Chiral Lagrangian Parameters for Scalar and Pseudoscalar Mesons

The results of a high-statistics study of scalar and pseudoscalar meson propagators in quenched lattice QCD are presented. For two values of lattice spacing, $\beta=5.7$ ($a \approx .18$ fm) and 5.9 ($a \approx .12$ fm), we probe the light quark mass region using clover improved Wilson fermions with the MQA pole-shifting ansatz to treat the exceptional configuration problem. The quenched chiral loop parameters $m_0$ and $\alpha_{\Phi}$ are determined from a study of the pseudoscalar hairpin correlator. From a global fit to the meson correlators, estimates are obtained for the relevant chiral Lagrangian parameters, including the Leutwyler parameters $L_5$ and $L_8$. Using the parameters obtained from the singlet and nonsinglet pseudoscalar correlators, the quenched chiral loop effect in the nonsinglet scalar meson correlator is studied. By removing this QCL effect from the lattice correlator, we obtain the mass and decay constant of the ground state scalar, isovector meson $a_0$.Comment: 36 pages, 12 figures, LaTe

T1 mapping in the rat myocardium at 7 Tesla using a modified CINE inversion recovery sequence

Purpose To evaluate the reproducibility and sensitivity of the modified CINE inversion recovery (mCINE-IR) acquisition on rats for measuring the myocardial T1 at 7 Tesla. Materials and Methods The recently published mCINE-IR acquisition on humans was applied on rats for the first time, enabling the possibility of translational studies with an identical sequence. Simulations were used to study signal evolution and heart rate dependency. Gadolinium phantoms, a heart specimen and a healthy rat were used to study reproducibility. Two cryo-infarcted rats were scanned to measure late gadolinium enhancement (LGE). Results In the phantom reproducibility studies the T1 measurements had a maximum coefficient of variation (COV) of 1.3%. For the in vivo reproducibility the COV was below 5% in the anterior cardiac segments. In simulations with phantoms and specimens, a heart rate dependency of approximately 0.5 ms/bpm was present. The T1 maps of the cryo-infarcted rats showed a clear lowering of T1 in de LGE region. Conclusion The results show that mCINE-IR is highly reproducible and that the sensitivity allows detecting T1 changes in the rat myocardium

The natural course of infantile Pompe's disease: 20 original cases compared with 133 cases from the literature

OBJECTIVE: Infantile Pompe's disease is a lethal cardiac and muscular disorder. Current developments toward enzyme replacement therapy are promising. The aim of our study is to delineate the natural course of the disease to verify endpoints of clinical studies. METHODS: A total of 20 infantile patients diagnosed by the collaborative Dutch centers and 133 cases reported in literature were included in the study. Information on clinical history, physical examination, and diagnostic parameters was collected. RESULTS: The course of Pompe's disease is essentially the same in the Dutch and the general patient population. Symptoms start at a median age of 1.6 months in both groups. The median age of death is 7.7 and 6 months, respectively. Five percent of the Dutch patients and 8% of all reported patients survive beyond 1 year of age. Only 2 patients from literature became older than 18 months. A progressive cardiac hypertrophy is characteristic for infantile Pompe's disease. The diastolic thickness of the left ventricular posterior wall and cardiac weight at autopsy increase significantly with age. Motor development is severely delayed and major d

Unsustainable fuelwood extraction from South African savannas

Wood and charcoal supply the majority of sub-Saharan Africa’s rural energy needs. The long-term supply of fuelwood is in jeopardy given high consumption rates. Using airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), we mapped and investigated savanna aboveground biomass across contrasting land uses, ranging from densely populated communal areas to highly protected areas in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa. We combined the LiDAR observations with socio-economic data, biomass production rates and fuelwood consumption rates in a supply–demand model to predict future fuelwood availability. LiDAR-based biomass maps revealed disturbance gradients around settlements up to 1.5 km, corresponding to the maximum distance walked to collect fuelwood. At current levels of fuelwood consumption (67% of households use fuelwood exclusively, with a 2% annual reduction), we calculate that biomass in the study area will be exhausted within thirteen years. We also show that it will require a 15% annual reduction in consumption for eight years to a level of 20% of households using fuelwood before the reduction in biomass appears to stabilize to sustainable levels. The severity of dwindling fuelwood reserves in African savannas underscores the importance of providing affordable energy for rural economic development.The CSIR researchers were funded by the CSIR Strategic Research Panel and the Department of Science and Technology’s Earth Observation Unit. SUCSES study (Sustainability in Communal Socio-Ecological Systems) which provided data on fuelwood use in Justicia was funded by the South African National Research Foundation. The airborne campaign and analysis was funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation.http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326am201

Randomised controlled trial of first-line tyrosine-kinase inhibitor (TKI) versus intercalated TKI with chemotherapy for EGFR-mutated nonsmall cell lung cancer

Introduction Previous studies have shown interference between epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors and chemotherapy in the cell cycle, thus reducing efficacy. In this randomised controlled trial we investigated whether intercalated erlotinib with chemotherapy was superior compared to erlotinib alone in untreated advanced EGFR-mutated nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Materials and methods Treatment-naïve patients with an activating EGFR mutation, ECOG performance score of 0–3 and adequate organ function were randomly assigned 1:1 to either four cycles of cisplatin-pemetrexed with intercalated erlotinib (day 2–16 out of 21 days per cycle) followed by pemetrexed and erlotinib maintenance (CPE) or erlotinib monotherapy. The primary end-point was progression-free survival (PFS). Secondary end-points were overall survival, objective response rate (ORR) and toxicity. Results Between April 2014 and September 2016, 22 patients were randomised equally into both arms; the study was stopped due to slow accrual. Median follow-up was 64 months. Median PFS was 13.7 months (95% CI 5.2–18.8) for CPE and 10.3 months (95% CI 7.1–15.5; hazard ratio (HR) 0.62, 95% CI 0.25–1.57) for erlotinib monotherapy; when compensating for number of days receiving erlotinib, PFS of the CPE arm was superior (HR 0.24, 95% CI 0.07–0.83; p=0.02). ORR was 64% for CPE versus 55% for erlotinib monotherapy. Median overall survival was 31.7 months (95% CI 21.8–61.9 months) for CPE compared to 17.2 months (95% CI 11.5–45.5 months) for erlotinib monotherapy (HR 0.58, 95% CI 0.22–1.41 months). Patients treated with CPE had higher rates of treatment-related fatigue, anorexia, weight loss and renal toxicity. Conclusion Intercalating erlotinib with cisplatin-pemetrexed provides a longer PFS compared to erlotinib alone in EGFR-mutated NSCLC at the expense of more toxicity

Quark fragmentation to π±\pi^{\pm}, π0\pi^{0}, K±K^{\pm}, pp and pˉ\bar{p} in the nuclear environment

The influence of the nuclear medium on lepto-production of hadrons was studied in the HERMES experiment at DESY in semi-inclusive deep-inelastic scattering of 27.6 GeV positrons off deuterium, nitrogen and krypton targets. The differential multiplicity for krypton relative to that of deuterium has been measured for the first time for various identified hadrons ($\pi^+$, $\pi^-$, $\pi^0$, $K^+$, $K^-$, $p$ and $\bar{p}$) as a function of the virtual photon energy $\nu$, the fraction $z$ of this energy transferred to the hadron, and the hadron transverse momentum squared $p_t^2$. The multiplicity ratio is strongly reduced in the nuclear medium at low $\nu$ and high $z$, with significant differences among the various hadrons. The distribution of the hadron transverse momentum is broadened towards high $p_t^2$ in the nuclear medium, in a manner resembling the Cronin effect previously observed in collisions of heavy ions and protons with nuclei.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Measurement of event-shape observables in Z→ℓ+ℓ− events in pp collisions at √ s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

Event-shape observables measured using charged particles in inclusive $Z$-boson events are presented, using the electron and muon decay modes of the $Z$ bosons. The measurements are based on an integrated luminosity of $1.1 {\rm fb}^{-1}$ of proton--proton collisions recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s}=7$ TeV. Charged-particle distributions, excluding the lepton--antilepton pair from the $Z$-boson decay, are measured in different ranges of transverse momentum of the $Z$ boson. Distributions include multiplicity, scalar sum of transverse momenta, beam thrust, transverse thrust, spherocity, and $\mathcal{F}$-parameter, which are in particular sensitive to properties of the underlying event at small values of the $Z$-boson transverse momentum. The Sherpa event generator shows larger deviations from the measured observables than Pythia8 and Herwig7. Typically, all three Monte Carlo generators provide predictions that are in better agreement with the data at high $Z$-boson transverse momenta than at low $Z$-boson transverse momenta and for the observables that are less sensitive to the number of charged particles in the event.Comment: 36 pages plus author list + cover page (54 pages total), 14 figures, 4 tables, submitted to EPJC, All figures including auxiliary figures are available at http://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2014-0

Mitochondriële ziekten. Wanneer cellen niet voldoende energie kunnen krijgen

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