1,277 research outputs found
First measurement of the K−n →Λπ−non-resonant transition amplitude below threshold
We present the analysis of K−absorption processes on He4 leading to Λπ−final states, measured with the KLOE spectrometer at the DAΦNE e+e−collider and extract, for the first time, the modulus of the non-resonant K−n →Λπ−direct production amplitude about 33 MeV below the K‾N threshold. This analysis also allows to disentangle the K−nuclear absorption at-rest from the in-flight capture, for K−momenta of about 120 MeV. The data are interpreted with the help of a phenomenological model, and the modulus of the non-resonant K−n →Λπ−amplitude for K−absorption at-rest is found to be |AK−n→Λπ−|=(0.334±0.018stat−0.058+0.034syst)fm
Safety of human immunisation with a live-attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis vaccine: a randomised, double-blind, controlled phase I trial.
BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis remains one of the world's deadliest transmissible diseases despite widespread use of the BCG vaccine. MTBVAC is a new live tuberculosis vaccine based on genetically attenuated Mycobacterium tuberculosis that expresses most antigens present in human isolates of M tuberculosis. We aimed to compare the safety of MTBVAC with BCG in healthy adult volunteers.
METHODS: We did this single-centre, randomised, double-blind, controlled phase 1 study at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV; Lausanne, Switzerland). Volunteers were eligible for inclusion if they were aged 18-45 years, clinically healthy, HIV-negative and tuberculosis-negative, and had no history of active tuberculosis, chemoprophylaxis for tuberculosis, or BCG vaccination. Volunteers fulfilling the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to three cohorts in a dose-escalation manner. Randomisation was done centrally by the CHUV Pharmacy and treatments were masked from the study team and volunteers. As participants were recruited within each cohort, they were randomly assigned 3:1 to receive MTBVAC or BCG. Of the participants allocated MTBVAC, those in the first cohort received 5 × 10(3) colony forming units (CFU) MTBVAC, those in the second cohort received 5 × 10(4) CFU MTBVAC, and those in the third cohort received 5 × 10(5) CFU MTBVAC. In all cohorts, participants assigned to receive BCG were given 5 × 10(5) CFU BCG. Each participant received a single intradermal injection of their assigned vaccine in 0·1 mL sterile water in their non-dominant arm. The primary outcome was safety in all vaccinated participants. Secondary outcomes included whole blood cell-mediated immune response to live MTBVAC and BCG, and interferon γ release assays (IGRA) of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT02013245.
FINDINGS: Between Jan 23, 2013, and Nov 6, 2013, we enrolled 36 volunteers into three cohorts, each of which consisted of nine participants who received MTBVAC and three who received BCG. 34 volunteers completed the trial. The safety of vaccination with MTBVAC at all doses was similar to that of BCG, and vaccination did not induce any serious adverse events. All individuals were IGRA negative at the end of follow-up (day 210). After whole blood stimulation with live MTBVAC or BCG, MTBVAC was at least as immunogenic as BCG. At the same dose as BCG (5×10(5) CFU), although no statistical significance could be achieved, there were more responders in the MTBVAC group than in the BCG group, with a greater frequency of polyfunctional CD4+ central memory T cells.
INTERPRETATION: To our knowledge, MTBVAC is the first live-attenuated M tuberculosis vaccine to reach clinical assessment, showing similar safety to BCG. MTBVAC seemed to be at least as immunogenic as BCG, but the study was not powered to investigate this outcome. Further plans to use more immunogenicity endpoints in a larger number of volunteers (adults and adolescents) are underway, with the aim to thoroughly characterise and potentially distinguish immunogenicity between MTBVAC and BCG in tuberculosis-endemic countries. Combined with an excellent safety profile, these data support advanced clinical development in high-burden tuberculosis endemic countries.
FUNDING: Biofabri and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation through the TuBerculosis Vaccine Initiative (TBVI)
Preliminary study of kaonic deuterium X-rays by the SIDDHARTA experiment at DAFNE
The study of the KbarN system at very low energies plays a key role for the
understanding of the strong interaction between hadrons in the strangeness
sector. At the DAFNE electron-positron collider of Laboratori Nazionali di
Frascati we studied kaonic atoms with Z=1 and Z=2, taking advantage of the
low-energy charged kaons from Phi-mesons decaying nearly at rest. The SIDDHARTA
experiment used X-ray spectroscopy of the kaonic atoms to determine the
transition yields and the strong interaction induced shift and width of the
lowest experimentally accessible level (1s for H and D and 2p for He). Shift
and width are connected to the real and imaginary part of the scattering
length. To disentangle the isospin dependent scattering lengths of the
antikaon-nucleon interaction, measurements of Kp and of Kd are needed. We
report here on an exploratory deuterium measurement, from which a limit for the
yield of the K-series transitions was derived: Y(K_tot)<0.0143 and
Y(K_alpha)<0.0039 (CL 90%). Also, the upcoming SIDDHARTA-2 kaonic deuterium
experiment is introduced.Comment: Accepted by Nuclear Physics
X-ray transition yields of low-Z kaonic atoms produced in Kapton
The X-ray transition yields of kaonic atoms produced in Kapton polyimide
(C22H10N2O5) were measured for the first time in the SIDDHARTA experiment.
X-ray yields of the kaonic atoms with low atomic numbers (Z = 6, 7, and 8) and
transitions with high principal quantum numbers (n = 5-8) were determined. The
relative yield ratios of the successive transitions and those of
carbon-to-nitrogen (C:N) and carbon-to-oxygen (C:O) were also determined. These
X-ray yields provide important information for understanding the capture ratios
and cascade mechanisms of kaonic atoms produced in a compound material, such as
Kapton.Comment: Accepted in Nucl. Phys. A (2013
Determination of scattering lengths from measurement of atom lifetime
The DIRAC experiment at CERN has achieved a sizeable production of
atoms and has significantly improved the precision on its lifetime
determination. From a sample of 21227 atomic pairs, a 4% measurement of the
S-wave scattering length difference
has been attained, providing an important test of Chiral Perturbation Theory.Comment: 6 pages, 6 figure
First measurement of kaonic helium-3 X-rays
The first observation of the kaonic 3He 3d - 2p transition was made using
slow K- mesons stopped in a gaseous 3He target. The kaonic atom X-rays were
detected with large-area silicon drift detectors using the timing information
of the K+K- pairs of phi-meson decays produced by the DAFNE e+e- collider. The
strong interaction shift of the kaonic 3He 2p state was determined to be -2+-2
(stat)+-4 (syst) eV.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.
A New Measurement of Kaonic Hydrogen X rays
The system at threshold is a sensitive testing ground for low
energy QCD, especially for the explicit chiral symmetry breaking. Therefore, we
have measured the -series x rays of kaonic hydrogen atoms at the DANE
electron-positron collider of Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati, and have
determined the most precise values of the strong-interaction energy-level shift
and width of the atomic state. As x-ray detectors, we used large-area
silicon drift detectors having excellent energy and timing resolution, which
were developed especially for the SIDDHARTA experiment. The shift and width
were determined to be eV and
eV, respectively. The new
values will provide vital constraints on the theoretical description of the
low-energy interaction.Comment: 5 figures, submitted to Physics Letters
K− multi-nucleon absorption cross sections and branching ratios in Λp and Σ0p final states
The determination of low-energy cross sections and branching ratios of the K− multi-nucleon absorption processes in Λp and Σ0p final states performed by the AMADEUS collaboration is presented. Low momentum K− (pK≃ 127 MeV/c) produced at the DAΦNE collider are impinged on a Carbon target within the KLOE detector and the two and three nucleon absorption processes are disentangled by comparing the experimental data to phenomenological calculations. The Λp spectra are entirely interpreted in terms of K− multi-nucleon absorption processes; the possible contribution of a K−pp bound state is demonstrated to overlap with the two nucleon capture process, its absolute yield thus resulting indistinguishable
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