633 research outputs found
Do Cash Transfers Improve Birth Outcomes? Evidence from Matched Vital Statistics, Program and Social Security Data
There is limited empirical evidence on whether cash transfers to poor pregnant women improve children's birth outcomes and potentially help weaken the cycle of intergenerational poverty. Using a unique array of program and social security administrative micro-data matched to longitudinal vital statistics in Uruguay, we estimate that participation in a generous social assistance program led to a sizable reduction in the incidence of low birthweight. The effect is due to faster intrauterine growth rather than longer gestational length. Our findings are consistent with improved maternal nutrition during pregnancy being a key driver of improved birthweight. (JEL I14, I32, I38, J13, J16, O15) </jats:p
Pinpointing astrophysical bursts of low-energy neutrinos embedded into the noise
We propose a novel method to increase the probability of identifying
impulsive astrophysical bursts of low-energy neutrinos. The proposed approach
exploits the temporal structure differences between astrophysical bursts and
background fluctuations and it allows us to pinpoint weak signals otherwise
unlikely to be detected. With respect to previous search strategies, this
method strongly reduces the misidentification probability, e.g. for Super
Kamiokande this reduction is a factor of within a distance of kpc without decreasing the detection efficiency. In addition, we extend
the proposed method to a network of different detectors and we show that the
Kamland LVD background reduction is improved by a factor up to
an horizon of kpc
Cardiopulmonary assessment in primary ciliary dyskinesia.
Background Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare, usually autosomal recessive disorder of ciliary dysfunction associated with lung involvement, which has a great impact on health. There is limited information concerning the aerobic fitness of children and adolescents with PCD. The aim of this study was to assess cardiopulmonary functional capacity and its relationship with pulmonary function and physical activity (PA) levels in patients with PCD. Design Ten patients with PCD (age 13·2±2·8years) underwent spirometry and cardiopulmonary exercise testing. PA was investigated through a questionnaire. Eight age- and body mass index-matched healthy children were enrolled as controls. Main variables were forced expiratory volume at 1s, peak oxygen uptake (VO 2peak) and time spent in PA. Results Forty per cent of patients with PCD had impaired lung function as expressed by FEV 1<85% predicted. Only patients with impaired lung function exhibited reduced VO 2peak (18·1±7·9mL/kg/min). Time spent in total daily PA was slightly lower in patients than controls, with no difference between patients with normal or reduced lung function. In multiple regression models, male gender (??=0·518, P=0·018), age (??=0·752, P=0·035) and time spent in vigorous PA (??=0·353, P=0·049) were independent predictors of aerobic fitness. Conclusions Assessment of resting pulmonary function and cardiopulmonary functional capacity could contribute to the evaluation of pulmonary impairment in PCD. Given the benefit of physical exercise on airway clearance and on general health and quality of life, patients with PCD should be encouraged to adopt an active lifestyle
First CNGS events detected by LVD
The CERN Neutrino to Gran Sasso (CNGS) project aims to produce a high energy,
wide band beam at CERN and send it toward the INFN Gran Sasso
National Laboratory (LNGS), 732 km away. Its main goal is the observation of
the appearance, through neutrino flavour oscillation. The beam
started its operation in August 2006 for about 12 days: a total amount of
protons were delivered to the target. The LVD detector, installed
in hall A of the LNGS and mainly dedicated to the study of supernova neutrinos,
was fully operating during the whole CNGS running time. A total number of 569
events were detected in coincidence with the beam spill time. This is in good
agreement with the expected number of events from Montecarlo simulations.Comment: Accepted for publication by the European Physical Journal C ; 7
pages, 11 figure
On-line recognition of supernova neutrino bursts in the LVD detector
In this paper we show the capabilities of the Large Volume Detector (INFN
Gran Sasso National Laboratory) to identify a neutrino burst associated to a
supernova explosion, in the absence of an "external trigger", e.g., an optical
observation. We describe how the detector trigger and event selection have been
optimized for this purpose, and we detail the algorithm used for the on-line
burst recognition. The on-line sensitivity of the detector is defined and
discussed in terms of supernova distance and electron anti-neutrino intensity
at the source.Comment: Accepted for pubblication on Astroparticle Physics. 13 pages, 10
figure
Measurements and tests on FBK silicon sensors with an optimized electronic design for a CTA camera
In October 2013, the Italian Ministry approved the funding of a Research &
Development (R&D) study, within the "Progetto Premiale TElescopi CHErenkov made
in Italy (TECHE)", devoted to the development of a demonstrator for a camera
for the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) consortium. The demonstrator consists
of a sensor plane based on the Silicon Photomultiplier (SiPM) technology and on
an electronics designed for signal sampling. Preliminary tests on a matrix of
sensors produced by the Fondazione Bruno Kessler (FBK-Trento, Italy) and on
electronic prototypes produced by SITAEL S.p.A. will be presented. In
particular, we used different designs of the electronics in order to optimize
the output signals in terms of tail cancellation. This is crucial for
applications where a high background is expected, as for the CTA experiment.Comment: 5 pages, 6 figures; Proceedings of the 10th Workshop on Science with
the New Generation of High-Energy Gamma-ray experiments (SciNeGHE) -
PoS(Scineghe2014)00
Evolution of the cosmic ray anisotropy above 10^{14} eV
The amplitude and phase of the cosmic ray anisotropy are well established
experimentally between 10^{11} eV and 10^{14} eV. The study of their evolution
into the energy region 10^{14}-10^{16} eV can provide a significant tool for
the understanding of the steepening ("knee") of the primary spectrum. In this
letter we extend the EAS-TOP measurement performed at E_0 around 10^{14} eV, to
higher energies by using the full data set (8 years of data taking). Results
derived at about 10^{14} and 4x10^{14} eV are compared and discussed. Hints of
increasing amplitude and change of phase above 10^{14} eV are reported. The
significance of the observation for the understanding of cosmic ray propagation
is discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication on ApJ Letter
Search for low energy neutrinos in correlation with the 8 events observed by the EXPLORER and NAUTILUS detectors in 2001
We report on a search for low-energy neutrino (antineutrino) bursts in
correlation with the 8 time coincident events observed by the gravitational
waves detectors EXPLORER and NAUTILUS (GWD) during the year 2001. The search,
conducted with the LVD detector (INFN Gran Sasso National Laboratory, Italy),
has considered several neutrino reactions, corresponding to different neutrino
species, and a wide range of time intervals around the (GWD) observed events.
No evidence for statistically significant correlated signals in LVD has been
found. Assuming two different origins for neutrino emission, the cooling of a
neutron star from a core-collapse supernova or from coalescing neutron stars
and the accretion of shocked matter, and taking into account neutrino
oscillations, we derive limits to the total energy emitted in neutrinos and to
the amount of accreting mass, respectively.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic
Exercise training improves erectile dysfunction (ED) in patients with metabolic syndrome on phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors
Introduction. Erectile dysfunction (ED) affects about 50% of males aged 40-70 years old. ED shares with atherosclerotic disease several common risk factors; therefore, it may be considered a surrogate marker of atherosclerosis. Sincephosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors are well known pharmacologic agents capable of significant improvement in ED, we designed this study to evaluate whether exercise training is of added value in patients with ED who are already on PDE-5 inhibitors. Methods. We recruited 20 male patients affected by ED with metabolic syndrome.At baseline, all patients underwent Cardio-Pulmonary Exercise Testing (CPET) and the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) test.After the initial evaluation, patients were subdivided into two groups: tadalafil group (group T, n=10), who were maintained only on tadalafil therapy, and a tadalafil/exercise training group (T/E group, n=10)who continued tadalafil but in addition underwent a2-month structured exercise training program. Results. Basal anthropometric characteristics of study population showed no significant differences. Although bothgroups showed at 2 months an improvement of the IIEF score, thiswas more evident in the T/E group (T group: 11.2 vs 14.2, P=0.02; T/E group: 10.8 vs 20.1, P<0.001). There was an improvement of oxygen consumption at peak exercise (VO2peak) only in the T/E group patients (T group: 13.63±2.03 vs 14.24±2.98 mL/kg/min; P=0.521; T/E group: 13.41±2.97 vs 16.58±3.17 mL/kg/min; P=0.006). A significant correlation was found between the changes in VO2peak and the modifications in IIEF score (r=0.575; P=0.001). Conclusion. Exercise training in ED patients treated with PDE-5 inhibitors is of added valuesincefurther improves ED, as evaluated by IIEF score, and increases functional capacity
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