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The target sits at the core of each facility for the production of radioactive ion beams for nuclear physics research. The materials which constitutes it must withstand extremes conditions of temperature and pressure, being bombarded by intense beams of light particles for several days. This is particularly important in high-power facilities such as SPES (Selective Production of Exotic Species) in which the targets are subjected to strong thermal gradients. Accurate choice and design of materials are therefore crucial. On recent years, several studies have been carried out in the framework of the SPES target research and development. An overview of recently exploited production techniques and a selection of synthesized materials are presented.

A collection of nature-inspired lipophilic phenolic esters have been prepared by an enzymatic synthesis under flow conditions, using the immobilized lipase B from Candida antarctica (Novozyme 435®) as a catalyst in cyclopentyl methyl ether (CPME), a non-conventional and green solvent. Their antimicrobial activity against four selected bacterial strains together with their efficiency as radical scavengers were evaluated. The obtained compounds were characterized by enhanced lipophilicity in comparison with the parent non-esterified compounds, which increased the possibility of their use as additives in the food industry.

Introduction The Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) is the most widely used protocol for activating a stress response of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis and other stress-mediating systems. A number of variants of the TSST exist, including ones for children, groups, and virtual reality. All of these versions, though, require in-person assessment. The COVID-19 pandemic has made in-person assessment impossible or extremely difficult and potentially dangerous. The purpose of this study was to validate a completely remote, online, version of the TSST for children. Method A sample of 68 (27 female) 15- and 16-year old participants were administered the TSST-Online (TSST-OL) during the late afternoon hours (3–6 p.m. start time). The participants, judges (one male, one female), and experimenter (female) all joined the assessment from their own homes via the online platform, ZOOM™. Two sessions were conducted, one to obtain consent, explain procedures, work with the family to arrange the computer and room set-up for the TSST-OL and one within two weeks to conduct the procedure. The participants were trained to take their own saliva samples and a saliva sampling kit was mailed to the home in between the first and second session. The samples were then mailed to the researchers within a day of collection. The participant was observed during saliva collection to determine correct procedures were followed. Salivary cortisol, salivary α-amylase and self-reports of stress were measured multiple times over the second session. Results rmANOVAs yielded a significant effect of trials, for cortisol, F(1.37,90.46) = 15.13, p = .001, sAA, F(2.75,146.68) = 6.91, p = .001, and self-rated stress, F(3.43,222.69) = 118.73, p = .001. There were no significant sex by trials interactions for any measure, although females reported more stress than males, F(1,65) = 9.14, p = .004. For cortisol, from baseline to expected peak (30 min after the onset of speech preparation), the Cohen’s effect size was dz = 0.57. Using 1.5 nmol/l (or 0.54 μg/dl) as the criterion for a response (Miller, Plessow, Kirschaum, & Stalder, 2013), 63% of the participants produced a significant increase in cortisol. Conclusions The responses to the TSST-OL are consistent with in-person responses among children and adolescents (see recent meta-analysis (Seddon et al., 2020). The protocol is a viable way of assessing reactivity of the HPA axis and other stress systems without needing to bring the participant into the research laboratory. This method will be useful during periods of widespread infection. It should also work to study populations who all live too far from the research laboratory to be assessed in person.

Early rearing conditions can exert a strong influence on the immune system, affecting regulation and the capacity to respond effectively to pathogens. Most PNI research focuses on inflammatory processes, but the absence of typical parenting can also result in a polarization of T cells. An optimized multicolor immunophenotyping panel was used to enumerate T cell lineages, comparing adolescents who had spent 1–2 years in an orphanage to typically raised teenagers. This presentation will focus primarily on CD4 + CD57 + and CD8 + CD57 + cells, further subdivided into naive, central memory and effector/memory subsets, including cells in the terminally differentiated state. As compared to family-reared American teenagers, the adopted adolescents, especially males, had significantly more TEMRA cells. High frequencies of this cell population are normally associated with aging and immune senescence in older adults, resulting in a lower homeostatic capacity. They also reflect sustained activation and participate in containing latent Herpes viruses. Institutional rearing during infancy was associated with a greater likelihood of being CMV seropositive, which contributed to, but did not entirely account for the persistent effects of early rearing on T cell profiles in male adolescents. Our analysis also found that rearing conditions affected cytokine responses to several T cell and inflammatory stimulants in culture. Following overnight stimulation of whole blood with PHA, LPS, IO/PMA, or anti-CD3/anti-CD28 MoAB, cytokine concentrations were determined by multi-analyte electrochemiluminesence array.

A failure assessment diagram for components subjected to rolling contact with hardness varying along the depth is presented. The approach takes into account the influence of inherent defects on subsurface fatigue: considering a 2D plane strain model, crack propagation from inherent defects was assessed in terms of applied stress intensity factor; defect-free fatigue was assessed in terms of the Dang Van stress. By analysing different combinations of loading condition, defect dimension and hardness profile, it was possible to obtain a general relationship for subsurface rolling contact fatigue prediction. A good agreement was found between predicted contact pressure limit and some published experimental results.

Fatigue strength and failure mechanisms of short fiber reinforced (SFR) PEEK have been investigated in the past by several research groups. However some relevant aspects of the fatigue behavior of these materials, like cyclic creep and fatigue damage accumulation and modeling, have not been studied yet, in particular in presence of both fillers and short fibers as reinforcement. In the present research these aspects were considered by carrying out uni-axial fatigue tests in load control (cycle ratio R = 0) on neat PEEK and PEEK based composites reinforced either with short carbon fibers only or with addition of fillers (graphite and PTFE). For each material stress-life curves were obtained and compared. Fatigue fracture surfaces were analyzed to identify failure mechanisms in presence of different reinforcement types. The evolution of cyclic creep strain was also monitored as a function of the number of cycles, thus allowing investigation on the correlation between cyclic creep parameters and fatigue life. The evolution of cyclic damage with loading cycles was then compared by defining a damage parameter related to the specimen stiffness reduction observed during the tests. Progressive cyclic damage evolution of short fiber reinforced PEEK composites presented significantly different patterns depending on applied stress level and on the presence of different reinforcement typologies. In order to reproduce the different fatigue damage kinetics and stages of progressive damage accumulation observed experimentally, a cyclic damage model was finally developed and implemented into a finite element code by which a satisfactory agreement between numerical prediction and experimental data at different stress levels for each examined material.

The paper presents an extension to finite life of a failure assessment diagram recently proposed for components subjected to rolling contact loading. The approach considers inherent defects, like inclusions, as potential sources of crack initiation and propagation. A predictive model based on the critical distance theory was proposed for this aim, allowing to define iso-life curves, represented by a quarter of ellipse in the diagram. For working conditions exceeding shakedown, an approach to calculate finite life due to ratcheting was also presented, by comparing cumulated shear strain with the critical one. The proposed approach was used to predict the number of cycles to failure of disk specimens made of SAE 5135 gear steel and compared with the results of previously carried out rolling contact fatigue tests. The agreement between predicted and experimental specimens life resulted good, showing the effectiveness of the approach.

With reference to the prototype of neutron inspection portal built and successfully tested in the Rijeka seaport (Croatia) within the EURITRACK (EURopean Illicit Trafficking Countermeasures Kit) project, an assessment of the biological shielding in different set-up configurations of a future portal has been calculated with MCNP Monte Carlo code in the frame of the Eritr@C (European Riposte against Illicit TR@ffiCking) project. In the configurations analyzed the compliance with the dose limits for workers and the population stated by the European legislation is provided by appropriate shielding of the neutron sources and by the delimitation of a controlled area.

In the published article we unintentionally missed to provide references to study #4 (see Table 1). The source data of study #4 were kindly provided by the TRAILS consortium (Rosmalen et al., 2005).

The paper presents a ratchetting model, based on the non-linear kinematic-isotropic hardening law of Leimatre and Chaboche, able to predict the shear strain accumulation during rolling contact loading and including wear as a competitive phenomenon. A procedure was proposed to calibrate the model with the material constants suitable for rolling contact problems, obtaining them from bi-disk contact tests. For this aim and to study the damage evolution at the wheel–rail interface, some twin disk rolling contact tests were carried out on a common wheel–rail material couple under a dry rolling–sliding condition typical of normal service. The tests were stopped at progressive cycles numbers for different couples of specimens, which were then cut and observed with optical and electron microscope in order to analyse the damage evolution in the zone near to the contact interface. A wear-rolling contact fatigue competition was observed with a progressive crack tip advance following a shear band cracking mechanism and crack tail removal due to wear. The numerical model allowed predicting the experimental strain profile along the depth as a function of contact cycles number, also demonstrating through the critical strain approach that in the analysed conditions wear was able to prevent deep crack formation.

The effect of shot peening treatment on sintered steels plates were analyzed in terms of micro-structural and mechanical properties and residual stress profiles. Two high performances powder metallurgy steels were considered: the former was obtained starting from diffusion bonded powders, whereas the latter starting from pre-alloyed powders. Two different nominal densities were considered, 6.9g/cm3 and 7.1g/cm3. After a preliminary optimization, two shoot peening cycles were selected and carried out on the investigated materials. Residual stresses after the treatment were measured by means of the hole drilling technique and related to the mechanical properties and the surface densification of both steels, varying the nominal density.

A development of a failure assessment diagram for the evaluation of the safe working area of components subjected to rolling contact loading is here presented regarding the application to components whose hardness varies along the depth. The approach takes into account the influence of inherent defects in determining subsurface rolling contact fatigue, depending on working conditions, material properties and hardness profile along the depth. For this aim, crack propagation from inherent defects is assessed in terms of applied stress intensity factor range normalized with respect to short crack growth threshold, defect – free fatigue is assessed in terms of Dang Van stress normalized with respect to shear fatigue limit, where the material quantities depend on hardness variable with depth. These two normalized quantities are the coordinates of the points of a “reference curve” in the failure assessment diagram, which location indicates whether and where failure is expected to occur. By analysing different combinations of loading condition, inclusion dimension and hardness profile, it was possible obtaining a design diagram of general validity, which allows a fast prediction of safety against subsurface rolling contact fatigue.

In the present research the fatigue damage evolution of a PEEK based composite was studied. Examined material consisted of a PEEK matrix reinforced by carbon micro-fibres with addition of fillers such as graphite and PTFE. Fatigue tests in load control were carried out up to 106 cycles at different stress level, with cycle ratio R = 0 and frequency 10 Hz. The damage evolution was evaluated by defining damage parameter based on elastic modulus reduction observed under cyclic loading. The cyclic damage evolution of PEEK based composite, which is a function of applied stress level, presented significantly different damage stages. In order to reproduce fatigue damage kinetic observed experimentally a phenomenological modelling approach was then implemented into a finite element code, based on fatigue damage model recently proposed for short fibre reinforced thermoplastic composites.

The N2P research program funded by the INFN committee for Experimental Nuclear Physics (CSNIII) has among his goals the construction of a Proton Recoil Telescope (PRT), a detector to measure neutron energy spectra. The interest in such a detector is primarily related to the SPES project for rare beams production at the Laboratori Nazionali di Legnaro. For the SPES project it is, in fact, of fundamental importance to have reliable information about energy spectra and yield for neutrons produced by d or p projectiles on thick light targets to model the ''conversion target'' in which the p or d are converted in neutrons. These neutrons, in a second stage, will induce the Uranium fission in the ''production target''. The fission products are subsequently extracted, selected and re-accelerated to produce the exotic beam. The neutron spectra and angular distribution are important parameters to define the final production of fission fragments. In addition, this detector can be used to measure neutron spectra in the field of cancer therapy (this topic is nowadays of particular interest to INFN, for the National Centre for Hadron therapy (CNAO) in Pavia) and space applications.

The EURopean Illicit TRAfficing Countermeasures Kit (EURITRACK) project is part of the 6th European Union Framework Program. It aims at developing a Tagged Neutron Inspection System (TNIS) to detect illicit materials, such as explosives and narcotics, in cargo containers. Fast neutron induced reactions produce specific gamma-rays used to determine the chemical composition of the inspected material. The associated particle technique is employed to precisely locate the interaction points of the neutrons. A new deuterium– tritium neutron generator has been developed, including a pixelized alpha particle detector. The TNIS also comprises high-efficiency fast neutron and gamma-ray detectors, a dedicated front-end electronics and an integrated software to entirely drive the system and automatically process the data. Most components have been integrated during last months at Institute Ruder Boskovic, in Zagreb, Croatia. An overview of the TNIS and of its preliminary performances is presented.

A research has been made to look for a signature of the positive-strangeness baryon resonance Θ + ( 1530 ) , which is expected to decay into p K 0 . A peak is observed in the p π + π − invariant mass distribution in antiproton– 4 He annihilation reactions at rest with production of two π + π − pairs with invariant mass close to the K S 0 mass. The annihilation reactions on 4 He can involve two to four nucleons producing an energy blob characterized by high strangeness content. The peak is centred around 1560.0 ± 3.7 MeV and its width is very narrow. The statistical significance is 2.7; this value is considered of not sufficient significance to claim support of the Θ + . The data were collected with the Obelix spectrometer at the LEAR machine of CERN.

The structural and functional effects of the “edge-to-edge” technique on the human mitral valve have been investigated, paying particular attention to the diastolic phase. An advanced finite element model of the valve has been developed, using a hyperelastic material schematization, suitable geometry and constraint conditions, and an effective fluidodynamic analysis. The edge-to-edge suture has been applied on this model and the diastolic phase has been simulated. The results of this calculation show that the operation increases the transvalvular pressure and the maximum stress in the leaflets, which reaches a level similar to that of the systolic phase. The influence of suture position and extension, and the mitral annulus dimension has also been investigated. The results indicate that a lateral location of the stitch is better than a central one, both regarding valve functionality (pressure level and mobility) and internal stresses level, that a longer suture worsens the valve functionality but reduces the stresses level, finally, that the dilatation of the mitral annulus does not affect the valve functionality but increases the stresses level.