14,004 research outputs found

    Individual Patient-Level Meta-Analysis of the Performance of the Decipher Genomic Classifier in High-Risk Men After Prostatectomy to Predict Development of Metastatic Disease.

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    Purpose To perform the first meta-analysis of the performance of the genomic classifier test, Decipher, in men with prostate cancer postprostatectomy. Methods MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Decipher genomic resource information database were searched for published reports between 2011 and 2016 of men treated by prostatectomy that assessed the benefit of the Decipher test. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models fit to individual patient data were performed; meta-analyses were conducted by pooling the study-specific hazard ratios (HRs) using random-effects modeling. Extent of heterogeneity between studies was determined with the I(2) test. Results Five studies (975 total patients, and 855 patients with individual patient-level data) were eligible for analysis, with a median follow-up of 8 years. Of the total cohort, 60.9%, 22.6%, and 16.5% of patients were classified by Decipher as low, intermediate, and high risk, respectively. The 10-year cumulative incidence metastases rates were 5.5%, 15.0%, and 26.7% ( P \u3c .001), respectively, for the three risk classifications. Pooling the study-specific Decipher HRs across the five studies resulted in an HR of 1.52 (95% CI, 1.39 to 1.67; I(2) = 0%) per 0.1 unit. In multivariable analysis of individual patient data, adjusting for clinicopathologic variables, Decipher remained a statistically significant predictor of metastasis (HR, 1.30; 95% CI, 1.14 to 1.47; P \u3c .001) per 0.1 unit. The C-index for 10-year distant metastasis of the clinical model alone was 0.76; this increased to 0.81 with inclusion of Decipher. Conclusion The genomic classifier test, Decipher, can independently improve prognostication of patients postprostatectomy, as well as within nearly all clinicopathologic, demographic, and treatment subgroups. Future study of how to best incorporate genomic testing in clinical decision-making and subsequent treatment recommendations is warranted

    A straw drift chamber spectrometer for studies of rare kaon decays

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    We describe the design, construction, readout, tests, and performance of planar drift chambers, based on 5 mm diameter copperized Mylar and Kapton straws, used in an experimental search for rare kaon decays. The experiment took place in the high-intensity neutral beam at the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron of Brookhaven National Laboratory, using a neutral beam stop, two analyzing dipoles, and redundant particle identification to remove backgrounds

    A Philosophical Inquiry to Include Trance into Epistemology

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    In a state of voluntary trance or meditation, the perception of reality appears to extend beyond the usual and temporal boundaries that are normally perceived by the sense organs. It is argued that the problems of validity and reliability of trance experiences for scientific discourse are in principle no different than the problems associated with ordinary perception. The shift in early Greek philosophy from myth to and emphasis on logos (reason) has led to a neglect of those subtle qualities of reason that were considered to be gateways for divine revelation. Scientific methodologies cannot account for such revelation, and there are no criteria known to science that would enable people to utilize these phenomena. Shamanic experiences are intersubjectively accessible and provide data that is suitable for the construction of rational theories if appropriate methodologies are developed. However, for a scientist, shamanic experiences are considered at most to be psychological ones, and consequently without any value for empirical research. This article examines the possibility of reevaluating the terms "rational� and "consciousness,� in order to expand scientific methodologies in such a way that volitionally altered perceptions of reality can be integrated into scientific research

    Bruno Rossi and Cosmic Rays: From Earth laboratories to Physics in Space

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    Rossi's career paralleled the evolution of cosmic-ray physics. Starting from the early 1930s his pioneering work on the nature and behavior of cosmic rays led to fundamental contributions in the field of experimental cosmic-ray physics and laid the foundation for high-energy particle physics. After the war, under his leadership the Cosmic Ray group at MIT investigated the properties of the primary cosmic rays elucidating the processes involved in their propagation through the atmosphere, and measuring the unstable particles generated in the interactions with matter. When accelerators came to dominate particle physics, Rossi's attention focused on the new opportunities for exploratory investigations made possible by the availability of space vehicles. He initiated a research program which led to the first in situ measurements of the density, speed and direction of the solar wind at the boundary of Earth's magnetosphere and inspired the search for extra-solar X-ray sources resulting in the detection of what revealed to be the most powerful X-ray source in Earth's skies. The discovery of Scorpius X-1 marked the beginning of X-ray astronomy, which soon became a principal tool of astrophysics research.Comment: Upgraded English version of the article published on La Fisica nella scuola, Quaderno 22, 2011, resulting from lessons held during the last School for the history of Physics organized by the Italian Association for the Teaching of Physics (Aosta, November 29-December 4, 2010

    NASA patent abstracts bibliography: A continuing bibliography. Section 1: Abstracts (supplement 16)

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    Abstracts are cited for 138 patents and patent applications introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system during the period July 1979 through December 1979. Each entry cib consists of a citation, an abstract, and in most cases, a key illustration selected from the patent or patent application

    Facing Catastrophe - Risk and Response: The 9-11 and 11-M Commissions' Blind Sides

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    Background thinking for the upcoming Madrid terrorism summit stems partly from the 9/11 Commission and Spain's Comisión 11-M. Their presentations fall short on pinpointing the sources of attacks that carry the most risk and how best to respond. Terrorist attacks over the last decades follow a power-law distribution, which anticipates future terrorist events with ever broader effects. Intelligence estimates based on models keyed to frequency and recency of past occurrences make us less secure even if they predict most terrorist events. Evolution, complex adaptive systems, and WWII experience from British intelligence provide salutary lessons for thinking “outside the box” with decentralized expertise. History shows that people do not readily panic in surprise attacks and that local actors may be best able to organize response efforts. Proposals to centralize intelligence and unify command and control are not promising given recent transformations in terrorist networks in the wake of Al-Qaeda's operational demise.

    Analysis of spacecraft anomalies

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    The anomalies from 316 spacecraft covering the entire U.S. space program were analyzed to determine if there were any experimental or technological programs which could be implemented to remove the anomalies from future space activity. Thirty specific categories of anomalies were found to cover nearly 85 percent of all observed anomalies. Thirteen experiments were defined to deal with 17 of these categories; nine additional experiments were identified to deal with other classes of observed and anticipated anomalies. Preliminary analyses indicate that all 22 experimental programs are both technically feasible and economically viable
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