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The coastal plains of the Netherlands are subject to anthropogenic and natural subsidence with rates which are an order of magnitude higher than sea-level rise. Because one-third of the Netherlands lies below mean sea level, subsidence may threaten the country’s subsistence with major socio-economic consequences. Subsidence is a normal natural process but is overprinted and accelerated by anthropogenic activities which drives deep or shallow processes. Deep processes are caused by the extraction of hydrocarbons and salt, whereas shallow processes are primarily caused by lowering of phreatic groundwater levels. At present, the relative contribution of each process to total subsidence (i.e. natural plus anthropogenic) is unclear. Such information is important for stakeholders to support decision making on subsidence mitigation and it should be substantiated with independent scientific studies.We present the outline of a hybrid Artificial Intelligence (AI) big data and model workflow to disentangle different subsidence forcing and we report on preliminary results for an area covering a gas field in the peat-rich Friesland coastal plain. The proposed workflow is a hybrid approach between a knowledge-based physical model and machine-learning techniques. The big input data comprises a suite of static (structural model) and time-dependent subsurface data (phreatic groundwater level, reservoir pressure), and geodetic measurements. Geomechanical models provide the connection between the drivers (groundwater levels and reservoir pressures) and the surface movement.

The rise of the COVID-19 pandemic has posed new challenges for health care institutions. Restrictions imposed by local governments worldwide have compromised the mobility of patients and decreased the number of physicians in hospitals. Additional requirements in terms of medical staff security further limited the physical contact of doctors with their patients, thereby questioning the traditional methods of clinical examination. Our institution has developed an organization model to translate the essential clinical services into virtual consultation rooms using a telemedicine interface which is commonly available to patients. We provide examples of clinical activity for a maxillofacial surgery department based on teleconsultation. Our experience is summarized and an organization model is drafted in which outpatient consultation offices are translated into virtual room environments. Clinical examples are provided, demonstrating how each subspecialty of oral and maxillofacial surgery can benefit from virtual examinations. The concept of &ldquo, telesemeiology&rdquo, is introduced and a checklist is presented to guide clinicians to perform teleconsultations. This paper is intended to provide an organization model based on telemedicine for maxillofacial surgeons and aims to represent an aid for colleagues who are facing the pandemic in areas where lockdown limits the possibility of a physical examination.

The worldwide pandemic caused by the COVID-19 outbreak has led to an unprecedented burden on hospital structures, posing new challenges in terms of reshaping healthcare services. At the same time, the so-called 'lockdown' restrictions have decreased overall mobility, thereby challenging the traditional concept of clinical examination. Moreover, the need for security for both patients and healthcare personnel has posed a further limitation to face-to-face meeting. Telemedicine has provided a valuable solution for such issues, allowing the evaluation of oral and maxillofacial surgery patients through technological interfaces, restricting physical consultations to cases with high clinical priority, intercepting suspects, and maintaining contact with discharged patients. Thanks to the experience gained during the previous wave of infections, the purpose of this study was to present a reorganization of clinical services for oral and maxillofacial surgery in order to help cope with the latest COVID-19 resurgence. Using commonly available software for telecommunications and online meetings, the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department of the University Hospital of Udine has reshaped the organization of healthcare services, with telemedicine central to the continuity of assistance, while at the same time minimizing the risk of exposure for both patients and operators. Additionally, the high number of patients evaluated through telemedicine improved our ability to define signs and symptoms of diseases using informatic tools, thus allowing the introduction of the concept of 'telesemiology'. During our previous lockdown experience, between March and April 2020, 78 patients were evaluated using teleconsultation. All outpatient examinations were rescheduled and translated into a virtual platform, allowing each patient to undergo evaluation in the most appropriate setting. Special attention was paid to the follow-up of oncological patients. The rehabilitation team represented a crucial element in maintaining contact with more complex patients in this crucial time. This study was based on our previous lockdown experience - a situation that many will be facing again over the coming months. Our hope is that the organizational structure that our department applied during the previous wave of infections may offer other colleagues a solution to facing the current COVID-19 recrudescence.

In 2017 the Joint Research Centre developed a Power Plant Database [1] for energy systems modelling (JRC-PPDB) in order to support the unit activities in energy systems modelling and knowledge management. As demand for open data is increasingly sought after, an open version (JRC-PPDB-OPEN), based on exclusively open data was designed. The JRC-PPDB-OPEN is primarily based on a collection of all the information published by ENTSO-E[1] on the European power plants at unit level. This information was extended, improved, and where possible corrected using information contained in open datasets published by WRI Powerwatch[2], Global energy observatory[3], FRESNA[4] and the EEA[5]. The JRC-PPDB-OPEN database is a first attempt towards a more detailed and coherent, albeit still incomplete, dataset of European power plants. Further work to expand and improve the information contained therein is called for. To this extend, and in order to facilitate the future involvement of third parties in such efforts, the associations between records in the different datasets (linkage) are included. [1] https://transparency.entsoe.eu/ [2] http://datasets.wri.org/dataset/globalpowerplantdatabase [3] http://globalenergyobservatory.org/ [4] https://github.com/FRESNA/powerplantmatching [5] https://prtr.eea.europa.eu/#/home

This report is a description of the JRC's open power plant database (JRC-PPDB-OPEN), its structure and the information it contains. JRC-PPDB-OPEN is mainly based on information from ENTSO-E's lists of installed capacity in Europe, extended through information contained in other open datasets, as well as own analysis of historical hourly generation time series data., JRC.C.7-Knowledge for the Energy Union

The last few years have witnessed a wealth of studies, reports and assessments being published in many EU member states, by national and international organisations and in the research community on economic, environmental and human health related aspects of unconventional oil and gas exploration and production. Many R&D initiatives are also underway. This report attempts to provide a survey of several of such studies and initiatives, with a focus on the years 2015, 2016 and early 2017. Principally, reports and studies from public bodies and scientific institutes were covered. Additionally, several papers published in peer-reviewed journals were included. A review of the quality of the studies covered, the accuracy of their claims and their possible limitations was not carried out. This report is therefore only meant to provide a compilation of their summaries, without any endorsement of the findings reported in any of the studies and assessments covered in the report., JRC.C.3-Energy Security, Distribution and Markets

In a European wide project, including Ukraine, 81 shale formations from 33 thermogenic and two biogenic gas bearing onshore basins were studied for hydrocarbon potential. All formations have been mapped and data complied based on information and expert judgments gathered from the respective European National Geological Surveys. Parameters relevant for resource evaluation purposes were gathered for each shale layer according to the current, publically available knowledge. The description also includes a full bibliographic reference database with more than 250 references comprising the current state of the art of scientific research of European shale gas and oil. Average properties for all European shales and for typical Carboniferous and Jurassic shales are presented, applicable as a prior approximation for resource assessment parameterisation based on European analogues. The European shales compare well with prospective North American shales with respect to lateral extent, thickness, TOC content, and maturity. The European prospective shales are, however, dominated by more clay rich rock types than producing North American shales. High clay content is known to pose engineering related difficulties during drilling, completion and production; hence it may pose challenges for successful implementation of North American shale gas and oil technologies to Europe. Saudi Aramco; Shell; Total

This paper assesses two different carbon capture and utilization (CCU) routes as disposal options for captured CO2 emissions. The adopted methodology is presented and applied to the study of urea synthesis and methanol production. Process flow modelling is used to analyze their technological performances. The adopted conceptual design strategy allows for the contextualization of the modelled technologies and their comparison in terms of selected scales and process configurations. The results highlight the potential benefit of CO2 utilization, by avoiding CO2 emissions. The proposed approach is amenable for the screening of other prospective technologies: polymer synthesis, CO2 mineralization and formic acid production, which will be addressed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in a follow-up study of CCU.

The present report firstly summarizes the background for creating the "European Science and Technology Network on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Extraction", based on a Communication from the European Commission to the Council and the Parliament. It further describes the organisation and functioning of the Network as well as the status of the foreseen deliverables of the Working Groups realized in 2015., JRC.F.3-Energy Security, Systems and Market

A passive seismic survey in April 2009 had two main goals: the use of seismic interferometry to retrieve the seismic signal (reflected waves) from the background noise and to demonstrate that passive surveys can cover spatial gaps between active profiles. Seismic interferometry works well if the passive records are not affected by surface waves with high amplitudes; therefore, such records are neglected in the application of seismic interferometry.

The study area is located in the Sinai Peninsula, which is considered one of the most promising regions for oil resources. Three different tectonic forces affect the area in the triple junction structures associated with the opening of the Gulf of Suez and the strike slip movement along the Gulf of Aqaba. The main goal of this work is to model the structure of the basement rocks in the study area using magnetic methods. To achieve this, a high-resolution land magnetic survey was acquired and the results were combined with existing seismic reflection data. The magnetic interpretation was carried out using the analytical signal, horizontal gradient, Euler and Werner deconvolution and 3D magnetic modelling methods. We concluded that most of the deduced structures are trending in N-S, N35°-N45° west and E-W directions. The Aqaba trend (N15°-N25° east) is barely noticeable. The depth to the basement rocks ranges from 1 km to more than 2 km below sea level and these results are in agreement with the available well log data. In addition, interpretation of seismic reflection sections was carried out and compared with overlapping magnetic profiles interpreted using Euler deconvolution. They show that the sedimentary section was affected by the basement tectonics, with faults extending from the basement upwards through the sedimentary cover. These faults constitute good potential structural traps for oil accumulation.

A velocity model of the upper crust (maximum depth 10-15 km) of the earthquake-prone Vrancea area (Romania) from 2D forward ray tracing of densely-spaced refraction data is presented. The model is derived from more than 11,000 travel times recorded at stations 100 m apart picked from 42 shot gathers along a 140 km line crossing the south-eastern Carpathian bending zone and the adjacent deep (foreland) Focsani Basin. The model refines basement structure beneath the south-eastern Carpathian nappe stack and Focsani Basin and documents reverse faults on which crystalline rocks or highly metamorphosed Mesozoic sedimentary cover of the crystalline basement have been elevated to depths as little as 3.5-4 km (with a vertical displacement of at least 2-2.5 km) beneath the external Carpathian nappes in the Vrancea Zone. Fault systems (flower structures) and normal faults associated with the overall tectonic subsidence of the foreland basin are also inferred. Some of the basement fault systems appear to be recently active, since they involve overlying young (Tertiary-Quaternary) sedimentary layers, and may be associated with intracrustal earthquakes recorded in the area. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Th e challenge of climate change demands reduction in global CO 2 emissions. In order to fi ght global warming many coun- tries are looking at technological solutions to keep the release of CO 2 into the atmosphere under control. One of the most promising techniques is carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS), also known as CO 2 geological storage. CCS can re- duce the world’s total CO 2 release by about one quarter by 2050 (IEA 2008, 2013; Metz et al. 2005). CCS usually in- volves a series of steps: (1) separation of the CO 2 from the gases produced by large power plants or other point sources, (2) compression of the CO 2 into supercritical fl uid, (3) trans- portation to a storage location and (4) injecting it into deep underground geological formations. CO 2 StoP is an acronym for the CO 2 Storage Potential in Europe project. Th e CO 2 StoP project which started in Janu- ary 2012 and ended in October 2014 included data from 27 countries (Fig. 1). Th e data necessary to assess potential loca- tions of CO 2 storage resources are found in a database set up in the project. A data analysis system was developed to analyse the com- plex data in the database, as well as a geographical informa- tion system (GIS) that can display the location of potential geological storage formations, individual units of assessment within the formations and any further subdivisions (daugh- ter units, such as hydrocarbon reservoirs or potential struc- tural traps in saline aquifers). Finally, formulae have been developed to calculate the storage resources. Th e database is housed at the Joint Research Centre, the European Commis- sion in Petten, the Netherlands. Background and methods CO 2 storage resource assessment A resource can be defi ned as anything potentially available and useful to man. Th e pore space in deeply buried reservoir rocks that can trap CO 2 is a resource that can be used for CO 2 storage. It is of utmost importance to be aware that the mere presence of a resource does not indicate that any part of it can be economically exploited, now or in the future

Proteinuria after strenuous exercise is common in healthy subjects. The pathophysiologic mechanism of postexercise proteinuria (PEP) is not clear, although the phenomenon has long been known and many explanatory theories have been proposed. It is widely recognized that angiotensin II may increase filtration of protein through the glomerular membrane, and that its concentration in plasma increases during exercise. The aim of this study was to evaluate possible involvement of angiotensin II in the pathogenesis of PEP. Of 25 young volunteers who performed maximal aerobic exercise, eight showed PEP. The exercise was repeated after an interval of at least one week, now 90 minutes after administration of captopril (25 mg). Captopril did not affect the achieved work load of the maximal blood pressure and heart rate during the exercise, but PEP was not found. As it was possible to prevent PEP by administering an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor, the study supports the theory that the renin angiotensin system is involved in the pathogenesis of PEP.

Endothelins (ET) are recently discovered vasoconstrictor agents released from endothelial cells and have been the object of intense investigation by researchers. Many of the factors that seem to influence the release of ET are modified by prolonged exercise. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of physical exercise on ET plasma concentrations and the effect of α. and β-blockade on ET concentrations at rest and during exercise. Fifteen young volunteers (age 20-35 years) performed an exercise test on a bicycle ergometer. The starting workload of 50 W was increased by 30 W every 3 min until maximal heart rate was achieved ; after a 2 min recovery period at 50 W the test continued for 15 min at 60% maximal work load. Blood samples were taken for ET determination before and after the test. After 1 week, the test was repeated. In the 2 days before either the first or the second test, each volunteer randomly received carvedilol (C) (25 mg), an α 1 -adrenoceptor and β-adrenoceptor blocker. There was no significant difference in ET concentrations after exercise with or without C administration (1.24 ± 0.66, 1.42 ± 0.83, 1.66 ± 1.15, 1.61 ± 0.87 pg/mL), showing that prolonged aerobic exercise does not affect plasma ET levels. Moreover, in our healthy young volunteers, blockade of α- and β-adrenoceptors had no effect on ET levels at rest and after exercise. Am J Hypertens 1996 ;9 :819-822

Nonselective beta-blockers may reduce exercise performance, not only through hemodynamic but also through metabolic effects. During prolonged physical exertion, lipolysis induced by plasma epinephrine occurs through beta-adrenoceptors of adipocytes. Therefore, beta-blockade may reduce release of free fatty acids (FFA) from adipocytes and consequently the energy supply for muscle cells. In this single-blind study, we compared the metabolic effects of atenolol with those of doxazosin, an alpha 1-blocker, during exercise in 26 young volunteers (age 20-35 years). All subjects performed an exercise test on a bicycle ergometer 5 h after consuming a standard breakfast. The starting workload of 50 W was increased by 30 W every 3 min until maximal heart rate (HR) was achieved; after a 2-min recovery period at 50 W the test was continued for 15 min at 60% maximal workload. Before and at the end of the test, blood samples were taken for glucose, lactate, and FFA determination. After 1 week, the test was repeated; the volunteers randomly received atenolol or doxazosin for 2 days before the second test. Exercise performance, plasma glucose, and lactate were not affected by either drug. The concentration of FFA was unchanged in subjects treated with doxazosin but was significantly reduced after the test in subjects treated with atenolol. Our data demonstrate that neither doxazosin nor atenolol impairs exercise performance in young volunteers. Atenolol reduces plasma FFA concentration possibly by inhibiting lipolysis. Doxazosin, in contrast, does not alter this parameter. Therefore, doxazosin may be a antihypertensive drug of potential benefit in treatment of hypertensive patients engaging in sports or undergoing a program of physical training.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Energy storage is an important option to enable a higher share of variable renewable electricity such as wind and solar, in the energy system. Pumped hydropower storage (PHS) is currently the only storage technology able to provide the large storage needed for accommodating renewable electricity under the 2020 EU energy targets. Moreover, the transformation of an existing water reservoir into a PHS facility has a much smaller environmental and social impact compared with most new hydropower plant in Europe. The JRC collaborated with University College Cork (UCC) in Ireland to develop a GIS-based methodology and model to assess the potential for transforming single reservoirs into PHS systems. Then the JRC organised a multi-disciplinary expert workshop to validate the methodology and model, provide a set of recommendations for the improvement of the effectiveness and efficiency of the methodology, address the issue of data availability in the Member States, and share and disseminate the methodology among relevant stakeholders, such as policy makers, industry, research, etc. This report presents the results of the workshop which concluded that the assessment of the potential for PHS is different when its purpose is site assessment or policy planning and decision-making; and that the use of geographical information systems models is effective, efficient and convenient for both purposes whereas what differs is the intensity of the use of the tools, the detail of the data needed and the assumptions behind the model and methodology. The restriction to PHS development imposed by the different types of nature protection areas (NPA) is different in different countries. Also, laws and perceptions change with time and as PHS projects take a long time to realise the scientific assessment of European or national potential cannot take current NPAs and laws into account with the same weight as the site assessment for a proposed PHS project. Country and European assessment is heavily dependent on the assumptions taken. For example, sensibility analysis showed that enlarging the maximum distance between two reservoirs from 5 to 20 km increased the theoretical potential for Croatia from 60 GWh to nearly 600 GWh., JRC.F.6-Energy systems evaluation

The authors have previously reported that oscillatory potentials (O.P.) of the electroretinogram are impaired in essential hypertensive patients before the appearance of funduscopic changes. They can therefore be considered an early marker of the nervous damage induced by hypertension. Aim of this study was to evaluate whether an antihypertensive regimen could influence the progression of this damage. O.P. were recorded in 35 essential hypertensives before antihypertensive treatment and after one-year treatment. The patients were randomly allocated into 4 treatment groups: 1) beta-blockers 2) ACE-Inhibitors 3) calcium antagonists 4) no pharmacological treatment. At the end of the study, blood pressure was significantly decreased in all but group 4. O.P., similar in the 4 groups at the beginning, were significantly higher at the end of the study only in patients treated with ACE-inhibitors. The results of this study suggest that although all hypotensive agents reduced blood pressure only ACE-I showed a protective effect on the retinal electric electrophysiology in hypertensive patients.

P3 - 02 REGIONAL GEOPHYSICS & GEOTECTONICS UPPER CRUSTAL STRUCTURE OF THE VRANCEA ZONE AND FOCSANI BASIN FROM SEISMIC VELOCITY MODELLING AND POTENTIAL FIELD DATA Andrei Bocin 1 Randell Stephenson 2 Ari Tryggvason 3 Ionelia Panea 1 Victor Mocanu 1 Franz Hauser 4 Liviu Matenco 1 2 1 Faculty of Geology and Geophysics University of Bucharest Bucharest Romania 2 Faculty of Life and Earth Sciences Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam Netherlands 3 Department of Earth Sciences Uppsala University Uppsala Sweden 4 Geophysical Institute University of Karlsruhe Germany The Vrancea Zone displays intense and persistent seismic activity comprising crustal and intermediate depth earthquakes

The DACIA-PLAN (Danube and Carpathian Integrated Action on Processes in the Lithosphere and Neotectonics) deep seismic reflection survey was performed in August-September 2001, with the objective of obtaining new information on the deep structure of the external Carpathians nappe system and the architecture of the Tertiary/Quaternary basins developed within and adjacent to the Vrancea zone, including the rapidly subsiding Focsani Basin. The DACIA-PLAN profile is about 140 km long, having a roughly WNW-ESE direction, from near the southeast Transylvanian Basin, across the mountainous south-eastern Carpathians and their foreland to near the Danube River. A high resolution 2.5D velocity model of the upper crust along the seismic profile has been determined from a tomographic inversion of the DACIA-PLAN first arrival data. The results show that the data fairly accurately resolve the transition from sediment to crystalline basement beneath the Focsani Basin, where industry seismic data are available for correlation, at depths up to about 10 km. Beneath the external Carpathians nappes, apparent basement (material with velocities above 5.8 km/s) lies at depths as shallow as 3-4 km, which is less than previously surmised on the basis of geological observations. The first arrival travel-time data suggest that there is significant lateral structural heterogeneity on the apparent basement surface in this area, suggesting that the high velocity material may be involved in Carpathian thrusting. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Abstract Because alteration of oscillatory potentials of the electroretinogram has been described in diabetic patients without signs of diabetic retinopathy as an early marker of changes in microcirculation, we studied the behavior of these potentials in patients with early-onset hypertension. Electroretinograms were recorded in 24 subjects with essential hypertension (blood pressure >140/90 mm Hg) and in 9 age-matched normotensive control subjects (blood pressure t test for paired and unpaired data and linear regression. The oscillatory index was significantly reduced in hypertensive patients compared with normotensive subjects. An inverse relationship was observed when systolic and diastolic blood pressures were plotted against the oscillatory index. In conclusion, our data demonstrate that the electrical activity of the retina is altered early in the course of hypertension and that the influence of systolic pressure on the oscillatory index is greater than that of diastolic pressure.

Oscillatory potentials of the electroretinogram are useful to confirm the diagnosis of essential hypertension. Thirty-five hypertensive patients underwent primary antihypertensive therapy with four different treatments. Oscillatory potentials were recorded before the treatment and after 12 months. The oscillatory response increased in a statistically significant manner in the angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor group. This is probably caused by the vasodilatation mechanism, which increases the retinal blood flow.

High blood pressure (BP), often borderline hypertension, can be also found in adolescents. In these subjects the haemodynamic pattern, high cardiac output and normal vascular resistance, differs from that of older hypertensives. Although the risk for hypertension is higher in this group than in the general population, only a minority of them will develop sustained hypertension later in life. They can therefore be viewed as an enriched pool of future hypertensives but not as true prehypertensives. The aim of this longitudinal study was to analyse the relation between casual BP measured in high school students and in the same subjects 3 years later. In 1990, an extensive study on BP was carried out in 1062 high school students aged 18 years. Sitting BP, heart rate, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were measured in each subject. After 3 years, the 50 subjects with the highest BP level recorded in 1990 were recalled. Forty-five subjects (90%, 30 males and 15 females) agreed to undergo a second examination. They were seen as outpatients in the Hypertension Centre of our institute. BP was measured with a mercury sphygmomanometer after a 10 min rest three times in 5 min. Systolic and diastolic BP were significantly reduced after 3 years (137 +/- 13 vs 132 +/- 10 P = 0.002; 92 +/- 4 vs 85 +/- 6 P = 0.0001, mm Hg). By means of a multiple regression test, including parameters recorded in 1990, systolic blood pressure (SBP) (R = 0.53 Slg F = 0.0002) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) (R = 0.60 Slg F = 0.0001) were shown as the main determinants of SBP, while DBP was related only to previous BMI (R = 0.37 Slg F = 0.01). The reduction of both SBP and DBP after 3 years could be explained either by a true, spontaneous decrease of BP or as a consequence of different environmental conditions during the second examination (more prolonged resting time, repeated measurements). However, data of this study demonstrate that casual SBP and DBP are the main determinants of future SBP, thus confirming the prognostic value of casual BP measurement in young people. Moreover, our data emphasises the role of BMI as the main determinant of future high DBP.

Oscillatory potentials of the ERG proved to be a sensitive indicator even in mild disturbances of retinal circulation, such as the first stage of hypertensive retinopathy (WHO classification). Oscillatory indexes (OIs) and blood pressure levels of 24 hypertensive patients in stage 1 of the WHO classification, who underwent an antihypertensive therapy for the first time, were considered. The patients were retested after a mean period of 8 months. A strict inverse correlation was found between OIs and blood pressure levels.