Clinical activity of a htert (vx-001) cancer vaccine as post-chemotherapy maintenance immunotherapy in patients with stage IV non-small cell lung cancer : final results of a randomised phase 2 clinical trial

The cancer vaccine Vx-001, which targets the universal tumour antigen TElomerase Reverse Transcriptase (TERT), can mount specific Vx-001/TERT CD8 + cytotoxic T cells; this immune response is associated with improved overall survival (OS) in patients with advanced/metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A randomised, double blind, phase 2b trial, in HLA-A*201-positive patients with metastatic, TERT-expressing NSCLC, who did not progress after first-line platinum-based chemotherapy were randomised to receive either Vx-001 or placebo. The primary endpoint of the trial was OS. Results: Two hundred and twenty-one patients were randomised and 190 (101 and 89 patients in the placebo and the Vx-001 arm, respectively) were analysed for efficacy. There was not treatment-related toxicity >grade 2. The study did not meet its primary endpoint (median OS 11.3 and 14.3 months for the placebo and the Vx-001, respectively; p = 0.86) whereas the median Time to Treatment Failure (TTF) was 3.5 and 3.6 months, respectively. Disease control for >6months was observed in 30 (33.7%) and 26 (25.7%) patients treated with Vx-001 and placebo, respectively. There was no documented objective CR or PR. Long lasting TERT-specific immune response was observed in 29.2% of vaccinated patients who experienced a significantly longer OS compared to non-responders (21.3 and 13.4 months, respectively; p = 0.004). Vx-001 could induce specific CD8 immune response but failed to meet its primary endpoint. Subsequent studies have to be focused on the identification and treatment of subgroups of patients able to mount an effective immunological response to Vx-001. Clinical trial registration: NCT0193515

Prompt K_short production in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=0.9 TeV

The production of K_short mesons in pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 0.9 TeV is studied with the LHCb detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The luminosity of the analysed sample is determined using a novel technique, involving measurements of the beam currents, sizes and positions, and is found to be 6.8 +/- 1.0 microbarn^-1. The differential prompt K_short production cross-section is measured as a function of the K_short transverse momentum and rapidity in the region 0 < pT < 1.6 GeV/c and 2.5 < y < 4.0. The data are found to be in reasonable agreement with previous measurements and generator expectations.Comment: 6+18 pages, 6 figures, updated author lis

The LHCb upgrade I

The LHCb upgrade represents a major change of the experiment. The detectors have been almost completely renewed to allow running at an instantaneous luminosity five times larger than that of the previous running periods. Readout of all detectors into an all-software trigger is central to the new design, facilitating the reconstruction of events at the maximum LHC interaction rate, and their selection in real time. The experiment's tracking system has been completely upgraded with a new pixel vertex detector, a silicon tracker upstream of the dipole magnet and three scintillating fibre tracking stations downstream of the magnet. The whole photon detection system of the RICH detectors has been renewed and the readout electronics of the calorimeter and muon systems have been fully overhauled. The first stage of the all-software trigger is implemented on a GPU farm. The output of the trigger provides a combination of totally reconstructed physics objects, such as tracks and vertices, ready for final analysis, and of entire events which need further offline reprocessing. This scheme required a complete revision of the computing model and rewriting of the experiment's software

TIM model application to corium concrete interaction: Ablation regimes and instabilities

International audienceThis paper deals with the extension of the Transient Interface Model (TIM), initially developed for in-vessel and ceramic dissolution situations, to molten core concrete interaction (MCCI) conditions. The application of the TIM model to MCCI leads to evidence of two interaction regimes, depending on the nature of the concrete. For siliceous concrete, there is no crust nor mushy zone at the ablated corium/concrete interface and the interface temperature is close to the liquidus temperature of concrete (Low Interface Temperature – LIT regime). For limestone common sand concrete, a mushy zone or crust can form at the interface between the corium and the concrete and the interface temperature (between mushy zone and melt) is close to the pool liquidus temperature (High Interface Temperature – HIT regime). No intermediate regime exists, but rather regime transitions (HIT to LIT, or LIT to HIT), which may occur on a limited number to all interfaces during MCCI. The work described herein demonstrates that these regime transitions are abrupt and happen within a short time period. These regime transitions are shown to cause ablation instabilities. Many combinations of regime transitions on various interfaces at various pool temperatures (in comparison to pool liquidus) are possible. Only a limited number of these transitions have been calculated; the results indicate that different trends in temperature evolutions observed during MCCI tests can be reproduced. New calculations of the CCI2, CCI3 and M3B tests are presented

Beam diagnostic overview of the SPIRAL2 RNB section

International audienceAn extension to the existing GANIL facility in Caen, France is under construction. The new SPIRAL 2 construction will be realized in two phases, for the first phase the construction started in January 2011 and will consists of the accelerator buildings with two experimental facilities S3 and Neutrons for science (NFS). The second phase is the so called production building where radioactive ions are produced through the ISOL (Isotope Separation On Line) method. The produced radioactive ion beams (RIBs) will be extracted and accelerated up to 60keV from the ion sources, after beam purification the beam will be driven in the secondary beam lines either to a new experimental facility DESIR (Decay, excitation and storage of radioactive ions) constructed during the second phase of the new installation or the RIBs will be charge breed to form multi-charged ions that will be driven to the existing GANIL facility and post accelerated in the CIME cyclotron. This overview article gives a description of the secondary beam lines, the foreseen beam diagnostics which will allow tuning and controlling the radioactive ion beams in the secondary beam lines constructed in the SPIRAL2 Phase 2

Beam Diagnostics for SPIRAL2 RNB

http://accelconf.web.cern.ch/AccelConf/d09/papers/proceed.pdfInternational audienceThe SPIRAL2 project is based on a multi-beam driver facility in order to allow both ISOL and low-energy inflight techniques to produce intense radioactive ion beams (RIB) in a new Facility. A superconducting linac capable of accelerating 5-mA deuterons up to 40 MeV is used to bombard both thick and thin targets. These primary beams will be used for the RIB production by several reaction mechanisms (fusion, fission, etc.) The production of high intensity RIB will be based on fission of uranium target induced by neutrons. These exotic particles will be produced, ionized, selected in a dedicated production building and transported to the existing CIME cyclotron for post acceleration. After this, they will be used in the present experimental area of GANIL. The construction phase of SPIRAL2 was officially started in 2005. The beam diagnostics for the production facility allow a pre-tuning with a stable beam followed by an extrapolation to the radioactive beam. Some diagnostic devices may also provide for equipment protections and for the safety systems. An overview is presented of the diagnostics which will allow tuning and control of the RIB in this new production facility

Measurement of sigma (pp -> bbX) at √s=7 TeV in the forward region

Decays of b hadrons into final states containing a D-0 meson and a muon are used to measure the bb; production cross-section in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV at the LHC. In the pseudorapidity interval 2 < eta < 6 and integrated over all transverse momenta we find that the average cross-section to produce b-flavoured or b-flavoured hadrons is (75.3 +/- 5.4 +/- 13.0) mu b