The COMPASS Event Store in 2002

COMPASS, the fixed-target experiment at CERN studying the structure of the nucleon and spectroscopy, collected over 260 TB during summer 2002 run. All these data, together with reconstructed events information, were put from the beginning in a database infrastructure based on Objectivity/DB and on the hierarchical storage manager CASTOR. The experience in the usage of the database is reviewed and the evolution of the system outlined.Comment: Talk from the 2003 conference: "Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics" (CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 6 pages. PSN MOKT01

Surface modification of silicate, borosilicate and phosphate bioactive glasses to improve/control protein adsorption: PART I

Bioactive glasses (BGs) are promising for bone tissue regeneration. BG composition can be tailored, according to the application of interest, and/or functionalized with organic molecules/biomolecules to improve their performances. However, despite the wide knowledge concerning BGs, their interaction with proteins, fundamental for controlling the fate of the implant, has not been deeply investigated yet. Controlling or predicting protein adsorption requires a full understanding of the materials surface physico-chemical properties. In this work, four different BGs (S53P4, B25, SCNB, PhGlass) were surface-modified by four different treatments: 72 h-soaking in TRIS, 72 h soaking in simulated body fluid, APTES grafting and quaternized APTES grafting. The surfaces were then characterized both untreated and after each treatment by contact angle, zeta potential analysis, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Fourier Transform InfraRed–Attenuated Total Reflectance spectroscopy and Scanning Electron Microscopy and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy. Inductively Coupled Plasma – Optical Emission Spectrometry was then performed to investigate the ion leaching. The aim of this study (Part I) is the physico-chemical characterization of BGs as a function of the implemented treatments, aiming to better understand how the superficial properties are successively affecting protein adsorption. Protein adsorption on untreated and treated BGs will be discussed in a following manuscript (Part II)

Prognostic role of chromosome 9P deletion in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma

Not availabl

Exercise prescription to improve clinical practice on cancer patients suffering chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy undergoing treatment: a systematic review

This document aims to summarize and analyze systematically the current body of evidence about the effects of specific exercise proto- cols on physical function, balance control and quality of life in patients with peripheral neuropathy (PNP) induced by chemotherapy. Methods: Systematic Review, Literature survey Specific terms were identified for the literature research in MEDLINE, Scopus, Bandolier, PEDro, and Web of Science. Only studies pub- lished in peer-reviewed journals written in English language were considered. Four manuscripts were classified as eligible with 88 total participants, with an average of 57.1 years old. Quality appraisal classified two studies as high quality investigations while two with low quality. Results were summarized in the following domains: \u201cCIPN symptoms\u201d, \u201cStatic balance control\u201d, \u201cDynamic balance control\u201d, \u201cQuali- ty of life and Physical function\u201d. Results Specific exercise protocols were able to counteract common symptoms of chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) during chemotherapy treatments. Significant improvements were detected on postural control. Additionally, patients\u2019 quality of life and inde- pendence were found ameliorated after exercise sessions, together with reductions on altered sensations and in other peripheral neu- ropathy symptoms. Combined exercise protocols including endurance, strength and sensorimotor training showed larger improvements. Conclusions Exercise prescriptions for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy with CIPN symptoms should be recommended since these exercise interventions appeared as feasible and have been demonstrated as useful tools to counteract some common side effects of chemother- apeutic agents

Synthesis and cytotoxicity studies of Cu(I) and Ag(I) complexes based on sterically hindered β-diketonates with different degrees of fluorination

Design, synthesis, and in vitro antitumor properties of Cu(i) and Ag(i) phosphane complexes supported by the anions of sterically hindered & beta;-diketone ligands, 1,3-dimesitylpropane-1,3-dione (HLMes) and 1,3-bis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)-3-hydroxyprop-2-en-1-one (HLCF3) featuring trifluoromethyl or methyl groups on the phenyl moieties have been reported. In order to compare the biological effects of substituents on the phenyl moieties, the analogous copper(i) and silver(i) complexes of the anion of the parent 1,3-diphenylpropane-1,3-dione (HLPh) ligand were also synthesized and included in the study. In the syntheses of the Cu(i) and Ag(i) complexes, the phosphane coligands triphenylphosphine (PPh3) and 1,3,5-triaza-7-phosphaadamantane (PTA) were used to stabilize silver and copper in the +1 oxidation state, preventing the metal ion reduction to Ag(0) or oxidation to Cu(ii), respectively. X-ray crystal structures of HLCF3 and the metal adducts [Cu(L-CF3)(PPh3)(2)] and [Ag(L-Ph)(PPh3)(2)] are also presented. The antitumor properties of both classes of metal complexes were evaluated against a series of human tumor cell lines derived from different solid tumors, by means of both 2D and 3D cell viability studies. They display noteworthy antitumor properties and are more potent than cisplatin in inhibiting cancer cell growth

Catalytic processing in ruthenium-based polyoxometalate coacervate protocells

The development of programmable microscale materials with cell-like functions, dynamics and collective behaviour is an important milestone in systems chemistry, soft matter bioengineering and synthetic protobiology. Here, polymer/nucleotide coacervate micro-droplets are reconfigured into membrane-bounded polyoxometalate coacervate vesicles (PCVs) in the presence of a bio-inspired Ru-based polyoxometalate catalyst to produce synzyme protocells (Ru4PCVs) with catalase-like activity. We exploit the synthetic protocells for the implementation of multi-compartmentalized cell-like models capable of collective synzyme-mediated buoyancy, parallel catalytic processing in individual horseradish peroxidase-containing Ru4PCVs, and chemical signalling in distributed or encapsulated multi-catalytic protocell communities. Our results highlight a new type of catalytic micro-compartment with multi-functional activity and provide a step towards the development of protocell reaction networks. \ua9 2020, The Author(s)

Defining the Characteristics of Story Production of Autistic Children: A Multilevel Analysis

Several studies suggest that a valuable tool to examine linguistic skills in communication disorders is offered by procedures of narrative discourse assessment. Following this line of research, we present an exploratory study aimed to investigate storytelling abilities of autistic children to better define the characteristics of their story production. Participants included 41 autistic children and 41 children with typical development aged between 7.02 and 11.03 years matched on age, gender, level of formal education, intelligence quotient, working memory, attention skills, theory of mind, and phonological short-term memory. Narrative production was assessed by analysing the language samples obtained through the “Nest Story” description task. A multilevel analysis including micro- and macro-linguistic variables was adopted for narrative assessment. Group differences emerged on both micro- and macro-linguistic dimensions: autistic children produced narratives with more phonological errors and semantic paraphasias (microlinguistic variables) as well as more errors of global coherence and a fewer number of visible events and inferred events (macrolinguistic variables) than the control group.This study shows that even autistic children with adequate cognitive skills display several limitations in their narrative competence and that such weaknesses affect both micro- and macrolinguistic aspects of story production