2,845 research outputs found
Particle yields in heavy ion collisions and the influence of strong magnetic fields
It is expected that the magnetic field in the surface of magnetars do not
exceed G. However, in heavy ion collisions, this value is expected to
be much higher. We investigate the effects of a magnetic fields varying from
, to G in strange matter (composed of , and
quarks). We model matter as a free gas of baryons and mesons under the
influence of an external magnetic field. We study the effects of such strong
fields through a fit to some data sets of the STAR experiment. For
this purpose we solve the Dirac, Rarita-Schwinger, Klein-Gordon and Proca
equations subject to magnetic fields in order to obtain the energy expressions
and the degeneracy for spin 1/2, spin 3/2, spin 0 and spin 1 particles,
respectively. Our results show that a field of the order of G
produces an improved fitting to the experimental data as compared to the
calculations without magnetic field.Comment: 20 pages, 16 figures, 4 table
Quantitative risk assessment: an emerging tool for emerging foodborne pathogens.
New challenges to the safety of the food supply require new strategies for evaluating and managing food safety risks. Changes in pathogens, food preparation, distribution, and consumption, and population immunity have the potential to adversely affect human health. Risk assessment offers a framework for predicting the impact of changes and trends on the provision of safe food. Risk assessment models facilitate the evaluation of active or passive changes in how foods are produced, processed, distributed, and consumed
Participatory design, beyond the local
This workshop aims at stimulating and opening a debate around the capacity of Participatory Design (PD) and other co-design approaches to deliver outcomes and methodologies that can have an impact and value for reuse well beyond the local context in which they were originally developed. This will be achieved by stimulating the submission of position papers by researchers from the PD community and beyond.These papers will be discussed during the workshop in order to identify challenges, obstacles but also potentials for scaling up PD processes and results from the local to the global.</p
Landau parameters for isospin asymmetric nuclear matter based on a relativistic model of composite and finite extension nucleons
We study the properties of cold asymmetric nuclear matter at high density,
applying the quark meson coupling model with excluded volume corrections in the
framework of the Landau theory of relativistic Fermi liquids. We discuss the
role of the finite spatial extension of composite baryons on dynamical and
statistical properties such as the Landau parameters, the compressibility, and
the symmetry energy. We have also calculated the low lying collective
eigenfrequencies arising from the collisionless quasiparticle transport
equation, considering both unstable and stable modes. An overall analysis of
the excluded volume correlations on the collective properties is performed.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figure
Testicular cancer and sperm DNA damage: short- and long-term effects of antineoplastic treatment
The aim of this study was to investigate sperm DNA damage induced by chemo- and radiotherapy in patients with testicular cancer to provide data on the extent and persistence of nuclear damage that might affect individual reproductive potential. We evaluated pre- and post-antineoplastic treatment sperm DNA integrity, expressed as DNA Fragmentation Index (DFI), in a large caseload of testicular cancer patients by sperm chromatin structure assay. The mean total DFI for all patients at T0 was 18.0 ± 12.5%. Sperm chromatin profile was markedly impaired at T3 (27.7 ± 17.4%) and T6 (23.2 ± 15.3%), improving considerably at T12 and T24 (14.0 ± 8.9% and 14.4 ± 10.3%). After chemotherapy, we found a marked increase in DFI at T3 and T6 and a significant reduction at T12 and T24 in comparison with the baseline. In contrast, DFI increased at T3 and T6 after radiotherapy but the subsequent reduction was far less marked, reaching baseline values at T12 and T24. Finally, post-treatment DNA damage was not age or histotype dependent, but was more marked in the advanced stage of cancer. In this study, we showed that the chromatin profile may be affected in the months immediately following the end of the treatment, improving after 12-24 months. Our results thus indicate that post-treatment DNA damage is influenced both by the type and intensity of the therapy and by the pathological and clinical stage of the disease. © 2014 American Society of Andrology and European Academy of Andrology
Criteria for the Evaluation of Italian Scientific Institutes for Research, Hospitalization and Healthcare (IRCCS): Comparison with European Standards and Certification Models
The definition of the title 'Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico' (IRCCS) and how this title is given by the Italian Ministry of Health is presented. Specifically, the first assessment of a commission concerning the essential information for the accreditation process is introduced. Moreover, the two years review process that aims to collect last updated information of the IRCCS, to identify level of excellence and critical aspects, is also explained. The present Italian forms and international manuals like Joint Commission, OECI and HCERES were schematized using UML diagrams. The current IRCCS accreditation forms are presented with the suggested updates organized in some levels of structuring. We compared the Italian forms with the manuals required to obtain international certifications (Joint Commission and OECI) and we analyzed the criteria for the evaluation of research units in France (the HCERES standards). Although it is a preliminary study, the use of UML diagrams allows to schematize a new accreditation model, in line with European guidelines and the most important international certifications
Headwaters’ Isotopic Signature as a Tracer of Stream Origins and Climatic Anomalies: Evidence from the Italian Alps in Summer 2018
Glaciers are shrinking due to global warming, resulting in a diminishing contribution of ice and snowmelt to headwaters and subsequent consequences to freshwater ecosystems. Within this context, we tested whether water-stable isotopes are spatio-temporal tracers of (i) water in high altitude periglacial environments, being the isotopic signature of surface water inherited from the snow/icemelt, groundwater, and rainfall; and (ii) regional (year-specific) meteorological conditions, being the isotopic signature of precipitations affected by air temperature, humidity and aqueous vapour origin, ascribing stable isotopes to the list of "essential climate variables" (ECVs). To this end, we investigated the ionic and isotopic composition (δ18O and δ2H) of six high-altitude streams and one pond in the Italian Alps (Noce and Sarca basins) during the ablation season in 2018. Differences between habitat types (pond, kryal, rhithral, krenal) were detected. More negative values of δ18O and δ2H were recorded in the kryal and glacio-rhithral sites, dominated by ice and snowmelt, in early summer. Less negative values were recorded in these sites in late summer, as well as in the krenal sites, which were dominated by groundwater and rainfall inputs. The isotopic results also show that the complex alpine orography influences air masses and moisture, ultimately resulting in isotopic differences in the precipitations of neighboring but distinct catchments (Sarca and Noce basins). On average, less negative values were recorded in the Sarca basin, characterized by a higher contribution of precipitation of Mediterranean origin. In general, isotopic results of the entire water population appeared to be strongly influenced by the regional climatic anomaly of 2018, which was anomalously warm. Therefore, the study will provide additional information for the climate change debate, proposing water isotopes as ECVs for assessing change in a warmer future
The application of Geant4 simulation code for brachytherapy treatment
Brachytherapy is a radiotherapeutic modality that makes use of radionuclides to deliver a high radiation dose to a well-defined volume while sparing surrounding healthy structures. At the National Institute for Cancer Research of Genova a High Dose Rate remote afterloading system provides Ir(192) endocavitary brachytherapy treatments. We studied the possibility to use the Geant4 Monte Carlo simulation toolkit in brachytherapy for calculation of complex physical parameters, not directly available by experiment al measurements, used in treatment planning dose deposition models
The Rarita-Schwinger Particles Under de Influence of Strong Magnetic Fields
In this work, we calculate the solutions of the Rarita-Schwinger equation
with the inclusion of the eletromagnetic interaction. Our gauge and coupling
prescription choices lead to Dirac-type solutions. One of the consequences of
our results are the Landau level occupation of particles, quite different from
the usual spin 1/2 particle system occupation numbers.Comment: 12 page
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