DOMANDE E RISPOSTE SUL SISTEMA INTEGRATO DI VALUTAZIONE PREVENTIVA DELL'INQUINAMENTO ELETTROMAGNETICO AMBIENTALE A BASSISSIMA FREQUENZA PLEIA-CERT

L’ARPAT e l’IFAC-CNR collaborano ormai da oltre cinque anni allo sviluppo del Catasto degli Elettrodotti della Regione Toscana (CERT) e di un sistema integrato di applicazioni, denominato PLEIA (Power Line Electromagnetic Impact Assessment), per il suo utilizzo ai fini del calcolo del campo magnetico nello spazio circostante gli elettrodotti e, in particolare, della determinazione delle fasce di rispetto. Per rendere possibile a queste istituzioni un utilizzo corretto e consapevole degli strumenti realizzati e dei risultati da essi forniti, è stato indispensabile documentare innanzitutto i presupposti tecnici e metodologici che stanno alla base delle applicazioni sviluppate: a questo scopo, è venuto spontaneamente a crearsi un gruppo di lavoro informale tra esperti dell’ARPAT, dell’IFAC e della Regione Toscana. Il gruppo ha lavorato secondo un meccanismo virtuoso in cui, da un lato, si è cercato di formulare quesiti puntuali e ben definiti e, dall'altro, di rispondervi nel modo più chiaro ed esauriente possibile. Ne è scaturito un documento a domande e risposte che, opportunamente modificato, è riproposto in questa sede, perché mette in evidenza in modo semplice ma non banale alcuni rilevanti aspetti tecnici, e costituisce un buon documento introduttivo sulle potenzialità del sistema sviluppato. Le prime domande riguardano il sistema PLEIA-CERT in generale, mentre nella seconda parte si approfondiscono in particolare le modalità di calcolo delle fasce di rispetto che, anche alla luce di recenti sviluppi normativi, hanno assunto un ruolo di primaria importanza

Il sistema integrato di valutazione preventiva dell?inquinamento elettromagnetico ambientale a bassissima frequenza PLEIA?CERT

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Response of microchannel plates to single particles and to electromagnetic showers

We report on the response of microchannel plates (MCPs) to single relativistic particles and to electromagnetic showers. Particle detection by means of secondary emission of electrons at the MCP surface has long been proposed and is used extensively in ion time-of-flight mass spectrometers. What has not been investigated in depth is their use to detect the ionizing component of showers. The time resolution of MCPs exceeds anything that has been previously used in calorimeters and, if exploited effectively, could aid in the event reconstruction at high luminosity colliders. Several prototypes of photodetectors with the amplification stage based on MCPs were exposed to cosmic rays and to 491 MeV electrons at the INFN-LNF Beam-Test Facility. The time resolution and the efficiency of the MCPs are measured as a function of the particle multiplicity, and the results used to model the response to high-energy showers.Comment: Paper submitted to NIM

Protease-activated receptor 2 sensitizes the capsaicin receptor transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 to induce hyperalgesia

Inflammatory proteases (mast cell tryptase and trypsins) cleave protease-activated receptor 2 (PAR2) on spinal afferent neurons and cause persistent inflammation and hyperalgesia by unknown mechanisms. We determined whether transient receptor potential vanilloid receptor 1 (TRPV1), a cation channel activated by capsaicin, protons, and noxious heat, mediates PAR2-induced hyperalgesia. PAR2 was coexpressed with TRPV1 in small- to medium-diameter neurons of the dorsal root ganglia (DRG), as determined by immunofluorescence. PAR2 agonists increased intracellular [Ca2+] ([Ca2+]i) in these neurons in culture, and PAR2-responsive neurons also responded to the TRPV1 agonist capsaicin, confirming coexpression of PAR2 and TRPV1. PAR2 agonists potentiated capsaicin-induced increases in [Ca2+]i in TRPV1-transfected human embryonic kidney (HEK) cells and DRG neurons and potentiated capsaicin-induced currents in DRG neurons. Inhibitors of phospholipase C and protein kinase C (PKC) suppressed PAR2-induced sensitization of TRPV1-mediated changes in [Ca2+]i and TRPV1 currents. Activation of PAR2 or PKC induced phosphorylation of TRPV1 in HEK cells, suggesting a direct regulation of the channel. Intraplantar injection of a PAR2 agonist caused persistent thermal hyperalgesia that was prevented by antagonism or deletion of TRPV1. Coinjection of nonhyperalgesic doses of PAR2 agonist and capsaicin induced hyperalgesia that was inhibited by deletion of TRPV1 or antagonism of PKC. PAR2 activation also potentiated capsaicin-induced release of substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide from superfused segments of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord, where they mediate hyperalgesia. We have identified a novel mechanism by which proteases that activate PAR2 sensitize TRPV1 through PKC. Antagonism of PAR2, TRPV1, or PKC may abrogate protease-induced thermal hyperalgesia

Constraints on the χ_(c1) versus χ_(c2) polarizations in proton-proton collisions at √s = 8 TeV

The polarizations of promptly produced χ_(c1) and χ_(c2) mesons are studied using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in proton-proton collisions at √s=8  TeV. The χ_c states are reconstructed via their radiative decays χ_c → J/ψγ, with the photons being measured through conversions to e⁺e⁻, which allows the two states to be well resolved. The polarizations are measured in the helicity frame, through the analysis of the χ_(c2) to χ_(c1) yield ratio as a function of the polar or azimuthal angle of the positive muon emitted in the J/ψ → μ⁺μ⁻ decay, in three bins of J/ψ transverse momentum. While no differences are seen between the two states in terms of azimuthal decay angle distributions, they are observed to have significantly different polar anisotropies. The measurement favors a scenario where at least one of the two states is strongly polarized along the helicity quantization axis, in agreement with nonrelativistic quantum chromodynamics predictions. This is the first measurement of significantly polarized quarkonia produced at high transverse momentum