Archivio istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi di Parma
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The track-length extension fitting algorithm for energy measurement of interacting particles in liquid argon TPCs and its performance with ProtoDUNE-SP data
No full textThis paper introduces a novel track-length extension fitting algorithm for measuring the kinetic energies of inelastically interacting particles in liquid argon time projection chambers (LArTPCs). The algorithm finds the most probable offset in track length for a track-like object by comparing the measured ionization density as a function of position with a theoretical prediction of the energy loss as a function of the energy, including models of electron recombination and detector response. The algorithm can be used to measure the energies of particles that interact before they stop, such as charged pions that are absorbed by argon nuclei. The algorithm's energy measurement resolutions and fractional biases are presented as functions of particle kinetic energy and number of track hits using samples of stopping secondary charged pions in data collected by the ProtoDUNE-SP detector, and also in a detailed simulation. Additional studies describe the impact of the dE/dx model on energy measurement performance. The method described in this paper to characterize the energy measurement performance can be repeated in any LArTPC experiment using stopping secondary charged pions
Comparative efficacy of selenoureido carbonic anhydrase inhibitors and azole antifungal drugs against clinical isolates of Malassezia pachydermatis
No full textBackground: Malassezia pachydermatis (MP) is implicated in severe dermatitis and otitis externa (OE) of companion animals and recently gained attention for its increasing resistance to azole compounds. For this reason, developing novel therapeutic strategies is of great interest. In a previous work, we used reference yeast isolates to evaluate several compounds bearing acyl/selenoureido moieties and primary/secondary sulfonamide groups for antifungal activity through organic selenium and carbonic anhydrase inhibition. Objectives: This work aimed to evaluate the antifungal efficacy of eight selenoureido compounds on 36 clinical MP isolates from dogs, compared to selected azoles, notably ketoconazole (KCZ), miconazole (MCZ) and fluconazole (FCZ). Materials and MethodsMIC assays of 5g, 7a, 7c, 7k, 8c, 10c, 11b, 11f, KCZ, MCZ and FCZ were performed on 36 MP field isolates isolated from dogs affected by dermatitis and/or OE in which yeast aetiology was suspected. Minimum 50% and 90% inhibitory concentrations (MIC50 and MIC90) were calculated. MP identification was confirmed with a nested PCR for the internal transcribed spacer region of the rRNA gene. Results: Overall, the MIC50 of the tested compounds on MP field isolates was higher than the MICs obtained on reference MP DSM 6172. Although KCZ showed the lowest MIC50 value, compounds 5g, 7a and 7k showed lower MIC(50)s than MCZ and FCZ. Five clinical isolates showed a MIC on azoles >MIC90. Compounds 7a (four of five), 10c (three of five) and 8c (three of five) showed lower MIC values on these isolates compared to the tested azoles, suggesting good activity in phenotypically azole-resistant MP. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Considering the increasing azole resistance of the Malassezia genus, selenoureido compounds could represent a potential topical treatment for dog skin and ear mycotic infections
Lo snodo Dostoevskij: la tirannia è una malattia
No full textIl saggio esplora il nodo centrale rappresentato da Dostoevskij nella riflessione sulla tirannide, intesa come malattia originaria del potere umano. L’analisi parte dalla constatazione di Berdjaev sull’irriducibilità del potere a spiegazioni razionali, per evidenziare la fenomenologia dostoevskijana del dominio, declinata nei suoi aspetti psicologici, storici e mitico-metafisici. In un continuo dialogo con la tradizione russa dell’autocrazia e con il pensiero occidentale (Aristotele, Platone, Tocqueville), Dostoevskij elabora una critica della tirannide che coinvolge non solo il tiranno ma anche lo schiavo, denunciando l’attrazione reciproca che struttura la relazione di dominio. Ne risulta un’indagine filosofico-letteraria che spazia dalle radici religiose della sovranità russa alla figura dell’Inquisitore nei Fratelli Karamazov, passando per l’utopia fallita di Šigalev nei Demoni. La tirannide, alla fine, si rivela come una perversione del bisogno umano di comunione, deformazione del desiderio di libertà e fallimento della responsabilità individuale.This paper investigates Dostoevsky's pivotal role in reflecting on tyranny, conceived as a pathological distortion of human power. Starting from Berdyaev’s observation on the irrational core of sovereignty, the essay explores Dostoevsky’s multi-layered analysis of domination—psychological, historical, and mytho-metaphysical. Engaging with both Russian autocratic tradition and Western political thought (Aristotle, Plato, Tocqueville), Dostoevsky presents tyranny not merely as the abuse of power by the ruler, but as a dynamic involving the complicity of the enslaved. Through a philosophical-literary inquiry that spans from the religious foundations of Russian monarchy to the Grand Inquisitor in The Brothers Karamazov, and the dystopian plan of Shigalev in Demons, the study shows how tyranny emerges as the corrupted form of humanity’s deep longing for communion, a deformation of freedom, and a collapse of individual responsibility
Formulation of siRNA nanoparticles, transfection and enhanced adhesion -penetration in nasal mucosal tissue
No full textThis study investigates the efficacy of trimethyl chitosan (TMC) nanoparticles (NPs) for the delivery of small interfering RNA (siRNA) targeting the EGFR gene, with a focus on optimizing complexation efficiency, release profiles, and transfection efficiency, as well as investigating mucoadhesion and mucopenetration properties. TMC nanoparticles were formulated at various siRNA:TMC weight-to-weight (w:w) ratios and assessed for binding efficiency, release in the presence of heparin, physical properties, cytotoxicity, and EGFR knockdown efficiency in HeLa cells. The integration of additives such as dextran sulfate (DS), tripolyphosphate (TPP), and hyaluronic acid (HA) was explored to enhance nanoparticle performance. Results demonstrated that higher TMC ratios improved siRNA binding and reduced release rates, with additives further stabilizing the nanoparticles. The optimized formulations showed high cell viability and significant EGFR silencing, indicating effective transfection. Mucoadhesion and mucopenetration two-photon microscopy studies on rabbit nasal mucosa confirmed the superior performance of TMC nanoparticles over free siRNA, highlighting their potential for non-invasive gene therapy applications
Childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder, epigenetics, and heterochrony: An evolutionary and developmental approach
No full textChildhood obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) stems from a bunch of restricted and repetitive behaviors, which are part of normal behavioral repertoire up to the age of 7. The persistence of compulsive-like behaviors after that age is often associated with unique comorbidity patterns, which are age-at-onset dependent and reflect different developmental stages. In particular, OCD synchronically co-occurs with a broad constellation of neurodevelopmental disorders, whereas diachronically it is related to an increased risk of major adult psychoses. Moreover, OCD is associated with trait-like sensory phenomena, suggesting a common disrupted sensorimotor grounding. The present study is aimed at exploring the hypothesis that this specific temporal and comorbidity OCD profile may be due to a developmental heterochronic mechanism of delay in attenuation of ontogenetically early behavioral patterns. The developmental shift of highly evolutionarily conserved behavioral phenotypes might be regulated by epigenetic changes induced by different conditions of sensory unbalance. This evolutionary and developmental model allows capturing childhood OCD in light of the ultimate causes of ritual behavior throughout phylogeny, namely its "homeostatic"function over conditions of unpredictability. Moreover, it may have important clinical implications, as OCD symptoms could represent putative biomarkers of early divergent developmental trajectories, with a pathoplastic effect on course and outcome
Donne oltre il silenzio. Alle radici antiche della violenza di genere: testimonianze dai papiri greco-egizi
No full textIl volume introduce criticamente una panoramica di alcune significative testimonianze offerte dalle fonti documentali greche su papiro relative al fenomeno della violenza contro le donne – una piaga sociale ampiamente diffusa in molteplici contesti storici, culturali, politici e sociali, ma oggi sempre più riconosciuta e condannata in quanto tale – e, nello specifico, si sofferma sul coraggio di alcune di quelle donne che nel passato più antico ruppero il silenzio, inteso come condizione e costruzione ideologico-concettuale del dominio maschile sul genere femminile, attraverso la loro diretta denuncia delle violenze subite – un altro tema di particolare attualità e rilevanza diacronica. Dopo due saggi introduttivi focalizzati da un lato sul significato e sull’impatto che la categoria del silenzio, imposta dal potere androcentrico-patriarcale, ha avuto sulle donne a partire dalla cultura greca, sul piano della rappresentazione stereotipata e discriminata del genere femminile, e dall’altro sull’analisi del contesto documentale delle fonti su papiro, vengono presentati, con commento e traduzione, 96 testi ricavati da lettere, petizioni e altri documenti dall’Egitto greco-romano
Automated computational workflows for muon spin spectroscopy
No full textPositive muon spin rotation and relaxation spectroscopy is a well established experimental technique for studying materials. It provides a local probe that generally complements scattering techniques in the study of magnetic systems and represents a valuable alternative for materials that display strong incoherent scattering or neutron absorption. Computational methods can effectively quantify the microscopic interactions underlying the experimentally observed signal, thus substantially boosting the predictive power of this technique. Here, we present an efficient set of algorithms and workflows devoted to the automation of this task. In particular, we adopt the so-called DFT+m procedure, where the system is characterized in the density functional theory (DFT) framework with the muon modeled as a hydrogen impurity. We devise an automated strategy to obtain candidate muon stopping sites, their dipolar interaction with the nuclei, and hyperfine interactions with the electronic ground state. We validate the implementation on well-studied compounds, showing the effectiveness of our protocol in terms of accuracy and simplicity of use
Collapse of the standard ferromagnetic domain structure in hybrid Co/Molecule bilayers
No full textThe interplay between Hund's coupling, exchange interaction and magnetic anisotropy is responsible for a multitude of magnetic phases, ranging from conventional ferromagnetism to exotic spin textures. Yet, engineering and fine-tuning a magnetic state remains a major challenge in modern magnetism. We show that the chemisorption of organic molecules over Co thin films offers a tool to transform the films from ferromagnetic to a glassy-type state. This emerges when the correlation length of the random anisotropy field, induced by the pi-d molecule/metal hybridization, is comparable to the characteristic exchange length. Such a state is characterized by the collapse of the standard domain structure and the emergence of blurred pseudo-domains intertwined by diffuse and irregular domain walls. The magnetization reversal then involves topological vortex-like structures, which are here predicted and successfully measured by magnetic-force microscopy. At the macroscopic level this new glassy-type state is defined by a giant magnetic hardening and the violation of the magnetization-reversal Rayleigh law. Our work thus shows that the electronic interaction of a standard thin-film magnet with readily available molecules can generate structures with remarkable new magnetic properties, and thus opens a new avenue for the design of tailored-on-demand magnetic composites
Bioadhesive film for the delivery of local anesthetics to the buccal mucosa: ex-vivo and in-vivo evaluation
No full textThe aim of this work was the preparation and characterization of two bioadhesive films (with different drug loadings) containing a combination of lidocaine and prilocaine hydrochloride to be applied on the buccal mucosa to reduce the pain sensation associated with needle insertion during dental procedures. The films were tested ex-vivo to determine the amount of drug permeated/retained in buccal mucosa, and, in-vivo to assess the extent and duration of anesthetic effect on the mucosa and pharmacokinetic parameters. As a reference, the commercial formulation EMLA® cream was used. Ex-vivo studies were conducted on porcine esophageal epithelium, an accepted model for buccal mucosa, and in-vivo studies on human volunteers. The ex-vivo results obtained show that the retention of both drugs into the mucosa resulted comparable after the application of the films or EMLA® cream for 10 min; on the contrary, the amounts of drug permeated from the commercial formulation was higher, suggesting the possibility to achieve systemic effect. In-vivo experiments showed that the intensity of anesthesia, evaluated by VAS during needle insertion, was much higher for EMLA® cream (the median value was zero for EMLA® and 0.15–0.3 cm for the two films); however, the film and EMLA® cream resulted equivalent in terms of duration of anesthesia, from 25 to 40 min. The pharmacokinetic study showed that both films tested produced very low plasma concentration (zero for most of experimental data point), thus guaranteeing no risk of systemic effects, whereas EMLA® cream demonstrated measurable plasma levels for both drugs (lidocaine Cmax was 4 ng/ml, prilocaine Cmax was 1.5 ng/ml). Moreover, a correlation between ex-vivo drug tissue concentration and duration of the anesthetic effect in-vivo was found. Although this correlation is limited to a small number of formulations, it supports the validity of pig esophageal epithelium in the development of formulation to be used on human buccal mucosa
