High-energy astroparticle physics with CALET

The CALorimetric Electron Telescope (CALET) will be installed on the Exposure Facility of the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM-EF) on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2014 where it will measure the cosmic-ray fluxes for five years. Its main scientific goals are to search for dark matter, investigate the mechanism of cosmic-ray acceleration and propagation in the Galaxy and discover possible astrophysical sources of high-energy electrons nearby the Earth. The instrument, under construction, consists of two layers of segmented plastic scintillators for the cosmic-ray charge identification (CHD), a 3 X$_0$-thick tungsten-scintillating fiber imaging calorimeter (IMC) and a 27 X$_0$-thick lead-tungstate calorimeter (TASC). The CHD can provide single-element separation in the interval of atomic number Z from 1 to 40, while IMC and TASC can measure the energy of cosmic-ray particles with excellent resolution in the range from few GeV up to several hundreds of TeV. Moreover, IMC and TASC provide the longitudinal and lateral development of the shower, a key issue for good electron/hadron discrimination. In this paper, we will review the status of the mission, the instrument configuration and its expected performance, and the CALET capability to measure the different components of the cosmic radiation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Contribution to the proceedings for the 23rd European Cosmic Ray Symposium 3-7 July 2012, Moscow, Russi

Cosmic rays: direct measurements

This paper is based on the rapporteur talk given at the 34$^{th}$ International Cosmic Ray Conference (ICRC), on August 6$^{th}$, 2015. The purpose of the talk and paper is to provide a summary of the most recent results from balloon-borne and space-based experiments presented at the conference, and give an overview of the future missions and developments foreseen in this field.Comment: Write-up of the rapporteur talk given at the 34th International Cosmic Ray Conference, 30 July-6 August, 2015, The Hague, The Netherlands. 24 pages , 11 figure

Observation of charm mixing at CDF

We report on the observation of $D^0$--$\bar{D}^0$ oscillations by measuring the time-dependent ratio of yields for the rare decay $D^0 \rightarrow K^+\pi^-$ to the favored decay $D^0 \rightarrow K^-\pi^+$ at the Collider Detector at Fermilab (CDF). Using 9.6 fb$^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity of $\sqrt{s}$ = 1.96 TeV $p$$\bar{p}$ collisions recorded in the full CDF Run II, the signals of $7.6 \times 10^6$ $D^0\rightarrow K^-\pi^+$ and $33 \times 10^3$ $D^0\rightarrow K^+\pi^-$ decays are reconstructed in $D^{*}$-tagged events, with proper decay times between 0.75 and 10 mean $D^0$ lifetimes. We measure the mixing parameters $x'^2 = (0.08 \pm 0.18)\times 10^{-3}$, $y' = (4.3 \pm 4.3) \times 10^{-3}$, and $R_D = (3.51 \pm 0.35) \times 10^{-3}$. Our results are consistent with standard model expectations and similar results from proton-proton collisions and exclude the no-mixing hypothesis with a significance equivalent to 6.1 standard deviations.Comment: 6 pages, 7 figures, 1 table. Contribution to the proceedings for the 14th International Conference on B-Physics at Hadron Machines, April 8-12, 2013, Bologna, Ital

Rapid recovery of postnivolumab vemurafenib-induced Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome after tocilizumab and infliximab administration

Background Immune checkpoint inhibitors such as nivolumab and targeted BRAF inhibitors have dramatically altered the treatment outcomes of metastatic melanoma over the past few years. Skin toxicity is the most common adverse event (AE) related to the commonly used BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib, affecting more than 90% of patients. Vemurafenib-related severe AEs with early onset are reported in patients who were previously treated with anti-programmed cell death-1 (anti PD-1) antibodies. A prolonged administration of systemic steroids is the firstline treatment of severe or life-threatening AEs. We report the case of a woman suffering from vemurafenib-related severe, rapidly worsening Drug Rash with Eosinophilia and Systemic Symptoms (DRESS) syndrome, resolved in a few hours after single-dose administration of a combination of TNF-α antagonist infliximab with interleukin (IL)-6 receptor antagonist tocilizumab. Case presentation A 41-year-old woman treated with single-agent nivolumab presented with a melanoma progression. Biopsy samples were revised, revealing a BRAF V600E mutation. The patient was started on vemurafenib and cobimetinib treatment only 10 days after the last administration of nivolumab. On the third day of anti-BRAF therapy, profound lymphopenia was detected, and maculopapular eruption appeared afterward. Subsequently, the clinical conditions deteriorated further, and the woman was admitted on an emergency basis with high fever, respiratory and cardiocirculatory failure, diffuse rash, generalized edema, and lymphadenopathy. Diagnosis of DRESS syndrome with overexpressed capillary leakage was made. A single dose of tocilizumab was administered with an improvement of cardiocirculatory and renal function in a few hours. Because of worsening of liver function, skin lesions and mucositis, a single dose of infliximab was prescribed, and dramatic improvement was noted over the next 24 hours. Dabrafenib and trametinib were initiated, and coinciding with washout of infliximab from the patient’s blood, the drug toxicity recurred. Conclusion Anti-IL-6 and anti-TNF-α target treatment of very severe AEs may afford an immediate resolution of potentially life-threatening symptoms and reduce the duration and the costs of hospitalization. Maintenance of therapeutic infliximab blood concentrations permits an early switch to dabrafenib after vemurafenib-related AEs