276 research outputs found
Arkitettura u ambjent : âBurning down the house to stay warmâ
Nirringrazzjakom ta' din l-istedina għal dan id-dibattitu tassew importanti.
Nispera li f'dawn il-ftit minuti jirnexxili nurikom perspettiva arkitettonika ta'
konÄerni li jien personali għandi għaII-futur tal-pajjiĆŒ għaĆŒiĆŒ tagħna.
Meta wieħed iħares 'iI quddiem, ħafna drabi l-ewwel kelma li tiĥi f'moħħu
hija l-kelma "Progress".
F'diversi films tal-futur, id-diretturi jirnexxilhom jagħtu impressjoni bil-progress
u l-ħajja moderna tal-bniedem tal-futur. Fuq in-naħa l-oħra nsibu
dawk il-kittieba illi jbeĆŒĆŒgħuna mill-futur, bħaII-awtur George OrweII fil-ktieb
tiegħu "1984".
ÄŠadd ma għandu jibĆŒa' miII-futur, imma wieħed irid joqgħod ferm attent
biex fil-preĆŒent nagħmlu deÄiĆŒjonijiet tajbin biex ma nagħmlux ħerba għaII-futur.peer-reviewe
Combining Enzalutamide with Abiraterone, Prednisone, and Androgen Deprivation Therapy in the STAMPEDE Trial
There are compelling reasons to study the addition of both enzalutamide and abiraterone, in combination, to standard-of-care for hormone-naïve prostate cancer. Through a protocol amendment, this will be assessed in the STAMPEDE trial, with overall survival as primary outcome measure. © 2014 European Association of Urology
Nivolumab Alone and With Ipilimumab in Previously Treated Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma: CheckMate 032 Nivolumab 1 mg/kg Plus Ipilimumab 3 mg/kg Expansion Cohort Results
PURPOSE CheckMate 032 is an open-label, multicohort study that includes patients with unresectable locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (mUC) treated with nivolumab 3 mg/kg monotherapy every 2 weeks (NIVO3), nivolumab 3 mg/kg plus ipilimumab 1 mg/kg every 3 weeks for four doses followed by nivolumab monotherapy 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks (NIVO3+IPI1), or nivolumab 1 mg/kg plus ipilimumab 3 mg/kg every 3 weeks for four doses followed by nivolumab monotherapy 3 mg/kg every 2 weeks (NIVO1+IPI3). We report on the expanded NIVO1+IPI3 cohort and extended follow-up for the NIVO3 and NIVO3+IPI1 cohorts.
METHODS Patients with platinum-pretreated mUC were enrolled in this phase I/II multicenter study to receive NIVO3, NIVO3+IPI1, or NIVO1+IPI3 until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity. Primary end point was investigator-assessed objective response rate per Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) version 1.1, including duration of response.
RESULTS Seventy-eight patients were treated with NIVO3 (minimum follow-up, 37.7 months), 104 with NIVO3+IPI1 (minimum follow-up, 38.8 months), and 92 with NIVO1+IPI3 (minimum follow-up, 7.9 months). Objective response rate was 25.6%, 26.9%, and 38.0% in the NIVO3, NIVO3+IPI1, and NIVO1+IPI3 arms, respectively. Median duration of response was more than 22 months in all arms. Grade 3 or 4 treatment-related adverse events occurred in 21 (26.9%), 32 (30.8%), and 36 (39.1%) patients treated with NIVO3, NIVO3+IPI1, and NIVO1+IPI3, respectively. Grade 5 treatment-related pneumonitis occurred in one patient each in the NIVO3 and NIVO3+IPI1 arms.
CONCLUSION With longer follow-up, NIVO3 demonstrated sustained antitumor activity alone and in combination with ipilimumab. NIVO1+IPI3 provided the greatest antitumor activity of all regimens, with a manageable safety profile. This result not only supports additional study of NIVO1+IPI3 in mUC, but demonstrates the potential benefit of immunotherapy combinations in this disease
Young and Intermediate-age Distance Indicators
Distance measurements beyond geometrical and semi-geometrical methods, rely
mainly on standard candles. As the name suggests, these objects have known
luminosities by virtue of their intrinsic proprieties and play a major role in
our understanding of modern cosmology. The main caveats associated with
standard candles are their absolute calibration, contamination of the sample
from other sources and systematic uncertainties. The absolute calibration
mainly depends on their chemical composition and age. To understand the impact
of these effects on the distance scale, it is essential to develop methods
based on different sample of standard candles. Here we review the fundamental
properties of young and intermediate-age distance indicators such as Cepheids,
Mira variables and Red Clump stars and the recent developments in their
application as distance indicators.Comment: Review article, 63 pages (28 figures), Accepted for publication in
Space Science Reviews (Chapter 3 of a special collection resulting from the
May 2016 ISSI-BJ workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space
Age
The Blue Straggler Population in Dwarf Galaxies
In this chapter I review the recent developments regarding the study of Blue
Stragglers (BSS) in dwarf galaxies. The loose density environment of dwarf
galaxies resembles that of the Galactic Halo, hence it is natural to compare
their common BSS properties. At the same time, it is unescapable to compare
with the BSS properties in Galactic Globular clusters, which constitute the
reference point for BSS studies. Admittedly, the literature on BSS in dwarf
galaxies is not plentiful. The limitation is mostly due to the large distance
to even the closest dwarf galaxies. Nevertheless, recent studies have allowed a
deeper insight on the BSS photometric properties that are worth examining.Comment: Chapter 6, in Ecology of Blue Straggler Stars, H.M.J. Boffin, G.
Carraro & G. Beccari (Eds), Astrophysics and Space Science Library, Springe
Addition of docetaxel, zoledronic acid, or both to first-line long-term hormone therapy in prostate cancer (STAMPEDE): Survival results from an adaptive, multiarm, multistage, platform randomised controlled trial
BACKGROUND
Long-term hormone therapy has been the standard of care for advanced prostate cancer since the 1940s. STAMPEDE is a randomised controlled trial using a multiarm, multistage platform design. It recruits men with high-risk, locally advanced, metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer who are starting first-line long-term hormone therapy. We report primary survival results for three research comparisons testing the addition of zoledronic acid, docetaxel, or their combination to standard of care versus standard of care alone.
METHODS
Standard of care was hormone therapy for at least 2 years; radiotherapy was encouraged for men with N0M0 disease to November, 2011, then mandated; radiotherapy was optional for men with node-positive non-metastatic (N+M0) disease. Stratified randomisation (via minimisation) allocated men 2:1:1:1 to standard of care only (SOC-only; control), standard of care plus zoledronic acid (SOCâ+âZA), standard of care plus docetaxel (SOCâ+âDoc), or standard of care with both zoledronic acid and docetaxel (SOCâ+âZAâ+âDoc). Zoledronic acid (4 mg) was given for six 3-weekly cycles, then 4-weekly until 2 years, and docetaxel (75 mg/m(2)) for six 3-weekly cycles with prednisolone 10 mg daily. There was no blinding to treatment allocation. The primary outcome measure was overall survival. Pairwise comparisons of research versus control had 90% power at 2·5% one-sided α for hazard ratio (HR) 0·75, requiring roughly 400 control arm deaths. Statistical analyses were undertaken with standard log-rank-type methods for time-to-event data, with hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs derived from adjusted Cox models. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00268476) and ControlledTrials.com (ISRCTN78818544).
FINDINGS
2962 men were randomly assigned to four groups between Oct 5, 2005, and March 31, 2013. Median age was 65 years (IQR 60-71). 1817 (61%) men had M+ disease, 448 (15%) had N+/X M0, and 697 (24%) had N0M0. 165 (6%) men were previously treated with local therapy, and median prostate-specific antigen was 65 ng/mL (IQR 23-184). Median follow-up was 43 months (IQR 30-60). There were 415 deaths in the control group (347 [84%] prostate cancer). Median overall survival was 71 months (IQR 32 to not reached) for SOC-only, not reached (32 to not reached) for SOCâ+âZA (HR 0·94, 95% CI 0·79-1·11; p=0·450), 81 months (41 to not reached) for SOCâ+âDoc (0·78, 0·66-0·93; p=0·006), and 76 months (39 to not reached) for SOCâ+âZAâ+âDoc (0·82, 0·69-0·97; p=0·022). There was no evidence of heterogeneity in treatment effect (for any of the treatments) across prespecified subsets. Grade 3-5 adverse events were reported for 399 (32%) patients receiving SOC, 197 (32%) receiving SOCâ+âZA, 288 (52%) receiving SOCâ+âDoc, and 269 (52%) receiving SOCâ+âZAâ+âDoc.
INTERPRETATION
Zoledronic acid showed no evidence of survival improvement and should not be part of standard of care for this population. Docetaxel chemotherapy, given at the time of long-term hormone therapy initiation, showed evidence of improved survival accompanied by an increase in adverse events. Docetaxel treatment should become part of standard of care for adequately fit men commencing long-term hormone therapy.
FUNDING
Cancer Research UK, Medical Research Council, Novartis, Sanofi-Aventis, Pfizer, Janssen, Astellas, NIHR Clinical Research Network, Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research
VLT/FLAMES spectroscopy of Red Giant Branch stars in the Carina dwarf spheroidal galaxy
The ages of individual Red Giant Branch stars (RGB) can range from 1 Gyr old
to the age of the Universe, and it is believed that the abundances of most
chemical elements in their photospheres remain unchanged with time (those that
are not affected by the 1st dredge-up). This means that they trace the ISM in
the galaxy at the time the star formed, and hence the chemical enrichment
history of the galaxy. CMD analysis has shown the Carina dwarf spheroidal
(dSph) to have had an unusually episodic star formation history (SFH) which is
expected to be reflected in the abundances of different chemical elements. We
use the VLT-FLAMES spectrograph in HR mode (R~20000) to measure the abundances
of several chemical elements in a sample of 35 RGB stars in Carina. We also
combine these abundances with photometry to derive age estimates for these
stars. This allows us to determine which of two distinct star formation (SF)
episodes the stars in our sample belong to, and thus to define the relationship
between SF and chemical enrichment during these two episodes. As is expected
from the SFH, Carina contains two distinct populations of RGB stars: one old
(>10 Gyr), which we have found to be metal-poor ([Fe/H]<-1.5), and alpha-rich
([Mg/Fe]>0.0); the other intermediate age (~2-6 Gyr), which we have found to
have a metallicity range (-1.8<[Fe/H]<-1.2) with a large spread in [alpha/Fe]
abundance, going from extremely low values ([Mg/Fe]<-0.3) to the same mean
values as the older population (~0.3). We show that the chemical
enrichment history of the Carina dSph was different for each SF episode. The
earliest was short (~2-3 Gyr) and resulted in the rapid chemical enrichment of
the whole galaxy to [Fe/H] ~ -1.5 with both SNe II and SNe Ia contributions.
The subsequent episode occured after a gap of ~3-4 Gyr and appears to have
resulted in relatively little evolution in either [Fe/H] or [alpha/Fe].Comment: Accepted in A&
Toward an internally consistent astronomical distance scale
Accurate astronomical distance determination is crucial for all fields in
astrophysics, from Galactic to cosmological scales. Despite, or perhaps because
of, significant efforts to determine accurate distances, using a wide range of
methods, tracers, and techniques, an internally consistent astronomical
distance framework has not yet been established. We review current efforts to
homogenize the Local Group's distance framework, with particular emphasis on
the potential of RR Lyrae stars as distance indicators, and attempt to extend
this in an internally consistent manner to cosmological distances. Calibration
based on Type Ia supernovae and distance determinations based on gravitational
lensing represent particularly promising approaches. We provide a positive
outlook to improvements to the status quo expected from future surveys,
missions, and facilities. Astronomical distance determination has clearly
reached maturity and near-consistency.Comment: Review article, 59 pages (4 figures); Space Science Reviews, in press
(chapter 8 of a special collection resulting from the May 2016 ISSI-BJ
workshop on Astronomical Distance Determination in the Space Age
Horizontal Branch Stars: The Interplay between Observations and Theory, and Insights into the Formation of the Galaxy
We review HB stars in a broad astrophysical context, including both variable
and non-variable stars. A reassessment of the Oosterhoff dichotomy is
presented, which provides unprecedented detail regarding its origin and
systematics. We show that the Oosterhoff dichotomy and the distribution of
globular clusters (GCs) in the HB morphology-metallicity plane both exclude,
with high statistical significance, the possibility that the Galactic halo may
have formed from the accretion of dwarf galaxies resembling present-day Milky
Way satellites such as Fornax, Sagittarius, and the LMC. A rediscussion of the
second-parameter problem is presented. A technique is proposed to estimate the
HB types of extragalactic GCs on the basis of integrated far-UV photometry. The
relationship between the absolute V magnitude of the HB at the RR Lyrae level
and metallicity, as obtained on the basis of trigonometric parallax
measurements for the star RR Lyrae, is also revisited, giving a distance
modulus to the LMC of (m-M)_0 = 18.44+/-0.11. RR Lyrae period change rates are
studied. Finally, the conductive opacities used in evolutionary calculations of
low-mass stars are investigated. [ABRIDGED]Comment: 56 pages, 22 figures. Invited review, to appear in Astrophysics and
Space Scienc
- âŠ