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This paper is a write-up of the ideas that were presented, developed and discussed at the fourth International Workshop on QCD Challenges from pp to AA, which took place in February 2023 in Padua, Italy. The goal of the workshop was to focus on some of the open questions in the field of high-energy heavy-ion physics and to stimulate the formulation of concrete suggestions for making progresses on both the experimental and theoretical sides. The paper gives a brief introduction to each topic and then summarizes the primary results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Status epilepticus is a life-threatening condition that is defined as refractory (RSE) when the seizure activity continues despite treatment with benzodiazepine and a second appropriate treatment. Super refractory status epilepticus (SRSE) is an RSE that persists or recurs for ≥24 h. Few papers have reported the outcomes of pediatric patients affected by RSE and SRSE and treated with neuromodulation therapies. Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is an approved treatment for drug-resistant epilepsy. We present our findings of pediatric patients treated with VNS for RSE/SRSE. Methods: We present a case series of seven consecutive pediatric patients treated with VNS for SRSE since 2012 by a single surgeon in Monza and Padua. A rapid titration was started soon after implantation. We considered electroclinical data before and after VNS implantation and at the last follow-up. Results: We achieved the resolution of SRSE in five out of seven patients in a mean time of two weeks. At the last follow-up, these patients had a significant reduction of seizure burden without any relapse of SE. Discussion and Conclusions: Based on our limited findings, we discuss the potential role of VNS therapy in similar but distinct clinical contexts. For patients with drug-resistant epilepsy and RSE/SRSE, prompt VNS consideration is suggested, offering rapid responses and potentially reducing pharmacological load. Meanwhile, in NORSE/FIRES, we suggest early neuromodulation during the acute phase if standard treatments prove ineffective or not tolerated. This approach may leverage VNS's potential anti-inflammatory effects and neuromodulation, enhancing patient-specific treatments. Expanding case studies and prolonged follow-ups are recommended to strengthen these clinical insights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antithrombin (AT) deficiency increases the risk for venous thromboembolism, therefore, a highly sensitive assay to identify this condition is crucial. The aim of this paper was to perform a meta-analysis comparing AT activities measured by different AT activity assays in patients with heparin binding site AT deficiency. In addition, the diagnostic sensitivity of selected assays was compared depending on the available data. An extensive literature search was performed considering results with publication date up to July 10, 2021. Seven relevant English-language observational studies, comparing AT activity measured by different AT activity assays in Caucasian Europeans with either the AT Budapest III or AT Padua I mutation were included in meta-analyses. There was no significant difference in AT activity between Labexpert and Innovance in patients with AT Budapest III (P = 0.567) and AT Padua I (P = 0.265), while AT activity determined by HemosIL was significantly higher compared to Innovance for both mutations (AT Budapest III: P < 0.001; AT Padua I: P < 0.001). These results are in line with the results of comparison of diagnostic sensitivity. In patients with AT Budapest III, the AT activity was also higher when measured with Berichrom compared to Innovance (P = 0.002), however, the results of comparison of diagnostic sensitivity across studies were variable. No significant difference (P = 0.117) in AT activity as well as diagnostic sensitivity was observed between Sta-Stachrom and Innovance. The results of our study suggest that Innovance, Labexpert and Sta-Stachrom are the most sensitive activity assays for detection of AT Budapest III and AT Padua I, whereas HemosIL showed considerably lower sensitivity for these two variants. As revealed in our study, the diagnostic sensitivity of AT activity assays to type II heparin binding site AT deficiency is different, and in some assays mutation dependent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Symposium on Myofascial Pain, Fibromyalgia, and Fascial Pain Disorders was held at the University of Padua, Padua, Italy in June of 2023. This report presents a summary of the presentations from scientists and clinicians from around the world who presented to the symposium. The purpose of this symposium and resultant paper is improve health professional’s recognition and understanding of the clinical characteristics, co-morbidities, mechanisms, and treatment strategies for these common conditions to better understand and manage their pain, dysfunction, and quality life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines eight marble samples from the architectural elements and liturgical furniture of the ecclesiastical complex of Santa Giustina in Padova (Italy), founded by the Rufus Venantius Opilio before AD 524. The provenance determination of the marbles was carried out by means of a multi-analytical approach combining mineralogical–petrographic investigations, performed by microscopic observations of thin sections, and the measurement of the ratios of stable carbon and oxygen isotopes. The results obtained were compared with up-to-date petrographic and isotopic databases (Antonelli and Lazzarini 2015), and they showed that the analyzed marbles come from the quarries of the island of Proconnesus in Asia Minor, modern Marmara Adası (Turkey). Archaeometric evidence, together with the stylistic and functional analysis of the pieces, suggests the direct importation of a complete set of sculptures, shipped at different stages of workmanship from the workshops of Constantinople and expressly ordered by a single patron, who can be identified as Opilio, founder of the basilica of Santa Giustina and praetorian prefect at the court of King Theodoric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a challenging disorder which essentially involves regulation of the glucose levels to avoid hyperglycemia as well as hypoglycemia. For this purpose, this research paper proposes and develops control algorithms using an intelligent predictive control model, which is based on a UVA/Padova metabolic simulator. The primary objective of the designed control laws is to provide an automatic blood glucose control in insulin-dependent patients so as to improve their life quality and to reduce the need of an extremely demanding self-management plan. Various linear and nonlinear control algorithms have been explored and implemented on the estimated model. Linear techniques include the Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) and Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR), and nonlinear control strategy includes the Sliding Mode Control (SMC), which are implemented in this research work for continuous monitoring of glucose levels. Performance comparison based on simulation results demonstrated that SMC proved to be most efficient in terms of regulating glucose profile to a reference level of 70 mg/dL compared to the classical linear techniques. A brief comparison is presented between the linear techniques (PID and LQR), and nonlinear technique (SMC) for analysis purposes proving the efficacy of the design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) is hosted in Padua and includes two experiments: MITICA, the 1 MeV full-scale prototype of the ITER HNB injector, and SPIDER, the 100 keV full-size ITER Radio Frequency (RF) negative ion source. SPIDER and MITICA experiments are actively cooled by Ultrapure Water (UPW) to electrically insulate in-vessel components that are biased to high voltage levels. Water conductivity is an important monitored parameter to ensure components' insulation by limiting the leakage current of active cooled equipment. A very low conductivity water is especially important in MITICA, where components need to operate up to 1 MVdc, an insulation level beyond the actual industrial standard. Careful selection of suitable materials for any in-vessel (vacuum insulation) and out-vessel component (air insulation) is of utmost importance, as their interaction with water and different environment may affect their chemical and mechanical properties. Additionally, materials selection can severely influence water chemical characteristics: cooling circuits are made of metals (copper, aluminium, steel) and insulating materials (plastic, rubber) when connecting parts at different electric potentials. During the first years of cooling plant exploitation, it was shown that water degrades more quickly than estimated by design. The Primary Circuits (PCs) that showed the most severe water degradation during operation are SPIDER and MITICA power supply ones, respectively called PC01 and PC08. This paper describes the results of specific experimental tests performed on MITICA PC08 to evaluate possible causes of water degradation and detect sources of contaminants that might compromise future experimental campaigns. The cooling circuit was subdivided in different sections and water circulation tests were performed at constant temperature and flowrate. Water samples were collected and Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) analyses were performed to quantify the type and amount of metals released. Moreover, components samples collected along their cooling circuits were characterized by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) technique to detect undesired contaminants and immersed in UPW to study their corrosion behaviour using metal release tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the benefits both individuals and collectivity have achieved over the past few years thanks to Mobility-as-Service (MaaS) systems, various studies were conducted to predict the level of acceptance of MaaS bundles from different territorial scales and in different countries. Results obtained are in some cases contradictory. Literature is lacking in the study of small-to-medium-sized urban contexts and in the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This paper aims to understand (1) what factors influence respondents' preferences between their usual transportation means and a possible MaaS alternative and (2) what leads a user to prefer one MaaS bundle to another. A logistic regression and a mixed logit model were developed to reach the two aims, respectively. These models were calibrated using questionnaires administered to employees of the Municipality of Padua, a medium-sized city in Italy. Aspects concerning the perception of health safety in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic were included in the analyses. In 37% of the cases, users stated they would be willing to adopt at least one of the proposed MaaS bundles. The results suggest that MaaS solutions can be a useful tool for managing mobility even in medium-sized cities, provided users' biosecurity concerns are addressed by appropriate countermeasures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper has a double purpose. It contains a short excerpt from a Polish translation of the latest known adaptation of Bovo-Bukh authored by Moshe Knapheys and published by YIVO in Buenos Aires in 1962. It also contains a basic exegesis of the chivalry poem, starting with its earliest incunables in a vernacular with strong Venetian traits, printed in the 1480s, through its first adaptation in Yiddish-Taytsh by Elia Levita, originally written in Padua in 1507, but published in Isny only in 1541. The Polish translation from modern Yiddish according to the 1962 version also contains a critical apparatus in which the early Venetian text (a 1487 incunable), and Levita's Yiddish-Taytsh adaptation of the latter, according to both the 1507 manuscript and the 1541 print, are taken into consideration for comparison. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this fourth paper of a series on the precision of ages of stellar populations obtained through the full-spectrum fitting technique, we present a first systematic analysis that compares the age, metallicity, and reddening of star clusters obtained from resolved and unresolved data [namely colour–magnitude diagrams (CMDs) and integrated-light spectroscopy] using the same sets of isochrones. We investigate the results obtained with both Padova isochrones and MIST isochrones. We find that there generally is a good agreement between the ages derived from CMDs and integrated spectra. However, for metallicity and reddening, the agreement between results from analyses of CMD and integrated spectra is significantly worse. Our results also show that the ages derived with Padova isochrones match those derived using MIST isochrones, both with the full-spectrum fitting technique and the CMD fitting method. However, the metallicity derived using Padova isochrones does not match that derived using MIST isochrones using the CMD method. We examine the ability of the full-spectrum fitting technique in detecting age spreads in clusters that feature the extended main-sequence turnoff (eMSTO) phenomenon using two-population fits. We find that three out of five eMSTO clusters in our sample are best fitted with one single age, suggesting that eMSTOs do not necessarily translate to detectable age spreads in integrated-light studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Giuseppe Gradenigo was born in Venice in 1859, and he was a member of the noble Venetian family of the Gradenigo. After graduation in medicine in Padua, he went to Vienna where he deepened his studies in otology and embryology. He obtained, in 1888, the "libera docenza" in otology in Padua, and in 1889, he began to direct the section of otolaryngology of the polyclinic of Turin. After a brilliant career in 1917, he took over the chair of otolaryngology at the University of Naples. Gradenigo was a pioneer in otolaryngology and audiology and a reference figure in the clinical and scientific fields. In this paper, the most important aspects about his works and his biography will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SPIDER, the experimental device devoted to the study of the ion source, has started operation in June 2018. • The construction of MITICA, the full-size prototype of the ITER heating neutral beam, is still in progress. • SPIDER gas injection and vacuum system is designed in order to guarantee a nominal pressure inside the Beam Source of 0.3 Pa. • SPIDER GVS is composed by several sub-systems interconnected and managed by a proper I&C architecture. • Experimental tests give evidence that the vacuum pumping system behave properly and allow the execution of long pulses. The ITER project requires at least two Heating Neutral Beam Injectors (NBIs), each accelerating up to 1 MV a 40 A beam of negative H-/D-.ions, to deliver to the plasma a total power of about 33 MW for one hour. Since these requirements have never been experimentally met, it was recognized necessary to build-up a test facility, named PRIMA including both a full-size negative ion source (SPIDER – Source for Production of Ion of Deuterium Extracted from Rf plasma) and a full prototype of the ITER injector (MITICA – Megavolt ITER Injector & Concept Advancement). This realization is made with the main contribution of the European Union, through the Joint Undertaking for ITER (F4E), the ITER Organization and Consorzio RFX (CRFX) that hosts the Test Facility in Padova, Italy. SPIDER is a Radio Frequency ion source that has the same characteristics foreseen for the ITER NBI but with beam energy limited to 100 keV. The mission of SPIDER is to increase the understanding of the source operation and to optimize the source performance in terms of extracted current density, uniformity and pulse duration. The paper describes the Gas injection and Vacuum System (GVS), from the analysis of requirements to the system commissioning. In particular, it presents the rationale behind the main design choices and specific manufacturing details of the gas injection plant feeding the RF source. Furthermore, the paper describes the interfaces with the SPIDER central interlock and safety systems. Finally, the main results of the GVS commissioning with the control and interlock systems are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Integration of an high voltage test facility (−1 MV), air insulated, in a dedicated building. • The paper covers the aspects of integration between the high voltage deck ventilation system and the civil air conditioning system. • The focus of the paper is the CFD simulation of the two coupled sub-systems, from the hypothesis to the results, also considering possible simplifications and realistic operational scenarios. The first ever built full-scale prototype of the ITER heating neutral beam injector is the MITICA experiment at PRIMA-NBTF (Neutral Beam Test Facility), under realization in Padua, Italy. The MITICA experiment includes many auxiliary plants; this paper is focused on the simulation and verification of the air cooling system of the High Voltage Power Supply (−1 MVdc), hosted in a Faraday cage (HVD1, High Voltage Deck1) inside a dedicated Building (High Voltage Hall, HVH) at PRIMA-NBTF. The HVD1 hosts the MITICA ISEPS (Ion Source Power Supply) in a two-floor cage, air insulated to ground for -1MVdc, with huge dimensions 12.5 m (L) × 8.4 m (W) × 9.6 m (H). Severe cleanliness constraints are required in the HVH hosting the HVD1, due to the high voltage operative conditions (the −1 MVdc Faraday cage is air insulated). The thermal behavior and air distribution in HVH are investigated as described in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Integrated commissioning of ITER-size neutral beam ion source was executed. • Coordinated inter-operation of SPIDER plant systems was achieved. • Plant systems were run under control of CODAS and Central Interlock System. • Integrated commissioning terminated with generation of first plasma in SPIDER. The construction of SPIDER (Source for the Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from a Radio frequency plasma), the prototype of the full-size, radio frequency, negative ion source of the ITER Heating Neutral Beam Injectors, has been completed at the Neutral Beam Test Facility in Padova (Italy). All SPIDER components have been delivered and have successfully undergone site acceptance tests. The mechanical components (vessel, ion source, accelerator, and calorimeter), power supply systems, auxiliary systems (gas and vacuum and cooling), basic diagnostics (thermocouples, imaging, spectroscopy), control and interlock systems were prepared for operation by means of a step-by-step procedure, referred to as integrated commissioning, aiming to progressively achieve the coordinated interoperation of all SPIDER plant systems. The execution of the integrated commissioning requires a well-defined organization covering personnel safety, shift-based operation, definition of roles and their interaction. The paper, after briefly summarizing the status of the SPIDER experiment, initially focuses on the organization of the integrated commissioning. The execution of the commissioning campaigns is then presented along with the technical and scientific issues encountered and the solutions applied to solve problems. Finally, the paper discusses the transition from the SPIDER integrated commissioning to SPIDER operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The MITICA (Megavolt ITER injector and concept Advancement) experiment, currently in the installation and commissioning phase at the neutral beam test facility in Padua-Italy, will be equipped with a beam source (BS) expected to generate a 40A negative ion beam to the energy of 1MeV (values for D). It is composed of an ion source to generate a h or d plasma and of a multiple-Aperture multiple-grid (MAMuG) accelerator [1] , where ions extracted are accelerated in five consecutive stages of 200 kV each. • The engineering and fabrication of the beam source for MITICA BS started in october 2018, when a contract between fusion for energy (F4E) and alsymex (France) was signed. Presently, all the components and sub-assemblies have been manufactured, except for a few non-critical items. Assembly of the accelerator is well advanced and ion source is on-going. • A review of the fabrication of the main components and aspects of their assembly is reported in this paper, with a focus on the main achievements. The MITICA (Megavolt ITER Injector and Concept Advancement) experiment, currently in the installation and commissioning phase at the Neutral Beam Test Facility in Padua-Italy, will be equipped with a Beam Source (BS) expected to generate a 40A negative ion beam to the energy of 1MeV (values for D). It is composed of an ion source to generate a H or D plasma and of a multiple-Aperture multiple-grid (MAMuG) Accelerator [1] , where ions extracted are accelerated in five consecutive stages of 200 kV each. The engineering and fabrication of the beam source for MITICA BS started in October 2018, when a contract between Fusion for Energy (F4E) and Alsymex (France) was signed. Presently, all the components and sub-assemblies have been manufactured, except for a few non-critical items. Assembly of the accelerator is well advanced and ion source is on-going. A review of the fabrication of the main components and aspects of their assembly is reported in this paper, with a focus on the main achievements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this second paper of a series on the accuracy and precision of the determination of age and metallicity of simple stellar populations (SSPs) by means of the full-spectrum fitting technique, we study the influence of star cluster mass through stochastic fluctuations of the number of stars near the top of the stellar mass function, which dominate the flux in certain wavelength regimes depending on the age. We consider SSP models based on the Padova isochrones, spanning the age range |$7.0 \le \mbox{log(age/yr}) \le 10.1$|⁠. Simulated spectra of star clusters in the mass range 104 ≤ M /M⊙ < 106 are compared with SSP model spectra to determine best-fitting ages and metallicities using a full-spectrum fitting routine in four wavelength regimes: the blue optical (0.35–0.70 µm), the red optical (0.6–1.0 µm), the near-infrared (near-IR; 1.0–2.5 µm), and the mid-IR (2.5–5.0 µm). We compare the power of each wavelength regime in terms of both the overall precision of age and metallicity determination and its dependence on cluster mass. We also study the relevance of spectral resolution in this context by utilizing two different spectral libraries (BaSeL and BT-Settl). We highlight the power of the mid-IR regime in terms of identifying young massive clusters in dusty star-forming regions in distant galaxies. The spectra of the simulated star clusters and SSPs are made available online to enable follow-up studies by the community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dolichomitus Smith is a widely distributed pimpline genus with more than seventy known species. There are eight species previously reported from South America: D. annulicornis (Cameron), D. bivittatus Townes, D. hypermeces Townes, D. jatai Loffredo & Penteado-Dias, D. longicauda Smith, D. megalourus (Morley), D. moacyri Loffredo & Penteado-Dias and D. zonatus (Cresson). In this paper, we describe five new species: D. mariajosae Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. menai Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. orejuelai Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., D. pimmi Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov., and D. rendoni Araujo & Pádua, sp. nov. All have been collected in cloud forests in the Colombian tropical Andes. An illustrated key to the South American species of the genus is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 69th International Congress of Meat Science and Technology (ICoMST) took place in Padova, Italy, with the theme "From Tradition to Green Innovation." The congress aimed to disseminate the latest research and innovation in the field of Meat Science and Technology, addressing topics such as meat safety, animal welfare, traditional meat products, meat alternatives, and the role of meat in food security and health. The congress also included a round table discussion on the societal role of livestock systems and a session for early-career researchers to present their scientific contributions. The event received about 500 short papers for presentation and was successful with the participation of delegates, keynote speakers, scientists, and sponsors. [Extracted from the article]

• HVD1 and HVBA are unique devices for size, electrostatic and mechanical features. • HVD1 and HVBA are installed inside a large HV hall. • The main design choices leading to the final hall layout are presented. • The manufacturing design and the factory type tests are reported. • The on-site installation, commissioning and testing activities are described. MITICA is the full scale prototype of the ITER Heating Neutral Beam (HNB) currently under construction at the Neutral Beam Test Facility in Padova (Italy). In the ITER HNB, negative ions (H−/D−) are produced in the Ion Source (IS) polarized to ground at −1012 kV, then extracted and accelerated to ground at 1 MeV energy and finally neutralized. The complex power supply system feeding the IS includes two non-standard equipment, beyond the current industrial standard for insulation voltage level (-1 MVdc) and dimensions: 1) the High Voltage Deck1 (HVD1), a large air insulated Faraday cage (12.5 m (L) x 8.4 m (W) x 9.6 m (H)) hosting the IS power supplies and diagnostics; 2) the High Voltage Bushing Assembly (HVBA), a -1 MVdc air to SF6 Bushing which interfaces the HVD1 with the SF 6 insulated Transmission Line (TL) connecting the Acceleration Grid Power Supply system with the IS, carrying inside its High Voltage electrode all IS power and diagnostics conductors. The HVD1 and HVBA are installed inside a large HV hall. The main design choices leading to the final hall layout, integrating the HV experimental equipment and the conventional building plants assuring the necessary clearance required by such very high electric insulation level, are presented. Moreover, the paper reports on the manufacturing design developed by the supplier, the factory type tests to validate the design of the HVD1, the factory tests carried out on the HVBA and the on-site installation, commissioning and testing activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of MITICA, the full-size prototype of the ITER Heating Neutral Beam Injectors (HNBs) is in progress at the Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) located in Padova, Italy. The design of the central control (CODAS) and interlock (CIS) systems is progressing taking into account the requirements coming from the MITICA plant units, in terms of number and type of interface signals, data sampling frequency values, operating states, protection actions and required reaction times and reliability. As the HNBs will be ITER components, additional requirements derive from the ITER plant control design handbook that specifies the design criteria and standard technologies to be applied to ITER plant systems. A distinction must be made in MITICA between plant units that will be part of the HNB, such as the power supply systems, and plant units that are auxiliaries, such as the gas and vacuum system. In the NBTF these components shall interface with MITICA CODAS and CIS, whereas in ITER they will be autonomous plant systems providing services to the HNB. The distinction reported above suggests defining the architecture of MITICA Instrumentation and Control (I&C) as split into the following functional blocks: i) HNB plant system including components that will be part of the HNB; ii) Service plant system including all operational plant units that need control in the NBTF but are implemented outside the ITER HNB; iii) Diagnostics plant system; iv) Central I&C (CODAS and CIS). The paper presents the requirements for MITICA CODAS and CIS and derives from these the system architecture. The design of CODAS and CIS is discussed with reference to the lesson learned in the implementation of SPIDER CODAS and CIS (the NBTF ion source test bed) and to the technologies suitable for the implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ITER Heating Neutral Beam injector (HNB) will be equipped with a beam source that will provide a negative beam of 40A (H or D). The R&D activities undertaken in Europe to pursue this challenging goal comprise three experiments: -ELISE – the half size ion source experiment operating in IPP Garching -SPIDER – the full size ion source experiment at Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) site in Padua -MITICA - the full size full energy ITER injector prototype being also established at the NBTF The procurement of the beam source for SPIDER started in October 2012, when a contract between Fusion for Energy and Thales, Microwave & Imaging Sub-Systems (as group leader of a Consortium created with CECOM Srl, Galvano-T GmbH and Zanon SpA) was signed. The scope of the contract has been completed in October 2017 with the delivery of the SPIDER beam source at the NBTF site in Padova Italy. A review of the fabrication of the main parts and of the aspects of their assembly is reported in the paper, with a focus on some of the major issue encountered and the achievement of tight alignment tolerances of the accelerator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The PRIMA project aims at the construction of two ITER-NBI facilities in Padova (Italy). The first one is called SPIDER which is negative H/D 100 keV RF source, while the second one (MITICA) will be a full scale 1 MeV deuterium beam injector as the one that will be used in ITER. In order to resolve the horizontal beam intensity profile in MITICA and one of the eight beamlets groups in SPIDER, the Close-contact Neutron Emission Surface Mapping (CNESM) system is being developed. The goal of this device is to reconstruct the D− beam evaluating the map of the neutron emission due to interaction of the deuterium beam with the deuterons implanted in the beam dump surface. For this reason, the CNESM diagnostic, which is based on nGEM detectors for fast neutrons, will be placed right behind the SPIDER and MITICA beam dump, i.e. in an UHV (Ultra High Vacuum) environment. Since the nGEM detectors need to operate at atmospheric pressure a vacuum sealed detector box has been designed to be installed inside the vacuum vessel and able to sustain atmospheric pressure inside. This paper describes the status of the CNESM diagnostic and underlines the different phases followed during the realization and installation of the diagnostic on the SPIDER beam dump as well as its imaging performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) is currently under construction at Consorzio RFX, Padova, Italy. The NBTF includes two experimental devices: SPIDER for the study of the ion source and MITICA for the development of the full-size HNB prototype. Even if the two experiments share many architectural aspects in their Control and Data Acquisition System (CODAS), there are nevertheless some significant differences because MITICA must adhere to ITER's directives for plant control design. This paper describes the architecture of the MITICA timing system that represents one of the first examples of integration of IEEE1588 timing functions in fusion research medium-scale experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Subject's exercise behavior is characterized through the net effect method. • Hypoglycemia prevention during and after a single moderate exercise bout. • Asymmetric objective function to cope with hypoglycemia. • In silico testing through the last version of the FDA-accepted UVa/Padova simulator. This paper presents an individualized Ensemble Model Predictive Control (EnMPC) algorithm for blood glucose (BG) stabilization and hypoglycemia prevention in people with type 1 diabetes (T1D) who exercise regularly. The EnMPC formulation can be regarded as a simplified multi-stage MPC allowing for the consideration of N en scenarios gathered from the patient's recent behavior. The patient's physical activity behavior is characterized by an exercise-specific input signal derived from the deconvolution of the patient's continuous glucose monitor (CGM), accounting for known inputs such as meal, and insulin pump records. The EnMPC controller was tested in a cohort of in silico patients with representative inter-subject and intra-subject variability from the FDA-accepted UVA/Padova simulation platform. Results show a significant improvement on hypoglycemia prevention after 30 min of mild to moderate exercise in comparison to a similarly tuned baseline controller (rMPC); with a reduction in hypoglycemia occurrences (<70 mg/dL), from 3.08 % ±3.55 with rMPC to 0.78 % ±2.04 with EnMPC (P < 0.05). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Source for Production of Ions of Deuterium Extracted from a Radiofrequency plasma (SPIDER) is the 100 keV full-size Ion Source prototype of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Neutral Beam Injectors (NBI), currently in operation at Consorzio RFX in Padova, Italy. The SPIDER vacuum pumping system is designed to operate at a nominal gas pressure of 0.3 Pa inside the Beam Source (BS), and it consists of two primary pumping groups, four turbo-molecular pumps, and eight cryogenic pumps. However, during the first three years of SPIDER operations, it was found that increasing the BS pressure to 0.6 Pa was necessary to achieve nominal performance. Additionally, a specific experimental study conducted in 2019 revealed the existence of a pressure limit in the SPIDER Vacuum Vessel (VV) that must be respected to reduce the probability of Radio Frequency breakdown. These two factors have necessitated an upgrade to the current vacuum pumping system. To address the issue of limited space for installing new pumps, a Vacuum Enhancement Module (VEM) will be added to the existing SPIDER Vacuum Vessel (VV). The VEM will house up to 512 Non-Evaporable Getter (NEG) pump cartridges in 16 × 32 modules. The pumps will need to be regenerated at temperatures up to 600 °C for up to 72 h to extract the hydrogen isotopes absorbed during operation. To prevent the heating of surrounding parts, such as the SPIDER Beam Source (BS) and electrical connections, a dedicated cooling system is required to cool down the VEM components during the NEG regeneration process. This paper presents a thermal-hydraulic study, design, and analysis of the cooling system for the VEM using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The insulation capability of a full silica kapton coated optical fiber in vacuum under DC voltage is about 160kV for 600mm length. • The commercial batteries providing the highest energy density for low power application are Li-SOCl2 battery • The PIC microcontroller proven to be a reliable device with respect to EMI irradiated from Surge pulses as well as it can be a very low power consumption ADC when the IDLE and Standby operational modes are exploited. • A solution to feed electronic devices operating at high voltage in harsh environments (vacuum, risk of discharges, x rays in the nearby,...) in a reliable way consists in enclosing the batteries in a vacuum tight commercial nipple closed by a dedicated feedthrough. • The precise synchronization of fast events within a system of distributed devices can be done with a distributed trigger network when a deterministic time delay is known. The trigger time can be also precisely time stamped by means of a fast transient FPGA recorder provided by a iW-RainboW-G36S board that is kept in sync with a GPS absolute time source with IEEE1588 protocol. ITER is an experimental fusion device and requires two Neutral Beam Injectors (NBIs) for plasma heating and current drive which have to supply a power of 16.5 MW each, delivered by a 1MeV deuterium beam. This D0 beam is generated starting from negative ions, produced inside a RF driven ion source, and accelerated by a Multi-Aperture Multi-Grid electrostatic accelerator insulated in vacuum. MITICA (Megavolt ITER Injector & Concept Advancement) is a full-scale prototype of the ITER Heating Neutral Beams (HNBs), devoted to test and optimize the design, under construction in Padova at the Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) hosted by the Consorzio RFX. One of the most critical requirements in MITICA concerns the capability to withstand the nominal voltage of 1MV on a single long gap (≈1m), which separates the beam source and the vacuum vessel, insulated by vacuum or low pressure gas (10−6-10−3 mbar range) and with large size electrodes. In order to address this issue, a dedicated experimental test campaign exploiting a 1:1 mockup of the MITICA Beam Source will be carried out at NBTF before the installation of the actual Beam Source. During this test campaign, a set of electrical diagnostics will be installed to identify the location of the breakdowns as well as to measure the magnitude of the microdischarge currents (the precursors of vacuum breakdowns), and arc currents to provide useful information to optimize the electrostatic design of the ITER HNB and to validate the numerical models. This paper describes the development and the design of these diagnostics system based on electrical measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Substantial progresses have been achieved in the realization of the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) hosted in Padova, Italy; the buildings, completed by the end of 2015, are being progressively filled with new systems and components. The realization of SPIDER, the ITER full-size negative ion source, is well advanced and important progress is also recorded for MITICA, the full-scale prototype of the ITER HNB injector. The paper gives an overview of the achieved results, highlighting the main challenges faced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Data streaming implementation and optimization techniques. • Distributed data access for long lasting experiments. • Large signals storage and retrieval tehcniques. The SPIDER experiment is the first of two experiments being held at the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility in Padova (Italy). SPIDER has been operating since 2018, initially with pulse duration of a few seconds and currently with pulses lasting up to 3000 s. The paper reports the CODAS experience gained after three years of operation. In particular, Data Storage and Data Access adopted strategies will be discussed, that proved to be of high impact in overall system performance and maintainability. Regarding Data Storage strategy, a tradeoff must be defined between the continuous and event driven data acquisition. Continuous data acquisition, i.e. sampling data at a constant frequency, represents the normal operation in short experiments, but can easily lead to an unmanageable amount of data for long lasting experiments. On the other side, Data acquisition at a varying rate, that is increased upon the occurrence of given events leading to an improved signal dynamics, is required for a subset of signals that describe physical phenomena with fast dynamics. Several strategies have been adopted in SPIDER to handle varying rate data acquisition and are discussed here. Considering data access strategy, an important Use Case, especially when the pulse duration is long, is the concurrent access to the pulse file for online analysis and visualization. Concurrent data read and write is supported by MDSplus, the adopted data system, but performance can be affected by the required locks in file access. For this reason it is important to limit as far as possible useless data access. This has been achieved in different ways, such as setting a Region of Interest (ROI) in data access and by the extended usage of on-the-fly resampling in conjunction with the availability in the pulse file of different versions of the same data item, acquired at different sampling speeds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Acceleration Grid Power Supply of the MITICA test facility in Padova (Italy) is currently under commissioning. The power conversion system, the DC generator, and the High Voltage equipment have been individually commissioned, whereas the integration tests are ongoing. It is a challenging process due to the unconventional application, to the variety of different electrical technologies involved and to the complexity of the interfaces. During the integrated tests of the power supplies the achievement of 700 kV stable operation has been demonstrated for the first time in a Neutral Beam Injector, but an unexpected event occurred, most likely a breakdown in the HV part, which resulted in a fault of the DC generator. A subsequent test using an auxiliary power supply was performed to check the voltage withstanding capability of the HV plant, but another breakdown occurred at around 1MV. This paper describes the activity performed to identify the location of the breakdowns affecting the integrated tests. A test campaign has been devised with increased diagnostic capabilities and specific strategy conceived to trigger intentional breakdowns in specific locations and collect measurement patterns for different cases. The results of the campaign will be presented and the current understanding of the issue will be described, with a view on future tests and further improvements of diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connection between illuminance and luminance measurements is considered to create a traceability link among a highly accurate illuminance meter, which is considered as an internal standard of the Photometric Laboratory, University of Padova, Padova, Italy, and other illuminance meters or photometric heads and luminance meters. After an introduction on themain involved definitions and equations linking the illuminance and the luminance measurements, this paper presents the instruments to which the procedures are applied and, at the end, results regarding the absolute calibration of the instruments under test, the check of their linearity, and the analysis of their spectral responsivity within the visible range. Following this way, this paper shows the main results in the connection among instruments devoted specifically to illuminance and luminance measurements. Then, it also introduces a comparison to other photometric heads, e.g., sensors that are part of more complex systems, like an integrating sphere for luminous flux measurement. In this last case, it has no significance to evaluate the difference between the absolute outputs, but it is interesting to compare the response of the two devices considering their linearity and their relative spectral response. A special section devoted to the evaluation of the spectral response presents a new simple but effective method. The application of a detector-based method allows a significant reduction of the uncertainty in the internal calibration of the photometric instruments, granting the continuity of the Photometric Laboratory operation contemporarily. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article summarizes the papers presented in the discussion group focused on the theme "Models for the Analysis of Individual and Group Needs" at the joint symposium of the International Association for Educational and Vocational Guidance, Society for Vocational Psychology, and National Career Development Association held in Padua, Italy, in September 2007 titled Vocational Psychology and Career Guidance Practice: An International Partnership. The predominant theme that emerged from papers and discussion was that theory and practice need to be positioned within their proximal and distal contexts, ranging from personal to societal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology advances have made possible improvements such as Continuous Glucose Monitors, giving the patient a glucose reading every few minutes, or insulin pumps, allowing more personalized therapies. With the increasing number of available closed-loop systems, new challenges appear regarding algorithms and functionalities. Several of the analysed systems in this paper try to adapt to changes in some patients' conditions and, in several of these systems, other variables such as basal needs are considered fixed from day to day to simplify the control problem. Therefore, these systems require a correct adjustment of the basal needs profile which becomes crucial to obtain good results. In this paper a novel approach tries to dynamically determine the insulin basal needs of the patient and use this information within a closed-loop algorithm, allowing the system to dynamically adjust in situations of illness, exercise, high-fat-content meals or even partially blocked infusion sites and avoiding the need for setting a basal profile that approximately matches the basal needs of the patient. The insulin sensitivity factor and the glycemic target are also dynamically modified according to the situation of the patient. Basal insulin needs are dynamically determined through linear regression via the decomposition of previously dosed insulin and its effect on the patient's glycemia. Using the obtained value as basal insulin needs and other mechanisms such as basal needs modification through its trend, ISF and glycemic targets modification and low-glucose-suspend threshold, the safety of the algorithm is improved. The dynamic basal insulin needs determination was successfully included in a closed-loop control algorithm and was simulated on 30 virtual patients (10 adults, 10 adolescent and 10 children) using an open-source python implementation of the FDA-approved (Food and Drug Administration) UVa (University of Virginia)/Padova Simulator. Simulations showed that the proposed system dynamically determines the basal needs and can adapt to a partial blockage of the insulin infusion, obtaining similar results in terms of time in range to the case in which no blockage was simulated. The proposed algorithm can be incorporated to other current closed-loop control algorithms to directly estimate the patient's basal insulin needs or as a monitoring channel to detect situations in which basal needs may differ from the expected ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ITER neutral beam test facility under construction in Padova will host two experimental devices: SPIDER, a 100 kV negative H/D RF source, and MITICA, a full scale, 1 MeV deuterium beam injector. A detection system called close-contact neutron emission surface mapping (CNESM) is under development with the aim to resolve the horizontal beam intensity profile in MITICA and one of the eight beamlet groups in SPIDER, with a spatial resolution of 1.5 and 2.5 cm respectively. This is achieved by the evaluation of the map of the neutron emission due to interaction of the deuterium beam with the deuterons implanted in the beam dump surface. CNESM uses nGEM detectors, i.e. GEM detectors equipped with a cathode that also serves as neutron–proton converter foil. The diagnostic will be placed right behind the SPIDER and MITICA beam dump, i.e. in an UHV environment, but the nGEM detectors need to operate at atmospheric pressure: in order to maintain the detector at atmospheric pressure, a vacuum sealed box, that will be mounted inside the vacuum, has been designed. The box design was driven by the need to minimize the neutron attenuation and the distance between the beam dump surface and the detector active area. This paper presents the status of the CNESM diagnostic describing the design of the detector, the design of the sealed box and reporting the results obtained with the first full-size prototype under fast neutron irradiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PRIMA is a large experimental facility under realization in Padova, aimed at developing and testing the Neutral Beam Injectors for ITER. The operation of these devices involves high RF power and voltage up to 1 MV. Frequent and high voltage electrical breakdowns inside the beam sources occur regularly. The presence of a distributed carefully optimized earthing system is of paramount importance to achieve a satisfying disturbances immunity for equipment and diagnostics. The paper describes the design and the realization of the earthing system of the PRIMA facility, which is based on the MESH-Common Bonding Network (MESH-CBN) topology, as recommended by IEC and IEEE standards for installations with high levels of Electromagnetic Interferences (EMI). The principles of the MESH-CBN approach were adapted to the PRIMA layout, which is composed by several buildings, that are independent for seismic and architectural reasons, but are linked by many electrical conduits and hydraulic pipelines. The availability of huge foundations, with a large number of poles and pillars, was taken into account; building parts dedicated to host control rooms and sensitive equipment were treated with particular care. Moreover, the lightning protection system was integrated and harmonized with the earthing system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of 20 years of monitoring indoor microclimate conditions inside the Scrovegni Chapel in Padova (Italy). Since the late 1970s, the chapel has been the subject of a series of monitoring to assess the degree of conservation of the frescos and of the building structures. The early studies allowed to operate in the best for what concerns the choice of the proper instrumentation and their positioning. It was thus possible to operate before the beginning of any restoration work measuring values of surface temperature, vertical and horizontal gradients of air temperature and relative humidity. The approach has highlighted the importance of heat transfer as well as exchanges of mass between the indoor air and wall surfaces. A subsequent monitoring period allows to measure the air temperature, humidity and surface temperatures after the restoration works. During the same period, it was commissioned to assess the requirements for the air treatment plant. Monitoring is continuous in time and a reasoned comparison of the different indoor microclimatic conditions, which over the years have been met, is here proposed. These indications suggest possible improvements of the monitoring system and of the management of indoor microclimate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper, a probabilistic model of the eating behavior of subjects with type 1 diabetes is proposed and validated against two extensive datasets collected during experiments in free-living conditions in Padova and Amsterdam clinical centers. Meals are modeled as a discrete-time marked point process. The random meal events are associated to a Markov Chain whose state is the fasting period and the transition probabilities depend on variables such as daytime and carbohydrate intake of the previous meal. The random marks associated to each meal represent the carbohydrate intake and their distribution possibly depends on daytime, fasting period and carbohydrate intake of the previous meal. Logistic and Gaussian Mixture models are used to identify two models from the Padova and Amsterdam datasets, respectively. In order to validate it, the proposed model is used to simulate synthetic datasets, whose statistical properties appear to be in good agreement with those of the experimental datasets. The availability of a probabilistic model of eating behavior is expected to be valuable for several purposes ranging from the optimization and customization of automatic insulin dosing systems to decision supporting tools for insulin dosing and the alert management for missing meal announcements. • Data collected during free-living condition trials in Padova and Amsterdam. • Meals modeled as Marked-Point Process, implemented as Markov Chain for simulation. • Periodic meal occurrence probability, based on fasting and daytime. • Meal amount distribution modeled as Gaussian Mixture model. • Original and simulated datasets show good statistical agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The constrained mock-Chebyshev least squares interpolation is a univariate polynomial interpolation technique exploited to cut-down the Runge phenomenon. It takes advantage of the optimality of the interpolation on the mock-Chebyshev nodes, i.e. the subset of the uniform grid formed by nodes that mimic the behavior of Chebyshev–Lobatto nodes. The other nodes of the grid are not discarded, rather they are used in a simultaneous regression to improve the accuracy of the approximation of the mock-Chebyshev subset interpolant. In this paper we extend the univariate constrained mock-Chebyshev least squares interpolation to the bivariate case in two different ways, relying on the tensor product interpolation and on the interpolation at the mock-Padua nodes. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of such extensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the framework of the program for the construction—in Padova, Italy—of the first prototype of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor 1 MeV–16 MW negative neutral beam injector (NNBI), an R&D activity on voltage holding in vacuum has been initiated since 2009, aimed at supporting the design, construction, and development of the NNBI accelerator. For this purpose, the high-voltage Padova test facility, designed to operate up to 800 kV, has been built, in parallel to the development of a multivoltage multielectrode voltage holding prediction model (VHPM). This paper focuses on the results of the experimental campaign (up to 270 kV) carried out on a number of electrostatic configurations, aimed at validating the VHPM under a well-controlled condition. The prediction capability of the model is partially confirmed. This result makes it worthwhile to review the physical basis of the model—based on the Cranberg–Slivkov clump theory—while also taking into consideration an alternative breakdown initiation mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT In this paper, we present the investigation of the evolutionary status of three open clusters: Berkeley 27, Berkeley 34 and Berkeley 36, all located in the Galactic anticentre direction. All of them were observed with SUperb Seeing Imager 2 at the New Technology Telescope using the Bessel B, V and I filters. The cluster parameters have been obtained using the synthetic colour-magnitude diagram (CMD) method, i.e. the direct comparison of the observational CMDs with a library of synthetic CMDs generated with different evolutionary sets (Padova, FRANEC and FST). This analysis shows that Berkeley 27 has an age between 1.5 and 1.7 Gyr, a reddening E( B− V) in the range 0.40-0.50 and a distance modulus ( m− M)0 between 13.1 and 13.3; Berkeley 34 is older with an age in the range 2.1-2.5 Gyr, E( B− V) between 0.57 and 0.64 and ( m− M)0 between 14.1 and 14.3; Berkeley 36, with an age between 7.0 and 7.5 Gyr, has a reddening of E( B− V) ∼ 0.50 and a distance modulus ( m− M)0 between 13.1 and 13.2. For all the clusters, our analysis suggests a subsolar metallicity in accord with their position in the outer Galactic disc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: PRIMA (Padova Research Injector Megavolt Accelerated) is the name of the ITER neutral beam facility currently under construction at the RFX Consortium located in Padua – Italy. PRIMA consists of two injectors which will test at the same time the ion source (SPIDER) and the whole system (MITICA). Both injectors accelerate negative deuterium and hydrogen ions with a maximum energy of 1MeV for MITICA and 100keV for SPIDER, with a maximum beam current of 40A. Accelerated ions are stopped on a CuCrZr alloy calorimeter. Operation in deuterium leads to production of an intense neutron flux through D–D and D–T reactions on the calorimeter panels which is likely to activate materials and components around the injectors, among which the corrosion products formed in the cooling loops; the radioactivity of the activated corrosion products (ACPs) may persist even after injector shutdown, representing a relevant radiation protection issue during repair and inspection activities. In the present paper the occupational radiation exposure (ORE) is evaluated. The total amount of radioactivity produced inside the cooling loops is calculated under different operative conditions and the radiation dose received by workers carrying out maintenance activities on the injector is also assessed for both experiments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The NIO1 (Negative Ion Optimization phase 1) experiment, whose construction has started in 2010 at Consorzio RFX in Padova in collaboration with INFN-LNL, is a radio frequency Hydrogen negative ion source designed to produce a beam current of 130mA with 60keV particle energy. The aim of the experiment is to provide a highly flexible system to test material properties of source components and to benchmark simulation codes for beam optics and plasma behavior. The paper focuses on a conceptual design for NIO1 power supply system on the basis of given operational and performance requirements. The requested ratings fall well within those of products available on the market and the design includes standard commercial solutions for the individual power supplies. The ion source operates at −60kV with respect to ground, leading to a number of design issues at system level and related to mutual connection between power supplies and load, layout and grounding. These aspects, along with the crucial point of ensuring protection to the arc prone beam source, are reviewed and discussed. The study leads to a scheme integrating high voltage power supplies, high current power supplies and a possible solution for passive protection components at the power supply output. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper focuses on the chemical characterization of samples of black decorations and inscriptions, and of yellow-brown patinas collected from various panels of the ark from the chapel of Saint Anthony (Padua, Italy), using three analytical procedures based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Analytical pyrolysis in the presence of hexamethyldisilazane followed by gas chromatographic–mass spectrometric analysis (Py-GC/MS) and two procedures based on gas chromatography/mass spectrometry after wet-chemical treatment of the samples (GC/MS) were chosen for the recognition of the organic substances (used originally or in the course of restoration) and of their degradation products. In terms of the two GC/MS procedures, one was used to characterize proteins, lipids, resins, waxes, bituminous materials and their degradation products, and the other to characterize saccharide materials. The three analytical procedures used enabled us to obtain information on the presence of egg proteins, lipid materials (beeswax, siccative oil and animal fatty material), saccharide materials and Pinaceae resin. Beeswax, animal fat, egg and saccharide materials have been used in the past as restoration materials, and pine resin and siccative oil were the main ingredients in the black decorations and inscriptions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Neutral Beam Test Facility, which will be built in Padova, Italy, is aimed at developing the ITER heating neutral beam injector (HNB) and at testing and optimizing its operation up to nominal performance before installation on ITER. It requires the development of two independent experiments referred to as SPIDER (source for production of ions of deuterium extracted from Rf plasma) and MITICA (megavolt ITer injector & concept advancement). SPIDER will explore the full-size negative ion source for ITER, whereas MITICA will explore the full-size ITER neutral beam injector. Both experiments will be designed for long-pulse operation, up to 3600s, as ITER itself. MITICA includes three functional components: the heating neutral beam injector plant system (HNB), which is the device under test; the auxiliary plant system (AUX), which includes all equipment to operate the HNB in the test facility (e.g. the local electric grid to feed the HNB power supplies), and MITICA supervisory system that is an electronics/informatics infrastructure to operate the facility. The paper introduces the requirements for the control and data acquisition systems of the experiments and proposes a preliminary design for both systems. SPIDER, which is preparatory to MITICA and will be developed on a shorter time scale, has no constraints coming from ITER CODAC, whereas MITICA includes the ITER neutral beam injector and therefore must be fully compatible with ITER CODAC. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper examines the inter-relationship between image, text and object in the Codex Kentmanus, which is one of the earliest records of the plants in the botanical garden at Padua, studied by Johannes Kentmann (1518-77). The manuscript shows that “observation” for Kentmann involved a gradual process of assimilating knowledge from other physicians, apothecaries, and books in order to make the plants which were originally encountered at a specific time and place into a more generalised object of study for learned physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the framework of the construction of the Test Facility for the ITER Neutral Beam Injector to be installed at Consorzio RFX in Padova (Italy), a cryosorption cryopump, designed by FZK, will be employed to guarantee the appropriate pressure range for the D2or H2 pulsed beam. The cryopanels that constitute the cryopump will be indirectly cooled by means of supercritical helium at temperatures ranging from 4.5K to 6.5K and at a pressure of 0.5MPa. The thermal shields will be indirectly cooled by means of high pressure (1.5MPa) gas helium at temperatures from 65K to 90K. In order to provide the helium gas and the supercritical helium to the cryopump, a cryogenic plant has been further designed by RFX. The cryogenic plant consists of a Main Refrigerator to supply the supercritical helium, a Shield Refrigerator based on a Brayton cycle for the cooling of thermal shields, a Proximity Cryogenic System to provide the helium distribution and a Helium Recovery and Purification System to deliver pure helium to the refrigerators. The plant has been conceived to operate in several functioning modes according to the needs of the test facility: a cool-down operation, stand-by and NBI operation modes, a 100K regeneration mode, a warm up operation to ambient temperature, and a 470K regeneration mode. The full flexibility of the system has been pursued to assure its reliability and to chase unbroken operation. This paper presents the cryoplant design and the technical solutions adopted to optimize the system performances and its capability to implement all the required operative scenarios in a fully automatic mode. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In the framework of the strategy for the development and the procurement of the NB systems for ITER, it has been decided to build in Padova a test facility, including two experimental devices: a full size plasma source with low voltage extraction and a full size NB injector at full beam power (1MV). These two different devices will separately address the main scientific and technological issues of the 17MW NB injector for ITER. In particular the full size plasma source of negative ions will address the ITER performance requirements in terms of current density and uniformity, limitation of the electron/ion ratio and stationary operation at full current with high reliability and constant performances for the whole operating time up to 1h. The required negative ion current density to be extracted from the plasma source ranges from 290A/m2 in D2 (D−) and 350A/m2 in H2 (H−) and these values should be obtained at the lowest admissible neutral pressure in the plasma source volume, nominally at 0.3Pa. The electron to ion ratio should be limited to less than 1 and the admissible ion inhomogeneity extracted from the grids should be better than 10% on the whole plasma cross-section having a surface exposed to the extraction grid of the order of 1m2. The main design choices will be presented in the paper as well as an overview of the design of the main components and systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Description of the first operations of SPIDER in which the first plasma was achieved weeks before the connection of the power supplies to the Ion Source from the power supply perspective. • Description of the circuit modification with insertion of pre-load resistors which was pivotal to the ignition of the first plasma and to mitigate the occurrence of the breakdown, induced by the Radio Frequency, on the rear side of the Ion Source. • The description of the issues encountered by Tetrode-based oscillators used to drive the Ion Source. • Among the issues: the reduced power transfer to the load, well below the nominal power, the occurrence of a huge common-mode RF current due to the system layout which has a relevant impact on the source diagnostics and power supplies, the significant error on the RF power measurement to the load. In the road-map for a fully operational ITER Neutral Beam Injector (NBI), SPIDER represents a necessary step to test its negative ion source design since the required performances have never been achieved simultaneously by any previous experiment. The smaller scale of SPIDER to the full ITER NBI prototype (named MITICA, which will operate in the same test facility in Padova) allows more flexibility in the experiments and, taking advantage of its larger set of diagnostic, will provide insightful results for the entire project development. This paper is the result of the experience gained within the first two years of SPIDER operation, with the focus on the Ion Source and Extraction Power Supply (ISEPS) system. A review of the system development, of the main outcomes of the first experimental phase and the description of the still open issues, is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Screening programs may be useful to reduce the rate of undetected glaucoma. Compass (CMP, CenterVue, Padova, Italy) Standard Suprathreshold strategy (SST) analyses the visual function at 52 retinal locations. A new Quick Suprathreshold strategy (QST) reduces the number of tested locations to 24. With both tests, the CMP also provides an image of the central retina and a detail of the optic nerve head. The aim of this paper is to measure the performances of SST and QST compared with clinical diagnosis. 63 consecutive healthy subjects and 60 consecutive patients with perimetric defects from glaucoma in both eyes were recruited. They received one test per eye (SST or QST in randomized order); results were classified into normal, suspect and abnormal according to a global index provided in the report and called SupraThreshold Response (STR). Agreement between clinical diagnosis and test output were calculated, and test time was also measured. The agreement with the clinical diagnosis was 95.7% for SST and 95.1% for QST. When two suspect tests were excluded, agreement for QST increased to 96.7%. Test duration was 164 ± 82 s for SST and 71 ± 41 s for QST (p < 0.0001). Such a difference was similar in both glaucoma patients (respectively 231 ± 65 s vs. 105 ± 33 s, p < 0.0001) and normal subjects (98 ± 17 and 39 ± 9 s, p < 0.0001). In conclusion, SST and QST showed similar, high agreement with clinical judgement. Morphological analysis is potentially helpful in further improving the clinical usefulness of suprathreshold tests. QST is characterized by a strong time saving compared with SST. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the microclimate within an historic building: the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. The measured values, obtained over an extended period of time, provide information useful for the conservation of the fiescos. The primary task was management of the microclimate: air temperature, air velocity and air humidity are the main physical properties that must be controlled. The indoor air quality and the number of air changes should also be controlled, especially where the presence of people can be a significant source of pollution. To evaluate the effects of management policies, including the possible installation of an HVAC (heating, ventilation and air-conditioning) system, some numerical simulations were performed. CFD (computational fluid dynamics) calculations supplement the information obtained from field measurements. A proposal for the control of air flow rates and of the interior microclimate is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Divertor Tokamak Test facility (DTT) is the new tokamak whose construction is starting in Frascati (Italy), with the main aim of testing different divertor magnetic configurations and technologies in view of DEMO. In the present design, the DTT heating mix includes one Negative Neutral Beam Injector (NBI), with a power injected in the plasma of 10 MW and a beam energy of 500 keV. The NBI conceptual design is under development and includes solutions already adopted for ITER (RF-driven ion source, gas neutralizer, electrostatic Residual Ion Dump), but with some simplifications to reduce costs and complexity deemed feasible for DTT. In particular, the beam source is air-insulated and fed by the gas-insulated Transmission Line through gas-air bushings. This paper presents the status of the conceptual design of the main power supplies of the DTT NBI. The main ratings are collected from physics requirements and NBI design. On this basis, the reference technical solutions are selected, considering the experience gained at the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility in Padova (Italy), the specific design of the DTT NBI and the layout constraints of the DTT Site. For the Acceleration Grid Power Supply, besides the ITER-like design, an innovative approach based on the Modular Multilevel Converter technology, never adopted in this application, is considered; pros and cons of the two solutions are evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]