Assessment by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy of penetration depth in limestones of four nano-biocides based on silver/titanium nanoparticles

[Abstract]: Four biocidal treatments based on nanoparticles were designed and their penetration depths were char- acterized by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technique. This kind of biocidal nanoparticles are being studied to be employed in historic buildings and stone monuments due to their capability to inhibit the growth of biofoulings. The effectiveness of the treatment is related to the penetration depth of the nanoparticles in the limestone pore. For this reason, LIBS depth profiling was used in this work to characterize the diffusion of the nanoparticles in the limestone matrix and to compare the penetration depth of the different treatments. Four different nano-biocides based on silver/titanium dioxide nanopar- ticles were analysed by LIBS in limestone from Novelda quarry (Alicante, Spain). This limestone has been widely employed in both historical and contemporary buildings in Spain. The positive detection of the emission line of Ag at 338.289 nm was examined in the depth-related emission spectra as evidence of the presence of the silver nanoparticles and derived nanocomposites in the limestone matrix. The LIBS depth-profiles that were generated, showed a decrease of the Ag net signal with depth due to the diffusion of the nanoparticles in the limestone. Furthermore, the comparison of the in-depth sequences of spectra, and of the Ag depth profiles evidenced penetration differences between the nano-biocides which were explained by differences in the hydrodynamic diameter of the nanoparti- cles that would affect their diffusion in the limestone pore. The results of this assessment demonstrate the capability and potential of LIBS technique for the in-depth characterization of the nanoparticles and for the comparison of the effectiveness of nanoparticles biocidal treatments based on their penetration in the stone matrix

Magnetic Resonance Microscopy at 14 Tesla and Correlative Histopathology of Human Brain Tumor Tissue

Magnetic Resonance Microscopy (MRM) can provide high microstructural detail in excised human lesions. Previous MRM images on some experimental models and a few human samples suggest the large potential of the technique. The aim of this study was the characterization of specific morphological features of human brain tumor samples by MRM and correlative histopathology. We performed MRM imaging and correlative histopathology in 19 meningioma and 11 glioma human brain tumor samples obtained at surgery. To our knowledge, this is the first MRM direct structural characterization of human brain tumor samples. MRM of brain tumor tissue provided images with 35 to 40 µm spatial resolution. The use of MRM to study human brain tumor samples provides new microstructural information on brain tumors for better classification and characterization. The correlation between MRM and histopathology images allowed the determination of image parameters for critical microstructures of the tumor, like collagen patterns, necrotic foci, calcifications and/or psammoma bodies, vascular distribution and hemorrhage among others. Therefore, MRM may help in interpreting the Clinical Magnetic Resonance images in terms of cell biology processes and tissue patterns. Finally, and most importantly for clinical diagnosis purposes, it provides three-dimensional information in intact samples which may help in selecting a preferential orientation for the histopathology slicing which contains most of the informative elements of the biopsy. Overall, the findings reported here provide a new and unique microstructural view of intact human brain tumor tissue. At this point, our approach and results allow the identification of specific tissue types and pathological features in unprocessed tumor samples

The Wnt Receptor Ryk Reduces Neuronal and Cell Survival Capacity by Repressing FOXO Activity During the Early Phases of Mutant Huntingtin Pathogenicity

The Wnt receptor Ryk is an evolutionary-conserved protein important during neuronal differentiation through several mechanisms, including γ-secretase cleavage and nuclear translocation of its intracellular domain (Ryk-ICD). Although the Wnt pathway may be neuroprotective, the role of Ryk in neurodegenerative disease remains unknown. We found that Ryk is up-regulated in neurons expressing mutant huntingtin (HTT) in several models of Huntington's disease (HD). Further investigation in Caenorhabditis elegans and mouse striatal cell models of HD provided a model in which the early-stage increase of Ryk promotes neuronal dysfunction by repressing the neuroprotective activity of the longevity-promoting factor FOXO through a noncanonical mechanism that implicates the Ryk-ICD fragment and its binding to the FOXO co-factor β-catenin. The Ryk-ICD fragment suppressed neuroprotection by lin-18/Ryk loss-of-function in expanded-polyQ nematodes, repressed FOXO transcriptional activity, and abolished β-catenin protection of mutant htt striatal cells against cell death vulnerability. Additionally, Ryk-ICD was increased in the nucleus of mutant htt cells, and reducing γ-secretase PS1 levels compensated for the cytotoxicity of full-length Ryk in these cells. These findings reveal that the Ryk-ICD pathway may impair FOXO protective activity in mutant polyglutamine neurons, suggesting that neurons are unable to efficiently maintain function and resist disease from the earliest phases of the pathogenic process in HD. © 2014 Tourette et al

Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies

Production of He-4 and (4) in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S=2.76 TeV at the LHC

Results on the production of He-4 and (4) nuclei in Pb-Pb collisions at root(NN)-N-S = 2.76 TeV in the rapidity range vertical bar y vertical bar <1, using the ALICE detector, are presented in this paper. The rapidity densities corresponding to 0-10% central events are found to be dN/dy4(He) = (0.8 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.3 (syst)) x 10(-6) and dN/dy4 = (1.1 +/- 0.4 (stat) +/- 0.2 (syst)) x 10(-6), respectively. This is in agreement with the statistical thermal model expectation assuming the same chemical freeze-out temperature (T-chem = 156 MeV) as for light hadrons. The measured ratio of (4)/He-4 is 1.4 +/- 0.8 (stat) +/- 0.5 (syst). (C) 2018 Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe

Ocrelizumab versus Interferon Beta-1a in Relapsing Multiple Sclerosis

Supported by F. Hoffmann–La Roche

Mapping capability of linear correlation statistics for characterization of complex materials using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy

[Abstract]: In this work, the capability of linear correlation statistics for chemical mapping by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) has been studied for the first time for the characterization of samples with compositional changes on surface and in depth. For that purpose, a corrosion layer of varied spread has been caused in brass samples by chemical treatment and afterwards analyzed by LIBS. Correlation depth profiles, two-dimensional (2D) correlation maps and three-dimensional (3D) correlation maps have been generated from LIBS data to contrast the results obtained from treated and non-treated samples and zones. Conventional LIBS maps based on signal intensity have also been generated for comparison. The conclusions of this study demonstrate the capability and benefits of using the linear correlation method for 3D mapping by LIBS of samples with non-uniform composition. In this sense, the proposed methodology has allowed to determine the location of the corroded regions in the analyzed volume, even in the non-treated zones also affected by the byproducts originated from the chemical attack, in contrast to conventional LIBS mapping based on signal representation