The IC1396N proto-cluster at a scale of 250 AU

We investigate the mm-morphology of IC1396N with unprecedented spatial resolution to analyze its dust and molecular gas properties, and draw comparisons with objects of similar mass. We have carried out sensitive observations in the most extended configurations of the IRAM Plateau de Bure interferometer, to map the thermal dust emission at 3.3 and 1.3mm, and the emission from the $J$=13$_k\to12_k$ hyperfine transitions of methyl cyanide (CH$_3$CN). We unveil the existence of a sub-cluster of hot cores in IC1396N, distributed in a direction perpendicular to the emanating outflow. The cores are embedded in a common envelope of extended and diffuse dust emission. We find striking differences in the dust properties of the cores ($\beta\simeq$ 0) and the surrounding envelope ($\beta\simeq$ 1), very likely testifying to differences in the formation and processing of dust material. The CH$_3$CN emission peaks towards the most massive hot core and is marginally extended in the outflow direction

A novel format for recombinant antibody-interleukin-2 fusion proteins exhibits superior tumor-targeting properties in vivo

The targeted delivery of interleukin-2 to the tumor is gaining attention as an avenue to potentiate the action of T and NK cells at the site of disease. We have previously described the fusion of the L19 antibody, specific to the EDB domain of fibronectin, with human interleukin-2, using a non-covalent homodimeric diabody format. Here, we describe four novel formats for the L19-IL2 fusion, featuring different arrangements of antibody and IL2. A comparative quantitative biodistribution analysis in tumor-bearing mice using radioiodinated proteins revealed that the novel format (L19L19-IL2, with the antibody in single-chain diabody format) exhibited the best biodistribution results. In vitro assays on peripheral blood mononuclear cells showed a decrease activation of regulatory T cells when single IL2 domain was used. In vivo, both L19-IL2 and L19L19-IL2 inhibited tumor growth in immunocompetent mouse models of cancer. T-cell analysis revealed similar levels of CD4+ and FoxP3+ cells, with an expansion of the CD8+ T cell in mice treated with L19-IL2 and L19L19-IL2. The percentage of CD4+ regulatory T cells was markedly decreased with L19L19-IL2 combined with a mouse-specific PD-1 blocker. Collectively, these data indicate that the new L19L19-IL2 format exhibits favorable tumor-homing properties and mediates a potent anti-cancer activity in vivo

Spectra of sparse non-Hermitian random matrices: an analytical solution

We present the exact analytical expression for the spectrum of a sparse non-Hermitian random matrix ensemble, generalizing two classical results in random-matrix theory: this analytical expression forms a non-Hermitian version of the Kesten-Mckay law as well as a sparse realization of Girko's elliptic law. Our exact result opens new perspectives in the study of several physical problems modelled on sparse random graphs. In this context, we show analytically that the convergence rate of a transport process on a very sparse graph depends upon the degree of symmetry of the edges in a non-monotonous way.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, 12 pages supplemental materia

Mode of Delivery in Women with Stillbirth: Results of an Area-Based Italian Prospective Cohort Study

Introduction: The choice of the mode of delivery, in case of stillbirth (SB) (fetus non-viable >22 weeks' gestation), should consider maternal preference, gestational age, bishop score, the clinical condition of the woman, and her previous obstetric history. However, despite these clear indications, data on the effective implementation of the latter are lacking. The aim of our study is to evaluate the different modes of delivery in an Italian population of SBs, according to gestational age, parity, causes of death, obstetric history, and maternal characteristics. Material and Methods: This is an area-based, prospective cohort study conducted in Emilia Romagna, Italy between January 2014 to December 2020. Data included all cases of SB (>22 weeks). Results: From 2014 to 2020, 783 SB occurred out of a total of 232.506 births, with a SB rate of 3.3 per 1000. Labor was spontaneous in 85 (11%). Of remnant, 567 (73.6%) were induced and 118 (15.3%) had no labor. The mode of delivery was vaginal in most of the cases (649/770, 84.3%) and by cesarean section in 121/770 (15.7%) of cases. Emergency CS was most frequent and performed in 89/121 (73.5%) of total CS, representing 11.5% of SB deliveries. Mode of induction did not differ in relation to gestational age at stillbirth, while vaginal delivery was significantly higher in women induced with prostaglandins (p = 0.000) respect to other methods. Nulliparous women had a significantly higher need for multiple methods of induction (p = 0.000) respect multiparous and obese women used more frequently prostaglandins (p = 0.03) than other methods. Women with a history of previous CS presented a significantly higher rate of repeated elective CS (p = 0.000). Moreover, emergency CS was performed more frequent in obese (p = 0.02), diabetic (p = 0.04) and hypertensive (p = 0.04) women and in SB caused by placenta disorders, namely in abruptio placentae (p = 0.000). In the case of chorioamnionitis and funisitis women significantly were induced with prostaglandin (p = 0.000) and delivered vaginally (p = 0.000). Conclusions: The method of induction of labor and the mode of delivery in case of SB did not depend on gestational age at the diagnosis of death, while they are related to placenta disorders representing a relevant condition leading to emergency CS also after diagnosis of fetal death. These data could help obstetric providers in managing the deliveries of stillborn infants

Seismicity and Focal Mechanisms at the Calabro-Lucanian boundary along the Apennine chain (southern Italy)

The Calabro-Lucanian boundary is a complex geological zone marking the transition between the highly seismogenic tectonic domains of Southern Apennines and the Calabrian Arc. Historical catalogues include earthquakes with macroseismic effects up to VII-VIII MCS (CPTI WORKING GROUP, 2004) and paleoseismological investigations suggested that earthquakes of magnitude between 6.5 and 7 may have occurred in this area, between the 6th and the 15th century (MICHETTI et alii, 2000). More recently, on 9 September 1998, an earthquake of moment magnitude M5.6 occurred at the north-western margin of the Pollino massif (GUERRA et alii, 2005; ARRIGO et alii, 2006) and since the second half of 2010 the same region was interested by a noteworthy seismic activity characterized by several swarms with thousands of events with a maximum magnitude of 3.6

Testing the stability of moment tensor solutions for small earthquakes in the Calabro-Peloritan Arc region (southern Italy)

The aim of this study is to test the stability of moment tensor solutions for crustal earthquakes in the Calabro-Peloritan area (southern Italy). We used waveforms recorded by the Italian National Seismic Network managed by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia and the CAT-SCAN (Calabria Apennine Tyrrhenian - Subduction Collision Accretion Network) project. We computed the moment tensor solutions using the Cut And Paste (CAP) method. The technique allows the determination of the source depth, moment magnitude and focal mechanisms using a grid search technique. For the earthquakes investigated, we tried different station distributions and different velocity models. Results were also checked by computing the moment tensor solutions using the SLUMT grid-search method. Both methods (CAP and SLUMT) allow time shifts between synthetic and observed data in order to reduce the dependence of the solution on the assumed velocity model and on earthquake location errors. Comparisons have been made with the available published solutions. The final focal mechanisms were robustly determined. We show that the application of the CAP and SLUMT methods can provide good-quality solutions in a magnitude range not properly represented in the Italian national earthquake catalogues, and where the solutions estimated from Ponset polarities are often poorly constrained

The phase diagram of L\'evy spin glasses

We study the L\'evy spin-glass model with the replica and the cavity method. In this model each spin interacts through a finite number of strong bonds and an infinite number of weak bonds. This hybrid behaviour of L\'evy spin glasses becomes transparent in our solution: the local field contains a part propagating along a backbone of strong bonds and a Gaussian noise term due to weak bonds. Our method allows to determine the complete replica symmetric phase diagram, the replica symmetry breaking line and the entropy. The results are compared with simulations and previous calculations using a Gaussian ansatz for the distribution of fields.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figure

Kinetics of b-galactosidase immobilized on polysiloxanepolyvinyl alcohol magnetic composite – POS-PVAM

b-Galactosidase is an enzyme with a wide industrial application, mostly in the hydrolysis of lactose and, more recently, in the synthesis of oligosaccharides. Several advantages are associated with the application of immobilized enzymes. In this work, b-Galactosidase was covalently immobilized onto a POS-PVAM using glutaraldehyde as activating agent and its hydrolytic properties evaluated. For both soluble and immobilized b-Galactosidase, the optimal temperature and pH were found to be 50 ºC and 6.5, respectively. The immobilized enzyme showed to be more resistant than the soluble form when hydrolysis experiments were performed out within the above optimal condition, being the observed difference in activity more pronounced for temperatures higher than 50ºC. An enhancement of the thermal stability of the immobilized enzyme was also observed. The apparent Km and Ea for both soluble (7.377 ± 1.303mM and 25.51 ± 8.72Kj mol-1) and immobilized enzyme (7.841 ± 1.189mM and 32.61 ± 5.82Kj mol-1) showed to be not significantly different. The immobilization also proved to be advantageous as, after twenty reutilizations, the immobilized enzyme retained about 52% of its initial activity. These results clearly demonstrate that POS-PVAM may be used for b- Galactosidase immobilization since, besides improving the enzyme hydrolytic properties, its separation from the obtained reaction products is easier to accomplish