316 research outputs found
On the nature of progress
15th International Conference, OPODIS 2011, Toulouse, France, December 13-16, 2011. ProceedingsWe identify a simple relationship that unifies seemingly unrelated progress conditions ranging from the deadlock-free and starvation-free properties common to lock-based systems, to non-blocking conditions such as obstruction-freedom, lock-freedom, and wait-freedom.
Properties can be classified along two dimensions based on the demands they make on the operating system scheduler. A gap in the classification reveals a new non-blocking progress condition, weaker than obstruction-freedom, which we call clash-freedom.
The classification provides an intuitively-appealing explanation why programmers continue to devise data structures that mix both blocking and non-blocking progress conditions. It also explains why the wait-free property is a natural basis for the consensus hierarchy: a theory of shared-memory computation requires an independent progress condition, not one that makes demands of the operating system scheduler
Ethics of controlled human infection to study COVID-19
Development of an effective vaccine is the clearest path to controlling the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. To accelerate vaccine development, some researchers are pursuing, and thousands of people have expressed interest in participating in, controlled human infection studies (CHIs) with severe acute respiratory syndrome–coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) (1, 2). In CHIs, a small number of participants are deliberately exposed to a pathogen to study infection and gather preliminary efficacy data on experimental vaccines or treatments. We have been developing a comprehensive, state-of-the-art ethical framework for CHIs that emphasizes their social value as fundamental to justifying these studies. The ethics of CHIs in general are underexplored (3, 4), and ethical examinations of SARS-CoV-2 CHIs have largely focused on whether the risks are acceptable and participants could give valid informed consent (1). The high social value of such CHIs has generally been assumed. Based on our framework, we agree on the ethical conditions for conducting SARS-CoV-2 CHIs (see the table). We differ on whether the social value of such CHIs is sufficient to justify the risks at present, given uncertainty about both in a rapidly evolving situation; yet we see none of our disagreements as insurmountable. We provide ethical guidance for research sponsors, communities, participants, and the essential independent reviewers considering SARS-CoV-2 CHIs
Pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and standard anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy for the neoadjuvant treatment of patients with HER2-positive localized breast cancer (BERENICE) : a phase II, open-label, multicenter, multinational cardiac safety study
Background:
Anti-HER2 therapies are associated with a risk of increased cardiac toxicity, particularly when part of anthracycline-containing regimens. We report cardiac safety of pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant treatment of HER2-positive early breast cancer.
Patients and methods:
BERENICE (NCT02132949) is a nonrandomized, phase II, open-label, multicenter, multinational study in patients with normal cardiac function. In the neoadjuvant period, cohort A patients received four cycles of dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide, then 12 doses of standard paclitaxel plus four standard trastuzumab and pertuzumab cycles. Cohort B patients received four standard fluorouracil/epirubicin/cyclophosphamide cycles, then four docetaxel cycles with four standard trastuzumab and pertuzumab cycles. The primary end point was cardiac safety during neoadjuvant treatment, assessed by the incidence of New York Heart Association class III/IV heart failure and of left ventricular ejection fraction declines ( 6510 percentage-points from baseline and to a value of\u2009<50%). The main efficacy end point was pathologic complete response (pCR, ypT0/is ypN0). Results are descriptive.
Results:
Safety populations were 199 and 198 patients in cohorts A and B, respectively. Three patients [1.5%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.31% to 4.34%] in cohort A experienced four New York Heart Association class III/IV heart failure events. Thirteen patients (6.5%; 95% CI 3.5% to 10.9%) in cohort A and four (2.0%; 95% CI 0.6% to 5.1%) in cohort B experienced at least one left ventricular ejection fraction decline. No new safety signals were identified. pCR rates were 61.8% and 60.7% in cohorts A and B, respectively. The highest pCR rates were in the HER2-enriched PAM50 subtype (75.0% and 73.7%, respectively).
Conclusion:
Treatment with pertuzumab, trastuzumab, and common anthracycline-containing regimens for the neoadjuvant treatment of early breast cancer resulted in cardiac and general safety profiles, and pCR rates, consistent with prior studies with pertuzumab.
Clinical Trial Information: NCT02132949
Oxidative Stress in Dilated Cardiomyopathy Caused by MYBPC3 Mutation
Cardiomyopathies can result from mutations in genes encoding sarcomere proteins including MYBPC3, which encodes cardiac myosin binding protein-C (cMyBP-C). However, whether oxidative stress is augmented due to contractile dysfunction and cardiomyocyte damage in MYBPC3-mutated cardiomyopathies has not been elucidated. To determine whether oxidative stress markers were elevated in MYBPC3-mutated cardiomyopathies, a previously characterized 3-month-old mouse model of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) expressing a homozygous MYBPC3 mutation (cMyBP-C(t/t)) was used, compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Echocardiography confirmed decreased percentage of fractional shortening in DCM versus WT hearts. Histopathological analysis indicated a significant increase in myocardial disarray and fibrosis while the second harmonic generation imaging revealed disorganized sarcomeric structure and my
Dilepton mass spectra in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)= 200 GeV and the contribution from open charm
The PHENIX experiement has measured the electron-positron pair mass spectrum
from 0 to 8 GeV/c^2 in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV. The contributions
from light meson decays to e^+e^- pairs have been determined based on
measurements of hadron production cross sections by PHENIX. They account for
nearly all e^+e^- pairs in the mass region below 1 GeV/c^2. The e^+e^- pair
yield remaining after subtracting these contributions is dominated by
semileptonic decays of charmed hadrons correlated through flavor conservation.
Using the spectral shape predicted by PYTHIA, we estimate the charm production
cross section to be 544 +/- 39(stat) +/- 142(syst) +/- 200(model) \mu b, which
is consistent with QCD calculations and measurements of single leptons by
PHENIX.Comment: 375 authors from 57 institutions, 18 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables.
Submitted to Physics Letters B. v2 fixes technical errors in matching authors
to institutions. 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
Measurement of the B0-anti-B0-Oscillation Frequency with Inclusive Dilepton Events
The - oscillation frequency has been measured with a sample of
23 million \B\bar B pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II
asymmetric B Factory at SLAC. In this sample, we select events in which both B
mesons decay semileptonically and use the charge of the leptons to identify the
flavor of each B meson. A simultaneous fit to the decay time difference
distributions for opposite- and same-sign dilepton events gives ps.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, submitted to Physical Review Letter
Inclusive cross section and double helicity asymmetry for \pi^0 production in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV: Implications for the polarized gluon distribution in the proton
The PHENIX experiment presents results from the RHIC 2005 run with polarized
proton collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV, for inclusive \pi^0 production at
mid-rapidity. Unpolarized cross section results are given for transverse
momenta p_T=0.5 to 20 GeV/c, extending the range of published data to both
lower and higher p_T. The cross section is described well for p_T < 1 GeV/c by
an exponential in p_T, and, for p_T > 2 GeV/c, by perturbative QCD. Double
helicity asymmetries A_LL are presented based on a factor of five improvement
in uncertainties as compared to previously published results, due to both an
improved beam polarization of 50%, and to higher integrated luminosity. These
measurements are sensitive to the gluon polarization in the proton, and exclude
maximal values for the gluon polarization.Comment: 375 authors, 7 pages, 3 figures. 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
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
Recommended from our members
Measurement of Bottom versus Charm as a Function of Transverse Momentum with Electron-Hadron Correlations in p+p Collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV
The momentum distribution of electrons from semi-leptonic decays of charm and
bottom for mid-rapidity |y|<0.35 in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV is
measured by the PHENIX experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC)
over the transverse momentum range 2 < p_T < 7 GeV/c. The ratio of the yield of
electrons from bottom to that from charm is presented. The ratio is determined
using partial D/D^bar --> e^{+/-} K^{-/+} X (K unidentified) reconstruction. It
is found that the yield of electrons from bottom becomes significant above 4
GeV/c in p_T. A fixed-order-plus-next-to-leading-log (FONLL) perturbative
quantum chromodynamics (pQCD) calculation agrees with the data within the
theoretical and experimental uncertainties. The extracted total bottom
production cross section at this energy is \sigma_{b\b^bar}= 3.2
^{+1.2}_{-1.1}(stat) ^{+1.4}_{-1.3}(syst) micro b.Comment: 432 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
Genetic diversity of cultivated accessions and wild species of rubber tree using EST‑SSR markers
- …