An experiment to search for light sterile neutrinos is conducted at a reactor with a thermal power of 2.8 GW located at the Hanbit nuclear power complex. The search is done with a detector consisting ...of a ton of Gd-loaded liquid scintillator in a tendon gallery approximately 24 m from the reactor core. The measured antineutrino event rate is 1976 per day with a signal to background ratio of about 22. The shape of the antineutrino energy spectrum obtained from the eight-month data-taking period is compared with a hypothesis of oscillations due to active-sterile antineutrino mixing. No strong evidence of 3+1 neutrino oscillation is found. An excess around the 5 MeV prompt energy range is observed as seen in existing longer-baseline experiments. The mixing parameter sin^{2}2θ_{14} is limited up to less than 0.1 for Δm_{41}^{2} ranging from 0.2 to 2.3 eV^{2} with a 90% confidence level.
We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study to investigate the influence of hospital volume, delay of surgery, and both together on the long-term survival of postoperative cancer ...patients.
Using information from the Korea Central Cancer Registry from 2001 through 2005 and the National Health Insurance claim database, we determined survival for 147 682 patients who underwent definitive surgery for any of six cancers.
Regardless of cancer site, surgical patients in low- to medium-volume hospitals showed significantly worse survival adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) = 1.36–1.86 than those in high-volume hospitals in multivariable analyses. Among the latter, treatment delays > 1 month were not associated with worse survival for stomach, colon, pancreatic, or lung cancer but were for rectal aHR = 1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.17–1.40 and breast (aHR = 1.59; 95% CI, 1.37–1.84) cancer. For patients in low- to medium-volume hospitals, treatment delay was associated with worse survival for all types of cancer (aHR = 1.78–3.81).
Our findings suggest that the effect of hospital volume and surgical treatment delay on overall survival of cancer patients should be considered in formulating or revising national health policy.
The RENO experiment has observed the disappearance of reactor electron antineutrinos, consistent with neutrino oscillations, with a significance of 4.9 standard deviations. Antineutrinos from six 2.8 ... GW(th) reactors at the Yonggwang Nuclear Power Plant in Korea, are detected by two identical detectors located at 294 and 1383 m, respectively, from the reactor array center. In the 229 d data-taking period between 11 August 2011 and 26 March 2012, the far (near) detector observed 17102 (154088) electron antineutrino candidate events with a background fraction of 5.5% (2.7%). The ratio of observed to expected numbers of antineutrinos in the far detector is 0.920±0.009(stat)±0.014(syst). From this deficit, we determine sin(2)2θ(13)=0.113±0.013(stat)±0.019(syst) based on a rate-only analysis.
To compare the long-term survival outcomes between laparoscopic radical hysterectomy (LRH) and open radical hysterectomy (ORH).
We matched patients with stage IA2 to IIA cervical cancer with known ...risk factors for recurrence who underwent ORH and LRH.
Compared with ORH (n = 263), LRH (n = 263) did not have higher risks of recurrence hazard ratio (HR) = 1.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.62–2.64 or death (HR = 1.46; 95% CI 0.62–3.43). Even in patients with tumors >2 cm in diameter, the risks of recurrence (HR = 0.82; 95% CI 0.31–2.16) or death (HR = 1.01; 95% CI 0.35–2.95) were not higher for LRH than for ORH. The LRH and ORH group had 5-year recurrence-free survival rates of 92.8% and 94.4%, respectively (P = 0.499). LRH resulted in significantly lower estimated blood loss (379.6 versus 541.1 ml, P < 0.001) and shorter postoperative hospital stay (12.5 versus 20.3 days, P < 0.001). Intraoperative complication rates were similar in the two groups (6.8% versus 5.7%, P = 0.711), but postoperative complication rate was lower in the LRH than in the ORH group (9.2% versus 21%, P < 0.001).
LRH is an oncologically safe alternative to ORH and was associated with fewer postoperative complication and earlier recovery.
We present new constraints on the dark matter-induced annual modulation signal using 1.7 years of COSINE-100 data with a total exposure of 97.7 kg yr. The COSINE-100 experiment, consisting of 106 kg ...of NaI(Tl) target material, is designed to carry out a model-independent test of DAMA/LIBRA's claim of WIMP discovery by searching for the same annual modulation signal using the same NaI(Tl) target. The crystal data show a 2.7 cpd/kg/keV background rate on average in the 2-6 keV energy region of interest. Using a χ-squared minimization method we observe best fit values for modulation amplitude and phase of 0.0092±0.0067 cpd/kg/keV and 127.2±45.9 d, respectively.
Initial performance of the COSINE-100 experiment Adhikari, G.; Adhikari, P.; de Souza, E. Barbosa ...
The European physical journal. C, Particles and fields,
02/2018, Volume:
78, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
COSINE is a dark matter search experiment based on an array of low background NaI(Tl) crystals located at the Yangyang underground laboratory. The assembly of COSINE-100 was completed in the summer ...of 2016 and the detector is currently collecting physics quality data aimed at reproducing the DAMA/LIBRA experiment that reported an annual modulation signal. Stable operation has been achieved and will continue for at least 2 years. Here, we describe the design of COSINE-100, including the shielding arrangement, the configuration of the NaI(Tl) crystal detection elements, the veto systems, and the associated operational systems, and we show the current performance of the experiment.
This study explored the impact of genetic polymorphisms in cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes and transporters on the plasma trough concentration of imatinib mesylate (IM) and clinical response in chronic ...myeloid leukemia (CML).
In total, 82 patients with CML who had been administered 400 mg IM daily for over 6 months were genotyped for 11 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in nine genes (CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP2C9, CYP2C19, CYP2D6, ABCB1, SLC22A1, SLC22A2 and ABCG2) using blood samples. The trough imatinib concentration and clinical responses were assessed 6 months after the initiation of IM therapy.
The CC, CA and AA genotypes in ABCG2 421C>A gave significantly different frequencies for the major molecular response (MMR) (P = 0.02). However, no significant differences were found between the genotypes of the CYP enzymes and transporters identified in this study and the imatinib plasma trough concentrations and clinical response frequencies, except for the correlation of ABCG2 with MMR.
The results of the present study may indicate that the ABCG 421C>A genetic polymorphism influences the MMR of imatinib in patients with CML.
Background
Many surgical instruments have been replaced with powered devices in open gastrointestinal and laparoscopic surgery. The production of smoke as a result of vaporization of surgical tissue ...is inevitable, and exposure to surgical smoke is a long‐standing concern. These vapours are potentially hazardous to patients and surgical teams. The present research was designed to compare various surgical devices to determine whether viable cells exist in their surgical smoke.
Methods
The search for viable cells in surgical smoke was conducted using both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Various cancers were cauterized with electrocautery, radiofrequency ablation and ultrasonic scalpels, and the resulting surgical smoke was aspirated with Transwell® membrane; viable cells were sought in the surgical smoke. In an in vivo experiment, samples of SCC7 were cauterized with an ultrasonic scalpel and the sediment from the rinsed Transwell® membrane liquid after centrifugation was injected subcutaneously into the lower back of mice.
Results
Viable cells were found only in the smoke from ultrasonic scalpels (in all 25 samples taken 5 cm from the cautery; 2 of 25 samples at 10 cm). Viable cells in the surgical smoke from ultrasonic scalpels implanted in mice grew in 16 of 40 injection sites. Histological and biochemical analyses revealed that these cancer cells were identical to the cancer cells cauterized by the ultrasonic scalpel.
Conclusion
Viable tumour cells are produced in the surgical smoke from tumour dissection by ultrasonic scalpel.
Surgical relevance
Surgical smoke is a byproduct of dissection using a number of powered devices. Hazards to operating room personnel and patients are unclear.
This study has shown that use of an ultrasonic dissection device can produce smoke that contains viable tumour cells.
Although the model is somewhat artificial, a theoretical risk exists, and measures to evacuate surgical smoke efficiently are important.
Surgical smoke is potentially hazardous
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