Practice harmonization workshops of EBMT: an expert-based approach to generate practical and contemporary guidelines within the arena of hematopoietic cell transplantation and cellular therapy

For hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and cellular therapy (CT), clinical patient care is localized, and practices may differ between countries and from center to center even within the same country. Historically, international guidelines were not always adapted to the changing daily clinical practice and practical topics there were not always addressed. In the absence of well-established guidelines, centers tended to develop local procedures/policies, frequently with limited communication with other centers. To try to harmonize localized clinical practices for malignant and non-malignant hematological disorders within EBMT scope, the practice harmonization and guidelines (PH&G) committee of the EBMT will co-ordinate workshops with topic-specific experts from interested centers. Each workshop will discuss a specific issue and write guidelines/recommendations that practically addresses the topic under review. To provide clear, practical and user-friendly guidelines when international consensus is lacking, the EBMT PH&G committee plans to develop European guidelines by HCT and CT physicians for peers’ use. Here, we define how workshops will be conducted and guidelines/recommendations produced, approved and published. Ultimately, there is an aspiration for some topics, where there is sufficient evidence base to be considered for systematic reviews, which are a more robust and future-proofed basis for guidelines/recommendations than consensus opinion

Response of Mica to Weakly Interacting Massive Particles

We calculate spin-dependent cross sections for the scattering from mica of hypothetical weakly interacting dark-matter particles such as neutralinos. The most abundant odd-A isotopes in mica, Al27 and K39, require different shell-model treatments. The calculated cross sections will allow the interpretation of ongoing experiments that look for tracks due to the interaction of dark-matter particles with nuclei in ancient mica.Comment: 11 pages, RevTex, 2 uuencoded figures, submittted to Phys. Rev.

Readout technologies for directional WIMP Dark Matter detection

The measurement of the direction of WIMP-induced nuclear recoils is a compelling but technologically challenging strategy to provide an unambiguous signature of the detection of Galactic dark matter. Most directional detectors aim to reconstruct the dark-matter-induced nuclear recoil tracks, either in gas or solid targets. The main challenge with directional detection is the need for high spatial resolution over large volumes, which puts strong requirements on the readout technologies. In this paper we review the various detector readout technologies used by directional detectors. In particular, we summarize the challenges, advantages and drawbacks of each approach, and discuss future prospects for these technologies

Highly-parallelized simulation of a pixelated LArTPC on a GPU

The rapid development of general-purpose computing on graphics processing units (GPGPU) is allowing the implementation of highly-parallelized Monte Carlo simulation chains for particle physics experiments. This technique is particularly suitable for the simulation of a pixelated charge readout for time projection chambers, given the large number of channels that this technology employs. Here we present the first implementation of a full microphysical simulator of a liquid argon time projection chamber (LArTPC) equipped with light readout and pixelated charge readout, developed for the DUNE Near Detector. The software is implemented with an end-to-end set of GPU-optimized algorithms. The algorithms have been written in Python and translated into CUDA kernels using Numba, a just-in-time compiler for a subset of Python and NumPy instructions. The GPU implementation achieves a speed up of four orders of magnitude compared with the equivalent CPU version. The simulation of the current induced on 10^3 pixels takes around 1 ms on the GPU, compared with approximately 10 s on the CPU. The results of the simulation are compared against data from a pixel-readout LArTPC prototype

Improved sensitivity of the DRIFT-IId directional dark matter experiment using machine learning

We demonstrate a new type of analysis for the DRIFT-IId directional dark matter detector using a machine learning algorithm called a Random Forest Classifier. The analysis labels events as signal or background based on a series of selection parameters, rather than solely applying hard cuts. The analysis efficiency is shown to be comparable to our previous result at high energy but with increased efficiency at lower energies. This leads to a projected sensitivity enhancement of one order of magnitude below a WIMP mass of 15 GeV c-2 and a projected sensitivity limit that reaches down to a WIMP mass of 9 GeV c-2, which is a first for a directionally sensitive dark matter detector

Safety and efficacy of autologous stem cell transplantation in dialysis-dependent myeloma patients—the DIADEM study from the chronic malignancies working party of the EBMT

The role of high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in the treatment of myeloma (MM) patients with severe and/or dialysis-dependent renal impairment remains uncertain. We report on the outcomes of 110 patients (median age 57 years) who had become dialysis-dependent pre-ASCT and who underwent a first ASCT between 1997 and 2017. Sixty-three (57%) patients had light chain MM. All patients required dialysis (94% hemodialysis and 6% peritoneal). Forty-four of 71 (62%) patients received bortezomib-based induction regimens and 42 (39%) patients had achieved at least a very good partial response (VGPR) pre-ASCT. Melphalan dosing was as follows: ≤140 mg/m2 (82%), and >140 mg/m2 (18%). The median PFS after ASCT was 35 months (95% CI: 21.5–42.2) and the median OS 102 months (95% CI: 70.4–129.1). At 1, 2, and 5 years after ASCT, 8% (95% CI 3–14%), 13% (6–20%), and 20% (12–29%) of patients, respectively, had achieved dialysis independence. In multivariate analyses of OS and PFS including age at ASCT, response at ASCT, and year of ASCT, younger age at ASCT and better response at ASCT (CR/VGPR/PR vs. MR/SD/progression) were significantly associated with better OS and PFS

Correction: Allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in patients with myeloid/lymphoid neoplasm with FGFR1-rearrangement: a study of the Chronic Malignancies Working Party of EBMT (Bone Marrow Transplantation, (2022), 57, 3, (416-422), 10.1038/s41409-021-01553-x)

Two members from that institution collaborated in our study but we did not choose the preferred one for the final version of the manuscript. The suggested coauthor is Dr Emmanouil Nikolousis (manos. [email protected]) in place of Shankara Paneesha (shankara. [email protected]). Both of them have agreed on this change. The original article has been corrected © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited 2022