Anticancer Effects of Plasma-Treated Water Solutions from Clinically Approved Infusion Liquids Supplemented with Organic Molecules.

Water solutions treated by cold atmospheric plasmas (CAPs) currently stand out in the field of cancer treatment as sources of exogenous blends of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS). It is well known that the balance of RONS inside both eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells is directly involved in physiological as well as pathological pathways. Also, organic molecules including phenols could exert promising anticancer effects, mostly attributed to their pro-oxidant ability in vitro and in vivo to generate RONS like O, HO, and a mixture of potentially cytotoxic compounds.

A Bayesian multi-proxy contribution to the socioeconomic, political, and cultural history of late medieval Capitanata (southern Italy).

Medieval southern Italy is typically viewed as a region where political, religious, and cultural systems coexisted and clashed. Written sources often focus on elites and give an image of a hierarchical feudal society supported by a farming economy. We undertook an interdisciplinary study combining historical and archaeological evidence with Bayesian modelling of multi-isotope data from human (n = 134) and faunal (n = 21) skeletal remains to inform on the socioeconomic organisation, cultural practices, and demographics of medieval communities in Capitanata (southern Italy).

Tuning Surface Properties via Plasma Treatments for the Improved Capture of MicroRNA Biomarkers.

Advanced materials could bring about fundamental improvements in the evolution of innovative analytical devices, i.e., biosensors or lab-on-a-chip devices, in particular in the context of liquid biopsies.

Probing Magnetic Defects in Ultra-Scaled Nanowires with Optically Detected Spin Resonance in Nitrogen-Vacancy Center in Diamond.

Magnetic nanowires (NWs) are essential building blocks of spintronics devices as they offer tunable magnetic properties and anisotropy through their geometry. While the synthesis and compositional control of NWs have seen major improvements, considerable challenges remain for the characterization of local magnetic features at the nanoscale. Here, we demonstrate nonperturbative field distribution mapping in ultrascaled magnetic nanowires with diameters down to 6 nm by scanning nitrogen-vacancy magnetometry.

Plasma Technology Increases the Efficacy of Prothioconazole against and Contamination of Maize () Seedlings.

The contamination of maize by species able to produce mycotoxins raises great concern worldwide since they can accumulate these toxic metabolites in field crop products. Furthermore, little information exists today on the ability of and , two well know mycotoxigenic species, to translocate from the seeds to the plants up to the kernels. Marketing seeds coated with fungicide molecules is a common practice; however, since there is a growing need for reducing chemicals in agriculture, new eco-friendly strategies are increasingly tested.

Plasma Treated Water Solutions in Cancer Treatments: The Contrasting Role of RNS.

Plasma Treated Water Solutions (PTWS) recently emerged as a novel tool for the generation of Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species (ROS and RNS) in liquids. The presence of ROS with a strong oxidative power, like hydrogen peroxide (HO), has been proposed as the main effector for the cancer-killing properties of PTWS. A protective role has been postulated for RNS, with nitric oxide (NO) being involved in the activation of antioxidant responses and cell survival.

Population genomics of the Viking world.

The maritime expansion of Scandinavian populations during the Viking Age (about AD 750-1050) was a far-flung transformation in world history. Here we sequenced the genomes of 442 humans from archaeological sites across Europe and Greenland (to a median depth of about 1×) to understand the global influence of this expansion. We find the Viking period involved gene flow into Scandinavia from the south and east.

Ferroelectricity in Si-Doped Hafnia: Probing Challenges in Absence of Screening Charges.

The ability to develop ferroelectric materials using binary oxides is critical to enable novel low-power, high-density non-volatile memory and fast switching logic. The discovery of ferroelectricity in hafnia-based thin films, has focused the hopes of the community on this class of materials to overcome the existing problems of perovskite-based integrated ferroelectrics. However, both the control of ferroelectricity in doped-HfO and the direct characterization at the nanoscale of ferroelectric phenomena, are increasingly difficult to achieve.

RCC1L (WBSCR16) isoforms coordinate mitochondrial ribosome assembly through their interaction with GTPases.

Mitochondrial translation defects can be due to mutations affecting mitochondrial- or nuclear-encoded components. The number of known nuclear genes involved in mitochondrial translation has significantly increased in the past years. RCC1L (WBSCR16), a putative GDP/GTP exchange factor, has recently been described to interact with the mitochondrial large ribosomal subunit.

A Synergistic Effect of Reactive Oxygen and Reactive Nitrogen Species in Plasma Activated Liquid Media Triggers Astrocyte Wound Healing.

Astrocyte proliferation and migration toward injured Central Nervous System (CNS) areas are key features of astrogliosis and glial scar formation. Even though it is known that intracellular and environmental Reactive Oxygen and Nitrogen Species (RONS) affect astrocyte behaviour in physiological and pathophysiological conditions, their effects on the migration and growth of astrocytes are still unclear. Plasma-technologies are emerging in medicine as a tool to generate RONS for treating cells directly or through Plasma Activated Liquid Media (PALM).

Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition of Crosslinked Organic Coatings for Controlling Gentamicin Delivery.

A coating consisting of a copolymer of methacrylic acid and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate was deposited over a gentamicin film by initiated chemical vapor deposition with the aim of controlling the drug release. Gentamicin release in water was monitored by means of conductance measurements and of UV-vis Fluorescence Spectroscopy. The influence of the polymer chemical composition, specifically of its crosslinking density, has been investigated as a tool to control the swelling behavior of the initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) coating in water, and therefore its ability to release the drug.

Plasma-activated medium triggers cell death and the presentation of immune activating danger signals in melanoma and pancreatic cancer cells.

Over the past decade, cold atmospheric plasmas have shown promising application in cancer therapy. The therapeutic use of plasma-activated media is a topic addressed in an emerging field known as plasma pharmacy. In oncology, plasma-activated media are  used to harness the therapeutic effects of oxidant species when they come in contact with cancer cells.

Plasma-Deposited Nanocapsules Containing Coatings for Drug Delivery Applications.

Coatings consisting in gentamicin-containing nanocapsules have been synthetized by means of an aerosol-assisted atmospheric pressure plasma deposition process. The influence of different parameters affecting the process has been extensively investigated by means of a morphological and chemical characterization of the coatings. Scanning electron microscopy highlighted the presence of nanocapsules whose size and abundance depend on power input and deposition time.

Electrical characterization of single nanometer-wide Si fins in dense arrays.

This paper demonstrates the development of a methodology using the micro four-point probe (μ4PP) technique to electrically characterize single nanometer-wide fins arranged in dense arrays. We show that through the concept of carefully controlling the electrical contact formation process, the electrical measurement can be confined to one individual fin although the used measurement electrodes physically contact more than one fin. We demonstrate that we can precisely measure the resistance of individual ca.

The flexoelectric effect in Al-doped hafnium oxide.

After the successful introduction as a replacement for the SiO2 gate dielectric in metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors, HfO2 is currently one of the most studied binary oxide systems with ubiquitous applications in nanoelectronics. For years, the interest of microelectronic downscaling has focused on tuning the dielectric constant of HfO2, particularly for monoclinic and tetragonal phases. Recently, Müller et al.

Structural characterization of SnS crystals formed by chemical vapour deposition.

The crystal and defect structure of SnS crystals grown using chemical vapour deposition for application in electronic devices are investigated. The structural analysis shows the presence of two distinct crystal morphologies, that is thin flakes with lateral sizes up to 50 μm and nanometer scale thickness, and much thicker but smaller crystallites. Both show similar Raman response associated with SnS.

X-ray absorption in pillar shaped transmission electron microscopy specimens.

The dependence of the X-ray absorption on the position in a pillar shaped transmission electron microscopy specimen is modeled for X-ray analysis with single and multiple detector configurations and for different pillar orientations relative to the detectors. Universal curves, applicable to any pillar diameter, are derived for the relative intensities between weak and medium or strongly absorbed X-ray emission. For the configuration as used in 360° X-ray tomography, the absorption correction for weak and medium absorbed X-rays is shown to be nearly constant along the pillar diameter.

Observation and understanding of anisotropic strain relaxation in selectively grown SiGe fin structures.

The performance of heterogeneous 3D transistor structures critically depends on the composition and strain state of the buffer, channel and source/drain regions. In this paper we used an in-line high resolution x-ray diffraction (HRXRD) tool to study in detail the composition and strain in selectively grown SiGe/Ge fin structures with widths down to 20 nm. For this purpose we arranged fins of identical dimensions into larger arrays which were then analyzed using an x-ray beam several tens of micrometers in size.

Improving Internal Cell Colonization of Porous Scaffolds with Chemical Gradients Produced by Plasma Assisted Approaches.

Cell colonization of the surrounding environment is a very significant process in both physiological and pathological events. In order to understand the tissue regeneration process and thereby provide guidance principles for designing new biomaterials, it is of paramount importance to study the cell colonization in the presence of physical, chemical, and biological cues. Flat "gradient" materials are generally used with this purpose.

Towards highly stable aqueous dispersions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes: the effect of oxygen plasma functionalization.

In order to improve the dispersion of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) in aqueous media, their surface functionalization was carried out in O-fed low-pressure plasmas. Differently from what can be found in the literature of this field, homogeneous functionalization was achieved by generating the plasma inside vials containing the nanotube powders properly stirred. Experimental parameters, such as input power, treatment time and pressure, were varied to investigate their influence on the process efficiency.

Highly Sensitive and Practical Detection of Plant Viruses via Electrical Impedance of Droplets on Textured Silicon-Based Devices.

Early diagnosis of plant virus infections before the disease symptoms appearance may represent a significant benefit in limiting disease spread by a prompt application of appropriate containment steps. We propose a label-free procedure applied on a device structure where the electrical signal transduction is evaluated via impedance spectroscopy techniques. The device consists of a droplet suspension embedding two representative purified plant viruses i.

Effect of Boron Doping on the Wear Behavior of the Growth and Nucleation Surfaces of Micro- and Nanocrystalline Diamond Films.

B-doped diamond has become the ultimate material for applications in the field of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), which require both highly wear resistant and electrically conductive diamond films and microstructures. Despite the extensive research of the tribological properties of undoped diamond, to date there is very limited knowledge of the wear properties of highly B-doped diamond. Therefore, in this work a comprehensive investigation of the wear behavior of highly B-doped diamond is presented.

Non-Equilibrium Plasma Processing for the Preparation of Antibacterial Surfaces.

Non-equilibrium plasmas offer several strategies for developing antibacterial surfaces that are able to repel and/or to kill bacteria. Due to the variety of devices, implants, and materials in general, as well as of bacteria and applications, plasma assisted antibacterial strategies need to be tailored to each specific surface. Nano-composite coatings containing inorganic (metals and metal oxides) or organic (drugs and biomolecules) compounds can be deposited in one step, and used as drug delivery systems.