Constraints on the symmetry energy and on neutron skins from the pygmy resonances in 68Ni and 132Sn

Correlations between the behavior of the nuclear symmetry energy, the neutron skins, and the percentage of energy-weighted sum rule (EWSR) exhausted by the Pygmy Dipole Resonance (PDR) in 68Ni and 132Sn have been investigated by using different Random Phase Approximation (RPA) models for the dipole response, based on a representative set of Skyrme effective forces plus meson-exchange effective Lagrangians. A comparison with the experimental data has allowed us to constrain the value of the derivative of the symmetry energy at saturation. The neutron skin radius is deduced under this constraint.Comment: Accepted for publication in PRC Rapid Comminicatio

Advancing nursing in Italy through the development and evaluation of an innovative postgraduate programme in Family and Community Nursing - A pilot study

Introduction Due to the impact on the public health systems of the ageing and the increasing frailty of the population, the European Union and the World Health Organisation have emphasised how family and community nurses (FCNs) could play an important in supporting the ageing process through prevention, promotion, and protection in the territory. Methods This study describes the first experience in Italy of a one-year postgraduate course divided into 5 modules for FCNs piloted as part of the EuropeaN curriculum for fAmily aNd Community nursE (ENhANCE) 2018-2020 project, funded by the European Commission. Participants included a total of 45 students and 23 lecturers and a team of clinical tutors. Results The Italian pilot course for the FCNs proved to be a successful example of innovative teaching methods using blended didactic methods, which enabled participants to achieve high-standard learning outcomes and competencies in the field of family and community nursing. Conclusions The pilot course described in this paper is well suited to preparing highly skilled family and community nurses to meet the growing healthcare needs of the population. Therefore, we have planned to replicate this course to increase the workforce of family and community nurses, who through their healthcare services aimed at prevention, promotion and protection, will be able to ensure high quality services to the public and consequently relieve the burden on acute hospitals

Simulations and measurements of beam losses on LHC collimators during beam abort failures

One of the main purposes of tracking simulations for collimation studies is to produce loss maps along the LHC ring, in order to identify the level of local beam losses during nominal and abnormal operation scenarios. The SixTrack program is the standard tracking tool used at CERN to perform these studies. Recently, it was expanded in order to evaluate the proton load on different collimators in case of fast beam failures. Simulations are compared with beam measurements at 4 TeV. Combined failures are assumed which provide worst-case scenarios of the load on tungsten tertiary collimators.peer-reviewe

Simulations and measurements of beam losses on LHC collimators during beam abort failures

One of the main purposes of tracking simulations for collimation studies is to produce loss maps along the LHC ring, in order to identify the level of local beam losses during nominal and abnormal operation scenarios. The SixTrack program is the standard tracking tool used at CERN to perform these studies. Recently, it was expanded in order to evaluate the proton load on different collimators in case of fast beam failures. Simulations are compared with beam measurements at 4 TeV. Combined failures are assumed which provide worst-case scenarios of the load on tungsten tertiary collimators.peer-reviewe

Simulations and measurements of cleaning with 100 MJ beams in the LHC

The CERN Large Hadron Collider is routinely storing proton beam intensities of more than 100 MJ, which puts extraordinary demands on the control of beam losses to avoid quenches of the superconducting magnets. Therefore, a detailed understanding of the LHC beam cleaning is required. We present tracking and shower simulations of the LHC's multi-stage collimation system and compare with measured beam losses, which allow us to conclude on the predictive power of the simulations.Asian Committee for Future Accelerators (ACFA),American Physical Society Division of Physics of Beams (APS-DPB),Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS),European Physical Society Accelerator Group (EPS-AG)peer-reviewe

Simulations and measurements of beam loss patterns at the CERN Large Hadron Collider

The CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is designed to collide proton beams of unprecedented energy, in order to extend the frontiers of high-energy particle physics. During the first very successful running period in 2010-2013, the LHC was routinely storing protons at 3.5-4 TeV with a total beam energy of up to 146 MJ, and even higher stored energies are foreseen in the future. This puts extraordinary demands on the control of beam losses. An uncontrolled loss of even a tiny fraction of the beam could cause a superconducting magnet to undergo a transition into a normal-conducting state, or in the worst case cause material damage. Hence a multistage collimation system has been installed in order to safely intercept high-amplitude beam protons before they are lost elsewhere. To guarantee adequate protection from the collimators, a detailed theoretical understanding is needed. This article presents results of numerical simulations of the distribution of beam losses around the LHC that have leaked out of the collimation system. The studies include tracking of protons through the fields of more than 5000 magnets in the 27 km LHC ring over hundreds of revolutions, and Monte Carlo simulations of particle-matter interactions both in collimators and machine elements being hit by escaping particles. The simulation results agree typically within a factor 2 with measurements of beam loss distributions from the previous LHC run. Considering the complex simulation, which must account for a very large number of unknown imperfections, and in view of the total losses around the ring spanning over 7 orders of magnitude, we consider this an excellent agreement. Our results give confidence in the simulation tools, which are used also for the design of future accelerators.peer-reviewe

Comparative results on collimation of the SPS beam of protons and Pb ions with bent crystals

New experiments on crystal assisted collimation have been carried out at the CERN SPS with stored beams of 120 GeV/. c protons and Pb ions. Bent silicon crystals of 2 mm long with about 170 μrad bend angle and a small residual torsion were used as primary collimators. In channeling conditions, the beam loss rate induced by inelastic interactions of particles with the crystal nuclei is minimal. The loss reduction was about 6 for protons and about 3 for Pb ions. Lower reduction value for Pb ions can be explained by their considerably larger ionization losses in the crystal. In one of the crystals, the measured fraction of the Pb ion beam halo deflected in channeling conditions was 74%, a value very close to that for protons. The intensity of the off-momentum halo leaking out from the collimation station was measured in the first high dispersion area downstream. The particle population in the shadow of the secondary collimator-absorber was considerably smaller in channeling conditions than for amorphous orientations of the crystal. The corresponding reduction was in the range of 2-5 for both protons and Pb ions.peer-reviewe

Serum Albumin Is Inversely Associated With Portal Vein Thrombosis in Cirrhosis

We analyzed whether serum albumin is independently associated with portal vein thrombosis (PVT) in liver cirrhosis (LC) and if a biologic plausibility exists. This study was divided into three parts. In part 1 (retrospective analysis), 753 consecutive patients with LC with ultrasound-detected PVT were retrospectively analyzed. In part 2, 112 patients with LC and 56 matched controls were entered in the cross-sectional study. In part 3, 5 patients with cirrhosis were entered in the in vivo study and 4 healthy subjects (HSs) were entered in the in vitro study to explore if albumin may affect platelet activation by modulating oxidative stress. In the 753 patients with LC, the prevalence of PVT was 16.7%; logistic analysis showed that only age (odds ratio [OR], 1.024; P = 0.012) and serum albumin (OR, -0.422; P = 0.0001) significantly predicted patients with PVT. Analyzing the 112 patients with LC and controls, soluble clusters of differentiation (CD)40-ligand (P = 0.0238), soluble Nox2-derived peptide (sNox2-dp; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (P = 0.0078) were higher in patients with LC. In LC, albumin was correlated with sCD4OL (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient [r(s)], -0.33; P < 0.001), sNox2-dp (r(s), -0.57; P < 0.0001), and urinary excretion of isoprostanes (r(s), -0.48; P < 0.0001) levels. The in vivo study showed a progressive decrease in platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and urinary 8-iso prostaglandin F2 alpha-III formation 2 hours and 3 days after albumin infusion. Finally, platelet aggregation, sNox2-dp, and isoprostane formation significantly decreased in platelets from HSs incubated with scalar concentrations of albumin. Conclusion: Low serum albumin in LC is associated with PVT, suggesting that albumin could be a modulator of the hemostatic system through interference with mechanisms regulating platelet activation

The mutable nature of particle-core excitations with spin in the one-valence-proton nucleus ¹³³Sb

The γ-ray decay of excited states of the one-valence-proton nucleus ¹³³Sb has been studied using cold-neutron induced fission of ²³⁵U and ²⁴¹Pu targets, during the EXILL campaign at the ILL reactor in Grenoble. By using a highly efficient HPGe array, coincidences between γ-rays prompt with the fission event and those delayed up to several tens of microseconds were investigated, allowing to observe, for the first time, high-spin excited states above the 16.6 μs isomer. Lifetimes analysis, performed by fast-timing techniques with LaBr₃(Ce) scintillators, revealed a difference of almost two orders of magnitude in B(M1) strength for transitions between positive-parity medium-spin yrast states. The data are interpreted by a newly developed microscopic model which takes into account couplings between core excitations (both collective and non-collective) of the doubly magic nucleus ¹³²Sn and the valence proton, using the Skyrme effective interaction in a consistent way. The results point to a fast change in the nature of particle-core excitations with increasing spin

Collimation for the LHC high intensity beams

The unprecedented design intensities of the LHC require several important advances in beam collimation. With its more than 100 collimators, acting on various planes and beams, the LHC collimation system is the biggest and most performing such system ever designed and constructed. The solution for LHC collimation is explained, the technical components are introduced and the initial performance is presented. Residual beam leakage from the system is analysed. Measurements and simulations are presented which show that collimation efficiencies of better than 99.97 % have been measured with the 3.5 TeV proton beams of the LHC, in excellent agreement with expectations.peer-reviewe