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We report on a study of laser plasma instabilities with 527 nm laser pulses in an intensity range of 0.5 × 10 13 − 1.1 × 10 15 W cm − 2 and plasma parameters entering a regime that is relevant for direct drive inertial confinement fusion. Using the kilojoule high repetition rate L4n laser at the Extreme Light Infrastructure—Beamlines, more than 1300 shots were collected, and the onset and the growth of stimulated Brioullin scattering (SBS) and stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) were studied with a high confidence level. The measured onset intensities are 0.2 × 10 14 W cm − 2 for SBS and 1.4 × 10 14 W cm − 2 for SRS. At the maximum intensity, the total fraction of backscattered energy reaches 2.5% for SBS and 0.1% for SRS. These results are of high relevance for advanced concepts for inertial fusion energy, which rely on the use of 527 nm laser light to drive the implosion of the fuel target, and in particular, they can be used as a benchmark for advanced simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the commissioning of a full aperture backscatter diagnostics station for the kilojoule, nanosecond high repetition rate L4n laser operating at a wavelength of 527 nm at the Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) - Beamlines, Dolni Brezany, Czech Republic. Light scattered back from laser–plasma interaction into the cone of the final focusing lens is captured and split into different channels to measure the signatures of laser plasma instabilities from stimulated Brillouin scattering, stimulated Raman scattering, and two plasmon decay with respect to back scattered energy, its spectrum, and its temporal profile. The performance was confirmed in a commissioning experiment with more than 800 shots at laser intensities ranging from 0.5 × 1013 to 1.1 × 1015 W cm−2. These diagnostics are permanently installed at ELI Beamlines, and can be used to understand the details of laser–plasma interactions in experiments with kJ and 527 nm light. The large number of shots that can be collected in an experimental campaign will allow us to study the details of the laser–plasma interaction with a high level of confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naomi Fischer, Elad Moisseiev, Michael Waisbourd, Michaella Goldstein, Anat Loewenstein Department of Ophthalmology, Tel Aviv Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel Purpose: The study reported here investigated the rates of systemic serious adverse events (SAEs) following treatment with intravitreal bevacizumab for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in comparison with a matched control group. Methods: A retrospective age- and sex-matched case-control design was used. Data were collected using patient charts and telephone surveys. The main outcome measure was difference in number of hospital admissions between the two groups. Hospitalizations were further analyzed according to whether or not they were due to arteriothrombotic SAEs. Results: Each group comprised 65 participants. There were significantly more hospital admissions among bevacizumab-treated patients than in the control group (P = 0.039). Sub-analysis of hospitalizations due to arteriothrombotic causes did not reveal a statistically significant difference between groups (P = 0.629). Conclusion: The results suggest that intravitreal bevacizumab is not associated with an increased risk of arteriothrombotic SAEs. Its widespread use for the treatment of AMD appears to be systemically safe. Keywords: Avastin®, serious adverse events, safety

In total, 192 pts were randomized (98 in arm A rituximab + placebo; 94 in arm B rituximab + ibrutinib) with stratification by rituximab maintenance route, lymphoma grade, follicular lymphoma international prognostic index, and bulky (>=6 cm) disease. The Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) and the Nordic Lymphoma Group (NLG) conducted the SAKK 35/14 randomized phase-2 trial (NCT02451111) to evaluate the safety and efficacy of frontline treatment with ibrutinib plus rituximab compared to rituximab plus placebo in adult patients (pts) with advanced follicular lymphoma in need of therapy. [Extracted from the article]

The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is an airborne observatory for far-infrared astronomy stationed at the Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC) in Palmdale, CA, USA. Although SOFIA flies at altitudes of ∼41,000 ft, any far-infrared observations from within the Earth’s atmosphere are nevertheless hampered by water vapor absorbing the astronomical signal. The primary atmospheric parameter governing absorption in the far-infrared is the total upward precipitable water vapor, PWV. In this paper we present global PWV maps derived from re-analyses from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, ECMWF, with a geographical resolution of 0.°5, for flight altitudes ranging from 37,000 ft to 45,000 ft and each meteorological season. These maps were validated with FIFI-LS PWV measurements on board SOFIA and allow an investigation of the global morphology and seasonal dependence of the total upward PWV in the stratosphere. We additionally investigate the observing conditions, in terms of PWV, at various locations, especially around SOFIA’s home base, Palmdale, but also around sites in the southern hemisphere like Tahiti, Santiago de Chile (Chile), Buenos Aires (Argentina), and Christchurch (New Zealand). From the southern sites investigated Christchurch provides the best conditions in terms of PWV (and efficiency), Tahiti the worst. Using total power sky measurements with FIFI-LS we also derive a mean emissivity of the telescope (primary, secondary and tertiary mirror) of ϵ Tel = 20.5 ± 1.6% around the astronomically significant [C ii ] emission line. We finally compare atmospheric re-analyses from GEOS (MERRA-2) and ECMWF (ERA5) to our FIFI-LS PWV measurements. Both re-analyses correlate linearly with our FIFI-LS PWV measurements from all flight altitudes but with different scaling factors. However, MERRA-2 correlates significantly less well than ERA5 especially for flight altitudes below 41,000 ft. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of QCD coherence is presented based on a sample of about 397,000 e+e- hadronic annihilation events collected at √s = 91 GeV with the OPAL detector at LEP. The study is based on four recently proposed observables that are sensitive to coherence effects in the perturbative regime. The measurement of these observables is presented, along with a comparison with the predictions of different parton shower models. The models include both conventional parton shower models and dipole antenna models. Different ordering variables are used to investigate their influence on the predictions.

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) in older patients appears to be a different disease compared with younger patients with historically lower survival rates. This is related to a variety of factors, including increased treatment‐related toxicity, the presence of comorbidities, and biologic differences. In order to better assess the clinical characteristics, treatment strategies, and outcome of this particular population, we conducted a population‐based, retrospective analysis including 269 patients with HL older than 60 years (median age 71 years, range 60–94), treated between 2000 and 2017 in 15 referral centers across Switzerland. Primary endpoints were overall survival (OS), progression‐free survival (PFS), and cause‐specific survival (CSS). The vast majority of patients were treated with curative intent, either with a combined modality approach (chemotherapy followed by radiation therapy) or with systemic therapy. At a median follow‐up of 6.6 years (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.0–7.6), 5‐year PFS was 52.2% (95% CI, 46.0–59.2), 5‐year OS was 62.5% (95% CI, 56.4–69.2), and 5‐year CSS was 85.1.8% (95% CI, 80.3–90.1) for the entire cohort. A significant difference in terms of CSS was observed for patients older than 71 years in comparison to patients aged 60–70 years (hazard ratio 2.6, 1.3–5.0, p = 0.005). Bleomycin‐induced lung toxicity (BLT) was documented in 26 patients (17.7%) out of the 147 patients exposed to this compound and was more frequent in patients older than 71 years (15/60, 25%). Outcome of HL pts older than 71 years appeared to decrease substantially in comparison to the younger counterpart. Treatment‐related toxicities appeared to be relevant, in particular, BLT. New, potentially less toxic strategies need to be investigated in prospective clinical trials in this particular frail population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]