Improvement of cast nephropathy with plasma exchange depends on the diagnosis and on reduction of serum free light chains

Cast nephropathy is the most common cause of renal disease in multiple myeloma, however, treatment with plasma exchange remains controversial even after 3 randomized controlled studies. We sought to determine the importance of diagnostic confirmation and goal directed therapy in the treatment of cast nephropathy in forty patients with confirmed multiple myeloma and renal failure who underwent plasma exchange. A positive renal response was defined as a decrease by half in the presenting serum creatinine and dialysis independence. No baseline differences were noted between eventual renal responders and non-responders. Three quarters of the patients with biopsy proven cast nephropathy resolved their renal disease when the free light chains present in the serum were reduced by half or more but there was no significant response when the reduction was less. The median time to a response was about 2 months. In patients without cast nephropathy, renal recovery occurred despite reductions in free light chain levels of the serum. No association was found between free light chains in the serum, urinary monoclonal proteins, overall proteinuria and cast nephropathy. We found that the relationship between renal recovery and free light chain reduction was present only in patients with biopsy proven cast nephropathy showing the importance of extracorporeal light chain removal in this disease

Corrigendum to “Environmental and life-history factors influence inter-colony multidimensional niche metrics of a breeding Arctic marine bird” [Sci. Total Environ. 796 (2021) 148935] (Science of the Total Environment (2021) 796, (S0048969721040079), (10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148935))

The authors regret that the printed version of the above article contained an omission of an individual deserving of co-authorship. The correct and final version follows. The authors would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused. \u3c Reyd A. Smith1⁎, David J. Yurkowski2, Kyle J.L. Parkinson1, Jérôme Fort3, Holly L. Hennin4, H. Grant Gilchrist4, Keith A. Hobson5, Mark L. Mallory6, Paco Bustamante3, Jóhannis Danielsen7, Svend E. Garbus8, Sveinn A. Hanssen9, Jón Einar Jónsson10, Christopher J. Latty11, Ellen Magnúsdóttir10, Børge Moe9, Glen J. Parsons12, Christian Sonne8, Grigori Tertitski13, and Oliver P. Love1\u3e Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada, N9B 3P4 2 Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3T 2N6 3 Littoral, Environnement et Sociétés (LIENSs), UMR 7266 CNRS – La Rochelle University, La Rochelle, France, FR-17000 4 Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K0A 1H0. 5 Western University, London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 3K7 6Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada, B4P 2R6 7 Faroe Marine Research Institute, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands, FO-110 8 Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark, DK-4000 9 Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Tromsø, Norway, N-9296 10 University of Iceland\u27s Research Centre at Snæfellsnes, Hafnargata 3, 340, Stykkishólmur, Iceland 11 Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, Alaska, United States, 99701 12 Nova Scotia Department of Lands and Forestry, Kentville, Nova Scotia, Canada, B4N 4E5 13 Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, 119017\u3

Building an Assessment Use Argument for sign language: the BSL Nonsense Sign Repetition Test

In this article, we adapt a concept designed to structure language testing more effectively, the Assessment Use Argument (AUA), as a framework for the development and/or use of sign language assessments for deaf children who are taught in a sign bilingual education setting. By drawing on data from a recent investigation of deaf children's nonsense sign repetition skills in British Sign Language, we demonstrate the steps of implementing the AUA in practical test design, development and use. This approach provides us with a framework which clearly states the competing values and which stakeholders hold these values. As such, it offers a useful foundation for test-designers, as well as for practitioners in sign bilingual education, for the interpretation of test scores and the consequences of their use

System Size and Energy Dependence of Jet-Induced Hadron Pair Correlation Shapes in Cu+Cu and Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 and 62.4 GeV

We present azimuthal angle correlations of intermediate transverse momentum (1-4 GeV/c) hadrons from {dijets} in Cu+Cu and Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 62.4 and 200 GeV. The away-side dijet induced azimuthal correlation is broadened, non-Gaussian, and peaked away from \Delta\phi=\pi in central and semi-central collisions in all the systems. The broadening and peak location are found to depend upon the number of participants in the collision, but not on the collision energy or beam nuclei. These results are consistent with sound or shock wave models, but pose challenges to Cherenkov gluon radiation models.Comment: 464 authors from 60 institutions, 6 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to Physical Review Letters. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Heavy Quarks and Heavy Quarkonia as Tests of Thermalization

We present here a brief summary of new results on heavy quarks and heavy quarkonia from the PHENIX experiment as presented at the "Quark Gluon Plasma Thermalization" Workshop in Vienna, Austria in August 2005, directly following the International Quark Matter Conference in Hungary.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Quark Gluon Plasma Thermalization Workshop (Vienna August 2005) Proceeding

Improved Measurement of Double Helicity Asymmetry in Inclusive Midrapidity pi^0 Production for Polarized p+p Collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV

We present an improved measurement of the double helicity asymmetry for pi^0 production in polarized proton-proton scattering at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV employing the PHENIX detector at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). The improvements to our previous measurement come from two main factors: Inclusion of a new data set from the 2004 RHIC run with higher beam polarizations than the earlier run and a recalibration of the beam polarization measurements, which resulted in reduced uncertainties and increased beam polarizations. The results are compared to a Next to Leading Order (NLO) perturbative Quantum Chromodynamics (pQCD) calculation with a range of polarized gluon distributions.Comment: 389 authors, 4 pages, 2 tables, 1 figure. Submitted to Phys. Rev. D, Rapid Communications. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Proximity effect at superconducting Sn-Bi2Se3 interface

We have investigated the conductance spectra of Sn-Bi2Se3 interface junctions down to 250 mK and in different magnetic fields. A number of conductance anomalies were observed below the superconducting transition temperature of Sn, including a small gap different from that of Sn, and a zero-bias conductance peak growing up at lower temperatures. We discussed the possible origins of the smaller gap and the zero-bias conductance peak. These phenomena support that a proximity-effect-induced chiral superconducting phase is formed at the interface between the superconducting Sn and the strong spin-orbit coupling material Bi2Se3.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Centrality Dependence of the High p_T Charged Hadron Suppression in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 130 GeV

PHENIX has measured the centrality dependence of charged hadron p_T spectra from central Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=130 GeV. The truncated mean p_T decreases with centrality for p_T > 2 GeV/c, indicating an apparent reduction of the contribution from hard scattering to high p_T hadron production. For central collisions the yield at high p_T is shown to be suppressed compared to binary nucleon-nucleon collision scaling of p+p data. This suppression is monotonically increasing with centrality, but most of the change occurs below 30% centrality, i.e. for collisions with less than about 140 participating nucleons. The observed p_T and centrality dependence is consistent with the particle production predicted by models including hard scattering and subsequent energy loss of the scattered partons in the dense matter created in the collisions.Comment: 7 pages text, LaTeX, 6 figures, 2 tables, 307 authors, resubmitted to Phys. Lett. B. Revised to address referee concerns. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/phenix/WWW/run/phenix/papers.htm

Single Electrons from Heavy Flavor Decays in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV

The invariant differential cross section for inclusive electron production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s) = 200 GeV has been measured by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider over the transverse momentum range $0.4 <= p_T <= 5.0 GeV/c at midrapidity (eta <= 0.35). The contribution to the inclusive electron spectrum from semileptonic decays of hadrons carrying heavy flavor, i.e. charm quarks or, at high p_T, bottom quarks, is determined via three independent methods. The resulting electron spectrum from heavy flavor decays is compared to recent leading and next-to-leading order perturbative QCD calculations. The total cross section of charm quark-antiquark pair production is determined as sigma_(c c^bar) = 0.92 +/- 0.15 (stat.) +- 0.54 (sys.) mb.Comment: 329 authors, 6 pages text, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Nuclear Modification of Electron Spectra and Implications for Heavy Quark Energy Loss in Au+Au Collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV

The PHENIX experiment has measured mid-rapidity transverse momentum spectra (0.4 < p_T < 5.0 GeV/c) of electrons as a function of centrality in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV. Contributions from photon conversions and from light hadron decays, mainly Dalitz decays of pi^0 and eta mesons, were removed. The resulting non-photonic electron spectra are primarily due to the semi-leptonic decays of hadrons carrying heavy quarks. Nuclear modification factors were determined by comparison to non-photonic electrons in p+p collisions. A significant suppression of electrons at high p_T is observed in central Au+Au collisions, indicating substantial energy loss of heavy quarks.Comment: 330 authors, 6 pages text, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm