Beam diagnostics for charge and position measurements in ELI-NP GBS

The advanced source of Gamma-ray photons to be built in Bucharest (Romania), as part of the ELI-NP European Research Infrastructure, will generate photons by Compton back-scattering in the collision between a multi-bunch electron beam and a high intensity recirculated laser pulse. An S-Band photoinjector and the following C-band Linac at a maximum energy of 720MeV, under construction by an European consortium (EurogammaS) led by INFN, will operate at 100Hz repetition rate with trains of 32 electron bunches, separated by 16ns and a 250pC nominal charge. The different BPMs and current transformers used to measure transverse beam position and charge along the LINAC are described. Design criteria, production status and bench test results of the charge and position pickups are reported in the paper, together with the related data acquisition systems

Production and characterization of lattice samples with solid shell in 17-4 PH stainless steel by Laser Powder Bed Fusion technology

In this work, 17-4 PH stainless steel square-based lattice structures with solid shell were manufactured by Laser Powder Bed Fusion. Face Centered Cubic unit cell was chosen as lattice cell geometry. The main aim of this work was to study the role of the shell in the mechanical behavior under compression load and to identify any critical issue due to the connection of the shell with lattice part. This is a relevant topic since often lattice structure are integrated with solid walls and the study of the relative behavior can support the understating of the performance of complex components. The manufactured samples were tested in as-built and heat-treated condition. In detail, solution and aging treatment was performed as a conventional route for 17-4PH steel. In particular, microhardness and compressive tests were performed, and the mechanical behavior and the fracture mechanisms of the samples were investigated. Furthermore, the defects, the geometry of the struts and the connection with the solid part were analyzed. The detachment of the shell from the lattice did not occur. In fact, the solid part followed the deformation of the structure. The microstructural evolution after heat treatment was found to be responsible for an increase in hardness, strength and deformation for the investigated structures

Molecular Dynamics Simulation of Solvent-Polymer Interdiffusion. I. Fickian diffusion

The interdiffusion of a solvent into a polymer melt has been studied using large scale molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulation techniques. The solvent concentration profile and weight gain by the polymer have been measured as a function of time. The weight gain is found to scale as t^{1/2}, which is expected for Fickian type of diffusion. The concentration profiles are fit very well assuming Fick's second law with a constant diffusivity. The diffusivity found from fitting Fick's second law is found to be independent of time and equal to the self diffusion constant in the dilute solvent limit. We separately calculated the diffusivity as a function of concentration using the Darken equation and found that the diffusivity is essentially constant for the concentration range relevant for interdiffusion.Comment: 17 pages and 7 figure

Real-life appraisal on blood pressure targets achievement in adult outpatients at high cardiovascular risk

Background and aim: Although hypertension guidelines highlight the benefits of achieving the recommended blood pressure (BP) targets, hypertension control rate is still insufficient, mostly in high or very high cardiovascular (CV) risk patients. Thus, we aimed to estimate BP control in a cohort of patients at high CV risk in both primary and secondary prevention. Methods and results: A single-center, cross-sectional study was conducted by extracting data from a medical database of adult outpatients aged 40–75 years, who were referred to our Hypertension Unit, Rome (IT), for hypertension assessment. Office BP treatment targets were defined according to 2018 ESC/ESH guidelines as: a)<130/80 mmHg in individuals aged 40–65 years; b)<140/80 mmHg in subjects aged >65 years. Primary prevention patients with SCORE <5% were considered to be at low-intermediate risk, whilst individuals with SCORE ≥5% or patients with comorbidities were defined to be at very high risk. Among 6354 patients (47.2% female, age 58.4 ± 9.6 years), 4164 (65.5%) were in primary prevention with low-intermediate CV risk, 1831 (28.8%) in primary prevention with high-very high CV risk and 359 (5.6%) in secondary prevention. In treated hypertensive outpatients, uncontrolled hypertension rate was significantly higher in high risk primary prevention than in low risk primary prevention and secondary prevention patients (18.4% vs 24.4% vs. 12.5%, respectively; P < 0.001). In high risk primary prevention diabetic patients only 10% achieved the recommended BP targets. Conclusions: Our data confirmed unsatisfactory BP control among high-risk patients, both in primary and secondary prevention, and suggest the need for a more stringent BP control policies in these patients

morphological characteristics of amiata donkey reared in tuscany

In this work were studied morphological characteristics and biometric parameters of the Amiata donkey. The Amiata donkey is a local endangered breed and derives from the homonym mountain in Tuscany. This donkey, which was used, over the past, like pack animal in farms and in mines, is now involved in milk production, onotherapy and trekking. The averages and the standard deviations of the biometric parameters and the frequency of the morphological characters of foals, adult females and stallions were calculated. The measures of the adult females were estimated by ANOVA considering three different classes of age: 3-4, 5-6, over6yearsold. 3-4, 5-6, over 6 years old.. The average sizes were: height at withers of 129.8±4.7and125.8±5.6cm,thoraxcircumferenceof145.6±7.8and145.0±7.8cm, 129.8±4.7 and125.8±5.6cm,thoraxcircumferenceof145.6±7.8and145.0±7.8cm, and 125.8±5.6cm,thoraxcircumferenceof145.6±7.8and145.0±7.8cm, 125.8±5.6 cm,thoraxcircumferenceof145.6±7.8and145.0±7.8cm, , thorax circumference of 145.6±7.8and145.0±7.8cm, 145.6±7.8and145.0±7.8cm, and 145.0±7.8cm, 145.0±7.8 cm,, front shank circumference of 18.3±0.8and16.9±1.5cm,forstallionsandadultfemalesrespectively.All 18.3±0.8 and16.9±1.5cm,forstallionsandadultfemalesrespectively.All and 16.9±1.5cm,forstallionsandadultfemalesrespectively.All 16.9±1.5 cm,forstallionsandadultfemalesrespectively.All , for stallions and adult females respectively. All the observed donkeys presented dark grey coat with the shoulder stripe. The zoometric indices of the adult females did not differ between the classes and showed that the somatic adult proportions had al- ready reached in 3-4 years old donkeys. This breed showed the features of the ancestors: the shoulder stripe of the Equus asinus africanus and the legs stripes of the Equus asinus somaliensis

Structure of a model TiO2 photocatalytic interface

The interaction of water with TiO2 is crucial to many of its practical applications, including photocatalytic water splitting. Following the first demonstration of this phenomenon 40 years ago there have been numerous studies of the rutile single-crystal TiO2(110) interface with water. This has provided an atomic-level understanding of the water-TiO2 interaction. However, nearly all of the previous studies of water/TiO2 interfaces involve water in the vapour phase. Here, we explore the interfacial structure between liquid water and a rutile TiO2(110) surface pre-characterized at the atomic level. Scanning tunnelling microscopy and surface X-ray diffraction are used to determine the structure, which is comprised of an ordered array of hydroxyl molecules with molecular water in the second layer. Static and dynamic density functional theory calculations suggest that a possible mechanism for formation of the hydroxyl overlayer involves the mixed adsorption of O2 and H2O on a partially defected surface. The quantitative structural properties derived here provide a basis with which to explore the atomistic properties and hence mechanisms involved in TiO2 photocatalysis

Upgrade of the fast analogue intra-pulse phase feedback at SPARC_LAB

SPARC_LAB is a facility designed for the production of FEL radiation and the exploration of advanced acceleration techniques using a high brightness electron photo-injector. Specifically, particle-driven plasma wakefield acceleration (PWFA) necessitates exceptional beam stability, in order to minimize the jitter between the driver and witness beams. This requirement directly translates into RF phase jitter minimization, since a velocity bunching (RF compression) working point is employed at SPARC_LAB for acceleration. In the past, a fast intra-pulse phase feedback system has been developed to stabilize the klystron RF pulse. This allowed to reach a phase stability of S-band power units (both driven by PFN modulators) below 50 fs rms. However, in order to meet the more stringent requirements of PWFA scheme, some upgrades of this feedback system have been recently carried out. A prototype has been tested on a C-band klystron driven by a solid-state modulator, in order to investigate the possibility for an additional improvement resulting from the inherently more stable power source. In this paper the preliminary measurement results obtained at SPARC_LAB after such upgrades will be reviewed.Comment: Talk presented at LLRF Workshop 2023 (LLRF2023, arXiv: 2310.03199

influence of bitter lupin on consumption and digestibility in organic dairy cattle soya bean free diets

One of the main principles of organic husbandry is that animal feed must be GMO free, and soya bean is well-known as a high risk GMO alimentary source. About 25 dry dairy cattle of the Italian Holstein breed, from the Cooperativa Emilio Sereni of Borgo S. Lorenzo (FI), were fed in two successive diets: the first with extruded soya bean (A), and the second in which bitter lupin, faba bean and proteinic pea substituted the soya bean (B). We evaluated both the consumption and the apparent digestibility (using acid insoluble ash as internal marker) of the two diets, repeating the trial twice. The presence of bitter lupin did not influence either the consumption of other feed, or the faecal water content. The apparent digestibility of the organic matter resulted satisfactory in both the diets, but was significantly higher in diet (A) than in diet (B) (71,6% vs 67,3%). In conclusion, even though we wish the cultivation of sweet lupin would be increase in Italy, we retain that also bitter lupin (mixed with other feed to increase the palatability) could be used as alternative protein source in dairy cattle diets

Drug resistance and minimal residual disease in multiple myeloma

Great progress has been made in improving survival in multiple myeloma (MM) patients over the last 30 years. New drugs have been introduced and complete responses are frequently seen. However, the majority of MM patients do experience a relapse at a variable time after treatment, and ultimately the disease becomes drug-resistant following therapies. Recently, minimal residual disease (MRD) detection has been introduced in clinical trials utilizing novel therapeutic agents to measure the depth of response. MRD can be considered as a surrogate for both progression-free and overall survival. In this perspective, the persistence of a residual therapy-resistant myeloma plasma cell clone can be associated with inferior survivals. The present review gives an overview of drug resistance in MM, i.e., mutation of β5 subunit of the proteasome; upregulation of pumps of efflux; heat shock protein induction for proteasome inhibitors; downregulation of CRBN expression; deregulation of IRF4 expression; mutation of CRBN, IKZF1, and IKZF3 for immunomodulatory drugs and decreased target expression; complement protein increase; sBCMA increase; and BCMA down expression for monoclonal antibodies. Multicolor flow cytometry, or next-generation flow, and next-generation sequencing are currently the techniques available to measure MRD with sensitivity at 10-5. Sustained MRD negativity is related to prolonged survival, and it is evaluated in all recent clinical trials as a surrogate of drug efficacy

A Cell-Based Protein-Protein Interaction Method Using a Permuted Luciferase Reporter

We have developed a novel cell-based protein-protein interaction assay method. The method relies on conversion of an inactive permuted luciferase containing a Tobacco Etch Virus protease (TEV) cleavage sequence fused onto protein (A) to an active luciferase upon interaction and cleavage by another protein (B) fused with the TEV protease. We demonstrate assay applicability for ligand-induced protein-protein interactions including G-protein coupled receptors, receptor tyrosine kinases and nuclear hormone receptors