Hic Sunt Leones! The role of national identity on aggressiveness between national football teams

This paper examines the role of national identity in explaining on field aggression during soccer competitions between national teams. In particular, this paper empirically investigates whether differences in macro identity markers such as: the economy, religion, education, governance and power between nation-states influence football players’ aggressiveness across a range of international FIFA competitions. We analyse the finals of the FIFA World, Confederations and Under 20’s World Cups as well as the Olympic tournaments from 1994 to 2012, resulting in 1088 individual matches. Our aggression focus is derived from both the (i) weighted measure of penalties (red and yellow cards) and; (ii) the count of sanctions (fouls) issued during a game as a proxy measure for on field aggression. We generate national identity factors from a set of macro level variables in order to estimate the size of national differences, from which we determine the impact that national identity has on the emergence of on field aggression between rival countries. Our results show that these national identity factors are significant predictors of aggression, while the match specific variables seem to be of less importance. Interestingly, our results also show that these aggression factors disappear once we include referee fixed effects, indicating that while national differences are played out on the football pitch the referees are effective at controlling the aggression

New application of superconductors: high sensitivity cryogenic light detectors

In this paper we describe the current status of the CALDER project, which is developing ultra-sensitive light detectors based on superconductors for cryogenic applications. When we apply an AC current to a superconductor, the Cooper pairs oscillate and acquire kinetic inductance, that can be measured by inserting the superconductor in a LC circuit with high merit factor. Interactions in the superconductor can break the Cooper pairs, causing sizable variations in the kinetic inductance and, thus, in the response of the LC circuit. The continuous monitoring of the amplitude and frequency modulation allows to reconstruct the incident energy with excellent sensitivity. This concept is at the basis of Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs), that are characterized by natural aptitude to multiplexed read-out (several sensors can be tuned to different resonant frequencies and coupled to the same line), resolution of few eV, stable behavior over a wide temperature range, and ease in fabrication. We present the results obtained by the CALDER collaboration with 2x2 cm2 substrates sampled by 1 or 4 Aluminum KIDs. We show that the performances of the first prototypes are already competitive with those of other commonly used light detectors, and we discuss the strategies for a further improvement

Characterization of the KID-Based Light Detectors of CALDER

The aim of the Cryogenic wide-Area Light Detectors with Excellent Resolution (CALDER) project is the development of light detectors with active area of $5\times5$ cm$^2$ and noise energy resolution smaller than 20 eV RMS, implementing phonon-mediated kinetic inductance detectors. The detectors are developed to improve the background suppression in large-mass bolometric experiments such as CUORE, via the double read-out of the light and the heat released by particles interacting in the bolometers. In this work, we present the characterization of the first light detectors developed by CALDER. We describe the analysis tools to evaluate the resonator parameters (resonant frequency and quality factors) taking into account simultaneously all the resonance distortions introduced by the read-out chain (as the feed-line impedance and its mismatch) and by the power stored in the resonator itself. We detail the method for the selection of the optimal point for the detector operation (maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio). Finally, we present the response of the detector to optical pulses in the energy range of 0-30 keV

Determinants of aggressiveness on the soccer pitch: evidence from FIFA and UEFA tournaments

This paper examines the determinants of aggressiveness on the soccer pitch in 463 matches from FIFA (World Cup) and UEFA (Euro Cup) tournaments spanning from 1994 to 2012. We highlight the role of several measures of international rivalry between countries on the players’ aggressive behaviou

Determinants of aggressiveness on the soccer pitch: evidence from FIFA and UEFA tournaments

This paper examines the determinants of aggressiveness on the soccer pitch in 463 matches from FIFA (World Cup) and UEFA (Euro Cup) tournaments spanning from 1994 to 2012. We highlight the role of several measures of international rivalry between countries on the players’ aggressive behaviou

Unraveling the molecular mechanisms and the potential chemopreventive/therapeutic properties of natural compounds in melanoma

Melanoma is the most fatal form of skin cancer. Current therapeutic approaches include surgical resection, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy. However, these treatment strategies are associated with development of drug resistance and severe side effects. In recent years, natural compounds have also been extensively studied for their anti-melanoma effects, including tumor growth inhibition, apoptosis induction, angiogenesis and metastasis suppression and cancer stem cell elimination. Moreover, a considerable number of studies reported the synergistic activity of phytochemicals and standard anti-melanoma agents, as well as the enhanced effectiveness of their synthetic derivatives and novel formulations. However, clinical data confirming these promising effects in patients are still scanty. This review emphasizes the anti-tumor mechanisms and potential application of the most studied natural products for melanoma prevention and treatment

Energy resolution and efficiency of phonon-mediated Kinetic Inductance Detectors for light detection

The development of sensitive cryogenic light detectors is of primary interest for bolometric experiments searching for rare events like dark matter interactions or neutrino-less double beta decay. Thanks to their good energy resolution and the natural multiplexed read-out, Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) are particularly suitable for this purpose. To efficiently couple KIDs-based light detectors to the large crystals used by the most advanced bolometric detectors, active surfaces of several cm$^2$ are needed. For this reason, we are developing phonon-mediated detectors. In this paper we present the results obtained with a prototype consisting of four 40 nm thick aluminum resonators patterned on a 2$\times$2 cm$^2$ silicon chip, and calibrated with optical pulses and X-rays. The detector features a noise resolution $\sigma_E=154\pm7$ eV and an (18$\pm$2)$\%$ efficiency.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

High sensitivity phonon-mediated kinetic inductance detector with combined amplitude and phase read-out

The development of wide-area cryogenic light detectors with good energy resolution is one of the priorities of next generation bolometric experiments searching for rare interactions, as the simultaneous read-out of the light and heat signals enables background suppression through particle identification. Among the proposed technological approaches for the phonon sensor, the naturally-multiplexed Kinetic Inductance Detectors (KIDs) stand out for their excellent intrinsic energy resolution and reproducibility. To satisfy the large surface requirement (several cm$^2$) KIDs are deposited on an insulating substrate that converts the impinging photons into phonons. A fraction of phonons is absorbed by the KID, producing a signal proportional to the energy of the original photons. The potential of this technique was proved by the CALDER project, that reached a baseline resolution of 154$\pm$7 eV RMS by sampling a 2$\times$2 cm$^2$ Silicon substrate with 4 Aluminum KIDs. In this paper we present a prototype of Aluminum KID with improved geometry and quality factor. The design improvement, as well as the combined analysis of amplitude and phase signals, allowed to reach a baseline resolution of 82$\pm$4 eV by sampling the same substrate with a single Aluminum KID