The 10B(p,α)7Be S(E)-factor from 5 keV to 1.5 MeV using the Trojan Horse Method

The 10 B(p, α ) 7 Be reaction is the main responsible for the 10 B destruction in stellar interior [1]. In such environments this p-capture process occurs at a Gamow energy of 10 keV and takes places mainly through a resonant state (Ex = 8.701 MeV) of the compound 11 C nucleus. Thus a resonance right in the region of the Gamow peak is expected to significantly influence the behavior of the astrophysical S(E)-factor. The 10 B(p, α ) 7 Be reaction was studied via the Trojan Horse Method (THM) applied to the 2 H( 10 B, α 7 Be)n in order to extract the astrophysical S(E)-factor in a wide energy range from 5 keV to 1.5 MeV

Prevalence of intratubular germ cell neoplasia and multifocality in testicular germ cell tumors ≤ 2 cm: relationship with other pathological features

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of TIN and multifocality in men undergoing radical orchiectomy for testicular germ cell tumor (TGCT), and among those with a main tumor size ≤ 2 cm, potentially eligible for testis-sparing surgery. Patients and Methods: Orchiectomy specimens from 126 consecutive patients treated for TGCT tumor between 2003 and 2012 were included. Multifocality was defined as a distinct tumor focus with a diameter ≥ 1 mm separable from the main tumor mass. Uni- and multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the association between pathological variables and multifocality and to identify variables for predicting clinical stage II to III and pathological stage ≥ pT2. Results: Of the 126 patients, 103 (82.0%) had clinical stage I cancer at presentation and 23 (18.0%) had clinical stage II to III. The median size of the primary tumor mass was 3.7 cm (range, 0.5-12 cm) in multifocality and 3.0 cm (range, 0.6-8.0 cm) in monofocality, respectively (P < .05). The prevalence of multifocality and TIN was lower in the presence of a smaller main tumor mass (≤ 1 cm) compared with tumors 1.1 to 2.0 cm (P < .05), and increased when the index mass tumor diameter was ≥ 2 cm (P trend < .05). No association was found between tumor histology and multifocality (P = .95) or TIN (P = .54) using the χ2 test. Conclusion: The prevalence of multifocality and TIN was decreased in smaller tumors (≤ 1 cm) and increased when the index mass tumor diameter was ≥ 1.1 cm

Silent lesions on MRI imaging - Shifting goal posts for treatment decisions in multiple sclerosis.

The current best practice suggests yearly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to monitor treatment response in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients. To evaluate the current practice of clinicians changing MS treatment based on subclinical new MRI lesions alone. Using MSBase, an international MS patient registry with MRI data, we analysed the probability of treatment change among patients with clinically silent new MRI lesions. A total of 8311 MRI brain scans of 4232 patients were identified. Around 26.9% (336/1247) MRIs with one new T2 lesion were followed by disease-modifying therapy (DMT) change, increasing to 50.2% (129/257) with six new T2 lesions. DMT change was twice as likely with new T1 contrast enhancing compared to new T2 lesions odds ratio (OR): 2.43, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.00-2.96 vs OR: 1.26 (95% CI: 1.22-1.29). DMT change with new MRI lesions occurred most frequently with 'injectable' DMTs. The probability of switching therapy was greater only after high-efficacy therapies became available in 2007 (after, OR: 1.43, 95% CI: 1.28-1.59 vs before, OR: 0.98, 95% CI: 0.520-1.88). MS clinicians rely increasingly on MRI alone in their treatment decisions, utilizing low thresholds (1 new T2 lesion) for optimizing MS therapy. This signals a shift towards no evidence of disease activity (NEDA)-3 since high-efficacy therapies became available

Risk of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis after early worsening of disability

Background: Whether progression independent of relapse activity (PIRA) heralds earlier onset of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS) and more rapid accumulation of disability during SPMS remains to be determined. We investigated the association between early PIRA, relapse-associated worsening (RAW) of disability and time to SPMS, subsequent disability progression and their response to therapy. Methods: This observational cohort study included patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) from the MSBase international registry across 146 centres and 39 countries. Associations between the number of PIRA and RAW during early multiple sclerosis (MS) (the initial 5 years of MS onset) were analysed with respect to: time to SPMS using Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for disease characteristics; and disability progression during SPMS, calculated as the change of Multiple Sclerosis Severity Scores over time, using multivariable linear regression. Results: 10 692 patients met the inclusion criteria: 3125 (29%) were men and the mean MS onset age was 32.2 years. A higher number of early PIRA (HR=1.50, 95% CI 1.28 to 1.76, p<0.001) and RAW (HR=2.53, 95% CI 2.25 to 2.85, p<0.001) signalled a higher risk of SPMS. A higher proportion of early disease-modifying therapy exposure (per 10%) reduced the effect of early RAW (HR=0.94, 95% CI 0.89 to 1.00, p=0.041) but not PIRA (HR=0.97, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.05, p=0.49) on SPMS risk. No association between early PIRA/RAW and disability progression during SPMS was found. Conclusions: Early disability increase during RRMS is associated with a greater risk of SPMS but not the rate of disability progression during SPMS. The deterioration associated with early relapses represents a potentially treatable risk factor of SPMS. Trial registration number: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12605000455662)

The

The 10B(p,α)7Be reaction is the main responsible for the 10B destruction in stellar interior [1]. In such environments this p-capture process occurs at a Gamow energy of 10 keV and takes places mainly through a resonant state (Ex = 8.701 MeV) of the compound 11C nucleus. Thus a resonance right in the region of the Gamow peak is expected to significantly influence the behavior of the astrophysical S(E)-factor. The 10B(p,α)7Be reaction was studied via the Trojan Horse Method (THM) applied to the 2H(10B,α7Be)n in order to extract the astrophysical S(E)-factor in a wide energy range from 5 keV to 1.5 MeV

Longitudinal assessment of immuno-metabolic parameters in multiple sclerosis patients during treatment with glatiramer acetate

We investigated the effect of glatiramer acetate (GA) on the modulation of immune cell subpopulations and serum levels of multiple immune/metabolic markers in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) to understand whether the treatment with GA could induce a specific change in the immunometabolic asset of patients with RRMS

Persistence on therapy and propensity matched outcome comparison of two subcutaneous interferon Beta 1a dosages for multiple sclerosis

Objectives: To compare treatment persistence between two dosages of interferon β-1a in a large observational multiple sclerosis registry and assess disease outcomes of first line MS treatment at these dosages using propensity scoring to adjust for baseline imbalance in disease characteristics. Methods: Treatment discontinuations were evaluated in all patients within the MSBase registry who commenced interferon β-1a SC thrice weekly (n = 4678). Furthermore, we assessed 2-year clinical outcomes in 1220 patients treated with interferon β-1a in either dosage (22 µg or 44 µg) as their first disease modifying agent, matched on propensity score calculated from pre-treatment demographic and clinical variables. A subgroup analysis was performed on 456 matched patients who also had baseline MRI variables recorded. Results: Overall, 4054 treatment discontinuations were recorded in 3059 patients. The patients receiving the lower interferon dosage were more likely to discontinue treatment than those with the higher dosage (25% vs. 20% annual probability of discontinuation, respectively). This was seen in discontinuations with reasons recorded as “lack of efficacy” (3.3% vs. 1.7%), “scheduled stop” (2.2% vs. 1.3%) or without the reason recorded (16.7% vs. 13.3% annual discontinuation rate, 22 µg vs. 44 µg dosage, respectively). Propensity score was determined by treating centre and disability (score without MRI parameters) or centre, sex and number of contrast-enhancing lesions (score including MRI parameters). No differences in clinical outcomes at two years (relapse rate, time relapse-free and disability) were observed between the matched patients treated with either of the interferon dosages. Conclusions: Treatment discontinuations were more common in interferon β-1a 22 µg SC thrice weekly. However, 2-year clinical outcomes did not differ between patients receiving the different dosages, thus replicating in a registry dataset derived from “real-world” database the results of the pivotal randomised trial. Propensity score matching effectively minimised baseline covariate imbalance between two directly compared sub-populations from a large observational registry