On the new economic philosophy of crisis management in the European Union

This essay attempts to go beyond presenting the bits and pieces of still ongoing crisis management in the EU. Instead it attempts at finding the ‘red thread’ behind a series of politically improvised decisions. Our fundamental research question asks whether basic economic lessons learned in the 1970s are still valid. Namely, that a crises emanating from either structural or regulatory weaknesses cannot and should not be remedied by demand management. Our second research question is the following: Can lacking internal commitment and conviction in any member state be replaced or substituted by external pressure or formalized procedures and sanctions? Under those angles we analyze the project on establishing a fiscal and banking union in the EU, as approved by the Council in December 2012

Zeeman smearing of the Coulomb blockade

Charge fluctuations of a large quantum dot coupled to a two-dimensional lead via a single-mode good Quantum Point Contact (QPC) and capacitively coupled to a back-gate, are investigated in the presence of a parallel magnetic field. The Zeeman term induces an asymmetry between transmission probabilities for the spin-up and spin-down channels at the QPC, producing noticeable effects on the quantization of the grain charge already at low magnetic fields. Performing a quantitative analysis, I show that the capacitance between the gate and the lead exhibits - instead of a logarithmic singularity - a reduced peak as a function of gate voltage. Experimental applicability is discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures (Final version

Stationary Flows of the Parabolic Potential Barrier in Two Dimensions

In the two-dimensional isotropic parabolic potential barrier $V(x, y)=V_0 -m\gamma^2 (x^2+y^2)/2$, though it is a model of an unstable system in quantum mechanics, we can obtain the stationary states corresponding to the real energy eigenvalue $V_0$. Further, they are infinitely degenerate. For the first few eigenstates, we will find the stationary flows round a right angle that are expressed by the complex velocity potentials $W=\pm\gamma z^2/2$.Comment: 12 pages, AmS-LaTeX, 4 figure

Preliminary validation of column-averaged volume mixing ratios of carbon dioxide and methane retrieved from GOSAT short-wavelength infrared spectra

Column-averaged volume mixing ratios of carbon dioxide and methane retrieved from the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) Short-Wavelength InfraRed observation (GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 ) were compared with the reference calibrated data obtained by ground-based high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometers (g-b FTSs) participating in the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Preliminary results are as follows: the GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 (Version 01.xx) are biased low by 8.85 ±4.75 ppm (2.3±1.2 %) and 20.4±18.9 ppb (1.2±1.1 %), respectively. The standard deviation of the GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 is about 1% after correcting the negative biases of XCO2 and XCH4 by 8.85 ppm and 20.4 ppb, respectively. The latitudinal distributions of zonal means of the GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 show similar features to those of the g-b FTS data except for the negative biases in the GOSAT data

Metamorphosis of plasma turbulence-shear flow dynamics through a transcritical bifurcation

The structural properties of an economical model for a confined plasma turbulence governor are investigated through bifurcation and stability analyses. A close relationship is demonstrated between the underlying bifurcation framework of the model and typical behavior associated with low- to high-confinement transitions such as shear flow stabilization of turbulence and oscillatory collective action. In particular, the analysis evinces two types of discontinuous transition that are qualitatively distinct. One involves classical hysteresis, governed by viscous dissipation. The other is intrinsically oscillatory and non-hysteretic, and thus provides a model for the so-called dithering transitions that are frequently observed. This metamorphosis, or transformation, of the system dynamics is an important late side-effect of symmetry-breaking, which manifests as an unusual non-symmetric transcritical bifurcation induced by a significant shear flow drive.Comment: 17 pages, revtex text, 9 figures comprised of 16 postscript files. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Comparison and complementary use of in situ and remote sensing aerosol measurements in the Athens Metropolitan Area

© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. This manuscript is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Licence http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.In the summer of 2014 in situ and remote sensing instruments were deployed in Athens, in order to study the concentration, physical properties, and chemical composition of aerosols. In this manuscript we aim to combine the measurements of collocated in situ and remote sensing instruments by comparison and complementary use, in order to increase the accuracy of predictions concerning climate change and human health. We also develop a new method in order to select days when a direct comparison on in situ and remote sensing instruments is possible. On selected days that displayed significant turbulence up to approximately 1000 m above ground level (agl), we acquired the aerosol extinction or scattering coefficient by in situ instruments using three approaches. In the first approach the aerosol extinction coefficient was acquired by adding a Nephelometer scattering coefficient in ambient conditions and an Aethalometer absorption coefficient. The correlation between the in situ and remote sensing instruments was good (coefficient of determination R2 equal to 0.69). In the second approach we acquired the aerosol refractive index by fitting dry Nephelometer and Aethalometer measurements with Mie algorithm calculations of the scattering and absorption coefficients for the size distribution up to a maximum diameter of 1000 nm obtained by in situ instruments. The correlation in this case was relatively good (R2 equal to 0.56). Our next step was to compare the extinction coefficient acquired by remote sensing instruments to the scattering coefficient calculated by Mie algorithm using the size distribution up to a maximum diameter of 1000 nm and the equivalent refractive index (ERICOR), which is acquired by the comparison of the size distributions obtained by a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) and an Optical Particle Counter (OPC). The agreement between the in situ and remote sensing instruments in this case was not satisfactory (R2 equal to 0.35). The last comparison for the selected days was between the aerosol extinction Ångström exponent acquired by in situ and remote sensing instruments. The correlation was not satisfactory (R2 equal to 0.4), probably due to differences in the number size distributions present in the air volumes measured by in situ and remote sensing instruments. We also present a day that a Saharan dust event occurred in Athens in order to demonstrate the information we obtain through the synergy of in situ and remote sensing instruments on how regional aerosol is added to local aerosol, especially during pollution events due to long range transport.Peer reviewe

Evaluation of rK39 rapid diagnostic tests for canine visceral leishmaniasis : longitudinal study and meta-analysis

Canine visceral leishmaniasis is a vector-borne disease caused by the intracellular parasite Leishmania infantum. It is an important veterinary disease, and dogs are also the main animal reservoir for human infection. The disease is widespread in the Mediterranean area, and parts of Asia and South and Central America, and is potentially fatal in both dogs and humans unless treated. Diagnosis of canine infections requires serological or molecular tests. Detection of infection in dogs is important prior to treatment, and in epidemiological studies and control programmes, and a sensitive and specific rapid diagnostic test would be very useful. Rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) have been developed, but their diagnostic performance has been reported to be variable. We evaluated the sensitivity of a RDT based on serological detection of the rK39 antigen in a cohort of naturally infected Brazilian dogs. The sensitivity of the test to detect infection was relatively low, but increased with time since infection and the severity of infection. We then carried out a meta-analysis of published studies of rK39 RDTs, evaluating the sensitivity to detect disease and infection. The results suggest that rK39 RDTs may be useful in a veterinary clinical setting, but the sensitivity to detect infection is too low for operational control programmes

Preliminary validation of column-averaged volume mixing ratios of carbon dioxide and methane retrieved from GOSAT short-wavelength infrared spectra

Column-averaged volume mixing ratios of carbon dioxide and methane retrieved from the Greenhouse gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) Short-Wavelength InfraRed observation (GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4) were compared with the reference data ob- 5 tained by ground-based high-resolution Fourier Transform Spectrometers (g-b FTSs) participating in the Total Carbon Column Observing Network (TCCON). Through calibrations of g-b FTSs with airborne in-situ measurements, the uncertainty of XCO2 and XCH4 associated with the g-b FTS was determined to be 0.8 ppm (0.2%) and 4 ppb (0.2%), respectively. The GOSAT products are validated with 10 these calibrated g-b FTS data. Preliminary results are as follows: The GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 (Version 01.xx) are biased low by 8.85±4.75 ppm (2.3±1.2%) and 20.4±18.9 ppb (1.2±1.1%), respectively. The precision of the GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 is considered to be about 1%. The latitudinal distributions of zonal means of the GOSAT SWIR XCO2 and XCH4 show similar features to those of the g-b FTS data

The ACOS CO_2 retrieval algorithm – Part 1: Description and validation against synthetic observations

This work describes the NASA Atmospheric CO_2 Observations from Space (ACOS) X_(CO_2) retrieval algorithm, and its performance on highly realistic, simulated observations. These tests, restricted to observations over land, are used to evaluate retrieval errors in the face of realistic clouds and aerosols, polarized non-Lambertian surfaces, imperfect meteorology, and uncorrelated instrument noise. We find that post-retrieval filters are essential to eliminate the poorest retrievals, which arise primarily due to imperfect cloud screening. The remaining retrievals have RMS errors of approximately 1 ppm. Modeled instrument noise, based on the Greenhouse Gases Observing SATellite (GOSAT) in-flight performance, accounts for less than half the total error in these retrievals. A small fraction of unfiltered clouds, particularly thin cirrus, lead to a small positive bias of ~0.3 ppm. Overall, systematic errors due to imperfect characterization of clouds and aerosols dominate the error budget, while errors due to other simplifying assumptions, in particular those related to the prior meteorological fields, appear small