355 research outputs found
Quantum mechanical ab-initio simulation of the electron screening effect in metal deuteride crystals
In antecedent experiments the electron screening energies of the d+d
reactions in metallic environments have been determined to be enhanced by an
order of magnitude in comparison to the case of gaseous deuterium targets. The
analytical models describing averaged material properties have not been able to
explain the experimental results so far. Therefore, a first effort has been
undertaken to simulate the dynamics of reacting deuterons in a metallic lattice
by means of an ab-initio Hartree-Fock calculation of the total electrostatic
force between the lattice and the successively approaching deuterons via path
integration. The calculations have been performed for Li and Ta, clearly
showing a migration of electrons from host metallic to the deuterium atoms.
However, in order to avoid more of the necessary simplifications in the model
the utilization of a massive parallel supercomputer would be required.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figures, svjour class. To be published in Eur. Phys. J.
Small oligonucleotides detection in three-dimensional polymer network of dna-peg hydrogels
The control of the three-dimensional (3D) polymer network structure is important for permselective materials when specific biomolecule detection is needed. Here we investigate conditions to obtain a tailored hydrogel network that combines both molecular filtering and molecular capture capabilities for biosensing applications. Along this line, short oligonucleotide detection in a displacement assay is set within PEGDA hydrogels synthetized by UV radical photopolymerization. To provide insights on the molecular filter capability, diffusion studies of several probes (sulforho-damine G and dextrans) with different hydrodynamic radii were carried out using NMR technique. Moreover, fluorometric analyses of hybridization of DNA oligonucleotides inside PEGDA hydrogels shed light on the mechanisms of recognition in 3D, highlighting that mesh size and crowding effect greatly impact the hybridization mechanism on a polymer network. Finally, we found the best probe density and diffusion transport conditions to allow the specific oligonucleotide capture and detection inside PEGDA hydrogels for oligonucleotide detection and the filtering out of higher molecular weight molecules
Anomalous enhancements of low-energy fusion rates in plasmas: the role of ion momentum distributions and inhomogeneous screening
Non-resonant fusion cross-sections significantly higher than corresponding
theoretical predictions are observed in low-energy experiments with deuterated
matrix target. Models based on thermal effects, electron screening, or
quantum-effect dispersion relations have been proposed to explain these
anomalous results: none of them appears to satisfactory reproduce the
experiments. Velocity distributions are fundamental for the reaction rates and
deviations from the Maxwellian limit could play a central role in explaining
the enhancement. We examine two effects: an increase of the tail of the target
Deuteron momentum distribution due to the Galitskii-Yakimets quantum
uncertainty effect, which broadens the energy-momentum relation; and spatial
fluctuations of the Debye-H\"{u}ckel radius leading to an effective increase of
electron screening. Either effect leads to larger reaction rates especially
large at energies below a few keV, reducing the discrepancy between
observations and theoretical expectations.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure
Motor imagery, perspective taking and gender differences: A VVIQ2-based study
Scientific literature highlighted gender differences in spatial orientation. In particular, men and women differ in terms of the navigational processes they use in daily life. Scientific literature highlighted that women use analytical strategies while men tend to use holistic strategies. Furthermore, studies exploring gender differences in self-reported dream perspectives reported that women dream mainly in first person and men mainly in third person. This work used Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire-2 to verify if gender differences in perspective taking last also in motor imagery practice. The aim of VVIQ2 questionnaire is to determine the vividness of movement imagery. In the VVIQ2, the image can be obtained watching oneself while performing the movement from an external point of view (External Visual Imagery), or from an internal point of view, as if you were looking out through your own eyes while performing the movement (Internal Visual Imagery). The Questionnaire was administered to students of Sports Sciences Degree from University of Salern
Screening enhancement factors for laboratory CNO and rp astrophysical reactions
Cross sections of laboratory CNO and rp astrophysical reactions are enhanced
due to the presence of the multi-electron cloud that surrounds the target
nuclei. As a result the relevant astrophysical factors are overestimated unless
corrected appropriately. This study gives both an estimate of the error
committed if screening effects are not taken into account and a rough profile
of the laboratory energy thresholds at which the screening effect appears. The
results indicate that, for most practical purposes, screening corrections to
past relevant experiments can be disregarded. Regarding future experiments,
however, screening corrections to the CNO reactions will certainly be of
importance as they are closely related to the solar neutrino fluxes and the rp
process. Moreover, according to the present results, screening effects will
have to be taken into account particularly by the current and future LUNA
experiments, where screened astrophysical factors will be enhanced to a
significant degree.Comment: 6 RevTex pages + 2 ps figures. (Revised version). Accepted for
publication in Journal of Physics
Lymphocyte subsets recovery following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT): CD4+ cell count and transplant-related mortality
A revised day +7 predictive score for transplant-related mortality: serum cholinesterase, total protein, blood urea nitrogen, Îł glutamyl transferase, donor type and cell dose
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Probing the Residual Structure in Avian Prion Hexarepeats by CD, NMR and MD Techniques
Many proteins perform essential biological functions by means of regions that lacking specific organized structure exist as an ensemble of interconverting transient conformers. The characterization of such regions, including the description of their structural propensities, number of conformations and relative populations can provide useful insights. Prion diseases result from the conversion of a normal glycoprotein into a misfolded pathogenic isoform. The structures of mammal and chicken prion proteins show a similar fold with a globular domain and a flexible N-terminal portion that contains different repeated regions: octarepeats (PHGGGWGQ) in mammals and hexarepeats (PHNPGY) in chickens. The higher number of prolines in the hexarepeat region suggests that this region may retain a significant amount of residual secondary structure. Here, we report the CD, NMR and MD characterization of a peptide (2-HexaPY) composed of two hexarepeats. We combine experimental NMR data and MD to investigate at atomic level its ensemble-averaged structural properties, demonstrating how each residue of both repeats has a different quantified PPII propensity that shows a periodicity along the sequence. This feature explains the absence of cooperativity to stabilize a PPII conformation. Nonetheless, such residual structure can play a role in nucleating local structural transitions as well as modulating intra-molecular or inter-molecular interactions
GVHD occurrence does not reduce AML relapse following PTCy-based haploidentical transplantation: a study from the ALWP of the EBMT
The association between graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurrence and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) relapse in patients treated with HLA-haploidentical allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (Haplo-HCT) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy)-based GVHD prophylaxis has remained debated. Here, we addressed this issue in patients with active AML at transplantation. 2-year cumulative incidences of relapse and leukemia-free survival (LFS) were 49% and 32.3%, respectively. There were no associations between acute nor chronic GVHD of any grade and lower relapse incidence. However, grade I acute GVHD was associated with better LFS (HR = 0.71, 95% CI 0.51–0.99, P = 0.04). In contrast, grade III–IV acute (HR = 3.09, 95% CI 1.87–5.12, P < 0.0001) as well as extensive chronic (HR = 3.3, 95% CI 1.81–6.04, P = 0.0001) GVHD correlated with higher nonrelapse mortality leading to lower LFS (HR = 1.36, 95% CI 0.99–1.86, P = 0.056 and HR = 1.97, 95% CI 1.35–2.89, P = 0.0004, respectively). In conclusion, these data suggest a dissociation of graft-versus-leukemia effects from GVHD in patients with active AML treated with PTCy-based Haplo-HCT
Fusion rate enhancement due to energy spread of colliding nuclei
Experimental results for sub-barrier nuclear fusion reactions show cross
section enhancements with respect to bare nuclei which are generally larger
than those expected according to electron screening calculations. We point out
that energy spread of target or projectile nuclei is a mechanism which
generally provides fusion enhancement. We present a general formula for
calculating the enhancement factor and we provide quantitative estimate for
effects due to thermal motion, vibrations inside atomic, molecular or crystal
system, and due to finite beam energy width. All these effects are marginal at
the energies which are presently measurable, however they have to be considered
in future experiments at still lower energies. This study allows to exclude
several effects as possible explanation of the observed anomalous fusion
enhancements, which remain a mistery.Comment: 17 pages with 3 ps figure included. Revtex styl
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