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Nel 1957, in occasione di una campagna di scavo in Contrada Mango di Segesta, Vincenzo Tusa rinvenne due frammenti litici di membrature architettoniche miniaturistiche, appartenenti ad un fregio dorico e ad una cornice, parimenti dorica. In questa sede, oltre a proporre un’analisi dettagliata dei due frammenti, si cercherà di avanzare alcune ipotesi sul contesto della loro realizzazione, sulla loro funzione e sull’eventuale monumento di riferimento, con una rapida disamina della problematica legata ai paradeigmata architettonici nell’antichità. In 1957, during an excavation campaign in Contrada Mango of Segesta, Vincenzo Tusa found two lithic fragments of miniaturistic architectural elements, belonging to a Doric frieze and a Doric horizontal geison. In this contribution, as well as offering a detailed analysis of the two fragments, we will try to put forward some hypotheses on the context of their production, on their function and on their reference monument, with a rapid examination of the problems linked to the architectural paradeigmata in the antiquity. more...

The re-entry of a vehicle into Earth's atmosphere either from near-Earth orbit or from interplanetary trajectories is the most critical phases of a space mission for materials, since space capsules and spacecraft surfaces are brought to relatively high temperatures (>2000 °C) and are subject to the high thermal fluxes. The most complex requirements of the on-ground CIRA hypersonic Plasma Wind Tunnel (PWT) test campaigns are to measure and monitor the high heat fluxes, the correlated surface Recession Rate and Surface Temperatures affecting the behavior of Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials which makes up the surface and sub-surface components of the spacecraft's outer layer. For these tests, the recession rate will be obtained by Surface Layer Implantation (SLI), monitored by the gamma ray emission from 7Be implanted into the test material, and the surface temperature by Dual Color free emissivity Infrared Thermography (DCIT). So the first purpose of the paper, in the recession rate determination, is to present the γ-ray detection efficiency of a LaBr3(Ce) crystal by GEANT4 simulation using the radioactive ions, to be implanted by means of the CIRCE accelerator, and the use of γ-rays to monitor their removal during the ablation process. At the same time, for temperature determination, is to evaluate the possibility of carrying out free emissivity temperature measurements in unsteady conditions. On the basis of the results, possible validation tests are outlined, through the use of the intense radioactive 7Be beam available at the 3MV Pelletron tandem accelerator of the CIRCE Laboratory and the GHIBLI-PWT facility at CIRA, to present the combined novel, contactless and non-intrusive diagnostics for the simultaneous recession rate and temperature determinations. more...

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation is common in sepsis patients but the extent and nature of this remains unresolved. We sought to determine the incidence and correlates of EBV-positivity in a large sepsis cohort. We also hypothesised that EBV reactivation would be increased in patients in whom relative immunosuppression was the major feature of their sepsis response. To identify such patients we aimed to use knowledge of sepsis response subphenotypes based on transcriptomic studies of circulating leukocytes, specifically patients with a Sepsis Response Signature endotype (SRS1) that we have previously shown to be associated with increased mortality and features of immunosuppression. We assayed EBV from the plasma of intensive care unit (ICU) patients with sepsis due to community-acquired pneumonia. In total 730 patients were evaluated by targeted metagenomics (n = 573 patients), digital droplet PCR (n = 565), or both (n = 408). We had previously analysed gene expression in peripheral blood leukocytes for a subset of individuals (n = 390). We observed a 37% incidence of EBV-positivity. EBV reactivation was associated with longer ICU stay (12.9 vs 9.2 days; p = 0.004) and increased organ failure (day 1 SOFA score 6.9 vs 5.9; p = 0.00011). EBV reactivation was associated with the relatively immunosuppressed SRS1 endotype (p = 0.014) and differential expression of a small number of biologically relevant genes. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that viral reactivation in sepsis is a consequence of immune compromise and is associated with increasing severity of illness although further mechanistic studies are required to definitively illustrate cause and effect. more...

Carbon fusion reactions $$^{12}$$ 12 C($$^{12}$$ 12 C,p)$$^{23}$$ 23 Na and $$^{12}$$ 12 C($$^{12}$$ 12 C,$$\alpha $$ α )$$^{20}$$ 20 Ne play a key role in the evolution of massive stars and in explosive scenarios such as type-Ia supernovae and super-bursts in binary stars. A direct determination of their cross sections is extremely challenging and discrepancies exist between different data sets in the literature. Here we report the results of a direct measurement performed at the CIRCE Tandem Accelerator Laboratory in Caserta (Italy), using $$\varDelta E-E$$ Δ E - E detectors for unambiguous charge identification. Cross sections were measured in the energy range $$E_{\mathrm{c.m.}} =2.51{-}4.36$$ E c . m . = 2.51 - 4.36 MeV with energy steps between 10 and 25 keV in the centre of mass. To our knowledge these represent the finest energy steps to date. Results are presented in the form of partial and summed astrophysical $${\tilde{S}}$$ S ~ -factors for individual proton- and $$\alpha $$ α -particle channels. Branching ratios of individual proton- and $$\alpha $$ α -particle groups were found to vary significantly with energy. Angular distributions, albeit limited to three angles, were also found to be non-isotropic, which could be a potential explanation for the discrepancies observed among different data sets. Further efforts are ongoing to extend measurements to lower energies. more...

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Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a major cause of lower respiratory tract infection in young children globally, but little is known about within-host RSV diversity. Here, we characterised within-host RSV populations using deep-sequencing data from 319 nasopharyngeal swabs collected during 2017-2020. RSV-B had lower consensus diversity than RSV-A at the population level, while exhibiting greater within-host diversity. Two RSV-B consensus sequences had an amino acid alteration (K68N) in the fusion (F) protein, which has been associated with reduced susceptibility to nirsevimab (MEDI8897), a novel RSV monoclonal antibody under development. In addition, several minor variants were identified in the antigenic sites of the F protein, one of which may confer resistance to palivizumab, the only licensed RSV monoclonal antibody. The differences in within-host virus populations emphasise the importance of monitoring for vaccine efficacy and may help to explain the different prevalences of monoclonal antibody-escape mutants between the two subgroups. more...

The study of Thermal Protection Systems (TPS) is largely performed in Plasma Wind Tunnel (PWT) facilities where sample wear rate is of main interest and the knowledge of its relation with sample surface temperature desirable. The intrusive and indirect methods employed so far reduce the reliability and the accuracy of these tests. A new joined technique based on both the Surface Layer Implantation of radioactive tracers and on the emissivity-free Dual Color Infra-Red thermography allows the online measure of both the TPS wear rate and the surface temperature without any preparation (i.e. modification) of the sample. Other Ion Beam Analysis techniques like the Rutherford Backscattering Spectrometry (RBS) can be employed off-line to perform integrative, quantitative and still not intrusive analysis of TPS composition and of the structure modifications occurred during the PWT tests. In this work we present the results of a discrete wear rate measurement of an ablative TPS implanted with 7Be ions and the feasibility study of the RBS technique to investigate the oxidation of ceramic TPS. more...

Until recently, whole genome sequencing (WGS) has been the preserve of high-income settings. Although the costs of WGS have dramatically decreased over the past decade,1 the need for initial investment in sequencing platforms and associated equipment and for the technical expertise to run and maintain them have prevented their introduction into lower income settings. Downstream processing of sequencing data is frequently hampered by poor Internet connectivity, a lack of local expertise, and the perceived requirement for substantial computational infrastructure. Oxford Nanopore Technologies’ (ONT) MinION sequencer is a portable device for DNA and RNA sequencing that generates data for local analysis, in real time. The MinION weighs under 100 g and plugs directly into a laptop via a USB port, with no additional computing infrastructure required.2 Only basic laboratory facilities are needed to extract DNA and prepare sequencing libraries. The MinION has been used to sequence viral,3 bacterial,4,5 and eukaryotic6–9 genomes. Despite its high raw error rate, nanopore data can in many cases produce highly contiguous assemblies. Illumina short read data can be added to improve consensus accuracy, in many cases to that of a high-quality draft assembly, without extra finishing steps. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos) is a land-linked country of ∼7 million people in Southeast Asia. Lao People’s Democratic Republic is ranked 135th in the world on the Human Development Index, a composite statistic of life expectancy, education, and per capita income.10 There are few functioning molecular biology laboratories in Laos, no previous published WGS projects, and relatively poor Internet connectivity.11 Rickettsia typhi is an obligate intracellular, Gram-negative bacterium in the family Rickettsiaceae that causes the disease murine typhus and has a worldwide tropical and subtropical distribution.12,13 The pathogen is transmitted to humans primarily by flea fecal contamination of the bite of the oriental rat flea Xenopsylla cheopis.14 The disease is an important and grossly under-recognized global cause of febrile illness.15 Those affected suffer from high fever, headache, myalgia, arthralgia, nausea, and vomiting and may have a macular rash. Complications are infrequent but include myocarditis, meningoencephalitis, seizures, and renal failure.13,16 When diagnosed, recovery is typically rapid after treatment with doxycycline and mortality is low (around 1–2%) with antibiotic treatment.12,17 Despite its importance as a pathogen, to date just three R. typhi whole genome sequences, with wide geographic and temporal distribution, have been published. The type strain Wilmington was isolated from a patient in North Carolina in 1928, and the sequence was published in 2004.18,19 Two further sequences originating from a patient in Northern Thailand collected in 1965 and the other from a bandicoot rat, Bandicota sp., collected in Burma (now Myanmar) in the 1970s20–22 were published online in 2014 (Table 1). Table 1 Strain information more...

Compression ignited engines are still considered the most efficient and reliable technology currently available for power generation in automotive applications. In this scenario, the main obstacles to the use of conventional compression-ignited engines are the increasingly stringent emission regulations, which require significant increases in engine efficiency and severely limit both NOx and particulate matter production. As a matter of fact, the combustion process that occurs in conventional compression-ignited engines, mainly characterized by the auto-ignition of directly injected Diesel-like fuels, is a heterogeneous process usually not compatible with modern emission regulations. To overcome the mentioned critical issues, a large amount of research is being carried out to investigate the combined use of gasoline-like fuels and compression-ignited engines, which proved to be very promising to simultaneously achieve high efficiency and low emissions. One of the main critical issues related to the auto-ignition of gasoline-like fuels is the high sensitivity to the thermal conditions of the cylinder, which results in long ignition delays strongly variable with small cylinder temperature variations. This work proposes a testing methodology suitable to investigate how the residual gases trapped inside the combustion chamber affect cylinder thermal conditions and, consequently, the gasoline auto-ignition mechanisms. The testing methodology is based on a specifically designed injection control strategy that manages the cylinders independently: one cylinder is operated using a proper pattern of gasoline direct injections, while the others are operated only to vary the intake and exhaust conditions of the first cylinder, where gasoline compression ignition is studied. The testing methodology, applied to an engine installed in a test cell, proved to be effective to highlight the effect of the residual gases on gasoline auto-ignition. more...

Deep sequencing of the full-length hepatitis B virus (HBV) genome provides the opportunity to determine the extent to which viral diversity, genotype, polymorphisms, insertions and deletions may influence presentation and outcomes of disease. Increasing experience with analysis of HBV genomic data opens up the potential for using these data to inform insights into pathophysiology of infection and to underpin decision making in clinical practice. We here set out to undertake whole genome HBV sequencing from an adult who presented acutely unwell with a new diagnosis of HBV infection, and tested positive for both HBV anti-core IgM and IgG, possibly representing either acute hepatitis B infection (AHB) or chronic hepatitis B with an acute reactivation (CHB-AR). The distinction between these two scenarios may be important in predicting prognosis and underpinning treatment decisions, but can be challenging based on routine laboratory tests. Through application of deep whole-genome sequencing we typed the isolate as genotype-D1, and identified several minority variants including G1764A and G1986A substitutions in the pre-core promoter and pre-core regions, which support CHB-AR rather than AHB. In the longer term, enhanced deep sequencing data for HBV may provide improved evidence to distinguish between acute and chronic infection, to predict outcomes and to stratify treatment. more...

In this work a free emissivity (dual color) thermographic technique, based on the ratio of monochromatic emissive power, is investigated. It can be performed by equipping the InfraRed (IR) camera of two band pass filters in such a way to consider the emissivity parameter as a constant value. Two colour technique can reveal its utility in fields of applied physics where intrusive techniques are not allowed and/or materials are characterized by unknown emissivity. This physics methodology can be really useful, for example, in temperature determination of (Aero) Space materials (such as TPS-Thermal Protection Systems), tested on ground Plasma Wind Tunnel, solid targets temperature determination due to ions bombarding by means of accelerators for nuclear (Astro) Physics and/or environmental physics applications. In this paper, temperature measurement investigations based on the choice of central wavelength distances of two filters are reported. In particular a numerical model simulation, experimentally validated in the Long and Mid (LW, MW) – Wavelength ranges, was built and used to determine the feasibility of the technique and to choose the best filters combinations. In addition, after the verification capability in MW range, the temperature measurements on an aluminium plate were carried out with the dual colour technique. Moreover the verified numerical model was used to analyze errors of the two color technique in MW range using different curves of materials with variable emissivity. The study was carried out up to 500 °C and the results show that this innovative technique allows measurements of surface temperatures with errors of few % in MW range. more...

Bangladesh is one of the world’s top ten burdened countries for viral hepatitis. We investigated an adult fever cohort (n=201) recruited in Dhaka, to determine the prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and to identify cases of occult hepatitis B infection (OBI). HBV exposure (anti-HBc) was documented in 72/201 (36%), and active HBV infection in 16/201 (8%), among whom 3 were defined as OBI (defined as detectable HBV DNA but negative HBsAg). Applying a target-enrichment sequencing pipeline to samples with HBV DNA >3.0log10 IU/ml, we obtained deep whole genome sequences for four cases, identifying genotypes A, C and D. Polymorphisms in the surface gene of the OBI case may account for the negative HBsAg status. We identified mutations associated with nucleos(t)ide analogue resistance, although the clinical significance in this cohort is not known. The high prevalence of HBV in this setting highlights the benefits of offering screening in hospital patients and the importance of HBV DNA testing of transfusion products to reduce the risk of transmission. In order to work towards international Sustainable Development Goal targets for HBV elimination, increased investment is required for diagnosis, treatment and prevention in Bangladesh. more...

Future emission regulations for internal combustion engines require increasingly stringent reductions of engine-out emissions, especially NOx and particulate matter (PM), together with the continuous improvement of engine efficiency. In the current scenario, even though compression-ignited engines are still considered the most efficient and reliable technology for automotive applications, the use of diesel-like fuels has become a critical issue, since it is usually not compatible with the required emissions reduction. A large amount of research and experimentation is being carried out to investigate the combined use of compression-ignited engines and gasoline-like fuels, which proved to be very promising, especially in case the fuel is directly injected in the combustion chamber at high pressure. This work investigates the combustion process occurring in a light-duty compression-ignited engine while directly injecting only gasoline. A specific experimental setup has been designed to guarantee combustion stability over the whole operating range that is achieved controlling boost pressure and temperature together with all the injection parameters of the multijet pattern. The analysis of the experimental data clearly highlights how the variation of the control parameters affect the ignition process of small amounts of directly injected gasoline and the maximum achievable efficiency. In particular, the analysis of the sensitivity to the injection parameters allows identifying an ignition delay model and the key control parameters that might be varied to guarantee a robust control of combustion phasing within the cycle. more...

The reentry conditions endured by a vehicle entering the atmosphere from an Earth orbit or from an interplanetary trajectory are the most critical phases for materials used as Thermal Protection Systems (TPSs), since the spacecraft surfaces have to withstand extremely high heat fluxes and loads due to the hot plasmas generated downstream of the high energy shock waves due to the extreme deceleration. The gases are highly excited and heated to values up to 10000 K immediately downstream of the shock waves. The TPS surfaces are then heated by these gases through convection and radiation, producing very high wall heat fluxes and associated temperatures, which can produce TPS surface temperatures of up to 2300 K. Passive and active TPSs are employed to protect the inner cold structures of the spacecraft which are made from aluminium or metallic alloys. Passive TPS are classified as reusable or single use (ablative) materials. Facilities such as plasma wind tunnels are used to experimentally reproduce the atmospheric reentry of such vehicles. Their use allows the testing and qualification of the TPS which is subjected to thermal and mechanical stresses induced by the hypersonic jet in spite of the unavoidable intrinsic limitations when the complex flight physics phenomena are reproduced in ground test facilities. One of the most complex issues, associated with aerospace safety during a hypersonic Plasma Wind Tunnel test campaign is to measure the free jet temperature and monitor the high heat fluxes generated by the hot plasma, the correlated TPS surface temperatures, and the erosion rate (i.e., recession rate) affecting the behavior of materials representative of space vehicle subcomponents. The purpose of the present work is to review the diagnostic methodologies used in hypersonic test facilities associated with the working principles, the development, the potential and the limitations of arc jet plasma wind tunnels for the evaluation of the aforementioned critical parameters. At the same time, this review aims to illustrate the most advanced and sensitive non-intrusive diagnostics for the determination of the free jet temperature and its oxygen composition by means of spontaneous Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) and Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) respectively, and for the determination of the TPS temperature and erosion rate using free emissivity Dual Color Infrared Thermography (DCIT) and on Surface Layer Implantation (SLI) of radioactive tracers techniques. more...

The routine identification of pathogens during infection remains challenging because it relies on multiple modalities such as culture and nucleic acid amplification and tests that tend to be specific for very few of an enormous number of possible infectious agents. Metagenomics promises single-test identification, but shotgun sequencing remains unwieldy and expensive or in many cases insufficiently sensitive to detect the amount of pathogen material in a clinical sample. Here we present the validation and application of Castanet, a method for metagenomic sequencing with enrichment that exploits clinical knowledge to construct a broad panel of relevant organisms for detection at low cost with sensitivity comparable to PCR. Castanet targets both DNA and RNA, works with small sample volumes, and can be implemented in a high-throughput diagnostic setting. We used Castanet to analyse plasma samples from 573 patients from the GAinS sepsis cohort and CSF samples from 243 patients from the ChiMES meningitis cohort that had been evaluated using standard clinical microbiology methods, identifying relevant pathogens in many cases where no pathogen had previously been detected. Castanet is intended for use in defining the distribution of pathogens in samples, diseases and populations, for large-scale clinical studies and for verifying the performance of routine testing regimens. By providing sequence as output, Castanet combines pathogen identification directly with subtyping and phylo-epidemiology. more...

Durability tests of thermal protection system (TPS) materials for space vehicles is of paramount importance in developing TPS materials. The limits of the presently used techniques and the need for higher accuracy and precision demand new reliable and more sensitive measurement methods. In this paper we present the validation of a new on-line and non intrusive technique to estimate the TPS material recession rate which exploits the surface layer implantation of radioactive 7Be ions and the measurement of its characteristic γ-rays during the recession test. more...

The work aims to investigate the distribution versus depth of natural (238U, 232Th, 226Ra, 40K) and anthropogenic radionuclides (137Cs, 239Pu, 240Pu) along the Domitia coastal zone (Campania Region, Southern Italy) downstream the Garigliano and Volturno rivers, to value the influence of the decommissioned Garigliano Nuclear Power Plant (GNPP) releases. Despite the coastal systems are in continuous evolution, they hold memory of the radioactive contamination to be monitored in order to disseminate new knowledge both about the geochemistry of the isotopes and on their possible interactions with the geologic-sedimentologic context. Given the limited scientific investigations during the years in this field, the present work attempted to fill the gap of knowledge, trying to investigate the presence of radionuclide pollution in the Campanian coastal littoral. A constant distribution of natural radioisotopes in the medium-fine sand fraction is found, with an increase in the coarse fraction, showing an interesting correlation between the radioactive content with the lithology and mineralogy. About the anthropogenic cesium, the low concentrations (due to its strong solubility in the water) allowed to exclude any contribution of the GNPP. Furthermore the 239,240Pu actinides results, detected for both the ivestigated areas and for the used techniques, falls completely in the reference range values: the isotopic ratio is in the global fallout range allowing to exclude any contribution from the GNPP. The extraction and purification method has allowed to obtain excellent results to detect 239,240Pu actinides both for the ICP-MS, at Riso National Laboratory, and for the AMS technique, at CIRCE laboratory. For these reason the method is so reliable and reproducible that it could be considered as a reference for future environmental radioactivity studies on the sandy matrix. more...

The following work reports a study that uses spontaneous emission spectroscopy for the evaluation of the average temperatures of the plasma shock layer and the test article surfaces subject to the hypersonic jet generated by the Plasma Wind Tunnel (PWT) facility at CIRA. Besides the qualitative information about the species of the hypersonic free stream emission generated by the SCIROCCO arcjet plasma tunnel, the most powerful PWT in the world, the main emission from the species in the shock layer can be obtained. The methodology uses the radiation emitted by the test article, in the UV–VIS-NIR (i.e. Ultraviolet–Visible-Near Infrared) spectral ranges from which the surface temperature and the emissivity values can be obtained. The camera lens connected to the spectrometer was placed in order to frame the side of a C/SiC test article flap, subject to a known PWT fluid-dynamic flow condition expressed in terms of total pressure P0, total enthalpy H0 and air mass flow rate. Finally by crossing the data obtained from the Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) with thermographic ones, it has been possible to estimate the surface emissivity value in the camera LWIR working ranges. A compact spectroscope, Ocean Optics USB 2000, with no moving parts and no cooling sensor has been used for the acquisitions. For the IR thermographic results a FLIR A655 SC, working in LW (Long Wavelength) IR spectral range, was used. more...

In spark-ignition engines, knock control represents one of the most critical issue to reach optimal thermal efficiency. The paper deals with the development of a methodology aimed at evaluating the most suited spark advance to achieve the right compromise between performance optimization and knocking occurrence (KLSA). The methodology is based on combustion simulation via a two-zone 0D model in which the cycle-by-cycle variation (CCV) is described by a model parameter that impacts on the turbulence level at inlet valve closing. The auto-ignition of the unburnt mixture is described by a thermodynamic equation derived from literature while knock intensity is evaluated by a stochastic approach. The method allows evaluating the percentage of knocking cycles, depending on the spark advance actuated. The validation has been carried out vs. experimental data collected at the engine test rig on a 4 cylinders turbocharged GDI engine, by comparing predicted and experimental MAPO. more...

Over the past years, the increasingly stringent emission regulations for Internal Combustion Engines (ICE) spawned a great amount of research in the field of combustion control optimization. Nowadays, optimal combustion control has become crucial, especially to properly manage innovative Low Temperature Combustion (LTC) strategies, usually characterized by high instability, cycle-to-cycle variability and sensitivity to slight variations of injection parameters and thermal conditions. Many works demonstrate that stability and maximum efficiency of LTC strategies can be guaranteed using closed-loop control strategies that vary the standard injection parameters (mapped during the base calibration activity) to keep engine torque and center of combustion (CA50) approximately equal to their target values. However, the combination of standard base calibration and closed-loop control is usually not sufficient to accurately control Low Temperature Combustions in transient conditions. As a matter of fact, to properly manage LTC strategies in transient conditions it is usually necessary to investigate the combustion methodology of interest and implement specific functions that provide an accurate feed-forward contribution to the closed-loop controller. This work presents the experimental analysis performed running a light-duty compression ignited engine in dual-fuel RCCI mode, the goal being to highlight the way injection parameters and charge temperature affect combustion stability and ignition delay. Finally, the paper describes how the obtained results can be used to define the optimal injections strategy in the analyzed operating points, i.e. the combination of injection parameters to be used as a feed-forward for a closed-loop combustion control strategy. more...

High-throughput viral genetic sequencing is needed to monitor the spread of drug resistance, direct optimal antiretroviral regimes, and to identify transmission dynamics in generalised HIV epidemics. Public health efforts to sequence HIV genomes at scale face three major technical challenges: (i) minimising assay cost and protocol complexity, (ii) maximising sensitivity, and (iii) recovering accurate and unbiased sequences of both the genome consensus and the within-host viral diversity. Here we present a novel, high-throughput, virus-enriched sequencing method and computational pipeline tailored specifically to HIV (veSEQ-HIV), which addresses all three technical challenges, and can be used directly on leftover blood drawn for routine CD4 testing. We demonstrate its performance on 1,620 plasma samples collected from consenting individuals attending 10 large urban clinics in Zambia, partners of HPTN 071 (PopART). We show that veSEQ-HIV consistently recovers complete HIV genomes from the majority of samples of different subtypes, and is also quantitative: the number of HIV reads per sample obtained by veSEQ-HIV estimates viral load without the need for additional testing. Both quantitativity and sensitivity were assessed on a subset of 126 samples with clinically measured viral loads, and with standardized quantification controls (VL 100 – 5,000,000 RNA copies/ml). Complete HIV genomes were recovered from 93% (85/91) of samples when viral load was over 1,000 copies per ml. The quantitative nature of the assay implies that variant frequencies estimated with veSEQ-HIV are representative of true variant frequencies in the sample. Detection of minority variants can be exploited for epidemiological analysis of transmission and drug resistance, and we show how the information contained in individual reads of a veSEQ-HIV sample can be used to detect linkage between multiple mutations associated with resistance to antiretroviral therapy. Less than 2% of reads obtained by veSEQ-HIV were identified as in silico contamination events using updates to the phyloscanner software (phyloscanner clean) that we show to be 95% sensitive and 99% specific at ‘decontaminating’ NGS data. The cost of the assay — approximately 45 USD per sample — compares favourably with existing VL and HIV genotyping tests, and provides the additional value of viral load quantification and inference of drug resistance with a single test. veSEQ-HIV is well suited to large public health efforts and is being applied to all ∼9000 samples collected for the HPTN 071-2 (PopART Phylogenetics) study. more...

The 12C(12C,p)23Na and 12C(12C, $\alpha$ )20Ne fusion reactions are among the most important in stellar evolution since they determine the destiny of massive ( $ M \simeq 8-10 M_{\odot}$ ) stars. However, experimental low-energy investigations of such reactions are significantly hampered by ubiquitous natural hydrogen and deuterium contaminants in the carbon targets. The associated beam-induced background completely masks the reaction products of interest thus preventing cross-section measurements at the relevant energies of astrophysical interest, $E_{\mathrm{cm}} < 2$ MeV. In this work, we report about an investigation aimed at assessing possible deuterium reductions on both natural graphite and Highly Ordered Pyrolytic Graphite targets as a function of target temperature. Our results indicate that reductions up to about 80% can be attained on both targets in the temperature range investigated, $ T \simeq 200-1200 {}^{\circ}$ C. A further reduction by a factor of 2.5 in absolute deuterium content is observed when the scattering chamber is surrounded by a dry nitrogen atmosphere so as to minimise light-particles uptake within the chamber rest gas (and thus on target) through air leaks. The results from this study will inform the choice of optimal experimental conditions and procedures for improved measurements of the 12C + 12C reactions cross-sections at the low energies of astrophysical interest. more...

7Be(p, $\gamma$ )8B has an important role in nuclear astrophysics, having a direct impact on both the high energy component of solar neutrinos and the 7Li abundance after the Big Bang Nucleosynthesis. All direct measurements providing useful information on this reaction so far used the same approach, i.e. a proton beam on a radioactive 7Be target. The overall precision and accuracy of the estimate of the astrophysical rate of this reaction are limited by the discrepancy between the results of existing measurements, possibly due to the complicated stoichiometry and beam induced deterioration of the radioactive targets. The ERNA (European Recoil separator for Nuclear Astrophysics) collaboration planned a new experiment in inverse kinematics exploiting the intense 7Be beam available at CIRCE (Center for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental heritage), Caserta, Italy. The 8B recoils are produced in a windowless hydrogen gas target and detected after the efficient mass separation provided by ERNA. Here we present the commissioning of the experimental setup and a first cross section measurement at $E_{\mathrm{cm}}\approx 812$ keV. more...

In order to perform higher precision measurements, an upgrade of the ANU accelerator is underway. Fast switching times on the low-energy side, with maximum settling times of 30 ms, are achieved by holding the injector magnet field constant while changing the energy of the different isotopes by changing the pre-acceleration voltage after the ion source. Because ions of the different isotopes then have different energies before injection, it is necessary to adjust the strength and steering of the electrostatic quadrupole lens that focusses the beam before entry into the accelerator. First tests of the low-energy system will be reported. At the high energy end, a larger vacuum box in the analyzing magnet has been designed, manufactured and installed to allow the transport of differences in mass as large as 10% at constant terminal voltage. For the cases where more than one isotope must be transported to the detector an additional refinement is necessary. If the accelerator voltage is to be kept constant, then the trajectories of the different isotopes around both the analyzing and switching magnets must be modified. This will be achieved using bounced electrostatic steerers before and after the magnets. Simulations have been performed with the ion optic code COSY Infinity to determine the optimal positions and sizes of these steerers. more...

Estimate the proportion of heavy DUI offenders who do not initiate a treatment for their drinking problem before referring to an official medical expertise to recover their driver’s license. Evaluate the proportion of offenders with drinking problems who became abstinent during 6 months within two years after their offense and their characteristics.Between January 2010 and December 2012, data were collected from 1316 consecutive drivers who were referred to an expertise in a legal medicine Swiss institute to recover their driver’s license after driving under the influence of alcohol. 153 offenders were included in the analysis after excluding patients under the influence of other recreational drugs and patients unfit to drive for other medical reasons. Heavy DUI were defined as first time drunk driving offenders with blood alcohol concentration (BAC) ≥2.50 g/kg, or second-time drunk driving offenders within five years with BAC ≥1.60 g/kg in five years, or third-time drunk driving offenders within ten years with BAC ≥0.80 g/kg. 28 subjects of 153 (18%) were considered fit to drive. The rest of the drivers (125, 82%) were considered unfit to drive (drinking problem 77, dissociation alone 48). The majority of offenders (46,4 %) had driving under the influence of alcohol 2 times in the last five years with BAC ≥ 1.60 g/Kg, 65 (42.5%) had BAC ≥ 2.5 and the rest had 3 or more drunk driving offenses. The criteria used for medical and/or psychological assessment are appropriate. more...

The assessment of the radiological impact of a decommissioning Nuclear Power Plant is presented here through the results of an environmental monitoring survey carried out in the area surrounding the Garigliano Power Plant. The levels of radioactivity in soil, water, air and other environmental matrices are shown, in which {\alpha}, {\beta} and {\gamma} activity and {\gamma} equivalent dose rate are measured. Radioactivity levels of the samples from the Garigliano area are analyzed and then compared to those from a control zone situated more than 100 km away. Moreover, a comparison is made with a previous survey held in 2001. The analyses and comparisons show no significant alteration in the radiological characteristics of the area surroundings the plant, with an overall radioactivity depending mainly from the global fallout and natural sources., Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables more...

Thermal protection systems (TPSs) of spacecrafts, either for single use or reusable, experience wear by ablation and erosion, due to the high heat fluxes during a re-entry phase in the atmosphere. The determination of the wear rate is a crucial point, which is presently mainly possible in aerospace on-ground measurements by means of invasive diagnostics. The purpose of this paper is to present novel contactless, online, high-sensitivity and non-intrusive diagnostics for wear measurements based on radioactive tracers. We propose the technique for future on-ground experiments that might later be developed to perform in-flight TPSs monitoring, thus significantly increasing the safety of the aerospace vehicles. The basic ideas of the method, its sensitivity investigated by GEANT4 simulations, and the future experimental validation are outlined. more...

A new detection array called GASTLY (GAs-Silicon Two-Layer sYstem) has been designed to detect and identify low-energy light particles emitted in nuclear reactions of astrophysical interest. Devoted to the measurement of nanobarn cross-sections, the system is optimised for large solid angle coverage and for low-energy detection thresholds. The array consists of eight modules, each comprising an ionisation chamber and a large area silicon strip detector. Its modularity and versatility allow for use in a variety of experiments. Here we report on the performance of the array as obtained during its commissioning phase with standard $\alpha$ -particle sources and during in-beam tests with an intense 12C beam. Typical energy resolutions $\Delta E(\mathrm{FWHM})/E$ of about 3% and 2% were obtained for the ionisation chambers and the silicon detectors, respectively. The status of the development of individual strip readout, based on ASIC technology, is also presented. more...

C-12(alpha, gamma)O-16 cross section plays a key-role in the stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis of massive stars. Hence, it must be determined with the precision of about 10% at the relevant Gamow energy of 300 keV. The ERNA (European Recoil mass separator for Nuclear Astrophysics) collaboration measured, for the first time, the total cross section of C-12(alpha, gamma)O-16 by means of the direct detection of the O-16 ions produced in the reaction down to an energy of E-cm = 1.9 MeV. To extend the measurement at lower energy, it is necessary to limit the extension of the He gas target. This can be achieved using a supersonic jet, where the oblique shock waves and expansion fans formed at its boundaries confine the gas, which can be efficiently collected using a catcher. A test version of such a system has been designed, constructed and experimentally characterized as a bench mark for a full numerical simulation using FV (Finite Volume) methods. The results of the commissioning of the jet test version and the design of the new system that will be used in combination with ERNA are presented and discussed. more...

Background: The origin of fluorine is a widely debated issue. Nevertheless, the $^{15}\mathrm{N}(\ensuremath{\alpha},\ensuremath{\gamma})^{19}\mathrm{F}$ reaction is a common feature among the various production channels so far proposed. Its reaction rate at relevant temperatures is determined by a number of narrow resonances together with the direct capture and the tails of the two broad resonances at ${E}_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.}=1323$ and 1487 keV.Purpose: The broad resonances widths, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$ and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$, have to be measured with adequate precision in order to better determine their contribution to the $^{15}\mathrm{N}(\ensuremath{\alpha},\ensuremath{\gamma})^{19}\mathrm{F}$ stellar reaction rate.Methods: Measurement through the direct detection of the $^{19}\mathrm{F}$ recoil ions with the European Recoil separator for Nuclear Astrophysics (ERNA) were performed. The reaction was initiated by a $^{15}\mathrm{N}$ beam impinging onto a $^{4}\mathrm{He}$ windowless gas target. The observed yield of the resonances at ${E}_{\mathrm{c}.\mathrm{m}.}=1323$ and 1487 keV is used to determine their widths in the $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ and $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ channels.Results: We show that a direct measurement of the cross section of the $^{15}\mathrm{N}(\ensuremath{\alpha},\ensuremath{\gamma})^{19}\mathrm{F}$ reaction can be successfully obtained with the recoil separator ERNA, and the widths ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\ensuremath{\gamma}}$ and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ of the two broad resonances have been determined. While a fair agreement is found with earlier determination of the widths of the 1487 keV resonance, a significant difference is found for the 1323 keV resonance ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Gamma}}}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$.Conclusions: The revision of the widths of the two more relevant broad resonances in the $^{15}\mathrm{N}(\ensuremath{\alpha},\ensuremath{\gamma})^{19}\mathrm{F}$ reaction presented in this work is the first step toward a more firm determination of the reaction rate. At present, the residual uncertainty at the temperatures of the $^{19}\mathrm{F}$ stellar nucleosynthesis is dominated by the uncertainties affecting the direct capture component and the 364 keV narrow resonance, both so far investigated only through indirect experiments. more...

The dual color infrared thermography is a non-intrusive temperature measurement technique, based on the ratio principle between the signals collected at two near wavelengths in local grey body hypotheses and applicable when a thermal camera is equipped with a suitable pair of narrow band filters. In this work, the applicability at high temperatures has been investigated by using an analytical model based on Planck's Law integration, convoluted with the real response curves of sensors, optics, filters and attenuators. The presented model has been validated at high temperature and used to optimize the hardware set up for dual color measurements both in terms of operative spectral band and also for choosing the best pair of filters. Furthermore, spectral emissivity trend curves for different materials, available in literature, and at different temperatures have been used in the theoretical model in order to simulate and replicate experimental results. The experimental simulations obtained with dual color technique have been compared with those obtained through classical techniques based on the a priori knowledge and setting of the emissivity average values. The aim is to establish in which conditions and for which class of Thermal Protection System (TPS) materials used to protect the inner cold structure of hypersonic space vehicles made of aluminium or metallic alloys, the dual color technique can be used for a more accurate and precise temperature measurement compared to the classical techniques. The applicability study was carried out up to high temperature (2000 °C) which are reached by the TPS surfaces during the re-entry phase from Earth orbit or from interplanetary trajectories due to the high heat flux loads produced by the strong shock wave during the deceleration phase. more...

12C(α, γ)16O cross section plays a key-role in the stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis of massive stars. Hence, it must be determined with the precision of about 10% at the relevant Gamow energy of 300 keV. The ERNA (European Recoil mass separator for Nuclear Astrophysics) collaboration measured, for the first time, the total cross section of 12C(α, γ)16O by means of the direct detection of the 16O ions produced in the reaction down to an energy of Ecm = 1.9 MeV. To extend the measurement at lower energy, it is necessary to limit the extension of the He gas target. This can be achieved using a supersonic jet, where the oblique shock waves and expansion fans formed at its boundaries confine the gas, which can be efficiently collected using a catcher. A test version of such a system has been designed, constructed and experimentally characterized as a bench mark for a full numerical simulation using FV (Finite Volume) methods. The results of the commissioning of the jet test version and the design of the new system that will be used in combination with ERNA are presented and discussed. more...

Some potential applications of the isotopes 36 Cl and 236 U require higher sensitivity than is normally required or achieved. For 36 Cl, one such application is the measurement of the 36 Cl/Cl ratio of seawater. We show that, with appropriate precautions to reduce the effect of ion-source memory, it is possible to reach blank levels below 10 −16 in the 36 Cl/Cl ratio. Measurements of a series of seawater and sea salt samples yield a blank-corrected 36 Cl/Cl ratio of present-day sea water of 0.71 ± 0.08 × 10 −15 . For 236 U, one potential application is as a prospecting tool, where sensitivities in the 236 U/ 238 U ratio at the 10 −13 level are desirable. We demonstrate that this sensitivity can be achieved for 24 MeV uranium ions with time-of-flight detection over a 6.0 m flight path. more...

Camptothecins are still among the most widely prescribed and effective anticancer drugs. Unfortunately, important drawbacks including water insolubility, lactone instability, reversibility of the drug-target interaction, drug resistance and toxicity are responsible for treatment failure and often require suspension of the drug administration itself. In order to overcome such drawbacks, several options in chemical manipulation of natural camptothecin have been explored, and effective compounds have been identified in a novel series of 7-oxyiminomethyl derivatives. Among the compounds of this series, the hydrophilic derivative namitecan (7 (2-aminoethoxy) iminomethyl camptothecin) has been selected for further development. The relevant features of namitecan are: 1) marked cytotoxic potency - likely related to multiple factors, including i) a potent inhibition of topoisomerase I, ii) a persistent stabilization of the cleavable complex, iii) an increased intracellular accumulation, and iv) a peculiar subcellular localization; 2) enhanced lactone stability and favorable pharmacokinetics; 3) remarkable antitumor efficacy in a large panel of human tumor xenografts (including tumor models relatively resistant to topotecan and irinotecan), particularly on squamous cell carcinomas. The clinical development of namitecan is currently ongoing. Namitecan exhibited an acceptable toxicity profile, with neutropenia being the dose-limiting toxic effect, and clinical benefit was appreciable in patients with different tumor types, particularly bladder and endometrium carcinomas. In this article, we review the relevant features of namitecan, with particular reference to its advantages compared with the two analogues (topotecan and irinotecan) approved for clinical use. more...

The basement membrane (BM) is a layer of specialized extracellular matrix that surrounds normal prostate glands and preserves tissue integrity. Lack or discontinuity of the BM is a prerequisite for tumor cell invasion into interstitial spaces, thus favoring metastasis. Therefore, BM maintenance represents a barrier against cancer development and progression. In the study, we show that miR-205 participates in a network involving ΔNp63α, which is essential for maintenance of the BM in prostate epithelium. At the molecular level, ΔNp63α is able to enhance miR-205 transcription by binding to its promoter, whereas the microRNA can post-transcriptionally limit the amount of ΔNp63α protein, mostly by affecting ΔNp63α proteasomal degradation rather than through a canonical miRNA/target interaction. Functionally, miR-205 is able to control the deposition of laminin-332 and its receptor integrin-β4. Hence, pathological loss of miR-205, as widely observed in prostate cancer, may favor tumorigenesis by creating discontinuities in the BM. Here we demonstrate that therapeutic replacement of miR-205 in prostate cancer (PCa) cells can restore BM deposition and 3D organization into normal-like acinar structures, thus hampering cancer progression. more...

The reaction He 3 ( α , γ ) Be 7 plays a key role for the understanding of the production of 7Li in Big Bang nucleosynthesis as well as for the high energy component of the solar neutrino spectrum. The uncertainty in its absolute cross-section arises from systematic differences of the available data sets. In various experiments the cross-section was measured by the detection of the prompt γ -rays or by the off-line observation of the γ -rays following the 7Be electron capture; in a few cases both observations were carried out. We report on a new approach based on the use of the recoil separator ERNA (European Recoil separator for Nuclear Astrophysics) to detect directly the 7Be recoils as well as the prompt γ -rays in coincidence with the recoils. We present technical details of the experimental setup, such as a recirculating 3He gas target, a TOF-E end detector, and a NaI detector array. In addition, the measurement of the separator acceptance is discussed and compared to the expected recoil emittance. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated by sample spectra, indicating cross-section determinations of He 3 ( α , γ ) Be 7 in the energy range E cm = 0.7 – 3.3 MeV with high precision and accuracy. more...

The radiative capture reaction C 12 ( α , γ ) O 16 has been investigated in the energy range E = 3.3 to 4.5 MeV. This experiment focused in particular on the cascade transition to the 0+ state at E x = 6.05 MeV in 16O and was performed by detecting the capture γ-rays with a NaI detector array at the windowless 4He gas target of the recoil mass separator ERNA in coincidence with the 16O ejectiles. The 6.05 MeV transition has been considered recently as a component accounting for up to 15% of the C 12 ( α , γ ) O 16 total cross section at astrophysical energies. The arrangement of the detector array yielded additional information on the γ-ray multipolarity, i.e. the ratio σ E 2 / σ E 1 , and it was found that the 6.05 MeV transition is entirely E2 in the studied energy range. The results for this transition are analyzed in an R-matrix formalism and extrapolated to the relevant Gamow energy of stellar helium burning, E 0 ≃ 300 keV . In contrast to a previous analysis, the present extrapolation suggests a negligible contribution from this amplitude, S 6.05 ( 300 ) 1 keV b . Additional data for cascade transitions to excited states at E x = 6.13 , 6.92, and 7.12 MeV, respectively, as well as to the ground state were obtained and the corresponding S factors in the studied energy range are given. more...

In order to measure the isotopic ratio of actinides, the upgrade of the accelerator mass spectrometry system at the Center for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental heritage at the Second University of Naples, Italy, was performed. The beam emittance of 238U and the isotopic abundance sensitivity of 236U were measured on the present beam line. Utilizing a 16-strip silicon detector, the sensitivity of 236U/238U≈1×10−11 was obtained. more...

Actinide isotopes are present in environmental samples at ultra-trace levels (236U concentration is quoted to be on the order of pg/kg or fg/kg). Their detection requires the resolution of mass spectrometry (MS) techniques, but only accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) has the sensitivity required. In order to perform the isotopic ratio measurements of actinides, such as 236U/238U, an upgrade of the Center for Isotopic Research on Cultural and Environmental Heritage accelerator (CIRCE) in Caserta, Italy, has been performed. The system was originally equipped for radiocarbon AMS measurements. The main difficulty of AMS measurement of 236U is the intense neighboring beam of 238U. Although most of the 238U ions are suppressed by means of magnetic and electrostatic elements, a small fraction of this intense beam can interfere with the rare isotopes. This paper reports the preliminary results of the 236U/238U isotopic ratio measurement limit (–11), aimed also to better understand the origin of background ions. For this purpose, a large 16-strip silicon detector providing spatial resolution has been used. In addition, calculations to assess the performance of the system obtained by adding a high-resolution time of flight-energy (TOF-E) detector are discussed. more...