Progress in hadrontherapy Braccini, S.
Nuclear physics. Section B, Proceedings supplement,
10/2007, Letnik:
172
Journal Article
Hadrontherapy is an advanced technique of cancer radiation therapy which instead of X-rays employs beams of charged hadrons, protons and carbon ions in particular. Due to their physical and ...radio-biological properties, they allow to obtain a highly conformal treatment, sparing at best the surrounding healthy tissues. From being practised only in nuclear and particle physics laboratories, hadrontherapy is becoming today a clinical reality. By now about
45
′
000
patients have been treated worldwide with proton beams and several hospital based centres are either running or under construction. Carbon ions are characterized by a larger biological effectiveness than X-rays and protons and they are particularly suited to treat radio-resistant tumours. Carbon ion therapy is developing in the world and two hospital based centers are under construction in Europe. A large diffusion of hadrontherapy is foreseen in the near future but a much larger diffusion, possibly comparable with conventional X-ray radiation therapy, will be achieved only if much compact and cheap accelerators and dose delivery systems will be conceived and constructed. In this paper the present status of hadrontherapy and some innovative ideas for the future are summarized.
Currently the cow milk market is characterised by a decrease in consumption and sales, for both fresh and long-life products. In addition to the negative consumer perception towards milk, linked to, ...for example, its potential perceived negative effects on human health, at Italian level, this product is overlooked on the market in terms of communication strategies and innovation, increasingly rendering this product an undifferentiated commodity. As product packaging represents a key factor to improve and develop products on the market, the aim of this research is to analyse consumer preferences and attitudes towards different innovative strategies of milk packaging. A consumer sample from North-West Italy was involved in the experiment, to investigate their purchasing habits and preference towards cow’s milk. An ordered logit model was implemented, in order to determine consumer willingness to pay for milk packaging innovation (11 packaging indicators), in addition to establishing the best strategies for product improvement, in recognition of the emerging needs of consumers. We found that consumers express a high level of interest towards the packaging attributes associated with environmental sustainability, especially regarding the choice of packaging materials and their recyclable features (from 3.369 to 3.645 of mean preference score of the 5-points Likert scale). Furthermore, consumers declared a willingness to pay a premium price, up to 20% more, for innovative milk packaging, demonstrating the potential for general applicability in the relevant market.
The reduction of thermal noise is a fundamental issue for the improvement of future gravitational wave antennas. The main purpose of the Low Frequency Facility (LFF) is to study pendulum thermal ...noise in the region of 10 Hz. Data at the LFF has been taking since the beginning of 2003 and has been analyzed in order to thoroughly understand the region around 10 Hz. Above 7 Hz, the displacement noise floor is at the level of
10
−14
m/
Hz
, decreasing with frequency approximately as 1/
ν. Seismic noise contamination is not observed above a few Hz.
The sensitivity curve of a gravitational wave interferometric detector like VIRGO might be seriously limited by the mechanical shot noise induced by stationary creep in the heavily loaded mechanical ...suspension components (wires, spring blades, etc.). We quantify this effect and discuss possible improvements which could be implemented without major design alterations.
Fabry–Perot cavities have many different applications as scientific instruments. In the gravitational waves research field they are extensively used to frequency stabilize lasers and to measure very ...small distance variations. In the present Letter a method to evaluate from the transmitted power only the relative speed and position of the mirrors of a cavity, having finesse
F>40
, is described. A displacement spectral sensitivity of the order of about 3×10
−10 m/Hz
−1/2 at 10 Hz is obtained with the cavity of the low frequency facility.
The detection band of the interferometric gravitational wave detector VIRGO can be extended down to a few Hz by suspending each optical component of the interferometer from a chain of mechanical ...filters designed to suppress the transmission of seismic vibrations. Each mechanical filter supports the weight of the stages below it through a set of cantilevered blade springs. A system of permanent magnets, providing an “antispring” force, helps to reduce the highest vertical resonance of the chain from 7 Hz to about 2 Hz. This improvement allows VIRGO to reduce the frequency detection threshold from 10 Hz to about 4 Hz. A characterization of the mechanical filters is provided in this paper.
The low frequency facility, a Virgo R&D experiment, is composed by a Fabry–Perot cavity attached and controlled by the Virgo suspension; the goal is to measure the thermal noise of the apparatus ...above 10 Hz, with a displacement sensitivity as high as 10
−18 m
/
Hz
. Since September 2001 the apparatus, located inside the INFN-Pisa experimental area, has been completely built and put into operation. Vacuum facilities and the control loops have been set up. Transfer functions, necessary to control the cavity, absolute test mass displacement and the first demonstration of the cavity locking are reported.
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