Rotating black holes in the FI-gauged N=2N=2, D=4D=4 CP‾n\overline{\mathbb{C}\text{P}}^n model

We construct supersymmetric black holes with rotation or NUT charge for the $\overline{\mathbb{C}\text{P}}^n$- and the $\text{t}^3$ model of $N=2$, $D=4$ $\text{U}(1)$ FI-gauged supergravity. The solutions preserve 2 real supercharges, which are doubled for their near-horizon geometry. For the $\overline{\mathbb{C}\text{P}}^n$ model we also present a generalization to the nonextremal case, which turns out to be characterized by a Carter-Pleba\'nski-type metric, and has $n+3$ independent parameters, corresponding to mass, angular momentum as well as $n+1$ magnetic charges. We discuss the thermodynamics of these solutions, obtain a Christodoulou-Ruffini mass formula, and shew that they obey a first law of thermodynamics and that the product of horizon areas depends on the angular momentum and the magnetic charges only. At least some of the BPS black holes that we obtain may become instrumental for future microscopic entropy computations involving a supersymmetric index.Comment: 34 pages, uses jheppub.sty. Final version to appear in JHE

Carbon Nanohorns as Effective Nanotherapeutics in Cancer Therapy

Different carbon nanostructures have been explored as functional materials for the development of effective nanomaterials in cancer treatment applications. This review mainly aims to discuss the features, either strength or weakness, of carbon nanohorn (CNH), carbon conical horn-shaped nanostructures of sp2 carbon atoms. The interest for these materials arises from their ability to couple the clinically relevant properties of carbon nanomaterials as drug carriers with the negligible toxicity described in vivo. Here, we offer a comprehensive overview of the recent advances in the use of CNH in cancer treatments, underlining the benefits of each functionalization route and approach, as well as the biological performances of either loaded and unloaded materials, while discussing the importance of delivery devices

Natural polysaccharide carriers in brain delivery: Challenge and perspective

Targeted drug delivery systems represent valuable tools to enhance the accumulation of therapeutics in the brain. Here, the presence of the blood brain barrier strongly hinders the passage of foreign substances, often limiting the effectiveness of pharmacological therapies. Among the plethora of materials used for the development of these systems, natural polysaccharides are attracting growing interest because of their biocompatibility, muco-adhesion, and chemical versatility which allow a wide range of carriers with tailored physico-chemical features to be synthetized. This review describes the state of the art in the field of targeted carriers based on natural polysaccharides over the last five years, focusing on the main targeting strategies, namely passive and active transport, stimuli-responsive materials and the administration route. In addition, in the last section, the efficacy of the reviewed carriers in each specific brain diseases is summarized and commented on in terms of enhancement of either blood brain barrier (BBB) permeation ability or drug bioavailability in the brain

Identification and GroEL gene characterization of green petal phytoplasma infecting strawberry in Italy

none5The presence of phytoplasmas in strawberry showing malformation of the fruits together with the typical green petals symptoms was detected in some North Western Italy cultivations. Nucleic acids extracted from these plants were used in nested-PCR assays with primers amplifying 16S rDNA and GroEL sequences specific for phytoplasmas. Bands of 1.2 kb were obtained in both cases after nested-PCR assays and RFLP analyses allowed to classify the detected phytoplasmas in the aster yellows subgroup 16SrI-C, the GroELI grouping confirm all the strains from strawberry to be identical to each other and to GroELI-VI group. This is the first multigene molecular identification of strawberry green petals phytoplasmas in Italy.openContaldo N.; J.F. Mejia; S. Paltrinieri; A. Calari; A. BertacciniContaldo N.; J.F. Mejia; S. Paltrinieri; A. Calari; A. Bertaccin

Unusual sub-genus associations of fecal Prevotella and Bacteroides with specific dietary patterns

Background: Diet has a recognized effect in shaping gut microbiota. Many studies link an increase in Prevotella to high-fibre diet, while Bacteroides abundance is usually associated with the consumption of animal fat and protein-rich diets. Nevertheless, closely related species and strains may harbour different genetic pools; therefore, further studies should aim to understand whether species of the same genus are consistently linked to dietary patterns or equally responsive to diet variations. Here, we used oligotyping of 16S rRNA gene sequencing data to exploit the diversity within Prevotella and Bacteroides genera in faecal samples of omnivore and non-omnivore subjects from a previously studied cohort. Results: A great heterogeneity was found in oligotype composition. Nevertheless, different oligotypes within the same genus showed distinctive correlation patterns with dietary components and metabolome. We found that some Prevotella oligotypes are significantly associated with the plant-based diet but some are associated with animal-based nutrients, and the same applies to Bacteroides. Therefore, an indiscriminate association of Bacteroidetes genera with specific dietary patterns may lead to an oversimplified vision that does not take into account sub-genus diversity and the different possible responses to dietary components. Conclusions: We demonstrated that Prevotella and Bacteroides oligotypes show distinctive correlation patterns with dietary components and metabolome. These results substantiate a current oversimplification of diet-dependent microbe-host associations and highlighted that sub-genus differences must be taken into account when planning gut microbiota modulation for health benefits

Preliminary microbiological and chemical characterisation of edible goat's rennet, a unique product of Sardinian food tradition

The edible goat rennet (EGR) namely Caggiu de crabittu, is a traditional Sardinian foodstuff deriving from the stomach of a weaned (breastfed) kid whose edible part is represented by the milk coagulated inside the abomasum that, before consumption, is subjected to a suitable ripening time. In this study, a preliminary investigation into the microbiological characteristics and physicochemical parameters of different EGRs manufactured by distinct Sardinian farms was conducted. Results showed that the edible goat rennet was free of spoilage/pathogenic bacteria and was characterised by a significant presence (6–7 log cfu/g) of mesophilic lactic acid bacteria (i.e. Lactococcus lactis, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus brevis) and Enterococci. Oleic, linolenic, palmitic and myristic acids were the most abundant free fatty acids (FFA) in all samples, while both caprylic and butyric acid contents resulted the lowest. Long chain FFA (≥C18:0) represented about 50% of total FFA. Among the polyunsaturated FFA, high content of linoleic (C18:2n-6) and alpha-linolenic (C18:3n-3) acids have been detected. In this study, EGR is shown to be microbiologically safe, with a high number of live lactic bacteria and an FFA content that is attractive from a nutritional point of view.Highlights Edible goat's rennet (EGR) resulted microbiologically safe with a high number of viable mesophilic lactic acid bacteria. In the EGR an intense process of lipolysis has occurred. EGR had a high content of linolenic acid

Relaxation times of kinetically constrained spin models with glassy dynamics

We analyze the density and size dependence of the relaxation time $\tau$ for kinetically constrained spin systems. These have been proposed as models for strong or fragile glasses and for systems undergoing jamming transitions. For the one (FA1f) or two (FA2f) spin facilitated Fredrickson-Andersen model at any density $\rho<1$ and for the Knight model below the critical density at which the glass transition occurs, we show that the persistence and the spin-spin time auto-correlation functions decay exponentially. This excludes the stretched exponential relaxation which was derived by numerical simulations. For FA2f in $d\geq 2$, we also prove a super-Arrhenius scaling of the form $\exp(1/(1-\rho))\leq \tau\leq\exp(1/(1-\rho)^2)$. For FA1f in $d$=$1,2$ we rigorously prove the power law scalings recently derived in \cite{JMS} while in $d\geq 3$ we obtain upper and lower bounds consistent with findings therein. Our results are based on a novel multi-scale approach which allows to analyze $\tau$ in presence of kinetic constraints and to connect time-scales and dynamical heterogeneities. The techniques are flexible enough to allow a variety of constraints and can also be applied to conservative stochastic lattice gases in presence of kinetic constraints.Comment: 4 page

Functionalized carbon nanostructures versus drug resistance: Promising scenarios in cancer treatment

Carbon nanostructures (CN) are emerging valuable materials for the assembly of highly engineered multifunctional nanovehicles for cancer therapy, in particular for counteracting the insurgence of multi-drug resistance (MDR). In this regard, carbon nanotubes (CNT), graphene oxide (GO), and fullerenes (F) have been proposed as promising materials due to their superior physical, chemical, and biological features. The possibility to easily modify their surface, conferring tailored properties, allows different CN derivatives to be synthesized. Although many studies have explored this topic, a comprehensive review evaluating the beneficial use of functionalized CNT vs G or F is still missing. Within this paper, the most relevant examples of CN-based nanosystems proposed for MDR reversal are reviewed, taking into consideration the functionalization routes, as well as the biological mechanisms involved and the possible toxicity concerns. The main aim is to understand which functional CN represents the most promising strategy to be further investigated for overcoming MDR in cancer

Feature detection in point processes on linear networks using nearest neighbour volumes

We consider the feature detection problem in the presence of clutter in point processes on linear networks. We extend the classification method developed in previous studies to this more complex geometric context, where the classical properties of a point process change and data visualization are not intuitive. We use the K-th nearest neighbour volumes distribution in linear networks for this approach. As a result, our method is suitable for analysing point patterns consisting of features and clutter as two superimposed Poisson processes on the same linear network. To illustrate the method, we present simulations and examples of road traffic accidents that resulted in injuries or deaths in two cities in Colombia