Stress responses of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa to environmentally relevant concentrations of pharmaceutical ibuprofen: Ecological implications.

Pharmaceuticals like ibuprofen (IBU) entering marine environments are of great concern due to their increasing consumption and impact on wildlife. No information on IBU toxicity to seagrasses is yet available. Seagrasses form key habitats and are threatened worldwide by multiple stressors.

Selenium Biofortification Impacts the Tomato Fruit Metabolome and Transcriptional Profile at Ripening.

In the present work, the effects of enriching tomatoes with selenium were studied in terms of physiological, metabolic, and molecular processes in the last stages of fruit development, particularly during ripening. A selenium concentration of 10 mg L with sodium selenate and selenium nanoparticles was used in the spray treatments on the whole plants. No significant effects of selenium enrichment were detected in terms of ethylene production or color changes in the ripening fruit.

Photosynthetic Efficiency of L. in Response to Copper, Iron, and Zinc.

Metal micronutrients are essential for plant nutrition, but their toxicity threshold is low. In-depth studies on the response of light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis to metal micronutrients are needed, and the analysis of chlorophyll fluorescence transients is a suitable technique. The liverwort L.

Absolute calibration of the conical crystal configuration of the zinc spectrometer (ZSPEC) at the OMEGA laser facility.

In this study, we present the absolute calibration of the conical crystal for the zinc spectrometer (ZSPEC), an x-ray spectrometer at the OMEGA laser facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics. The ZSPEC was originally designed to measure x-ray Thomson scattering using flat or cylindrically curved highly oriented pyrolytic graphite crystals centered around Zn He-alpha emission at 9 keV. To improve the useful spectral range and collection efficiency of the ZSPEC, a conical highly annealed pyrolytic graphite crystal was fabricated for the ZSPEC.

Early evidence of the impacts of microplastic and nanoplastic pollution on the growth and physiology of the seagrass Cymodocea nodosa.

Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) are ubiquitous in natural habitats and the risks their presence poses to marine environments and organisms are of increasing concern. There is evidence that seagrass meadows are particularly prone to accumulate plastic debris, including polystyrene particles, but the impacts of this pollutant on seagrass performance are currently unknown. This is a relevant knowledge gap as seagrasses provide multiple ecosystem services and are declining globally due to anthropogenic impact and climate-change-related stressors.

Converting existing optical detectors into fast x-ray detectors.

The very short burn time and small size of burning plasmas created at advanced laser-fusion facilities will require high-spatial-resolution imaging diagnostics with fast time resolution. These instruments will need to function in an environment of extremely large neutron fluxes that will cause conventional diagnostics to fail because of radiation damage and induced background levels. One solution to this challenge is to perform an ultrafast conversion of the x-ray signals into the optical regime before the neutrons are able to reach the detector and then to relay image the signal out of the chamber and into a shielded bunker, protected from the effects of these neutrons.

An x-ray penumbral imager for measurements of electron-temperature profiles in inertial confinement fusion implosions at OMEGA.

Hot-spot shape and electron temperature (T) are key performance metrics used to assess the efficiency of converting shell kinetic energy into hot-spot thermal energy in inertial confinement fusion implosions. X-ray penumbral imaging offers a means to diagnose hot-spot shape and T, where the latter can be used as a surrogate measure of the ion temperature (T) in sufficiently equilibrated hot spots. We have implemented a new x-ray penumbral imager on OMEGA.

Using millimeter-sized carbon-deuterium foils for high-precision deuterium-tritium neutron spectrum measurements in direct-drive inertial confinement fusion at the OMEGA laser facility.

Millimeter-sized CD foils fielded close (order mm) to inertial confinement fusion (ICF) implosions have been proposed as a game-changer for improving energy resolution and allowing time-resolution in neutron spectrum measurements using the magnetic recoil technique. This paper presents results from initial experiments testing this concept for direct drive ICF at the OMEGA Laser Facility. While the foils are shown to produce reasonable signals, inferred spectral broadening is seen to be high (∼5 keV) and signal levels are low (by ∼20%) compared to expectation.

Recommendation for the contouring of limbic system in patients receiving radiation treatment: A pictorial review for the everyday practice and education.

Aims: The limbic circuit (LC) is devoted to linking emotion to behavior and cognition. The injury this system results in post-RT cognitive dysfunction. The aim of this study is to create the first radiation oncologist's practical MR-based contouring guide for the delineation of the LC for the everyday clinical practice and education.

Experimental Evidence of Harnessed Expansion of a High-Z Plasma Using the Hollow Wall Design for Indirect Drive Inertial Confinement Fusion.

The effectiveness of a dome-shaped wall covered by a thin gold foil (hollow wall) [M. Vandenboomgaerde et al., Phys.

Direct-drive laser fusion: status, plans and future.

Laser-direct drive (LDD), along with laser indirect (X-ray) drive (LID) and magnetic drive with pulsed power, is one of the three viable inertial confinement fusion approaches to achieving fusion ignition and gain in the laboratory. The LDD programme is primarily being executed at both the Omega Laser Facility at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics and at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. LDD research at Omega includes cryogenic implosions, fundamental physics including material properties, hydrodynamics and laser-plasma interaction physics.

Effect of Zinc Priming on Salt Response of Wheat Seedlings: Relieving or Worsening?

In an attempt to alleviate salt-induced damage, the application of ZnO nanoparticles has been suggested. As the use of these particles has also been associated with phytotoxicity, to better clarify the effect of zinc and its possible mitigation of salt stress, we treated wheat seedlings with ZnO (nanoparticles or their bulk-scale counterparts, amended either in the growth medium, NPs and B, or sprayed on the leaves, SPNPs and SPB) with or without subsequent treatment with salt. Growth, photosynthetic parameters, zinc and ion concentration, and in situ and biochemical determination of oxidative stress in wheat leaves and/or in roots were considered.

Inferred UV fluence focal-spot profiles from soft x-ray pinhole-camera measurements on OMEGA.

A method was developed with laser-irradiated Au planar foils to characterize the focal spot of UV laser beams on a target at full energy from soft x-ray emission. A pinhole camera with a back-thinned charge-coupled device detector and filtration with thin Be and Al foil filters provides images of the x-ray emission at photon energies <2 keV. This method requires a careful measurement of the relationship between the applied UV fluence and the x-ray signal, which can be described by a power-law dependence.

Implementation of a Talbot-Lau x-ray deflectometer diagnostic platform for the OMEGA EP laser.

A Talbot-Lau X-ray Deflectometer (TXD) was implemented in the OMEGA EP laser facility to characterize the evolution of an irradiated foil ablation front by mapping electron densities >10 cm by means of Moiré deflectometry. The experiment used a short-pulse laser (30-100 J, 10 ps) and a foil copper target as an x-ray backlighter source. In the first experimental tests performed to benchmark the diagnostic platform, grating survival was demonstrated and x-ray backlighter laser parameters that deliver Moiré images were described.

The Moss Counteracts Severe Cadmium Stress by Activation of Glutathione Transferase and Phytochelatin Synthase, but Slightly by Phytochelatins.

In the present work, we investigated the response to Cd in , a cosmopolitan moss (Bryophyta) that can accumulate higher amounts of metals than other plants, even angiosperms, with absence or slight apparent damage. High-performance liquid chromatography followed by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry of extracts from gametophytes, exposed to 0, 36 and 360 µM Cd for 7 days, revealed the presence of γ-glutamylcysteine (γ-EC), reduced glutathione (GSH), and traces of phytochelatins. The increase in Cd concentrations progressively augmented reactive oxygen species levels, with activation of both antioxidant (catalase and superoxide dismutase) and detoxifying (glutathione-transferase) enzymes.

TiO nanoparticles may alleviate cadmium toxicity in co-treatment experiments on the model hydrophyte Azolla filiculoides.

The hydrophyte Azolla filiculoides can be a useful model to assess if TiO NPs may in some way alleviate the Cd injuries and improve the ability of the plant to cope with this metal. With this mechanistic hypothesis, after a pre-treatment with TiO NPs, A. filiculoides plants were transferred to cadmium-contaminated water with or without TiO nanoparticles.

Modulation of the defence responses against Cd in willow species through a multifaceted analysis.

Willow, due to the extensive root system, high transpiration rates and ability to accumulate large amounts of cadmium, is considered particularly useful for green remediation practices. In this study two different willow species, Salix viminalis and Salix alba, were used to assess possible differences in their ability of cadmium accumulation and to analyse in detail the physiology of their response to treatments with this metal using a multidisciplinary approach. Plants were grown in hydroponics and treated with 0, 50 and 100 μM Cd (CdCl) for 7 and 14 days.

Are we ready for a paradigm shift from high-dose conventional to moderate hypofractionated radiotherapy in intermediate-high risk prostate cancer? A systematic review of randomized controlled trials with trial sequential analysis.

Aim: to evaluate efficacy and late toxicity of moderate hypofractionated (HFRT) over high-dose (>76 Gy) conventional radiotherapy (CRT) in a non-inferiority perspective.

Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included. HFRT regimens were deemed non-inferior to high-dose CRT if the computed CI for the overall RR did not exceed the non-inferiority margin of 7%.

A rate-doubled 10-GHz fiducial comb generator for precision optical timing calibration.

Solid-state optical fiducial timing pulse generators provide a convenient and accurate method to include timing fiducials in a streak-camera image for time-base correction. Current commercially available vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs) emitting in the visible range can be amplitude modulated up to 5 GHz. An optically passive method is utilized to interleave a time-delayed path of the 5-GHz pulsed light with itself, producing a 10-GHz pulsed fiducial, or comb.

Soyasaponins from Zolfino bean as aldose reductase differential inhibitors.

Seven triterpenoid saponins were identified in methanolic extracts of seeds of the Zolfino bean landrace (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) by HPLC fractionation, revealing their ability to inhibit highly purified human recombinant aldose reductase (hAKR1B1). Six of these compounds were associated by MS analysis with the following saponins already reported in different Phaseolus vulgaris varieties: soyasaponin Ba (V), soyasaponin Bb, soyasaponin Bd (sandosaponin A), soyasaponin αg, 3-O-[R-l-rhamnopyranosyl(1 → 2)-α-d-glucopyranosyl(1 → 2)-α-d-glucuronopyranosyl]olean-12-en-22-oxo-3α,-24-diol, and soyasaponin βg.

The single-line-of-sight, time-resolved x-ray imager diagnostic on OMEGA.

The single-line-of-sight, time-resolved x-ray imager (SLOS-TRXI) on OMEGA is one of a new generation of fast-gated x-ray cameras comprising an electron pulse-dilation imager and a nanosecond-gated, burst-mode, hybrid complementary metal-oxide semiconductor sensor. SLOS-TRXI images the core of imploded cryogenic deuterium-tritium shells in inertial confinement fusion experiments in the ∼4- to 9-keV photon energy range with a pinhole imager onto a photocathode. The diagnostic is mounted on a fixed port almost perpendicular to a 16-channel, framing-camera-based, time-resolved Kirkpatrick-Baez microscope, providing a second time-gated line of sight for hot-spot imaging on OMEGA.

Sub-nanosecond single line-of-sight (SLOS) x-ray imagers (invited).

A new generation of fast-gated x-ray framing cameras have been developed that are capable of capturing multiple frames along a single line-of-sight with 30 ps temporal resolution. The instruments are constructed by integrating pulse-dilation electron imaging with burst mode hybrid-complimentary metal-oxide-semiconductor sensors. Two such instruments have been developed, characterized, and fielded at the National Ignition Facility and the OMEGA laser.

Development of a backlit-multi-pinhole radiography source.

Backlit-pinhole radiography uses a pinhole placed between an x-ray source and a sample. The backlit-multi-pinhole design uses two pinholes on the same substrate, which are separated by a wall, to create two radiographic images projected along similar axes. The wall, a 100-m thick titanium foil, prevents x-rays generated near one pinhole from exiting the other pinhole.