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Coatings play a crucial role in the functionality of vacuum chambers in particle accelerators, serving a dual goal by efficiently facilitating pumping and mitigating electron cloud effects. However, their impact on the surface impedance of the chamber walls raises concerns, potentially affecting the machine performance and imposing limitations on achievable energies and currents. Therefore, an electromagnetic characterization is essential for a comprehensive study of accelerator structures, particularly in the context of the next-generation machines where the demand for extremely short particle bunches accentuates the importance of evaluating material responses in the very-high-frequency region. We present a technique for probing the sub-THz response of coating materials by measuring pulsed signals passing through a specifically designed waveguide, in which is placed a slab with the deposited material under test. The proposed methodology allows for a comprehensive exploration of the electromagnetic properties of the most used technical surfaces (substrate plus coatings) in accelerators under realistic conditions, providing valuable insights into their behavior in the sub-THz frequency range. The experimental data of three different Non-Evaporable Getter coating samples, prepared on a copper substrate at the CERN deposition facilities under different sputtering conditions, are discussed. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex interactions between coatings and accelerator structures, with the aim of optimizing performance and efficiency in the evolving landscape of particle acceleration technologies. The limitations and advantages of the technique are also reported.

The ANTHEM (Advanced Technologies for Human-centered Medicine) Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) will employ eight coaxial power couplers, which will be magnetically coupled to the device through a loop antenna. The coupler design can support up to 140 kW in continuous wave operation. This paper presents the design of the cavity used for high-power testing, with the primary objectives of both optimizing the coupling between the couplers and ensuring operations at the designated operating frequency. Furthermore, the paper encompasses thermal and structural assessments conducted through numerical simulations.

The electromagnetic characterisation of different materials for the inner wall coating of beam pipes is a long-standing problem in accelerator physics, regardless the purpose they are used for, since their presence may affect in an unpredictable way the beam coupling impedance and therefore the machine performance. Moreover, in particle accelerators and storage rings of new generation very short bunches might be required, extending far in frequency the exploration of the beam spectrum and rendering therefore more and more important to assess the coating material response up to hundreds of GHz. This paper describes a time domain method based on THz waveguide spectroscopy to infer the coating properties at very high frequencies. The technique has been tested on Non Evaporable Getter thick films deposited by DC magnetron sputtering on copper plates.

This paper describes a reliable, handy, and inexpensive measurement system to characterize, in the sub-THz frequency range, the coating materials used in the beam pipes of accelerators. The method is based on time domain measurements of an electromagnetic wave passing through a waveguide having a thin central slab, where the coating material is deposited on both sides. Two horn antennas are integrated on both sides of the device to optimize the signal collection and detection. This novel technique is tested on slabs coated with a nonevaporable getter (NEG) and allows to evaluate the surface impedance in the frequency range from 0.1 to 0.3 THz.

In many resonant structures the damping of parasitic or higher order modes is indispensable to guarantee a correct and stable performance. This is particularly true in the microwave region in case of cavities or other resonant systems operating in accelerating structures, where the mitigation of spurious resonance effects is mandatory to achieve high quality particle beams. We present the results on the mode suppression in a real pillbox cavity by inserting a properly designed pyramidal metamaterial that acts as light, small volume damper for specific resonances in the range 3–4 GHz, only slightly perturbing other intrinsic modes. Measurements of the cavity response without and with the metamaterial absorber are presented and compared with full wave simulations. Field distribution for the pillbox intrinsic modes under scrutiny is also presented, showing that damping induced by the metamaterial critically depends on its relative position inside the cavity.

In this work, we propose to design a liquid crystal–based modular and extendable platform of cutting-edge optical technologies for studying materials based on the analysis of polarization and wavefront of light in the wavelength range of 10–50 μm, which is considered to work even in the longer wavelengths range. This platform will be driven by the future THz-FEL source TerRa@BriXSinO that produces high power radiation in THz-range from 6 THz up to 30 THz (Mid-/Far-IR). The lack of optical infrastructures in this range has been tackled by fabricating liquid crystal–based geometric phase components that have been specifically designed for this purpose. This is in order to optimally exploit all the source’s potential for maximum accuracy and efficiency in determining polarization- and wavefront-sensitive properties of materials. We present an overview of a few experiments for characterizing bulk inhomogeneities, dielectric anisotropy, surface roughness, cracks, impact damages, and stress and strain effects with special emphasis on non-destructive tests on composite structures. The tools for wavefront shaping developed within our platform will be exploited to add a further degree of freedom, i.e., orbital angular momentum, to nonlinear optics techniques, such as Terahertz Hyper-Raman spectroscopy, for investigating chiral agents’ properties.

Starting from the electric fields produced by a point charge and a dipole traveling inside a circular vacuum chamber, in this paper we derive a formalism for a complete set of equations that describe the electromagnetic fields and the longitudinal and transverse coupling impedances arising by the interaction of a beam with a perfectly conducting pipe in the case of elliptic geometry. The expressions, which are valid for any frequency and beam energy, are written in terms of expansions of Mathieu functions, allow to range from a circular geometry to the parallel plates, and show an interesting parallelism with the well-known expressions for a circular pipe. We also obtain that, under the approximation of low frequency, the formalism allows us to derive the Laslett coefficients for parallel plates, circular and elliptic beam pipe.

Sarcopenia is a multifactorial age-related disorder that causes a decrease in muscle mass, strength, and function, leading to alteration of movement, risk of falls, and hospitalization. This article aims to review recent findings on the factors underlying sarcopenia and the strategies required to delay and counteract its symptoms. We focus on molecular factors linked to ageing, on the role of low-grade chronic and acute inflammatory conditions such as cancer, which contributes to the onset of sarcopenia, and on the clinical criteria for its diagnosis. The use of drugs against sarcopenia is still subject to debate, and the suggested approaches to restore muscle health are based on adequate dietary protein intake and physical exercise. We also highlight the difference in the amount and quality of amino acids within animal- and plant-based diets, as studies have often shown varying results regarding their effect on sarcopenia in elderly people. In addition, many studies have reported that non-pharmacological approaches, such as an optimization of dietary protein intake and training programs based on resistance exercise, can be effective in preventing and delaying sarcopenia. These approaches not only improve the maintenance of skeletal muscle function, but also reduce health care costs and improve life expectancy and quality in elderly people.

The microaerophile Streptococcus mutans, the main microaerophile responsible for the development of dental plaque, has a single cambialistic superoxide dismutase (SmSOD) for its protection against reactive oxygen species. In order to discover novel inhibitors of SmSOD, possibly interfering with the biofilm formation by this pathogen, a virtual screening study was realised using the available 3D-structure of SmSOD. Among the selected molecules, compound ALS-31 was capable of inhibiting SmSOD with an IC50 value of 159 µM. Its inhibition power was affected by the Fe/Mn ratio in the active site of SmSOD. Furthermore, ALS-31 also inhibited the activity of other SODs. Gel-filtration of SmSOD in the presence of ALS-31 showed that the compound provoked the dissociation of the SmSOD homodimer in two monomers, thus compromising the catalytic activity of the enzyme. A docking model, showing the binding mode of ALS-31 at the dimer interface of SmSOD, is presented. Cell viability of the fibroblast cell line BJ5-ta was not affected up to 100 µM ALS-31. A preliminary lead optimization program allowed the identification of one derivative, ALS-31-9, endowed with a 2.5-fold improved inhibition power. Interestingly, below this concentration, planktonic growth and biofilm formation of S. mutans cultures were inhibited by ALS-31, and even more by its derivative, thus opening the perspective of future drug design studies to fight against dental caries.

The dual phosphatases CDC25 are involved in cell cycle regulation and overexpressed in many tumours, including melanoma. CDC25 is a promising target for discovering anticancer drugs, and several studies focussed on characterisation of quinonoid CDC25 inhibitors, frequently causing undesired side toxic effects. Previous work described an optimisation of the inhibition properties by naphthylphenylamine (NPA) derivatives of NSC28620, a nonquinonoid CDC25 inhibitor. Now, the CDC25B*inhibitor interaction was investigated through fluorescence studies, shedding light on the different inhibition mechanism exerted by NPA derivatives. Among the molecular processes, mediating the specific and high cytotoxicity of one NPA derivative in melanoma cells, we observed decrease of phosphoAkt, increase of p53, reduction of CDC25 forms, cytochrome c cytosolic translocation and increase of caspase activity, that lead to the activation of an apoptotic programme. A basic knowledge on CDC25 inhibitors is relevant for discovering potent bioactive molecules, to be used as anticancer agents against the highly aggressive melanoma.