Exceptional Sensitivity to Neutrino Parameters with a Two Baseline Beta-Beam Set-up

We examine the reach of a Beta-beam experiment with two detectors at carefully chosen baselines for exploring neutrino mass parameters. Locating the source at CERN, the two detectors and baselines are: (a) a 50 kton iron calorimeter (ICAL) at a baseline of around 7150 km which is roughly the magic baseline, e.g., ICAL@INO, and (b) a 50 kton Totally Active Scintillator Detector at a distance of 730 km, e.g., at Gran Sasso. We choose 8B/8Li source ions with a boost factor \gamma of 650 for the magic baseline while for the closer detector we consider 18Ne/6He ions with a range of Lorentz boosts. We find that the locations of the two detectors complement each other leading to an exceptional high sensitivity. With \gamma=650 for 8B/8Li and \gamma=575 for 18Ne/6He and total luminosity corresponding to 5\times (1.1 \times 10^{18}) and 5\times (2.9\times 10^{18}) useful ion decays in neutrino and antineutrino modes respectively, we find that our two detector set-up can probe maximal CP violation and establish the neutrino mass ordering if \sin^22\theta_{13} is 1.4\times 10^{-4} and 2.7\times 10^{-4}, respectively, or more. The sensitivity reach for \sin^22\theta_{13} itself is 5.5 \times 10^{-4}. With a factor of 10 higher luminosity, the corresponding \sin^22\theta_{13} reach of this set-up would be 1.8\times 10^{-5}, 4.6\times 10^{-5} and 5.3\times 10^{-5} respectively for the above three performance indicators. CP violation can be discovered for 64% of the possible \delta_{CP} values for \sin^22\theta_{13} \geq 10^{-3} (\geq 8\times 10^{-5}), for the standard luminosity (10 times enhanced luminosity). Comparable physics performance can be achieved in a set-up where data from CERN to INO@ICAL is combined with that from CERN to the Boulby mine in United Kingdom, a baseline of 1050 km.Comment: 24 pages, 5 figures, version to appear in Nucl.Phys.

El universo narrativo de Juan Marsé

Muy apreciadas tanto por la crítica como por el público, las novelas de Juan Marsé (1933-2020) forman ahora parte del imaginario literario y cultural compartido de la España del siglo XX. No por casualidad, Juan Marsé fue leído por un público cada vez más numeroso, en especial tras la irrupción de la nueva narrativa española de los años setenta y ochenta, y reconocido por la crítica y las instituciones culturales con premios tan relevantes como el Premio Biblioteca Breve (1966), Premio Planeta (1978), Premio Ciutat de Barcelona (1985), Premio Europa de Literatura (1994), Premio Juan Rulfo (1997), Premio Nacional de Narrativa (2001) o Premio Cervantes (2008). Así pues, la escritura de Juan Marsé y su influencia en el panorama literario español abarca más de medio siglo, desde las novelas publicadas en los años 60 (con especial mención a Últimas tardes con Teresa, 1966), en el intersticio de la Transición (Si te dicen que caí, 1973; La muchacha de las bragas de oro, 1978) o durante los años de la democracia recuperada (Ronda del Guinardó, 1984; El embrujo de Shanghai, 1993; Rabos de lagartija, 2000). Así pues, aunque el escritor está generalmente incluido en la Generación del 50 y en la Escuela de Barcelona, la narrativa de Juan Marsé se inserta en debates literarios, culturales y sociales de un periodo extenso de la historia de España, desde la dictadura hasta la democracia, y en la configuración de un sistema literario moderno como el fraguado tras la muerte del dictador Francisco Franco, del fin de la dictadura y la construcción de la democracia. En esa narrativa, encontramos elementos recurrentes: Barcelona, su ciudad natal y la representación de los barrios populares; personajes adolescentes o muy jóvenes, que proceden de aspectos autobiográficos o que se asemejan a las novelas de formación; la posguerra y la miseria que de ella se deriva; las clases populares, los migrantes y charnegos, la jerga, la cosmovisión y los códigos de conducta que emplean; la cuestión de la identidad; etc. Todo ello, sin perder de vista el trabajo de forma del escritor, el punto de vista íntimo o las técnicas narrativas complejas

The STRIP instrument of the Large Scale Polarization Explorer: microwave eyes to map the Galactic polarized foregrounds

In this paper we discuss the latest developments of the STRIP instrument of the "Large Scale Polarization Explorer" (LSPE) experiment. LSPE is a novel project that combines ground-based (STRIP) and balloon-borne (SWIPE) polarization measurements of the microwave sky on large angular scales to attempt a detection of the "B-modes" of the Cosmic Microwave Background polarization. STRIP will observe approximately 25% of the Northern sky from the "Observatorio del Teide" in Tenerife, using an array of forty-nine coherent polarimeters at 43 GHz, coupled to a 1.5 m fully rotating crossed-Dragone telescope. A second frequency channel with six-elements at 95 GHz will be exploited as an atmospheric monitor. At present, most of the hardware of the STRIP instrument has been developed and tested at sub-system level. System-level characterization, starting in July 2018, will lead STRIP to be shipped and installed at the observation site within the end of the year. The on-site verification and calibration of the whole instrument will prepare STRIP for a 2-years campaign for the observation of the CMB polarization.Comment: 17 pages, 15 figures, proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation conference "Millimeter, Submillimeter, and Far-Infrared Detectors and Instrumentation for Astronomy IX", on June 15th, 2018, Austin (TX

Precision on leptonic mixing parameters at future neutrino oscillation experiments

We perform a comparison of the different future neutrino oscillation experiments based on the achievable precision in the determination of the fundamental parameters theta_{13} and the CP phase, delta, assuming that theta_{13} is in the range indicated by the recent Daya Bay measurement. We study the non-trivial dependence of the error on delta on its true value. When matter effects are small, the largest error is found at the points where CP violation is maximal, and the smallest at the CP conserving points. The situation is different when matter effects are sizable. As a result of this effect, the comparison of the physics reach of different experiments on the basis of the CP discovery potential, as usually done, can be misleading. We have compared various proposed super-beam, beta-beam and neutrino factory setups on the basis of the relative precision of theta_{13} and the error on delta. Neutrino factories, both high-energy or low-energy, outperform alternative beam technologies. An ultimate precision on theta_{13} below 3% and an error on delta of < 7^{\circ} at 1 sigma (1 d.o.f.) can be obtained at a neutrino factory.Comment: Minor changes, matches version accepted in JHEP. 30 pages, 9 figure

Primary temporal bone angiosarcoma: a case report.

We present a rare case of temporal bone angiosarcoma diagnosed in a 26-year-old female patient at 36 week of pregnancy. The patient was referred with a 2 months history of left otalgia and tinnitus with a tender swelling above the mastoid. Cranial imaging studies showed a 7 x 5 x 4 cm hypervascularized mass located in the left middle fossa with lysis of the temporal bone and extension to the subcutis. After the baby was delivered by caesarean section, the patient entered the oncology protocol. Selective embolization of the feeding vessels was followed by gross total surgical resection using a combined supra- and infra-tentorial approach. Pathological findings were those of a poorly differentiated, highly malignant sarcoma with a large epitheloid component and immunohistochemical evidence of endothelial differentiation (CD31, Factor VIII related antigen, CD34), consistent with an angiosarcoma with epitheloid features. No extra-cranial tumor was found after extensive staging. The patient received adjuvant radiotherapy followed by a course of chemotherapy consisting of 6 cycles of paclitaxel. At 15 months follow-up, she developed multiple distant metastasis to a left postauricular lymph node and to the lungs and ribs. The patient was given a second line chemotherapy using doxorubicine and ifosfamide. Despite an initial good response, she died with metastatic disease 26 months after diagnosis. We present a rare case of primary temporal bone angiosarcoma and report our experience with a multimode therapeutic approach combining surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy.Peer reviewe

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Improved risk stratification of patients with atrial fibrillation: an integrated GARFIELD-AF tool for the prediction of mortality, stroke and bleed in patients with and without anticoagulation.

OBJECTIVES: To provide an accurate, web-based tool for stratifying patients with atrial fibrillation to facilitate decisions on the potential benefits/risks of anticoagulation, based on mortality, stroke and bleeding risks. DESIGN: The new tool was developed, using stepwise regression, for all and then applied to lower risk patients. C-statistics were compared with CHA2DS2-VASc using 30-fold cross-validation to control for overfitting. External validation was undertaken in an independent dataset, Outcome Registry for Better Informed Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation (ORBIT-AF). PARTICIPANTS: Data from 39 898 patients enrolled in the prospective GARFIELD-AF registry provided the basis for deriving and validating an integrated risk tool to predict stroke risk, mortality and bleeding risk. RESULTS: The discriminatory value of the GARFIELD-AF risk model was superior to CHA2DS2-VASc for patients with or without anticoagulation. C-statistics (95% CI) for all-cause mortality, ischaemic stroke/systemic embolism and haemorrhagic stroke/major bleeding (treated patients) were: 0.77 (0.76 to 0.78), 0.69 (0.67 to 0.71) and 0.66 (0.62 to 0.69), respectively, for the GARFIELD-AF risk models, and 0.66 (0.64-0.67), 0.64 (0.61-0.66) and 0.64 (0.61-0.68), respectively, for CHA2DS2-VASc (or HAS-BLED for bleeding). In very low to low risk patients (CHA2DS2-VASc 0 or 1 (men) and 1 or 2 (women)), the CHA2DS2-VASc and HAS-BLED (for bleeding) scores offered weak discriminatory value for mortality, stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding. C-statistics for the GARFIELD-AF risk tool were 0.69 (0.64 to 0.75), 0.65 (0.56 to 0.73) and 0.60 (0.47 to 0.73) for each end point, respectively, versus 0.50 (0.45 to 0.55), 0.59 (0.50 to 0.67) and 0.55 (0.53 to 0.56) for CHA2DS2-VASc (or HAS-BLED for bleeding). Upon validation in the ORBIT-AF population, C-statistics showed that the GARFIELD-AF risk tool was effective for predicting 1-year all-cause mortality using the full and simplified model for all-cause mortality: C-statistics 0.75 (0.73 to 0.77) and 0.75 (0.73 to 0.77), respectively, and for predicting for any stroke or systemic embolism over 1 year, C-statistics 0.68 (0.62 to 0.74). CONCLUSIONS: Performance of the GARFIELD-AF risk tool was superior to CHA2DS2-VASc in predicting stroke and mortality and superior to HAS-BLED for bleeding, overall and in lower risk patients. The GARFIELD-AF tool has the potential for incorporation in routine electronic systems, and for the first time, permits simultaneous evaluation of ischaemic stroke, mortality and bleeding risks. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362) and for ORBIT-AF (NCT01165710)

Two-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation: results from GARFIELD-AF.

AIMS: The relationship between outcomes and time after diagnosis for patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) is poorly defined, especially beyond the first year. METHODS AND RESULTS: GARFIELD-AF is an ongoing, global observational study of adults with newly diagnosed NVAF. Two-year outcomes of 17 162 patients prospectively enrolled in GARFIELD-AF were analysed in light of baseline characteristics, risk profiles for stroke/systemic embolism (SE), and antithrombotic therapy. The mean (standard deviation) age was 69.8 (11.4) years, 43.8% were women, and the mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 3.3 (1.6); 60.8% of patients were prescribed anticoagulant therapy with/without antiplatelet (AP) therapy, 27.4% AP monotherapy, and 11.8% no antithrombotic therapy. At 2-year follow-up, all-cause mortality, stroke/SE, and major bleeding had occurred at a rate (95% confidence interval) of 3.83 (3.62; 4.05), 1.25 (1.13; 1.38), and 0.70 (0.62; 0.81) per 100 person-years, respectively. Rates for all three major events were highest during the first 4 months. Congestive heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, sudden/unwitnessed death, malignancy, respiratory failure, and infection/sepsis accounted for 65% of all known causes of death and strokes for <10%. Anticoagulant treatment was associated with a 35% lower risk of death. CONCLUSION: The most frequent of the three major outcome measures was death, whose most common causes are not known to be significantly influenced by anticoagulation. This suggests that a more comprehensive approach to the management of NVAF may be needed to improve outcome. This could include, in addition to anticoagulation, interventions targeting modifiable, cause-specific risk factors for death. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

The large scale polarization explorer (LSPE) for CMB measurements: performance forecast

The measurement of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation is one of the current frontiers in cosmology. In particular, the detection of the primordial divergence-free component of the polarization field, the B-mode, could reveal the presence of gravitational waves in the early Universe. The detection of such a component is at the moment the most promising technique to probe the inflationary theory describing the very early evolution of the Universe. We present the updated performance forecast of the Large Scale Polarization Explorer (LSPE), a program dedicated to the measurement of the CMB polarization. LSPE is composed of two instruments: LSPE-Strip, a radiometer-based telescope on the ground in Tenerife-Teide observatory, and LSPE-SWIPE (Short-Wavelength Instrument for the Polarization Explorer) a bolometer-based instrument designed to fly on a winter arctic stratospheric long-duration balloon. The program is among the few dedicated to observation of the Northern Hemisphere, while most of the international effort is focused into ground-based observation in the Southern Hemisphere. Measurements are currently scheduled in Winter 2022/23 for LSPE-SWIPE, with a flight duration up to 15 days, and in Summer 2022 with two years observations for LSPE-Strip. We describe the main features of the two instruments, identifying the most critical aspects of the design, in terms of impact on the performance forecast. We estimate the expected sensitivity of each instrument and propagate their combined observing power to the sensitivity to cosmological parameters, including the effect of scanning strategy, component separation, residual foregrounds and partial sky coverage. We also set requirements on the control of the most critical systematic effects and describe techniques to mitigate their impact. LSPE will reach a sensitivity in tensor-to-scalar ratio of σr < 0.01, set an upper limit r < 0.015 at 95% confidence level, and improve constraints on other cosmological parameters