Age-dependent regenerative mechanisms in the brain.

Repairing the adult mammalian brain represents one of the greatest clinical challenges in medicine. Injury to the adult brain often results in substantial loss of neural tissue and permanent functional impairment. In contrast with the adult, during development, the mammalian brain exhibits a remarkable capacity to replace lost cells.

Impact of pruritus in patients undergoing hemodialysis in Italy: a patient-based survey.

Background: Itching is an annoying symptom which afflicts patients with chronic renal failure. We aimed to assess the impact and patient's perception and experience of itching in the dialysis population in Italy.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed by the National Hemodialysis and Dialysis Association of Italy (ANED) and administered to 996 hemodialysis recipients across 153 Italian dialysis centers.

Ultrafast generation of hidden phases via energy-tuned electronic photoexcitation in magnetite.

Phase transitions occurring in nonequilibrium conditions can evolve through high-energy intermediate states inaccessible via equilibrium adiabatic conditions. Because of the subtle nature of such hidden phases, their direct observation is extremely challenging and requires simultaneous visualization of matter at subpicoseconds and subpicometer scales. Here, we show that a magnetite crystal in the vicinity of its metal-to-insulator transition evolves through different hidden states when controlled via energy-tuned ultrashort laser pulses.

Generation and control of localized terahertz fields in photoemitted electron plasmas.

Dense micron-sized electron plasmas, such as those generated upon irradiation of nanostructured metallic surfaces by intense femtosecond laser pulses, constitute a rich playground to study light-matter interactions, many-body phenomena, and out-of-equilibrium charge dynamics. Besides their fundamental interest, laser-induced plasmas hold great potential for the generation of localized terahertz radiation pulses. However, the underlying mechanisms ruling the formation and evolution of such plasmas are not yet well understood.

Multigram-Scale Synthesis of Luminescent Cesium Lead Halide Perovskite Nanobricks for Plastic Scintillators.

Cesium lead halide perovskite nanocrystals of general formula CsPbX are having tremendous impact on a vast array of technologies requiring strong and tunable luminescence across the visible range and solutions processing. The development of plastic scintillators is just one of the many relevant applications. The syntheses are relatively simple but generally unsuitable to produce a large amount of material of reproducible quality required when moving from proof-of-concept scale to industrial applications.

Single-Pixel Imaging in Space and Time with Optically Modulated Free Electrons.

Single-pixel imaging, originally developed in light optics, facilitates fast three-dimensional sample reconstruction as well as probing with light wavelengths undetectable by conventional multi-pixel detectors. However, the spatial resolution of optics-based single-pixel microscopy is limited by diffraction to hundreds of nanometers. Here, we propose an implementation of single-pixel imaging relying on attainable modifications of currently available ultrafast electron microscopes in which optically modulated electrons are used instead of photons to achieve subnanometer spatially and temporally resolved single-pixel imaging.

Ultrafast Electron Microscopy of Nanoscale Charge Dynamics in Semiconductors.

The ultrafast dynamics of charge carriers in solids plays a pivotal role in emerging optoelectronics, photonics, energy harvesting, and quantum technology applications. However, the investigation and direct visualization of such nonequilibrium phenomena remains as a long-standing challenge, owing to the nanometer-femtosecond spatiotemporal scales at which the charge carriers evolve. Here, we propose and demonstrate an interaction mechanism enabling nanoscale imaging of the femtosecond dynamics of charge carriers in solids.

Folic acid functionalization for targeting self-assembled paclitaxel-based nanoparticles.

Hetero-nanoparticles self-assembled from a conjugate bearing folic acid as the targeting agent, and another bearing paclitaxel as the active agent are reported. Hetero-nanoparticles containing varying percentages of folic acid conjugates are characterised, and their biological activity is determined.

Vapour Liquid Solid Growth Effects on InGaN Epilayers Composition Uniformity in Presence of Metal Droplets.

We investigated the composition uniformity of InGaN epilayers in presence of metal droplets on the surface. We used Plasma Assisted MBE to grow an InGaN sample partially covered by metal droplets and performed structural and compositional analysis. The results showed a marked difference in indium incorporation between the region under the droplets and between them.

Ultrafast Transverse Modulation of Free Electrons by Interaction with Shaped Optical Fields.

Spatiotemporal electron-beam shaping is a bold frontier of electron microscopy. Over the past decade, shaping methods evolved from static phase plates to low-speed electrostatic and magnetostatic displays. Recently, a swift change of paradigm utilizing light to control free electrons has emerged.

Nanostructured 3C-SiC on Si by a network of (111) platelets: a fully textured film generated by intrinsic growth anisotropy.

In this paper, we address the unique nature of fully textured, high surface-to-volume 3C-SiC films, as produced by intrinsic growth anisotropy, in turn generated by the high velocity of the stacking fault growth front in two-dimensional (111) platelets. Structural interpretation of high resolution scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy data is carried out for samples grown in a hot-wall low-pressure chemical vapour deposition reactor with trichlorosilane and ethylene precursors, under suitable deposition conditions. By correlating the morphology and the X-ray diffraction analysis we also point out that twinning along (111) planes is very frequent in such materials, which changes the free-platelet configuration.

[Itching in dialysis, from the patient's point of view].

Itching is an annoying symptom, which afflicts patients with chronic renal failure. To assess the diffusion of itching in the dialysis population in Italy, we carried out a questionnaire, which was distributed to patients of various Italian dialysis centers. The purpose of this investigation was to bring out all those aspects, which make itching a state of chronic suffering, which daily undermines the quality of life of patients.

Photoinduced Ultrafast Symmetry Switch in SnSe.

Layered tin selenide (SnSe) has recently emerged as a high-performance thermoelectric material with the current record for the figure of merit () observed in the high-temperature phase. So far, access to the phase has been mainly obtained via thermal equilibrium methods based on sample heating or application of external pressure, thus restricting the current understanding only to ground-state conditions. Here, we investigate the ultrafast carrier and phononic dynamics in SnSe.

Defect-assisted photocatalytic activity of glass-embedded gallium oxide nanocrystals.

The use of glassceramics in photocatalysis is an attractive option for the realization of smart optical fibers and self-cleaning windows. Here we present the photocatalytic activity of germanosilicate glasses embedding GaO nanocrystals prepared by batch melting and glass heat treatment. The powdered material is used for UV-assisted degradation of rhodamine in water.

The 3-T Model of Informed Consent for Nonstandard Risk Donors: A Proposal for Transplant Clinical Practice.

Background: The risk of disease transmission from nonstandard risk donors (NSRDs) is low, and outcomes are similar or better relative to transplants performed with standard criteria donors. However, NSRDs have posed new ethical challenges to the informed consent (IC) process. Based on the shared decision-making model, coinciding with the 3 main timings of the IC process ([1] pretransplant assessments and waiting list registration, [2] time on the waiting list, and [3] time of the organ offer), we put forward a model (3-T Model) to summarize the knowledge on IC for NSRDs and to deliver conceptual and practical support to transplant providers on this emergent issue.

The Missing Piece: The Structure of the TiCT MXene and Its Behavior as Negative Electrode in Sodium Ion Batteries.

The most common MXene composition TiCT (T = F, O) shows outstanding stability as anode for sodium ion batteries (100% of capacity retention after 530 cycles with charge efficiency >99.7%). However, the reversibility of the intercalation/deintercalation process is strongly affected by the synthesis parameters determining, in turn, significant differences in the material structure.

GRASP55 regulates intra-Golgi localization of glycosylation enzymes to control glycosphingolipid biosynthesis.

The Golgi apparatus, the main glycosylation station of the cell, consists of a stack of discontinuous cisternae. Glycosylation enzymes are usually concentrated in one or two specific cisternae along the cis-trans axis of the organelle. How such compartmentalized localization of enzymes is achieved and how it contributes to glycosylation are not clear.

Nanoscale-femtosecond dielectric response of Mott insulators captured by two-color near-field ultrafast electron microscopy.

Characterizing and controlling the out-of-equilibrium state of nanostructured Mott insulators hold great promises for emerging quantum technologies while providing an exciting playground for investigating fundamental physics of strongly-correlated systems. Here, we use two-color near-field ultrafast electron microscopy to photo-induce the insulator-to-metal transition in a single VO nanowire and probe the ensuing electronic dynamics with combined nanometer-femtosecond resolution (10 m ∙ s). We take advantage of a femtosecond temporal gating of the electron pulse mediated by an infrared laser pulse, and exploit the sensitivity of inelastic electron-light scattering to changes in the material dielectric function.