The ICARUS Experiment, A Second-Generation Proton Decay Experiment and Neutrino Observatory at the Gran Sasso Laboratory

The final phase of the ICARUS physics program requires a sensitive mass of liquid Argon of 5000 tons or more. The T600 detector stands today as the first living proof that such large detector can be built and that liquid Argon imaging technology can be implemented on such large scales. After the successful completion of a series of technical tests to be performed at the assembly hall in Pavia, the T600 detector will be ready to be transported into the LNGS tunnel. The operation of the T600 at the LNGS will allow us (1) to develop the local infrastructure needed to operate our large detector (2) to start the handling of the underground liquid argon technology (3) to study the local background (4) to start the data taking with an initial liquid argon mass that will reach in a 5-6 year program the multi-kton goal. The T600 is to be considered as the first milestone on the road towards a total sensitive mass of 5000 tons: it is the first piece of the detector to be complemented by further modules of appropriate size and dimensions, in order to reach in a most efficient and rapid way the final design mass. In this document, we describe the physics program that will be accomplished within the first phase of the program

Bilirubin inhibits the TNFalpha-related induction of three endothelial adhesion molecules.

Since an increased serum unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) level has been proposed as an independent protective factor against atherosclerotic disease, we investigated the molecular events at the basis of this effect. HUVEC and H5V cells were treated with TNFalpha and UCB and the effects assessed on E-selectin, VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. In HUVEC cells, UCB blunted the TNFalpha-induced gene upregulation of E-selectin VCAM-1 and ICAM-1. The same pattern was observed in H5V cells except for ICAM-1. UCB also inhibited the PMN endothelial adhesion in HUVEC H5V cells. Western blot and FACS analysis confirmed that UCB prevented TNFalpha-induced over-expression of adhesion molecules proteins in H5V cells. These data contribute to further explain the protective effect of bilirubin against development of atherosclerosis

Le universit\ue0 e la Riforma protestante. Studi e ricerche nel quinto centenario delle tesi luterane

Nel quinto centenario delle tesi luterane, il Centro interuniversitario per la storia delle universit\ue0 italiane - CISUI ha promosso un\u2019aggiornata riflessione sul rapporto tra Riforma e universit\ue0, approfondendo, attraverso alcuni esempi indicativi, il significato e le ricadute che i movimenti riformatori ebbero sul sistema d\u2019insegnamento superiore tra medioevo ed et\ue0 moderna. Come la proposta religiosa di Lutero s\u2019innest\uf2 in un clima umanistico-rinascimentale gi\ue0 attraversato da fermenti di rinnovamento, cos\uec le riforme provocarono e/o accelerarono un processo di trasformazione dei luoghi d\u2019insegnamento e dei metodi educativi, in parte gi\ue0 in atto. Universitas semper reformanda: se fin dalle sue origini l\u2019istituzione accademica aveva accolto e accompagnato i cambiamenti storici, dal XVI secolo le nuove proposte universitarie s\u2019inserirono nel solco delle riforme religiose e in un contesto culturale, politico, sociale ed economico ormai confessionale. Eredit\ue0 della Riforma fu la gemmazione, intorno a universit\ue0 stricto sensu, di istituzioni pi\uf9 o meno deputate a erogare i gradi accademici, ma provviste di insegnamenti \uabsuperiori\ubb, con finalit\ue0 esclusivamente professionali non soddisfatte in pieno dagli atenei: le accademie calviniste svizzere e francesi per la formazione dei pastori, i seminari cattolici post-tridentini per la preparazione dei sacerdoti, fino ai seminaria nobilium o alle scuole d\u2019ingegneria civile o militare. La Riforma protestante, avviata con Lutero, Zwingli e Calvino, provoc\uf2 un\u2019autentica rivoluzione dell\u2019ambito educativo che scosse le fondamenta delle comunit\ue0 accademiche e l\u2019epistemologia di alcune discipline, come l\u2019astronomia o la medicina