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Pregnant women living with HIV (PWLHIV) are becoming increasingly involved in HIV research; however, the ethical concerns regarding their decision-making related to research participation are understudied. This qualitative study aimed to understand the perspectives and lived research experiences of PWLHIV, intending to identify important considerations to inform best practices. This study used semi-structured interviews (SSIs) of PWLHIV who participated in research studies in Eldoret, Kenya. All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and translated. Qualitative analyses were performed, with line-by-line coding, constant comparison, axial coding, and triangulation to identify central concepts. Twelve PWLHIV participated

Programmed death-1 (PD-1) is a cell surface receptor that functions as a T cell checkpoint and plays a central role in regulating T cell collapse. The binding of PD-1 to its ligand programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) activates downstream signaling pathways and inhibits T cell activation in the perspective of immune system mechanism and regulation in tumor progression. It is well reported that tumors adopt certain immune-checkpoint pathways as a mechanism of resistance against immune cells such as T cells that are specific for tumor antigens. Indeed, the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway controls the induction and maintenance of immune tolerance within the tumor microenvironment. Thus, the PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint regulation appears to be of extreme importance as well as the immunotherapy targeting that via and the using of PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors that have changed the scenario of brain cancer treatment and survival. Here, we review the mechanism of action of PD-1 and PD-L1, the PD/PDL-1 signaling pathway involved in the progression of brain tumors, and its application as cancer immunotherapy counteracting tumor escape in central nervous system.

Background The proper and ethical inclusion of PWLHIV and their young children in research is paramount to ensure valid evidence is generated to optimize treatment and care. Little empirical data exists to inform ethical considerations deemed most critical to these populations. Our study aimed to systematically review the empiric literature regarding ethical considerations for research participation of PWLHIV and their young children. Methods We conducted this systematic review in partnership with a medical librarian. A search strategy was designed and performed within the following electronic databases: Ovid MEDLINE, Embase and CINAHL. We screened titles and abstracts using the following inclusion criteria: (1) a study population of PWLHIV or children under 5 years of age; and (2) collection of qualitative or quantitative data regarding ethics of research participation. Excluded were reviews, commentaries, policy statements, clinical care-related ethics concerns, abstracts, case studies, or studies unrelated to HIV research. Studies were appraised for quality, data were extracted, and studies were qualitatively analyzed using a principle-based ethical framework within the Belmont Report. Results Of the 7470 titles identified, 538 full-text articles were reviewed for eligibility and only three articles met full criteria for inclusion within this review. While we allowed for inclusion of studies involving young children born to mothers with HIV, only articles focused on PWLHIV were identified. Within the results of these studies, four themes emerged: (1) adequacy of informed consent; (2) consideration of paternal involvement; (3) balancing risks; and (4) access to research and treatment. A strength of this review is that it included perspectives of international research investigators, community leaders, and male partners. However, only two studies collected empiric data from PWLHIV regarding their experiences participating in research Conclusion Researchers and funding agencies should be aware of these considerations and appreciate the value of and critical need for formative research to ensure clinical trials involving PWLHIV promote ethical, well-informed research participation and, ultimately, improve care outcomes. More research is needed to create a comprehensive ethical framework for researchers when conducting studies with PWLHIV.

Background and Hypothesis: Kenyan children are at risk for having delayed early childhood development (ECD). The Care for Child Development (CCD) is a program created by UNICEF for the promotion of ECD by increasing caregiver’s knowledge about attitudes, nutrition, communication, playing, and physical health. The objective of this study was to assess key informants’ and caregivers’ perspectives on ECD and the introduction of this CCD-based intervention within the community, as well as caregivers’ perspectives on ECD after receiving the intervention. We hypothesize that caregivers who implement CCD practices into their daily life will have increased nurturing interactions with their children and positively influence their child’s development. Experimental Design or Project Methods: This study used semi-structured interviews of key informants and focus group discussions of caregivers to elicit perspectives on ECD and a CCD-based intervention in Eldoret, Kenya. The intervention was a curriculum adapted from the CCD program administered within 10 mother-group sessions. Caregivers were interviewed both before and after the intervention, while key informants were interviewed at one time-point. All interviews and focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and translated. Qualitative analysis was performed using Dedoose software. Results: Collectively, community members and caregivers believed the relationships a child has with their caregiver, family, and community greatly influences their development. In addition, they believed emotional burden and social stigma are challenges caregivers experience and this limits their ability to take their child to necessary medical services. The intervention group appreciated the parental ECD education and further disseminated the information to other caregivers and members in their community. Conclusion and Potential Impact: By understanding the community’s collective views, we can implement the CCD program more effectively in Kenya and empower caregivers with the knowledge on how to create an environment that stimulates ECD.

The computerized stabilometric platform can be used and privileged over clinical scales, as self-administered questionnaires to asses postural control and balance evaluation in Multiple sclerosis (MS). Aim of our study was to evaluate static postural control assessed by Neurocom Balance Manager® through the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (mCTSIB) in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), progressive MS (PMS) and CIS, compared to healthy controls (HC).We screened MS patients consecutively referring to our MS Center at University of Catania, during July 2013-June 2014 diagnosed as CIS, RRMS and PMS. All MS patients underwent clinical and neurological evaluations and a complete postural exam by Neurocom Balance Manager® in order to evaluate Center of Pressure (COP), through mCTSIB. We evaluated the following parameters: Total Path Length-open eyes (TPL-OE), Total Path Length-closed eyes (TPL-CE), Sway Area-open eyes (SA-OE), Sway Area-closed eyes (SA-CE), Mean sway velocity-open eyes (MSV-OE), Mean sway velocity-closed eyes (MSV-CE). Additionally, patients were tested by Berg balance scale (BBS) for balance and Barthel Index (BI) for disability outcomes.Out of 170 MS patients assessed for eligibility, 163 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were finally enrolled. All balance parameters were found more impaired in MS group compared to controls and CIS. Moreover, no differences in terms of balance assessment were found between HC and CIS. The correlation analysis showed that BBS was strongly associated to SA-OE, SA-CE, TPL-OE and MSV-OE. We also found a correlation between BI and SA-CE.Our study revealed significant differences among HCs, CIS and MS. MS, especially PMS, exhibit the worst balance performances especially in EC trials. The higher correlation between balance parameters, especially sway area, and BBS score confirmed the reliability and sensibility of mCTSIB assessment in evaluating static postural control in MS patients.

Background The computerized stabilometric platform can be used and privileged over clinical scales, as self-administered questionnaires to asses postural control and balance evaluation in Multiple sclerosis (MS). Aim of our study was to evaluate static postural control assessed by Neurocom Balance Manager® through the modified Clinical Test of Sensory Interaction on Balance (mCTSIB) in relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS), progressive MS (PMS) and CIS, compared to healthy controls (HC). Methods We screened MS patients consecutively referring to our MS Center at University of Catania, during July 2013–June 2014 diagnosed as CIS, RRMS and PMS. All MS patients underwent clinical and neurological evaluations and a complete postural exam by Neurocom Balance Manager® in order to evaluate Center of Pressure (COP), through mCTSIB. We evaluated the following parameters: Total Path Length-open eyes (TPL-OE), Total Path Length-closed eyes (TPL-CE), Sway Area-open eyes (SA-OE), Sway Area-closed eyes (SA-CE), Mean sway velocity-open eyes (MSV-OE), Mean sway velocity-closed eyes (MSV-CE). Additionally, patients were tested by Berg balance scale (BBS) for balance and Barthel Index (BI) for disability outcomes. Results Out of 170 MS patients assessed for eligibility, 163 met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were finally enrolled. All balance parameters were found more impaired in MS group compared to controls and CIS. Moreover, no differences in terms of balance assessment were found between HC and CIS. The correlation analysis showed that BBS was strongly associated to SA-OE, SA-CE, TPL-OE and MSV-OE. We also found a correlation between BI and SA-CE. Conclusion Our study revealed significant differences among HCs, CIS and MS. MS, especially PMS, exhibit the worst balance performances especially in EC trials. The higher correlation between balance parameters, especially sway area, and BBS score confirmed the reliability and sensibility of mCTSIB assessment in evaluating static postural control in MS patients.

A systematic study of isotopic effects in the break-up of projectile spectators at relativistic energies has been performed with the ALADiN spectrometer at the GSI laboratory. Searching for signals of criticality in the fragment production we have applied the model independent universal fluctuations theory already proposed to track criticality signals in multifragmentation to our data. The fluctuation of the largest fragment charge and of the asymmetry of the two and three largest fragments and their bimodal distribution have also been analysed., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, IX International Conference on Nucleus-Nucleus Collisions, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, August 28 - September 1, 2006

Astrocyte activity may be modulated by steroid hormones and GFs. This study investigates the interaction between glucocorticoids or estrogens and GFs on the expression of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) and cyclin D1 in astrocyte cultures at 14 days treated for 48 or 60 hr with dexamethasone (DEX) or 48 hr with 17β-estradiol (E2) alone or with GFs added only in the last 12 or 24 hr. Twelve- or twenty-four-hour epidermal growth factor (EGF) treatment significantly enhanced HO-1 expression in astrocyte cultures pretreated for 48 hr with DEX. A highly significant increase in HO-1 expression was obtained after the last-12-hr EGF treatment in 48-hr E2-pretreated astrocyte cultures; this enhancement was particularly significant in 48-hr E2-pretreated cultures as well as in the last-12-hr insulin-treated ones pretreated for 48 hr with E2. Sixty-hour DEX-alone pretreatment as well as the last-12-hr EGF treatment in 60-hr DEX-pretreated astrocyte cultures showed a significant increase of cyclin D1 expression. A significant decrease of cyclin D1 expression in the last-12-hr insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-1)-treated cultures pretreated for 60 hr with DEX was observed. A highly significant enhancement in cyclin D1 expression in 14 days in vitro astrocyte cultures pretreated with E2 alone for 48 hr and treated in the last 12 hr with IGF-1 in 48-hr E2-pretreated cultures was found. Finally, the data highlight an interactive dialogue between the growth factors and glucocorticoids or estrogens during the maturation of astroglial cells in culture that may control the HO-1 and cyclin D1 expression as well as proliferating astroglial cells during the cell cycle.

The FIRST (Fragmentation of Ions Relevant for Space and Therapy) experiment at the SIS accelerator of GSI laboratory in Darmstadt has been designed for the measurement of ion fragmentation cross-sections at different angles and energies between 100 and 1000 MeV/nucleon. Nuclear fragmentation processes are relevant in several fields of basic research and applied physics and are of particular interest for tumor therapy and for space radiation protection applications. The start of the scientific program of the FIRST experiment was on summer 2011 and was focused on the measurement of 400 MeV/nucleon 12C beam fragmentation on thin (8 mm) graphite target. The detector is partly based on an already existing setup made of a dipole magnet (ALADiN), a time projection chamber (TP-MUSIC IV), a neutron detector (LAND) and a time of flight scintillator system (TOFWALL). This pre-existing setup has been integrated with newly designed detectors in the Interaction Region, around the carbon target placed in a sample changer. The new detectors are a scintillator Start Counter, a Beam Monitor drift chamber, a silicon Vertex Detector and a Proton Tagger scintillator system optimized for the detection of light fragments emitted at large angles. In this paper we review the experimental setup, then we present the simulation software, the data acquisition system and finally the trigger strategy of the experiment., This work has been supported by the European Community FP7 - Capacities, contract ENSAR n° 262010. This work was also supported by Junta de Andalucia and the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion Contracts P07-FQM-02894, FIS2008-04189 and FPA2008-04972-C03.

The diagnosis of prostate carcinoma has been monitored in Sicily and Calabria for one year. Material e Methods Twenty-seven urological centres of Sicily and Calabria joined the study. Detailed informations about age, familiarity, PSA, Gleason score and TNM stage at diagnosis were centralized between november 2001 and november 2002. Results 721 patients have been recruited. The median age was 73 years. More than 80% of the patients were older than 65 years. Median PSA was 14 ng/ml. The clinical stage at diagnosis was T1c in 33% of patients and 67% had an organ confined prostate cancer (T1-T2). Familiarity was detected in 8% of cases. Age and PSA at diagnosis in these patients were similar to those of the remaining population. However, only 18% of them had a T1 tumor, emphasizing the delay in diagnosis in these patients. Although only 10% of the patients shows at diagnosis a metastatic tumor, 29% only are fit for radical prostatectomy in according to age, PSA and stage.

The 19 F + 27 Al and 19 F + 12 C collisions at incident energies of 111.4, 125, 136.9 MeV and 111.4, 136.9 MeV respectively, have been studied. Continuous energy and angular distributions for 5≤ Z ≤16 reaction products have been measured. The correlations between different physical observables show similar trends with the case of much heavier interacting systems. Thus, a complete dynamics, from quasielastic to complete dissipation regime, is evidenced also in the reactions between light nuclei. The interaction time, extracted from the experimental angular distributions, increases with increasing total kinetic energy loss from 10 −23 s up to 10 −21 s. Based on simple assumptions about the underlying microscopic reaction mechanisms, semiempirical relationships are suggested and applied to account for the systematic features of the element distributions measured in light-, medium- and heavy-nuclei collisions. Absolute cross sections for reaction and nonfusion processes are deduced from the experimental data. Comparison with microscopic dynamical models is presented.

The characteristics of the dissipative processes in the collisions of light heavy ion systems at incident energies below 10 MeV/nucleon have been studied. The correlations between different experimental observables show similar trends as those known at much heavier systems and semiempirical relationships are established starting from assumptions on the nature of the microscopic mechanisms. The charge equilibration process in light systems is also studied.

Temperature-excitation energy correlation measurements on several systems at different incident energies are discussed in the framework of the investigation on possible liquid-gas phase transition in nuclear matter. Results are compared to the presently available experimental caloric curves. Moreover theisotope and theexcited states temperatures, extracted from double ratios of isotope yields and population ratios of fragment unbound states, respectively, are compared. p ]The differences on the temperatures deduced from the two methods cannot be accounted for by the sequential feeding corrections. Instead, they seem to be related to the space-time evolution of the fragmentation process.

Spectator decay was studied for the system Au + Au at an energy of 1000 A·MeV and the decay of the interaction region at energies between 50 and 200 A·MeV. In both cases temperatures were derived from several double-ratios of neighboring isotopes and from the population of excited states in 5 Li and 4 He. Agreement was found among the different isotope temperatures and also among the two excited state temperatures. The comparison of isotope and excited state temperatures, however, reveals large differences, which cannot be explained by feeding corrections. At incident energies between 600 and 1000 A·MeV the energy spectra of fragments and also neutrons of the decaying projectile spectator were measured. Whereas the slope parameters of the energy spectra and mean energies for fragments with Z ≥ 2 are independent of the incident energy, a strong dependence is found for the lightest particles, so that preequilibrium contributions to the spectator decay should be taken into account.

Breakup temperatures were deduced from double ratios of isotope yields for target spectators produced in the reaction Au + Au at 1000 MeV per nucleon. Pairs of $^{3,4}$He and $^{6,7}$Li isotopes and pairs of $^{3,4}$He and H isotopes (p, d and d, t) yield consistent temperatures after feeding corrections, based on the quantum statistical model, are applied. The temperatures rise with decreasing impact parameter from 4 MeV for peripheral to about 10 MeV for the most central collisions. The good agreement with the breakup temperatures measured previously for projectile spectators at an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon confirms the observed universality of the spectator decay at relativistic bombarding energies. The measured temperatures also agree with the breakup temperatures predicted by the statistical multifragmentation model. For these calculations a relation between the initial excitation energy and mass was derived which gives good simultaneous agreement for the fragment charge correlations. The energy spectra of light charged particles, measured at $\theta_{lab}$ = 150$^{\circ}$, exhibit Maxwellian shapes with inverse slope parameters much higher than the breakup temperatures. The statistical multifragmentation model, because Coulomb repulsion and sequential decay processes are included, yields light-particle spectra with inverse slope parameters higher than the breakup temperatures but considerably below the measured values. The systematic behavior of the differences suggests that they are caused by light-charged-particle emission prior to the final breakup stage. PACS numbers: 25.70.Mn, 25.70.Pq, 25.75.-q

Multifragment decays of heavy nuclei have been studied at the ALADIN spectrometer system at beam energies between 100 and 1000 MeV per nucleon. The observed fragment distributions signal a universality of spectator decays at bombarding energies E A ≥ 400 MeV . The role of the radial flow for the fragmentation process is explored by comparing fragment distributions measured for Au+Au collisions at E A = 100 MeV in central collisions and at E A = 1000 MeV in more peripheral reactions. At both energies the maximum multiplicity of intermediate mass fragments (IMFs) normalized to the size of the decaying system is about one IMF per 30 nucleons but the element distributions show significant differences. Within a coalescence picture the suppression of heavy fragments in central collisions at E A = 100 MeV may be related to a reduction of the density in momentum space which is caused by a large collective expansion velocity component.

Fragment distributions have been measured for Au+Au collisions at [ital E]/[ital A]=100 and 1000 MeV. A high detection efficiency for fragments was obtained by combining the ALADIN spectrometer and the MSU-Miniball/WU-Miniwall array. At both energies the maximum multiplicity of intermediate mass fragments (IMF) normalized to the size of the decaying system is about one IMF per 30 nucleons but the element distributions show significant differences. Within a coalescence picture the suppression of heavy fragments in central collisions at [ital E]/[ital A]=100 MeV may be related to a reduction of the density in momentum space which is caused by the collective expansion.

The performance of the LAND neutron detector is studied. Using an event-mixing technique based on one-neutron data obtained in the S107 experiment at the GSI laboratory, we test the efficiency of various analytic tools used to determine the multiplicity and kinematic properties of detected neutrons. A new algorithm developed recently for recognizing neutron showers from spectator decays in the ALADIN experiment S254 is described in detail. Its performance is assessed in comparison with other methods. The properties of the observed neutron events are used to estimate the detection efficiency of LAND in this experiment., 16 pages, 8 figures

The N/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied with the ALADIN forward spectrometer at the GSI Schwerionen Synchrotron (SIS). Stable and radioactive Sn and La beams with an incident energy of 600 MeV per nucleon have been used in order to explore a wide range of isotopic compositions. For the interpretation of the data, calculations with the statistical multifragmentation model for a properly chosen ensemble of excited sources were performed. The parameters of the ensemble, representing the variety of excited spectator nuclei expected in a participant-spectator scenario, are determined empirically by searching for an optimum reproduction of the measured fragment-charge distributions and correlations. An overall very good agreement is obtained. The possible modification of the liquid-drop parameters of the fragment description in the hot freeze-out environment is studied, and a significant reduction of the symmetry-term coefficient is found necessary to reproduce the mean neutron-to-proton ratios /Z and the isoscaling parameters of Z, 23 pages, 29 figures, published in Physical Review C

An exclusive study of 17F breakup reactions has been performed at the FRIBs facility of the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud in Catania (Italy). The experiment has been performed with the aim of testing the accuracy of the Coulomb‐breakup indirect technique used to infer radiative‐capture cross sections at low energies. This technique has been used in the 7Be(p,γ)8B case, but has never been tested. By measuring the breakup of 17F into 16O+p, and comparing the inferred cross section for 16O(p,γ)17F to direct precise measurements, the influence of E2 transitions and higher‐order effects, that are predicted to be significant in Coulomb‐breakup reactions, can be evaluated. The first results and preliminary model comparison are reported.

Multifragmentation has been measured for [sup 197]Au+[sup 197]Au collisions at [ital E]/[ital A]=100, 250, and 400 MeV. The mean fragment multiplicity increases monotonically with the charged particle multiplicity at [ital E]/[ital A]=100 MeV, but decreases for central collisions with incident energy, consistent with the onset of nuclear vaporization. Molecular dynamics calculations follow some trends but underpredict the observed fragment multiplicities. Including the statistical decay of excited residues improves the agreement for peripheral collisions but worsens it for central collisions.

Inclusive cross sections of intermediate mass fragments from the reaction84Kr+197Au atE/A=35 MeV were measured over the range 8°≦Θlab≦70° with a low detection threshold. A moving-source parameterization was used to fit the double-differential cross sections. The integrated cross section for fragment production exceeds the total reaction cross section thus indicating a large probability for multi-fragment processes. The deduced large temperature parameters can be explained by assuming emission from a rotating source. From the comparison to reactions with12C and40Ar projectiles at E/A=30 MeV a systematics of inclusive fragment production as a function of the projectile mass is obtained.

We have studied the fragmentation of Au projectiles interacting with targets of C, Al, Cu and Pb at an incident energy of E/A = 600 MeV. The experiment was performed with the ALADiN forward spectrometer at SIS. The employed inverse kinemantics allowed nearly complete detection of projectile fragments with charge Z ≥ 2. In addition, the number of light particles for each collision was measured. We compare different observables characterizing the event and investigate the impact parameter dependence of the fragmentation process. It is found that the correlation between the mean multiplicity of intermediate mass fragments 〈Mimf〉 and Zbound, the sum charges of all projectile fragments with Z≥2, is independent of the target nucleus. This universal behavior is consistent with an - at least partial - equilibration of the projectile fragment prior to its decay. Finally we compare to two classes of statistical models, the sequential decay code GEMINI and statistical multifragmentation models.

The mean multiplicity of intermediate mass fragments (IMF) {l angle}{ital M}{sub IMF}{r angle} produced by fragmentation of Au projectiles interacting with targets of C, Al, Cu, and Pb at an incident energy of {ital E}/{ital A}=600 MeV is compared to predictions of statistical multifragmentation and sequential evaporation models. The initial conditions for the calculations were provided by Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck simulations. In the high excitation energy regime where the IMF multiplicity reaches its maximum the observed universal correlation between {l angle}{ital M}{sub IMF}{r angle} and the total charge {ital Z}{sub bound} of projectile fragments with charges {ital Z}{ge}2 cannot be reproduced by a sequential evaporation code. In this regime the data are better described by statistical decay calculations which assume the formation of an expanded nuclear system and a rather fast breakup.

In order to explore the possibility of using SiC detectors in nuclear physics applications in extreme environments, the operational characteristics of 4H‐SiC Schottky diodes with different dopant concentrations have been studied with 12C and 16O ions at various incident energies. The detector response has been investigated in term of linearity, energy resolution, signal rise‐time and Charge Collection Efficiency as a function of the applied reverse bias and of the dopant concentration. Moreover, since one of the most promising properties of SiC detectors is their radiation hardness, the radiation damage, produced by irradiating SiC diodes with 16O ions at 35.2 MeV, has been evaluated by measuring the degradation of both the signal pulse‐height and the energy resolution as a function of the 16O fluence.

To study fundamental questions of hadron and nuclear physics in interactions of antiprotons with nucleons and nuclei, the universal PANDA detector will be built. Gluonic excitations, the physics of strange and charm quarks and nucleon structure studies will be performed with unprecedented accuracy thereby allowing high-precision tests of the strong interaction. The proposed PANDA detector is a state-of-the art internal target detector at the HESR at FAIR allowing the detection and identification of neutral and charged particles generated within the relevant angular and energy range. This report presents a summary of the physics accessible at PANDA and what performance can be expected.

We have studied the fragmentation of Au projectiles interacting with targets of C, Al and Cu at an incident energy ofE/A=600 MeV. The employed inverse kinematics allowed a nearly complete detection of projectile fragments with chargeZ≧2. The recorded fragmentation events were sorted according to three observables, the multiplicityMlp of light charged particles, the largest atomic numberZmax within an event, and a new observable,Zbound, representing the sum of the atomic numbersZ of all fragments withZ≧2. Using these observables, the impact parameter dependence of the fragmentation process was investigated. For all three targets, a maximum mean multiplicity of 3 to 4 intermediate mass fragments (IMFs) is observed. The corresponding impact parameters range from central collisions for theC target to increasingly peripheral collisions for the heavier targets. It is found that the correlation between the IMF multiplicity andZbound, extending from evaporation type processes (largeZbound) to the total disassembly of the projectile (smallZbound), is independent of the target nucleus. This universal behaviour may suggest an — at least partial — equilibration of the projectile fragment prior to its decay.

Two‐proton radioactivity studies have been performed on excited states of 18Ne produced by 20Ne fragmentation at the FRIBS facility of the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud and excited via Coulomb excitation on a 209Pb target. Decay of 18Ne levels has been studied by complete kinematical reconstruction. Present results shows unambiguously that the 6.15 MeV 18Ne state two‐proton decay proceeds through a true 2He resonance (diproton).

The use of High Purity Germanium detectors (HPGe) has been planned in some future experiments of hadronic physics. The crystals will be located close to large spectrometers where the magnetic fringing field will not be negligible and their performances might change. Moreover high precision is required in these experiments. The contribution of magnetic field presence and long term measurements is unique. In this paper the results of systematic measurements of the resolution, stability and efficiency of a crystal operating inside a magnetic field of 0.8 T, using radioactive sources in the energy range from 0.08 to 1.33 MeV, are reported. The measurements have been repeated during several months in order to test if any permanent damage occurred. The resolution at 1.117 and 1.332 MeV gamma-rays from a 60Co source has been measured at different magnetic fields in the range of 0–0.8 T and the results are compared with the previous data.

The discriminant-analysis method has been applied to optimize the exotic-beam charge recognition in a projectile fragmentation experiment. The experiment was carried out at the GSI using the fragment separator (FRS) to produce and select the relativistic secondary beams, and the ALADIN setup to measure their fragmentation products following collisions with Sn target nuclei. The beams of neutron poor isotopes around 124La and 107Sn were selected to study the isospin dependence of the limiting temperature of heavy nuclei by comparing with results for stable 124Sn projectiles. A dedicated detector to measure the projectile charge upstream of the reaction target was not used, and alternative methods had to be developed. The presented method, based on the multivariate discriminant analysis, allowed to increase the efficacy of charge recognition up to about 90%, which was about 20% more than achieved with the simple scalar methods., Comment: 6 pages, 7 eps figures, elsart, submitted to Nucl. Instr. and Meth. A

The aim of this study is to show the safety and efficacy of the double transobturator approach, a new technique for anterior vaginal wall prolapse, using several different kinds of meshes (synthetic and biological).This is a retrospective study of 74 women treated between 2005 and 2007. The patients underwent a 3, 6 and 12 month follow-up. The anatomical cure rate, defined as grade of prolapse

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the objective and subjective midterm outcomes of transobturator tape (TOT) in the treatment of female stress urinary incontinence (SUI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 114 consecutive patients affected by stress urinary incontinence (mean age 59±10 years), who underwent the TOT procedure between July 2004 and May 2008 (46 patients received the Safyre, 30 patients the PelviLace, 20 patients the Monarc, 10 patients the DynaMesh and 8 the Align sling), were assessed in June 2008. An evaluation of the patients, based on history, physical examination, stress test, urodynamic tests, and the compilation of two specific quality of life questionnaires, was performed before and after surgery. RESULTS: The therapeutic midterm failure rate for the TOT procedure was 4.4% (5 of 114 patients). The midterm cure rate was 95.6% (109 of 114 patients), 7 (6.1%) of those patients only improved, still with minimal residual urinary leakage. Clinical signs for bowel, urethral, or bladder injuries were undetectable. Intraoperative bleeding, postoperative field infections, or postoperative pelvic floor relaxations were not noted. Three patients (2.6%) presented a little small area of mesh erosion within 6 months from surgery. We also noticed a few obstructive symptoms and irritative symptoms: 4 of 114 (3.,5%) patients showed urge de novo urge symptoms. A high grade degree of satisfaction was assessed reported by QoL questionnaires ( p

Inclusive cross sections of intermediate mass fragments (6⩽Z⩽16) have been measured in 20 Ne induced reactions on silver and gold targets at 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 MeV/u incident energies. Whereas the production yields remain approximately constant for the Ne+Ag system, they increase by a factor of two for the Ne+Au system over the same bombarding energy range. These results are discussed in the framework of two fragmentation models.

Two-proton decay from (18)Ne excited states has been studied by complete kinematical reconstruction of the decay products. The (18)Ne nucleus has been produced as a radioactive beam by (20)Ne primary projectile fragmentation at 45 AMeV incident energy on a Be target. The (18)Ne at 33 AMeV incident energy has been excited via Coulomb excitation on a (nat)Pb target. The obtained results unambiguously show that the 6.15 MeV (18)Ne state two-proton decay proceeds through a (2)He diproton resonance (31%) and democratic or virtual sequential decay (69%). The quoted branching ratio has been deduced from relative angle and momentum correlations of the emitted proton pairs.

Radioactive Ion Beams (RIBs) are produced In‐Flight at the Laboratori Nazionali del Sud (LNS) by projectile fragmentation on light targets at intermediate energies. RIBs rates up to 105 ions/sec have been measured and about 95% of secondary beam has been transported up to one of the experimental caves. The ΔE‐ToF identification method was successfully applied to tag, event‐by‐event, the RIBs before the interaction with a secondary reaction target.

The N/Z dependence of projectile fragmentation at relativistic energies has been studied in a recent experiment at the GSI laboratory with the ALADiN forward spectrometer coupled to the LAND neutron detector. Besides a primary beam of 124Sn, also secondary beams of 124La and 107Sn delivered by the FRS fragment separator have been used in order to extend the range of isotopic compositions of the produced spectator sources. With the achieved mass resolution of \Delta A/A \approx 1.5%, lighter isotopes with atomic numbers Z \le 10 are individually resolved. The presently ongoing analyses of the measured isotope yields focus on isoscaling and its relation to the properties of hot fragments at freeze-out and on the derivation of chemical freeze-out temperatures which are found to be independent of the isotopic composition of the studied systems. The latter result is at variance with the predictions for limiting temperatures as obtained with finite-temperature Hartree-Fock calculations., Comment: 11 pages, 5 figures, Proceedings of International Workshop on Nuclear Dynamics in Heavy-Ion Reactions and Neutron Stars, Beijing, July 10-14, 2007, to appear in International Journal of Modern Physics E

A new generation of high-resolution hypernuclear gamma$-spectroscopy experiments with high-purity germanium detectors (HPGe) are presently designed at the FINUDA spectrometer at DAPhiNE, the Frascati phi-factory, and at PANDA, the antiproton proton hadron spectrometer at the future FAIR facility. Both, the FINUDA and PANDA spectrometers are built around the target region covering a large solid angle. To maximise the detection efficiency the HPGe detectors have to be located near the target, and therefore they have to be operated in strong magnetic fields B ~ 1 T. The performance of HPGe detectors in such an environment has not been well investigated so far. In the present work VEGA and EUROBALL Cluster HPGe detectors were tested in the field provided by the ALADiN magnet at GSI. No significant degradation of the energy resolution was found, and a change in the rise time distribution of the pulses from preamplifiers was observed. A correlation between rise time and pulse height was observed and is used to correct the measured energy, recovering the energy resolution almost completely. Moreover, no problems in the electronics due to the magnetic field were observed., Comment: submitted to Nucl. Instrum. Meth. Phys. Res. A, LaTeX, 19 pages, 9 figures

We present some preliminary results of the two proton decay of 18Ne excited levels. The cross section for Coulomb excitation and the yield ratio of the 1p and 2p decay channels are reported. The CM proton spectra of the 2p decay channel are also shown.

Isotope temperatures from double ratios of hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, and carbon isotopic yields, and excited-state temperatures from yield ratios of particle-unstable resonances in 4He, 5Li, and 8Be, were determined for spectator fragmentation, following collisions of 197Au with targets ranging from C to Au at incident energies of 600 and 1000 MeV per nucleon. A deviation of the isotopic from the excited-state temperatures is observed which coincides with the transition from residue formation to multi-fragment production, suggesting a chemical freeze-out prior to thermal freeze-out in bulk disintegrations., Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. C, small changes as suggested by the editors and referees

The excitation functions (EFs) for different fragments produced in the {sup 27}Al+{sup 27}Al dissipative collisions have been measured in steps of 250 keV in the incident energy range 122-132 MeV. Deep inelastic processes have been selected by integrating events on a total kinetic energy loss window of 12 MeV between 20 and 32 MeV. Large fluctuations are observed in all the studied EFs. Large-channel cross-correlation coefficients confirm the nonstatistical origin of these fluctuations. The energy autocorrelation function (EAF) shows damped oscillation structure as expected when a dinuclear system with a lifetime [{tau}=(5.1{+-}2.1){center_dot}10{sup -21}s], similar with its revolution period (T=4.9{center_dot}10{sup -21}sec), is formed. From the periodicity of the EAF oscillations, information on the deformation of the {sup 27}Al+{sup 27}Al dinucleus is inferred.