The Very High Energy source catalog at the ASI Science Data Center

The increasing number of Very High Energy (VHE) sources discovered by the current generation of Cherenkov telescopes made particularly relevant the creation of a dedicated source catalogs as well as the cross-correlation of VHE and lower energy bands data in a multi-wavelength framework. The "TeGeV Catalog" hosted at the ASI Science Data Center (ASDC) is a catalog of VHE sources detected by ground-based Cherenkov detectors. The TeGeVcat collects all the relevant information publicly available about the observed GeV/TeV sources. The catalog contains also information about public light curves while the available spectral data are included in the ASDC SED Builder tool directly accessible from the TeGeV catalog web page. In this contribution we will report a comprehensive description of the catalog and the related tools.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures - Proceeding of the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conferenc

Graduates’ employment and employability after the “Bologna Process” reform. Evidence from the Italian experience and methodological issues

In a phase of depression and systemic crisis investments are essential assets in organizing the recovery, and the more so when innovation is relevant. This is why universities, companies, households and graduates implement strategies for overcoming the present crisis, leading to structural changes and competition both at the local and international level. In this framework, tracer studies on graduates transition to the labour markets provides fundamental insights and information not only to the organizations responsible for their training, but also to the economic system as a whole. Moreover, any such study is all the more useful when it can draw upon reliable and up-to-date information. This paper emphasizes three main points. First we present the results achieved by the AL model in tracing the transition path of graduates from the time they enrolled at the university until a few years after earning the degree. The survey is carried out every year by the AL and makes it possible to analyze the most recent labour market trends through the scrutiny of the career opportunities available for the graduates after 1, 3 and 5 years on from graduation. More specifically, we will present the results of the 2008 survey. This survey involved also all first and second level graduates from the 2007 vintage. Second, we examine the revision in our survey method, adopted in order to face the need to monitor a much higher number of post-reform graduates (more than 140 thousand overall) and the call of the Ministry and the universities to keep the information as much detailed as possible in assessing the employment outcomes for each single degree course, without losing feasibility in terms of costs and data collection time. In fact, we resorted to a mixed method: the computer assisted web interviewing (CAWI) and the computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). This is why it became necessary to measure and assess the effect of this approach on the answers given by interviewed graduates. In third place, we outline the results of some preliminary experiments carried on in order to allow for specific and recurrent comparisons between the results achieved with the AL model and other similar models dealing with the employment conditions of Italian graduates.Graduates’ employment; Graduates’ employability; Bologna Process; University reform; University governance; Assessment of the higher education system; CAWI and CATI survey techniques; Propensity score matching; Data quality control; Counter factual analysis; Labour supply, Human capital.

On varieties with Ulrich twisted conormal bundles

We study varieties $X \subset P^r$ such that is $N_X^*(k)$ is an Ulrich vector bundle for some integer $k$. We first prove that such an $X$ must be a curve. Then we give several examples of curves with $N_X^*(k)$ an Ulrich vector bundle

Emerging Therapeutic Approaches for the Most Aggressive Epithelial Thyroid Cancers

The majority of epithelial thyroid carcinomas (TC) have a differentiated (DTC) histotype and include the papillary (PTC) and the follicular (FTC) TC which, ensuing dedifferentiation, generate the aggressive poorly differentiated (PDTC) and anaplastic (ATC) TC. Although derived from the same cell type, each TC shows specific histological features, biological behavior, and degree of differentiation because of different genetic alterations. Total thyroidectomy, followed by adjuvant therapy with 131I, is the treatment of choice for most patients affected by DTC. The prognosis of DTC patients is favorable, with 10‐year survival rate of nearly 90%. However, one third of them face the morbidity of disease recurrence and TC‐related deaths. The worst outcomes are encountered in patients with PDTC and ATC. The latter, in particular, has a mean survival time of few months from the diagnosis, which is not influenced by current anticancer treatments. Following the progress made in the comprehension of the underlying molecular mechanisms deregulated in TC progression, novel therapeutic approaches have come to light. Here, we will attempt to review new targeted therapies, which are currently being exploited in preclinical and clinical studies, with tyrosine kinase inhibitors as well as with emerging inhibitors of mitotic kinases, in PDTC and ATC

BeppoSAX Observations of the Maser Sy2 Galaxy: ESO103-G35

We have made BeppoSAX observations of the Seyfert 2/1.9 galaxy ESO103-G35, which contains a nuclear maser source and is known to be heavily absorbed in the X-rays. Analysis of the X-ray spectra observed by SAX in October 1996 and 1997 yields a spectral index 0.74+/-0.07, typical of Seyfert galaxies and consistent with earlier observations of this source. The strong, soft X-ray absorption has column density 1.79E(23)/cm^2, again consistent with earlier results. The best fitting spectrum is that of a power law with a high energy cutoff at 29+/-10 keV, a cold, marginally resolved Fe Kalpha line with EW 290 eV (1996) and a mildly ionized Fe K-edge at 7.37 keV. The Kalpha line and cold absorption are consistent with origin in a accretion disk/torus through which our line-of-sight passes at a radial distance of $\sim 50$ pc. The Fe K-edge is mildly ionized suggesting the presence of ionized gas probably in the inner accretion disk, close to the central source or in a separate warm absorber. The data quality is too low to distinguish between these possibilities but the edge-on geometry implied by the water maser emission favors the former. Comparison with earlier observations of ESO103-G35 shows little/no change in spectral parameters while the flux changes by factors of a few on timescales of a few months. The 2--10 keV flux decreased by a factor of 2.7 between Oct 1996 and Oct 1997 with no detectable change in the count rate >20 keV suggesting a constant or delayed response reflection component. The high energy cutoff is lower than the typical 300keV values seen in Seyfert galaxies. A significant subset of similar sources would affect current models of the AGN contribution to the cosmic X-ray background which generally assume a high energy cutoff of 300 keV.Comment: 22 pages, postscript file, accepted for publication in Ap