448 research outputs found
Development of a novel vaccine delivery system based on Gantrez nanoparticles.
The adjuvant capacity of a novel vaccine vector âGantrez-nanoparticlesâ (NP)
towards coated or encapsulated ovalbumin (OVA) was investigated. OVA nanoparticles
were prepared by a solvent displacement method previously described. The protein was
incorporated during the manufacturing process (OVA-encapsulated nanoparticles) or
after the preparation (OVA-coated nanoparticles). The mean size of the different
nanoparticle formulations was lower than 300 nm, and the OVA content ranged
approximately from 67 ÎŒg/mg nanoparticles (for OVA-coated nanoparticles) to 30
ÎŒg/mg nanoparticles (for OVA-encapsulated nanoparticles). All the OVA-NP
formulations were capable of amplifying the antibodies titres (IgG1 and IgG2a) in mice
after a single subcutaneous inoculation with respect free OVA or OVA adsorbed to
Alum. Furthermore, the elicited response was, for some formulations, predominantly
Th1 subtype. Thus, the formulation that contained mainly the antigen inside, and with a
low concentration of cross-linking agent, displayed the best potential to induce a Th1
response after 35 days post-immunisation. These results are highly suggestive for the
use of Gantrez nanoparticles as an efficient antigen delivery system, especially when a
long lasting Th1 cytokine response is required
Biomimetic Ca-P coatings Incorporating bisphosphonates produced on starch-based degradable biomaterials
In this study, sodium clodronate, a well-known therapeutic agent from the family
of bisphosphonates (BPs), is incorporated in a biomimetic calcium phosphate (CaP) coating,
previously formed on the surface of a starch-based biomaterial by a sodium silicate
methodology, as a strategy to develop a site-specific drug delivery system for bone tissue
regeneration applications. The effects on the resulting CaP coatings were evaluated in terms of
morphology, chemistry, and structure. The dissolution of Ca and P from the coating and the
release profiles of sodium clodronate was also assessed. As a preliminary approach, this first
study also aimed at evaluating the effects of this BP on the viability of a human osteoblastic
cell line since there is still little information available on the interaction between BPs and this
type of cells. Sodium clodronate was successfully incorporated, at different doses, in the
structure of a biomimetic CaP layer previously formed by a sodium silicate process. This
type of BPs had a stimulatory effect on osteoblastic activity, particularly at the specific
concentration of 0.32 mg/mL. It is foreseen that these coatings can, for instances, be
produced on the surface of degradable polymers and then used for regulating the
equilibrium on osteoblastic/osteoclastic activity, leading to a controlled regenerative effect
at the interface between the biomaterial and bone
Co-encapsulation of an antigen and CpG oligonucleotides into PLGA microparticles by TROMS technology.
It seems well established that CpG oligonucleotides Th1 biased adjuvant activity
can be improved when closely associated with a variety of antigens in, for example,
microparticles. In this context, we prepared 1-ÎŒm near non-charged PLGA 502 or
PLGA 756 microparticles that loaded with high efficiency an antigen (50% ovalbumin
(OVA), approximately) into their matrix and CpG-chitosan complexes (near to 20%)
onto their surface maintaining OVA and CpG integrity intact. In the intradermal
immunization studies, whereas OVA microencapsulated into PLGA 756 alone induced
a strong humoral immune response assisted by a very clear Th1 bias
(IgG2a/IgG1=0.875) that was decreased by CpG co-delivery (IgG2a/IgG1=0.55), the
co-encapsulation of CpG with OVA in PLGA 502 particles significantly improved the
antibody response and isotype shifting (IgG2a/IgG1=0.73) in comparison with mice
immunized with OVA loaded PLGA 502 (IgG2a/IgG1=0). This improvement was not
correlated with the cellular immune response where the effect of co-encapsulated CpG
was rather negative (2030.2 pg/mL and 335.3 pg/mL IFN-g for OVA PLGA 502 for
OVA CpG PLGA 502, respectively). These results underscore the critical role of
polymer nature and microparticle characteristics to show the benefits of coencapsulating
CpG motifs in close proximity with an antigen
The M33 Globular Cluster System with PAndAS Data: The Last Outer Halo Cluster?
We use CFHT/MegaCam data to search for outer halo star clusters in M33 as
part of the Pan-Andromeda Archaeological Survey (PAndAS). This work extends
previous studies out to a projected radius of 50 kpc and covers over 40 square
degrees. We find only one new unambiguous star cluster in addition to the five
previously known in the M33 outer halo (10 kpc <= r <= 50 kpc). Although we
identify 2440 cluster candidates of various degrees of confidence from our
objective image search procedure, almost all of these are likely background
contaminants, mostly faint unresolved galaxies. We measure the luminosity,
color and structural parameters of the new cluster in addition to the five
previously-known outer halo clusters. At a projected radius of 22 kpc, the new
cluster is slightly smaller, fainter and redder than all but one of the other
outer halo clusters, and has g' ~ 19.9, (g'-i') ~ 0.6, concentration parameter
c ~ 1.0, a core radius r_c ~ 3.5 pc, and a half-light radius r_h ~ 5.5 pc. For
M33 to have so few outer halo clusters compared to M31 suggests either tidal
stripping of M33's outer halo clusters by M31, or a very different, much calmer
accretion history of M33.Comment: 37 pages, 9 figures. Accepted by the Astrophysical Journa
Testing the chemical tagging technique with open clusters
Context. Stars are born together from giant molecular clouds and, if we
assume that the priors were chemically homogeneous and well-mixed, we expect
them to share the same chemical composition. Most of the stellar aggregates are
disrupted while orbiting the Galaxy and most of the dynamic information is
lost, thus the only possibility of reconstructing the stellar formation history
is to analyze the chemical abundances that we observe today.
Aims. The chemical tagging technique aims to recover disrupted stellar
clusters based merely on their chemical composition. We evaluate the viability
of this technique to recover co-natal stars that are no longer gravitationally
bound.
Methods. Open clusters are co-natal aggregates that have managed to survive
together. We compiled stellar spectra from 31 old and intermediate-age open
clusters, homogeneously derived atmospheric parameters, and 17 abundance
species, and applied machine learning algorithms to group the stars based on
their chemical composition. This approach allows us to evaluate the viability
and efficiency of the chemical tagging technique.
Results. We found that stars at different evolutionary stages have distinct
chemical patterns that may be due to NLTE effects, atomic diffusion, mixing,
and biases. When separating stars into dwarfs and giants, we observed that a
few open clusters show distinct chemical signatures while the majority show a
high degree of overlap. This limits the recovery of co-natal aggregates by
applying the chemical tagging technique. Nevertheless, there is room for
improvement if more elements are included and models are improved.Comment: accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Corrected
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The Gaia-ESO Survey: Detailed Abundances in the Metal-poor Globular Cluster NGC 4372
We present the abundance analysis for a sample of 7 red giant branch stars in
the metal-poor globular cluster NGC 4372 based on UVES spectra acquired as part
of the Gaia-ESO Survey. This is the first extensive study of this cluster from
high resolution spectroscopy. We derive abundances of O, Na, Mg, Al, Si, Ca,
Sc, Ti, Fe, Cr, Ni, Y, Ba, and La. We find a metallicity of [Fe/H] = -2.19
0.03 and find no evidence for a metallicity spread. This metallicity
makes NGC 4372 one of the most metal-poor galactic globular clusters. We also
find an {\alpha}-enhancement typical of halo globular clusters at this
metallicity. Significant spreads are observed in the abundances of light
elements. In particular we find a Na-O anti-correlation. Abundances of O are
relatively high compared with other globular clusters. This could indicate that
NGC 4372 was formed in an environment with high O for its metallicity. A Mg-Al
spread is also present which spans a range of more than 0.5 dex in Al
abundances. Na is correlated with Al and Mg abundances at a lower significance
level. This pattern suggests that the Mg-Al burning cycle is active. This
behavior can also be seen in giant stars of other massive, metal-poor clusters.
A relation between light and heavy s-process elements has been identified.Comment: 14 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in A&
PHAT Stellar Cluster Survey I. Year 1 Catalog and Integrated Photometry
The Panchromatic Hubble Andromeda Treasury (PHAT) survey is an on-going
Hubble Space Telescope (HST) multi-cycle program to obtain high spatial
resolution imaging of one-third of the M31 disk at ultraviolet through
near-infrared wavelengths. In this paper, we present the first installment of
the PHAT stellar cluster catalog. When completed, the PHAT cluster catalog will
be among the largest and most comprehensive surveys of resolved star clusters
in any galaxy. The exquisite spatial resolution achieved with HST has allowed
us to identify hundreds of new clusters that were previously inaccessible with
existing ground-based surveys. We identify 601 clusters in the Year 1 sample,
representing more than a factor of four increase over previous catalogs within
the current survey area (390 arcmin^2). This work presents results derived from
the first \sim25% of the survey data; we estimate that the final sample will
include \sim2500 clusters. For the Year 1 objects, we present a catalog with
positions, radii, and six-band integrated photometry. Along with a general
characterization of the cluster luminosities and colors, we discuss the cluster
luminosity function, the cluster size distributions, and highlight a number of
individually interesting clusters found in the Year 1 search.Comment: 26 pages, 22 figures, Accepted by Ap
Stellar populations of galaxies in the ALHAMBRA survey up to . II. Stellar content of quiescent galaxies within the dust-corrected stellar masscolour and the colourcolour diagrams
Our aim is to determine the distribution of stellar population parameters
(extinction, age, metallicity, and star formation rate) of quiescent galaxies
within the rest-frame stellar masscolour and colourcolour diagrams
corrected for extinction up to . These novel diagrams reduce the
contamination in samples of quiescent galaxies owing to dust-reddened galaxies,
and they provide useful constraints on stellar population parameters. We set
constraints on the stellar population parameters of quiescent galaxies
combining the ALHAMBRA multi-filter photo-spectra with our SED-fitting code
MUFFIT, making use of composite stellar population models. The extinction
obtained by MUFFIT allowed us to remove dusty star-forming (DSF) galaxies from
the sample of red galaxies. The distributions of stellar population
parameters across these rest-frame diagrams are revealed after the dust
correction and are fitted by the LOESS method to reduce uncertainty effects.
Quiescent galaxy samples defined via classical diagrams are typically
contaminated by a % fraction of DSF galaxies. A significant part of the
galaxies in the green valley are actually obscured star-forming galaxies
(%). Consequently, the transition of galaxies from the blue cloud to
the red sequence, and hence the related mechanisms for quenching, seems to be
much more efficient and faster than previously reported. The rest-frame stellar
masscolour and colourcolour diagrams are useful for constraining
the age, metallicity, extinction, and star formation rate of quiescent galaxies
by only their redshift, rest-frame colours, and/or stellar mass. Dust
correction plays an important role in understanding how quiescent galaxies are
distributed in these diagrams and is key to performing a pure selection of
quiescent galaxies via intrinsic colours.Comment: (37 pages, 29 figures, accepted for publication in A&A
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