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Abstract A detailed knowledge of the decay properties of the so called Hoyle state in the $$^{12}$$ 12 C nucleus ( $$E_x=7.654$$ E x = 7.654 MeV, $$0^+$$ 0 + ) is required to calculate the rate at which carbon is forged in typical red-giant stars. This paper reports on a new almost background-free measurement of the radiative decay branching ratio of the Hoyle state using advanced charged particle coincidence techniques. The exploitation, for the first time in a similar experiment, of a bidimensional map of the coincidence efficiency allows to reach an unitary value and, consequently, to strongly reduce sources of systematic uncertainties. The present results suggest a value of the radiative branching ratio of $$\Gamma _{rad}/\Gamma _{tot}=4.2(6)\cdot 10^{-4}$$ Γ rad / Γ tot = 4.2 ( 6 ) · 10 - 4 . This finding helps to resolve the tension between recent data published in the literature.

The concept of crystal collimation relies on the use of bent crystals to coherently deflect positively charged particles with suitable impact conditions by trapping them in the potential well generated by adjacent crystalline planes. The resulting deflection is much higher than what can be achieved by multiple scattering on amorphous materials. For this reason, this technique has been explored in the past decades for applications to particle accelerators. In particular, a full test stand was installed in the betatron collimation insertion of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) to explore applications to hadron beam collimation. This setup was extensively studied in Run 2 (2015–2018), as a way to improve the cleaning performance of the machine in particular with Pb ion beams, in view of the more challenging parameters envisaged for the High Luminosity upgrade (HL-LHC). This paper reports the results of measurements performed with Pb ion beams, demonstrating the capability of crystal collimation to improve the cleaning performance at the LHC. These results supported the integration of this advanced technology in the baseline upgrade program for HL-LHC.

Background: Awareness about the importance of implementing DPYD pharmacogenetics in clinical practice to prevent severe side effects related to the use of fluoropyrimidines has been raised over the years. Since 2012 at the National Cancer Institute, CRO-Aviano (Italy), a diagnostic DPYD genotyping service was set up.Purpose: This study aims to describe the evolution of DPYD diagnostic activity at our center over the last 10 years as a case example of a successful introduction of pharmacogenetic testing in clinical practice.Methods: Data related to the diagnostic activity of in–and out-patients referred to our service between January 2012 and December 2022 were retrieved from the hospital database.Results:DPYD diagnostic activity at our center has greatly evolved over the years, shifting gradually from a post-toxicity to a pre-treatment approach. Development of pharmacogenetic guidelines by national and international consortia, genotyping, and IT technology evolution have impacted DPYD testing uptake in the clinics. Our participation in a large prospective implementation study (Ubiquitous Pharmacogenomics) increased health practitioners’ and patients’ awareness of pharmacogenetic matters and provided additional standardized infrastructures for genotyping and reporting. Nationwide test reimbursement together with recommendations by regulatory agencies in Europe and Italy in 2020 definitely changed the clinical practice guidelines of fluoropyrimidines prescription. A dramatic increase in the number of pre-treatment DPYD genotyping and in the coverage of new fluoropyrimidine prescriptions was noticed by the last year of observation (2022).Conclusion: The long path to a successful DPYD testing implementation in the clinical practice of a National Cancer Center in Italy demonstrated that the development of pharmacogenetic guidelines and genotyping infrastructure standardization as well as capillary training and education activity for all the potential stakeholders are fundamental. However, only national health politics of test reimbursement and clear recommendations by drug regulatory agencies will definitely move the field forward.

The LHC heavy-ion program with ^{208}Pb^{82+} beams will benefit from a significant increase of the beam intensity when entering its high-luminosity era in Run 3 (2023). The stored energy is expected to surpass 20 MJ per beam. The LHC is equipped with a betatron collimation system, which intercepts the transverse beam halo and protects sensitive equipment such as superconducting magnets against beam losses. However, nuclear fragmentation and electromagnetic dissociation of ^{208}Pb^{82+} ions in collimators generates a flux of secondary fragments, which are lost in downstream dispersion suppressor and arc cells. These secondary ions may pose a performance limitation in upcoming runs since they can induce magnet quenches. In order to mitigate this risk, an alternative collimation technique, relying on bent crystals as primary collimators, will be used in forthcoming heavy-ion runs. In this paper, we study the power deposition in superconducting magnets by means of tracking and fluka shower simulations, comparing the standard collimation system against the crystal-based one. In order to quantify the predictive ability of the simulation model, we present absolute benchmarks against beam loss monitor measurements from the 2018 ^{208}Pb^{82+} run at 6.37 ZTeV. The benchmarks cover several hundred meters of beamline, from the primary collimators to the first arc cells. Based on these studies, we provide a detailed analysis of ion fragmentation and leakage to the cold magnets and quantify the expected quench margin in future ^{208}Pb^{82+} runs.

Abstract Beam steering performance of bent silicon crystals irradiated with high-intensity and high-energy protons has been studied. In particular, crystals of the type used for collimation and extraction purposes in the Large Hadron Collider and the Super Proton Synchrotron at CERN have been irradiated at the HiRadMat CERN facility with $$2.5 \times 10^{13}$$ 2.5×1013 440 GeV/c protons, with a pulse length of 7.2 $$\upmu $$ μ s. The purpose is to study possible changes in bending angle and channeling efficiency due to thermo-mechanical stresses in case of accidental irradiation during accelerator operations. A comparison between measurements performed before and after the irradiation does not show any appreciable performance reduction in either crystal.

Abstract Background Colostrum and milk are essential sources of antibodies and nutrients for the neonate, playing a key role in their survival and growth. Slight abnormalities in the timing of colostrogenesis/lactogenesis potentially threaten piglet survival. To further delineate the genes and transcription regulators implicated in the control of the transition from colostrogenesis to lactogenesis, we applied RNA-seq analysis of swine mammary gland tissue from late-gestation to farrowing. Three 2nd parity sows were used for mammary tissue biopsies on days 14, 10, 6 and 2 before (−) parturition and on day 1 after (+) parturition. A total of 15 mRNA libraries were sequenced on a HiSeq2500 (Illumina Inc.). The Dynamic Impact Approach and the Ingenuity Pathway Analysis were used for pathway analysis and gene network analysis, respectively. Results A large number of differentially expressed genes were detected very close to parturition (−2d) and at farrowing (+ 1d). The results reflect the extraordinary metabolic changes in the swine mammary gland once it enters into the crucial phases of lactogenesis and underscore a strong transcriptional component in the control of colostrogenesis. There was marked upregulation of genes involved in synthesis of colostrum and main milk components (i.e. proteins, fat, lactose and antimicrobial factors) with a pivotal role of CSN1S2, LALBA, WAP, SAA2, and BTN1A1. The sustained activation of transcription regulators such as SREBP1 and XBP1 suggested they help coordinate these adaptations. Conclusions Overall, the precise timing for the transition from colostrogenesis to lactogenesis in swine mammary gland remains uncharacterized. However, our transcriptomic data support the hypothesis that the transition occurs before parturition. This is likely attributable to upregulation of a wide array of genes including those involved in ‘Protein and Carbohydrate Metabolism’, ‘Immune System’, ‘Lipid Metabolism’, ‘PPAR signaling pathway’ and ‘Prolactin signaling pathway’ along with the activation of transcription regulators controlling lipid synthesis and endoplasmic reticulum biogenesis and stress response.

Protected designation of origin dry-cured hams are obtained from heavy pigs (slaughtered at about 160 kg of live weight). A specific breeding program designed to improve meat quality for this production has included as key traits the level of intermuscular fat between the leg muscles and ham weight loss during the seasoning period together with a balance between fat and lean cuts. In this study we carried out genome-wide association studies for seven traits used in the genetic merit of Italian Duroc heavy pigs, five related to meat and carcass quality traits (visible intermuscular fat, ham weight loss at first salting, backfat thickness, ham weight and lean cuts), and two related to performance and efficiency traits (average daily gain and feed : gain ratio). A total of 573 performance-tested pigs were genotyped with the Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip and genome-wide association analyses were carried out using the Bayes B approach with the 1 Mb window option of GenSel and random residuals for each of the seven traits. Detected windows were supported by independent single nucleotide polymorphism analyses with a linear mixed model (LMM) approach on the same animals for the same traits. A total of 30 windows identifying different quantitative trait loci (QTL) were detected and among those, 27 were confirmed by LMM in one of these traits. Among the confirmed windows, three QTL were reported for visible intermuscular fat, seven for ham weight loss at first salting and five and four for backfat thickness and lean cut, respectively. A total of eight QTL were detected for the other production traits. No overlapping QTL were reported except for one window on porcine chromosome 10 between lean cuts and ham weight that contained the CACNB2 gene that has been already associated with loin marbling score in other Duroc pigs. Several regions contained genes that have been already associated with production traits in other pig breeds, including Duroc lines, related to fat deposition or muscle structure. This work reports, for the first time, genome-wide association study results for several traits in Italian Duroc heavy pigs. These results will be useful to dissect the genetic basis for dry-cured ham production traits that determine the total genetic merit index of Italian Duroc pigs.

Land cover is affected by many factors including economic development, climate and natural disturbances such as wildfires. The ability to evaluate how fire regimes may alter future vegetation, and how future vegetation may alter fire regimes, would assist forest managers in planning management actions to be carried out in the face of anticipated socio-economic and climatic change. In this paper, we present a method for calibrating a cellular automata wildfire regime simulation model with actual data on land cover and wildfire size-frequency. The method is based on the observation that many forest fire regimes, in different forest types and regions, exhibit power law frequency-area distributions. The standard Drossel-Schwabl cellular automata Forest Fire Model (DS-FFM) produces simulations which reproduce this observed pattern. However, the standard model is simplistic in that it considers land cover to be binary – each cell either contains a tree or it is empty – and the model overestimates the frequency of large fires relative to actual landscapes. Our new model, the Modified Forest Fire Model (MFFM), addresses this limitation by incorporating information on actual land use and differentiating among various types of flammable vegetation. The MFFM simulation model was tested on forest types with Mediterranean and sub-tropical fire regimes. The results showed that the MFFM was able to reproduce structural fire regime parameters for these two regions. Further, the model was used to forecast future land cover. Future research will extend this model to refine the forecasts of future land cover and fire regime scenarios under climate, land use and socio-economic change.

In animal breeding it is relevant to identify the genetic and molecular basis of economically important traits, for this reason it is very helpful the identification of the genetic polymorphisms involved in different level of expression of a trait. In the last years the candidate genes approach has been successfully used: on thisbasis, for example, interesting results have been reached, especially for the study of genes codifying for milk proteins (Jenness, 1974). There are two different approaches to perform this kind of study: a structural one, which determines the sequence of the studied genes looking for mutations involved in the variability of the gene structure and/or in its expression level, and a functional one, which directly investigates the difference in gene expression.......

Tub gurnard (Trigla lucerna L.) has been investigated as a new potential fish for farming in the last years. In fact, the decrease in prices, occurred after the increase of sea bass and sea bream production, is a source of many problems for several Mediterranean fish farm system. For this reason the possibility of diversifying the production has been considered towards other valuable species. The lack of knowledge about the genetic population structure of this Triglidae has prompted the attention on the evaluation of its genetic variability for a better management of broodstock and tub gurnard discrimination according to the geographic distribution. Microsatellite markers have been elected to characterise, at DNA level, the species. They have never been described neither in tub gurnard fish, nor in species from the same suborder. To isolate SSR from the tube gurnard, the FIASCO (Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining repeats) protocol was chosen and 32 loci were isolated. In order to verify the informativity of the isolated loci, three different population, reared and wild type sampled in the middle Adriatic and in the Trieste gulf, were analyzed. Moreover two multiplex PCR were developed and the genotyping of 45 animals, from different populations, was performed showing a high allele ranges between the considered samples.

In order to determine the mRNA level differences in candidate genes involved in energetic metabolism, two extremely different pig breeds were studied: Casertana and Large White. Casertana is an autochthonous breed characterized by slow growth and a massive accumulation of backfat, reared in the South of Italy. The experimental individuals were of the same age, raised in the same environmental conditions and sex balanced. Adiponectin, adiponectin receptor1 and adiponectin receptor 2 genes were analysed in adipose and muscle tissues by Real-Time PCR. Adiponectin is a cytokine secreted specifically by adipocytes and has been proposed as an insulin sensitivity enhancer and an atherosclerosis hinder. Adiponectin receptors (1 and 2) mediate the fatty acid oxidation and glucose uptake in muscle and liver tissues and are also expressed ubiquitously in many tissues. The differences between the two genetic groups were statistically supported for each gene in each of the tissues considered. While the analysis built considering the gender were not statistically supported.

In the last few years the local or autochthonous breeds became more important for the typical products. The autochthonous breeds often possess valuable traits such as unique product qualities, disease resistance, adaptation to harsh conditions or poor quality feed.

This study was designed to evaluate whether a weight-bearing exercise training played 3 times a week can have benefits on bone mineral density and neuromuscular function in women with a diagnosis of osteopenia. The study enrolled 22 women aged between 45 and 65, with densitometric diagnosis of osteopenia. The participants were randomly assigned to a group of exercise (n=11) and a control group (n=11). The exercise program lasted for 45 min and consisted of a combination of strength exercises that seek to cause a mechanical osteoblastic stimulus by use of gravity, body weight, fall with antigravity reaction, in combination with exercises for the improvement of balance and coordination. The outcome measures used to assess the result on bone mass are the bone Mineralometric DEXA method for femoral head-neck region and lumbar spine and biochemical markers of bone turnover (resorption and neoformation) and for the evaluation of neuromuscular function was chosen to use surface electromyography (sEMG) as an indicator of overall activity and speed activation of lumbar paravertebral muscles and of the lower limbs antigravity muscles, stabilometric analysis and 6' Walk Test. In addition each person enrolled was given EuroQol and ICF core set of osteoporosis, respectively, to assess the quality of life, as well as activity limitations and participation restrictions associated. In the exercise group, mean values and changes in average rates for the balance, muscle strength, walking ability and quality of life, mean bone mineral content and bone turnover markers, corresponding to the assessments made at 0 (before rehabilitation intervention) and Time 1 (program ended), showed a statistically significant improvement. The results of this study demonstrate that a group rehabilitation program of exercises based on gravitational load, aimed to improve muscle strength and trophism, coordination and balance, can provide advantages of unquestionable importance, not only on the slope of increase bone mass of neuromuscular function and reducing risk of falling, but on health in general.

Maintaining and restoring freshwater ecosystem services in the face of local and global change requires adaptive research that effectively engages stakeholders. However, there is a lack of understanding and consensus in the research community regarding where, when, and which stakeholders should be engaged and what kind of researcher should do the engaging (e.g., physical, ecological, or social scientists). This paper explores stakeholder engagement across a developing network of aquatic research sites in North and South America with wide ranging cultural norms, social values, resource management paradigms, and eco-physical conditions. With seven sites in six countries, we found different degrees of engagement were explained by differences in the interests of the stakeholders given the history and perceived urgency of water resource problems as well as differences in the capacities of the site teams to effectively engage given their expertise and resources. We categorized engagement activities and applied Hurlbert and Gupta's split ladder of participation to better understand site differences and distill lessons learned for planning comparative socio-hydrological research and systematic evaluations of the effectiveness of stakeholder engagement approaches. We recommend research networks practice deliberate engagement of stakeholders that adaptively accounts for variations and changes in local socio-hydrologic conditions. This, in turn, requires further efforts to foster the development of well-integrated research teams that attract and retain researchers from multiple social science disciplines and enable training on effective engagement strategies for diverse conditions.