University of Florence

About: University of Florence is a education organization based out in Florence, Toscana, Italy. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Carbonic anhydrase. The organization has 27292 authors who have published 79599 publications receiving 2341684 citations. The organization is also known as: Università degli studi di Firenze & Universita degli studi di Firenze.

Strontium ranelate: dose-dependent effects in established postmenopausal vertebral osteoporosis--a 2-year randomized placebo controlled trial.

Abstract: The aim of the strontium ranelate (SR) for treatment of osteoporosis (STRATOS) trial was to investigate the efficacy and safety of different doses of SR, a novel agent in the treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. A randomized, multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was undertaken in 353 osteoporotic women with at least one previous vertebral fracture and a lumbar T-score <−2.4. Patients were randomized to receive placebo, 0.5 g, 1 g, or 2 g SR/d for 2 yr. The primary efficacy endpoint was lumbar bone mineral density (BMD), assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. Secondary outcome measures included femoral BMD, incidence of new vertebral deformities, and biochemical markers of bone metabolism. Lumbar BMD, adjusted for bone strontium content, increased in a dose-dependent manner in the intention-to-treat population: mean annual slope increased from 1.4% with 0.5 g/d SR to 3.0% with 2 g/d SR, which was significantly higher than placebo (P < 0.01). There was a significant reduction in t...

Two atomic species superfluid.

Abstract: We produce a quantum degenerate mixture composed by two Bose-Einstein condensates of different atomic species, 41K and 87Rb We study the dynamics of the superfluid system in an elongated magnetic trap, where off-axis collisions between the two interacting condensates induce scissorlike oscillations

Search for new physics in the multijet and missing transverse momentum final state in proton-proton collisions at √s=8 Tev

Abstract: A search for new physics is performed in multijet events with large missing transverse momentum produced in proton-proton collisions at sqrt(s)=8 TeV using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 19.5 inverse femtobarns collected with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample is divided into three jet multiplicity categories (3-5, 6-7, and 8 or more jets), and studied further in bins of two variables: the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta and the missing transverse momentum. The observed numbers of events in various categories are consistent with backgrounds expected from standard model processes. Exclusion limits are presented for several simplified supersymmetric models of squark or gluino pair production.

The third generation of gravitational wave observatories and their science reach

Abstract: Large gravitational wave interferometric detectors, like Virgo and LIGO, demonstrated the capability to reach their design sensitivity, but to transform these machines into an effective observational instrument for gravitational wave astronomy a large improvement in sensitivity is required. Advanced detectors in the near future and third-generation observatories in more than one decade will open the possibility to perform gravitational wave astronomical observations from the Earth. An overview of the possible science reaches and the technological progress needed to realize a third-generation observatory are discussed in this paper. The status of the project Einstein Telescope (ET), a design study of a third-generation gravitational wave observatory, will be reported.

Performance of Error Component Models for Status-Quo Effects in Choice Experiments

Abstract: Environmental economists have advocated the use of choice modelling in environmental valuation. Standard approaches employ choice sets including one alternative depicting the status-quo, yet the effects of explicitly accounting for systematic differences in preferences for non status-quo alternatives in the econometric models are not well understood. We explore three different ways of addressing such systematic differences using data from two choice modelling studies designed to value the provision of environmental goods. Preferences for change versus status-quo are explored with standard conditional logit with alternative-specific constant for status-quo, nested logit and a less usual mixed logit error component specification (kernel logit). Our empirical results are consistent with the hypothesis that alternatives offering changes from status-quo do not share the same preference structure as status-quo alternatives, as found by others in the marketing literature, in the environmental economic literature and in food preference studies. To further explore the empirical consequences of such mis-specification we report on a series of Monte Carlo experiments. Evidence from the experiments indicates that the expected bias in estimates ignoring the status-quo effect is substantial, and—more interestingly—that error component specifications with status-quo alternative specific-constant are efficient even when biased. These findings have significant implications for practitioners and their stance towards the strategies for the econometric analysis of choice modelling data for the purpose of valuation.