The connection between the thermodynamics of charged finite nuclear systems and the asymptotically measured partitions in heavy ion collisions is discussed. Different independent signals compatible ...with a liquid-to-gas-like phase transition are reported. In particular abnormally large fluctuations in the measured observables are presented as a strong evidence of a first order phase transition with negative heat capacity.
The SPES radioactive ion beam project of INFN de Angelis, Giacomo; Prete, G; Andrighetto, A ...
Journal of physics. Conference series,
01/2014, Volume:
527, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The SPES Radioactive Ion Beam facility at INFN-LNL is presently in the construction phase. The facility is based on the Isol (Isotope separation on-line) method with an UCx Direct Target able to ...sustain a power of 10 kW. The primary proton beam is provided by a high current Cyclotron accelerator with energy of 35-70 MeV and a beam current of 0.20.5 mA. Neutron-rich radioactive ions are produced by proton induced Uranium fission at an expected fission rate of the order of 1013 fissions per second. After ionization and selection the exotic isotopes are re-accelerated by the ALPI superconducting Linac at energies of 10A MeV for masses in the region A 130 amu. The expected secondary beam rates are of the order of 107 – 109 pps. Aim of the SPES project is to provide a facility for high intensity radioactive ion beams for nuclear physics research as well as to develop an interdisciplinary research center based on the cyclotron proton beam.
The super(48)Ti on super(40)Ca reactions have been studied at 300 and 600 MeV focusing on the fusion-evaporation (FE) and fusion-fission (FF) exit channels. Energy spectra and multiplicities of the ...emitted light charged particles have been compared to Monte Carlo simulations based on the statistical model. Indeed, in this mass region (A ~ 100) models predict that shape transitions can occur at high spin values and relatively scarce data exist in the literature about coincidence measurements between evaporation residues and light charged particles. Signals of shape transitions can be found in the variations of the lineshape of high energy gamma rays emitted from the de-excitation of GDR states gated on different region of angular momenta. For this purpose it is important to keep under control the FE and FF processes, to regulate the statistical model parameters and to control the onset of possible pre-equilibrium emissions from 300 to 600 MeV bombarding energy.
In the recent years, cluster structures have been evidenced in many ground and excited states of light nuclei 1, 2. The decay of highly excited states of 24Mg is studied in fusion evaporation events ...completely detected in charge in the reactions 12C+12C and 14N+10B at 95 and 80 MeV incident energy, respectively, and compared to the results of a pure statistical model 3, 4. Inclusive variables are in general well reproduced by the model. We found clear deviations from the statistical model if we select emission channels involving multiple α particles which are more probable than expected from a purely statistical behavior. Data from 12C+12C reaction have been analyzed in order to study the decay of the Hoyle state of 12C* with two different selections: peripheral binary collisions and 6α decay channel in central events. To continue the investigation on light systems, we have recently measured the 16O+12C reaction at three different beam energies, namely Ebeam = 90, 110 and 130 MeV. Preliminary results are presented.
Background:
Systemic Sclerosis (SSc) is a connective tissue disease characterized by severe alterations in the microvasculature and progressive fibrosis of the skin and internal organs 1. Management ...of SSc is not easy, for both patients and physicians 2. Symptoms are manifold and have a significant impact on patient’s daily autonomy and psychological well-being.
Objectives:
SScEntry (SSc data Entry tool; Figure 1) is a solution conceived to assist SSc patients in monitoring their disease, as a kind of “sentry”. The core idea is to provide patients with a personal diary to annotate and track the onset, evolution and resolution of symptoms as well as any changes in their general health condition, through an app for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets.
Figure 1.
SScEntry logo.
Methods:
SScEntry is a smartphone/tablet app designed by rheumatology and computer science engineering specialists in close partnership 3. A carefully designed user interface (UI), inspired to a social network wall, allows annotating the evolution of symptoms by means of standard clinical investigation methods such as scientifically validated questionnaires. The UI facilitates data collection through speech-based interaction as well as touch and gestures optimized for patients with finger skin lesions and joints impairments. User engagement over the course of time is fostered by: follow-up reminders to update information on the evolution of past events and periodic questionnaires for general health assessment; the integration of symptom photos taken with on-device camera and health data collected from wearable devices; gamification features. Privacy and security have been a primary design concern, with app access protection and full on-device data encryption; no personal data transmission occurs without explicit user consent. SScEntry generates a disease activity summary report, for displaying to the physician during visit or emailing/printing.
Results:
SScEntry is ready for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. All planned features have been implemented (Figure 2). Currently supported languages are English and Italian. Areas of interest include vascular, cutaneous, articular, visceral (gastro-intestinal and cardio-pulmonary) as well as relationship, sexual and working life.
Figure 2.
SScEntry features.
Conclusion:
Novel Narrative-based Medicine approaches are getting increasing attention to enhance the mutual understanding between patient and physician, reinforcing the therapeutic adherence at the core of healthcare. This is particularly important with chronic and disabling diseases like SSc. Involving patients in disease management with SScEntry will increase their compliance and confidence, with benefits on psychological well-being. Expected benefits for rheumatologists include better evaluation of target therapy and outcomes, as no data on disease activity is lost during the patient clinical history.
References:
1J. Varga et al. (2017) Pathogenesis of systemic sclerosis: recent insights of molecular and cellular mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities. J Scleroderma Relat Disord 2:137–52.
2L. Mouthon et al. (2017) Patients’ views and needs about systemic sclerosis and its management: a qualitative interview study. BMC Musculoskelet Disord 18(1):230.
3M. Bradway et al. (2015) Mobile Health: empowering patients and driving change. Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, 26(3):114-117.
Disclosure of Interests:
Emanuela Praino: None declared, Floriano Scioscia: None declared, Crescenzio Scioscia: None declared, Giuseppe Loseto: None declared, Filippo Gramegna: None declared, Saverio Ieva: None declared, Agnese Pinto: None declared, Michele Ruta: None declared, Eugenio Di Sciascio: None declared, Giovanni Lapadula: None declared, Florenzo Iannone Consultant of: Speaker and consulting fees from AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, UCB, MSD, Speakers bureau: Speaker and consulting fees from AbbVie, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Pfizer, Roche, Sanofi, UCB, MSD
FAZIA applications Piantelli, S.; Casini, G.; Maurenzig, P.R. ...
EPJ Web of Conferences,
01/2016, Volume:
117
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Peer reviewed
Open access
The present status and the perspectives of the FAZIA project are presented. The main achievements in terms of identification thresholds and isotopic resolution are discussed, together with the ...adopted technical solutions. The detector is particularly well suited for the investigation of isospin transport phenomena at intermediate beam energies; perspectives to reduce the identification thresholds to cope with lower energy ISOL beams are briefly introduced. Some experimental results concerning isospin transport effects obtained with a test telescope are presented. The study of isospin transport phenomena can give information on the symmetry energy term of the nuclear equation of state by comparing the experimental results on isospin related observables with the predictions of transport codes.
The second phase of the T2K experiment is expected to start data taking in autumn 2022. An upgrade of the Near Detector (ND280) is under development and includes the construction of two new Time ...Projection Chambers called High-Angle TPC (HA-TPC). The two endplates of these TPCs will be paved with eight Micromegas type charge readout modules. The Micromegas detector charge amplification structure uses a resistive anode to spread the charges over several pads to improve the space point resolution. This innovative technique is combined with the bulk-Micromegas technology to compose the “Encapsulated Resistive Anode Micromegas” detector. A prototype has been designed, built and exposed to an electron beam at the DESY II test beam facility.
The data have been used to characterize the charge spreading and to produce its map. Spatial resolution better than 600 μm and energy resolution better than 9% are obtained for all incident angles. These performances fulfil the requirements for the upgrade of the ND280 TPC.
The aim of the SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) project is to provide high intensity and high-quality beams of neutron-rich nuclei to perform forefront research in nuclear structure, ...reaction dynamics and interdisciplinary fields like medical, biological and material sciences. SPES is a second generation ISOL radioactive ion beam facility, part of the INFN Road Map for the Nuclear Physics and supported by the italian national laboratories LNL (Legnaro) and LNS (Catania). It represents an intermediate step toward the future generation European ISOL facility EURISOL. It is based on the ISOL method with an UCx Direct Target able to sustain a power of 10 kW. The primary proton beam will be delivered by a Cyclotron accelerator with an energy of more then 40 MeV and a beam current of 200 μA. Neutron-rich radioactive ions will be produced by Uranium fission at an expected fission rate in the target of the order of 1013 fissions per second. The exotic isotopes will be re-accelerated by the ALPI superconducting LINAC up to energies of 10-13 AMeV, for masses in the region of A=130 amu, with an expected rate on the secondary target of 108 pps.
The decay of highly excited states of 24Mg is studied in fusion evaporation events completely detected in charge in the reactions 12C+12C and 14N+10B at 95 and 80 MeV incident energy respectively. ...The comparison of light charged particles measured spectra with statistical model predictions suggests that the dominant reaction mechanism is compound nucleus (CN) formation and decay. However, in both reactions, a discrepancy with statistical expectations is found for α particles detected in coincidence with Carbon, Oxigen and Neon residues. The comparison between the two reactions shows that this discrepancy is only partly explained by an entrance channel effect. Evidence for cluster correlations in excited 24Mg CN is suggested by the comparison between the measured and calculated branching ratios for the channels involving α particles.