749 research outputs found
Floristic and phytosociological approach at the alliance level for the evaluation of conservation priorities in a Mediterranean wetland: a proposal of a synthetic index.
Light Ion Accelerating Line (L3IA): Test Experiment at ILIL-PW
The construction of a novel Laser driven Light Ions Acceleration Line(L3IA)
is progressing rapidly towards the operation, following the recent upgrade of
the ILIL-PW laser facility. The Line was designed following the pilot
experimental activity carried out earlier at the same facility to define design
parameters and to identify main components including target control and
diagnostic equipment, also in combination with the numerical simulations for
the optimization of laser and target parameters. A preliminary set of data was
acquired following the successful commissioning of the laser system >100 TW
upgrade. Data include output from a range of different ion detectors and
optical diagnostics installed for qualification of the laser-target
interaction. An overview of the results is given along with a description of
the relevant upgraded laser facility and features.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, 18 references, presented at the EAAC 201
IL-21 receptor expression in human tendinopathy
The pathogenetic mechanisms underlying tendinopathy remain unclear,
with much debate as to whether inflammation or degradation has the prominent
role. Increasing evidence points toward and early inflammatory infiltrate and
associated inflammatory cytokine production in human and animal models of
tendon disease.
The IL-21/IL-21R axis is a proinflammatory cytokine complex that has
been associated with chronic inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid
arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. This project aimed to investigate the
role and expression of the cytokine/receptor pair IL-21/IL-21R in human
tendinopathy.
We found significantly elevated expression of IL-21 receptor message and
protein in human tendon samples but found no convincing evidence of the
presence of IL-21 at message or protein level. The level of expression of IL-21R
message/protein in human tenocytes was significantly up regulated by
proinflammatory cytokines (TNFα/IL-1β) in vitro.
These findings demonstrate that IL-21R is present in early human
tendinopathy mainly expressed by tenocytes and macrophages. Despite a lack of
IL-21 expression these data again suggest that early tendinopathy has an
inflammatory/cytokine phenotype, which may provide novel translational targets
in the treatment of tendinopathy
Children with Cerebral Palsy can imagine actions like their normally developed peers
The present study aimed at assessing whether children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) can imagine object directed actions similarly to their normally developed peers. We asked children with CP (n = 12) and paired healthy controls (n = 12) to imagine in first person perspective eight daily actions, after observing them through videoclips presented on a computer screen. During motor imagery (MI) children were interrupted at a specific timepoint (e.g., at 2.5 s) from the start. Two frames extracted from the videoclips were then presented on the screen. One of the two depicted the correct timepoint at which the imagined action was interrupted, while the other represented an earlier or later timepoint. Children had to respond by pressing the key associated to the correct frame. Children also underwent VMIQ-2 questionnaire. Both groups performed similarly in the questionnaire and in the requested task, where they showed the same error rate. Errors mainly concerned the later frame, suggesting a similar strategy to solve the task in the two groups. The results support the view that children with CP can imagine actions similarly to their normally developed peers. This encourages the use of MI as a rehabilitative tool in children with motor impairment
Alarmins in frozen shoulder: a molecular association between inflammation and pain
Background:
The pathophysiological mechanisms behind proliferation of fibroblasts and deposition of dense collagen matrix in idiopathic frozen shoulder remain unclear. Alarmins (also known as danger signals) are endogenous molecules that are released into the extracellular milieu after infection or tissue injury and that signal cell and tissue damage.
Purpose:
To investigate whether the presence of alarmins is higher in patients with idiopathic frozen shoulder than in control subjects.
Study Design:
Controlled laboratory study.
Methods:
Shoulder capsule samples were collected from 10 patients with idiopathic frozen shoulder and 10 patients with unstable shoulders (control). The samples were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) and analyzed by immunohistochemistry using antibodies against alarmin molecules including high-mobility group protein B1 (HMGB1), interleukin 33, S100A8, S100A9, and the peripheral nerve marker PGP9.5. Immunoreactivities were rated in a blinded fashion from “none” to “strong.” Immunohistochemical distribution within the capsule was noted. Before surgery, patient-ranked pain frequency, severity, stiffness, and the range of passive shoulder motion were recorded and statistically analyzed.
Results:
Compared with control patients, patients with frozen shoulder had greater frequency and severity of self-reported pain (P = .02) and more restricted range of motion in all planes (P < .05). H&E-stained capsular tissue from frozen shoulder showed fibroblastic hypercellularity and increased subsynovial vascularity. Immunoreactivity of alarmins was significantly stronger in frozen shoulder capsules compared with control capsules (P < .05). Furthermore, the expression of the alarmin molecule HMGB1 significantly correlated (r > 0.9, P < .05) with the severity of patient-reported pain.
Conclusion:
This study demonstrates a potential role for key molecular danger signals in frozen shoulder and suggests an association between the expression of danger molecules and the pain experienced by patients
Low-frequency modes in the Raman spectrum of sp-sp2 nanostructured carbon
A novel form of amorphous carbon with sp-sp2 hybridization has been recently
produced by supersonic cluster beam deposition showing the presence in the film
of both polyynic and cumulenic species [L. Ravagnan et al. Phys. Rev. Lett. 98,
216103 (2007)]. Here we present a in situ Raman characterization of the low
frequency vibrational region (400-800 cm-1) of sp-sp2 films at different
temperatures. We report the presence of two peaks at 450 cm-1 and 720 cm-1. The
lower frequency peak shows an evolution with the variation of the sp content
and it can be attributed, with the support of density functional theory (DFT)
simulations, to bending modes of sp linear structures. The peak at 720 cm-1
does not vary with the sp content and it can be attributed to a feature in the
vibrational density of states activated by the disorder of the sp2 phase.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figures, 1 tabl
Time-stability of a Single-crystal Diamond Detector for fast neutron beam diagnostic under alpha and neutron irradiation
Single-crystal Diamond Detectors (SDDs), due to their good charge carrier transport properties, low leakage and therefore good energy resolution, are good candidates for fast neutron measurement on pulsed spallation sources and fusion plasma experiments. Moreover, diamonds are known to be resistant to neutron irradiation. Nevertheless, measurements show transient effects during irradiation with ionizing particles, as the alpha particle calibration sources. The decrease of the detector counting rate of a counting chain and the pulse height are interpreted as due to a charge trapping inside the detector, which modifies the drift electric field. These instabilities are strongly dependent on the specific type of the interaction. Measurements have been carried out with both alpha particles in the laboratory and neutrons at the ISIS neutron spallation source. We show that these polarization effects are not permanent: the detector performances can be restored by simply inverting the detector bias high voltage. Prime Novelty Statement The measurements described in the paper were performed in order to study the polarization effect in Single-crystal Diamond Detector. This effect was observed under alpha particle and neutron irradiation. With the Transient Current Technique an interpretation of the effect is given
Disclosing Early Excited State Relaxation Events in Prototypical Linear Carbon Chains
One-dimensional (1D) linear nanostructures comprising sp-hybridized carbon atoms, as derivatives of the prototypicalallotropeknown as carbyne, are predicted to possess outstanding mechanical,thermal, and electronic properties. Despite recent advances in theirsynthesis, their chemical and physical properties are still poorlyunderstood. Here, we investigate the photophysics of a prototypicalpolyyne (i.e., 1D chain with alternating single and triple carbonbonds) as the simplest model of finite carbon wire and as a prototypeof sp-carbon-based chains. We perform transient absorptionexperiments with high temporal resolution (<30 fs) on monodispersedhydrogen-capped hexayne H (C C)(6)Hsynthesized by laser ablation in liquid. With the support of computationalstudies based on ground state density functional theory (DFT) andexcited state time-dependent (TD)-DFT calculations, we provide a comprehensivedescription of the excited state relaxation processes at early timesfollowing photoexcitation. We show that the internal conversion froma bright high-energy singlet excited state to a low-lying singletdark state is ultrafast and takes place with a 200 fs time constant,followed by thermalization on the picosecond time scale and decayof the low-energy singlet state with hundreds of picoseconds timeconstant. We also show that the time scale of these processes doesnot depend on the end groups capping the sp-carbonchain. The understanding of the primary photoinduced events in polyynesis of key importance both for fundamental knowledge and for potentialoptoelectronic and light-harvesting applications of low-dimensionalnanostructured carbon-based materials
Generation of three iPSC lines from fibroblasts of a patient with Aicardi Goutières Syndrome mutated in TREX1
Fibroblasts from a patient with Aicardi Gouti\ue8res Syndrome (AGS) carrying a compound heterozygous mutation in TREX1, were reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to establish isogenic clonal stem cell lines: UNIBSi006-A, UNIBSi006-B, and UNIBSi006-C. Cells were transduced using the episomal Sendai viral vectors, containing human OCT4, SOX2, c-MYC and KLF4 transcription factors. The transgene-free iPSC lines showed normal karyotype, expressed pluripotent markers and displayed in vitro differentiation potential toward cells of the three embryonic germ layers
Electron transport in crystalline PCBM-like fullerene derivatives: a comparative computational study
We present an extensive study of electron transport (ET) in several crystal forms of phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) and 1-thienyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (ThCBM) fullerene derivatives. Our calculations are based on a localized representation of the electronic states. Orbital couplings, site energies and reorganization energies have been calculated using various density functional and semi-empirical techniques and used within the Landau–Zener, Marcus and Marcus–Levich–Jortner expressions to evaluate electron transfer rates. Electron mobilities have been then estimated by kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) simulations. The adiabaticity of electron transfer directions within the different crystal structures has also been verified using the Landau–Zener expression. Finally, the role of low energy virtual orbitals of the fullerene molecules has been investigated using charge transport networks of increasing complexities. Our results show that these molecules may form one-, two- or three-dimensional percolation networks and that their higher energy orbitals often participate in ET. The highest mobility values were obtained for the crystal structure of ThCBM and are comparable to experimental values
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