Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

Performance and Operation of the CMS Electromagnetic Calorimeter

The operation and general performance of the CMS electromagnetic calorimeter using cosmic-ray muons are described. These muons were recorded after the closure of the CMS detector in late 2008. The calorimeter is made of lead tungstate crystals and the overall status of the 75848 channels corresponding to the barrel and endcap detectors is reported. The stability of crucial operational parameters, such as high voltage, temperature and electronic noise, is summarised and the performance of the light monitoring system is presented

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

Identification and Filtering of Uncharacteristic Noise in the CMS Hadron Calorimeter

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Real-world treatment patterns, survival outcomes, and health care resource utilization for locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma in Spain

Real-world evidence on locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma (la/mUC) management in Spain is limited. This study describes patient characteristics, treatment patterns, survival, and health care resource utilization (HCRU) in this population. This retrospective observational study included all adults with a first diagnosis/record of la/mUC (index date) from January 2015 to June 2020 at nine university hospitals in Spain. Data were collected up to December 31, 2020 (end of study), death, or loss to follow-up. Patient characteristics, treatment patterns, median overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) from index date (Kaplan-Meier estimates), and disease-specific HCRU were described. Among 829 patients, median age at diagnosis was 71 years; 70.2% had ≥ 1 comorbidity, and 52.5% were eligible for cisplatin. Median follow-up was 12.7 months. Most (84.7%) patients received first-line systemic treatment; of these, 46.9% (n = 329) received second-line and 16.6% (n = 116) received third-line therapy. Chemotherapy was the most common treatment in all lines of therapy, followed by programmed cell death protein 1/ligand 1 inhibitors. Median (95% confidence interval) OS and PFS were 18.8 (17.5-21.5) and 9.9 (8.9-10.5) months, respectively. Most patients required ≥ 1 outpatient visit (71.8%), inpatient admission (56.6%), or emergency department visit (56.5%). Therapeutic patterns were consistent with Spanish guideline recommendations. Chemotherapy had a role in first-line treatment of la/mUC in Spain during the study period. However, the disease burden remains high, and new first-line treatments recommended in the latest European guidelines should be made available to patients in Spain

Performance of CMS hadron calorimeter timing and synchronization using test beam, cosmic ray, and LHC beam data

This paper discusses the design and performance of the time measurement technique and of the synchronization systems of the CMS hadron calorimeter. Time measurement performance results are presented from test beam data taken in the years 2004 and 2006. For hadronic showers of energy greater than 100 GeV, the timing resolution is measured to be about 1.2 ns. Time synchronization and out-of-time background rejection results are presented from the Cosmic Run At Four Tesla and LHC beam runs taken in the Autumn of 2008. The inter-channel synchronization is measured to be within ±2 ns

Identification of candidate genes for drought tolerance in coffee by high-throughput sequencing in the shoot apex of different Coffea arabica cultivars.

BACKGROUND: Drought is a widespread limiting factor in coffee plants. It affects plant development, fruit production, bean development and consequently beverage quality. Genetic diversity for drought tolerance exists within the coffee genus. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the adaptation of coffee plants to drought are largely unknown. In this study, we compared the molecular responses to drought in two commercial cultivars (IAPAR59, drought-tolerant and Rubi, drought-susceptible) of Coffea arabica grown in the field under control (irrigation) and drought conditions using the pyrosequencing of RNA extracted from shoot apices and analysing the expression of 38 candidate genes. RESULTS: Pyrosequencing from shoot apices generated a total of 34.7 Mbp and 535,544 reads enabling the identification of 43,087 clusters (41,512 contigs and 1,575 singletons). These data included 17,719 clusters (16,238 contigs and 1,575 singletons) exclusively from 454 sequencing reads, along with 25,368 hybrid clusters assembled with 454 sequences. The comparison of DNA libraries identified new candidate genes (n = 20) presenting differential expression between IAPAR59 and Rubi and/or drought conditions. Their expression was monitored in plagiotropic buds, together with those of other (n = 18) candidates genes. Under drought conditions, up-regulated expression was observed in IAPAR59 but not in Rubi for CaSTK1 (protein kinase), CaSAMT1 (SAM-dependent methyltransferase), CaSLP1 (plant development) and CaMAS1 (ABA biosynthesis). Interestingly, the expression of lipid-transfer protein (nsLTP) genes was also highly up-regulated under drought conditions in IAPAR59. This may have been related to the thicker cuticle observed on the abaxial leaf surface in IAPAR59 compared to Rubi. CONCLUSIONS: The full transcriptome assembly of C. arabica, followed by functional annotation, enabled us to identify differentially expressed genes related to drought conditions. Using these data, candidate genes were selected and their differential expression profiles were confirmed by qPCR experiments in plagiotropic buds of IAPAR59 and Rubi under drought conditions. As regards the genes up-regulated under drought conditions, specifically in the drought-tolerant IAPAR59, several corresponded to orphan genes but also to genes coding proteins involved in signal transduction pathways, as well as ABA and lipid metabolism, for example. The identification of these genes should help advance our understanding of the genetic determinism of drought tolerance in coffee

L'effet du climat viticole sur la typicité des vins blancs: caractérisation au niveau des régions viticoles ibéro-américaines.

There are many studies in the world that characterize the effect of the climate on grape composition and wine characteristics and typicity concerning different viticultural regions. However, the same is not true concerning studies in a worldwide scale to characterize this effect considering different climate types. This study is part of a CYTED (Ibero-American Program for Science, Technology and Development) project in vitivinicultural zoning. The objective was to characterize the effect of the viticultural climate on white wine typicity on the macro Ibero-American viticultural region. The methodology used 46 grape-growing regions in 6 Ibero-American countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Portugal and Spain. The viticultural climate of each region was characterized by the 3 viticultural climate index of the Geoviticulture MCC System (1): HI (Heliothermal index), CI (Cool night index) and DI (Dryness index). The main sensory characteristics observed frequently in representative white wines produced with grapes of each of these 46 grape-growing regions were described by enologists in the respective countries, using the methodology of Zanus & Tonietto (2). The sensory description concerned the intensity of perception of Color (Cou), Aroma - Intensity (Ar), Aroma - Ripe Fruit (Ar-Fm), Body ? Palate Concentration (Con), Alcohol (Al) and Acidity (Ac). The Persistence in Mouth (Per) was also evaluated. The data were submitted to a correlation analysis of the variables and to a Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The results showed that the typicity of the white wines was correlated with the viticultural climate indexes HI, CI and DI from MCC System. The main wine sensory variables affected by viticultural climate are identified

The AGAMENON-SEOM model for prediction of survival in patients with advanced HER2-positive oesophagogastric adenocarcinoma receiving first-line trastuzumab-based therapy

Trastuzumab and chemotherapy is the standard first-line treatment in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive advanced gastro-oesophageal cancer. The objective was to develop a predictive model for overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) in patients treated with trastuzumab. Patients with HER2-positive advanced gastro-oesophageal adenocarcinoma (AGA) from the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM)-AGAMENON registry and treated first line with trastuzumab and chemotherapy between 2008 and 2021 were included. The model was externally validated in an independent series (The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK). In all, 737 patients were recruited (AGAMENON-SEOM, n = 654; Manchester, n = 83). Median PFS and OS in the training cohort were 7.76 [95% confidence interval (CI), 7.13-8.25] and 14.0 months (95% CI, 13.0-14.9), respectively. Six covariates were significantly associated with OS: neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, Lauren subtype, HER2 expression, histological grade and tumour burden. The AGAMENON-HER2 model demonstrated adequate calibration and fair discriminatory ability with a c-index for corrected PFS/OS of 0.606 (95% CI, 0.578-0.636) and 0.623 (95% CI, 0.594-0.655), respectively. In the validation cohort, the model is well calibrated, with a c-index of 0.650 and 0.683 for PFS and OS, respectively. The AGAMENON-HER2 prognostic tool stratifies HER2-positive AGA patients receiving trastuzumab and chemotherapy according to their estimated survival endpoints

Choice of the initial antiretroviral treatment for HIV-positive individuals in the era of integrase inhibitors

BACKGROUND: We aimed to describe the most frequently prescribed initial antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens in recent years in HIV-positive persons in the Cohort of the Spanish HIV/AIDS Research Network (CoRIS) and to investigate factors associated with the choice of each regimen. METHODS: We analyzed initial ART regimens prescribed in adults participating in CoRIS from 2014 to 2017. Only regimens prescribed in >5% of patients were considered. We used multivariable multinomial regression to estimate Relative Risk Ratios (RRRs) for the association between sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and the choice of the initial regimen. RESULTS: Among 2874 participants, abacavir(ABC)/lamivudine(3TC)/dolutegavir(DTG) was the most frequently prescribed regimen (32.1%), followed by tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF)/emtricitabine (FTC)/elvitegravir(EVG)/cobicistat(COBI) (14.9%), TDF/FTC/rilpivirine (RPV) (14.0%), tenofovir alafenamide (TAF)/FTC/EVG/COBI (13.7%), TDF/FTC+DTG (10.0%), TDF/FTC+darunavir/ritonavir or darunavir/cobicistat (bDRV) (9.8%) and TDF/FTC+raltegravir (RAL) (5.6%). Compared with ABC/3TC/DTG, starting TDF/FTC/RPV was less likely in patients with CD4100.000 copies/mL. TDF/FTC+DTG was more frequent in those with CD4100.000 copies/mL. TDF/FTC+RAL and TDF/FTC+bDRV were also more frequent among patients with CD4<200 cells//muL and with transmission categories other than men who have sex with men. Compared with ABC/3TC/DTG, the prescription of other initial ART regimens decreased from 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 with the exception of TDF/FTC+DTG. Differences in the choice of the initial ART regimen were observed by hospitals' location. CONCLUSIONS: The choice of initial ART regimens is consistent with Spanish guidelines' recommendations, but is also clearly influenced by physician's perception based on patient's clinical and sociodemographic variables and by the prescribing hospital location