Parity Realization in Lattice QCD with Ginsparg-Wilson Fermions

The Vafa-Witten arguments on the realization of parity and flavour symmetries in the QCD vacuum do not apply to two lattice regularizations of QCD which are able to reproduce the chiral anomaly: Wilson fermions and Ginsparg-Wilson fermions. We show here how using the last regularization one can get, from first principles, that the more standard order parameters for these symmetries take a vanishing vacuum expectation value for any number of flavours, if quarks have a non-vanishing mass.Comment: 14 pages. References adde

Defining directors’ conflict of interests in code of ethics

We propose a definition of directors’ conflict of interests (CoI) by critically reviewing the academic literature. Then, we present an exploratory study, based on a content analysis of the leading Italian listed companies that sought to empirically assess the directors’ CoI definitions provided by corporate codes of ethics. We found that despite the presence of CoI statement within corporate codes of ethics, CoI definition is often absent, when present it is not always clear, and differs widely among firms. The consequence is that CoI recognition could be not easy and remedies to prevent and resolve directors’ CoI lose their practical utility

Search for time modulations in the decay rate of 40K and 232Th

Time modulations at per mil level have been reported to take place in the decay constant of about 15 nuclei with period of one year (most cases) but also of about one month or one day. In this paper we give the results of the activity measurement of a 40K source and a 232Th one. The two experiments have been done at the Gran Sasso Laboratory during a period of about 500 days, above ground (40K) and underground (232Th) with a target sensitivity of a few parts over 10^5. We also give the results of the activity measurement at the time of the X-class solar flares which took place in May 2013. Briefly, our measurements do not show any evidence of unexpected time dependence in the decay rate of 40K and 232Th.Comment: version accepted for publication (Astroparticle Physics

Monolithic zirconia and digital impression: case report

The aim of this study is to present a clinical case of a full arch prosthetic rehabilitation on natural teeth, combining both digital work-flow and monolithic zirconi

Phase structure of a generalized Nambu Jona-Lasinio model with Wilson fermions in the mean field or large NN-expansion

We analyze the vacuum structure of a generalized lattice Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model with two flavors of Wilson fermions, such that its continuum action is the most general four-fermion action with 'trivial' color interactions, and having a $SU(2)_V x SU(2)_A$ symmetry in the chiral limit. The phase structure of this model in the space of the two four-fermion couplings shows, in addition to the standard Aoki phases, new phases with $!= 0$, in close analogy to similar results recently suggested by some of us for lattice QCD with two degenerate Wilson fermions. This result shows how the phase structure of an effective model for low energy QCD cannot be entirely understood from Wilson Chiral Perturbation Theory, based on the standard QCD chiral effective Lagrangian approach.Comment: 24 pages, 3 figures, sent to Nuclear Physics

DNA analysis as tool for identification of bacteria in archaeological waterlogged wood

Abstract In this work molecular techniques were applied in order to integrete the results obtained by Optical (OM) and Scanning Electron (SEM) Microscopy, to understanding and assessing the changes in the anatomical structure of archaeological waterlogged wood (Pinus sp.) induced by bacteria colonization. Observation of wooden thin sections revealed by OM showed the presence of black and dark -brown areas (must probably due to sulphur compounds) and mineral concretions. The SEM micrographs revealed a specific cell wall alteration attributable to bacterial activity and abundant pyrite framboids (as single structure or clustered). The presence of sulfur compounds in archaeological waterlogged wood, indicate both long-term burial in anoxic environment and colonization by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Molecular biology investigation was performed through ad hoc protocols by direct DNA extraction from wood samples and in vitro amplification of bacteria DNA target sequence (16S, ITS regions-r RNA). The results reveal and identify bacterial genus as Pseudomonas, Cellulomonas, Xanthomonas and Bacillus that, as reported in the related scientific literature, are the most common cellulosolytic and ligninolytic bacteria. Moreover were also revealed the presence of Marinobacter sp. and Desulforudis audaxviator, respectively iron- oxidizing and sulfate- reducing bacteria. The investigation protocol set up in this work can be applied to a range of wooden artifacts of archaeological findings for both identification of bacteria colonization shed some light on the degradation phenomena, indispensable for correct conservation and restoration strategies

Aesthetic satisfaction in lip and palate clefts: a comparative study between secondary and tertiary bone grafting

Lip and palate cleft represent one of the most frequently occurring congenital deformity, which includes dental anomalies, such as variation in tooth number and position. In case of hypodontia implant-prosthetic rehabilitation offers significant advantages in terms of function, aesthetics and quality of life and bone graft is usually needed. Secondary bone grafting, generally performed in the mixed dentition phase (years 8-11) seems to be the most successful method to allow for rehabilitation. It's often necessary to perform a tertiary bone grafting in adult age in order to achieve better bone quantity and quality before implant placement. Aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the aesthetic perception that patients had of themselves comparing dental implants placed in tertiary grafted alveolar cleft sites with a previous secondary grafting to only secondary grafting. Between 2009 and 2012, fourteen alveolar cleft were treated with implant rehabilitation and eleven of them received tertiary bone grafting six months prior to implant placement. All patients were questioned to give a score from 1 to 10 their aesthetic satisfaction of their smile before and after implant rehabilitation and during pre-surgery provisional rehabilitation. At the end of their prosthesis rehabilitation patients who received tertiary bone grafting resulted more satisfied than those who had secondary bone grafting only (9.5 vs 8)