Editoria - ottobre 2018

Lecture Notes – Joint EPS-SIF International School on Energy
Advances in basic energy issues
Edited by L. Cifarelli, F. Wagner
In order to contribute to the training of young scientists working in the energy sector or intending to do so, the European and the Italian Physical Societies started the Joint EPS-SIF International School on Energy. The 4th Course, "Advances in basic energy issues", was organized in 2017 in Varenna and the Lecture Notes published by SIF in a volume of the dedicated series.
The electronic version is available in Open Access at:
EPJ Web of Conferences Vol. 189, 2018.

Giornale di Fisica Vol. 59 N. 3 (2018)
È online in OPEN ACCESS fino al termine del 2018 e in stampa il terzo numero del Vol. 59 del 2018.
Accanto ai lavori "Cadere con stile" (F. Bagnoli, G. Pacini), "Come varia il flusso dei raggi cosmici con la quota? Basta chiederlo agli studenti del progetto EEE" (Collaborazione EEE), "Catalogare i raggi gamma con 'Theremino'" (L. Rosai), "Il principio di indeterminazione" (A. Varlamov, A. Rigamonti), "Una proposta per verificare la legge di Bernoulli" (F. Dalla Piazza), "Il moto del proiettile nella realtà" (L. Sirignano), "Centenario della pubblicazione del teorema di Noether" (P. Rossi), da segnalare l'articolo di A. Vecchione:
"Una sfida alla Natura: un rubino perfetto in laboratorio"
nel quale l'autore descrive la tecnica delle zone flottanti per la realizzazione di cristalli di rubino. Questa procedura, oltre ad essere la tecnica di elezione per produrre perfetti cristalli di rubino in laboratorio, può essere utilizzata anche come esperienza didattica al fine di avvicinare gli studenti allo studio della fisica dello stato solido.
NOVITÀ: dal 2019 i soci in regola della Società Italiana di Fisica avranno accesso gratuitamente alla versione online del Giornale di Fisica

Il Nuovo Cimento Vol. 41 N. 1-2 (2018)
IFAE 2017
Edited by G. Della Ricca, E. Gabrielli
This issue is dedicated to the XVI edition of the "Incontri di Fisica delle Alte Energie" (IFAE) which was jointly organized by the Physics Department and the Trieste INFN division from April 19th to April 21st, 2017. The opening session saw L. Rolandi from CERN and P. Paradisi from the University of Padova present the status of the Standard Model and the quest for New Physics. The traditional sessions on "Energy Frontier", "Intensity Frontier", "Cosmology and Astroparticles" and "New Technologies" followed, illustrating the ample and different approaches to open problems in fundamental physics.

La Rivista del Nuovo Cimento Vol. 41 N. 10 (2018)
Temporal evolution, directionality of time and irreversibility
A.L. Kuzemsky
In the last decades, essential progress has been made in our understanding of entropy and entropy generation in both their fundamental aspects and applications to concrete problems. However, the nature of irreversibility in complex systems is not yet fully understood. In this review, the connection between temporal evolution and directionality of time is discussed, one of the big open questions in physics. The entropy increase is not the only source of temporality. In view of the problems connected with defining entropy in non-equilibrium situations, some selected aspects of temporal evolution and entropy production are discussed in the context of the Zubarev method of the non-equilibrium statistical operator. This method is related with the extremum of information entropy and, as such, may provide a background for non-equilibrium statistical thermodynamics and also elucidate the whole problem of irreversibility. A comparative study of various approaches is the main point of the survey which also contains an extensive and useful bibliography.

EPJ E – Highlights
Structural aspects of human lactoferrin in the iron binding process studied by molecular dynamics and small-angle neutron scattering
L. Anghel, A. Radulescu, R.V. Erhan
What prevents our cells from being overexposed to iron ions roaming freely in the body is a protein called lactoferrin, known for its ability to bind tightly to such ions. These free ions are essential for a number of biological processes. If found in excessive quantities, however, they could cause damage to proteins and DNA in the body, sometimes even leading to cell death. This is because free iron ions lead to an increase of the concentration of reactive substances with oxidising power roaming freely in the body. This has driven scientists to develop a better understanding of how lactoferrin's structural change helps to clamp down on free iron ions. In a new study published in EPJ E, Lilia Anghel from the Institute of Chemistry in Chisinau, Republic of Moldova, and research collaborators study the changes in the structure of lactoferrin as it binds to iron ions, using combined experimental and molecular dynamics simulations.
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EPJ – Call for papers
EPJ D Topical issue: Dynamics of Systems on the Nanoscale
Guest Editors: I. Bald, I.A. Solov'yov, N.J. Mason, A.V. Solov'yov

This Topical Issue aims to highlight the interdisciplinary research topics that elucidate the structure, formation, and dynamics of animate and inanimate matter on the nanometer scale. There are many examples of complex many-body systems at the micro- and nanoscale exhibiting unique features, properties and functions. These systems may have very different nature and origin, e.g. atomic and molecular clusters, nanostructures, ensembles of nanoparticles, nanomaterials, biomolecules, biomolecular and mesoscopic systems. A detailed understanding of the structure and dynamics of these systems on the nanometer scale is a difficult and fundamental task, the solution of which is necessary in numerous applications of nano- and bio- technology, material science and medicine.
Web submission is encouraged via: https://articlestatus.edpsciences.org/is/epjd.

EPJ Plus – Highlights
Chronological characterization of Medieval Villages in Northern Iberia: A multi-integrated approach
P. Ricci, M. Iris García-Collado, J. Narbarte Hernández, I. Grau Sologestoa, J. A. Quirós Castillo, C. Lubritto
Archaeologists now have new tools for studying the development of medieval villages and the transformation of the historical landscapes surrounding them. In a study recently published in EPJ Plus, scientists have attempted to reconstruct the history of Zornoztegi, an abandoned medieval village located in the Basque Country, Spain. To do so they rely on the various analysis methods available to archaeologists, including radiocarbon dating, archaeological and historical records, archaeobotanical and optical microscope analyses of samples found on the site, together with a statistical analysis model. Paola Ricci from the University of Campania “Luigi Vanvitelli” in Italy and colleagues used this approach to establish the history of the village in the time leading up to the Middle Ages.
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