The OPERA experiment: on the way to the direct observation of νμ→ντ\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau oscillation

OPERA (\emph{O}scillation \emph{P}roject with \emph{E}mulsion t\emph{R}acking \emph{A}pparatus) is a long-baseline neutrino experiment, designed to provide the first direct proof of $\nu_\mu \to \nu_\tau$ oscillation in the atmospheric sector using the \emph{C}ERN \emph{N}eutrinos to \emph{G}ran \emph{S}asso (CNGS) $\nu_\mu$ beam. The detector, consisting of a modular target made of lead - nuclear emulsion units complemented by electronic trackers and muon spectrometers, has been conceived to select $\rm{\nu_\tau}$ charged current interactions, among all neutrino flavour events, through the observation of the outcoming tau leptons and subsequent decays. In this paper, the detector, the event analysis chain and the preliminary results from the first OPERA physics run are reported.Comment: To be published in the proceedings of DPF-2009, Detroit, MI, July 2009, eConf C09072

Medicina d'Emergenza-Urgenza e antibiotico-terapia L'importanza delle linee guida locali

L’introduzione degli antibiotici ha drasticamente ridotto la mortalità per malattie come polmonite, endocardite e meningite, rivoluzionando la pratica medica, la quale è stata trasformata da diagnostica e non interventistica in terapeutica ed interventistica. Lo sviluppo di resistenza agli antimicrobici è riconosciuto come una delle più grandi minacce alla salute del genere umano, tanto che l’organizzazione mondiale della sanità (WHO) ha proclamato l’antimicrobico-resistenza il focus della giornata mondiale della salute nel 2011. In assenza di antibiotici efficaci, diversi campi della medicina saranno gravemente ostacolati, inclusi la chirurgia, la cura dei neonati prematuri, la chemioterapia oncologica, la terapia intensiva e la medicina dei trapianti. E’ stato coniato l’acronimo ESKAPE (Enterococcus, Staphilococcus, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas ed ESBL – E.coli ed Enetrobacter) per indicare i più rilevanti organismi multi resistenti. Le malattie causate dai patogeni ESKAPE, Mycobacterium tuberculosis multi resistente e altri altamente problematici batteri antibiotico resistenti, come il Clostridium difficile ipervirulento e resistente ai fluorochinolonici, lo Streptococcus pneumoniae multiresistente e Neisseria gonorrhoeae, sono associate ad elevata morbidità, mortalità ed elevati costi sanitari ovunque nel mondo. La politica per il corretto impiego degli antibiotici è l’elemento chiave per evitare l’abuso e l’uso incorretto degli antibiotici. Gli obiettivi principali sono raggiungere il miglior outcome clinico correlato all’uso degli antibiotici, ridurre la tossicità e gli altri eventi avversi, ridurre i costi per la cura delle infezioni e limitare la selezione di ceppi resistenti agli antimicrobic

Il metodo Montessori e le case dei bambini. Un modelo educativo per liberare l'infanzia e avviarla alla conquista dell'indipendenza

Il contributo approfondisce i principi alla base del metodo Montessori e analizza le sue ricadute pedagogiche nella storia dell’educazione nazionale e internazionale. In modo particolare si ripercorre la storia dell’istituzione delle Case dei Bambini, che rappresentano ancora una proposta didattica ampiamente diffusa e condivisa in Italia e all’estero e che tuttora vengono annoverate tra i modelli di scuola più efficaci in ambito nazionale e internazionale

Observation ofνμ→ ντoscillations in the CNGS beam with the OPERA experiment

The OPERA long-baseline neutrino experiment was exposed to the CNGS νμ beam from 2008 to 2012, collecting 19505 interactions in the target. The evidence for oscillated ντ appearance, based on the observation of three ντ candidate events, has been previously reported. A fourth candidate event has been recently found in an extended data sample, corresponding to about 89% of the final statistics. The absence of a signal from νμ → ντ oscillations is currently excluded at 4.2σ. The status of the analysis is described in detail with special emphasis on the procedures applied for the selection of signal candidate events and the assessment of efficiencies and background. The fourth ντ candidate event is presented and the significance of the observation is discussed

Experimental Observations of Turbulent Events in the Surfzone

In coastal dynamics, large-scale eddies transport and spread smaller turbulent vortices both towards the sea surface, thus contributing to the processes of air-water gas transfer, and towards the sea bottom, inducing sediment pick-up and resuspension. The mechanical role of the breaking-induced vortices to the redistribution of turbulence and turbulent kinetic energy is still unclear and needs a more thorough study, possibly supported by more measurements in this field. Based on this, the present paper aims to investigate the effects of experimental breaking waves in the surf zone. Two regular breaking waves, a spiller and a plunger, which propagate on a fixed slope, were generated in a laboratory channel and were examined shoreward to the breaker line. The measurements of their velocities in the cross-shore plane were assessed by means of a 2D Laser Doppler Anemometer. At the same time and location, elevation data were also acquired using a resistive wave gauge. Here, the principal characteristics are addressed in terms of turbulent intensities, turbulent kinetic energy, length scales and coherent motions. Our results could thus contribute to better define conceptual models used in typical engineering applications in coastal areas

Social media and politics: the case of Ukraine

Abstract Nowadays, politics is undergoing several changes, especially because of the growing use of social media from politicians, who are using these virtual platforms as tools to gain more and more consent. Social media are also leading to extreme democratization of politics, making it possible for non-politicians not only to enter the sphere of politics but even to win major competitions, such as presidential elections. To bring an actual and highly illustrative example, in this article the authors go through a deep analysis of the former actor and recently elected prime minister of Ukraine Volodimir Zelenskij and his strategical use of social media compared to the one carried out by his opponents, leading him to win the presidential elections with an enormous consent

Efectos de cambios en la riqueza del agente sobre la ganancia esperada del principal

Fil: Chade, Héctor. University of ArizonaFil: Vera de Serio, Virginia. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Económica

Ukraine a country in crisis between Europe, Russia, and a complex electoral process

Abstract To this day, Ukraine is still experiencing difficult times both economically and politically. The economic and political crisis at the end of 2014, which led to the dismissal of President Yanukovich, meant that the territory of Crimea and, therefore, the port of Sevastopol as well, remained under Russian control. The new elections of 2019 carried a breath of fresh air and hope also for new relationships with Russia. The paper wants to photograph this situation and analyse the recent 2019 presidential elections

Laboratory Experiments on Long Waves Interacting with Rigid Vertical Cylinders

The impact of waves caused by storm surges or floods could lead to significant damage to marine and fluvial structures. Hydraulic forces add significant hydrodynamic loads on bridges built in coastal and fluvial environments; therefore, the effect of the wave impact on bridge substructures must be properly considered for the safe and cost-effective design of the piers. The use of laboratory-scale models is a direct approach to investigate the effects of long waves on simple structures, mimicking bridge piers. The present study describes a laboratory-scale model, where the propagation of two different long waves in a flume, in the presence of two rigid cylinders, was investigated. The velocity measurements were acquired by the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) technique, providing instantaneous flow velocity vectors on 2D planes. For each experimental condition, the instantaneous velocity field close to the cylinders was analysed, in order i) to depict how it changes during the wave transit, and thus how the drag force acting on the cylinders could change, ii) to detect the spatial distributions of vorticity downstream. Some first interesting results have been obtained, showing a quite uniform distribution of the longitudinal velocity along the depth of the vertical plane upstream of the cylinders, with increasing values during the wave transit. No interactions in the central part of the flow downstream of the two cylinders was observed in the horizontal plane which are spaced approximately ten times their diameter. Finally, the vorticity has also been studied, displaying a phase-varying behaviour, which appears to lose symmetry during wave transit