A low background counting facility at laboratori nazionali del Gran Sasso

Abstract A low background counting facility with gamma spectroscopy is working in the underground laboratory at LNGS. The main features and some measurements are described here

Spectroscopy of Solar Neutrinos

In the last years, liquid-scintillator detectors have opened a new window for the observation of low-energetic astrophysical neutrino sources. In 2007, the solar neutrino experiment Borexino began its data-taking in the Gran Sasso underground laboratory. High energy resolution and excellent radioactive background conditions in the detector allow the first-time spectroscopic measurement of solar neutrinos in the sub-MeV energy regime. The experimental results of the Beryllium-7 neutrino flux measurements as well as the prospects for the detection of solar Boron-8, pep and CNO neutrinos are presented in the context of the currently discussed ambiguities in solar metallicity. In addition, the potential of the future SNO+ and LENA experiments for high-precision solar neutrino spectroscopy will be outlined.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, highlight talk at the annual fall meeting of the German Astronomische Gesellschaft in Potsdam (Sep 2009

First Characterization of the Ultra-Shielded Chamber in the Low-noise Underground Laboratory (LSBB) of Rustrel Pays d'Apt

In compliance with international agreements on nuclear weapons limitation, the French ground-based nuclear arsenal has been decommissioned in its totality. One of its former underground missile control centers, located in Rustrel, 60 km east of Avignon (Provence) has been converted into the ``Laboratoire Souterrain \`a Bas Bruit de Rustrel-Pays d'Apt'' (LSBB). The deepest experimental hall (500 m of calcite rock overburden) includes a 100 m$^{2}$ area of sturdy flooring suspended by and resting on shock absorbers, entirely enclosed in a 28 m-long, 8 m-diameter, 1 cm-thick steel Faraday cage. This results in an unparalleled combination of shielding against cosmic rays, acoustic, seismic and electromagnetic noise, which can be exploited for rare event searches using ultra low-temperature and superconducting detectors. The first characterization measurements in this unique civilian site are reported. For more info see http://home.cern.ch/collar/RUSTREL/rustrel.htmlComment: Homepage and quoted hyperlinks have been updated: see http://home.cern.ch/collar/RUSTREL/rustrel.htm

Results from Super-Kamiokande

The recent results from Super-Kamiokande (SK) are reported. On atmospheric neutrino analysis, we have performed a full 3-flavor oscillation analysis with SK-I+II+III data. A CPT violation study on atmospheric neutrino is also done with SK-I+II+III data. On solar neutrino analysis, a 3-flavor oscillation analysis with SK-III data is performed.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figures, proceedings of The XXIV International Conference on Neutrino Physics and Astrophysics (Neutrino 2010

WEB downloadable software for training in cardiovascular hemodynamics in the (3-D) stress echo lab

When a physiological (exercise) stress echo is scheduled, interest focuses on wall motion segmental contraction abnormalities to diagnose ischemic response to stress, and on left ventricular ejection fraction to assess contractile reserve. Echocardiographic evaluation of volumes (plus standard assessment of heart rate and blood pressure) is ideally suited for the quantitative and accurate calculation of a set of parameters allowing a complete characterization of cardiovascular hemodynamics (including cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance), left ventricular elastance (mirroring left ventricular contractility, theoretically independent of preload and afterload changes heavily affecting the ejection fraction), arterial elastance, ventricular arterial coupling (a central determinant of net cardiovascular performance in normal and pathological conditions), and diastolic function (through the diastolic mean filling rate). All these parameters were previously inaccessible, inaccurate or labor-intensive and now become, at least in principle, available in the stress echocardiography laboratory since all of them need an accurate estimation of left ventricular volumes and stroke volume, easily derived from 3 D echo

Muon Detection of TeV Gamma Rays from Gamma Ray Bursts

Because of the limited size of the satellite-borne instruments, it has not been possible to observe the flux of gamma ray bursts (GRB) beyond GeV energy. We here show that it is possible to detect the GRB radiation of TeV energy and above, by detecting the muon secondaries produced when the gamma rays shower in the Earth's atmosphere. Observation is made possible by the recent commissioning of underground detectors (AMANDA, the Lake Baikal detector and MILAGRO) which combine a low muon threshold of a few hundred GeV or less, with a large effective area of 10^3 m^2 or more. Observations will not only provide new insights in the origin and characteristics of GRB, they also provide quantitative information on the diffuse infrared background.Comment: Revtex, 12 pages, 3 postscript figures, uses epsfig.st

Il ruolo delle Sottoprefetture nella tutela dell’igiene e della sanità pubblica in Italia, corsi e ricorsi storici

This work is based on 18-months eld research I carried out among Eritrean and Ethiopian Pentecostals in Rome (Italy). One of the topics of my work focused on the meaning they give to the evil: I collected different illness narratives and various cases. In this paper, I would like to shed light upon some dimensions of the sickness that go beyond the disease itself. By proposing a case of a woman who became sick during her high school period, because of a witchcraft attack, I will try to analyze the various stakes we can nd in the interpretation of the evil, in the etiology of the sickness and in her illness narratives. The various issues will be also analyzed by putting them in the wider picture of the con ict between Pentecostalism and local “tradition”, represented, in this case, by the local Orthodox (tewahdo) Church and its therapeutic practices, considered by Pentecostals to be devilish

Solar Neutrinos: Where We Are, What We Need

This talk compares standard model predictions with the results of solar neutrino experiments. Here `standard model' means the combined standard model of minimal electroweak theory plus a standard solar model. I emphasize the importance of recent analyses in which the neutrino fluxes are treated as free parameters, independent of any constraints from solar models, and the stunning agreement between the predictions of standard solar models and helioseismological measurements. In order to interpret solar neutrino experiments more accurately in terms of fundamental physics and astronomy, we need improved improved nuclear physics data. I describe the five most important nuclear physics problems whose solution is required for understanding the precise implications of solar neutrino experiments.Comment: 20 pages, RevTeX file. To appear in the Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics, Groningen, The Netherlands, 22--26 July 1997, ed. J. C. S. Bacelar, A. E. L. Dieperink, and R. A. Malfliet (Amsterdam: Elsevier Science Publishers). Related material at http://www.sns.ias.edu/~jn

The 51^{51}Cr neutrino source and Borexino: a desirable marriage

Exposure to a $^{51}$Cr neutrino source as that used in Gallex will provide an excellent overall performance test of Borexino, which should collect about 1400 source induced events, with an initial rate of about 35 counts per day. This will be particularly important if MSW-small-angle turns out to be the solution of the solar neutrino problem. In addition, if an independent, accurate calibration is available, one will have an interesting experiment on neutrino properties: as an example, a neutrino magnetic moment of the order $5\cdot10^{-11}\mu_B$could be detected/excluded at the 90\% C.L.Comment: 7 pages, RevTeX, plus 3 postscripts figures, tarred, compresse