The LEBT Chopper for the Spiral 2 Project

International audienceThe Spiral 2 driver uses a slow chopper situated in the common section of the low energy beam transport line to change the beam intensity, to cut off the beam in case of critical loss and to avoid hitting the wheel structure of rotating targets. The device has to work up to 10 kV, 1 kHz repetition frequency rate and its design is based on standard power circuits, custom alarm board and vacuum feed-through. The paper summarizes the design principles and describes the test results of the final device which has been installed on the beam line test bench

Measurements of the First RF Prototype of the SPIRAL2 Single Bunch Selector

WEPD062International audienceThe single bunch selector of the Spiral2 driver uses 100 ­ travelling wave electrodes driven by fast pulse generators. A 2.5 kV, 1 kW feed-through and a vacuum chamber housing the water cooled electrodes have been designed and built. The paper reviews the whole design and reports the results of first RF and power measurements

Slow chopper prototype for the SPIRAL 2PP project

A preliminary prototype of the slow chopper [1] for the Spiral 2 Preparatory Phase project [2] has been designed, developed and tested at INFN-LNS. The final version of the slow chopper will be placed along the beam line common to protons, deuterons and A/Q = 3 ions. This activity report shows the study, the hardware and the measurement results of the chopper prototype

Breakdown mechanisms in electrostatic deflector

The Electrostatic Beam Deflectors for the K800 Superconducting Cyclotron are the most critical elements of the beam extraction system. It has been carried out an accurate investigation from the microscopic point of view, leading to a better comprehension of the complex phenomena taking part in the breakdown process. The environmental conditions are high electric field (up to 130 kV/cm), high magnetic field (up to 5 T) in addition with high energy (70 MeV/u) and high power ion beam. It has been found that all the materials constituent the electrostatic deflector, and not only the electrodes, give an important contribute to the mechanism of breakdown that occurs in two main ways: insulator metalization and enhanced electrodes electron emission. These two effects are involved in a positive feedback process which amplifies the effects leading to a fast breakdown. These phenomena are here shown and some possible solutions are at the moment under test using several bulk (Mo, Ti, Cu) and coating materials (TiN, Diamond Like Carbon)

Inhomogeneities on the surface of 21 Lutetia, the asteroid target of the Rosetta mission

CONTEXT: In July 2010 the ESA spacecraft Rosetta will fly-by the main belt asteroid 21 Lutetia. Several observations of this asteroid have been so far performed, but its surface composition and nature are still a matter of debate. For long time Lutetia was supposed to have a metallic nature due to its high IRAS albedo. Later on it has been suggested to have a surface composition similar to primitive carbonaceous chondrite meteorites, while further observations proposed a possible genetic link with more evolved enstatite chondrite meteorites. AIMS: In order to give an important contribution in solving the conundrum of the nature of Lutetia, in November 2008 we performed visible spectroscopic observations of this asteroid at the Telescopio Nazionale Galileo (TNG, La Palma, Spain). METHODS: Thirteen visible spectra have been acquired at different rotational phases. RESULTS: We confirm the presence of a narrow spectral feature at about 0.47-0.48 micron already found by Lazzarin et al. (2009) on the spectra of Lutetia. We also find a spectral feature at about 0.6 micron, detected by Lazzarin et al. (2004) on one of their Lutetia's spectra. More importantly, our spectra exhibit different spectral slopes between 0.6 and 0.75 micron and, in particular, we found that up to 20% of the Lutetia surface could have flatter spectra. CONCLUSIONS: We detected a variation of the spectral slopes at different rotational phases that could be interpreted as possibly due to differences in the chemical/mineralogical composition, as well as to inhomogeneities of the structure of the Lutetia's surface (e.g., the presence of craters or albedo spots) in the southern hemisphere.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Updated on 25 March 2010

Inhomogeneous phase of a Gluon Plasma at finite temperature and density

By considering the non-perturbative effects associated with the fundamental modular region, a new phase of a Gluon Plasma at finite density is proposed. It corresponds to the transition from glueballs to non-perturbative gluons which condense at a non vanishing momentum. In this respect the proposed phase is analogous to the color superconducting LOFF phase for fermionic systems.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Synthesis, biological activity, pharmacokinetic properties and molecular modelling studies of novel 1H,3H-oxazolo[3,4-a]benzimidazoles: non-nucleoside HIV-1 reverse transcriptase inhibitors

New 1H,3H-oxazolo[3,4-a]benzimidazoles (OBZs) were synthesized as HIV-1 non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NNRTI) to extend the structure-activity relationships observed for an early series of related 1H,3H-thiazolo[3,4-a]benzimidazole derivatives (TBZs). The new compounds showed inhibitory activity against the replication of various HIV-1 strains, including NNRTI-resistant strains. Testing of a representative OBZ derivative in an HPLC assay on biological fluids, indicated that the sulphur substitution appreciably improved the metabolic stability of the TBZ compound. In addition, molecular modelling studies demonstrated that OBZs, TBZs and other NNRTIs have similar structural properties, that is a butterfly-like conformation, which is a key structural requirement for reverse transcriptase inhibition

Contemporary educational methods in periodontology.

AIM The 1st European Workshop on Periodontal Education in 2009 made recommendations regarding the scope of periodontal education at undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG) and continuing professional development (CPD) levels, defining competencies and learning outcomes that were instrumental at the time in helping to define periodontal teaching curricula. The 19th European Workshop on Periodontology and 2nd European Consensus Workshop on Education in Periodontology (Education in Periodontology in Europe) was held in 2023 to identify changes and future developments in periodontal education (including those informed by the COVID-19 pandemic) and embracing methods and formats of periodontal teaching and training. The aim of this review was to assess current knowledge regarding education methods in periodontology, including traditional face-to-face (F2F) teaching and the move to student-centred methods, virtual learning methods and use of digital technology, as well as blended teaching and learning (including teaching delivery and assessment) at UG, PG and CPD levels. MATERIALS AND METHODS Systematic searches were conducted to identify relevant studies from the literature. Data were extracted and descriptive summaries collated. RESULTS The pandemic was a major disruptor of traditional F2F teaching but provided opportunities for rapid implementation of alternative and supplementary teaching methods. Although online learning has become an integral part of periodontal education, teachers and learners alike favour some form of F2F teaching. Blended teaching and learning are feasible in many areas of periodontal education, both for knowledge and skills acquisition as well as in assessment. Student-centred methods and blended approaches such as the flipped classroom seem highly effective, and online/virtual classrooms with both synchronous and asynchronous lectures are highly valued. Learning with haptic methods and virtual reality (VR) enhances the educational experience, especially when VR is integrated with traditional methods. The quality of the teacher continues to be decisive for the best knowledge transfer in all its forms. CONCLUSIONS Live F2F teaching continues to be highly trusted; however, all types of student-centred and interactive forms of knowledge transfer are embraced as enhancements. While digital methods offer innovation in education, blended approaches integrating both virtual and traditional methods appear optimal to maximize the achievement of learning outcomes. All areas of periodontal education (UG, PG and CPD) can benefit from such approaches; however, more research is needed to evaluate their benefits, both for knowledge transfer and skills development, as well as in assessment