Neutrino Anisotropies after Planck

We present new constraints on the rest-frame sound speed, c_{eff}^2, and the viscosity parameter, c_{vis}^2, of the Cosmic Neutrino Background from the recent measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background anisotropies provided by the Planck satellite. While broadly consistent with the expectations of c_{eff}^2=c_{vis}^2=1/3 in the standard scenario, the Planck dataset hints at a higher value of the viscosity parameter, with c_{vis}^2=0.60+/-0.18 at 68% c.l., and a lower value of the sound speed, with c_{eff}^2=0.304+/-0.013 at 68% c.l.. We find a correlation between the neutrino parameters and the lensing amplitude of the temperature power spectrum A_L. When the latter parameter is allowed to vary, we find a better consistency with the standard model with c_{vis}^2=0.51+/-0.22, c_{eff}^2=0.311+/-0.019 and A_L=1.08+/-0.18 at 68% c.l.. This result indicates that the anomalous large value of A_L measured by Planck could be connected to non-standard neutrino properties. Including additional datasets from Baryon Acoustic Oscillation surveys and the Hubble Space Telescope constraint on the Hubble constant, we obtain c_{vis}^2=0.40+/-0.19, c_{eff}^2=0.319+/-0.019, and A_{L}=1.15+/-0.17 at 68% c.l.; including the lensing power spectrum, we obtain c_{vis}^2=0.50+/-0.19, c_{eff}^2=0.314+/-0.015, and A_L=1.025+/-0.076 at 68% c.l.. Finally, we investigate further degeneracies between the clustering parameters and other cosmological parameters.Comment: 10 pages, 8 captioned figures, 3 table

Dark Radiation after Planck

We present new constraints on the relativistic neutrino effective number N_eff and on the Cosmic Microwave Background power spectrum lensing amplitude A_L from the recent Planck 2013 data release. Including observations of the CMB large angular scale polarization from the WMAP satellite, we obtain the bounds N_eff = 3.71 +/- 0.40 and A_L = 1.25 +/- 0.13 at 68% c.l.. The Planck dataset alone is therefore suggesting the presence of a dark radiation component at 91.1% c.l. and hinting for a higher power spectrum lensing amplitude at 94.3% c.l.. We discuss the agreement of these results with the previous constraints obtained from the Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT). Considering the constraints on the cosmological parameters, we found a very good agreement with the previous WMAP+SPT analysis but a tension with the WMAP+ACT results, with the only exception of the lensing amplitude.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

Indications of a late-time interaction in the dark sector

We show that a general late-time interaction between cold dark matter and vacuum energy is favoured by current cosmological datasets. We characterize the strength of the coupling by a dimensionless parameter $q_V$ that is free to take different values in four redshift bins from the primordial epoch up to today. This interacting scenario is in agreement with measurements of cosmic microwave background temperature anisotropies from the Planck satellite, supernovae Ia from Union 2.1 and redshift space distortions from a number of surveys, as well as with combinations of these different datasets. We show that a non-zero interaction is very likely at late times. We then focus on the case $q_V\not=0$ in a single low-redshift bin, obtaining a nested one parameter extension of the standard $\Lambda$CDM model. We study the Bayesian evidence, with respect to $\Lambda$CDM, of this late-time interaction model, finding moderate evidence for an interaction starting at $z=0.9$, dependent upon the prior range chosen for the interaction strength parameter $q_V$. For this case the null interaction ($q_V=0$, i.e.$\Lambda$CDM) is excluded at 99% c.l..Comment: version to appear in PRL, 6 pages, 6 figure

The dark side of the Universe

The knowledge of the Universe surrounding us, nevertheless the big steps forward of the last decade, presents a lot of obscure or not well understood parts, that are usually indicated with the adjective dark. These parts touch every component of the Universe: we have well known radiation in form of photons, and its dark counterpart in form of neutrinos, dark matter beside the ordinary (baryonic) matter and also an obscure form of energy whose nature is completely unknown. In this context the big challenge of the next generation cosmology is to determine the intrinsic properties of these exotic components by working on available observables and by determining new ways to look at our Universe. Astrophysicists and Cosmologists developed during the years different techniques to observe the sky, some of which focus on the static properties of the Universe (distances and topology, actual composition), while others point towards a description of its dynamics (evolution of the components' perturbations, expansion of the background and so on). As we will see in detail in this thesis, the general relativity that rules the Universe evolution works in such a way to link statical and dynamical behaviour. This feature gives the Cosmologists the possibility to infer dynamical properties starting from simple geometrical measurements, and this, in last analysis, leads to development of new techniques to study directly also the evolutionary part of the Cosmo. We already have some measurements of this kind, but the best is to come with recently developed experiments that started in the last couple of years or that should start soon. This kind of observations will concentrate on precise and complete dynamical data that hopefully will lead us to comprehend also the darkest part of our knowledge: the dark energy. My Ph.D. work has been principally focused on the study of the properties of the dark sector of the Universe using all probes actually available

Is PLANCK consistent with primordial deuterium measurements ?

The recent measurements of the Cosmic Microwave Background Anisotropies provided by the Planck satellite experiment have significantly improved the constraints on several cosmological parameters. In this brief paper we point out a small but interesting tension present between recent values of the primordial deuterium measured from quasar absorption line systems and the same value inferred, albeit indirectly, from the Planck measurements assuming {\Lambda}CDM and Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. Here we discuss this tension in detail investigating the possible new physics that could be responsible for the tension. We found that, among 8 extra parameters, only an anomalous lensing component and a closed universe could change the Planck constraint towards a better consistency with direct deuterium measurements.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Tickling the CMB damping tail: scrutinizing the tension between the ACT and SPT experiments

The Atacama Cosmology Telescope (ACT) and the South Pole Telescope (SPT) have recently provided new, very precise measurements of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropy damping tail. The values of the cosmological parameters inferred from these measurements, while broadly consistent with the expectations of the standard cosmological model, are providing interesting possible indications for new physics that are definitely worth of investigation. The ACT results, while compatible with the standard expectation of three neutrino families, indicate a level of CMB lensing, parametrized by the lensing amplitude parameter A_L, that is about 70% higher than expected. If not a systematic, this anomalous lensing amplitude could be produced by modifications of general relativity or coupled dark energy. Vice-versa, the SPT experiment, while compatible with a standard level of CMB lensing, prefers an excess of dark radiation, parametrized by the effective number of relativistic degrees of freedom N_eff. Here we perform a new analysis of these experiments allowing simultaneous variations in both these, non-standard, parameters. We also combine these experiments, for the first time in the literature, with the recent WMAP9 data, one at a time. Including the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) prior on the Hubble constant and information from baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) surveys provides the following constraints from ACT: N_eff=3.23\pm0.47, A_L=1.65\pm0.33 at 68% c.l., while for SPT we have N_eff=3.76\pm0.34, A_L=0.81\pm0.12 at 68% c.l.. In particular, the A_L estimates from the two experiments, even when a variation in N_eff is allowed, are in tension at more than 95% c.l..Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, v.2. some typos and sentences correcte

A Systematic Review of the Selected Evidences on the Effectiveness of Inter-professional Education (IPE) in Developing Interprofessional Learning Environment

Purpose: This systematic review aimed to provide available evidence in determining for the effectiveness of IPE as a modality in developing interprofessional learning environment for healthcare students.Methods: The computerized searches from 2009-2015 in ten electronic databases were performed. Two independent reviewers were consulted to assess the eligibility, level of evidences and methodological quality in each study. Result: nine out of ten studies were retrieved. These studies include (a) two RCT studies; scored eight and seven out of eight, (b) Three quasi-experimental pretestposttest design; scored seven, six, and six out of eight, (c) Three controlled before and after study; scored six, six, five and five out of eight, and (d) one controlled longitudinal; scored six out of eight respectively.Conclusion: Based on the systematic review, evidence showed that IPE was effective in building strong interprofessional learning environment. On the other hand, the authors recommend considering conduct of similar systematic review grounded on IPE with larger sample size within the health allied discipline

Reservoir Role of Lizard Psammodromus algirus in Transmission Cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato (Spirochaetaceae) in Tunisia

To investigate the reservoir role of the lizard Psammodromus algirus for the Lyme disease spirochete, 199 lizards were trapped from April to October 2003 in El Jouza, northwestern Tunisia. In this site, the infection rate of free-living Ixodes ricinus (L.) by Borrelia was evaluated by immunofluorescence as 34.6% for adult ticks and 12.5% for nymphs. Eighty percent of P. algirus (117/146) captured during this study were infested by I. ricinus, the predominant tick species collected from lizards. The intensity of tick infestation of this host by larvae and nymphs ranged from 0.14 to 7.07 and from 1.5 to 6.58, respectively. These immature stages of I. ricinus were found on lizards in spring and the beginning of summer, with a peak of intensity during June (10.16 immature ticks by lizard). Tissue cultures from lizards and xenodiagnosis with larval I. ricinus were used to assess the infection and the ability, respectively, of infected lizards to transmit Borrelia to naive ticks. Seventeen percent of xenodiagnostic ticks (40/229) acquired B. lusitaniae while feeding on P. algirus. Therefore, we demonstrated the ability of the lizards to sustain Borrelia infection and to infect attached ticks, and we proved that P. algirus is a reservoir host competent to transmit B. lusitania

Perception of mental health and professional quality of life in Tunisian doctors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a descriptive cross-sectional study

Introduction: few research studies about mental health problems in medical staff during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic have been reported. The Aim of the study is to assess the prevalence of anxiety and insomnia, affecting the professional quality of life of physicians during COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: doctors answered an online questionnaire regarding their perception of insomnia, anxiety and professional quality of life during COVID-19 pandemic with psychological parameters including the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and Professional quality of life version 5 (ProQOL5). Results: anxiety was found in 64.8% of the participants. This disorder was respectively moderate and severe in 12.4% and 6.7% of cases. Insomnia was found in 51.4% of respondents, 29.5% of whom worked in the COVID circuit (p=0.17). Insomnia was assessed as mild, moderate and severe in respectively 38.1%, 11.4% and 1.9% of cases. Compassion satisfaction was moderate in 72.4 of cases and high in 24.8% of cases. The entire population with low CS belonged to the 20-29 age group (p=0.019). Compassion satisfaction was statistically higher in married people (32.7%) (p=0.004). This entity varied significantly with occupational grade (p=0.003), seniority in grade (p=0.011) and working in the private health sector (p=0.046). Burnout was moderate in 73.3% and low in 26.7% of cases. Burnout was significantly higher among single people (p=0.03) and statistically altered in the staff working in the COVID unit (p=0.028). Secondary traumatic disorder was above moderate in 69.6%. Conclusion: a high prevalence of psychological symptoms was found among doctors during COVID-19. Medical health workers are in need of health protection and adequate working conditions

A year of genomic surveillance reveals how the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic unfolded in Africa.

The progression of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic in Africa has so far been heterogeneous, and the full impact is not yet well understood. In this study, we describe the genomic epidemiology using a dataset of 8746 genomes from 33 African countries and two overseas territories. We show that the epidemics in most countries were initiated by importations predominantly from Europe, which diminished after the early introduction of international travel restrictions. As the pandemic progressed, ongoing transmission in many countries and increasing mobility led to the emergence and spread within the continent of many variants of concern and interest, such as B.1.351, B.1.525, A.23.1, and C.1.1. Although distorted by low sampling numbers and blind spots, the findings highlight that Africa must not be left behind in the global pandemic response, otherwise it could become a source for new variants