Optimizing the relativistic energy density functional with nuclear ground state and collective excitation properties

We introduce a new relativistic energy density functional constrained by the ground state properties of atomic nuclei along with the isoscalar giant monopole resonance energy and dipole polarizability in $^{208}$Pb. A unified framework of the relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov model and random phase approximation based on the relativistic density-dependent point coupling interaction is established in order to determine the DD-PCX parameterization by $\chi^2$ minimization. This procedure is supplemented with the co-variance analysis in order to estimate statistical uncertainties in the model parameters and observables. The effective interaction DD-PCX accurately describes the nuclear ground state properties including the neutron-skin thickness, as well as the isoscalar giant monopole resonance excitation energies and dipole polarizabilities. The implementation of the experimental data on nuclear excitations allows constraining the symmetry energy close to the saturation density, and the incompressibility of nuclear matter by using genuine observables on finite nuclei in the $\chi^2$ minimization protocol, rather than using pseudo-observables on the nuclear matter, or by relying on the ground state properties only, as it has been customary in the previous studies.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Physical Review

Weighted Approximation by a Certain Family of Summation Integral-Type Operators

AbstractIn this study, we investigate the weighted approximation properties of a general sequence of summation integral-type operators introduced by Srivastava and Gupta [1]. We estimate the rate of convergence of these operators for functions of polynomial growth in terms of weighted modulus of continuity on the interval [0, ∞)

Intravitreal Bevacizumab Followed by Ranibizumab for Neovascular Age Related Macular Degeneratıon

Purpose: To compare the outcomes after switching from intravitreal bevacizumab (IVB) to intravitreal ranibizumab (IVR) in patients with neovascular age related macular degeneration (ARMD). Material and Methods: A retrospective review of patients with neovascular ARMD, who were switched from treatment with Pro Re Nata (PRN) IVB to PRN IVR, was conducted in a university clinic. IVB (1.25 mg/0.05 ml) and IVR (0.5 mg/0.05 ml) were used. Retreatment criteria were defined based on an activity scoring (AS) system developed in our clinic. An AS was calculated for each lesion at each visit. AS results and the number of injections before and after switching treatment to IVR were compared. Results: 32 eyes of 31 patients with neovascular ARMD were included in the study. The mean follow-up period was 12.3±4.7 months. The mean duration of IVB treatment was 8.1±3.1 months followed by 4.2±1.6 months with IVR. At the beginning of the study the mean AS was 8.9, (Visual Acuity) VA : 0.99 logMAR, and Central Foveal Thickness (CFT): 312.7±81.1μ. A month after the last IVB injection, AS became 5.1, VA: 0.69 logMAR, and CFT: 210.4±80.4μ (p<0.05). Likewise, a month after the last IVR injection, AS, VA and CFT were 5.8, 0.78 logMAR, and 199.9±60.9μ, respectively. Comparison of post-injection results of IVB and IVR treatments did not reveal a statistically significant difference. Mean injection rates per patient while receiving IVB and IVR treatments were 0.46/month and 0.44/ month, respectively (p>0.05). Conclusions: This study shows that the improvement in AS, CFT, and VA, achieved with the PRN IVB treatment, seems to be maintained after switching to IVR

Facilitating coordinated care for multi-morbidity patients through integrated preventive Clinical Decision Support (C3-Cloud)

Introduction: A growing share of the population in OECD countries is of age 65 and over, expected to reach 22% by 2030 (compared to 15% in 2010). Life expectancy has also significantly increased. People at age of 65 are expected to live for an average of 21 and 17 years for women and men; an almost 40% increase since 1960. The profound success in improving life expectancy has resulted in a new set of challenges. Challenge: Shift of resources was necessary, redirected to address the complex needs of multi-morbidity patients. Furthermore, patients’ needs are not effectively met by current care models, which tend to operate in isolation. This results in static services that patients need to wander. It is common for patients to revisit all levels of care discussing their needs, and reconciling potentially conflicting objectives amongst their conditions (e.g., incompatible lifestyle goals, adverse drug effects and side-effects, undetected conditions). Optimal collaboration and coordination between professionals in the delivery of integrated care have become essential requirements for the provision of high-quality care. Coordinated care aims for the orderly arrangement of individual and group efforts providing unity of action in pursuit of a common goal. Method: C3-Cloud is an e-health based ICT system, offering integrated, patient-centred care, considering all aspects of multi-morbidity and creating a collaborative environment, for all involved stakeholders. The navel of the system consists of the patient care plan, a digital shared picture of the patients’ needs and care regime. The care plan allows all professionals to review and understand the implications of one condition in the presence of others; this by its nature is complex, containing a considerable amount of diverse information. Navigating, understanding, and interpreting all the information can be confounding. The C3-Cloud Clinical Decision Support Service (CDS) offers an automated means of interpreting the available data. CDSS connects to the care plan repository, and continuously searches records for relevant data. The algorithms and integration of recommendations to the service were reviewed and validated by clinicians. Human computer interaction methods were employed to ensure optimal interaction between C3-Cloud and its users. Results: C3-Cloud offers CDSS for diabetes, renal failure, depression and congenital heart failure, with over 300 rules and checks that deliver four best practice guidelines in parallel; whilst reconciling their objectives, and monitoring their outcomes. It creates warnings or recommendations for the patient as well as for formal and informal carers. Discussion and Conclusions: C3-Cloud offers a powerful way to ensure that subtle, as well as critical, information about the patient, is presented to healthcare professionals, along with guideline based recommendations. The rules reconcile potential conflicts amongst conditions. Combined with a single patient and professionals interface, it provides a seamless experience throughout the health and care service. The C3-Cloud CDS service provides support to three pilot sites throughout Europe, currently undergoing evaluation. Acknowledgements: C3-Cloud is funded from the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation project C3-Cloud, under grant agreement No 6891810. This abstract is based on the work and material of the entire C3-Cloud consortium

The tumour bank at the children's hospital at westmead: An Australian paediatric cancer biorepository

© 2018 The Author(s). This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Tumor Bank at The Children's Hospital at Westmead was established in 1998 with the purpose of facilitating research into childhood malignancy through the active provision of well annotated, ethically collected tissue samples and providing a pathway for the Children Hospital at Westmead to engage in leading research initiatives, supporting international investigations and clinical trials. Within 20 years practice as a single institute biorepository, The Tumour Bank has established standard operating procedures for collection of tissue, blood and bone marrow that were integrated into routine patient management systems. In addition, three main operational areas have been developed: collection of biospecimens and written consent; management of clinical data and biospecimen inventory database; and implementation of an open access policy to support childhood cancer research around the world. Regulatory oversight is provided by the Tumour Bank Committee, Human Research Ethics Committee and Governance Department. This concerted effort has resulted in collecting 20340 specimens from 3788 patients within 20 years, and The Tumour bank has supported over 108 national and international research projects, and contributed to over 70 peer-reviewed publications to date, with a mean time-to-publication of 19.1 ± 9.0 months and average Impact Factor of 6.11 ± 4.53. In conclusion, the Children's Hospital at Westmead Tumour Bank has demonstrated a sustained single institutional biorepository model for facilitating translational research of rare cancer. It has provided strong evidence that integration of a single institutional biobank into standard clinical practices would be the long-term pathway of valuable bio-resource for rare cancer research

Impact of donation mode on the proportion and function of T lymphocytes in the liver

Background Liver T-cells respond to the inflammatory insult generated during organ procurement and contribute to the injury following reperfusion. The mode of liver donation alters various metabolic and inflammatory pathways but the way it affects intrahepatic T-cells is still unclear. Methods We investigated the modifications occurring in the proportion and function of T-cells during liver procurement for transplantation. We isolated hepatic mononuclear cells (HMC) from liver perfusate of living donors (LD) and donors after brain death (DBD) or cardiac death (DCD) and assessed the frequency of T-cell subsets, their cytokine secretion profile and CD8 T-cell cytotoxicity function, responsiveness to a danger associated molecular pattern (High Mobility Group Box1, HMGB1) and association with donor and recipient clinical parameters and immediate graft outcome. Results We found that T-cells in healthy human livers were enriched in memory CD8 T-cells exhibiting a phenotype of non-circulating tissue-associated lymphocytes, functionally dominated by more cytotoxicity and IFN-γ-production in DBD donors, including upon activation by HMGB1 and correlating with peak of post-transplant AST. This liver-specific pattern of CD8 T-cell was prominent in DBD livers compared to DCD and LD livers suggesting that it was influenced by events surrounding brain death, prior to retrieval. Conclusion Mode of liver donation can affect liver T-cells with increased liver damage in DBD donors. These findings may be relevant in designing therapeutic strategies aimed at organ optimization prior to transplantation

Photon, Neutrino and Charged Particle Spectra from R-violating Gravitino Decays

We study photonic, neutrino and charged particle signatures from slow decays of gravitino dark matter in supersymmetric theories where R-parity is explicitly broken by trilinear operators. Photons and (anti-)fermions from loop and tree-level processes give rise to spectra with distinct features, which, if observed, can give crucial input on the possible mass of the gravitino and the magnitude and flavour structure of R-violating operators. Within this framework, we make detailed comparisons of the theoretical predictions to the recent experimental data from PAMELA, ATIC and Fermi LAT.Comment: Version published in Phys. Lett.