VERT-X: VERTical X-ray raster-scan facility for ATHENA calibration. The concept design

Calibration of the ATHENA telescope is a critical aspect of the project and raises significant difficulties due to the unprecedented size, mass and focal length of the mirror assembly. The VERT-X project, financed by ESA and started in January 2019 by a Consortium led by INAF and which includes EIE, Media Lario Technologies, GPAP, and BCV Progetti, aims to design an innovative calibration facility. In the VERT-X design the parallel beam, needed for calibration, is produced placing a source in the focus of an X-ray collimator. This system is mounted on a raster-scan mechanism which covers the entire ATHENA optics. The compactness of the VERT-X design allows a vertical geometry for the ATHENA calibration facility, with several potential benefits with respect to the long horizontal tube calibration facilities

UN PRI and private equity returns. Empirical evidence from the US market

The paper aims at assessing economic impact of the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) on investment performance. Specifically, the authors analyze whether adherence to the UN PRI program generates higher returns for the US private equity funds or not. The article collects a dataset of 135 US private equity funds in the 2006-2011 period and run multivariate regressions on the funds’ returns, employing UN PRI compliance as the key explanatory variable. Results indicate that investing responsibly pays also in economic terms, in addition to the reputational benefits it brings. The funds’ returns are linearly dependent on the UN PRI compliance variable, which is one of the most explanatory variables compared to the others analyzed. The evidence can be beneficial for the long time debated issue of trade-off between disclosure and privacy needs in the industry of private equity and alternative investments

A reconformable reflector for a sub-MM wave reflector antenna

\u3cp\u3eResults are presented of investigations with a laboratory model of a reconformable reflector for MM and sub-MM applications. A configuration with 19 actuators to control the surface has been realised. Several configuration shapes have been evaluated to prove the concept, using an accurate 3D measurement machine of Media Lario. With a reconformable reflector as sub-reflector one can alleviate requirements for a main reflector in a dual reflector system, which otherwise would be very challenging and expensive for sub-mm applications. This is of interest for instance for radiometers, sounders or ground-based radio-telescopes. The technological implementation here makes use of an electroformed Nickel shell that allows a deformation as needed at sub-MM wavelength. The subject was reported before [4,5] but without realised results. Here we present the latest status, which confirms the interesting and promising approach.\u3c/p\u3

DVTX-D3_Requirements Specification of the X-Ray Source System

The analysis of the requirements on the VERT-X X-ray Source assembly (XSA) and on the X-ray Tube Assembly (XTA) is presented. This document has been delivered at the VERT-X Design Review of the Demonstration of VERT-X Critical Items contrac

Intrastriatal injection of D1 or D2 dopamine agonists affects glucose utilization in both the direct and indirect pathways of the rat basal ganglia

Two distinct pathways are thought to connect the striatum to the basal ganglia output nuclei: a direct pathway, originating from neurons bearing dopamine, D1 receptors and an indirect pathway, originating from neurons expressing D2 receptors. It has been recently suggested, however, that dopamine receptor sub-types may co-localize and co-operate in the striatum. We sought to verify the functional segregation of the two pathways by measuring cerebral glucose utilization following intrastriatal injection of selective D1 (SKF 38393), D2 (quinpirole), or non-selective indirect (amphetamine) and direct (apomorphine) dopamine agonists, in freely-moving rats. All drugs - regardless of receptor selectivity - reduced glucose utilization in nuclei of both the direct and indirect pathways, thus lending further support to the existence of a functional co-operation of striatal D1 and D2 receptors. © 2001 Published by Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd

Mirror production for the Cherenkov telescopes of the ASTRI mini-array and the MST project for the Cherenkov Telescope Array

The Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA) is the next ground-based γ-ray observatory in the TeV γ-ray spectral region operating with the Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Technique. It is based on almost 70 telescopes of different class diameters - LST, MST and SST of 23, 12, and 4 m, respectively - to be installed in two sites in the two hemispheres (at La Palma, Canary Islands, and near Paranal, Chile). Several thousands of reflecting mirror tiles larger than 1 m$^2$ will be produced for realizing the segmented primary mirrors of a so large number of telescopes. Almost in parallel, the ASTRI Mini-Array (MA) is being implemented in Tenerife (Canary Islands), composed of nine 4 m diameter dual-mirror Cherenkov telescopes (very similar to the SSTs). We completed the mirror production for all nine telescopes of the ASTRI MA and two MST telescopes (400 segments in total) using the cold glass slumping replication technology. The results related to the quality achieved with a so large-scale production are presented, also discussing the adopted testing methods and approaches. They will be very useful for the adoption and optimization of the quality assurance process for the huge production (almost 3000 m$^2$ of reflecting surface) of the MST and SST CTA telescopes