Target dependence of the annual modulation in direct dark matter searches

Due to Earth's revolution around the Sun, the expected scattering rate in direct dark matter searches is annually modulated. This modulation is expected to differ between experiments when given as a function of recoil energy $E_\text{R}$, e.g. due to the gravitational focusing effect of the Sun. A better variable to compare results among experiments employing different targets is the minimum speed $v_\text{min}$ a dark matter particle must have to impart a recoil energy $E_\text{R}$ to a target nucleus. It is widely believed that the modulation expressed as a function of $v_\text{min}$ is common to all experiments, irrespective of the dark matter distribution. We point out that the annual modulation as a function of $v_\text{min}$, and in particular the times at which the rate is maximum and minimum, could be very different depending on the detector material. This would be an indication of a scattering cross section with non-factorizable velocity and target material dependence. Observing an annual modulation with at least two different target elements would be necessary to identify this type of cross section.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Version accepted for publicatio

Advanced Conducting Project

1. Sheltering Sky by John Mackey -- 2. Paper Cut by Alex Shapiro -- 3. Basque Lullaby by Dan Forrest -- 4. Angel Band by Walter Hartley -- 5. Spirit of the Falcon by Richard Saucedo

Update on the Halo-Independent Comparison of Direct Dark Matter Detection Data

We briefly review the halo-independent formalism, that allows to compare data from different direct dark matter detection experiments without making assumptions on the properties of the dark matter halo. We apply this method to spin-independent WIMP-nuclei interactions, for both isospin-conserving and isospin-violating couplings, updating the existing analyses with the addition of the SuperCDMS bound. We point out that this method can be applied to any type of WIMP interaction.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures. To appear in the TAUP 2013 Proceeding

Interdisciplinary rehabilitation in morbidly obese subjects: an observational pilot study.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: To assess the clinical effectiveness of a interdisciplinary rehabilitation programme (CR), in a population of morbidly obese subjects we have undertaken a observational study. METHODS: The study included fifty-nine adult subjects (18 M, 60+/-10 years, BMI 47+/-8) with sleep-disturbance related symptoms and disabilities. Assessment and correction of sleep disordered breathing (SDB) abnormalities, improvement of exercise tolerance, body weight and associated psychological features were the aims of this CR, which has been carried out over a 1 month period.Lung functions, apnea/hypopnea index (AHI), 6-minute walking distance (6MWD), body weight (BW), quality of life by means of Sat-P questionnaire and serum metabolic data has been recorded at baseline (TO), at the end (Ti) and 6 months after (T2) the CR. RESULTS: The percentage of patients with AHI > 10 declined from 65% (at TO) to 20% (at both T1 and T2). 6MWD and BW significantly improved (p < 0.005) at T1 and still maintained at T2; a significant relationship (r = 0.379, p < 0.01) has been found between changes of BW and 6MWD recorded in between TO and T2. Sat-P item scores dealing with sleep efficiency, problem solving, and social interactions improved (p < 0.01) at T1 and still maintained at T2. CONCLUSIONS: This hospital-based CR provides indication for effectiveness in advanced morbidly obese subjects and warrants further controlled trials to confirm the results

Effects of age and gender on neural correlates of emotion imagery

Mental imagery is part of people's own internal processing and plays an important role in everyday life, cognition and pathology. The neural network supporting mental imagery is bottom-up modulated by the imagery content. Here, we examined the complex associations of gender and age with the neural mechanisms underlying emotion imagery. We assessed the brain circuits involved in emotion mental imagery (vs. action imagery), controlled by a letter detection task on the same stimuli, chosen to ensure attention to the stimuli and to discourage imagery, in 91 men and women aged 14–65 years using fMRI. In women, compared with men, emotion imagery significantly increased activation within the right putamen, which is involved in emotional processing. Increasing age, significantly decreased mental imagery-related activation in the left insula and cingulate cortex, areas involved in awareness of ones' internal states, and it significantly decreased emotion verbs-related activation in the left putamen, which is part of the limbic system. This finding suggests a top-down mechanism by which gender and age, in interaction with bottom-up effect of type of stimulus, or directly, can modulate the brain mechanisms underlying mental imagery

On quantifying uncertainties for the linearized BGK kinetic equation

We consider the linearized BGK equation and want to quantify uncertainties in the case of modelling errors. More specifically, we want to quantify the error produced if the pre-determined equilibrium function is chosen inaccurately. In this paper we consider perturbations in the velocity and in the temperature of the equilibrium function and consider how much the error is amplified in the solution