170 research outputs found
3-D Photoionization Structure and Distances of Planetary Nebulae II. Menzel 1
We present the results of a spatio-kinematic study of the planetary nebula
Menzel 1 using spectro-photometric mapping and a 3-D photoionization code. We
create several 2-D emission line images from our long-slit spectra, and use
these to derive the line fluxes for 15 lines, the Halpha/Hbeta extinction map,
and the [SII] line ratio density map of the nebula. We use our photoionization
code constrained by these data to derive the three-dimensional nebular
structure and ionizing star parameters of Menzel 1 by simultaneously fitting
the integrated line intensities, the density map, and the observed morphologies
in several lines, as well as the velocity structure. Using theoretical
evolutionary tracks of intermediate and low mass stars, we derive a mass for
the central star of 0.63+-0.05 Msolar. We also derive a distance of 1050+_150
pc to Menzel 1.Comment: To be published in ApJ of 10th February 2005. 12 figure
Phase II study of irinotecan in combination with temozolomide (TEMIRI) in children with recurrent or refractory medulloblastoma: a joint ITCC and SIOPE brain tumor study
BackgroundThis multicenter phase II study investigated temozolomide + irinotecan (TEMIRI) treatment in children with relapsed or refractory medulloblastoma.MethodsPatients received temozolomide 100â125 mg/m2/day (days 1â5) and irinotecan 10 mg/m2/day (days 1â5 and 8â12) every 3 weeks. The primary endpoint was tumor response within the first 4 cycles confirmed â„4 weeks and assessed by an external response review committee (ERRC). In a 2-stage Optimum Simon design, â„6 responses in the first 15 evaluable patients were required within the first 4 cycles for continued enrollment; a total of 19 responses from the first 46 evaluable patients was considered successful.ResultsSixty-six patients were treated. Seven responses were recorded during stage 1 and 15 in the first 46 ERRC evaluated patients (2 complete responses and 13 partial responses). The objective response rate during the first 4 cycles was 32.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 19.5%â48.0%). Median duration of response was 27.0 weeks (7.7â44.1 wk). In 63 patients evaluated by local investigators, the objective response rate was 33.3% (95% CI, 22.0%â46.3%), and 68.3% (95% CI, 55.3%â79.4%) experienced clinical benefit. Median survival was 16.7 months (95% CI, 13.3â19.8). The most common grade 3 treatment-related nonhematologic adverse event was diarrhea (7.6%). Grade 3/4 treatment-related hematologic adverse events included neutropenia (16.7%), thrombocytopenia (12.1%), anemia (9.1%), and lymphopenia (9%).ConclusionsThe planned study primary endpoint was not met. However, its tolerability makes TEMIRI a suitable candidate chemotherapy backbone for molecularly targeted agents in future trials in this setting
Reduction in benefits of total flux expansion on divertor detachment due to parallel flows
The Super-X divertor (SXD) is an alternative divertor configuration
leveraging total flux expansion at the outer strike point (OSP). Key features
for the attractiveness of the SXD are facilitated detachment access and
control, as predicted by the extended 2-point model (2PM). However, parallel
flows are not consistently included in the 2PM. In this work, the 2PM is
refined to overcome this limitation: the role of total flux expansion on the
pressure balance is made explicit, by including the effect of parallel flows.
In consequence, the effect of total flux expansion on detachment access and
control is weakened, compared to predictions of the 2PM. This new model
partially explains discrepancies between the 2PM and experiments performed on
TCV, in ohmic L-mode scenarios, where in core density ramps in lower
single-null (SN) configuration, the impact of the OSP major radius Rt on the
CIII emission front movement in the divertor outer leg - used as a proxy for
the plasma temperature - is substantially weaker than 2PM predictions; and in
OSP sweeps in lower and upper SN configurations, with a constant core density,
the peak parallel particle flux density at the OSP is almost independent of Rt,
while the 2PM predicts a linear dependence. Finally, analytical and numerical
modelling of parallel flows in the divertor is presented, to support the
argument. It is shown that an increase in total flux expansion can favour
supersonic flows at the OSP. Parallel flows are also shown to be relevant by
analysing SOLPS-ITER simulations of TCV
SOLPS-ITER validation with TCV L-mode discharges editors-pick
This work presents a quantitative test of SOLPS-ITER simulations against tokamak a configuration variable (TCV) L-mode experiments. These simulations account for drifts, currents, kinetic neutrals, and carbon impurities providing the most complete edge transport simulations for TCV to date. The comparison is performed on nominally identical discharges carried out to assess the effectiveness of TCV's divertor baffles in the framework of the European Plasma Exhaust program and employs numerous edge diagnostics providing a detailed code-experiment benchmark for TCV. The simulations show a qualitative consistency, but the quantitative differences remain, which are assessed herein. It is found that, for a given separatrix density, the simulations most notably yield a colder, and denser, divertor state with a higher divertor neutral pressure than measured
Comparison of detachment in Ohmic plasmas with positive and negative triangularity
Detachment is investigated using core density ramps for lower single null
Ohmic L-mode plasmas across a wide range of upper, lower, and total
triangularity () in the TCV tokamak. It is universally found that
detachment is more difficult to access with negative triangularity (NT)
shaping. The outer divertor leg of discharges with could
not be cooled below 5 eV using core density ramps alone. The behavior of the
upstream plasma and geometrical divertor effects (e.g. a reduced connection
length at negative lower triangularity) do not fully explain the challenges of
detaching NT plasmas. Langmuir probe measurements of the target heat flux
widths () remained constant within 30% across an upper triangularity
scan, while the spreading factor was found to be lower by up to 50% in NT,
indicating a generally lower integral SOL width. An interesting pattern has
been observed in the particle balance where the line-averaged core density was
typically higher in NT discharges for a given fuelling rate. Conversely, the
divertor neutral pressure and integrated particle content were typically lower
for the same line-averaged density. This indicates that NT plasmas may be
closer to the sheath-limited regime than their PT counterparts, which could
explain why NT is more challenging to detach
A peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor originating from the pancreas: a case report and review of the literature
The binary fraction of planetary nebula central stars - III. the promise of VPHAS+
This article has been accepted for publication in Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society ©: 2017 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. Content in the UH Research Archive is made available for personal research, educational, and non-commercial purposes only. Unless otherwise stated, all content is protected by copyright, and in the absence of an open license, permissions for further re-use should be sought from the publisher, the author, or other copyright holder.The majority of planetary nebulae (PNe) are not spherical, and current single-star models cannot adequately explain all the morphologies we observe. This has led to the Binary Hypothesis, which states that PNe are preferentially formed by binary systems. This hypothesis can be corroborated or disproved by comparing the estimated binary fraction of all PNe central stars (CS) to that of the supposed progenitor population. One way to quantify the rate of CS binarity is to detect near infra-red (IR) excess indicative of a low-mass main sequence companion. In this paper, a sample of known PNe within data release 2 of the ongoing VPHAS+ are investigated. We give details of the method used to calibrate VPHAS+ photometry, and present the expected colours of CS and main sequence stars within the survey. Objects were scrutinized to remove PN mimics from our sample and identify true CS. Within our final sample of 7 CS, 6 had previously either not been identified or confirmed. We detected an band excess indicative of a low-mass companion star in 3 CS, including one known binary, leading us to to conclude that VPHAS+ provides the precise photometry required for the IR excess method presented here, and will likely improve as the survey completes and the calibration process finalised. Given the promising results from this trial sample, the entire VPHAS+ catalogue should be used to study PNe and extend the IR excess-tested CS sample.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio
Development of the SIOPE DIPG network, registry and imaging repository : a collaborative effort to optimize research into a rare and lethal disease
Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) is a rare and deadly childhood malignancy. After 40 years of mostly single-center, often non-randomized trials with variable patient inclusions, there has been no improvement in survival. It is therefore time for international collaboration in DIPG research, to provide new hope for children, parents and medical professionals fighting DIPG. In a first step towards collaboration, in 2011, a network of biologists and clinicians working in the field of DIPG was established within the European Society for Paediatric Oncology (SIOPE) Brain Tumour Group: the SIOPE DIPG Network. By bringing together biomedical professionals and parents as patient representatives, several collaborative DIPG-related projects have been realized. With help from experts in the fields of information technology, and legal advisors, an international, web-based comprehensive database was developed, The SIOPE DIPG Registry and Imaging Repository, to centrally collect data of DIPG patients. As for April 2016, clinical data as well as MR-scans of 694 patients have been entered into the SIOPE DIPG Registry/Imaging Repository. The median progression free survival is 6.0 months (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 5.6-6.4 months) and the median overall survival is 11.0 months (95% CI 10.5-11.5 months). At two and five years post-diagnosis, 10 and 2% of patients are alive, respectively. The establishment of the SIOPE DIPG Network and SIOPE DIPG Registry means a paradigm shift towards collaborative research into DIPG. This is seen as an essential first step towards understanding the disease, improving care and (ultimately) cure for children with DIPG.Peer reviewe
Therapeutic implications of improved molecular diagnostics for rare CNS-embryonal tumor entities: results of an international, retrospective study
BACKGROUND: Only few data are available on treatment-associated behavior of distinct rare CNS-embryonal tumor entities previously treated as "CNS-primitive neuroectodermal tumors" (CNS-PNET). Respective data on specific entities, including CNS neuroblastoma, FOXR2 activated (CNS NB-FOXR2), and embryonal tumor with multi-layered rosettes (ETMR) are needed for development of differentiated treatment strategies. METHODS: Within this retrospective, international study, tumor samples of clinically well-annotated patients with the original diagnosis of CNS-PNET were analyzed using DNA methylation arrays (n=307). Additional cases (n=66) with DNA methylation pattern of CNS NB-FOXR2 were included irrespective of initial histological diagnosis. Pooled clinical data (n=292) were descriptively analyzed. RESULTS: DNA methylation profiling of "CNS-PNET" classified 58(19%) cases as ETMR, 57(19%) as HGG, 36(12%) as CNS NB-FOXR2, and 89(29%) cases were classified into 18 other entities. Sixty-seven (22%) cases did not show DNA methylation patterns similar to established CNS tumor reference classes. Best treatment results were achieved for CNS NB-FOXR2 patients (5-year PFS: 63%±7%, OS: 85%±5%, n=63), with 35/42 progression-free survivors after upfront craniospinal irradiation (CSI) and chemotherapy. The worst outcome was seen for ETMR and HGG patients with 5-year PFS of 18%±6% and 22%±7%, and 5-year OS of 24%±6% and 25%±7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The historically reported poor outcome of CNS-PNET patients becomes highly variable when tumors are molecularly classified based on DNA methylation profiling. Patients with CNS NB-FOXR2 responded well to current treatments and a standard-risk-CSI based regimen may be prospectively evaluated. The poor outcome of ETMR across applied treatment strategies substantiates the necessity for evaluation of novel treatments
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