1,589 research outputs found
A Study of The Local Toxicity of Agents Used for Variceal Injection Sclerotherapy
Injection sclerotherapy is widely used in the treatment of oesophageal varices. However, few studies
have compared the local toxicity of sclerosant agents which may be important if serious local complications
are to be avoided
A Randomized, Double-Blinded, Phase II Trial of Gemcitabine and Nab-Paclitaxel Plus Apatorsen or Placebo in Patients with Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer: The RAINIER Trial.
Lessons learnedThe addition of the heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27)-targeting antisense oligonucleotide, apatorsen, to a standard first-line chemotherapy regimen did not result in improved survival in unselected patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.Findings from this trial hint at the possible prognostic and predictive value of serum Hsp27 that may warrant further investigation.BackgroundThis randomized, double-blinded, phase II trial evaluated the efficacy of gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel plus either apatorsen, an antisense oligonucleotide targeting heat shock protein 27 (Hsp27) mRNA, or placebo in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer.MethodsPatients were randomized 1:1 to Arm A (gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel plus apatorsen) or Arm B (gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel plus placebo). Treatment was administered in 28-day cycles, with restaging every 2 cycles, until progression or intolerable toxicity. Serum Hsp27 levels were analyzed at baseline and on treatment. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS).ResultsOne hundred thirty-two patients were enrolled, 66 per arm. Cytopenias and fatigue were the most frequent grade 3/4 treatment-related adverse events for both arms. Median progression-free survival (PFS) and OS were 2.7 and 5.3 months, respectively, for arm A, and 3.8 and 6.9 months, respectively, for arm B. Objective response rate was 18% for both arms. Patients with high serum level of Hsp27 represented a poor-prognosis subgroup who may have derived modest benefit from addition of apatorsen.ConclusionAddition of apatorsen to chemotherapy does not improve outcomes in unselected patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer in the first-line setting, although a trend toward prolonged PFS and OS in patients with high baseline serum Hsp27 suggests this therapy may warrant further evaluation in this subgroup
The interaction of lean and building information modeling in construction
Lean construction and Building Information Modeling are quite different initiatives, but both are having profound impacts on the construction industry. A rigorous analysis of the myriad specific interactions between them indicates that a synergy exists which, if properly understood in theoretical terms, can be exploited to improve construction processes beyond the degree to which it might be improved by application of either of these paradigms independently. Using a matrix that juxtaposes BIM functionalities with prescriptive lean construction principles, fifty-six interactions have been identified, all but four of which represent constructive interaction. Although evidence for the majority of these has been found, the matrix is not considered complete, but rather a framework for research to
explore the degree of validity of the interactions. Construction executives, managers, designers and developers of IT systems for construction can also benefit from the framework as an aid to recognizing the potential synergies when planning their lean and BIM adoption strategies
The Distribution, Excitation and Formation of Cometary Molecules: Methanol, Methyl Cyanide and Ethylene Glycol
We present an interferometric and single dish study of small organic species
toward Comets C/1995 O1 (Hale-Bopp) and C/2002 T7 (LINEAR) using the BIMA
interferometer at 3 mm and the ARO 12m telescope at 2 mm. For Comet Hale-Bopp,
both the single-dish and interferometer observations of CH3OH indicate an
excitation temperature of 105+/-5 K and an average production rate ratio
Q(CH3OH)/Q(H2O)~1.3% at ~1 AU. Additionally, the aperture synthesis
observations of CH3OH suggest a distribution well described by a spherical
outflow and no evidence of significant extended emission. Single-dish
observations of CH3CN in Comet Hale-Bopp indicate an excitation temperature of
200+/-10 K and a production rate ratio of Q(CH3CN)/Q(H2O)~0.017% at ~1 AU. The
non-detection of a previously claimed transition of cometary (CH2OH)2 toward
Comet Hale-Bopp with the 12m telescope indicates a compact distribution of
emission, D<9'' (<8500 km). For the single-dish observations of Comet T7
LINEAR, we find an excitation temperature of CH3OH of 35+/-5 K and a CH3OH
production rate ratio of Q(CH3OH)/Q(H2O)~1.5% at ~0.3 AU. Our data support
current chemical models that CH3OH, CH3CN and (CH2OH)2 are parent nuclear
species distributed into the coma via direct sublimation off cometary ices from
the nucleus with no evidence of significant production in the outer coma.Comment: accepted for publication in Ap
Status of the UCNÏ experiment
The neutron is the simplest nuclear system that can be used to probe the structure of the weak interaction and search for physics beyond the standard model. Measurements of neutron lifetime and ÎČ-decay correlation coefficients with precisions of 0.02% and 0.1%, respectively, would allow for stringent constraints on new physics. The UCNÏ experiment uses an asymmetric magneto-gravitational UCN trap with in situ counting of surviving neutrons to measure the neutron lifetime, Ï_n = 877.7s (0.7s)_(stat) (+0.4/â0.2s)_(sys). We discuss the recent result from UCNÏ, the status of ongoing data collection and analysis, and the path toward a 0.25 s measurement of the neutron lifetime with UCNÏ
Position-sensitive detection of ultracold neutrons with an imaging camera and its implications to spectroscopy
Position-sensitive detection of ultracold neutrons (UCNs) is demonstrated
using an imaging charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. A spatial resolution less
than 15 m has been achieved, which is equivalent to an UCN energy
resolution below 2 pico-electron-volts through the relation . Here, the symbols , , and are the
energy resolution, the spatial resolution, the neutron rest mass and the
gravitational acceleration, respectively. A multilayer surface convertor
described previously is used to capture UCNs and then emits visible light for
CCD imaging. Particle identification and noise rejection are discussed through
the use of light intensity profile analysis. This method allows different types
of UCN spectroscopy and other applications.Comment: 12 figures, 28 pages, accepted for publication in NIM
Measurement of the neutron lifetime using an asymmetric magneto- gravitational trap and in situ detection
The precise value of the mean neutron lifetime, , plays an important
role in nuclear and particle physics and cosmology. It is a key input for
predicting the ratio of protons to helium atoms in the primordial universe and
is used to search for new physics beyond the Standard Model of particle
physics. There is a 3.9 standard deviation discrepancy between
measured by counting the decay rate of free neutrons in a beam (887.7 2.2
s) and by counting surviving ultracold neutrons stored for different storage
times in a material trap (878.50.8 s). The experiment described here
eliminates loss mechanisms present in previous trap experiments by levitating
polarized ultracold neutrons above the surface of an asymmetric storage trap
using a repulsive magnetic field gradient so that the stored neutrons do not
interact with material trap walls and neutrons in quasi-stable orbits rapidly
exit the trap. As a result of this approach and the use of a new in situ
neutron detector, the lifetime reported here (877.7 0.7 (stat) +0.4/-0.2
(sys) s) is the first modern measurement of that does not require
corrections larger than the quoted uncertainties.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, 2 table
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