Supramolecular aggregates containing lipophilic Gd(III) complexes as contrast agents in MRI

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agents based on paramagnetic gadolinium complexes are widely used in biomedical research and diagnosis. Their application is intended to improve efficacy of MRI providing physiological information along with the impressive anatomical detail already obtained by images without contrast. The classical gadolinium complexes currently used for MRI contrast enhancement are all lowmolecularweightcompounds that rapidly equilibrate between the intra and extravascular spaces after intravenous administration. In order to obtain gadolinium-based agents with different pharmacokinetic properties, supramolecular aggregates such as micelles and liposomes have been recently proposed. Micelles and liposomes, obtained by the aggregation of lipophilic gadolinium complexes are here described, with the aim to correlate their structural and relaxometric properties.We report on the state of the art in the development of supramolecular aggregates obtained by self-assembly of lipophilic gadolinium complexes and aggregates in which lipophilic gadolinium complexes are assembled with surfactants. Moreover aggregates derivatized with bioactive molecules, such as peptides and antibodies, acting as target selective MRI contrast agents are described

Influence of Mother Tongue on Dynamic Handwriting Features in Primary School

Handwriting is an essential fine motor skill in school-aged children and plays a crucial role for educational development and autonomy of everyday life. To analyze hand-writing movement an objective quantitative kinematic analysis can be performed by using digital tablets. Through this tech-nology it was possible to identify a lot of parameters useful to characterize the handwriting process. In order to study the influence of mother tongue on the dy-namic of handwriting in primary school, we examined the writing response of 42 non-native speakers and compared their characteristics with those of 131 Italian mother tongue chil-dren. All children undertook one repetitive sequence of le and an Italian sentence written in two different ways: as accurately as and as fast as possible. The results showed that the differences between native and non-native speakers were not significant in the repetitive se-quence while a clear influence of mother tongue was present only in the third grade for the sentence tasks

A Deep Learning Method for Automatic Identification of Drusen and Macular Hole from Optical Coherence Tomography

Deep Learning methods have become dominant in various fields of medical imaging, including ophthalmology. In this preliminary study, we investigated a method based on Convolutional Neural Network for the identification of drusen and macular hole from Optical Coherence Tomography scans with the aim to assist ophthalmologists in diagnosing and assessing retinal diseases

Actuators based on intrinsic conductive polymers/carbon nanoparticles nanocompositesElectroactive Polymer Actuators and Devices (EAPAD) 2013

New polyaniline (PANi) synthesis was performed starting from non-toxic N-phenil-p-phenylenediamine (aniline dimer) using reverse addition of monomer to oxidizing agent, the synthesis allows to produce highly soluble PANi. Several types of doped PANi were prepared to be used on electromechanical active actuators. Different techniques were used to include carbon nanoparticles such as carbon nanotubes and graphene. Bimorph solid state ionic actuators were prepared with these novel nanocomposites using a variety of supporting polymer

Navigation Facility for High Accuracy Offline Trajectory and Attitude Estimation in Airborne Applications

The paper focuses on a navigation facility, relying on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology, developed to generate high-accuracy attitude and trajectory measurements in postprocessing. Target performance is cm-level positioning with tenth of degree attitude accuracy. The facility is based on the concept of GPS-aided inertial navigation but comprises carrier-phase differential GPS (CDGPS) processing and attitude estimation based on multiantenna GPS configurations. Expected applications of the system include: (a) performance assessment of integrated navigation systems, developed for general aviation aircraft and medium size unmanned aircraft systems (UAS); (b) generation of reference measurements to evaluate the flight performance of airborne sensors (e.g., radar or laser); and (c) generation of reference trajectory and attitude for improving imaging quality of airborne remote sensing data. The paper describes system architecture, selected algorithms for data processing and integration, and theoretical performance evaluation. Experimental results are also presented confirming the effectiveness of the implemented approach

A fast vertical trajectory prediction method for air traffic management, and relevant ATM system

The invention concerns a method and system for the prediction of aircrafts vertical trajectory, in particular for Air Traffic Management, comprising the following flight calculation modules: Take-off; Climb; Cruise; Descent; and Landing, corresponding to the relevant flight phases, wherein: the calculation of the predicted aircraft trajectory is effected by using a set of TEM equations comprising, as output variables, the vertical rate of climb or descent, the true air speed, the energy share factor, the thrust and the drag, the mass of the aircraft modeled as point-mass, and comprising, as inpu variables, the Mach number depending on true air speed and temperature and altitude, the gravity acceleration, and the fuel flow, and the flight path angle; the calculation of the predicted aircraft trajectory for Cruise phase, wherein only the mass is varying, is performed by using the following analytical solution to said set of TEM equations

Toward cognitive digital twins using a BIM-GIS asset management system for a diffused university

The integrated use of building information modeling (BIM) and geographic information system (GIS) is promising for the development of asset management systems (AMSs) for operation and maintenance (O & M) in smart university campuses. The combination of BIM-GIS with cognitive digital twins (CDTs) can further facilitate the management of complex systems such as university building stock. CDTs enable buildings to behave as autonomous entities, dynamically reacting to environmental changes. Timely decisions based on the actual conditions of buildings and surroundings can be provided, both in emergency scenarios or when optimized and adaptive performances are required. The research aims to develop a BIM-GIS-based AMS for improving user experience and enabling the optimal use of resources in the O & M phase of an Italian university. Campuses are complex assets, mainly diffused with buildings spread across the territory, managed with still document-based and fragmented databases handled by several subjects. This results in incomplete and asymmetrical information, often leading to ineffective and untimely decisions. The paper presents a methodology for the development of a BIM-GIS web-based platform (i.e., AMS-app) providing the real-time visualization of the asset in an interactive 3D map connected to analytical dashboards for management support. Two buildings of the University of Turin are adopted as demonstrators, illustrating the development of an easily accessible, centralized database by integrating spatial and functional data, useful also to develop future CDTs. As a first attempt to show the AMS app potential, crowd simulations have been conducted to understand the buildings' actual level of safety in case of fire emergency and demonstrate how CDTs could improve it. The identification of data needed, also gathered through the future implementation of suitable sensors and Internet of Things networks, is the core issue together with the definition of effective asset visualization and monitoring methods. Future developments will explore the integration of artificial intelligence and immersive technologies to enable space use optimization and real-time wayfinding during evacuation, exploiting digital tools to alert and drive users or authorities for safety improvement. The ability to easily optimize the paths with respect to the actual occupancy and conditions of both the asset and surroundings will be enabled

Fluorescence and Morphology of Self-Assembled Nucleobases and Their Diphenylalanine Hybrid Aggregates

Studies carried out in recent decades have revealed that the ability to self-assemble is a widespread property among biomolecules. Small nucleic acid moieties or very short peptides are able to generate intricate assemblies endowed with remarkable structural and spectroscopic properties. Herein, the structural/spectroscopic characterization of aggregates formed by nucleobases and peptide nucleic acid (PNA)-peptide conjugates are reported. At high concentration, all studied nucleobases form aggregates characterized by previously unreported fluorescence properties. The conjugation of these bases, as PNA derivatives, to the dipeptide Phe-Phe leads to the formation of novel hybrid assemblies, which are characterized by an amyloid-like association of the monomers. Although these compounds share the same basic cross-\u3b2 motif, the nature and number of PNA units have an important impact on both the level of structural order and the intrinsic fluorescence of the self-assembled nanostructure

Physicochemical properties of mixed micellar aggregates containing CCK peptides and Gd complexes designed as tumor specific contrast agents in MRI

New amphiphilic molecules containing a bioactive peptide or a claw moiety have been prepared in order to obtain mixed micelles as target-specific contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging. The first molecule, C18H37CONH(AdOO)2-G-CCK8 (C18CCK8), contains a C18 hydrophobic moiety bound to the C-terminal cholecystokinin octapeptide amide (CCK 26-33 or CCK8). The second amphiphilic compound, C18H37CONHLys(DTPAGlu)CONH2 (C18DTPAGlu) or its gadolinium complex, (C18DTPAGlu- (Gd)), contains the same C18 hydrophobic moiety bound, through a lysine residue, to the DTPAGlu chelating agent. The mixed aggregates as well as the pure C18DTPAGlu aggregate, in the presence and absence of Gd, have been fully characterized by surface tension measurements, FT-PGSE-NMR, fluorescence quenching, and small-angle neutron scattering measurements. The structural characterization of the mixed aggregates C18DTPAGlu(Gd)-C18CCK8 indicates a spherical arrangement of the micelles with an external shell of 21 Å and an inner core of 20 Å. Both the DTPAGlu(Gd) complexes and the CCK8 peptides point toward the external surface. The measured values for relaxivity in saline medium at 20 MHz proton Larmor frequency and 25 °C are 18.7 mM-1 s-1. These values show a large enhancement in comparison with the isolated DTPAGlu(Gd) complex

Pathological implications of Th1/Th2 cytokine genetic variants in Beh\ue7et's disease: Data from a pilot study in a Sicilian population

Cytokines act as pleiotropic polypeptides able to regulate inflammatory/immune responses and to provide important signals in physiological and pathological processes. Several cytokines (Th1, Th2, and Th17) seem to be involved in the pathophysiology of Beh\ue7et's disease, a chronic immune-mediated disease characterized by oral and genital lesions and ocular inflammation. Its individual susceptibility seems to be modulated by genetic variants in genes codifying these cytokines. Th1 and Th17 seem to be involved in the disease's active phases, and Th2 seems to affect the development or severity of the disease; however, contrasting data are reported. In this study, some genetic variants of the Th1/Th2 cytokine genes were investigated in Sicilian patients and age- and gender-matched controls. Three very significant associations with Beh\ue7et's disease were detected, and combined genotypes associated with increased disease risk were identified. Results obtained point to the key role of Th1/Th2 cytokine genetic variants in disease susceptibility