| 1. |
- Adcox, K, et al.
(author)
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PHENIX detector overview
- 2003
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In: Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research. Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors, and Associated Equipment. - 0167-5087. ; 499:2-3, s. 469-479
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The PHENIX detector is designed to perform a broad study of A-A, p-A, and p-p collisions to investigate nuclear matter under extreme conditions. A wide variety of probes, sensitive to all timescales, are used to study systematic variations with species and energy as well as to measure the spin structure of the nucleon. Designing for the needs of the heavy-ion and polarized-proton programs has produced a detector with unparalleled capabilities. PHENIX measures electron and muon pairs, photons, and hadrons with excellent energy and momentum resolution. The detector consists of a large number of subsystems that are discussed in other papers in this volume. The overall design parameters of the detector are presented. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 2. |
- Adler, SS, et al.
(author)
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PHENIX on-line systems
- 2003
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In: Nuclear Instruments & Methods in Physics Research. Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors, and Associated Equipment. - 0167-5087. ; 499:2-3, s. 560-592
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The PHENIX On-Line system takes signals from the Front End Modules (FEM) on each detector subsystem for the purpose of generating events for physics analysis. Processing of event data begins when the Data Collection Modules (DCM) receive data via fiber-optic links from the FEMs. The DCMs format and zero suppress the data and generate data packets. These packets go to the Event Builders (EvB) that assemble the events in final form. The Level-1 trigger (LVL1) generates a decision for each beam crossing and eliminates uninteresting events. The FEMs carry out all detector processing of the data so that it is delivered to the DCMs using a standard format. The FEMs also provide buffering for LVL1 trigger processing and DCM data collection. This is carried out using an architecture that is pipelined and deadtimeless. All of this is controlled by the Master Timing System (MTS) that distributes the RHIC clocks. A Level-2 trigger (LVL2) gives additional discrimination. A description of the components and operation of the PHENIX On-Line system is given and the solution to a number of electronic infrastructure problems are discussed. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
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| 3. |
- Trainer, P J, et al.
(author)
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Treatment of acromegaly with the growth hormone-receptor antagonist pegvisomant.
- 2000
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In: The New England journal of medicine. - 0028-4793. ; 342:16, s. 1171-7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Patients with acromegaly are currently treated with surgery, radiation therapy, and drugs to reduce hypersecretion of growth hormone, but the treatments may be ineffective and have adverse effects. Pegvisomant is a genetically engineered growth hormone-receptor antagonist that blocks the action of growth hormone.We conducted a 12-week, randomized, double-blind study of three daily doses of pegvisomant (10 mg, 15 mg, and 20 mg) and placebo, given subcutaneously, in 112 patients with acromegaly.The mean (+/-SD) serum concentration of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) decreased from base line by 4.0+/-16.8 percent in the placebo group, 26.7+/-27.9 percent in the group that received 10 mg of pegvisomant per day, 50.1+/-26.7 percent in the group that received 15 mg of pegvisomant per day, and 62.5+/-21.3 percent in the group that received 20 mg of pegvisomant per day (P<0.001 for the comparison of each pegvisomant group with placebo), and the concentrations became normal in 10 percent, 54 percent, 81 percent, and 89 percent of patients, respectively (P<0.001 for each comparison with placebo). Among patients treated with 15 mg or 20 mg of pegvisomant per day, there were significant decreases in ring size, soft-tissue swelling, the degree of excessive perspiration, and fatigue. The score fortotal symptoms and signs of acromegaly decreased significantly in all groups receiving pegvisomant (P< or =0.05). The incidence of adverse effects was similar in all groups.On the basis of these preliminary results, treatment of patients who have acromegaly with a growth hormone-receptor antagonist results in a reduction in serum IGF-I concentrations and in clinical improvement.
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| 4. |
- van der Lely, A J, et al.
(author)
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Long-term treatment of acromegaly with pegvisomant, a growth hormone receptor antagonist.
- 2001
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In: Lancet (London, England). - 0140-6736. ; 358:9295, s. 1754-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pegvisomant is a new growth hormone receptor antagonist that improves symptoms and normalises insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in a high proportion of patients with acromegaly treated for up to 12 weeks. We assessed the effects of pegvisomant in 160 patients with acromegaly treated for an average of 425 days.Treatment efficacy was assessed by measuring changes in tumour volume by magnetic resonance imaging, and serum growth hormone and IGF-1 concentrations in 152 patients who received pegvisomant by daily subcutaneous injection for up to 18 months. The safety analysis included 160 patients some of whom received weekly injections and are excluded from the efficacy analysis.Mean serum IGF-1 concentrations fell by at least 50%: 467 mg/L (SE 24), 526 mg/L (29), and 523 mg/L (40) in patients treated for 6, 12 and 18 months, respectively (p<0.001), whereas growth hormone increased by 12.5 mg/L (2.1), 12.5 mg/L (3.0), and 14.2 mg/L (5.7) (p<0.001). Of the patients treated for 12 months or more, 87 of 90 (97%) achieved a normal serum IGF-1 concentration. In patients withdrawn from pegvisomant (n=45), serum growth hormone concentrations were 8.0 mg/L (2.5) at baseline, rose to 15.2 mg/L (2.4) on drug, and fell back within 30 days of withdrawal to 8.3 mg/L (2.7). Antibodies to growth hormone were detected in 27 (16.9%) of patients, but no tachyphylaxis was seen. Serum insulin and glucose concentrations were significantly decreased (p<0.05). Two patients experienced progressive growth of their pituitary tumours, and two other patients had increased alanine and asparate aminotransferase concentrations requiring withdrawal from treatment. Mean pituitary tumour volume in 131 patients followed for a mean of 11.46 months (0.70) decreased by 0.033 cm(3) (0.057; p=0.353).Pegvisomant is an effective medical treatment for acromegaly.
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| 5. |
- Griffiths, B S, et al.
(author)
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Ecosystem response of pasture soil communities to fumigation-induced microbial diversity reductions: an examination of the biodiversity-ecosystem function relationship
- 2000
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In: Oikos. - : Wiley. - 1600-0706 .- 0030-1299. ; 90:2, s. 279-294
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- A technique based on progressive fumigation was used to reduce soil microbial biodiversity, and the effects of such reductions upon the stability of key soil processes were measured. Mineral soil samples from a grassland were fumigated with chloroform for up to 24 h and then incubated for 5 months to allow recolonisation by surviving organisms. The diversity of cultivable and non-cultivable bacteria, protozoa and nematodes was progressively reduced by increasing fumigation times, as was the number of trophic groups, phyla within trophic groups, and taxa within phyla. Total microbial biomass was similar within fumigated soils, but lower than for unfumigated soil. There was no direct relationship between biodiversity and function. Some broad-scale functional parameters increased as biodiversity decreased, e.g. thymidine incorporation, growth on added nutrients, and the decomposition rate of plant residues. Other more specific parameters decreased as biodiversity decreased, e.g. nitrification, denitrification and methane oxidation. Thus specific Functional parameters may be a more sensitive indicator of environmental change than general parameters. Although fumigation reduced soil microbial biodiversity, there was evidence to suggest that it selected for organisms with particular physiological characteristics. The consequences of this for interpreting biodiversity - function relationships are discussed. The stability of the resulting communities to perturbation was further examined by imposing a transient (brief healing to 40 degrees C) or a persistent (addition of CuSO4) stress. Decomposition of grass residues was determined on three occasions after such perturbations. The soils clearly demonstrated resilience to the transient stress; decomposition rates were initially depressed by the stress and recovered over time. Resilience was reduced in the soils with decreasing biodiversity. Soils were not resilient to the persistent stress, there was no recovery in decomposition rate over time, but the soils with the highest biodiversity were more resistant to the stress than soils with impaired biodiversity. The study of functional stability under applied perturbation is a powerful means of examining the effects of biodiversity.
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| 6. |
- Pedersen, T.R., et al.
(author)
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Follow-up study of patients randomized in The Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S) of cholesterol lowering
- 2000
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In: American Journal of Cardiology. - 0002-9149 .- 1879-1913. ; 86:3, s. 257-262
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study (4S) and other randomized clinical trials have demonstrated that cholesterol-lowering treatment with statins improves prognosis in patients with coronary atherosclerosis compared with placebo. The effect of therapy with statins beyond the typical 5 to 6 years' duration of the trials, in particular regarding the risk of cancer, has not been investigated. This study examines the long-term effects of simvastatin for up to 8 years on cause-specific mortality in patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). We performed an observational, government registry-based study of mortality in the groups originally randomized to simvastatin or placebo in the 4S over an additional 2-year follow-up period, so that the median total follow-up period was 7.4 years (range 6.9 to 8.3 in surviving patients). Randomization took place at outpatient clinics at 94 clinical centers in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden from 1988 to 1989. Of 4,444 patients with CHD, 2,223 and 2,221 were randomized to treatment with placebo or simvastatin therapy, respectively. Patients received treatment with simvastatin, starting at 20 mg/day, with titration to 40 mg/day at 12 or 24 weeks if total cholesterol was >5.2 mmol/L (200 mg/dl), or placebo. After the double-blind period, most patients in both treatment groups received simvastatin as open-label prescription. Of the 1,967 patients originally treated with placebo and surviving the double-blind period, 97 (4.9%) died during the following 2 years. In the group randomized to simvastatin the corresponding number was 74 of the 2,039 survivors (3.6%). Adding these deaths to those occurring during the original trial, the total was 353 (15.9%) and 256 (11.5%) deaths in the groups originally randomized to placebo and simvastatin, respectively. The relative risk was 0.70 (95% confidence interval 0.60 to 0.82, p = 0.00002). The total number of cancer deaths was 68 (3.1%) in the placebo group and 52 (2.3%) in the simvastatin group (relative risk 0.73, 95% confidence interval 0.51 to 0.05, p = 0.087), and the numbers of noncardiovascular and other deaths were similar in both groups. We therefore conclude that treatment with simvastatin for up to 8 years in patients with CHD is safe and yields continued survival benefit. Copyright (C) 2000 Excerpta Medica Inc.
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| 7. |
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| 8. |
- Ballantyne, CM, et al.
(author)
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Influence of low high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and elevated triglyceride on coronary heart disease events and response to simvastatin therapy in 4S
- 2001
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In: Circulation. - 0009-7322 .- 1524-4539. ; 104:25, s. 3046-3051
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background - Patients with low HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) and elevated triglyceride had an increased risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) events and received the greatest benefit with fibrate therapy in substudy analyses of the Helsinki Heart Study and the Bezafibrate Infarction Prevention Study. Methods and Results - In this post hoc analysis of the Scandinavian Simvastatin Survival Study, which enrolled patients with elevated LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) and CHD, subgroups defined by HDL-C and triglyceride quartiles were compared to examine the influence of HDL-C and triglyceride on CHD events and response to therapy. Patients in the lowest HDL-C (<1.00 mmol/L [39 mg/dL]) and highest triglyceride (>1.80 mmol/L [159 mg/dL]) quartiles (lipid triad, n=458) had increased proportions of other features of the metabolic syndrome (increased body mass index, hypertension, diabetes), men, prior myocardial infarction, prior revascularization, and ▀-blocker use than patients in the highest HDL-C (>1.34 mmol/L [52 mg/dL]) and lowest triglyceride (<1.11 mmol/L [98 mg/dL]) quartiles (isolated LDL-C elevation, n=545). The major coronary event rate was highest in lipid triad patients on placebo (35.9%), and this subgroup had the greatest event reduction (relative risk 0.48, 95% CI 0.33 to 0.69), a significant treatment-by-subgroup interaction (P=0.03) indicated a greater treatment effect in the lipid triad subgroup than the isolated LDL-C elevation subgroup. Conclusions - Patients with elevated LDL-C, low HDL-C, and elevated triglycerides were more likely than patients with isolated LDL-C elevation to have other characteristics of the metabolic syndrome, had increased risk for CHD events on placebo, and received greater benefit with simvastatin therapy.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Lau, Buon Kiong, et al.
(author)
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AN IMPROVED ARRAY INTERPOLATION APPROACH TO DOA ESTIMATION IN CORRELATED SIGNAL ENVIRONMENTS
- 2004
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Conference paper (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Many popular direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimators rely on the fact that the array response vector of the array is Vandermonde, for example, that of a uniform linear array (ULA). Array interpolation is a preprocessing technique to transform the array response vector of a planar array of arbitrary geometry to that of a ULA over an angular sector. While good approximation within the target sector is attained in the existing array interpolation approaches, the response of the interpolated array in the out-of-sector region is at best partially controlled. Accordingly, out-of-sector signals, especially those highly correlated with the in-sector signals, can degrade significantly the performance of DOA estimators (e.g., MUSIC with spatial smoothing) that rely on the Vandermonde form to work correctly. In this paper, we propose an improved array interpolation approach that takes into account the array response over the full azimuth. We present also numerical examples to demonstrate the shortcomings of the existing approaches and the effectiveness of our proposal.
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