Data-Driven Constraints on Cosmic-Ray Diffusion: Probing Self-Generated Turbulence in the Milky Way

We employ a data-driven approach to investigate the rigidity and spatial dependence of the diffusion of cosmic rays in the turbulent magnetic field of the Milky Way. Our analysis combines data sets from the experiments Voyager, AMS-02, CALET, and DAMPE for a range of cosmic ray nuclei from protons to oxygen. Our findings favor models with a smooth behavior in the diffusion coefficient, indicating a good qualitative agreement with the predictions of self-generated magnetic turbulence models. Instead, the current cosmic-ray data do not exhibit a clear preference for or against inhomogeneous diffusion, which is also a prediction of these models. Future progress might be possible by combining cosmic-ray data with gamma rays or radio observations, enabling a more comprehensive exploration.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures and 4 tables. This version matches the one published in the PRD journa

p53-sensitive epileptic behavior and inflammation in Ft1 hypomorphic mice

Epilepsy is a complex clinical condition characterized by repeated spontaneous seizures. Seizures have been linked to multiple drivers including DNA damage accumulation. Investigation of epilepsy physiopathology in humans imposes ethical and practical limitations, for this reason model systems are mostly preferred. Among animal models, mouse mutants are particularly valuable since they allow conjoint behavioral, organismal, and genetic analyses. Along with this, since aging has been associated with higher frequency of seizures, prematurely aging mice, simulating human progeroid diseases, offer a further useful modeling element as they recapitulate aging over a short time-window. Here we report on a mouse mutant with progeroid traits that displays repeated spontaneous seizures. Mutant mice were produced by reducing the expression of the gene Ft1 (AKTIP in humans). In vitro, AKTIP/Ft1 depletion causes telomere aberrations, DNA damage, and cell senescence. AKTIP/Ft1 interacts with lamins, which control nuclear architecture and DNA function. Premature aging defects of Ft1 mutant mice include skeletal alterations and lipodystrophy. The epileptic behavior of Ft1 mutant animals was age and sex linked. Seizures were observed in 18 mutant mice (23.6% of aged ≥ 21 weeks), at an average frequency of 2.33 events/mouse. Time distribution of seizures indicated non-random enrichment of seizures over the follow-up period, with 75% of seizures happening in consecutive weeks. The analysis of epileptic brains did not reveal overt brain morphological alterations or severe neurodegeneration, however, Ft1 reduction induced expression of the inflammatory markers IL-6 and TGF-β. Importantly, Ft1 mutant mice with concomitant genetic reduction of the guardian of the genome, p53, showed no seizures or inflammatory marker activation, implicating the DNA damage response into these phenotypes. This work adds insights into the connection among DNA damage, brain function, and aging. In addition, it further underscores the importance of model organisms for studying specific phenotypes, along with permitting the analysis of genetic interactions at the organismal level

Room- and High-Temperature Fatigue Strength of the T5 and Rapid T6 Heat-Treated AlSi10Mg Alloy Produced by Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion

The AlSi10Mg alloy produced by laser-based powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is widely used to produce high-value-added structural parts subjected to cyclic mechanical loads at high temperatures. The paper aims to widen the knowledge of the room- and high-temperature (200 ◦C) fatigue behavior of the L-PBF AlSi10Mg alloy by analyzing the fully reversed rotating bending test results on mechanically polished specimens. Two heat-treated conditions are analyzed: T5 (direct artificial aging: 4 h at 160 ◦C) and novel T6R (rapid solution: 10 min at 510 ◦C, artificial aging: 6 h at 160 ◦C). The study highlights that (i) the T6R alloy is characterized by higher fatigue strength at room (108 MPa) and high temperatures (92 MPa) than the T5 alloy (92 and 78 MPa, respectively); (ii) thermal exposure at 200 ◦C up to 17 h does not introduce macroscopical microstructural variation; (iii) fracture surfaces of the room- and high-temperature-tested specimens show comparable crack initiation, mostly from sub-superficial gas and keyhole pores, and failure propagation mechanisms. In conclusion, the L-PBF AlSi10Mg alloy offers good cyclic mechanical performances under various operating conditions, especially for the T6R alloy, and could be considered for structural components operating at temperatures up to 200 °

Fermi-LAT gamma-ray anisotropy and intensity explained by unresolved Radio-Loud Active Galactic Nuclei

Radio-loud active galactic nuclei (AGN) are expected to contribute substantially to both the intensity and anisotropy of the isotropic gamma-ray background (IGRB). In turn, the measured properties of the IGRB can be used to constrain the characteristics of proposed contributing source classes. We consider individual subclasses of radio-loud AGN, including low-, intermediate-, and high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacertae objects, flat-spectrum radio quasars, and misaligned AGN. Using updated models of the gamma-ray luminosity functions of these populations, we evaluate the energy-dependent contribution of each source class to the intensity and anisotropy of the IGRB. We find that collectively radio-loud AGN can account for the entirety of the IGRB intensity and anisotropy as measured by the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT). Misaligned AGN provide the bulk of the measured intensity but a negligible contribution to the anisotropy, while high-synchrotron-peaked BL Lacertae objects provide the dominant contribution to the anisotropy. In anticipation of upcoming measurements with the Fermi-LAT and the forthcoming Cherenkov Telescope Array, we predict the anisotropy in the broader energy range that will be accessible to future observations.Comment: 27 pages, 29 figures. This version matches the published version, minor changes onl

Black Hole - Neutron Star mergers: using kilonovae to constrain the equation of state

The merging of a binary system involving two neutron stars (NSs), or a black hole (BH) and a NS, often results in the emission of an electromagnetic (EM) transient. One component of this EM transient is the epic explosion known as a kilonova (KN). The characteristics of the KN emission can be used to probe the equation of state (EoS) of NS matter responsible for its formation. We predict KN light curves from computationally simulated BH-NS mergers, by using the 3D radiative transfer code \texttt{POSSIS}. We investigate two EoSs spanning most of the allowed range of the mass-radius diagram. We also consider a soft EoS compatible with the observational data within the so-called 2-families scenario in which hadronic stars coexist with strange stars. Computed results show that the 2-families scenario, characterized by a soft EoS, should not produce a KN unless the mass of the binary components are small ($M_{\rm BH} \leq 6M_{\odot}$, $M_{\rm NS} \leq 1.4M_{\odot}$) and the BH is rapidly spinning ($\chi_{\rm BH} \geq 0.3$). In contrast, a strong KN signal potentially observable from future surveys (e.g. VRO/LSST) is produced in the 1-family scenario for a wider region of the parameter space, and even for non-rotating BHs ($\chi_{\rm BH} = 0$) when $M_{\rm BH} = 4M_{\odot}$ and $M_{\rm NS} = 1.2M_{\odot}$. We also provide a fit that allows for the calculation of the unbound mass from the observed KN magnitude, without running timely and costly radiative transfer simulations. Findings presented in this paper will be used to interpret light curves anticipated during the fourth observing run (O4), of the advanced LIGO, advanced Virgo and KAGRA interferometers and thus to constrain the EoS of NS matter.Comment: 14 pages, 16 figures, 2 table

A Novel T6 Rapid Heat Treatment for AlSi10Mg Alloy Produced by Laser-Based Powder Bed Fusion: Comparison with T5 and Conventional T6 Heat Treatments

AlSi10Mg is the most widely studied Al alloy used to produce components by laser-basedpowder bed fusion (LPBF), also known as selective laser melting. Several papers have alreadyinvestigated the effects of conventional heat treatment on the microstructure and mechanicalbehavior of the LPBF AlSi10Mg alloy, overlooking, however, the particular microstructureinduced by rapid solidification. This paper reports on the effects of a T5 heat treatment and anovel T6 heat treatment on microstructure and mechanical behavior of the LPBF AlSi10Mgalloy, consisting of rapid solution (10 minutes at 510°C) followed by artificial aging (6 hours at160°C). The short solution soaking time reduced the typical porosity growth occurring at thehigh temperature and led to a homogeneous distribution of fine globular Si particles in the Almatrix. In addition, it limited the diffusion processes, increasing the amount of Mg and Si insolid solution available for precipitation hardening and avoiding the microstructuralcoarsening. As a result, the strength-ductility balance was improved by increasing both yieldstrength and elongation to failure, respectively of about 14 and 7 pct compared with the bestsolution among those reported in the literature for conventional T6 heat treatment of LPBFAlSi10Mg alloy

Could food delivery involve certified quality products? An innovative case study during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Italy

This study evaluates the feasibility of a new food delivery service involving only food products with quality certification. In particular, through an ad hoc survey, it evaluates the influence of consumers’ personal characteristics and choice motives on joining this innovative service and the willingness to pay of the respondents. A survey was completely anonymously and voluntarily administered during the Sars-CoV-2 pandemic. A total of 630 answers were collected. Logit and ordinal logit regression were carried out to analyze data. Women and respondents who have more leisure time are more likely to join the service. The analysis of choice motives suggests that consumers more concerned with food quality, and those devoting a higher weekly budget to buying groceries are more likely to be interested in the proposed service. Individuals willing to buy groceries based on certifications and organoleptic properties and people who habitually consume one to five meals outside were more likely to be willing to increase their weekly budget to join the service. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the influence of personal characteristics and choice motives on an innovative food delivery service involving only certified quality products in Italy

Dermoscopy of Skin Adnexal Neoplasms: A Continuous Challenge

No abstract availabl

Direct artificial aging of the PBF-LB AlSi10Mg alloy designed to enhance the trade-off between strength and residual stress relief

The AlSi10Mg alloy is one of the most studied alloys processed by the Powder Bed Fusion-Laser Beam (PBF-LB). Many already published works focus on post-process heat treatments to reduce residual stress or improve me- chanical strength. Instead, the present study aims to identify direct artificial aging (AA) heat treatment able to optimize both aspects, thus enhancing the trade-off between strengthening and residual stress relief for the PBF- LB AlSi10Mg alloy produced using a no-heated platform. Higher temperatures (190–240 ◦C) than those typically used in AA heat treatment were selected based on thermal analysis to benefit both residual stress relief and precipitation of reinforcing phases from the supersaturated solid solution of the metastable as-built alloy. The effects of AA heat treatment on mechanical properties (i.e. hardness) and residual stress were evaluated by plotting aging curves and by XRD and Raman analyses and demonstrated that different trade-offs between strengthening and stress relief can be achieved by tuning heat treatment parameters (temperature and time). In particular, the exposure at the lowest temperature (190 ◦C) induced a partial decrease in residual stress and a slight increase in hardness. By increasing heat treatment temperature and soaking time, the relief was more significant, whilst the decrease in hardness was rather limited. The results are supported by the microstructural changes observed on the samples due to the different heat treatment conditions applied and show the feasibility of designing an AA heat treatment for the PBF-LB AlSi10Mg alloy capable of satisfying the mechanical response required by the final application

a conditional linear gaussian network to assess the impact of several agronomic settings on the quality of tuscan sangiovese grapes

Summary In this paper, a Conditional Linear Gaussian Network (CLGN) model is built for a two-year experiment on Tuscan Sangiovese grapes involving canopy management techniques (number of buds, defoliation and bunch thinning) and harvest time (technological and late harvest). We found that the impact of the considered treatments on the color of wine can be predicted still in the vegetative season of the grapevine; the best treatments to obtain wines with good structure are those with a low number of buds; the best treatments to obtain fresh wines suitable for young consumers are those with technological rather than late harvest, preferably with a high number of buds, and anyway with both defoliation and bunch thinning not performed