Purpose
It is not known whether chemotherapy-related symptom experiences differ between Black and White women with early breast cancer (Stage I–III) receiving current chemotherapy regimens and, in ...turn, influences dose delay, dose reduction, early treatment discontinuation, or hospitalization.
Methods
Patients self-reported their race and provided symptom reports for 17 major side effects throughout chemotherapy. Toxicity and adverse events were analyzed separately for anthracycline and non-anthracycline regimens. Fisher’s exact tests and two-sample t-tests compared baseline patient characteristics. Modified Poisson regression estimated relative risks of moderate, severe, or very severe (MSVS) symptom severity, and chemotherapy-related adverse events.Please check and confirm that the authors and their respective affiliations have been correctly identified and amend if necessary.no changes
Results
In 294 patients accrued between 2014 and 2020, mean age was 58 (SD13) and 23% were Black. For anthracycline-based regimens, the only significant difference in MSVS symptoms was in lymphedema (41% Black vs 20% White,
p
= .04) after controlling for axillary surgery. For non-anthracycline regimens, the only significant difference was MSVS peripheral neuropathy (41% Blacks vs. 23% White) after controlling for taxane type (
p
= .05) and diabetes (
p
= .05). For all other symptoms, severity scores were similar. Dose reduction differed significantly for non-anthracycline regimens (49% Black vs. 25% White,
p
= .01), but not for anthracycline regimens or in dose delay, early treatment discontinuation, or hospitalization for either regimen.
Conclusion
Except for lymphedema and peripheral neuropathy, Black and White patients reported similar symptom severity during adjuvant chemotherapy. Dose reductions in Black patients were more common for non-anthracycline regimens. In this sample, there were minimal differences in patient-reported symptoms and other adverse outcomes in Black versus White patients.
.
Neutron capture cross section measurements on
155
Gd and
157
Gd were performed using the time-of-flight technique at the n_TOF facility at CERN on isotopically enriched samples. The measurements ...were carried out in the n_TOF experimental area EAR1, at 185 m from the neutron source, with an array of 4 C
6
D
6
liquid scintillation detectors. At a neutron kinetic energy of 0.0253 eV, capture cross sections of 62.2(2.2) and 239.8(8.4) kilobarn have been derived for
155
Gd and
157
Gd, respectively, with up to 6% deviation relative to values presently reported in nuclear data libraries, but consistent with those values within 1.6 standard deviations. A resonance shape analysis has been performed in the resolved resonance region up to 181 eV and 307 eV, respectively for
155
Gd and
157
Gd, where on average, resonance parameters have been found in good agreement with evaluations. Above these energies and up to 1 keV, the observed resonance-like structure of the cross section has been analysed and characterised. From a statistical analysis of the observed neutron resonances we deduced: neutron strength function of
2
.
01
(
28
)
×
10
-
4
and
2
.
17
(
41
)
×
10
-
4
; average total radiative width of 106.8(14) meV and 101.1(20) meV and
s
-wave resonance spacing 1.6(2) eV and 4.8(5) eV for n +
155
Gd and n +
157
Gd systems, respectively.
We report on the measurement of the 7Be(n, p)7Li cross section from thermal to approximately 325 keV neutron energy, performed in the high-flux experimental area (EAR2) of the n_TOF facility at CERN. ...This reaction plays a key role in the lithium yield of the big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) for standard cosmology. The only two previous time-of-flight measurements performed on this reaction did not cover the energy window of interest for BBN, and they showed a large discrepancy between each other. The measurement was performed with a Si telescope and a high-purity sample produced by implantation of a 7Be ion beam at the ISOLDE facility at CERN. While a significantly higher cross section is found at low energy, relative to current evaluations, in the region of BBN interest, the present results are consistent with the values inferred from the time-reversal 7Li(p, n)7Be reaction, thus yielding only a relatively minor improvement on the so-called cosmological lithium problem. The relevance of these results on the near-threshold neutron production in the p + 7Li reaction is also discussed.
Ce140 ( n ,γ ) is a key reaction for slow neutron-capture ( s -process) nucleosynthesis due to being a bottleneck in the reaction flow. For this reason, it was measured with high accuracy ...(uncertainty ≈5% ) at the n_TOF facility, with an unprecedented combination of a high purity sample and low neutron-sensitivity detectors. The measured Maxwellian averaged cross section is up to 40% higher than previously accepted values. Stellar model calculations indicate a reduction around 20% of the s -process contribution to the Galactic cerium abundance and smaller sizeable differences for most of the heavier elements. No variations are found in the nucleosynthesis from massive stars.
Asymptotic giant branch stars are responsible for the production of most of the heavy isotopes beyond Sr observed in the solar system. Among them, isotopes shielded from the r-process contribution by ...their stable isobars are defined as s-only nuclei. For a long time the abundance of ^{204}Pb, the heaviest s-only isotope, has been a topic of debate because state-of-the-art stellar models appeared to systematically underestimate its solar abundance. Besides the impact of uncertainties from stellar models and galactic chemical evolution simulations, this discrepancy was further obscured by rather divergent theoretical estimates for the neutron capture cross section of its radioactive precursor in the neutron-capture flow, ^{204}Tl (t_{1/2}=3.78 yr), and by the lack of experimental data on this reaction. We present the first ever neutron capture measurement on ^{204}Tl, conducted at the CERN neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF, employing a sample of only 9 mg of ^{204}Tl produced at the Institute Laue Langevin high flux reactor. By complementing our new results with semiempirical calculations we obtained, at the s-process temperatures of kT≈8 keV and kT≈30 keV, Maxwellian-averaged cross sections (MACS) of 580(168) mb and 260(90) mb, respectively. These figures are about 3% lower and 20% higher than the corresponding values widely used in astrophysical calculations, which were based only on theoretical calculations. By using the new ^{204}Tl MACS, the uncertainty arising from the ^{204}Tl(n,γ) cross section on the s-process abundance of ^{204}Pb has been reduced from ∼30% down to +8%/-6%, and the s-process calculations are in agreement with the latest solar system abundance of ^{204}Pb reported by K. Lodders in 2021.Asymptotic giant branch stars are responsible for the production of most of the heavy isotopes beyond Sr observed in the solar system. Among them, isotopes shielded from the r-process contribution by their stable isobars are defined as s-only nuclei. For a long time the abundance of ^{204}Pb, the heaviest s-only isotope, has been a topic of debate because state-of-the-art stellar models appeared to systematically underestimate its solar abundance. Besides the impact of uncertainties from stellar models and galactic chemical evolution simulations, this discrepancy was further obscured by rather divergent theoretical estimates for the neutron capture cross section of its radioactive precursor in the neutron-capture flow, ^{204}Tl (t_{1/2}=3.78 yr), and by the lack of experimental data on this reaction. We present the first ever neutron capture measurement on ^{204}Tl, conducted at the CERN neutron time-of-flight facility n_TOF, employing a sample of only 9 mg of ^{204}Tl produced at the Institute Laue Langevin high flux reactor. By complementing our new results with semiempirical calculations we obtained, at the s-process temperatures of kT≈8 keV and kT≈30 keV, Maxwellian-averaged cross sections (MACS) of 580(168) mb and 260(90) mb, respectively. These figures are about 3% lower and 20% higher than the corresponding values widely used in astrophysical calculations, which were based only on theoretical calculations. By using the new ^{204}Tl MACS, the uncertainty arising from the ^{204}Tl(n,γ) cross section on the s-process abundance of ^{204}Pb has been reduced from ∼30% down to +8%/-6%, and the s-process calculations are in agreement with the latest solar system abundance of ^{204}Pb reported by K. Lodders in 2021.
Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is associated with increased psychological distress in clinical populations. We aimed to assess depression, anxiety and perceived stress in women with and without ...PCOS in a large community-based sample and investigate the role of stress in contributing to and mediating the relationship between PCOS, depression and anxiety.
A cross-sectional analysis was performed from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Women's Health (ALWSH) comparing women with (n = 478) or without (n = 8134) a self-reported diagnosis of PCOS. Main outcome measures were depression, anxiety and perceived stress measured using validated scales. The χ2 and t tests were used to assess differences between groups. Univariable and multivariable regression were performed to determine factors contributing to each outcome.
Women reporting PCOS, compared with women not reporting PCOS, reported higher prevalence of depression (27.3% v. 18.8%), anxiety symptoms (50% v. 39.2%) and greater score for perceived stress (1.01 ± 0.03 v. 0.88 ± 0.01). After adjusting for body mass index, infertility and socio-demographic factors, women with PCOS were still more likely to be depressed, anxious and to have a higher level of perceived stress. There was a high-level mediation effect of stress between PCOS and both depression and anxiety.
Compared with women not reporting PCOS, women reporting PCOS have increased depression, anxiety and perceived stress. Stress may play a role in the association between PCOS, depression and anxiety. Further studies should consider assessment and management of stress in PCOS as it may be relevant for understanding the aetiology and treatment of psychological distress.
i-TED is an innovative detection system which exploits Compton imaging techniques to achieve a superior signal-to-background ratio in (
n
,
γ
) cross-section measurements using time-of-flight ...technique. This work presents the first experimental validation of the i-TED apparatus for high-resolution time-of-flight experiments and demonstrates for the first time the concept proposed for background rejection. To this aim, the
197
Au(
n
,
γ
) and
56
Fe(
n
,
γ
) reactions were studied at CERN n_TOF using an i-TED demonstrator based on three position-sensitive detectors. Two C
6
D
6
detectors were also used to benchmark the performance of i-TED. The i-TED prototype built for this study shows a factor of
∼
3 higher detection sensitivity than state-of-the-art C
6
D
6
detectors in the 10 keV neutron-energy region of astrophysical interest. This paper explores also the perspectives of further enhancement in performance attainable with the final i-TED array consisting of twenty position-sensitive detectors and new analysis methodologies based on Machine-Learning techniques.
Abstract
The average energy and multiplicity of prompt
$$\gamma $$
γ
-rays from slow neutron-induced fission of
$$^{235}$$
235
U have been measured using the STEFF spectrometer at the neutron ...time-of-flight facility n_TOF. The individual responses from 11 NaI scintillators were corrected for multiple
$$\gamma $$
γ
-ray interactions, prompt fission neutrons and background counts before being deconvolved to estimate the emitted spectrum of prompt fission
$$\gamma $$
γ
-rays. The results give an average
$$\gamma $$
γ
-ray energy
$${\bar{E}}_{\gamma }$$
E
¯
γ
of 1.71(5) MeV and multiplicity
$$\bar{\nu }_{\gamma }$$
ν
¯
γ
of 2.66(18) considering
$$\gamma $$
γ
-rays emitted within the energy range 0.8–6.8 MeV. The n_TOF data has a slightly larger
$${\bar{E}}_{\gamma }$$
E
¯
γ
and smaller
$$\bar{\nu }_{\gamma }$$
ν
¯
γ
than other recent measurements, however the product of the two is in agreement within quoted uncertainties.