A Tight Upper Limit on Oscillations in the Ap star Epsilon Ursae Majoris from WIRE Photometry

Observations of Epsilon UMa obtained with the star tracker on the Wide Field Infrared Explorer (WIRE) satellite during a month in mid-2000 are analyzed. This is one of the most precise photometry of an Ap star. The amplitude spectrum is used to set an upper limit of 75 parts per million for the amplitude of stellar pulsations in this star unless it accidentally oscillates with a single mode at the satellite orbit, its harmonics or their one day aliases. This is the tightest limit put on the amplitude of oscillations in an Ap star. As the rotation period of Epsilon UMa is relatively short (5.1 d), it cannot be argued that the observations were made at a wrong rotational phase. Our results thus support the idea that some Ap stars do not pulsate at all.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, 2 style files, accepted for publication in ApJ

Pushing the limit of instrument capabilities

Chemically Peculiar (CP) stars have been subject of systematic research since more than 50 years. With the discovery of pulsation of some of the cool CP stars, the availability of advanced spectropolarimetric instrumentation and high signal- to-noise, high resolution spectroscopy, a new era of CP star research emerged about 20 years ago. Together with the success in ground-based observations, new space projects are developed that will greatly benefit for future investigations of these unique objects. In this contribution we will give an overview of some interesting results obtained recently from ground-based observations and discuss on future outstanding Gaia space mission and its impact on CP star research.Comment: Joint Discussion 04, Secsion 1, To appear in Highlights of Astronomy, Proc. of the XXVIIth IAU General Assembly, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 2009, 9 page

Thalidomide, dexamethasone and lovastatin with autologous stem cell transplantation as a salvage immunomodulatory therapy in patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma

The treatment of patients with multiple myeloma usually includes many drugs including thalidomide, lenalidomide and bortezomib. Lovastatin and other inhibitors of HMG-CoA reductase demonstrated to exhibit antineoplasmatic and proapoptotic properties in numerous in vitro studies involving myeloma cell lines. We treated 91 patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma with thalidomide, dexamethasone and lovastatin (TDL group, 49 patients) or thalidomide and dexamethasone (TD group, 42 patients). A clinical response defined of at least 50% reduction of monoclonal band has been observed in 32% of TD patients and 44% of TDL patients. Prolongation of overall survival and progression-free survival in the TDL group as compared with the TD group has been documented. The TDL regimen was safe and well tolerated. The incidence of side effects was comparable in both groups. Plasma cells have been cultured in vitro with thalidomide and lovastatin to assess the impact of both drugs on the apoptosis rate of plasma cells. In vitro experiments revealed that the combination of thalidomide and lovastatin induced higher apoptosis rate than apoptosis induced by each drug alone. Our results suggest that the addition of lovastatin to the TD regimen may improve the response rate in patients with relapsed or refractory myeloma

Multiple Myeloma Treatment in Real-world Clinical Practice : Results of a Prospective, Multinational, Noninterventional Study

Funding Information: The authors would like to thank all patients and their families and all the EMMOS investigators for their valuable contributions to the study. The authors would like to acknowledge Robert Olie for his significant contribution to the EMMOS study. Writing support during the development of our report was provided by Laura Mulcahy and Catherine Crookes of FireKite, an Ashfield company, a part of UDG Healthcare plc, which was funded by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Janssen Global Services, LLC. The EMMOS study was supported by research funding from Janssen Pharmaceutical NV and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Funding Information: The authors would like to thank all patients and their families and all the EMMOS investigators for their valuable contributions to the study. The authors would like to acknowledge Robert Olie for his significant contribution to the EMMOS study. Writing support during the development of our report was provided by Laura Mulcahy and Catherine Crookes of FireKite, an Ashfield company, a part of UDG Healthcare plc, which was funded by Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc, and Janssen Global Services, LLC. The EMMOS study was supported by research funding from Janssen Pharmaceutical NV and Millennium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Funding Information: M.M. has received personal fees from Janssen, Celgene, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Sanofi, Novartis, and Takeda and grants from Janssen and Sanofi during the conduct of the study. E.T. has received grants from Janssen and personal fees from Janssen and Takeda during the conduct of the study, and grants from Amgen, Celgene/Genesis, personal fees from Amgen, Celgene/Genesis, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, and Glaxo-Smith Kline outside the submitted work. M.V.M. has received personal fees from Janssen, Celgene, Amgen, and Takeda outside the submitted work. M.C. reports honoraria from Janssen, outside the submitted work. M. B. reports grants from Janssen Cilag during the conduct of the study. M.D. has received honoraria for participation on advisory boards for Janssen, Celgene, Takeda, Amgen, and Novartis. H.S. has received honoraria from Janssen-Cilag, Celgene, Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, and Takeda outside the submitted work. V.P. reports personal fees from Janssen during the conduct of the study and grants, personal fees, and nonfinancial support from Amgen, grants and personal fees from Sanofi, and personal fees from Takeda outside the submitted work. W.W. has received personal fees and grants from Amgen, Celgene, Novartis, Roche, Takeda, Gilead, and Janssen and nonfinancial support from Roche outside the submitted work. J.S. reports grants and nonfinancial support from Janssen Pharmaceutical during the conduct of the study. V.L. reports funding from Janssen Global Services LLC during the conduct of the study and study support from Janssen-Cilag and Pharmion outside the submitted work. A.P. reports employment and shareholding of Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) during the conduct of the study. C.C. reports employment at Janssen-Cilag during the conduct of the study. C.F. reports employment at Janssen Research and Development during the conduct of the study. F.T.B. reports employment at Janssen-Cilag during the conduct of the study. The remaining authors have stated that they have no conflicts of interest. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The AuthorsMultiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable disease, with little information available on its management in real-world clinical practice. The results of the present prospective, noninterventional observational study revealed great diversity in the treatment regimens used to treat MM. Our results also provide data to inform health economic, pharmacoepidemiologic, and outcomes research, providing a framework for the design of protocols to improve the outcomes of patients with MM. Background: The present prospective, multinational, noninterventional study aimed to document and describe real-world treatment regimens and disease progression in multiple myeloma (MM) patients. Patients and Methods: Adult patients initiating any new MM therapy from October 2010 to October 2012 were eligible. A multistage patient/site recruitment model was applied to minimize the selection bias; enrollment was stratified by country, region, and practice type. The patient medical and disease features, treatment history, and remission status were recorded at baseline, and prospective data on treatment, efficacy, and safety were collected electronically every 3 months. Results: A total of 2358 patients were enrolled. Of these patients, 775 and 1583 did and did not undergo stem cell transplantation (SCT) at any time during treatment, respectively. Of the patients in the SCT and non-SCT groups, 49%, 21%, 14%, and 15% and 57%, 20%, 12% and 10% were enrolled at treatment line 1, 2, 3, and ≥ 4, respectively. In the SCT and non-SCT groups, 45% and 54% of the patients had received bortezomib-based therapy without thalidomide/lenalidomide, 12% and 18% had received thalidomide/lenalidomide-based therapy without bortezomib, and 30% and 4% had received bortezomib plus thalidomide/lenalidomide-based therapy as frontline treatment, respectively. The corresponding proportions of SCT and non-SCT patients in lines 2, 3, and ≥ 4 were 45% and 37%, 30% and 37%, and 12% and 3%, 33% and 27%, 35% and 32%, and 8% and 2%, and 27% and 27%, 27% and 23%, and 6% and 4%, respectively. In the SCT and non-SCT patients, the overall response rate was 86% to 97% and 64% to 85% in line 1, 74% to 78% and 59% to 68% in line 2, 55% to 83% and 48% to 60% in line 3, and 49% to 65% and 36% and 45% in line 4, respectively, for regimens that included bortezomib and/or thalidomide/lenalidomide. Conclusion: The results of our prospective study have revealed great diversity in the treatment regimens used to manage MM in real-life practice. This diversity was linked to factors such as novel agent accessibility and evolving treatment recommendations. Our results provide insight into associated clinical benefits.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Virtual Acoustics at the Service of Music Performance and Recording

Virtual or active acoustics refers to the generation of a simulated room response by means of elec- troacoustics and digital signal processing. An artificial room response may include sound reflections and reverberation as well as other acoustic features mimicking the actual room. They will cause the listener to have an impression of being immersed in virtual acoustics of another simulated room that coexists with the actual physical room. Using low-latency broadband multi-channel convolution and carefully measured room data, optimized transducers for rendering of sound fields, and an intuitive touch control user in- terface, it is possible to achieve a very high perceived quality of active acoustics, with a straightforward adjustability. The electroacoustically coupled room resulting from such optimization does not merely produce an equivalent of a back-door reverberation chamber, but rather a fully functional complete room superimposed on the physical room, yet with highly selectable and adjustable acoustic response. The utility of such active system for music recording and performance is discussed and supported with examples

Perceived synchrony in a bimodal display: Optimal intermodal delay for coordinated auditory and haptic reproduction

Presented at the 10th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2004)The purpose of this study was to determine the range of optimum intermodal delay values for coordinated auditory and haptic reproduction of brief impact events. Indirect psychophysical methods were used to find the intermodal delay that would be most likely to generate the response of perceived synchrony between acoustic and structural vibration components of those events. A recording of a representative impact sound was processed to create bimodal stimuli with varying amounts of intermodal delay between the bimodally reproduced components. The haptic component of the bimodal stimulus was whole-body vibration presented via a platform on which the observer was seated. Using four actuators moving together, users could be displaced linearly upwards or downwards, with a very quick response and with considerable force (the feedback-corrected linear system frequency response was flat to 50 Hz). The auditory component of the bimodal stimulus was presented in an immersive virtual acoustic environment via a multichannel reproduction of simulated indirect sound. The direct sound component matched to the haptic stimulus was reproduced via a frontally-located pair of loudspeakers that included a low-frequency driver capable of reproducing sound with a linear frequency response ranging from 25 to 300 Hz and a high-frequency driver extending well above 20kHz. The intermodal delay was adaptively varied using a two-alternative, forced-choice (2AFC) procedure to track the point of subjective simultaneity (PSS) based upon temporal order judgments with the following response options: 1) haptic sensation seemed to precede auditory sensation; and 2) haptic sensation seemed to follow auditory sensation. Then, in order to avoid sequential response biases in the tracking procedure, a constant stimulus method was used to determine directly the optimal range of intermodal delay values for producing observer responses of intermodal synchrony, with two response options: haptic sensation either seemed to precede or to follow auditory sensation

Active Acoustics in Concert Halls - A New Approach

Active acoustics offers potential benefits in music halls having acoustical shortcomings and is a relatively inexpensive alternative to physical modifications of the enclosures. One critical benefit of active architecture is the controlled variability of acoustics. Although many improvements have been made over the last 60 years in the quality and usability of active acoustics, some problems still persist and the acceptance of this technology is advancing cautiously. McGill’s Virtual Acoustic Technology (VAT) offers new solutions in the key areas of performance by focusing on the electroacoustic coupling between the existing room acoustics and the simulation acoustics. All control parameters of the active acoustics are implemented in the Space Builder engine by employing multichannel parallel mixing, routing, and processing. The virtual acoustic response is created using low-latency convolution and a three-way temporal segmentation of the measured impulse responses. This method facilitates a sooner release of the virtual room response and its radiation into the surrounding space. Field tests are currently underway at McGill University involving performing musicians and the audience in order to fully assess and quantify the benefits of this new approach in active acoustics

Active Acoustics in Concert Halls - A New Approach

Active acoustics offers potential benefits in music halls having acoustical short-comings and is a relatively inexpensive alternative to physical modifications of the enclosures. One critical benefit of active architecture is the controlled variability of acoustics. Although many improvements have been made over the last 60 years in the quality and usability of active acoustics, some problems still persist and the acceptance of this technology is advancing cautiously. McGill’s Virtual Acoustic Technology (VAT) offers new solutions in the key areas of performance by focusing on the electroacoustic coupling between the existing room acoustics and the simu-lation acoustics. All control parameters of the active acoustics are implemented in the Space Builder engine by employing multichannel parallel mixing, routing, and processing. The virtual acoustic response is created using low-latency convolution and a three-way temporal segmentation of the measured impulse responses. This method facilitates a sooner release of the virtual room response and its radiation into the surrounding space. Field tests are currently underway at McGill Univer-sity involving performing musicians and the audience in order to fully assess and quantify the benefits of this new approach in active acoustics