Star and Planet Formation with ALMA: an Overview

Submillimeter observations with ALMA will be the essential next step in our understanding of how stars and planets form. Key projects range from detailed imaging of the collapse of pre-stellar cores and measuring the accretion rate of matter onto deeply embedded protostars, to unravelling the chemistry and dynamics of high-mass star-forming clusters and high-spatial resolution studies of protoplanetary disks down to the 1 AU scale.Comment: Invited review, 8 pages, 5 figures; to appear in the proceedings of "Science with ALMA: a New Era for Astrophysics". Astrophysics & Space Science, in pres

Implementation of laparoscopic hysterectomy for endometrial cancer over the past decade

Background: Laparoscopic hysterectomy (LH) for the treatment of early-stage endometrial carcinoma/cancer (EC) has demonstrated to be safe in several randomized controlled trials. Yet, data on implementation of LH in clinical practice are limited. In the present study, implementation of LH for EC was evaluated in a large oncology network in the Netherlands. Results: Retrospectively, a total of 556 EC patients with FIGO stage I-II were registered in the selected years. The proportion of LH gradually increased from 11% in 2006 to 85% in 2015. LH was more often performed in patients with low-grade EC and was not related to the studied patient characteristics. The introduction of TLH was frequently preceded by LAVH. Patients treated in teaching hospitals were more likely to undergo a LH compared to patients in non-teaching hospitals. The conversion rate was 7.7%, and the overall complication rates between LH and AH were comparable, but less postoperative complications in LH. Conclusions: Implementation of laparoscopic hysterectomy for early-stage EC increased from 11 to 85% in 10 years. Implementation of TLH was often preceded by LAVH and was faster in teaching hospitals

The Science of Sungrazers, Sunskirters, and Other Near-Sun Comets

This review addresses our current understanding of comets that venture close to the Sun, and are hence exposed to much more extreme conditions than comets that are typically studied from Earth. The extreme solar heating and plasma environments that these objects encounter change many aspects of their behaviour, thus yielding valuable information on both the comets themselves that complements other data we have on primitive solar system bodies, as well as on the near-solar environment which they traverse. We propose clear definitions for these comets: We use the term near-Sun comets to encompass all objects that pass sunward of the perihelion distance of planet Mercury (0.307 AU). Sunskirters are defined as objects that pass within 33 solar radii of the Sun’s centre, equal to half of Mercury’s perihelion distance, and the commonly-used phrase sungrazers to be objects that reach perihelion within 3.45 solar radii, i.e. the fluid Roche limit. Finally, comets with orbits that intersect the solar photosphere are termed sundivers. We summarize past studies of these objects, as well as the instruments and facilities used to study them, including space-based platforms that have led to a recent revolution in the quantity and quality of relevant observations. Relevant comet populations are described, including the Kreutz, Marsden, Kracht, and Meyer groups, near-Sun asteroids, and a brief discussion of their origins. The importance of light curves and the clues they provide on cometary composition are emphasized, together with what information has been gleaned about nucleus parameters, including the sizes and masses of objects and their families, and their tensile strengths. The physical processes occurring at these objects are considered in some detail, including the disruption of nuclei, sublimation, and ionisation, and we consider the mass, momentum, and energy loss of comets in the corona and those that venture to lower altitudes. The different components of comae and tails are described, including dust, neutral and ionised gases, their chemical reactions, and their contributions to the near-Sun environment. Comet-solar wind interactions are discussed, including the use of comets as probes of solar wind and coronal conditions in their vicinities. We address the relevance of work on comets near the Sun to similar objects orbiting other stars, and conclude with a discussion of future directions for the field and the planned ground- and space-based facilities that will allow us to address those science topics

Charge Asymmetries for D, D_s and Lambda_c Production in Sigma- - Nucleus Interactions at 340 GeV/c

CERN experiment WA89 has studied charmed particles produced by a Sigma^- beam at 340 GeV/c on nuclear targets. Production of particles which have light quarks in common with the beam is compared to production of those which do not. Considerable production asymmetries between D^- and D^p, D_s^ and D_s^+ and Lambda_c and Antilambda_c are observed. The results are compared with pion beam data and with theoretical calculations.Comment: LaTeX ; 16 pages including 4 ps figure

Cytologic examination to detect clear cell adenocarcinoma of the vagina or cervix.

Contains fulltext : 186005.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access

The role of MR imaging in invasive cervical carcinoma

Contains fulltext : 141996.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access

Supercritical extraction of oleaginous: parametric sensitivity analysis

The economy has become universal and competitive, thus the industries of vegetable oil extraction must advance in the sense of minimising production costs and, at the same time, generating products that obey more rigorous patterns of quality, including solutions that do not damage the environment. The conventional oilseed processing uses hexane as solvent. However, this solvent is toxic and highly flammable. Thus the search of substitutes for hexane in oleaginous extraction process has increased in the last years. The supercritical carbon dioxide is a potential substitute for hexane, but it is necessary more detailed studies to understand the phenomena taking place in such process. Thus, in this work a diffusive model for semi-continuous (batch for the solids and continuous for the solvent) isothermal and isobaric extraction process using supercritical carbon dioxide is presented and submitted to a parametric sensitivity analysis by means of a factorial design in two levels. The model parameters were disturbed and their main effects analysed, so that it is possible to propose strategies for high performance operation