Integrated hierarchical geo-environmental survey strategy applied to the detection and investigation of an illegal landfill: A case study in the Campania Region (Southern Italy).

This paper describes an approach to detect and investigate the main characteristics of a solid waste landfill through the integration of geological, geographical and geophysical methods. In particular, a multi-temporal analysis of the landfill morphological evolution was carried out using aerial and satellite photos, since there were no geological and geophysical data referring to the study area. Subsequently, a surface geophysical prospection was performed through geoelectric and geomagnetic methods.

Nanometer-Scale Permeabilization and Osmotic Swelling Induced by 5-ns Pulsed Electric Fields.

High-intensity nanosecond pulsed electric fields (nsPEFs) permeabilize cell membranes. Although progress has been made toward an understanding of the mechanism of nsPEF-induced membrane poration, the dependence of pore size and distribution on pulse duration, strength, number, and repetition rate remains poorly defined experimentally. In this paper, we characterize the size of nsPEF-induced pores in living cell membranes by isosmotically replacing the solutes in pulsing media with polyethylene glycols and sugars before exposing Jurkat T lymphoblasts to 5 ns, 10 MV/m electric pulses.

Water monitoring by optofluidic Raman spectroscopy for in situ applications.

The feasibility of water monitoring by Raman spectroscopy with a portable optofluidic system for in-situ applications has been successfully demonstrated. In the proposed approach, the sample under analysis is injected into a capillary nozzle in order to produce a liquid jet that acts as an optical waveguide. This jet waveguide provides an effective strategy to excite and collect the Raman signals arising from water contaminants due to the high refractive index difference between air and water.

Dose-dependent ATP depletion and cancer cell death following calcium electroporation, relative effect of calcium concentration and electric field strength.

Background: Electroporation, a method for increasing the permeability of membranes to ions and small molecules, is used in the clinic with chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer treatment (electrochemotherapy). Electroporation with calcium causes ATP (adenosine triphosphate) depletion and cancer cell death and could be a novel cancer treatment. This study aims at understanding the relationship between applied electric field, calcium concentration, ATP depletion and efficacy.

Micro flow cytometer with self-aligned 3D hydrodynamic focusing.

A micro flow cytometer with a single step 3D hydrodynamic flow focusing has been developed. The proposed design is capable to create a single-file particle stream that is self-aligned with an integrated optical fiber-based detection system, regardless of the flow rate ratio between the focusing and core liquids. The design approach provides the ability to adjust the stream size while keeping the position of the focused stream centered with respect to the focusing channel.

A hybrid silicon-PDMS optofluidic platform for sensing applications.

A hybrid silicon-poly(dimethysiloxane) (PDMS) optofluidic platform for lab-on-a-chip applications is proposed. A liquid-core waveguide with a self-aligned solid-core waveguide and a microfluidic device are integrated with a multilayer approach, resulting in a three-dimensional device assembly. The optofluidic layer was fabricated with a hybrid silicon-polymer technology, whereas the microfluidic layer was fabricated with a soft lithography technique.

Perfluorinated plastic optical fiber tapers for evanescent wave sensing.

In this work we describe the fabrication and the characterization of perfluorinated plastic-cladded optical fiber tapers. The heat-and-pull procedure has been used to fabricate symmetric tapers. Devices with different taper ratio have been produced and the repeatability of the process has been verified.

Radiological workers sensitivity to 50 Hz pulsed magnetic fields: preliminary results.

In the present study the effect of extremely low frequency pulsed magnetic fields (PMF) was evaluated in lymphocyte cultures from 12 subjects occupationally exposed to low doses of ionising radiations. The PMF signal characteristics were repetition frequency 50 Hz, triangular shape, rise time about 1.2 ms and peak intensity 2.