Determination of the inhibitory effects of microdiets used in routine commercial feeding protocols on protease activities of Argyrosomus regius (Asso, 1801) larva

The aim of this study was to determine the inhibitory effects of feed ingredients on protease activities of Argyrosomus regius larvae using in vitro techniques. A. regius larvae fed on a commercial feeding procedure were sampled thirteen times, during the sampling period (from 3 to 32 days after hatching (DAH)). The differences observed in protease activities of meagre larvae during the sampling period were statistically significant (p<0.05). The lowest and highest protease activities of meagre larvae were 5.95±0.6 U/mg protein (15 DAH) and 211.21±12.56 U/mg protein (7 DAH), respectively. The fluctuations observed in protease activities of A. regius larvae were between 10 DAH and 32 DAH. Commercial diets such as Orange Start-S (100-200µ), Orange Start-L (200-300µ), Orange Nurse-XS (300-500µ), Orange Grow-S (300-500µ) and Orange Grow-L (500-800µ) caused the inhibitions on protease activities in meagre larvae to range from 16 to 32 DAH. The results point to the inadequacy of commercial diets such as Orange Grow-S, Orange Grow-L and suitability of Orange Start-S, Orange Start-L, Orange Nurse-XS for feeding meagre larvae during the weaning stage. For the mass production of quality juveniles, future studies should take into account the inhibitory effects of commercial diets and feed ingredients before the manufacturing process. A similar approach may be used to determine the most suitable commercial diets for use during the weaning stages of marine fish larvae to obtain the best growth performance and survival

CP conserving constraints on Supersymmetric CP violation in the MSSM

We address the following question. Take the Constrained Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model (CMSSM) with the two CP violating SUSY phases different from zero, and neglect the bound coming from the electric dipole moment of the neutron (EDM): is it possible to fully account for CP violation in the kaon and B systems using only the SUSY contributions with vanishing CKM phase? We show that the ${BR}(B\to X_{s} \gamma)$ constraint, though CP conserving, forces a negative answer to the above question. This implies that, even in the regions of the CMSSM where a cancellation of different contributions to the EDM allows for large SUSY phases, it is not possible to exploit the SUSY phases to fully account for observable CP violation. Hence to have sizeable SUSY contributions to CP violation, one needs new flavor structures in the sfermion mass matrices beyond the usual CKM matrix

Quantum efficiency enhancement in nanocrystals using nonradiative energy transfer with optimized donor-acceptor ratio for hybrid LEDs

Cataloged from PDF version of article.The quantum efficiency enhancement in nanocrystal solids is critically important for their efficient use as luminophors on color-conversion light emitting diodes (LEDs). For this purpose, we investigate energy gradient mixture of nanocrystal solids for recycling their trapped excitons by varying their donor-acceptor nanocrystal ratios and study the resulting quantum efficiency enhancement as a function of the donor-acceptor ratio in the solid film for hybrid LEDs. We achieve a maximum quantum efficiency enhancement of 17% in these nanocrystal solids when the donor-acceptor ratio is 1:1, demonstrating their highly modified time-resolved photoluminescence decays to reveal the kinetics of strong energy transfer between them

CP Violation in SUSY

Supersymmetry exhibts new sources of CP violation. We discuss the implications of these new contributions to CP violation both in the K and B physics. We show that CP violation puts severe constraints on low energy SUSY, but it represents also a promising ground to look for signals of new physics.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures. Invited talk by A. Masiero at Ferrara 2000, CP violation physic

Plasmonic metamaterials and nanocomposites with the narrow transparency window effect in broad extinction spectra

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We propose and describe plasmonic nanomaterials with unique optical properties. These nanostructured materials strongly attenuate light across a broad wavelength interval ranged from 400 nm to S pm but exhibit a narrow transparency window centered at a given wavelength. The main elements used in our systems are nanorods and nanocrosses of variable sizes. The nanomaterial can be designed as a solution, nanocomposite film or metastructure. The principle of the formation of the transparency window in the broad extinction spectrum is based on the narrow lines of longitudinal plasmons of single nanorods and nanorod complexes. To realize the spectrum with a transmission window, we design a nanocomposite material as a mixture of nanorods of different sizes. Simultaneously, we exclude nanorods of certain lengths from the nanorod ensemble. The width of the plasmonic transparency window is determined by the intrinsic and radiative broadenings of the nanocrystal plasmons. Nanocrystals can be randomly dispersed in a solution or arranged in metastructures. We show that interactions between nanocrystals in a dense ensemble can destroy the window effect and, simultaneously, we design the metastructure geometries with weak destructive interactions. We also describe the effect of narrowing of the transparency window with increasing the concentration of nanocrystals. Two well-established technologies can be used to fabricate such nano- and metamaterials, the colloidal synthesis, and lithography. Nanocomposites proposed here can be used as optical materials and smart coatings for shielding of electromagnetic radiation in a wide spectral interval with a simultaneous possibility of communication using a narrow transparency window

Nerve-Cancer Interactions in the Stromal Biology of Pancreatic Cancer

Interaction of cancer cells with diverse cell types in the tumor stroma is today recognized to have a fate-determining role for the progression and outcome of human cancers. Despite the well-described interactions of cancer cells with several stromal components, i.e., inflammatory cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts, endothelial cells, and pericytes, the investigation of their peculiar relationship with neural cells is still at its first footsteps. Pancreatic cancer (PCa) with its abundant stroma represents one of the best-studied examples of a malignant tumor with a mutually trophic interaction between cancer cells and the intratumoral nerves embedded in the desmoplastic stroma. Nerves in PCa are a rich source of neurotrophic factors like nerve growth factor (NGF), glial-cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), artemin; of neuronal chemokines like fractalkine; and of autonomic neurotransmitters like norepinephrine which can all enhance the invasiveness of PCa cells via matrix-metalloproteinase (MMP) upregulation, trigger neural invasion (NI), and activate pro-survival signaling pathways. Similarly, PCa cells themselves provide intrapancreatic nerves with abundant trophic agents which entail a remarkable neuroplasticity, leading to emergence of more routes for NI and cancer spread, to augmented local neuro-surveillance, neural sensitization, and neuropathic pain. The strong correlation of NI with PCa-associated desmoplasia suggests the potential presence of a triangular relationship between nerves, PCa cells, and other stromal partners like myofibroblasts and pancreatic stellate cells which generate tumor desmoplasia. Hence, although not a classical hallmark of human cancers, nerve-cancer interactions can be considered as an indispensable sub-class of cancer-stroma interactions in PCa. The present article provides an overview of the so far known nerve-cancer interactions in PCa and illustrates their ominous role in the stromal biology of human PCa

Peptide-Mediated Constructs of Quantum Dot Nanocomposites for Enzymatic Control of Nonradiative Energy Transfer

Cataloged from PDF version of article.A bottom-up approach for constructing colloidal semiconductor quantum dot (QDot) nanocomposites that facilitate nonradiative Forster-type resonance energy transfer (FRET) using polyelectrolyte peptides was proposed and realized. The electrostatic interaction of these polypeptides with altering chain lengths was probed for thermodynamic, structural, and morphological aspects. The resulting nanocomposite film was successfully cut with the protease by digesting the biomimetic peptide layer upon which the QDot assembly was constructed. The ability to control photoluminescence decay lifetime was demonstrated by proteolytic enzyme activity, opening up new possibilities for biosensor applications