Neutrons from Piezonuclear Reactions

We report the results obtained by cavitating water solutions of iron salts (iron chloride and iron nitrate) with different concentrations at different ultrasound powers. In all cases we detected a neutron radiation well higher than the background level. The neutron production is perfectly reproducible and can at some extent be controlled. These evidences for neutron emission generated by cavitation support some preliminary clues for the possibility of piezonuclear reactions (namely nuclear reactions induced by pressure and shock waves) obtained in the last ten years. We have been able for the first time to state some basic features of such a neutron emission induced by cavitation, namely: 1) a marked threshold behavior in power, energy and time; 2) its occurring without a concomitant production of gamma radiation.Comment: 8 figures; we added some more important references; we replaced some figures with more detailed ones; we added more comprehensive details which could not be desclosed before as part of private patents which have been published no

The shadow of light: further experimental evidences

We report the results of a double-slit-like experiment in the infrared range, which confirm those of a previous one by evidencing an anomalous behaviour of photon systems under particular (energy and space) constraints. These outcomes (independently confirmed by crossing photon beam experiments in both the optical and the microwave range) apparently rule out the Copenhagen interpretation of the quantum wave, i.e. the probability wave, by admitting an interpretation in terms of the Einstein-de Broglie-Bohm hollow wave for photons. Moreover, this second experiment further supports the interpretation of the hollow wave as a deformation of the Minkowski space-time geometry

Human airway epithelial extracellular vesicle miRNA signature is altered upon asthma development

Background: miRNAs are master regulators of signaling pathways critically involved in asthma and are transferred between cells in extracellular vesicles (EV). We aimed to investigate whether the miRNA content of EV secreted by primary normal human bronchial epithelial cells (NHBE) is altered upon asthma development. Methods: NHBE cells were cultured at air-liquid interface and treated with interleukin (IL)-13 to induce an asthma-like phenotype. EV isolations by precipitation from basal culture medium or apical surface wash were characterized by nanoparticle tracking analysis, transmission electron microscopy, and Western blot, and EV-associated miRNAs were identified by a RT-qPCR-based profiling. Significant candidates were confirmed in EVs isolated by size-exclusion chromatography from nasal lavages of children with mild-to-moderate (n = 8) or severe asthma (n = 9), and healthy controls (n = 9). Results: NHBE cells secrete EVs to the apical and basal side. 47 miRNAs were expressed in EVs and 16 thereof were significantly altered in basal EV upon IL-13 treatment. Expression of miRNAs could be confirmed in EVs from human nasal lavages. Of note, levels of miR-92b, miR-210, and miR-34a significantly correlated with lung function parameters in children (FEV1FVC%pred and FEF25-75%pred), thus lower sEV-miRNA levels in nasal lavages associated with airway obstruction. Subsequent ingenuity pathway analysis predicted the miRNAs to regulate Th2 polarization and dendritic cell maturation. Conclusion: Our data indicate that secretion of miRNAs in EVs from the airway epithelium, in particular miR-34a, miR-92b, and miR-210, might be involved in the early development of a Th2 response in the airways and asthma

On the enhancement of impurity collisions in a Bose-Einstein condensate

We present a possible explanation of the discrepancy between theory and experiment (observed by Chikkatur et al.) in the collisional density of impurities in a Bose-Einstein condensate of sodium atoms. The discrepancy is ascribed to the fact that the experiment was carried out in a situation of strong instability, where small variations of the initial number of impurities in the condensate may give rise to a large variation in the number of colliding atoms

“The shadow of light: non-Lorentzian behavior of photon systems"

We discuss the theoretical foundations and the results of a double slit diffraction-like experiment in the infrared range, aimed at finding departures from the classical predictions. We found indeed an anomalous behavior of such a photon system. Possible interpretations can be given in terms of either the existence of de Broglie-Bohm hollow waves associated to photons, and/or a breakdown of local Lorentz invariance (LLI). The findings of the present experiment do agree with the threshold behavior in energy and space, recently derived (on an experimental basis) for the LLI breaking effect. This leads us to put forward the intriguing hypothesis that the hollow wave is a deformation of the space-time (Minkowskian) geometry. Our experimental findings have been tested in crossed photon-beam experiments, whose preliminary results evidence an anomalous behavior in the photon-photon cross section and confirm the threshold behavior in energy and space of the effect we observed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved