Non-thermal photons and H2 formation in the early Universe

The cosmological recombination of H and He at z \sim 1000 and the formation of H2 during the dark ages produce a non-thermal photon excess in the Wien tail of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) blackbody spectrum. Here we compute the effect of these photons on the H- photodetachment and H2+ photodissociation processes. We discuss the implications for the chemical evolution of the Universe in the post-recombination epoch, emphasizing how important a detailed account of the full vibrational manifold of H2 and H2+ in the chemical network is. We find that the final abundances of H2, H2+, H3+ and HD are significantly smaller than in previous calculations that neglected the effect of non-thermal photons. The suppression is mainly caused by extra hydrogen recombination photons and could affect the formation rate of first stars. We provide simple analytical approximations for the relevant rate coefficients and briefly discuss the additional effect of dark matter annihilation on the considered reaction rates.Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures, 1 table; accepted for publication in MNRA

How can the technology be integrated in Outdoor Movement Education for children and the youth with special needs?

The technological innovations of the last decade have caused countless changes to everyone's lifestyle, especially in the number of hours spent in front of a screen. These generational differences are even more marked if the new generations of students are taken into consideration, in fact, even at the school level, technological innovations have brought changes. Just as lifestyle and teaching have changed, what is considered as the "needs" of pupils and how they live and relate both in formal and informal environments have also changed. Considering the emergency period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, greater attention has been paid to the importance of exercising and everyone has also re-evaluated the beauty and benefits of exercising outdoors. Outdoor Movement Education in this sense can be a key that allows the new generations to experience the emotions and sensations that can be felt during outdoor moving activities. This work is a reflection on how technology can be a tool to increase the benefits in Outdoor Movement Education considering children and youth with special needs. The results of this work have shown how the use of technology in Outdoor Movement Education brings numerous advantages both under the didactic profile (i.e., life skills) and with regard to the cognitive (i.e., attention and concentration), motor (i.e., motor skills, fundamental movement skills) and affective (i.e., enjoyment) domains of learning respectively

Validation of a rapid test to dose SO2 in vinegar

Sulfur dioxide is generally used in wine and vinegar production. It is employed to decrease the bacteria' growth, improve the wines' aroma (since it supports the extraction of polyphenols during maceration), protect the wines from chemical oxidation and the musts from chemical and enzymatic oxidation (blocking free radicals and oxidase enzymes such as tyrosinase and laccase). The composition and storage conditions (i.e., pH, temperature, and alcohol levels) affect oenological results. In various countries, competent authorities have imposed legal limits since it can have toxic effects on humans. It is crucial to dose SO2 levels to allow vinegar production and compliance with legal limits. The iodometric titration named "Ripper test" is the legal method used to dose it in vinegar. In this work, an automatized colorimetric test was validated using the international guidelines ISO/IEC (2017) to allow its use instead of the Ripper test. The test reliability was verified on white, red, and balsamic vinegar with low or high SO2 content. The automatized test showed linearity, precision, and reproducibility similar to the Ripper test, but the accuracy parameter was not respected for the vinegar with a low concentration of SO2. Therefore, the automatized colorimetric test can be helpful to dose SO2 in vinegar with high concentrations of SO2

Motor learning for the developmental age in coded spaces and times

The traditional teaching methods linked to motor education and based on the canonical transmission of knowledge and learning are now outdated. In fact, we could say that we emphasize all forms of learning that have a dynamic and concrete development in which all children can have a role as a 'protagonist'. The school increasingly conditioned by continuous social changes, cannot be lived only as a place of duplication and transmission of knowledge, but can be lived and organized as a space of creativity, fun and emotion as well as imagination also motor. "This teaching practice is often hampered by the school organization of places and times and by the training of teachers' skills" (Lipoma, 2014, p.201). The environment, therefore, must be organized and structured according to the needs of children and their age groups, full of materials, large and small tools where it is possible, however, above all to make concrete experiences experiencing successes and failures in a safe environment. Another fundamental element that distinguishes the success of motor learning is the time dedicated to the movement that lately is reduced and of little quality. “The time devoted to recreational activities has decreased and this is found not only in the school but also in moments of extra-school leisure where you notice the increase of games "sedentary" to the detriment of those engines" (Casolo, 2019, p.495)

Comparison between Mid-Infrared (ATR-FTIR) Spectroscopy and Official Analysis Methods for Determination of the Concentrations of Alcohol, SO2, and Total Acids in Wine

The determination of alcohol, SO2, and total acids in wine through conventional laboratory techniques have some limitations related to the amount of the samples, analytical preparation of laboratory staff, and time to carry out the analysis. In recent years, spectroscopic and chromato- graphic methods have been proposed to determinate simultaneously multiple analytical parame- ters. The new methods claim the speed of analysis and easy execution. However, they need a vali- dation process that guarantees the reliability of the results to be used in official determinations. This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of FT-infrared reflectance (FT-IR) to quantify total acid, al- cohol, and SO2 concentration in the wines. For this purpose, 156 DOC Italian wines were tested with IR technology, and results were compared to those obtained by official analysis methods. The com- parison was performed using two non-parametric statistical methods: the Bland & Altman test and Passing & Bablok regression. Our results showed that the spectrophotometric methods make errors due to interfering contaminants in the sample that can be corrected by blank determination. There- fore, the spectrophotometric methods that use the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum can be used by the wine industry and regulators for the wine routine as an alternative to official methodologies

Vibrational level population of H2_2 and H2+_2^+ in the early Universe

We formulate a vibrationally resolved kinetics for molecular hydrogen and its cation in the primordial Universe chemistry. Formation, destruction and relaxation processes for each vibrational level are studied and included as chemical pathways of the present model. The fractional abundance of each vibrational level as a function of the redshift is given: a strong deviation from the Boltzmann distribution is found at low $z$. A discussion of the results is provided, also evaluating the effects of relaxation processes on the level populations. Analytical fits for some LTE rate coefficients are given in the Appendix.Comment: 12 pages, 14 figures, 3 tables; published on ApJS 2011, 193,

Release of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Heavy Metals from Rubber Crumb in Synthetic Turf Fields: Preliminary Hazard Assessment for Athletes

Synthetic turf, made with an infill of rubber crumb from used tyres or virgin rubber, is now common in many sporting facilities. It is known that it contains compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and heavy metals. We evaluated in nine samples of rubber crumb the total content of some heavy metals (Zn, Cd, Pb, Cu, Cr, Ni, Fe) normally found in tyres by microwave mineralization and the levels of the 14 US EPA priority PAHs by Soxhlet extraction and HPLC analysis. The results showed high levels of PAHs and zinc in all rubber crumb samples compared to rubber granulate limits set by Italian National Amateur League (LND). Following the precautionary principle, a risk assessment at 25°C was done, using the Average Daily Dose (ADD) assumed by athletes, expressed in terms of mass of contaminant per unit of body weight per day (mg/kg day), and the Lifetime Average Daily Dose (LADD) and then evaluating the Hazard Index (HI) and the Cumulative Excess Cancer Risk (∑ECR). In the different rubber granulates samples the HI ranges from a minimum of 8.94×10-7 to a maximum of 1.16×10-6, while the ∑ECR ranges from a minimum of 4.91×10-9 to a maximum of 1.10×10-8. Finally, the aim of this study was to estimate the “hazard” for athletes inhaling PAHs released at the high temperatures this synthetic turf may reach. Then a sequence of proofs was carried out at 60°C, a temperature that this rubber crumb can easily reach in sporting installations, to see whether PAH release occurs. The toxicity equivalent (TEQ) of eva

Validation of an Eco-Friendly Automated Method for the Determination of Glucose and Fructose in Wines

Fermentable sugar dosage helps oenologists to establish a harvest’s moment and control the fermentation process of the musts. The official analyses recommended for their determination are long, laborious, and must be carried out by specialized personnel. On the contrary, instrumental analysis automation limits human errors, increases precision, and reduces the time and cost of the analyses. In the food production sector, to use methods other than those recommended by supranational bodies in official reports, it is necessary to validate the analytical processes to establish the conformity of the results between the new methods and the reference ones. This work validated an automated enzymatic apparatus to determine the sum of glucose and fructose levels in wine samples. The validation was carried out on wine samples (dry red wine, dry white wine, moderately sweet wine, and sweet wine) containing different sugar concentrations by comparing data obtained using the OIV-MA-AS311-02 method performed by a specialized operator (reference method) and the same method performed by an automated apparatus. The difference between the results’ means obtained with the two procedures was significant. Nevertheless, the automated procedure was considered suitable for the intended use since the differences between the averages were lower than the measurement uncertainty at the same concentration, and the repeatability results were better for the automated procedure than the reference method

On the relative abundance of LiH and LiH+ molecules in the early universe: new results from quantum reactions

The relative efficiencies of the chemical pathways that can lead to the destruction of LiH and LiH+ molecules, conjectured to be present in the primordial gas and to control molecular cooling processes in the gravitational collapse of the post-recombination era, are revisited by using accurate quantum calculations for the several reactions involved. The new rates are employed to survey the behavior of the relative abundance of these molecules at redshifts of interest for early universe conditions. We find significant differences with respect to previous calculations, the present ones yielding LIH abundances higher than LiH+ at all redshifts.Comment: The Astrophysical Journal, in pres