All Sky Camera, LIDAR and Electric Field Meter: auxiliary instruments for the ASTRI SST-2M prototype

ASTRI SST-2M is the end-to-end prototype telescope of the Italian National Institute of Astro- physics, INAF, designed to investigate the 10-100 TeV band in the framework of the Cherenkov Telescope Array, CTA. The ASTRI SST-2M telescope has been installed in Italy in September 2014, at the INAF ob- serving station located at Serra La Nave on Mount Etna. The telescope is foreseen to be completed and fully operative in spring 2015 including auxiliary instrumentation needed to support both operations and data anal- ysis. In this contribution we present the current status of a sub-set of the auxiliary instruments that are being used at the Serra La Nave site, namely an All Sky Camera, an Electric Field Meter and a Raman Lidar devoted, together with further instrumentation, to the monitoring of the atmospheric and environmental conditions. The data analysis techniques under development for these instruments could be applied at the CTA sites, where similar auxiliary instrumentation will be installed.Comment: Proceedings of the 2nd AtmoHEAD Conference, Padova (Italy) May 19-21, 201

The Luminosity Function of Low Mass X-Ray Binaries in the Globular Cluster System of NGC 1399

We present a study of the faint-end of the X-ray Luminosity Function of Low Mass X-ray binaries in the Globular Cluster system of the cD galaxy NGC 1399 by performing a stacking experiment on 618 X-ray undetected GCs, in order to verify the presence of faint LMXBs and to constrain the faint-end slope of the GC-LMXBs XLF below the individual detection threshold of $8\times10^{37}$ erg s$^{-1}$ in the $0.5-8$ keV band. We obtain a significant X-ray detection for the whole GC sample, as well as for the red and blue GC subpopulations, corresponding to an average luminosity per GC $_{GC}$ of $(3.6\pm1.0)\times10^{36}\ erg\ s^{-1}$, $(6.9\pm2.1)\times10^{36}\ erg\ s^{-1}$and$(1.7\pm0.9)\times10^{36}\ erg\ s^{-1}$, respectively for all, red and blue GCs. If LMXBs in red and blue GCs have the same average intrinsic luminosity, we derive a red/blu ratio$\simeq 3$of GCs hosting LMXBs ($2.5\pm1.0$or$4.1\pm2.5$depending on the surveyed region); alternatively, assuming the fractions observed for brighter sources, we measure an average X-ray luminosity of$L_{X}=(4.3\pm1.3)\times10^{37}\ erg\ s^{-1}$and$L_{X}=(3.4\pm1.7)\times10^{37}\ erg\ s^{-1}$per red and blue GC-LMXBs respectively. In the assumption that the XLF follows a power-law distribution, we find that a low-luminosity break is required at$L_{X}\leq 8\times10^{37}$erg s$^{-1}$both in the whole, as well as in the color-selected (red and blue) subsamples. Given the bright-end slopes measured above the X-ray completeness limit, this result is significant at$>3\sigma$level. Our best estimates for the faint end slope are$\beta_{L}=-1.39/-1.38/-1.36$for all/red/blue GC-LMXBs. We also find evidence that the luminosity function becomes steeper at luminosities$L_X\gtrsim 3\times 10^{39}$erg s$^{-1}$, as observed in old ellipticals.Comment: In press on A&

Preliminary study on the standardization of the individual Zulliger test on non-clinical Italian population

Introduction: Projective methods are recognized as a core instrument in the description and interpretation of personality. The Zulliger test (Z-test) is based on the Rorschach Inkblot test, but it consists of only three cards. It has been mainly used in the collective administration mode and in the context of human resources assessment in organizations. The aim of the present study is to start a standardization of the Z-test on non-clinical Italian population, in individual administration mode. Method: Sample was composed by 360 healthy subjects (180 male and 180 females, mean age 38.25), divided into age groups (18-30; 31-45; 46-60) and education (high and low). All subjects were administered the Z-test in individual form. Results: Results show popular responses for each card, obtained by 17% of sample, and answers of statistical good formal quality, reported by at least 2% of subjects. Conclusion: Although this study has some limitations, it can be considered a good starting point for introducing the Z-test into clinical practice. In future research the sample may be expanded, also including clinical population and detecting specific psychopathological indicators

Acute Alitasic Cholecystitis

Acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC) is the inflammatory disease of the gallbladder in the absence of gallstones. Typically affects critically ill patients. Diagnosis is not straightforward as Murphy’s sign is difficult to detect in critically ill and many imaging findings are numb or nonspecific. Acalculous cholecystitis is a life-threatening disorder that has a high risk of perforation and necrosis compared to the more typical calculous disease. Management involves a percutaneous cholecystostomy, a surgical cholecystectomy, or, more recently, a metal stent placed endoscopically through the gastrointestinal tract into the gallbladder. Acalculous cholecystitis is a serious illness that has high morbidity and mortality. The reported mortality of the condition varies from 30 to 50% depending on the age of the patient. Even those who survive have a long recovery that can take months

Apparatus and method for non-invasive inspection of solid bodies by muon imaging

The present invention has application in the technical field of measuring instruments and it relates to an apparatus for non-invasive inspection of solid bodies by muon imaging usable in civil engineering, archeology, volcanology, tectonics and everywhere a radiographic and/or tomographic non-destructive inspection of geological and/or engineering structures, even of large dimensions, is necessary The invention further relates to a method for non-invasive inspection by muon imaging implementable by said apparatus

The absolute calibration strategy of the ASTRI SST-2M telescope proposed for the Cherenkov Telescope Array and its external ground-based illumination system

ASTRI is the end-to-end prototype for the CTA small-size class of telescopes in a dual-mirror configuration (SST-2M) proposed by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF) in the framework of the Cherenkov Telescope Array. ASTRI SST-2M has been installed at the Serra La Nave Astrophysical Observatory on Mount Etna (Sicily) and its Performance Verification Phase will start in autumn 2016. For the relative pixel calibration and gain monitoring, the ASTRI SST-2M camera is equipped with an internal illumination device, while an external, portable, illumination system, placed at a few km distance from the telescope, will be used for the absolute end-to-end calibration of the telescope spectral response. Moreover analysis of signals induced in the camera pixels by the night sky background (diffuse emission and reference stars) will be used to monitor the long term evolution of the telescope calibration. We present an overview of the ASTRI SST-2M absolute calibration strategy and the external illuminating device that will be used for its spectral calibratio

Dalla fonte documentaria alla pagina storiografica. Il Giustizierato di Basilicata nei Registri della Cancelleria Angioina (1266-1282)

Con il contributo degli studenti di Scienze Storiche si è, anzitutto, inteso indicare una metodologia di indagine storica che, condotta direttamente sopra un corpus documentario d’enorme rilievo per l’intero Mezzogiorno d’Italia, risulta efficace strumento di ricerca per ricostruire, in senso ampio, tutte le realtà territoriali (giustizierati provinciali, diocesi e comunità urbane) che composero il Regnum Siciliae in età angioina. Fonte primaria, infatti, è costituita dai Registri della Cancelleria Angioina, nel tempo oggetto di una serie di devastazioni, culminate con la quasi totale distruzione durante l’ultimo conflitto mondiale, ma parzialmente tramandati nel corso dei secoli ad opera di diversi storici, archivisti, genealogisti e, a partire dal 1950, raccolti e pubblicati da Riccardo Filangieri e dagli “Archivisti Napoletani” per l’Accademia Pontaniana. Sono giunti fino a noi incompleti e in attesa di essere ulteriormente indagati, ma si mostrano fondamentali per la ricostruzione delle strutture politiche ed economiche, come pure dei complessi schemi e meccanismi della società siciliana. In definitiva, partendo da questo importante fondo documentario e da altre testimonianze, si è voluto delineare un quadro dell’organizzazione politica, sociale ed economica del giustizierato lucano, alla luce degli stretti intrecci di famiglie mercantili ed imprenditoriali che, soprattutto durante il regno di Carlo d’Angiò, legarono ogni giustizierato a tutti gli altri, entro uno schema pertanto leggibile in senso complessivo ed unitario

The innovative Cherenkov camera based on SiPM sensors of the ASTRI-Horn telescope: from the T/M and electrical design to the full assembly and testing in a harsh environment

ASTRI-Horn is a prototypal telescope of an imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope developed by the Italian National Institute of Astrophysics (INAF), proposed for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) Observatory. The CTA Observatory represents the next generation of imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes and will explore the very highenergy domain from a few tens of GeV up to few hundreds of TeV. It will be composed of large-, medium-, and small sized telescopes; ASTRI-Horn is an end-to-end prototype proposed for the Small Sized array. The main scientific instrument of the ASTRI-Horn telescope is an innovative and compact Camera with Silicon- Photomultiplier based detectors and a specifically designed fast read-out electronics based on a custom peak-detector mode. The thermo-mechanical assembly is designed to host both the entire electronics chain, from the sensors to the raw data transmission system and the calibration system, and the complete thermoregulation system. This contribution gives a high level description of the T/M and electrical design of the Cherenkov Camera, it describes the assembling procedure of its different subsystems and their integration into the complete camera system. A discussion about possible design improvements coming from the problems/difficulties encountered during assembly is also presented. Finally, results from engineering tests conducted in-field are also presented