The canonical 8-form on manifolds with holonomy group Spin(9)

An explicit expression of the canonical 8-form on a Riemannian manifold with a Spin(9)-structure, in terms of the nine local symmetric involutions involved, is given. The list of explicit expressions of all the canonical forms related to Berger's list of holonomy groups is thus completed. Moreover, some results on Spin(9)-structures as G-structures defined by a tensor and on the curvature tensor of the Cayley planes, are obtained

Increased bile resistance in Salmonella enterica mutants lacking Prc periplasmic protease

Prc is a periplasmic protease involved in processing of penicillin-binding protein 3 (PBP3). Lack of Prc suppressesbile sensitivity in Dam-, Wec-, PhoP-, DamX-, and SeqA- mutants of Salmonella enterica, and increases bile resistance in thewild type. Changes in the activity of penicillin binding proteins PBP3, PBP4, PBP5/6 and PBP7 are detected in a Prc-background, suggesting that peptidoglycan remodeling might contribute to bile resistance. [Int Microbiol 2013; 16(2):87-92]Keywords: Salmonella; bile; Prc protease; peptidoglycan; penicillin-binding protein

The population of deformed bands in 48^{48}Cr by emission of 8^{8}Be from the 32^{32}S + 24^{24}Mg reaction

Using particle-$\gamma$ coincidences we have studied the population of final states after the emission of 2 $\alpha$-particles and of $^{8}$Be in nuclei formed in $^{32}$S+$^{24}$Mg reactions at an energy of $\textrm{E}_{\rm L}(^{32}\textrm{S}) = 130 {\rm MeV}$. The data were obtained in a setup consisting of the GASP $\gamma$-ray detection array and the multidetector array ISIS. Particle identification is obtained from the $\Delta$E and E signals of the ISIS silicon detector telescopes, the $^{8}$Be being identified by the instantaneous pile up of the $\Delta$E and E pulses. $\gamma$-ray decays of the $^{48}$Cr nucleus are identified with coincidences set on 2 $\alpha$-particles and on $^{8}$Be. Some transitions of the side-band with $K^\pi=4^{-}$ show stronger population for $^{8}$Be emission relative to that of 2 $\alpha$-particles (by a factor $1.5-1.8$). This observation is interpreted as due to an enhanced emission of $^{8}$Be into a more deformed nucleus. Calculations based on the extended Hauser-Feshbach compound decay formalism confirm this observation quantitatively.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures accepted for publication in J. Phys.

Light and heavy transfer products in Xe 136 + U 238 multinucleon transfer reactions

A. Vogt et al.; 12 pags.; 14 figs.; PACS number(s): 24.10.−i, 25.70.Hi, 29.30.Aj, 29.40.Gx© 2015 American Physical Society. ©2015 American Physical Society. Background: Multinucleon transfer reactions (MNT) are a competitive tool to populate exotic neutron-rich nuclei in a wide region of nuclei, where other production methods have severe limitations or cannot be used at all. Purpose: Experimental information on the yields of MNT reactions in comparison with theoretical calculations are necessary to make predictions for the production of neutron-rich heavy nuclei. It is crucial to determine the fraction of MNT reaction products which are surviving neutron emission or fission at the high excitation energy after the nucleon exchange. Method: Multinucleon transfer reactions in Xe136+U238 have been measured in a high-resolution γ-ray/particle coincidence experiment. The large solid-angle magnetic spectrometer PRISMA coupled to the high-resolution Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) has been employed. Beamlike reaction products after multinucleon transfer in the Xe region were identified and selected with the PRISMA spectrometer. Coincident particles were tagged by multichannel plate detectors placed at the grazing angle of the targetlike recoils inside the scattering chamber. Results: Mass yields have been extracted and compared with calculations based on the grazing model for MNT reactions. Kinematic coincidences between the binary reaction products, i.e., beamlike and targetlike nuclei, were exploited to obtain population yields for nuclei in the actinide region and compared to x-ray yields measured by AGATA. Conclusions: No sizable yield of actinide nuclei beyond Z=93 is found to perform nuclear structure investigations. In-beam γ-ray spectroscopy is feasible for few-neutron transfer channels in U and the -2p channel populating Th isotopes.The research leading to these results has received funding from the German Bundesministerium fur Bildung ¨ und Forschung (BMBF) under Contract No. 05P12PKFNE TP4, the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant No. 262010-ENSAR, and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion under Contract ´ No. FPA2011-29854-C04. A.V. thanks the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy (BCGS) for financial support. One of the authors (A. Gadea) was supported by MINECO, Spain, under Grants No. FPA2011-29854-C04 and No. FPA2014-57196-C5, Generalitat Valenciana, Spain, under Grant No. PROMETEOII/2014/019, and EU under the FEDER program.Peer Reviewe

Determination of lifetimes of nuclear excited states using the Recoil Distance Doppler Shift Method in combination with magnetic spectrometers

The current work presents the determination of lifetimes of nuclear excited states using the Recoil Distance Doppler Shift Method, in combination with spectrometers for ion identification, normalizing the intensity of the peaks by the ions detected in the spectrometer as a valid technique that produces results comparable to the ones obtained by the conventional shifted-to-unsifted peak ratio method. The technique has been validated using data measured with the $\gamma$ -ray array AGATA, the PRISMA spectrometer and the Cologne plunger setup. In this paper a test performed with the AGATA-PRISMA setup at LNL and the advantages of this new approach with respect to the conventional Recoil Distance Doppler Shift Method are discussed

Safety and preliminary activity results of the GATTO study, a phase Ib study combining the anti-TA-MUC1 antibody gatipotuzumab with the anti-EGFR tomuzotuximab in patients with refractory solid tumors

Colorectal cancer; Lung cancer; Monoclonal antibodyCáncer colorrectal; Cáncer de pulmón; Anticuerpo monoclonalCàncer colorectal; Càncer de pulmó; Anticòs monoclonalBackground The phase I GATTO study (NCT03360734) explored the feasibility, tolerability and preliminary activity of combining gatipotuzumab, a novel humanized monoclonal antibody binding to the tumor-associated epitope of mucin 1 (TA-MUC1) and an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (anti-EGFR) antibody in refractory solid tumors. Patients and methods Initially the study enrolled primary phase (PP) patients with EGFR-positive metastatic solid tumors, for whom no standard treatment was available. Patients received gatipotuzumab administered at 1400 mg every 2 weeks, 6 weeks after the start of the glyco-optimized anti-EGFR antibody tomuzotuximab at 1200 mg every 2 weeks. As this regimen was proven safe, enrollment continued in an expansion phase (EP) of patients with refractory metastatic colorectal cancer, non-small-cell lung cancer, head and neck cancer and breast cancer. Tomuzotuximab and gatipotuzumab were given at the same doses and gatipotuzumab treatment started 1 week after the first dose of the anti-EGFR antibody. Additionally, investigators could use a commercial anti-EGFR antibody in place of tomuzotuximab. Results A total of 52 patients were enrolled, 20 in the PP and 32 in the EP. The combined treatment was well tolerated and no dose-limiting toxicity was observed in the whole study, nor related serious adverse event or death. Preliminary activity of the combination was observed, with one and four RECIST partial responses in the PP and EP, all in colorectal cancer patients. The trial was accompanied by a comprehensive translational research program for identification of biomarkers, including soluble TA-MUC1 (sTA-MUC1) in serum. In the EP, patients with baseline sTA-MUC1 levels above the median appeared to have improved progression-free survival and overall survival. Conclusions Combination of a TA-MUC1-targeting antibody and an EGFR-targeting antibody is safe and feasible. Interesting antitumor activity was observed in heavily pretreated patients. Future studies should test this combination together with chemotherapy and explore the potential of sTA-MUC1 as a companion biomarker for further development of the combination.This work was supported by Glycotope GmbH (no grant number)

First identification of excited states in the Tz_z = 1/2 nucleus 93^{93}Pd

The first experimental information about excited states in the N = Z + 1 nucleus 93Pd is presented. The experiment was performed using a 205 MeV 58Ni beam from the Vivitron accelerator at IReS, Strasbourg, impinging on a bismuth-backed 40Ca target. Gamma-rays, neutrons and charged particles emitted in the reactions were detected using the Ge detector array Euroball, the Neutron Wall liquid-scintillator array and the Euclides Si charged-particle detector system. The experimental level scheme is compared with the results of new shell model calculations which predict a coupling scheme with aligned neutron-proton pairs to greatly influence the level structure of $N\approx Z$ nuclei at low excitation energies

Reaction mechanisms in 24Mg+12C and 32S+24Mg

The occurence of "exotic" shapes in light N=Z alpha-like nuclei is investigated for 24Mg+12C and 32S+24Mg. Various approaches of superdeformed and hyperdeformed bands associated with quasimolecular resonant structures with low spin are presented. For both reactions, exclusive data were collected with the Binary Reaction Spectrometer in coincidence with EUROBALL IV installed at the VIVITRON Tandem facility of Strasbourg. Specific structures with large deformation were selectively populated in binary reactions and their associated $\gamma$-decays studied. The analysis of the binary and ternary reaction channels is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, Paper presented at the Fusion08 International Conference on New Aspects of Heavy Ion Collisions Near the Coulomb Barrier, Chicago. Proceedings to be published by AIP Conference Proceedings Illinois, USA, September 22-26, 200

Spectroscopy of the neutron-rich actinide nucleus U-240 following multinucleon-transfer reactions

B. Birkenbach et al.; 9 pags.; 9 figs.; 2 tabs.; PACS number(s): 23.20.Lv, 25.70.Hi, 27.90.+b, 29.40.GxBackground: Nuclear structure information for the neutron-rich actinide nuclei is important since it is the benchmark for theoretical models that provide predictions for the heaviest nuclei. Purpose: gamma-ray spectroscopy of neutron-rich heavy nuclei in the actinide region. Method: Multinucleon-transfer reactions in Zn-70 + U-238 and Xe-136 + U-238 have been measured in two experiments performed at the INFN Legnaro, Italy. In the Zn-70 experiment the high-resolution HPGe Clover Array (CLARA) coupled to the magnetic spectrometer PRISMA was employed. In the Xe-136 experiment the high-resolution Advanced Gamma Tracking Array (AGATA) was used in combination with PRISMA and the Detector Array for Multinucleon Transfer Ejectiles (DANTE). Results: The ground-state band (g.s. band) of U-240 was measured up to the 20(+) level and a tentative assignment was made up to the (24(+)) level. Results from gamma gamma coincidence and from particle coincidence analyses are shown. Moments of inertia (MoI) show a clear upbend. Evidence for an extended first negative-parity band of U-240 is found. Conclusions: A detailed comparison with latest calculations shows best agreement with cranked relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (CRHB) calculations for the g.s. band properties. The negative-parity band shows the characteristics of a K-pi = 0 band based on an octupole vibration. ©2015 American Physical SocietyThe research leading to these results has received funding from the German Bundesministerium fur Bildung ¨ und Forschung (BMBF) under Contract No. 05P12PKFNE TP4, the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under Grant No. 262010-ENSAR, and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion under Contract No. FPA2011-29854-C04. A.V. thanks the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School of Physics and Astronomy (BCGS) for financial support. One of the authors (A. Gadea) was supported by MINECO, Spain, under Grants No. FPA2011-29854-C04 759 and No. FPA2014-57196-C5; Generalitat Valenciana, Spain, under Grant No. PROMETEOII/2014/019; and EU under the FEDER program.Peer Reviewe