We present the performances of two 92% enriched 130TeO2 crystals operated as thermal bolometers in view of a next generation experiment to search for neutrinoless double beta decay of 130Te. The ...crystals, 435 g each, show an energy resolution, evaluated at the 2615 keV γ-line of 208Tl, of 6.5 and 4.3 keV FWHM. The only observable internal radioactive contamination arises from 238U (15 and 8 μBq/kg, respectively). The internal activity of the most problematic nuclei for neutrinoless double beta decay, 226Ra and 228Th, are both evaluated as <3.1 μBq/kg for one crystal and <2.3 μBq/kg for the second. Thanks to the readout of the weak Cherenkov light emitted by β/γ particles by means of Neganov–Luke bolometric light detectors we were able to perform an event-by-event identification of β/γ events with a 95% acceptance level, while establishing a rejection factor of 98.21% and 99.99% for α particles.
The role of 18F fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) in follicular lymphoma (FL) staging is not yet determined.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of PET ...in the initial staging of FL patients enrolled in the FOLL05-phase-III trial that compared first-line regimens (R-CVP, R-CHOP and R-FM). Patients should have undergone conventional staging and have available PET baseline to be included.
A total of 142 patients were analysed. PET identified a higher number of nodal areas in 32% (46 of 142) of patients and more extranodal (EN) sites than computed tomography (CT) scan. Also, the Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (FLIPI) score increased in 18% (26 of 142) and decreased in 6% (9 of 142) of patients. Overall, the impact of PET on modifying the stage was highest in patients with limited stage. Actually, 62% (15 of 24) of cases with limited disease were upstaged with PET.
The inclusion of PET among staging procedures makes the evaluation of patients with FL more accurate and has the potential to modify therapy decision and prognosis in a moderate proportion of patients. Further prospective clinical trials on FL should incorporate PET at different moments, and the therapeutic criteria to start therapy should be re-visited in the views of this new tool.
CUORE, an array of 988 TeO
2
bolometers, is about to be one of the most sensitive experiments searching for neutrinoless double-beta decay. Its sensitivity could be further improved by removing the ...background from
α
radioactivity. A few years ago it was pointed out that the signal from
β
s can be tagged by detecting the emitted Cherenkov light, which is not produced by
α
s. In this paper we confirm this possibility. For the first time we measured the Cherenkov light emitted by a CUORE crystal, and found it to be 100 eV at the
Q
-value of the decay. To completely reject the
α
background, we compute that one needs light detectors with baseline noise below 20 eV RMS, a value which is 3–4 times smaller than the average noise of the bolometric light detectors we are using. We point out that an improved light detector technology must be developed to obtain TeO
2
bolometric experiments able to probe the inverted hierarchy of neutrino masses.
The LUCIFER project aims at deploying the first array of enriched scintillating bolometers for the investigation of neutrinoless double-beta decay of Formula: see textSe. The matrix which embeds the ...source is an array of ZnSe crystals, where enriched Formula: see textSe is used as decay isotope. The radiopurity of the initial components employed for manufacturing crystals, that can be operated as bolometers, is crucial for achieving a null background level in the region of interest for double-beta decay investigations. In this work, we evaluated the radioactive content in 2.5 kg of 96.3 % enriched Formula: see textSe metal, measured with a high-purity germanium detector at the Gran Sasso deep underground laboratory. The limits on internal contaminations of primordial decay chain elements of Formula: see textTh, Formula: see textU and Formula: see textU are respectively: Formula: see text61, Formula: see text110 and Formula: see text74 Formula: see textBq/kg at 90 % C.L. The extremely low-background conditions in which the measurement was carried out and the high radiopurity of the Formula: see textSe allowed us to establish the most stringent lower limits on the half-lives of the double-beta decay of Formula: see textSe to 0Formula: see text, 2Formula: see text and 2Formula: see text excited states of Formula: see textKr of 3.4Formula: see text10Formula: see text, 1.3Formula: see text10Formula: see text and 1.0Formula: see text10Formula: see text y, respectively, with a 90 % C.L.
18Ffluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography (PET) is emerging as a strong diagnostic and prognostic tool in follicular lymphoma (FL) patients.
In a subset analysis of the FOLL05 trial ...(NCT00774826), we investigated the prognostic role of post-induction PET (PI-PET) scan. Patients were eligible to this study if they had a PI-PET scan carried out within 3 months from the end of induction immunochemotherapy. Progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary study end point.
A total of 202 patients were eligible and analysed for this study. The median age was 55 years (range 33–75). Overall, PI-PET was defined as positive in 49 (24%) patients. Conventional response assessment with CT scan was substantially modified by PET: 15% (22/145) of patients considered as having a complete response (CR) after CT were considered as having partial response (PR) after PI-PET and 53% (30/57) patients considered as having a PR after CT were considered as a CR after PI-PET. With a median follow-up of 34 months, the 3-year PFS was 66% and 35%, respectively, for patients with negative and positive PI-PET (P < 0.001). At multivariate analysis, PI-PET (hazard ratio 2.57, 95% confidence interval 1.52–4.34, P < 0.001) was independent of conventional response, FLIPI and treatment arm. Also, the prognostic role of PI-PET was maintained within each FLIPI risk group.
In FL patients, PI-PET substantially modifies response assessment and is strongly predictive for the risk of progression. PET should be considered in further updates of response criteria.
The search for neutrinoless double β decay probes lepton number conservation with high sensitivity and investigates the neutrino nature and mass scale. Experiments presently in preparation will cover ...the quasi-degeneracy region of the neutrino mass pattern. Probing the inverted hierarchy region requires improved sensitivities and next-generation experiments, based either on large expansions of the present searches or on new ideas. We examine here a novel technology relying on ZnMoO4 scintillating bolometers, which can provide an experiment with background close to zero in the ton × year exposure scale. The promising performance of a pilot detector is presented, both in terms of energy resolution and background control. A preliminary study of the sensitivities of future experiments shows that the inverted hierarchy region is within the reach of the technique here proposed. A realistic phased approach program towards a next-generation search is presented and briefly discussed.
The LUCIFER project aims at deploying the first array of enriched scintillating bolometers for the investigation of neutrinoless double-beta decay of Se-82. The matrix which embeds the source is an ...array of ZnSe crystals, where enriched Se-82 is used as decay isotope. The radiopurity of the initial components employed for manufacturing crystals, that can be operated as bolometers, is crucial for achieving a null background level in the region of interest for double-beta decay investigations. In this work, we evaluated the radioactive content in 2.5 kg of 96.3 % enriched Se-82 metal, measured with a high-purity germanium detector at the Gran Sasso deep underground laboratory. The limits on internal contaminations of primordial decay chain elements of Th-232, U-238 and U-235 are respectively: <61,<110 and <74 mu Bq/kg at 90 % C.L. The extremely low-background conditions in which the measurement was carried out and the high radiopurity of the Se-82 allowed us to establish the most stringent lower limits on the half-lives of the double-beta decay of Se-82 to 0(+)(1), 2(2)(+) and 2(1)(+) excited states of Kr-82 of 3.4.10(22), 1.3.10(22) and 1.0.10(22) y, respectively, with a 90 % C.L.
Active and safe reversibility of anticoagulation is an unmet need in clinical care. Factor IXa, required for rapid thrombin generation on platelet surfaces, is a novel target for modulating ...coagulation. REG1 comprises RB006 (drug) and RB007 (antidote). RB006, a ribonucleic acid aptamer, exerts its anticoagulant effect by selectively binding FIXa. RB007, the complementary oligonucleotide antidote, binds to RB006 by Watson-Crick base pairing, neutralizing its anti-FIXa activity.
To test the multiple repeat-dose safety, intraindividual pharmacodynamic reproducibility and graded active reversibility of REG1.
We randomized 39 healthy volunteers to receive either three consecutive weight-adjusted, drug-antidote treatment cycles, or double placebo. Each treatment cycle included an intravenous bolus of 0.75 mg kg(-1) RB006, followed 60 min later by a descending dose of RB007, ranging from a 2 : 1 to 0.125 : 1 antidote/drug ratio (1.5 mg kg(-1) to 0.094 mg kg(-1) RB007). Serial clinical assessments and coagulation measurements were performed through 14 days postrandomization.
Repeat doses of RB006 achieved highly reproducible activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) levels with low intrasubject variability (coefficient of variation 5.5%, intraclass correlation coefficient 5.8 at 15 min postdose), while repeat doses of RB007 reversed the APTT levels dose-dependently and reproducibly. There was no major bleeding and there were no other serious adverse events.
This is the first human study demonstrating multiple repeat-dose safety, intraindividual pharmacodynamic reproducibility and graded active reversibility of an RNA aptamer-oligonucleotide antidote pair. The results lay the foundation for studying the translation of this novel anticoagulation platform to a wide variety of clinical applications.
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