scholarly journals DALLE ESIGENZE ENERGETICHE SULLA TERRA ALL’ESPLORAZIONE DI MARTE PASSANDO PER I COLORI DELLA CAPPELLA SISTINA: PRESENTE E FUTURO DEL FOTOVOLTAICO E DEI COMBUSTIBILI SOLARI

Author(s):  
Alessandro Abbotto

The challenge of renewable energies has now come to a strategic step. While 80% of the energy still comes from fossil fuels, the role of renewable energies is in constant growth. The challenge of renewables is not only a technological transition, but also the indispensable response to the needs of the planet, from the incessant demographic growth to climatic emergencies and to the development of the poorest countries, and eventually to medium to long term challenges such as the colonization of Mars. Researchers are therefore committed to developing innovative, clean and efficient solutions to meet such challenge. In particular, organic dyes, organic molecules such as those founds in drugs or liquid crystals, represent key actors of one of the most fascinating chemistry frontiers to produce low cost and clean renewable energy. As the true colors of the Sistine Chapel frescoes, wanted by Michelangelo, have now emerged and visible to everyone, also in this field only specific colored dyes are able to address effectively the energy challenge. The scientist, especially the chemist, starting from the state of the art and innovation, is engaged in the design of new molecules owning the correct colors.

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 39-49
Author(s):  
Sarah Goswami ◽  
Vicki Lane

Increasingly, government departments are being held accountable for investment in public services. In Queensland the Financial Accountability Act 2009 (Queensland Treasury, 2016) requires that accountable officers and statutory bodies ‘achieve reasonable value for money by ensuring the operations of the department or statutory body are carried out efficiently, effectively and economically’ (Section 61). Whilst there is a directive for agencies to evaluate and demonstrate value for money, it has in practice been difficult to embed long term, as many systems and decision makers have neglected the role of organisation-wide evaluation capital. This paper will outline the work being undertaken in the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) to implement an Impact and Investment Framework, which will support and embed evaluation in a multidisciplinary setting. A central tenant of this framework is ‘business empowerment and learning'—building the evaluation culture in the organisation by first establishing evaluation building blocks, through business empowerment, support and utility. The framework is comprised of five key elements and is built on the principles of evaluation and evaluation capacity building disciplines. It has been designed to be low-cost, effective and efficient, whilst enabling business improvement, meeting accountability needs and allowing the department to demonstrate the value of its work.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 6198-6202
Author(s):  
Anthony Paulo Sunjaya ◽  
Angela Felicia Sunjaya ◽  
Meilani Kumala

Obesity has currently become a worldwide epidemic. Currently, lifestyle changes, pharmacotherapy and bariatric surgery remains the only available armamentarium. However, lifestyle changes and pharmacotherapy resulted in variable outcomes and are often unsustainable. On the other hand, advances in metagenomics and food biotechnology has reported the important role of gut microbiota in the complex pathophysiology of obesity and its possible role in treating it. This review aims to discuss the potential of manipulating gut microbiota to tackle obesity. Articles were obtained through Pubmed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, High Wire and Elsevier Clinical Key using the keywords “obesity AND gut microbiota or synonyms.” Various studies have shown the interactions between gut microbiota, gut permeability and the immune system as a mechanism that links diet, obesity and its comorbidities. There are currently several reported methods of manipulating gut microbiota namely, though probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics and diet modification with varying outcomes based on the microbial strain affected and used. Studies have also proposed manipulating gut microbiota as a way to prevent and manage obesity en-mass. Conclusions: Gut microbiota plays a great role in maintaining body’s energy balance. Manipulating gut microbiota has great potential to become a low cost and effective treatment for obesity and its prevention with minimal side effects for long-term use. The various forms of prebiotics, probiotics and synbiotics currently available would be able to increase patient’s compliance and easiness in distribution. Better management of obesity would lead to a reduction in many comorbidities including heart disease, stroke and diabetes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 531-532
Author(s):  
Habib Chaudhury ◽  
Shelby Elkes

Abstract This study evaluated the role of the built environment on residents’ wayfinding behaviours at Louis Brier Home in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The goal of this study was to explore baseline mobility challenges for the residents traveling between their bedrooms and social spaces. In response to this, low-cost environmental interventions were proposed and implemented to support safe and independent wayfinding for the residents. The project consisted of three phases. First phase involved a mixed methods approach using behavior mapping and spatial observations of the residents interacting with their physical environment, combined with one focus group with the staff members. In the second phase, researchers presented actionable environmental interventions for the care home administration to consider and implement. The final phase involved post-implementation behaviour mapping, spatial observations and a focus group session. The implemented environmental interventions influenced in improved resident wayfinding and orientation in the long-term care home.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keir EJ Philip ◽  
Lucy L Cartwright ◽  
Debra Westlake ◽  
Grace Nyakoojo ◽  
Ivan Kimuli ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionMusic and dance are increasingly used as adjunctive arts-in-health interventions in high-income settings, with a growing body of research suggesting biopsychosocial benefits. Such low-cost, low-resource interventions may have application in low-resource settings such as Uganda. However, research on perceptions of patients and healthcare professionals regarding such approaches is lacking.MethodsWe delivered taster music and dance for chronic respiratory disease (CRD) sessions to patients and healthcare professionals. We then conducted an exploratory qualitative study, using thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews with the healthcare professionals and patients regarding i) the role of music and dance in Ugandan life and ii) the perceived acceptability and feasibility of using music and dance in CRD management in Uganda.ResultsEleven patients with long-term respiratory conditions and eight healthcare professionals were interviewed after selection by purposeful convenience sampling. Four key themes were identified from (interview) analysis: Music and dance: 1) were central components of daily life; 2) had an established role supporting health and wellbeing; 3) had strong therapeutic potential in respiratory disease management; 4) the importance of modulating demographic considerations of culture and religion, and age.ConclusionMusic and dance are central to life in Uganda, with established roles supporting health and wellbeing. These roles could be built on in the development of music and dance interventions as adjuncts to established components of CRD disease management like pulmonary rehabilitation. Through consideration of key contextual factors, and co-development and adaptation of interventions, such approaches are likely to be well received.Summary Box: Key QuestionsWhat is already known?Music and dance are increasingly being used as adjunctive components of CRD management in high resource settings, with a growing body of research suggesting such approaches are effective, well-received, and can be delivered at low cost. However, the perceptions of patients and healthcare professionals about potential application of such approaches in low-resource settings, such as Uganda, is not known.What are the new findings?Music and dance have central roles in the social, religious and cultural life in Uganda, including a clear view that participation supports both collective and individual health and wellbeing. In this study, both healthcare professionals and patients saw great potential for the use of music and dance as interventions for people with CRD, and highlighted important factors for consideration for successful implementation.What do the new findings imply?Music and dance interventions for people with long-term respiratory conditions in Uganda are likely to be accepted with enthusiasm due to the existing role of such activities in daily life. Delivery is likely to be feasible, but interventions would need to be co-developed with patients, their family members, and healthcare professionals, considering a number of key factors. Suggested approaches to address these considerations are provided. More generally, this study highlights how genuine co-design processes can provide valuable insights into health intervention development.


Inorganics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Mavrokefalos ◽  
Greta Patzke

The expected shortage of fossil fuels as well as the accompanying climate change are among the major challenges of the 21st century. A global shift to a sustainable energy landscape is, therefore, of utmost importance. Over the past few years, solar technologies have entered the energy market and have paved the way to replace fossil-based energy sources, in the long term. In particular, electrochemical solar-to-hydrogen technologies have attracted a lot of interest—not only in academia, but also in industry. Solar water splitting (artificial photosynthesis) is one of the most active areas in contemporary materials and catalysis research. The development of low-cost, efficient, and stable water oxidation catalysts (WOCs) remains crucial for artificial photosynthesis applications, because WOCs still represent a major economical and efficient bottleneck. In the following, we summarize recent advances in water oxidation catalysts development, with selected examples from 2016 onwards. This condensed survey demonstrates that the ongoing quest for new materials and informed catalyst design is a dynamic and rapidly developing research area.


Author(s):  
Ferdinand Burianek ◽  
Sebastian Bonnemeier ◽  
Ralf Reichwald

Global competition and declining margins have made enterprises in diverse industries increasingly aware that assuring low cost as well as high product performance and quality is no longer sufficient for long-term success. Integrating products and services into customized solutions can help firms to gain competitive advantage. Based on 11 in-depth interviews with managers from solution providers and an exploratory survey with 45 solution providers, this paper derives a value creation process as well as a set of critical activities and pitfalls within each step. Selling solutions requires relational processes between customer and supplier comprising analysis/consulting, design/configuration, implementation/delivery, and support/operation. To better understand the relational process, this perspective was adopted on creating solutions in order to identify crucial routines and activities. Two main capabilities within this process can be identified: customer interaction and project management. Both capabilities are required in order to deliver more effective as well as efficient solutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 40 (6) ◽  
pp. 408-412
Author(s):  
Josef Paffenholz

To limit the warming of the planet to no more than a 2°C increase, models show that net-zero release of anthropomorphic CO2 must be achieved by the middle of the century. For the foreseeable future, the majority of the world's energy will still be provided by fossil fuels, so other methods, besides expanding the contribution of renewable energy, are needed in order to achieve this goal. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is one such method, without which the cost to achieve the 2°C target would more than double. To achieve this climate goal, CCS efforts must increase by approximately 100-fold from current levels within the next 20 years. Geophysical simulations on suitable geologic models will provide an important tool to streamline and accelerate the vast expansion of geophysical site characterization and long-term monitoring tasks required for industrial-scale CCS to succeed.


Author(s):  
Ferdinand Burianek ◽  
Sebastian Bonnemeier ◽  
Ralf Reichwald

Global competition and declining margins have made enterprises in diverse industries increasingly aware that assuring low cost as well as high product performance and quality is no longer sufficient for long-term success. Integrating products and services into customized solutions can help firms to gain competitive advantage. Based on 11 in-depth interviews with managers from solution providers and an exploratory survey with 45 solution providers, this paper derives a value creation process as well as a set of critical activities and pitfalls within each step. Selling solutions requires relational processes between customer and supplier comprising analysis/consulting, design/configuration, implementation/delivery, and support/operation. To better understand the relational process, this perspective was adopted on creating solutions in order to identify crucial routines and activities. Two main capabilities within this process can be identified: customer interaction and project management. Both capabilities are required in order to deliver more effective as well as efficient solutions.


1993 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-122
Author(s):  
Sylvie Cornot-Gandolphe

The combustion of fossil fuels causes the emission of greenhouse gases such as C02, methane and NOx. The use of natural gas in place of oil and coal can help indeed to reduce greenhouse gases emission because natural gas is the cleanest of fossil fuels. Its non-pollutant character offers it extremely favourable prospects. World consumption is bound to increase rapidly, from 2120 Bern in 1991 to 3100-3500 Bern in 2010. Expanding world output will not raise any problems of resources because natural gas is an abundant energy source. However, gas production and transport costs are going to rise due to increasing distances between main gas reserves and consumer markets. The financial constraints will be the major factor limiting the growth in natural gas trade. And new solutions would have to be found in order to implement today the projects required in the long-term.


Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2462 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Medyńska-Juraszek ◽  
Irmina Ćwieląg-Piasecka ◽  
Maria Jerzykiewicz ◽  
Justyna Trynda

There is an urgent need to search for new sorbents of pollutants presently delivered to the environment. Recently biochar has received much attention as a low-cost, highly effective heavy metal adsorbent. Biochar has been identified as an efficient material for cobalt (Co) immobilization from waters; however, little is known about the role of Co immobilization in soil. Hence, in this study, a batch experiment and a long-term incubation experiment with biochar application to multi-contaminated soil with distinct properties (sand, loam) were conducted to provide a brief explanation of the potential mechanisms of Co (II) sorption on wheat straw biochar and to describe additional processes that modify material efficiency for metal sorption in soil. The soil treatments with 5% (v/w) wheat straw biochar proved to be efficient in reducing Co mobility and bioavailability. The mechanism of these processes could be related to direct and indirect effects of biochar incorporation into soil. The FT-IR analysis confirmed that hydroxyl and carboxyl groups present on the biochar surface played a dominant role in Co (II) surface complexation. The combined effect of pH, metal complexation capacity, and the presence of Fe and Mn oxides added to wheat straw biochar resulted in an effective reduction of soluble Co (II), showing high efficiency of this material for cobalt sorption in contaminated soils.


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