Evaluation of Packed Towers for Removing Volatile Organics from Surface Waters

This study analyzes the potential of packed tower aeration as a remedial treatment process for the removal of trace organics on either an acute or chronic basis. Both pilot-scale installations of the packed tower process were reviewed. Included are basic modeling considerations for the removal of volatile trace organics from raw water. Included also is an assessment of the state of the technology as applied to air stripping of water

Spillover effects from London and Frankfurt to Central and Eastern European stock markets

This paper investigates comovement in stock markets between the emerging economies of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and the developed markets of Western Europe. Three approaches are employed to examine this issue. The first two approaches, time-varying realised correlation ratios and cointegration statistics, use a two-step technique to derive timevarying estimates of the comovement between returns on CEE and EU stock exchanges. The first step uses common factor analysis to define the factors driving CEE stock exchanges, while the second step evaluates the relationship between the leading principal factor for CEE countries and the DAX and FTSE using time-varying realised correlation and rolling cointegration statistics. The third approach employs multivariate GARCH techniques to obtain estimates of mean and variance spillover effects

Bi-orthogonal Polynomials and the Five parameter Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process

We apply the bi-moment determinant method to compute a representation of the matrix product algebra -- a quadratic algebra satisfied by the operators $\mathbf{d}$ and $\mathbf{e}$ -- for the five parameter ($\alpha$, $\beta$, $\gamma$, $\delta$ and $q$) Asymmetric Simple Exclusion Process. This method requires an $LDU$ decomposition of the ``bi-moment matrix''. The decomposition defines a new pair of basis vectors sets, the `boundary basis'. This basis is defined by the action of polynomials $\{P_n\}$ and $\{Q_n\}$ on the quantum oscillator basis (and its dual). Theses polynomials are orthogonal to themselves (ie.\ each satisfy a three term recurrence relation) and are orthogonal to each other (with respect to the same linear functional defining the stationary state). Hence termed `bi-orthogonal'. With respect to the boundary basis the bi-moment matrix is diagonal and the representation of the operator $\mathbf{d}+\mathbf{e}$ is tri-diagonal. This tri-diagonal matrix defines another set of orthogonal polynomials very closely related to the the Askey-Wilson polynomials (they have the same moments)

Stock market co-movement in the Caribbean

This paper investigates co-movement in five Caribbean stock markets (Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas and Guyana) using common factor analysis. The common factors are obtained using principal component analysis and therefore account for the maximum portion of the variance present in the stock exchanges investigated. We break our analysis down and test for co-movement in different periods so as to ascertain any changes that have taken place from one period to the next. In particular we examine 10-year, 5-year and 3-year periods. We also specify a vector autoregression model and test for co-movement between the five markets during the sample period through impulse response functions. Both of our tests fail to find any evidence of co-movement between the exchanges over the entire sample period. However, we find evidence of periodic co-movement, particularly between exchanges in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago