(Down-to-)Earth matter effect in supernova neutrinos

Neutrino oscillations in the Earth matter may introduce peculiar modulations in the supernova (SN) neutrino spectra. The detection of this effect has been proposed as diagnostic tool for the neutrino mass hierarchy at "large" 1-3 leptonic mixing angle theta13. We perform an updated study on the observability of this effect at large next-generation underground detectors (i.e., 0.4 Mton water Cherenkov, 50 kton scintillation and 100 kton liquid Argon detectors) based on neutrino fluxes from state-of-the-art SN simulations and accounting for statistical fluctuations via Montecarlo simulations. Since the average energies predicted by recent simulations are lower than previously expected and a tendency towards the equalization of the neutrino fluxes appears during the SN cooling phase, the detection of the Earth matter effect will be more challenging than expected from previous studies. We find that none of the proposed detectors shall be able to detect the Earth modulation for the neutrino signal of a typical galactic SN at 10 kpc. It should be observable in a 100 kton liquid Argon detector for a SN at few kpc and all three detectors would clearly see the Earth signature for very close-by stars only (d ~ 0.2 kpc). Finally, we show that adopting IceCube as co-detector together with a Mton water Cherenkov detector is not a viable option either.Comment: (14 pages, 5 ps figures

Advancement study of CancerMath model as prognostic tools for predicting Sentinel lymph node metastasis in clinically negative T1 breast cancer patients

Purpose: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) is an invasive surgical procedure and although it has fewer complications and is less severe than axillary lymph node dissection, it is not a risk-free procedure. Large prospective trials have documented SLNB that it is considered non-therapeutic in early stage breast cancer. Methods: Web-calculator CancerMath (CM) allows you to estimate the probability of having positive lymph nodes valued on the basis of tumour size, age, histologic type, grading, expression of estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor. We collected 595 patients referred to our Institute resulting clinically negative T1 breast cancer characterized by sentinel lymph node status, prognostic factors defined by CM and also HER2 and Ki-67. We have compared classification performances obtained by online CM application with those obtained after training its algorithm on our database. Results: By training CM model on our dataset and using the same feature, adding HER2 or ki67 we reached a sensitivity median value of 71.4%, 73%, 70.4%, respectively, whereas the online one was equal to 61%, without losing specificity. The introduction of the prognostic factors Her2 and Ki67 could help improving performances on the classification of particularly type of patients. Conclusions: Although the training of the model on the sample of T1 patients has brought a significant improvement in performance, the general performance does not yet allow a clinical application of the algorithm. However, the experimental results encourage future developments aimed at introducing features of a different nature in the CM model

XIPE: the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer

X-ray polarimetry, sometimes alone, and sometimes coupled to spectral and temporal variability measurements and to imaging, allows a wealth of physical phenomena in astrophysics to be studied. X-ray polarimetry investigates the acceleration process, for example, including those typical of magnetic reconnection in solar flares, but also emission in the strong magnetic fields of neutron stars and white dwarfs. It detects scattering in asymmetric structures such as accretion disks and columns, and in the so-called molecular torus and ionization cones. In addition, it allows fundamental physics in regimes of gravity and of magnetic field intensity not accessible to experiments on the Earth to be probed. Finally, models that describe fundamental interactions (e.g. quantum gravity and the extension of the Standard Model) can be tested. We describe in this paper the X-ray Imaging Polarimetry Explorer (XIPE), proposed in June 2012 to the first ESA call for a small mission with a launch in 2017 but not selected. XIPE is composed of two out of the three existing JET-X telescopes with two Gas Pixel Detectors (GPD) filled with a He-DME mixture at their focus and two additional GPDs filled with pressurized Ar-DME facing the sun. The Minimum Detectable Polarization is 14 % at 1 mCrab in 10E5 s (2-10 keV) and 0.6 % for an X10 class flare. The Half Energy Width, measured at PANTER X-ray test facility (MPE, Germany) with JET-X optics is 24 arcsec. XIPE takes advantage of a low-earth equatorial orbit with Malindi as down-link station and of a Mission Operation Center (MOC) at INPE (Brazil).Comment: 49 pages, 14 figures, 6 tables. Paper published in Experimental Astronomy http://link.springer.com/journal/1068

Sintesi

Sintes

The shikimic acid: an important metabolite for the Aglianico del Vulture wines

Shikimic acid is a precursor for the biosynthesis of aromatic amino acids and flavonoids (anthocyanins, tannins and flavonols). In the pharmaceutical industry, it is obtained by extraction of star anise from China, and at a yield of 3-7% it is used for the production of antiviral drug, e.g. oseltamivir. Unlike flavonoids which are only present in the grape skins, shikimic acid is present in the juice together with hydroxycinnamil tartaric acids (caffeic, ferulic and p-coumaric acid). Therefore, their content in white wines may not be negligible and their presence may explain the epidemiological studies that showed a reduced incidence of cardiovascular diseases also in people with moderate white wine consumption. The content of shikimic acid has been used to characterize wines. In southern Italy it has been used to distinguish Aglianico grape, which holds medium-high content, from Negroamaro, Primitivo and Uva di Troia grapes who have rather lower levels. It could be useful also to distinguish Fiano di Avellino (high value) from Fiano Minutolo (low value). However, results of a recent work showed that the shikimic acid content decreases significantly during the ripening of the grapes and therefore its content in wine is strongly influenced by the harvest period. Finally, in a recent paper it was highlighted the increase in shikimic acid content at the end of fermentation in an Aglianico del Vulture wine, produced in the area of Rapolla (PZ, Italy) municipality during the 2013 harvest. These last experimental results explain why the values of shikimic acid were lower in grapes and surprisingly higher in wines produced in the 2011 and 2012 harvest

Effects of skin maceration time on the phenolic and sensory characteristics of Bombino Nero rosé wines

Rosé wines consumption has reached the highest level in present years and it is still an ongoing trend in several countries. Therefore, the production of rosé wines with improved sensory qualities and colour stability would be greatly appreciated. Today, although rosé wines are no longer considered to be less valuable than red and white ones, anyway, because of the past rosé’s reputation the scientific state of art lacks of specific studies concerning the effects of pre-fermentation maceration times on rosé wines. In this study, different pre fermentation maceration times (3, 6 and 8 h) during production of original location certified and guaranteed rosé wine from Bombino Nero variety (Vitis vinifera L.) were investigated. In all wines standard and specific wine chemical parameters, such as polyphenols, anthocyanins, flavonoids, hydroxycinnamoyl tartaric acids, volatile compounds and colour parameters were determined. A sensory descriptive analysis together with chemical analyses performed revealed that the maceration time significantly affected the aroma, the flavour and the colour of wines. The results showed that, although a longer maceration time is positively correlated to the colour stability of wine over time, however, a lengthener of the maceration is not favourable to enrich the wine with pleasant fruity and flowery aroma compounds, as both the gas chromatography and the sensory analyses showed. It was decided to perform the experimental winemaking processes in an actual winery instead of a laboratory in order to develop a practical winemaking management procedure directly usable for wine producers. The results obtained contribute to improve the knowledge about the importance of selecting the winemaking technique in order to elaborate high quality rosé wines

Detection of Intra-Varietal Diversity Based on Differences in the Accumulation of Secondary Metabolites for Winemaking Management of High-Quality Red Wines

The goal of biodiversity preservation is the conservation and enhancement of diversity, which is often stored in different clones of the same grape variety. Fourteen different autochthonous accessions of Aglianico grown in the same area (Vulture, Italy) have been investigated to evaluate the possible significant differences in terms of secondary metabolites belonging to the polyphenolic class, compounds which show a number of beneficial health related properties. During winemaking, grape polyphenols are extracted into wine, therefore the knowledge of the polyphenolic composition of grape is important for the appropriate design of the winemaking process, especially in winemaking management of high-quality red wines. The results of this study are useful tools for the individuation of the most promising candidates in the perspective of Aglianico del Vulture clonal selections from a winemaking point of view