Experimental investigation of exotic clustering in 13B and 14C using the resonance scattering method

In order to investigate the existence of molecular and/or exotic cluster configurations in Boron and Carbon n-rich isotopes we undertook two experiments: the first experimental study of exotic 9Li+α cluster states in 13B using the resonance scattering method at TRIUMF (Canada), and, with the same technique, the measurement of 10Be+α scattering at LNS in Catania, where a 10Be radioactive beam was produced for the first time. In order to measure the excitation function in a wide energy range, the beams were stopped in a Helium-flooded chamber. In the case of 13B, the elastic excitation function shows the presence of various peaks in an excitation energy region never explored before. In the case of 14C, our exclusive measurement of elastic scattering data with a high intensity beam, sheds some light on the contradictory previously published results [1, 2]

Halo effects on fusion cross section in 4,6He+64Zn collision around and below the Coulomb barrier

The structure of the halo nuclei is expected to influence the fusion mechanism at energies around and below the Coulomb barrier. Here new data of 4He+64Zn at sub-barrier energies are presented which cover the same energy region of previous measurements of 6He+64Zn. The fusion cross section was measured by using an activation technique where the radioactive evaporation residues produced in the reaction were identified by the X-ray emission which follows their electron capture decay. By comparing the two system, we observe an enhancement on the fusion cross section in the reaction induced by 6He, at energy below the Coulomb barrier. It is shown that this enhancement seems to be due to static properties of halo 2n 6He nucleus

Enhancement in the 6He+64Zn fusion cross section at energies around the barrier: static or dynamic effect?

A new measurement of fusion cross-section for the system 4 He+64 Zn was performed at sub-barrier energy in order to cover the same energy region of previous measurements of 6 He+64 Zn. The fusion cross-section was obtained using an activation technique. From the comparison of the two excitation functions an enhancement of the fusion cross section was observed, at energy below the Coulomb barrier, in the reaction induced by 6 He in respect to the one induced by 4 He

Role of neutron transfer processes on the 6Li+120Sn and 7Li+119Sn fusion reactions

The results concerning the study of 6 Li+ 120 Sn and 7 Li+ 119 Sn systems are presented. These two sistems are characterised by very similar structures of the interacting nuclei and by different Q-value for oneand two- neutron transfer. Our aim is to disentangle the possible effects due to the different n-transfer Q-values, at sub-barriers energies, by comparing the two fusion excitation function. In these experiments the fusion cross section has been measured by using a stack activation technique. No particular differences in the two fusion excitation functions have been observed. The influence of transfer channels on fusion cross-section has been object of investigations in the last years. In particular, the possible dependence of the fusion cross-section on the sign of the neutron transfer Q-value has been much debated in literature. The systematic approach used for the study of the Ca+Zr systems [1] provided relatively clear evidence of the relation between sub-barrier-cross section and the sign of the neutron transfer Q-value, in a model-independent way. According to experimenta

Heavy residue excitation functions for the collisions 6, 7Li + 64Zn near the Coulomb barrier

Excitation functions for the production of heavy residues have been measured for the collisions 6, 7Li+64Zn at energies around and below the Coulomb barrier. The cross sections for heavy residue production have been measured using an activation technique, detecting off-line the characteristic atomic x-rays emitted in the electron capture decay of the reaction products. The experimental relative yields of the residues have been compared with statistical model calculations performed by using the code cascade. Such a comparison suggests that heavy residue production is dominated by complete fusion at above-barrier energies, whereas different processes like incomplete fusion and/or transfer become dominant in the sub-barrier energy region. The heavy residue excitation function ratio between the 6Li- and 7Li-induced collisions shows an increasing trend as the energy decreases below the barrier

Sibyl:A Practical Internet Route Oracle

Network operators measure Internet routes to troubleshoot problems, and researchers measure routes to characterize the Internet. However, they still rely on decades-old tools like traceroute, BGP route collectors, and Looking Glasses, all of which permit only a single query about Internet routes—what is the path from here to there? This limited interface complicates answering queries about routes such as "find routes traversing the Level3/AT&T peering in Atlanta," to understand the scope of a reported problem there. This paper presents Sibyl, a system that takes rich queries that researchers and operators express as regular expressions, then issues and returns traceroutes that match even if it has never measured a matching path in the past. Sibyl achieves this goal in three steps. First, to maximize its coverage of Internet routing, Sibyl integrates together diverse sets of traceroute vantage points that provide complementary views, measuring from thousands of networks in total. Second, because users may not know which measurements will traverse paths of interest, and because vantage point resource constraints keep Sibyl from tracing to all destinations from all sources, Sibyl uses historical measurements to predict which new ones are likely to match a query. Finally, based on these predictions, Sibyl optimizes across concurrent queries to decide which measurements to issue given resource constraints. We show that Sibyl provides researchers and operators with the routing information they need—in fact, it matches 76% of the queries that it could match if an oracle told it which measurements to issue

Canagliflozin and Cardiovascular and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Kidney Disease in Primary and Secondary Cardiovascular Prevention Groups

Background: Canagliflozin reduces the risk of kidney failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, but effects on specific cardiovascular outcomes are uncertain, as are effects in people without previous cardiovascular disease (primary prevention). Methods: In CREDENCE (Canagliflozin and Renal Events in Diabetes With Established Nephropathy Clinical Evaluation), 4401 participants with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease were randomly assigned to canagliflozin or placebo on a background of optimized standard of care. Results: Primary prevention participants (n=2181, 49.6%) were younger (61 versus 65 years), were more often female (37% versus 31%), and had shorter duration of diabetes mellitus (15 years versus 16 years) compared with secondary prevention participants (n=2220, 50.4%). Canagliflozin reduced the risk of major cardiovascular events overall (hazard ratio [HR], 0.80 [95% CI, 0.67-0.95]; P=0.01), with consistent reductions in both the primary (HR, 0.68 [95% CI, 0.49-0.94]) and secondary (HR, 0.85 [95% CI, 0.69-1.06]) prevention groups (P for interaction=0.25). Effects were also similar for the components of the composite including cardiovascular death (HR, 0.78 [95% CI, 0.61-1.00]), nonfatal myocardial infarction (HR, 0.81 [95% CI, 0.59-1.10]), and nonfatal stroke (HR, 0.80 [95% CI, 0.56-1.15]). The risk of the primary composite renal outcome and the composite of cardiovascular death or hospitalization for heart failure were also consistently reduced in both the primary and secondary prevention groups (P for interaction >0.5 for each outcome). Conclusions: Canagliflozin significantly reduced major cardiovascular events and kidney failure in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and chronic kidney disease, including in participants who did not have previous cardiovascular disease

Canagliflozin and renal outcomes in type 2 diabetes and nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to <90 ml per minute per 1.73 m2 of body-surface area and albuminuria (ratio of albumin [mg] to creatinine [g], >300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years