Phenomenological interpolation of the inclusive J/psi cross section to proton-proton collisions at 2.76 TeV and 5.5 TeV

We present a study of the inclusive J/psi cross section at 2.76 TeV and 5.5 TeV. The energy dependence of the cross section, rapidity and transverse momentum distributions are evaluated phenomenologically. Their knowledge is crucial as a reference for the interpretation of A-A and p-A J/psi results at the LHC. Our approach is the following: first, we estimate the energy evolution of the pt-integrated J/psi cross section at mid-rapidity; then, we evaluate the rapidity dependence; finally, we study the transverse momentum distribution trend. Whenever possible, both theory driven (based on pQCD predictions) and functional form (data driven fits) calculations are discussed. Our predictions are compared with the recently obtained results by the ALICE collaboration in pp collisions at 2.76 TeV.Comment: 23 pages, 19 figures, updated text+figures, added comparison to ALICE measurements at 2.76Te

Kinetics of adsorption of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Ni and Zn in aqueous solutions using natural zeolite integrated to LTCC technology.

The LTCC technology (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramics) has become much more versatile than any technique applied so far in the field of miniaturization, since allowing the construction of threedimensional devices quickly and easily. Due to the ease of handling, the green ceramic provide the multilayer arrangement of modules with different applications, such as, among others, in the field of microelectronics and manufacturing microvalves and microfluidic systems applied in flow injection systems. Natural materials, available in large quantities and that can be used as low cost adsorbents for wastewater treatment have been the target of numerous studies. As an example, chitosan, zeolites, natural sponges and activated carbon are used successfully for this purpose. Zeolites are natural or synthetic minerals, with a wide variety of technological applications. Its structure has channels and cavities in which it is possible to settle ions, water molecules or other adsorbates and salts. This study aimed to investigate the removal capacity of Cd, Cr, Cu, K, Ni and Zn by a sample of natural zeolite ceramic integrated devices through the LTCC technology. Ceramic systems with 2.6 cm long and 1.7 cm wide were constructed with natural zeolite integrated inside. The experimental parameters were optimized employing 10 mL of a 5 mg L-1 containing Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Ni and Zn. The influence of pH and time on adsorption of metals by natural zeolite was evaluated. After the adsorption step solutions were analyzed by optical emission spectroscopy with inductively coupled plasma (ICP OES) for the analytes determination. The results showed that the determining factor in the adsorption capacity of natural zeolite is the pH of the solution. In the pH range of 6 up to 7 the competition adsorption of analytes was not observed. Values above 88% of adsorption were obtained for all metal ions studied. The kinetic study indicated that equilibrium was reached in approximately 2 hours of contact between the solution and natural zeolite. The results demonstrated the viability in the adsorption of Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Ni and Zn in natural zeolite integrated ceramic systems, and the pH factor in optimizing the adsorption capacity of zeolite

Investigation on Opisthorchis felineus occurrence and life cycle in Italy

Opisthorchiasis is a fish borne parasitic infection caused by helminths of the genus Opisthorchis (Digenea, Opisthorchiidae), affecting humans and other fish-eating mammals. Despite Opisthorchis felineus was first described in Italy in 1884, no cases of human opisthorchiasis were reported in this country until 2004; from then on, 4 outbreaks due to this species have been recorded in Central Italy. Following the more relevant of these outbreaks, involving 34 people in August 2007, snails, fishes and fecal samples collected from the Bolsena and Bracciano lakes (Central Italy) were analyzed in order to define the cycle of O. felineus in the area and investigate its prevalence in the different hosts. Pools of 20–40 snails each (4983 specimens altogether) of the genus Bithynia were analyzed by PCR for parasite DNA detection. Eight hundred and ninety-four fish belonging to 12 species were collected from the two lakes and tested for metacercariae both by muscle compression and digestion techniques. Eighty-seven fecal samples of 5 putative definitive host species were collected very close to the two lakes and tested for parasite eggs detection by formalin–ethyl acetate concentration technique. Identification at the species level of metacercariae and eggs, respectively, from fish and stool was confirmed by PCR analysis and sequencing. O. felineus DNA was detected in 0.08% (overall minimum infection rate) of snails of the genus Bithynia from the two lakes. The tench, Tinca tinca, was the only fish found infested in both lakes (prevalence 88.5%). O. felineus eggs were found only in cat feces (prevalence 46.4%). The tench represents the only threat for the human consumption in the study area while Coregonus sp., the most economically important species for the local fishery and frequently consumed raw marinated, resulted to be not infected. The high prevalence recorded both in fish and in definitive host suggests a widespread and massive presence of the parasite in the area. Further studies are needed to better investigate the possible role of some cyprinids species as intermediate hosts, in order to check their safety for human consumption

Cinética da adsorção de Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Ni e Zn em soluções aquosas usando zeólita natural integrada à tecnologia LTCC.

Materiais naturais, disponíveis em grandes quantidades e que possam ser empregados como adsorventes de baixo custo para o tratamento de efluentes, vem sendo o alvo de inúmeras pesquisas. Quitosana, zeólitas, esponjas naturais e carvão ativado são empregados com sucesso para este propósito1. Dentro deste contexto, o objetivo do trabalho foi investigar a capacidade de remoção de Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, K, Ni e Zn através de uma amostra de zeólita natural integrada a dispositivos cerâmicos mediante a tecnologia LTCC

Ensaio de proficiência como suporte para a produção de materiais de referência.

Com o propósito de produzir materiais de referência para verificação controle de resultados de laboratórios, a participação em ensaios de proficiência é uma ação que deve ser executada.. Visando o preparo de duas amostras referência, uma de sal mineral e uma de grãos de soja, com resultados referentes a contaminantes inorgânicos, foi organizado um ensaio de proficiência, operacionalizado com o emprego de software desenvolvido na Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste que possibilita o recebimento dos resultados, analise estatística e envio de resultados aos participantes. Para a produção do material ?mistura mineral? foram utilizados 4 kg de amostra coletada no sistema de produção de leite da Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste. A amostra foi homogeneizada e moída em almofariz de porcelana automatizado. O material de referência ?grãos de soja? utilizado no ensaio de proficiência foi preparado no Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura, Universidade de São Paulo na década de 1990. Por se encontrar perfeitamente embalada, homogeneizada e caracterizada quimicamente, a amostra foi submetida a teste de estabilidade, sendo comprovada sua integridade quanto à composição química elementar. A seguir foram realizados testes para verificação da homogeneidade e da representatividade das amostras, de acordo com o procedimento estatístico recomendado pelas normas ABNT e com o ?Protocolo internacional para ensaio de proficiência em laboratórios analíticos?. Após comprovação dessas características, as amostras foram distribuídas a 6 laboratórios da LANAGRO (Laboratório Nacional Agropecuário) da Rede MAPA (Ministério Da Agricultura, Pecuária e Abastecimento) e dos laboratórios participantes do Ensaio de Proficiência para Laboratórios de Nutrição Animais (EPLNA), previamente inscritos como voluntários para participação nos ensaios de proficiência que se inscreveram para fornecer os resultados referentes aos analitos de interesse como macro e micronutrientes Ca, P, Mg, K, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn e Na. Foram definidas datas para entrega dos resultados, que foram registrados para obtenção dos valores de consenso. O emprego de ensaios de proficiência como uma das etapas de produção de materiais de referencia é importante para se comprovar a homogeneidade e estabilidade do material, além de ser um procedimento de baixo custo e importante para obtenção de valores de consenso

INFN What Next: Ultra-relativistic Heavy-Ion Collisions

This document was prepared by the community that is active in Italy, within INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare), in the field of ultra-relativistic heavy-ion collisions. The experimental study of the phase diagram of strongly-interacting matter and of the Quark-Gluon Plasma (QGP) deconfined state will proceed, in the next 10-15 years, along two directions: the high-energy regime at RHIC and at the LHC, and the low-energy regime at FAIR, NICA, SPS and RHIC. The Italian community is strongly involved in the present and future programme of the ALICE experiment, the upgrade of which will open, in the 2020s, a new phase of high-precision characterisation of the QGP properties at the LHC. As a complement of this main activity, there is a growing interest in a possible future experiment at the SPS, which would target the search for the onset of deconfinement using dimuon measurements. On a longer timescale, the community looks with interest at the ongoing studies and discussions on a possible fixed-target programme using the LHC ion beams and on the Future Circular Collider.Comment: 99 pages, 56 figure

Study of charmonium production in b -hadron decays and first evidence for the decay Bs0

Using decays to φ-meson pairs, the inclusive production of charmonium states in b-hadron decays is studied with pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb−1, collected by the LHCb experiment at centre-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV. Denoting byBC ≡ B(b → C X) × B(C → φφ) the inclusive branching fraction of a b hadron to a charmonium state C that decays into a pair of φ mesons, ratios RC1C2 ≡ BC1 /BC2 are determined as Rχc0ηc(1S) = 0.147 ± 0.023 ± 0.011, Rχc1ηc(1S) =0.073 ± 0.016 ± 0.006, Rχc2ηc(1S) = 0.081 ± 0.013 ± 0.005,Rχc1 χc0 = 0.50 ± 0.11 ± 0.01, Rχc2 χc0 = 0.56 ± 0.10 ± 0.01and Rηc(2S)ηc(1S) = 0.040 ± 0.011 ± 0.004. Here and below the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic.Upper limits at 90% confidence level for the inclusive production of X(3872), X(3915) and χc2(2P) states are obtained as RX(3872)χc1 < 0.34, RX(3915)χc0 < 0.12 andRχc2(2P)χc2 < 0.16. Differential cross-sections as a function of transverse momentum are measured for the ηc(1S) andχc states. The branching fraction of the decay B0s → φφφ is measured for the first time, B(B0s → φφφ) = (2.15±0.54±0.28±0.21B)×10−6. Here the third uncertainty is due to the branching fraction of the decay B0s → φφ, which is used for normalization. No evidence for intermediate resonances is seen. A preferentially transverse φ polarization is observed.The measurements allow the determination of the ratio of the branching fractions for the ηc(1S) decays to φφ and p p asB(ηc(1S)→ φφ)/B(ηc(1S)→ p p) = 1.79 ± 0.14 ± 0.32

Model-independent evidence for J/ψpJ/\psi p contributions to Λb0→J/ψpK−\Lambda_b^0\to J/\psi p K^- decays

The data sample of $\Lambda_b^0\to J/\psi p K^-$ decays acquired with the LHCb detector from 7 and 8~TeV $pp$ collisions, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$, is inspected for the presence of $J/\psi p$ or $J/\psi K^-$ contributions with minimal assumptions about $K^- p$ contributions. It is demonstrated at more than 9 standard deviations that $\Lambda_b^0\to J/\psi p K^-$ decays cannot be described with $K^- p$ contributions alone, and that $J/\psi p$ contributions play a dominant role in this incompatibility. These model-independent results support the previously obtained model-dependent evidence for $P_c^+\to J/\psi p$ charmonium-pentaquark states in the same data sample.Comment: 21 pages, 12 figures (including the supplemental section added at the end

Study of J /ψ production in Jets

The production of J/ψ mesons in jets is studied in the forward region of proton-proton collisions using data collected with the LHCb detector at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The fraction of the jet transverse momentum carried by the J/ψ meson, z(J/ψ)≡pT(J/ψ)/pT(jet), is measured using jets with pT(jet)>20 GeV in the pseudorapidity range 2.5<η(jet)<4.0. The observed z(J/ψ)distribution for J/ψ mesons produced in b-hadron decays is consistent with expectations. However, the results for prompt J/ψ production do not agree with predictions based on fixed-order nonrelativistic QCD. This is the first measurement of the pT fraction carried by prompt J/ψ mesons in jets at any experiment

Amplitude analysis of B+→J/ψϕK+B^+\to J/\psi \phi K^+ decays

The first full amplitude analysis of $B^+\to J/\psi \phi K^+$ with $J/\psi\to\mu^+\mu^-$, $\phi\to K^+K^-$ decays is performed with a data sample of 3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected at $\sqrt{s}=7$ and $8$ TeV with the LHCb detector. The data cannot be described by a model that contains only excited kaon states decaying into $\phi K^+$, and four $J/\psi\phi$ structures are observed, each with significance over $5$ standard deviations. The quantum numbers of these structures are determined with significance of at least $4$ standard deviations. The lightest has mass consistent with, but width much larger than, previous measurements of the claimed $X(4140)$ state. The model includes significant contributions from a number of expected kaon excitations, including the first observation of the $K^{*}(1680)^+\to\phi K^+$ transition.Comment: 62 pages 26 figure