To evaluate the potential of monoolein-based cubic bicontinuous liquid crystalline nanoparticles (cubosomes) as diagnostic tools in diabetes and pancreatic β-cell transplantation, fluorescent ...cubosomes were formulated, entrapping within the lipid bilayer a newly synthesized, potent, hydrophobic dye. Cryo-TEM, SAXS, and DLS were performed to assess the morphological and structural aspects of this formulation. Rat pancreatic β-cells (INS-1E) readily took up the cubosome nanoparticles, as revealed by
in vitro
internalization tests, and flow-cytometric analyses confirmed the persistence of the fluorescence for up to 24 hours. The cytotoxicity of cubosomes at various concentrations, evaluated with a real-time analysis of proliferation, revealed that the proliferation curves relative to the less concentrated formulation (5 μM in terms of monoolein content) were comparable to the untreated cultures. INS-1E cell cycle and apoptosis supported such results. In conclusion, this formulation, with dye content in the nanomolar range, seems to be useful for β-cell imaging.
Imaging of rat pancreatic β-cells using cubic bicontinuous liquid crystalline nanoparticles loaded with the
TB139
fluorescent dye.
Biocompatible systems formulated for use in the food, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical fields are characterized. Ternary phase diagrams of mixtures of natural lipids (glycerol trioleate, glycerol ...monooleate, diglycerol monooleate, and lecithin) and water were investigated by means of optical microscopy in polarized light and by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy. All systems showed a microemulsion region at high oil content and a large area of coexistence of two liquid crystalline (hexagonal and lamellar) phases. 1H and 13C NMR self-diffusion measurements were used to characterize microstructural features of the microemulsions. On water dilution, the two-phase liquid crystalline region transforms into a creamy emulsion area where the droplets of water are stabilized by both the lamellar and the hexagonal phases, as indicated by 2H NMR measurements. Due to the very effective dispersing action of the two liquid crystalline phases, these emulsions show a high stability toward phase separation.
Liquid injectable silicone has been used to increase volume in determined cutaneous districts, particularly in aesthetical reconstructive surgery. Although considered biologically inert for a long ...time this substance produced various complications as granulomatous foreign body reaction (siliconomas), secondary limphedema, tissue destruction and lethal embolism. A 35-year-old Caucasian woman came to our department with erithema and edema on the right leg, fever and chills. A thorough examination of the patient's history revealed injection of liquid silicone 7 years before for cosmetic volume increase of both legs. A closer observation revealed a small fistulous element from which came out white-yellow puruloid material. Antibiotic therapy and drainage of the abscess were undertaken. Within few days of treatment erithema and swelling essentially improved and the patient was discharged. After two months she came back to our department due to the same disease on her left leg that we treated with the therapy previously used. We highlight the long time, 7 years, elapsed between liquid silicone injection and onset of cutaneous symptoms.
The gamma -ray sky can be decomposed into individually detected sources, diffuse emission attributed to the interactions of Galactic cosmic rays with gas and radiation fields, and a residual all-sky ...emission component commonly called the isotropic diffuse gamma -ray background (IGRB). The IGRB comprises all extragalactic emissions too faint or too diffuse to be resolved in a given survey, as well as any residual Galactic foregrounds that are approximately isotropic. The first IGRB measurement with the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope (Fermi) used 10 months of sky-survey data and considered an energy range between 200 MeV and 100 GeV. Improvements in event selection and characterization of cosmic-ray backgrounds, better understanding of the diffuse Galactic emission (DGE), and a longer data accumulation of 50 months allow for a refinement and extension of the IGRB measurement with the LAT, now covering the energy range from 100 MeV to 820 GeV. The IGRB spectrum shows a significant high-energy cutoff feature and can be well described over nearly four decades in energy by a power law with exponential cutoff having a spectral index of 2.32 + or - 0.02 and a break energy of (279 + or - 52) GeV using our baseline DGE model. The total intensity attributed to the IGRB is (7.2 + or - 0.6) x 10 super(-6) cm super(-2) s super(-1) sr super(-1) above 100 MeV, with an additional +15%/-30% systematic uncertainty due to the Galactic diffuse foregrounds.
The CDF plug upgrade electromagnetic calorimeter: test beam results Albrow, M.; Aota, S.; Apollinari, G. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
03/2002, Volume:
480, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The CDF Plug Upgrade calorimeter, which fully exploits the tile–fiber technique, was tested at the Fermilab meson beamline. The calorimeter was exposed to positron, positively charged pion and ...positive muon beams with energies in the range of 5–
230
GeV
. The energy resolution of the electromagnetic calorimeter to the positron beam is consistent with the design value of
16%/
E
⊕1%
, where E is the energy in units of GeV and ⊕ represents sum in quadrature. The non-linearity for positrons is studied in an energy range of 11–
181
GeV
. It is important to incorporate the response of the preshower detector, the first layer of the electromagnetic calorimeter which is readout separately, into that of the calorimeter to reduce the non-linearity to 1% or less. The energy scale is about
1.46
pC/
GeV
with HAMAMATSU R4125 operated typically at a gain of 2.5×10
4. The response non-uniformity over the surface of a tower of the electromagnetic calorimeter is found to be about 2% with
57
GeV
positrons. Studies of several detailed detector characteristics are also presented.
The Southern Imera river crosses one of the most arid part of Sicily. The geochemical composition of the river water is due to the solubilization processes of gypsum rocks, which accounts for the ...particularly low quality of resources in the areas in which the presence of evaporitics deposits is highest. The geochemical composition and hydraulic parameters of river was monitored with the aim of reaching a better understanding of the relationships between litology and water quality. The Imera river is a potential local hydric resource, but seasonal variability of salinity does not allow farmers to use its water. A geochemical monitoring of the Imera river water has been carried out in selected localities integrating a GIS analysis of the river hydrography basin and of the distribution of the evaporitic formation. During 2003 and 2005 we performed four monitoring surveys of water chemicophysical parameters (temperature, pH and electrical conductivity) and of the main ionic concentrations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, Na+, Cl-, SO4 2- ). We also installed a multiparameter probe next to the hydrometrical station of Drasi, about 15 km from the river mouth. Such multiparameter probe was used to determine, continuously and simultaneously, temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, redox potenzial, water level. The geochemical composition of the water allowed to confirm the results of Roda (1971) and Favara (2000), who pointed out that the main cause of degrade of the Southern Imera river are the salt-rich waters of some tributaries flowing over gypsum rocks and halite deposits. We have been able to identify which specific areas are the main contributors to the degradation of the Imera river.
ABSTRACT To uniformly determine the properties of supernova remnants (SNRs) at high energies, we have developed the first systematic survey at energies from 1 to 100 GeV using data from the Fermi ...Large Area Telescope (LAT). Based on the spatial overlap of sources detected at GeV energies with SNRs known from radio surveys, we classify 30 sources as likely GeV SNRs. We also report 14 marginal associations and 245 flux upper limits. A mock catalog in which the positions of known remnants are scrambled in Galactic longitude allows us to determine an upper limit of 22% on the number of GeV candidates falsely identified as SNRs. We have also developed a method to estimate spectral and spatial systematic errors arising from the diffuse interstellar emission model, a key component of all Galactic Fermi LAT analyses. By studying remnants uniformly in aggregate, we measure the GeV properties common to these objects and provide a crucial context for the detailed modeling of individual SNRs. Combining our GeV results with multiwavelength (MW) data, including radio, X-ray, and TeV, we demonstrate the need for improvements to previously sufficient, simple models describing the GeV and radio emission from these objects. We model the GeV and MW emission from SNRs in aggregate to constrain their maximal contribution to observed Galactic cosmic rays.
ABSTRACT We present a catalog of sources detected above 50 GeV by the Fermi-Large Area Telescope (LAT) in 80 months of data. The newly delivered Pass 8 event-level analysis allows the detection and ...characterization of sources in the 50 GeV-2 TeV energy range. In this energy band, Fermi-LAT has detected 360 sources, which constitute the second catalog of hard Fermi-LAT sources (2FHL). The improved angular resolution enables the precise localization of point sources (∼1 7 radius at 68% C. L.) and the detection and characterization of spatially extended sources. We find that 86% of the sources can be associated with counterparts at other wavelengths, of which the majority (75%) are active galactic nuclei and the rest (11%) are Galactic sources. Only 25% of the 2FHL sources have been previously detected by Cherenkov telescopes, implying that the 2FHL provides a reservoir of candidates to be followed up at very high energies. This work closes the energy gap between the observations performed at GeV energies by Fermi-LAT on orbit and the observations performed at higher energies by Cherenkov telescopes from the ground.
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