Highly luminescent perovskite–aluminum oxide composites

In this communication we report on the preparation of CH3NH3PbBr3 perovskite/Al2O3 nanoparticle composites in a thin film configuration and demonstrate their high photoluminescence quantum yield. The composite material is solution-processed at low temperature, using stable alumina nanoparticle dispersions. There is a large influence of the alumina nanoparticle concentration on the perovskite morphology and on its photoluminescence

Evaluation and Feasibility Study of Retrofitting Interventions on Social Housing in Italy

Abstract While there are an increasing number of new projects aiming at combining high residential quality and low power consumption, it is clear that the main challenge in the short term concerns the performance upgrading of the existing residential buildings stock. The feasibility analysis should consider the economic implications of the retrofit projects. A Disocunted Cash Flow analysis can be implemented in order to investigate the economic aspects of such interventions. The DCF approach allows the analysis of costs as well as the revenues and savings with the objective of understanding the period of time needed to recover the initial investment

The use of art therapy in counseling children

Art is being used more and more by counselors working with children, particularly within the school setting because it allows for children to communicate nonverbally in a timely manner. Art therapy in a school setting can offer children the opportunity to work through obstacles that are impeding their educational progress. It can facilitate appropriate social behaviors and promote healthy affective development (Bush, 1997, p. 16). The purpose of this paper is to explore how art is used in counseling children and examine specific techniques. Also, the author will focus on the stages of artistic development of children, the use of art as an assessment tool, the symbolism within the artwork, the use of art in multicultural counseling, and ethical issues related to art therapy

Exploring socio-economic externalities of development scenarios. An analysis of EU regions from 2008 to 2016

A great debate around development scenarios has come to define conversations around the economy and the environment, two dimensions that struggle to find a proper balance. In this paper we apply unconditional growth model analyses to a new and unique dataset of European regions between 2008 and 2016 and identify four development scenarios – green growth, green de-growth, black growth and black de-growth – characterized by different relationships between CO2 emissions and economic growth. We then map European regions across these four scenarios and describe the differences that occurred among regions in terms of socio-economic externalities, mainly competences, investments and well-being. Drawing on our analyses, we contribute to the debate on development scenarios and ecological macro-economics, as well as discuss implications for sustainability policy and research

The acquisition of musical language elements and the development of instrumental technique associated with creative activities in piano lessons

Orientador: Maria José Dias Carrasqueira de MoraesDissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de ArtesResumo: Esta pesquisa procurou investigar se atividades de criação realizadas em aulas de piano, nos níveis iniciais do estudo do instrumento, podem colaborar para a aquisição de elementos da linguagem musical, e favorecer o desenvolvimento da técnica pianística. Justifica-se por procurar preencher uma lacuna ainda existente nos processos de ensino instrumental, indo ao encontro das reflexões atuais sobre o ensino da música e do instrumento, na medida em que procura demonstrar caminhos que possam ampliar as possibilidades de aprendizado dos alunos. Este trabalho fundamentou-se nos autores Émile Jaques Dalcroze, Violeta Hemsy de Gainza e Moema Craveiro Campos, entre outros, que postulam a necessidade de ampliar as possibilidades do ensino musical e apontam para a importância de se incentivar as práticas criativas dos alunos. Foram realizadas entrevistas com educadores musicais e professores de piano, e pesquisa de campo qualitativa com uma aluna, no nível iniciante do estudo de piano. A partir da análise dos resultados pôde-se demonstrar que a apreensão do conhecimento musical se dá de forma abrangente através de uma prática contínua, e que atividades de criação, inseridas nessa prática, podem ser um caminho para se adquirir e ampliar habilidades, levando a um desenvolvimento mais eficaz e prazeroso. Buscou-se aprofundar questões pertinentes ao aprendizado musical, e dessa maneira, poder contribuir para a melhoria do ensino instrumental, e colaborar com o alargamento da bibliografia existenteAbstract: This research aims at investigating whether activities of creation performed in piano classes, at initial levels of study of the instrument, can collaborate to the acquisition of elements of musical language and favor the development of piano technique. It justifies itself by the attempt to fill a still open gap in the processes of instrument teaching, meeting current reflections on music and instrument teaching, as it strives to demonstrate ways that may further the possibilities of student learning. This work is based on the authors Émile Jaques Dalcroze, Violeta Hemsy de Gainza, and Moema Craveiro Campos, among others, who postulate the need to further the possibilities of music teaching and highlight the importance of encouraging students' creative practices. We have conducted interviews with music educators and piano teachers, and qualitative field research with a beginner level student of piano. Through result analysis we can demonstrate that the intake of musical knowledge takes place in a comprehensive way through continuous practice and that activities of creation, inserted into this practice, can be a way to acquire and further abilities, leading to a more effective and pleasant development. Our goal is to deepen relevant issues regarding musical learning, thus contributing to the improvement of instrumental teaching and collaborating with the increase of the existing bibliographyMestradoMúsica, Teoria, Criação e PráticaMestra em Músic

Caracterización de la estructura del complejo volcánico Auca Mahuida mediante datos aeromagnéticos y gravimétricos

El volcán Auca Mahuida es un centro eruptivo del Plioceno-Pleistoceno perteneciente a la provincia volcánica de retroarco de la Payenia, ubicada en el sector oriental de la Cuenca Neuquina en Argentina. El análisis de datos aeromagnéticos de alta resolución, integrado con la información geológica disponible y con mediciones de susceptibilidad magnética de rocas, ha permitido la construcción de un modelo geofísico confiable de la estructura interna del volcán. Se muestra en este trabajo que los datos aeromagnéticos constituyen una herramienta de investigación eficaz en un caso en el cual otros métodos, tales como la sísmica, no son aplicables debido a la topografía accidentada y a la alta impedancia acústica de la cubierta basáltica superior, cuyo espesor alcanza los 400 metros en el sector central del volcán. La mayor parte de las anomalías magnéticas presenta una estructura dipolar, opuesta a la que se esperaría para el campo geomagnético actual. De acuerdo con datos geocronológicos disponibles y con los resultados de mediciones paleomagnéticas, los cuerpos fuente del Auca Mahuida se emplazaron principalmente durante el cron Matuyama de polaridad reversa. La técnica de reducción al polo confirma que la dirección de la magnetización es principalmente reversa, con pocas anomalías magnetizadas en forma directa. Esta situación condujo a encontrar un enfoque adecuado de modelado inverso que considera la influencia de la remanencia y es independiente de la dirección de la magnetización, como resultado del cual se obtuvieron cuerpos fuente debajo del cráter central del Auca Mahuida a profundidades no mayores a 2 km bajo el nivel del mar. Estos resultados apoyan el concepto de un emplazamiento de los diques y cuerpos intrusivos en este rango de profundidades, controlado por las fallas que afectan el basamento y la secuencia sedimentaria sobre éste. El magma que ascendió a lo largo de esas fallas alimentó la actividad volcánica y luego se solidificó. Los resultados de los métodos de inversión empleados indican profundidades de fuentes consistentes con las de los cuerpos intrusivos observados en sondeos del área. Los pozos confirman la presencia de cuerpos ígneos intrusivos debajo del cráter central del Auca Mahuida y sectores periféricos, a profundidades que no exceden los 2 km bajo el nivel del mar. Por otro lado, las anomalías gravimétricas del volcán muestran un mínimo en el cráter central, interpretado como la respuesta de rocas traquíticas (cuya densidad y magnetización son menores que las correspondientes a los basaltos) y de los efectos del fracturamiento y colapso debidos a la actividad volcánica. Las profundidades de estas fuentes coinciden con las aportadas por el análisis de la magnetometría. Los resultados obtenidos contribuyen a una mejor comprensión del sistema de alimentación del volcán y la geometría de los cuerpos fuente, demostrando la eficacia del modelado de anomalías magnéticas aún en presencia de fuerte magnetización remanente.Esta tesis fue realizada gracias a YPF S. A. que cedió datos para su realización y al Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanología (INGV) de Italia por permitirme tener un par de estadías allí.Facultad de Ciencias Astronómicas y Geofísica

Design and Implementation of an Electric Skibus Line in North Italy

To enhance the current Public Transport (PT) service in the northern Italian region of Lombardy, this work tries to plan fully a new electric Skibus line connecting the cities of Santa Caterina and Livigno. As a first try outside the city environment, the electrification study is set on a limited mountain zone hence featured by steep grades and cold temperatures. In the first part of the paper, the energy consumed by an electric bus working in such a context is assessed, and from the learned outcomes, proper charging infrastructure is proposed. From the found results, the introduction of a new electric bus line in the chosen region seems feasible. Finally, in the last part of the work the performances of an electric bus fleet are compared with that of a diesel one, in terms of fuel costs and Well-to-Wheel (WTW) emissions. The results prove that an electric fleet would be more convenient for both the economic and the environmental aspects

Multi-temperature state-dependent equivalent circuit discharge model for lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries are described extensively in the literature, but existing computational models aimed at scientific understanding are too complex for use in applications such as battery management. Computationally simple models are vital for exploitation. This paper proposes a non-linear state-of-charge dependent Li-S equivalent circuit network (ECN) model for a Li-S cell under discharge. Li-S batteries are fundamentally different to Li-ion batteries, and require chemistry-specific models. A new Li-S model is obtained using a ‘behavioural’ interpretation of the ECN model; as Li-S exhibits a ‘steep’ open-circuit voltage (OCV) profile at high states-of-charge, identification methods are designed to take into account OCV changes during current pulses. The prediction-error minimization technique is used. The model is parameterized from laboratory experiments using a mixed-size current pulse profile at four temperatures from 10 °C to 50 °C, giving linearized ECN parameters for a range of states-of-charge, currents and temperatures. These are used to create a nonlinear polynomial-based battery model suitable for use in a battery management system. When the model is used to predict the behaviour of a validation data set representing an automotive NEDC driving cycle, the terminal voltage predictions are judged accurate with a root mean square error of 32 mV

COVID-19-Anxiety and Using Substances to Cope: Differences Across Race and Gender in a New York State College Student Sample

College students, a high risk group for substance use and problems (White & Kingston, 2013), have reported heightened mental health concerns over the past few years (Oswalt et al, 2020). Prior research examining substance misuse and mental health concerns indicate the two tend to co-occur (Cranford et al., 2009). One of the greatest risk factors for future substance use disorder is using substances to cope with negative affect (Patrick et al., 2011). Research on the effect of the pandemic on college student’s mental health has documented increased levels of stress and anxiety, with women reporting worse well-being compared to men (Hoyt et al., 2020). Given the increased psychological distress during the coronavirus pandemic (Martinez & Nguyen, 2020), it is important to examine the relationship between substance use and anxiety surrounding COVID-19 among this population. Research on coronavirus infection and mortality has demonstrated a disparity in health outcomes across racial identities (Gross et al., 2020). It is critical to examine discrepancies in substance use behaviors and the impact of the pandemic on mental health across college student men and women identifying as racial and ethnic minorities. The purpose of this study was to examine prevalence rates of alcohol use, marijuana use, and reports of using substances to cope. Further, we examined whether COVID-anxiety, defined as anxiety specific to the pandemic, and alcohol- and marijuana-coping motives, differed as a function of race and gender after controlling for general psychological distress. Participants were 1,492 students at a large public university in the Northeast. Participants completed measures on alcohol and marijuana use, alcohol and marijuana coping motives, psychological distress and COVID-anxiety. White students reported the highest frequencies of alcohol use, whereas Hispanic/Latinx students reported the highest rates of risky alcohol use. About 25% of Biracial and Hispanic/Latinx students reported past month marijuana use, which was the highest among the racial groups. Biracial students reported the highest rates of psychological distress, COVID-anxiety, and increased substance use due to COVID-related stress. Asian/Asian American students reported the lowest rates of substance use across all indices. About 20% of cis-women and cis-men reported past month marijuana use. Cis-women reported higher frequencies of past month alcohol use, risky alcohol use, psychological distress, COVID-anxiety and increased substance use due to COVID-related stress. Two MANCOVAs examined differences in race and gender in COVID-anxiety, and substance-related coping motives while controlling for psychological distress. The interaction between race and gender on COVID-anxiety and alcohol coping motives was significant, (F8, 1398= 1.93, p =.05;Wilks’Λ = .978). The main effects for race (p=.008) and gender (p=.000) were significant, with slightly larger effect sizes for gender in comparison to race. The model examining COVID-anxiety and marijuana coping motives failed to demonstrate a significant race by gender interaction (p=.585), however main effects for race (p=.002) and gender (p=.017) were significant, with larger effect sizes for race in comparison to gender. Findings support race and gender identity as important determinants of COVID-anxiety and substance-related coping motives. Implications for research, targeted prevention initiatives, and clinical work will be discussed