Supersymmetry breaking deformations and phase transitions in five dimensions

We analyze a recently proposed supersymmetry breaking mass deformation of the E1 superconformal fixed point in five dimensions which, at weak gauge coupling, leads to pure SU(2) Yang-Mills and which was conjectured to lead to an interacting CFT at strong coupling. We provide an explicit geometric construction of the deformation using brane-web techniques and show that for large enough gauge coupling a global symmetry is spontaneously broken and the theory enters a new phase which, at infinite coupling, displays an instability. The Yang-Mills and the symmetry broken phases are separated by a phase transition. Depending on the structure of the potential, this can be first or second order

Charting the phase diagram of QCD3

We study the phase diagram of SU (N) gauge theory in three space-time dimensions with a Chern-Simons term at level k, coupled to two sets of fundamental fermions with masses m1 and m2, respectively. The two-dimensional phase diagram that we propose shows a rich structure and widens in an interesting way previous results in the literature, to which it reduces in some limits. We present several checks of our proposal, including consistency with boson/fermion dualities. In this respect, we extensively comment on the structure of the scalar potential which is needed on the bosonic side of the duality

Simulation of the December 2017 Flood on the Enza River using a 2D SWE code Coupled with a Levee Breach Erosion Model

The levee breach that occurred on the Enza River (Italy) on December 12th 2017 and the resulting flood are simulated with a GPU-accelerated 2D SWE code, where a simple erosion model was implemented to describe the breach evolution in detail

Engineering copper nanoparticle electrodes for tunable electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide

The electrochemical conversion of CO2 catalyzed by copper (Cu)-based materials is widely reported to produce different valuable molecules, and the selectivity for a specific product can be achieved by tuning the characteristics of catalytic materials. Differing from these studies on materials, the present work focuses on the engineering of gas diffusion electrodes in order to properly modify the selectivity, particularly by changing the Cu nanoparticle catalyst loading of the electrodes. Low catalyst loadings (≤ 0.25 mg cm−2) favor CH4 production, and intermediate (∼ 1.0 mg cm−2) loadings shift the selectivity toward C2H4. Eventually, larger values (≥ 2.0 mg cm−2) promote CO production. Detailed analyses reveal that both bulk and local CO generation rates, and charge transfer mechanism are responsible for the observed loading-dependent selectivity. The present work provides a new strategy for steering the CO2RR selectivity by simple electrode engineering beyond material development

Association of Accelerometry-Measured Physical Activity and Cardiovascular Events in Mobility-Limited Older Adults: The LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) Study.

BACKGROUND:Data are sparse regarding the value of physical activity (PA) surveillance among older adults-particularly among those with mobility limitations. The objective of this study was to examine longitudinal associations between objectively measured daily PA and the incidence of cardiovascular events among older adults in the LIFE (Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders) study. METHODS AND RESULTS:Cardiovascular events were adjudicated based on medical records review, and cardiovascular risk factors were controlled for in the analysis. Home-based activity data were collected by hip-worn accelerometers at baseline and at 6, 12, and 24 months postrandomization to either a physical activity or health education intervention. LIFE study participants (n=1590; age 78.9±5.2 [SD] years; 67.2% women) at baseline had an 11% lower incidence of experiencing a subsequent cardiovascular event per 500 steps taken per day based on activity data (hazard ratio, 0.89; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.96; P=0.001). At baseline, every 30 minutes spent performing activities ≥500 counts per minute (hazard ratio, 0.75; confidence interval, 0.65-0.89 [P=0.001]) were also associated with a lower incidence of cardiovascular events. Throughout follow-up (6, 12, and 24 months), both the number of steps per day (per 500 steps; hazard ratio, 0.90, confidence interval, 0.85-0.96 [P=0.001]) and duration of activity ≥500 counts per minute (per 30 minutes; hazard ratio, 0.76; confidence interval, 0.63-0.90 [P=0.002]) were significantly associated with lower cardiovascular event rates. CONCLUSIONS:Objective measurements of physical activity via accelerometry were associated with cardiovascular events among older adults with limited mobility (summary score >10 on the Short Physical Performance Battery) both using baseline and longitudinal data. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION:URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01072500

Il contributo delle casse di espansione alla protezione idraulica dei territori di pianura

Dopo una breve introduzione nella quale vengono sinteticamente illustrati scopi, tipologie e funzionamento delle casse di espansione, si descrivono in dettaglio i principali esempi di realizzazione in Emilia. Richiamate le equazioni che governano il fenomeno di laminazione ed i metodi di risoluzione, si approfondisce il comportamento delle casse sul fiume Secchia e sul torrente Parma, valutando l’efficienza delle stesse al variare della sollecitazione idrologica. Si analizza infine il comportamento della cassa sul torrente Parma in occasione dell’evento di piena del 13 ottobre 2014, ricostruendo le portate in ingresso e simulando mediante un modello 2D alle acque basse cosa sarebbe successo nell’ipotesi di assenza della stessa. Dai risultati si evince che la cassa di espansione ha sicuramente salvato il centro storico di Parma da una grave alluvione