CCD Washington photometry of four poorly studied open clusters in the two inner quadrants of the galactic plane

Complementing our Washington photometric studies on Galactic open clusters (OCs), we now focus on four poorly studied OCs located in the first and fourth Galactic quadrants, namely BH 84, NGC 5381, BH 211 and Czernik 37. We have obtained CCD photometry in the Washington system $C$ and $T_1$ passbands down to $T_1$ $\sim$ 18.5 magnitudes for these four clusters. Their positions and sizes were determined using the stellar density radial profiles. We derived reddening, distance, age and metallicity of the clusters from extracted $(C-T_1,T_1)$ color-magnitude diagrams (CMDs), using theoretical isochrones computed for the Washington system. There are no previous photometric data in the optical band for BH 84, NGC 5381 and BH 211. The CMDs of the observed clusters show relatively well defined main sequences, except for Czernik 37, wherein significant differential reddening seems to be present. The red giant clump is clearly seen only in BH 211. For this cluster, we estimated the age in (1000$^{+260}_{-200}$) Myr, assuming a metallicity of $Z$ = 0.019. BH 84 was found to be much older than it was previously believed, while NGC 5381 happened to be much younger than previously reported. The heliocentric distances to these clusters are found to range between 1.4 and 3.4 kpc. BH 84 appears to be located at the solar galactocentric distance, while NGC 5381, BH 211 and Czernik 37 are situated inside the solar ring.Comment: 30 pages, 9 figures, 10 table

Increasing data (INAA) on Ecuadorian obsidian artifacts: preliminary provenance and a clue for pre-Columbian eastward trade.

In this work we carried out INAA major (Na, K, Ca and Fe %) and trace (ppm) elements (plus Mn by FAAS analysis) of 15 obsidian samples (waste flakes) coming from an unknown archaeological site (14C-AMS age of 1425 AD) located on the south-eastern flank of the back-arc Sumaco volcano, in the Sub-Andean Ecuador (to the east of the Cordillera Real) and from two already known pre-Columbian archaeological localities: La Florida (Quito) and Milan (Cayambe). Literature compositional data of the Ecuadorian obsidian outcrops (Bigazzi et al., 1992, Asaro et al., 1994, Bellot-Gurlet et al., 1999, 2008) provide some constraints on the provenance of the analyzed waste flakes, even though different methods of analyses make comparisons a difficult task. Concerning the obsidian artifacts of La Florida and Milan, they come from the well known Sierra de Guamanì obsidian sources (Cordillera Real). By contrast, the obsidian fragments of the Sumaco settlement show Mn-rich, U- Th-poor compositions and relatively high Nb/Zr ratios, these characters being compatible with obsidian erratic pebbles recently discovered by Bellot-Gurlet et al. (2008) in some river banks of the Amazonian foothills draining the easternmost flanks of the Antisana volcano in the Cordillera Real as well. In this way, the obsidian artifacts found at the Sumaco site reinforce the opinion of Bellot-Gurlet et al. (2008) that Ecuadorian source inventory is not yet exhaustive. These preliminary inferences of provenance for the Sumaco obsidian findings would however need to be furtherly tested with the same analytical methods on both artifacts and sources. The Antisana volcano, located 30 km to WNW of the Amazonian foothills, seems to be the best candidate to find out additional primary outcrops of obsidian sources. Obsidian ancient trade was well established in Ecuador among the Andean people of the Cordillera Real and between them and people of the Pacific coast, whereas an eastward trade toward the rainforest people was never documented. In this framework, the archaeometric study of the obsidian samples of the 1425 AD site of Sumaco, located well eastward of the Cordillera Real, is of paramount importance in tracing the ancient routes of the obsidian trade toward the Amazonian region. It can not be also excluded that sub-Andean and Amazonian people direcly took advantage from obsidian secondary sources (i.e. within the river banks of the Amazonian foothills) rather than procurements from primary outcrops in the Cordillera Real

Radiation Hardness tests with neutron flux on different Silicon photomultiplier devices

Radiation hardness is an important requirement for solid state readout devices operating in high radiation environments common in particle physics experiments. The MEGII experiment, at PSI, Switzerland, investigates the forbidden decay $\mu^+ \to \mathrm{e}^+ \gamma$. Exploiting the most intense muon beam of the world. A significant flux of non-thermal neutrons (kinetic energy $E_k\geq 0.5 ~MeV$) is present in the experimental hall produced along the beamline and in the hall itself. We present the effects of neutron fluxes comparable to the MEGII expected doses on several Silicon PhotoMulitpliers (SiPMs). The tested models are: AdvanSiD ASD-NUV3S-P50 (used in MEGII experiment), AdvanSiD ASD-NUV3S-P40, AdvanSiD ASD-RGB3S-P40, Hamamatsu and Excelitas C30742-33-050-X. The neutron source is the thermal Sub-critical Multiplication complex (SM1) moderated with water, located at the University of Pavia (Italy). We report the change of SiPMs most important electric parameters: dark current, dark pulse frequency, gain, direct bias resistance, as a function of the integrated neutron fluency.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Proceedings from Instrumentation for colliding Beam Physics (INSTR-17) 27-02-2017/03-03-2017 Novosibirsk (R

Intensification of the freeze drying process by the control of both freezing and primary drying steps

The problem of optimization of freeze-drying cycles is addressed, with emphasis in both freezing and primary drying steps. In particular, this study shows that the control of the nucleation event produces more uniform batches (as ice nucleation is induced in all the vials of batch almost at the same time and temperature) and allows a marked reduction in the duration of the optimized cycle (if compared to cycles carried out with conventional stochastic nucleation)

Effect of vacuum induced nucleation on the final product homogeneity

In the field of freeze drying of pharmaceutics the homogeneity of the sublimation flux during drying is fundamental to allow a final product with the same characteristics. Previous studies have shown that the control of freezing stage, in addition to a dramatic reduction of cycle duration, can also improve the homogeneity of the final batch. In this framework, this study is focused on the investigation of the effects of the Vacuum Induced Nucleation control method (modified in a previous work)[1,2] on the final structure of the product. Two aspects will be taken into consideration: the uniformity among vials of the same batch (inter-vial) and the uniformity of the structure along the height of the product (intra-vial). It has to be pointed out that a non-uniform product structure can have an impact on the protein aggregation and redistribution, and cause a partial cake collapse or micro-collapse. This investigation is really useful to define some limits of the control method used in this work

Vacuum-Induced Surface Freezing for the Freeze-Drying of the Human Growth Hormone: How Does Nucleation Control Affect Protein Stability?

Abstract In the present work, the effect of controlled nucleation on the stability of human growth hormone (hGH) during freeze-drying has been investigated. More specifically, the vacuum-induced surface freezing technique has been compared to conventional freezing, both with and without an annealing step. Size exclusion chromatography and cell-based potency assays have been used to characterize the formation of soluble aggregates and the biological activity of hGH, respectively. The results obtained indicate that controlled nucleation has a positive effect on both cycle performance and product homogeneity because of the formation of bigger ice crystals, and characterized by a narrower dimensional distribution. From the point of view of hGH stability, we observed that vacuum-induced surface freezing is not detrimental to the biological activity of the protein, or aggregate formation. In addition, the effect of 2 different formulations, including trehalose or cellobiose, on protein preservation was also considered for this study

At the cutting edge against cancer: A perspective on immunoproteasome and immune checkpoints modulation as a potential therapeutic intervention

Simple Summary:& nbsp;Immunoproteasome plays a key role in the generation of antigenic peptides. Immune checkpoints therapy is a front-line treatment of advanced/metastatic tumors, and to improve its efficacy, a broader knowledge of the dynamics of antigen repertoire processing by cancer cells is mandatory. The scope of this review is to offer a picture of the role of immunoproteasome in antigen presentation to fuel the hypothesis of novel therapeutic interventions based on the modulation of this proteolytic complex and immune checkpoints.Immunoproteasome is a noncanonical form of proteasome with enzymological properties optimized for the generation of antigenic peptides presented in complex with class I MHC molecules. This enzymatic property makes the modulation of its activity a promising area of research. Nevertheless, immunotherapy has emerged as a front-line treatment of advanced/metastatic tumors providing outstanding improvement of life expectancy, even though not all patients achieve a long-lasting clinical benefit. To enhance the efficacy of the currently available immunotherapies and enable the development of new strategies, a broader knowledge of the dynamics of antigen repertoire processing by cancer cells is needed. Therefore, a better understanding of the role of immunoproteasome in antigen processing and of the therapeutic implication of its modulation is mandatory. Studies on the potential crosstalk between proteasome modulators and immune checkpoint inhibitors could provide novel perspectives and an unexplored treatment option for a variety of cancers

New perspectives on an “old” technique: Lipari obsidian and Neolithic communities investigated by Fission Track Dating

“Lipari obsidian and Neolithic human communities in the Aeolian islands” is a project aimed at studying the connection between obsidian flows on the island of Lipari and Neolithic populations on the Aeolian archipelago, in Italy. As it is well known, obsidian is of particular interest to trace prehistorical trading patterns; indeed, Lipari obsidian has the widest distribution and has been found in southern France, Dalmazia, Sicily and mainland Italy. The project outputs will give a general vision of both archaeological and volcanological aspects through thestratigraphic and radiometric dating of eruptions which produced obsidian, in relationship with the first phases of the human settlements and row material exploitation. To reach this goal, we are considering both raw materials (geological samples) from different flows and artifacts from Neolithic settlements (archaeological samples) on the Aeolian islands, and performing fission track dating to get the age of obsidian sources and artefacts. Obtained results are expected to shed some new light on the raw material procurement and on the ability of the Neolithic populations to move from their locations, with particular attention to the consequences of environmental features on the first human settlements on the Aeolian islands