Investor behavior around targeted liquidity announcements

This is the author accepted manuscript.We exploit announcements related to targeted longer-term financing operations (TLTROs) as exogenous shocks in investor perceptions to test recent theories on bank funding liquidity (Liu 2015, Ahnert et al. 2019). We find that banks with high derivative holdings and more exposed to sovereign credit risk respond better to the announcements, consistent with the view that lower funding costs benefit banks with higher asset encumbrance and located in more vulnerable Eurozone countries. The TLTRO announcements also elicit reductions in short positions on bank stocks relative to stocks of non-financial corporations without impairing their market liquidity. Robustness tests rule out that our results are driven by confounding events and anticipation effects. Placebo tests confirm that the TLTRO announcements are driving the estimated price reactions and changes in short positions

Simulation and performance assessment of load-following CSP plants

Paper presented to the 3rd Southern African Solar Energy Conference, South Africa, 11-13 May, 2015.The paper is focused on the modeling of Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) plants based on a steam Rankine cycle combined with two different solar field configurations: Parabolic Trough Collectors (PTC) and Heliostats with Central Receiver (HCR). The system is designed to operate as a load following power plant: a Thermal Energy Storage (TES) system allows to compensate fluctuations in solar energy and in power demand, and to operate also during nighttime hours. Commercial software and in-house developed computer codes are combined together to predict CSP plant performance under real operating conditions. The power block was modeled by Thermoflex® whereas Trnsys® was used to model the solar field operation all over the year. An optimization procedure interacting with Trnsys® model was used to size the two considered solutions for the solar fields. On the base of annual Trnsys® simulations, the optimization algorithm determined the minimum aperture area of the solar field assuring the required Heat Transfer Fluid (HTF) flow rate from TES. Charging and discharging cycles of TES are ruled by the HTF flow rate required for each hour of the year so as to match the electrical demand. Results of annual plant operation on a one hour basis are presented and discussed for Upington (RSA). Then the global results are compared with similar plants based in Sevilla (ES).dc201

Bathymetric and longitudinal distribution analyysis of the rockfish Helicolenus Dactylopterus (Delaroche, 1809) in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea (central Mediterranean)

This study provides information on bathymetric and longitudinal distribution heterogeneity of the rockfish Helicolenus dactylopterus in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea. Data were drawn from experimental bottom trawl (1996-2002) plus bottom trap (2001-02) surveys. The frequency of occurrence and mean relative density (N/km2) and biomass (kg/km2) indexes were calculated for two survey seasons (spring and autumn), four geographic sectors and three depth strata. MANOVA was used to test fish abundance among years, sectors and strata. Analysis of the length-frequency distributions was carried out by two-way (gears and depths) ANOVA, post hoc multiple comparisons for testing differences among depths and Student’s t test for testing differences between gears. Length-weight relationship was also estimated and the allometric coefficient was tested with the Student’s t test. The results showed a significant positive bathymetric gradient of sizes both for trawl and trap surveys; at same depths, fish caught by traps were significantly longer than those caught by trawl. In spring surveys, significant differences were found among strata for both abundance indexes; in autumn surveys, significant differences between depth strata were found only for density indices. The distribution and abundance patterns of H. dactylopterus along the southern Tyrrhenian Sea was homogeneous among sectors. Length-weight relationship showed a significant positive allometric growth

Helicobacter pylori infection might be responsible for the interconnection between type 1 diabetes and autoimmune thyroiditis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Higher serological prevalence rates of helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection have been reported in patients with type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and autoimmune thyroiditis (AT). Patients with T1DM are at increased risk for developing other autoimmune diseases, most commonly AT. It is unknown whether H. pylori infection could explain the high prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies and AT in T1DM. The aim of the current study was to evaluate anti-thyroid peroxidase (anti-TPO) and anti-thyroglobulin (anti-Tg) autoantibodies in correlation with anti-H. pylori IgG and IgA in young patients with T1DM.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Anti-H. Pylori IgG, IgA, anti-TPO and anti-Tg antibodies titers were measured in 162 euthyroid patients with T1DM and 80 healthy controls matched for age, sex and socioeconomic status.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seroprevalence of H. pylori was significantly higher in patients with T1DM than in healthy controls; 79% vs. 51.2%, p < 0.001. Anti H. pylori IgG was positive in 61.1% of patients with T1DM and 30% of controls, p < 0.001, anti H. pylori IgA was positive in 74% of patients with T1DM and 32.5% of controls, p < 0.001. Thyroid autoimmunity was also significantly higher in patients with T1DM than in controls; 56.7% vs. 6.2%, p < 0.001. Anti-TPO was positive in 25.3% of patients with T1DM and 3.7% of controls, p < 0.001, anti-Tg was positive in 47.5% of patients with T1DM and 6.2% of controls, p < 0.001. With simple and multiple regression analysis anti-H. pylori IgG and IgA titers were positively and significantly correlated with Anti-TPO and anti-Tg titers in patients with T1DM.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>our results support the idea of a connection between H. pylori infection and the occurrence of anti-TPO, anti-Tg autoantibodies and AT in young patients with T1DM. So, H. pylori infection could be considered as an environmental trigger for development of AT in T1DM. Young patients with T1DM should be screened for H. pylori infection.</p

Wet and dry cooling systems optimization applied to a modern waste-to-energy cogeneration heat and power plant

In Brescia, Italy, heat is delivered to 70% of 200.000 city inhabitants by means of a district heating system, mainly supplied by a waste to energy plant, utilizing the non recyclable fraction of municipal and industrial solid waste (800,000 tons/year, otherwise landfilled), thus saving annually over 150,000 tons of oil equivalent and over 400,000 tons of CO2 emissions. This study shows how the performance of the waste-to-energy cogeneration plant can be improved by optimising the condensation system, with particular focus on the combination of wet and dry cooling systems. The analysis has been carried out using two subsequent steps: in the first one a schematic model of the steam cycle was accomplished in order to acquire a knowledge base about the variables that would be most influential on the performance. In the second step the electric power output for different operating conditions was predicted and optimized in a homemade program. In more details, a thermodynamic analysis of the steam cycle, according to the design operating condition, was performed by means of a commercial code (Thermoflex©) dedicated to power plant modelling. Then the off-design behaviour was investigated by varying not only the ambient conditions but also several parameters connected to the heat rejection rate, like the heat required from district heating and the auxiliaries load. Each of these parameters has been addressed and considered in determining the overall performance of the thermal cycle. After that, a complete prediction of the cycle behaviour was performed by simultaneously varying different operating conditions. Finally, a Matlab© computer code was developed in order to optimize the net electric power as a function of the way in which the condensation is operated. The result is an optimum set of variables allowing the wet and dry cooling system to be regulated in such a way that the maximum power is achieved. The best strategy consists in using the maximum amount of heat rejection in the wet cooling system to reduce the operational cost of the dry one.Wet and dry condenser Cooling tower Air condenser Off-design optimization