Ohm's Law for Plasma in General Relativity and Cowling's Theorem

The general-relativistic Ohm's law for a two-component plasma which includes the gravitomagnetic force terms even in the case of quasi-neutrality has been derived. The equations that describe the electromagnetic processes in a plasma surrounding a neutron star are obtained by using the general relativistic form of Maxwell equations in a geometry of slow rotating gravitational object. In addition to the general-relativistic effect first discussed by Khanna \& Camenzind (1996) we predict a mechanism of the generation of azimuthal current under the general relativistic effect of dragging of inertial frames on radial current in a plasma around neutron star. The azimuthal current being proportional to the angular velocity $\omega$ of the dragging of inertial frames can give valuable contribution on the evolution of the stellar magnetic field if $\omega$ exceeds $2.7\times 10^{17} (n/\sigma) \textrm{s}^{-1}$ ($n$ is the number density of the charged particles, $\sigma$ is the conductivity of plasma). Thus in general relativity a rotating neutron star, embedded in plasma, can in principle generate axial-symmetric magnetic fields even in axisymmetry. However, classical Cowling's antidynamo theorem, according to which a stationary axial-symmetric magnetic field can not be sustained against ohmic diffusion, has to be hold in the general-relativistic case for the typical plasma being responsible for the rotating neutron star.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysics & Space Scienc

546 Results from Phase Ib study of tebentafusp (tebe) in combination with durvalumab (durva) and/or tremelimumab (treme) in metastatic cutaneous melanoma (mCM)

BackgroundTebe, a T cell receptor fused to an anti-CD3 effector, can redirect T cells to target gp100+ cells and in Ph3, demonstrated overall survival (OS) benefit as monotherapy in metastatic uveal melanoma. In Ph2, any tumor shrinkage (44% of patients) was a better predictor of OS than response rate. In Ph1, Tebe had monotherapy activity in mCM, also a gp100+ tumor, with 1-year OS ~74% in PD-1 naïve mCM. A Ph1 dose escalation of tebe with durva (anti-PD-L1) and/or treme (anti-CTLA4) was conducted in pre-treated mCM [NCT02535078], with nearly all patients having prior PD1-treatment, and where recently reported therapies have 1-yr OS of ~55%.MethodsHeavily pre-treated HLA-A2+ mCM patients received weekly IV tebe alone (Arm 4) or with increasing doses of durva and/or treme (Arm 1–3) administered IV monthly starting day 15 of each cycle. Primary objective was to identify RP2D of combination therapy. Secondary objectives included adverse events (AE) and efficacy.Results112 pts received ≥1 tebe dose. Median age was 59, 77% were ECOG 0, and 37% were BRAFm (of which 71% received prior BRAFi/MEKi). 91% of pts were 2L+, while 74% were 3L+. 103 (92%) received prior PD-1 inhibitor, of which 87% also received prior ipilimumab. 43 pts received tebe + durva (Arm 1), 13 received tebe + treme (Arm 2), 29 received triplet therapy (Arm 3), and 27 received tebe alone (Arm 4). Maximum target doses of tebe (68 mcg) + durva (20 mg/kg) and treme (1 mg/kg) were tolerated. MTD was not formally identified for any arm. Two DLTs occurred: prolonged grade 3 rash (Arm 1) and grade 2 diarrhea leading to treatment delay (Arm 2). Related AEs that were Grade ≥3 or led to discontinuations were: 44%/0% (Arm 1), 23%/0% (Arm2), 38%/7% (Arm3), 26%/4% (Arm 4). There were no treatment-related deaths.In prior PD-1 pts, tumor shrinkage occurred in 36% and 1-yr OS was 68%. Of 51 evaluable PD-1 resistant pts (best response CR/PR/SD to prior PD1), tumor shrinkage occurred in 28% and 1-yr OS was 73% (figure 1). In 35 evaluable PD-1 refractory pts (prior best response PD), tumor shrinkage occurred in 49% and 1-yr OS was 61%. For 38 prior PD-1 pts who received ≥10mg/kg durva, 1-yr OS was 81%.Abstract 546 Figure 1% tumor change from baseline in evaluable patients with known response to prior PD1 exposureConclusionsTebe with anti-PD-L1 and/or anti-CTLA4 had an acceptable safety profile. Tebe + durva demonstrated durable tumor shrinkage and promising 1-yr OS rates in prior-PD1 treated mCM relative to recent reports.Trial RegistrationNCT02535078Ethics ApprovalThe institutional review board or independent ethics committee at each center approved the trial. The trial was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the International Conference on Harmonization Good Clinical Practice guidelines

A First Search for coincident Gravitational Waves and High Energy Neutrinos using LIGO, Virgo and ANTARES data from 2007

We present the results of the first search for gravitational wave bursts associated with high energy neutrinos. Together, these messengers could reveal new, hidden sources that are not observed by conventional photon astronomy, particularly at high energy. Our search uses neutrinos detected by the underwater neutrino telescope ANTARES in its 5 line configuration during the period January - September 2007, which coincided with the fifth and first science runs of LIGO and Virgo, respectively. The LIGO-Virgo data were analysed for candidate gravitational-wave signals coincident in time and direction with the neutrino events. No significant coincident events were observed. We place limits on the density of joint high energy neutrino - gravitational wave emission events in the local universe, and compare them with densities of merger and core-collapse events.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, science summary page at http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S5LV_ANTARES/index.php. Public access area to figures, tables at https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p120000

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Measurement of isolated photon production in pp and PbPb collisions at sqrt(sNN) = 2.76 TeV

Isolated photon production is measured in proton-proton and lead-lead collisions at nucleon-nucleon centre-of-mass energies of 2.76 TeV in the pseudorapidity range |eta|<1.44 and transverse energies ET between 20 and 80 GeV with the CMS detector at the LHC. The measured ET spectra are found to be in good agreement with next-to-leading-order perturbative QCD predictions. The ratio of PbPb to pp isolated photon ET-differential yields, scaled by the number of incoherent nucleon-nucleon collisions, is consistent with unity for all PbPb reaction centralities.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO

A comparative stratigraphy of cilicia : Results of the first three cilician chronology workshops

This article presents a preliminary comparative stratigraphy of excavated sites in Plain Cilicia and one in Rough Cilicia. It is the outcome of three workshops held in 2014, 2015 and 2017. Plain Cilicia at the junction of Anatolia, Syro-Mesopotamia and Cyprus is one of the most fertile regions of the Ancient Near East. In recent years, archaeological research in the region has intensified, re-opening questions of chronology. The comparative stratigraphy discussed in the workshops is presented here in form of a gazetteer of the participating sites and a chart. This is to be understood as a first step towards a more comprehensive chronology

Tebentafusp in Combination With Durvalumab And/or Tremelimumab in Patients With Metastatic Cutaneous Melanoma: A Phase 1 Study

BACKGROUND: Immune checkpoint inhibitors have significantly improved outcomes in first line cutaneous melanoma. However, there is a high unmet need for patients who progress on these therapies and combination therapies are being explored to improve outcomes. Tebentafusp is a first-in-class gp100×CD3 ImmTAC bispecific that demonstrated overall survival (OS) benefit (HR 0.51) in metastatic uveal melanoma despite a modest overall response rate of 9%. This phase 1b trial evaluated the safety and initial efficacy of tebentafusp in combination with durvalumab (anti-programmed death ligand 1 (PDL1)) and/or tremelimumab (anti-cytotoxic T lymphocyte-associated antigen 4) in patients with metastatic cutaneous melanoma (mCM), the majority of whom progressed on prior checkpoint inhibitors. METHODS: In this open-label, multicenter, phase 1b, dose-escalation trial, HLA-A*02:01-positive patients with mCM received weekly intravenous tebentafusp with increasing monthly doses of durvalumab and/or tremelimumab starting day 15 of each cycle. The primary objective was to identify the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or recommended phase 2 dose for each combination. Efficacy analyses were performed in all tebentafusp with durvalumab±tremelimumab treated patients with a sensitivity analysis in those who progressed on prior anti-PD(L)1 therapy. RESULTS: 85 patients were assigned to receive tebentafusp in combination with durvalumab (n=43), tremelimumab (n=13), or durvalumab and tremelimumab (n=29). Patients were heavily pretreated with a median of 3 prior lines of therapy, including 76 (89%) who received prior anti-PD(L)1. Maximum target doses of tebentafusp (68 mcg) alone or in combination with durvalumab (20 mg/kg) and tremelimumab (1 mg/kg) were tolerated; MTD was not formally identified for any arm. Adverse event profile was consistent with each individual therapy and there were no new safety signals nor treatment-related deaths. In the efficacy subset (n=72), the response rate was 14%, tumor shrinkage rate was 41% and 1-year OS rate was 76% (95% CI: 70% to 81%). The 1-year OS for triplet combination (79%; 95% CI: 71% to 86%) was similar to tebentafusp plus durvalumab (74%; 95% CI: 67% to 80%). CONCLUSION: At maximum target doses, the safety of tebentafusp with checkpoint inhibitors was consistent with safety of each individual therapy. Tebentafusp with durvalumab demonstrated promising efficacy in heavily pretreated patients with mCM, including those who progressed on prior anti-PD(L)1. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: NCT02535078