Microwave characterization of polymer composite based on Biochar: A comparison of composite behaviour for Biochar and MWCNTs

In this work, Biochar is used as a filler in Epoxy resin for composite preparation. The electrical characteristics of composites are analyzed in function of different filler percentages. Results obtained are compared with composites based on multi-wall carbon nanotubes

Effets de l'ozone sur la forêt et la végétation dans les Alpes franco-italiennes.

Depuis le début des années 80, dans le sud des Alpes (frontière franco-italienne), plusieurs essences ont présenté des endommagements de leur feuillage avec un déficit foliaire bien marqué. Des premières études ont montré que la pollution par l'ozone influait sur le mauvais état de santé général des peuplements concernés. A partir de 1999, il importait d'évaluer (programme européen Interreg II) l'impact spécifique de la pollution par l'ozone sur les dommages observés. Les premiers résultats ont révélé des concentrations en ozone élevées. Parallèlement, l'endommagement foliaire a été estimé sur des placettes forestières. Ont été recherchés également des symptômes spécifiques de l'ozone sur quelques essences arborées, mais aussi sur toute la végétation de proximité. Des essais de corrélation ont été réalisés entre les niveaux d'ozone et les dégâts foliaires observés et des analyses microscopiques ont permis de confirmer la spécificité des dégâts observés

A narrative review of epidemiology and prevention of lung cancer: sex/gender differences?

Background and Objective: Sex and gender-related factors can both differently influence cancer susceptibility, progression, survival, and therapeutic response. Nevertheless, these differences are not extensively studied. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize sex/gender related differences in lung cancer epidemiology, the burden of its risk factors, and the role of prevention. Methods: Through PubMed Central and official websites of International and European Agencies and Societies, recent evidence about potential differences between males and females in lung cancer epidemiology (prevalence, temporal/spatial trend, biomarkers), risk factors (tobacco smoking and air pollution) and prevention coming from international reports and original studies have been selected. The study was limited to published original manuscripts/reviews/reports in the English language from 1990 to 2021. Key Content and Findings: Lung cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer (11.4% of the total cases), and the leading cause of cancer death (18.0% of the total cancer deaths). An increasing lung cancer incidence and mortality trends, largely but not only due to the increasing smoking prevalence, were evidenced among women. Females seem to be more susceptible to carcinogenic effect of tobacco smoke, and hormonal factors, use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and genetic predisposition are suggested to affect susceptibility to lung cancer. The incidence of lung cancer among females is globally increasing also in those who doesn’t smoke. Therefore, it becomes important to investigate the influence of other factors such as environmental tobacco exposure (ETS), outdoor and indoor air pollution, occupational exposure to hazardous chemicals and radon exposure from soil and building materials. The risk of lung cancer can be significantly reduced with tobacco cessation. Sex/gender differences in smoking cessation rates have been hypothesized with contrasting results. Conclusions: Lung cancer prevalence, trend and susceptibility as well as efficacy of risk factors preventive measures (e.g., smoking cessation) are a result of sex and gender differences, thus both aspects should be considered as contributing factors in lung cancer management

Evaluation of [C(sp3)/[C(sp2)] ratio in diamondlike films through the use of a complex dielectric constant

The evaluation of the amount of tetrahedral and trigonal cross-linking, that is, the sp3- and sp2-hybridized carbon, is of great importance in understanding the properties of amorphous carbon films. In this paper we report a method for deducing the [sp3]/[sp2] ratio from the experimental values of the complex dielectric constant as obtained by optical transmittance and reflectance measurements. We assume a Gaussian-like distribution of π and π* electronic densities of states in order to fit the contribution of π→π* to the imaginary part, ε2, of the dielectric constant in the low-energy region. Through the Kramers-Kronig relationships we deduce the corresponding values of the real part ε1 of the dielectric constant for such transitions. By subtracting these values from the measured ε1 we deduce the contribution of σ→σ* to ε1. The Wemple-Didomenico model has been used to obtain the dispersion energy and the average excitation energy. Knowing the plasmon energies, we apply the ‘‘f-sum rule'' to deduce the [sp3]/[sp2] ratio. The method applied to a-C:H films deposited by rf diode sputtering provides results in agreement with those obtained by other techniques

Tetrahedrally bonded ternary amorphous semiconductor alloys

The properties of tetrahedrally bonded ternary amorphous semiconductors a-CSiSn:H and a-CSiGe:H are reviewed with particular emphasis on the temperature dependence of dark conductivity and the coordination in random networks. It is shown here that the dark conductivity as a function of the temperature strongly depends on the carbon content and, more precisely, on the proportion of sp3 and sp2 sites in the carbon. Ternary alloys with different carbon contents are compared to binary alloys using the average coordination number. The ternary alloys have an average coordination number close to the optimal value predicted for amorphous covalent networks

Noncommutative Differential Forms on the kappa-deformed Space

We construct a differential algebra of forms on the kappa-deformed space. For a given realization of the noncommutative coordinates as formal power series in the Weyl algebra we find an infinite family of one-forms and nilpotent exterior derivatives. We derive explicit expressions for the exterior derivative and one-forms in covariant and noncovariant realizations. We also introduce higher-order forms and show that the exterior derivative satisfies the graded Leibniz rule. The differential forms are generally not graded-commutative, but they satisfy the graded Jacobi identity. We also consider the star-product of classical differential forms. The star-product is well-defined if the commutator between the noncommutative coordinates and one-forms is closed in the space of one-forms alone. In addition, we show that in certain realizations the exterior derivative acting on the star-product satisfies the undeformed Leibniz rule.Comment: to appear in J. Phys. A: Math. Theo

Construindo sentidos e possibilidades: a experiência da equipe de incubação de um empreendimento solidário

Esta pesquisa qualitativa teve por objetivo analisar a experiência da equipe de incubação de um empreendimento solidário de usuários de saúde mental. As entrevistas ocorreram com sete membros da equipe, sendo os dados analisados segundo análise de conteúdo. Da análise emergiram quatro categorias: Considerando a incubação como um processo - aprendendo e encontrando os significados de ser apoio; Apontando facilidades e dificuldades no processo de construção do empreendimento; Visualizando resultados da inclusão pelo trabalho - percebendo a melhora dos usuários; Apontando necessidades de mudanças no processo, esperando uma maior autonomia dos usuários e a formalização do empreendimento. A experiência revelou ser um trabalho novo e gratificante para a equipe, possibilitando aprendizado, troca de saberes e vínculo. Identificamos o papel do técnico como educador/facilitador do processo. Além das facilidades e do reconhecimento da relevância do trabalho para a vida dos usuários, a equipe enfrenta desafios para gerar renda satisfatória

A Synergistic Use of a High-Resolution Numerical Weather Prediction Model and High-Resolution Earth Observation Products to Improve Precipitation Forecast

open20siThe Mediterranean region is frequently struck by severe rainfall events causing numerous casualties and several million euros of damages every year. Thus, improving the forecast accuracy is a fundamental goal to limit social and economic damages. Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models are currently able to produce forecasts at the km scale grid spacing but unreliable surface information and a poor knowledge of the initial state of the atmosphere may produce inaccurate simulations of weather phenomena. The STEAM (SaTellite Earth observation for Atmospheric Modelling) project aims to investigate whether Sentinel satellites constellation weather observation data, in combination with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) observations, can be used to better understand and predict with a higher spatio-temporal resolution the atmospheric phenomena resulting in severe weather events. Two heavy rainfall events that occurred in Italy in the autumn of 2017 are studied—a localized and short-lived event and a long-lived one. By assimilating a wide range of Sentinel and GNSS observations in a state-of-the-art NWP model, it is found that the forecasts benefit the most when the model is provided with information on the wind field and/or the water vapor content.openLagasio, Martina; Parodi, Antonio; Pulvirenti, Luca; Meroni, Agostino N.; Boni, Giorgio; Pierdicca, Nazzareno; Marzano, Frank S.; Luini, Lorenzo; Venuti, Giovanna; Realini, Eugenio; Gatti, Andrea; Tagliaferro, Giulio; Barindelli, Stefano; Monti Guarnieri, Andrea; Goga, Klodiana; Terzo, Olivier; Rucci, Alessio; Passera, Emanuele; Kranzlmueller, Dieter; Rommen, BjornLagasio, Martina; Parodi, Antonio; Pulvirenti, Luca; Meroni, Agostino N.; Boni, Giorgio; Pierdicca, Nazzareno; Marzano, Frank S.; Luini, Lorenzo; Venuti, Giovanna; Realini, Eugenio; Gatti, Andrea; Tagliaferro, Giulio; Barindelli, Stefano; Monti Guarnieri, Andrea; Goga, Klodiana; Terzo, Olivier; Rucci, Alessio; Passera, Emanuele; Kranzlmueller, Dieter; Rommen, Bjor

Optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon

A detailed study of the optical properties of sputtered hydrogenated amorphous silicon films with varying hydrogen concentration is presented here. The energy dependence of the absorption coefficient is looked into, in detail, from a point of view of understanding the well known Tauc rule and the alternate relations being proposed in recent years. Spectroscopic and band‐structural models like Wemple-Didomenico and Penn are then utilized to analyze the optical parameters near the band‐gap region of the wavelength spectra. Extensive comparisons of our results are made with those of sputtered a‐Si:H films of other workers, glow discharge prepared a‐Si:H, chemically vapor deposited and evaporated a‐Si, and also crystalline silicon. The similarities in the variation of the optical properties of a‐Si:H with increasing hydrogen concentration (or decreasing measurement temperature) to that of crystalline silicon with decreasing measurement temperature lead us to interesting conclusions. Thus, it seems that decreasing disorder (topological or thermal) in a‐Si:H is equivalent to decreasing thermal disorder in c‐Si, at least as far as the disorder‐optical property relationships are concerned

Assessing external exposome by implementing an Environmental Data Management System using Open Data

Due to the increasing importance of exposome in environmental epidemiology, feasibility and usefulness of an Environmental Data Management System (EDMS) using Open Data was evaluated. The EDMS includes data from 10 European cities (Celje (Slovenia), Łódź (Poland), Manchester (UK), Palermo (Italy), Paris (France), Porto (Portugal), Regensburg (Germany), Reus (Spain), Rijeka (Croatia), Thessaloniki (Greece)) about external non-specific and specific exposome factors at the city or country level (2017-2020). Findings showed that the highest values of life expectancy were in Reus females (86 years) and Palermo males (81 years). UK had the highest obesity rate (28%), Croatia the highest prescribed drug consumption (62%), Greece and Portugal the highest smoking rates (37%, 42%) and daily alcohol consumption (21%), respectively. The most polluted cities were Thessaloniki for PM10 (38 µg/m3), Łódź for PM2.5 (25 µg/m3), Porto for NO2 (62 µg/m3) and Rijeka for O3 (92 µg/m3). Thessaloniki had the highest grey space (98%) and Łódź the highest cumulative amount of pollen (39,041 p/m3). The highest daily noise levels ≥ 55 dB was in Reus (81% to traffic) and Regensburg (21% to railway). In drinking water, arsenic had the highest value in Thessaloniki (6.4 µg/L), boron in Celje (24 mg/L) and lead in Paris (46.7 µg/L). Portugal and Greece showed the highest pesticide residues in food (7%). In conclusion, utilizing open-access databases enables the translation of research findings into actionable strategies for public health interventions.This work was supported by the European Commission and the Ministry of Education, Universities and Research, grant agreement IDs: 603946 (“Health and Environment-wide Associations based on Large population Surveys-HEALS”, European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration Activities) and 696300 (“Long-term impact of gestational and early-life dietary habits on infant gut immunity and disease risk-EarlyFOOD”, European Union’s Joint Programming Initiative “A Healthy Diet for a Healthy Life” EHDHL-INTIMIC Cofunded Call "Interrelation of the Intestinal Microbiome, Diet and Health"). We thank Prof. M. Chałubiński and Dr. B. Majkowska-Wojciechowska from the Medical University of Lodz, Poland, and Dr. Jordina Belmonte Soler and the site of the Xarxa Aerobiològica de Catalunya in Tarragona (Spain) for the pollen data supply, Prof. Denis A. Sarigiannis for the HEALS project co-coordination. We acknowledge Prof. Michael Kabesh for the support during the HEALS EXHES Survey. We thank each local authority for the data supply, as well