Phase space measure concentration for an ideal gas

We point out that a special case of an ideal gas exhibits concentration of the volume of its phase space, which is a sphere, around its equator in the thermodynamic limit. The rate of approach to the thermodynamic limit is determined. Our argument relies on the spherical isoperimetric inequality of L\'{e}vy and Gromov.Comment: 15 pages, No figures, Accepted by Modern Physics Letters

Drinking water temperature around the globe : understanding, policies, challenges and opportunities

Water temperature is often monitored at water sources and treatment works; however, there is limited monitoring of the water temperature in the drinking water distribution system (DWDS), despite a known impact on physical, chemical and microbial reactions which impact water quality. A key parameter influencing drinking water temperature is soil temperature, which is influenced by the urban heat island effects. This paper provides critique and comprehensive summary of the current knowledge, policies and challenges regarding drinking water temperature research and presents the findings from a survey of international stakeholders. Knowledge gaps as well as challenges and opportunities for monitoring and research are identified. The conclusion of the study is that temperature in the DWDS is an emerging concern in various countries regardless of the water source and treatment, climate conditions, or network characteristics such as topology, pipe material or diameter. More research is needed, especially to determine (i) the effect of higher temperatures, (ii) a legislative limit on temperature and (iii) measures to comply with this limit

Drinking water temperature around the globe: Understanding, policies, challenges and opportunities

Water temperature is often monitored at water sources and treatment works; however, there is limited monitoring of the water temperature in the drinking water distribution system (DWDS), despite a known impact on physical, chemical and microbial reactions which impact water quality. A key parameter influencing drinking water temperature is soil temperature, which is influenced by the urban heat island effects. This paper provides critique and comprehensive summary of the current knowledge, policies and challenges regarding drinking water temperature research and presents the findings from a survey of international stakeholders. Knowledge gaps as well as challenges and opportunities for monitoring and research are identified. The conclusion of the study is that temperature in the DWDS is an emerging concern in various countries regardless of the water source and treatment, climate conditions, or network characteristics such as topology, pipe material or diameter. More research is needed, especially to determine (i) the effect of higher temperatures, (ii) a legislative limit on temperature and (iii) measures to comply with this limit

Impact of Cultural Tourism Upon Urban Economies: An Econometric Exercise

In recent years, interest in tourism has spread rapidly throughout many small and medium European cities, which previously have not necessarily considered themselves as tourist destinations. Tourism is increasingly seen as a potential lever towards high economic growth, measured both in terms of income and employment. In the present Working Paper we report the analysis on the economic impact undertaken in the framework of the PICTURE Project, showing the results of a novel econometric exercise to statistically assess the impacts of cultural tourism upon European municipalities. More precisely the analysis aims at estimating the effects of tourism specialisation on local income and prices. The Working Paper is built as follows. Section 1 presents and discusses secondary data about tourism facts and figures, including the economic impact of tourism upon European economies, with a focus on cultural tourism. An extensive review of literature, which identifies the main categories of impacts and the currently available methodologies to assess them, is undertaken. Section 2 focuses on the state of the art. Section 3 describes the database built for the analysis, sources and variables. In order to visually represent the spatial variability of the main parameters, a series of thematic maps at NUTS 3 level(Maps of European tourism), using GIS (Geographical Information System) are also included in the Working Paper. Section 4 shows the results of the econometric analysis of European panel data for the estimation of the effects of tourism specialisation on both local incomes and prices. Section 5 concludes

Biodiversity, International Tourism and Development

We analyze whether biodiversity is increasing the receipts of tourism and beneficial for Least Developed Countries (LDCs). The underlying assumption is that a rich biodiversity provides a comparative advantage for most LDCs. We use a simple trade theory framework. The model is supported by an empirical analysis. The main findings are that first LDCs seem to have a comparative advantage in (sustainable) tourism, that second incidence of birds as the probably best explored taxonomic group has a positive impact on inbound tourism receipts per capita, and that third the rate of endangered to total birds is negatively influencing tourism receipts

Battle of Water Demand Forecasting

As part of the Battle of Water Networks competition series, the Battle of Water Demand Forecasting (BWDF) was organized in the context of the 3rd Water Distribution Systems Analysis and Computing and Control in the Water Industry (WDSA-CCWI) joint conference held in Ferrara (Italy) in 2024. In line with the previous editions of the Battle of Water Networks—the main objective of which was to address a specific problem related to the design and operation of water distribution networks—the BWDF aims to compare the effectiveness of methods for the short-term forecast of urban water demand in a set of real district metered areas. During the conference, 31 teams across the world participated in the BWDF and presented their approaches. The results obtained demonstrate the importance of (1) considering integrated approaches for short-term water demand forecasting; and (2) evaluating their performance in relation to more than one metric, case study, and period

The Battle of the Water Networks II (BWN-II)

The Battle of the Water Networks II (BWN-II) is the latest of a series of competitions related to the design and operation of water distribution systems (WDSs) undertaken within the Water Distribution Systems Analysis (WDSA) Symposium series. The BWN-II problem specification involved a broadly defined design and operation problem for an existing network that has to be upgraded for increased future demands, and the addition of a new development area. The design decisions involved addition of new and parallel pipes, storage, operational controls for pumps and valves, and sizing of backup power supply. Design criteria involved hydraulic, water quality, reliability, and environmental performance measures. Fourteen teams participated in the Battle and presented their results at the 14th Water Distribution Systems Analysis (WDSA 2012) conference in Adelaide, Australia, September 2012. This paper summarizes the approaches used by the participants and the results they obtained. Given the complexity of the BWN-II problem and the innovative methods required to deal with the multi-objective, high dimensional and computationally demanding nature of the problem, this paper represents a snap-shot of state of the art methods for the design and operation of water distribution systems. A general finding of this paper is that there is benefit in using a combination of heuristic engineering experience and sophisticated optimization algorithms when tackling complex real-world water distribution system design problems.Angela Marchi...Angus R. Simpson, Aaron C. Zecchin, Holger R. Maier...Christopher Stokes, Wenyan Wu, Graeme C. Dandy...et al

The Battle of the Water Networks II (BWN-II)

The Battle of the Water Networks II (BWN-II) is the latest of a series of competitions related to the design and operation of water distribution systems (WDSs) undertaken within the Water Distribution Systems Analysis (WDSA) Symposium series. The BWN-II problem specification involved a broadly defined design and operation problem for an existing network that has to be upgraded for increased future demands, and the addition of a new development area. The design decisions involved addition of new and parallel pipes, storage, operational controls for pumps and valves, and sizing of backup power supply. Design criteria involved hydraulic, water quality, reliability, and environmental performance measures. Fourteen teams participated in the Battle and presented their results at the 14th Water Distribution Systems Analysis (WDSA 2012) conference in Adelaide, Australia, September 2012. This paper summarizes the approaches used by the participants and the results they obtained. Given the complexity of the BWN-II problem and the innovative methods required to deal with the multi-objective, high dimensional and computationally demanding nature of the problem, this paper represents a snap-shot of state of the art methods for the design and operation of water distribution systems. A general finding of this paper is that there is benefit in using a combination of heuristic engineering experience and sophisticated optimization algorithms when tackling complex real-world water distribution system design problems.Angela Marchi...Angus R. Simpson, Aaron C. Zecchin, Holger R. Maier...Christopher Stokes, Wenyan Wu, Graeme C. Dandy...et al