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We have observed a significant enhancement in the energy deposition by 25– 100 GeV photons in a 1 cm thick tungsten crystal oriented along its ⟨ 111 ⟩ lattice axes. At 100 GeV , this enhancement, with respect to the value observed without axial alignment, is more than twofold. This effect, together with the measured huge increase in secondary particle generation is ascribed to the acceleration of the electromagnetic shower development by the strong axial electric field. The experimental results have been critically compared with a newly developed Monte Carlo adapted for use with crystals of multi- X 0 thickness. The results presented in this paper may prove to be of significant interest for the development of high-performance photon absorbers and highly compact electromagnetic calorimeters and beam dumps for use at the energy and intensity frontiers.

BackgroundWe assessed the clinical effectiveness of cefiderocol (CFDC) in comparison with colistin (COL) for the treatment of carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) bloodstream infections (BSI).Materials/methodsRetrospective cohort study including adults with CRAB-BSI. Outcomes were mortality, clinical cure and adverse events during therapy. The average treatment effect of CFDC compared to COL was weighted with the inverse-probability treatment weight (IPTW).ResultsOverall, 104 patients were included (50 CFDC, 54 COL), median age 66.5 years, median Charlson Comorbidity Index 5, septic shock in 33.6% of patients. Primary BSI accounted for 43.3% of cases, followed by ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) (26%), catheter-related BSI (20.2%) and hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) (9.6%). Although not significantly, mortality at all time points was lower for CFDC than COL, while clinical cure was higher in CFDC than COL (66% vs. 44.4%, p = 0.027). Adverse events were more frequent in COL than CFDC-group (38.8% vs. 10%, p < 0.0001), primarily attributed to acute kidney injury (AKI) in the COL group. Patients with bacteremic HAP/VAP treated with CFDC had a significant lower 30-d mortality and higher clinical cure than COL (p = 0.008 and p = 0.0008, respectively). Increment of CCI (p = 0.005), ICU (p = 0.025), SARS-CoV2 (p = 0.006) and ECMO (p < 0.0001) were independently associated with 30-d mortality, while receiving CFDC was not associated with survival.ConclusionsCFDC could represent an effective and safe treatment option for CRAB BSI, especially in patients with bacteremic HAP/VAP and frail patients where the risk of acute renal failure during therapy should be avoided.Key summary pointsIncreasing real-life data support the clinical effectiveness and safety of cefiderocol (CFDC) for carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) infections.We investigated CFDC in comparison with colistin (COL) for the treatment of CRAB bloodstream infections (BSI).Clinical cure was higher in CFDC than COL group.Patients with hospital acquired/ventilator-associated pneumonia treated with CFDC had a statistically significant lower 30-d mortality and higher clinical cure than those treated with COL.Adverse events were more frequent in COL than in CFDC-group.CFDC could be an effective and safe treatment option for CRAB BSI, especially in patients with HAP/VAP and frail patients where the risk of acute renal failure during therapy should be avoided.

We report on the performance of commercial SiPM-based photo-detector Multi-Pixel Photon Counter (MPPC) S13360-6075CS by Hamamatsu Photonics from room temperature down to -50 °C at INFN - Sezione di Roma Tre. The work presented here is focused on the realization of 10 m 2 SiPM surface for the Taishan Antineutrino Observatory (TAO) near detector in the framework of the Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory (JUNO) neutrino experiment.

In this work we present a low noise high speed readout electronics for large area Silicon Photomultipiers (SiPMs) to be used in a cryogenic environment. The board is able to manage the signals coming from a 25 cm 2 SiPM tile, showing ¡10% SPE resolution and wide dynamic. The sub-nanosecond timing properties make them suitable to work with the typical mixtures of Liquid Scintillators currently being used in particle and astroparticle physics experiments. The boards have been tested with several types of SiPMs from room temperature down to -70 C showing excellent single photo-electron resolution in all the enviroments. The board’s PCBs have been developed with ultra low background material in order to be used in rare event searches.

We present the development of resistive Micromegas aiming at operation under high rates, up to tens MHz/cm2, focusing on the optimisation of the spark protection resistive layer and the miniaturisation of the readout elements. Several Micromegas detectors have been built with an anode plane matrix of 48x16 rectangular readout pads, each pad 0.8x2.8 mm2. The detectors differ for the spark protection resistive schemes being realised with the following techniques: a pad-patterned embedded resistor by screen printing, and uniform DLC (Diamond Like Carbon structure) layers. Characterisation and performance studies of the detectors have been carried out by means of radioactive sources, X-Rays, and test beam. A comparison of the performance obtained with the different resistive layouts is presented, in particular focusing on the response under high irradiation and high rate exposure.

The new generation of particle physics experiments at current and future colliders demands more and more robust detectors. A proposed solution to the stringent requirements are the Small-pad Resistive Micormegas. This technology is being developed during recent years, in the framework of the new R&D project RHUM. Different resistive schemes have been implemented. The different behaviours of the embedded resistor layout and the Diamond-Like Carbon (DLC) uniform layers scheme have been studied. Results at very high rate are shown. HV stability studies with two different gases are reported.

Live-trapping elusive animals is often challenging, hampering the achievement of reasonable sample sizes for molecular studies. In such cases, the use of noninvasive samples (NIS) is critical in many research fields, mostly related to ecology, management and conservation of wild species. We analysed the influence of several variables potentially associated with the quality of wolf NIS—season, weather conditions, and in situ collected site and sample characteristics—on the success rates of species and individual identification performed using mtDNA and 13 microsatellites, respectively. NIS included scats, urine and saliva collected from two areas in Portugal. Scat samples exhibited the highest success rate for both species (81%) and individual identification (59%), compared with urine (63 and 30%, respectively) or saliva samples (48 and 36%, respectively). The success rate of species identification of scats was better explained by season of collection, the presence of mucous, moisture and odour. For samples with successful species identification analysis, individual identification success was best predicted by the presence of odour. Performing a preliminary selection of scat samples with the best characteristics can increase up to 13% the success rates of molecular analysis. Urine collected on snow had a higher success rate of species identification than that collected on vegetation. To our knowledge, this was the first time that wolf urine on vegetation near ground-scratching marks is used as DNA source. Saliva samples collected with different substrate types can also be used for species identification. These results contribute to optimising noninvasive sampling procedures, maximising the success of molecular ecology studies, and ultimately minimising sampling efforts and costs.

CYGNO is a project realising a cubic meter demonstrator to study the scalability of the performance of the optical approach for the readout of large-volume, GEM-equipped TPC. This is part of the CYGNUS proto-collaboration which aims at constructing a network of underground observatories for directional Dark Matter search. The combined use of high-granularity sCMOS and fast sensors for reading out the light produced in GEM channels during the multiplication processes was shown to allow on one hand to reconstruct 3D direction of the tracks, offering accurate energy measurements and sensitivity to the source directionality and, on the other hand, a high particle identification capability very useful to distinguish nuclear recoils. Results of the performed R&D and future steps toward a 30-100 cubic meter experiment will be presented.

Background: Skin-lightening products are increasingly common in European cities. These products may contain substances that are banned under EU regulations as they can induce adverse effects, including cutaneous and systemic reactions (e.g., mercury, hydroquinone and topical corticosteroids). Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitudes and practices of women regarding skin-lightening products and to quantify the potentially harmful substances in the products used. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study among 82 non-Italian women visiting an outpatient facility in Rome, Italy. The women completed a questionnaire on product use, side effects and risk awareness. We performed patch tests among a subgroup of 48 women who presented with contact dermatitis. We also quantified the allergenic and toxic substances in the 14 products reported, using dynamic reaction cell inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for metals and high-performance liquid chromatography for hydroquinone and topical corticosteroids. Results: Out of the 82 women, 33 used skin-lightening products; about one fourth of these women were aware of potential risks. Three cosmetic creams and two soaps contained high concentrations of metals (Cr, Ni and Pb); hydroquinone was found in three creams and one oil. The only topical corticosteroid detected was dexamethasone, in one product. More than half of the women in the clinical evaluation had irritant contact dermatitis (i.e., negative response to patch test). Conclusions: Among immigrant women in Rome, the use of skin-lightening products seems to be fairly common, and some of these products contain potentially hazardous substances. Consumers must be informed of the potential risks, and EU regulations must be more strictly enforced.

The goal of the CYGNO project is to deploy at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS) an high resolution Time Projection Chamber (TPC) with Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) amplification and optical 3D readout of an Helium/Fluorine based gas mixture for directional Dark Matter (DM) searches at low 1-10 GeV WIMP masses. The determination of the incoming direction of WIMP particles can in fact offer not only additional handles for discrimination of the annoying backgrounds, but especially an unique key for a positive, unambiguous identification of a DM signal.