Lung tumour markers in oncology practice: a study of TPA and CA125

Several substances mark the course of lung cancer and may reliably help the clinician in decision-making. This is the first clinical study specifically designed to compare tissue polypeptide antigen and CA 125 tumour associated antigen. Three hundred and eighty-four new lung cancer patients (309 males) were studied at their first clinical presentation and then strictly followed-up. Anthropometric, clinical and laboratory data – including tissue polypeptide antigen and CA 125 tumour associated antigen serum levels – were prospectively recorded. A total of 1000 tissue polypeptide antigen and CA 125 tumour associated antigen serum assays (384 pre-treatment and 616 posttreatment assays) were performed. Both tissue polypeptide antigen and CA 125 tumour associated antigen correlated significantly with the T, N and M stage descriptors at diagnosis (Rho: 0.200, 0.203, 0.263 and 0.181, 0.240, 0.276, respectively), and then with the objective response to treatment (Rho: 0.388 and 0.207, respectively). A pleural neoplastic involvement was mainly associated to an increase of CA 125 tumour associated antigen (Rho: 0.397). Both tissue polypeptide antigen and CA 125 tumour associated antigen were strongly predictive of the patients' outcome, as assessed by the univariate analysis of survival (log-rank test: 37.24 and 29.01) and several Cox' proportional hazards regression models. The two marker tests are similarly helpful and appear complementary, given the low inter-marker correlation and their independent prognostic capability

Finite volume form factors in the presence of integrable defects

We developed the theory of finite volume form factors in the presence of integrable defects. These finite volume form factors are expressed in terms of the infinite volume form factors and the finite volume density of states and incorporate all polynomial corrections in the inverse of the volume. We tested our results, in the defect Lee-Yang model, against numerical data obtained by truncated conformal space approach (TCSA), which we improved by renormalization group methods adopted to the defect case. To perform these checks we determined the infinite volume defect form factors in the Lee-Yang model exactly, including their vacuum expectation values. We used these data to calculate the two point functions, which we compared, at short distance, to defect CFT. We also derived explicit expressions for the exact finite volume one point functions, which we checked numerically. In all of these comparisons excellent agreement was found.Comment: pdflatex, 34 pages, many figure

Quantum spin circulator in Y junctions of Heisenberg chains

We show that a quantum spin circulator, a nonreciprocal device that routes spin currents without any charge transport, can be achieved in Y junctions of identical spin-$1/2$ Heisenberg chains coupled by a chiral three-spin interaction. Using bosonization, boundary conformal field theory, and density-matrix renormalization group simulations, we find that a chiral fixed point with maximally asymmetric spin conductance arises at a critical point separating a regime of disconnected chains from a spin-only version of the three-channel Kondo effect. We argue that networks of spin-chain Y junctions provide a controllable approach to construct long-sought chiral spin liquid phases.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Behavioral Management of Command Hallucinations to Harm in Schizophrenia

The study objective was to evaluate changes in prevalence of command hallucinations to harm self or others, characteristics and intensity of auditory hallucinations, and levels of anxiety and depression after attendance at a 10-session course teaching behavioral strategies for managing persistent auditory hallucinations to adult outpatients with schizophrenia. Prevalence of command hallucinations to harm self or others was measured at baseline, end of course, and 1-year post-course. Pre-course scores on the Characteristics of Auditory Hallucinations Questionnaire, Unpleasant Voices Scale, tension-anxiety subscale of Profile of Mood States, and Beck Depression Inventory-II were compared with scores immediately post-course and 1 year later. The prevalence rate of command hallucinations to harm self of 44% at baseline decreased to 24% immediately after attending the 10-session course and remained at 24% 1-year post-course. The prevalence rate for command hallucinations to harm others of 21% at baseline decreased to 16% at end of course and 17% 1-year post-course. People who attended the course perceived it as helpful, and improvement was seen in all seven characteristics of auditory hallucinations, intensity of auditory hallucinations, and anxiety and depression immediately after the course and 1-year post-course

A GEOSITE TO BE SAVED: THE TYRRHENIAN FOSSIL DEPOSIT ON THE ISLAND OF USTICA

During the 1960s, fossil beds characterized by a tropical-sea malacofauna were discovered by G. Ruggieri and G. Buccheri in the Island of Ustica, on the southern slope of Falconiera hill, 32 m asl. Thanks to the presence of Strombus bubonius and other Senegalese guests, the authors estimated that the molluscan fauna had lived around 125,000 years ago, during the Tyrrhenian stage. Recently on the initiative of the “Centro Studi e Documentazione Isola di Ustica”, a research has been initiated to verify the persistence of sand-layers mixed up with Tyrrhenian fossils, even though, in the last 50 years, that area has undergone great changes, because of earthworks which have sealed the deposit. The new research led to the discovery of a fossil assemblage formed by 22 taxa (16 species of gastropods and 6 of bivalves), characterized by the presence of some Senegalese guests and other accompanying species that can be associated with the Eutyrrhenian subunit (MIS 5.5). This is the main subject of this note, along with the suggestion to preserve what remains of the Ustica Tyrrhenian deposit

The final COS-B database: In-flight calibration of instrumental parameters

A method for the determination of temporal variation of sensitivity is designed to find a set of parameters which lead to maximum consistency between the intensities derived from different observation periods. This method is briefly described and the resulting sensitivity and background variations presented

X-ray emission from the old pulsar B0950+08

We present the timing and spectral analyses of theXMM-newton data on the 17-Myr-old, nearby radio pulsar B0950+08. This observation revealed pulsations of the X-ray flux of the pulsar at its radio period. The pulse shape and pulsed fraction are apparently different at lower and higher energies of the observed 0.2-10 keV energy range, which suggests that the radiation cannot be explained by a single emission mechanism. The X-ray spectrum of the pulsar can be fitted with a power-law model with a photon index about 1.75 and an (isotropic) luminosity about 9.8e29 erg/s in the 0.2-10 keV. Better fits are obtained with two-component, power-law plus thermal, models with index of 1.30 and 9.7e29 erg/s for the power-law component that presumably originates from the pulsar's magnetosphere. The thermal component, dominating at E>0.7 keV, can be interpreted as radiation from heated polar caps on the neutron star surface covered with a hydrogen atmosphere. The inferred effective temperature, radius, and bolometric luminosity of the polar caps are about 1 MK, 250 m, and 3e29 erg/s. Optical through X-ray nonthermal spectrum of the pulsar can be described as a single power-law with index 1.3-1.4 for the two-component X-ray fit. The ratio of the nonthermal X-ray (1-10 keV) luminosity to the nonthermal optical (4000-9000 \AA) luminosity is within the range of 1e2-1e3 observed for younger pulsars, which suggests that the magnetospheric X-ray and optical emissions are powered by the same mechanism in all pulsars. An upper limit on the temperature of the bulk of the neutron star surface, inferred from the optical and X-ray data, is about 0.15 MK. We also analyze X-ray observations of several other old pulsars, B2224+65, J2043+2740, B0628-28, B1813-36, B1929+10, and B0823+26.Comment: To be published in ApJ. Nonthermal optical and X-ray luminosities of seven radio pulsars are updated and presented in a new Table. Figure 6 showing the ratios of the luminosities vs. spin-down energy is also update

Superconductivity from piezoelectric interactions in Weyl semimetals

We present an analytical low-energy theory of piezoelectric electron-phonon interactions in undoped Weyl semimetals, taking into account also Coulomb interactions. We show that piezoelectric interactions generate a long-range attractive potential between Weyl fermions. This potential comes with a characteristic angular anisotropy. From the one-loop renormalization group approach and a mean-field analysis, we predict that superconducting phases with either conventional s-wave singlet pairing or nodal-line triplet pairing could be realized for sufficiently strong piezoelectric coupling. For small couplings, we show that the quasiparticle decay rate exhibits a linear temperature dependence where the prefactor vanishes only in a logarithmic manner as the quasiparticle energy approaches the Weyl point. For practical estimates, we consider the Weyl semimetal TaAs

The final COS-B database now publicly available

The data obtained by the gamma ray satellite COS-B was processed, condensed and integrated together with the relevant mission and experiment parameters into the Final COS-B Database. The database contents and the access programs available with the database are outlined. The final sky coverage and a presentation of the large scale distribution of the observed Milky Way emission are given. The database is announced to be available through the European Space Agency