Black Holes at Future Colliders and Beyond: a Topical Review

One of the most dramatic consequences of low-scale (~1 TeV) quantum gravity in models with large or warped extra dimension(s) is copious production of mini black holes at future colliders and in ultra-high-energy cosmic ray collisions. Hawking radiation of these black holes is expected to be constrained mainly to our three-dimensional world and results in rich phenomenology. In this topical review we discuss the current status of astrophysical observations of black holes and selected aspects of mini black hole phenomenology, such as production at colliders and in cosmic rays, black hole decay properties, Hawking radiation as a sensitive probe of the dimensionality of extra space, as well as an exciting possibility of finding new physics in the decays of black holes.Comment: 31 pages, 10 figures To appear in the Journal of Physics

Measurement of the mass difference m(D-s(+))-m(D+) at CDF II

We present a measurement of the mass difference m(D-s(+))-m(D+), where both the D-s(+) and D+ are reconstructed in the phipi(+) decay channel. This measurement uses 11.6 pb(-1) of data collected by CDF II using the new displaced-track trigger. The mass difference is found to be m(D-s(+))-m(D+)=99.41+/-0.38(stat)+/-0.21(syst) MeV/c(2)

Evaluating epidemiological risk by using open contact tracing data: Correlational study

Background: During the 2020s, there has been extensive debate about the possibility of using contact tracing (CT) to contain the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and concerns have been raised about data security and privacy. Little has been said about the effectiveness of CT. In this paper, we present a real data analysis of a CT experiment that was conducted in Italy for 8 months and involved more than 100,000 CT app users. Objective: We aimed to discuss the technical and health aspects of using a centralized approach. We also aimed to show the correlation between the acquired contact data and the number of SARS-CoV-2–positive cases. Finally, we aimed to analyze CT data to define population behaviors and show the potential applications of real CT data. Methods: We collected, analyzed, and evaluated CT data on the duration, persistence, and frequency of contacts over several months of observation. A statistical test was conducted to determine whether there was a correlation between indices of behavior that were calculated from the data and the number of new SARS-CoV-2 infections in the population (new SARS-CoV-2–positive cases). Results: We found evidence of a correlation between a weighted measure of contacts and the number of new SARS-CoV-2–positive cases (Pearson coefficient=0.86), thereby paving the road to better and more accurate data analyses and spread predictions. Conclusions: Our data have been used to determine the most relevant epidemiological parameters and can be used to develop an agent-based system for simulating the effects of restrictions and vaccinations. Further, we demonstrated our system's ability to identify the physical locations where the probability of infection is the highest. All the data we collected are available to the scientific community for further analysis

Fluorescent Probes for Applications in Bioimaging

Optical bioimaging has played a central role in fundamental research and clinical practice. The signals emitted by biological tissues can provide molecular information about various physiological and pathophysiological processes. NIR light (650–1700 nm) can penetrate the blood and biological tissues more profoundly and effectively because, at longer wavelengths, less light is diffused and absorbed. Therefore, many probes have been developed for bioimaging in the NIR window for real-time, high-sensitivity deep tissue imaging. The library of optical probes has been expanded in recent years to include a wide range of probes with emission in the Red-NIR window. The emergence of these new contrast media has provided an essential alternative for realizing the full potential of bioimaging. The most recent advances in small molecule potential probes for detection and imaging in biological systems are examined below

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Antimicrobial Permeable PVC-Based Films

Polymeric materials are widely used in different fields. Due to their versatility and properties, they can be used as chemically stable matrices for the non-covalent incorporation of low molecular weight antimicrobial agents. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is one of the polymers widely used in the medical field and in food packaging. We realized antimicrobial PVC based films by adding a different percentage of antimicrobial agents containing an azo group. The antimicrobial azo-compounds blended in PVC matrices showed good inhibition of S. aureus and C. albicans biofilm formation. Compared to glass or metal packaging materials, polymeric packaging is permeable to gas molecules, such as water vapor and organic vapor, or to flavors and additives. Knowledge of the diffusion of gases through polymeric films is crucial, for polymers used in the food industry and the biomedical field. In addition, the migration of small molecules blended in the polymeric materials could affect the quality of the device and, the potential release of these molecules into the body is a severe public health concern. The diffusion of antimicrobial agent, named A4, in Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) film were investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulation studies. The effects of the presence of the azo compound on the diffusion of O2, H2O, and CH4 in PVC matrices were also studied by MD simulation

The effect of bulky substituents on two π-conjugated mesogenic fluorophores. Their organic polymers and zinc-bridged luminescent networks

From a dicyano-phenylenevinylene (PV) and an azobenzene (AB) skeleton, two new symmetrical salen dyes were obtained. Terminal bulky substituents able to reduce intermolecular interactions and flexible tails to guarantee solubility were added to the fluorogenic cores. Photochemical performances were investigated on the small molecules in solution, as neat crystals and as dopants in polymeric matrixes. High fluorescence quantum yield in the orange-red region was observed for the brightest emissive films (88% yield). The spectra of absorption and fluorescence were predicted by Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. The predicted energy levels of the frontier orbitals are in good agreement with voltammetry and molecular spectroscopy measures. Employing the two dyes as dopants of a nematic polymer led to remarkable orange or yellow luminescence, which dramatically decreases in on-off switch mode after liquid crystal (LC) order was lost. The fluorogenic cores were also embedded in organic polymers and self-assembly zinc coordination networks to transfer the emission properties to a macro-system. The final polymers emit from red to yellow both in solution and in the solid state and their photoluminescence (PL) performance are, in some cases, enhanced when compared to the fluorogenic cores

Measurement of the mass difference m(D-s(+))-m(D+) at CDF II

We present a measurement of the mass difference m(D-s(+))-m(D+), where both the D-s(+) and D+ are reconstructed in the phipi(+) decay channel. This measurement uses 11.6 pb(-1) of data collected by CDF II using the new displaced-track trigger. The mass difference is found to be m(D-s(+))-m(D+)=99.41+/-0.38(stat)+/-0.21(syst) MeV/c(2)