Pairing effects on spinodal decomposition of asymmetric nuclear matter

We investigate the impact of pairing correlations on the behavior of unstable asymmetric nuclear matter at low temperature. We focus on the relative role of the pairing interaction, coupling nucleons of the same type (neutrons or protons), with respect to the symmetry potential, which enhances the neutron-proton attraction, along the clusterization process driven by spinodal instabilities. It is found that, especially at the transition temperature from the normal to the superfluid phase, pairing effects may induce significant variations in the isotopic content of the clusterized matter. This analysis is potentially useful to gather information on the temperature dependence of nuclear pairing and, in general, on the properties of clusterized low-density matter, of interest also in the astrophysical context

Protamine-like proteins have bactericidal activity. The first evidence in Mytilus galloprovincialis.

The major acid-soluble protein components of the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis sperm chromatin consist of the protamine-like proteins PL-II, PL-III and PL-IV, an intermediate group of sperm nuclear basic proteins between histones and protamines. The aim of this study was to investigate the bactericidal activity of these proteins since, to date, there are reports on bactericidal activity of protamines and histones, but not on protamine-like proteins. We tested the bactericidal activity of these proteins against Gram-positive bacteria: Enterococcus faecalis and two different strains of Staphylococcus aureus, as well as Gram-negative bacteria: Proteus mirabilis, Proteus vulgaris, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhmurium, Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, and Escherichia coli. Clinical isolates of the same bacterial species were also used to compare their sensitivity to these proteins. The results show that Mytilus galloprovincialis protamine-like proteins exhibited bactericidal activity against all bacterial strains tested with different minimum bactericidal concentration values, ranging from 15.7 to 250 µg/mL. Furthermore, these proteins were active against some bacterial strains tested that are resistant to conventional antibiotics. These proteins showed very low toxicity as judged by red blood cell lysis and viability MTT assays and seem to act both at the membrane level and within the bacterial cell. We also tested the bactericidal activity of the product obtained from an in vitro model of gastrointestinal digestion of protamine-like proteins on a Gram-positive and a Gram-negative strain, and obtained the same results with respect to undigested protamine-like proteins on the Gram-positive bacterium. These results provide the first evidence of bactericidal activity of protamine-like-proteins

Shear viscosity and chemical equilibration of the QGP

We have investigated, in the frame work of the transport approach, different aspects of the QGP created in Heavy Ion Collisions at RHIC and LHC energies. The shear viscosity $\eta$ has been calculated by using the Green-Kubo relation at the cascade level. We have compared the numerical results for $\eta$ obtained from the Green-Kubo correlator with the analytical formula in both the Relaxation Time Approximation (RTA) and the Chapman-Enskog approximation (CE). From this comparison we show that in the range of temperature explored in a Heavy Ion collision the RTA underestimates the viscosity by about a factor of 2, while a good agreement is found between the CE approximation and Gree-Kubo relation already at first order of approximation. The agreement with the CE approximation supplies an analytical formula that allows to develop kinetic transport theory at fixed shear viscosity to entropy density ratio, $\eta/s$. We show some results for the build up of anisotropic flows $v_{2}$ in a transport approach at fixed shear viscosity to entropy density ratio, $\eta/s$. We study the impact of a T-dependent $\eta/s(T)$ on the generation of the elliptic flows at both RHIC and LHC. We show that the transport approach provides, in a unified way, a tool able to naturally describe the $v_{2}(p_{T})$ in a wide range of $p_{T}$, including also the description of the rise and fall and saturation of the $v_{2}(p_{T})$ observed at LHC. Finally, we have studied the evolution of the quark-gluon composition employing a Boltzmann-Vlasov transport approach that include: the mean fields dynamics, associated to the quasi-particle model, and the elastic and inelastic collisions for massive quarks and gluons. Following the chemical evolution from an initial gluon dominated plasma we predict a quark dominance close to $T_{C}$ paving the way to an hadronization via quark coalescence.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, Invited Talk given by S. Plumari at the 11th International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions (NN2012), San Antonio, Texas, USA, May 27-June 1, 2012. To appear in the NN2012 Proceedings in Journal of Physics: Conference Series (JPCS

Ruolo della chirurgia endovascolare nelle rotture aortiche del politraumatizzato con lesioni polidistrettuali di pertinenza chirurgica

Nel politraumatizzato con gravi lesioni polidistrettuali di interesse chirurgico il trattamento endovascolare (TEV) della rottura posttraumatica dell’ aorta toracica (RPAT) rappresenta oggi una valida alternativa terapeutica al trattamento chirurgico convenzionale. Nella nostra esperienza (ottobre 2001-novembre 2004) abbiamo osservato 5 casi di RPAT (3 rotture istmiche, 2 rotture aorta toracica discendente) in gravi politraumatizzati, tutti di sesso maschile, di età compresa fra i 23 ed i 42 anni (media 32,4), trattate con successo con TEV. Il Glasgow Coma Score (GCS) era compreso fra 5 e 13. Tutti i pazienti sono stati sottoposti, dopo adeguata stabilizzazione del quadro clinico-emodinamico, ad angio-TC total body al fine di valutare la lesione aortica ed identificare le altre lesioni associate. In 4 casi erano coinvolti più distretti corporei di pertinenza chirurgica (3 casi: trauma osseo, addominale e neurochirurgico; 1 caso: trauma osseo, addominale, neurochirurgico e toracico). Il TEV è stato eseguito sempre in sala operatoria previa arteriografia digitale. La durata media della procedura angio-radiologica è stata di 105 minuti (range 80 - 125). Non si è verificata nessuna complicanza né immediata né a distanza (follow-up = medio 24 mesi; range 12-36). In conclusione il TEV delle RPAT offre in pazienti ‘critici’ una valida opzione terapeutica alla chirurgia tradizionale in grado di stabilizzare il quadro clinico e trattare successivamente ‘in sicurezza’ le altre gravi lesioni chirurgiche associate

Dynamics of dilute nuclear matter with light clusters and in-medium effects

We investigate the dynamics of dilute systems composed of nucleons and light clusters within a linear response approach, taking into account the in-medium Mott effects on cluster appearance, through a density-dependent momentum cut-off. We find that spinodal instabilities and associated growth rates are severely affected by the presence of light clusters and, in particular, by the treatment of in-medium effects, foreshadowing intriguing consequences for fragment formation in heavy-ion collisions and in the broader astrophysical context.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figure

Effect of type of suckling and polyunsaturated fatty acid use on lamb production. 2. Chemical and fatty acid composition of raw and cooked meat

This study was carried out in order to examine the chemical and fatty acid composition of raw and cooked meat obtained fromlambs raised under mothers or reared by artificial suckling with acidified milk replacers with or without polyunsaturated fattyacid (PUFA) supplementation. Meat samples were taken from twenty Gentile di Puglia male lambs subjected to the followingfeeding treatments: the control group received only maternal milk (MM, n.=6) while two groups were reared by artificial sucklingwith an acidified milk replacer (MR, n.=7) or with an acidified milk replacer supplemented with 10 ml/l of a PUFA enrichedoil (MR+PUFA, n.=7). Lambs were slaughtered at 45 days of age. After 24 hours of refrigeration at 4 °C, the lumbar regionwas dissected from each right half-carcass and split into pieces, one of which was used raw while the other was cooked in aventilated electric oven at 180 °C until an internal temperature of 75 °C was reached. Chemical and fatty acid analysis wereperformed on raw and cooked meat, while only raw meat was assessed for cholesterol. Cooking losses were also evaluated.Meat obtained from MR+PUFA fed lambs contained more fat (P<0.01) and less protein (P<0.05) than MM lambs. Nursingunder mothers increased the total amount of saturated fatty acids (SFA), compared with both the MR group (P<0.05) and tothe MR+PUFA one (P<0.01). In MM meat samples, fewer PUFAs (P<0.01) and omega-6 fatty acids (P<0.01) were found incomparison with both MR diets. The highest PUFA/SFA ratio of meat was recorded for the MR+PUFA group (0.27), with statisticaldifferences respect to the MR group (0.21; P<0.05) and to the MM one (0.14; P<0.01). Lambs raised with maternalmilk produced meat containing more cholesterol than the MR+PUFA group (85.89 vs 76.26 mg/100 g; P<0.05). The atherogenicityindex of meat was higher following natural rearing in comparison with the MR+PUFA treatment (1.34 vs 1.05;P<0.05), while the PCL/PCE ratio was significantly higher in MR+PUFA samples than in both MM and MR ones (0.93 vs 0.77and 0.76, respectively; P<0.05). Cooking cancelled the differences between treatments with regard to the all the dieteticparameters evaluated. In conclusion, artificial suckling with acidified milk replacers improves some meat quality features.Supplementation of milk replacers with PUFAs, although in a limited way, may improve the dietetic properties of lamb meat

Sustainable Urban Regeneration: Integrating Green Infrastructures and Nature-Based Solutions in Altamura

The integration of green infrastructures into urban planning has the potential to create more resilient and livable cities. This paper intends to present a co-programming path that has seen professionals and non-profit organizations collaborating with the Municipality of Altamura (Italy) in the development of planning tools and urban interventions based on the creation of new public spaces through the strategic use of NbS. It explores the concept of the “new public city” which prioritizes the creation of public spaces and green infrastructures as a means to improve the social and environmental sustainability of the urban environment. A critical analysis, aimed at detecting the imprinting and the strategic role that empty spaces have assumed in defining urban settlements, is carried out, starting from a reconsideration of its known “claustri” in the historical city center. Is highlighted how this urban imprinting has been pivotal in the drafting of recent planning tools aiming to activate resilience-based urban regeneration (UR) processes in periurban areas. Afterwards, the green infrastructure’s pilot project “IxE-CO2”, today under construction within the recent Parco San Giuliano suburban district, is presented and analyzed. Finally, methodological aspects, challenges and opportunities are deduced from the planning tools and the pilot case