Proposed cavity Josephson plasmonics with complex-oxide heterostructures

We discuss how complex-oxide heterostructures that include high-Tc superconducting cuprates can be used to realize an array of sub-millimeter cavities that support Josephson plasmon polaritons. These cavities have several attractive features for new types of light matter interaction studies and we show that they promote "ultrastrong" coupling between THz frequency radiation and Josephson plasmons. Cavity electrodynamics of Josephson plasmons allows to manipulate the superconducting order-parameter phase coherence. As an example, we discuss how it could be used to cool superconducting phase fluctuations with light

Upper limits to surface force disturbances on LISA proof masses and the possibility of observing galactic binaries

We report on the measurement of parasitic surface force noise on a hollow replica of a LISA (Laser Interferometer Space Antenna for the observation of gravitational waves) proof mass surrounded by a faithful representation of its in flight surroundings, namely the capacitive sensor used to detect proof-mass motion. Parasitic forces are detected through the corresponding torque exerted on the proof mass and measured with a torsion pendulum in the frequency range 0.1 30 mHz. The sensor electrodes, electrode housing and associated readout electronics have the same nominal design as for the flight hardware, including 4 mm gaps around the proof mass along the sensitive laser interferometry axis. We show that the measured upper limit for surface forces would allow detection of a number of galactic binaries signals with signal to noise ratio up to approximately 40 for 1 year integration. We also discuss how the flight test under development, LISA Pathfinder, will substantially improve this limit, approaching the performance required for LISA.Comment: 3 Figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letter

An unusual pathological finding of chronic lymphocitic leukemia and adenocarcinoma of the prostate after transurethral resection for complete urinary retention: case report

BACKGROUND: We describe a patient who underwent transurethral resection of the prostate for urinary obstructive symptoms and had histological findings of adenocarcinoma of the prostate with prostatic localization of chronic lymphocitic leukemia (CLL).The contemporary presence of CLL, adenocarcinoma of the prostate and residual prostatic gland after transurethral resection has never been reported before and the authors illustrate how they managed this unusual patient. CASE PRESENTATION: A 79-years-old white man, presented with acute urinary retention, had a peripheral blood count with an elevated lymphocytosis (21.250/mL) with a differential of 65.3% lymphocytes and the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) value was 3.38 ng/mL with a percent free PSA of 8.28%. The transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) indicated an isoechonic and homogenic enlarged prostate of 42 cm(3 )and the abdomen ultrasound found a modest splenomegaly and no peripheral lymphadenophaty. The patient underwent transurethral resection of the prostate and had a pathological finding of adenocarcinoma in the prostate with a Gleason Score 4 (2+2) of less than 5% of the material (clinical stage T1a), associated with a diffused infiltration of chronic lymphocitic leukemia elements. CONCLUSIONS: The incidental finding of a prostatic localization of a low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma does not modify eventually further treatments for neither prostate cancer nor lymphoma. The presence of a low-grade and low-stage lymphoma, confirmed by a hematological evaluation, and the simultaneous evidence of an adenocarcinoma after transurethral resection of the prostate for acute urinary retention do not require any immediate treatment due to its long-term survival rate and the follow-up remains based on periodical PSA evaluation and complete blood count

Impact of an optimized epilepsy surgery imaging protocol for focal epilepsy: A monocentric prospective study

Objective: To evaluate in a real clinical scenario the impact of the ILAE-recommended "Harmonized neuroimaging of epilepsy structural sequences"- HARNESS protocol in patients affected by focal epilepsy. Methods: We prospectively enrolled focal epilepsy patients who underwent a structural brain MRI between 2020-2021 at Modena University Hospital. For all patients, MRIs were: a) acquired according to the HARNESS-MRI protocol (H-MRI); b) reviewed by the same neuroradiology team. MRI outcomes measures were: the number of positive (diagnostic) and negative MRI; the type of radiological diagnosis classified in: 1. Hippocampal Sclerosis; 2. Malformations of cortical development (MCD); 3. Vascular malformations; 4. Glial scars; 5. Low-grade epilepsy-associated tumours; 6. Dual pathology. For each patient we verified for previous MRI (without HARNESS protocol, noH-MRI) and the presence of clinical information in the MRI request form. Then the measured outcomes were reviewed and compared as appropriate. Results: A total of 131 patients with H-MRI were included in the study. 100 patients out from this cohort had at least one previous noH-MRI scan. Of those, 92/100 were acquired at the same Hospital than H-MRI and 71/92 on a 3T scanner. The HARNESS protocol revealed 81 (62%) positive and 50 (38%) negative MRI, and MCD was the most common diagnosis (60%). Among the entire pool of 100 noH-MRI, 36 resulted positive with a significant difference (p<.001) compared to H-MRI. Similar findings were observed when accounting for the expert radiologists (H-MRI= 57 positive; noH-MRI=33, p<.001) and the scanner field strength (H-MRI 43=positive, noH-MRI=23, p<.001), while clinical information were more present in H-MRI (p<.002). Significance: The adoption of a standardized and optimized MRI acquisition protocol together with adequate clinical information contribute to identify a higher number of potentially epileptogenic lesions (especially FCD) thus impacting concretely on the clinical management of patients with focal epilepsy.Objective: To evaluate in a real clinical scenario the impact of the ILAE-recommended "Harmonized neuroimaging of epilepsy structural sequences"-HARNESS protocol in patients affected by focal epilepsy.Methods: We prospectively enrolled focal epilepsy patients who underwent a structural brain MRI between 2020 and 2021 at Modena University Hospital. For all patients, MRIs were: (a) acquired according to the HARNESS-MRI protocol (H-MRI); (b) reviewed by the same neuroradiology team. MRI outcomes measures were: the number of positive (diagnostic) and negative MRI; the type of radiological diagnosis classified in: (1) Hippocampal Sclerosis; (2) Malformations of cortical development (MCD); (3) Vascular malformations; (4) Glial scars; (5) Low-grade epilepsy-associated tumors; (6) Dual pathology. For each patient we verified for previous MRI (without HARNESS protocol, noH-MRI) and the presence of clinical information in the MRI request form. Then the measured outcomes were reviewed and compared as appropriate.Results: A total of 131 patients with H-MRI were included in the study. 100 patients out from this cohort had at least one previous noH-MRI scan. Of those, 92/100 were acquired at the same Hospital than H-MRI and 71/92 on a 3T scanner. The HARNESS protocol revealed 81 (62%) positive and 50 (38%) negative MRI, and MCD was the most common diagnosis (60%). Among the entire pool of 100 noH-MRI, 36 resulted positive with a significant difference (p < .001) compared to H-MRI. Similar findings were observed when accounting for the expert radiologists (H-MRI = 57 positive; noH-MRI = 33, p < .001) and the scanner field strength (H-MRI 43 = positive, noH-MRI = 23, p < .001), while clinical information were more present in H-MRI (p < .002).Significance: The adoption of a standardized and optimized MRI acquisition protocol together with adequate clinical information contribute to identify a higher number of potentially epileptogenic lesions (especially FCD) thus impacting concretely on the clinical management of patients with focal epilepsy

Heparin Strongly Enhances the Formation of β2-Microglobulin Amyloid Fibrils in the Presence of Type I Collagen

The tissue specificity of fibrillar deposition in dialysis-related amyloidosis is most likely associated with the peculiar interaction of beta2-microglobulin (beta2-m) with collagen fibers. However, other co-factors such as glycosaminoglycans might facilitate amyloid formation. In this study we have investigated the role of heparin in the process of collagen-driven amyloidogenesis. In fact, heparin is a well known positive effector of fibrillogenesis, and the elucidation of its potential effect in this type of amyloidosis is particularly relevant because heparin is regularly given to patients subject to hemodialysis to prevent blood clotting. We have monitored by atomic force microscopy the formation of beta2-m amyloid fibrils in the presence of collagen fibers, and we have discovered that heparin strongly accelerates amyloid deposition. The mechanism of this effect is still largely unexplained. Using dynamic light scattering, we have found that heparin promotes beta2-m aggregation in solution at pH 6.4. Morphology and structure of fibrils obtained in the presence of collagen and heparin are highly similar to those of natural fibrils. The fibril surface topology, investigated by limited proteolysis, suggests that the general assembly of amyloid fibrils grown under these conditions and in vitro at low pH is similar. The exposure of these fibrils to trypsin generates a cleavage at the C-terminal of lysine 6 and creates the 7-99 truncated form of beta2-m (DeltaN6beta2-m) that is a ubiquitous constituent of the natural beta2-m fibrils. The formation of this beta2-m species, which has a strong propensity to aggregate, might play an important role in the acceleration of local amyloid deposition

Ultrafast insulator-to-metal phase transition as a switch to measure the spectrogram of a supercontinuum light pulse

In this letter we demonstrate the possibility to determine the temporal and spectral structure (spectrogram) of a complex light pulse exploiting the ultrafast switching character of a nonthermal photoinduced phase transition. As a proof, we use a VO2 multifilm, undergoing an ultrafast insulator-to-metal phase transition when excited by femtosecond near-infrared laser pulses. The abrupt variation in the multifilm optical properties, over a broad infrared/visible frequency range, is exploited to determine, in situ and in a simple way, the spectrogram of a supercontinuum pulse produced by a photonic crystal fiber. The determination of the structure of the pulse is mandatory to develop pump-probe experiments with frequency resolution over a broad spectral range (700-1100 nm)

Definition of miRNAs expression profile in glioblastoma samples: the relevance of non-neoplastic brain reference.

Glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain tumor that may occur in adults. Regardless of the huge improvements in surgery and molecular therapy, the outcome of neoplasia remains poor. MicroRNAs are small molecules involved in several cellular processes, and their expression is altered in the vast majority of tumors. Several studies reported the expression of different miRNAs in glioblastoma, but one of the most critical point in understanding glioblastoma miRNAs profile is the comparison of these studies. In this paper, we focused our attention on the non-neoplastic references used for determining miRNAs expression. The aim of this study was to investigate if using three different non-neoplastic brain references (normal adjacent the tumor, commercial total RNA, and epileptic specimens) could provide discrepant results. The analysis of 19 miRNAs was performed using Real-Time PCR, starting from the set of samples described above and the expression values compared. Moreover, the three different normal RNAs were used to determine the miRNAs profile in 30 glioblastomas. The data showed that different non-neoplastic controls could lead to different results and emphasize the importance of comparing miRNAs profiles obtained using the same experimental condition