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- Formicola, A, et al.
(author)
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Astrophysical S-factor of 14N(p,γ)15O
- 2004
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In: Physics Letters B. - : Elsevier BV. - 0370-2693 .- 1873-2445. ; 591:1-2, s. 61-68
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We report on a new measurement of the 14N(p,γ) 15O capture cross section at Ep=140 to 400 keV using the 400 kV LUNA accelerator facility at the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso (LNGS). The uncertainties have been reduced with respect to previous measurements and their analysis. We have analyzed the data using the R-matrix method and we find that the ground state transition accounts for about 15% of the total S-factor. The main contribution to the S-factor is given by the transition to the 6.79 MeV state. We find a total S(0)=1.7±0.2 keVb, in agreement with recent extrapolations. The result has important consequences for the solar neutrino spectrum as well as for the age of globular clusters. © 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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2. |
- Imbriani, G., et al.
(author)
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The bottleneck of CNO burning and the age of Globular Clusters
- 2004
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In: Astronomy and Astrophysics. - : EDP Sciences. - 0004-6361 .- 1432-0746. ; 420:2, s. 625-629
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The transition between the Main Sequence and the Red Giant Branch in low mass stars is powered by the onset of CNO burning, whose bottleneck is 14N(p, γ) 15O. The LUNA collaboration has recently improved the low energy measurements of the cross section of this key reaction. We analyse the impact of the revised reaction rate on the estimate of the Globular Cluster ages, as derived from the turnoff luminosity. We found that the age of the oldest Globular Clusters should be increased by about 0.7-1 Gyr with respect to the current estimates.
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3. |
- Philips, Matthew F., et al.
(author)
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Neuroprotective and behavioral efficacy of nerve growth factor-transfected hippocampal progenitor cell transplants after experimental traumatic brain injury
- 2001
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In: Journal of Neurosurgery. - 0022-3085. ; 94:5, s. 765-765
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECT: Immortalized neural progenitor cells derived from embryonic rat hippocampus (HiB5), were transduced ex vivo with the gene for mouse nerve growth factor (NGF) to secrete NGF (NGF-HiB5) at 2 ng/hr/10(5) cells in culture. METHODS: Fifty-nine male Wistar rats weighing 300 to 370 g each were anesthetized with 60 mg/kg sodium pentobarbital and subjected to lateral fluid-percussion brain injury of moderate severity (2.3-2.4 atm, 34 rats) or sham injury (25 rats). At 24 hours postinjury, 2 microl (150,000 cells/microl) of [3H]thymidine-labeled NGF-HiB5 cells were transplanted stereotactically into three individual sites in the cerebral cortex adjacent to the injury site (14 rats). Separate groups of brain-injured rats received nontransfected (naive [n])-HiB5 cells (12 animals) or cell suspension vehicle (eight animals). One week postinjury, animals underwent neurological evaluation for motor function and cognition (Morris water maze) and were killed for histological, autoradiographic, and immunocytochemical analysis. Viable HiB5 cell grafts were identified in all animals, together with reactive microglia and macrophages located throughout the periinjured parenchyma and grafts (OX-42 immunohistochemistry). Brain-injured animals transplanted with either NGF-HiB5 or n-HiB5 cells displayed significantly improved neuromotor function (p < 0.05) and spatial learning behavior (p < 0.005) compared with brain-injured animals receiving microinjections of vehicle alone. A significant reduction in hippocampal CA3 cell death was observed in brain-injured animals receiving transplants of NGF-HiB5 cells compared with those receiving n-HiB5 cells or vehicle (p < 0.025). CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that immortalized neural stem cells that have been retrovirally transduced to produce NGF can markedly improve cognitive and neuromotor function and rescue hippocampal CA3 neurons when transplanted into the injured brain during the acute posttraumatic period.
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