Crustal structure of Sicily from modelling of gravity and magnetic anomalies.

We aim at modeling the main crustal and thermal interfaces of Sicily (Italy), a key area for understanding the geological complexity at the collisional boundary between the African and European plates. To this end, we analyze the gravity and magnetic fields, integrated with information from well logs, geology, heat flow, and seismic data. In order to make the most accurate description of the crustal structure of the area, we modeled with different methodologies the carbonate and crystalline top surfaces, as well as the Moho and the Curie isotherm surface. The reconstruction of the carbonate platform is achieved using a nonlinear 3D method constrained by the available seismic and borehole data. The crystalline top, the Curie, and the Moho are instead estimated by spectral analysis of both gravity and magnetic data. The results show a complex carbonate basement and a deep crystalline crust in central Sicily, with a prominent uplift beneath the Hyblean Plateau. Maps of the Moho and the Curie isotherm surface define a variable thermal and structural setting of Sicily, with very thin crust in the southern and eastern sectors, where high heat flow is found, and deep and cold crust below the Caltanissetta Basin.

Real-time model predictive control of a wastewater treatment plant based on machine learning.

Two separate goals should be jointly pursued in wastewater treatment: nutrient removal and energy conservation. An efficient controller performance should cope with process uncertainties, seasonal variations and process nonlinearities. This paper describes the design and testing of a model predictive controller (MPC) based on neuro-fuzzy techniques that is capable of estimating the main process variables and providing the right amount of aeration to achieve an efficient and economical operation. This algorithm has been field tested on a large-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant of about 500,000 PE, with encouraging results in terms of better effluent quality and energy savings.

Advances in the Direct Study of Carbon Burning in Massive Stars.

The ^{12}C+^{12}C fusion reaction plays a critical role in the evolution of massive stars and also strongly impacts various explosive astrophysical scenarios. The presence of resonances in this reaction at energies around and below the Coulomb barrier makes it impossible to carry out a simple extrapolation down to the Gamow window-the energy regime relevant to carbon burning in massive stars. The ^{12}C+^{12}C system forms a unique laboratory for challenging the contemporary picture of deep sub-barrier fusion (possible sub-barrier hindrance) and its interplay with nuclear structure (sub-barrier resonances). Here, we show that direct measurements of the ^{12}C+^{12}C fusion cross section may be made into the Gamow window using an advanced particle-gamma coincidence technique. The sensitivity of this technique effectively removes ambiguities in existing measurements made with gamma ray or charged-particle detection alone. The present cross-section data span over 8 orders of magnitude and support the fusion-hindrance model at deep sub-barrier energies.

Isospin Mixing in

The isospin mixing was deduced in the compound nucleus ^{80}Zr at an excitation energy of E^{*}=54 MeV from the γ decay of the giant dipole resonance. The reaction ^{40}Ca+^{40}Ca at E_{beam}=136 MeV was used to form the compound nucleus in the isospin I=0 channel, while the reaction ^{37}Cl+^{44}Ca at E_{beam}=95 MeV was used as the reference reaction. The γ rays were detected with the AGATA demonstrator array coupled with LaBr_{3}:Ce detectors. The temperature dependence of the isospin mixing was obtained and the zero-temperature value deduced. The isospin-symmetry-breaking correction δ_{C} used for the Fermi superallowed transitions was extracted and found to be consistent with ß-decay data.

Pathway for the Production of Neutron-Rich Isotopes around the N=126 Shell Closure.

Absolute cross sections for isotopically identified products formed in multinucleon transfer in the (136)Xe+(198)Pt system at ∼8 MeV/nucleon are reported. The isotopic distributions obtained using a large acceptance spectrometer demonstrated the production of the "hard-to-reach" neutron-rich isotopes for Z<78 around the N=126 shell closure far from stability. The main contribution to the formation of these exotic nuclei is shown to arise in collisions with a small kinetic energy dissipation. The present experimental finding corroborates for the first time recent predictions that multinucleon transfer reactions would be the optimum method to populate and characterize neutron-rich isotopes around N=126 which are crucial for understanding both astrophysically relevant processes and the evolution of "magic" numbers far from stability.

Neutron pair transfer in (60)Ni+(116)Sn far below the Coulomb barrier.

An excitation function of one- and two-neutron transfer channels for the ^{60}Ni+^{116}Sn system has been measured with the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA in a wide energy range, from the Coulomb barrier to far below it. The experimental transfer probabilities are well reproduced, for the first time with heavy ions, in absolute values and in slope by microscopic calculations which incorporate nucleon-nucleon pairing correlations.

Fusion hindrance for a positive-q-value system (24)Mg+(30)Si.

Measurements of the excitation function for the fusion of (24)Mg+(30)Si (Q=17.89 MeV)have been extended toward lower energies with respect to previous experimental data. The S-factor maximum observed in this large, positive-Q-value system is the most pronounced among such systems studied thus far. The significance and the systematics of an S-factor maximum in systems with positive fusion Q values are discussed. This result would strongly impact the extrapolated cross sections and reaction rates in the carbon and oxygen burnings and, thus, the study of the history of stellar evolution.

Precision measurement of the (7)Be solar neutrino interaction rate in Borexino.

The rate of neutrino-electron elastic scattering interactions from 862 keV (7)Be solar neutrinos in Borexino is determined to be 46.0±1.5(stat)(-1.6)(+1.5)(syst) counts/(day·100 ton). This corresponds to a ν(e)-equivalent (7)Be solar neutrino flux of (3.10±0.15)×10(9) cm(-2) s(-1) and, under the assumption of ν(e) transition to other active neutrino flavours, yields an electron neutrino survival probability of 0.51±0.07 at 862 keV. The no flavor change hypothesis is ruled out at 5.0 σ. A global solar neutrino analysis with free fluxes determines Φ(pp)=6.06(-0.06)(+0.02)×10(10) cm(-2) s(-1) and Φ(CNO)<1.3×10(9) cm(-2) s(-1) (95% C.L.). These results significantly improve the precision with which the Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein large mixing angle neutrino oscillation model is experimentally tested at low energy.

Lifetime measurements of the neutron-rich N = 30 isotones 50Ca and 51Sc: orbital dependence of effective charges in the fp shell.

The lifetimes of the first excited states of the N = 30 isotones (50)Ca and (51)Sc have been determined using the Recoil Distance Doppler Shift method in combination with the CLARA-PRISMA spectrometers. This is the first time such a method is applied to measure lifetimes of neutron-rich nuclei populated via a multinucleon transfer reaction. This extends the lifetime knowledge beyond the f_{7/2} shell closure and allows us to derive the effective proton and neutron charges in the fp shell near the doubly magic nucleus (48)Ca, using large-scale, shell-model calculations. These results indicate an orbital dependence of the core polarization along the fp shell.

Probing the order-to-chaos region in superdeformed 151Tb and 196Pb nuclei with continuum gamma transitions.

The gamma decay associated with the warm rotation of the superdeformed nuclei 151Tb and 196Pb has been measured with the EUROBALL IV array. Several independent quantities provide a stringent test of the population and decay dynamics in the superdeformed well. A Monte Carlo simulation of the gamma decay based on microscopic calculations gives remarkable agreement with the data only assuming a large enhancement of the B(E1) strength for 1-2 MeV gamma rays, which may be related to the evidence for octupole vibrations in both mass regions.

Effects of physical activity and diet on lipemic risk factors for atherosclerosis in women.

Serum lipoproteins were studied in active and sedentary young women. The groups were matched for age, body weight, and blood pressure. A quantitative and qualitative evaluation of the diet was performed. In spite of a higher intake of saturated fat and cholesterol, serum concentrations of triglyceride, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in the active group were not significantly different from the controls. Nevertheless, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels were significantly higher in the active subjects even after covariance adjustment for nutrient intake; therefore, the HDL-C increase seems to depend on physical activity "per se" rather than on differences in diet.

[Evaluation of the accuracy of precipitation methods for HDL cholesterol determination]. / Valutazione dell'accuratezza dei metodi di precipitazione per il dosaggio del colesterolo delle HDL.

Several methods for HDL-Cholesterol determination have been proposed; the over-floating cholesterol evaluation after non-HDL lipoproteins precipitation by polyanions with bivalent cations or neutral polymers is practical and not expensive, but it's accuracy and precision must be strictly control led. The Authors, after a review and a quality-check of the most used methods, conclude that the best accuracy for HDL-Cholesterol determination is provided by Dextransulphate-Mg-chloride and Phosphotungstate-Mg-chloride at pH 7,5.

[Relationships between programmed physical activity and risk factors in atherosclerosis]. / Osservazioni sui rapporti tra attivita' fisica programmate e fattori di rischio dell'aterosclersoi.

The lipidemic pattern has been evaluated in 40 systematically trained subjects and in 43 subjects of same age and BMI sedentary ones. The mean CT concentration of active subjects was not different from that of the sedentary group, whereas HDL-C was significantly higher and TG significantly lower, CT/HDL-C was significantly lower in active subjects. The obtained results show that systematic physical activity, even if not at agonistic level, can induce antiatherogenic modifications of the lipidemic pattern.

[Influence of alcohol intake and smoking on plasma HDL cholesterol in active and sedentary subjects]. / Interferenza dell'assunzione di alcool e del fumo sulla concentrazione plasmatica del colesterolo HDL in soggetti attivi e sedentari.

The effect of physical activity, of smoking habit and alcohol assumption on plasma HDL-cholesterol has been evaluated in 40 normolipidaemic male active subjects and in 43 non-active ones. The comparison have been performed after covariance adjustment for potentially confounding variables. Physical activity increases and smoking habit decreases HDL-cholesterol plasma levels; no effects depending on alcohol consumption have been found.