Supplement: "Localization and broadband follow-up of the gravitational-wave transient GW150914" (2016, ApJL, 826, L13)

This Supplement provides supporting material for Abbott et al. (2016a). We briefly summarize past electromagnetic (EM) follow-up efforts as well as the organization and policy of the current EM follow-up program. We compare the four probability sky maps produced for the gravitational-wave transient GW150914, and provide additional details of the EM follow-up observations that were performed in the different bands

Optical evaluation of the ionized EL2 fraction in proton (24 GeV) irradiated semi-insulating GaAs

Semi-insulating SI GaAs samples from a zone refined crystal were irradiated with high energy protons (24 GeV/c, fluences up to 1.64x10(14) p/cm(2)). Optical spectra in transmittance and reflectance were accurately measured in the energy range of 0.6-1.4 eV to determine, through the absorption coefficient, the concentrations of both neutral and ionized EL2 defects as a function of the proton fluence. Both these concentrations have been shown to increase linearly with the proton fluence; this behavior well explains the remarkable decrease of the charge collection efficiency observed in proton irradiated GaAs detectors at doses associated with high luminosity beams at a new particle collider accelerator (e.g., the LHC at the CERN laboratory)

Commentario alle Pandette

Bibliografia. - IndexsLibro XXX-XXXII. Parte prima / continuazione Carlo Ludovico Arndts ; traducione e note Contardo Ferrin

New orphan disease therapies from the proteome of industrial plasma processing waste- a treatment for aceruloplasminemia

Abstract Plasma-derived therapeutic proteins are produced through an industrial fractionation process where proteins are purified from individual intermediates, some of which remain unused and are discarded. Relatively few plasma-derived proteins are exploited clinically, with most of available plasma being directed towards the manufacture of immunoglobulin and albumin. Although the plasma proteome provides opportunities to develop novel protein replacement therapies, particularly for rare diseases, the high cost of plasma together with small patient populations impact negatively on the development of plasma-derived orphan drugs. Enabling therapeutics development from unused plasma fractionation intermediates would therefore constitute a substantial innovation. To this objective, we characterized the proteome of unused plasma fractionation intermediates and prioritized proteins for their potential as new candidate therapies for human disease. We selected ceruloplasmin, a plasma ferroxidase, as a potential therapy for aceruloplasminemia, an adult-onset ultra-rare neurological disease caused by iron accumulation as a result of ceruloplasmin mutations. Intraperitoneally administered ceruloplasmin, purified from an unused plasma fractionation intermediate, was able to prevent neurological, hepatic and hematological phenotypes in ceruloplasmin-deficient mice. These data demonstrate the feasibility of transforming industrial waste plasma fraction into a raw material for manufacturing of new candidate proteins for replacement therapies, optimizing plasma use and reducing waste generation