954 research outputs found
Extracellular vesicle-induced differentiation of neural stem progenitor cells
Neural stem progenitor cells (NSPCs) from E13.5 mouse embryos can be maintained in culture under proliferating conditions. Upon growth-factor removal, they may differentiate toward either neuronal or glial phenotypes or both. Exosomes are small extracellular vesicles that are part of the cell secretome; they may contain and deliver both proteins and genetic material and thus play a role in cell–cell communication, guide axonal growth, modulate synaptic activity and regulate peripheral nerve regeneration. In this work, we were interested in determining whether NSPCs and their progeny can produce and secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs) and if their content can affect cell differentiation. Our results indicate that cultured NSPCs produce and secrete EVs both under proliferating conditions and after differentiation. Treatment of proliferating NSPCs with EVs derived from differentiated NSPCs triggers cell differentiation in a dose-dependent manner, as demonstrated by glial-and neuronal-marker expression
Tuning the polarization states of optical spots at the nanoscale on the poincar´e sphere using a plasmonic nanoantenna
It is shown that the polarization states of optical spots at the nanoscale can be manipulated to various points on the Poincar´e sphere using a plasmonic nanoantenna. Linearly, circularly, and elliptically polarized near-field optical spots at the nanoscale are achieved with various polarization states on the Poincar´e sphere using a plasmonic nanoantenna. A novel plasmonic nanoantenna is illuminated with diffraction-limited linearly polarized light. It is demonstrated
that the plasmonic resonances of perpendicular and longitudinal components of the nanoantenna and the angle of incident polarization can be tuned to obtain optical spots beyond the diffraction limit with a desired polarization and handedness
Dystonia: sparse synapses for D2 receptors in striatum of a DYT1 knock-out mouse model
Dystonia pathophysiology has been partly linked to downregulation and dysfunction of dopamine D2 receptors in striatum. We aimed to investigate the possible morpho-structural correlates of D2 receptor downregulation in the striatum of a DYT1 Tor1a mouse model. Adult control Tor1a+/+ and mutant Tor1a+/− mice were used. The brains were perfused and free-floating sections of basal ganglia were incubated with polyclonal anti-D2 antibody, followed by secondary immune-fluorescent antibody. Confocal microscopy was used to detect immune-fluorescent signals. The same primary antibody was used to evaluate D2 receptor expression by western blot. The D2 receptor immune-fluorescence appeared circumscribed in small disks (~0.3–0.5 μm diameter), likely representing D2 synapse aggregates, densely distributed in the striatum of Tor1a+/+ mice. In the Tor1a+/− mice the D2 aggregates were significantly smaller (μm2 2.4 ± SE 0.16, compared to μm2 6.73 ± SE 3.41 in Tor1a+/+) and sparse, with ~30% less number per microscopic field, value correspondent to the amount of reduced D2 expression in western blotting analysis. In DYT1 mutant mice the sparse and small D2 synapses in the striatum may be insufficient to “gate” the amount of presynaptic dopamine release diffusing in peri-synaptic space, and this consequently may result in a timing and spatially larger nonselective sphere of influence of dopamine action
Plasma density profile characterization for resonant plasmawakefield acceleration experiment at SPARC-LAB
Characterization of polyaniline-detonation nanodiamond nanocomposite fibers by atomic force microscopy based technique
Polyaniline (PANI) fibers were synthesized in presence of detonantion nanodiamond (DND) particles by precipitation polymerization technique. Morphological, electrical and mechanical characterizations of the obtained PANI/DND nanocomposited have been performed by different either standard or advanced atomic force microscopy (AFM) based techniques. Morphological characterization by tapping mode AFM supplied information about the structure of fibers and ribbons forming the PANI/DND network. An AFM based technique that takes advantage of an experimental configuration specifically devised for the purpose was used to assess the electrical properties of the fibers, in particular to verify their conductivity. Finally, mechanical characterization was carried out synergically using two different and recently proposed AFM based techniques, one based on AFM tapping mode and the other requiring AFM contact mode, which probed the nanocomposited nature of PANI/DND fiber sample down to different depths. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved
Bulk Cr tips for scanning tunneling microscopy and spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy
A simple, reliable method for preparation of bulk Cr tips for Scanning
Tunneling Microscopy (STM) is proposed and its potentialities in performing
high-quality and high-resolution STM and Spin Polarized-STM (SP-STM) are
investigated. Cr tips show atomic resolution on ordered surfaces. Contrary to
what happens with conventional W tips, rest atoms of the Si(111)-7x7
reconstruction can be routinely observed, probably due to a different
electronic structure of the tip apex. SP-STM measurements of the Cr(001)
surface showing magnetic contrast are reported. Our results reveal that the
peculiar properties of these tips can be suited in a number of STM experimental
situations
Dual-tip-enhanced ultrafast CARS nanoscopy
Coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) and, in particular, femtosecond
adaptive spectroscopic techniques (FAST CARS) have been successfully used for
molecular spectroscopy and microscopic imaging. Recent progress in ultrafast
nanooptics provides flexibility in generation and control of optical near
fields, and holds promise to extend CARS techniques to the nanoscale. In this
theoretical study, we demonstrate ultrafast subwavelentgh control of coherent
Raman spectra of molecules in the vicinity of a plasmonic nanostructure excited
by ultrashort laser pulses. The simulated nanostructure design provides
localized excitation sources for CARS by focusing incident laser pulses into
subwavelength hot spots via two self-similar nanolens antennas connected by a
waveguide. Hot-spot-selective dual-tip-enhanced CARS (2TECARS) nanospectra of
DNA nucleobases are obtained by simulating optimized pump, Stokes and probe
near fields using tips, laser polarization- and pulse-shaping. This technique
may be used to explore ultrafast energy and electron transfer dynamics in real
space with nanometre resolution and to develop novel approaches to DNA
sequencing.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure
Mid-Infrared Plasmonic Platform Based on n-Doped Ge-on-Si: Molecular Sensing with Germanium Nano-Antennas on Si
CMOS-compatible, heavily-doped semiconductor
films are very promising for applications in mid-infrared
plasmonic devices because the real part of their dielectric
function is negative and broadly tunable in this wavelength
range. In this work we investigate n-type doped germanium
epilayers grown on Si substrates. We design and realize Ge nanoantennas
on Si substrates demonstrating the presence of localized
plasmon resonances, and exploit them for molecular sensing in
the mid-infrared
Optical properties of highly n-doped germanium obtained by in situ doping and laser annealing
High n-type doping in germanium is essential for many electronic and optoelectronic applications especially for high performance Ohmic contacts, lasing and mid-infrared plasmonics. We report on the combination of in situ doping and excimer laser annealing to improve the activation of phosphorous in germanium. An activated n-doping concentration of 8.8 × 1019 cm−3 has been achieved starting from an incorporated phosphorous concentration of 1.1 × 1020 cm−3. Infrared reflectivity data fitted with a multi-layer Drude model indicate good uniformity over a 350 nm thick layer. Photoluminescence demonstrates clear bandgap narrowing and an increased ratio of direct to indirect bandgap emission confirming the high doping densities achieved
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