8,676 research outputs found
Groundwater heat pump systems diffusion and groundwater resources protection
No full textGeothermal Energy, being a clean and sustainable source of energy, is gaining importance worldwide due to various reasons. Geothermal power can be generated throughout the year on twenty four hour basis as it's not much dependent on ambient temperature and weather conditions. Recently there is an increased interest in exploitation of low enthalpy geothermal resources for other applications such as geothermal space heating and cooling for domestic, industrial and commercial applications.GroundWater Heat Pump systems (GWHPs) extract water from one or more wells, pass it through a heat exchanger or a heat pump, which either extracts heat from, or rejects heat, and discharge water back into the aquifer or nearby surface water.This reinjection disturbs the natural aquifer temperature, producing a local temperature anomalies (cold or heat plume) known as the thermal affected zone (TAZ).Moreover, it is important to know if the TAZ can interfere with downgradient pre-existing plants or subsurface infrastructure or with the plant itself (thermal feedback). It is then important to know, even before constructing a GWHP system, the future TAZ extent around the planned injection point.Due to these risks, the increasing number of GWHP systems enforces the need for new criteria to develop subsurface energy policies that allow planning their spatial distribution. To obtain these sustainability criteria, the results of different dedicated studies are here proposed, in order to optimize the design and operation of GWHP systems
The impact of EC-92 on developing countries'trade : a dissenting view
No full textMost benefits of the European Community (EC-92) program will probably not come from marginal changes in trade flows. Those changes are important to European policymakers, but are of remote interest to developing countries. The main threats to developing countries are the diversion of investment funds to EC countries and continued external barriers, especially nontariff barriers. The EC expects higher growth and lower prices as a result of EC-92. The net effect on developing countries of the removal of internal trade barriers depends on the country's income and price elasticities with the EC. Current estimates suggest the effect will be small. If new external barriers emerge, or if EC-wide barriers replace national barriers, EC firms may collaborate more with large US or Japanese firms. None of these developments will improve developing countries'trade in manufactures and services. Investment in EC countries may increase to meet the extra demand, growth, or trade diversion resulting from EC-92. This could lead to increased investments in developing countries but given heavy indebtedness in developing countries, is more likely to divert investment funds, thus limiting their future production and growth. Technical standards in EC-92 may also be tougher than national standards in member countries, which could hurt developing country exporters. Is"Fortress Europe"likely? The EC Commission says no, but the Community's record is not good.Environmental Economics&Policies,Economic Theory&Research,TF054105-DONOR FUNDED OPERATION ADMINISTRATION FEE INCOME AND EXPENSE ACCOUNT,Trade and Regional Integration,Trade Policy
Groundwater Heat Pump System: behavior and relationships between the groundwater temperature and electrical conductivity
No full textThe use of groundwater abstracted via open loop systems is increasingly being considered as a means to provide heating and cooling for buildings in urban contest. Physical processes affecting heat transport within an aquifer include advection (or convection) and hydrodynamic thermodispersion (diffusion and mechanical dispersion). The advective components tend to dominate the heat transfer process within the aquifer and the diffusion can be considered negligible. This study illustrates the experimental results derived from the groundwater monitoring in the surrounding area of an injection well connected to an open-loop GWHP plant which has been installed in the "Politecnico di Torino" (NW Italy) for cooling some of the university buildings. Groundwater pumping and injection interfere only with the upper unconfined aquifer. The data deriving from multiparameter probes installed inside the pumping well (P2), the injection well (P4) and a downgradient piezometer (S2), refers to the summer 2015. Monitoring of hydraulic levels, electrical conductivity EC and temperature T in P2, P4 and S2. The experimental results demonstrated the propagation of the subsurface thermal plume during the injection of warm water and the progressive disappearance of the temperature anomaly with time. Another important aspect that we will investigate is the unusual trend of EC values during the year and the possibility cross-correlation between EC values and T values. In particular we intend to continue this analysis to verify the reason of this data anomaly
EC Bananarama 1992 : the sequel - the EC Commission proposal
No full textSome European Community (EC) countries give preferred market access and high prices to bananas from selected developing countries or EC regional suppliers. This preferential status is regarded as a form of aid to these countries, most of which are developing small island economies. EC marketers of bananas from these preferred suppliers also benefit because of the high retail prices. Nonpreferred suppliers - mainly developing countries of Latin America - are hurt by the policies because access is denied or restricted and the lower demand depresses the world price for bananas. The Community's commitment to establish a single unified EC banana market on December 31, 1992 provides a timely opportunity to reform existing distortionary trade policies. The recently announced proposal of the Commission of ECs to regulate banana trade within a unified market relies on quotas to control imports. The proposal is extremely complicated. It is designed to severely restrict competition and to maintain the advantages of selected groups. The authors update their earlier analysis of world banana trade to reflect the market in 1993. They evaluate the implications of the Commission's proposal alongside existing and alternative policies. They find that current policies cost EC consumers about 0.3 billion a year to preferred suppliers. So, it costs EC consumers about 1.00 of aid toselect developing countries or regions. Additionally, every dollar of aid reaching preferred suppliers costs other developing country suppliers 5.30 cost to EC consumers, over 1.00 is lost in outright waste. Several plausible versions of the Commission's proposal are modelled. At best they are found to be slightly less costly than existing policies and at worst, considerably more costly. A 3.5 percent reduction in the quota allocation is estimated to lead to a 30 percent increase in the cost of the proposal. The authors conclude that the Commission's proposal for a unified EC banana policy appears to be little more than a way of replacing existing distortionary national policies with an almost equally distortionary single policy and market. The only difference: the costs would be borne by consumers in all EC countries rather than consumers in only some countries. Worse still, costs could increase. Markets that now gain the benefits of mostly open and competitive marketing such as Germany would face closed and uncompetitive conditions. For developing countries exporting bananas, the proposal offers little. At best conditions may be no worse than they are now. At worst the policy could hurt Latin American suppliers even more than current policies and introduce considerable confusion about the level of support to preferred suppliers. Under the proposed quota system aid will not be well targeted. A more efficient way of achieving the EC's aid commitment is through a small tariff of about 17 percent, used to fund a system of well-targeted deficiency payments or direct aid. The only reason for choosing the Commission's proposal over simpler, tariff-based options seems to be to maintain the vested interests of protected EC markteters. But this is contrary to the objectives of unification, which are to seek gains from increased competition and trade.Environmental Economics&Policies,Access to Markets,Markets and Market Access,Economic Theory&Research,Consumption
Politically Acceptable Trade Compromises Between The EC and The US: A Game Theory Approach
No full textA model is developed to quantify the special status of agriculture in the US and the EC trade negotiations. The role of special interests are measured by a policy goals function (PGF) whose weights are estimated for each special interest group. The analysis searches for mutually acceptable, mutually advantageous trade agreements between the US and the EC using a partial equilibrium world trade model coupled with game theory. Results suggest that it is in the best interest of the US (resp. EC) 'for the EC (resp. US) to liberalize whi1e the other follows the status quo policies of 1986. Mutual gains in PGF values to both countries pursuing "large" liberalizations are unlikely to exist, although "small" liberalizations may give rise to "small" mutual gains. Altering each country's action space, and permitting compensatory payments to the most influencial groups yields trade liberalization, but free trade does not result.game theory, trade liberalization, trade negotiations, International Relations/Trade,
The Singer or the Song? Developments in Performers' Rights from the Perspective of a Cultural Economist
No full textOver the last century, performers gradually acquired statutory protection of their economic and moral
rights. These rights are not copyright in the legal sense but neighboring rights and until recently, they
were mainly remuneration rights that are collectively administered. With the WPPT (WIPO
Performers and Phonograms Treaty), performers now have individual exclusive rights for digital
performances; this leads to the question: what has motivated this change – is it a change in the
perception of the value of performer or a change brought about by the changing technology of copying or,
indeed, a change that reflects different economic costs and benefits? The paper discusses the role of
copyright law as an incentive to performers and asks if the economic role of the performer is so different
from that of the author. The conclusion is that a complex interaction of the legal regulations, economic
conditions and institutional arrangements for administering these new rights will determine the outcome
Geological and Hydrogeological Characterization of Springs in a DSGSD Context (Rodoretto Valley – NW Italian Alps)
No full textAs continuous groundwater monitoring in the upper sector of Rodoretto Valley (Germanasca Valley, Italian Western Alps) is hampered by logistical problem of data collection during winter and spring months, the only tools currently available to derive hydrogeological information are non-continuous and non-long-term dataset of spring discharge (Q), temperature (T) and electrical conductivity (EC).
In order to quantity aquifer groundwater reserve, available Q dataset of a small mountain spring (Spring 1 CB) was investigated by applying the analytical solutions developed by Boussinesq (J Math Pure Appl 10:5–78, 1904) and Maillet (Essais dı’hydraulique souterraine et fluviale, vol 1. Herman et Cie, Paris, 1905); T and EC datasets were also used to provide qualitative information about the nature of the aquifer that supplies the spring.
The outcomes of the elaborations highlighted the limits of applicability of these methods in the presence of a non-continuous Q dataset: both Boussinesq (J Math Pure Appl 10:5–78, 1904) and Maillet (Essais dı’hydraulique souterraine et fluviale, vol 1. Herman et Cie, Paris, 1905) estimated that discharge values as a function of recession time were found to be consistently lower than the available discharge ones and the estimated groundwater volumes stored over time above the spring level turned out to be underestimated.
Continuous (hourly value) and long-term Q, EC and T values are, therefore, needful to correctly quantify and to make a proper management of groundwater resources in mountain areas
The etiology of esophageal cancer in high- and low- risk areas of Jiangsu province, China
No full text [Background]Esophageal cancer (EC) remains one of the most common and fatal malignancies worldwide. The geographic variation in EC occurrence is striking, and China is an area with one of the highest incidences of EC. A number of epidemiological studies have been conducted toward EC in the past decades, results suggested that tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, unhealthy dietary factors and chronic injuries of the esophageal mucosa are important in the development of this disease. Genetic polymorphisms in enzymes involved in metabolism of carcinogens may also influence individual susceptibility. However, the effects of major lifestyle and hereditary risk factors on the development of EC remain poorly understood in China. Moreover, little attention has been paid to the etiological heterogeneity between similar areas with great risk gradient. [Methods]From 2003 to 2007, a large population-based case-control study of EC has been conducted in a selected high-risk area and a selected low-risk area of Jiangsu Province, one of the highest cancer incidence areas in China. In total, 1,520 cases and 3,879 controls were recruited. In this thesis, we evaluated the role of major lifestyle factors such as tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking and dietary factors, as well as inherited determinants including family history of cancer and genetic polymorphisms of alcohol-metabolizing related genes on the risk of EC. In addition, we investigated how much of the risk gradient between two areas could be explained by variation in the distributions of major risk factors. [Results] Tobacco smoking and alcohol drinking moderately increased the risk of EC, while the positive associations were only found among men but not among women. Dietary factors were observed to play important roles in the development of EC. Specific dietary habits i.e., fast eating speed, and hot eating and/or drinking substantially elevated EC risk and could explain more than 20% of EC cases each. High intake of salty foods and fried foods, low consumption of raw garlic were also observed to increase the risk of EC. In addition to environmental and lifestyle factors, we confirmed that a positive family history can significantly increase EC risk, and found the inheritance may modify the effect of some unhealthy lifestyles. Moreover, we further explored the relationship between EC and single nucleotide polymorphismsof ADH1B, ADH1C and ALDH2 genes. Results showed that the slow metabolizing ADH1B G allele, ADH1C G allele and ALDH2 A allele significantly increased EC risk among moderate-to-heavy alcohol drinkers, and a significant interaction was observed between ALDH2 gene and alcohol consumption. Lastly, we found that more than 60% of EC cases could be attributable to major lifestyle risk factors in the study population; furthermore, dissimilar distribution of several lifestyle factors, together with variations of hereditary factors may be largely responsible for the incidence difference between two study areas. [Conclusion]The findings in this thesis confirm that unhealthy lifestyles including smoking, alcohol drinking and some dietary factors are the predominant risk factors of EC in China, and a large proportion of incidence difference between regions at varying risk could be attributed to the different prevalence of lifestyle factors. As most of the identified risk factors are modifiable, these could be translated into risk reduction prevention programs in China, and a substantial proportion of new EC cases are expected to be prevented by eliminating or avoiding these risk factors in the population. </p
Open-Loop Groundwater Heat Pump System: dynamic behavior and cross-correlation between the groundwater temperature and electrical conductivity
No full textGroundwater Heat Pumps Systems (GWHPs), utilizing relatively stable groundwater temperature, are an efficient use
of natural energy, can achieve a higher performance coefficient, and a thermal plume of colder or warmer re-injected
groundwater, known as the Thermal Affected Zone (TAZ), develops.
The plume propagation occurs primarily through advection (Lo Russo & Taddia, 2010), and tends to “degrade”
following conductive heat transport, and convection within moving water (Hecht-Mendez et al., 2010). Plumes of colder
or warmer re-injected groundwater are considered a potential anthropogenic geothermal resource or pollution. In fact, a
thermal plume might pose a risk to groundwater use downgradient.
This study is aimed to explore the auto and cross-correlation between some groundwater parameters (temperature,
hydraulic levels and electrical conductivity) measured through specific multiparameter probes in a real field test-site. The
data under consideration derived from the groundwater monitoring in the surrounding area of an injection well connected
to an open-loop GWHP plant installed in the “Politecnico di Torino” (NW Italy). The plant is used for cooling some of
the university buildings. Groundwater pumping and injection interfere only with the upper unconfined aquifer.
The GWHP plant is constituted by a 40-m deep pumping well (P2) and a downgradient 47-m deep injection well (P4).
A 35-m deep piezometer (S2) is located downgradient respect P4. The abstraction and injection well as the piezometer
are screened along the whole saturated zone of the exploited unconfined aquifer.
The continuous monitoring of the hydraulic levels, electrical conductivity EC and temperature T in P2, P4 and S2 is
performed along the whole year, including the period of the switching off of the cooling plant. The analysis of correlation
presented concentrates on the hourly data collected in the summer 2015. The GWHP plant started its operation on April
8th, 2015 and switch off on September, 3th 2015. Data collected in P4 and S2 are important to understand the subsurface
heat transport phenomena and the possible trend between EC and T. The study of these correlations can be useful to
characterize the heat transport in the aquifer and detecting the real velocity of migration of the thermal plume under the
real operating conditions.
Lo Russo S. & Taddia G. 2010. Advective heat transport in an unconfined aquifer induced by the field injection of an open-loop groundwater heat
pump. American Journal of Environmental Sciences 6(3), 253-259 DOI: 10.3844/ajessp.2010.253.259
Hecht-Mendez J., Molina-Giraldo N., Blum P. & Bayer P. 2010. Evaluating MT3DMS for heat transport simulation of closed geothermal systems.
Ground Water. DOI: 10.1111/j.1745-6584.2010.00678.
Towards a clearer delimitation of internal European Community competences.
No full textThis thesis is a study of the distribution of competences between the main actors in European integration: namely the European Community and the Member States. It aims to evaluate the place of the competence provisions in the current Treaty structure as well as within the Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe. This task first involves a legal-technical exercise based on a textual interpretation of different categories of competences within the above-mentioned sources. Second, it involves a review of the relevant Court of Justice case law with regard to those competences. The study of both has led the author to consider how the evolution of Community competence has given rise to the phenomenon of 'competence' creep'. It is argued that Member States contend that the Community assumes more powers than those it possesses. Thus, the thesis provides an insight into concerns about 'creeping competence'. Certain types of situations are identified under the title of 'creeping competence'. These include, the adoption of unjustified or undesired EC legislation under qualified majority voting the expansion of the Community's competence under Article 308 EC and finally the adoption of EC legislation that goes beyond the scope of Article 5 EC (principle of attribution of powers). The thesis will provide certain examples to underline the problem. It will take account of the use of the flexibility provisions of Article 95 EC and 308 EC with regard to the regulation of health and the Community's accession to the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR), which are treated as case studies in the thesis. In the context of a problematic system of competences, the author will consider the assumptions made in the Nice and Laeken IGCs as well as the European Convention for a clearer distribution of competence and assess the role of the principle of subsidiarity as a tool against the expansion of Community competence into new policy areas. It is argued that the reform of subsidiarity will enhance EU legitimacy and enlarge the role of national legislatures in the Union. The reconstruction of subsidiarity procedures may remedy the tensions in the current system of competence and provide limits to the degree of EU intervention. Besides tidying up competences between the EU and Member States, European Constitutionalisation hides a question of political finality and further integration. How can the EU establish an effective and democratically legitimate governance beyond the Nation State Via a European Constitution or through alternative methods This question is particularly important in the current context following the French and Dutch rejection of the EU Constitutional Treaty. The chances of the EU Constitution being revived in the near future are slim, since it is unlikely that either France or Holland will soon hold another referendum. Thus, either a period of reflection shall be allowed to Member States or alternative routes to integration shall be considered. The thesis concludes with the hypothesis that as the EU Constitutional Treaty does not provide the answers to most of the questions posed by the Nice and the Laeken European Councils, enhanced cooperation may be utilised as a future method of governance and Fischer's 'Core Europe' as a tool capable of a redistribution of competences inside the Union. But then again the European Union needs to avoid a new iron curtain descending between those Member States that represent the 'core' and those that constitute the 'periphery'
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