Application of XeCl308nm excimer laser radiation to mutate industrial microorganisms

EnIn this study, we have investigated the effects of an XeCl308 nm excimer laser radiation on bacterial mutagenesis. Our experiments have revealed that the mutagenesis inducted by the XeCl308 nm excimer laser radiation is independent from RecA protein, the regulator of the SOS response, unlike UV254 nm radiation that is not mutagenic for Escherichia coli mutants lacking the RecA protein. This found suggests that the UV308 nm laser radiation might be mutagenic also in microorganisms naturally lacking the SOS response. To test this hypothesis, we applied our innovative mutagenesis approach on Nonomuraea ATCC 39727, an industrial strain producing an antibiotic, which is relatively refractory to UV254 nm radiation-induced mutagenesis. Our results demonstrated the efficiency of XeCl308 nm excimer laser radiation to induce mutagenesis in Nonomuraea ATCC 39727

Categorical and dimensional approaches in the evaluation of the relationship between attachment and personality disorders: An empirical study

Although several studies have highlighted the relationship between attachment states of mind and personality disorders (PD), their findings have not been consistent, possibly due to the application of the traditional taxonomic classification model of attachment. A more recently developed dimensional classification of attachment representations, including more specific aspects of trauma-related representations, may have advantages. In this study we compare specific associations and predictive power of the categorical attachment and dimensional models applied to 230 Adult Attachment Interview transcripts obtained from personality disordered and non-psychiatric subjects. We also investigate the role that current levels of psychiatric distress may have in the prediction of PD. The results showed that both models predict the presence of PD, with the dimensional approach doing better in discriminating overall diagnosis of PD. However, both models are less helpful in discriminating specific PD diagnostic subtypes. Current psychiatric distress was found to be the most consistent predictor of PD capturing a large share of the variance and obscuring the role played by attachment variables. The results suggest that attachment parameters correlate with the presence of PD alone and has no specific associations with particular PD subtypes when current psychiatric distress is taken into account

Short Soft X-Ray Sources

EnWe report on the characterization of pulsed soft X-rays emitted from laser-produced plasma. The plasma was generated by 40, 80 and 120 mJ laser energies provided by a pulsed KrF excimer laser focused on pure Si, Cu and Ta targets. The utilized detector was a very sensitive Faraday cup which opportunely biased was able to record time resolved signals of X-rays and to estimate their energy. The found X-rays energy values were compared with the ion temperature of the plasma obtained by fitting the time resolved ion current signals with a shifted Maxwell-Boltzmann velocity distribution. The results showed that the laser produced Ta plasma induced bunch of X-rays having in average the highest energy values and it was also characterized by ion temperature higher than the ones of the laser produced Si and Cu plasmas

Determination of recombination length of a non-equilibrium plasma produced by laser ablation

An experimental study of the laser ablation produced plasma evolution is necessary for its deeper understanding, since plasma expansion has both spatially and temporally varying characteristics. We irradiated a Cu target with a KrF laser beam. A small Faraday cup array and an axial Faraday cup were used as diagnostic systems, in order to study the spatial variation in the total charge carried by plasma ions. Charge loss during the plasma expansion was observed, which was attributed to the charged species recombination. This occurred upstream to the critical distance where the plasma density is high enough. Downstream the critical distance the plasma particles collisions were negligible and the ion charge remained frozen. In these experiments it was observed that the critical distance for charge recombination was a function of laser fluence

DNA damage by a single intense shot of soft X-rays emitted by a laser-produced plasma

EnA suitable plane transmission line was developed and its behaviour analysed at 900 MHz radiofrequency fields to study the DNA mutability and repair of microorganisms. In this work, utilizing such a device, we investigated the behaviour of the DNA mutability and repair of Escherichia coli strains. The transmission line was very simple and versatile in changing its characteristic resistance and field intensity by varying its sizes. In absence of cell samples inside the transmission line, the relative modulation of the electric and/or magnetic field was ±31% with respect to the mean values, allowing the processing of more samples at different exposure fields in a single run. Slight decrease in spontaneous mutability to rifampicin-resistance of the E. Coli JC411 strain, was demonstrated in mismatch-repair proficient samples exposed to the radio-frequency fields during their growth on solid medium

Swept-source OCT reduces the risk of axial length measurement errors in eyes with cataract and epiretinal membranes

Aims: To compare the biometric data from partial coherence interferometry (PCI) and swept-source OCT (SS-OCT) in patients with age-related cataract and epiretinal membrane (ERM): ERM, ERM with foveoschisis and macular pseudohole. Methods: 49 eyes of 49 subjects including 36 ERM, 9 ERM foveoschisis and 4 macular pseudohole were analysed to evaluate the axial length (AL) measurements and the presence of AL measurement errors, defined basing on the shape of the biometric output graphs and on the concordance of AL values between instruments. Eyes with ERM were divided in four stages according to OCT features (i.e. presence/absence of the foveal pit, presence of ectopic inner foveal layers, disrupted retinal layers). Results: The devices provided similar mean AL measurements in all subgroups, with differences <0.1 mm in 41/49 cases (83.6%). AL measurement errors were observed in ERM stages 3 and 4, characterized by ectopic inner foveal layers, and were significantly more frequent with the PCI (8/17, 47%) as compared with the SS-OCT device (2/17, 12%), p = 0.02. The refractive prediction error in cases with AL measurement errors was significantly greater using the PCI compared to the SS-OCT device (p<0.05). Conclusion: Both devices provide reliable biometric data in the majority of patients and can be used in the preoperative assessment of patients with age-related cataract and ERM. In eyes with ectopic inner foveal layers, attention should be paid as AL measurement and refractive prediction errors may occur, more frequently with the PCI device

Choriocapillaris impairment around the atrophic lesions in patients with geographic atrophy: A swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography study

Aims To evaluate the choriocapillaris (CC) flow alterations around geographic atrophy (GA) in eyes with dry age-related macular degeneration. Methods Using a swept-source optical coherence tomography angiography (SS-OCTA) device, two volume 6 76 mm scans were acquired in patients with GA presenting between June and December 2017 at the Doheny-UCLA Eye Centers. The area of GA was delineated on the en face structural OCT fundus images. For each eye, the en face OCTA slabs at the level of the CC from the two acquisitions were averaged and compensated for signal loss using the corresponding structural en face images. The resulting images were binarised and analysed for the percentage of flow voids in the para-atrophy zone (a 500 \u3bcm wide ring around the immediate edge of the atrophy) and in the peri-atrophy zone (a 500 \u3bcm wide ring around the para-atrophy zone edge), the latter considered as a reference in the comparative analysis. Results Thirty eyes of 20 patients were enrolled. The percentage of flow voids in the para-atrophy zone was 27.23%\ub16.29% and was significantly higher than in the surrounding peri-atrophy zone (23.4%\ub16.01%; p<0.001). There was no significant correlation between the flow void percentage in these regions and age, visual acuity, extent of the atrophic area or central choroidal thickness. Conclusions A significant impairment of the CC flow is present in the zone immediately surrounding the GA lesions strengthening the hypothesis that CC alterations may be relevant to the progression of GA

Reading the Bible through the eyes of women and the oppressed : in search for justice and liberation in Malawi

This thesis examines the importance, in the search for justice and liberation in Malawi, of reading the bible through the eyes of women and the oppressed. Serious questions have been raised in Malawian Church and Society concerning the inferiority and subordination of women and the oppressed, particularly the poor and marginalised groups and their role and place in the holy ministry. Since the establishment of the Presbyterian Church in Malawi nearly 130 years ago, women and the oppressed groups have been discriminated against in various ways. They have not taken an active share and responsibility in the whole community life of society, and have not participated fully and more widely in the various fields of the Church’s structures. The thesis critically challenges the patriarchal reading of the texts which oppresses and marginalises women, and seeks to bring respect and dignity to them by employing a historical critical reading that leads to a liberative reading. Since patriarchal reading of the texts does not bring justice and liberation to women, the thesis engages in a liberative reading that traces and restores women’s history in Mark. Our liberative reading claims that the Christian past is not just a male past where women participated only on the fringes or were not active at all, but it is as well a women’s own past. Hence, the readings of Mark 5:24-43 ;7:24-30 provide sufficient indicators for such a history of women as followers of Jesus and leading members of the early Christian communities. Thus our historical critical reading seeks to transform patriarchal reading of the texts to liberative readings that incorporate all people, men and women, upper and lower classes, different cultures and races, the powerful and the weak.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Study of Faraday cups for fast ion beams provided by a LIS source

Faraday cups are widely utilized to characterize ion and electrons beams. Owing to the secondary electron emission (SEE) induced by the collision of beams with collectors, wrong measurements could emerge from these detectors. To overcome this problem a polarized grid is utilized in front the cup collector at a negative voltage with respect to the collector. Unfortunately, the high voltage connection of the Faraday cups is hard to obtain. Then, in this work we want to study the secondary emission on different Al ion collector designs having tilted surfaces with respect to beam axis. Tests were performed using ion beams accelerated by a power supply up to 40 kV. The results by the modified collector surfaces were compared to the ones performed with a simple flat collector. The results we obtained point out that the secondary electron emission enhanced on incident beam energy and on the angle with respect to the normal direction of the surface. The ratio of the SEE to angle value results constant for the accelerating voltage and the possibility to design an ion collector able to reset the SEE seems not to be reached

The restoration of the Colosso di Barletta: EDXRF analysis

The Colosso di Barletta is an imposing outdoor bronze statue, dating back the V century, located near the Basilica of “Santo Sepolcro” in Barletta (Apulia, Southern Italy). The monument underwent a structural restoration in 1981, during which the Central Institute of Restoration in Rome performed cleaning treatments and consolidation of the patinas. Currently, the Laboratory of Archaeometry of the University of Salento is carrying on a campaign of non-destructive and in situ measurements by using energy dispersion X-ray fluorescence (EDXRF) in order to assess the chemical composition of the alloy and to study its patinas