4,994 research outputs found
Impressive long-term response with pertuzumab and trastuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer with brain metastasis
This is a case report of a 40-year-old woman who, after conservative breast cancer treatment, developed a HER2 positive solitary brain metastasis in the left temporal lobe, without extracranial disease. She underwent surgery resection followed by stereotactic radiotherapy and, because of early brain progression, she was submitted to the first line therapy with pertuzumab, trastuzumab and weekly paclitaxel. After six months of treatment, a brain magnetic resonance imaging revealed a complete disappearance of brain recurrence, which persisted for more than 24 months
Hidden AGNs in Early-Type Galaxies
We present a stacking analysis of the complete sample of Early Type Galaxies
(ETGs) in the \textit{Chandra} COSMOS (C-COSMOS) survey, to explore the nature
of the X-ray luminosity in the redshift and stellar luminosity ranges
and {10}^{9}. Using established
scaling relations, we subtract the contribution of X-ray binary populations, to
estimate the combined emission of hot ISM and AGN. To discriminate between the
relative importance of these two components, we (1) compare our results with
the relation observed in the local universe for
hot gaseous halos emission in ETGs, and (2) evaluate the spectral signature of
each stacked bin. We find two regimes where the non-stellar X-ray emission is
hard, consisten t with AGN emission. First, there is evidence of hard, absorbed
X-ray emission in stacked bins including relatively high z () ETGs
with average high X-ray luminosity (L_{X-LMXB}\gtrsim 6\times{10}^{42}\mbox{
erg}/\mbox{s}). These luminosities are consistent with the presence ofhighly
absorbed "hidden" AGNs in these ETGs, which are not visible in their optical-IR
spectra and spectral energy distributions. Second, confirming the early
indication from our C-COSMOS study of X-ray detected ETGs, we find
significantly enhanced X-ray luminoaity in lower stellar mass ETGs
(L_K\lesssim{10}^{11}L_{\astrosun}), relative to the local
relation. The stacked spectra of these ETGs also
suggest X-ray emission harder than expected from gaseous hot halos. This
emission is consistent with inefficient accretion
onto M_{BH}\sim
{10}^{6}-{10}^{8}\,M_{\astrosun}.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publications on Ap
Early-type galaxies in the Chandra COSMOS Survey
We study a sample of 69 X-ray detected Early Type Galaxies (ETGs), selected
from the Chandra COSMOS survey, to explore the relation between the X-ray
luminosity of hot gaseous halos (L_X, gas) and the integrated stellar
luminosity (L_K) of the galaxies, in a range of redshift extending out to
z=1.5. In the local universe a tight steep relationship has been stablished
between these two quantities (L_X,gas~ L_K^4.5) suggesting the presence of
largely virialized halos in X-ray luminous systems. We use well established
relations from the study of local universe ETGs, together with the expected
evolution of the X-ray emission, to subtract the contribution of low mass X-ray
binary populations (LMXBs) from the X-ray luminosity of our sample. Our
selection minimizes the presence of active galactic nuclei (AGN), yielding a
sample representative of normal passive COSMOS ETGs; therefore the resulting
luminosity should be representative of gaseous halos, although we cannot
exclude other sources such as obscured AGN, or enhanced X-ray emission
connected with embedded star formation in the higher z galaxies. We find that
most of the galaxies with estimated L_X<10^42 erg/s and z<0.55 follow the
L_X,gas- L_K relation of local universe ETGs. For these galaxies, the
gravitational mass can be estimated with a certain degree of confidence from
the local virial relation. However, the more luminous (10^42<L_X<10^43.5 erg/s)
and distant galaxies present significantly larger scatter; these galaxies also
tend to have younger stellar ages. The divergence from the local L_X,gas - L_K
relation in these galaxies implies significantly enhanced X-ray emission, up to
a factor of 100 larger than predicted from the local relation. We discuss the
implications of this result for the presence of hidden AGN, and the evolution
of hot halos, in the presence of nuclear and star formation feedback.Comment: 29 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication on ApJ on May 27 201
Beam diagnostics for charge and position measurements in ELI-NP GBS
The advanced source of Gamma-ray photons to be built in Bucharest (Romania), as part of the ELI-NP European Research Infrastructure, will generate photons by Compton back-scattering in the collision between a multi-bunch electron beam and a high intensity recirculated laser pulse. An S-Band photoinjector and the following C-band Linac at a maximum energy of 720MeV, under construction by an European consortium (EurogammaS) led by INFN, will operate at 100Hz repetition rate with trains of 32 electron bunches, separated by 16ns and a 250pC nominal charge. The different BPMs and current transformers used to measure transverse beam position and charge along the LINAC are described. Design criteria, production status and bench test results of the charge and position pickups are reported in the paper, together with the related data acquisition systems
Probing the spin states of three interacting electrons in quantum dots
We observe a low-lying sharp spin mode of three interacting electrons in an
array of nanofabricated AlGaAs/GaAs quantum dots by means of resonant inelastic
light scattering. The finding is enabled by a suppression of the inhomogeneous
contribution to the excitation spectra obtained by reducing the number of
optically-probed quantum dots. Supported by configuration-interaction
calculations we argue that the observed spin mode offers a direct probe of
Stoner ferromagnetism in the simplest case of three interacting spin one-half
fermions
Consumer Awareness of the Degree of Industrial Food Processing and the Association with Healthiness—A Pilot Study
Consumption of ultraprocessed foods (UPFs) has been associated with lower diet quality, obesity, and adverse health effects. Not much is known about how consumers evaluate the degree of processing of a food product and how they relate this to healthiness. An online questionnaire was completed by a total of 277 Dutch, 204 Italian, and 181 Brazilian consumers. Consumers were aged 18–65 year, mean 38 ± 13 year, 31% were males, and 71% were highly educated. Pictures of several common food products were evaluated on the degree of industrial processing and healthiness. Thirteen food categories were included, each including one minimally processed food (MPF), one High NS_UPF (Nutri-Score A or B), and one Low NS_UPF (Nutri-Score D or E). Lastly, knowledge and attitude about UPFs were assessed. Ultraprocessing was perceived as unhealthy by the majority of consumers (Dutch, Italian: 55%; Brazilian: 75%) and contributed to weight gain according to: 38% Dutch, 51% Italian, and 70% Brazilian consumers. Low NS_UPFs were correctly rated toward “processed” and “not healthy” in all countries. High NS_UPF were rated as processed but showed large variations in healthiness scores. In conclusion, consumers rated UPFs relatively low in healthiness compared with MPFs with similar Nutri-Scores within the same food category. These preliminary findings suggest that consumers incorporate, to some extent, the degree of industrial processing while assessing the healthiness of food products
A deep Chandra, VLA and Spitzer IRAC study of the very low luminosity nucleus of the elliptical NGC821
The relatively nearby (distance=24.1 Mpc) elliptical galaxy NGC821 hosts an
extreme example of a quiescent central massive black hole, for which deep
Chandra observations revealed a nuclear source for the first time (with L(2-10
keV)/L_Edd ~ 3.6X10^{-8}). We present here a multiwavelength study of this
nucleus, including VLA observations that detect a radio counterpart to the
Chandra nuclear source at 1.4 GHz, with a flux density of 127 m and
possibly a flat spectral shape; we also consider new Spitzer IRAC observations
and archival HST images. With these data we discuss possible scenarios for the
accretion modalities of the sole material that is available for fuelling, i.e.,
the stellar mass losses steadily replenishing the circumnuclear region. The
final stages of accretion could be radiatively inefficient and coupled to a
compact nuclear jet/outfow. The stellar mass losses could instead end up in a
standard disc only if a Compton-thick AGN is present. Two extended sources
detected by Chandra close to the nucleus could be due to several unresolved
knots in a jet. If a jet is present, though, its kinetic energy would be only a
very small fraction of the energy associated with the rest mass of the material
being accreted. Starformation close to the nucleus is not shown by the
available data. Deeper NICMOS, radio and far-IR observations should further
constrain the accretion process.Comment: 32 pages, 4 figures; minor changes; accepted for publication in ApJ.
This is the companion paper of astro-ph/070163
Association Between Sedentary Time and Quality of Life From the Osteoarthritis Initiative: Who Might Benefit Most From Treatment?
Objective To investigate the relationship between sedentary behavior and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) among participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative. Design Longitudinal, observational design. Setting Osteoarthritis Initiative cohort. Participants
Individuals (N=1794) from a prospective, multicenter longitudinal cohort were classified into quantile groups based on average daily sedentary time (most sedentary, quartile 1 [Q1] ≥11.6h; 10.7h≤ Q2 Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Individual QALYs were estimated over 2 years from the area under the curve of health-related utility scores derived from the Medical Outcomes Study 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey versus time. The relationship between baseline sedentary behavior and median 2-year QALYs was estimated using quantile regression adjusted for socioeconomic factors and body mass index. Results Lower QALYs over 2 years were more frequently found among the most sedentary (Q1, median 1.59), and QALYs increased as time spent in baseline sedentary behavior decreased (median QALYs for Q2, 1.64; Q3, 1.65; Q4, 1.65). The relationship of sedentary time and median QALY change was only significant for the most sedentary Q1 group, where an additional hour of sedentary behavior significantly reduced QALYs by −.072 (95% confidence interval, −.121 to −.020). Conclusions Our findings suggest that individuals with the most extreme sedentary profiles may be vulnerable to additional losses of quality of life if they become more sedentary. Targeting these individuals to decrease sedentary behavior has the potential to be cost-effective
Mercury in Eledone cirrhosa from the Northern Tyrrhenian Sea: Contents and relations with life cycle
The Hg concentration in horned octopus was studied in relation to its biological cycle. The metal was measured in the muscle tissue of specimens of different size, sex and maturity. This species proved to be a strong accumulator of mercury, whose concentration was found to be correlated with length independently of the sex. The relationship with size was found also for the organic form. Consideration was given to the danger of frequent consumption of this cephalopod and to its use as a biomonitor of environmental mercury impact
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