Advances in nanocatalysts design for biofuels production

The exploitation of nanocatalysts, at the boundary between homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis, is tracking new efficient ways to produce renewable biofuels in environmentally friendly conditions. Their solid state makes them recyclable, and their nanomateric particle size enables high activities approaching those offered by homogeneous catalysts, as well as novel and unique catalytic behaviors not accessible to solids above the nanometer range. Furthermore, the use of magnetically active materials has led to the development of nanocatalysts easily recoverable through the application of magnetic fields. In this mini-review, latest achievements in the production of advanced biofuels using stable, highly active, cheap and reusable nanocatalysts are described. Specifically, biodiesel and high density fuels have been chosen as major topics of research for the design of catalytic nanomaterials

Patient-centered insights: using health care complaints to reveal hot spots and blind spots in quality and safety

Health care complaints contain valuable data on quality and safety; however, there is no reliable method of analysis to unlock their potential. We demonstrate a method to analyze health care complaints that provides reliable insights on hot spots (where harm and near misses occur) and blind spots (before admissions, after discharge, systemic and low‐level problems, and errors of omission). Systematic analysis of health care complaints can improve quality and safety by providing patient‐centered insights that localize issues and shed light on difficult‐to‐monitor problems. Context The use of health care complaints to improve quality and safety has been limited by a lack of reliable analysis tools and uncertainty about the insights that can be obtained. The Healthcare Complaints Analysis Tool, which we developed, was used to analyze a benchmark national data set, conceptualize a systematic analysis, and identify the added value of complaint data. Methods We analyzed 1,110 health care complaints from across England. “Hot spots” were identified by mapping reported harm and near misses onto stages of care and underlying problems. “Blind spots” concerning difficult‐to‐monitor aspects of care were analyzed by examining access and discharge problems, systemic problems, and errors of omission. Findings The tool showed moderate to excellent reliability. There were 1.87 problems per complaint (32% clinical, 32% relationships, and 34% management). Twenty‐three percent of problems entailed major or catastrophic harm, with significant regional variation (17%‐31%). Hot spots of serious harm were safety problems during examination, quality problems on the ward, and institutional problems during admission and discharge. Near misses occurred at all stages of care, with patients and family members often being involved in error detection and recovery. Complaints shed light on 3 blind spots: (1) problems arising when entering and exiting the health care system; (2) systemic failures pertaining to multiple distributed and often low‐level problems; and (3) errors of omission, especially failure to acknowledge and listen to patients raising concerns. Conclusions The analysis of health care complaints reveals valuable and uniquely patient‐centered insights on quality and safety. Hot spots of harm and near misses provide an alternative data source on adverse events and critical incidents. Analysis of entry‐exit, systemic, and omission problems provides insight on blind spots that may otherwise be difficult to monitor. Benchmark data and analysis scripts are downloadable as supplementary files

Flood risk information, actual floods and property values: A quasi-experimental analysis

Hedonic property price analysis tells us that property prices can be affected by natural hazards such as floods. This paper examines the impact of flood-related variables (among other factors) on property values, and examines the effect of the release of flood risk map information on property values by comparing the impact with the effect of an actual flood incidence. An examination of the temporal variation of flood impacts on property values is also made.\ud The study is the first of its kind where the impact of the release of flood risk map information to the public is compared with an actual flood incident. In this study, we adopt a spatial quasi-experimental analysis using the release of flood risk maps by Brisbane City Council in Queensland, Australia, in 2009 and the actual floods of\ud 2011. The results suggest that property buyers are more responsive to the actual incidence of floods than to the disclosure of information to the public on the risk of floods