Checking the dark matter origin of 3.53 keV line with the Milky Way center

We detect a line at 3.539 +/- 0.011 keV in the deep exposure dataset of the Galactic Center region, observed with the XMM-Newton. The dark matter interpretation of the signal observed in the Perseus galaxy cluster, the Andromeda galaxy [1402.4119] and in the stacked spectra of galaxy clusters [1402.2301], together with non-observation of the line in blank sky data, put both lower and upper limits on the possible intensity of the line in the Galactic Center data. Our result is consistent with these constraints for a class of Milky Way mass models, presented previously by observers, and would correspond to radiative decay dark matter lifetime tau_dm ~ (6-8) x 10^{27} sec. Although it is hard to exclude an astrophysical origin of this line based the Galactic Center data alone, this is an important consistency check of the hypothesis that encourages to check it with more observational data that are expected by the end of 2015.Comment: 12 pages, 3 figures. Accepted by Phys. Rev. Let

Severity of cardiovascular disease and health-related quality of life in men with prostate cancer: a longitudinal analysis from CaPSURE.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the influence of comorbid cardiovascular disease severity on health-related quality of life (HRQL) in men treated with radical prostatectomy (RP) or radiotherapy (RT) for early stage prostate cancer.MethodsSubjects (n=830) with non-metastatic disease who had been diagnosed in 2000-2002 were drawn from Cancer of the Prostate Strategic Urologic Research Endeavor (CaPSURE). We evaluated the influence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) severity on generic and disease-specific HRQL before and 6, 12, 18, and 24 months after treatment with RP or RT. HRQL was measured with the SF-36 and the UCLA Prostate Cancer Index.ResultsMen with moderate (n=193) or severe (n=51) cardiovascular disease had worse pre-treatment HRQL than did men without CVD (n=293) (P<0.01); HRQL scores were worse in men referred for RT. During 24 months of follow-up, men with moderate or severe CVD had worse SF-36 physical and mental component summaries and worse bowel function at all time points (P<0.05). Men with severe CVD also experienced a slower recovery in physical function (P=0.03) and sexual functioning (P=0.02) than did men without CVD.ConclusionsProstate cancer patients with moderate to severe CVD have worse HRQL during follow-up. Those with severe CVD recover their physical and sexual functioning more slowly after treatment

Magnetism in heavy-fermion U(Pt,Pd)3 studied by mSR

We report mSR experiments carried out on a series of heavy-electron pseudobinary compounds U(Pt1-xPdx)3 (x<=0.05). For x<=0.005 the zero-field muon depolarisation is described by the Kubo-Toyabe function. However the temperature variation of the Kubo-Toyabe relaxation rate does not show any sign of the small-moment antiferromagnetic phase with TN~6 K (signalled by neutron diffraction), in contrast to previous reports. The failure to detect the small ordered moment suggests it has a fluctuating (> 10 MHz) nature, which is consistent with the interpretation of NMR data. For 0.01<=x<=0.05 the muon depolarisation in the ordered state is described by two terms of equal amplitude: an exponentially damped spontaneous oscillation and a Lorentzian Kubo-Toyabe function. These terms are associated with antiferromagnetic order with substantial moments. The Knight-shift measured in a magnetic field of 0.6 T on single-crystalline U(Pt0.95Pd0.05)3 in the paramagnetic state shows two signals for B perpendicular to c, while only one signal is observed for B||c. The observation of two signals for B perpendicular to c, while there is only one muon localisation site (0,0,0), points to the presence of two spatially distinct regions of different magnetic response.Comment: 25 pages including 12 figures (PS), J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, in prin

Muon localization site in U(Pt,Pd)3

The angular and temperature (10-250 K) variation of the Knight shift of single-crystalline U(Pt0.95Pd0.05)3 has been measured in transverse field (B=0.6 T) mSR experiments. By analysing the temperature variation of the Knight shift with a modified Curie-Weiss expression the muon localization site in this hexagonal material is determined at (0,0,0).Comment: 12 pages (including 4 figures); postscript file; Proc. 8th Int. Conf. on Muon Spin Rotation, Relaxation and Resonance (Aug.30-Sept.3, Les Diablerets); 2nd version with minor correction

Metal-insulator transition and the Pr3+^{3+}/Pr4+^{4+} valence shift in (Pr1−y_{1-y}Yy_{y})0.7_{0.7}Ca0.3_{0.3}CoO3_3

The magnetic, electric and thermal properties of the ($Ln_{1-y}$Y$_{y}$)$_{0.7}$Ca$_{0.3}$CoO$_3$ perovskites ($Ln$~=~Pr, Nd) were investigated down to very low temperatures. The main attention was given to a peculiar metal-insulator transition, which is observed in the praseodymium based samples with $y=0.075$ and 0.15 at $T_{M-I}=64$ and 132~K, respectively. The study suggests that the transition, reported originally in Pr$_{0.5}$Ca$_{0.5}$CoO$_3$, is not due to a mere change of cobalt ions from the intermediate- to the low-spin states, but is associated also with a significant electron transfer between Pr$^{3+}$ and Co$^{3+}$/Co$^{4+}$ sites, so that the praseodymium ions occur below $T_{M-I}$ in a mixed Pr$^{3+}$/Pr$^{4+}$ valence. The presence of Pr$^{4+}$ ions in the insulating phase of the yttrium doped samples (Pr$_{1-y}$Y$_{y}$)$_{0.7}$Ca$_{0.3}$CoO$_3$ is evidenced by Schottky peak originating in Zeeman splitting of the ground state Kramers doublet. The peak is absent in pure Pr$_{0.7}$Ca$_{0.3}$CoO$_3$ in which metallic phase, based solely on non-Kramers Pr$^{3+}$ ions, is retained down to the lowest temperature.Comment: 10 figure

Most Colorectal Cancer Survivors Live a Large Proportion of Their Remaining Life in Good Health

Purpose Colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis reduces life expectancy and decreases patients’ well-being. We sought to assess the determinants of health and functional status and estimate the proportion of remaining life that CRC survivors would spend in good health. Methods Using Sullivan method, healthy life expectancy was calculated based on survival data of 14,849 CRC survivors within a population-based cancer registry in southern Netherlands and quality of life information among a random sample of these survivors (n = 1,291). Results: Overall, albeit short life expectancy (LE at age 50 = 12 years for males and 13 years for females), most CRC survivors spent a large proportion of their remaining life in good health (74 and 77 %, for males and females, respectively). Long-term survivors may expect to live a normal life span (LE at age 50 = 30 years) and spent a large proportion of the remaining life in good health (78 %). In distinction, those with stage IV CRC had less than 2 years to live and spent more than half of their remaining life in poor health. Conclusions: Most CRC patients may expect no compromise on living a healthy life, underlining the importance of early detection. On the other hand, the high proportion of non-healthy years among stage IV CRC survivors confirms the importance of early detection and palliative care. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10552-012-0010-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Evolution of the Red Sequence Giant to Dwarf Ratio in Galaxy Clusters out to z ~ 0.5

We analyze deep g' and r' band data of 97 galaxy clusters imaged with MegaCam on the Canada-France-Hawaii telescope. We compute the number of luminous (giant) and faint (dwarf) galaxies using criteria based on the definitions of de Lucia et al. (2007). Due to excellent image quality and uniformity of the data and analysis, we probe the giant-to-dwarf ratio (GDR) out to z ~ 0.55. With X-ray temperature (Tx) information for the majority of our clusters, we constrain, for the first time, the Tx-corrected giant and dwarf evolution separately. Our measurements support an evolving GDR over the redshift range 0.05 < z < 0.55. We show that modifying the (g'-r'), m_r' and K-correction used to define dwarf and giant selection do not alter the conclusion regarding the presence of evolution. We parameterize the GDR evolution using a linear function of redshift (GDR = alpha * z + beta) with a best fit slope of alpha = 0.88 +/- 0.15 and normalization beta = 0.44 +/- 0.03. Contrary to claims of a large intrinsic scatter, we find that the GDR data can be fully accounted for using observational errors alone. Consistently, we find no evidence for a correlation between GDR and cluster mass (via Tx or weak lensing). Lastly, the data suggest that the evolution of the GDR at z < 0.2 is driven primarily by dry merging of the massive giant galaxies, which when considered with previous results at higher redshift, suggests a change in the dominant mechanism that mediates the GDR.Comment: 20 pages, 15 figures. Accepted to MNRA

Health-Related Quality of Life in Cervical Cancer Survivors: A Population-Based Survey

PURPOSE: In a population-based sample of cervical cancer survivors, health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed 2-10 years postdiagnosis. METHODS AND MATERIALS: All patients given a diagnosis of cervical cancer in 1995-2003 in the Eindhoven region, The Netherlands, and alive after Jan 2006 were identified through the cancer registry. Generic HRQoL (36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, EQ-5D), cervical cancer-specific HRQoL (European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality-of-Life questionnaire cervical cancer module), and anxiety (6-item State Trait Anxiety Inventory) were assessed and compared with a reference population (n = 349). Data for tumor characteristics at diagnosis and disease progression were available. RESULTS: A total of 291 women responded (69%), with a mean age of 53 +/- 13 (SD) years (range, 31-88 years). Treatment had consisted of surgery (n = 195) or a combination of therapies (n = 75); one woman had not been treated. Of all women, 85% were clinically disease free, 2% had a recurrence/metastasis, and in 13%, this was unknown. After controlling for background characteristics (age, education, job and marital status, having children, and country of birth), generic HRQoL scale scores were similar to the reference population, except for worse mental health in survivors. The most frequent symptoms were crampy pain in the abdomen or belly (17%), urinary leakage (15%), menopausal symptoms (18%), and problems with sexual activity. Compared with the 6-10-year survivors, more sexual worry and worse body image were reported by the 2-5-year survivors. Compared with surgery only, especially primary radiotherapy was associated with an increased frequency of treatment-related side effects, also after controlling for age and disease stage a

Superconductivity and antiferromagnetic order in the U(Pt,Pd)3 system

A phase diagram is presented for the superconducting and antiferromagnetic states in the heavy-fermion compounds U(Pt1–xPdx)3, x<=0.10. Superconductivity is depressed for x values larger than 0.005, whereas antiferromagnetism is observed in the composition range 0.01<x<0.1. Specific heat experiments show a sharp transition at the Néel temperature of 6.1 K for x=0.05, in contrast to the alloys with x=0.02 and 0.07 in which rather broad anomalies are observed around 3.6 and 5.5 K, respectively. Experimental observations indicate an optimal condition for antiferromagnetism around x=0.05. The effect of pressure on the phase diagram is discussed