Size-Dependence of the Wavefunction of Self-Assembled Quantum Dots

The radiative and non-radiative decay rates of InAs quantum dots are measured by controlling the local density of optical states near an interface. From time-resolved measurements we extract the oscillator strength and the quantum efficiency and their dependence on emission energy. From our results and a theoretical model we determine the striking dependence of the overlap of the electron and hole wavefunctions on the quantum dot size. We conclude that the optical quality is best for large quantum dots, which is important in order to optimally tailor quantum dot emitters for, e.g., quantum electrodynamics experiments.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Efficacy and toxicity of adjuvant chemotherapy in elderly patients with colorectal cancer:the ACCORE study

BACKGROUND: Elderly patients with primary colorectal cancer (CRC) are less frequently treated with adjuvant chemotherapy than younger patients due to concerns regarding toxicity and efficiency. We investigated how age, performance status (PS) and comorbidity influence treatment outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective single-centre study of 529 patients with stages II–III CRC treated with adjuvant chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil/capecitabine+/÷oxaliplatin) from 2001 to 2011 at Herlev Hospital, Denmark. Baseline characteristics, chemotherapy and outcome were analysed with respect to age after adjusting for PS and comorbidity. RESULTS: Elderly patients (>70 years) had significantly more comorbidity (p<0.001) and poorer PS (p=0.001) than younger patients. Elderly were more frequently treated with single-agent therapy (p=0.001) and at lower initial dose (p<0.001). There was no age-dependent difference in 3-year disease-free survival (DFS; HR 1.09, 95% CI 0.80 to 1.47, p=0.59), in grade 3–5 toxicity (29% vs 28%, p=0.86) or in 10-year CRC mortality (28%, HR 1.07, p=0.71). In elderly patients, a reduction in chemotherapy dose intensity compared with full dose had no impact on DFS or CRC mortality. Elderly patients receiving <50% of planned cycles had shorter DFS (HR=1.78, p=0.020) and higher CRC mortality (HR=2.17, p=0.027) than elderly receiving all cycles. Poor PS in younger and elderly patients was related to shorter DFS (HR=1.95, p=0.002; HR=1.6, p=0.035, respectively) and overall survival (OS; HR=2.28, p<0.001; HR=2.03, p=0.002). Comorbidity in younger patients was significantly related to shorter DFS (HR 2.72, p<0.001), OS (HR 3.16, p<0.001) and higher CRC mortality (HR 2.70, p=0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Choice of regimen, primary dose reduction and given dose intensity in patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy for CRC were highly dependent on age. However, age had no impact on DFS and CRC mortality. Comorbidity in younger patients and PS in all patients were associated with shorter DFS and higher CRC mortality

Antibody engineering & therapeutics, the annual meeting of the antibody society December 7-10, 2015, San Diego, CA, USA

The 26th Antibody Engineering & Therapeutics meeting, the annual meeting of The Antibody Society united over 800 participants from all over the world in San Diego from 6-10 December 2015. The latest innovations and advances in antibody research and development were discussed, covering a myriad of antibody-related topics by more than 100 speakers, who were carefully selected by The Antibody Society. As a prelude, attendees could join the pre-conference training course focusing, among others, on the engineering and enhancement of antibodies and antibody-like scaffolds, bispecific antibody engineering and adaptation to generate chimeric antigen receptor constructs. The main event covered 4 d of scientific sessions that included antibody effector functions, reproducibility of research and diagnostic antibodies, new developments in antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs), preclinical and clinical ADC data, new technologies and applications for bispecific antibodies, antibody therapeutics for non-cancer and orphan indications, antibodies to harness the cellular immune system, building comprehensive IgVH-gene repertoires through discovering, confirming and cataloging new germline IgVH genes, and overcoming resistance to clinical immunotherapy. The Antibody Society's special session focused on "Antibodies to watch" in 2016. Another special session put the spotlight on the limitations of the new definitions for the assignment of antibody international nonproprietary names introduced by the World Health Organization. The convention concluded with workshops on computational antibody design and on the promise and challenges of using next-generation sequencing for antibody discovery and engineering from synthetic and in vivo libraries

Prevalence and Characteristics Associated With Post-COVID-19 Condition Among Nonhospitalized Adolescents and Young Adults

Importance: The prevalence and baseline risk factors of post-COVID-19 condition (PCC) remain unresolved among the large number of young people who experienced mild COVID-19. Objectives: To determine the point prevalence of PCC 6 months after the acute infection, to determine the risk of development of PCC adjusted for possible confounders, and to explore a broad range of potential risk factors. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included nonhospitalized individuals from 2 counties in Norway between ages 12 and 25 years who underwent reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing. At the early convalescent stage and at 6-month follow-up, participants underwent a clinical examination; pulmonary, cardiac, and cognitive functional testing; immunological and organ injury biomarker analyses; and completion of a questionnaire. Participants were classified according to the World Health Organization case definition of PCC at follow-up. Association analyses of 78 potential risk factors were performed. Exposures: SARS-CoV-2 infection. Main Outcomes and Measures: The point prevalence of PCC 6 months after RT-PCR testing in the SARS-CoV-2-positive and SARS-CoV-2-negative groups, and the risk difference with corresponding 95% CIs. Results: A total of 404 individuals testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 and 105 individuals testing negative were enrolled (194 male [38.1%]; 102 non-European [20.0%] ethnicity). A total of 22 of the SARS-CoV-2-positive and 4 of the SARS-CoV-2-negative individuals were lost to follow-up, and 16 SARS-CoV-2-negative individuals were excluded due to SARS-CoV-2 infection in the observational period. Hence, 382 SARS-CoV-2-positive participants (mean [SD] age, 18.0 [3.7] years; 152 male [39.8%]) and 85 SARS-CoV-2-negative participants (mean [SD] age, 17.7 [3.2] years; 31 male [36.5%]) could be evaluated. The point prevalence of PCC at 6 months was 48.5% in the SARS-CoV-2-positive group and 47.1% in the control group (risk difference, 1.5%; 95% CI, -10.2% to 13.1%). SARS-CoV-2 positivity was not associated with the development of PCC (relative risk [RR], 1.06; 95% CI, 0.83 to 1.37; final multivariable model utilizing modified Poisson regression). The main risk factor for PCC was symptom severity at baseline (RR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.27-1.56). Low physical activity (RR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.92-1.00) and loneliness (RR, 1.01; 95% CI, 1.00-1.02) were also associated, while biological markers were not. Symptom severity correlated with personality traits. Conclusions and Relevance: The persistent symptoms and disability that characterize PCC are associated with factors other than SARS-CoV-2 infection, including psychosocial factors. This finding raises questions about the utility of the World Health Organization case definition and has implications for the planning of health care services as well as for further research on PCC

Glutamine synthetase activity fuels nucleotide biosynthesis and supports growth of glutamine-restriced glioblastoma

L-Glutamine (Gln) functions physiologically to balance the carbon and nitrogen requirements of tissues. It has been proposed that in cancer cells undergoing aerobic glycolysis, accelerated anabolism is sustained by Gln-derived carbons, which replenish the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle (anaplerosis). However, it is shown here that in glioblastoma (GBM) cells, almost half of the Gln-derived glutamate (Glu) is secreted and does not enter the TCA cycle, and that inhibiting glutaminolysis does not affect cell proliferation. Moreover, Gln-starved cells are not rescued by TCA cycle replenishment. Instead, the conversion of Glu to Gln by glutamine synthetase (GS; cataplerosis) confers Gln prototrophy, and fuels de novo purine biosynthesis. In both orthotopic GBM models and in patients, (13)C-glucose tracing showed that GS produces Gln from TCA-cycle-derived carbons. Finally, the Gln required for the growth of GBM tumours is contributed only marginally by the circulation, and is mainly either autonomously synthesized by GS-positive glioma cells, or supplied by astrocytes

11Be(beta-p), a quasi-free neutron decay?

We have observed beta-delayed proton emission from the neutron-rich nucleus 11Be by analysing a sample collected at the ISOLDE facility at CERN with accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). With a branching ratio of (8.4 +- 0.6) 10^{-6} the strength of this decay mode, as measured by the B(GT)-value, is unexpectedly high. The result is discussed within a simple single-particle model and could be interpreted as a quasi-free decay of the 11Be halo neutron into a single-proton state.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure

Investigation of potential non-HLA rheumatoid arthritis susceptibility loci in a European cohort increases the evidence for nine markers

BACKGROUND: Genetic factors have a substantial role in determining development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and are likely to account for 50-60% of disease susceptibility. Genome-wide association studies have identified non-human leucocyte antigen RA susceptibility loci which associate with RA with low-to-moderate risk. OBJECTIVES: To investigate recently identified RA susceptibility markers using cohorts from six European countries, and perform a meta-analysis including previously published results. METHODS: 3311 DNA samples were collected from patients from six countries (UK, Germany, France, Greece, Sweden and Denmark). Genotype data or DNA samples for 3709 controls were collected from four countries (not Sweden or Denmark). Eighteen single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped using Sequenom MassArray technology. Samples with a >95% success rate and only those SNPs with a genotype success rate of >95% were included in the analysis. Scandinavian patient data were pooled and previously published Swedish control data were accessed as a comparison group. Meta-analysis was used to combine results from this study with all previously published data. RESULTS: After quality control, 3209 patients and 3692 controls were included in the study. Eight markers (ie, rs1160542 (AFF3), rs1678542 (KIF5A), rs2476601 (PTPN22), rs3087243 (CTLA4), rs4810485 (CD40), rs5029937 (6q23), rs10760130 (TRAF1/C5) and rs7574865 (STAT4)) were significantly associated with RA by meta-analysis. All 18 markers were associated with RA when previously published studies were incorporated in the analysis. Data from this study increased the significance for association with RA and nine markers. CONCLUSIONS: In a large European RA cohort further evidence for the association of 18 markers with RA development has been obtained

The influence of cardiovascular morbidity on the prognosis in prostate cancer. Experience from a 12-year nationwide Danish population-based cohort study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To determine the impact of preexisting ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke on overall survival in prostate cancer patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a cohort study of patients with incident prostate cancer registered in the Danish Cancer Registry from 1997 through 2008. We identified patients diagnosed with IHD or stroke prior to the date of prostate cancer diagnosis in the Danish National Patient Registry. We constructed Kaplan-Meier curves to analyze time to death and Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) to compare mortality rates by preexisting IHD or stroke status, adjusting for age, stage, comorbidity, and calendar period.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 30,721 prostate cancer patients, 4,276 (14%) had preexisting IHD and 1,331 (4%) preexisting stroke. Crude 1- and 5-year survival rates were 85% and 44% in men without preexisting IHD or stroke, 81% and 36% in men with preexisting IHD, and 78% and 27% in men with preexisting stroke. Adjusted HRs were 1.05 (95% CI 1.00-1.10) for patients with IHD and 1.20 (95% CI 1.12-1.30) for patients with stroke compared with patients without preexisting IHD or stroke.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Preexisting IHD had minimal impact on mortality in prostate cancer patients, whereas overall mortality was 20% higher in prostate cancer patients with preexisting stroke compared to those without IHD or stroke. These results highlight the importance of differentiating between various comorbidities.</p