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- Erni, W., et al.
(author)
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Technical design report for the PANDA (AntiProton Annihilations at Darmstadt) Straw Tube Tracker
- 2013
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In: European Physical Journal A. Hadrons and Nuclei. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6001 .- 1434-601X. ; 49:2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This document describes the technical layout and the expected performance of the Straw Tube Tracker (STT), the main tracking detector of the PANDA target spectrometer. The STT encloses a Micro-Vertex-Detector (MVD) for the inner tracking and is followed in beam direction by a set of GEM stations. The tasks of the STT are the measurement of the particle momentum from the reconstructed trajectory and the measurement of the specific energy loss for a particle identification. Dedicated simulations with full analysis studies of certain proton-antiproton reactions, identified as being benchmark tests for the whole PANDA scientific program, have been performed to test the STT layout and performance. The results are presented, and the time lines to construct the STT are described.
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- Singh, B. P., et al.
(author)
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Experimental access to Transition Distribution Amplitudes with the PANDA experiment at FAIR
- 2015
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In: European Physical Journal A. Hadrons and Nuclei. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1434-6001 .- 1434-601X. ; 51:8
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Baryon-to-meson Transition Distribution Amplitudes (TDAs) encoding valuable new information on hadron structure appear as building blocks in the collinear factorized description for several types of hard exclusive reactions. In this paper, we address the possibility of accessing nucleon-to-pion (pi N) TDAs from (p) over barp -> e(+)e(-)pi(0) reaction with the future PANDA detector at the FAIR facility. At high center-of-mass energy and high invariant mass squared of the lepton pair q(2), the amplitude of the signal channel (p) over barp -> e(+)e(-)pi(0) admits a QCD factorized description in terms of pi N TDAs and nucleon Distribution Amplitudes (DAs) in the forward aid backward kinematic regimes. Assuming the validity of this factorized description, we perform feasibility studies for measuring (p) over barp -> e(+)e(-)pi(0) with the PANDA detector. Detailed simulations on signal reconstruction efficiency as well as on rejection of the most severe background channel, i.e. (p) over barp -> pi(+)pi(-)pi(0) were performed for the center-of-mass energy squared s = 5 GeV2 and s = 10 GeV2, in the kinematic regions 3.0 < q(2) < 4.3 GeV2 and 5 < q(2) < 9 GeV2, respectively, with a neutral pion scattered in the forward or backward cone vertical bar cos theta(pi 0)vertical bar > 0.5 in the proton-antiproton center-of-mass frame. Results of the simulation show that the particle identification capabilities of the PANDA detector will allow to achieve a background rejection factor of 5 . 10(7) (1 . 10(7)) at low (high) q(2) for s = 5 GeV2, and of 1 . 10(8) (6 . 10(6)) at low (high) q(2) for s = 10 GeV2, while keeping the signal reconstruction efficiency at around 40%. At both energies, a clean lepton signal can be reconstructed with the expected statistics corresponding to 2 of integrated luminosity. The cross sections obtained from the simulations are used to show that a test of QCD collinear factorization can be done at the lowest order by measuring scaling laws and angular distributions. The future measurement of the signal channel cross section with PANDA will provide a new test of the perturbative QCD description of a novel class of hard exclusive reactions and will open the possibility of experimentally accessing pi N TDAs.
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3. |
- Mansoor, Rashid, et al.
(author)
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Haematological consequences of acute uncomplicated falciparum malaria : a WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network pooled analysis of individual patient data
- 2022
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In: BMC Medicine. - : Springer Nature. - 1741-7015. ; 20:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BackgroundPlasmodium falciparum malaria is associated with anaemia-related morbidity, attributable to host, parasite and drug factors. We quantified the haematological response following treatment of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria to identify the factors associated with malarial anaemia.MethodsIndividual patient data from eligible antimalarial efficacy studies of uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, available through the WorldWide Antimalarial Resistance Network data repository prior to August 2015, were pooled using standardised methodology. The haematological response over time was quantified using a multivariable linear mixed effects model with nonlinear terms for time, and the model was then used to estimate the mean haemoglobin at day of nadir and day 7. Multivariable logistic regression quantified risk factors for moderately severe anaemia (haemoglobin < 7 g/dL) at day 0, day 3 and day 7 as well as a fractional fall >= 25% at day 3 and day 7.ResultsA total of 70,226 patients, recruited into 200 studies between 1991 and 2013, were included in the analysis: 50,859 (72.4%) enrolled in Africa, 18,451 (26.3%) in Asia and 916 (1.3%) in South America. The median haemoglobin concentration at presentation was 9.9 g/dL (range 5.0-19.7 g/dL) in Africa, 11.6 g/dL (range 5.0-20.0 g/dL) in Asia and 12.3 g/dL (range 6.9-17.9 g/dL) in South America. Moderately severe anaemia (Hb < 7g/dl) was present in 8.4% (4284/50,859) of patients from Africa, 3.3% (606/18,451) from Asia and 0.1% (1/916) from South America. The nadir haemoglobin occurred on day 2 post treatment with a mean fall from baseline of 0.57 g/dL in Africa and 1.13 g/dL in Asia. Independent risk factors for moderately severe anaemia on day 7, in both Africa and Asia, included moderately severe anaemia at baseline (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 16.10 and AOR = 23.00, respectively), young age (age < 1 compared to >= 12 years AOR = 12.81 and AOR = 6.79, respectively), high parasitaemia (AOR = 1.78 and AOR = 1.58, respectively) and delayed parasite clearance (AOR = 2.44 and AOR = 2.59, respectively). In Asia, patients treated with an artemisinin-based regimen were at significantly greater risk of moderately severe anaemia on day 7 compared to those treated with a non-artemisinin-based regimen (AOR = 2.06 [95%CI 1.39-3.05], p < 0.001).ConclusionsIn patients with uncomplicated P. falciparum malaria, the nadir haemoglobin occurs 2 days after starting treatment. Although artemisinin-based treatments increase the rate of parasite clearance, in Asia they are associated with a greater risk of anaemia during recovery.
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- Bergquist, Annika, et al.
(author)
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Impact on follow-up strategies in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis
- 2023
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In: Liver international (Print). - Chichester, United Kingdom : Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Inc.. - 1478-3223 .- 1478-3231. ; 43:1, s. 127-138
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND & AIMS: Evidence for the benefit of scheduled imaging for early detection of hepatobiliary malignancies in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is limited. We aimed to compare different follow-up strategies in PSC with the hypothesis that regular imaging improves survival.METHODS: We collected retrospective data from 2,975 PSC patients from 27 centers. Patients were followed from the start of scheduled imaging or in case of clinical follow-up from January 1, 2000, until death or last clinical follow-up alive. The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality.RESULTS: A broad variety of different follow-up strategies were reported. All except one center used regular imaging, ultrasound (US) and/or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Two centers used scheduled ERCP in addition to imaging for surveillance purposes. The overall HR (CI95%) for death, adjusted for sex, age and start year of follow-up, were 0.61 (0.47-0.80) for scheduled imaging with and without ERCP; 0.64 (0.48-0.86) for US/MRI and 0.53 (0.37-0.75) for follow-up strategies including scheduled ERCP. The lower risk of death remained for scheduled imaging with and without ERCP after adjustment for cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) or high-grade dysplasia as a time-dependent covariate, HR 0.57 (0.44-0.75). Hepatobiliary malignancy was diagnosed in 175 (5.9%) of the patients at 7.9 years follow-up. Asymptomatic patients (25%) with CCA had better survival if scheduled imaging had been performed.CONCLUSIONS: Follow-up strategies vary considerably across centers. Scheduled imaging was associated with improved survival. Multiple factors may contribute to this result including early tumor detection and increased endoscopic treatment of asymptomatic benign biliary strictures.
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7. |
- Dussex, Nicolas, et al.
(author)
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Population genomics of the critically endangered kākāpō
- 2021
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In: Cell Genomics. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-979X. ; 1:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Summary The kākāpō is a flightless parrot endemic to New Zealand. Once common in the archipelago, only 201 individuals remain today, most of them descending from an isolated island population. We report the first genome-wide analyses of the species, including a high-quality genome assembly for kākāpō, one of the first chromosome-level reference genomes sequenced by the Vertebrate Genomes Project (VGP). We also sequenced and analyzed 35 modern genomes from the sole surviving island population and 14 genomes from the extinct mainland population. While theory suggests that such a small population is likely to have accumulated deleterious mutations through genetic drift, our analyses on the impact of the long-term small population size in kākāpō indicate that present-day island kākāpō have a reduced number of harmful mutations compared to mainland individuals. We hypothesize that this reduced mutational load is due to the island population having been subjected to a combination of genetic drift and purging of deleterious mutations, through increased inbreeding and purifying selection, since its isolation from the mainland ∼10,000 years ago. Our results provide evidence that small populations can survive even when isolated for hundreds of generations. This work provides key insights into kākāpō breeding and recovery and more generally into the application of genetic tools in conservation efforts for endangered species.
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- von Clarmann, Thomas, et al.
(author)
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Overview: Estimating and reporting uncertainties in remotely sensed atmospheric composition and temperature
- 2020
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In: Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. - : Copernicus GmbH. - 1867-1381 .- 1867-8548. ; 13:8, s. 4393-4436
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Remote sensing of atmospheric state variables typically relies on the inverse solution of the radiative transfer equation. An adequately characterized retrieval provides information on the uncertainties of the estimated state variables as well as on how any constraint or a priori assumption affects the estimate. Reported characterization data should be intercomparable between different instruments, empirically validatable, grid-independent, usable without detailed knowledge of the instrument or retrieval technique, traceable and still have reasonable data volume. The latter may force one to work with representative rather than individual characterization data. Many errors derive from approximations and simplifications used in real-world retrieval schemes, which are reviewed in this paper, along with related error estimation schemes. The main sources of uncertainty are measurement noise, calibration errors, simplifications and idealizations in the radiative transfer model and retrieval scheme, auxiliary data errors, and uncertainties in atmospheric or instrumental parameters. Some of these errors affect the result in a random way, while others chiefly cause a bias or are of mixed character. Beyond this, it is of utmost importance to know the influence of any constraint and prior information on the solution. While different instruments or retrieval schemes may require different error estimation schemes, we provide a list of recommendations which should help to unify retrieval error reporting.
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10. |
- Beal, Jacob, et al.
(author)
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Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
- 2020
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In: Communications Biology. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2399-3642. ; 3:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data.
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