Developing a Pilot Case and Modelling the Development of a Large European CO₂ Transport Infrastructure -The GATEWAY H2020 Project

The H2020 GATEWAY project aims to develop a comprehensive model Pilot Case which, intentionally, will pave the ground for CCS deployment in Europe. It will result from the assessment of, technical, commercial, judicial and societal issues related to a future CO2 transport infrastructure. The Pilot Case derived on this basis, will emphasize a gateway for CO2 transport in the North Sea Basin. Four potential pilot cases have been evaluated through a combination of techno-economic modelling of the individual cases and evaluation against more qualitative criteria. The chosen Pilot Case, Rotterdam Nucleus, will be refined and developed during the remaining period of the GATEWAY project. To maximise impact, the GATEWAY project adapts its work to lay the foundation for a future application to a European ‘Project of Common Interest’ (PCI). Continuous dialogue with the most relevant stakeholders is an important part of GATEWAY, as a Coordination and Support Action (CSA) H2020 project

Modeling asymmetric volatility in weekly Dutch temperature data

In addition to clear-cut seasonality in mean and variance, weekly Dutch temperature data appear to have a strong asymmetry in the impact of unexpectedly high or low temperatures on conditional volatility. Furthermore, this asymmetry also shows fairly pronounced seasonal variation. To describe these features, we propose a univariate seasonal time series model with asymmetric conditionally heteroskedastic errors. We fit this (and other, nested) model(s) to 25 years of weekly data. We evaluate itsforecasting performance for 5 years of hold-out data and find that the imposed asymmetry leads to better out-of-sample forecasts of temperaturevolatility.seasonal variation;asymmetric volatility;temperature volatility;weekly dutch temperature

Beyond obesity - thermogenic adipocytes and cardiometabolic health

The global prevalence of obesity and related cardiometabolic disease continues to increase through the 21st century. Whilst multi-factorial, obesity is ultimately caused by chronic caloric excess. However, despite numerous interventions focussing on reducing caloric intake these either fail or only elicit short-term changes in body mass. There is now a focus on increasing energy expenditure instead which has stemmed from the recent ‘re-discovery’ of cold-activated brown adipose tissue (BAT) in adult humans and inducible ‘beige’ adipocytes. Through the unique mitochondrial uncoupling protein (UCP1), these thermogenic adipocytes are capable of combusting large amounts of chemical energy as heat and in animal models can prevent obesity and cardiometabolic disease. At present, human data does not point to a role for thermogenic adipocytes in regulating body weight or fat mass but points to a pivotal role in regulating metabolic health by improving insulin resistance as well as glucose and lipid homeostasis. This review will therefore focus on the metabolic benefits of BAT activation and the mechanisms and signalling pathways by which these could occur including improvements in insulin signalling in peripheral tissues, systemic lipid and cholesterol metabolism and cardiac and vascular function

Reserves and resources for CO2 storage in Europe: the CO2 StoP project

Th e challenge of climate change demands reduction in global CO 2 emissions. In order to fi ght global warming many coun- tries are looking at technological solutions to keep the release of CO 2 into the atmosphere under control. One of the most promising techniques is carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), also known as CO 2 geological storage. CCS can re- duce the world’s total CO 2 release by about one quarter by 2050 (IEA 2008, 2013; Metz et al. 2005). CCS usually in- volves a series of steps: (1) separation of the CO 2 from the gases produced by large power plants or other point sources, (2) compression of the CO 2 into supercritical fl uid, (3) trans- portation to a storage location and (4) injecting it into deep underground geological formations. CO 2 StoP is an acronym for the CO 2 Storage Potential in Europe project. Th e CO 2 StoP project which started in Janu- ary 2012 and ended in October 2014 included data from 27 countries (Fig. 1). Th e data necessary to assess potential loca- tions of CO 2 storage resources are found in a database set up in the project. A data analysis system was developed to analyse the com- plex data in the database, as well as a geographical informa- tion system (GIS) that can display the location of potential geological storage formations, individual units of assessment within the formations and any further subdivisions (daugh- ter units, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs or potential struc- tural traps in saline aquifers). Finally, formulae have been developed to calculate the storage resources. Th e database is housed at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commis- sion in Petten, the Netherlands. Background and methods CO 2 storage resource assessment A resource can be defi ned as anything potentially available and useful to man. Th e pore space in deeply buried reservoir rocks that can trap CO 2 is a resource that can be used for CO 2 storage. It is of utmost importance to be aware that the mere presence of a resource does not indicate that any part of it can be economically exploited, now or in the futur

Forecasting volatility with switching persistence GARCH models

In this paper we examine the forecasting performance of five nonlinear GARCH(1,1) models. Four of these have recently been proposed in literature, while the fifth model is a new one. All five models allow for switchingpersistence of shocks, depending on the value and/or sign of recent returns.We consider the models for weekly data on 5 major stock markets. Our results indicate that all models improve upon the linear GARCH(1,1) model and that our new model sometimes yields favorable forecasting results.volatility;GARCH models

Reserves and resources for CO2 storage in Europe: the CO2StoP project

The challenge of climate change demands reduction in global CO2 emissions. In order to fight global warming many countries are looking at technological solutions to keep the release of CO2 into the atmosphere under control. One of the most promising techniques is carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), also known as CO2 geological storage. CCS can reduce the world’s total CO2 release by about one quarter by 2050 (IEA 2008, 2013; Metz et al. 2005). CCS usually involves a series of steps: (1) separation of the CO2 from the gases produced by large power plants or other point sources, (2) compression of the CO2 into supercritical fluid, (3) transportation to a storage location and (4) injecting it into deep underground geological formations. CO2StoP is an acronym for the CO2 Storage Potential in Europe project. The CO2StoP project which started in January 2012 and ended in October 2014 included data from 27 countries (Fig. 1). The data necessary to assess potential locations of CO2 storage resources are found in a database set up in the project. A data analysis system was developed to analyse the complex data in the database, as well as a geographical information system (GIS) that can display the location of potential geological storage formations, individual units of assessment within the formations and any further subdivisions (daughter units, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs or potential structural traps in saline aquifers). Finally, formulae have been developed to calculate the storage resources. The database is housed at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commission in Petten, the Netherlands.JRC.F.6-Energy Technology Policy Outloo

Airborne sampling of aerosol particles: Comparison between surface sampling at Christmas Island and P-3 sampling during PEM-Tropics B

Bulk aerosol sampling of soluble ionic compounds from the NASA Wallops Island P-3 aircraft and a tower on Christmas Island during PEM-Tropics B provides an opportunity to assess the magnitude of particle losses in the University of New Hampshire airborne bulk aerosol sampling system. We find that most aerosol-associated ions decrease strongly with height above the sea surface, making direct comparisons between mixing ratios at 30 m on the tower and the lowest flight level of the P-3 (150 m) open to interpretation. Theoretical considerations suggest that vertical gradients of sea-salt aerosol particles should show exponential decreases with height. Observed gradients of Na+ and Mg2+, combining the tower observations with P-3 samples collected below 1 km, are well described by exponential decreases (r values of 0.88 and 0.87, respectively), though the curve fit underestimates average mixing ratios at the surface by 25%. Cascade impactor samples collected on the tower show that \u3e99% of the Na+ and Mg2+mass is on supermicron particles, 65% is in the 1–6 micron range, and just 20% resides on particles with diameters larger than 9 microns. These results indicate that our airborne aerosol sampling probes must be passing particles up to at least 6 microns with high efficiency. We also observed that nss SO42− and NH4+, which are dominantly on accumulation mode particles, tended to decrease between 150 and 1000 m, but they were often considerably higher at the lowest P-3 sampling altitudes than at the tower. This finding is presently not well understood

Эффективность комбинированных криоконсервантов, содержащих глицерин или 1,2-пропандиол, при замораживании эритроцитов

Исследовали осмотические свойства эритроцитов, замороженных в комбинированных криоконсервантах, содержащих полимерные непроникающие (декстран, полиэтиленгликоль) и проникающие (глицерин, 1,2-пропандиол) криопротекторы. Установлено, что в эритроцитах, замороженных-отогретых в среде с полимерами, отмечается повышение скорости потока ионов Н+ и осмотической хрупкости в среде, содержащей 0,45–0,9% NaCl. Для сохранения осмотических свойств замороженных- отогретых клеток достаточно включить в среду глицерин или 1,2-пропандиол (1,2-ПД) в концентрации 5%. Полученные результаты позволяют предположить, что криопротекторная эффективность комбинированных криоконсервантов, содержащих непроникающие и проникающие криопротекторы, определяется вкладом различных по механизму действия криозащитных компонентов в суммарную защитную эффективность при замораживании и ослаблением постгипертонического стресса на клетки при размораживании.Досліджували осмотичні властивості еритроцитів, заморожених-відігрітих у комбінованих кріоконсервантах, які містять полімерні непроникаючі (декстран, поліетиленгліколь) і проникаючі (гліцерин, 1,2-пропандіол) кріопротектори. Встановлено, що в еритроцитах, заморожених-відігрітих у середовищі з полімерами, визначається зростання швидкості потоку іонів Н+ і осмотичної крихкості в середовищі, яке містить 0,45–0,9% NaCl. Для збереження осмотичних властивостей заморожених- відігрітих клітин достатньо включити в середовище гліцерин або 1,2-пропандіол в концентрації 5%. Отримані результати дозволяють припустити, що кріопротекторна ефективність комбінованих кріоконсервантів, які містять непроникаючі і проникаючі кріопротектори, визначається внеском різноманітних за механізмом дії кріозахисних компонентів у сумарну захисну ефективність при заморожуванні та послабленням постгіпертонічного стресу на клітини при розморожуванні.The osmotic properties of erythrocytes frozen-thawed in combined cryopreservatives, containing polymeric non-penetrating (dextran, polyethylene glycol) and penetrating (glycerol, 1,2-propane diol) cryoprotectants were studied. It was established that in erythrocytes frozen-thawed in the presence of polymers the increasing of H+ ion flow rate and osmotic fragility in the environment with 0.45–0.9% NaCl was observed. It is sufficient to add 5% glycerol or 1,2-propane diol (1,2-PD) to the medium to preserve osmotic properties of frozen-thawed cells. The obtained results enable to suggest that cryoprotective efficiency of combined cryopreservatives, containing non-penetrating and penetrating cryoprotectants is determined both by the contribution of cryoprotective components differing by action mechanism into th

Human activin-A is expressed in the atherosclerotic lesion and promotes the contractile phenotype of smooth muscle cells

Activin is a member of the transforming growth factor-beta superfamily, and it modulates the proliferation and differentiation of various target cells. In this study, we investigated the role of activin in the initiation and progression of human atherosclerosis. The expression of activin, its physiological inhibitor follistatin, and activin receptors were assayed in human vascular tissue specimens that repr