The role of Kefalovruso and Amourio springs in the hydrodynamic conditions of Potamia Elassona Basin

Δυο λιγνιτικά κοιτάσματα έχουν εντοπιστεί στη λεκάνη των νεογενών της Ποταμιάς, που τοποθετείται στην Ελασσόνα στην κεντρική Ελλάδα. Οι υδατικοί πόροι της λεκάνης επηρεάζουν την εξόρυξη αυτών των κοιτασμάτων. Η λεπτομερής υδρογεωλογική έρευνα της περιοχής κρίνεται απαραίτητη πριν την έναρξη της μεταλλευτικής δραστηριότητας. Δυο είδη πηγών εκφορτίζονται στην περιοχή έρευνας, Οι καρστικές πηγές Κεφαλοβρύσου, στα βόρειο-δυτικά όρια της λεκάνης και οι πηγές Αμουρίου που αναβλύζουν στα Τεταρτογενή, στις αλλουβιακές αποθέσεις στο κεντρικό τμήμα της λεκάνης. Στην εργασία αναλύονται, οι υδρογεωλογικές συνθήκες των πηγών, αξιολογούνται οι υδρομετρήσεις (στάθμη, παροχές) και η συσχέτιση τους με τα μετεωρολογικά δεδομένα της περιοχής. Πραγματοποιήθηκε επεξεργασία της χρονοσειράς των υδρολογικών δεδομένων από το 1972 μέχρι το 2008 και για τις δυο πηγές, ενώ διάφοροι παράμετροι υπολογίστηκαν, για να διερευνηθεί η λειτουργία και η δυναμικότητα των πηγών. Διερευνήθηκε η τροφοδοσία του συστήματος των πηγών και η αλληλεπίδραση τους με το υπόγειο υδατικό δυναμικό της Ποταμιάς.Elassona area in central Greece. The water resources of the region affect critically the exploitation of the mineral deposits. The detailed hydrogeological research of the area is imperative before starting the mining activities. Two groups of springs discharge near the study area. The karstic springs of Kefalovruso are in the northwest boundaries of the Neogene basin and the springs of Amourio are located in the Quaternary alluvial deposits, in the central part of the area. This paper includes the analysis of the hydrogeological conditions of the springs, the processing of the water- measurements (water supply, water level) and their correlation with the area’s meteorological data. The time series of hydrological data, from 1972 to 2008, were evaluated for both springs and several parameters were estimated in order to investigate the function and the capacity of the springs. The relation between the recharge system of the springs and the area’s groundwater dynamics is also analysed

Swift and Fermi observations of X-ray flares: the case of Late Internal Shock

Simultaneous Swift and Fermi observations of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) offer a unique broadband view of their afterglow emission, spanning more than ten decades in energy. We present the sample of X-ray flares observed by both Swift and Fermi during the first three years of Fermi operations. While bright in the X-ray band, X-ray flares are often undetected at lower (optical), and higher (MeV to GeV) energies. We show that this disfavors synchrotron self-Compton processes as origin of the observed X-ray emission. We compare the broadband properties of X-ray flares with the standard late internal shock model, and find that, in this scenario, X-ray flares can be produced by a late-time relativistic (Gamma>50) outflow at radii R~10^13-10^14 cm. This conclusion holds only if the variability timescale is significantly shorter than the observed flare duration, and implies that X-ray flares can directly probe the activity of the GRB central engine.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Relationship between cost of equity capital and voluntary corporate disclosures

The relationship between disclosure and cost of equity capital has always been interesting not only for managers, but for investors as well. Economic theory suggests that by increasing the level of corporate reporting firms not only increase their stock market liquidity, but they also decrease the investors’ estimation risk, arising from uncertainty about future returns and payout distributions. Utilizing the Residual Income Valuation Model, the implied cost of capital is estimated for a sample of 121 Swiss listed, non-financial companies adopting a finite horizon version of the residual income valuation model. The results show that firms on the Swiss market can reduce their cost of equity capital by increasing the level of their voluntary corporate disclosures. The results persist even after controlling for various firm specific risks, such as firm size or financial leverage and regardless of company’s reporting strategy (conservative or aggressive)

A rare case of bilateral supernumerary heads of sternocleidomastoid muscle and its clinical impact

The sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) functions as a landmark for physicians such as anatomists, orthopaedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, and anaesthesiologists, who intervene in the minor supraclavicular fossa located at the base of the neck. The variability of SCM anatomy may cause complications while trying to access the vital elements that are located in the minor supraclavicular fossa. This study aims to present a case of supernumerary heads of the sternocleidomastoid muscle and to discuss its clinical significance. The cervical region of an elderly male cadaver was dissected and the findings were recorded and photographed. On both sides, the SCM muscle had an additional sternal head, and simultaneously there were three additional clavicular heads, four in total. These additional heads, the sternal and the clavicular, reduced the interval between them causing significant stenosis of the minor supraclavicular fossa. Sternocleidomastoid muscle variations with regard to the number of its heads are very rare in the literature, but this variation may cause severe complications. The minor supraclavicular fossa is important for anaesthesiologists because of the anterior central venous catheterization approach. Physicians should be aware of this anatomical variation in order to prevent complication

Development of multi-criteria decision support system (DSS) coupled with GIS for identifying optimal locations for soil aquifer treatment (SAT) facilities

Η διαχείριση του εμπλουτισμού των υδροφορέων αποτελεί μια ευρέως διαδομένη τεχνική, ιδιαίτερα σε υδρολογικά ευαίσθητες περιοχές, όπως αυτές της Μεσογειακής Λεκάνης, όπου οι υδατικοί πόροι είναι περιορισμένοι. Η επιλογή της χωροθέτησης έργων τεχνητού εμπλουτισμού (Τ.Ε.) αποτελεί μια πολύπλοκη διαδικασία το αποτέλεσμα της οποίας καθορίζει εν πολλοίς και την ίδια την αποτελεσματικότητα του έργου. Η εν λόγω διαδικασία περιπλέκεται εντονότερα όταν πρόκειται για τη χρηση νερών εμπλουτιμού υποβαθμισμένης ποιότητας. Βασικός στόχος της παρούσας εργασίας είναι η παρουσίαση ενός πρόδρομου εργαλείου πολυ-κριτιριακού Συστήματος Λήψης Αποφάσεων, το οποίο ενσωματώνει σε μια δυναμική πλατφόρμα: τόσο τις τεχνικές του Τ.Ε. όσο και τα γεωγραφικά χαρακτηριστικά που καθορίζουν την αποτελεσματικότητα του έργου. Το προτεινόμενο σύστημα αποτελεί προχωρημένο εργαλείο σύζευξης Συστημάτων Λήψης Αποφάσεων και Γεωγραφικών Πληροφοριών ικανό να αξιολογεί κρίσιμα ζητήματα που αφορούν σε έργα Τ.Ε. –γεωλογικά, υδρογεωλογικά, κλιματολογικά, νομικά, κοινωνικά, οικονομμικά κ.α. – με ιδιαίτερη έμφαση σε συστήματα Επεξεργασίας-Εδάφους- Υδροφόρου. Το συγκεκριμένο εργαλείο πρόκειται να ενσωματωθεί στο λογισμικό ArcGIS, σε περιβάλλον φιλικό προς το χρήστη, όπου η προβολή και επεξεργασία χωρικών δεδομένων μπορεί να πραγματοποιηθεί με τη χρήση Arc tools.Managed Aquifer Recharge is a wide-spread well-established groundwater engineering method which is largely seen as an alternative potential major source for water and this conclusion becomes even more pronounced in semi-arid and/or arid areas, such as the Mediterranean Basin. The process of site selection for the installation of a MAR facility is of paramount importance for the feasibility and effectiveness of the project itself, especially when the facility will include the use of waters of impaired quality as a recharge source. The main objective of this study is to present the developed framework of a multicriteria Decision Support System (DSS) that integrates within a dynamic platform: the main groundwater engineering parameters associated with MAR applications together with the general geographical features which determine the effectiveness of such a project. The proposed system will provide an advanced coupled DSS-GIS tool capable of handling local MAR-related issues -such as hydrogeology, topography, soil, climate etc., and spatially distributed variables -such as societal, economic, administrative, legislative etc., with special reference to Soil-Aquifer- Treatment technologies. The new SAT-selection tool in question is integrated in ArcGIS software -within a user friendly environment- where data can be processed and displayed using Arc tools for spatial analysis

Consumption in the circular economy : learning from our mistakes

The Circular Economy (CE) is gaining increasing attention among businesses, policymakers and academia, and across research disciplines. While the concept’s strong diffusion may be considered its main strength, it has also contributed to the emergence of many different understandings and definitions, which may hinder or slow down its success. Specifically, despite growing attention, the role of the consumption side in the CE remains a largely under-researched topic. In the present review, we first search the literature by means of snowball mapping and a systematic key-word strategy, and then critically analyze the identified sources in order to elucidate the fundamental elements that should characterize consumption in a CE. We extract two pillars, directly from definition, that should be at the nucleus of future research on consumption in the CE: (1) the hierarchical nature of circular strategies, with “reduce” being preferred to all other strategies; and (2) the inadequacy of defining the CE only through its loops or strategies without considering its goal of attaining sustainable development. Moreover, the discussion is placed within the extant consumer research streams deemed relevant, in order to bridge these with the context of the CE. We highlight limitations of said research streams regarding their typical focus on the quality (and not the quantity) of consumption, the lack of heterogeneity in the theories and data collection methods employed, and the non-impact-based instruments typically used to measure consumption behaviors. We show how these limitations have contributed to the emergence of the intention–behavior gap, a phenomenon extant studies identify as key to overcome for encouraging sustainable consumption practices. In particular, we focus the analysis on the intention–behavior gap in order to: (1) establish the state-of-the-art; and (2) uncover avenues for future research addressing extant limitations