First events from the CNGS neutrino beam detected in the OPERA experiment

The OPERA neutrino detector at the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS) was designed to perform the first detection of neutrino oscillations in appearance mode, through the study of nu_mu to nu_tau oscillations. The apparatus consists of a lead/emulsion-film target complemented by electronic detectors. It is placed in the high-energy, long-baseline CERN to LNGS beam (CNGS) 730 km away from the neutrino source. In August 2006 a first run with CNGS neutrinos was successfully conducted. A first sample of neutrino events was collected, statistically consistent with the integrated beam intensity. After a brief description of the beam and of the various sub-detectors, we report on the achievement of this milestone, presenting the first data and some analysis results.Comment: Submitted to the New Journal of Physic

Development of WEF-P Nexus based on product-supply chain: A case study of phosphorous fertilizer industry in Morocco

The aim of this study was to analyze various sustainability strategies for phosphate and phosphorous fertilizer production systems from the perspective of their holistic impacts on water, energy, and CO2 emissions. The study was conducted using the Water-Energy-Food (WEF) Nexus Tool 2.0, adapted to include the phosphate industry (WEF-P tool). It assesses the scenarios based on priorities identified by the Moroccan phosphate industry, such as the environmental impact of transporting phosphate rock by train and phosphate slurry by pipeline and increased desalinated water use. Results show that each scenario's sustainability can be assessed in terms of phosphate production, processes, resource (water and energy) availability, and CO2 emissions in mining and manufacturing areas. The analytical methodology of the tool is based on an integrated supply chain and life cycle assessment, which includes the production flows linking mining phosphate and manufacturing phosphorous fertilizers and their water and energy supply systems. Field surveys were used to identify the supply chain and estimate the relationships between production and resource consumption in each process. The tool is a decision-support platform that produces sustainability indices for multiple scenarios of resource allocation (water and energy) and CO2 emissions, allowing stakeholders to compare potential outcomes and formulate decisions based on their understanding of the actual trade-offs involved. © 2022 Elsevier B.V

Zero-field Hall effect emerging from a non-Fermi liquid in a collinear antiferromagnet V1/3NbS2

Magnetically intercalated transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) provide a versatile three-dimensional (3D) material platform to explore quantum phenomena and functionalities that emerge from an intricate interplay among magnetism, band structure, and electronic correlations. Here, we report the observation of a nearly magnetization-free anomalous Hall effect (AHE) accompanied by non-Fermi liquid (NFL) behavior and collinear antiferromagnetism (AFM) in V1/3NbS2. Our single-crystal neutron diffraction measurements identify a commensurate, collinear AFM order formed by intercalated V moments. In the magnetically ordered state, the spontaneous AHE is tenfold greater than expected from empirical scaling with magnetization, and this strongly enhanced AHE arises in the NFL regime that violates the quasiparticle picture. V1/3NbS2 challenges the existing single-particle framework for understanding AHEs based on one-body Berry curvature and highlights the potential of magnetically intercalated TMDs to unveil new electronic functionalities where many-body correlations play a critical role

Trichophyton mentagrophytes genotype infections among men who have sex with men in France: An ongoing phenomenon

Background: Trichophyton mentagrophytes ITS genotype VII (TMVII) has recently been identified in France as the causative agent of dermatophyte infections transmitted during sexual activity among men who have sex with men (MSM). Objectives: Our objective was to provide new insights into the epidemiology, clinical presentation and treatment of TMVII infections based on cases diagnosed from October 2022 to September 2023 in three medical mycology laboratories in Paris. Additionally, we aimed to perform molecular characterization of TMVII strains collected in Paris, as well as in Switzerland. Methods: We identified all isolates from skin and hair belonging to the T. mentagrophytes complex by sequencing the ITS region. For isolates corresponding to TMVII, clinical data were retrieved from medical records. For all available TMVII strains that we isolated since January 2021, we sequenced tef1α and tubb and determined the MAT locus idiomorph. Results: We identified 32 cases of TMVII Infections. All cases occurred in men, 30 of whom reported having sex with men. Fifteen cases were sporadic cases including four among sex workers. The other 17 cases belonged to a single cluster involving a tantric masseur who infected 15 clients and his roommate. The median time from massage to lesion onset was 16 [2–52] days. Except for one patient, all other patients received systemic antifungal treatment with terbinafine. We observed five patients whose cultures remained positive even after 3–4 weeks of treatment and five patients experienced a relapse of the infection after discontinuing antifungal treatment. All French isolates exhibited identical tef1α and tubb sequences, as well as the same MAT idiomorph locus. They displayed variations in the tef1α sequence compared to isolates from Switzerland and the Czech Republic. Conclusions: We confirm the active circulation of TMVII among MSM in France, which is associated with challenges in diagnosis, treatment and prevention

No Reactions observed in Xe-Fe System even at Earth Core Pressures

BACKGROUND: More attention is being paid to the wellbeing of staff working in stressful situations. However, little is known about staff experience of providing end-of-life care to children within a hospice setting. This study aims to explore the experiences of care team staff who provide end-of-life care within a children's hospice. METHODS: Qualitative research incorporating interviews and a focus group. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Purposeful sampling led to a total of 15 care team staff recruited from a children's hospice offering palliative and specialist care to life-limited children and young people. RESULTS: The hospice setting provides a model of excellence in supporting staff and mitigating challenging aspects of their role, which includes peer/organisational support, and regular ongoing training in key aspects of children's palliative care. Key recommendations for improving their experience included advanced communication training and knowledge sharing with other children's palliative care specialists within the acute setting. CONCLUSIONS: Service and policy initiatives should encourage open, informal peer/organisational support among the wider children's palliative care sector. Further research should focus on paediatric palliative care education, particularly in relation to symptom management and communication at end-of-life, harnessing the expertise and breadth of knowledge that could be shared between children's hospices and hospital settings

Effect of surfactant/water ratio and reagents’ concentration on sizedistribution of manganese carbonate nanoparticles synthesized bymicroemulsion mediated route

tIn this work nanoparticles of manganese carbonate were produced by microemulsion-mediated routeat room temperature, without any post-thermal treatment. All produced samples were characterizedby XRD and by TEM and obtained images were analyzed in order to evaluate particle size distribution,mean size and polydispersity (variance). The influence of water–surfactant molar ratio and concentrationof reagents were investigated in the range 5–7.5 and 0.25–1.0 M, respectively, according to factorialdesign. Significant effects on particle mean size and polydispersity were assessed by statistical analysis.Results showed that by increasing the water–surfactant molar ratio from 5 to 7.5, the average particlesize increased from less than 10 nm to around 100 nm, and the standard deviation increased from lessthan 5 nm to 35 nm. Statistical analysis put in evidence that water–surfactant molar ratio has significantpositive effect on both mean and variance of particle size. Concentration of reactants, in the investigatedrange, did not influence mean size of particles, while significant changes of variance were observed:passing from 0.25 to 1 M concentration, variances of particle size increased for w = 5 and for w = 6.25,while decreased for w = 7.5