645 research outputs found
A Guide to Moral Knowledge. The Epistemic Role of Moral Emotions
In this paper, I defend the epistemic role of moral emotions. After some introductory remarks, by making use of an attitudinal theory of emotions, I claim that emotions are to be conceived as intentional states directed towards evaluative properties in the world, and have therefore both correctness conditions and justification conditions. Then, I define and list moral emotions, and I defend the objective status of evaluative and moral properties. Such preliminary moves allow me to make my main point. Firstly, when discussing the standards to assess if moral emotions\u2019 formal object can be counted as an epistemic one, I propose a threefold intentionality theory of moral emotions, which allows me to equate their secondary formal objects to those of epistemic emotions. Secondly, when considering the roles moral emotions must play in order to be counted as epistemically relevant, I defend both the direct justificatory role and the indirect motivational role of moral emotions
Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal cell differentiation toward myogenic lineages: Facts and perspectives
Bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) are valuable platforms for new therapies based on regenerative medicine. BM-MSCs era is coming of age since the potential of these cells is increasingly demonstrated. In fact, these cells give origin to osteoblasts, chondroblasts, and adipocyte precursors in vitro, and they can also differentiate versus other mesodermal cell types like skeletal muscle precursors and cardiomyocytes. In our short review, we focus on the more recent manipulations of BM-MSCs toward skeletal and heart muscle differentiation, a growing field of obvious relevance considering the toll of muscle disease (i.e., muscular dystrophies), the heavier toll of heart disease in developed countries, and the still not completely understood mechanisms of muscle differentiation and repair
Electron beam transfer line design for plasma driven Free Electron Lasers
Plasma driven particle accelerators represent the future of compact
accelerating machines and Free Electron Lasers are going to benefit from these
new technologies. One of the main issue of this new approach to FEL machines is
the design of the transfer line needed to match of the electron-beam with the
magnetic undulators. Despite the reduction of the chromaticity of plasma beams
is one of the main goals, the target of this line is to be effective even in
cases of beams with a considerable value of chromaticity. The method here
explained is based on the code GIOTTO [1] that works using a homemade genetic
algorithm and that is capable of finding optimal matching line layouts directly
using a full 3D tracking code.Comment: 9 Pages, 4 Figures. A related poster was presented at EAAC 201
Linearly independent pure-state decomposition and quantum state discrimination
We put the pure-state decomposition mathematical property of a mixed state to
a physical test. We begin by characterizing all the possible decompositions of
a rank-two mixed state by means of the complex overlap between two involved
states. The physical test proposes a scheme of quantum state recognition of one
of the two linearly independent states which arise from the decomposition. We
find that the two states associated with the balanced pure-state decomposition
have the smaller overlap modulus and therefore the smallest probability of
being discriminated conclusively, while in the nonconclusive scheme they have
the highest probability of having an error. In addition, we design an
experimental scheme which allows to discriminate conclusively and optimally two
nonorthogonal states prepared with different a priori probabilities. Thus, we
propose a physical implementation for this linearly independent pure-state
decomposition and state discrimination test by using twin photons generated in
the process of spontaneous parametric down conversion. The information-state is
encoded in one photon polarization state whereas the second single-photon is
used for heralded detection.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev.
Special issue on “Anatomical radiology and morphological studies applied to radiological and palaeoradiological contexts”
a special monographic
issue dedicated to the intersection between the fi eld of morphological studies and that of radiology.
A collimation system for ELI-NP Gamma Beam System - design and simulation of performance
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the performance and refine the design of the collimation system for the gamma radiation source (GBS) currently being realised at ELI-NP facility. The gamma beam, produced by inverse Compton scattering, will provide a tunable average energy in the range between 0.2 and 20Ă‚ MeV, an energy bandwidth 0.5% and a flux of about 108Ă‚ photons/s. As a result of the inverse Compton interaction, the energy of the emitted radiation is related to the emission angle, it is maximum in the backscattering direction and decreases as the angle increase [1,2]. Therefore, the required energy bandwidth can be obtained only by developing a specific collimation system of the gamma beam, i.e. filtering out the radiation emitted at larger angles. The angular acceptance of the collimation for ELI-NP-GBS must be continuously adjustable in a range from about 700 to 60Ă‚ ĂŽÂĽrad, to obtain the required parameters in the entire energy range. The solution identified is a stack of adjustable slits, arranged with a relative rotation around the beam axis to obtain an hole with an approximately circular shape. In this contribution, the final collimation design and its performance evaluated by carrying out a series of detailed Geant4 simulations both of the high-energy and the low-energy beamline are presented
Plasma boosted electron beams for driving Free Electron Lasers
In this paper, we report results of simulations, in the framework of both
EuPRAXIA \cite{Walk2017} and EuPRAXIA@SPARC\_LAB \cite{Ferr2017} projects,
aimed at delivering a high brightness electron bunch for driving a Free
Electron Laser (FEL) by employing a plasma post acceleration scheme. The
boosting plasma wave is driven by a tens of \SI{}{\tera\watt} class laser and
doubles the energy of an externally injected beam up to \GeV{1}. The injected
bunch is simulated starting from a photoinjector, matched to plasma, boosted
and finally matched to an undulator, where its ability to produce FEL radiation
is verified to yield O(\num{e11}) photons per shot at \nm{2.7}.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Kaspar Hauser, the Child of Europe: Are smallpox vaccination scars the clue to a 2-century-old mystery?
We have explored the 19th century mystery of the identity of Kaspar Hauser, the so-called Child of Europe, from the perspective of the smallpox vaccination. We have highlighted the improbability that he was secretly inoculated based on the vaccination policies and methodologies applied at the time. This consideration allows for a reflection on the whole case and the importance of vaccination scars in ascertaining immunization against one of humanity's deadliest killers, especially given the recent monkeypox outbreak
The Evolution of Diagnostic Techniques in the Paleopathology of Tuberculosis: A Scoping Review
Tuberculosis (TB) is an ancient chronic infectious disease that remains a global health concern. In human remains, the most common and characteristic clinical signs are the skeletal modifications involving the spine, such as in Pott’s disease. Diagnosing TB in ancient human remains is challenging. Therefore, in this systematic review, the authors investigated the studies assessing molecular diagnosis of Pott’s disease in ancient human remains with the intention to survey the literature, map the evidence, and identify gaps and future perspectives on TB in paleopathology. Our systematic review offers a full contextualization of the history of Pott’s disease in ancient times. Our search strategy was performed between August 2022 and March 2023. The authors initially identified 340 records, and 74 studies were finally included and assessed for qualitative analysis. Due to non-specific clinical signs associated with TB, how best to diagnose tuberculosis in human remains still represents a central point. Nevertheless, ancient DNA (aDNA) analysis, lipid biomarkers, and spoligotyping might be extremely useful tools in the study of TB in human remains. Moreover, we propose the extraction and study of immune response genes involved in innate and adaptive immunity versus Mycobacterium spp. as an innovative and vastly overlooked approach in TB paleopathology. Complementary methodologies should be integrated to provide the best approach to the study of TB in human remains
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