WP 6: MODELLING STAKEHOLDER INTERPLAY AND POLICY SCENARIOS FOR BIOREFINERY AND BIODIESEL PRODUCTION. D 6.6: Detailed specification of the questionnaire to be delivered to various stakeholders

In this deliverable we first present a technical note on how to identify the key agro-energy stakeholders involved (or potentially involved) in the production of biodiesel in the province of Foggia (Capitanata). Subsequently, we present the questionnaire which will be distributed to these stakeholders.

TiO2 Nanostructures and Nanocomposites for Sustainable Photocatalytic Water Purification

Water, together with energy and food, has been addressed as one of the main urgent problems of humanity. The conventional wastewater treatments suffer some limitations related to the effectiveness in decontamination (mechanical filtration), in the heavy use of chemicals (chlorination), or in elevation of operational costs and energy requirements (desalination and reverse osmosis). In this sense, new materials such as nanocomposites may overcome these issues taking advantage of the peculiar properties of materials at nanoscale. Research on novel nanotechnologies must bring advances in order to contrast and prevent water scarcity and pollution. In order to be effective, these nanotechnologies should run at low operational cost, even in places unequipped by strong infrastructures and in concert with conventional cheap methodologies

Transcatheter Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most frequent of all cardiac arrhythmias and it is associated with an increased risk of stroke, systemic embolism and heart failure. Patients with AF have a twofold increased risk of death and fivefold increased risk of stroke compared with those without AF. In patients with heart failure (HF), AF ablation improves left ventricular (LV) function over short- and long-term follow-ups, especially compared with medical treatment. Furthermore, AF ablation in HF patients relates to a significant improvement in quality of life, functional class and exercise tolerance, possibly related to the improvement in LV function and hemodynamic status of the patients. Finally, data showed that restoration of sinus rhythm in this setting of patients reduced the incidence of stroke and death. In this review, we reported all the major data regarding atrial fibrillation therapy in patients with heart failure

PENERAPAN MODEL EXPLICIT INSTRUCTION PADA PEMBELAJARAN SENI TARI UNTUK MENINGKATKAN MINAT BELAJAR SISWA.

Judul penelitian ini adalah Penerapan Model Explicit Instruction Pada Pembelajaran Seni Tari Untuk Meningkatkan Minat Belajar Siswa (Studi Eksperimen Pada Siswa Kelas VIII-F SMP Negeri 3 Lembang). Permasalahan yang diangkat ialah bagaimana menumbuhkan minat belajar siswa melalui pembelajaran tari dengan tiga pertanyaan penelitian diantaranya, (1) Bagaimana minat belajar siswa terhadap pembelajaran seni tari sebelum diterapkannya model Explicit Instruction di kelas VIII-F SMP Negeri 3 Lembang?, (2) Bagaimana proses pembelajaran untuk meningkatkan minat belajar siswa terhadap pembelajaran seni tari melalui model Explicit Instruction di kelas VIII-F SMP Negeri 3 Lembang?, (3) Bagaimana hasil pembelajaran Seni Tari untuk meningkatkan minat belajar siswa setelah diterapkannya model Explicit Instruction dikelas VIII-F SMP Negeri 3 Lembang?. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah metode eksperimen pendekatan kuantitatif dan teknik pengumpulan data diantaranya studi pustaka, observasi, wawancara, tes, dan dokumentasi. Hasil analisis data dan temuan mengenai minat belajar siswa sebelum menggunakan model explicit instruction sangat rendah karena model pembelajaran yang digunakan belum tepat, peningkatan minat terlihat pada saat proses pembelajaran, kemudian uji t tabel yang menyatakan bahwa t_tes 4 > t_tab1,729. Hal ini membuktikan bahwa model explicit instruction sangat signifikan untuk meningkatkan minat belajar siswa dan dapat di jadikan sebagai salah satu rekomendasi untuk pembelajaran tari terutama dalam meningkatkan minat belajar siswa

The prognostic role of the echocardiographic tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (TAPSE/sPAP) ratio and its relationship with NT-proANP plasma level in systemic sclerosis

BackgroundThe tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion/systolic pulmonary arterial pressure (TAPSE/sPAP) ratio is an echocardiographic estimation of the right ventricle to pulmonary artery (RV/PA) coupling, with a validated prognostic role in different clinical settings. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients without evident cardiovascular involvement frequently display subtle RV impairment. The amino-terminal atrial natriuretic peptide (NT-proANP) plasma level relates to SSc disease progression and mortality. We aimed to assess the prognostic value of the TAPSE/sPAP ratio and its relationship with NT-proANP plasma level in SSc patients without overt cardiovascular involvement.MethodsWe retrospectively analysed 70 SSc consecutive patients, with no clinical evidence of cardiovascular involvement or pulmonary hypertension (PH), and 30 healthy controls (HC) in a retrospective, single-centre study. All SSc patients underwent recurrent clinical and echocardiographic assessments and NT-proANP plasma level was assessed at baseline. SSc-related cardiovascular events and deaths were extracted during a 6-year follow-up. The complete work-up for the diagnosis, treatment and management of PH performed along the 6 years of follow-up referred to the 2015 European Society of Cardiology guidelines.ResultsSystemic sclerosis patients showed lower TAPSE/sPAP ratio at baseline compared to HC [SSc median value = 0.71 mm/mmHg, (IQR 0.62–0.88) vs. HC median value = 1.00 mm/mmHg, (IQR 0.96–1.05); p < 0.001]. Multivariable Cox analysis revealed TAPSE/sPAP ratio as an independent predictor for SSc-related cardiovascular events [HR = 3.436 (95% CI 1.577–7.448); p = 0.002] and mortality [HR = 3.653 (95% CI 1.712–8.892); p = 0.014]. The value of TAPSE/sPAP ratio < 0.7 mm/mmHg was identified as an optimal cut-off for predicting adverse outcomes (p < 0.001) by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analyses. NT-proANP level significantly related to TAPSE/sPAP ratio (r = 0.52, p < 0.001). TAPSE/sPAP ratio combined with NT-proANP showed an overall significant prognostic role in this SSc population, confirmed by Kaplan–Meier analysis (Log rank p < 0.001).ConclusionThe TAPSE/sPAP ratio, as an index of RV/PA coupling, is an affordable predictor of cardiovascular events and mortality in SSc and, combined with NT-proANP level, may improve the clinical phenotyping and prognostic stratification of SSc patients

Correction: Enhancing carrier generation in TiO2 by a synergistic effect between plasmon resonance in Ag nanoparticles and optical interference

Silver nanoparticles have been embedded at a few nanometer distance from the free surface of titania/silica multilayers using low energy ion beam synthesis. Transmission electron microscopy shows the presence of 3 nm-sized crystalline particles. Reflectance spectroscopy on these composite substrates shows an increase of the light capture efficiency in the visible range. This behaviour is interpreted as a synergistic effect between plasmon polariton resonance and Fabry–Perot interferences. Plasmon-resonant Raman spectroscopy is deeply used to analyze, on one hand confinement of vibrations and electronic excitations in Ag NPs, and on the other hand coupling of polar TiO2 phonons with injected photo-generated carriers. It is shown how these new Ag/TiO2 nanocomposite films appear as very promising to enhance the efficiency and enlarge the spectral sensitivity of plasmo-electronics devices

Rapid thickness reading of CH3NH3PbI3 nanowire thin films from color maps

Hybrid halide perovskite photovoltaic materials show a remarkable light conversion efficiency in various optoelectronic devices. In the fabrication of these solar cells, light emitting diodes, laser and photodetector prototypes the thickness of the perovskite is an important parameter since the light is absorbed within a thin layer of a few hundred nanometers. Nevertheless, making perovskite coatings with various solution-based and evaporation methods showing highly reproducible thickness and area coverage is still an issue. Therefore, rapid and reliable quality-control of the film morphology is needed. This report shows a simple, rapid, and calibration-free method for reading the thickness directly from the color map of nanowire perovskite films seen in standard optical microscope with visible light. (C) 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinhei