Catalytic materials based on silica and alumina: Structural features and generation of surface acidity

The structural, surface chemical and catalytic properties of the materials belonging to the SiO2-Al2O3 system are reviewed critically. In particular, amorphous silicas, transitional aluminas, different silica-aluminas (silica-rich and alumina-rich) and protonic zeolites are taken into consideration. The nature of the acid sites, of the Lewis and of the Bronsted type, over these surfaces is discussed and rationalized, based on the fundamental chemistry and structural chemistry of silicon and aluminum compounds

Metal and dielectric based materials for power semiconductor performance improvements

L'abstract è presente nell'allegato / the abstract is in the attachmen

Mock Catalogs for UHECR Studies

We provide realistic mock-catalogs of cosmic rays above 40 EeV, for a pure proton composition, assuming their sources are a random subset of ordinary galaxies in a simulated, volume-limited survey, for various choices of source density: 10^-3.5 Mpc^-3, 10^-4.0 Mpc^-3 and 10^-4.5 Mpc^-3. The spectrum at the source is taken to be E^-2.3 and the effects of cosmological redshifting as well as photo-pion and e^+ e^- energy losses are included.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

First experiences with the H-maser EFOS 1

The results are given on the performance measurements, on the dependence on external temperature, and on external magnetic field of a hydrogen maser. It is compared with another hydrogen maser. Details of the transportation and installation of the maser are given. The hydrogen maser frequency is compared with cesium oscillators to derive long-term behavior

Nursing care models in primary care and hospital settings: implementation and evaluation

In the last year, the COVID\u201119 pandemic has made clear how vulnerabilities in health systems can have profound implications for the health of people. Thus, organizations are taking in place significant changes which are also influencing nursing staff and the nursing care model. This dissertation aims to: 1) explore the effects of primary nursing on patient, -staff,-organizational-related outcomes in hospital settings; 2) identify barriers and facilitators of nursing role implementation in primary care; and 3) assess the effects of the family and community nursing (FCN) practice model on patient-, organizational-related outcomes. Method. To reach aim 1 a multi-centre, prospective before-after study is performed. Primary outcome are healthcare-associated infections. Also, staff-related outcomes are included. To reach aim 2 an integrative literature review was conducted. It combines data from quantitative and qualitative studies from two databases searches (Medline and CINAHL) up to 09 June 2020. Data extraction and identification of emerging themes are performed using the Consolidating Framework for Research Implementation (CFIR). To reach aim 3 a prospective controlled study was designed. The study will recruit older and frail residents in municipalities belonging to Community Health Centres (CHC) of Santhi\ue0 and Gattinara (Local Health Authority of Vercelli). The Intervention is the FCN and it is allocating in one of the CHC. Primary outcome is hospitalization. Results. In this dissertation, the results of the integrative literature review are listed. 56 papers met the inclusion criteria. The major barriers identified are related to: i) the limited availability of nursing special education, ii) legislations and regulations, iii) organizational setting in which nurse\u2019s role implementation is embedded; and iv) lack of nurse\u2019s role clarity among stakeholders. Major facilitators include: i) prior planning for role introduction and nurses\u2019 involvement in the early stage of role implementation, ii) job satisfaction and nurses\u2019 access to high-quality education, iii) successful doctor-nurse collaboration. Finally, the two study protocols were submitted to the Local Ethics Committee. The before-after study has begun in 2019 with 10 Centres enrolled. Actually, the study has recruited 422 patients and 94 nurses. Discussion. Implementation and evaluation of the nurse\u2019s role in primary care and hospital settings are complex interventions due to several components which interact with each other. In this regard, the Medical Research Council framework has been used to guide the development and evaluation of complex interventions, related to nursing research and practice. Despite using this framework, two different studies have been designed to explore how the nursing care model works and its effects. The studies are still suspended due to restrictions imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic

Harnack type estimates for nonlinear elliptic systems

We prove analogues for cooperative weakly coupled fully nonlinear ellipitc systems of the classical Alexandrov-Bakelman-Pucci and Harnack-Krylov-Safonov estimates. A number of applications are presented

Ecosystem services evaluation for a more resilient urban environment

Among the Sustainable Development Goals defined in Agenda 2030 by United Nations, Number 11 aims to achieve more resilient urban environments facing the ongoing climate change. “Ecosystem Restoration” is one of the solutions to help achieving this goal, by restoring habitats and functions of the terrestrial and marine ecosystems on which flora and fauna depend. At urban scale, a method for the evaluation of the Ecosystem Services (ES) offered by a given green area is reported: among the quantifiable benefits, in this work the attention is paid to the quantity of surface water runoff that vegetation is able to reduce, through processes of infiltration, evapotranspiration and storage. The results of a case study on a Turin green space are shown as an example, deepening the species efficiency in providing the total amount of 735 cubic meters of water saved

Urban hazard adaptation: efficiency of a Green Infrastructure in an Italian metropolis

In recent years, safeguarding approaches and environmental management initiatives have been adopted both by international institutions and local governments , aimed at sustainable use of natural resources and their restoration, in order to manage hazard level of climate change consequences (urban flooding, droughts and water shortages, sea level rise, issues with food security). Cities represent the main collectors of these effects, consequently they need to implement specific adaptation plans mitigating consequences of such future events: Green Infrastructures (G.I.) fall within the most effective tools for achieving the goal. In the urban context, they also identify themselves as valid strategies for biodiversity recovery and ecological functions. This work analyzes the role of a G.I. in an urban environment, with the aim of quantifying Ecosystem Services (E.S.) provided by vegetation: through usage of i-Tree, specific software suite for E.S. quantification, the sustainability offered by “Le Vallere” park, a 34-hectares greenspace spread between municipalities of Turin and Moncalieri (Italy), was analyzed, in collaboration with the related management institution (Ente di gestione delle Aree Protette del Po torinese). The study, carried out using two specific tools (i-Tree Eco and i-Tree Hydro), focuses on different aspects: carbon sequestration and storage, atmospheric pollutants reduction, avoided water runoff and water quality improvement are just some of the environmental benefits generated by tree population. Tools enable to carry out the analysis also from an economic point of view, evaluating monetary benefits brought by the green infrastructure both at present day and in the future, taking into account climate change effects through projections based on the regional climatic model COSMO-CLM (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios). The work led to deepen potential held by the greenspace, helping the cooperating management institution to plan future territorial agenda and to find innovative approaches for an integrated and sustainable hazard control