Anisotropic flow of identified particles in Pb-Pb collisions at \sqrt{s_{NN}} = 2.76 TeV measured with ALICE at the LHC

We report on the elliptic and triangular flow measurements for a number of hadrons including charged pions, and (anti-)protons, as well as those with strangeness content: kaons, ${\rm \phi}$-meson, ${\rm K^0_s}$, ${\rm \Lambda/\bar{\Lambda}}$, ${\rm \Xi}$, and ${\rm \Omega}$. The results reported cover mid--rapidity, $|\eta|<0.8$, and a wide, $0.2 < p_{\rm T} < 16$ GeV/$c$, transverse momentum range for Pb-Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{\rm NN}}$ = 2.76 TeV recorded by ALICE at the LHC. The mass splitting and the scaling properties of the elliptic flow with the number of constituent quarks and the particle transverse mass are studied as a function of collision centrality. The results are ompared to RHIC measurements and to hydrodynamic model predictions.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, Qaurk Matter 2012 cnference proceedings to be pubblished in Nuclear Physics

A territorial scale-based model for Euroregions and its implications for Cross-Border Cooperation in maritime contexts

This article attempts to advance the theoretical debate on Euroregions by focusing on their governance structures and the territorial scale of their activities. It develops around a sample of 60 Euroregions and as many corresponding INTERREG projects provided by previous research on Euroregional practices (Durà et al., 2018). Firstly, it elaborates a Euroregional model for the classification of these cross-border governance structures by focusing on i) a territorial scale-based typology of the cross-border cooperation activities performed and ii) the institutional density and level of self-government of the Euroregional actors involved. Secondly, theoretical contributions are applied in the case of territories mainly focused around maritime borders. By exploiting the results of the research, the article strongly suggests the exploitation of supralocal and regional partnerships alongside employing multilevel Euroregions in cross-sea cooperation.Aquest article pretén avançar en el debat teòric sobre euroregions a través de l'anàlisi de les seves estructures de governança i de l'escala territorial de les seves activitats. L'argumentació es desenvolupa amb un estudi de seixanta euroregions i d'un nombre corresponent de projectes Interreg seleccionats en investigacions anteriors (Durà et al., 2018). Primer, s'intenta elaborar un model euroregional per a la classificació d'aquestes estructures de governança transfronterera a través d'una tipologia de classificació d'activitats de cooperació transfronterera a escala territorial, i a través de l'anàlisi de la densitat institucional i dels nivells administratius de govern dels actors involucrats. Segon, les contribucions teòriques d'aquest article s'apliquen en el context de territoris separats per una frontera marítima. A partir de l'explotació de resultats, l'article argumenta a favor d'activitats d'escala supralocal i regional al costat d'euroregions de tipus multinivell per a la cooperació transfronterera en contextos marítims.Este artículo pretende avanzar en el debate teórico sobre eurorregiones a través del análisis de sus estructuras de gobernanza y de la escala territorial de sus actividades. La argumentación se desarrolla mediante un estudio de sesenta eurorregiones y de un número correspondiente de proyectos Interreg seleccionados en investigaciones anteriores (Durà et al., 2018). Primero, se intenta elaborar un modelo eurorregional para la clasificación de estas estructuras de gobernanza transfronteriza a través de una tipología de clasificación de actividades de cooperación transfronteriza a escala territorial, y a través del análisis de la densidad institucional y de los niveles administrativos de gobierno de los actores involucrados. Segundo, las contribuciones teóricas de este artículo se aplican en el contexto de territorios separados por una frontera marítima. A partir de la explotación de resultados, el artículo argumenta en favor de actividades de escala supralocal y regional, además de adoptar eurorregiones de tipo multinivel para la cooperación transfronteriza en contextos marítimos.Cet article se donne pour objectif d'avancer dans le débat théorique sur les Eurorégions en mettant l'accent sur leurs structures de gouvernance et sur l'ampleur territoriale de leurs activités. Il se développe autour d'une étude portant sur un échantillon de 60 Eurorégions et autant de projets INTERREG correspondants, fournis par des recherches antérieures sur les pratiques eurorégionales (Durà et al., 2018). En premier lieu, l'article propose un modèle eurorégional pour la classification de ces structures de gouvernance transfrontalières en se concentrant sur : a. une typologie à l'échelle territoriale des activités de coopération transfrontalière réalisées, et b. la densité institutionnelle et le niveau d'autonomie des acteurs eurorégionaux impliqués. En second lieu, les contributions théoriques sont appliquées au cas de territoires principalement centrés sur les frontières maritimes. En exploitant les résultats de la recherche, l'article suggère fortement l'emploi d'activités à une échelle supralocale et régionale, et suggère d'employer des Eurorégions de type multiniveaux dans la coopération transfrontalière maritime

Investigation on performances of asphalt mixtures made with Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement: Effects of interaction between virgin and RAP bitumen

According to most recent surveys, the European area produced 265 mil tonnes of asphalt for road applications in 2014. In the same year, the amount of available RAP was more than 50 mil tonnes. The use of RAP in new blended mixes reduces the need of neat bitumen, making RAP recycling economically attractive. Despite the economic and environmental benefits, road authorities tend to limit the use of RAP in asphalt mixes due to uncertainty about field performances. The present study focuses on the interaction between neat and RAP bitumen in asphalt mixes made with different RAP content. The effects of RAP on physical and rheological properties of the final bituminous blend were investigated. This study is part of a wider research, where a specific type of asphalt mixture was produced with different RAP contents being 10%, 20% and 30% by mass of the mix. Bitumen was extracted and recovered from asphalt mixes, then it was subjected to the following laboratory tests: standard characterization, dynamic viscosity and rheological analysis with DSR. Findings showed that the effects of RAP bitumen on the final blend varied in proportion to RAP content. A threshold value of RAP content was found, below which bitumen was not subjected to significant changes in physical and rheological properties. Practical implications on production methods and paving of RAP mixes are also proposed. Keywords: Reclaimed Asphalt Pavement (RAP), Recycling, Bitumen blending, Bitumen rheolog

Uncertainty principle of genetic information in a living cell

BACKGROUND: Formal description of a cell's genetic information should provide the number of DNA molecules in that cell and their complete nucleotide sequences. We pose the formal problem: can the genome sequence forming the genotype of a given living cell be known with absolute certainty so that the cell's behaviour (phenotype) can be correlated to that genetic information? To answer this question, we propose a series of thought experiments. RESULTS: We show that the genome sequence of any actual living cell cannot physically be known with absolute certainty, independently of the method used. There is an associated uncertainty, in terms of base pairs, equal to or greater than μs (where μ is the mutation rate of the cell type and s is the cell's genome size). CONCLUSION: This finding establishes an "uncertainty principle" in genetics for the first time, and its analogy with the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in physics is discussed. The genetic information that makes living cells work is thus better represented by a probabilistic model rather than as a completely defined object

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in amphibians from the Po River Delta, Northern Italy

Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis is a pathogen infecting amphibians at the global scale and causing their decline, but knowledge of the distribution of this pathogen is far from complete. We sampled amphibians from three species (Hyla intermedia, Rana dalmatina and Pelophylax synklepton esculentus) to evaluate whether B. dendrobatidis infects amphibians in the Po River Delta Natural Park, Northern Italy. We detected the pathogen in one population of P. sk. esculentus (prevalence: 0.33). These findings expand the known distribution of B. dendrobatidis in Italy and add further concern to the conservation of amphibians in this area

Euroregions, Excellence and Innovation across EU borders. A Catalogue of Good Practices

This Catalogue of Good Practices is dedicated to Euroregions, European organisations which are playing an influential role right on the borders of European countries and at a time in which many doubts persist about the European integration process. In our view, Euroregions truly matter: they are a symbol of communal living across borders, which are notoriously places where diversity is mostly shaped inside our continent. This is the reason why we should give all possible support to the development of these structures as an advanced manifestation of cross-border activities fortunately spreading across internal (and some external) EU frontiers. After being granted the opportunity of spending four years of research on the matter, the Catalogue of Good Practices produced by the research team COOPRECOT II aims at delivering a strong output for a renewed debate on the full realization of Euroregions' potential. In such a way, we seek to provide a new tool on the quest for optimal solutions that may inspire a higher level of cross-border cohesion and a favourable advancement in the European Integration process. The aims of the research will be fulfilled through introducing two separate sections inside the Catalogue. In the first one, we begin by introducing up-to-date theoretical contributions on CBC and Euroregions, alongside a perceptive explanation of our working methodology throughout the research. By showing the process that brought us to generate both a global list and a specific selection for this catalogue, we thereby proceed in elaborating a solid quantitative analysis of our sample. In the second part, we wish to present our research on the 80 CB euroregional structures selected in the shape of info sheets detailing important information extracted from our database. Technical data are also accompanied by a short text-description of the Euroregion and (where available) the corresponding CBC project's features

Transport Infrastructure Surveillance and Monitoring by Electromagnetic Sensing: The ISTIMES Project

The ISTIMES project, funded by the European Commission in the frame of a joint Call “ICT and Security” of the Seventh Framework Programme, is presented and preliminary research results are discussed. The main objective of the ISTIMES project is to design, assess and promote an Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-based system, exploiting distributed and local sensors, for non-destructive electromagnetic monitoring of critical transport infrastructures. The integration of electromagnetic technologies with new ICT information and telecommunications systems enables remotely controlled monitoring and surveillance and real time data imaging of the critical transport infrastructures. The project exploits different non-invasive imaging technologies based on electromagnetic sensing (optic fiber sensors, Synthetic Aperture Radar satellite platform based, hyperspectral spectroscopy, Infrared thermography, Ground Penetrating Radar-, low-frequency geophysical techniques, Ground based systems for displacement monitoring). In this paper, we show the preliminary results arising from the GPR and infrared thermographic measurements carried out on the Musmeci bridge in Potenza, located in a highly seismic area of the Apennine chain (Southern Italy) and representing one of the test beds of the project

Azimuthal anisotropy of charged jet production in root s(NN)=2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions

We present measurements of the azimuthal dependence of charged jet production in central and semi-central root s(NN) = 2.76 TeV Pb-Pb collisions with respect to the second harmonic event plane, quantified as nu(ch)(2) (jet). Jet finding is performed employing the anti-k(T) algorithm with a resolution parameter R = 0.2 using charged tracks from the ALICE tracking system. The contribution of the azimuthal anisotropy of the underlying event is taken into account event-by-event. The remaining (statistical) region-to-region fluctuations are removed on an ensemble basis by unfolding the jet spectra for different event plane orientations independently. Significant non-zero nu(ch)(2) (jet) is observed in semi-central collisions (30-50% centrality) for 20 <p(T)(ch) (jet) <90 GeV/c. The azimuthal dependence of the charged jet production is similar to the dependence observed for jets comprising both charged and neutral fragments, and compatible with measurements of the nu(2) of single charged particles at high p(T). Good agreement between the data and predictions from JEWEL, an event generator simulating parton shower evolution in the presence of a dense QCD medium, is found in semi-central collisions. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Peer reviewe

Forward-central two-particle correlations in p-Pb collisions at root s(NN)=5.02 TeV

Two-particle angular correlations between trigger particles in the forward pseudorapidity range (2.5 2GeV/c. (C) 2015 CERN for the benefit of the ALICE Collaboration. Published by Elsevier B. V.Peer reviewe