Quarkonium results at the LHC

We will discuss selected results from the four LHC experiments in the field of quarkonium production. These include the production cross sections of J/ψ,ψ(2S), χc,Υ and X as well as the first measurement of the J/ψ polarisation and the observation of the new χb(3P) state

Critical chain length and superconductivity emergence in oxygen-equalized pairs of YBa2Cu3O6.30

The oxygen-order dependent emergence of superconductivity in YBa2Cu3O6+x is studied, for the first time in a comparative way, on pair samples having the same oxygen content and thermal history, but different Cu(1)Ox chain arrangements deriving from their intercalated and deintercalated nature. Structural and electronic non-equivalence of pairs samples is detected in the critical region and found to be related, on microscopic scale, to a different average chain length, which, on being experimentally determined by nuclear quadrupole resonance (NQR), sheds new light on the concept of critical chain length for hole doping efficiency.Comment: 7 RevTex pages, 2 Postscript figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev.

Decoding genomic information

Our work here outlines and follows some trends of research which analyze and interpret (i.e., decode) genomic information, by assuming the genome to be a book encrypted in an unknown language. This analysis is performed by sequence alignment-free methods, based on information theoretical concepts, in order to convert the genomic information into a comprehensible mathematical form and understand its complexity

Studies of Efficiency of the LHCb Muon Detector Using Cosmic Rays

We study the efficiency of the muon detector using the cosmic ray events collected in the summer and autumn 2008. We find that the efficiencies in all stations are consistent with 100% for cosmic tracks coming from the LHCb interaction point, without any restriction on time. We calculate the efficiencies also per station and region and per station and quadrant, finding consistent results

Unusual median pores of Alona head shields recovered from recent and pre-industrial sediments of alpine lakes

We report the finding of Alona (affinis-quadrangularis) - type headshields with atypical median pores, recovered from the sediments of high-mountain lakes. Subfossil Cladocera remains were analyzed in the framework of the European Project EMERGE (2000-2002, European Mountain lakes Ecosystem: Regionalisation, diaGnostic & socioeconomic Evaluation), to evaluate changes in their assemblages consequent to industrial pollution. Observed response includes an increase in A. affinis with respect to A. quadrangularis after industrialization. According to the literature, the atypical head shields are most probably attributable to A. affinis. However, being detected in high mountain lakes, these remains may be interpreted as a result of mutations, as the intensity of UV radiation is high in these environments. In this sense, they might be interpreted as the abnormal Daphnia?s and Chydorus? ephippia, which were also detected in the sediments of these lakes

Epitaxial growth and thermodynamic stability of SrIrO3/SrTiO3 heterostructures

Obtaining high-quality thin films of 5d transition metal oxides is essential to explore the exotic semimetallic and topological phases predicted to arise from the combination of strong electron correlations and spin-orbit coupling. Here, we show that the transport properties of SrIrO3 thin films, grown by pulsed laser deposition, can be optimized by considering the effect of laser-induced modification of the SrIrO3 target surface. We further demonstrate that bare SrIrO3 thin films are subject to degradation in air and are highly sensitive to lithographic processing. A crystalline SrTiO3 cap layer deposited in-situ is effective in preserving the film quality, allowing us to measure metallic transport behavior in films with thicknesses down to 4 unit cells. In addition, the SrTiO3 encapsulation enables the fabrication of devices such as Hall bars without altering the film properties, allowing precise (magneto)transport measurements on micro- and nanoscale devices.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Measurement of the time resolution of the installed muon chambers with the 2008 cosmic runs

One of the main goals of the LHCb muon system commissioning is to access the detector performance and identify possible misbehaviors in the installed chambers: this is partially possible using cosmic ray muons tracked through the detector. In this note we focus on the measurement of the time resolution of the whole installed detector (M2-M5 stations) using the 2008 commissioning data. Results are compared with the expected performances

Evaluation of the composition and antimicrobial activities of essential oils from four species of Lamiaceae Martinov native to Iran

In this study the essential oils obtained from four different plant species belonging to the Lamiaceae family were extracted by means of hydrodistillation and their composition and antimicrobial activity were evaluated. About 66 components were identified by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), and among all, thymol (67.7%), oleic acid (0.5-62.1%), (-)-caryophyllene oxide (0.4-24.8%), α-pinene (1.1-19.4%), 1,8-cineole (0.2-15.4%), palmitic acid (0.32-13.28%), ( +)spathulenol (11.16%), and germacrene D (0.3-10.3%) were the most abundant in all the species tested (i.e. Thymus daenensis, Nepeta sessilifolia, Hymenocrater incanus, and Stachys inflata). In particular, only the composition of essential oils from H. incanus was completely detected (99.13%), while that of the others was only partially detected. Oxygenated monoterpenes (75.57%) were the main compounds of essential oil from T. daenensis; sesquiterpenes hydrocarbons (26.88%) were the most abundant in S. inflata; oxygenated sesquiterpenes (41.22%) were mainly detected in H. incanus essential oil, while the essential oil from N. sessilifolia was mainly composed of non-terpene and fatty acids (77.18%). Due to their slightly different composition, also the antibacterial activity was affected by the essential oil tested. Indeed, the highest antibacterial and antifungal activities were obtained with the essential oil from T. daenensis by means of the inhibition halo (39 ± 1 and 25 ± 0 mm) against Gram-positive strains such as Staphylococcus aureus and Aspergillus brasiliensis. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal bactericidal/fungicidal concentration (MBC/MFC) of the essential oils obtained from the four species varied from 16 to 2000 μg/mL and were strictly affected by the type of microorganism tested. As an example, the essential oils from H. incanus and S. inflata were the most effective against the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MIC 16 and 63 μg/ml, respectively), which is considered one of the most resistant bacterial strain. Therefore, the essential oils obtained from the four species contained a suitable phytocomplexes with potential applications in different commercial area such as agriculture, food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Moreover, these essential oils can be considered a valuable natural alternative to some synthetic antibiotics, thanks to their ability to control the growth of different bacteria and fungi

Rhinosinusitis and asthma: a very long engagement

Upper and lower airways may be considered as a unique entity, interested by coexisting inflammatory processes that share common etiopathogenic mechanisms. Previous studies have strongly demonstrated a relationship between rhinosinusitis and asthma. This has led to the introduction of the concept of United Airways , which has also been included in the WHO document Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact on Asthma (ARIA); this concept has important consequences also on the treatment of these disorders. To better summarize the evident connection between upper and lower airway disease we decided to describe it as a multilayered construction, each level pointing out more deeply the relationship between these entities