Numerical issues in integrating holonomic kinematic inversion algorithms for redundant manipulators

n/

Targeting immune-related biological processes in solid tumors : we do need biomarkers

Immunotherapy has become the standard-of-care in many solid tumors. Despite the significant recent achievements in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, several issues related to patients' selection for immunotherapy remain unsolved. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that, in this setting, the vision of a single biomarker is somewhat na\uefve and imprecise, given that immunotherapy does not follow the rules that we have experienced in the past for targeted therapies. On the other hand, additional immune-related biomarkers that are reliable in real-life clinical practice remain to be identified. Recently, the immune-checkpoint blockade has been approved in the US irrespective of the tumor site of origin. Further histology-agnostic approvals, coupled with with tumor-specific companion diagnostics and guidelines, are expected in this field. In addition, immune-related biomarkers can also have a significant prognostic value. In this review, we provide an overview of the role of these biomarkers and their characterization in the management of lung cancer, melanoma, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer, head and neck cancer, renal cell carcinoma, urothelial cancers, and breast cancer

A Comparative Study Of The Magnetocaloric Effect In Rni2 (r=nd,gd,tb) Intermetallic Compounds

Conventional and anisotropic magnetocaloric effects were studied in cubic rare earth RNi2 (R=Nd,Gd,Tb) ferromagnetic intermetallic compounds. These three compounds are representative of small, null, and large magnetocrystalline anisotropy in the series, respectively. Magnetic measurements were performed in polycrystalline samples in order to obtain the isothermal magnetocaloric data, which were confronted with theoretical results based on mean field calculations. For the R=Tb case, we explore the crystalline electrical-field anisotropy to predict the anisotropic magnetocaloric behavior due to the rotation of an applied magnetic field of constant intensity. Our results suggest the possibility of using both conventional and anisotropic magnetic entropy changes to extend the range of temperatures for use in the magnetocaloric effect. © 2009 American Institute of Physics.1051Pecharsky, V.K., Gschneidner Jr., K.A., (1997) Phys. Rev. Lett., 78, p. 4494. , 0031-9007 10.1103/PhysRevLett.78.4494Pecharsky, V.K., Gschneidner Jr., K.A., (1997) Appl. Phys. Lett., 70, p. 3299. , 0003-6951 10.1063/1.119206Von Ranke, P.J., De Oliveira, N.A., Mello, C., Garcia, D.C., De Souza, V.A., Carvalho, A.M.G., (2006) Phys. Rev. B, 74, p. 054425. , 0163-1829 10.1103/PhysRevB.74.054425De Oliveira, I.G., Garcia, D.C., Von Ranke, P.J., (2007) J. Appl. Phys., 102, p. 073907. , 0021-8979 10.1063/1.2783781Lima, A.L., Tsokol, A.O., Gschneidner Jr., K.A., Pecharsky, V.K., Lograsso, T.A., Schlagel, D.L., (2005) Phys. Rev. B, 72, p. 024403. , 0163-1829 10.1103/PhysRevB.72.024403Von Ranke, P.J., De Oliveira, N.A., Garcia, D.C., De Souza, V.S.R., De Souza, V.A., Carvalho, A.M.G., Gama, S., Reis, M.S., (2007) Phys. Rev. B, 75, p. 184420. , 0163-1829 10.1103/PhysRevB.75.184420Carvalho, A.M.G., Campoy, J.C.P., Coelho, A.A., Plaza, E.J.R., Gama, S., Von Ranke, P.J., (2005) J. Appl. Phys., 97, p. 083905. , 0021-8979 10.1063/1.1876575Plaza, E.J.R., De Sousa, V.S.R., Alho, B.P., Von Ranke, P.J., (unpublished)Von Ranke, P.J., De Oliveira, N.A., Plaza, E.J.R., De Souza, V.S.R., Alho, B., Carvalho, A.M.G., Gama, S., Reis, M.S., (2008) J. Appl. Phys., 104, p. 093906. , 0021-8979 10.1063/1.3009974Lindbaum, A., Gratz, E., Heathman, S., (2002) Phys. Rev. B, 65, p. 134114. , 0163-1829 10.1103/PhysRevB.65.134114Purwins, H.G., Leson, A., (1990) Adv. Phys., 39, p. 309. , 0001-8732 10.1080/00018739000101511Lea, K.R., Leask, M.J.M., Wolf, W.P., (1962) J. Phys. Chem. Solids, 23, p. 1381. , 0022-3697 10.1016/0022-3697(62)90192-0Stevens, K.W.H., (1952) Proc. Phys. Soc., London, Sect. A, 65, p. 209. , 0370-1298 10.1088/0370-1298/65/3/308Von Ranke, P.J., Pecharsky, V.K., Gschneidner Jr., K.A., (1998) Phys. Rev. B, 58, p. 12110. , 0163-1829 10.1103/PhysRevB.58.12110Von Ranke, P.J., Nóbrega, E.P., De Oliveira, I.G., Gomes, A.M., Sarthour, R.S., (2001) Phys. Rev. B, 63, p. 184406. , 0163-1829 10.1103/PhysRevB.63.18440

The COMPASS Experiment at CERN

The COMPASS experiment makes use of the CERN SPS high-intensitymuon and hadron beams for the investigation of the nucleon spin structure and the spectroscopy of hadrons. One or more outgoing particles are detected in coincidence with the incoming muon or hadron. A large polarized target inside a superconducting solenoid is used for the measurements with the muon beam. Outgoing particles are detected by a two-stage, large angle and large momentum range spectrometer. The setup is built using several types of tracking detectors, according to the expected incident rate, required space resolution and the solid angle to be covered. Particle identification is achieved using a RICH counter and both hadron and electromagnetic calorimeters. The setup has been successfully operated from 2002 onwards using a muon beam. Data with a hadron beam were also collected in 2004. This article describes the main features and performances of the spectrometer in 2004; a short summary of the 2006 upgrade is also given.Comment: 84 papes, 74 figure

Transverse spin effects in hadron-pair production from semi-inclusive deep inelastic scattering

First measurements of azimuthal asymmetries in hadron-pair production in deep-inelastic scattering of muons on transversely polarised ^6LiD (deuteron) and NH_3 (proton) targets are presented. The data were taken in the years 2002-2004 and 2007 with the COMPASS spectrometer using a muon beam of 160 GeV/c at the CERN SPS. The asymmetries provide access to the transversity distribution functions, without involving the Collins effect as in single hadron production. The sizeable asymmetries measured on the NH_ target indicate non-vanishing u-quark transversity and two-hadron interference fragmentation functions. The small asymmetries measured on the ^6LiD target can be interpreted as indication for a cancellation of u- and d-quark transversities.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, updated to the published versio

The Spin-dependent Structure Function of the Proton g_1^p and a Test of the Bjorken Sum Rule

The inclusive double-spin asymmetry, A_1^p, has been measured at COMPASS in deepinelastic polarised muon scattering off a large polarised NH3 target. The data, collected in the year 2007, cover the range Q2 > 1 (GeV/c)^2, 0.004 < x < 0.7 and improve the statistical precision of g_1^p(x) by a factor of two in the region x < 0.02. The new proton asymmetries are combined with those previously published for the deuteron to extract the non-singlet spin-dependent structure function g_1^NS(x,Q2). The isovector quark density, Delta_q_3(x,Q2), is evaluated from a NLO QCD fit of g_1^NS. The first moment of Delta_q3 is in good agreement with the value predicted by the Bjorken sum rule and corresponds to a ratio of the axial and vector coupling constants g_A/g_V = 1.28+-0.07(stat)+-0.10(syst).Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure

Leading order determination of the gluon polarisation from DIS events with high-p_T hadron pairs

We present a determination of the gluon polarisation Delta g/g in the nucleon, based on the longitudinal double-spin asymmetry of DIS events with a pair of large transverse-momentum hadrons in the final state. The data were obtained by the COMPASS experiment at CERN using a 160 GeV/c polarised muon beam scattering off a polarised ^6LiD target. The gluon polarisation is evaluated by a Neural Network approach for three intervals of the gluon momentum fraction x_g covering the range 0.04 < x_g < 0.27. The values obtained at leading order in QCD do not show any significant dependence on x_g. Their average is Delta g/g = 0.125 +/- 0.060 (stat.) +/- 0.063 (syst.) at x_g=0.09 and a scale of mu^2 = 3 (GeV/c)^2.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures and 3 table

Measurement of the Collins and Sivers asymmetries on transversely polarised protons

The Collins and Sivers asymmetries for charged hadrons produced in deeply inelastic scattering on transversely polarised protons have been extracted from the data collected in 2007 with the CERN SPS muon beam tuned at 160 GeV/c. At large values of the Bjorken x variable non-zero Collins asymmetries are observed both for positive and negative hadrons while the Sivers asymmetry for positive hadrons is slightly positive over almost all the measured x range. These results nicely support the present theoretical interpretation of these asymmetries, in terms of leading-twist quark distribution and fragmentation functions.Comment: 9 Pages, 5 figure

Quark helicity distributions from longitudinal spin asymmetries in muon-proton and muon-deuteron scattering

Double-spin asymmetries for production of charged pions and kaons in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic muon scattering have been measured by the COMPASS experiment at CERN. The data, obtained by scattering a 160 GeV muon beam off a longitudinally polarised NH_3 target, cover a range of the Bjorken variable x between 0.004 and 0.7. A leading order evaluation of the helicity distributions for the three lightest quarks and antiquark flavours derived from these asymmetries and from our previous deuteron data is presented. The resulting values of the sea quark distributions are small and do not show any sizable dependence on x in the range of the measurements. No significant difference is observed between the strange and antistrange helicity distributions, both compatible with zero. The integrated value of the flavour asymmetry of the helicity distribution of the light-quark sea, \Delta u-bar - \Delta d-bar, is found to be slightly positive, about 1.5 standard deviations away from zero.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figure

Exclusive rho^0 muoproduction on transversely polarised protons and deuterons

The transverse target spin azimuthal asymmetry A_UT in hard exclusive production of rho^0 mesons was measured at COMPASS by scattering 160 GeV/c muons off transversely polarised protons and deuterons. The measured asymmetry is sensitive to the nucleon helicity-flip generalised parton distributions E^q, which are related to the orbital angular momentum of quarks in the nucleon. The Q^2, x_B and p_t^2 dependence of A_UT is presented in a wide kinematic range. Results for deuterons are obtained for the first time. The measured asymmetry is small in the whole kinematic range for both protons and deuterons, which is consistent with the theoretical interpretation that contributions from GPDs E^u and E^d approximately cancel.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures and 4 tables, updated author lis