution is a geometrical-topological framework for Sentiment Analysis, that includes a hybrid method that uses a cognitively-based lexicon together with word embeddings to generate graded sentiment scores for words, and a new topological method for clustering dense vector representations in high-dimensional spaces, where points are very sparsely distributed. Our framework is useful in detecting word association topics, emotional scoring patterns, and embedded vectors' geometrical behavior, which might be useful in understanding language use in this kind of texts. Our proposed scoring system and representation framework might be helpful in studying relations between language and behavior and their use might have a predictive potential to prevent suicide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Time series forecasting of passenger demand is crucial for optimal planning of limited resources. For smart cities, passenger transport in urban areas is an increasingly important problem, because the construction of infrastructure is not the solution and the use of public transport should be encouraged. One of the most sophisticated techniques for time series forecasting is Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks. These deep learning models are very powerful for time series forecasting but are not interpretable by humans (black-box models). Our goal was to develop a predictive and linguistically interpretable model, useful for decision making using large volumes of data from different sources. Our case study was one of the most demanded bus lines of Madrid. We obtained an interpretable model from the LSTM neural network using a surrogate model and the 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic model, which improves the linguistic interpretability of the generated Explainable Artificial Intelligent (XAI) model without losing precision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become a key factor in the educational context, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, and, correctly implemented, can help to improve academic performance. The aim of this research was to analyse the factors that influence teachers' decisions to use ICT more- or less frequently to carry out tasks and exercises in their classes. To this end, we estimated a multilevel logistic model with census data from the individualized evaluation of students of the Community of Madrid (Spain) carried out at the end of the 2018–2019 academic year in primary and secondary education. Additionally, we applied multiple imputation techniques to deal with missing values. Based on our results, we found that motivated teachers who have received ICT training, teach calm and respectful classes, and work at schools where students have access to digital devices and frequently use ICT at home, have a high predisposition to use ICT in their classes. Considering our results, our recommendations are aimed at improving teacher training in ICT, encouraging a frequent but responsible use of ICT at home, and increasing the provision of technological resources in schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Buildings consume a considerable amount of electrical energy, the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system being the most demanding. Saving energy and maintaining comfort still challenge scientists as they conflict. The control of HVAC systems can be improved by modeling their behavior, which is nonlinear, complex, and dynamic and works in uncertain contexts. Scientific literature shows that Soft Computing techniques require fewer computing resources but at the expense of some controlled accuracy loss. Metaheuristics-search-based algorithms show positive results, although further research will be necessary to resolve new challenging multi-objective optimization problems. This article compares the performance of selected genetic and swarm-intelligence-based algorithms with the aim of discerning their capabilities in the field of smart buildings. MOGA, NSGA-II/III, OMOPSO, SMPSO, and Random Search, as benchmarking, are compared in hypervolume, generational distance, ε-indicator, and execution time. Real data from the Building Management System of Teatro Real de Madrid have been used to train a data model used for the multiple objective calculations. The novelty brought by the analysis of the different proposed dynamic optimization algorithms in the transient time of an HVAC system also includes the addition, to the conventional optimization objectives of comfort and energy efficiency, of the coefficient of performance, and of the rate of change in ambient temperature, aiming to extend the equipment lifecycle and minimize the overshooting effect when passing to the steady state. The optimization works impressively well in energy savings, although the results must be balanced with other real considerations, such as realistic constraints on chillers' operational capacity. The intuitive visualization of the performance of the two families of algorithms in a real multi-HVAC system increases the novelty of this proposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic and the fear experienced by some of the population, along with the lack of mobility due to the restrictions imposed, has modified the social behaviour of Spaniards. This has had a significant effect on the hospitality sector, viewed as being an economic and social driver in Spain. From the analysis of data collected in two of our own non-probabilistic surveys (N ~ 8400 and N ~ 2000), we show how, during the first six months of the pandemic, Spaniards notably reduced their consumption in bars and restaurants, also preferring outdoor spaces to spaces inside. The restaurant sector has needed to adapt to this situation and, with the support of the authorities (regional and local governments), new terraces have been allowed on pavements and public parking spaces, modifying the appearance of the streets of main towns and cities. This study, focused on the city of Madrid, analyses the singular causes that have prompted this significant impact on this particular city, albeit with an uneven spatial distribution. It seems likely that the new measures will leave their mark and some of the changes will remain. The positive response to these changes from the residents of Madrid has ensured the issue is being widely debated in the public arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the need to predict traffic congestion during the morning or evening rush hours in large cities, a model that is capable of predicting traffic flow in the short term is needed. This model would enable transport authorities to better manage the situation during peak hours and would allow users to choose the best routes for reaching their destinations. The aim of this study was to perform a short-term prediction of traffic flow in Madrid, using different types of neural network architectures with a focus on convolutional residual neural networks, and it compared them with a classical time series analysis. The proposed convolutional residual neural network is superior in all of the metrics studied, and the predictions are adapted to various situations, such as holidays or possible sensor failures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benzene is a pollutant which is very harmful to our health, so models are necessary to predict its concentration and relationship with other air pollutants. The data collected by eight stations in Madrid (Spain) over nine years were analyzed using the following regression-based machine learning models: multivariate linear regression (MLR), multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS), multilayer perceptron neural network (MLP), support vector machines (SVM), autoregressive integrated moving-average (ARIMA) and vector autoregressive moving-average (VARMA) models. Benzene concentration predictions were made from the concentration of four environmental pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), particulate matter (PM10) and toluene (C7H8), and the performance measures of the model were studied from the proposed models. In general, regression-based machine learning models are more effective at predicting than time series models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]