Hardware Commissioning of the Refurbished ALPI Linac at INFN-LNL to Serve as SPES Exotic Beam Accelerator

Abstract The ALPI linac at INFN-LNL was substantially refurbished in 2018, especially in view of its use as secondary accelerator for exotic species in the framework of the SPES project. In particular: 10 magnetic triplets were replaced with higher gradient ones; two cryomodules with quarter wave resonator were moved from the PIAVE injector to ALPI, so as to make them available both for exotic and stable beams; the cryogenic plant was renovated; the whole linac, its injector and its beam lines were eventually realigned via LASER tracking (LT). The expected outcome of the refurbishment project is a larger beam transmission (crucial for the efficient transport of the unavoidably low current exotic beams) and improved overall reliability so as to further extend the lifetime of an already 25 years old machine. The hardware commissioning of this new configuration will be reported

A systematic review of the relationship between subchondral bone features, pain and structural pathology in peripheral joint osteoarthritis

Introduction: Bone is an integral part of the osteoarthritis (OA) process. We conducted a systematic literature review in order to understand the relationship between non-conventional radiographic imaging of subchondral bone, pain, structural pathology and joint replacement in peripheral joint OA. Methods: A search of the Medline, EMBASE and Cochrane library databases was performed for original articles reporting association between non-conventional radiographic imaging-assessed subchondral bone pathologies and joint replacement, pain or structural progression in knee, hip, hand, ankle and foot OA. Each association was qualitatively characterised by a synthesis of the data from each analysis based upon study design, adequacy of covariate adjustment and quality scoring. Results: In total 2456 abstracts were screened and 139 papers were included (70 cross-sectional, 71 longitudinal analyses; 116 knee, 15 hip, six hand, two ankle and involved 113 MRI, eight DXA, four CT, eight scintigraphic and eight 2D shape analyses). BMLs, osteophytes and bone shape were independently associated with structural progression or joint replacement. BMLs and bone shape were independently associated with longitudinal change in pain and incident frequent knee pain respectively. Conclusion: Subchondral bone features have independent associations with structural progression, pain and joint replacement in peripheral OA in the hip and hand but especially in the knee. For peripheral OA sites other than the knee, there are fewer associations and independent associations of bone pathologies with these important OA outcomes which may reflect fewer studies; for example the foot and ankle were poorly studied. Subchondral OA bone appears to be a relevant therapeutic target. Systematic review: PROSPERO registration number: CRD 4201300500

CRYSTAL: a storage ring for crystalline beams and other applications

The possibility of generating crystallized ion beams has always excited the interest of most people working on particle accelerators. The reason of this interest has manifold aspects: either a knowledge on a completely new research field or some of the applicative potentialities, connected with crystallinebeams, would justify a careful investigation on this content. The Conceptual Design of a low-energy heavy-ion storagering, called CRYSTAL, proposed for the experimental demonstration of crystallinebeams at Legnaro Laboratories is presented. Besides the study of crystallinebeams the CRYSTAL StorageRing (CSR) offers a large potential for fundamental research in nuclear, atomic and molecular physics. In this sense, the development of a second generation cooler ring with better lattice will give large possibilities to investigate more deeply in fundamental Physics

A storage ring for crystalline beam studies

The possibility of generating crystallized ion beams, i.e. beams whose particles are located at fixed positions, has always excited the interest of most people working on particle accelerators. The reason of this interest has many aspects: knowledge either of a completely new research field or of some of the applicative potentialities, connected with crystalline beams, would justify a careful investigation of this subject. After the successful exploitation of electron cooling in several heavy ion storage rings the possibility of generating crystalline ion beams became more realistic. New cooling methods, like laser cooling, give a further opportunity to reach an ultracold system of particles necessary for the state transition to the crystalline configuration. The conceptual design of a low-energy heavy-ion storage ring, called CRYSTAL, proposed for the experimental demonstration of crystalline beams at Legnaro Laboratories is presented. The physics of crystalline beams as well as the main criteria to design a storage ring suitable to crystallize ion beams are discussed. The effects of instabilities for space charge dominated beams, shear forces in dipole magnets and lattice periodicity breaking are also discussed in detail