Thermal and non-thermal signatures of the Unruh effect in Casimir-Polder forces

We show that Casimir-Polder forces between two relativistic uniformly accelerated atoms exhibit a transition from the short distance thermal-like behavior predicted by the Unruh effect, to a long distance non-thermal behavior, associated with the breakdown of a local inertial description of the system. This phenomenology extends the Unruh thermal response detected by a single accelerated observer to an accelerated spatially extended system of two particles, and we identify the characteristic length scale for this crossover with the inverse of the proper acceleration of the two atoms. Our results are derived separating at fourth order in perturbation theory the contributions of vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction field to the Casimir-Polder interaction between two atoms moving in two generic stationary trajectories separated by a constant distance, and linearly coupled to a scalar field. The field can be assumed in its vacuum state or at finite temperature, resulting in a general method for the computation of Casimir-Polder forces in stationary regimes.Comment: 6 pages, 1 figure. Revised versio

CMOS array design automation techniques

A low cost, quick turnaround technique for generating custom metal oxide semiconductor arrays using the standard cell approach was developed, implemented, tested and validated. Basic cell design topology and guidelines are defined based on an extensive analysis that includes circuit, layout, process, array topology and required performance considerations particularly high circuit speed

Van der Waals and resonance interactions between accelerated atoms in vacuum and the Unruh effect

We discuss different physical effects related to the uniform acceleration of atoms in vacuum, in the framework of quantum electrodynamics. We first investigate the van der Waals/Casimir-Polder dispersion and resonance interactions between two uniformly accelerated atoms in vacuum. We show that the atomic acceleration significantly affects the van der Waals force, yielding a different scaling of the interaction with the interatomic distance and an explicit time dependence of the interaction energy. We argue how these results could allow for an indirect detection of the Unruh effect through dispersion interactions between atoms. We then consider the resonance interaction between two accelerated atoms, prepared in a correlated Bell-type state, and interacting with the electromagnetic field in the vacuum state, separating vacuum fluctuations and radiation reaction contributions, both in the free-space and in the presence of a perfectly reflecting plate. We show that nonthermal effects of acceleration manifest in the resonance interaction, yielding a change of the distance dependence of the resonance interaction energy. This suggests that the equivalence between temperature and acceleration does not apply to all radiative properties of accelerated atoms. To further explore this aspect, we evaluate the resonance interaction between two atoms in non inertial motion in the coaccelerated (Rindler) frame and show that in this case the assumption of an Unruh temperature for the field is not required for a complete equivalence of locally inertial and coaccelerated points of views.Comment: 8 pages, Proceedings of the Eighth International Workshop DICE 2016 Spacetime - Matter - Quantum Mechanic

Resistive relaxation in field-induced insulator-metal transition of a (La0.4_{0.4}Pr0.6_{0.6})1.2_{1.2}Sr1.8_{1.8}Mn2_{2}O7_{7} bilayer manganite single crystal

We have investigated the resistive relaxation of a (La$_{0.4}$Pr$_{0.6}$)$_{1.2}$Sr$_{1.8}$Mn$_{2}$O$_{7}$ single crystal, in order to examine the slow dynamics of the field-induced insulator to metal transition of bilayered manganites. The temporal profiles observed in remanent resistance follow a stretched exponential function accompanied by a slow relaxation similar to that obtained in magnetization and magnetostriction data. We demonstrate that the remanent relaxation in magnetotransport has a close relationship with magnetic relaxation that can be understood in the framework of an effective medium approximation by assuming that the first order parameter is proportional to the second order one.Comment: 6 pages,5 figure

DeepSRE: Identification of sterol responsive elements and nuclear transcription factors Y proximity in human DNA by Convolutional Neural Network analysis

SREBP1 and 2, are cholesterol sensors able to modulate cholesterol-related gene expression responses. SREBPs binding sites are characterized by the presence of multiple target sequences as SRE, NFY and SP1, that can be arranged differently in different genes, so that it is not easy to identify the binding site on the basis of direct DNA sequence analysis. This paper presents a complete workflow based on a one-dimensional Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) model able to detect putative SREBPs binding sites irrespective of target elements arrangements. The strategy is based on the recognition of SRE linked (less than 250 bp) to NFY sequences according to chromosomal localization derived from TF Immunoprecipitation (TF ChIP) experiments. The CNN is trained with several 100 bp sequences containing both SRE and NF-Y. Once trained, the model is used to predict the presence of SRE-NFY in the first 500 bp of all the known gene promoters. Finally, genes are grouped according to biological process and the processes enriched in genes containing SRE-NFY in their promoters are analyzed in details. This workflow allowed to identify biological processes enriched in SRE containing genes not directly linked to cholesterol metabolism and possible novel DNA patterns able to fill in for missing classical SRE sequences

Plant Conservation Centres in Sicily: The ‘Valle Maria’ Regional Centre (Godrano, Palermo) and the case study of the rare Centaurea erycina (Asteraceae).

The role of the ‘Valle Maria’ Regional Centre and its activity in plant conservation thank to the collaboration with the University of Palermo, Dept. STEBICEF is discussed. The case study on propagation of Centaurea erycina, a narrow Sicilian endemic is presented

Differences in SpeB Protease Activity Among Group A Streptococci Associated With Superficial, Invasive, and Autoimmune Disease

The secreted cysteine proteinase SpeB is an important virulence factor of group A streptococci (GAS), whereby SpeB activity varies widely among strains. To establish the degree to which SpeB activity correlates with disease, GAS organisms were recovered from patients with pharyngitis, impetigo, invasive disease or acute rheumatic fever (ARF), and selected for analysis using rigorous sampling criteria; \u3e300 GAS isolates were tested for SpeB activity by casein digestion assays, and each GAS isolate was scored as a SpeB-producer or non-producer. Highly significant statistical differences (p \u3c 0.01) in SpeB production are observed between GAS recovered from patients with ARF (41.5% SpeB-non-producers) compared to pharyngitis (20.5%), invasive disease (16.7%), and impetigo (5.5%). SpeB activity differences between pharyngitis and impetigo isolates are also significant, whereas pharyngitis versus invasive isolates show no significant difference. The disproportionately greater number of SpeB-non-producers among ARF-associated isolates may indicate an altered transcriptional program for many rheumatogenic strains and/or a protective role for SpeB in GAS-triggered autoimmunity

PRIMI DATI SUGLI INNESTI DI ABIES NEBRODENSIS (LOJAC.) MATTEI ESEGUITI SU ABETI ESOTICI NELL\u2019AREA DI INDIGENATO (MADONIE)

C2 = PRIMI DATI SUGLI INNESTI DI ABIES NEBRODENSIS (LOJAC.) MATTEI ESEGUITI SU ABETI ESOTICI NELL\u2019AREA DI INDIGENATO (MADONIE) R. SCHICCHI, P. BONOMO, M. CANDORE, G. DI NOTO, A. PUCCI, F. TRAPANI, P. MARINO Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale e Biodiversit\ue0 dell'Universit\ue0, via Archirafi 38, 90123 Palermo (I) [email protected] Abies nebrodensis \ue8 una specie endemica relitta, gravemente minacciata di estinzione, la cui popolazione naturale \ue8 costituita da 30 individui distribuiti discontinuamente in una piccola area del territorio di Polizzi Generosa, all\u2019interno del Parco naturale delle Madonie in Sicilia. La minaccia di estinzione \ue8 dovuta, oltre all'esiguit\ue0 della popolazione, al ridotto numero di piante mature (ventiquattro) e al pericolo di inquinamento genetico incombente. A partire dall\u2019inizio degli anni \u201880 del secolo scorso, infatti, sono stati introdotti nella vicinanze dell\u2019area di indignato individui di abeti esotici (Abies alba Mill., A. cephalonica Loudon, e A. nordmanniana (Stefen) Spach) che, avendo raggiunto la maturit\ue0 sessuale, potrebbero mettere a rischio l\u2019integrit\ue0 genetica della progenie dell\u2019abete locale (Raimondo & Schicchi, 2005). Nell\u2019ambito del progetto \u201cConservazione di Abies nebrodensis e ripristino delle torbiere di Geraci Siculo\u201d, in corso di attuazione da parte dell\u2019Ente Parco delle Madonie, del Dipartimento di Biologia ambientale e Biodiversit\ue0 di Palermo e di altri partners locali, un\u2019azione di salvaguardia prevede l\u2019innesto degli abeti esotici con marze di A. nebrodensis, valorizzando la positiva esperienza effettuata con il progetto Life Natura (1). A tal fine, nel periodo compreso tra la terza decade di aprile e la seconda decade di maggio sono stati effettuati circa 350 innesti in contrada Comunello, nel territorio di Isnello. Le marze sono state prelevate da individui maturi di A. nebrodensis di oltre 30 anni di et\ue0, introdotti nelle opere di ripopolamento che, in seguito ai risultati delle analisi genetiche, sono geneticamente correlati agli esemplari della popolazione naturale. Gli innesti sono stati eseguiti a spacco ma soprattutto a corona, previa capitozzatura dei soggetti di A. alba e A. cephalonica, a un\u2019altezza di circa 2 m per evitare possibili danneggiamenti da parte del bestiame. Nei soggetti sono stati, comunque, rilasciati temporaneamente alcuni palchi che, continuando a svolgere le normali funzioni vitali, agevoleranno l\u2019attecchimento delle marze. Queste ultime sono state opportunamente sagomate e inserite tra la corteccia e il legno sia nel fusto capitozzato che in alcuni rami laterali. Esse sono state tenute strettamente aderenti ai soggetti tramite nastro adesivo e protette da due sacchetti, rispettivamente di polietilene e di carta, per creare condizioni micro-climatiche ottimali alla sopravvivenza delle marze. Dalla terza decade di maggio \ue8 iniziato, con cadenza settimanale, il monitoraggio degli innesti e la foratura, ove necessario, del sacchetto di plastica per eliminare l\u2019umidit\ue0 in eccesso. Dopo 40 giorni \ue8 stato possibile constatare che oltre il 90% degli innesti \ue8 attecchito. Anche alcuni innesti eseguiti a scopo sperimentale su Pseudotsuga menziesii Franco sono vitali. Durante la fine di luglio e agosto si prevede una graduale scopertura delle marze. Gli esiti di questa azione, tuttavia, potranno essere valutati compiutamente all\u2019inizio della prossima primavera. La tecnica dell\u2019innesto riveste notevole importanza poich\ue9 permette di eliminare o ridurre una delle minacce pi\uf9 consistenti a carico della popolazione naturale di A. nebrodensis, trasformando la stessa in un punto di forza nell\u2019ambito della strategia di conservazione della specie. Essa, infatti, potr\ue0 contribuire a incrementare la popolazione dell\u2019endemico A. nebrodensis, valorizzando come portainnesti piante che se non abbattute costituirebbero un serio pericolo per la conservazione dell\u2019abete delle Madonie. Raimondo F. M., Schicchi R., 2005. Rendiconto sul progetto LIFE Natura n\ub0 LIFE2000NAT/IT/7228 \u201cConservazione in situ ed ex situ di Abies nebrodensis (Lojac.) Mattei\u201d. Tipolitografia Luxograph, Palermo

CD32⁺ and PD-1⁺ Lymph Node CD4 T Cells Support Persistent HIV-1 Transcription in Treated Aviremic Individuals.

A recent study conducted in blood has proposed CD32 as the marker identifying the "elusive" HIV reservoir. We have investigated the distribution of CD32 <sup>+</sup> CD4 T cells in blood and lymph nodes (LNs) of HIV-1-uninfected subjects and viremic untreated and long-term-treated HIV-1-infected individuals and their relationship with PD-1 <sup>+</sup> CD4 T cells. The frequency of CD32 <sup>+</sup> CD4 T cells was increased in viremic compared to treated individuals in LNs, and a large proportion (up to 50%) of CD32 <sup>+</sup> cells coexpressed PD-1 and were enriched within T follicular helper (Tfh) cells. We next investigated the role of LN CD32 <sup>+</sup> CD4 T cells in the HIV reservoir. Total HIV DNA was enriched in CD32 <sup>+</sup> and PD-1 <sup>+</sup> CD4 T cells compared to CD32 <sup>-</sup> and PD-1 <sup>-</sup> cells in both viremic and treated individuals, but there was no difference between CD32 <sup>+</sup> and PD-1 <sup>+</sup> cells. There was no enrichment of latently infected cells with inducible HIV-1 in CD32 <sup>+</sup> versus PD-1 <sup>+</sup> cells in antiretroviral therapy (ART)-treated individuals. HIV-1 transcription was then analyzed in LN memory CD4 T cell populations sorted on the basis of CD32 and PD-1 expression. CD32 <sup>+</sup> PD-1 <sup>+</sup> CD4 T cells were significantly enriched in cell-associated HIV RNA compared to CD32 <sup>-</sup> PD-1 <sup>-</sup> (averages of 5.2-fold in treated individuals and 86.6-fold in viremics), CD32 <sup>+</sup> PD-1 <sup>-</sup> (2.2-fold in treated individuals and 4.3-fold in viremics), and CD32 <sup>-</sup> PD-1 <sup>+</sup> (2.2-fold in ART-treated individuals and 4.6-fold in viremics) cell populations. Similar levels of HIV-1 transcription were found in CD32 <sup>+</sup> PD-1 <sup>-</sup> and CD32 <sup>-</sup> PD-1 <sup>+</sup> CD4 T cells. Interestingly, the proportion of CD32 <sup>+</sup> and PD-1 <sup>+</sup> CD4 T cells negatively correlated with CD4 T cell counts and length of therapy. Therefore, the expression of CD32 identifies, independently of PD-1, a CD4 T cell population with persistent HIV-1 transcription and coexpression of CD32 and PD-1, the CD4 T cell population with the highest levels of HIV-1 transcription in both viremic and treated individuals.IMPORTANCE The existence of long-lived latently infected resting memory CD4 T cells represents a major obstacle to the eradication of HIV infection. Identifying cell markers defining latently infected cells containing replication-competent virus is important in order to determine the mechanisms of HIV persistence and to develop novel therapeutic strategies to cure HIV infection. We provide evidence that PD-1 and CD32 may have a complementary role in better defining CD4 T cell populations infected with HIV-1. Furthermore, CD4 T cells coexpressing CD32 and PD-1 identify a CD4 T cell population with high levels of persistent HIV-1 transcription

Lipoprotein abnormalities in chronic kidney disease and renal transplantation

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most important risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Despite the kidney having no direct implications for lipoproteins metabolism, advanced CKD dyslipidemia is usually present in patients with CKD, and the frequent lipid and lipoprotein alterations occurring in these patients play a role of primary importance in the development of CVD. Although hypertriglyceridemia is the main disorder, a number of lipoprotein abnormalities occur in these patients. Different enzymes pathways and proteins involved in lipoprotein metabolism are impaired in CKD. In addition, treatment of uremia may modify the expression of lipoprotein pattern as well as determine acute changes. In renal transplantation recipients, the main lipid alteration is hypercholesterolemia, while hypertriglyceridemia is less pronounced. In this review we have analyzed lipid and lipoprotein disturbances in CKD and also their relationship with progression of renal disease. Hypolipidemic treatments may also change the natural history of CVD in CKD patients and may represent important strategies in the management of CKD patients