White light-emitting diodes for optical stimulation of aluminium oxide in OSL dosimetry

The results of comparative investigations into the optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) of anion-defective corundum excited by radiation of blue and white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are reported. The continuous-wave OSL (CW-OSL) measurements showed that the white LED (compared to the blue LED) and the chosen geometry allow the amplitude of the OSL response to increase by a factor of more than 40 and the dosimetric information readout time to decrease by a factor of 20. The effect of deep traps on the behavior of the CW-OSL curves of anion-defective corundum was studied. It was found that the filling of deep traps essentially increases the TL yield with a dosimetric peak at 450 K and the CW-OSL-yield under stimulation with blue and white LEDs. It was also found that this filling causes a considerable change in the shape of the OSL curve and the time parameters of the decay. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The peculiarities of anion vacancy distribution and the relationship between their concentration and the Tld-500 detector Tl output

A procedure has been developed for estimating the uniformity of anion vacancy distribution in TLD-500 detectors on the basis of anion-deficient corundum single crystals. Vacancy distribution topograms were constructed for TLD-500 detectors with different sensitivities to irradiation. Analysis of the topograms provided correlations between average anion vacancy concentrations and thermoluminescent (TL) yields in the main peak with a maximum at 450 K. To confirm the pattern of regularities, the effects of high-temperature annealing of TLD-500 samples in air at T = 1700 K were studied depending on its duration. Increasing the annealing time from 40 to 105 minutes was found to correlatedly reduce the anion vacancy concentrations and TL-yields in the basic and high-temperature peaks at 450 and 830 K, respectively. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd.The work was partly supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 18-08-00093-a) and UB RAS (pr. 18-11-2-2)

Status of the Golden Eagle Aquila chrysaetos in Sicily

In the present work, we review all the relevant information since the first Regional Atlas of breeding birds (Massa 1985), and we add field data on the species occurrence and site occupancy relative to the period January 2014-December 2016, in order to update the species’ status in Sicily

Comparative antiviral activity of integrase inhibitors in human monocyte-derived macrophages and lymphocytes

The activity of raltegravir and 4 other integrase inhibitors (MK-2048, L870,810, IN2, and IN5) was investigated in primary human macrophages, PBMC and C8166-lymphocytic T cells, in order to determine their relative potency and efficacy in different cellular systems of HIV infection. Raltegravir showed better protective efficacy in all cell types; MK-2048, L870,810 and IN5 showed a potent anti-HIV-1 activity in macrophages, while in lymphocytes only MK-2048 and L870,810 showed an inhibitory effect comparable to raltegravir. IN2 was a poorly effective anti-HIV-1 compound in all cellular systems. All effective integrase inhibitors exhibited a potent antiviral activity against both X4 and R5 HIV-1 strains. In general, raltegravir, MK-2048, L870,810 and IN5 showed anti HIV activity similar or slightly higher in macrophages compared to PBMC and C8166 T cells: for MK-2048, the EC(50) was 0.4, 0.9, 11.5nM in macrophages, in PBMCs and T cells, respectively; for L870,810, the EC(50) was 1.5, 14.3, and 10.6nM, respectively; for IN5 the EC(50) was 0.5, 13.7, and 5.7nM, respectively

Optically stimulated luminescence in strongly irradiated anion-deficient corundum and associated phototransfer effects

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL), its mechanisms and the role of phototransfer effects in it have been comprehensively studied for strongly irradiated anion-deficient corundum with a high-temperature thermoluminescence (TL) peak at 830 K and without it. The fast component of the OSL kinetics in the samples was found to be due to the emptying of the main trap. The slow component was observed only in samples with the 830 K TL peak and was caused by the depletion of deep traps responsible for TL peaks in the range of 500 K<T<740 K. © Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd

Standard and Non-Standard Physics in Neutrino Oscillations

We analyze the impact of recent solar and atmospheric data in the determination of the neutrino oscillation parameters, taking into account that both the solar nu_e and the atmospheric nu_mu may convert to a mixture of active and sterile neutrinos. Furthermore, in the context of the atmospheric neutrino problem we discuss an extended mechanism of neutrino propagation which combines both oscillations and non-standard neutrino-matter interactions. We use the most recent neutrino data, including the 1496-day Super-K solar and atmospheric data samples, the latest SNO spectral and day/night solar data, and the final MACRO atmospheric results. We confirm the clear preference of all the data for pure-active oscillation solutions, bounding the fraction of sterile neutrino involved in oscillations to be less than 52% in the solar sector and less than 40% in the atmospheric sector, at 3 sigma. For the atmospheric case we also derive a bound on the total amount of non-standard neutrino-matter interactions, bounding the flavor-changing component to -0.03 <= epsilon <= 0.02 and the non-universal component to |epsilon'| <= 0.05.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX file using espcrc2.sty, 1 table and 3 figures included. Talk given at the XXX International Meeting on Fundamental Physics (Jaca, Spain, 28/01-1/02/2002

Effect of iron doping on the properties of nanopowders and coatings on the basis of Al2O3 produced by pulsed electron beam evaporation

Multiphase nanopowders (NPs) and amorphous/amorphous-nanocrystalline coatings (A-NC) have been prepared by the evaporation of ceramic targets of Al2O3-Fe2O3 (0.1, 3, 5 Fe2O3 mass %) by a pulsed electron beam in vacuum. The specific surface area of NP Al2O3-Fe2O3 reached 277 m2/g. The α and γ phases Al2O3 and other nonidentified phases have been found in the composition of NP Al2O3-Fe2O3. All coatings contained an insignificant fraction of the crystalline γ phase. No secondary phases on the basis of iron have been revealed. According to transmission electron microscopy, the fine fraction of NP Al2O3-Fe2O3 consists of amorphous nanoparticles of an irregular and quasispherical shape no more than 10 nm in size which form agglomerates reaching 1.5 μm. A large fraction of NPs consists of crystal spherical nanoparticles with preferential sizes of about 10-20 nm. All NP Al2O3-Fe2O3 showed ferromagnetic behavior at room temperature. The maximum magnetic response has been established in NPs with a minimum iron content (1.1 mass %). The pulsed cathode luminescence spectra of coatings and NP Al2O3-Fe2O3 have been presented by a wide band in the wavelength range of 300-900 nm regardless of their phase composition. Phase transformations into NP AL2O3-1.1% Fe and coatings from undoped Al2O3 heated to 1400°C occur according to the following scheme: amorphous phase → γ → δ → θ → α, regardless of their initial phase composition. The threshold of thermal stability of the Γ phase in NPs and the coating of undoped Al2O3 does not exceed 830°C. For the first time, the increased thermo and optically stimulated luminescent response comparable with the response of the leading TLD-500K thermoluminescent dosimeter has been reached in A-NC coatings of undoped Al2O3. © 2013 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

Luminescent and dosimetric properties of thin nanostructured layers of aluminum oxide obtained using evaporation of a target by a pulsed electron beam

Results of a study of optically and thermally stimulated luminescence (OSL and TL) of thin nanostructured aluminum oxide coatings obtained with evaporation of the target by a pulsed electron beam and deposited on quartz glass, Al, steel, Cu, Ta, and graphite wafers are presented. It follows from data of X-ray phase analysis that the obtained Al2O3 layers have an amorphous nanocrystal structure with different contents of the γ phase depending on the geometry of the wafer location on evaporation and annealing temperature of the samples. It is established that the material of the wafer and the ratio of the amorphous and γ phase in Al2O3 layers affect the yields of OSL and TL. Annealing at up to 970 K results in an increase of γ-phase concentration and OSL and TL responses. It was found that the yields of OSL and TL for the most emission-effective coating samples are comparable with those for the detectors on the basis of anion-defective corundum. The dose-dependence for β radiation, which was linear in the range 20-5000 mGy, was investigated. © 2013 Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

Enzyme replacement therapy with agalsidase beta improves cardiac involvement in Fabry's disease.

Fabry's disease is an X-linked lysosomal storage disease caused by a deficiency of alpha-galactosidase that results in an accumulation of neutral glycosphingolipids throughout the body, including the cardiovascular system. Fabry cardiomyopathy, characterized by progressive severe concentric left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, is very frequent and is the most important cause of death in affected patients. Enzyme replacement therapy (ERT) allows a specific treatment for this disease, however, there are very few data on the effectiveness of therapy on cardiac involvement. Nine patients with Fabry cardiac disease were studied on basal condition and after 6 and 12 months of treatment with algasidase beta (Fabrazyme). A complete clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic evaluation was performed in all patients. Interpretable Doppler recordings of transmitral flow and pulmonary flow velocity curves were also acquired. At baseline, the patients with Fabry's disease had increased LV septum and posterior wall thickness, normal LV fractional shortening, LV ejection fraction, normal Doppler parameters of mitral inflow but a duration of pulmonary vein flow velocity wave exceeding that of the mitral wave at atrial systole. ERT did not affect heart rate and arterial pressure. LV internal diameters did not change, there was a slight but not significant decrease in the LV posterior wall thickening and a progressive decrease in the interventricular septum thickening (p < 0.025) and in LV mass (p < 0.001) The difference in duration between pulmonary vein flow velocity wave and mitral wave at atrial systole significantly decreased (p < 0.001). These results suggest that ERT in patients with Fabry cardiomyopathy is able to reduce the LV mass and ameliorate the LV stiffness

"It's Asia, Stupid": Time for the EU to Deepen Relations with Asia

Global economic power is shifting rapidly to Asia, now the EU's most important trade partner. The EU has a vital stake in the peace and security of Asia as few of its policy goals, including climate change and preservation of the multilateral system, can be achieved without the positive engagement of Asia. This is even more important because of the attitude of President Trump to Asia and global affairs. The EU thus needs to give greater priority to Asia and develop a more coherent policy approach. Growth rates in Asia have outstripped those in the EU and US for many years. Projected economic growth of 5.5 per cent this year in the Asia-Pacific region is far ahead of the 2.1 per cent and 1.9 per cent projected in the US and the EU, respectively. With economic clout comes political influence, which means that the EU has to pay more attention to Asia to achieve its own policy goals, whether in trade, climate change, migration, or terrorism. The EU has to prioritise and should concentrate on its strategic partners (China, Japan, India, and South Korea) and support for ASEAN. The withdrawal of the US from the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) offers the EU an opportunity. The policy of bilateral free trade agreements with selected partners should be continued as there is little prospect of any region-to-region agreement. The EU has a major stake in Asian security as any conflict would immediately impact global supply chains. It should do more to tackle "hot spots," such as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Myanmar, and emphasise its integrated approach to security, as demonstrated in Operation Atalanta. The EU should not give up its normative agenda but should promote it in a more sensitive and realistic manner. The EU could also do more to help resolve the historical disputes in Asia, including paying more attention to its own historical role in the region. With the multilateral system under threat from the Trump presidency, the EU needs to engage more with Asia to secure its policy goals. It should revitalise its strategic partnerships as the centrepiece of a new Asia strategy. At the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) summit in Brussels in 2018, the EU should highlight its commitment to a stronger partnership with Asia. While trade will still be at the centre of EU-Asia relations, the agenda needs to be expanded to include a range of global issues