Events containing several leptons are useful probes of new phenomena due to the low background from Standard Model processes. We look for events with three or more leptons, as well as direct searches ...for WZ resonances, excited leptons and heavy fermions. The searches use data recorded in 2012 at s=8 TeV centre-of-mass energy by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. No evidence of excess above the Standard Model background predictions was observed and limits have been set accordingly.
•Thirty years after the institution of the most important protected areas of the country, the political world and the Italian environmental movement are still discussing the main role that national ...parks should play: sources of economic development of the territory or means of conservation of biodiversity and landscape.•But Italian national parks almost all insist on mountain areas, which have been involved in serious economic and social crisis for decades, and research shows that the national park brand has not managed to relieve these areas from this crisis, despite their extremely high quality environmental.•Consequently, territorial policy must commit resources to preserve their biodiversity and their fundamental role as reservoirs of ecosystem services.
After thirty years of the framework legislation for parks, their effect on the territories and social communities that created new national park institutes in 1991 was investigated. Some significant indicators were used, such as demography, the structure of records and income conditions, and it emerged that the National Parks did not lead to a clear separation from the dynamics that were already in effect after World War II, and which are typical of the disadvantaged areas in which they are established, in all of that time. There are undoubtedly many causes for this, and they also differ from park to park. In a country like Italy, these certainly depend on the geographic location, since significant socio-economic differences are found along its latitudinal line.
Zigzag-edged graphene nanoislands hold great potential in nanoelectronics and spintronics applications, however, controlling its edge chemistry is still challenging from the experimental perspective. ...One promising strategy to circumvent the issues associated with the highly reactive graphene zigzag edges is to incorporate it into an insulator matrix (e.g., hexagonal boron nitride). In light of this, stability, electronic and magnetic properties of hybrid graphene/BN nanoflakes are investigated through the Density functional theory (DFT). The results reveal that the formation of separated graphene and h-BN domains would be feasible in hybrid flakes. The multiplicity of the finite heterostructures is dictated by the carbon domain, regardless the position, size, and whether the carbon islands are connected or not. To investigate the feasibility of spin state engineering, changes in the highest orbital occupations were evaluated by increasing the applied electric or magnetic field magnitude. The results indicate that an external electric field above a critical value can induce a degeneracy of ground and first excited spin state, which might pave the way for a spin state transition triggered by a magnetic field perturbation.
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Abstract
Background
Presenteeism has been linked with lost productivity, impaired health and absence. Whilst much research has focused on types of diseases associated with presenteeism and ...absenteeism, there has been little investigation into the role of individuals’ illness perceptions in these episodes.
Aims
To assess how illness perceptions vary between presenteeism and absenteeism episodes.
Methods
A cross-sectional questionnaire was distributed to ward-based nurses working with older adults. Data on illness perceptions during presenteeism and absenteeism episodes were collected. Data were analysed via the Paired-Samples t-test, Wilcoxon test and McNemar test.
Results
Two hundred and seventy cases were analysed (88% response rate). Compared with presenteeism, illnesses during absenteeism were thought to affect lives more (P < 0.001), to have more serious symptoms (P < 0.001), to be more concerning (P = 0.003), more likely to be treated (P = 0.009), more infectious (P < 0.001) and perceived as more legitimate reasons for absenteeism (P < 0.001). Treatment was considered more effective during absenteeism (P < 0.001), whilst workability was better during presenteeism (P < 0.001). Presenteeism was perceived as harmful and absenteeism beneficial for illness. Individuals attended work when presenteeism was expected to be less harmful (P < 0.001) and avoided work when absenteeism was expected to be more beneficial for illness (P < 0.001).
Conclusions
Illness perceptions varied significantly between presenteeism and absenteeism episodes and should be included in models of illness behaviour. Findings also highlight that policy may influence illness behaviour and that nurses may attend work despite concerning levels of illness.
Fast Reactors have a unique capability as sustainable energy source; the closed fuel cycle allows significantly improving the usage of natural resources and the minimisation of volume and heat load ...of high-level waste. Among the fast reactor systems, the sodium-cooled fast reactor has the most comprehensive technological basis, thanks to the experience gained internationally from operating experimental, prototype and commercial size reactors. The paper summarizes the key characteristics of the four years large Collaborative Project on European Sodium Fast Reactor (CP ESFR - 2009-2012); the CP ESFR follows the 6th FP project named "Roadmap for a European Innovative SOdium cooled FAst Reactor - EISOFAR" further identifying, organizing and implementing a significant part of the needed R&D effort. The CP ESFR merges the contribution of 25 European partners; it is performed under the aegis of the 7th FP under the Area - Advanced Nuclear Systems with a refund from the European Commission of 5.8 MEuros (11.55 MEuros total budget). It is a key component of the European Sustainable Nuclear Energy Technology Platform (SNE TP) and its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA). The inputs for the project are the key research goals for fourth generation of European sodium cooled fast reactors which can be summarized as follows: an improved safety with in particular the achievement of a robust architecture vis a vis of abnormal situations and the robustness of the safety demonstrations; the guarantee of a financial risk similar to that of the other means of energy production; a flexible and robust management of nuclear materials and especially waste reduction through Minor Actinides burning. Within the paper relevant results of the first year of activity are succinctly presented; insights are given concerning the so called "working horses" cores and systems which have been provided by CEA and AREVA and that are used as a basis to test the performances and assess the pertinence of innovative solutions.
The present paper describes a research that, based on the evolutionary data of the urban settlement over a period of half a century, shows the changes undergone by the various landscape categories of ...Southern Italy. The regions involved are four (Campania, Basilicata, Puglia and Calabria) and share renowned urban, economic and social issues such as unauthorised development, low income per capita and organised crime. All this has produced profound transformations on some of the most important and rare Italian landscapes, such as coastal plains and coastal carbonate slabs. Uncontrolled urban sprawl has further provoked an environmental crisis and eco-friendly insularisation of the yet numerous and valuable protected areas of this geographical area, thus leading to a high density of buildings and infrastructures even in national parks, breaking European records in this respect. Through finalised indicators, the characteristics of the evolution occurred have been analytically highlighted, and by using the latest generation satellite data, it is shown how such phenomena have continued to take place with significant energy over the last few years. The result is a picture of environmental threats still very prominent in this southern extremity of the peninsula, above all towards those naturalistic qualities and landscapes that are the main attractions of an intense national and international tourism whose income, however, has not been conveyed in a correct and inclusive way to allow high-level socio-economic conditions of the resident population.
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