Explore the vast range of titles available.

The aim of this paper is to analyze why ozone can be medically useful when it dissolves in blood or in other biological fluids. In reviewing a number of clinical studies performed in Peripheral Arterial Diseases (PAD) during the last decades, it has been possible to confirm the long-held view that the inverted U-shaped curve, typical of the hormesis concept, is suitable to represent the therapeutic activity exerted by the so-called ozonated autohemotherapy. The quantitative and qualitative aspects of human blood ozonation have been also critically reviewed in regard to the biological, therapeutic and safety of ozone. It is hoped that this gas, although toxic for the pulmonary system during prolonged inhalation, will be soon recognized as a useful agent in oxidative-stress related diseases, joining other medical gases recently thought to be of therapeutic importance. Finally, the elucidation of the mechanisms of action of ozone as well as the obtained results in PAD may encourage clinical scientists to evaluate ozone therapy in vascular diseases in comparison to the current therapies.

Sixteen Apennine chamois Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata (10 females, 6 males) were released into a protected area, the Sibillini Mountains National Park, Central Apennines, Italy, and monitored using global positioning system radio tags during 2008–2010. Founders caught in the wild (n = 8) and those reared in large enclosures (n = 8) differed in movement frequency (inter-fix distance per hour) and maximum distance covered (from the release site) in the first 5 months after release: both were significantly greater in wild individuals, males moved significantly more than females, wild individuals shifted their home ranges significantly more often than captive ones, and no differences were observed between the sexes or age classes. A mixed strategy of selection of wild and captive founders has proven successful in preventing large movements in the initial stages of release yet still providing sufficient opportunity to avoid inbreeding depression.

In this work we present the output factor measurements of a clinical linear accelerator using a silicon strip detector coupled to a new system for complex radiation therapy treatment verification. The objective of these measurements is to validate the system we built for treatment verification. The measurements were performed at the Virgin Macarena University Hospital in Seville. Irradiations were carried out with a Siemens ONCOR™ linac used to deliver radiotherapy treatment for cancer patients. The linac was operating in 6 MV photon mode; the different sizes of the fields were defined with the collimation system provided within the accelerator head. The output factor was measured with the silicon strip detector in two different layouts using two phantoms. In the first, the active area of the detector was placed perpendicular to the beam axis. In the second, the innovation consisted of a cylindrical phantom where the detector was placed in an axial plane with respect to the beam. The measured data were compared with data given by a commercial treatment planning system. Results were shown to be in a very good agreement between the compared set of data.

Two types of noninterceptive optical monitors, based on gas fluorescence, have been designed for use on the Linear IFMIF Prototype Accelerator (LIPAc) that is currently under development (a 125 mA, 9 MeV, 175 MHz continuous wave deuteron beam). These diagnostics offer a technique to characterize the transverse beam profile for medium to high current hadron beams, without intercepting the beam core. This paper reports on beam tests using the prototype monitors developed for LIPAc. Tests were carried out at an experimental line of the Centro Nacional de Aceleradores cyclotron, using 9 MeV deuterons with beam currents from 0.4 to 40μA . In addition, transverse beam profile measurements were performed under high background radiation (e.g. gamma dose rate up to 83mSv/h ). Preliminary cross-checks with different profilers, as well as a systematic scan of beam current and vacuum pressures and tests with different injected gases (nitrogen and xenon) have been performed. In this work, we present a brief description of the experimental setup and the first measurements obtained with these prototype profilers plus a discussion of the first analysis of the background signal in a detector as a function of radiation background.

Alternative strategies of space use may be present in a species or in a population as a response to different environmental parameters, especially in mountainous habitats, where heavy snowfalls in winter may determine important variations of habitat quality. The spatial behaviour of 20 radiotagged red deer hinds was assessed in a mountainous habitat in the eastern Italian Alps from 2002 to 2004. Two groups of hinds were identified: ‘resident’ females remained in the same area throughout the year; ‘shifter’ females showed separated winter and summer areas. No significant difference was found in seasonal home-range sizes between resident and shifter hinds in 2002 and in 2003. Each year, in summer, home-range quality of shifter hinds was significantly better than that of resident ones, while, in winter home ranges, habitat diversity was similar in the two groups. During the severe winter 2003–2004, 33% of females summering in lower quality habitat died, whereas mild winters did not influence the survival of our collared hinds.

Nuclear fragmentation processes are relevant in different fields of basic research and applied physics and are of particular interest for tumor therapy and for space radiation protection applications. The FIRST (Fragmentation of Ions Relevant for Space and Therapy) experiment at SIS accelerator of GSI laboratory in Darmstadt, has been designed for the measurement of different ions fragmentation cross sections at different energies between 100 and 1000 MeV/nucleon. The experiment is performed by an international collaboration made of institutions from Germany, France, Italy and Spain. The experimental apparatus is partly based on an already existing setup made of the ALADIN magnet, the MUSIC IV TPC, the LAND2 neutron detector and the TOFWALL scintillator TOF system, integrated with newly designed detectors in the interaction Region (IR) around the carbon removable target: a scintillator Start Counter, a Beam Monitor drift chamber, a silicon Vertex Detector and a Proton Tagger for detection of light fragments emitted at large angles (KENTROS). The scientific program of the FIRST experiment started on summer 2011 with the study of the 400 MeV/nucleon 12C beam fragmentation on thin (8mm) carbon target.

Changes in peroxidase (PO) and polyphenoloxidase (PPO) isoenzyme patterns in both TMV-inoculated and opposite uninoculated, resistant, half leaves of N. glutinosa were investigated at different times after inoculation. No qualitative changes in the PO isoenzyme spectrum were observed in relation to leaf infection and/or induced resistance. Associated with local lesion appearance, two iso-PO with Rf 0.047 and 0.14 respectively were activated. Their increased activity remained unchanged until the complete lesion maturation, and a direct correlation between the activation of the 0.14 iso-PO and the severity of the necrotic process was found. An enhanced activity of two PO isoenzymes (Rf 0.14 and 0.23) was observed in resistant tissues. Neither qualitative nor significant quantitative changes in the isopolyphenoloxidase pattern with time were found in inoculated half leaves and in opposite resistant halves. The role of PO and PPO and the involvement of some PO isoenzymes in the hypersensitive reaction, in the normal and virus-induced senescence, and in the induction of systemic acquired resistance are discussed. Sono state studiate - mediante elettroforesi in gel di poliacrilamide - le variazioni del profilo degli isoenzimi perossidasici (PO) e polifenolossidasici (PPO) in Nicotiana glutinosa infetta da virus del mosaico del tabacco (TMV), esaminando a tempi successivi dopo l'inoculazione gli estratti ottenuti da mezze foglie direttamente inoculate, dalle mezze foglie opposte resistenti e da mezze foglie di piante sane di controllo. Non è stata riscontrata alcuna variazione qualitativa nello spettro degli isoenzimi PO riferibile allo sviluppo dell'infezione localizzata e della resistenza indotta. In relazione alla comparsa delle lesioni locali necrotiche si è peraltro riscontrata l'attivazione di due iso-PO con valori di Rf rispettivamente pari a 0.047 e 0.14. L'attività dei due isoenzimi non subiva ulteriori modificazioni durante Pevoluzione della reazione ipersensibile, e la loro attività rimaneva immutata fino alla completa maturazione delle lesioni. Per con tro, è stata evidenziata una diretta correlazione fra l'intensità del processo necrotico - riferibile ad un numero crescente di lesioni locali a seguito delFimpiego di inoculi più concentrati -e l'attivazione dell'isoperossidasi con Rf 0.14. Nei tessuti resistenti è stato inoltre riscontrato un aumento di attività di due iso-PO, con Rf 0.14 e 0.23. Nessuna modificazione qualitativa e nessuna significativa variazione quantitativa è stata invece riscontrata per gli isoenzimi PPO, né nei tessuti direttamente inoculad né nei tessuti resistenti. Il ruolo di PO e PPO ed il loro possibile coinvolgimento nello sviluppo della reazione necrotica, nella senescenza naturale o accelerata daU'infezione virale, e nelFinduzione di resistenza sistemica sono discussi alla luce dei risultati ottenuti e della letteratura disponibile in argomento.

At the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati of the National Institute of Nuclear Physics (INFN) an infrared (IR) array detector with fast response time has been built and assembled in order to collect the IR image of e-/e+ sources of the DA{\\Phi}NE collider. Such detector is made by 32 bilinear pixels with an individual size of 50x50 {\\mu}m2 and a response time of ~1 ns. In the framework of an experiment funded by the INFN Vth Committee dedicated to beam diagnostics, the device with its electronic board has been tested and installed on the DA{\\Phi}NE positron ring. A preliminary characterization of few pixels of the array and of the electronics has been carried out at the IR beamline SINBAD at DA{\\Phi}NE. In particular the detection of the IR source of the e- beam has been observed using four pixels of the array acquiring signals simultaneously with a four channels scope at 1 GHz and at 10 Gsamples/s. The acquisition of four pixels allowed monitoring in real time differences in the bunch signals in the vertical direction. A preliminary analysis of data is presented and discussed. In particular we will outline the correlation between signals and displacements of the source occurring with bunch refilling during a complete shift of DA{\\Phi}NE.

Bunch-by-bunch longitudinal diagnostics is a key issue of modern accelerators. To face up this challenging demand, tests of mid-IR compact uncooled photoconductive HgCdTe detectors have been recently performed at DAFNE. Different devices were used to monitor the emission of e- bunches. The first experiments allowed recording of 2.7 ns long e- bunches with a FWHM of a single pulse of about 600 ps. These results address the possibility to improve diagnostics at DAFNE and to this purpose an exit port on a bending magnet of the positron ring has been set-up. An HV chamber, hosting a gold-coated plane mirror that collects and deflects the radiation through a ZnSe window, is the front-end of this port. After the window, a simple optical layout in air allows focusing IR radiation on different detectors. The instrumentation will allow comparison in the sub-ns time domain between the two rings and to identify and characterize bunch instabilities. Moreover, to improve performances tests of new photovoltaic detectors with sub-ns response times are in progress. We will briefly summarize the actual status of the 3+L experiment and will discuss future applications of fast IR photovoltaic detectors and the development of fast IR array detectors.