1,514 research outputs found
Scattered light mapping of protoplanetary disks
High-contrast scattered light observations have revealed the surface
morphology of several dozens of protoplanetary disks at optical and
near-infrared wavelengths. Inclined disks offer the opportunity to measure part
of the phase function of the dust grains that reside in the disk surface which
is essential for our understanding of protoplanetary dust properties and the
early stages of planet formation. We aim to construct a method which takes into
account how the flaring shape of the scattering surface of an (optically thick)
protoplanetary disk projects onto the image plane of the observer. This allows
us to map physical quantities (scattering radius and scattering angle) onto
scattered light images and retrieve stellar irradiation corrected (r^2-scaled)
images and dust phase functions. We apply the method on archival polarized
intensity images of the protoplanetary disk around HD 100546 that were obtained
with VLT/SPHERE in R'-band and VLT/NACO in H- and Ks-band. The brightest side
of the r^2-scaled R'-band polarized intensity image of HD 100546 changes from
the far to the near side of the disk when a flaring instead of a geometrically
flat disk surface is used for the r^2-scaling. The decrease in polarized
surface brightness in the scattering angle range of ~40-70 deg is likely a
result of the dust phase function and degree of polarization which peak in
different scattering angle regimes. The derived phase functions show part of a
forward scattering peak which indicates that large, aggregate dust grains
dominate the scattering opacity in the disk surface. Projection effects of a
protoplanetary disk surface need to be taken into account to correctly
interpret scattered light images. Applying the correct scaling for the
correction of stellar irradiation is crucial for the interpretation of the
images and the derivation of the dust properties in the disk surface layer.Comment: Accepted for publication in A&A, 6 pages, 3 figure
Organic molecules in the protoplanetary disk of DG Tau revealed by ALMA
Planets form in protoplanetary disks and inherit their chemical compositions.
It is thus crucial to map the distribution and investigate the formation of
simple organics, such as formaldehyde and methanol, in protoplanetary disks. We
analyze ALMA observations of the nearby disk-jet system around the T Tauri star
DG Tau in the o-HCO and CHOH E,
A transitions at an unprecedented resolution of ,
i.e., au at a distance of 121 pc. The HCO emission originates from
a rotating ring extending from au with a peak at au, i.e., at
the edge of the 1.3mm dust continuum. CHOH emission is not detected down to
an r.m.s. of 3 mJy/beam in the 0.162 km/s channel. Assuming an ortho-to-para
ratio of 1.8-2.8 the ring- and disk-height-averaged HCO column density is
cm, while that of CHOH is
cm. In the inner au no o-HCO emission
is detected with an upper limit on its beam-averaged column density of
cm. The HCO ring in the disk of DG Tau is
located beyond the CO iceline (R au). This suggests that the
HCO abundance is enhanced in the outer disk due to formation on grain
surfaces by the hydrogenation of CO ice. The emission peak at the edge of the
mm dust continuum may be due to enhanced desorption of HCO in the gas phase
caused by increased UV penetration and/or temperature inversion. The
CHOH/HCO abundance ratio is , in agreement with disk chemistry
models. The inner edge of the HCO ring coincides with the radius where the
polarization of the dust continuum changes orientation, hinting at a tight link
between the HCO chemistry and the dust properties in the outer disk and at
the possible presence of substructures in the dust distribution.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, accepted for publication on A&A Letter
AB0704 TELEMEDICINE AT THE TIME OF COVID-19: THE EXPERIENCE WITH RA PATIENTS TREATED WITH JAK-INHIBITORS
Background:The spread of COVID-19, the lockdown, the limited access to care reevaluated the role of tele-consultation and self-assessment.Objectives:Our aim was to evaluate in a cohort of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) patients treated with JAK-inhibitors (JAKi): the self-assessed disease activity during lockdown, the lockdown impact on fatigue, anxiety, depression and the prevalence of Covid-19.Methods:We enrolled RA patients treated with baricitinib or tofacitinib. At baseline (BL) and follow-up we collected: patients' demographic data, composite disease activity indices (CDAI, DAS28CRP), global assessment (PGA), pain visual analogue scale (VAS), FACIT (functional assessment of chronic illness therapy) and a self-rating scale for disease impact on anxiety and depression (Zung-A/D). Patients were instructed on how to perform self-assessment through video-material and fulfilled the online form of "Rheumatoid Arthritis Impact of Disease" (RAID)1 and "RA Disease Activity Index" (RADAI). To capture the pandemic effect, we compared patients in different status (remission, low, moderate and high-disease activity) at the last in-person visit (preCoV) through the DAS28CRP and CDAI, to the tele-health visit (THV), measured by the RAID. BL and pre-CoV ZUNG-A, ZUNG-D, FACIT questionnaires were compared with the online results during the pandemic. Exposure, tests and symptoms of Covid-19 were recorded. Data were expressed as mean±standard deviation or median(IQR) according to distribution.Results:Twenty patients (median age 58.2±11.9 and mean disease duration 153.5 ± 112.7 months) were treated with tofacitinib and 27 with baricitinib. The median time-lapse between the pre-CoV visit and the THV was 12 (IQR 4) weeks. DAS28CRP and CDAI significantly decreased from BL to pre-CoV visit. During the last in-person visit, 21 patients (48.83%) were in remission, 9 (20.93%) in low disease activity; according to the RAID, 15 (31.91%) and 7 (14.89%) patients were respectively in remission and low disease activity during the THV (Table A). PGA and pain significantly decreased from BL to pre-Cov visit but worsened during the lockdown (Table A). FACIT remaining stable during THV. At THV, we detected a significant improvement of anxiety from BL (Zung-A) and a tendency to lower depression scores compared to BL (Table A). JAKi showed a good safety profile considering Covid-19 symptoms, none of the patients was diagnosed with SarsCoV2 infection.Conclusion:This is the first study on virtual assessment in RA patients treated with JAKi. The unique social experiment of the pandemic impaired the clinical response already achieved before the lockdown, without a collateral worseling of FACIT, anxiety and depression.References:[1]Gossec L, et al. Ann Rheum Dis. 2009[2]Stucki G, et al. Arthritis Rheum. 1995Table A.DAS28, CDAI, RAID scores and patient-reported outcomes assessment at baseline and during the follow-upBLpre-CoVTHVDISEASE ACTIVITYN (%)N (%)N (%)REMISSIONDAS280 (0%)21 (48.8%)CDAI0 (0%)10 (22.7%)RAID15 (31.9%)LOW DISEASEDAS281(2.1%)9 (20.9%)CDAI7(14.8%)23 (52.2%)RAID7 (14.9%)MODERATEDAS2833 (70.2%)12 (27.9%)CDAI17 (37.1%)8 (18.1%)RAID13 (27.6%)HIGHDAS2813 (27.6%)1 (2.3%)CDAI23 (48.9%)3 (6.8%)RAID12 (25.5%)GH70 (30)20 (49.5)*45 (45)*#Pain70 (28)25 (45.5)*40 (48.5)*#Zung A37 (9)37 (10.2)35 (14)*Zung-D39 (17)39 (13)*38 (12)FACIT11.5 (17.2)8 (19.5)7(15)* p≤0.001 vs BL# p ≤0.04vs preCoVData expressed as median (IQR)Disclosure of Interests:Cristina Garufi: None declared, Francesca Romana Spinelli Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Eli Lilly, Consultant of: Gilead/Galapagos, Eli Lilly, Grant/research support from: Pfizer, Silvia Mancuso: None declared, Fulvia Ceccarelli: None declared, Fabrizio Conti Speakers bureau: Abbvie, Eli Lilly, Sanofi, Pfizer, Consultant of: Gilead/Galapago
Weekly epirubicin plus lonidamine in advanced breast carcinoma
: Lonidamine has been demonstrated to potentiate the cytotoxic activity of several antineoplastic drugs, for example anthracyclines. Moreover, epirubicin is considered one of the most active drugs in advanced breast cancer, although optimal dose and schedule remains to be defined. In the present study we have treated 51 patients with advanced breast cancer with a combination of lonidamine (450 mg/day orally from day 1 throughout treatment) and epirubicin (25 mg/m2 i.v.) administered according to a weekly schedule for 24 weeks. Objective responses were observed in 29 out of 51 patients (57%; CR 16%, PR 41%). Liver metastases responded in eight out of 12 evaluable patients (67%). Average response duration was 12.4 months and median overall survival was 23 months (range 1-90+). Toxicity was negligible. The combination of weekly epirubicin and lonidamine is feasible and active in advanced breast cancer patients
Constraining the mass of the planet(s) sculpting a disk cavity. The intriguing case of 2MASS J16042165-2130284
The large cavities observed in the dust and gas distributions of transition
disks may be explained by planet-disk interactions. At ~145 pc, 2MASS
J16042165-2130284 (J1604) is a 5-12 Myr old transitional disk with different
gap sizes in the mm- and m-sized dust distributions (outer edges at ~79
and at ~63 au, respectively). Its CO emission shows a ~30 au cavity.
This radial structure suggests that giant planets are sculpting this disk. We
aim to constrain the masses and locations of plausible giant planets around
J1604. We observed J1604 with the Spectro-Polarimetric High-contrast Exoplanet
REsearch (SPHERE) at the Very Large Telescope (VLT), in IRDIFS\_EXT,
pupil-stabilized mode, obtaining YJH- band images with the integral field
spectrograph (IFS) and K1K2-band images with the Infra-Red Dual-beam Imager and
Spectrograph (IRDIS). The dataset was processed exploiting the angular
differential imaging (ADI) technique with high-contrast algorithms. Our
observations reach a contrast of ~12 mag from 0.15" to 0.80"
(~22 to 115 au), but no planet candidate is detected. The disk is directly
imaged in scattered light at all bands from Y to K, and it shows a red color.
This indicates that the dust particles in the disk surface are mainly
m-sized grains. We confirm the sharp dip/decrement in
scattered light in agreement with polarized light observations. Comparing our
images with a radiative transfer model we argue that the southern side of the
disk is most likely the nearest. This work represents the deepest search yet
for companions around J1604. We reach a mass sensitivity of from ~22 to ~115 au according to a hot start scenario. We propose
that a brown dwarf orbiting inside of ~15 au and additional Jovian planets at
larger radii could account for the observed properties of J1604 while
explaining our lack of detection.Comment: 10 pages, 7 Figures. Accepted for publication in A&A . Abridged
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Cetuximab plus chronomodulated irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and oxaliplatin as neoadjuvant chemotherapy in colorectal liver metastases: POCHER trial
Background:We assessed the effectiveness of cetuximab plus chronomodulated irinotecan, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), leucovorin (FA) and oxaliplatin (L-OHP) (chrono-IFLO) administered as neoadjuvant chemotherapy to increase the resectability of colorectal liver metastases.Methods:This was a phase II prospective trial with rate of liver metastases resection as primary end point. Forty-three patients with unresectable metastases were enroled: 9 with metastases >5 cm; 29 with multinodular (4) disease; 1 with hilar location; 4 with extrahepatic lung disease. Treatment consisted of cetuximab at day 1 plus chronomodulated irinotecan 5-FU, FA and L-OHP for 2-6 days every 2 weeks. After the first 17 patients, doses were reduced for irinotecan to 110 mg m 2, 5-FU to 550 mg m 2 per day and L-OHP to 15 mg m 2 per day.Results:Macroscopically complete resections were performed in 26 out of 43 patients (60%) after a median of 6 (range 3-15) cycles. Partial response was noticed in 34 patients (79%). Median overall survival was 37 months (95% CI: 21-53 months), with a 2-year survival of 68% in the entire population, 80.6% in resected patients and 47.1% in unresected patients (P=0.01). Grade 3/4 diarrhoea occurred in 93% and 36% of patients before and after dose reduction.Conclusion:Cetuximab plus chrono-IFLO achieved 60% complete resectability of colorectal liver metastases. © 2010 Cancer Research UK All rights reserved
Detection of Sharp Symmetric Features in the Circumbinary Disk Around AK Sco
The Search for Planets Orbiting Two Stars (SPOTS) survey aims to study the
formation and distribution of planets in binary systems by detecting and
characterizing circumbinary planets and their formation environments through
direct imaging. With the SPHERE Extreme Adaptive Optics instrument, a good
contrast can be achieved even at small (<300 mas) separations from bright
stars, which enables studies of planets and disks in a separation range that
was previously inaccessible. Here, we report the discovery of resolved
scattered light emission from the circumbinary disk around the well-studied
young double star AK Sco, at projected separations in the ~13--40 AU range. The
sharp morphology of the imaged feature is surprising, given the smooth
appearance of the disk in its spectral energy distribution. We show that the
observed morphology can be represented either as a highly eccentric ring around
AK Sco, or as two separate spiral arms in the disk, wound in opposite
directions. The relative merits of these interpretations are discussed, as well
as whether these features may have been caused by one or several circumbinary
planets interacting with the disk.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ Letters. Minor
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