Long-Range Order in Electronic Transport through Disordered Metal Films

Ultracold atom magnetic field microscopy enables the probing of current flow patterns in planar structures with unprecedented sensitivity. In polycrystalline metal (gold) films we observe long-range correlations forming organized patterns oriented at +/- 45 deg relative to the mean current flow, even at room temperature and at length scales orders of magnitude larger than the diffusion length or the grain size. The preference to form patterns at these angles is a direct consequence of universal scattering properties at defects. The observed amplitude of the current direction fluctuations scales inversely to that expected from the relative thickness variations, the grain size and the defect concentration, all determined independently by standard methods. This indicates that ultracold atom magnetometry enables new insight into the interplay between disorder and transport

Endoscopy-assisted tracheal reconstruction of post-traumatic obstruction in a cat: A case report

A domestic shorthair cat was referred with a history of dyspnoea and lethargy that had arisen gradually within the last few days. The cat had been hit by an automobile 10 days earlier. A thoracic radiograph suggested stenosis of the intrathoracic trachea, proximal to the tracheal bifurcation. Endoscopic examination confirmed a narrowing of the tracheal lumen due to the presence of a fibrotic ring, with remaining patent lumen of about 2 mm. A surgical treatment with a right lateral thoracotomy approach and resection of the narrowed portion of the trachea (a length of about 1 cm) was performed under endoscopic vision. The procedure was unsuccessful because of the size of the tissue removed and the laxity of the remaining tracheal tissue that caused dehiscence of sutures between the tracheal stump and tracheal bifurcation. After consultation with the cat\u2019s owners, an intraoperative euthanasia was performed

Designing potentials by sculpturing wires

Magnetic trapping potentials for atoms on atom chips are determined by the current flow in the chip wires. By modifying the shape of the conductor we can realize specialized current flow patterns and therefore micro-design the trapping potentials. We have demonstrated this by nano-machining an atom chip using the focused ion beam technique. We built a trap, a barrier and using a BEC as a probe we showed that by polishing the conductor edge the potential roughness on the selected wire can be reduced. Furthermore we give different other designs and discuss the creation of a 1D magnetic lattice on an atom chip.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

The ATLAS RPC ROD for Super LHC

The number of interactions per bunch crossing for the upgrade of the Large Hadron Collider is expected to be ten times greater than the actual one. As a consequence, the ATLAS detector for SLHC foresees the use of a larger number of readout channels and also a new trigger level is under development. In order to face with such issue, we developed a new architecture for the Read Out Driver (ROD) for the ATLAS RPC Muon Spectrometer in the barrel region. Presently, each ROD board receives ATLAS RPC Muon readout data and arranges all the data fragments of a sector of the spectrometer in a unique event, sending it to the next acquisition systems. Our new design is based on the new generation Xilinx Virtex5 FPGA and it works with a clock frequency six times greater than the actual bunch crossing rate of the LHC. We also implemented the output channel of the ROD, presently based on S-Link protocol, by using the GTP transceivers inside the FPGA. We present an overview of our design, focusing on the newly added hardware features

Exploiting Human NK Cells in Tumor Therapy

NK cells play an important role in the innate defenses against tumor growth and metastases. Human NK cell activation and function are regulated by an array of HLA class I-specific inhibitory receptors and activating receptors recognizing ligands expressed de novo on tumor or virus-infected cells. NK cells have been exploited in immunotherapy of cancer, including: (1) the in vivo infusion of IL-2 or IL-15, cytokines inducing activation and proliferation of NK cells that are frequently impaired in cancer patients. Nonetheless, the significant toxicity experienced, primarily with IL-2, limited their use except for combination therapies, e.g., IL-15 with checkpoint inhibitors; (2) the adoptive immunotherapy with cytokine-induced NK cells had effect on some melanoma metastases (lung), while other localizations were not affected; (3) a remarkable evolution of adoptive cell therapy is represented by NK cells engineered with CAR-targeting tumor antigens (CAR-NK). CAR-NK cells complement CAR-T cells as they do not cause GvHD and may be obtained from unrelated donors. Accordingly, CAR-NK cells may represent an \u201coff-the-shelf\u201d tool, readily available for effective tumor therapy; (4) the efficacy of adoptive cell therapy in cancer is also witnessed by the \u3b1\u3b2T cell- and B cell-depleted haploidentical HSC transplantation in which the infusion of donor NK cells and \u3b3\u3b4T cells, together with HSC, sharply reduces leukemia relapses and infections; (5) a true revolution in tumor therapy is the use of mAbs targeting checkpoint inhibitors including PD-1, CTLA-4, the HLA class I-specific KIR, and NKG2A. Since PD-1 is expressed not only by tumor-associated T cells but also by NK cells, its blocking might unleash NK cells playing a crucial effector role against HLA class I-deficient tumors that are undetectable by T cells

Utilities Substations in Smart District Heating Networks

Abstract In the last decades the concept of distributed generation – i.e. the installation of (electrical and/or thermal) energy production systems at the final users – was born and found gradually increasing diffusion. For what concerns the electrical production, the distributed generation systems are directly connected to the National Electricity Transmission Grid, allowing a bidirectional energy flux at the utilities and giving rise to the so-called smart grid. In this scenario and considering that, even thanks to the direction taken by European regulations, in the European territory there is already a large number of thermal power generation's distributed systems (e.g. solar thermal panels), in the near future the concept of smart grid could be extended to the heat sector, especially in relation to District Heating Networks (DHNs). As a consequence, with the aim of analyzing the penetration of this type of networks, several possible layouts for the exchange utilities' substation have been developed and will be presented in this study. Such layouts allow to optimize thermal exchange, as a function of network design temperatures (for both the supply and the return), of utilities' thermal power requirement and depending on the characteristics of the production system

Ultrasonographic measurements of abdominal lymph nodes in growing puppies

The sonographic appearance of the normal abdominal lymph nodes in adult dogs has been well described, but the data in puppies are scarce and of poor quality. The aim of the current study was to evaluate any differences in abdominal lymph node sonographic measurements in puppies of various sizes and to determine whether any differences were correlated with growth and weight gain during the first 10 weeks of life. By an approach based on prospective and serial measurements, length, width and thickness of jejunal, medial iliac and hypogastric nodes were obtained in twenty-one healthy puppies of various sizes, at six (T0), eight (T1) and ten (T2) weeks of age. The relationship between body weight and length, width and thickness of lymph nodes was evaluated using a Pearson correlation analysis. An ANOVA test was used to compare the measurements at different ages. Jejunal and iliac lymph nodes were the largest in large breed dogs. In large-sized puppies only the length of the jejunal lymph nodes correlated positively with width and body weight. Length of medial iliac lymph nodes correlated positively with width and body weight in all three sizes. None of the measurements of hypogastric lymph nodes were related to body weight. In large-sized puppies jejunal and iliac lymph nodes increased in length and width with age; in medium-sized puppies only iliac lymph nodes increased; in small-sized puppies jejunal and iliac lymph nodes significantly decreased in length and thickness. In conclusion, the lymph node sizes in young animals are directly related to body weight and do not decrease with growth during the first 10 weeks of life, except in small-sized puppies

Combined surgical and endoscopic approach for the reduction of a congenital hiatal hernia in a cat: a case report

A case of surgical resolution of type I or \u201csliding\u201d hiatal hernia is reported. A seven-month-old kitten was presented because of abdominal discomfort, accelerated breathing after eating and chronic vomiting. The clinical examination was unremarkable. Thoracic radiographs and gastroscopy led to the diagnosis of type I hiatal hernia. The surgical resolution consisted of hiatal plication, oesophagopexy and left-flank incisional gastropexy. All procedures were carried out using a 6 mm videoendoscope positioned in the stomach to evaluate the right oesophago-gastric junction reduction. One week after surgery there was a recurrence of symptoms and a second laparotomy was performed. During the second surgery additional hiatal plication was necessary and an oesophagopexy was repeated after dissection of the phrenico-oesophageal ligament. Moreover, a new incisional gastropexy was carried out after resolution of the first one. The cat recovered without complications and at oneyear follow-up did show no signs related to the hiatal hernia. This communication reports on possible additional surgical techniques in cases of type I hiatal hernia and contributes to an understanding of the importance of oesophagopexy in cases of hiatus malformation

Perforated duodenal ulcer in a dog with gallbladder agenesis

Background: Duodenal ulceration (DU) in dogs derives from different causes but has never previously been related to gallbladder agenesis (GA). GA is a rare congenital disorder in dogs and is considered a predisposing factor for DU in humans. Case description: A 5-month-old intact female Maltese was presented for acute vomiting and diarrhea. Abdominal ultrasound suggested duodenal perforation and absence of the gallbladder. Exploratory laparotomy was performed to treat the perforation and confirmed GA. Hepatic ductal plate malformation (DPM) was histologically diagnosed in liver biopsy, but no signs of liver dysfunction were detected by blood work at first admission. Two months later, the dog developed signs of portal hypertension and medical treatment was started. However, the clinical condition gradually worsened until liver failure and the dog was euthanized 8 months after surgery. Necropsy confirmed hepatic abnormalities. Conclusion: This report describes a case of DU associated with GA and DPM in a dog. As in humans, GA may represent a hepatobiliary disease predisposing to gastroduodenal ulcerations