REVIEW OF THE EUROPEAN DWELLING STOCK AND ITS POTENTIAL FOR RETROFIT INTERVENTIONS USING SOLAR-ASSISTED HEATING AND COOLING

This study provides a characterization of the existing European stock of residential buildings, with a specific focus on their energy performance. Eight countries with different characteristics and climates have been selected as a representative sample. After identifying relevant parameters, data has been compiled from several sources, including national statistical bodies and European datasets from official and unofficial bodies, as well as previous research projects. Based on those projects as initial source of information, the study is complemented with energy efficiency related regulations as well as with external climate data. The collected information has been subject to a critical review and analysed to identify insights and trends related to the energy performance of European dwellings. The information gathered is intended to provide a general view about the current status for each of the assessed countries and by extension a global picture of the European stock. The outcomes of this study will constitute a realistic baseline scenario for identifying needs, potentials and constraints for renewable energy technologies, and will assist the development of a novel software tool for planning energy-efficient retrofits of residential buildings.This study has been partially developed within the HEAT4COOL research project. This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme under grant agreement No 723925. This document reflects only the authors’ view and the Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains. The work has also been supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) under Contract No. 16.0082

A Review of the MSCA ITN ECOSTORE Novel Complex Metal Hydrides for Efficient and Compact Storage of Renewable Energy as Hydrogen and Electricity

Hydrogen as an energy carrier is very versatile in energy storage applications. Developments in novel, sustainable technologies towards a CO2-free society are needed and the exploration of all-solid-state batteries (ASSBs) as well as solid-state hydrogen storage applications based on metal hydrides can provide solutions for such technologies. However, there are still many technical challenges for both hydrogen storage material and ASSBs related to designing low-cost materials with low-environmental impact. The current materials considered for all-solid-state batteries should have high conductivities for Na+, Mg2+ and Ca2+, while Al3+-based compounds are often marginalised due to the lack of suitable electrode and electrolyte materials. In hydrogen storage materials, the sluggish kinetic behaviour of solid-state hydride materials is one of the key constraints that limit their practical uses. Therefore, it is necessary to overcome the kinetic issues of hydride materials before discussing and considering them on the system level. This review summarizes the achievements of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) innovative training network (ITN) ECOSTORE, the aim of which was the investigation of different aspects of (complex) metal hydride materials. Advances in battery and hydrogen storage materials for the efficient and compact storage of renewable energy production are discusse

Clinical nutrition in surgical oncology: Young AIOM-AIRO-SICO multidisciplinary national survey on behalf of NutriOnc research group

Malnutrition is a common condition in cancer patients which is usually associated with functional limitations, as well as increased morbidity and mortality. Based on the support of the young sections of Italian Association of Medical Oncology (AIOM), Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology (AIRO) and Italian Society of Surgical Oncology (SICO) merged into the NutriOnc Research Group, we performed a multidisciplinary national survey with the aim to define the awareness of nutritional issues among healthcare professionals delivering anticancer care. The questionnaire was organized in four sections, as follows: Knowledge and practices regarding Nutritional Management of cancer patients; Timing of screening and assessment of Nutritional Status; Nutritional Treatment and prescription criteria; Immunonutrition and educational topics. The modules focused on esophagogastric, hepato-bilio-pancreatic and colorectal malignancies. Overall, 215 physicians completed the survey. As regards the management of Nutritional Status of cancer patients, many responders adopted the ERAS program (49.3%), while a consistent number of professionals did not follow a specific validated nutritional care protocol (41.8%), mainly due to lack of educational courses (14.5%) and financial support (15.3%). Nearly all the included institutions had a multidisciplinary team (92%) to finalize the treatment decision-making. Cancer patients routinely underwent nutritional screening according to 57.2% of interviewed physicians. The timing of nutritional assessment was at diagnosis (37.8%), before surgery (25.9%), after surgery (16.7%), before radiochemotherapy (13.5%) and after radiochemotherapy (7%). Most of the responders reported that nutritional status was assessed throughout the duration of cancer treatments (55.6%). An important gap between current delivery and need of nutritional assessment persists. The development of specific and defined care protocols and the adherence to these tools may be the key to improving nutritional support management in clinical practice