Low-Energy Photon-Photon Collisions to Two-Loop Order

We evaluate the amplitude for $\gamma \gamma \rightarrow \pi^0 \pi^0$ to two loops in chiral perturbation theory. The three new counterterms which enter at this order in the low-energy expansion are estimated with resonance saturation. We find that the cross section agrees rather well with the available data and with dispersion theoretic calculations even substantially above threshold. Numerical results for the Compton cross section and for the neutral pion polarizabilities are also given to two-loop accuracy.Comment: 48 pages, LaTex, 11 figs. (figures not included; available upon request from [email protected]),BUTP-93/18,LNF-93/077(P),PSI-PR-93-1

QCD sum rule for nucleon in nuclear matter

We consider the two-point function of nucleon current in nuclear matter and write a QCD sum rule to analyse the residue of the nucleon pole as a function of nuclear density. The nucleon self-energy needed for the sum rule is taken as input from calculations using phenomenological NN potential. Our result shows a decrease in the residue with increasing nuclear density, as is known to be the case with similar quantities

Long-term outcome of patients with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia: a randomized comparison of stem cell transplantation with drug treatment.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors represent today's treatment of choice in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is regarded as salvage therapy. This prospective randomized CML-study IIIA recruited 669 patients with newly diagnosed CML between July 1997 and January 2004 from 143 centers. Of these, 427 patients were considered eligible for HSCT and were randomized by availability of a matched family donor between primary HSCT (group A; N=166 patients) and best available drug treatment (group B; N=261). Primary end point was long-term survival. Survival probabilities were not different between groups A and B (10-year survival: 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.69-0.82) vs 0.69 (95% CI: 0.61-0.76)), but influenced by disease and transplant risk. Patients with a low transplant risk showed superior survival compared with patients with high- (P<0.001) and non-high-risk disease (P=0.047) in group B; after entering blast crisis, survival was not different with or without HSCT. Significantly more patients in group A were in molecular remission (56% vs 39%; P=0.005) and free of drug treatment (56% vs 6%; P<0.001). Differences in symptoms and Karnofsky score were not significant. In the era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, HSCT remains a valid option when both disease and transplant risk are considered

The geology and geophysics of Kuiper Belt object (486958) Arrokoth

The Cold Classical Kuiper Belt, a class of small bodies in undisturbed orbits beyond Neptune, are primitive objects preserving information about Solar System formation. The New Horizons spacecraft flew past one of these objects, the 36 km long contact binary (486958) Arrokoth (2014 MU69), in January 2019. Images from the flyby show that Arrokoth has no detectable rings, and no satellites (larger than 180 meters diameter) within a radius of 8000 km, and has a lightly-cratered smooth surface with complex geological features, unlike those on previously visited Solar System bodies. The density of impact craters indicates the surface dates from the formation of the Solar System. The two lobes of the contact binary have closely aligned poles and equators, constraining their accretion mechanism