Analysis of the XENON100 Dark Matter Search Data

The XENON100 experiment, situated in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso, aims at the direct detection of dark matter in the form of weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs), based on their interactions with xenon nuclei in an ultra low background dual-phase time projection chamber. This paper describes the general methods developed for the analysis of the XENON100 data. These methods have been used in the 100.9 and 224.6 live days science runs from which results on spin-independent elastic, spin-dependent elastic and inelastic WIMP-nucleon cross-sections have already been reported.Comment: 18 pages, 17 figures, information for the 224.6 live days run include

Detailed Mapping of Hydrothermal Vent Fauna: A 3D Reconstruction Approach Based on Video Imagery

Active hydrothermal vent fields are complex, small-scale habitats hosting endemic fauna that changes at scales of centimeters, influenced by topographical variables. In previous studies, it has been shown that the distance to hydrothermal fluids is also a major structuring factor. Imagery analysis based on two dimensional photo stitching revealed insights to the vent field zonation around fluid exits and a basic knowledge of faunal assemblages within hydrothermal vent fields. However, complex three dimensional surfaces could not be adequately replicated in those studies, and the assemblage structure, as well as their relation to abiotic terrain variables, is often only descriptive. In this study we use ROV video imagery of a hydrothermal vent field on the southeastern Indian Ridge in the Indian Ocean. Structure from Motion photogrammetry was applied to build a high resolution 3D reconstruction model of one side of a newly discovered active hydrothermal chimney complex, allowing for the quantification of abundances. Likewise, the reconstruction was used to infer terrain variables at a scale important for megabenthic specimens, which were related to the abundances of the faunal assemblages. Based on the terrain variables, applied random forest model predicted the faunal assemblage distribution with an accuracy of 84.97 %. The most important structuring variables were the distances to diffuse- and black fluid exits, as well as the height of the chimney complex. This novel approach enabled us to classify quantified abundances of megabenthic taxa to distinct faunal assemblages and relate terrain variables to their distribution. The successful prediction of faunal assemblage occurrences further supports the importance of abiotic terrain variables as key structuring factors in hydrothermal systems and offers the possibility to detect suitable areas for Marine Protected areas on larger spatial scales. This technique works for any kind of video imagery, regardless of its initial purpose and can be implemented in marine monitoring and management

To defer or not to defer? A German longitudinal multicentric assessment of clinical practice in urology during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction After the outbreak of COVID-19 unprecedented changes in the healthcare systems worldwide were necessary resulting in a reduction of urological capacities with postponements of consultations and surgeries. Material and methods An email was sent to 66 urological hospitals with focus on robotic surgery (RS) including a link to a questionnaire (e.g. bed/staff capacity, surgical caseload, protection measures during RS) that covered three time points: a representative baseline week prior to COVID-19, the week of March 16th-22nd and April 20th-26th 2020. The results were evaluated using descriptive analyses. Results 27 out of 66 questionnaires were analyzed (response rate: 41%). We found a decrease of 11% in hospital beds and 25% in OR capacity with equal reductions for endourological, open and robotic procedures. Primary surgical treatment of urolithiasis and benign prostate syndrome (BPS) but also of testicular and penile cancer dropped by at least 50% while the decrease of surgeries for prostate, renal and urothelial cancer (TUR-B and cystectomies) ranged from 15 to 37%. The use of personal protection equipment (PPE), screening of staff and patients and protection during RS was unevenly distributed in the different centers\u2013however, the number of COVID-19 patients and urologists did not reach double digits. Conclusion The German urological landscape has changed since the outbreak of COVID-19 with a significant shift of high priority surgeries but also continuation of elective surgical treatments. While screening and staff protection is employed heterogeneously, the number of infected German urologists stays low

Preoperative C-Reactive Protein in the Serum: A Prognostic Biomarker for Upper Urinary Tract Urothelial Carcinoma Treated with Radical Nephroureterectomy

Objective: To investigate the impact of preoperative serum C-reactive protein (CRP) on clinicopathological features and prognosis in patients with upper tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) after radical nephroureterectomy (RNU). Patients andMethods: Data of 265 patients from three German centers who underwent RNU for UTUC without neoadjuvant chemotherapy between 1990 and 2012 were evaluated. Mean follow-up was 37 months (interquartile range 9-48). CRP was analyzed as a categorical and continuous variable for the prediction of recurrence-free survival (RFS), disease-specific survival (DSS) and all-cause survival (ACS) using uni- and multivariate Cox regression analyses. Results: The optimal cutoff for CRP was calculated by the Youden index at 0.90 mg/dl. Elevated CRP was significantly associated with pT3/4 and pN+ in a preoperative model including age, gender, tumor multifocality, tumor localization and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status. In a multivariable Cox regression model adjusted for features significant in univariable analysis, categorized and continuous CRP levels were both independent predictors for RFS [hazard ratio (HR) 1.18, p = 0.050; HR 1.03, p = 0.012] and DSS (HR 1.61, p = 0.026; HR 1.06, p = 0.001). Continuous CRP was an independent predictor for ACS (HR 1.05, p = 0.036). Conclusions: Elevated preoperative CRP is significantly associated with aggressive tumor biology and an independent predictor for poor survival after RNU. Preoperative serum CRP represents an easily obtainable and cost-effective marker in UTUC and may help in counseling patients with regard to operative management and/or adjuvant or neoadjuvant therapies

Evaluation of the nasal mucociliary transport rate by rhinoscintigraphy before and after surgery in patients with deviated nasal septum

In this study, we have investigated the effect of nasal septal deviation (NSD) on nasal mucociliary activity and how does a septoplasty operation affecs the nasal mucociliary transport rate in the first and third months during the post-operative period. Twenty-two patients who were diagnosed with NSD and 22 healthy controls were studied using rhinoscintigraphy with Tc-99m-macroaggregated albumin (Tc-99m-MAA). On each case, the nasal mucociliary transport rate (NMTR) was measured pre-operatively only on five cases, on the first and third months of post-operative period. The NMTRs of patients with a deviated septum were significantly lower than the NMTRs of the healthy controls on both the convex and concave sides. Significant improvement was observed in the first post-operative month. On the concave and convex sides, the average postop third month post-operative NMTR value was higher than the first month post-operative NMTR values. It was concluded that the septoplasty operation improves reduced NMTRs after surgery. The effect of nasal surgery on nasal mucociliary activity may be more accurately evaluated in the third month than the first month of post-operative period

Effects of Nitrogen contamination in liquid Argon

A dedicated test of the effects of Nitrogen contamination in liquid Argon has been performed at the INFN-Gran Sasso Laboratory (LNGS, Italy) within the WArP R&D program. A detector has been designed and assembled for this specific task and connected to a system for the injection of controlled amounts of gaseous Nitrogen into the liquid Argon. Purpose of the test is to detect the reduction of the Ar scintillation light emission as a function of the amount of the Nitrogen contaminant injected in the Argon volume. A wide concentration range, spanning from about 10^-1 ppm up to about 10^3 ppm, has been explored. Measurements have been done with electrons in the energy range of minimum ionizing particles (gamma-conversion from radioactive sources). Source spectra at different Nitrogen contaminations are analyzed, showing sensitive reduction of the scintillation yield at increasing concentrations. The rate constant of the light quenching process induced by Nitrogen in liquid Ar has been found to be k(N2)=0.11 micros^-1 ppm^-1. Direct PMT signals acquisition at high time resolution by fast Waveform recording allowed to extract with high precision the main characteristics of the scintillation light emission in pure and contaminated LAr. In particular, the decreasing behavior in lifetime and relative amplitude of the slow component is found to be appreciable from O(1 ppm) of Nitrogen concentrations

Management of cryptorchidism: a survey of clinical practice in Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>An evidence-based Consensus on the treatment of undescended testis (UT) was recently published, recommending to perform orchidopexy between 6 and 12 months of age, or upon diagnosis and to avoid the use of hormones. In Italy, current practices on UT management are little known. Our aim was to describe the current management of UT in a cohort of Italian children in comparison with the Consensus guidelines. As management of retractile testis (RT) differs, RT cases were described separately.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Ours is a retrospective, multicenter descriptive study. An online questionnaire was filled in by 140 Italian Family Paediatricians (FP) from <it>Associazione Culturale Pediatri </it>(ACP), a national professional association of FP. The questionnaire requested information on all children with cryptorchidism born between 1/01/2004 and 1/01/2006. Data on 169 children were obtained. Analyses were descriptive.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall 24% of children were diagnosed with RT, 76% with UT. Among the latter, cryptorchidism resolved spontaneously in 10% of cases at a mean age of 21.6 months. Overall 70% of UT cases underwent orchidopexy at a mean age of 22.8 months (SD 10.8, range 1.2-56.4), 13% of whom before 1 year. The intervention was performed by a paediatric surgeon in 90% of cases, with a success rate of 91%. Orchidopexy was the first line treatment in 82% of cases, while preceded by hormonal treatment in the remaining 18%. Hormonal treatment was used as first line therapy in 23% of UT cases with a reported success rate of 25%. Overall, 13 children did not undergo any intervention (mean age at last follow up 39.6 months). We analyzed the data from the 5 Italian Regions with the largest number of children enrolled and found a statistically significant regional difference in the use of hormonal therapy, and in the use of and age at orchidopexy.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our study showed an important delay in orchidopexy. A quarter of children with cryptorchidism was treated with hormonal therapy. In line with the Consensus guidelines, surgery was carried out by a paediatric surgeon in the majority of cases, with a high success rate.</p

The First European Interdisciplinary Ewing Sarcoma Research Summit

The European Network for Cancer Research in Children and Adolescents (ENCCA) provides an interaction platform for stakeholders in research and care of children with cancer. Among ENCCA objectives is the establishment of biology-based prioritization mechanisms for the selection of innovative targets, drugs, and prognostic markers for validation in clinical trials. Specifically for sarcomas, there is a burning need for novel treatment options, since current chemotherapeutic treatment protocols have met their limits. This is most obvious for metastatic Ewing sarcoma (ES), where long term survival rates are still below 20%. Despite significant progress in our understanding of ES biology, clinical translation of promising laboratory results has not yet taken place due to fragmentation of research and lack of an institutionalized discussion forum. To fill this gap, ENCCA assembled 30 European expert scientists and five North American opinion leaders in December 2011 to exchange thoughts and discuss the state of the art in ES research and latest results from the bench, and to propose biological studies and novel promising therapeutics for the upcoming European EWING2008 and EWING2012 clinical trials