Carbon Capture and Utilisation Workshop: Background and proceedings

The utilisation of CO2 as technological fluid or as feedstock in chemical processes and in biotechnological applications has the potential to be a very efficient tool when merged with development of innovative and feasible technologies that have less-intensive energy and materials consumption and the capacity of temporary or permanent storage of CO2 (other than geological storage). The Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, Institute for Energy and Transport, and the Directorate General for Climate Action co-hosted a workshop on CO2 re-use technologies in Brussels on the 7th June 2013. The aim of the workshop was to present how the most promising pathways for CO2 re-use are related to climate and energy technology policies, facilitate a dialogue between stakeholders (industry, academia and policy makers) and address the challenges for a possible large scale roll-out of CO2 re-use technologies. A number of six presentations from experts focused on the state-of-the art of the technology, the needs of the sector for large scale deployment and the impact of the CO2 re-use products on the market. In particular, the workshop focused on three promising pathways, i.e. methanol production, mineralisation and polymer production.JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluatio

A proportionate solidarity test? : ex ante existence ex post application of a legal principle of solidarity in European Union law

Award date: 23 February 2018Supervisor: Professor Giorgio MontiThe rediscovery of values and principles is a fragile undertaking fraught with its own interpretive perils. Nevertheless, claims to their normative superiority have a rather uncertain and inadequately explained content. European Union law may inspire and assist scholars and practitioners alike in their understanding of the principle of solidarity. This thesis suggests the possibility of a more coherent framing of solidarity as a legal principle in European Union law. This approach may assist legal scholarship in moving forward to build upon existing literature within the field, and integrate a more holistic model of the legal principle of solidarity in European Union law based on a theory defining solidarity as joint action. The latter may better reflect the various legal correlates that together define this principle both ex ante and ex post. More than adding another voice to the debate what solidarity is, this thesis focuses rather on what solidarity does. Recent developments within Public International Law shed some light on the debate within the ambit of European Union law. The thesis will attempt to provide suggestions on how solidarity as a principle steers and interacts with other principles of EU law. Integrating the ex ante and ex post dimensions of the principle of solidarity is a subtle distinction and arguably necessary in order to explain solidarity as a form of background coercion. The elusive question remains how a legal principle of solidarity may be understood as a legal principle which takes into consideration both the ex ante and ex post natures of the principle. The gravamen of the problem is that the principle of solidarity has primarily been applied ex post after the decisions of the Member States have become subject to judicial review by the European Court of Justice. Nevertheless, there is also a need for a legal principle of solidarity which may also be applied and understood ex ante before interacting with an adjudicatory body. These two temporal dimensions are of equal importance in understanding what solidarity as a legal principle actually does. Instead of being solely an after-the-fact result-oriented approach, an ex ante application of solidarity as a legal principle places greater emphasis on formative processes and their bases in adherence to the Treaties. Between the ex ante existence and the ex post application of the principle lies the vehicle of the decisions made by the Member States in light of European Union law. Between the ex ante existence and ex post application of solidarity lies the decision of the Member States to act, framed between existing EU law and the review of the Member State´s choice by the European Court of Justice. That is, a fair opportunity for those involved to act in ways that are in accordance with the Treaties in both input and output

A pilot study of cognitive remediation in remitted major depressive disorder patients

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with working memory (WM) impairments. These deficits often persist following remission and are associated with rumination, a recognized risk factor for depression relapse. The efficacy of WM-targeted cognitive remediation as a potential relapse prevention tool has not been investigated. The present pilot study aimed to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and cognitive benefits of a WM-targeted cognitive remediation program in remitted depression. Twenty-eight MDD participants in remission were recruited. The intervention consisted of twenty-five 30–40-minute training sessions, coupled with weekly coaching, administered over a 5-week period. Before and after the intervention, a battery of objective neuropsychological tests and self-report measures was administered. Key outcomes were WM, inhibition and rumination. Acceptability of the intervention was observed, with 83% showing high motivation, along with WM gains for all completers (n = 18, 64% of recruited participants). The cognitive remediation selectively improved targeted WM functions, as measured by objective tests. This did not translate into self-reported improvements in everyday WM or inhibition. However, all but one completer achieved at least one personal goal related to WM and 44% achieved two or, the maximum possible, three such goals. For remitters whose WM was significantly enhanced after the intervention, the cognitive remediation also decreased dysphoric-mood related rumination. The successful pilot testing of the WM-targeted intervention supports the conduct of a fully powered randomized controlled trial as a relapse prevention approach in remitted MDD

A pilot study of cognitive remediation in remitted major depressive disorder patients

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with working memory (WM) impairments. These deficits often persist following remission and are associated with rumination, a recognized risk factor for depression relapse. The efficacy of WM-targeted cognitive remediation as a potential relapse prevention tool has not been investigated. The present pilot study aimed to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and cognitive benefits of a WM-targeted cognitive remediation program in remitted depression. Twenty-eight MDD participants in remission were recruited. The intervention consisted of twenty-five 30–40-minute training sessions, coupled with weekly coaching, administered over a 5-week period. Before and after the intervention, a battery of objective neuropsychological tests and self-report measures was administered. Key outcomes were WM, inhibition and rumination. Acceptability of the intervention was observed, with 83% showing high motivation, along with WM gains for all completers (n =18, 64% of recruited participants). The cognitive remediation selectively improved targeted WM functions, as measured by objective tests. This did not translate into self-reported improvements in everyday WM or inhibition. However, all but one completer achieved at least one personal goal related to WM and 44% achieved two or, the maximum possible, three such goals. For remitters whose WM was significantly enhanced after the intervention, the cognitive remediation also decreased dysphoric-mood related rumination. The successful pilot testing of the WM-targeted intervention supports the conduct of a fully powered randomized controlled trial as a relapse prevention approach in remitted MDD