e-{\mu} Discrimination at High Energy in the JUNO Detector

Cosmic Ray and neutrino oscillation physics can be studied by using atmospheric neutrinos. JUNO (Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory) is a large liquid scintillator detector with low energy detection threshold and excellent energy resolution. The detector performances allow the atmospheric neutrino oscillation measurements. In this work, a discrimination algorithm for different reaction channels of neutrino-nucleon interactions in the JUNO liquid scintillator, in the GeV/sub-GeV energy region, is presented. The atmospheric neutrino flux is taken as reference, considering $\overset{(-)}{\nu_\mu}$ and $\overset{(-)}{\nu_e}$. The different temporal behaviour of the classes of events have been exploited to build a time profile-based discrimination algorithm. The results show a good selection power for $\overset{(-)}{\nu_e}$ CC events, while the $\overset{(-)}{\nu_\mu}$ CC component suffers of an important contamination from NC events at low energy, which is under study. Preliminary results are presented.Comment: Proceeding for poster presented at the 7th Roma International Conference on AstroParticle Physic

Does timing of initiation influence acceptance and adherence to NIV in patients with ALS

Background: The role of nocturnal non invasive ventilation (NIV) to prolong tracheostomy-free survival, is still controversial in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients and the best timing to initiate NIV is unclear. Objective: As NIV acceptance and adherence can be influenced by many factors, we aimed to compare immediate acceptance and short-term NIV adherence between NIV initiated very early and NIV initiated later. Methods: This is a post hoc analysis of our previous cohort retrospective study of 88 ALS patients: 53 under later NIV (late group – LG) (forced vital capacity [FVC] 80%). We compared hours of NIV use as immediate acceptance of NIV (use ≥4 h/night) and dherence at 4 months post-initiation (defined as use ≥4 h/night or 120 h/month). Results: No differences were found between VEG and LG in use of NIV (>5 h/night in both groups), immediate acceptance (85.7% vs. 85.0%, p = 0.927) and short-term adherence (81.3% vs. 87.2%, p = 0.469); 39.7% of patients increased their NIV use (35% by >60 min/night). A decline in adherence was observed in 12.5% of patients irrespective of group affiliation. Conclusions: In ALS patients, initiation of very early NIV does not reduce its immediate acceptance or the short-term adherence. However, at least 1 in 10 patients may be at risk of reducing their adherence irrespective of early or late NIV prescription. As still under debate and not conclusive, further literature on early NIV benefit is welcomed. Keywords: Home mechanical ventilation, ALS, Motoneuron disease, NI

Design of dye-sensitized TiO2 materials for photocatalytic hydrogen production: light and shadow

Visible light-driven production of fuels and value-added chemicals is currently one of the most intensely investigated research topics across various scientific disciplines, due to its potential to ease the World\u2019s dependence on fossil fuels. In this perspective, we recapitulate some of the main features of dyesensitized photocatalytic systems aimed at solar H2 production, focusing in particular on TiO2-based threecomponent assemblies with organic sensitizers. Relevant aspects include the structural and electronic properties of the sensitizers, the nature of the semiconductor and the hydrogen evolution catalysts, the role of the sacrificial donor and the effect of the reaction parameters on H2 production rate and stability. Besides presenting the most significant recent developments of the field, we also analyse some of its common practices in terms of experimental design, laboratory procedures and data presentation, trying to highlight their weaknesses and suggesting possible improvements. We then conclude with a short paragraph discussing the possible future development of this exciting research area

Oxidation Enthalpies for Reduction of Ceria Surfaces

The thermodynamic properties of surface ceria were investigated through equilibrium isotherms determined by flow-titration and coulometric-titration measurements on high-surface-area ceria and ceria supported on La-modified alumina (LA). While the surface area of pure ceria was found to be unstable under redox conditions, the extent of reduction at 873 K and a P(O2) of 1.6x10-26 atm increased with surface area. Because ceria/LA samples were stable, equilibrium isotherms were determined between 873 and 973 K on a 30-wt% ceria sample. Oxidation enthalpies on ceria/LA were found to vary with the extent of reduction, ranging from -500 kJ/mol O2 at low extents of reduction to near the bulk value of -760 kJ/mol O2 at higher extents. To determine whether +3 dopants could affect the oxidation enthalpies for ceria, isotherms were measured for Sm+3-doped ceria (SDC) and Y+3-doped ceria. These dopants were found to remove the phase transition observed in pure ceria below 973 K but appeared to have minimal effect on the oxidation enthalpies. Implications of these results for catalytic applications of ceria are discussed

Nanostructured Pd\u2013Pt nanoparticles: evidences of structure/performance relations in catalytic H2production reactions

A widespread approach to modulate the performances of heterogeneous catalysts is the use of bimetallic nanoparticles (NPs) as the active phase. However, studying the relationship between the NPs structure and catalytic properties requires well-defined systems, having uniform composition, size and nanostructure, which cannot be achieved by traditional methods (e.g. impregnation). Here, we developed wet-chemistry synthetic routes to prepare PdPt NPs or Pt-core@Pd-shell NPs of small size and well-controlled composition and structure, protected by mercaptoundecanoic acid (MUA) moieties. The pristine NPs were tested for H2 production by NH3BH3 hydrolysis, in order to systematically investigate the effect of composition and of synthetic route on the activity of the systems. Depending on the preparation method, two distinct trends of activity were observed, rationalized in terms of the extent of surface functionalization by MUA. The MUA protective layer was found to effectively stabilize the NPs dispersion while maintaining high activity in certain cases (Pt-rich NPs), and was demonstrated to be essential for catalyst recycling. In order to further study structure-activity relationships of PdPt NPs after ligand removal, nanostructured PdPt@CeO2-based catalysts were prepared by self-assembly route. Regardless of the starting NPs structure (alloy or core-shell), similar water gas shift reaction performances were observed, due to the structural rearrangements occurring upon oxidation and reduction thermal treatments, which led to the formation of Pt-rich core@PdPt-shell under reducing conditions

High-performance and long-term stability of mesoporous Cu-doped TiO2 microsphere for catalytic CO oxidation

Although the low-temperature reaction mechanism of catalytic CO oxidation reaction remains unclear, the active sites of copper play a crucial role in this mechanism. One-step aerosol-assisted self-assembly (AASA) process has been developed for the synthesis of mesoporous Cu-doped TiO2 microspheres (CuTMS) to incorporate copper into the TiO2 lattice. This strategy highly enhanced the dispersion of copper from 41.10 to 83.65%. Long-term stability of the as-synthesized CuTMS materials for catalytic CO oxidation reaction was monitored using real-time mass spectrum. Isolated CuO and Cu-O-Ti were formed as determined by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The formation of the Cu-O-Ti bonds in the crystal lattice changes the electron densities of Ti(IV) and O, causing a subsequent change in Ti(III)/Ti(IV) and Onon/OTotal ratio. 20CuTMS contained the highest lattice distortion (0.44) in which the Onon/OTotal ratio is lowest (0.18). This finding may be attributed to the absolute formation of the Cu-O-Ti bonds in the crystal lattice. However, the decrease of Ti(III)/Ti(IV) ratio to about 0.35 of 25CuTMS was caused by the CuO cluster formation on the surface. N2O titration-assisted H2 temperature-programmed reduction and in-situ Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy revealed the properties of copper and effects of active sites

Palladium nanoparticles exposure: Evaluation of permeation through damaged and intact human skin.

8noThe intensified use of palladium nanoparticles (PdNPs) in many chemical reactions, jewellery, electronic devices, in car catalytic converters and in biomedical applications lead to a significant increase in palladium exposure. Pd can cause allergic contact dermatitis when in contact with the skin. However, there is still a lack of toxicological data related to nano-structured palladium and information on human cutaneous absorption. In fact, PdNPs, can be absorbed through the skin in higher amounts than bulk Pd because NPs can release more ions. In our study, we evaluated the absorption of PdNPs, with a size of 10.7 ± 2.8 nm, using intact and damaged human skin in Franz cells. 0.60 mg cm-2 of PdNPs were applied on skin surface for 24 h. Pd concentrations in the receiving solutions at the end of experiments were 0.098 ± 0.067 μg cm-2 and 1.06 ± 0.44 μg cm-2 in intact skin and damaged skin, respectively. Pd flux permeation after 24 h was 0.005 ± 0.003 μg cm-2 h-1 and 0.057 ± 0.030 μg cm-2 h-1 and lag time 4.8 ± 1.7 and 4.2 ± 3.6 h, for intact and damaged skin respectively. This study indicates that Pd can penetrate human skin.partially_openembargoed_20180429Larese Filon, F; Crosera, M; Mauro, M; Baracchini, E; Bovenzi, M; Montini, T; Fornasiero, P; Adami, G.LARESE FILON, Francesca; Crosera, Matteo; Mauro, Marcella; Baracchini, Elena; Bovenzi, Massimo; Montini, Tiziano; Fornasiero, Paolo; Adami, Gianpier

Metal-free dual-phase full organic carbon nanotubes/g-C 3 N 4 heteroarchitectures for photocatalytic hydrogen production

Hydrogen generation from water using solar energy has grown into a promising approach for sustainable energy production. Over the last years, graphitic carbon nitrides (g-C3N4, CN), polymers based on the heptazine-group, have been widely applied as photocatalysts for H2 evolution. The poor charge separation efficiency of CN is considered the major drawback. Here, we investigated the effect of coupling CN with different types of carbon nanotubes on the charge transfer properties and the photocatalytic H2 evolution. We used carbon nanotubes (CNTs) of different wall number (single (SWCNTs), double (DWCNTs) and multi-walled (MWCNTs) CNTs) for the development of full-organic CN based composite photocatalysts. Photoactivity was drastically affected by the content but more importantly by the nature of the CNTs. The SWCNTs functionalized CN composites were the most active presenting approximately 2\u20135 times higher H2 evolution than the corresponding DWCNTs and MWCNTs functionalized CN under both solar and pure visible light irradiation. Photoactivity was primarily controlled by the improved electronic properties linked with the abundance and stability of photogenerated charges as evidenced by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy. Transient absorption spectroscopy verified the transfer of reactive electrons from CN to CNTs. CNTs functioned as electron acceptors improving charge separation. The data suggest that charge transfer is inversely proportional to the wall number of the CNTs and that photoactivity is directly controlled by the size at the nanoscale of the CNTs used. In the CNTs/CN nanocomposites, photogenerated electrons are transferred more efficiently from CN when SWCNTs are used, providing more available electrons for H2 production

Active and Stable Embedded Au@CeO2 Catalysts for Preferential Oxidation of CO

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