Masses of a Fourth Generation with Two Higgs Doublets

We use sampling techniques to find robust constraints on the masses of a possible fourth sequential fermion generation from electroweak oblique variables. We find that in the case of a light (115 GeV) Higgs from a single electroweak symmetry breaking doublet, inverted mass hierarchies are possible for both quarks and leptons, but a mass splitting more than M(W) in the quark sector is unlikely. We also find constraints in the case of a heavy (600 GeV) Higgs in a single doublet model. As recent data from the Large Hadron Collider hints at the existence of a resonance at 124.5 GeV and a single Higgs doublet at that mass is inconsistent with a fourth fermion generation, we examine a type II two Higgs doublet model. In this model, there are ranges of parameter space where the Higgs sector can potentially counteract the effects of the fourth generation. Even so, we find that such scenarios produce qualitatively similar fermion mass distributions.Comment: v2: 9 pages, 7 figures, improved analysis of Higgs decay constraints, typos corrected and reference adde

The Extreme Polarimeter: Design, Performance, First Results & Upgrades

Well over 700 exoplanets have been detected to date. Only a handful of these have been observed directly. Direct observation is extremely challenging due to the small separation and very large contrast involved. Imaging polarimetry offers a way to decrease the contrast between the unpolarized starlight and the light that has become linearly polarized after scattering by circumstellar material. This material can be the dust and debris found in circumstellar disks, but also the atmosphere or surface of an exoplanet. We present the design, calibration approach, polarimetric performance and sample observation results of the Extreme Polarimeter, an imaging polarimeter for the study of circumstellar environments in scattered light at visible wavelengths. The polarimeter uses the beam-exchange technique, in which the two orthogonal polarization states are imaged simultaneously and a polarization modulator swaps the polarization states of the two beams before the next image is taken. The instrument currently operates without the aid of Adaptive Optics. To reduce the effects of atmospheric seeing on the polarimetry, the images are taken at a frame rate of 35 fps, and large numbers of frames are combined to obtain the polarization images. Four successful observing runs have been performed using this instrument at the 4.2 m William Herschel Telescope on La Palma, targeting young stars with protoplanetary disks as well as evolved stars surrounded by dusty envelopes. In terms of fractional polarization, the instrument sensitivity is better than 10^-4. The contrast achieved between the central star and the circumstellar source is of the order 10^-6. We show that our calibration approach yields absolute polarization errors below 1%

Short-Course External Beam Radiotherapy Versus Brachytherapy for Palliation of Dysphagia in Esophageal Cancer: A Matched Comparison of Two Prospective Trials

Introduction: Short-course external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) and intraluminal brachytherapy are both accepted treatments for the palliation of dysphagia in patients with incurable esophageal cancer. We compared the effects of both treatments from two prospective studies. Methods: We performed a multicenter prospective cohort study of patients with metastasized or otherwise incurable esophageal cancer requiring palliation of dysphagia from September 2016 to March 2019. Patients were treated with EBRT in five fractions of 4 Gy. Data were compared with all patients treated with a single brachytherapy dose of 12 Gy in the SIREC (Stent or Intraluminal Radiotherapy for inoperable Esophageal Cancer) trial, both between the original cohorts and between 1:1 propensity score–matched cohorts. The primary end point was an improvement of dysphagia at 3 months without reintervention. The secondary end points included toxicit

Patient-reported outcomes in palliative gastrointestinal stenting: a Norwegian multicenter study

Background The clinical effect of stent treatment has been evaluated by mainly physicians; only a limited number of prospective studies have used patient-reported outcomes for this purpose. The aim of this work was to study the clinical effect of self-expanding metal stents in treatment of malignant gastrointestinal obstructions, as evaluated by patient-reported outcomes, and compare the rating of the treatment effect by patients and physicians. Methods Between November 2006 and April 2008, 273 patients treated with SEMS for malignant GI and biliary obstructions were recruited from nine Norwegian hospitals. Patients and physicians assessed symptoms independently at the time of treatment and after 2 weeks using the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) QLQ-C30 questionnaire supplemented with specific questions related to obstruction. Results A total of 162 patients (99 males; median age = 72 years) completed both assessments and were included in the study. A significant improvement in the mean global health score was observed after 2 weeks (from 9 to 18 on a 0–100 scale, P\0.03) for all stent locations. Both patients and physicians reported a significant reduction in all obstruction-related symptoms ([20 on the 0–100 scale, P\0.006) after SEMS treatment. The physicians reported a larger mean improvement in symptoms than did the patients, mainly because they reported more severe symptoms before treatment. Conclusion SEMS treatment is effective in relieving symptoms of malignant GI and biliary obstruction, as reported by patients and physicians. The physicians, however, reported a larger reduction in obstructive symptoms than did the patients. A prospective assessment of patientreported outcomes is important in evaluating SEMS treatment

Hepatitis B Virus Variants with Multiple Insertions and/or Deletions in the X Open Reading Frame 3 ' End: Common Members of Viral Quasispecies in Chronic Hepatitis B Patients

Hepatitis B virus; Insertions; Next-generation sequencingVirus de l'hepatitis B; Insercions; Seqüenciació de nova generacióVirus de la hepatitis B; Inserciones; Secuenciación de próxima generaciónDeletions in the 3′ end region of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) X open reading frame (HBX) may affect the core promoter (Cp) and have been frequently associated with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of variants with deletions and/or insertions (Indels) in this region in the quasispecies of 50 chronic hepatitis B (CHB) patients without HCC. We identified 103 different Indels in 47 (94%) patients, in a median of 3.4% of their reads (IQR, 1.3–8.4%), and 25% (IQR, 13.1–40.7%) of unique sequences identified in each quasispecies (haplotypes). Of those Indels, 101 (98.1%) caused 44 different altered stop codons, the most commonly observed were at positions 128, 129, 135, and 362 (putative position). Moreover, 39 (37.9%) Indels altered the TATA-like box (TA) sequences of Cp; the most commonly observed caused TA2 + TA3 fusion, creating a new putative canonical TATA box. Four (8%) patients developed negative clinical outcomes after a median follow-up of 9.4 (8.7–12) years. In conclusion, we observed variants with Indels in the HBX 3′ end in the vast majority of our CHB patients, some of them encoding alternative versions of HBx with potential functional roles, and/or alterations in the regulation of transcription.This research was funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), grant number PI18/01436; PI19/00301; and by the Centro para el Desarrollo Tecnológico Industrial (CDTI) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Business, grant number IDI-20200297. The APC was funded by the grant PI18/01436

Hot Photoluminescence in γ-In2Se3Nanorods

The energy relaxation of electrons in γ-In2Se3nanorods was investigated by the excitation-dependent photoluminescence (PL). From the high-energy tail of PL, we determine the electron temperature (Te) of the hot electrons. TheTevariation can be explained by a model in which the longitudinal optical (LO)-phonon emission is the dominant energy relaxation process. The high-quality γ-In2Se3nanorods may be a promising material for the photovoltaic devices

Gemcitabine with Cisplatin Versus Hepatic Arterial Infusion Pump Chemotherapy for Liver-Confined Unresectable Intrahepatic Cholangiocarcinoma

Background: A post-hoc analysis of ABC trials included 34 patients with liver-confined unresectable intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (iCCA) who received systemic chemotherapy with gemcitabine and cisplatin (gem-cis). The median overall survival (OS) was 16.7 months and the 3-year OS was 2.8%. The aim of this study was to compare patients treated with systemic gem-cis versus hepatic arterial infusion pump (HAIP) chemotherapy for liver-confined unresectable iCCA. Methods: We retrospectively collected consecutive patients with liver-confined unresectable iCCA who received gem-cis in two centers in the Netherlands to compare with consecutive patients who received HAIP chemotherapy with or without systemic chemotherapy in Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Results: In total, 268 patients with liver-confined unresectable iCCA were included; 76 received gem-cis and 192 received HAIP chemotherapy. In the gem-cis group 42 patients (55.3%) had multifocal disease compared with 141 patients (73.4%) in the HAIP group (p = 0.023). Median OS for gem-cis was 11.8 months versus 27.7 months for HAIP chemotherapy (p &lt; 0.001). OS at 3 years was 3.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.0–13.6%) in the gem-cis group versus 34.3% (95% CI 28.1–41.8%) in the HAIP chemotherapy group. After adjusting for male gender, performance status, baseline hepatobiliary disease, and multifocal disease, the hazard ratio (HR) for HAIP chemotherapy was 0.27 (95% CI 0.19–0.39). Conclusions: This study confirmed the results from the ABC trials that survival beyond 3 years is rare for patients with liver-confined unresectable iCCA treated with palliative gem-cis alone. With HAIP chemotherapy, one in three patients was alive at 3 years.</p

First-line treatment with oxaliplatin and capecitabine in patients with advanced or metastatic oesophageal cancer: a phase II study

This phase II study assessed the safety and efficacy of oxaliplatin and capecitabine in patients with advanced oesophageal cancer. Fifty-one eligible patients received oxaliplatin 130 mg m−2 intravenously on day 1 and capecitabine 1000 mg m−2 orally twice daily on days 1 to 14 in a 21-day treatment cycle as first-line treatment for advanced oesophageal cancer. Grade 3 neutropenia was seen in one patient and anaemia in another patient. No grade 4 haematological toxicities were observed. Grade 4 non-haematological toxicity (lethargy) occurred in one patient (2%). Grade 3 non-haematological toxicity was seen in 14 (27%) patients (vomiting and polyneuropathy (8%); nausea (6%); lethargy and hand–foot syndrome (4%); and anorexia, diarrhoea, and hyperbilirubinaemia (each in one patient)). In 22% of the patients, toxicity was the reason for stopping the treatment. The overall response rate was 39%. The median overall survival was 8 months; the 1-year survival rate was 26%. In the quality of life (QoL) analysis, the emotional well-being improved during treatment, but the physical functioning scores declined. The fatigue score on the symptom scales increased. Overall, the global QoL score did not change during treatment. In conclusion, the activity of oxaliplatin and capecitabine is comparable with other chemotherapy regimens in advanced oesophageal cancer with a low frequency of grade 3/4 toxicity. Because this treatment can be given on an outpatient basis, it is probably less toxic than cisplatin-based therapy and preserves QoL during treatment, it is a viable treatment option in patients with advanced oesophageal cancer