0000000000064260
AUTHOR
Paolo Mariani
IRIDE: Interdisciplinary research infrastructure based on dual electron linacs and lasers
This paper describes the scientific aims and potentials as well as the preliminary technical design of RUDE, an innovative tool for multi-disciplinary investigations in a wide field of scientific, technological and industrial applications. IRIDE will be a high intensity "particles factory", based on a combination of high duty cycle radio-frequency superconducting electron linacs and of high energy lasers. Conceived to provide unique research possibilities for particle physics, for condensed matter physics, chemistry and material science, for structural biology and industrial applications, IRIDE will open completely new research possibilities and advance our knowledge in many branches of sci…
Correlation between processability and properties of a high density polyethylene by a rheological approach
The thermal-oxidative and thermal-mechanical stability of high density polyethylene (chromium based catalyst technology) was examined at many different temperatures using a rheological approach. The changes in molecular structure, which take place during processing, have been studied using a Clextral co-rotating twin-screw extruder in comparison with dynamic measurements performed with a rotational rheometer under definite conditions of temperature, strain and frequency and in presence of air. In order to evaluate the degradation response, an investigation of elastic modulus G' as a function of frequency ω on the residual sample after ageing has been carried out. The molecular weight increa…
Competition between chain scission and branching formation in the processing of high-density polyethylene: effect of processing parameters and of stabilizers
Two samples of high-density polyethylene with different molecular weight were processed in a batch mixer and the rheological and structural properties were investigated. In particular, the effect of different processing parameters and the eventual presence of different stabilizers were evaluated. Actually, two reactions may occur during processing: branching/crosslinking or chain scission. The results indicate that when the processing conditions promote a scarce mobility of the macromolecular chains (lower temperatures, lower mixing speed, and higher molecular weight), branching is more favored than chain scission. On increasing the mobility of the chain (higher temperature, higher mixing s…
A study of the enolization of some alkyl ketones in lyomesophases formed by alkylammonium surfactants
The kinetics of enolization of acetone, 3-pentanone, and 6-undecanone have been studied in lyotropic systems in the isotropic, nematic, and lamellar phases. The data, analysed in terms of spontaneous and acid-catalyzed rate constants, do not show any relevant influence of the physical nature of the phase. Effects are instead observed in relation to the length of the alkyl chains of the ketones and the type of the amphiphilic molecule. 6-undecanone has a surprising effect in stabilizing ordered mesophases.
Pressure effects on α-synuclein amyloid fibrils: An experimental investigation on their dissociation and reversible nature
αâsynuclein amyloid fibrils are found in surviving neurons of Parkinson's disease affected patients, but the role they play in the disease development is still under debate. A growing number of evidences points to soluble oligomers as the major cytotoxic species, while insoluble fibrillar aggregates could even play a protection role. In this work, we investigate αâsynuclein fibrils dissociation induced at high pressure by means of Small Angle X-ray Scattering and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy. Fibrils were produced from wild type αâsynuclein and two familial mutants, A30P and A53T. Our results enlighten the different reversible nature of αâsynuclein fibrils fragmentati…
The impact of high hydrostatic pressure on structure and dynamics of beta-lactoglobulin
Abstract Methods Combining small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering measurements with inelastic neutron scattering experiments, we investigated the impact of high hydrostatic pressure on the structure and dynamics of β-lactoglobulin (βLG) in aqueous solution. Background βLG is a relatively small protein, which is predominantly dimeric in physiological conditions, but dissociates to monomer below about pH 3. Results High-pressure structural results show that the dimer–monomer equilibrium, as well as the protein–protein interactions, are only slightly perturbed by pressure, and βLG unfolding is observed above a threshold value of 3000 bar. In the same range of pressure, dynamical results put …
Associations of common breast cancer susceptibility alleles with risk of breast cancer subtypes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers
Introduction More than 70 common alleles are known to be involved in breast cancer (BC) susceptibility, and several exhibit significant heterogeneity in their associations with different BC subtypes. Although there are differences in the association patterns between BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutation carriers and the general population for several loci, no study has comprehensively evaluated the associations of all known BC susceptibility alleles with risk of BC subtypes in BRCA1 and BRCA2 carriers. Methods We used data from 15,252 BRCA1 and 8,211 BRCA2 carriers to analyze the associations between approximately 200,000 genetic variants on the iCOGS array and risk of BC subtypes defined by estrogen re…
IN13 Backscattering Spectrometer at ILL: Looking for Motions in Biological Macromolecules and Organisms
In 1998, three partner groups (the French institutions Institut de Biologie Structurale and the Leon Brillouin Laboratory and the Italian Istituto Nazionale per la Fisica della Materia, now merged with the Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, INFM-CNR) applied to operate the thermal backscattering spectrometer IN13, at the Institut Laue Langevin, as a French-Italian Collaborative Research Group (CRG). The plan was to have access to a dedicated spectrometer in order to explore how far neutron scattering could contribute to the understanding of dynamics in biological macromolecules: how “flexible” must be a biological object to perform its function?
GAMLSS for Big Data: Roc Curve prediction using Twitter data
During last years, Big Data appears as one of the most innovative and growing scientific area of interest. In this field, finding reliable methods to make accurate predictions represents one of the most inspirational challenges. The way to make prediction in the following paper is the use of ROC (Receiver Operating Characteristic) Curve, a binary prediction tool, often used for medical tests. The attention is focused in particular on the implementation of ROC Curve in GAMLSS (Generalized Additive Models for Location Scale and Shape), semi-parametric models suitable for huge and flexible dataset. An application will be shown where the class of GAMLSS is applied to Twitter data in order to pr…
The dimer-monomer equilibrium of SARS-CoV-2 main protease is affected by small molecule inhibitors
AbstractThe maturation of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is the etiological agent at the origin of the COVID-19 pandemic, requires a main protease Mpro to cleave the virus-encoded polyproteins. Despite a wealth of experimental information already available, there is wide disagreement about the Mpro monomer-dimer equilibrium dissociation constant. Since the functional unit of Mpro is a homodimer, the detailed knowledge of the thermodynamics of this equilibrium is a key piece of information for possible therapeutic intervention, with small molecules interfering with dimerization being potential broad-spectrum antiviral drug leads. In the present study, we exploit Small Angle X-ray Scattering (…
Sugar-induced stabilization of the monoolein Pn3m bicontinuous cubic phase during dehydration
To explore the molecular mechanism of the protective function of sugars on cubic lipidic systems, the mesomorphic properties of the monoolein-water system, dehydrated in the presence of a series of sugars, have been studied by osmotic stress experiments. Two bicontinuous inverse cubic structures $(Pn3m$ and $\mathrm{Ia}3d)$ and a lamellar ${L}_{\ensuremath{\alpha}}$ phase form under dehydration in pure water. In sugar solutions, the $\mathrm{Pn}3m$ phase shows an extraordinary stability: as a function of sugar concentration, the lattice parameter decreases to very low values, but no phase transitions occur. Instead, the $\mathrm{Pn}3m$ to $\mathrm{Ia}3d$ phase transition is obtained by equi…
Melt stabilisation of high-density film-grade polyethylene
The thermoxidative degradation of a high-density polyethylene stabilised either with standard and novel kinds of antioxidants was examined at many different temperatures. The aim of this work was to investigate the degradation response (crosslinking or chain-breakage) on the polyolefin molecular structure in terms of low shear rate melt viscosity increment and oxidation induction time both studied through steady and dynamic shear flow tests performed in a rotational rheometer. Lactone type antioxidants, especially the one containing P-EPQ phosphite component, exhibit the lowest thermoxidative degradation at high temperatures. Vitamine E, used in blend with a phosphite, appears to be a good …
The antioxidant effect in controlling thermal degradation of a low density polyethylene blown film
Abstract It is well known that antioxidants are widely used to prevent thermal degradation of high density and linear low density polyethylene. Antioxidants are not always present in low density polyethylene and only small amounts are usually added to these resins. In this work the effect of an antioxidant system on a low density resin having MFI (190 °C/2.16 kg)=2 g/10′ and density 0.9230 g/cm3 has been studied. Its effect on melt viscosity has been studied by means of a batch mixer and the torque vs time behaviour has been analysed. The results show that a maximum in the torque vs time curve can be seen for the material containing antioxidant. In contrast, the material without antioxidant…
High-Pressure-Driven Reversible Dissociation of α-Synuclein Fibrils Reveals Structural Hierarchy
The analysis of the α-synuclein (aS) aggregation process, which is involved in Parkinson's disease etiopathogenesis, and of the structural feature of the resulting amyloid fibrils may shed light on the relationship between the structure of aS aggregates and their toxicity. This may be considered a paradigm of the ground work needed to tackle the molecular basis of all the protein-aggregation-related diseases. With this aim, we used chemical and physical dissociation methods to explore the structural organization of wild-type aS fibrils. High pressure (in the kbar range) and alkaline pH were used to disassemble fibrils to collect information on the hierarchic pathway by which distinct β-sh…
Stabilization of the monoolein Pn 3 m cubic structure on trehalose glasses
Trehalose is known to protect some organisms from various stresses due to drought and high temperature. To explore the molecular mechanism of the protective function, the mesomorphic properties of the monoolein-water system, dried in the presence of trehalose, were studied by X-ray diffraction. While, in pure water, two bicontinuous inverse cubic structures (the Pn3m and Ia3d phases) and a lamellar Lα phase exist as a function of concentration, only the Pn3m cubic phase has been detected in concentrated trehalose solutions or in trehalose glasses, even under extremely dry conditions. Depending on the sugar concentration, or after glass dehydration, the Pn3m cubic unit cell decreases to very…
Rheological Properties of Different Film Blowing Polyethylene Samples Under Shear and Elongational Flow
Summary: The rheological behavior of polyethylenes ismainly dominated by the molecular weight, the molecularweight distribution and by the type, the amount and thedistribution of the chain branches. In this work a linearmetallocenecatalyzedpolyethylene(m-PE),abranchedme-tallocene catalyzed polyethylene (m-bPE), a conventionallinear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) and a low densitypolyethylene (LDPE) have been investigated in order tocompare their rheological behavior in shear and in elonga-tional flow. The four samples have similar melt flow indexand in particular a value typical of film blowing grade.The melt viscosity has been studied both in shear and inisothermal and non-isothermal elonga…