Role of hormonal risk factors in HER2-positive breast carcinomas

Examination of parity, age at menarche and at menopause by HER2 status in a large series of breast carcinomas showed a statistically significant increased-frequency of HER2-positive tumours in lower risk subgroups. The findings suggest a difference in the protective role of hormone-related risk factors between HER2-positive and -negative tumour

Prognosis based on primary breast carcinoma instead of pathological nodal status.

In breast cancer patients, prognostic information required to plan post-surgical therapy is obtained mainly through axillary dissection. This study was designed to establish a new prognostic score based solely on parameters of the primary tumour as an alternative to axillary surgery in assessing prognosis. Eight different prognostic factors, including menopausal status, tumour size, grading, lymphatic invasion, desmoplasia, necrosis, c-erbB-2 and laminin receptor expression, were evaluated retrospectively on a large series of primary breast carcinoma patients. From multivariate analysis, four independent parameters were selected and examined, alone and in combination, for their prognostic potential. These parameters were used to generate a prognostic score that was analysed retrospectively in 467 N0-N1a patients to determine its predictive value for survival. The score, which includes variables such as tumour size, grading, laminin receptor and c-erbB-2 overexpression, was established based on the number of negative prognostic factors: score 1 refers to cases in which all four parameters reflect a good prognosis, scores 2 and 3 refer to tumours in which, respectively, one or two of the four parameters reflect a poor prognosis, whereas score 4 refers to tumours with three or four poor prognosis factors. Analysis of the overall survival of the four score groups shows that patients with score 1 tumours (22% of the total) had the best prognosis with a 15 year survival of 82%, patients with score 2 and 3 had an intermediate prognosis, whereas score 4 patients had the poorest prognosis with a 15 year survival of only 38%. Moreover, survival in the N+ score 1 cases was found to be longer than that in the total N- patients. Our data suggest that the primary tumour score provides more reliable prognostic information than pathological nodal status, and that axillary dissection can be avoided in a large number of patients

Status of cosmic-ray antideuteron searches

The precise measurement of cosmic-ray antiparticles serves as important means for identifying the nature of dark matter. Recent years showed that identifying the nature of dark matter with cosmic-ray positrons and higher energy antiprotons is difficult, and has lead to a significantly increased interest in cosmic-ray antideuteron searches. Antideuterons may also be generated in dark matter annihilations or decays, offering a potential breakthrough in unexplored phase space for dark matter. Low-energy antideuterons are an important approach because the flux from dark matter interactions exceeds the background flux by more than two orders of magnitude in the low-energy range for a wide variety of models. This review is based on the "dbar14 - dedicated cosmic-ray antideuteron workshop", which brought together theorists and experimentalists in the field to discuss the current status, perspectives, and challenges for cosmic-ray antideuteron searches and discusses the motivation for antideuteron searches, the theoretical and experimental uncertainties of antideuteron production and propagation in our Galaxy, as well as give an experimental cosmic-ray antideuteron search status update. This report is a condensed summary of the article "Review of the theoretical and experimental status of dark matter identification with cosmic-ray antideuteron" (arXiv:1505.07785).Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, ICRC 2015 proceeding

New detectors for the kaon and hypernuclear experiments with KaoS at MAMI and with PANDA at GSI

The KaoS spectrometer at the Mainz Microtron MAMI, Germany, is perceived as the ideal candidate for a dedicated spectrometer in kaon and hypernuclei electroproduction. KaoS will be equipped with new read-out electronics, a completely new focal plane detector package consisting of scintillating fibres, and a new trigger system. First prototypes of the fibre detectors and the associated new front-end electronics are shown in this contribution. The Mainz hypernuclei research program will complement the hypernuclear experiments at the planned FAIR facility at GSI, Germany. At the proposed antiproton storage ring the spectroscopy of double Lambda hypernuclei is one of the four main topics which will be addressed by the PANDA Collaboration. The experiments require the operation of high purity germanium (HPGe) detectors in high magnetic fields (B= 1T) in the presence of a large hadronic background. The performance of high resolution Ge detectors in such an environment has been investigated.Comment: Presentation at International Symposium on the Development of Detectors for Particle, Astroparticle and Synchrotron Radiation Experiments, Stanford, Ca (SNIC06), 6 pages, LaTeX, 11 eps figure

Real-Time PM10 Emission Rates From Paved Roads by Measurement of Concentrations in the Vehicle\u27s Wake Using On-Board Sensors Part 1. SCAMPER Method Characterization

Based on emission factors derived from the AP-42 algorithm, particulate matter from paved roads has been estimated to be a major source of PM10 of geologic origin. This is an empirical formula based on upwind-downwind measurement of PM10 concentrations and is dependent solely on the silt loading of the pavement and the weight of vehicles. A number of upwind-downwind studies conducted in urban areas to validate this algorithm have been generally inconclusive because the PM10 concentration difference between upwind and downwind often is within the measurement uncertainty. In the approach presented here PM10 concentrations were measured directly behind a moving vehicle in order to improve the measurement sensitivity for estimating the emission rates for vehicles on paved roads. Optical sensors were used to measure PM10 concentrations with a time resolution of approximately 10 s. Sensors were mounted in the front of the vehicle and behind it in the well-mixed wake. A special inlet probe was designed to allow isokinetic sampling under varying speed conditions. As a first approximation the emission rate was calculated by multiplying the PM10 concentration difference between the front and rear of a moving vehicle by the frontal area of the vehicle. This technique is also useful for quickly surveying large areas and for investigating hot spots on roadways caused by greater than normal deposition of PM10 forming debris. The method is designated as SCAMPER: System for the Continuous Aerosol Measurement of Particulate Emissions from Roads. Part I describes SCAMPER development and Part II describes a comprehensive field testing of mobile methods

First determination of the one-proton induced Non-Mesonic Weak Decay width of p-shell {\Lambda}-Hypernuclei

Previous studies of proton and neutron spectra from Non-Mesonic Weak Decay of eight Lambda-Hypernuclei (A = 5-16) have been revisited. New values of the ratio of the two-nucleon and the one-proton induced decay widths, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p, are obtained from single proton spectra, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p = 0.50 +/- 0.24, and from neutron and proton coincidence spectra, Gamma_2N/Gamma_p = 0.36 +/- 0.14stat +0.05sys -0.04sys , in full agreement with previously published ones. With these values, a method is developed to extract the one-proton induced decay width in units of the free Lambda decay width, Gamma_p/Gamma_Lambda, without resorting to Intra Nuclear Cascade models but by exploiting only experimental data, under the assumption of a linear dependence on A of the Final State Interaction contribution. This is the first systematic determination ever done and it agrees within the errors with recent theoretical calculations.Comment: 16 pages, 3 figures, 2 table

Σ−p\Sigma^- p emission rates in K−K^- absorptions at rest on 6^6Li, 7^7Li, 9^{9}Be, 13^{13}C and 16^{16}O

An experimental study of the $K^-_{stop}A\rightarrow \Sigma^- p A'$ reaction on $A=^6$Li, $^7$Li, $^9$Be, $^{13}$C and $^{16}$O $p$-shell nuclei is presented. The data were collected by the FINUDA spectrometer operating at the DA$\Phi$NE $\phi$-factory (LNF-INFN, Italy). Emission rates for the reaction in the mentioned nuclei are measured and compared with the few existing data. The spectra of several observables are discussed; indications of Quasi-Free absorptions by a $(np)$ pair embedded in the $A$ nucleus can be obtained from the study of the missing mass distributions.Comment: Version accepted by PR