Gravitational Microlensing Events from the First Year of the Northern Galactic Plane Survey by the Zwicky Transient Facility

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) (Bellm et al. 2019; Graham et al. 2019; Masci et al. 2019) is currently surveying the entire northern sky, including dense Galactic plane fields. Here, we present preliminary results of the search for gravitational microlensing events in the ZTF data collected from the beginning of the survey (2018 March 20) through 2019 June 30

hCG-secreting malignancies – diagnostic pitfalls

We present a case of a 34-year-old male patient referred to our Uro-oncology Department with a suspicion of a metastatic germ cell tumour, owing to enlarged left testicle and elevated b-hCG concentration (39 mIU/mL). Impaired performance status caused by extensive pulmonary and liver metastases, accompanied by significant lymphadenopathy, necessitated prompt management. However, a testicular tumour was excluded on ultrasound imaging; a hydrocele only was found. The b-hCG concentration was not increasing (37 mIU/mL). We found a diagnosis of an extragonadal germ cell tumour doubtful, and a liver biopsy was performed. Due to the patient’s quick deterioration, we decided to commence pre-phase chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide, which resulted in a significant clinical improvement. The pathological examination, along with immunoassays, revealed undifferentiated cholangiocarcinoma, and the patient continued chemotherapy with a biliary tract cancer regimen, i.e. cisplatin and gemcitabine. Unfortunately, the clinical response was short-lived; the disease progressed, the patient was offered best supportive care and died two months after the diagnosis. The case underpins the literature review with respect to differential diagnosis of an elevated hCG concentration. In particular, we discuss ectopic secretion in non-trophoblastic and non-germinal malignancies and the causes of false positive assays.We present a case of a 34-year-old male patient referred to our Uro-oncology Department with a suspicion of a metastatic germ cell tumour, owing to enlarged left testicle and elevated β-hCG concentration (39 mIU/ml). Impaired performance status caused by extensive pulmonary and liver metastases, accompanied by significant lymphadenopathy, necessitated prompt management. However, a testicular tumour was excluded by ultrasound examination; a hydrocele only was found. The β-hCG concentration was not increasing (37 mIU/ml). We found a diagnosis  of an extragonadal germ cell tumour doubtful, and a liver biopsy was performed.  Due to the patient’s quick deterioration, we decided to commence pre-phase chemotherapy with cisplatin and etoposide, which resulted in a significant clinical improvement. The pathological examination, along with immunoassays, revealed undifferentiated cholangiocarcinoma, and the patient continued chemotherapy  with a biliary tract cancer regimen, i.e. cisplatin and gemcitabine. Unfortunately, the clinical response was short-lived; the disease progressed, the patient was offered best supportive care and died two months after the diagnosis. The case underpins the literature review with respect to differential diagnosis  of an elevated hCG concentration. In particular, we discuss ectopic secretion  in non-trophoblastic and non-germinal malignancies and the causes of false positive assays

Gravitational Microlensing Events from the First Year of the Northern Galactic Plane Survey by the Zwicky Transient Facility

The Zwicky Transient Facility (ZTF) (Bellm et al. 2019; Graham et al. 2019; Masci et al. 2019) is currently surveying the entire northern sky, including dense Galactic plane fields. Here, we present preliminary results of the search for gravitational microlensing events in the ZTF data collected from the beginning of the survey (2018 March 20) through 2019 June 30

Multiply charged ions from iodine laser-produced plasma of medium- and high-Z targets

Maximum charge states of ions registered in the far expansion zone from laser-produced plasma of Al, Co, Ni, Cu, Ta, W, Pt, Au, Pb, and Bi are presented. The Thomson parabola spectrometer was used to display a general view of the ion species of an expanding plasma while detailed ion charge-energy spectra were determined by the cylindrical electrostatic ion energy analyzer. The current densities of highly charged ion groups above 20 mA/cm2 were measured by use of an ion collector at a distance of 1 m from the target. The photodissociation iodine laser system PERUN (λ = 1.315 μm, power density up to 1015 W cm−2) was employed as a drive

Heterosexual couples and prostate cancer support groups: a gender relations analysis.

Introduction: Men diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa) can receive supportive care from an array of sources including female partners and prostate cancer support groups (PCSGs). However, little is known about how heterosexual gender relations and supportive care play out among couples who attend PCSGs. Distilling such gender relation patterns is a key to understanding and advancing supportive care for men who experience PCa and their families

V5852 Sgr : an unusual nova possibly associated with the Sagittarius stream

We report spectroscopic and photometric follow-up of the peculiar nova V5852~Sgr (discovered as OGLE-2015-NOVA-01), which exhibits a combination of features from different nova classes. The photometry shows a flat-topped light curve with quasi-periodic oscillations, then a smooth decline followed by two fainter recoveries in brightness. Spectroscopy with the Southern African Large Telescope shows first a classical nova with an Fe II or Fe IIb spectral type. In the later spectrum, broad emissions from helium, nitrogen and oxygen are prominent and the iron has faded which could be an indication to the start of the nebular phase. The line widths suggest ejection velocities around 1000 km s-1. The nova is in the direction of the Galactic bulge and is heavily reddened by an uncertain amount. The V magnitude 16 days after maximum enables a distance to be estimated and this suggests that the nova may be in the extreme trailing stream of the Sagittarius dwarf spheroidal galaxy. If so it is the first nova to be detected from that, or from any dwarf spheroidal galaxy. Given the uncertainty of the method and the unusual light curve we cannot rule out the possibility that it is in the bulge or even the Galactic disk behind the bulge.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

OGLE-2014-BLG-0289: Precise Characterization of a Quintuple-peak Gravitational Microlensing Event

We present the analysis of the binary-microlensing event OGLE-2014-BLG-0289. The event light curve exhibits five very unusual peaks, four of which were produced by caustic crossings and the other by a cusp approach. It is found that the quintuple-peak features of the light curve provide tight constraints on the source trajectory, enabling us to precisely and accurately measure the microlensing parallax πE. Furthermore, the three resolved caustics allow us to measure the angular Einstein radius θE. From the combination of πE and θE, the physical lens parameters are uniquely determined. It is found that the lens is a binary composed of two M dwarfs with masses M1 = 0.52 ± 0.04 M⊙ and M2 = 0.42 ± 0.03 M⊙ separated in projection by a⊥ = 6.4 ± 0.5 au. The lens is located in the disk with a distance of DL = 3.3 ± 0.3 kpc. The reason for the absence of a lensing signal in the Spitzer data is that the time of observation corresponds to the flat region of the light curve