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The progress and future commercial success of each wave energy device is linked to the fact that the technology, the local wave motion characteristic and environmental condition are suitable to exploit the available wave energy resources in a specific coastal area. In the last years, several wave energy converters have reached an advanced development stage, such as the WaveSAX-2, an oscillating water column device suitable for been installed in existing coastal structures. Considering that the device can be installed directly on the breakwater wall or even inside the caissons, the impact on the marine environment can be considerably reduced. The device at scale 1:5 has been already tested in the Civitavecchia port (north eastern Tyrrhenian sea, Italy) in 2018 and 2020 leading to the evaluation of the power matrix (i.e. the expected power production for each local wave condition).Thanks to the information obtained by the sea tests of the device, the wave energy potential exploited by WaveSAX-2 was evaluated, both in the offshore zone and in proximity of the Civitavecchia harbor structures, using the Mediterranean wave reanalysis product distributed as part of Copernicus Marine Service catalogue.In the area around the Civitavecchia port, the main characteristics (height, period, direction) of the wave motion and the potential energy production of the device have been computed using the SWAN model that allows to obtain a high spatial resolution in the coastal zone. The model was successfully validated with wave data collected in 2017 and 2018 using an ADP instrumentation mounted within the Barnacle structure at 20 m depth in the northern area of Civitavecchia port.The model results show that the highest energy levels are located in the northern and central part of Civitavecchia port where the breakwater structure has highly reflective features. These values resulted even greater than the energy found offshore. The southern part of the breakwater, which is protected by tetrapods with low reflective capacities, is instead characterized by lower values of wave energy. The study also highlights the improvement in the generation of the WaveSAX-2 due to the capacity of the new turbine to have a better efficiency in the exploitation of the lowest waves which are the most frequent ones in the study area.The work demonstrates that high spatial resolution numerical modeling is a fundamental tool to analyze and accurately predict the wave energy potential exploitable by wave energy converters (WEC) in coastal areas affected by the presence of port structures. It also represents a powerful tool for the optimization of the device array design, leading to maximize the energy production and minimize the environmental impact in the area.

ObjectiveThe objective was to compare the results of performance-based and self-assessed measures of health literacy (HL) and to evaluate the contribution of their joint use in assessing some HL antecedents.DesignThis was a cross-sectional study.SettingThe study was conducted on the general population in Florence (Italy).ParticipantsThis study is part of a larger one, where participants were randomly selected from the registries of 11 general practitioners working in the municipality of Florence. Inclusion criteria were the following: 18–69 years of age and Italian speaking. Exclusion criteria included cognitive impairment, severe psychiatric disease or end-stage disease. In this paper, 212 adults were included.Outcome measuresHL was measured using the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16) and the Newest Vital Sign (NVS). The HL levels obtained by means of the two measurement tools were combined into a new variable that described three different levels of HL skills: low HL skills, partial HL skills and high HL skills. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis was performed to assess the predictive roles of age class, educational level and financial resources with respect to HL skills.ResultsTwenty-two per cent of the sample had high HL skills, 28.3% had low HL skills and 49.5% had partial HL skills. Educational level, age class and financial resources were significantly associated with HL skills, with OR values being higher than those obtained using the NVS or the HLS-EU-Q16 individually.ConclusionThe combination of the results obtained using the NVS and the HLS-EU-Q16 improves the understanding of HL. The new variable generated by this combination could be considered as a different way to assess HL and its multidimensional contents.

Composite organic–inorganic proton exchange membranes for H2–O2 fuel cells were fabricated by ionotropic gelation process combining a biopolymer (chitosan) with a heteropolyacid (silicotungstic acid). According to scanning electron microscopy analysis, compact, homogeneous and free-standing thin layers were synthesized. X-ray diffraction proved the crystallinity of the fabricated membranes and showed the presence of Chitosan Form I polymorph soon after the reticulation step and of the Form II polymorph after the functionalization step. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy demonstrated that the Keggin structure of the heteropolyacid is maintained inside the membrane even after the fabrication process. These membranes worked properly as proton conductors in a low-temperature (25°C) fuel cell apparatus using hydrogen as fuel recording a promising power density peak of 268 mW cm−2 with a Pt loading of 0.5mgcm−2.

I report on recent results obtained within the Hamiltonian approach to QCD in Coulomb gauge. Furthermore this approach is compared to recent lattice data, which were obtained by an alternative gauge fixing method and which show an improved agreement with the continuum results. By relating the Gribov confinement scenario to the center vortex picture of confinement it is shown that the Coulomb string tension is tied to the spatial string tension. For the quark sector a vacuum wave functional is used which explicitly contains the coupling of the quarks to the transverse gluons and which results in variational equations which are free of ultraviolet divergences. The variational approach is extended to finite temperatures by compactifying a spatial dimension. The effective potential of the Polyakov loop is evaluated from the zero-temperature variational solution. For pure Yang--Mills theory, the deconfinement phase transition is found to be second order for SU(2) and first order for SU(3), in agreement with the lattice results. The corresponding critical temperatures are found to be $275 \, \mathrm{MeV}$ and $280 \, \mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. When quarks are included, the deconfinement transition turns into a cross-over. From the dual and chiral quark condensate one finds pseudo-critical temperatures of $198 \, \mathrm{MeV}$ and $170 \, \mathrm{MeV}$, respectively, for the deconfinement and chiral transition., Talk given by H. Reinhardt at "5th Winter Workshop on Non-Perturbative Quantum Field Theory", 22-24 March 2017, Sophia-Antipolis, France. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1609.09370, arXiv:1510.03286, arXiv:1607.08143

Following a recent proposal by Cooper and Zwanziger we investigate via $SU(2)$ lattice simulations the effect on the Coulomb gauge propagators and on the Gribov-Zwanziger confinement mechanism of selecting the Gribov copy with the smallest non-trivial eigenvalue of the Faddeev-Popov operator, i.e.~the one closest to the Gribov horizon. Although such choice of gauge drives the ghost propagator towards the prediction of continuum calculations, we find that it actually overshoots the goal. With increasing computer time, we observe that Gribov copies with arbitrarily small eigenvalues can be found. For such a method to work one would therefore need further restrictions on the gauge condition to isolate the physically relevant copies, since e.g.~the Coulomb potential $V_C$ defined through the Faddeev-Popov operator becomes otherwise physically meaningless. Interestingly, the Coulomb potential alternatively defined through temporal link correlators is only marginally affected by the smallness of the eigenvalues., 11 pages, 13 figures. Discussion and conclusions extended, some plots changed. To appear in PRD

Recemment la pedagogie s’est ouverte aux differences, s’efforcant d’inclure des groupes sociaux fragiles inseres dans des dynamiques de domination et/ou de marginalisation. Encore trop peu a ete fait pour les homosexuels qui, dans la phase complexe de l’adolescence, ont la difficile charge de vivre une difference forte et socialement stigmatisee. Les etapes du developpement personnel sont nombreuses, tout comme les risques qui y sont lies, la premiere de toutes etant le risque de violence verbale et physique de la part des compagnons a l’ecole. A cela s’ajoute une sorte de deficit educatif du au fait que toutes les figures adultes qui devraient soutenir ces jeunes (les parents, les enseignants...) ne sont pas dans la mesure de le faire meme quand ils y sont disposes.Il est alors necessaire de penser a des instruments pedagogiques qui aident ces adolescents a faire face a la victimisation et a l’imperialisme culturel qu’ils subissent dans une societe homophobe.

I will review essential features of the Hamiltonian approach to QCD in Coulomb gauge showing that Gribov's confinement scenario is realized in this gauge. For this purpose I will discuss in detail the emergence of the horizon condition and the Coulomb string tension. I will show that both are induced by center vortex gauge field configurations, which establish the connection between Gribov's confinement scenario and the center vortex picture of confinement. I will then extend the Hamiltonian approach to QCD in Coulomb gauge to finite temperatures, first by the usual grand canonical ensemble and second by the compactification of a spatial dimension. I will present results for the pressure, energy density and interaction measure as well as for the Polyakov loop., Comment: 13 pages, 10 figures, talk given by H. Reinhardt at "5th International Conference on New Frontiers in Physics", 6-14 July 2016, Kolymbari, Greece

I report on recent results obtained within the Hamiltonian approach to QCD in Coulomb gauge. By relating the Gribov confinement scenario to the center vortex picture of confinement it is shown that the Coulomb string tension is tied to the spatial string tension. For the quark sector a vacuum wave functional is used which results in variational equations which are free of ultraviolet divergences. The variational approach is extended to finite temperatures by compactifying a spatial dimension. For the chiral and deconfinement phase transition pseudo-critical temperatures of 170 MeV and 198 MeV, respectively, are obtained., Comment: Talk given by H. Reinhardt at "XIIth Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum", 28 August-4 September 2016, Thessaloniki, Greece

IntroductionIn genetically predisposed individuals, exogenous factors (including pollution) influence the development of Hashimoto's thyroiditis/chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (CLT). CLT may also be a risk factor for associated thyroid cancer. Few data are available on the role of pollution from petrochemical complexes, one of which is located in the Siracusa province (South-Eastern Sicily), in the pathogenesis of CLT.Aimsi) To study the frequency of CLT in fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC)-interrogated thyroid nodules from patients who were stably resident in their zones, comparing it in patients living in the petrochemical complex area (zone A) with that of patients from a control area (zone B). ii) To study the frequency of CLT in the FNAC categories of malignancy risk, comparing the two zones.Patients and methodsWe retrospectively evaluated cytologically adequate slides of 1323 nodules in 1013 outpatients who underwent ultrasound-guided FNAC from 2006 to 2012. We stratified by area of residence, gender, and FNAC categories of malignancy risk.ResultsCLT was detected with significantly greater frequency in either patients or nodules from zone A compared with zone B (32.0% vs 23.1%,P=0.002 or 28.2% vs 18.8%,P=0.0001), with a female preponderance (F=35.2% vs M=21.1% or 30.4% vs 20.4%, zone A and F=26.5% vs 12.3% or 21.6% vs 9.5%, zone B). Regardless of zone, CLT was approximately twofold more frequent in the suspiciously malignant+malignant classes (TH4+THY5=47.6%, zone A and 32.4%, zone B) compared with the benign+intermediate classes (THY2+THY3=27.3%, zone A and 18.2%, zone B), but with a clear stepwise THY2 through THY5 increase only in zone A (THY2=25.3%, THY5=66.7%; THY2=18.6%, THY5=28.6% in zone B).ConclusionsThe petrochemical complex-related pollution is an environmental factor involved in the development of CLT and, likely, in the CLT association with thyroid neoplasms.

We review our lattice results concerning the Gribov-Zwanziger confinement mechanism in Coulomb gauge. In particular, we verify the validity of Gribov's IR divergence condition for the Coulomb ghost form factor. We also show how the quark self-energy is, like that of the transverse gluon, IR divergent, thus effectively extending the Gribov-Zwanziger scenario to full QCD., Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures. References updated. Presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, Germany

Our previous studies of Coulomb gauge Yang-Mills theory are extended to finite temperature. We investigate the SU(2) static gluon and ghost propagators and show results for the Coulomb potential, with a focus on the Gribov ambiguity. To compute these quantities at high temperatures and to solve scaling violations we use the anisotropic Wilson gauge action., 7 pages, 4 figures. Presented at the 31st International Symposium on Lattice Field Theory (Lattice 2013), 29 July - 3 August 2013, Mainz, Germany

We show that in the lattice Hamiltonian limit all Coulomb gauge propagators are consistent with the Gribov-Zwanziger confinement mechanism, with an IR enhanced effective energy for quarks and gluons and a diverging ghost form factor compatible with a dual-superconducting vacuum. Multiplicative renormalizability is ensured for all static correlators, while for non-static ones their energy dependence plays a crucial role in this respect. Moreover, from the Coulomb potential we can extract the Coulomb string tension \sigma_C ~ 2 \sigma., Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Talk given at the conference "Confinement X, Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum", 8-12 October 2012, TUM Campus Garching, Munich, Germany

We describe an algebraic algorithm which allows to express every one-loop lattice integral with gluon or Wilson-fermion propagators in terms of a small number of basic constants which can be computed with arbitrary high precision. Although the presentation is restricted to four dimensions the technique can be generalized to every space dimension. Various examples are given, including the one-loop self-energies of the quarks and gluons and the renormalization constants for some dimension-three and dimension-four lattice operators. We also give a method to express the lattice free propagator for Wilson fermions in coordinate space as a linear function of its values in eight points near the origin. This is an essential step in order to apply the recent methods of L\"{u}scher and Weisz to higher-loop integrals with fermions., Comment: Postscript file avalaible at http://www1.le.infn.it:8080/~caraccio/TCMS.html

We discuss the gluon propagator in 3- and 4-dimensional Yang-Mills theories in Coulomb gauge and compare it with the corresponding Landau gauge propagator, showing that for both the relevant IR mass scale coincides. We also report preliminary results on Coulomb gauge ghost form factor and quark propagators and give a comment on the gluon propagator's strong coupling limit., 7 pages, 6 Figure. Talk given at Lattice 2010. Typos corrected

We investigate the temporal Wilson loop using the Hamiltonian approach to Yang-Mills theory. In simple cases such as the Abelian theory or the non-Abelian theory in (1+1) dimensions, the known results can be derived using unitary transformations to take care of time evolution. Alternatively, the exact solution can also be found in Coulomb gauge using the exact ground state wave functional which is known explicitly in these simple cases. The Coulomb gauge technique can also be applied to the more realistic case of Yang-Mills theory in (3+1) dimensions, where one has to rely on the approximate vacuum wave functional obtained e.g. in recent variational approaches. We use this formulation to compute the temporal Wilson loop in (3+1) dimensional Yang-Mills theory, and find that the Wilson and Coulomb string tension agree within this approximation scheme. Possible improvements of these findings are briefly discussed., 8 pages; uses PoS.cls; talk given by M. Quandt at "Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum X", Munich, Germany, Oct. 8-12, 2012

Yang‐Mills theory in Coulomb gauge has the remarkable property that Gauss’ law can be resolved exactly which allows to apply familiar concepts from quantum mechanics. However, the exact form of the vacuum wave functional is still unknown. We study Creutz ratios and low order Green functions of a discretised lattice version of two candidates for the vacuum wave functional: the infrared limit of the Greensite‐Olejnik approach (which amounts to a dimensionally reduced form of Yang‐Mills theory), and the Gaussian wave functional. In both cases, we also investigate the existence of center vortices and their influence on the infrared properties of the models. Our findings are compared with recent lattice data obtained in full Yang‐Mills theory.

I briefly review results obtained within the variational Hamiltonian approach to Yang-Mills theory in Coulomb gauge and confront them with recent lattice data. The variational approach is extended to non-Gaussian wave functionals including three- and four-gluon kernels in the exponential of the vacuum wave functional and used to calculate the three-gluon vertex. A new functional renormalization group flow equation for Hamiltonian Yang--Mills theory in Coulomb gauge is solved for the gluon and ghost propagator under the assumption of ghost dominance. The results are compared to those obtained in the variational approach., Comment: 6 pages, 9 figures. Invited talk given by H. Reinhardt at "T(r)opical QCD 2010", September 26--October 1, 2010, Cairns, Australia

I review results recently obtained within the Hamiltonian approach to Yang-Mills theory in Coulomb gauge. In particular, I will present results for the ghost and gluon propagators and compare these with recent lattice data. Furthermore, I will give an interpretation of the inverse of the ghost form factor as the dielectric function of the Yang-Mills vacuum. Our ansatz for the vacuum wave functional will be checked by means of functional renormalization group flow equations, which are solved for the gluon energy and the ghost form factor. Finally, we calculate the Wilson loop for the vacuum wave functional obtained from the variational approach, using a Dyson equation., 12 pages, 20 figures. Invited talk given by H. Reinhardt at the Workshop on QCD Green's Functions, Confinement and Phenomenology, September 2009, Trento

To analyse the relation between results of the Aging Males' Symptoms (AMS) questionnaire for aging males, and of quality of life (QOL) questionnaire SF-12 and cardiovascular risk factors.1,927 men aged 55-85 years were interviewed by 56 general practitioners. During the interview the men were asked to fill in the AMS scale and the QOL questionnaire SF-12.Of 1,927 men 1,806 men filled correctly the AMS questionnaire. The mean SF-12 mental index was respectively 55.9 in men with a total AMS score indicating no impairment, 50.9 mild, 42.8 moderate, and 32.8 severe impairment. The corresponding values for the physical index were 51.2, 46.7, 40.8 and 32.3. A history of diabetes was associated with an increased risk of reporting moderate/severe impairment: in relation to the total AMS score the odds ratio, (OR), of moderate/severe impairment in comparison with no impairment was 1.6 (95%CI 1.2-2.1). A history of myocardial infarction and hypertension increased the risk (respectively OR 1.4 (95%CI 1.1-18) and 1.7 (95%CI 1.2-2.4)).This study shows that higher AMS scores are associated with lower SF-12 indices and suggests that elevated values of the AMS score are associated with cardiovascular risk factors or diseases.

Within the Hamiltonian approach to Yang-Mills theory in Coulomb gauge the ghost and gluon propagators are determined from a variational solution of the Yang-Mills Schroedinger equation showing both gluon and heavy quark confinement. The continuum results are in good agreement with lattice data. The ghost form factor is identified as the dielectric function of the Yang--Mills vacuum and the Gribov-Zwanziger confinement scenario is shown to imply the dual Meissner effect. The topological susceptibility is calculated., Comment: 5 pages, 7 figures, Talk presented at the 8th Conference Quark Confinement and the Hadron Spectrum, September 1-6, 2008, Mainz, Germany

The deconfinement transition is studied close to the continuum limit of SO(3) lattice gauge theory. High barriers for tunneling among different twist sectors causing loss of ergodicity for local update algorithms are circumvented by means of parallel tempering. We compute monopole and center vortex free energies both within the confining phase and through the deconfinement transition. We discuss in detail the general problem of defining order parameters for adjoint actions.

From the analysis of the perturbative expansion of the lattice regularized gluon condensate, toghether with MC data, we present evidence of OPE-unexpected dim-2 power corrections in the scaling behaviour of the Wilson loop. These can be interpreted as an indication that in lattice gauge theories the running coupling at large momentum contains contributions of order Q^2., 3 pages, 2 figures. Talk given at the Lattice97 conference, Edinburgh, UK

The one-step transformation of n -butane to isobutene was studied over H-beta zeolite supported Pt and Pt,M (M = Cu, In, Sn) catalysts. Catalytic performance of monometallic Pt/H-beta samples resulted to be affected by the support acidity, a lower number of acid sites leading to higher iso - and n -butenes selectivities and lower by-products formation. Addition of Cu, In or Sn to Pt enhanced both isobutene and n -butenes selectivities, which were in the order: Pt,In > Pt,Sn ≫ Pt,Cu > Pt. All Pt,M samples exhibited also a higher stability than the corresponding monometallic Pt samples, the sequence of deactivation rates being: Pt > In,Pt > Cu,Pt ≈ Sn,Pt. On the basis of characterization results it was stated that the addition of Cu, In or Sn to Pt affects the n -butane dehydroisomerization modifying both the surface structure of Pt clusters and the support acidity. In particular the observed order of isobutene selectivity was related to the degree of Pt–M interaction leading to a dilution of Pt clusters, which inhibits hydrogenolysis reactions and enhances dehydrogenation processes. The decrease in the number of acid sites caused by addition of the second metal was instead accounted for the improved resistance to deactivation of Pt,M catalysts.

The direct one-step conversion of n -butane to isobutene was investigated over H-Y zeolite supported platinum and platinum-tin catalysts. Catalytic results over monometallic Pt catalysts showed that dispersion of Pt mainly affects the selectivity towards reaction products, larger Pt ensembles resulting in a higher degree of cracking/hydrogenolysis reactions and consequently to a lower n -butenes and isobutene formation. Addition of tin has been found to significantly improve both the selectivity to isobutene and the resistance to deactivation of the catalytic system. On the basis of characterization results (H 2 chemisorption, NH 3 -TPD, FT-IR of adsorbed CO) the higher isobutene selectivity of Pt,Sn catalysts have been accounted for a dilution effect of Pt ensembles induced by the second metal which inhibits hydrogenolysis reactions, requiring several contiguous Pt sites, and enhances the selectivity for the dehydrogenation reaction that can instead proceed over smaller metal ensembles. The improved stability of Pt,Sn catalysts has been related to the lower surface acidity of the system in the presence of Sn, which results in a reduced formation of carbonaceous deposits responsible for catalysts deactivation.

PUBLISHED, We present preliminary results for the non-perturbative determination of the parameters in a 2+2 anisotropic action. The parameters are required to restore Lorentz invariance in long-distance correlators, using the static inter-quark potential. Comparison with analytical results is made and further applications are discussed., This work was funded by the Enterprise-Ireland grants SC/2001/306 and 307.