Soft X-ray detection with the Fairchild 100 by 100 CCD

The soft X-ray sensitivity of the Fairchild 100 x 100 element CCD is studied for possible use as a detector in plasma physics research. The experimental setup and laboratory results are reported including data on slow scan operation of the CCD and performance when cooled. Results from digital computer processing of the data to correct for element-to-element nonuniformities are also discussed

Nonsense-mediated decay mechanism is a possible modifying factor of clinical outcome in nonsense cd39 beta thalassemia genotype

Nonsense-mediated mRNA decay (NMD) is a surveillance system to prevent the synthesis of non-functional proteins. In β-thalassemia, NMD may have a role in clinical outcome. An example of premature translation stop codons appearing for the first time is the β-globin cd39 mutation; when homozygous, this results in a severe phenotype. The aim of this study was to determine whether the homozygous nonsense cd39 may have a milder phenotype in comparison with IVS1,nt110/cd39 genotype. Genotypes have been identified from a cohort of 568 patients affected by β-thalassemia. These genotypes were compared with those found in 577 affected fetuses detected among 2292 prenatal diagnoses. The nine most common genotypes, each with an incidence rate of 1.5% or over, and together accounting for 80% of genotype frequencies, underwent statistical analysis. Genotype prevalence was calculated within the overall group. Results are expressed as proportions with 95% confidence intervals; P≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. A binomial distribution was assumed for each group; z-tests were used to compare genotype frequencies observed in the patient group with frequencies in the affected fetus group. In the absence of selecting factors, prevalence of these two genotypes was compared between a cohort of 568 β-thalassemia patients (PTS) and 577 affected fetuses (FOET) detected during the same period. IVS1,nt110/cd39 was significantly more prevalent in FOET than PTS (P<0.0001), while there was no significant difference in prevalence of cd39/cd39 in FOET compared with PTS (P=0.524). These results suggest a cd39 genotype NMD mechanism may be associated with improved clinical outcomes in thalassemia major

Effects of endurance, resistance and neuro-muscular electrical stimulation trainings to the anthropometric and functional mobility domains in elderly

Background and aims There\u2019s the need to increase physical activity engagement to promote healthy ageing. Different training protocols elicit different morpho-functional effects: the comprehension of the related assessment tests is a key to improve the specific proposals and to monitor adequately the adaptations. We aimed to identify the functional adaptation processes basing on different training protocols. Methods 40 healthy elderly (28 males and 12 females, 70.7 \ub1 4.39 y) were randomly divided into 4 groups: endurance, resistance, Neuro-Muscular Electrical Stimulation and control, trained for 12 weeks andex-post evaluated on anthropometric and functional domains. Results We found: significant effect for gender, time and time 7 protocols for Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test and Timed Up-and-Go test. Post-hoc analyses revealed effect for resistance and Neuro-Muscular Electrical Stimulation on Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test, and for endurance and Neuro-Muscular Electrical Stimulation on Timed Up-and-Go test. Correlations and factorial analysis linked Five Times Sit-to-Stand Test and Timed Up-and-Go test on the functional domain. Conclusions Medium-term physical interventions significantly modified functional characteristics of elderly. We found no ex-post effect on anthropometric parameters. The two functional tests are based on different underlying domains, our data therefore suggest to use both of them to specifically evaluate the training-induced functional adaptations in elderly. Our results promote the usefulness of evidence-based trainin

Mediterranean spreading of the bicolor purse oyster, Isognomon bicolor, and the chicken trigger, Malleus sp., vs. the Lessepsian prejudice

The introduction rate of alien species in the Mediterranean Sea is rapidly growing, and their taxonomical identification is increasingly challenging. This uncertain identification often leads to an incorrect estimation of the number of alien species, their route of introduction, and their potential negative effects. This is particularly true for some bivalves, which are characterized by high variation in their shells, resulting in uncertain morphological identification. This is the case for two alien bivalves, i.e., an Isognomonidae and a Malleidae species, both characterized by confused historical colonization records in the Mediterranean Sea, misidentifications, and controversial and changing nomenclatures that have insofar negatively affected our knowledge on their geographical distributions. In this respect, molecular approaches provide a strategy that is especially useful when traditional taxonomy fails, and DNA barcoding is a powerful and well-known tool to obtain reliable identifications through efficient molecular markers. In this work, we used the 16S rRNA marker to assess the preliminary identification of Isognomon sp. and Malleus sp. specimens from different localities in the Southern Mediterranean Sea. Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods were applied to test the monophyly of the phylogenetic linages and to clarify their taxonomic positions, allowing a complete overview of the colonization and spreading of these two alien bivalves in the Mediterranean Sea. In particular, the Isognomon sp. specimens were identified as the Atlantic I. bicolor, highlighting that previously suggested invasive migration patterns, (i.e., the Lessepsian migration), must be reconsidered with stronger critical attention in light of currently occurring global changes

Prone positioning and convalescent plasma therapy in a critically ill pregnant woman with COVID-19

Prone positioning is feasible in pregnancy and may have contributed to the positive outcome in this case. Doctors should not be reluctant to move a patient to a prone position just because they are pregnant

The Red Halo Phenomenon

Optical and near-IR observations of the halos of disk galaxies and blue compact galaxies have revealed a very red spectral energy distribution, which cannot easily be reconciled with a normal, metal-poor stellar population like that in the stellar halo of the Milky Way. Here, spectral evolutionary models are used to explore the consequences of these observations. We demonstrate that a stellar population of low to intermediate metallicity, but with an extremely bottom-heavy initial mass function, can explain the red halos around both types of objects. Other previously suggested explanations, like nebular emission or very metal-rich stars, are shown to fail in this respect. This indicates that, if the reported halo colours are correct, halo populations dominated by low-mass stars may be a phenomenon common to galaxies of very different Hubble types. Potential tests of this hypothesis are discussed, along with its implications for the baryonic dark matter content of galaxies.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Accepted for publication in Ap

Antioxidant properties of a supercritical fluid extract of the halophyte Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L. from sicilian coasts: Nutraceutical and Cosmeceutical applications

The aim of this paper was to obtain different extracts from the aerial parts of Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum, comparing traditional extraction (using solvents with increasing polarity such as hexane, ethanol 80%, acetone 70% and water) with an eco-friendly technique (supercritical fluid extraction (SFE); to evaluate which extract showed a higher amount of antioxidants and then evaluate the bioactive properties in vitro, in human fibroblast (HS68). From the six extracts obtained it was observed that the solvent with the highest extraction efficiency was water, but the extracts in ethanol, N-hexane and SFE are those that showed the highest antioxidant activity (polyphenols, 1,1-Diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and reducing power). On the basis of these results, the SFE extract was chosen to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-aging activity in vitro, by assessing cell vitality and molecular markers (MTT and immunoblotting assays). The results showed that the SFE extract exerted antioxidant activity in vitro, protecting cells from mortality induced by oxidative stress; this protection was also confirmed at the molecular level, by the levels of the protein integrin α-1, that is able to prevent the negative effects of a stress situation, such as oxidative stress, that could promote aging and related diseases. This extract, obtained with an eco-friendly technique, given its beneficial properties, could be used for application in nutraceuticals and cosmeceuticals

A kinematically selected, metal-poor stellar halo in the outskirts of M31

We present evidence for a metal-poor, [Fe/H]$\sim-1.4$ $\sigma$=0.2 dex, stellar halo component detectable at radii from 10 kpc to 70 kpc, in our nearest giant spiral neighbor, the Andromeda galaxy. This metal-poor sample underlies the recently-discovered extended rotating component, and has no detected metallicity gradient. This discovery uses a large sample of 9861 radial velocities of Red Giant Branch (RGB) stars obtained with the Keck-II telescope and DEIMOS spectrograph, with 827 stars with robust radial velocity measurements isolated kinematically to lie in the halo component primarily by windowing out the extended rotating component which dominates the photometric profile of Andromeda out to $<$50 kpc (de-projected). The stars lie in 54 spectroscopic fields spread over an 8 square degree region, and are expected to fairly sample the halo to a radius of $\sim$70 kpc. The halo sample shows no significant evidence for rotation. Fitting a simple model in which the velocity dispersion of the component decreases with radius, we find a central velocity dispersion of 152\kms decreasing by -0.90\kms/\kpc. By fitting a cosmologically-motivated NFW halo model to the halo stars we constrain the virial mass of M31 to be greater than 9.0 \times 10^{11} \msun with 99% confidence. The properties of this halo component are very similar to that found in our Milky Way, revealing that these roughly equal mass galaxies may have led similar accretion and evolutionary paths in the early Universe.Comment: 13 pages, 12 figures, accepted in ApJ. substantially revised versio