STATUS OF THE CUORE EXPERIMENT

The CUORE (Cryogenic Underground Observatory for Rare Events) experiment will search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te, a rare nuclear process that, if observed, would demonstrate the Majorana nature of the neutrino and enable measurements of the effective Majorana mass. The CUORE setup consists of an array of 988 tellurium dioxide crystals, operated as bolometers, with a total mass of about 200 kg of 130Te. The experiment is under construction at the Gran Sasso National Laboratory in Italy. As a first step towards CUORE, the first tower (CUORE-0) has been assembled and will soon be in operation

Deviancy as social problem: the answers of psychology [La devianza come problema sociale: le risposte della psicologia]

Scopo: Il comportamento deviante è tale in quanto infrange una serie di norme sociali più o meno consapevolmente riconosciute dai più. Scopo dello studio è descrivere e analizzare le caratteristiche di tale comportamento. Materiali e metodi: Si è tentato di individuare le cause della devianza in un rapporto complesso con le figure genitoriali, con l’Autorità generalmente intesa, con i Gruppi sociali che detengono il Potere ecc. valutando teorie a partire dalla psicoanalisi fino alla più recente sociologia. Risultati e conclusioni: Pur ammettendo la possibile presenza di un certo tipo di disturbi di personalità nella struttura psichica del deviante, non si può non puntare l’attenzione sulle metodiche che le varie società utilizzano per l’integrazione dei cittadini, soprattutto nelle agenzie fondamentali preposte all’educazione del minore: famiglia e scuola. Metodi didattici all’avanguardia, che senz’altro forniscano al discente griglie comportamentali e regole di condotta, che però al tempo stesso non dimentichino la dimensione fondamentale del gioco, dello svago e della ricerca personale, sono da incentivare fortemente. Con la consapevolezza che, nel bambino e nell’adolescente, “trasgredire” determinate regole con coscienza critica e capacità di discernimento, aiuta a formare un cittadino consapevole, responsabile e rivolto all’innovazione di paradigmi comportamentali spesso datati e inadeguati, anche se comunemente accettati con passività dai più.Scope: Deviant behaviour is the one that breaks those rules most people regard as social. The study describes and analyzes the characteristics of this behavior. Materials and Methods: Psychology and also the latest Sociological Theories have tried to find the causes of deviance in the complex and difficult relationship with parental figures, with Authority in general, with the Part of society that holds Power etc. Results and Conclusions: While admitting the possible presence of some kinds of personality disorders in the deviant’s psychic structure we cannot avoid focusing on the methodologies used for the integration of citizen above all in those fundamental units in charge of minors’ education: Family and School. Advanced teaching methods which can provide behavioural models and rules are to be strongly encouraged, without forgetting the essential dimension of playing, of research and also of individual personal growth. Nevertheless we must be aware that ‘breaking’ the rules with a sense of responsibility and discernment helps a young man to grow informed and responsible, able to renew his behavioural patterns often dated and deficient albeit mainly passively accepted

Editorial for the Special Issue "Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay"

The present Special Issue is dedicated to the long-sought-after nuclear process known as Neutrinoless Double Beta Decay (NDBD), a nuclear transition characterized by the simultaneous decay of two neutrons into protons and electrons, without the emission of neutrinos [...

Getting the right grasp on executive function

Open accessExecutive Function (EF) refers to important socio-emotional and cognitive skills that are known to be highly correlated with both academic and life success. EF is a blanket term that is considered to include self-regulation, working memory, and planning. Recent studies have shown a relationship between EF and motor control. The emergence of motor control coincides with that of EF, hence understanding the relationship between these two domains could have significant implications for early detection and remediation of later EF deficits. The purpose of the current study was to investigate this relationship in young children. This study incorporated the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) and two motor assessments with a focus on precision grasping to test this hypothesis.The BRIEF is comprised of two indices of EF: (1) the Behavioral Regulation Index (BRI) containing three subscales: Inhibit, Shift,and Emotional Control; (2) the Metacognition Index (MI) containing five subscales: Initiate, Working Memory, Plan/Organize, Organization of Materials, and Monitor. A global executive composite (GEC) is derived from the two indices. In this study, right-handed children aged 5–6 and 9–10 were asked to: grasp-to-construct (Lego®models); and grasp-to-place (wooden blocks), while their parents completed the BRIEF questionnaire. Analysis of results indicated significant correlations between the strength of right hand preference for grasping and numerous elements of the BRIEF including the BRI, MI, and GEC. Specifically, the more the right hand was used for grasping the better the EF ratings. In addition, patterns of space-use correlated with the GEC in several subscales of the BRIEF. Finally and remarkably, the results also showed a reciprocal relationship between hand and space use for grasping and EF. These findings are discussed with respect to: (1) the developmental overlap of motor and executive functions; (2) detection of EF deficits through tasks that measure lateralization of hand and space use; and (3) the possibility of using motor interventions to remediate EF deficits.Ye

Phonon-Mediated KIDs as Light Detectors for Rare-Event Search: The CALDER Project

Background suppression plays a crucial role in experiments searching for rare events, like neutrino-less double beta decay (0 $$\nu$$ DBD) and dark matter. Large mass bolometers that are among the most competitive devices in this field would largely benefit from the development of ultrasensitive light detectors, as the combined readout of the bolometric and light signals enables the particle identification. The CALDER collaboration is developing cryogenic light detectors that will match the requirements of next generation experiments: noise lower than 20 eV RMS, large active area (several cm $$^{2}$$ ), wide temperature range of operation, and ease in fabricating and operating a thousand of detectors. For this purpose, we are exploiting the excellent energy resolution and the natural multiplexed read-out provided by kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs). These devices can be operated in a phonon-mediated approach, in which KIDs are coupled to a large insulating substrate in order to increase the active surface from a few mm $$^{2}$$ to 25 cm $$^{2}$$ . Our current best prototype, based on aluminum LEKIDs, reached a baseline sensitivity of 80 eV with an overall efficiency of about 20 %

Underground radiobiology: a perspective at Gran Sasso National Laboratory

Scientific community and institutions (e. g., ICRP) consider that the Linear No-Threshold (LNT) model, which extrapolates stochastic risk at low dose/low dose rate from the risk at moderate/high doses, provides a prudent basis for practical purposes of radiological protection. However, biological low dose/dose rate responses that challenge the LNT model have been highlighted and important dowels came from radiobiology studies conducted in Deep Underground Laboratories (DULs). These extreme ultra-low radiation environments are ideal locations to conduct below-background radiobiology experiments, interesting from basic and applied science. The INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory (LNGS) (Italy) is the site where most of the underground radiobiological data has been collected so far and where the first in vivo underground experiment was carried out using Drosophila melanogaster as model organism. Presently, many DULs around the world have implemented dedicated programs, meetings and proposals. The general message coming from studies conducted in DULs using protozoan, bacteria, mammalian cells and organisms (flies, worms, fishes) is that environmental radiation may trigger biological mechanisms that can increase the capability to cope against stress. However, several issues are still open, among them: the role of the quality of the radiation spectrum in modulating the biological response, the dependence on the biological endpoint and on the model system considered, the overall effect at organism level (detrimental or beneficial). At LNGS, we recently launched the RENOIR experiment aimed at improving knowledge on the environmental radiation spectrum and to investigate the specific role of the gamma component on the biological response of Drosophila melanogaster

\textsc{MaGe} - a {\sc Geant4}-based Monte Carlo Application Framework for Low-background Germanium Experiments

We describe a physics simulation software framework, MAGE, that is based on the GEANT4 simulation toolkit. MAGE is used to simulate the response of ultra-low radioactive background radiation detectors to ionizing radiation, specifically the MAJORANA and GERDA neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments. MAJORANA and GERDA use high-purity germanium detectors to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge, and MAGE is jointly developed between these two collaborations. The MAGE framework contains the geometry models of common objects, prototypes, test stands, and the actual experiments. It also implements customized event generators, GEANT4 physics lists, and output formats. All of these features are available as class libraries that are typically compiled into a single executable. The user selects the particular experimental setup implementation at run-time via macros. The combination of all these common classes into one framework reduces duplication of efforts, eases comparison between simulated data and experiment, and simplifies the addition of new detectors to be simulated. This paper focuses on the software framework, custom event generators, and physics lists.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

MaGe-a Geant4-Based Monte Carlo Application Framework for Low-Background Germanium Experiments

We describe a physics simulation software framework, MAGE, that is based on the GEANT4 simulation toolkit. MAGE is used to simulate the response of ultra-low radioactive background radiation detectors to ionizing radiation, specifically the MAJORANA and GERDA neutrinoless double-beta decay experiments. MAJORANA and GERDA use high-purity germanium detectors to search for the neutrinoless double-beta decay of 76Ge, and MAGE is jointly developed between these two collaborations. The MAGE framework contains the geometry models of common objects, prototypes, test stands, and the actual experiments. It also implements customized event generators, GEANT4 physics lists, and output formats. All of these features are available as class libraries that are typically compiled into a single executable. The user selects the particular experimental setup implementation at run-time via macros. The combination of all these common classes into one framework reduces duplication of efforts, eases comparison between simulated data and experiment, and simplifies the addition of new detectors to be simulated. This paper focuses on the software framework, custom event generators, and physics lists