A Gravimetric Support Network for Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry

With the introduction of portable atom interferometers (AI), a genuinely independent method for the determination of g is available for the first time since the introduction of laser interferometer based instruments. Current AIs offer several advantages and already reach the accuracy of classical sensors. Additionally, a small number of stationary experiments were implemented for research in fundamental physics and geodesy. These instruments, extending the free fall distance of atoms to several meters, allow for longer evolution times of the wave function, thereby increasing the sensitivity of the AI compared to decimetres in portable devices. The construction of an AI with a 9 m interaction zone is currently being completed at Leibniz University Hannover. The knowledge of g and its gradient is required for the evaluation of systematic effects and uncertainties in AI experiments. Therefore, a gravimetric control network connected to one absolute gravimeter pier was established and repeatedly observed during the construction of the Very Long Baseline Atom Interferometry facility (VLBAI). Before the installation of the instrument, this network included the central axis of the VLBAI and one vertical off-axis parallel profile. The latter profile can also be observed during operation of the VLBAI. The effect of local gravity changes, e. g., hydrology, is comparable to 1 nm/s² on both axes. The gravimetric measurements serve as a reference during initial tests of the VLBAI. Repeated observations in the future will be used to characterize the effect of local hydrology and other mass variations along the vertical axis. A model of the research building and groundwater level monitoring supplements the gravimetric network. As the VLBAI is capable of measuring g and its vertical gradient with higher accuracy (<1 nm/s²) than classical instruments, the model will be used to transfer g to a gravimetry laboratory for gravimeter comparisons. We present our strategy for gravimetric control of the VLBAI. This will provide a reference at first and will later be used to establish the VLBAI as a reference for gravimeter comparisons. The results of the first gravimetric campaigns and the comparison with the model of the VLBAI environment show an agreement within the instrumental uncertainties of the relative gravimeters used

The Advocate

Headlines Include: Laurels For Feerick: An Alumnus To Remember; Crime at Fordham; Who\u27s Next?, Film at 11https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/student_the_advocate/1007/thumbnail.jp

The Nature and Conceptualisation of Career Transitions in Sport

First paragraph: While an athlete’s sports career may seem to develop in a smooth and continuous way from beginning to end, it is in fact characterized by specific phases and transitions. Asked to describe its development, athletes highlight their athletic career, for example, in terms of specific moments or situations which occurred throughout their career (Wylleman & De Knop, 1997a,b). These moments or situations do not only require athletes to cope with specific changes, but are also perceived by the athletes to influence the quality of their participation at their current competitive level. The occurrence of phases and transitions in the athletic career can also be illustrated by chronologically pin-pointing athletes’ sport achievements (e.g., a first national championship title) and selections (e.g., selection for the national team). Comparison of such developmental data has revealed many similarities in (elite) athletes’ athletic careers (Stambulova, 1998; Wylleman & De Knop, 1998): athletes start out in their sport at the ages of approximately 8 to 12 years-of-age; one or two years later athletes start competing at club level, and go, some three to four years later on to national level; a first selection for a national team occurs somewhere between 17-19 years-of-age, while a first Olympic selection is achieved during their early twenties; and finally, athletes do end their involvement in highlevel competitive sport at approximately 30 years-of-age (3). In fact, researchers have been able to identify a sequence of career developmental phases, not only with elite level athletes, but with talented performers in general, namely an initiation, a development, a mastery, and a post-career phase (e.g., Bloom, 1985; Salmela; 1994)

Evaluation of early-phase [F-18]-florbetaben PET acquisition in clinical routine cases

Objectives: In recent years several [F-18]-labelled amyloid PET tracers have been developed and have obtained clinical approval. There is accumulating evidence that early (post injection) acquisitionswith these tracers are equally informative as conventional blood flow andmetabolismstudies for diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, but there have been few side-by-side studies. Therefore, we investigated the performance of early acquisitions of [F-18]florbetaben (FBB) PET compared to [F-18]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) PET in a clinical setting. Methods: All subjects were recruited with clinical suspicion of dementia due to neurodegenerative disease. FDG PET was undertaken by conventional methods, and amyloid PET was performed with FBB, with early recordings for the initial 10 min (early-phase FBB), and late recordings at 90-110 min p.i. (late-phase FBB). Regional SUVR with cerebellar and globalmean normalization were calculated for early-phase FBB and FDG PET. Pearson correlation coefficients between FDG and early-phase FBB were calculated for predefined cortical brain regions. Furthermore, a visual interpretation of disease pattern using 3-dimensional stereotactic surface projections (3DSSP) was performed, with assessment of intra-reader agreement. Results: Among a total of 33 patients (mean age 67.5 +/- 11.0 years) included in the study, 18 were visually rated amyloid-positive, and 15 amyloid-negative based on late-phase FBB scans. Correlation coefficients for earlyphase FBB vs. FDG scans displayed excellent agreement in all target brain regions for global mean normalization. Cerebellar normalization gave strong, but significantly lower correlations. 3D representations of early-phase FBB visually resembled the corresponding FDG PET images, irrespective of the amyloid-status of the late FBB scans. Conclusions: Early-phase FBB acquisitions correlate on a relative quantitative and visual level with FDG PET scans, irrespective of the amyloid plaque density assessed in late FBB imaging. Thus, early-phase FBB uptake depicts a metabolism-like image, suggesting it as a valid surrogatemarker for synaptic dysfunction, which could ultimately circumvent the need for additional FDG PET investigation in diagnosis of dementia. (C) 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc

Gravity field modelling for the Hannover 10 m atom interferometer

Stable gravimetric measurements over timescales from several days to decades are required to provide relevant insight into geophysical processes or to realise a gravimetric reference frame. Users of absolute gravimeters participate in CIPM or RMO key comparisons with a metrological reference in order to monitor the temporal stability of the instruments and determine the bias to that reference. These comparisons provide the reference values of highest accuracy, around 10 nm/s², compared to the calibration against a single gravimeter operated at a metrological institute. The construction of stationary, large scale atom interferometers paves the way towards a new measurement standard in absolute gravimetry used as a reference with a potential stability better than 1 nm/s² at 1 second integration time. At the Leibniz University Hannover, we are currently building such a very long baseline atom interferometer with a 10 m high vertical free fall zone. Additionally, a 3D model of the instrument and its environment is adapted to derive the change of gravity due to the setup of the instrument. The model is then compared to episodic gravimetric measurements. The knowledge of local gravity and its gradient along and around the baseline is required to establish the instrument's uncertainty budget and enable transfers of gravimetric measurements to nearby devices for comparison and calibration purposes. We report on the progress of the gravimetric measurements and modelling of g inside and near the instrument in parallel to the construction of the atom interferometer

Recent progress in translational research on neurovascular and neurodegenerative disorders

The already established and widely used intravenous application of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator as a re-opening strategy for acute vessel occlusion in ischemic stroke was recently added by mechanical thrombectomy, representing a fundamental progress in evidence-based medicine to improve the patient’s outcome. This has been paralleled by a swift increase in our understanding of pathomechanisms underlying many neurovascular diseases and most prevalent forms of dementia. Taken together, these current advances offer the potential to overcome almost two decades of marginally successful translational research on stroke and dementia, thereby spurring the entire field of translational neuroscience. Moreover, they may also pave the way for the renaissance of classical neuroprotective paradigms. This review reports and summarizes some of the most interesting and promising recent achievements in neurovascular and dementia research. It highlights sessions from the 9th International Symposium on Neuroprotection and Neurorepair that have been discussed from April 19th to 22nd in Leipzig, Germany. To acknowledge the emerging culture of interdisciplinary collaboration and research, special emphasis is given on translational stories ranging from fundamental research on neurode- and -regeneration to late stage translational or early stage clinical investigations

Brain metastasis and survival outcomes after first-line therapy in metastatic melanoma: a multicenter DeCOG study on 1704 patients from the prospective skin cancer registry ADOREG

Background Despite the availability of effective systemic therapies, a significant number of advanced melanoma patients develops brain metastases. This study investigated differences in incidence and time to diagnosis of brain metastasis and survival outcomes dependent on the type of first-line therapy.Methods Patients with metastatic, non-resectable melanoma (AJCCv8 stage IIIC–V) without brain metastasis at start of first-line therapy (1L-therapy) were identified from the prospective multicenter real-world skin cancer registry ADOREG. Study endpoints were incidence of brain metastasis, brain metastasis-free survival (BMFS), progression-free survival (PFS), and overall survival (OS).Results Of 1704 patients, 916 were BRAF wild-type (BRAFwt) and 788 were BRAF V600 mutant (BRAFmut). Median follow-up time after start of 1L-therapy was 40.4 months. BRAFwt patients received 1L-therapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) against CTLA-4+PD-1 (n=281) or PD-1 (n=544). In BRAFmut patients, 1L-therapy was ICI in 415 patients (CTLA-4+PD-1, n=108; PD-1, n=264), and BRAF+MEK targeted therapy (TT) in 373 patients. After 24 months, 1L-therapy with BRAF+MEK resulted in a higher incidence of brain metastasis compared with PD-1±CTLA-4 (BRAF+MEK, 30.3%; CTLA-4+PD-1, 22.2%; PD-1, 14.0%). In multivariate analysis, BRAFmut patients developed brain metastases earlier on 1L-therapy with BRAF+MEK than with PD-1±CTLA-4 (CTLA-4+PD-1: HR 0.560, 95% CI 0.332 to 0.945, p=0.030; PD-1: HR 0.575, 95% CI 0.372 to 0.888, p=0.013). Type of 1L-therapy, tumor stage, and age were independent prognostic factors for BMFS in BRAFmut patients. In BRAFwt patients, tumor stage was independently associated with longer BMFS; ECOG Performance status (ECOG-PS), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and tumor stage with OS. CTLA-4+PD-1 did not result in better BMFS, PFS, or OS than PD-1 in BRAFwt patients. For BRAFmut patients, multivariate Cox regression revealed ECOG-PS, type of 1L-therapy, tumor stage, and LDH as independent prognostic factors for PFS and OS. 1L-therapy with CTLA-4+PD-1 led to longer OS than PD-1 (HR 1.97, 95% CI 1.122 to 3.455, p=0.018) or BRAF+MEK (HR 2.41, 95% CI 1.432 to 4.054, p=0.001), without PD-1 being superior to BRAF+MEK.Conclusions In BRAFmut patients 1L-therapy with PD-1±CTLA-4 ICI resulted in a delayed and less frequent development of brain metastasis compared with BRAF+MEK TT. 1L-therapy with CTLA-4+PD-1 showed superior OS compared with PD-1 and BRAF+MEK. In BRAFwt patients, no differences in brain metastasis and survival outcomes were detected for CTLA-4+PD-1 compared with PD-1