Spiral Galaxies as Chiral Objects?

Spiral galaxies show axial symmetry and an intrinsic 2D-chirality. Environmental effects can influence the chirality of originally isolated stellar systems and a progressive loss of chirality can be recognised in the Hubble sequence. We point out a preferential modality for genetic galaxies as in microscopic systems like aminoacids, sugars or neutrinos. This feature could be the remnant of a primordial symmetry breaking characterizing systems at all scales.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure

The economic impact of moderate stage Alzheimer's disease in Italy: Evidence from the UP-TECH randomized trial

Background: There is consensus that dementia is the most burdensome disease for modern societies. Few cost-of-illness studies examined the complexity of Alzheimer's disease (AD) burden, considering at the same time health and social care, cash allowances, informal care, and out-of-pocket expenditure by families. Methods: This is a comprehensive cost-of-illness study based on the baseline data from a randomized controlled trial (UP-TECH) enrolling 438 patients with moderate AD and their primary caregiver living in the community. Results: The societal burden of AD, composed of public, patient, and informal care costs, was about �20,000/yr. Out of this, the cost borne by the public sector was �4,534/yr. The main driver of public cost was the national cash-for-care allowance (�2,324/yr), followed by drug prescriptions (�1,402/yr). Out-of-pocket expenditure predominantly concerned the cost of private care workers. The value of informal care peaked at �13,590/yr. Socioeconomic factors do not influence AD public cost, but do affect the level of out-of-pocket expenditure. Conclusion: The burden of AD reflects the structure of Italian welfare. The families predominantly manage AD patients. The public expenditure is mostly for drugs and cash-for-care benefits. From a State perspective in the short term, the advantage of these care arrangements is clear, compared to the cost of residential care. However, if caregivers are not adequately supported, savings may be soon offset by higher risk of caregiver morbidity and mortality produced by high burden and stress. The study has been registered on the website www.clinicaltrials.org (Trial Registration number: NCT01700556). Copyright � International Psychogeriatric Association 2015

Socioeconomic Predictors of the Employment of Migrant Care Workers by Italian Families Assisting Older Alzheimer's Disease Patients: Evidence from the Up-Tech Study

Background: The availability of family caregivers of older people is decreasing in Italy as the number of migrant care workers (MCWs) hired by families increases. There is little evidence on the influence of socioeconomic factors in the employment of MCWs. Method: We analyzed baseline data from 438 older people with moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD), and their family caregivers enrolled in the Up-Tech trial. We used bivariate analysis and multilevel regressions to investigate the association between independent variables - education, social class, and the availability of a care allowance - and three outcomes - employment of a MCW, hours of care provided by the primary family caregiver, and by the family network (primary and other family caregivers). Results: The availability of a care allowance and the educational level were independently associated with employing MCWs. A significant interaction between education and care allowance was found, suggesting that more educated families are more likely to spend the care allowance to hire a MCW. Discussion: Socioeconomic inequalities negatively influenced access both to private care and to care allowance, leading disadvantaged families to directly provide more assistance to AD patients. Care allowance entitlement needs to be reformed in Italy and in countries with similar long-term care and migration systems. � 2015 The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved

CASPER: Concordia Atmospheric SPectroscopy of Emitted Radiation

CASPER (Concordia Atmospheric SPectroscopy of Emitted Radiation) is a spectrometer proposed for installation at Dome C, devoted to measurements of atmospheric emission in the spectral region between 180 μm and 3 mm (3–55 cm-1). This instrument will be able to perform continuous spectral sampling at different altitudes at angular scales of ~1°. From the recorded data it is possible to extract atmospheric transmittance within 1% in the whole wide operating band, together with water vapour content and O2 and O3 concentrations. CASPER will allow us to characterize the site for future FIR/mm telescopes. Atmospheric data recorded by CASPER will allow for correction of astrophysical and cosmological observations without the need for telescope-specific procedures and further loss of observation time with more precision in the observations themselves. Calibration of ground-based telescopes on known sky sources is strongly affected by atmospheric absorption. CASPER has this as its primary goal. The spectrometer is based on a Martin-Puplett interferometer. Two data sampling solutions will be performed: phase modulation & fast scan strategy. Sky radiation is collected towards the interferometer by an optical setup that allows the field of view, to explore the full 0° ÷ 90° range of elevation angles. With a low spurious polarization instrument, monitoring of polarized atmospheric contribution will be possible

Effectiveness of Palm and Simulated Geotextiles in Reducing Run-off and Inter-rill Erosion on Medium and Steep Slopes

Palm-leaf geotextiles could be an effective and cheap soil conservation method with enormous global potential. However, there are very few data on the effectiveness of palm geotextiles in reducing soil erosion by water. This study investigates the effectiveness of two types of palm geotextiles and the effect of geotextile mesh size on infiltration, run-off and inter-rill erosion rate and soil surface roughness on a medium and steep slope. A well-defined protocol was developed to conduct laboratory experiments. Rainfall was simulated for 90 min with an intensity (I) of 45 and 67 mm h−1 on an inter-rill erosion plot, filled with an erodible sandy loam and having slope gradients (S) of 15 and 45%. Two palm-leaf geotextiles (Borassus aethiopum and Brazilian Buriti Palm) and three simulated geotextiles (polyethylene tarpaulin) with different mesh sizes (1 × 1, 5 × 5 and 12 × 12 cm) were tested on a simulated fine tilth. Calculated k values from the Horton infiltration equation ranged from 0.025 to 0.145 and decreased linearly on both slopes with geotextile cover. Geotextiles are more effective in reducing the run-off coefficient on a medium slope (15%) compared with that on a steep slope (45%), ranging from 76.4 to 17.9%. Mean b values from the mulch cover equation equalled 0.024 for a 15% slope and 0.045 for a 45% slope, indicating a higher effectiveness of geotextiles in reducing total inter-rill soil loss on gentler slopes compared with commonly used mulches. Erosion-induced soil surface roughness at the end of each experiment increased linearly with geotextile cover percentage and this increase was not significantly different between the two slope gradients. (Blackwell Publishing