Salvage high-dose chemotherapy for children with extragonadal germ-cell tumours

We reviewed the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) experience with salvage high-dose chemotherapy (HDC) in paediatric patients with extragonadal germ-cell tumour (GCT). A total of 23 children with extragonadal GCT, median age 12 years (range 1–20), were treated with salvage HDC with haematopoietic progenitor cell support. The GCT primary location was intracranial site in nine cases, sacrococcyx in eight, retroperitoneum in four, and mediastinum in two. In all, 22 patients had a nongerminomatous GCT and one germinoma. Nine patients received HDC in first- and 14 in second- or third-relapse situation. No toxic deaths occurred. Overall, 16 of 23 patients (70%) achieved a complete remission. With a median follow-up of 66 months (range 31–173 months), 10 (43%) are continuously disease-free. Of six patients who had a disease recurrence after HDC, one achieved a disease-free status with surgical resection followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy. In total, 11 patients (48%) are currently disease-free. Eight of 14 patients (57%) with extracranial primary and three of nine patients (33%) with intracranial primary GCT are currently disease-free. HDC induced impressive long-term remissions as salvage treatment in children with extragonadal extracranial GCTs. Salvage HDC should be investigated in prospective trials in these patients

Разработка технологии сборки-сварки системы отопления административно-бытового корпуса

Актуальность работы: в данной выпускной квалификационной работе производится разработка и сравнение технологий: сварка стальных труб, сварка полипропиленовых труб и пайка медных труб при монтаже системы отопления административно-бытового корпуса. Объектом исследования является процесс изготовления системы отопления административно-бытового корпуса. Цели и задачи исследования: в результате данной работы следует выбрать технологию монтажа с наибольшей степенью надежности получаемого изделия и оптимальной себестоимостью производства.The relevance of the work: in this prom qualification development work and comparison technology: steel pipe welding, welding of polypropylene pipes and solder copper pipe when installing the heating system of the administrative Corps. The object of research is the process of manufacturing heating systems the administrative Corps. The goals and objectives of the study: As a result of this work, you must select the mounting technology with the highest degree of reliability of the resulting products and optimal cost price of production

Direct measurement of the pion valence quark momentum distribution, the pion light-cone wave function squared

We present the first direct measurements of the pion valence quark momentum distribution which is related to the square of the pion light-cone wave function. The measurements were carried out using data on diffractive dissociation of 500 GeV/c $\pi^-$ into di-jets from a platinum target at Fermilab experiment E791. The results show that the $|q\bar {q}>$ light-cone asymptotic wave function, which was developed using perturbative QCD methods, describes the data well for $Q^2 \sim 10 ~{\rm (GeV/c)^2}$ or more. We also measured the transverse momentum distribution of the diffractive di-jets.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figure

Meta-Analysis of Mass Balances Examining Chemical Fate during Wastewater Treatment

Mass balances are an instructive means for investigating the fate of chemicals during wastewater treatment. In addition to the aqueous-phase removal efficiency (Φ), they can inform on chemical partitioning, transformation, and persistence, as well as on the chemical loading to streams and soils receiving, respectively, treated effluent and digested sewage sludge (biosolids). Release rates computed on a per-capita basis can serve to extrapolate findings to a larger scale. This review examines over a dozen mass balances conducted for various organic wastewater contaminants, including prescription drugs, estrogens, fragrances, antimicrobials, and surfactants of differing sorption potential (hydrophobicity), here expressed as the 1-octanol−water partition coefficient (KOW) and the organic carbon normalized sorption coefficient (KOC). Major challenges to mass balances are the collection of representative samples and accurate quantification of chemicals in sludge. A meta-analysis of peer-reviewed data identified sorption potential as the principal determinant governing chemical persistence in biosolids. Occurrence data for organic wastewater compounds detected in digested sludge followed a simple nonlinear model that required only KOW or KOC as the input and yielded a correlation coefficient of 0.9 in both instances. The model predicted persistence in biosolids for the majority (>50%) of the input load of organic wastewater compounds featuring a log10KOW value of greater than 5.2 (log10KOC > 4.4). In contrast, hydrophobicity had no or only limited value for estimating, respectively, Φ and the overall persistence of a chemical during conventional wastewater treatment

Measurement of the CKM angle γ from a combination of B±→Dh± analyses

A combination of three LHCb measurements of the CKM angle γ is presented. The decays B±→D K± and B±→Dπ± are used, where D denotes an admixture of D0 and D0 mesons, decaying into K+K−, π+π−, K±π∓, K±π∓π±π∓, K0Sπ+π−, or K0S K+K− final states. All measurements use a dataset corresponding to 1.0 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. Combining results from B±→D K± decays alone a best-fit value of γ =72.0◦ is found, and confidence intervals are set γ ∈ [56.4,86.7]◦ at 68% CL, γ ∈ [42.6,99.6]◦ at 95% CL. The best-fit value of γ found from a combination of results from B±→Dπ± decays alone, is γ =18.9◦, and the confidence intervals γ ∈ [7.4,99.2]◦ ∪ [167.9,176.4]◦ at 68% CL are set, without constraint at 95% CL. The combination of results from B± → D K± and B± → Dπ± decays gives a best-fit value of γ =72.6◦ and the confidence intervals γ ∈ [55.4,82.3]◦ at 68% CL, γ ∈ [40.2,92.7]◦ at 95% CL are set. All values are expressed modulo 180◦, and are obtained taking into account the effect of D0–D0 mixing

Observation of the Bs0→J/ψϕϕB_s^0 \rightarrow J/\psi \phi \phi decay

The $B_s^0 \rightarrow J/\psi \phi \phi$ decay is observed in $pp$ collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3 fb$^{-1}$ recorded by the LHCb detector at centre-of-mass energies of 7 TeV and 8 TeV. This is the first observation of this decay channel, with a statistical significance of 15 standard deviations. The mass of the $B_s^0$ meson is measured to be $5367.08\,\pm \,0.38\,\pm\, 0.15$ MeV/c$^2$. The branching fraction ratio $\mathcal{B}(B_s^0 \rightarrow J/\psi \phi \phi)/\mathcal{B}(B_s^0 \rightarrow J/\psi \phi)$ is measured to be 0.0115\,\pm\, 0.0012\, ^{+0.0005}_{-0.0009}. In both cases, the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. No evidence for non-resonant $B_s^0 \rightarrow J/\psi \phi K^+ K^-$ or $B_s^0 \rightarrow J/\psi K^+ K^- K^+ K^-$ decays is found.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2015-033.htm

Observation of an Excited Bc+ State

Using pp collision data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 8.5 fb-1 recorded by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of s=7, 8, and 13 TeV, the observation of an excited Bc+ state in the Bc+π+π- invariant-mass spectrum is reported. The observed peak has a mass of 6841.2±0.6(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, where the last uncertainty is due to the limited knowledge of the Bc+ mass. It is consistent with expectations of the Bc∗(2S31)+ state reconstructed without the low-energy photon from the Bc∗(1S31)+→Bc+γ decay following Bc∗(2S31)+→Bc∗(1S31)+π+π-. A second state is seen with a global (local) statistical significance of 2.2σ (3.2σ) and a mass of 6872.1±1.3(stat)±0.1(syst)±0.8(Bc+) MeV/c2, and is consistent with the Bc(2S10)+ state. These mass measurements are the most precise to date

Study of Bc+B_c^+ decays to the K+K−π+K^+K^-\pi^+ final state and evidence for the decay Bc+→χc0π+B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}\pi^+

A study of $B_c^+\to K^+K^-\pi^+$ decays is performed for the first time using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment in $pp$ collisions at centre-of-mass energies of $7$ and $8$ TeV. Evidence for the decay $B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}(\to K^+K^-)\pi^+$ is reported with a significance of 4.0 standard deviations, resulting in the measurement of $\frac{\sigma(B_c^+)}{\sigma(B^+)}\times\mathcal{B}(B_c^+\to\chi_{c0}\pi^+)$ to be $(9.8^{+3.4}_{-3.0}(\mathrm{stat})\pm 0.8(\mathrm{syst}))\times 10^{-6}$. Here $\mathcal{B}$ denotes a branching fraction while $\sigma(B_c^+)$ and $\sigma(B^+)$ are the production cross-sections for $B_c^+$ and $B^+$ mesons. An indication of $\bar b c$ weak annihilation is found for the region $m(K^-\pi^+)<1.834\mathrm{\,Ge\kern -0.1em V\!/}c^2$, with a significance of 2.4 standard deviations.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2016-022.html, link to supplemental material inserted in the reference

Amplitude analysis of B+→J/ψϕK+B^+\to J/\psi \phi K^+ decays

The first full amplitude analysis of $B^+\to J/\psi \phi K^+$ with $J/\psi\to\mu^+\mu^-$, $\phi\to K^+K^-$ decays is performed with a data sample of 3 fb$^{-1}$ of $pp$ collision data collected at $\sqrt{s}=7$ and $8$ TeV with the LHCb detector. The data cannot be described by a model that contains only excited kaon states decaying into $\phi K^+$, and four $J/\psi\phi$ structures are observed, each with significance over $5$ standard deviations. The quantum numbers of these structures are determined with significance of at least $4$ standard deviations. The lightest has mass consistent with, but width much larger than, previous measurements of the claimed $X(4140)$ state. The model includes significant contributions from a number of expected kaon excitations, including the first observation of the $K^{*}(1680)^+\to\phi K^+$ transition.Comment: 62 pages 26 figure

Determination of luminosity for in-ring reactions:A new approach for the low-energy domain

Luminosity is a measure of the colliding frequency between beam and target and it is a crucial parameter for the measurement of absolute values, such as reaction cross sections. In this paper, we make use of experimental data from the ESR storage ring to demonstrate that the luminosity can be precisely determined by modelling the measured Rutherford scattering distribution. The obtained results are in good agreement with an independent measurement based on the x-ray normalization method. Our new method provides an alternative way to precisely measure the luminosity in low-energy stored-beam configurations. This can be of great value in particular in dedicated low-energy storage rings where established methods are difficult or impossible to apply.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure