About entangled networks of worm-like micelles: a rejected hypothesis

We report new results from small-angle neutron scattering on d(1 2)-cyclohexane/lecithin/water micellar solutions performed as a function of the water content (w(o)), temperature (T) and dispersed phase volume fraction (phi). The data from dilute samples are interpretable in terms of the existence of giant cylindrical reverse micelles and are well fit with a core-shell model (that provides the micelle structure and dimensions) with values of 28 and 45 Angstrom for the inner core and the outer shell radii, almost independent on temperature and concentration. Such a result could appear consistent with the current idea that worm-like micelles are living polymers. On the contrary, the appearanc…

Italian clinical research in non-small-cell lung cancer

ABSTRACT Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in both men and women worldwide and has a poor prognosis. Non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents approximately 80% of all lung cancers. Surgery is the only curative treatment of NSCLC but only 15–20% of tumours can be radically resected with a survival of about 40% at 5 years. Considering these disappointing results NSCLC is one of the most frequent subjects of clinical research worldwide. Italy is playing an important role in the clinical research of NSCLC performing phase I, II and III trials, prevalently by cooperative groups, and achieving important results that contributed to define the standard treatment for NSCLC p…

Elective Cancer Surgery in COVID-19-Free Surgical Pathways during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: An International, Multicenter, Comparative Cohort Study

PURPOSE As cancer surgery restarts after the first COVID-19 wave, health care providers urgently require data to determine where elective surgery is best performed. This study aimed to determine whether COVID-19–free surgical pathways were associated with lower postoperative pulmonary complication rates compared with hospitals with no defined pathway. PATIENTS AND METHODS This international, multicenter cohort study included patients who underwent elective surgery for 10 solid cancer types without preoperative suspicion of SARS-CoV-2. Participating hospitals included patients from local emergence of SARS-CoV-2 until April 19, 2020. At the time of surgery, hospitals were defined as having a …

In 2014 cancer registration covers more than half of the Italian population [Nel 2014 la registrazione dei tumori in Italia è estesa a oltre la metà del Paese]

Incoherent quasi-elastic neutron scattering in isomeric alcohols

Abstract Incoherent quasi-elastic neutron scattering (IQENS) data on liquid isomeric alcohols normal-pentanol (n-PeOH) and 2-methyl-2-butanol (2M-2BuOH) and on their mixture are presented. The diffusive motion of protons, as a function of temperature, is analyzed in the framework of the random jump diffusion model. The temperature dependence of the parameters obtained confirms the more “fragile” behaviour of the more sterically hindered 2M-2BuOH with respect to that of the linear n-PeOH.

Small-angle neutron scattering from lecithin reverse micelles

Abstract We report new results of small-angle neutron scattering from cyclohexane- d 12 /lecithin/water micellar solutions, performed as a function of the water content, w 0 , the temperature, T and the dispersed-phase volume fraction, ф. The data from dilute samples can be interpreted in terms of the existence of giant cylindrical reverse micelles, in good agreement with the current idea of an unlimited micellar growth with ф. In contrast, the appearance of a sharp interference maximum at high concentrations ( ф > 0.15 ) suggests that the current hypothesis of a gel structure interpreted as a random network of entangled micelles can be assumed to be incorrect, and that there must be some c…

Search for gamma ray bursts with the ARGO-YBJ detector in scaler mode

We report on the search for Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs) in the energy range 1-100 GeV in coincidence with the prompt emission detected by satellites using the Astrophysical Radiation with Ground-based Observatory at YangBaJing (ARGO-YBJ) air shower detector. Thanks to its mountain location (Yangbajing, Tibet, P.R. China, 4300 m a.s.l.), active surface (about 6700 m**2 of Resistive Plate Chambers), and large field of view (about 2 sr, limited only by the atmospheric absorption), the ARGO-YBJ air shower detector is particularly suitable for the detection of unpredictable and short duration events such as GRBs. The search is carried out using the "single particle technique", i.e. counting all the …

The ARGO-YBJ experiment in Tibet

The setting up of the ARGO detector at the YangBaJing Cosmic Ray Laboratory (4300 m a.s.l., Tibet, P.R. China) has been completed during the last spring (2007). It consists of a central carpet made of 130 identical sub-units of 12 RPCs each (a "cluster"), covering a surface of about 5800 m2 with 93% active area, and a guard ring of 24 further clusters of the same type surrounding the central carpet with a lower sampling density. Signals are picked up by external electrodes of small size, thus allowing the sampling of EAS with high space-time granularity. Shower events are detected at a trigger rate of about 4 kHz. Events with a few particles detected by a single cluster are counted in scale…

Relaxation phenomena in mixed isomeric alcohols by Mandelstam-Brillouin scattering

Mandelstam-Brillouin scattering data in mixed isomeric alcohols n-pentanol (nPe-OH) and 2-methyl-2-butanol (2Me-2BuOH) are presented. The hypersonic velocity and normalized absorption are measured as a function of the scattering angle, in the temperature range from - 15-degrees-C to + 45-degrees-C, and as a function of n-PeOH molar fraction going from the pure n-PeOH to the pure 2Me-2BuOH. The experimental results confirm the existence of a shear relaxation phenomenon in the GHz region, that has been previously detected in pure liquids. The temperature dependence of the relaxation time tau-s and of the shear modulus G-infinity evaluated within viscoelastic liquid models, support the existen…

A novel framework for MR image segmentation and quantification by using MedGA

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Image segmentation represents one of the most challenging issues in medical image analysis to distinguish among different adjacent tissues in a body part. In this context, appropriate image pre-processing tools can improve the result accuracy achieved by computer-assisted segmentation methods. Taking into consideration images with a bimodal intensity distribution, image binarization can be used to classify the input pictorial data into two classes, given a threshold intensity value. Unfortunately, adaptive thresholding techniques for two-class segmentation work properly only for images characterized by bimodal histograms. We aim at overcoming these limitations and…

Relationships between diuretic related hyperuricemia and cardiovascular events: data from the URRAH (URic acid Right for heArt Health) study.

Objective Although the relationship between hyperuricemia and cardiovascular events has been extensively examined, data on the role of diuretic-related hyperuricemia are still scanty. The present study was designed to collect information on the relationship between diuretic-related hyperuricemia and cardiovascular events. Methods The URic acid Right for heArt Health (URRAH) study is a nationwide, multicentre, observational cohort study involving data on individuals recruited from all the Italy territory under the patronage of the Italian Society of Hypertension with an average follow-up period of 122.3 ± 66.9 months. Patients were classified into four groups according to the diuretic use (y…

Analisi Sperimentali su impianti MBR ad aerazione intermittente

A review of carbonatitic magmatism in the Paraná-Angloa-Etendeka system

CCDC 1431712: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Tushar S. Basu Baul, Pelesakuo Kehie, Andrew Duthie, Nikhil Guchhait, Nune Raviprakash, Raveendra B. Mokhamatam, Sunil K. Manna, Nerina Armata, Michelangelo Scopelliti, f, Ruimin Wang, Ulli Englert|2017|J.Inorg.Biochem.|168|76|doi:10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2016.12.001

CCDC 1431713: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Tushar S. Basu Baul, Pelesakuo Kehie, Andrew Duthie, Nikhil Guchhait, Nune Raviprakash, Raveendra B. Mokhamatam, Sunil K. Manna, Nerina Armata, Michelangelo Scopelliti, f, Ruimin Wang, Ulli Englert|2017|J.Inorg.Biochem.|168|76|doi:10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2016.12.001

CCDC 1431715: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Tushar S. Basu Baul, Pelesakuo Kehie, Andrew Duthie, Nikhil Guchhait, Nune Raviprakash, Raveendra B. Mokhamatam, Sunil K. Manna, Nerina Armata, Michelangelo Scopelliti, f, Ruimin Wang, Ulli Englert|2017|J.Inorg.Biochem.|168|76|doi:10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2016.12.001

CCDC 1431714: Experimental Crystal Structure Determination

Related Article: Tushar S. Basu Baul, Pelesakuo Kehie, Andrew Duthie, Nikhil Guchhait, Nune Raviprakash, Raveendra B. Mokhamatam, Sunil K. Manna, Nerina Armata, Michelangelo Scopelliti, f, Ruimin Wang, Ulli Englert|2017|J.Inorg.Biochem.|168|76|doi:10.1016/j.jinorgbio.2016.12.001

Musica: Lingua Mundi

“The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not mov’d with concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; the motions of his spirit are dull as night, and his affections dark as Erebus. Let not such man be trusted”: this is what one can read in Shakespeare’s play The Merchant of Venice. That music has always been an essential part of human life is beyond question and that man, at the origin of his existence, first sang before speaking is a view which most men hold. Music has been often associated with emotions and language, and most scholars and linguists agree that language stems from music, and that music is a primordial and archaic language used by primitive men…