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Protein-based nanocarriers for antimicrobial photodynamic therapy and subdiffraction localization of the theranostic agent
Get PDFNano-structures for photodynamical therapy can be assembled starting from a photosensitizer (PS) and a protein-based carrier, exploiting hydrophobic interactions. These chemical constructs preserve the PS photophysical and photosensitizing properties by preventing aggregation of non water-soluble PSs. This
allows to obtain bio-compatible nanostructures that enhance the bio-availability of the PS. We demonstrate the interaction of Hypericin (Hyp), a naturally occurring PS that generates singlet oxygen with a high quantum yield, with two different proteins, apo-myoglobin and β-lactoglobulin. The constructs are highly effective against
Gram-positive bacteria (S. aureus and B. subtilis). Interestingly, Hyp both free and bound to the protein can be exploited in super-resolution STED fluorescence microscopy, allowing for an accurate localization at cellular level of the PS and the photoinduced oxidation effects. Therefore, these structures show a double functionality, both therapeutic (based on photosensitization) and diagnostic (based on imaging),so that they can be considered theranostic agents. In conclusion, we demonstrate the potential of the protein-based nanostructures as water soluble and bio-compatible
systems that can be relevant for applications in antimicrobial decontamination, both in clinical and in food and food-processing environment applications
Prospects for sneutrino Dark Matter in the BLSSM
Get PDFThe (B − L) Supersymmetric Standard Model (BLSSM) motivates
several Dark Matter (DM) candidates beyond the Minimally Supersymmetric Standard Model (MSSM). We assess the comparative naturalness of the two models and discuss the potential detection properties of a particular candidate, the RightHanded (RH) sneutrino
DarkSide new results and prospects
Get PDFNew results on the scattering cross-section between dark matter particles and nuclei and electrons are presented. They are obtained using a livedays exposure of 532.4 days from the DarkSide-50 experiment, which is a dual-phase liquid-argon time projection chamber (LAr TPC) installed at Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). In this paper, the DarkSide-20k experiment, a LAr TPC with an active (fiducial) mass of 23 t (20 t) to be built at LNGS, is also reviewed. Thanks to its exceptionally low instrumental background, DarkSide-20k will be able to exclude cross sections between weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) and nuclei at 90% confidence level down to 2.8×10−48 cm2 (1.2×10−47 cm2) for a WIMP mass of 100GeV/c2 (1TeV/c2)
Time of flight identification with FAZIA
Get PDFFAZIA (Forward A and Z identification Array) is an array of threestage Si-Si-CsI(Tl) telescopes. It was designed to operate with beams in the 20– 100MeV/u energy range and it provides charge and mass discrimination over a wide range of nuclei and energies. In the perspective of FAZIA experiments at lower energies (e.g. to be realized at the new ISOL facilities SPES and/or Spiral2), and in general to lower the identification thresholds, the time of flight (ToF) information could be used. Usually, the time of flight can be obtained in two ways: either two detectors (start and stop) are used at a certain well-measured distance, or the start time mark is given by the accelerator RF signal. In order to work also in the absence of pulsed beam, we are studying and implementing a new approach that works for those events where at least one ejectile is properly discriminated in mass. The identified fragments can be used to extract the event start time mark from their energy and mass. This algorithm needs a perfect synchronisation among all the ADC clock signals and a precise tuning of all the possible clock skews. This contribution reports on such recent FAZIA activity, focusing on the basic ideas of the method and on some first results from recent experiments at LNS
Recent results of the ISOFAZIA experiment
Get PDFRecent results concerning isospin transport phenomena on the systems 80Kr + 40,48Ca at 35MeV/nucleon are presented. An investigation of the isospin content of both fission fragments coming from the QuasiProjectile is also shown. Data were collected with four FAZIA blocks (ISOFAZIA experiment). A comparison with the predictions of a transport model (AMD) is also reporte
The nuclear EoS: From experiments to astrophysical observation
Get PDFWe briefly review different experimental and astrophysical constraints of the nuclear equation of state as well as several phenomenological models and ab initio theoretical approaches commonly used in its description
In-room test results at CNAO of an innovative PT treatments online monitor (Dose Profiler)
Get PDFThe use of C, He and O ions as projectiles in Particle Therapy (PT) treatments is getting more and more widespread as a consequence of their enhanced relative biological effectiveness and oxygen enhancement ratio, when compared to the protons one. The advantages related to the incoming radiation improved efficacy are requiring an accurate online monitor of the dose release spatial distribution. Such monitor is necessary to prevent unwanted damage to the tissues surrounding the tumour that can arise, for example, due to morphological changes occurred in the patient during the treatment with respect to the initial CT scan. PT treatments with ions can be monitored by detecting the secondary radiation produced by the primary beam interactions with the patient body along the path towards the target volume. Charged fragments produced in the nuclear process of projectile fragmentation can be emitted at large angles with respect to the incoming beam direction and can be detected with high efficiency in a nearly background-free environment. The Dose Profiler (DP) detector, developed within the INSIDE project, is a scintillating fibre tracker that allows an online reconstruction and backtracking of such secondary charged fragments. The construction and preliminary in-room tests performed on the DP, carried out using the 12C ions beam of the CNAO treatment centre using an anthropomorphic phantom as a target, will be reviewed in this contribution. The impact of the secondary fragments interactions with the patient body will be discussed in view of a clinical application. Furthermore, the results implications for a pre-clinical trial on CNAO patients, foreseen in 2019, will be discussed
The mitochondrial membrane protein FgLetm1 regulates mitochondrial integrity, production of endogenous reactive oxygen species and mycotoxin biosynthesis in Fusarium graminearum
Get PDFDeoxynivalenol (DON) is a mycotoxin produced in cereal crops infected with Fusarium graminearum. DON poses a serious threat to human and animal health, and is a critical virulence factor. Various environmental factors, including reactive oxygen species (ROS), have been shown to interfere with DON biosynthesis in this pathogen. The regulatory mechanisms of how ROS trigger DON production have been investigated extensively in F. graminearum. However, the role of the endogenous ROS-generating system in DON biosynthesis is largely unknown. In this study, we genetically analysed the function of leucine zipper-EF-hand-containing transmembrane 1 (LETM1) superfamily proteins and evaluated the role of the mitochondrial-produced ROS in DON biosynthesis. Our results show that there are two Letm1 orthologues, FgLetm1 and FgLetm2, in F. graminearum. FgLetm1 is localized to the mitochondria and is essential for mitochondrial integrity, whereas FgLetm2 plays a minor role in the maintenance of mitochondrial integrity. The ΔFgLetm1 mutant demonstrated a vegetative growth defect, abnormal conidia and increased sensitivity to various stress agents. More importantly, the ΔFgLetm1 mutant showed significantly reduced levels of endogenous ROS, decreased DON biosynthesis and attenuated virulence in planta. To our knowledge, this is the first report showing that mitochondrial integrity and endogenous ROS production by mitochondria are important for DON production and virulence in Fusarium species
Gli scavi nell’area delle fortificazioni settentrionali di Leontinoi
Get PDFThe historian Polybius describes the ancient Leontinoi as lying in a valley between two precipitous hills and facing North. The city was defended by a city wall and at each end of the valley there was a gate, the northern gate leading to the plain, the southern leading to Syracuse. At the northern end of the valle San Mauro, archaeological research between 1987 and 1995 led to the discovery of the remains of the northern fortifications. During archaeological excavations carried out systematically since 2009 the foundation levels of the fortifications were investigated, finding ceramics dating to the late fourth or early third century BC. The new data allow us to develop some hypotheses on the organization of an important sector of Hellenistic fortifications and on their spoliation between the Roman conquest of the city in the late III century B.C. and Late Antiquity
Indagini archeologiche alle Terme “di Nerone” a Pisa: ricerca, didattica, valorizzazione
Get PDFThe first archaeological campaign at the so-called Terme di Nerone in Pisa took place in the months of June and July 2017; this is the only Roman period building in Pisa that has kept his monumental structure until present time. The investigations carried out between the end of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century left many gaps in the understanding of this monument: its floor plan, the destination of some of its spaces, its relationship with the city context, its dating, which is generically set between the I and the II centuries AD, and the knowledge of its late-antique and medieval life, which were totally ignored in the past.
The excavation brought to light new spaces and new data on the building’s architecture; a necropolis occupying the ruins of the building during the late-antiquity was also identified. Finally, the research focused on the medieval and modern buildings that had incorporated the ancient structures, changing several times the urban landscape of this district of the town