1,077 results on '"Castorina P"'
Search Results
152. Effects of ultra-light dark matter on the gravitational quantum well
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Castorina, Paolo, Iorio, Alfredo, and Malinský, Michal
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High Energy Physics - Phenomenology - Abstract
We study the influence of a periodic perturbation of the effective masses of the nucleons, due to the assumed semi-classical ultra-light dark matter background, on the motion of neutrons in a gravitational quantum well. Our focus is on the transition probability between the lowest two energy states, with the Rabi frequency in the kHz region corresponding to the series of "sweet spot" dark matter masses in the $10^{-11}$eV ballpark. The relevant probability is written in terms of the specific mass and of the effective coupling to the ordinary matter. These parameters can be constrained by the non-observation of any significant deviations of the measured transition probabilities from the dark-matter-free picture., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures
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- 2017
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153. Modelling Paroxysmal and Mild-Strombolian Eruptive Plumes at Stromboli and Mt. Etna on 28 August 2019
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Giuseppe Castorina, Agostino Semprebello, Alessandro Gattuso, Giuseppe Salerno, Pasquale Sellitto, Francesco Italiano, and Umberto Rizza
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Stromboli ,Mt. Etna ,Strombolian eruption ,sulphur dioxide emissions ,WRF-Chem model ,FLAME ,Science - Abstract
Volcanic eruptions pose a major natural hazard influencing the environment, climate and human beings at different temporal and spatial scales. Nevertheless, several volcanoes worldwide are poorly monitored and assessing the impact of their eruptions remains, in some cases, challenging. Nowadays, different numerical dispersion models are largely employed in order to evaluate the potential effects of volcanic plume dispersion due to the transport of ash and gases. On 28 August 2019, both Mt. Etna and Stromboli had eruptive activity; Mt. Etna was characterised by mild-Strombolian activity at summit craters, while at Stromboli volcano, a paroxysmal event occurred, which interrupted the ordinary typical-steady Strombolian activity. Here, we explore the spatial dispersion of volcanic sulphur dioxide (SO2) gas plumes in the atmosphere, at both volcanoes, using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) considering the ground-measured SO2 amounts and the plume-height as time-variable eruptive source parameters. The performance of WRF-Chem was assessed by cross-correlating the simulated SO2 dispersion maps with data retrieved by TROPOMI and OMI sensors. The results show a feasible agreement between the modelled dispersion maps and TROPOMI satellite for both volcanoes, with spatial pattern retrievals and a total mass of dispersed SO2 of the same order of magnitude. Predicted total SO2 mass for Stromboli might be underestimated due to the inhibition from ground to resolve the sin-eruptive SO2 emission due to the extreme ash-rich volcanic plume released during the paroxysm. This study demonstrates the feasibility of a WRF-Chem model with time-variable ESPs in simultaneously reproducing two eruptive plumes with different SO2 emission and their dispersion into the atmosphere. The operational implementation of this method could represent effective support for the assessment of local-to-regional air quality and flight security and, in case of particularly intense events, also on a global scale.
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- 2023
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154. Neurophysiological and Psychometric Outcomes in Minimal Consciousness State after Advanced Audio–Video Emotional Stimulation: A Retrospective Study
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Rosaria De Luca, Paola Lauria, Mirjam Bonanno, Francesco Corallo, Carmela Rifici, Milva Veronica Castorina, Simona Trifirò, Antonio Gangemi, Carmela Lombardo, Angelo Quartarone, Maria Cristina De Cola, and Rocco Salvatore Calabrò
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minimally conscious state ,acquired brain injury ,neurorehabilitation ,multi-sensory stimulation ,Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,RC321-571 - Abstract
In the last ten years, technological innovations have led to the development of new, advanced sensory stimulation (SS) tools, such as PC-based rehabilitative programs or virtual reality training. These are meant to stimulate residual cognitive abilities and, at the same time, assess cognition and awareness, also in patients with a minimally conscious state (MCS). Our purpose was to evaluate the clinical and neurophysiological effects of multi-sensory and emotional stimulation provided by Neurowave in patients with MCS, as compared to a conventional SS treatment. The psychological status of their caregivers was also monitored. In this retrospective study, we have included forty-two MCS patients and their caregivers. Each MCS subject was included in either the control group (CG), receiving a conventional SS, or the experimental group (EG), who was submitted to the experimental training with the Neurowave. They were assessed before (T0) and after the training (T1) through a specific clinical battery, including both motor and cognitive outcomes. Moreover, in the EG, we also monitored the brain electrophysiological activity (EEG and P300). In both study groups (EG and CG), the psychological caregiver’s aspects, including anxiety levels, were measured using the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). The intra-group analysis (T0-T1) of the EG showed statistical significances in all patients’ outcome measures, while in the CG, we found statistical significances in consciousness and awareness outcomes. The inter-group analysis between the EG and the CG showed no statistical differences, except for global communication skills. In conclusion, the multi-sensory stimulation approach through Neurowave was found to be an innovative rehabilitation treatment, also allowing the registration of brain activity during treatment.
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- 2023
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155. An Overview of Physical Exercise Program Protocols and Effects on the Physical Function in Multiple Sclerosis: An Umbrella Review
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Martina Sortino, Luca Petrigna, Bruno Trovato, Alessandra Amato, Alessandro Castorina, Velia D’Agata, Grazia Maugeri, and Giuseppe Musumeci
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MS ,exercise ,movement ,exercise training ,Diseases of the musculoskeletal system ,RC925-935 - Abstract
Multiple sclerosis is a disease that concerns a growing number of people, especially females. There are different interventions proposed for this population, and physical activity is one of them. A proper and well-structured physical activity program can be a cheap, feasible, and practical instrument to help this population improve their quality of life. Consequently, the present study aimed to analyze, through an umbrella review, published articles to evaluate the protocols and the effect of intervention on different types of multiple sclerosis and eventually to propose a standardized intervention for this population. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials on multiple sclerosis and physical activity effects were searched for on the electronic databases PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus up to 22 December 2022. The quality of the studies included was determined and the results were narratively analyzed. The included studies present heterogeneity in the population, in the study design and protocols, and in the outcomes evaluated. Most of the studies detected positive outcomes on the physical function of people with multiple sclerosis. This study highlights the necessity of future studies on a population with similar characteristics, adopting similar protocols to evaluate their feasibility and validity to make physical intervention prescribed as a medicine.
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- 2023
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156. Identification of Airborne Particle Types and Sources at a California School Using Electron Microscopy
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Jeff Wagner, Rosemary Castorina, Kazukiyo Kumagai, McKenna Thompson, Rebecca Sugrue, Elizabeth M. Noth, Asa Bradman, and Susan Hurley
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aerosol chemical composition ,aerosol morphology ,low-cost sensors ,passive sampling ,Meteorology. Climatology ,QC851-999 - Abstract
We conducted a pilot study to investigate air quality indoors in two classrooms and outdoors on the school grounds in a California community with historically high PM2.5 (fine particulate matter, diameter < 2.5 μm). We used computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy of passive samples to identify major PM types, which were used to help interpret continuous PM2.5 and black carbon sensor data. The five major PM types were sodium salt particles with sulfur, calcium, or chlorine; aluminosilicate dusts; carbonaceous combustion agglomerates; biogenic particles; and metal-rich particles. Based on morphological evidence of water droplets, the salt particles are hypothesized to be secondary aerosols formed via the reaction of sodium chloride fog droplets with sulfur from regional sources. The carbonaceous agglomerates had unusual morphologies consistent with low-temperature combustion and smoke from open-burning activities observed nearby. The passive PM sampler and continuous sensor results indicated lower concentrations in the classroom equipped with an air cleaner. Passive samples collected in one classroom exhibited enhanced PM10–2.5 crustal particles and PM2.5 metal particles, suggesting a potential local PM source in that room. Future study designs that enable longer passive sampling times would reduce detection limits and sample contamination concerns. The determination of major airborne particle types in a given environment makes this technique a useful and unique community exposure assessment tool, even in these limited-duration (48 h) deployments.
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- 2023
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157. Potential Crosstalk between the PACAP/VIP Neuropeptide System and Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress—Relevance to Multiple Sclerosis Pathophysiology
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Minduli Withana and Alessandro Castorina
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pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) ,vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) ,endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress ,unfolded protein response (UPR) ,multiple sclerosis ,neuroinflammation ,Cytology ,QH573-671 - Abstract
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated disorder characterized by focal demyelination and chronic inflammation of the central nervous system (CNS). Although the exact etiology is unclear, mounting evidence indicates that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress represents a key event in disease pathogenesis. Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) are two structurally related neuropeptides that are abundant in the CNS and are known to exert neuroprotective and immune modulatory roles. Activation of this endogenous neuropeptide system may interfere with ER stress processes to promote glial cell survival and myelin self-repair. However, the potential crosstalk between the PACAP/VIP system and ER stress remains elusive. In this review, we aim to discuss how these peptides ameliorate ER stress in the CNS, with a focus on MS pathology. Our goal is to emphasize the importance of this potential interaction to aid in the identification of novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of MS and other demyelinating disorders.
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- 2023
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158. Whole-genome resequencing-based characterization of a durum wheat landrace showing similarity to 'Senatore Cappelli'.
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Fernando Tateo, Monica Bononi, Giulia Castorina, Salvatore Antonio Colecchia, Stefano De Benedetti, Gabriella Consonni, and Filippo Geuna
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum spp. durum) is a major cereal adopted since antiquity to feed humans. Due to its use, dating back several millennia, this species features a wide genetic diversity and landraces are considered important repositories of gene pools which constitute invaluable tools for breeders. The aim of this work is to provide a first characterization of a wheat landrace, referred to as 'TB2018', that was collected in the Apulia region (Southern Italy). 'TB2018' revealed, through visual inspection, characters reminiscent of the traditional variety 'Senatore Cappelli', while exhibiting a distinctive trait, i.e., reduced stature. Indeed, the comparison with a set of Italian durum wheat cultivars conducted in this study, in which 24 CPVO plant descriptors were adopted, placed the 'TB2018' landrace in proximity to the 'Senatore Cappelli' cultivar. In addition, the close similarity between the two genotypes was confirmed by the analysis of the seed protein pattern. A relative reduction was detected for 'TB2018' root elongation in the early stages of plant growth. The 'TB2018' genome sequence, obtained through low-coverage resequencing and comparison to the reference 'Svevo' cultivar is also reported in this study, followed by a genome-wide comparison against 259 durum wheat accessions that placed 'TB2018' close to the 'Cappelli' reference. Hundreds of genes putatively affected by variants that possess Gene Ontology descriptors were detected, among which some were shown to be putatively linked to the morphological traits that distinguish 'TB2018' from 'Senatore Cappelli', Overall, this study poses the basis for a possible exploitation of 'TB2018' per se in cultivation or as a source of alternative alleles in the breeding of traditional cultivars. This work also presents a genomic methodology that exploits the information contained in a low-depth, whole-genome sequence to derive genotypic data useful for cross-platform (chip data) comparisons.
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- 2023
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159. Therapeutic efficacy of platinum/etoposide regimens in the treatment of advanced poorly differentiated neuroendocrine carcinomas of the lung: A retrospective analysis
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Ivana Puliafito, Federico Chillari, Alessandro Russo, Ornella Cantale, Dorotea Sciacca, Luigi Castorina, Cristina Colarossi, Tindara Franchina, Maria Paola Vitale, Giuseppina Rosaria Rita Ricciardi, Vincenzo Adamo, Francesca Esposito, and Dario Giuffrida
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platinum regimens ,platinum/etoposide schedules ,neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) ,neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs) ,neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) ,poorly differentiated lung NECs ,Diseases of the endocrine glands. Clinical endocrinology ,RC648-665 - Abstract
BackgroundLung neuroendocrine neoplasms (NENs) are rare malignancies developed from bronchial mucosa. Because of its rarity and complex histopathology, there is limited data on the role of chemotherapy in this subset of tumors. Few studies regarding the treatment of poorly differentiated lung NENs, known as neuroendocrine carcinomas (NECs), are available and many limits are detectable as heterogeneity of tumor samples including different origins and different clinical behaviors, moreover, no evidence of therapeutic advances have been achieved along the last thirty years.MethodWe performed a retrospective analysis of 70 patients affected by poorly differentiated lung NECs: half of patients underwent a first line therapy with a combination of cisplatin plus etoposide; the remaining patients receiving carboplatin instead of cisplatin, plus etoposide. Results: In our analysis, the outcomes of patients treated with either cisplatin or carboplatin schedule are similar in terms of ORR (44% versus 33%), DCR (75% versus 70%), PFS (6.0 versus 5.0 months) and OS (13.0 versus 10 months). Median number of chemotherapy cycles was 4 (range 1-8). The 18% of patients required a dose reduction. Main toxicities reported were hematological (70.5%), gastrointestinal (26.5%) and fatigue (18%).ConclusionSurvival rate in our study suggests that high grade lung NENs are characterized by an aggressive behavior and a poor prognosis, despite the treatment with platinum/etoposide according to available data. Clinical results of present study contribute to strengthen available data on the usefulness of platinum/etoposide regimen in the treatment of poorly differentiated lung NENs
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- 2023
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160. In-depth genetic and molecular characterization of diaphanous related formin 2 (DIAPH2) and its role in the inner ear.
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Chiara Chiereghin, Michela Robusto, Morag A Lewis, Susana Caetano, Valentina Massa, Pierangela Castorina, Umberto Ambrosetti, Karen P Steel, Stefano Duga, Rosanna Asselta, and Giulia Soldà
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Diaphanous related formins are regulatory cytoskeletal protein involved in actin elongation and microtubule stabilization. In humans, defects in two of the three diaphanous genes (DIAPH1 and DIAPH3) have been associated with different types of hearing loss. Here, we investigate the role of the third member of the family, DIAPH2, in nonsyndromic hearing loss, prompted by the identification, by exome sequencing, of a predicted pathogenic missense variant in DIAPH2. This variant occurs at a conserved site and segregated with nonsyndromic X-linked hearing loss in an Italian family. Our immunohistochemical studies indicated that the mouse ortholog protein Diaph2 is expressed during development in the cochlea, specifically in the actin-rich stereocilia of the sensory outer hair cells. In-vitro studies showed a functional impairment of the mutant DIAPH2 protein upon RhoA-dependent activation. Finally, Diaph2 knock-out and knock-in mice were generated by CRISPR/Cas9 technology and auditory brainstem response measurements performed at 4, 8 and 14 weeks. However, no hearing impairment was detected. Our findings indicate that DIAPH2 may play a role in the inner ear; further studies are however needed to clarify the contribution of DIAPH2 to deafness.
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- 2023
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161. The zeldovich approximation and wide-angle redshift-space distortions
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Castorina, E and White, M
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methods: analytical ,cosmology: observations ,cosmology: theory ,astro-ph.CO ,Astronomy & Astrophysics ,Astronomical and Space Sciences - Abstract
The contribution of line-of-sight (LOS) peculiar velocities to the observed redshift of objects breaks the translational symmetry of the underlying theory, modifying the predicted two-point functions. These 'wide-angle effects' have mostly been studied using linear perturbation theory in the context of the multipoles of the correlation function and power spectrum. In this work, we present the first calculation of wide-angle terms in the Zeldovich approximation, which is known to be more accurate than linear theory on scales probed by the next generation of galaxy surveys.We present the exact result for dark matter and perturbatively biased tracers as well as the small angle expansion of the configuration- and Fourier-space two-point functions and the connection to the multifrequency angular power spectrum. We compare different definitions of the LOS direction and discuss how to translate between them. We show that wide-angle terms can reach tens of percent of the total signal in a measurement at low redshift in some approximations, and that a generic feature of wide-angle effects is to slightly shift the Baryon Acoustic Oscillation scale.
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- 2018
162. Residential proximity to agricultural fumigant use and respiratory health in 7-year old children
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Gunier, Robert B, Raanan, Rachel, Castorina, Rosemary, Holland, Nina T, Harley, Kim G, Balmes, John R, Fouquette, Laura, Eskenazi, Brenda, and Bradman, Asa
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Biological Sciences ,Environmental Sciences ,Chemical Sciences ,Pediatric ,Lung ,Asthma ,Clinical Research ,Respiratory ,Agriculture ,California ,Child ,Female ,Forced Expiratory Volume ,Humans ,Male ,Pesticides ,Pregnancy ,Vital Capacity ,Fumigants ,Lung function ,Respiratory symptoms ,Toxicology ,Biological sciences ,Chemical sciences ,Environmental sciences - Abstract
ObjectivesTo examine the relationship between residential proximity to agricultural fumigant use and respiratory symptoms and lung function in 7-year old children.MethodsParticipants were 294 children living in the agricultural Salinas Valley, California and enrolled in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children Of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study. We obtained information on respiratory symptoms and asthma medication use from maternal questionnaires and children performed spirometry to determine the forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1), forced vital capacity (FVC), and forced expiratory flow 25-75% (FEF25-75) at 7-years of age. We estimated agricultural fumigant use within 3, 5 and 8 km of residences during pregnancy and from birth to age 7 using California's Pesticide Use Report data. We evaluated the association between prenatal and postnatal residential proximity to agricultural use of methyl bromide, chloropicrin, metam sodium and 1,3-dichloropropene with respiratory symptoms and use of asthma medication with logistic regression models and continuous lung function measurements with linear regression models adjusted for confounders.ResultsThere were no significant associations between residential proximity to use of fumigants and respiratory symptoms or use of asthma medication. We did not observe any adverse relationships between residential proximity to fumigant use and lung function measurements. Unexpectedly, we observed suggestive evidence of improved FEV1 and FEF25-75 with higher use of methyl bromide and chloropicrin during the prenatal period. For example, for each 10-fold increase in methyl bromide use during the prenatal development period we observed higher FEV1 (β = 0.06 L/s; 95% CI: 0.00, 0.12) and higher FEF25-75 (β = 0.15 L/s; 95% CI: 0.03, 0.27). Maternal report of child allergies (runny nose without a cold during the previous year) modified the relationship between FEV1 and prenatal proximity to methyl bromide use (p = .07) and we only observed higher FEV1 among children without allergies (β = 0.08 L/s; 95% CI: 0.02, 0.14 for a 10-fold increase in methyl bromide use during the prenatal period).ConclusionsResidential proximity to agricultural fumigant use during pregnancy and childhood did not adversely affect respiratory health in the children through 7 years of age. These findings should be explored in larger studies.
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- 2018
163. Beyond the plane-parallel approximation for redshift surveys
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Castorina, E and White, M
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methods: analytical ,methods: observational ,cosmological parameters ,large-scale Dstructure of Universe ,cosmology: theory ,astro-ph.CO ,Astronomy & Astrophysics ,Astronomical and Space Sciences - Abstract
Redshift -space distortions privilege the location of the observer in cosmological redshift surveys, breaking the translational symmetry of the underlying theory. This violation of statistical homogeneity has consequences for the modelling of clustering observables, leading to what are frequently called 'wide-angle effects'.We study these effects analytically, computing their signature in the clustering of the multipoles in configuration and Fourier space. We take into account both physical wide-angle contributions as well as the terms generated by the galaxy selection function. Similar considerations also affect the way power spectrum estimators are constructed. We quantify in an analytical way the biases that enter and clarify the relation between what we measure and the underlying theoretical modelling. The presence of an angular window function is also discussed. Motivated by this analysis, we present new estimators for the three dimensional Cartesian power spectrum and bispectrum multipoles written in terms of spherical Fourier-Bessel coefficients.We show how the latter have several interesting properties, allowing in particular a clear separation between angular and radial modes.
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- 2018
164. The AtMYB60 transcription factor regulates stomatal opening by modulating oxylipin synthesis in guard cells
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Simeoni, Fabio, Skirycz, Aleksandra, Simoni, Laura, Castorina, Giulia, de Souza, Leonardo Perez, Fernie, Alisdair R., Alseekh, Saleh, Giavalisco, Patrick, Conti, Lucio, Tonelli, Chiara, and Galbiati, Massimo
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- 2022
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165. Halo bias in Lagrangian Space: Estimators and theoretical predictions
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Modi, Chirag, Castorina, Emanuele, and Seljak, Uros
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Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
We present several methods to accurately estimate Lagrangian bias parameters and substantiate them using simulations. In particular, we focus on the quadratic terms, both the local and the non local ones, and show the first clear evidence for the latter in the simulations. Using Fourier space correlations, we also show for the first time, the scale dependence of the quadratic and non-local bias coefficients. For the linear bias, we fit for the scale dependence and demonstrate the validity of a consistency relation between linear bias parameters. Furthermore we employ real space estimators, using both cross-correlations and the Peak-Background Split argument. This is the first time the latter is used to measure anisotropic bias coefficients. We find good agreement for all the parameters among these different methods, and also good agreement for local bias with ESP$\tau$ theory predictions. We also try to exploit possible relations among the different bias parameters. Finally, we show how including higher order bias reduces the magnitude and scale dependence of stochasticity of the halo field., Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures
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- 2016
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166. Excursion set peaks: the role of shear
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Castorina, Emanuele, Paranjape, Aseem, Hahn, Oliver, and Sheth, Ravi K.
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Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
Recent analytical work on the modelling of dark halo abundances and clustering has demonstrated the advantages of combining the excursion set approach with peaks theory. We extend these ideas and introduce a model of excursion set peaks that incorporates the role of initial tidal effects or shear in determining the gravitational collapse of dark haloes. The model -- in which the critical density threshold for collapse depends on the tidal influences acting on protohaloes -- is well motivated from ellipsoidal collapse arguments and is also simple enough to be analytically tractable. We show that the predictions of this model are in very good agreement with measurements of the halo mass function and traditional scale dependent halo bias in N-body simulations across a wide range of masses and redshift. The presence of shear in the collapse threshold means that halo bias is naturally predicted to be nonlocal, and that protohalo densities at fixed mass are naturally predicted to have Lognormal-like distributions. We present the first direct estimate of Lagrangian nonlocal bias in N-body simulations, finding broad agreement with the model prediction. Finally, the simplicity of the model (which has essentially a single free parameter) opens the door to building efficient and accurate non-universal fitting functions of halo abundances and bias for use in precision cosmology., Comment: 17 pages, 13 figures, submitted to MNRAS
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- 2016
167. Constraints on halo formation from cross-correlations with correlated variables
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Castorina, Emanuele, Paranjape, Aseem, and Sheth, Ravi K.
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Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
Cross-correlations between biased tracers and the dark matter field encode information about the physical variables which characterize these tracers. However, if the physical variables of interest are correlated with one another, then extracting this information is not as straightforward as one might naively have thought. We show how to exploit these correlations so as to estimate scale-independent bias factors of all orders in a model-independent way. We also show that failure to account for this will lead to incorrect conclusions about which variables matter and which do not. Morever, accounting for this allows one to use the scale dependence of bias to constrain the physics of halo formation; to date the argument has been phrased the other way around. We illustrate by showing that the scale dependence of linear and nonlinear bias, measured on nonlinear scales, can be used to provide consistent estimates of how the critical density for halo formation depends on halo mass. Our methods work even when the bias is nonlocal and stochastic, such as when, in addition to the spherically averaged density field and its derivatives, the quadrupolar shear field also matters for halo formation. In such models, the nonlocal bias factors are closely related to the more familiar local nonlinear bias factors, which are much easier to measure. Our analysis emphasizes the fact that biased tracers are biased because they do not sample fields (density, velocity, shear, etc.) at all positions in space in the same way that the dark matter does., Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures, submitted to MNRAS
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- 2016
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168. Simulating cosmologies beyond $\Lambda$CDM with PINOCCHIO
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Rizzo, Luca Alberto, Villaescusa-Navarro, Francisco, Monaco, Pierluigi, Munari, Emiliano, Borgani, Stefano, Castorina, Emanuele, and Sefusatti, Emiliano
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Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
We present a method that extends the capabilities of the PINpointing Orbit-Crossing Collapsed HIerarchical Objects (PINOCCHIO) code, allowing it to generate accurate dark matter halo mock catalogues in cosmological models where the linear growth factor and the growth rate depend on scale. Such cosmologies comprise, among others, models with massive neutrinos and some classes of modified gravity theories. We validate the code by comparing the halo properties from PINOCCHIO against N-body simulations, focusing on cosmologies with massive neutrinos: $\nu\Lambda$CDM. We analyse the halo mass function, halo two-point correlation function, halo power spectrum and the moments of the halo density field, showing that PINOCCHIO reproduces the results from simulations with the same level of precision as the original code ($\sim5-10\%$). We demonstrate that the abundance of halos in cosmologies with massless and massive neutrinos from PINOCCHIO matches very well the outcome of simulations, and point out that PINOCCHIO can reproduce the $\Omega_\nu-\sigma_8$ degeneracy that affects the halo mass function. We show that the clustering properties of the halos from PINOCCHIO matches accurately those from simulations both in real and redshift-space, in the latter case up to $k=0.3~h~{\rm Mpc}^{-1}$. We finally point out that the first moments of the halo density field from simulations are precisely reproduced by PINOCCHIO. We emphasize that the computational time required by PINOCCHIO to generate mock halo catalogues is orders of magnitude lower than the one needed for N-body simulations. This makes this tool ideal for applications like covariance matrix studies within the standard $\Lambda$CDM model but also in cosmologies with massive neutrinos or some modified gravity theories., Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures
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- 2016
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169. Baryon Acoustic Oscillations reconstruction with pixels
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Obuljen, Andrej, Villaescusa-Navarro, Francisco, Castorina, Emanuele, and Viel, Matteo
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Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
Gravitational non-linear evolution induces a shift in the position of the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) peak together with a damping and broadening of its shape that bias and degrades the accuracy with which the position of the peak can be determined. BAO reconstruction is a technique developed to undo part of the effect of non-linearities. We present and analyse a reconstruction method that consists of displacing pixels instead of galaxies and whose implementation is easier than the standard reconstruction method. We show that this method is equivalent to the standard reconstruction technique in the limit where the number of pixels becomes very large. This method is particularly useful in surveys where individual galaxies are not resolved, as in 21cm intensity mapping observations. We validate this method by reconstructing mock pixelated maps, that we build from the distribution of matter and halos in real- and redshift-space, from a large set of numerical simulations. We find that this method is able to decrease the uncertainty in the BAO peak position by 30-50% over the typical angular resolution scales of 21 cm intensity mapping experiments., Comment: 34 pages, 17 figures. Published in JCAP
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- 2016
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170. On the spatial distribution of neutral hydrogen in the Universe: bias and shot-noise of the HI Power Spectrum
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Castorina, Emanuele and Villaescusa-Navarro, Francisco
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Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
The spatial distribution of neutral hydrogen (HI) in the Universe contains a wealth of cosmological information. The 21 cm emission line can be used to map the HI up to very high redshift and therefore reveal us something about the evolution of the large scale structures in the Universe. However little is known about the abundance and clustering properties of the HI over cosmic time. Motivated by this, we build an analytic framework where the relevant parameters that govern how the HI is distributed among dark matter halos can be fixed using observations. At the same time we provide tools to study the column density distribution function of the HI absorbers together with their clustering properties. Our formalism is the first one able to account for all observations at a single redshift, $z = 2.3$. The linear bias of the HI and the mean number density of HI sources, two main ingredients in the calculation of the signal-to-noise ratio of a cosmological survey, are then discussed in detail, also extrapolating the results to low and high redshift. We find that HI bias is relatively higher than the value reported in similar studies, but the shot noise level is always sub dominant, making the HI Power Spectrum always a high signal-to-noise measurements up to $z\simeq5$ in the limit of no instrumental noise and foreground contamination., Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures
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- 2016
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171. The Gaussian streaming model and Lagrangian effective field theory
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Vlah, Zvonimir, Castorina, Emanuele, and White, Martin
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Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
We update the ingredients of the Gaussian streaming model (GSM) for the redshift-space clustering of biased tracers using the techniques of Lagrangian perturbation theory, effective field theory (EFT) and a generalized Lagrangian bias expansion. After relating the GSM to the cumulant expansion, we present new results for the real-space correlation function, mean pairwise velocity and pairwise velocity dispersion including counter terms from EFT and bias terms through third order in the linear density, its leading derivatives and its shear up to second order. We discuss the connection to the Gaussian peaks formalism. We compare the ingredients of the GSM to a suite of large N-body simulations, and show the performance of the theory on the low order multipoles of the redshift-space correlation function and power spectrum. We highlight the importance of a general biasing scheme, which we find to be as important as higher-order corrections due to non-linear evolution for the halos we consider on the scales of interest to us., Comment: 28 pages, 5 figures. Revised to match version accepted by journal
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- 2016
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172. On a singular Liouville-type equation and the Alexandrov isoperimetric inequality
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Bartolucci, Daniele and Castorina, Daniele
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Mathematics - Analysis of PDEs ,35B45, 35J75, 35R05, 35R45, 30F45, 53B20 - Abstract
We obtain a generalized version of an inequality, first derived by C. Bandle in the analytic setting, for weak subsolutions of a singular Liouville-type equation. As an application we obtain a new proof of the Alexandrov isoperimetric inequality on singular abstract surfaces. Interestingly enough, motivated by this geometric problem, we obtain a seemingly new characterization of local metrics on Alexandrov's surfaces of bounded curvature. At least to our knowledge, the characterization of the equality case in the isoperimetric inequality in such a weak framework is new as well.
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- 2016
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173. Unruh thermalization, gluon condensation and freeze-out
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Castorina, P. and Lanteri, D.
- Subjects
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology - Abstract
The deconfinement transition and the hadronization mechanism at high energy are related to the quark-antiquark string breaking and the corresponding temperature depends on the string tension $\sigma$. In the Unruh scheme of hadron production it turns out $T = \sqrt{\sigma/2\pi}$, with $\sigma \simeq \E$, the vacuum energy density. In heavy ion collisions at lower energy, i.e. large baryonchemical potential, $\mu_B$, the dynamics is dominated by Fermi statistics and baryon repulsion. However one can still consider $\E$ as the relevant physical scale and its evaluation as a function of the baryon density, in a nuclear matter approach, gives dynamical information on the $\mu_B$ dependence of the hadronization temperature and on the value of the critical end point in the $T-\mu_B$ plane., Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, typos corrections and changes in the figures. In press in PRD
- Published
- 2016
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174. Improving fast generation of halo catalogs with higher-order Lagrangian perturbation theory
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Munari, Emiliano, Monaco, Pierluigi, Sefusatti, Emiliano, Castorina, Emanuele, Mohammad, Faizan G., Anselmi, Stefano, and Borgani, Stefano
- Subjects
Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
We present the latest version of Pinocchio, a code that generates catalogues of DM haloes in an approximate but fast way with respect to an N-body simulation. This code version extends the computation of particle and halo displacements up to 3rd-order Lagrangian Perturbation Theory (LPT), in contrast with previous versions that used Zeldovich approximation (ZA). We run Pinocchio on the same initial configuration of a reference N-body simulation, so that the comparison extends to the object-by-object level. We consider haloes at redshifts 0 and 1, using different LPT orders either for halo construction - where displacements are needed to decide particle accretion onto a halo or halo merging - or to compute halo final positions. We compare the clustering properties of Pinocchio haloes with those from the simulation by computing the power spectrum and 2-point correlation function (2PCF) in real and redshift space (monopole and quadrupole), the bispectrum and the phase difference of halo distributions. We find that 2LPT and 3LPT give noticeable improvement. 3LPT provides the best agreement with N-body when it is used to displace haloes, while 2LPT gives better results for constructing haloes. At the highest orders, linear bias is typically recovered at a few per cent level. In Fourier space and using 3LPT for halo displacements, the halo power spectrum is recovered to within 10 per cent up to $k_{max}\sim0.5\ h/$Mpc. The results presented in this paper have interesting implications for the generation of large ensemble of mock surveys aimed at accurately compute covariance matrices for clustering statistics., Comment: 20 pages, 20 figures, submitted to MNRAS
- Published
- 2016
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175. Universal Strangeness Production in Hadronic and Nuclear Collisions
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Castorina, P., Plumari, S., and Satz, H.
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High Energy Physics - Phenomenology ,Nuclear Theory - Abstract
We show that strangeness suppression in hadronic and nuclear collisions is fully determined by the initial energy density of the collision. The suppression factor $\gamma_s(s)$, with $\sqrt s$ denoting the collision energy, can be expressed as a universal function of the initial energy density $\epsilon_0(s)$, and the resulting pattern is in excellent agreement with data from $p-p,~p-Pb,~Cu-Cu,~Au-Au$ and $Pb-Pb$ data over a wide range of energies and for different centralities., Comment: more general formulation
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- 2016
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176. Strangeness Production in AA and pp Collisions
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Castorina, P. and Satz, H.
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High Energy Physics - Phenomenology ,Nuclear Theory - Abstract
Boost-invariant hadron production in high energy collisions occurs in causally disconnected regions of finite space-time size. As a result, globally conserved quantum numbers (charge, strangeness, baryon number) are conserved locally in spatially restricted correlation clusters. Their size is determined by two time scales: the equilibration time specifying the formation of a quark-gluon plasma, and the hadronization time, specifying the onset of confinement. The expected values for these scales provide the theoretical basis for the suppression observed for strangeness production in elementary interactions ($pp$, $e^+e^-$) below LHC energies. In contrast, the space-time superposition of individual collisions in high energy heavy ion interactions leads to higher energy densities, resulting in much later hadronization and hence much larger hadronization volumes. This largely removes the causality constraints and results in an ideal hadronic resonance gas in full chemical equilibrium. In the present paper, we determine the collision energies needed for that; we also estimate when $pp$ collisions reach comparable hadronization volumes and thus determine when strangeness suppression should disappear there as well., Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures
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- 2016
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177. Dynamics studies of high brightness electron beams in a normal conducting, high repetition rate C-band injector
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A. Giribono, D. Alesini, F. Cardelli, G. Di Raddo, L. Faillace, M. Ferrario, A. Gallo, A. Gizzi, S. Lauciani, A. Liedl, L. Pellegrino, L. Piersanti, C. Vaccarezza, A. Vannozzi, J. Scifo, L. Ficcadenti, G. Castorina, G. Pedrocchi, G. J. Silvi, and T. G. Lucas
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Nuclear and particle physics. Atomic energy. Radioactivity ,QC770-798 - Abstract
C-band technology is emerging as an exciting innovative approach to the creation of compact new accelerators. Besides the possibility to sustain higher gradients and higher repetition rate operation at normal conducting temperature, it also allows one to increase the machine performance in terms of beam brightness. We propose the design study of a normal conducting, high gradient C-band injector aiming at the production of high brightness electron beams—up to 2.6×10^{3} TA/m^{2}—at high repetition rate—up to 1 KHz—as desired to enhance the capabilities of modern radiation sources. This paper reports on beam dynamics studies that guided the injector design looking for a good compromise between the machine compactness and performances. For this purpose, a new standing wave C-band gun consisting of 2.6 cells has been designed to enhance the final beam brightness together with its own mode launcher to ensure the needed peak field at the cathode—up to 180 MV/m. Several working points in terms of peak current, transverse emittance and brightness are explored, showing the flexibility allowed by the proposed photoinjector. The integration of the gun mode launcher, that relies on a four-port configuration, in the injector design and its effect on the beam quality are also reported.
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- 2023
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178. Airspace Contamination by Volcanic Ash from Sequences of Etna Paroxysms: Coupling the WRF-Chem Dispersion Model with Near-Source L-Band Radar Observations
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Umberto Rizza, Franck Donnadieu, Mauro Morichetti, Elenio Avolio, Giuseppe Castorina, Agostino Semprebello, Salvatore Magazu, Giorgio Passerini, Enrico Mancinelli, and Clothilde Biensan
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WRF-Chem model ,Mount Etna ,VOLDORAD-2B Doppler radar ,volcanic ash cloud ,aviation hazards ,Science - Abstract
Volcanic emissions (ash, gas, aerosols) dispersed in the atmosphere during explosive eruptions generate hazards affecting aviation, human health, air quality, and the environment. We document for the first time the contamination of airspace by very fine volcanic ash due to sequences of transient ash plumes from Mount Etna. The atmospheric dispersal of sub-10 μm (PM10) ash is modelled using the WRF-Chem model, coupled online with meteorology and aerosols and offline with mass eruption rates (MERs) derived from near-vent Doppler radar measurements and inferred plume altitudes. We analyze two sequences of paroxysms with widely varied volcanological conditions and contrasted meteorological synoptic patterns in October–December 2013 and on 3–5 December 2015. We analyze the PM10 ash dispersal simulation maps in terms of time-averaged columnar ash density, concentration at specified flight levels averaged over the entire sequence interval, and daily average concentration during selected paroxysm days at these flight levels. The very fine ash from such eruption sequences is shown to easily contaminate the airspace around the volcano within a radius of about 1000 km in a matter of a few days. Synoptic patterns with relatively weak tropospheric currents lead to the accumulation of PM10 ash at a regional scale all around Etna. In this context, closely interspersed paroxysms tend to accumulate very fine ash more diffusively at a lower troposphere and in stretched ash clouds higher up in the troposphere. Low-pressure, high-winds weather systems tend to stretch ash clouds into ~100 km wide clouds, forming large-scale vortices 800–1600 km in diameter. Daily average PM10 ash concentrations commonly exceed the aviation hazard threshold, up to 1000 km downwind from the volcano and up to the upper troposphere for intense paroxysms. Vertical distributions show ash cloud thicknesses in the range 0.7–3 km, and PM10 sometimes stagnates at ground level, which represent a potential health hazard.
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- 2023
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179. Current-use flame retardants: Maternal exposure and neurodevelopment in children of the CHAMACOS cohort
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Castorina, Rosemary, Bradman, Asa, Stapleton, Heather M, Butt, Craig, Avery, Dylan, Harley, Kim G, Gunier, Robert B, Holland, Nina, and Eskenazi, Brenda
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Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Environmental Sciences ,Pollution and Contamination ,Clinical Research ,Endocrine Disruptors ,Women's Health ,Health Effects of Indoor Air Pollution ,Pediatric ,Neurosciences ,Social Determinants of Health ,2.2 Factors relating to the physical environment ,Good Health and Well Being ,Adult ,Animals ,Biphenyl Compounds ,Child ,Cohort Studies ,Data Collection ,Environmental Pollutants ,Female ,Flame Retardants ,Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers ,Humans ,Insecticides ,Intelligence Tests ,Male ,Maternal Exposure ,Memory ,Short-Term ,Nervous System ,Organophosphates ,Organophosphorus Compounds ,Phosphates ,Phosphoric Acids ,Polybrominated Biphenyls ,Pregnancy ,Flame retardants ,PFRs ,Exposure ,Children ,Neurodevelopment ,FM 550 ,FM 550(®) ,Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences - Abstract
Flame retardants are commonly used in consumer products found in U.S. households. Restrictions on the use of polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants have resulted in increased use of replacement chemicals, including Firemaster 550® (FM 550®) and organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs): tris(1,3- dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP); tris(chloropropyl) phosphate (TCIPP); tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP); and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP). Animal research suggests that PFRs may affect neurodevelopment through noncholinergic mechanisms similar to some organophosphate (OP) pesticides. Despite the widespread presence of these compounds in home environments, and their structural similarity to neurotoxic OP pesticides, understanding of human exposure and health effects of PFRs is limited. We measured four urinary PFR metabolites from pregnant women in the CHAMACOS birth cohort study (n = 310) and assessed neurodevelopment of their children at age 7. Metabolites of TDCIPP (BDCIPP: bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate) and TPHP (DPHP: diphenyl phosphate) were detected in >75% of urine samples, and isopropylphenyl phenyl phosphate (ip-PPP), a metabolite of one component of FM 550®, was detected in 72% of urine samples. We observed decreases of 2.9 points (95% Confidence Interval (CI): -6.3, 0.5) and 3.9 points (95% CI: -7.3,-0.5) in Full-Scale intelligence quotient and Working Memory, respectively, for each ten-fold increase in DPHP in adjusted regression models (n = 248). Decreases in Full-Scale IQ and Working Memory were greater in models of the molar sum of the PFR metabolites compared to the DPHP models. This is the first study to examine PFR and FM 550® exposures and potential neurodevelopmental outcomes in pregnant women and children. Additional research is warranted.
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- 2017
180. Residential proximity to agricultural fumigant use and IQ, attention and hyperactivity in 7-year old children
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Gunier, Robert B, Bradman, Asa, Castorina, Rosemary, Holland, Nina T, Avery, Dylan, Harley, Kim G, and Eskenazi, Brenda
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Biological Sciences ,Environmental Sciences ,Chemical Sciences ,Clinical Research ,Basic Behavioral and Social Science ,Pediatric ,Neurosciences ,Behavioral and Social Science ,Attention ,California ,Child ,Female ,Fumigation ,Humans ,Hyperkinesis ,Intelligence Tests ,Longitudinal Studies ,Pesticides ,Pregnancy ,Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects ,Behavior ,Children ,Fumigants ,Neurodevelopment ,Toxicology ,Biological sciences ,Chemical sciences ,Environmental sciences - Abstract
ObjectivesOur objective was to examine the relationship between residential proximity to agricultural fumigant use and neurodevelopment in 7-year old children.MethodsParticipants were living in the agricultural Salinas Valley, California and enrolled in the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children Of Salinas (CHAMACOS) study. We administered the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (4th Edition) to assess cognition and the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (2nd Edition) to assess behavior. We estimated agricultural fumigant use within 3, 5 and 8km of residences during pregnancy and from birth to age 7 using California's Pesticide Use Report data. We evaluated the association between prenatal (n = 285) and postnatal (n = 255) residential proximity to agricultural use of methyl bromide, chloropicrin, metam sodium and 1,3-dichloropropene with neurodevelopment.ResultsWe observed decreases of 2.6 points (95% Confidence Interval (CI): -5.2, 0.0) and 2.4 points (95% CI: -4.7, -0.2) in Full-Scale intelligence quotient for each ten-fold increase in methyl bromide and chloropicrin use within 8km of the child's residences from birth to 7-years of age, respectively. There were no associations between residential proximity to use of other fumigants and cognition or proximity to use of any fumigant and hyperactivity or attention problems. These findings should be explored in larger studies.
- Published
- 2017
181. Flame retardants and their metabolites in the homes and urine of pregnant women residing in California (the CHAMACOS cohort)
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Castorina, Rosemary, Butt, Craig, Stapleton, Heather M, Avery, Dylan, Harley, Kim G, Holland, Nina, Eskenazi, Brenda, and Bradman, Asa
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Biomedical and Clinical Sciences ,Environmental Sciences ,Pollution and Contamination ,Clinical Research ,Health Effects of Indoor Air Pollution ,Endocrine Disruptors ,Social Determinants of Health ,Good Health and Well Being ,Adult ,California ,Cohort Studies ,Dust ,Environmental Pollutants ,Female ,Flame Retardants ,Halogenated Diphenyl Ethers ,Humans ,Organophosphates ,Phosphates ,Pregnancy ,Urine ,Young Adult ,Flame retardants ,Exposure ,Pregnant women ,Urinary metabolites ,Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences - Abstract
Organophosphate flame retardants (PFRs), used in consumer products since the 1970s, persist in the environment. Restrictions on penta-polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants resulted in increased use of Firemaster® 550 (FM® 550), and the organophosphate triesters: tris(1,3- dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP); tris(chloropropyl) phosphate (TCIPP); tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP); and triphenyl phosphate (TPHP). The objectives of this study were to (1) identify determinants of flame retardants (4 PFRs, PentaBDEs and FM® 550) in house dust, (2) measure urinary PFR metabolites in pregnant women, and (3) estimate health risks from PFR exposure. We measured flame retardants in house dust (n = 125) and metabolites in urine (n = 310) collected in 2000-2001 from Mexican American women participating in the CHAMACOS birth cohort study in California. We detected FM® 550 and PFRs, including two (TCEP and TDCIPP) known to the state of California to cause cancer, in most dust samples. The maximum TCEP and TDCIPP dust levels were among the highest ever reported although the median levels were generally lower compared to other U.S. cohorts. Metabolites of TDCIPP (BDCIPP: bis(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate) and TPHP (DPHP: diphenyl phosphate) were detected in 78% and 79% of prenatal urine samples, respectively. We found a weak but positive correlation between TPHP in dust and DPHP in 124 paired prenatal urine samples (Spearman rho = 0.17; p = 0.06). These results provide information on PFR exposure and risk in pregnant women from the early 2000's and are also valuable to assess trends in exposure and risk given changing fire safety regulations and concomitant changes in chemical flame retardant use.
- Published
- 2017
182. A Phenylalanine Sensor Exploiting a Capacitive Readout Strategy Embedding a Selective Enzymatic Mechanism
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Petralia, Salvatore, Castorina, Salvatore, Maugeri, Ludovica, Messina, Maria Anna, Ruggieri, Martino, Neri, Giovanni, Ferlazzo, Angelo, Sardini, Emilio, Serpelloni, Mauro, Bellitti, Paolo, and Ando, Bruno
- Abstract
This article introduces a cost-effective and fast-response capacitive sensor designed for quantifying phenylalanine (Phe) levels in PKU patients. The sensor comprises planar interdigitated electrodes (IDEs) on a substrate, with NH3-sensitive dielectric material, and exploits an enzymatic reaction to indirectly assess Phe levels. IDEs are created using aerosol jet printing (AJP), with two variants differing in the type of ink used. Experimental results achieved by exposing sensors to standard NH3 and Phe solutions have been reported. The proposed approach provides a capacitive readout strategy for low analyte concentrations, high specificity to NH3 using yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ), easy miniaturization, faster response times, and cost-effectiveness through rapid-prototyping technologies. A sensor limit of detection of
$0.52~\mu $ $6.27~\mu $ - Published
- 2024
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183. Containment effort reduction and regrowth patterns of the Covid-19 spreading
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Lanteri, D., Carco, D., Castorina, P., Ceccarelli, M., and Cacopardo, B.
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- 2021
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184. Deep attention super-resolution of brain magnetic resonance images acquired under clinical protocols
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Bryan M. Li, Leonardo V. Castorina, Maria del C. Valdés Hernández, Una Clancy, Stewart J. Wiseman, Eleni Sakka, Amos J. Storkey, Daniela Jaime Garcia, Yajun Cheng, Fergus Doubal, Michael T. Thrippleton, Michael Stringer, and Joanna M. Wardlaw
- Subjects
super-resolution ,Magnetic Resonance Imaging ,deep learning ,image reconstruction ,explainable artificial intelligence ,brain imaging ,Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry ,RC321-571 - Abstract
Vast quantities of Magnetic Resonance Images (MRI) are routinely acquired in clinical practice but, to speed up acquisition, these scans are typically of a quality that is sufficient for clinical diagnosis but sub-optimal for large-scale precision medicine, computational diagnostics, and large-scale neuroimaging collaborative research. Here, we present a critic-guided framework to upsample low-resolution (often 2D) MRI full scans to help overcome these limitations. We incorporate feature-importance and self-attention methods into our model to improve the interpretability of this study. We evaluate our framework on paired low- and high-resolution brain MRI structural full scans (i.e., T1-, T2-weighted, and FLAIR sequences are simultaneously input) obtained in clinical and research settings from scanners manufactured by Siemens, Phillips, and GE. We show that the upsampled MRIs are qualitatively faithful to the ground-truth high-quality scans (PSNR = 35.39; MAE = 3.78E−3; NMSE = 4.32E−10; SSIM = 0.9852; mean normal-appearing gray/white matter ratio intensity differences ranging from 0.0363 to 0.0784 for FLAIR, from 0.0010 to 0.0138 for T1-weighted and from 0.0156 to 0.074 for T2-weighted sequences). The automatic raw segmentation of tissues and lesions using the super-resolved images has fewer false positives and higher accuracy than those obtained from interpolated images in protocols represented with more than three sets in the training sample, making our approach a strong candidate for practical application in clinical and collaborative research.
- Published
- 2022
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185. On a parabolic Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation degenerating at the boundary
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Castorina, Daniele, Cesaroni, Annalisa, and Rossi, Luca
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Mathematics - Analysis of PDEs - Abstract
We derive the long time asymptotic of solutions to an evolutive Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation in a bounded smooth domain, in connection with ergodic problems recently studied in \cite{bcr}. Our main assumption is an appropriate degeneracy condition on the operator at the boundary. This condition is related to the characteristic boundary points for linear operators as well as to the irrelevant points for the generalized Dirichlet problem, and implies in particular that no boundary datum has to be imposed. We prove that there exists a constant $c$ such that the solutions of the evolutive problem converge uniformly, in the reference frame moving with constant velocity $c$, to a unique steady state solving a suitable ergodic problem., Comment: 12pp
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- 2015
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186. A global existence result for a Keller-Segel type system with supercritical initial data
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Bartolucci, Daniele and Castorina, Daniele
- Subjects
Mathematics - Analysis of PDEs ,35J61, 35K45, 35K57, 35K58 - Abstract
We consider a parabolic-elliptic Keller-Segel type system, which is related to a simplified model of chemotaxis. Concerning the maximal range of existence of solutions, there are essentially two kinds of results: either global existence in time for general subcritical ($\|\rho_0\|_1<8\pi$) initial data, or blow--up in finite time for suitably chosen supercritical ($\|\rho_0\|_1>8\pi$) initial data with concentration around finitely many points. As a matter of fact there are no results claiming the existence of global solutions in the supercritical case. We solve this problem here and prove that, for a particular set of initial data which share large supercritical masses, the corresponding solution is global and uniformly bounded.
- Published
- 2015
187. QCD Equation of State and Cosmological Parameters in Early Universe
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Castorina, Paolo, Greco, Vincenzo, and Plumari, Salvatore
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High Energy Physics - Phenomenology ,Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics ,Nuclear Theory - Abstract
The time evolution of cosmological parameters in early Universe at the deconfinement transition is studied by an equation of state (EoS) which takes into account the finite baryon density and the background magnetic field. The non perturbative dynamics is described by the Field Correlator Method (FCM) which gives, with a small number of free parameters, a good fit of lattice data. The entire system has two components, i.e. the quark-gluon plasma and the electroweak sector, and the solutions of the Friedmann equation show that the scale factor, $a(t)$, and $H(t)= (1/a)da/dt$ are weakly dependent on the EoS, but the deceleration parameter, $q(t)$, and the jerk, $j(t)$, are strongly modified above the critical temperature $T_c$, corresponding to a critical time $t_c \simeq 20-25 \mu s$. The time evolution of the cosmological parameters suggest that above and around $T_c$ there is a transient state of acceleration typical of a matter dominated Universe; this is entailed by the QCD strong interaction driven by the presence of massive colored objects.
- Published
- 2015
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188. DEMNUni: The clustering of large-scale structures in the presence of massive neutrinos
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Castorina, Emanuele, Carbone, Carmelita, Bel, Julien, Sefusatti, Emiliano, and Dolag, Klaus
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Astrophysics - Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics - Abstract
(abridged) We analyse the clustering features of Large Scale Structures (LSS) in the presence of massive neutrinos, employing a set of large-volume, high-resolution cosmological N-body simulations, where neutrinos are treated as a separate collisionless fluid. The volume of 8$\cGpc$, combined with a resolution of about $8\times 10^{10}\Ms$ for the cold dark matter (CDM) component, represents a significant improvement over previous N-body simulations in massive neutrino cosmologies. We show that most of the nonlinear evolution is generated exclusively by the CDM component. We find that accounting only for the nonlinear evolution of the CDM power spectrum allows to recover the total matter power spectrum with the same accuracy as the massless case. Indeed, we show that, the most recent version of the \halofit\ formula calibrated on $\Lambda$CDM simulations can be applied directly to the linear CDM power spectrum without requiring additional fitting parameters in the massive case. As a second step, we study the abundance and clustering properties of CDM halos, confirming that, in massive neutrino cosmologies, the proper definition of the halo bias should be made with respect to the {\em cold} rather than the {\em total} matter distribution, as recently shown in the literature. Here we extend these results to the redshift space, finding that, when accounting for massive neutrinos, an improper definition of the linear bias can lead to a systematic error of about 1-$2 \%$ in the determination of the linear growth rate from anisotropic clustering. This result is quite important if we consider that future spectroscopic galaxy surveys, as \eg\ Euclid, are expected to measure the linear growth-rate with statistical errors less than about $3 \%$ at $z\lesssim1$., Comment: 32 pages, 14 figs, 1 table, matches the JCAP accepted version
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- 2015
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189. L-Proline Prevents Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress in Microglial Cells Exposed to L-azetidine-2-carboxylic Acid
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Jordan Allan Piper, Nour Al Hammouri, Margo Iris Jansen, Kenneth J. Rodgers, Giuseppe Musumeci, Amolika Dhungana, Sahar Masoumeh Ghorbanpour, Laura A. Bradfield, and Alessandro Castorina
- Subjects
azetidine-2-carboxylic acid ,unfolded protein response ,endoplasmic reticulum ,microglia ,multiple sclerosis ,L-proline ,Organic chemistry ,QD241-441 - Abstract
L-Azetidine-2-carboxylic acid (AZE) is a non-protein amino acid that shares structural similarities with its proteogenic L-proline amino acid counterpart. For this reason, AZE can be misincorporated in place of L-proline, contributing to AZE toxicity. In previous work, we have shown that AZE induces both polarization and apoptosis in BV2 microglial cells. However, it is still unknown if these detrimental effects involve endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and whether L-proline co-administration prevents AZE-induced damage to microglia. Here, we investigated the gene expression of ER stress markers in BV2 microglial cells treated with AZE alone (1000 µM), or co-treated with L-proline (50 µM), for 6 or 24 h. AZE reduced cell viability, nitric oxide (NO) secretion and caused a robust activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) genes (ATF4, ATF6, ERN1, PERK, XBP1, DDIT3, GADD34). These results were confirmed by immunofluorescence in BV2 and primary microglial cultures. AZE also altered the expression of microglial M1 phenotypic markers (increased IL-6, decreased CD206 and TREM2 expression). These effects were almost completely prevented upon L-proline co-administration. Finally, triple/quadrupole mass spectrometry demonstrated a robust increase in AZE-bound proteins after AZE treatment, which was reduced by 84% upon L-proline co-supplementation. This study identified ER stress as a pathogenic mechanism for AZE-induced microglial activation and death, which is reversed by co-administration of L-proline.
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- 2023
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190. Gut Microbiome in the Progression of NAFLD, NASH and Cirrhosis, and Its Connection with Biotics: A Bibliometric Study Using Dimensions Scientific Research Database
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Salvatore Pezzino, Maria Sofia, Chiara Mazzone, Sergio Castorina, Stefano Puleo, Martina Barchitta, Antonella Agodi, Luisa Gallo, Gaetano La Greca, and Saverio Latteri
- Subjects
gut microbiome ,NAFLD ,NASH ,cirrhosis ,bibliometric analysis ,biotics ,Biology (General) ,QH301-705.5 - Abstract
There is growing evidence that gut microbiota dysbiosis is linked to the etiopathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), from the initial stage of disease until the progressive stage of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and the final stage of cirrhosis. Conversely, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics have shown promise in restoring dysbiosis and lowering clinical indicators of disease in a number of both preclinical and clinical studies. Additionally, postbiotics and parabiotics have recently garnered some attention. The purpose of this bibliometric analysis is to assess recent publishing trends concerning the role of the gut microbiome in the progression of NAFLD, NASH and cirrhosis and its connection with biotics. The free access version of the Dimensions scientific research database was used to find publications in this field from 2002 to 2022. VOSviewer and Dimensions’ integrated tools were used to analyze current research trends. Research into the following topics is expected to emerge in this field: (1) evaluation of risk factors which are correlated with the progression of NAFLD, such as obesity and metabolic syndrome; (2) pathogenic mechanisms, such as liver inflammation through toll-like receptors activation, or alteration of short-chain fatty acids metabolisms, which contribute to NAFLD development and its progression in more severe forms, such as cirrhosis; (3) therapy for cirrhosis through dysbiosis reduction, and research on hepatic encephalopathy a common consequence of cirrhosis; (4) evaluation of diversity, and composition of gut microbiome under NAFLD, and as it varies under NASH and cirrhosis by rRNA gene sequencing, a tool which can also be used for the development of new probiotics and explore into the impact of biotics on the gut microbiome; (5) treatments to reduce dysbiosis with new probiotics, such as Akkermansia, or with fecal microbiome transplantation.
- Published
- 2023
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191. The Importance of Worldviews for Developmental Psychology
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Castorina, José Antonio
- Published
- 2021
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192. Nutrient supply, cell spatial correlation and Gompertzian tumor growth
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Castorina, P. and Carco’, D.
- Published
- 2021
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193. Robust Dopaminergic Differentiation and Enhanced LPS-Induced Neuroinflammatory Response in Serum-Deprived Human SH-SY5Y Cells: Implication for Parkinson’s Disease
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Niaz, Aram, Karunia, Jocelyn, Mandwie, Mawj, Keay, Kevin A., Musumeci, Giuseppe, Al-Badri, Ghaith, and Castorina, Alessandro
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- 2021
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194. The Gaussian streaming model and convolution Lagrangian effective field theory
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Vlah, Z, Castorina, E, and White, M
- Subjects
baryon acoustic oscillations ,galaxy clustering ,power spectrum ,astro-ph.CO ,Nuclear & Particles Physics ,Astronomical and Space Sciences ,Atomic ,Molecular ,Nuclear ,Particle and Plasma Physics ,Atomic ,Molecular ,Nuclear ,Particle and Plasma Physics - Abstract
We update the ingredients of the Gaussian streaming model (GSM) for the redshift-space clustering of biased tracers using the techniques of Lagrangian perturbation theory, effective field theory (EFT) and a generalized Lagrangian bias expansion. After relating the GSM to the cumulant expansion, we present new results for the real-space correlation function, mean pairwise velocity and pairwise velocity dispersion including counter terms from EFT and bias terms through third order in the linear density, its leading derivatives and its shear up to second order. We discuss the connection to the Gaussian peaks formalism. We compare the ingredients of the GSM to a suite of large N-body simulations, and show the performance of the theory on the low order multipoles of the redshift-space correlation function and power spectrum. We highlight the importance of a general biasing scheme, which we find to be as important as higher-order corrections due to non-linear evolution for the halos we consider on the scales of interest to us.
- Published
- 2016
195. Gastric ghrelin cells in obese patients are hyperactive
- Author
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Castorina, Sergio, Barresi, Vincenza, Luca, Tonia, Privitera, Giovanna, De Geronimo, Vincenzo, Lezoche, Giovanni, Cosentini, Ilaria, Di Vincenzo, Angelica, Barbatelli, Giorgio, Giordano, Antonio, Taus, Marina, Nicolai, Albano, Condorelli, Daniele Filippo, and Cinti, Saverio
- Published
- 2021
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
196. Hadron Freeze-Out and Unruh Radiation
- Author
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Castorina, Paolo, Iorio, Alfredo, and Satz, Helmut
- Subjects
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology ,High Energy Physics - Theory ,Nuclear Theory - Abstract
We consider hadron production in high energy collisions as an Unruh radiation phenomenon. This mechanism describes the production pattern of newly formed hadrons and is directly applicable at vanishing baryochemical potential, mu = 0. It had already been found to correctly yield the hadronisation temperature, T_h = sqrt(sigma / 2 pi) = 165 MeV in terms of the string tension sigma. Here we show that the Unruh mechanism also predicts hadronic freeze-out conditions, giving s/T_h^3 = 3 pi^2 / 4 = 7.4 in terms of the entropy density s and E/N = \sqrt(2 pi sigma) = 1.09 for the average energy per hadron. These predictions provide a theoretical basis for previous phenomenological results and are also in accord with recent lattice studies., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures
- Published
- 2014
197. Self gravitating cosmic strings and the Alexandrov's inequality for Liouville-type equations
- Author
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Bartolucci, Daniele and Castorina, Daniele
- Subjects
Mathematics - Analysis of PDEs - Abstract
Motivated by the study of self gravitating cosmic strings, we pursue the well known method by C. Bandle to obtain a weak version of the classical Alexandrov's isoperimetric inequality. In fact we derive some quantitative estimates for weak subsolutions of a Liouville-type equation with conical singularities. Actually we succeed in generalizing previously known results, including Bol's inequality and pointwise estimates, to the case where the solutions solve the equation just in the sense of distributions. Next, we derive some \uv{new} pointwise estimates suitable to be applied to a class of singular cosmic string equations. Finally, interestingly enough, we apply these results to establish a minimal mass property for solutions of the cosmic string equation which are \uv{supersolutions} of the singular Liouville-type equation.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
198. Regularity of the extremal solution for singular p-Laplace equations
- Author
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Castorina, Daniele
- Subjects
Mathematics - Analysis of PDEs - Abstract
We study the regularity of the extremal solution $u^*$ to the singular reaction-diffusion problem $-\Delta_p u = \lambda f(u)$ in $\Omega$, $u =0$ on $\partial \Omega$, where $1
p+2$ and $|\nabla u^*|^{p-1} \in L^{\frac{n}{n-(p'+1)}} (\Omega)$ if $n > p p'$.
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
199. Hawking-Unruh Hadronization and Strangeness Production in High Energy Collisions
- Author
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Castorina, P. and Satz, H.
- Subjects
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology ,Nuclear Theory - Abstract
The thermal multihadron production observed in different high energy collisions poses many basic problems: why do even elementary, $e^+e^-$ and hadron-hadron, collisions show thermal behaviour? Why is there in such interactions a suppression of strange particle production? Why does the strangeness suppression almost disappear in relativistic heavy ion collisions? Why in these collisions is the thermalization time less than $\simeq 0.5$ fm/c? We show that the recently proposed mechanism of thermal hadron production through Hawking-Unruh radiation can naturally answer the previous questions. Indeed, the interpretation of quark- antiquark pairs production, by the sequential string breaking, as tunneling through the event horizon of colour confinement leads to thermal behavior with a universal temperature, $T \simeq 170$ Mev,related to the quark acceleration, a, by $T=a/2\pi$. The resulting temperature depends on the quark mass and then on the content of the produced hadrons, causing a deviation from full equilibrium and hence a suppression of strange particle production in elementary collisions. In nucleus-nucleus collisions, where the quark density is much bigger, one has to introduce an average temperature (acceleration) which dilutes the quark mass effect and the strangeness suppression almost disappears., Comment: Contribution to special issue of Adv. High Energy Phys. entitled "Experimental Tests of Quantum Gravity and Exotic Quantum Field Theory Effects"
- Published
- 2014
200. Critical Endpoint and Inverse Magnetic Catalysis for Finite Temperature and Density Quark Matter in a Magnetic Background
- Author
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Ruggieri, M., Oliva, L., Castorina, P., Gatto, R., and Greco, V.
- Subjects
High Energy Physics - Phenomenology - Abstract
In this article we study chiral symmetry breaking for quark matter in a magnetic background, $\bm B$, at finite temperature and quark chemical potential, $\mu$, making use of the Ginzburg-Landau effective action formalism. As a microscopic model to compute the effective action we use the renormalized quark-meson model. Our main goal is to study the evolution of the critical endpoint, ${\cal CP}$, as a function of the magnetic field strength, and investigate on the realization of inverse magnetic catalysis at finite chemical potential. We find that the phase transition at zero chemical potential is always of the second order; for small and intermediate values of $\bm B$, ${\cal CP}$ moves towards small $\mu$, while for larger $\bm B$ it moves towards moderately larger values of $\mu$. Our results are in agreement with the inverse magnetic catalysis scenario at finite chemical potential and not too large values of the magnetic field, while at larger $\bm B$ direct magnetic catalysis sets in., Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures
- Published
- 2014
- Full Text
- View/download PDF
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