Dynamical model of directly modulated semiconductor laser diodes

We present a new dynamical model for a directly modulated semiconductor diode, applicable to systems in which the dynamical time scales of interest are longer than the round-trip time of light in the diode. Employing a multiple scales analysis to simplify the familiar phenomenological equations, we find that the dynamical response of the diode can be described by time-dependent reflection and transmission coefficients for the electric field and one ordinary differential equation for the integrated carrier density. We do not assume that the photon and carrier densities are uniform along the diode and do not need to calculate them explicitly at each point. Additionally, we need not restrict ourselves to only a small-signal response. We justify the multiple scales analysis for parameters corresponding to typical structures through a comparison of the numerical solution of our results and a direct numerical integration of the original phenomenological equations     

Genetic Basis of ACTH-Secreting Adenomas

Cushing’s disease represents 60–70% of all cases of Cushing’s syndrome, presenting with a constellation of clinical features associated with sustained hypercortisolism. Molecular alterations in corticotrope cells lead to the formation of ACTH-secreting adenomas, with subsequent excessive production of endogenous glucocorticoids. In the last few years, many authors have contributed to analyzing the etiopathogenesis and pathophysiology of corticotrope adenomas, which still need to be fully clarified. New molecular modifications such as somatic mutations of USP8 and other genes have been identified, and several case series and case reports have been published, highlighting new molecular alterations that need to be explored. To investigate the current knowledge of the genetics of ACTH-secreting adenomas, we performed a bibliographic search of the recent scientific literature to identify all pertinent articles. This review presents the most recent updates on somatic and germline mutations underlying Cushing’s disease. The prognostic implications of these mutations, in terms of clinical outcomes and therapeutic scenarios, are still debated. Further research is needed to define the clinical features associated with the different genotypes and potential pharmacological targets.     

An association analysis between OXT genotype and milk yield and flow in Italian Mediterranean river buffalo

The aim of this study was to evaluate possible associations between three SNPs at the oxytocin locus (AM234538: g.28C>T; g.204A>G and g.1627G>T) and two productive traits, milk yield and milkability, in Italian Mediterranean river buffaloes. Effects of parity, calving season and month of production were also evaluated. A total of 41 980 test-day records belonging to 219 lactations of 163 buffalo cows were investigated. The allele call rate was 98·8% and the major allele frequency for all the investigated loci was 0·76. The OXT genotype was significantly associated with milk yield (P=0·029). The TT genotype showed an average daily milk yield approximately 1·7 kg higher than GT buffaloes. Such a difference represents about 23% more milk/d. A large dominance effect (-1·17±0·43 kg) was estimated, whereas the contribution of OXT genotype (r(2)(OXT)) to the total phenotypic variance in milk yield was equal to 0·06. The TT genotype showed higher values also for the milk flow, even though the estimated difference did not reach a level of statistical significance (P=0·07). Such an association, among the first reported for the oxytocin locus in ruminants, should be tested on a population scale and possible effects on milk composition traits should be evaluated in order to supply useful indications for the application of marker-assisted selection programmes in river buffaloes.     

Characterization of the major whey proteins from milk of Mediterranean water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

In this work, the whey protein fractions from 120 Mediterranean water buffalo individual milks were analysed by microchip electrophoresis (MCE), reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC) and mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). Validation procedures were carried out for both MCE and HPLC. The chromatographic analysis allowed the complete separation of the whey protein fractions, resulting in a well-defined peak structure; the adopted RP-HPLC and ESI-MS protocols provided identification of β-lactoglobulin (18,266 Da), α-lactoalbumin (14,236 Da) and serum albumin (66,397 Da). The calculated mean concentrations were 4.04 g/l, 2.45 g/l and 0.35 g/l, respectively.     

A Ssp I PCR-RFLP detecting a silent allele at the goat CSN2 locus

The goat calcium-sensitive caseins (alphas1, beta and alphas2) represent, over many years, an excellent model for demonstrating that the major part of the variability observed in the content of these proteins in goat milk is mostly due to the presence of autosomal alleles at single structural loci (CSN1S1, CSN2 and CSN1S2 respectively) clustered on a 200 kb segment of chromosome 6; furthermore, CSN1S1 and CSN2 are convergently transcribed and are only 12 kb apart (Rijnkels, 2002).     

Investigating the Optical Properties of a Laser Induced 3D Self‐Assembled Carbon–Metal Hybrid Structure

Carbon‐based and carbon–metal hybrid materials hold great potential for applications in optics and electronics. Here, a novel material made of carbon and gold–silver nanoparticles is discussed, fabricated using a laser‐induced self‐assembly process. This self‐assembled metamaterial manifests itself in the form of cuboids with lateral dimensions on the order of several micrometers and a height of tens to hundreds of nanometers. The carbon atoms are arranged following an orthorhombic unit cell, with alloy nanoparticles intercalated in the crystalline carbon matrix. The optical properties of this metamaterial are analyzed experimentally using a microscopic Müller matrix measurement approach and reveal a high linear birefringence across the visible spectral range. Theoretical modeling based on local‐field theory applied to the carbon matrix links the birefringence to the orthorhombic unit cell, while finite‐difference time‐domain simulations of the metamaterial relates the observed optical response to the distribution of the alloy nanoparticles and the optical density of the carbon matrix.