Respiratory insufficiency related to copd accelerates systemic inflammation, under-nutrition, and angiogenesis in esophageal malignancies

A number of esophageal cancer patients suffer from respiratory insufficiency due to the coexistence of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Aim: To test the hypothesis that COPD-related systemic hypoxemia may result in accelerated inflammation, malnutrition, and angiogenesis in esophageal cancer patients. Methods: Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), albumin, transferrin, interleukin-1, interleukin-6, interleukin-8, TNF- a, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF-BB), and midkine and patient BMI and weight-loss rate were determined and compared with blood oxygenation status (pO2, SaO2) in 35 esophageal cancer patients and 42 controls. Results: The incidence of cachexia tended to be higher in patients with systemic hypoxemia (67% vs 40%, p = 0.169). Mean SaO2 level was also significantly decreased in cachectic patients (90.3 vs 93.3%, p = 0.026) and pO2 exhibited a similar trend (58.0 vs 63.4 mmHg, p = 0.120). Transferrin (234 vs 316 mg/dl, p = 0.005) and albumin (31.9 vs 37.1 mg/dl, p = 0.002) concentrations were reduced and CRP was elevated (129.9 vs 54.7 mg/l, p = 0.004) in hypoxemic patients and correlated with pO2 (r = 0.47, p = 0.016; r = 0.48, p = 0.012; r = –0.37, p = 0.064) and SaO2 (r = 0.52, p = 0.006; r = 0.53, p = 0.006; r = –0.40, p = 0.042). Interleukin-6 (9.97 vs 2.21 pg/ml, p = 0.005) and midkine (2101 vs 944 pg/ml, p < 0.001) were elevated and PDGF-BB was decreased (12.2 vs 17.3 pg x 10-6/PLT, p = 0.014) in hypoxemic compared with normoxemic patients. Interleukin-6 and midkine negatively correlated with pO2 (r = –0.44, p = 0.016; r = –0.42, p = 0.011) and SaO2 (r = –0.54, p = 0.003; r = –0.57, p < 0.0001) and PDGF-BB correlated positively (r = 0.53, p = 0.003; r = 0.44, p = 0.020). Interleukin-8 level was affected by pO2 (r = -0.55, p = 0.015) and SaO2 (r = –0.55, p = 0.018) only in hypoxemic patients. Conclusions: COPD-related systemic hypoxemia negatively affects the status of esophageal cancer patients by accelerating inflammation, under-nutrition, and angiogenesis.Многие больные раком пищевода страдают от респираторной недостаточности из-за развития хронического обструктивного легочного заболевания (COPD). Цель: Проверить гипотезу о возможной связи системной гипоксемии, ассоциированной с COPD, с усилением воспалительных процессов, истощением и ангиогенезом у больных раком пищевода. Методы: у 35 больных раком пищевода и 42 здоровых доноров определяли уровень CRP, альбумина, трансферина, интерлейкина-1, интерлейкина-6, интерлейкина-8, TNF-α, PDGF-BB и мидкина в сыворотке крови, показатели BMI и потери веса больных, а также показатели уровня оксигенации крови (pO2 , SaO2 ). Результаты: частота возникновения кахексии была выше у больных с системной гипоксемией (67 против 40%, p = 0,169). Средний уровень SaO2 был также значительно снижен у больных с кахексией (90,3 против 93,3%, p = 0,026), с той же тенденцией и для уровня pO2 (58,0 против 63,4 mmHg, p = 0,120). Концентрации трансферина (234 против 316 мг/дл, p = 0,005) и альбумина (31,9 против 37,1 мг/дл, p = 0,002) были снижены, CRP повышен (129,9 против 54,7 мг/л, p = 0,004) у гипоксемических пациентов, что кореллировало с показателями pO2 (r = 0,47, p = 0,016; r = 0,48, p = 0,012; r = –0,37, p = 0,064) и SaO2 (r = 0,52, p = 0,006; r = 0,53, p = 0,006; r = –0,40, p = 0,042). Уровень интерлейкина-6 (9,97 против 2,21 pg/ml, p = 0,005) и мидкина (2101 против 944 pg/ml, p < 0,001) был также повышен, а уровень PDGF-BB понижен (12,2 против 17,3 pg × 10-6/PLT, p = 0,014) у гипоксемических больных по сравнению с показателями при нормоксемии. Уровни интерлейкина-6 и мидкина негативно кореллировали с показателями pO2 (r = –0,44, p = 0,016; r = –0,42, p = 0,011) и SaO2 (r = –0,54, p = 0,003; r = –0,57, p < 0,0001) и позитивно — с PDGF-BB (r = 0,53, p = 0,003; r = 0,44, p = 0,020). На уровень интерлейкина-8 влияли pO2 (r = –0,55, p = 0,015) и SaO2 (r = –0,55, p = 0,018) только у больных с гипоксемией. Выводы: ассоциированная с COPD системная гипоксемия негативно влияет на состояние больных раком пищевода за счет ускорения воспалительных процессов, истощения и ангиогенез

Fine structure of alpha decay in odd nuclei

Using an alpha decay level scheme, an explanation for the fine structure in odd nuclei is evidenced by taking into account the radial and rotational couplings between the unpaired nucleon and the core of the decaying system. It is stated that the experimental behavior of the alpha decay fine structure phenomenon is directed by the dynamical characteristics of the system.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, REVTex, submitted to Physical Review

Measurement of shower development and its Moli\`ere radius with a four-plane LumiCal test set-up

A prototype of a luminometer, designed for a future e+e- collider detector, and consisting at present of a four-plane module, was tested in the CERN PS accelerator T9 beam. The objective of this beam test was to demonstrate a multi-plane tungsten/silicon operation, to study the development of the electromagnetic shower and to compare it with MC simulations. The Moli\`ere radius has been determined to be 24.0 +/- 0.6 (stat.) +/- 1.5 (syst.) mm using a parametrization of the shower shape. Very good agreement was found between data and a detailed Geant4 simulation.Comment: Paper published in Eur. Phys. J., includes 25 figures and 3 Table

Performance of fully instrumented detector planes of the forward calorimeter of a Linear Collider detector

Detector-plane prototypes of the very forward calorimetry of a future detector at an e+e- collider have been built and their performance was measured in an electron beam. The detector plane comprises silicon or GaAs pad sensors, dedicated front-end and ADC ASICs, and an FPGA for data concentration. Measurements of the signal-to-noise ratio and the response as a function of the position of the sensor are presented. A deconvolution method is successfully applied, and a comparison of the measured shower shape as a function of the absorber depth with a Monte-Carlo simulation is given.Comment: 25 pages, 32 figures, revised version following comments from referee

A new classification method using array Comparative Genome Hybridization data, based on the concept of Limited Jumping Emerging Patterns

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Classification using aCGH data is an important and insufficiently investigated problem in bioinformatics. In this paper we propose a new classification method of DNA copy number data based on the concept of limited Jumping Emerging Patterns. We present the comparison of our limJEPClassifier to SVM which is considered the most successful classifier in the case of high-throughput data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results revealed that the classification performance using limJEPClassifier is significantly higher than other methods. Furthermore, we show that application of the limited JEP's can significantly improve classification, when strongly unbalanced data are given.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Nowadays, aCGH has become a very important tool, used in research of cancer or genomic disorders. Therefore, improving classification of aCGH data can have a great impact on many medical issues such as the process of diagnosis and finding disease-related genes. The performed experiment shows that the application of Jumping Emerging Patterns can be effective in the classification of high-dimensional data, including these from aCGH experiments.</p

Men and Women Exhibit a Differential Bias for Processing Movement versus Objects

Sex differences in many spatial and verbal tasks appear to reflect an inherent low-level processing bias for movement in males and objects in females. We explored this potential movement/object bias in men and women using a computer task that measured targeting performance and/or color recognition. The targeting task showed a ball moving vertically towards a horizontal line. Before reaching the line, the ball disappeared behind a masking screen, requiring the participant to imagine the movement vector and identify the intersection point. For the color recognition task, the ball briefly changed color before disappearing beneath the mask and participants were required only to identify the color shade. Results showed that targeting accuracy for slow and fast moving balls was significantly better in males compared to females. No sex difference was observed for color shade recognition. We also studied a third, dual attention task comprised of the first two, where the moving ball briefly changed color randomly just before passing beneath the masking screen. When the ball changed color, participants were required only to identify the color shade. If the ball didn't change color, participants estimated the intersection point. Participants in this dual attention condition were first tested with the targeting and color tasks alone and showed results that were similar to the previous groups tested on a single task. However, under the dual attention condition, male accuracy in targeting, as well as color shade recognition, declined significantly compared to their performance when the tasks were tested alone. No significant changes were found in female performance. Finally, reaction times for targeting and color choices in both sexes correlated highly with ball speed, but not accuracy. Overall, these results provide evidence of a sex-related bias in processing objects versus movement, which may reflect sex differences in bottom up versus top-down analytical strategies

Detector Technologies for CLIC

The Compact Linear Collider (CLIC) is a high-energy high-luminosity linear electron-positron collider under development. It is foreseen to be built and operated in three stages, at centre-of-mass energies of 380 GeV, 1.5 TeV and 3 TeV, respectively. It offers a rich physics program including direct searches as well as the probing of new physics through a broad set of precision measurements of Standard Model processes, particularly in the Higgs-boson and top-quark sectors. The precision required for such measurements and the specific conditions imposed by the beam dimensions and time structure put strict requirements on the detector design and technology. This includes low-mass vertexing and tracking systems with small cells, highly granular imaging calorimeters, as well as a precise hit-time resolution and power-pulsed operation for all subsystems. A conceptual design for the CLIC detector system was published in 2012. Since then, ambitious R&D programmes for silicon vertex and tracking detectors, as well as for calorimeters have been pursued within the CLICdp, CALICE and FCAL collaborations, addressing the challenging detector requirements with innovative technologies. This report introduces the experimental environment and detector requirements at CLIC and reviews the current status and future plans for detector technology R&D.Comment: 152 pages, 116 figures; published as CERN Yellow Report Monograph Vol. 1/2019; corresponding editors: Dominik Dannheim, Katja Kr\"uger, Aharon Levy, Andreas N\"urnberg, Eva Sickin

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission: Optical Telescope Element Design, Development, and Performance

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) is a large, infrared space telescope that has recently started its science program which will enable breakthroughs in astrophysics and planetary science. Notably, JWST will provide the very first observations of the earliest luminous objects in the Universe and start a new era of exoplanet atmospheric characterization. This transformative science is enabled by a 6.6 m telescope that is passively cooled with a 5-layer sunshield. The primary mirror is comprised of 18 controllable, low areal density hexagonal segments, that were aligned and phased relative to each other in orbit using innovative image-based wavefront sensing and control algorithms. This revolutionary telescope took more than two decades to develop with a widely distributed team across engineering disciplines. We present an overview of the telescope requirements, architecture, development, superb on-orbit performance, and lessons learned. JWST successfully demonstrates a segmented aperture space telescope and establishes a path to building even larger space telescopes.Comment: accepted by PASP for JWST Overview Special Issue; 34 pages, 25 figure

Feasibility studies for the measurement of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors from p¯ p→ μ+μ- at P ¯ ANDA at FAIR

This paper reports on Monte Carlo simulation results for future measurements of the moduli of time-like proton electromagnetic form factors, | GE| and | GM| , using the p¯ p→ μ+μ- reaction at P ¯ ANDA (FAIR). The electromagnetic form factors are fundamental quantities parameterizing the electric and magnetic structure of hadrons. This work estimates the statistical and total accuracy with which the form factors can be measured at P ¯ ANDA , using an analysis of simulated data within the PandaRoot software framework. The most crucial background channel is p¯ p→ π+π-, due to the very similar behavior of muons and pions in the detector. The suppression factors are evaluated for this and all other relevant background channels at different values of antiproton beam momentum. The signal/background separation is based on a multivariate analysis, using the Boosted Decision Trees method. An expected background subtraction is included in this study, based on realistic angular distributions of the background contribution. Systematic uncertainties are considered and the relative total uncertainties of the form factor measurements are presented