Explore the vast range of titles available.

The NA48/2 experiment at CERN collected in 2003-2004 a large sample of charged kaon decays with multiple charged particles in the final state. A new upper limit on the rate of the lepton number violating decay K ± → π ± μ ± μ ± obtained from this sample is reported. Moreover searches for two-body resonances in the K ± → πμμ, decays (including heavy neutral leptons and inflatons) in the accessible range of masses and lifetimes are presented. During the 2016 run the NA62 experiment has collected data with a dedicated trigger for kaon decays with two muons in the final state. Preliminary results on the statistics collected during a period of two weeks for the decay K + → π+μ+μ− will be presented. The NA62 experiment has good potential for the studies of rare K + decays in addition to its main goal, the measurement of the branching ratio of the decay K + → π ν ν ¯ .

Particle panels for construction are environmentally favorable, as they allow the combination of different components (as is the case with agro-industrial waste from the production and processing of food and products derived from agricultural activities). The objective of this article is to analyze studies focused on the use of cassava by-products in the production of panels for civil construction/furniture in the last 10 years through a bibliographical survey, as well as to present a preliminary analysis of the feasibility of using cassava by-products to manufacture particle panels in their natural state. As a result, the theoretical search detected the gap created by the scarcity of published studies on the topic. On the other hand, the experimental analysis indicated the promising potential of using the cassava by-product for panel production, provided that the weaknesses initially indicated in this research can be addressed.

The vertex detectors for the future hadronic colliders will operate under proton fluencies above 1016 p/cm2. Crystalline Silicon detector technology, up to now, has kept the pace of the increasing fluencies in the LHC era and it is still the prevalent vertex detector material for the present and for the immediate future. Looking ahead in time, an alternative solution for such a detector has to be found because for the future there is no guarantee that Crystalline Silicon will hold this challenge. For this reason the development of hydrogenated amorphous silicon vertex detectors based on 3D-technology have been proposed and the technological solutions in order to build these detectors are described in this paper.

The first part of this paper will review the new results in the radiative decays of charged kaons available from the NA48/2 experiment at CERN: the first measurement of the DE and INT contribution to the decay K± → π±π0γ in the Tπ* region 0 < Tπ* 80 MeV and the first observation of K± → π±e+e−γ decay. Then in the second part of the paper new results on radiative hyperons decays, concerning the measurement of Ξ0 → Λγ decay asymmetry and the first observation of the Ξ0 → Λe+e− decay from NA48/I, will be reported.

A commercial Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) is used to build a fast Level 0 (L0) trigger system tested parasitically with the TDAQ (Trigger and Data Acquisition systems) of the NA62 experiment at CERN. In particular, the parallel computing power of the GPU is exploited to perform real-time fitting in the Ring Imaging CHerenkov (RICH) detector. Direct GPU communication using a FPGA-based board has been used to reduce the data transmission latency. The performance of the system for multi-ring reconstrunction obtained during the NA62 physics run will be presented.

Objectives: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) produced by chondrocytes play a role in the development of cartilage degradation in joint diseases. Moreover, inhibition of MMP secretion by macrophages accumulating in arteriosclerotic plaques would account for the plaque stabilising activity of statins in cardiovascular patients. Recently, simvastatin has been shown to inhibit both developing and established collagen induced arthritis in a murine model. We thus decided to investigate the effect of simvastatin on the production of MMP-3 from cultured interleukin (IL)1 stimulated human chondrocytes. Methods: Cells from human cartilage, obtained from eight subjects with osteoarthritis undergoing surgery for total hip prostheses, were cultured in the presence of different concentrations of simvastatin (5, 10, and 50 μmol/l) with and without IL1β (5 ng/ml). MMP-3 level was measured in the culture medium after 48 h of incubation. Results: IL1β stimulation of chondrocytes increased MMP-3 concentration in the cultures (from 0.69 (0.09) to 1.94 (0.12) ng/μg protein). Incubation with simvastatin was associated with a dose dependent reduction in MMP-3 increase, both in the presence (−15%, −17%, and −26% with 5, 10, and 50 μmol/l, respectively) and in the absence (−32% with 50 μmol/l) of IL1β. The inhibiting effect of simvastatin was completely reversed by the addition of mevalonate (100 μmol/l) or farnesol (10 μmol/l). Conclusions: Our data show that simvastatin, by blocking HMGCoA-reductase and interfering in the prenylation processes, is able to inhibit MMP-3 production from cultured human chondrocytes that have been either unstimulated or stimulated with IL1β, thus suggesting a possible additional mechanism for statins in counteracting chronic joint disease related cartilage damage.

Kaon physics is at a turning point – while the rare-kaon experiments NA62 and KOTO are in full swing, the end of their lifetime is approaching and the future experimental landscape needs to be defined. With HIKE, KOTO-II and LHCb-Phase-II on the table and under scrutiny, it is a very good moment in time to take stock and contemplate about the opportunities these experiments and theoretical developments provide for particle physics in the coming decade and beyond. This paper provides a compact summary of talks and discussions from the Kaons@CERN 2023 workshop, held in September 2023 at CERN.

Abstract Kaon physics is at a turning point – while the rare-kaon experiments NA62 and KOTO are in full swing, the end of their lifetime is approaching and the future experimental landscape needs to be defined. With HIKE, KOTO-II and LHCb-Phase-II on the table and under scrutiny, it is a very good moment in time to take stock and contemplate about the opportunities these experiments and theoretical developments provide for particle physics in the coming decade and beyond. This paper provides a compact summary of talks and discussions from the Kaons@CERN 2023 workshop, held in September 2023 at CERN.

The design of control systems and human–machine interfaces in the field of complex and safety-critical environments remains today an open issue, in spite of the high technological evolution of the last decades. The increasing use of automation has improved efficiency, safety and ease of operations but, at the same time, it has complicated operators’ situation awareness and has changed the nature of their possible errors. The research activity described in this paper is an attempt to develop a methodological framework to support designers of control systems and human–machine interfaces. In particular, it focuses on the need for a deeply recursive approach related to the implementation of the systemic and human aspects of the design process of a human–machine system, intended as a Joint Cognitive System. A validating case study has been performed, based on the full application of the framework on the control of the turbine/alternator system of a thermoelectric power plant in northern Italy.