Quantum phase slips in superconducting Nb nanowire networks deposited on self-assembled Si templates

Robust porous silicon substrates were employed for generating interconnected networks of superconducting ultrathin Nb nanowires. Scanning electron microscopy analysis was performed to investigate the morphology of the samples, which constitute of polycrystalline single wires with grain size of about 10 nm. The samples exhibit nonzero resistance over a broad temperature range below the critical temperature, fingerprint of phase slippage processes. The transport data are satisfactory reproduced by models describing both thermal and quantum fluctuations of the superconducting order parameter in thin homogeneous superconducting wires.Comment: accepted for publication on Applied Physics Letter

Primary cosmic ray spectrum in the 10 to the 12th power - 10 to the 16th power eV energy range from the NUSEX experiment

A primary cosmic ray spectrum was derived which fits both experimental multiple muon rates and the all-nucleon flux derived from the single muon intensities underground. In the frame of the interaction model developed by Gaisser, Elbert and Stanev, it is possible to reproduce NUSEX muon data with a primary composition in which the iron spectrum is only slightly flatter than the proton one. This result rules out the popular idea that the primary composition varies drastically with increasing energy, leading to the dominance of heavier nuclei at energies 10 to the 15th power to 10 to the 16th power eV

From marginal to axial tidal-strait facies in the Early Pleistocene Siderno Strait

This geological guide presents the description of locations associated with a two-day field trip arranged in relation to the 10th International Congress of Tidal Sedimentology (Tidalites), Matera, Italy. The field guide describes sedimentological features of the largest among a series of tectonically controlled tidal straits that dissected the Calabrian Arc in southern Italy during the Early Pleistocene. The WNW-ESE trending, 50x20 km-wide Siderno Strait connected the Tyrrhenian with the Ionian seas. Due to tidal phase opposition between the two basins, continuous water-mass exchanges occurred through the strait, leading to powerful, bi-directionally flowing tidal currents. Sediments filling the Siderno Strait derived from both fluvial supply from the margins and intra-basinal autochthonous carbonate-factory debris. The main objective of the two-day field trip is to guide the visitor through a cross-section of the ancient strait, starting from one of the margins, ending in the deeper axial zone. The focus during the day one is on strait-margin deltaic fluvial-dominated deposits, shed from the tectonically-controlled, northern border and reworked by tidal currents in their distal reaches (delta front). Erosively-based, 4-5 m-thick pebbly-sandstone strata intercalated with 2-3 m-thick tidally-generated cross strata stack into a ca. 170 m-thick succession, exposed in a series of outcrops progressively located down-current with respect to the inferred entry point to the north. The focus of the day two is a ca. 150-190 m-thick succession consisting of cross-stratified mixed (bioclastic-siliciclastic) deposits, forming a series of WNE-ESE-oriented, elongated ridges that accumulated in the south-eastern axial zone of the Siderno Strait. The selected stops offer panoramic views of exceptionally continuous sections and close-up observations, revealing different scales of depositional architectures and a variety of sedimentary structures and trace fossils that record the development of these tidal sand ridges during the strait lifespan. The interplay between the tectonic uplift of a central bedrock sill and a number of syn-sedimentary faults and high-frequency relative sea-level changes (induced by glacio-eustacy and active tectonics) can be deciphered from the architecture of the tidally-generated cross strata composing the main body of the ridges

Nucleon decay and atmospheric neutrinos in the Mont Blanc experiment

In the NUSEX experiment, during 2.8 years of operation, 31 fully contained events have been collected; 3 among them are nucleon decay candidates, while the others have been attributed to upsilon interactions. Limits on nucleon lifetime and determinations of upsilon interaction rates are presented

The ATLAS discovery potential for MSSM neutral Higgs bosons decaying to a mu+mu- pair in the mass range up to 130 GeV

Results are presented on the discovery potential for MSSM neutral Higgs bosons in the Mh-{max}scenario. The region of large tan beta, between 15 and 50, and mass between ~ 95 and 130 GeV is considered in the framework of the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), for a centre-of-mass energy = 14 TeV. This parameter region is not fully covered by the present data either from LEP or from Tevatron. The h/A bosons, supposed to be very close in mass in that region, are studied in the channel h/A -> mu+mu- accompanied by two b-jets. The study includes a method to control the most copious background, Zo -> mu+mu- accompanied by two b-jets. A possible contribution of the H boson to the signal is also considered

Computational analysis of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Type-1 reverse transcriptase crystallographic models based on significant conserved residues found in Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART)-treated patients.

Reverse transcription of the viral single-stranded (+) RNA genome into double-stranded DNA is an essential step in the human immunodeficiency virus' (HIV) life-cycle. Although several viral proteins are involved in the regulation and/or efficiency of reverse transcription, the process of retroviral DNA synthesis is entirely dependent on the enzymatic activities of the retroviral reverse transcriptase enzyme (RT). Due to its crucial role in the HIV life-cycle, RT is a primary target for anti-HIV drug development. Nonetheless, drug resistance is the major problem affecting the clinical efficacy of antiretroviral agents. Incomplete pharmacological pressure represents the logical cause and not the consequence of different mutation pathways in RT associated with approved inhibitors resistance. In this review we have analyzed RT Protein Data Bank (PDB) models using our innovative computational approach “GRID Based Pharmacophore Model” (GBPM). This method was applied to clinically relevant RT conserved residues found in a large cohort of HAART treated patients. The PDB entries have been selected among the unbound and the complexed models with DNA and/or inhibitors. Such an approach has revealed itself useful to highlight the mutation effects in the drug-RT recognition as well as in the heterodimer stabilization of the enzyme. Most of the clinical and biochemical evidences already reported in the literature have been rationalized at molecular level via the GBPM computational approach. A definite future application of this method will be the identification of conserved regions of critical macromolecules, such as the HIV-1 RT, to be targeted for the development of innovative therapeutic agents

Muon tracking underground

We present a new design of plastic streamer tubes, optimized to match the experimental requirements of large-area under-ground detectors, where muon identification is needed with good angular resolution

Wet Chemical Method for Making Graphene-like Films from Carbon Black

Reduction of strongly oxidized carbon black by hydrazine hydrate yields water-insoluble graphene-like sheets that undergo to self-assembling in thin film on surfaces after drying. The height of a drop-casted graphene-like film was determined by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to be around 20 nm, corresponding to approximately 25 graphene-like layers. The oxidized carbon black and the corresponding reduced form were carefully characterized

Radiation therapy for atypical and anaplastic meningiomas: an overview of current results and controversial issues

Meningiomas are the most common intracranial tumors. Most meningiomas are WHO grade 1 tumors whereas less than one-quarter of all meningiomas are classified as atypical (WHO grade 2) and anaplastic (WHO grade 3) tumors, based on local invasiveness and cellular features of atypia. Surgical resection remains the cornerstone of meningioma therapy and represents the definitive treatment for the majority of patients; however, grade 2 and grade 3 meningiomas display more aggressive behavior and are difficult to treat. Several retrospective series have shown the efficacy and safety of postoperative adjuvant external beam radiation therapy (RT) for patients with atypical and anaplastic meningiomas. More recently, two phase II prospective trials by the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG 0539) and the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC 2042) have confirmed the potential benefits of fractionated RT for patients with intermediate and high-risk meningiomas; however, several issues remain a matter of debate. Controversial topics include the timing of radiation treatment in patients with totally resected atypical meningiomas, the optimal radiation technique, dose and fractionation, and treatment planning/target delineation. Ongoing randomized trials are evaluating the efficacy of early adjuvant RT over observation in patients undergoing gross total resection. © 2022, The Author(s

Anatomy of a mixed bioclastic–siliciclastic regressive tidal sand ridge: Facies-based case study from the lower Pleistocene Siderno Strait, southern Italy

Sand ridges, a common feature of modern open shelves, reflect persistent currents and sediment availability under recent transgressive conditions. They represent the largest bedforms in the oceans and, as such, can yield information on long-term oceanographic processes. However, there is a limited number of tidal sand ridges documented from the rock record, examples of regressive tidal sand ridges are scarce and studies describing ridges in straits are even more rare. This study analyses a Gelasian succession within a structurally controlled, tide-dominated strait in the Siderno Basin, southern Italy. The strait connected two wider basins, and accumulated sediments reworked by amplified tidal (bi-directional) currents. A series of tidal sand ridges with superimposed dunes developed close to the south-eastern end of the strait, where bathymetry was deeper and flow expansion occurred. One of the best-exposed tidal sand ridges, 65 m thick, crops out along a ca 2 km long cliff. Large-scale, ESE-prograding, seaward-offlapping shingles contain sets of bioclastic–siliciclastic, coarse-grained, cross-stratified sandstones, erosionally overlying upper Pliocene shelf marls and fine-grained sandstones. Cross-strata show angular, tangential and sigmoidal foresets with compound architectures and a SSE migration, i.e. oblique to the main growth direction. Fossil content indicates open-marine conditions. The succession changes abruptly across an erosion surface to non-tidal, highly burrowed mixed siliciclastic–bioclastic fine-grained sandstones, less than 15 m thick. Documented features reflect stages of nucleation, active accretion and abandonment of an individual sand ridge, during a complete cycle of relative sea-level change. The ridge formed during a phase of normal regression, with accretion occurring during an initial highstand and the ensuing falling stage. During the lowstand the ridge was split into several minor bodies by enhanced tidal currents. The ensuing transgression draped the moribund ridge with tabular strata, whereas final highstand shelf sedimentation reworked the top of the underlying sand body with weak currents