Search

Abstract The Aria cryogenic distillation plant, located in Sardinia, Italy, is a key component of the DarkSide-20k experimental program for WIMP dark matter searches at the INFN Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, Italy. Aria is designed to purify the argon, extracted from underground wells in Colorado, USA, and used as the DarkSide-20k target material, to detector-grade quality. In this paper, we report the first measurement of argon isotopic separation by distillation with the 26 m tall Aria prototype. We discuss the measurement of the operating parameters of the column and the observation of the simultaneous separation of the three stable argon isotopes: $${}^{36}\hbox {Ar}$$ 36 Ar , $${}^{38}\textrm{Ar}$$ 38 Ar , and $${}^{40}\textrm{Ar}$$ 40 Ar . We also provide a detailed comparison of the experimental results with commercial process simulation software. This measurement of isotopic separation of argon is a significant achievement for the project, building on the success of the initial demonstration of isotopic separation of nitrogen using the same equipment in 2019.

Abstract Aria is a plant hosting a $${350}\,\hbox {m}$$ 350 m cryogenic isotopic distillation column, the tallest ever built, which is being installed in a mine shaft at Carbosulcis S.p.A., Nuraxi-Figus (SU), Italy. Aria is one of the pillars of the argon dark-matter search experimental program, lead by the Global Argon Dark Matter Collaboration. It was designed to reduce the isotopic abundance of $${^{39}\hbox {Ar}}$$ 39 Ar in argon extracted from underground sources, called Underground Argon (UAr), which is used for dark-matter searches. Indeed, $${^{39}\hbox {Ar}}$$ 39 Ar is a $$\beta $$ β -emitter of cosmogenic origin, whose activity poses background and pile-up concerns in the detectors. In this paper, we discuss the requirements, design, construction, tests, and projected performance of the plant for the isotopic cryogenic distillation of argon. We also present the successful results of the isotopic cryogenic distillation of nitrogen with a prototype plant.

Responses to diet composition may be linked to susceptibility to metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes. Here the authors report that Drosophila melanogaster displays genetic variation in survival on different diets and describe the importance for JNK-pathway and a conserved orphan nuclear hormone receptor tailless in regulating sugar tolerance.

Aims and Objectives: The sequence of contacts with individuals and organizations prompted by the distressed person's efforts, and those of his or her significant others, to seek help is known as the pathways to care. The study of the pathways to care provides the relevant information regarding the individual's health seeking and illness behaviour. A wide range of professionals including psychiatrists, psychologists, other doctors, faith-healers and religious healers cater to the needs of mentally ill patients. This study was carried out to identify the pathway to care of patients up to psychiatric care with no prior psychiatric treatment at GMCTH. Methodology: It is a cross-sectional, descriptive study conducted in GMCTH, Pokhara from Jan 2015 to Dec 2016. After ethical consideration, all new patients and those newly referred to the psychiatric services and agreed to participate were interviewed until the target 100 participants were recruited. ICD-10 was used for diagnosis. Data were computed and analyzed by using Microsoft excel and SPSS. Parametric & non parametric statistical technique was applied wherever appropriate. Results: Total of 100 patients (56 females, 44 males) was included in the study. Mean age of the entire study cohort was 37.17 years (SD 15.45). The mean no. of months to seek first help from a psychiatrist was 53.03 months (SD: 81.70). Conclusion: All the patients here eventually made treatment contact with psychiatrists. However, delay was pervasive. Delay in treatment has negative effect in the treatment outcome. The knowledge and recognition of psychological disorders by the traditional healers as well as other treatment providers in the community are crucial for early treatment of psychiatric patients.

In this paper, we have presented an analysis of emission lines from two dwarf galaxies. We analyzed the strongest emission lines of wavelength ranging from 4100 Å to 6700 Å. Among these emission lines, Hα and OIII have the highest intensities with 113.09×10-17 erg/s/cm2/Å and 142.12×10-17 erg/s/cm2/Å in the galaxies SDSSJ222726.64+120539.8 and SDSSJ162753.47+482529.3, respectively. The Gaussian fit carried out in these emission lines showed the perfect fits with regression coefficient greater than 98 %, and full width half maximum (FWHM) of less than 4 Å. The line ratios calculated between Hα and Hβ for SDSSJ222726.64+120539.8 and SDSSJ162753.47+482529.3 were 2.78 and 2.85, respectively, suggesting that the galaxies are starburst galaxies. The measurement of the Hα line from both galaxies was then used to assess the rate of star formation. The star formation rate of the galaxies SDSSJ222726.64+120539.8 and SDSSJ162753.47+482529.3 was found to be 0.010 M☉year-1 and 0.016 M☉year-1, respectively, indicating a low rate of star formation, and the emission line metallicity was derived using the Hα and NII line, which were measured to be 8.23 dex and 8.70 dex, respectively. BIBECHANA 18 (2) (2021) 43-49

La résistance aux antipaludéens et la persistance de l’endémie palustre constituent un problème majeur de santé publique en Afrique. Outre la production des radicaux libres, l’infection palustre s’accompagne d’une dépression générale des antioxydants totaux plasmatiques pouvant contribuer à la morbidité et mortalité dues à la malaria. Ce travail a consisté à étudier l’Enantia olivacea, une espèce végétale consommée par les bonobos, Pan paniscus. Le screening chimique de l’extrait éthanolique (80 %) a été effectué. Nous avons réalisé des mesures semi-quantitatives de l’activité antioxydante par le radical 1,1-diphényl-2-picrylhydrazyle (DPPH) d’une solution méthanolique à 2 % (m/v) sur chromatographie en couche mince (CCM), et à 0,004 % une mesure quantitative sur microplaque. L’activité antiplasmodiale in vitro a été réalisée sur une souche clinique de Plasmodium falciparum. Les résultats obtenus ont montré la présence des flavonoïdes, des leucoanthocyanes, des tanins galliques, des alcaloïdes et des coumarines. L’analyse de l’activité antioxydante sur CCM a révélé les composés actifs aux Rf 1 et 0,67 et la concentration inhibitrice de 50 % (CI50) déterminée était de 21,3 ± 6,89 μg/ml face aux molécules de références utilisées dans notre test qui étaient l’acide ascorbique et la quercétine dont les CI50 étaient respectivement de 2,13 ± 0,21 et de 0,69 ± 0,02μg/ml. L’activité antiplasmodiale in vitro de l’extrait a donné une CI50 de 0,002 ± 0,0007 μg/ml relativement identique à la quinine. Il est donc possible que les bonobos se nourrissent de cette plante pour se faire guérir de la malaria. Ce travail montre une piste pour trouver de nouvelles molécules face à cette émergence de résistance du P. falciparum aux antipaludéens existants.

Aim: The triage forms filled in 2006 by nursing personnel dedicated to the triage in an Emergency Department were analysed., Methods: The 37.323 triage forms were scrutinized to identify any discrepancies in severity codes assigned by the nurse and by the medical doctor, after the clinical and instrumental assessment., Results: Four-hundred-forty discrepancies were identified (13% of those initially classified as discrepancies): 221 (50.2%) severity codes were overestimated and 219 underestimated. The percentage of discrepancies increased during night hours and at the morning shift change. Nurses who performed the triage less often, made an higher number of over or underestimates. Overall, the number of discrepancies was 0.5 per shift., Conclusions: The overall performance can be considered very good. A model for analysis of discrepancies can be proposed. A number of proposals have been advanced to further improve the nurses performance.

A case of aortic dissection extending to an aberrant right subclavian artery seen at CT and MRI is reported. The clinical and imaging patterns of this rare disease are described and compared with those of the literature. Multiplanar views are, in this particular case, very useful for a precise assessment of the involved aberrant artery.

Two known lignans, liriodendrin and syringaresinol mono-beta-D-glucoside, have been isolated from the methanol extract of the roots of Boerhaavia diffusa L. (Nyctaginaceae), and the former compound was found to exhibit a significant calcium (Ca2+) channel antagonistic effect in frog heart single cells using the whole-cell voltage clamp method. Reexamination of the carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (13C-NMR) spectra of these compounds was also carried out by the use of two-dimensional NMR techniques including a 1H-detected heteronuclear multiple bond connectivity (HMBC) experiment, and it was found that the previous signal assignments for C-1' and C-4' have to be revised.