Synchrotron oscillation damping due to beam-beam collisions

In DA{\Phi}NE, the Frascati e+/e- collider, the crab waist collision scheme has been successfully implemented in 2008 and 2009. During the collision operations for Siddharta experiment, an unusual synchrotron damping effect has been observed. Indeed, with the longitudinal feedback switched off, the positron beam becomes unstable with beam currents in the order of 200-300 mA. The longitudinal instability is damped by bringing the positron beam in collision with a high current electron beam (~2A). Besides, we have observed a shift of \approx 600Hz in the residual synchrotron sidebands. Precise measurements have been performed by using both a commercial spectrum analyzer and the diagnostics capabilities of the DA{\Phi}NE longitudinal bunch-by-bunch feedback. This damping effect has been observed in DA{\Phi}NE for the first time during collisions with the crab waist scheme. Our explanation is that beam collisions with a large crossing angle produce a longitudinal tune shift and a longitudinal tune spread, providing Landau damping of synchrotron oscillations.Comment: 3 pages, 5 figures, talk presented to IPAC'10 - Kyoto - May 24-28 201

The first extensive study of an Imperial Roman Garden in the city of Rome. The Horti Lamiani

This paper presents the first systematic results of integrated plant macrofossil and pollen analyses from the Horti Lamiani (1st-3rd century ce), an aristocratic residence with a luxury garden which was established on the Esquilino (Esquiline Hill) in Rome during the time of the first Emperor, Caesar Augustus (27 bce-14 ce) and later became one of the most famous Imperial gardens around the ancient city. Different types of plant remains such as charcoal, seeds and fruits and pollen were recovered from pits and pots in the garden and reflect the presence of plants there. There seem to have been ornamental shrubs which were probably grown as decorative modelled hedges and/or isolated bushes, as well as cultivated trees. Several ornamental flowering plants grew in pots. Although this archaeobotanical assemblage could represent some patches of wild vegetation still growing in the study area at the time of the Imperial garden, it is likely that most of the identified plants were intentionally planted and organised to create a glimpse of the past wild landscape of Rome. They have special characteristics, such as bearing coloured flowers or fruits and offering shade, that made them suitable for embellishing a magnificent garden. Moreover this reflects the Roman desire to control nature, testified by the expansion of luxury gardens during the Imperial period and the spread of decorative horticultural techniques, like the miniaturisation of trees and shaping of trees and shrubs by topiary

Effect of age and asthma duration upon elastase and alpha1-antitrypsin levels in adult asthmatics

In asthmatic subjects an imbalance between elastase and alpha1-antitrypsin (alpha1-PI) exists. This study aims to evaluate whether ageing per se affects the levels of elastase. Both young and elderly asthmatics with comparable severity and duration of disease, as well as young and elderly healthy subjects, underwent an induced sputum procedure to measure levels of elastase and alpha1-PI. The percentage of sputum neutrophils and eosinophils was higher in young and elderly asthmatics than in young and elderly controls. The levels of both total and active elastase were significantly higher in young and elderly asthmatics than in young and elderly controls, and directly correlated with the percentage of neutrophils. In addition, in both young and elderly asthmatics the levels of total and active elastase were negatively correlated with forced expiratory volume in one second values, but positively correlated with the duration of the disease. This study indicates that ageing per se does not necessarily lead to a progressive elastase/alpha1-antitrypsin imbalance in asthma, and suggests that an important variable in the development of airway remodelling in both young and elderly asthmatics is represented by the duration of the disease

Evaluation of Sheep Anticipatory Response to a Food Reward by Means of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Anticipatory behaviour to an oncoming food reward can be triggered via classical conditioning, implies the activation of neural networks, and may serve to study the emotional state of animals. The aim of this study was to investigate how the anticipatory response to a food reward affects the cerebral cortex activity in sheep. Eight ewes from the same flock were trained to associate a neutral auditory stimulus (water bubble) to the presence of a food reward (maize grains). Once conditioned, sheep were trained to wait 15 s behind a gate before accessing a bucket with food (anticipation phase). For 6 days, sheep were submitted to two sessions of six consecutive trials each. Behavioural reaction was filmed and changes in cortical oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin concentration ([ΔO2Hb] and [ΔHHb] respectively) following neuronal activation were recorded by functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Compared to baseline, during the anticipation phase sheep increased their active behaviour, kept the head oriented to the gate (Wilcoxon’s signed rank test; p ≤ 0.001), and showed more asymmetric ear posture (Wilcoxon’s signed rank test; p ≤ 0.01), most likely reflecting a learnt association and an increased arousal. Results of trial-averaged [ΔO2Hb] and [ΔHHb] within individual sheep showed in almost every sheep a cortical activation during the anticipation phase (Student T-test; p ≤ 0.05). The sheep showed a greater response of the right hemisphere compared to the left hemisphere, possibly indicating a negative affective state, such as frustration. Behavioural and cortical changes observed during anticipation of a food reward reflect a learnt association and an increased arousal, but no clear emotional valence of the sheep subjective experience. Future work should take into consideration possible factors affecting the accurateness of measures, such as probe’s location and scalp vascularization

Non-invasive estimation of in vivo optical properties and hemodynamic parameters of domestic animals: a preliminary study on horses, dogs, and sheep

Biosensors applied in veterinary medicine serve as a noninvasive method to determine the health status of animals and, indirectly, their level of welfare. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been suggested as a technology with this application. This study presents preliminary in vivo time domain NIRS measurements of optical properties (absorption coefficient, reduced scattering coefficient, and differential pathlength factor) and hemodynamic parameters (concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin, deoxygenated hemoglobin, total hemoglobin, and tissue oxygen saturation) of tissue domestic animals, specifically of skeletal muscle (4 dogs and 6 horses) and head (4 dogs and 19 sheep). The results suggest that TD NIRS in vivo measurements on domestic animals are feasible, and reveal significant variations in the optical and hemodynamic properties among tissue types and species. In horses the different optical and hemodynamic properties of the measured muscles can be attributed to the presence of a thicker adipose layer over the muscle in the Longissimus Dorsi and in the Gluteus Superficialis as compared to the Triceps Brachii. In dogs the absorption coefficient is higher in the head (temporalis musculature) than in skeletal muscles. The smaller absorption coefficient for the head of the sheep as compared to the head of dogs may suggest that in sheep we are indeed reaching the brain cortex while in dog light penetration can be hindered by the strongly absorbing muscle covering the cranium

Mn-rich graftonite, ferrisicklerite, stan\u11bkite and Mn-rich vivianite in granitic pegmatite at So\uc3\ua8 Valley, Central Alps, Italy

none4noneGUASTONI A; NESTOLA F.; MAZZOLENI G; VIGNOLA PGuastoni, Alessandro; Nestola, Fabrizio; Mazzoleni, G; Vignola, P