Approaches to mutual funds selection: the importance of an appropriate selection process

After years of contrasting opinions, financial literature is converging to the conviction that, in funds selection, a study based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis allows to build portfolios that produce higher performances than adopting only one of these approaches. Studying some factitious portfolios, obtained from the investible universe of mutual funds of a small Italian asset management company, this research confirms this conclusion. Moreover, through the introduction of an ESG filter to the first part of the analysis, the statement that counting for values and ethics in portfolio construction enhances the performance of financial products is validate

Study of the Synthetic Approach Influence in Ni/CeO2-Based Catalysts for Methane Dry Reforming

This study focuses on the synthetic approach influence in morphostructural features and catalytic performances for Ni/CeO2 catalysts. Incipient wetness impregnation, coprecipitation and nitrate combustion were studied as catalyst preparation approaches, and the materials were then tested at 700 C for methane dry reforming (MDR). The morphostructural properties of the materials were deeply studied using several techniques, such as temperature programmed reduction (TPR), to investigate reducibility and support-metal interaction, N2 physisorption to evaluate the porosity and the surface area, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to estimate Ni dispersion, and temperature programmed oxidation (TPO) to identify the type and amount of coke formed on catalysts’ surface after reaction. From the data obtained, coprecipitation turned out to be the most suitable technique for this application because this catalyst was able to reach 70% of CO2 conversion and 30% methane conversion, with an H2 yield of 15% and 30% yield of CO at the end of the 30 h test. Moreover, it was also the catalyst with the highest metal dispersion, the strongest interaction with the support, and the lowest coke deposition

A New Green Coating for the Protection of Frescoes: From the Synthesis to the Performances Evaluation

This work presents the formulation and characterization of a new product for the protection of outdoor frescoes from aggressive environmental agents. The formulation is designed as an innovative green coating, prepared through a zero-waste one-pot-synthetic method to form silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) directly in a chitosan-based medium. The AgNPs are seeded and grown in a mixed hydrogel of chitosan, azelaic, and lactic acid, by the reduction of silver nitrate, and using calcium hydroxide as precipitating agent. The rheological properties of this coating base are optimized by the addition of a solvent mixture of glycerol and ethanol with a 1:1 volume ratio. The new formulation and two commercial products (Paraloid® B72 and Proconsol®) are then applied by brush to ad hoc mock-ups to be evaluated for chemical stability, color and gloss variations, morphological variation, hydrophobicity, and water vapor permeability via Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) in attenuated total reflection (ATR) mode, spectrophotometer analysis, stereomicroscope observations, UNI EN 15802, and UNI EN 15803, respectively. The results show that the application of the hybrid chitosan-AgNPs coating is promising for the protection of outdoor frescoes and that it can underpin the development of new products that address the lack of conservation strategies specifically designed for wall painting

Exploring the nutraceutical power of tibetan goji berries: an analytical study

The Goji Berry is the fruit of Lycium barbarum and Lycium chinense, two very closely related species in the Solanaceae family, native of southeastern Europe and Asia. Goji is one of the most powerful plants in Chinese herbal medicine. It is considered a national treasure in Tibet, where it is known as “the key to eternal youth”, thanks to its significant antioxidant properties. It is often cultivated for a variety of food and beverage applications within China, but increasingly today for export as dried berries, juice and pulp or grounds. The wide-ranging properties of the Goji Berry can be explained by its composition: it is extremely rich in carotenoids, Vitamins C, B1, B2 and other vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids. Various studies have shown that Goji fruits possess numerous beneficial properties, including, antioxidant, immuno-potentiating, antimutagenic, hypoglycaemic, hypolipemic, hypotensive, all of which contribute to the slowing down of the aging process. In order to fully understand the composition of these potentially beneficial fruits, it is very useful to develop innovative analytical methods, able to provide reliable measurements of their content in bioactive substances. The goal of this research is the quali-quantitative evaluation in Goji Berry samples of antioxidant phenolic compounds by means of a HPLC method coupled to spectrofluorimetric (F) detection. The HPLC-F method is fully validated and the preliminary results, obtained from the application to some real commercial samples of fresh Goji Berries, extracts and powders, are very interesting and useful to explore the nutraceutical power of these tibetan fruits

An investigation on the photo-catalytic oxidation of air pollutants via SiO2-supported TiO2

Persistence in the atmosphere of carbon dioxide (CO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) represents a threat for human safety and health, both in the short and in the long term. Therefore, the removal, storage or, even better, utilization of these molecules is currently highly desirable. Photo-catalytic approaches aims to use the sunlight to afford this removal providing a limited or no further pollution. Wide band gap semiconductors are amongst the most studied and employed materials for this purpose. In this study, a crystalline (quartz) and an amorphous (SBA-15) type of silica were tested as TiO2 scaffolds in the photo-oxidation of VOCs. The photo-reduction of CO2 in presence of H2O was also considered as comparative reaction. Therefore, optical, chemical, and reflective properties of the synthesized materials were investigated. The two types of silica showed a different affinity and selectivity in both photo-reductive and photo-oxidative events. The light scattering properties of the scaffold were found to be effective as booster of the photo-catalytic performance of the active phase

Development of La Doped Ni/CeO₂ for CH₄/CO₂ Reforming

Methane dry reforming (MDR) allows the transformation of carbon dioxide and methane, the two main greenhouse gases, into syngas. Given the high endothermicity of the process, it is necessary to produce a catalytic system that is very active, selective and resistant to coking deactivation; this work focuses on the development of a heterogeneous catalyst based on nickel supported on cerium oxide. Several strategies of synthesis of the catalysts were studied with particular attention to the lanthanum addition methodology. Both supports and catalysts, fresh and used, were deeply characterized by different techniques (N2 physisorption, TPR, XRD, SEM). The effect of temperature on activity and selectivity of the different catalysts was also studied. A positive effect of lanthanum addition is strongly related to the synthetic methodology. Incipient wetness impregnation of lanthanum precursor on an already calcined ceria has led to the best catalytic activity. This behaviour is due to a more effective interaction between nickel and the support, which results in a higher dispersion of the active phase. The structural modifications have led to an improvement of the redox pump of the ceria, reducing the formation of coke during the reaction and improving the stability on time on stream

Multifunctional and environmentally friendly TiO2-SiO2 mesoporous materials for sustainable green buildings

This work deals with the formulation of environmentally friendly, cheap, and readily-available materials for green building applications, providing the function of air purificator by improving the safety and the comfort of an indoor environment. High surface area TiO2-SiO2 samples, prepared by a simple, cost effective, and scalable synthetic approach, proved to be effective in maximizing the properties of each component, i.e., the photocatalytic properties of titania and the high surface area of silica. TiO2 was introduced onto an ordered mesoporous silica Santa Barbara Amorphous-15 (SBA-15), that is featured by interesting insulating features, by using an incipient wetness impregnation method. The photocatalytic activity was evaluated in gas phase oxidation of ethylbenzene, which was selected as model volatile organic compound (VOC) molecule. The morphological, textural and structural features along with the electronic properties, the hydrophilicity and heat capacity of the materials were investigated in depth by scanning electron microscopy, powder X-ray diffraction, N2 physisorption, diffuse reflectance UV-Vis, FT-IR spectroscopies, and modulated DSC (MDSC) dynamic scan. Outstanding performances in the ethylbenzene abatement results are promising for further application in the green building sector