The ALICE electromagnetic calorimeter high level triggers

The ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) detector yields a huge sample of data from different sub-detectors. On-line data processing is applied to select and reduce the volume of the stored data. ALICE applies a multi-level hardware trigger scheme where fast detectors are used to feed a three-level (L0, L1, and L2) deep chain. The High-Level Trigger (HLT) is a fourth filtering stage sitting logically between the L2 trigger and the data acquisition event building. The EMCal detector comprises a large area electromagnetic calorimeter that extends the momentum measurement of photons and neutral mesons up to $p_T=250$ GeV/c, which improves the ALICE capability to perform jet reconstruction with measurement of the neutral energy component of jets. An online reconstruction and trigger chain has been developed within the HLT framework to sharpen the EMCal hardware triggers, by combining the central barrel tracking information with the shower reconstruction (clusters) in the calorimeter. In the present report the status and the functionality of the software components developed for the EMCal HLT online reconstruction and trigger chain will be discussed, as well as preliminary results from their commissioning performed during the 2011 LHC running period.Comment: Proceeding for the CHEP 2012 Conferenc

Nasal cellularity in 183 unselected schoolchildren aged 9 to 11 years

Although rhinitis is extremely frequent in children, methods for assessing the severity of nasal inflammation produce results with wide variability and hence weak clinical significance. We designed this epidemiologic investigation to define the clinical usefulness of assessing nasal cellularity in children

Sulfoglycolipids analogues as new molecules for tumor treatment

The sulfoglycolipids sulfoquinovosylacylglycerols(SQAG) are abundant sulfur-containing glycerolipids that are associated with photosynthetic organisms especially with a large number of marine algae. Their main structural feature is the anionic head group constituent sulfoquinovose, a derivative of glucose in which the 6-hydroxyl is replaced by a sulfonate group, \uf061-linked to the sn-3 position of a diacylglycerol1. Recently reported biological activities of SQAGs, including inhibitory effects on HIV-reverse transcriptase, and mammalian DNA polymerase, proliferation of some cancer cell lines, angiogenesis (especially when coupled with tumor radiotherapy), and apoptosis induction, make these compounds very attractive for their potential in cancer therapy. Also, extractive SQAG mixtures are known to inhibit in vitro TPA induced tumor promotion stage. To obtain new active compounds for cancer therapy by structural modification of natural SQAGs, SQAG analogues have been synthesized in which the sulfoquinovose moiety is linked to the 2 position of glycerol carrying acyl chains of different length. Similar compounds in fact, with a 6\u2019-hydroxyl instead of a 6\u2019-sulfonate (namely some glycoglycerolipid analogues), are known to be active as anti-tumor-promoters in TPA promoted carcinogenesis in vitro and in vivo experiments. A synthetic strategy has been used to selectively insert the proper chemical functionalities (i.e. sulfonate and acyl chains) at the desired positions of the previously prepared glucosylglycerol skeleton to obtain the target compounds. Biological evaluation of anti-tumor activities will be performed including the study of their chemopreventing potential

A strontium isoscape of Italy for provenance studies

We present a novel database of biological and geological 87Sr/86Sr values (n = 1920) from Italy, using literature data and newly analysed samples, for provenance purposes. We collected both bioavailable and non-bioavailable (i.e. rocks and bulk soils) data to attain a broader view of the Sr isotope variability of the Italian territory. These data were used to build isotope variability maps, namely isoscapes, through Kriging interpolations. We employed two different Kriging models, namely Ordinary Kriging and Universal Kriging, with a geolithological map of Italy categorized in isotope classes as external predictor. Model performances were evaluated through a 10-fold cross validation, yielding accurate 87Sr/86Sr predictions with root mean squared errors (RMSE) ranging between 0.0020 and 0.0024, dependent on the Kriging model and the sample class. Overall, the produced maps highlight a heterogeneous distribution of the 87Sr/86Sr across Italy, with the highest radiogenic values (>0.71) mainly localized in three areas, namely the Alps (Northern Italy), the Tuscany/Latium (Central Italy) and Calabria/Sicily (Southern Italy) magmatic/metamorphic terrains. The rest of the peninsula is characterized by values ranging between 0.707 and 0.710, mostly linked to sedimentary geological units of mixed nature. Finally, we took advantage of the case study of Fratta Polesine, to underscore the importance of choosing appropriate samples when building the local isoscape and of exploring different end-members when interpreting the local Sr isotope variability in mobility and provenance studies. Our user-friendly maps and database are freely accessible through the Geonode platform and will be updated over time to offer a state-of-the-art reference in mobility and provenance studies across the Italian landscape

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of sulfoquinovosylmonoacylglycerols (SQMG) as anti-tumor-promoters

During our search for new glycoglycerolipids active in cancer chemoprevention, in recent years we have synthesized a number of esters of 2-O-beta-D-glycosylglycerols in which the length, shape, number and position of the acyl chain, and the type of sugar (alpha\uf020and beta glucose or galactose) were varied. These compounds were found to be very active in inhibiting the tumor-promoting activity of the phorbol ester TPA both in in vitro and in in vivo tests, being such activities mainly influenced by the changes of the acyl chains length. Sulfoquinovosylacylglycerols are acylated sulfoglycolipids in which sulfoquinovose (6-deoxy-6-sulfo-glucose) is alpha-linked to the sn-3 position of glycerol. These compounds exhibit noteworthy biological activities, that make them very attractive for their use in cancer therapy. Here we report the synthesis of 6\u2019-sulfo-derivatives (SQMG) based on the skeleton of 2-O-beta-D-glucosylglycerol to which previously synthesized biologically active glucoglycerolipid analogues are related. A chemoenzymatic strategy has been used to selectively insert the proper chemical functionalities (i.e. acyl chain) at the desired position of glucosylglycerol to obtain the target compounds. Their potential as anti-tumor-promoters will be also discussed

Polarization observables in high-energy deuteron photodisintegration within the Quark-Gluon Strings Model

Deuteron two-body photodisintegration is analysed within the framework of the Quark-Gluon Strings Model. The model describes fairly well the recent experimental data from TJNAF in the few GeV region. Angular distributions at different $\gamma$-energies are presented and the effect of a forward-backward asymmetry is discussed. New results from the QGSM for polarization observables from 1.5 -- 6 GeV are presented and compared with the available data.Comment: 3 pages, LaTeX, 4 postscript figures; contribution to QNP2002, Juelich, June 10-14, 200

Estimating mass-wasting processes in active earth slides – earth flows with time-series of High-Resolution DEMs from photogrammetry and airborne LiDAR

Abstract. This paper deals with the use of time-series of High-Resolution Digital Elevation Models (HR DEMs) obtained from photogrammetry and airborne LiDAR coupled with aerial photos, to analyse the magnitude of recently reactivated large scale earth slides – earth flows located in the northern Apennines of Italy. The landslides underwent complete reactivation between 2001 and 2006, causing civil protection emergencies. With the final aim to support hazard assessment and the planning of mitigation measures, high-resolution DEMs are used to identify, quantify and visualize depletion and accumulation in the slope resulting from the reactivation of the mass movements. This information allows to quantify mass wasting, i.e. the amount of landslide material that is wasted during reactivation events due to stream erosion along the slope and at its bottom, resulting in sediment discharge into the local fluvial system, and to assess the total volumetric magnitude of the events. By quantifying and visualising elevation changes at the slope scale, results are also a valuable support for the comprehension of geomorphological processes acting behind the evolution of the analysed landslides

Antibacterial β-Glucan/Zinc Oxide Nanocomposite Films for Wound Healing

Advanced antimicrobial biomaterials for wound healing applications are an active field of research for their potential in addressing severe and infected wounds and overcoming the threat of antimicrobial resistance. Beta-glucans have been used in the preparation of these materials for their bioactive properties, but very little progress has been made so far in producing biomedical devices entirely made of beta-glucans and in their integration with effective antimicrobial agents. In this work, a simple and eco-friendly method is used to produce flexible beta-glucan/nanostructured zinc oxide films, using glucans derived from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The properties of the films are characterized through scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, infrared and UV–visible spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and water absorption tests. Finally, the antibacterial properties of the nanostructured zinc oxide and of the composite films are assessed against Staphylococcus epidermidis and Escherichia coli, showing a marked effectiveness against the former. Overall, this study demonstrates how a novel bionanocomposite can be obtained towards the development of advanced wound healing devices

Supercritical solvent impregnation of different drugs in mesoporous nanostructured zno

Supercritical solvent impregnation (SSI) is a green unconventional technique for preparing amorphous drug formulations. A mesoporous nanostructured ZnO (mesoNsZnO) carrier with 8-nm pores, spherical-nanoparticle morphology, and an SSA of 75 m2/g has been synthesized and, for the first time, subjected to SSI with poorly water-soluble drugs. Ibuprofen (IBU), clotrimazole (CTZ), and hydrocortisone (HC) were selected as highly, moderately, and poorly CO2-soluble drugs. Powder X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption analysis, and ethanol extraction coupled with ultraviolet spectroscopy were employed to characterize the samples and quantify drug loading. Successful results were obtained with IBU and CTZ while HC loading was negligible, which could be related to different solubilities in CO2, drug size, and polarity. Successful SSI resulted in amorphous multilayer confinement of the drug. The mesoNsZnO-IBU system showed double drug loading than the mesoNsZnO-CTZ one, with a maximum uptake of 0.24 g/g. Variation of contact time during SSI of the mesoNsZnO-IBU system showed that drug loading triplicated between 3 and 8 h with an additional 30% increment between 8 h and 24 h. SSI did not affect the mesoNsZnO structure, and the presence of the adsorbed drug reduced the chemisorption of CO2 on the carrier surface