Laue Lens Development for Hard X-rays (>60 keV)

Results of reflectivity measurements of mosaic crystal samples of Cu (111) are reported. These tests were performed in the context of a feasibility study of a hard X-ray focusing telescope for space astronomy with energy passband from 60 to 600 keV. The technique envisaged is that of using mosaic crystals in transmission configuration that diffract X-rays for Bragg diffraction (Laue lens). The Laue lens assumed has a spherical shape with focal length $f$. It is made of flat mosaic crystal tiles suitably positioned in the lens. The samples were grown and worked for this project at the Institute Laue-Langevin (ILL) in Grenoble (France), while the reflectivity tests were performed at the X-ray facility of the Physics Department of the University of Ferrara.Comment: 6 pages, 12 figures, accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Scienc

Evaluating the Impact of PSA as a Selection Criteria for Nerve Sparing Radical Prostatectomy in a Screened Cohort

Purpose. We investigated whether NS-RP increased risk of PSA failure and whether PSA should be included as a selection criterion for NS. Methods:. We evaluated 357 consecutive men with screen-detected PC who underwent open RP without adjuvant radiotherapy between 9/11/2001 and 12/30/2008. Criteria for NS included Gleason score ≤3 + 4, percentage of positive biopsies (PPB) ≤50%, percentage of core involvement ≤50%, nonapical location, no perineural invasion, and no palpable disease on pre- or intraoperative exam but did not include a PSA threshold. Cox multivariable regression assessed whether increasing PSA or unilateral- or bilateral-NS versus non-NS-RP was associated with PSA failure adjusting for prognostic factors. Results:. After a median follow-up of 3.96 years, 34 men sustained PSA failure (9.5%). Increasing PSA was significantly associated with increased risk of PSA failure in the interaction model (adjusted hazard ratio (AHR): 1.09 [95% CI: 1.03–1.16]; P = 0.005), whereas unilateral (AHR: 1.24 [95% CI: 0.36–4.34]; P = 0.73) or bilateral NS (AHR: 0.41 [95% CI: 0.06–2.59]; P = 0.34) versus non-NS RP was not. Conclusion:. NS-RP in a screened cohort did not increase risk of PSA failure using NS criteria not including PSA

Oxidative stress-mediated platelet CD40 ligand upregulation in patients with hypercholesterolemia: effect of atorvastatin

Objectives: We speculated that in patients with hypercholesterolemia CD40L overexpression could depend on low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-induced enhanced intraplatelet formation of O-2(.-) and statin could reduce platelet CD40L via interference with platelet O-2(.-) production. Background: CD40L is a protein with inflammatory and thrombotic properties. CD40L is upregulated in platelets from hypercholesterolemic (HC) patients but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Methods: Collagen-induced platelet CD40L and platelet O-2(.-) expression were investigated in 40 HC patients and 40 healthy subjects. HC patients were then randomized to either a diet (n = 20) (group A) or atorvastatin 10 mg day (n = 20) (group B); the above variables were measured at baseline and after 3 and 30 days of treatment. O-2(.-) and CD40L were also measured in vitro in LDL-treated platelets with or without nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase inhibitor or atorvastatin added. Results: Compared with controls, HC patients showed higher values of platelet CD40L (P < 0.001) and O-2(.-) (P < 0.001). Platelet CD40L was significantly correlated with O-2(.-) (P < 0.001). The interventional trial showed no changes in group A and a significant and parallel decrease in platelet CD40L (P < 0.001) and O-2(.-) (P < 0.001) in group B. In vitro studies demonstrated that LDL-induced platelet CD40L and GP IIb/IIIa (PAC1 binding) activation via the NADPH oxidase pathway. CD40L upregulation was counteracted by atorvastatin in a dose-dependent fashion. Conclusions: This study suggests that in patients with hypercholesterolemia platelet CD40L is upregulated via NADPH oxidase-dependent O-2(.-) generation. Atorvastatin downregulated CD40L with an oxidative stress-mediated mechanism likely involving platelet NADPH oxidase, an effect that seemed to be independent of its cholesterol-lowering action

Exploring the Hard X-/soft gamma-ray Continuum Spectra with Laue Lenses

The history of X-ray astronomy has shown that any advancement in our knowledge of the X-ray sky is strictly related to an increase in instrument sensitivity. At energies above 60 keV, there are interesting prospects for greatly improving the limiting sensitivity of the current generation of direct viewing telescopes (with or without coded masks), offered by the use of Laue lenses. We will discuss below the development status of a Hard X-Ray focusing Telescope (HAXTEL) based on Laue lenses with a broad bandpass (from 60 to 600 keV) for the study of the X-ray continuum of celestial sources. We show two examplesof multi-lens configurations with expected sensitivity orders of magnitude better ($\sim 1 \times 10^{-8}$ photons cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$ keV$^{-1}$ at 200 keV) than that achieved so far. With this unprecedented sensitivity, very exciting astrophysical prospects are opened.Comment: 4 pages, 10 figures, to be published in the Proc. of the 39th ESLAB Symosium, 19-21 April 200

New results on focusing of gamma-rays with Laue lenses

We report on new results on the development activity of broad band Laue lenses for hard X-/gamma-ray astronomy (70/100-600 keV). After the development of a first prototype, whose performance was presented at the SPIE conference on Astronomical Telescopes held last year in Marseille (Frontera et al. 2008), we have improved the lens assembling technology. We present the development status of the new lens prototype that is on the way to be assembled.Comment: 8 pages, 11 figures, to be Published in SPIE Proceedings, vol.7437-19, 200

Development status of a Laue lens project for gamma-ray astronomy

We report the status of the HAXTEL project, devoted to perform a design study and the development of a Laue lens prototype. After a summary of the major results of the design study, the approach adopted to develop a Demonstration Model of a Laue lens is discussed, the set up described, and some results presented.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, 2007 SPIE Conference on Optics for EUV, X-Ray, and Gamma-Ray Astronomy II

Feasibility study of a Laue lens for hard X-rays for space astronomy

We report on the feasibility study of a Laue lens for hard X-rays (>60 keV)based on mosaic crystals, for astrophysical applications. In particular we discuss the scientific motivations, its functioning principle, the procedure followed to select the suitable crystal materials, the criteria adopted to establish crystal dimensions and their distribution on the lens in order to obtain the best lens focusing capabilities, and the criteria for optimizing the lens effective area in a given passband. We also discuss the effects of misalignments of the crystal tiles due to unavoidable mechanical errors in assembling the lens. A software was developed to face all these topics and to evaluate the expected lens performance.Comment: 10 pages, corrected Fig. 1b and Fig. 2, which are wrong in the published version, corrected typo

The immune landscape of thyroid cancer in the context of immune checkpoint inhibition

Immune cells play critical roles in tumor prevention as well as initiation and progression. However, immune-resistant cancer cells can evade the immune system and proceed to form tumors. The normal microenvironment (immune cells, fibroblasts, blood and lymphatic vessels, and interstitial extracellular matrix (ECM)) maintains tissue homeostasis and prevents tumor initiation. Inflammatory mediators, reactive oxygen species, cytokines, and chemokines from an altered microenvironment promote tumor growth. During the last decade, thyroid cancer, the most frequent cancer of the endocrine system, has emerged as the fifth most incident cancer in the United States (USA), and its incidence is steadily growing. Inflammation has long been associated with thyroid cancer, raising critical questions about the role of immune cells in its pathogenesis. A plethora of immune cells and their mediators are present in the thyroid cancer ecosystem. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) targeting immune checkpoints, such as mAbs anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen 4 (anti-CTLA-4) and anti-programmed cell death protein-1/programmed cell death ligand-1 (anti-PD-1/PD-L1), have revolutionized the treatment of many malignancies, but they induce thyroid dysfunction in up to 10% of patients, presumably by enhancing autoimmunity. Combination strategies involving immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) with tyrosine kinase (TK) or serine/threonine protein kinase B-raf (BRAF) inhibitors are showing considerable promise in the treatment of advanced thyroid cancer. This review illustrates how different immune cells contribute to thyroid cancer development and the rationale for the antitumor effects of ICIs in combination with BRAF/TK inhibitors

Albumin supplementation dampens hypercoagulability in COVID-19. A preliminary report

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is characterized by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2) needing mechanical ventilation and intensive care unit (ICU) treatment. In addition to lung disease, clinical features of SARS-CoV-2 include myocardial damage and ischemia-related vascular disease, which are associated with a hypercoagulable state (e.g., high D-dimer levels) predisposing to thrombotic-related complications and eventually death.1–3 Serum albumin levels &lt;3.5 g/dL are detectable in SARS-CoV-2 patients and associated with death4 and elevated D-dimer and thrombotic events,5 which is in accordance with previous studies reporting an association between serum albumin &lt;3.5 g/dL and risk of venous and arterial thrombosis.6 Thus, we tested the hypothesis that albumin supplementation could dampen hypercoagulability in SARS-CoV-2 with serum albumin &lt;3.5 g/dL. This is an observational cohort study performed at a large university hospital located in Rome and Chieti (Italy) and devoted to COVID-19 care

Measurement of the ϕ→π0e+e−\phi \to \pi^0 e^+e^- transition form factor with the KLOE detector

A measurement of the vector to pseudoscalar conversion decay $\phi \to \pi^0 e^+e^-$ with the KLOE experiment is presented. A sample of $\sim 9500$ signal events was selected from a data set of 1.7 fb$^{-1}$ of $e^+e^-$ collisions at $\sqrt{s} \sim m_{\phi}$ collected at the DA$\Phi$NE $e^+e^-$ collider. These events were used to obtain the first measurement of the transition form factor $| F_{\phi \pi^0}(q^2) |$ and a new measurement of the branching ratio of the decay: $\rm{BR}\,(\phi \to \pi^0 e^+e^-) = (\,1.35 \pm 0.05^{\,\,+0.05}_{\,\,-0.10}\,) \times 10 ^{-5}$. The result improves significantly on previous measurements and is in agreement with theoretical predictions.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures; matches published versio