Search results for "Directive"

Receiving water quality assessment: comparison between simplified and detailed integrated urban modelling approaches

2010

Urban water quality management often requires use of numerical models allowing the evaluation of the cause–effect relationship between the input(s) (i.e. rainfall, pollutant concentrations on catchment surface and in sewer system) and the resulting water quality response. The conventional approach to the system (i.e. sewer system, wastewater treatment plant and receiving water body), considering each component separately, does not enable optimisation of the whole system. However, recent gains in understanding and modelling make it possible to represent the system as a whole and optimise its overall performance. Indeed, integrated urban drainage modelling is of growing interest for tools to …

The European directive on traditional herbal medicinal products: friend or foe for plant-based therapies?

2012

Evaluation of approaches for measuring taxonomic completeness of lake profundal macroinvertebrate assemblages

2011

Summary 1. Benthic macroinvertebrates (MI) are commonly used to assess freshwater ecosystems with the reference condition approach. Such assessments necessitate control for natural community variation, either by categorical typologies or by predictive models that have been widely and successfully developed for running water biota but not previously for lake profundal invertebrates. 2. We evaluated four modelling techniques [multivariate regression tree (MRT), limiting environmental differences, nonparametric multiplicative regression (NPMR) and River Invertebrate Prediction And Classification System (RIVPACS) and the operative Finnish lake typology for assessing taxonomic completeness (obse…

Assessment of building energy modelling studies to meet the requirements of the new Energy Performance of Buildings Directive

2020

Abstract The cost optimal method (COM) as applied in the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) uses “non-calibrated deterministic reference buildings (RBs)”. Such RBs are defined with single envelope and equipment parameter values, for which calibration with actual building stock energy performance (EP) is not undertaken. Thus, it is not possible to visualise the effect of uncertainties or diversity in the input parameters on cost-optimal level benchmarks and to verify the choice of RBs. The paper proposes an update to the COM via use of “Probabilistic Bayesian calibrated RBs” to handle uncertainties and produce more realistic cost optimal levels to support policy makers in devis…

Advance Directives. Comparison of current legislation within the European Union

2021

Abstract Advance Directives have been legally binding in Spain since the publication of Act 41/2002, of 14th November, which regulates patients’ rights to autonomy and obligations concerning clinical information and recording clinical information. However, the situation in each country of the European Union remains heterogeneous and unknown to most health care professionals. By collecting and studying the legislation on patients' rights in European Union countries we have made an updated comparison of the different features of Advance Directives in each country. Only 15 of the 28 European Union Countries have developed specific rules on advance directives which makes them legally binding in…

Operational Indicators to Manage the Replacement of Electromechanical Equipment in Wastewater Treatment Facilities

2021

Optimal management is usually at the top of the concerns in the context of water infrastructures. In the specific domain of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), European Directive 91/271 established the need of implementing a biological treatment of wastewater leading to an intensive construction of WWTPs in several European countries, which now present important problems of maintenance. These facilities are composed of different types of assets, which should be managed efficiently in order to optimize the performance of the processes as well as the maintenance and replacement costs of the equipment. In fact, the deterioration of these assets increases the operational risk and endangers th…

[Recommendations for end-of-life care in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease].

2009

Over the last 20 years, advances in the treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have improved survival even among patients in the most advanced stages of the disease, such as those requiring domiciliary oxygen therapy.1,2 This improvement—in principle a positive development—has given rise to considerable clinical problems associated with the establishment of a therapeutic ceiling and the difficulty of determining prognosis in some of these patients. In this situation, the clinician should consider introducing palliative care, that is, care aimed at improving symptom control, communication, physical activity, and emotional support, in order to achieve the best…

Moving across the static magnetic field of a 1.5 T MRI scanner: Analysing compliance with Directive 2013/35/EU

2018

Abstract Does the exposure of magnetic resonance imaging personnel to static magnetic fields fully comply with Directive 2013/35/EU? Despite the obligation to satisfy this question, a general answer cannot be provided, nor are final satisfying good practices methods for exposure assessment currently available. In order to contribute to fix this problem, three different 1.5 T scanners are analysed and – by a new theoretical insight – a positive answer is provided.

Experimental and Modeling Analyses of Human Motion Across the Static Magnetic Field of an MRI Scanner

2021

It is established that human movements in the vicinity of a permanent static magnetic field, such as those in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners induce electric fields in the human body; this raises potential severe risks of health to radiographers and cleaners exposed routinely to these fields in MRI rooms. The relevant directives and parameters, however, are based on theoretical models, and accurate studies on the simulation of the effects based on human movement data obtained in real conditions are still lacking. Two radiographers and one cleaner, familiar with MRI room activities and these directives, were gait analyzed during the execution of routine job motor tasks at different…

Estimating the non-market benefits of water quality improvement for a case study in Spain: A contingent valuation approach

2012

Abstract This article addresses an important topic related to the application of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) in Spanish watersheds. Results on a contingent valuation study, aimed to assess the non-market benefits of water quality improvements in the Guadiana river basin (GRB), are shown. Special attention has been paid to the issue of zero willingness-to-pay (WTP) responses, while addressing the possible presence of self-selection caused by protest responses. The results (i) indicate that sample selection bias is not a problem in our application, (ii) allow us to identify some key determinants of voting behaviour, and (iii) through the use of different econometric models al…