In operando XAS investigation of reduction and oxidation processes in cobalt and iron mixed spinels during the chemical loop reforming of ethanol

FeCo2O4 and CoFe2O4 nanoparticles have been studied as oxygen carriers for the Chemical Loop Reforming (CLR) of ethanol. By using in operando X-ray absorption spectroscopy we have followed in real time the chemical and structural changes that take place on the materials as a function of temperature and reactive atmosphere (i.e. ethanol/water streams). During the first step of CLR for both oxides the most active chemical species are the cations in the tetrahedral sites, irrespective of their chemical nature. Quite rapidly the spinel structure is transformed into a mix of wustite-type oxide and metal alloys, but the formation of a metal phase is easier in the case of cobalt, while iron shows a marked preference to form wustite type oxide. Despite the good reducibility of FeCo2O4 imparted by the high amount of cobalt, its performance in the production of hydrogen is quite poor due to an inefficient oxidation by water steam, which is able to oxidize only the outer shell of the nanoparticles. In contrast, CoFe2O4 due to the residual presence of a reducible wustite phase shows a higher hydrogen yield. Moreover, by combining the structural information provided by X-ray absorption spectroscopy with the analysis of the byproducts of ethanol decomposition we could infer that FeCo2O4 is more selective than CoFe2O4 for the selective dehydrogenation of ethanol to acetaldehyde because of the higher amount of Fe(III) ions in tetrahedral sites

The Relationship between Trait Emotional Intelligence, Cognition, and Emotional Awareness: An Interpretative Model

Emotional awareness (EA) has been defined as the cognitive skill devoted to the identification and description of one\u2019s own and others\u2019 emotional experiences, an ability that has usually been conceptualized along with the development of cognitive intelligence. Despite this, EA has also been deemed a central constituent of Emotional Intelligence (EI), a construct that captures individual differences in how we perceive, communicate, regulate, and understand our own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. The overlap between the cognitive and the emotional domain in the definition of the EA construct has created several difficulties in both its understanding and its usage, so much so that several questions regarding its nature and structure remain unanswered. The aim of the present work was to test in a unique model the explanatory role of both trait EI and fluid nonverbal intelligence on EA variability in children, controlling for the effect of age, a variable strictly related to cognitive development, as well as gender, which is highly associated with trait EI during childhood. Four hundred and eighty-eight pupils (258 females and 230 males) ranging from 8 to 12 years old completed the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale for Children, the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire \u2013 Child Form, and a measure of pure non-verbal reasoning ability, the Raven\u2019s Progressive Matrices. The results of a structural equation model showed a positive explanatory power of both Raven and TEIQue scores on EA, revealing that both cognitive intelligence and trait EI significantly explained EA. The same model also showed an indirect effect of age, via intelligence scores, on EA, suggesting that the increase of EA with age could be partially imputed to the development of intelligence. Finally, a relation between gender and TEIQue scores confirmed higher trait EI scores in girls than in boys. The implications emerging from this model are discussed

Novel sequence variants of viral hexon and fibre genes in two dogs with canine adenovirus type 1-associated disease

There is little information on sequence variation of canine adenovirus type 1 (CAdV-1), the aetiological agent of infectious canine hepatitis (ICH). This study reports hexon and fibre gene sequence variants of CAdV-1 in a dog with systemic ICH and a dog with the ocular form of the disease (\ue2\u80\u98blue eye\ue2\u80\u99) in Northern Italy in 2013. One of the sequence variants matched a CAdV-1 fox sequence previously detected in Italy

An EPR study on ancient and newly synthesised Egyptian blue,

Two sets of ancient roman Egyptian blue (EB) samples and one set of EB samples synthesised in our lab, were analysed by EPR spectroscopy, a technique not commonly used in this field. The spectroscopic parameters obtained were used to attempt the discrimination of the provenance and of the manufacturing techniques of the investigated samples. The results obtained show that EPR technique could be very useful for this purpose. Furthermore, the similarity of the obtained parameters between the ancient and new samples testify the successful attempt to reproduce the EB according to the chemical knowledg

Metabolic syndrome and postmenopausal breast cancer in the ORDET cohort : a nested case-control study

Background and aims: The increase in breast cancer incidence over recent decades has been accompanied by an increase in the frequency of metabolic syndrome. Several studies suggest that breast cancer risk is associated with the components of metabolic syndrome (high serum glucose and triglycerides, low HDL-cholesterol, high blood pressure, and abdominal obesity), but no prospective study has investigated risk in relation to the presence of explicitly defined metabolic syndrome. We investigated associations between metabolic syndrome, its components, and breast cancer risk in a nested case-control study on postmenopausal women of the ORDET cohort. Methods and results: After a median follow-up of 13.5 years, 163 women developed breast cancer; metabolic syndrome was present in 29.8%. Four matched controls per case were selected by incidence density sampling, and rate ratios were estimated by conditional logistic regression. Metabolic syndrome (i.e. presence of three or more metabolic syndrome components) was significantly associated with breast cancer risk (rate ratio 1.58 [95% confidence interval 1.07-2.33]), with a significant risk increase for increasing number of components (P for trend 0.004). Among individual metabolic syndrome components, only low serum HDL-cholesterol and high triglycerides were significantly associated with increased risk. Conclusions: This prospective study indicates that metabolic syndrome is an important risk factor for breast cancer in postmenopausal women. Although serum HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides had the strongest association with breast cancer, all components may contribute to increased risk by multiple interacting mechanisms. Prevention or reversal of metabolic syndrome by life-style changes may be effective in preventing breast cancer in postmenopausal women

Food and beverage consumption and melanoma risk: a population-based case-control study in Northern Italy

It has been suggested that diet may influence the risk of melanoma, but few studies are available on this topic. We assessed the relation between food consumption and the risk of cutaneous melanoma in a Northern Italy population. We carried out a population-based case-control study involving 380 cases of melanoma and 719 age- and sex-matched controls. Dietary habits were established through a self-administered semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. We computed the odds ratios (ORs) of melanoma and the corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) according to tertiles of daily intake of each food item, using multiple logistic regression models adjusted for major confounding factors. We observed an indication of a positive association between melanoma risk and consumption of cereals and cereal products (OR = 1.32; 95% CI 0.89\u20131.96, higher vs. lowest tertile), sweets (OR = 1.22; 95% CI 0.84\u20131.76), chocolate, candy bars. etc., (OR = 1.51; 95% CI 1.09\u20132.09) and cabbages (OR = 1.51; 95% CI 1.09\u20132.09). Conversely, an inverse association with disease risk was found for the intake of legumes (OR = 0.77; 95% CI 0.52\u20131.13), olive oil (OR = 0.77; 95% CI 0.51\u20131.16), eggs (OR = 0.58; 95% CI 0.41\u20130.82), and onion and garlic (OR = 0.80; 95% CI 0.52\u20131.14). No relationship was observed with beverage consumption. Our results suggest potentially adverse effects on melanoma risk of foods characterized by high contents of refined flours and sugars, while suggesting a protective role for eggs and two key components of the Mediterranean diet, legumes and olive oil. These associations warrant further investigation and, if confirmed, they might have important public health implications for the reduction of melanoma incidence through dietary modification

High-Mobility and High-Optical Quality Atomically Thin WS 2

The rise of atomically thin materials has the potential to enable a paradigm shift in modern technologies by introducing multi-functional materials in the semiconductor industry. To date the growth of high quality atomically thin semiconductors (e.g. WS2) is one of the most pressing challenges to unleash the potential of these materials and the growth of mono- or bi-layers with high crystal quality is yet to see its full realization. Here, we show that the novel use of molecular precursors in the controlled synthesis of mono- and bi-layer WS2 leads to superior material quality compared to the widely used direct sulfidization of WO3-based precursors. Record high room temperature charge carrier mobility up to 52 cm2/Vs and ultra-sharp photoluminescence linewidth of just 36 meV over submillimeter areas demonstrate that the quality of this material supersedes also that of naturally occurring materials. By exploiting surface diffusion kinetics of W and S species adsorbed onto a substrate, a deterministic layer thickness control has also been achieved promoting the design of scalable synthesis routes

Dietary glycemic index, glycemic load, and cancer risk: Results from the EPIC-Italy study

Abstract Factors linked to glucose metabolism are involved in the etiology of several cancers. High glycemic index (GI) or high glycemic load (GL) diets, which chronically raise postprandial blood glucose, may increase cancer risk by affecting insulin-like growth factor. We prospectively investigated cancer risk and dietary GI/GL in the EPIC-Italy cohort. After a median 14.9 years, 5112 incident cancers and 2460 deaths were identified among 45,148 recruited adults. High GI was associated with increased risk of colon and bladder cancer. High GL was associated with: increased risk of colon cancer; increased risk of diabetes-related cancers; and decreased risk of rectal cancer. High intake of carbohydrate from high GI foods was significantly associated with increased risk of colon and diabetes-related cancers, but decreased risk of stomach cancer; whereas high intake of carbohydrates from low GI foods was associated with reduced colon cancer risk. In a Mediterranean population with high and varied carbohydrate intake, carbohydrates that strongly raise postprandial blood glucose may increase colon and bladder cancer risk, while the quantity of carbohydrate consumed may be involved in diabetes-related cancers. Further studies are needed to confirm the opposing effects of high dietary GL on risks of colon and rectal cancers

Artificial photosynthesis: photoanodes based on polyquinoid dyes onto mesoporous tin oxide surface

Dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical cells represent an appealing solution for artificial photosynthesis, aimed at the conversion of solar light into fuels or commodity chemicals. Extensive efforts have been directed towards the development of photoelectrodes combining semiconductor materials and organic dyes; the use of molecular components allows to tune the absorption and redox properties of the material. Recently, we have reported the use of a class of pentacyclic quinoid organic dyes (KuQuinone) chemisorbed onto semiconducting tin oxide as photoanodes for water oxidation. In this work, we investigate the effect of the SnO2 semiconductor thickness and morphology and of the dye-anchoring group on the photoelectrochemical performance of the electrodes. The optimized materials are mesoporous SnO2 layers with 2.5 mu m film thickness combined with a KuQuinone dye with a 3-carboxylpropyl-anchoring chain: these electrodes achieve light-harvesting efficiency of 93% at the maximum absorption wavelength of 533 nm, and photocurrent density J up to 350 mu A/cm(2) in the photoelectrochemical oxidation of ascorbate, although with a limited incident photon-to-current efficiency of 0.075%. Calculations based on the density functional theory (DFT) support the role of the reduced species of the KuQuinone dye via a proton-coupled electron transfer as the competent species involved in the electron transfer to the tin oxide semiconductor. Finally, a preliminary investigation of the photoelectrodes towards benzyl alcohol oxidation is presented, achieving photocurrent density up to 90 mu A/cm(2) in acetonitrile in the presence of N-hydroxysuccinimide and pyridine as redox mediator and base, respectively. These results support the possibility of using molecular-based materials in synthetic photoelectrochemistry.[GRAPHICS]