Helicity at Photospheric and Chromospheric Heights

In the solar atmosphere the twist parameter $\alpha$ has the same sign as magnetic helicity. It has been observed using photospheric vector magnetograms that negative/positive helicity is dominant in the northern/southern hemisphere of the Sun. Chromospheric features show dextral/sinistral dominance in the northern/southern hemisphere and sigmoids observed in X-rays also have a dominant sense of reverse-S/forward-S in the northern/southern hemisphere. It is of interest whether individual features have one-to-one correspondence in terms of helicity at different atmospheric heights. We use UBF \Halpha images from the Dunn Solar Telescope (DST) and other \Halpha data from Udaipur Solar Observatory and Big Bear Solar Observatory. Near-simultaneous vector magnetograms from the DST are used to establish one-to-one correspondence of helicity at photospheric and chromospheric heights. We plan to extend this investigation with more data including coronal intensities.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, 1 table To appear in "Magnetic Coupling between the Interior and the Atmosphere of the Sun", eds. S.S. Hasan and R.J. Rutten, Astrophysics and Space Science Proceedings, Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin, 200

Anxiety Levels in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder:A Meta-Analysis

The aim of the current study was to meta-analytically examine whether anxiety levels in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are elevated. A total of 83 articles were selected from a systematic literature search and were included in the meta-analyses. Results demonstrated that children with ASD had higher anxiety levels compared to typically developing children, and this difference increased with IQ. Youth with ASD also tended to have higher anxiety levels compared to clinically referred children, and this difference increased with age. Children with ASD had higher anxiety levels compared to youth with externalizing or developmental problems, but not when compared to youth with internalizing problems. The study findings highlight the importance of more research in order to fully understand the nature and development of anxiety in children with ASD. More specifically, the results suggest that especially high-functioning adolescents with ASD may be at risk for developing anxiety disorders. Therefore, it seems important to carefully follow and monitor children with ASD transcending to adolescenc

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Transverse Polarization Modes in the Gravitational-wave Background

\ua9 2024. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.Recently we found compelling evidence for a gravitational-wave background with Hellings and Downs (HD) correlations in our 15 yr data set. These correlations describe gravitational waves as predicted by general relativity, which has two transverse polarization modes. However, more general metric theories of gravity can have additional polarization modes, which produce different interpulsar correlations. In this work, we search the NANOGrav 15 yr data set for evidence of a gravitational-wave background with quadrupolar HD and scalar-transverse (ST) correlations. We find that HD correlations are the best fit to the data and no significant evidence in favor of ST correlations. While Bayes factors show strong evidence for a correlated signal, the data does not strongly prefer either correlation signature, with Bayes factors ∼2 when comparing HD to ST correlations, and ∼1 for HD plus ST correlations to HD correlations alone. However, when modeled alongside HD correlations, the amplitude and spectral index posteriors for ST correlations are uninformative, with the HD process accounting for the vast majority of the total signal. Using the optimal statistic, a frequentist technique that focuses on the pulsar-pair cross-correlations, we find median signal-to-noise ratios of 5.0 for HD and 4.6 for ST correlations when fit for separately, and median signal-to-noise ratios of 3.5 for HD and 3.0 for ST correlations when fit for simultaneously. While the signal-to-noise ratios for each of the correlations are comparable, the estimated amplitude and spectral index for HD are a significantly better fit to the total signal, in agreement with our Bayesian analysis

The NANOGrav 15 yr Data Set: Search for Gravitational-wave Memory

\ua9 2025. The Author(s). Published by the American Astronomical Society.We present the results of a search for nonlinear gravitational-wave (GW) memory in the NANOGrav 15 yr data set. We find no significant evidence for memory signals in the data set, with a maximum Bayes factor of 3.1 in favor of a model including memory. We therefore place upper limits on the strain of potential GW memory events as a function of sky location and observing epoch. We find upper limits that are not always more constraining than previous NANOGrav results. We show that it is likely due to the increase in common red noise between the 12.5 and 15 yr NANOGrav data sets

Abstract S1-02: PrECOG 0102: A randomized, double-blind, phase II trial of fulvestrant plus everolimus or placebo in post-menopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC) resistant to aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy

Abstract Background: Although AIs are an effective treatment for HR-positive MBC, whether used alone or in combination with CDK4/6 inhibitors, resistance to therapy and disease progression invariably develops. Therapeutic options for AI-resistant disease include the m-TOR inhibitor everolimus in combination with the steroidal AI exemestane, or the selective estrogen receptor downregulator (SERD) fulvestrant alone. We hypothesized that the combination of fulvestrant and everolimus would be more effective than fulvestrant alone in AI-resistant MBC. Methods: Major eligibility criteria included post-menopausal women with HR-positive, HER2-negative MBC, recurrence or progression while receiving prior non-steroidal or steroidal AI therapy, ECOG PS 0-1, and ≤1 prior chemotherapy regimen for metastases. All patients received fulvestrant (500mg IM q2 weeks for 3 doses, then q4 weeks) plus oral everolimus (10mg) or placebo (1:1 randomization). Prophylactic corticosteroid mouthwash was not used. Tumor assessment was performed at baseline and every 12 weeks. Treatment continued until progressive disease (PD) by RECIST 1.1 criteria. Patients who discontinued everolimus/placebo due to toxicity continued fulvestrant until PD. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS), defined as time from start of treatment until progression or death. With accrual of 130 patients (120 eligible), the trial had 90% power to detect an improvement in median PFS from 5.4 months to 9.2 months (1-sided stratified log-rank test, type I error rate10%), with analysis planned after 98 PFS events. Results: Of 130 patients treated (64 everolimus, 66 placebo), median age was 61 years (range 35-92), and treatment arms were balanced for stratification factors used in randomization, including ECOG PS 0 vs. 1 (59%/41%), measurable disease (66%), and prior chemotherapy for metastasis (17%). Grade 3/4 AEs were more common in the everolimus arm (53%/3% vs. 23%3%), including hyperglycemia (16%/0% vs. 0%), stomatitis (11%/0% vs. 0%), hypertriglyceridemia (9%/2% vs. 0%), lymphopenia (9%/0% vs. 0%), and pneumonitis (6%/2% vs. 0%). There were 3 grade 5 events (2 everolimus, 1 placebo arm), none of which were attributed to therapy. Selected grade 2 events of interest included fatigue (17% vs. 6%), hyperglycemia (6% vs. 0%), and stomatitis (6% vs. 0%). Everolimus/placebo was discontinued for adverse events, patient withdrawal, or physician discretion in 39% in the everolimus arm and 21% in the placebo arm. After 98 PFS events, median PFS was 10.4 months in the everolimus arm versus 5.1 months in the placebo arm (hazard ratio: 0.61, 95% C.I. 0.40 – 0.92; stratified logrank p= 0.02). Conclusions: The addition of everolimus to fulvestrant significantly improved PFS in post-menopausal women with AI-resistant MBC. Everolimus used without prophylactic corticosteroid mouthwash exhibited a similar rate of oral mucositis and overall AE profile when combined with fulvestrant as when combined with exemestane. Keywords: advanced breast cancer, PrECOG 0102, endocrine resistance, everolimus, exemestane, hormone receptor-positive, mTOR inhibitor, postmenopausal. Citation Format: Kornblum NS, Manola J, Klein P, Ramaswamy B, Brufsky A, Stella PJ, Burnette B, Telli M, Makower DF, Leach J, Truica CI, Wolff AC, Soori GS, Haley B, Nagarajan A, Wassenaar TR, Goldstein L, Miller KD, Sparano JA. PrECOG 0102: A randomized, double-blind, phase II trial of fulvestrant plus everolimus or placebo in post-menopausal women with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, HER2-negative metastatic breast cancer (MBC) resistant to aromatase inhibitor (AI) therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2016 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2016 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2017;77(4 Suppl):Abstract nr S1-02.</jats:p

Mindset Theory

In this chapter, we will introduce Mindset Theory which proposes that people hold different beliefs about the malleability of human attributes, such as intelligence and personality. Research demonstrated that these so-called mindsets or implicit theories predict a variety of key outcomes in the achievement and interpersonal domain, such as academic achievement and interpersonal aggression. The belief that people can change is usually (but not always) more adaptive than the belief that human attributes are fixed. We will introduce the cognitive and motivational mechanisms that explain how such a seemingly subtle difference in people’s beliefs (which they might not even be aware of) can produce such different outcomes. Last, we will introduce an intervention study that applied Mindset Theory to the widespread problem of bullying. This work suggests that adolescents’ mindsets can be lastingly changed which can help them to better cope with socially adverse situations

A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Global Phase 3 Study of Edasalonexent in Pediatric Patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy: Results of the PolarisDMD Trial

BACKGROUND: Edasalonexent (CAT-1004) is an orally-administered novel small molecule drug designed to inhibit NF-κB and potentially reduce inflammation and fibrosis to improve muscle function and thereby slow disease progression and muscle decline in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). OBJECTIVE: This international, randomized 2 : 1, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study in patients ≥4 - < 8 years old with DMD due to any dystrophin mutation examined the effect of edasalonexent (100 mg/kg/day) compared to placebo over 52 weeks. METHODS: Endpoints were changes in the North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA; primary) and timed function tests (TFTs; secondary). Assessment of health-related function used the Pediatric Outcomes Data Collection tool (PODCI). RESULTS: One hundred thirty one patients received edasalonexent (n = 88) and placebo (n = 43). At week 52, differences between edasalonexent and placebo for NSAA total score and TFTs were not statistically significant, although there were consistently less functional declines in the edasalonexent group. A pre-specified analysis by age demonstrated that younger patients (≤6.0 years) showed more robust and statistically significant differences between edasalonexent and placebo for some assessments. Treatment was well-tolerated and the majority of adverse events were mild, and most commonly involved the gastrointestinal system (primarily diarrhea). CONCLUSIONS: Edasalonexent was generally well-tolerated with a manageable safety profile at the dose of 100 mg/kg/day. Although edasalonexent did not achieve statistical significance for improvement in primary and secondary functional endpoints for assessment of DMD, subgroup analysis suggested that edasalonexent may slow disease progression if initiated before 6 years of age. (NCT03703882)