A
bstract
One proposed component of the upcoming Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) near detector complex is a multi-purpose, magnetized, gaseous argon time projection chamber: the ...Multi-Purpose Detector (MPD). We explore the new-physics potential of the MPD, focusing on scenarios in which the MPD is significantly more sensitive to new physics than a liquid argon detector, specifically searches for semi-long-lived particles that are produced in/near the beam target and decay in the MPD. The specific physics possibilities studied are searches for dark vector bosons mixing kinetically with the Standard Model hypercharge group, leptophilic vector bosons, dark scalars mixing with the Standard Model Higgs boson, and heavy neutral leptons that mix with the Standard Model neutrinos. We demonstrate that the MPD can extend existing bounds in most of these scenarios. We illustrate how the ability of the MPD to measure the momentum and charge of the final state particles leads to these bounds.
Mortality risk after kidney transplantation can vary significantly during the post-transplant course. A contemporary assessment of trends in all-cause and cause-specific mortality at different ...periods post-transplant is required to better inform patients, clinicians, researchers, and policy makers.
We included all first kidney-only transplant recipients from 1980 through 2018 from the Australia and New Zealand Dialysis and Transplant Registry. We compared adjusted death rates per 5-year intervals, using a piecewise exponential survival model, stratified by time post-transplant or time post-graft failure.
Of 23,210 recipients, 4765 died with a functioning graft. Risk of death declined over successive eras, at all periods post-transplant. Reductions in early deaths were most marked; however, recipients ≥10 years post-transplant were 20% less likely to die in the current era compared with preceding eras (2015-2018 versus 2005-2009, adjusted hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% confidence interval, 0.69 to 0.90). In 2015-2018, cardiovascular disease was the most common cause of death, particularly in months 0-3 post-transplant (1.18 per 100 patient-years). Cancer deaths were rare early post-transplant, but frequent at later time points (0.93 per 100 patient-years ≥10 years post-transplant). Among 3657 patients with first graft loss, 2472 died and were not retransplanted. Death was common in the first year after graft failure, and the cause was most commonly cardiovascular (50%).
Reductions in death early and late post-transplant over the past 40 years represent a major achievement. Reductions in cause-specific mortality at all time points post-transplant are also apparent. However, relatively greater reductions in cardiovascular death have increased the prominence of late cancer deaths.
Using data from 56 markets, we find that short-term reversal, post-earnings drift, and momentum strategies earn similar returns in emerging and developed markets. Variance ratios and market delay ...measures often show greater deviations from random walk pricing in developed markets. Conceptually, we show that commonly used efficiency tests can yield misleading inferences because they do not control for the information environment. Our evidence corrects misperceptions that emerging markets feature larger trading profits and higher return autocorrelation, highlights crucial limitations of weak and semi-strong form efficiency measures, and points to the importance of measuring informational aspects of efficiency.
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We document changes in forest structure between historical (1930s) and contemporary (2000s) surveys of California vegetation through comparisons of tree abundance and size across the state and within ...several ecoregions. Across California, tree density in forested regions increased by 30% between the two time periods, whereas forest biomass in the same regions declined, as indicated by a 19% reduction in basal area. These changes reflect a demographic shift in forest structure: larger trees (>61 cm diameter at breast height) have declined, whereas smaller trees (<30 cm) have increased. Large tree declines were found in all surveyed regions of California, whereas small tree increases were found in every region except the south and central coast. Large tree declines were more severe in areas experiencing greater increases in climaticwater deficit since the 1930s, based on a hydrologic model of water balance for historical climates through the 20th century. Forest composition in California in the last century has also shifted toward increased dominance by oaks relative to pines, a pattern consistent with warming and increased water stress, and also with paleohistoric shifts in vegetation in California over the last 150,000 y.
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Cognitive impairment is common in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Subtle changes can impact engagement with healthcare, comprehension, ...decision-making, and medication adherence. We aimed to systematically summarise evidence of cognitive changes in CKD.
We searched MEDLINE (March 2016) for cross-sectional, cohort or randomised studies that measured cognitive function in people with CKD (PROSPERO, registration number CRD42014015226). The CKD population included people with eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m
, not receiving renal replacement therapy, in any research setting. We conducted a meta-analysis using random effects, expressed as standardised mean differences (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Outcomes were performance in eight cognitive domains. Bias was assessed with the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS).
We identified 44 studies reporting sufficient data for synthesis (51,575 participants). Mean NOS score for cohort studies was 5.8/9 and for cross-sectional 5.4/10. Studies were deficient in NOS outcome and selection due to poor methods reporting and in comparison group validity of demographics and chronic disease status. CKD patients (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m
) performed worse than control groups (eGFR ≥ 60 mL/min/1.73 m
) on Orientation & Attention (SMD -0.79, 95% CI, -1.44 to -0.13), Language (SMD -0.63, 95% CI, -0.85 to -0.41), Concept Formation & Reasoning (SMD -0.63, 95% CI, -1.07 to -0.18), Executive Function (SMD -0.53, 95% CI, -0.85 to -0.21), Memory (SMD -0.48, 95% CI, -0.79 to -0.18), and Global Cognition (SMD -0.48, 95% CI, -0.72 to -0.24). Construction & Motor Praxis and Perception were unaffected (SMD -0.29, 95% CI, -0.90 to 0.32; SMD -1.12, 95% CI, -4.35 to 2.12). Language scores dropped with eGFR (<45 mL/min/1.73 m
SMD -0.86, 95% CI, -1.25 to -46; 30 mL/min/1.73 m
SMD -1.56, 95% CI, -2.27 to -0.84). Differences in Orientation & Attention were greatest at eGFR < 45 mL/min/1.73 m
(SMD -4.62, 95% CI, -4.68 to -4.55). Concept Formation & Reasoning differences were greatest at eGFR < 45 mL/min/1.73 m
(SMD -4.27, 95% CI, -4.23 to -4.27). Differences in Executive Functions were greatest at eGFR < 30 mL/min/1.73 m
(SMD -0.54, 95% CI, -1.00 to -0.08).
Cognitive changes occur early in CKD, and skills decline at different rates. Orientation & Attention and Language are particularly affected. The cognitive impact of CKD is likely to diminish patients' capacity to engage with healthcare decisions. An individual's cognitive trajectory may deviate from average.
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Background Cognitive impairment is associated with poorer quality of life, risk for hospitalization, and mortality. Cognitive impairment is common in people with end-stage kidney disease treated with ...hemodialysis, yet the severity and specific cognitive deficits are uncertain. Study Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Setting & Population Adults receiving hemodialysis compared with the general population, people with non−dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD), people receiving peritoneal dialysis, or people with nondialyzed chronic kidney failure. Selection Criteria for Studies Randomized controlled trials, cohort or cross-sectional studies without language restriction. Index Tests Validated neuropsychological tests of cognition. Outcomes Cognitive test scores, aggregated by cognitive domain: orientation and attention, perception, memory, language, construction and motor performance, concept formation and reasoning, and executive functions. Results 42 studies of 3,522 participants. Studies were of high or uncertain risk of bias, assessed by the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. People treated with hemodialysis had worse cognition than the general population, particularly in attention (n = 22; standardized mean difference SMD, −0.93; 95% CI, −1.18 to −0.68). Hemodialysis patients performed better than nondialyzed patients with chronic kidney failure in attention (n = 6; SMD, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.45 to 0.96) and memory (n = 6; SMD, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.63), but had poorer memory than the general population (n = 16; SMD, −0.41; 95% CI, −0.91 to 0.09) and people with NDD-CKD (n = 5; SMD, −0.40; 95% CI, −0.60 to −0.21). There were insufficient data to show other differences among people receiving hemodialysis and those receiving peritoneal dialysis or with NDD-CKD. Limitations Potentially biased studies, not wholly adjusted for education. High heterogeneity, mainly due to the large variety of tests used to assess cognition. Conclusions People treated with hemodialysis have impaired cognitive function compared to the general population, particularly in the domains of orientation and attention and executive function. Cognitive deficits in specific domains should be further explored in this population and should be considered when approaching education and chronic disease management.
Dark fluxes from electromagnetic cascades Blinov, Nikita; Fox, Patrick J.; Kelly, Kevin J. ...
The journal of high energy physics,
07/2024, Volume:
2024, Issue:
7
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
A
bstract
We study dark sector production in electromagnetic (EM) cascades. This problem requires accurate simulations of Standard Model (SM) and dark sector processes, both of which impact angular ...and energy distributions of emitted particles that ultimately determine flux predictions in a downstream detector. We describe the minimal set of QED processes which must be included to faithfully reproduce a SM cascade, and identify a universal algorithm to generate a dark sector flux given a Monte-Carlo simulation of a SM shower. We provide a new tool,
, which simulates EM cascades with associated dark vector production, and compare it against existing literature and “off the shelf” tools. The signal predictions at downstream detectors can strongly depend on the nontrivial interplay (and modelling) of SM and dark sector processes, in particular multiple Coulomb scattering and positron annihilation. We comment on potential impacts of these effects for realistic experimental setups.
Thymic epithelial tumors are rare malignancies, and there is no standard treatment for patients with advanced disease in whom chemotherapy has failed. Antitumor activity of histone deacetylase (HDAC) ...inhibitors in this disease has been documented, including one patient with thymoma treated with the pan-HDAC inhibitor belinostat.
Patients with advanced thymic epithelial malignancies in whom at least one line of platinum-containing chemotherapy had failed were eligible for this study. Other eligibility criteria included adequate organ function and good performance status. Belinostat was administered intravenously at 1 g/m(2) on days 1 to 5 of a 21-day cycle until disease progression or development of intolerance. The primary objective was response rate in patients with thymoma.
Of the 41 patients enrolled, 25 had thymoma, and 16 had thymic carcinoma; patients had a median of two previous systemic regimens (range, one to 10 regimens). Treatment was well tolerated, with nausea, vomiting, and fatigue being the most frequent adverse effects. Two patients achieved partial response (both had thymoma; response rate, 8%; 95% CI, 2.2% to 25%), 25 had stable disease, and 13 had progressive disease; there were no responses among patients with thymic carcinoma. Median times to progression and survival were 5.8 and 19.1 months, respectively. Survival of patients with thymoma was significantly longer than that of patients with thymic carcinoma (median not reached v 12.4 months; P = .001). Protein acetylation, regulatory T-cell numbers, and circulating angiogenic factors did not predict outcome.
Belinostat has modest antitumor activity in this group of heavily pretreated thymic malignancies. However, the duration of response and disease stabilization is intriguing, and additional testing of belinostat in this disease is warranted.
This article studies differences in the information content of 870,000 news announcements in 56 markets around the world. In most developed markets, a firm's stock price moves much more on days with ...public news about the firm. In contrast, in many emerging markets volatility is similar on news and non-news days. We examine several hypotheses for our findings. Cross-country differences in stock price reactions are best explained by insider trading, followed by differences in the quality of the news dissemination mechanism. Our findings are useful for quantifying the extent of insider trading and how the financial media affects international markets.
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