Small Angle Scattering and Zeta Potential of Liposomes Loaded with Octa(carboranyl)porphyrazine

In this work the physicochemical characterization of liposomes loaded with a newly synthesised carboranyl porphyrazine (H2HECASPz) is described. This molecule represents a potential drug for different anticancer therapies, such as Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, Photodynamic Therapy and Photothermal Therapy. Different loading methods and different lipid mixtures were tested. The corresponding loaded vectors were studied by Small Angle Scattering (SANS and SAXS), light scattering and zeta potential. The combined analysis of structural data at various length scales and the measurement of the surface charge allowed to obtain a detailed characterization of the investigated systems. The mechanisms underlying the onset of differences in relevant physicochemical parameters (size, polydispersity and charge) were also critically discussed

Exploring nasopharyngeal microbiota profile in children affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection

The relationship between COVID-19 and nasopharyngeal (NP) microbiota has been investigated mainly in the adult population. We explored the NP profile of children affected by COVID-19, compared to healthy controls (CTRLs). NP swabs of children with COVID-19, collected between March and September 2020, were investigated at the admission (T-0), 72 h to 7 days (T-1), and at the discharge (T-2) of the patients. NP microbiota was analyzed by 16S rRNA targeted-metagenomics. Data from sequencing were investigated by QIIME 2.0 and PICRUSt 2. Multiple machine learning (ML) models were exploited to classify patients compared to CTRLs. The NP microbiota of COVID-19 patients (N = 71) was characterized by reduction of alpha-diversity compared to CTRLs (N = 59). The NP microbiota of COVID-19 cohort appeared significantly enriched in Streptococcus, Haemophilus, Staphylococcus, Veillonella, Enterococcus, Neisseria, Moraxella, Enterobacteriaceae, Gemella, Bacillus, and reduced in Faecalibacterium, Akkermansia, Blautia, Bifidobacterium, Ruminococcus, and Bacteroides, compared to CTRLs (FDR < 0.001). Exploiting ML models, Enterococcus, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Capnocytopagha, Tepidiphilus, Porphyromonas, Staphylococcus, and Veillonella resulted as NP microbiota biomarkers, in COVID-19 patients. No statistically significant differences were found comparing the NP microbiota profile of COVID-19 patients during the time-points or grouping patients on the basis of high, medium, and low viral load (VL). This evidence provides specific pathobiont signatures of the NP microbiota in pediatric COVID-19 patients, and the reduction of anaerobic protective commensals. Our data suggest that the NP microbiota may have a specific disease-related signature since infection onset without changes during disease progression, regardless of the SARS-CoV-2 VL. IMPORTANCE Since the beginning of pandemic, we know that children are less susceptible to severe COVID-19 disease. A potential role of the nasopharyngeal (NP) microbiota has been hypothesized but to date, most of the studies have been focused on adults. We studied the NP microbiota modifications in children affected by SARS-CoV-2 infection showing a specific NP microbiome profile, mainly composed by pathobionts and almost missing protective anaerobic commensals. Moreover, in our study, specific microbial signatures appear since the first days of infection independently from SARS-CoV-2 viral load

Design of single spoke resonantors for Project X

Project X is based on a 3 GeV CW superconducting linac and is currently in the R&D phase awaiting CD-0 approval. The low-energy section of the Project X H{sup -} linac includes three types of super-conducting single spoke cavities operating at 325 MHz. SSR0 (18 cavities), SSR1 (20 cavities) and SSR2 (44 cavities) have a geometrical beta of {beta} = 0.11, 0.21 and 0.4 respectively. Single spoke cavities were selected for the linac in virtue of their higher r/Q values compared to standard Half Wave Resonator. Quarter Wave Resonators were not considered for such a high frequency. In this paper we present the decisions and analyses that lead to the final design of SSR0. Electro-magnetic and mechanical finite element analyses were performed with the purpose of optimizing the electro-magnetic design, minimizing frequency shifts due to helium bath pressure fluctuations and providing a pressure rating for the resonators that allow their use in the cryomodules

Raman Lidar for Meteorological Observations, RALMO - Part 1: Instrument description

A new Raman lidar for unattended, round-the-clock measurement of vertical water vapor profiles for operational use by the MeteoSwiss has been developed during the past years by the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne. The lidar uses narrow field-of-view, narrowband configuration, a UV laser, and four 30 cm in diameter mirrors, fiber-coupled to a grating polychromator. The optical design allows water vapor retrieval from the incomplete overlap region without instrument-specific range-dependent corrections. The daytime vertical range covers the mid-troposphere, whereas the nighttime range extends to the tropopause. The near range coverage is extended down to 100 m AGL by the use of an additional fiber in one of the telescopes. This paper describes the system layout and technical realization. Day- and nighttime lidar profiles compared to Vaisala RS92 and Snow White® profiles and a six-day continuous observation are presented as an illustration of the lidar measurement capability

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying to a bb pair in events with one charged lepton and large missing transverse energy using the full CDF data set

We present a search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a W boson in sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV p-pbar collision data collected with the CDF II detector at the Tevatron corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9.45 fb-1. In events consistent with the decay of the Higgs boson to a bottom-quark pair and the W boson to an electron or muon and a neutrino, we set 95% credibility level upper limits on the WH production cross section times the H->bb branching ratio as a function of Higgs boson mass. At a Higgs boson mass of 125 GeV/c2 we observe (expect) a limit of 4.9 (2.8) times the standard model value.Comment: Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett (v2 contains clarifications suggested by PRL

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying to a bbˉb\bar{b} pair in events with no charged leptons and large missing transverse energy using the full CDF data set

We report on a search for the standard model Higgs boson produced in association with a vector boson in the full data set of proton-antiproton collisions at $\sqrt{s} = 1.96$ TeV recorded by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 9.45 fb$^{-1}$. We consider events having no identified charged lepton, a transverse energy imbalance, and two or three jets, of which at least one is consistent with originating from the decay of a $b$ quark. We place 95% credibility level upper limits on the production cross section times standard model branching fraction for several mass hypotheses between 90 and $150 \mathrm{GeV}/c^2$. For a Higgs boson mass of $125 \mathrm{GeV}/c^2$, the observed (expected) limit is 6.7 (3.6) times the standard model prediction.Comment: Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let