A channel selection method for high spin γ-ray spectroscopy studies based on the measurement of the total energy of all radiations (both charged particle and γ-ray) emitted in heavy-ion fusion ...reactions is presented. The method is applicable to all reactions in which charged-particle evaporation from the compound system dominates, and is particularly effective in isolating the weakly populated low particle multiplicity channels that leave the final nucleus with the greatest spin and excitation energy. The method is illustrated using data taken with the 8π γ-ray spectrometer and the miniball 4π charged-particle detector array at the Chalk River Tandem Accelerator Superconducting Cyclotron (TASCC) facility. Channel-to-total ratios are improved over those obtained with charged-particle detection alone by factors as large as 46 without significant loss of statistics for the selected channel.
Radioactive \(^{129}\)Sb, which can be treated as a proton plus semi-magic \(^{128}\)Sn core within the particle-core coupling scheme, was studied by Coulomb excitation. Reduced electric quadrupole ...transition probabilities, \(B(E2)\), for the \(2^+\) \(\times\) \(\pi g_{{7/2}}\) multiplet members and candidate \(\pi d_{{5/2}}\) state were measured. The results indicate that the total electric quadrupole strength of \(^{129}\)Sb is a factor of 1.39(11) larger than the \(^{128}\)Sn core, which is in stark contrast to the expectations of the empirically successful particle-core coupling scheme. Shell-model calculations performed with two different sets of nucleon-nucleon interactions suggest that this enhanced collectivity is due to constructive quadrupole coherence in the wavefunctions stemming from the proton-neutron residual interactions, where adding one nucleon to a core near a double-shell closure can have a pronounced effect. The enhanced electric quadrupole strength is an early signal of the emerging nuclear collectivity that becomes dominant away from the shell closure.
Abstract
Background
Combination therapy with infliximab and anti-metabolites is an effective strategy for maintaining remission in patients with Crohn’s disease (CD); however, the implications of ...long-term combination therapy has led clinicians to consider discontinuing one of the two agents after sustained remission has been achieved. The SPARE investigators have addressed this in an unblinded clinical trial in which 211 patients were randomised to either continuation of combination therapy, withdrawal of infliximab, or withdrawal of antimetabolite therapy. Here, we aimed to determine whether nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR)-based metabolomics analysis of patient sera at baseline could determine which patients randomised to infliximab withdrawal would relapse over 2-years on anti-metabolite monotherapy.
Methods
The study cohort comprised patients randomised to infliximab cessation who had a serum aliquot available for analysis (n=63). All patients had been treated with a combination therapy of infliximab (IFX) and anti-metabolite >8 months and had been in sustained steroid-free remission >6 months. Disease relapse was defined by CDAI>250 (or between 150–250 with 70 points increase over two consecutive weeks) alongside serum CRP and faecal calprotectin levels. Untargeted metabolomic profiling was carried out using NMR spectroscopy. Key metabolites were identified by their variable importance in projection (VIP) score using orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA) with 10-fold cross-validation on independent data. Multiple logistic regression on the metabolites with highest VIP score was used to report a receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve integral (AUC) value after collinear variables were removed.
Results
Of 63 patients, 21 (33%) relapsed. The mean time to relapse after infliximab discontinuation was 7.9 months. Four independent (multicollinearity R2<0.4) serum metabolites (alanine, glutamine, acetoacetate, glucose) identified relapse with an AUC of 0.84 (95% confidence interval 0.74–0.94, p<0.0001). The positive predictive value was 66.7%, and the negative predictive value was 77.1%. All serum metabolites identified were independent of baseline CRP level (p>0.05, Pearson correlation). Patients who relapsed following infliximab discontinuation had significantly elevated serum acetoacetate and decreased alanine and glutamine levels (post-hoc students t-test, p<0.05) at baseline.
Conclusion
Here, we identify a panel of serum metabolites independent of baseline serum CRP, which predict high risk of disease relapse after infliximab discontinuation. These data may help in stratifying patients suitable for drug withdrawal, together with other clinical and multi-omic parameters.
BACKGROUND--Ebstein's anomaly is an uncommon congenital cardiac abnormality that may be associated with cyanosis and arrhythmias. For those female patients with the anomaly who survive to adult life ...there is little information available about pregnancy, maternal complications, and fetal outcome. This study was designed to address this issue so that these patients can receive appropriate advice and management. METHODS AND RESULTS--Forty two pregnancies in 12 women with Ebstein's anomaly were studied. The mothers' cardiac lesions were assessed on the basis of symptoms, the presence of cyanosis or arrhythmia, and by echocardiographic grading of severity. In the absence of important maternal cyanosis or arrhythmia, pregnancy was well tolerated. Neonatal outcome was good though there was an increased risk of prematurity and dysmaturity in the babies born to mothers with cyanosis. CONCLUSIONS--This study indicates that women with Ebstein's anomaly who reach child-bearing age can be advised that pregnancy is likely to be well tolerated with good fetal outcome. Maternal arrhythmia or cyanosis are indications for closer maternal and fetal observation.
Inherited breast cancer Radford, D M; Zehnbauer, B A
The Surgical clinics of North America,
04/1996, Letnik:
76, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Five to ten percent of breast cancer is attributable to the autosomal dominant inheritance of a high-risk susceptibility gene. There are a number of known inherited cancer syndromes that confer a ...higher risk of breast cancer. Recently, the BRCA1 gene, which is responsible for 45% of hereditary early-onset breast cancer and for the majority of co-inheritance of breast and ovarian cancer, has been cloned. Another gene that confers an increased risk of breast cancer is the BRCA2 gene, which maps to the long arm of chromosome 13 by linkage analysis. Mutations in BRCA2 account for approximately 40% of hereditary early-onset breast cancer. In addition, at least 7% of breast cancer may occur in women who are heterozygous for mutations in a gene for ataxia-telangiectasia, an autosomal recessive chromosome instability syndrome. Predictive testing for some predisposing conditions is possible through indirect or direct mutation testing. In this article, the genetics of breast cancer are reviewed, and practical concerns for the surgeon in counseling high-risk patients are addressed.
The aim of this study was to compare the morphology of denture plaque and adjacent palatal mucosa in five subjects with denture-related stomatitis and a control group of five healthy subjects. ...Scanning electron microscope examination of copper plate replicas, which preliminary studies established were superior to epoxy resin replicas, showed that there were no consistent differences between the morphology of denture plaque and adjacent mucosa in the denture-related stomatitis group and control group. In each, the surface of the denture plaque was composed predominantly of coccoid- and rod-shaped bacteria with only some yeast cells. The mucosa was largely devoid of microorganisms and individual epithelial cells were shedding from its surface.
We report the first measurement of the muon flux underground at the Davis Campus of the Sanford Underground Research Facility at the 4850 foot level. Measurements were done with the Majorana ...Demonstrator veto system arranged in two different configurations. Both results are in agreement within statistical accuracy. The measured flux is (4.08+-0.19) x 10 -9 muons/cm/2. We compare our results with previous calculations.
High voltage testing for the Majorana Demonstrator Abgrall, N.; Arnquist, Isaac J.; Avignone, F. T. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
07/2016, Letnik:
823
Journal Article
Recenzirano
The Majorana Collaboration is constructing theMajorana Demonstrator, an ultra-low background, 44-kg modular high-purity Ge (HPGe) detector array to search for neutrinoless double-beta decay in 76Ge. ...The phenomenon of surface micro-discharge induced by high-voltage has been studied in the context of theMajorana Demonstrator. This effect can damage the front-end electronics or mimic detector signals. To ensure the correct performance, every high-voltage cable and feedthrough must be capable of supplying HPGe detector operating voltages as high as 5 kV without exhibiting discharge. R&D measurements were carried out to understand the testing system and determine the optimum design configuration of the high-voltage path, including different improvements of the cable layout and feedthrough flange model selection. Every cable and feedthrough to be used at the Majorana Demonstrator was characterized and the micro-discharge effects during theMajorana Demonstrator commissioning phase were studied. A stable configuration has been achieved, and the cables and connectors can supply HPGe detector operating voltages without exhibiting discharge.
Abstract Background Debate exists about the efficacy of β-blockers in myocardial infarction and their required duration of usage in contemporary practice. Methods We conducted a ...MEDLINE/EMBASE/CENTRAL search for randomized trials evaluating β-blockers in myocardial infarction enrolling at least 100 patients. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality. Analysis was performed stratifying trials into reperfusion-era (> 50% undergoing reperfusion or receiving aspirin/statin) or pre-reperfusion-era trials. Results Sixty trials with 102,003 patients satisfied the inclusion criteria. In the acute myocardial infarction trials, a significant interaction ( Pinteraction = .02) was noted such that β-blockers reduced mortality in the pre-reperfusion (incident rate ratio IRR 0.86; 95% confidence interval CI, 0.79-0.94) but not in the reperfusion era (IRR 0.98; 95% CI, 0.92-1.05). In the pre-reperfusion era, β-blockers reduced cardiovascular mortality (IRR 0.87; 95% CI, 0.78-0.98), myocardial infarction (IRR 0.78; 95% CI, 0.62-0.97), and angina (IRR 0.88; 95% CI, 0.82-0.95), with no difference for other outcomes. In the reperfusion era, β-blockers reduced myocardial infarction (IRR 0.72; 95% CI, 0.62-0.83) (number needed to treat to benefit NNTB = 209) and angina (IRR 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65-0.98) (NNTB = 26) at the expense of increase in heart failure (IRR 1.10; 95% CI, 1.05-1.16) (number needed to treat to harm NNTH = 79), cardiogenic shock (IRR 1.29; 95% CI, 1.18-1.41) (NNTH = 90), and drug discontinuation (IRR 1.64; 95% CI, 1.55-1.73), with no benefit for other outcomes. Benefits for recurrent myocardial infarction and angina in the reperfusion era appeared to be short term (30 days). Conclusions In contemporary practice of treatment of myocardial infarction, β-blockers have no mortality benefit but reduce recurrent myocardial infarction and angina (short-term) at the expense of increase in heart failure, cardiogenic shock, and drug discontinuation. The guideline authors should reconsider the strength of recommendations for β-blockers post myocardial infarction.
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