Measurements of ultracold neutron upscattering and absorption in polyethylene and vanadium

The study of neutron cross sections for elements used as efficient ``absorbers'' of ultracold neutrons (UCN) is crucial for many precision experiments in nuclear and particle physics, cosmology and gravity. In this context, ``absorption'' includes both the capture and upscattering of neutrons to the energies above the UCN energy region. The available data, especially for hydrogen, do not agree between themselves or with the theory. In this report we describe measurements performed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory UCN facility of the UCN upscattering cross sections for vanadium and for hydrogen in CH$_2$ using simultaneous measurements of the radiative capture cross sections for these elements. We measured $\sigma_{up}=1972\pm130$ b for hydrogen in CH$_2$, which is below theoretical expectations, and $\sigma_{up} < 25\pm9$ b for vanadium, in agreement with the expectation for the neutron heating by thermal excitations in solids.Comment: 6 pages 2 figure

Sexual orientation-based microaggressions and cannabis use outcomes among sexual minority individuals: The impact of negative affect and coping-motivated cannabis use

Introduction: Sexual minority individuals report significantly more cannabis use and problems than their heterosexual peers, possibly due to their frequent experiences with sexual orientation-based microaggressions. As a result, sexual minority individuals may turn to cannabis use to cope with the negative affect associated with these experiences. No known studies have tested this hypothesis; therefore, the current study tested if sexual orientation microaggressions are positively associated with negative affect (anxiety and depression), cannabis coping motives, and cannabis-related outcomes (frequency, problems); if coping motives are positively associated with cannabis-related outcomes; and if negative affect and cannabis use to cope with negative affect serially mediate the relation between sexual orientation microaggressions and cannabis-related outcomes. Methods: Sexual minority undergraduate students who reported cannabis use in the past three months (N = 328; 71.3 % cis-female) completed an online survey. Results: Microaggressions were significantly positively correlated with anxiety, depression, coping-motivated cannabis use, cannabis-related problems, non-sexual orientation-related stress, and overt sexual orientation-based discrimination. Additionally, after controlling for non-sexual orientation-related stress and overt sexual orientation-based discrimination, microaggressions were indirectly positively related to cannabis use frequency and problems via the sequential effects of negative affect and coping motives. This relation remained significant when examining negative affect specific to sexual orientation microaggressions and cannabis use to cope with this microaggressions-specific negative affect. Conclusions: Results highlight the adverse impact of sexual orientation microaggressions in terms of negative affect and negative cannabis-related outcomes

Risk stratification of Barrett's oesophagus using a non-endoscopic sampling method coupled with a biomarker panel: a cohort study

Background Barrett's oesophagus predisposes to adenocarcinoma. However, most patients with Barrett's oesophagus will not progress and endoscopic surveillance is invasive, expensive, and fraught by issues of sampling bias and the subjective assessment of dysplasia. We investigated whether a non-endoscopic device, the Cytosponge, could be coupled with clinical and molecular biomarkers to identify a group of patients with low risk of progression suitable for non-endoscopic follow-up. Methods In this multicentre cohort study (BEST2), patients with Barrett's oesophagus underwent the Cytosponge test before their surveillance endoscopy. We collected clinical and demographic data and tested Cytosponge samples for a molecular biomarker panel including three protein biomarkers (P53, c-Myc, and Aurora kinase A), two methylation markers (MYOD1 and RUNX3), glandular atypia, and TP53 mutation status. We used a multivariable logistic regression model to compute the conditional probability of dysplasia status. We selected a simple model with high classification accuracy and applied it to an independent validation cohort. The BEST2 study is registered with ISRCTN, number 12730505. Findings The discovery cohort consisted of 468 patients with Barrett's oesophagus and intestinal metaplasia. Of these, 376 had no dysplasia and 22 had high-grade dysplasia or intramucosal adenocarcinoma. In the discovery cohort, a model with high classification accuracy consisted of glandular atypia, P53 abnormality, and Aurora kinase A positivity, and the interaction of age, waist-to-hip ratio, and length of the Barrett's oesophagus segment. 162 (35%) of 468 of patients fell into the low-risk category and the probability of being a true non-dysplastic patient was 100% (99% CI 96–100) and the probability of having high-grade dysplasia or intramucosal adenocarcinoma was 0% (0–4). 238 (51%) of participants were classified as of moderate risk; the probability of having high-grade dysplasia was 14% (9–21). 58 (12%) of participants were classified as high-risk; the probability of having non-dysplastic endoscopic biopsies was 13% (5–27), whereas the probability of having high-grade dysplasia or intramucosal adenocarcinoma was 87% (73–95). In the validation cohort (65 patients), 51 were non-dysplastic and 14 had high-grade dysplasia. In this cohort, 25 (38%) of 65 patients were classified as being low-risk, and the probability of being non-dysplastic was 96·0% (99% CI 73·80–99·99). The moderate-risk group comprised 27 non-dysplastic and eight high-grade dysplasia cases, whereas the high-risk group (8% of the cohort) had no non-dysplastic cases and five patients with high-grade dysplasia. Interpretation A combination of biomarker assays from a single Cytosponge sample can be used to determine a group of patients at low risk of progression, for whom endoscopy could be avoided. This strategy could help to avoid overdiagnosis and overtreatment in patients with Barrett's oesophagus. Funding Cancer Research UK

Application of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure for Thoracic Respiratory Motion Management: An Assessment in a Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Guided Radiation Therapy Environment

PURPOSE: Patient tolerability of magnetic resonance (MR)-guided radiation treatment delivery is limited by the need for repeated deep inspiratory breath holds (DIBHs). This volunteer study assessed the feasibility of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) with and without DIBH for respiratory motion management during radiation treatment with an MR-linear accelerator (MR-linac). METHODS AND MATERIALS: MR imaging safety was first addressed by placing the CPAP device in an MR-safe closet and configuring a tube circuit via waveguide to the magnet bore. Reproducibility and linearity of the final configuration were assessed. Six healthy volunteers underwent thoracic imaging in a 0.35T MR-linac, with one free breathing (FB) and 2 DIBH acquisitions being obtained at 5 pressures from 0 to 15 cm-H(2)O. Lung and heart volumes and positions were recorded; repeatability was assessed by comparing 2 consecutive DIBH scans. Blinded reviewers graded images for motion artifact using a 3-point grading scale. Participants completed comfort and perception surveys before and after imaging sessions. RESULTS: Compared with FB alone, FB-10, FB-12, and FB-15 cm H(2)O significantly increased lung volumes (+23%, +34%, +44%; all P \u3c.05) and inferiorly displaced the heart (0.86 cm, 0.96 cm, 1.18 cm; all P \u3c . 05). Lung volumes were significantly greater with DIBH-0 cm H(2)O compared with FB-15 cm H(2)O (+105% vs +44%, P = .01), and DIBH-15 cm H(2)O yielded additional volume increase (+131% vs +105%, P = .01). Adding CPAP to DIBH decreased lung volume differences between consecutive breath holds (correlation coefficient 0.97 at 15 cm H(2)O vs 0.00 at 0 cm H(2)O). The addition of 15 cm H(2)O CPAP reduced artifact scores (P = .03) compared with FB; all DIBH images (0-15 cm H(2)O) had less artifact (P \u3c .01). CONCLUSIONS: This work demonstrates the feasibility of integrating CPAP in an MR-linac environment in healthy volunteers. Extending this work to a larger patient cohort is warranted to further establish the role of CPAP as an alternative and concurrent approach to DIBH in MR-guided radiation therapy

Impacts of the Tropical Pacific/Indian Oceans on the Seasonal Cycle of the West African Monsoon

The current consensus is that drought has developed in the Sahel during the second half of the twentieth century as a result of remote effects of oceanic anomalies amplified by local land–atmosphere interactions. This paper focuses on the impacts of oceanic anomalies upon West African climate and specifically aims to identify those from SST anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Oceans during spring and summer seasons, when they were significant. Idealized sensitivity experiments are performed with four atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs). The prescribed SST patterns used in the AGCMs are based on the leading mode of covariability between SST anomalies over the Pacific/Indian Oceans and summer rainfall over West Africa. The results show that such oceanic anomalies in the Pacific/Indian Ocean lead to a northward shift of an anomalous dry belt from the Gulf of Guinea to the Sahel as the season advances. In the Sahel, the magnitude of rainfall anomalies is comparable to that obtained by other authors using SST anomalies confined to the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean. The mechanism connecting the Pacific/Indian SST anomalies with West African rainfall has a strong seasonal cycle. In spring (May and June), anomalous subsidence develops over both the Maritime Continent and the equatorial Atlantic in response to the enhanced equatorial heating. Precipitation increases over continental West Africa in association with stronger zonal convergence of moisture. In addition, precipitation decreases over the Gulf of Guinea. During the monsoon peak (July and August), the SST anomalies move westward over the equatorial Pacific and the two regions where subsidence occurred earlier in the seasons merge over West Africa. The monsoon weakens and rainfall decreases over the Sahel, especially in August.Peer reviewe

Severe early onset preeclampsia: short and long term clinical, psychosocial and biochemical aspects

Preeclampsia is a pregnancy specific disorder commonly defined as de novo hypertension and proteinuria after 20 weeks gestational age. It occurs in approximately 3-5% of pregnancies and it is still a major cause of both foetal and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide1. As extensive research has not yet elucidated the aetiology of preeclampsia, there are no rational preventive or therapeutic interventions available. The only rational treatment is delivery, which benefits the mother but is not in the interest of the foetus, if remote from term. Early onset preeclampsia (<32 weeks’ gestational age) occurs in less than 1% of pregnancies. It is, however often associated with maternal morbidity as the risk of progression to severe maternal disease is inversely related with gestational age at onset2. Resulting prematurity is therefore the main cause of neonatal mortality and morbidity in patients with severe preeclampsia3. Although the discussion is ongoing, perinatal survival is suggested to be increased in patients with preterm preeclampsia by expectant, non-interventional management. This temporising treatment option to lengthen pregnancy includes the use of antihypertensive medication to control hypertension, magnesium sulphate to prevent eclampsia and corticosteroids to enhance foetal lung maturity4. With optimal maternal haemodynamic status and reassuring foetal condition this results on average in an extension of 2 weeks. Prolongation of these pregnancies is a great challenge for clinicians to balance between potential maternal risks on one the eve hand and possible foetal benefits on the other. Clinical controversies regarding prolongation of preterm preeclamptic pregnancies still exist – also taking into account that preeclampsia is the leading cause of maternal mortality in the Netherlands5 - a debate which is even more pronounced in very preterm pregnancies with questionable foetal viability6-9. Do maternal risks of prolongation of these very early pregnancies outweigh the chances of neonatal survival? Counselling of women with very early onset preeclampsia not only comprises of knowledge of the outcome of those particular pregnancies, but also knowledge of outcomes of future pregnancies of these women is of major clinical importance. This thesis opens with a review of the literature on identifiable risk factors of preeclampsia

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Measurements of the pp → ZZ production cross section and the Z → 4ℓ branching fraction, and constraints on anomalous triple gauge couplings at √s = 13 TeV

Four-lepton production in proton-proton collisions, pp -> (Z/gamma*)(Z/gamma*) -> 4l, where l = e or mu, is studied at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The ZZ production cross section, sigma(pp -> ZZ) = 17.2 +/- 0.5 (stat) +/- 0.7 (syst) +/- 0.4 (theo) +/- 0.4 (lumi) pb, measured using events with two opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs produced in the mass region 60 4l) = 4.83(-0.22)(+0.23) (stat)(-0.29)(+0.32) (syst) +/- 0.08 (theo) +/- 0.12(lumi) x 10(-6) for events with a four-lepton invariant mass in the range 80 4GeV for all opposite-sign, same-flavor lepton pairs. The results agree with standard model predictions. The invariant mass distribution of the four-lepton system is used to set limits on anomalous ZZZ and ZZ. couplings at 95% confidence level: -0.0012 < f(4)(Z) < 0.0010, -0.0010 < f(5)(Z) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(4)(gamma) < 0.0013, -0.0012 < f(5)(gamma) < 0.0013