Dark matter axion search using a Josephson Traveling wave parametric amplifier.

We describe the first implementation of a Josephson Traveling Wave Parametric Amplifier (JTWPA) in an axion dark matter search. The operation of the JTWPA for a period of about two weeks achieved sensitivity to axion-like particle dark matter with axion-photon couplings above 10-13 Ge V-1 over a narrow range of axion masses centered around 19.84 µeV by tuning the resonant frequency of the cavity over the frequency range of 4796.

Search for a Dark-Matter-Induced Cosmic Axion Background with ADMX.

We report the first result of a direct search for a cosmic axion background (CaB)-a relativistic background of axions that is not dark matter-performed with the axion haloscope, the Axion Dark Matter eXperiment (ADMX). Conventional haloscope analyses search for a signal with a narrow bandwidth, as predicted for dark matter, whereas the CaB will be broad. We introduce a novel analysis strategy, which searches for a CaB induced daily modulation in the power measured by the haloscope.

Proton Compton Scattering from Linearly Polarized Gamma Rays.

Differential cross sections for Compton scattering from the proton have been measured at scattering angles of 55°, 90°, and 125° in the laboratory frame using quasimonoenergetic linearly (circularly) polarized photon beams with a weighted mean energy value of 83.4 MeV (81.3 MeV).

Search for Invisible Axion Dark Matter in the 3.3-4.2 μeV Mass Range.

We report the results from a haloscope search for axion dark matter in the 3.3-4.2  μeV mass range.

Axion Dark Matter Experiment: Detailed design and operations.

Axion dark matter experiment ultra-low noise haloscope technology has enabled the successful completion of two science runs (1A and 1B) that looked for dark matter axions in the 2.66-3.1 μeV mass range with Dine-Fischler-Srednicki-Zhitnisky sensitivity [Du et al.

Genetic Variation in and and Acute Pancreatitis during Treatment of Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Background: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a serious, mechanistically not entirely resolved side effect of L-asparaginase-containing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). To find new candidate variations for AP, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS).

Methods: In all, 1,004,623 single-nucleotide variants (SNVs) were analyzed in 51 pediatric ALL patients with AP (cases) and 1388 patients without AP (controls).

Identification of four novel associations for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia risk.

There is increasing evidence for a strong inherited genetic basis of susceptibility to acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) in children. To identify new risk variants for B-cell ALL (B-ALL) we conducted a meta-analysis with four GWAS (genome-wide association studies), totalling 5321 cases and 16,666 controls of European descent. We herein describe novel risk loci for B-ALL at 9q21.

Disparity in Receipt and Utilization of Telecommunicator CPR Instruction.

Telecommunicator Assisted Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (T-CPR) is independently associated with improved survival and improved functional outcome after adult Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA). The objective of this study was to evaluate whether there are racial and socioeconomic disparities in the provision of T-CPR instruction and subsequent CPR performance. We performed a retrospective review of a convenience sample of EMS agencies throughout the United States that utilized the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) dispatch registry during the period 1/2014-12/2017.

Validation of Minimal Residual Disease as Surrogate Endpoint for Event-Free Survival in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Background: The aim of this study was to assess whether minimal residual disease (MRD) at the end of induction front-line treatment can serve as a surrogate endpoint for event-free survival (EFS) in childhood B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Methods: The analysis was based on individual data of 4830 patients from two large phase III trials that asked a randomized question on the effect of different corticosteroids (dexamethasone vs prednisone) during induction chemotherapy on EFS. The association between MRD classified in three ordered categories [negative = 0, low positive = (>0 and <5 × 10), and positive = (≥5 × 10)] and EFS at the individual and trial levels was evaluated with the meta-analytic approach based on the Plackett copula model.

Large scale multifactorial likelihood quantitative analysis of BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants: An ENIGMA resource to support clinical variant classification.

The multifactorial likelihood analysis method has demonstrated utility for quantitative assessment of variant pathogenicity for multiple cancer syndrome genes. Independent data types currently incorporated in the model for assessing BRCA1 and BRCA2 variants include clinically calibrated prior probability of pathogenicity based on variant location and bioinformatic prediction of variant effect, co-segregation, family cancer history profile, co-occurrence with a pathogenic variant in the same gene, breast tumor pathology, and case-control information. Research and clinical data for multifactorial likelihood analysis were collated for 1,395 BRCA1/2 predominantly intronic and missense variants, enabling classification based on posterior probability of pathogenicity for 734 variants: 447 variants were classified as (likely) benign, and 94 as (likely) pathogenic; and 248 classifications were new or considerably altered relative to ClinVar submissions.

Breast cancer risk in BRCA1/2 mutation carriers and noncarriers under prospective intensified surveillance.

Comparably little is known about breast cancer (BC) risks in women from families tested negative for BRCA1/2 mutations despite an indicative family history, as opposed to BRCA1/2 mutation carriers. We determined the age-dependent risks of first and contralateral breast cancer (FBC, CBC) both in noncarriers and carriers of BRCA1/2 mutations, who participated in an intensified breast imaging surveillance program. The study was conducted between January 1, 2005, and September 30, 2017, at 12 university centers of the German Consortium for Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer.

The Frog as a Model to Study Joubert Syndrome: The Case of a Human Patient With Compound Heterozygous Variants in .

Joubert syndrome (JS) is a congenital autosomal-recessive or-in rare cases-X-linked inherited disease. The diagnostic hallmark of the so-called molar tooth sign describes the morphological manifestation of the mid- and hind-brain in axial brain scans. Affected individuals show delayed development, intellectual disability, ataxia, hyperpnea, sleep apnea, abnormal eye, and tongue movements as well as hypotonia.

Spectrum and prevalence of genetic predisposition in medulloblastoma: a retrospective genetic study and prospective validation in a clinical trial cohort.

Background: Medulloblastoma is associated with rare hereditary cancer predisposition syndromes; however, consensus medulloblastoma predisposition genes have not been defined and screening guidelines for genetic counselling and testing for paediatric patients are not available. We aimed to assess and define these genes to provide evidence for future screening guidelines.

Methods: In this international, multicentre study, we analysed patients with medulloblastoma from retrospective cohorts (International Cancer Genome Consortium [ICGC] PedBrain, Medulloblastoma Advanced Genomics International Consortium [MAGIC], and the CEFALO series) and from prospective cohorts from four clinical studies (SJMB03, SJMB12, SJYC07, and I-HIT-MED).

Single CpG hypermethylation, allele methylation errors, and decreased expression of multiple tumor suppressor genes in normal body cells of mutation-negative early-onset and high-risk breast cancer patients.

To evaluate the role of constitutive epigenetic changes in normal body cells of BRCA1/BRCA2-mutation negative patients, we have developed a deep bisulfite sequencing assay targeting the promoter regions of 8 tumor suppressor (TS) genes (BRCA1, BRCA2, RAD51C, ATM, PTEN, TP53, MLH1, RB1) and the estrogene receptor gene (ESR1), which plays a role in tumor progression. We analyzed blood samples of two breast cancer (BC) cohorts with early onset (EO) and high risk (HR) for a heterozygous mutation, respectively, along with age-matched controls. Methylation analysis of up to 50,000 individual DNA molecules per gene and sample allowed quantification of epimutations (alleles with >50% methylated CpGs), which are associated with epigenetic silencing.

Genome-wide association study identifies susceptibility loci for B-cell childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have advanced our understanding of susceptibility to B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL); however, much of the heritable risk remains unidentified. Here, we perform a GWAS and conduct a meta-analysis with two existing GWAS, totaling 2442 cases and 14,609 controls. We identify risk loci for BCP-ALL at 8q24.

Prevalence of pathogenic BRCA1/2 germline mutations among 802 women with unilateral triple-negative breast cancer without family cancer history.

Background: There is no international consensus up to which age women with a diagnosis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) and no family history of breast or ovarian cancer should be offered genetic testing for germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 (gBRCA) mutations. Here, we explored the association of age at TNBC diagnosis with the prevalence of pathogenic gBRCA mutations in this patient group.

Methods: The study comprised 802 women (median age 40 years, range 19-76) with oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor type 2 negative breast cancers, who had no relatives with breast or ovarian cancer.

IKZF1 Defines a New Minimal Residual Disease-Dependent Very-Poor Prognostic Profile in Pediatric B-Cell Precursor Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

Purpose Somatic deletions that affect the lymphoid transcription factor-coding gene IKZF1 have previously been reported as independently associated with a poor prognosis in pediatric B-cell precursor (BCP) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We have now refined the prognostic strength of IKZF1 deletions by analyzing the effect of co-occurring deletions. Patients and Methods The analysis involved 991 patients with BCP ALL treated in the Associazione Italiana Ematologia ed Oncologia Pediatrica-Berlin-Frankfurt-Muenster (AIEOP-BFM) ALL 2000 trial with complete information for copy number alterations of IKZF1, PAX5, ETV6, RB1, BTG1, EBF1, CDKN2A, CDKN2B, Xp22.

Evaluating Dispatch-Assisted CPR Using the CARES Registry.

Objectives: Dispatch-assisted cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DA-CPR) has been shown to improve cardiac arrest survival. Recent literature has proposed dispatch metrics for provision of this intervention. Our objectives are to: use the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) to compare current practice to proposed DA-CPR guidelines; describe barriers to DA-CPR; and assess the association of DA-CPR with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) survival.

Reduced-Intensity Delayed Intensification in Standard-Risk Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Defined by Undetectable Minimal Residual Disease: Results of an International Randomized Trial (AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000).

Purpose Delayed intensification (DI) is an integral part of treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but it is associated with relevant toxicity. Therefore, standard-risk patients of trial AIEOP-BFM ALL 2000 (Combination Chemotherapy Based on Risk of Relapse in Treating Young Patients With ALL) were investigated with the specific aim to reduce treatment intensity. Patients and Methods Between July 2000 and July 2006, 1,164 patients (1 to 17 years of age) with standard-risk ALL (defined as the absence of high-risk cytogenetics and undetectable minimal residual disease on days 33 and 78) were randomly assigned to either experimental reduced-intensity DI (protocol III; P-III) or standard DI (protocol II; P-II).

Impact of clinical exomes in neurodevelopmental and neurometabolic disorders.

Whole exome sequencing (WES) is well established in research and is now being introduced into clinically indicated diagnostics (so-called clinical exomes). We evaluated the diagnostic yield and clinical implications of WES in 72 patients from 60 families with undiagnosed neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), neurometabolic disorders, and dystonias. Pathogenic or likely pathogenic variants leading to a molecular diagnosis could be identified in 21 of the 60 families (overall 35%, in 36% of patients with NDD, in 43% of patients with neurometabolic disorders, in 25% of patients with dystonias).

Diagnosis of CoPAN by whole exome sequencing: Waking up a sleeping tiger's eye.

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is a group of neurodegenerative disorders characterized by iron accumulation in the basal ganglia. Recently, mutations in CoA synthase (COASY) have been identified as a cause of a novel NBIA subtype (COASY Protein-Associated Neurodegeneration, CoPAN) in two patients with dystonic paraparesis, parkinsonian features, cognitive impairment, behavior abnormalities, and axonal neuropathy. COASY encodes an enzyme required for Coenzyme A (CoA) biosynthesis.

The association between breast cancer and S100P methylation in peripheral blood by multicenter case-control studies.

Breast cancer (BC) is the leading cancer in women worldwide. Changes in DNA methylation in peripheral blood could be associated with malignant diseases. Making use of screening results by llumina 27K Methylation Assay, we validated demethylation of five CpG sites of S100P gene in blood cell DNA of BC patients by three independent retrospective studies with subjects from different centers (Validation I: 235 familial BC case and 206 controls, odds ratio per -1% methylation > 1.

DDX3X mutations in two girls with a phenotype overlapping Toriello-Carey syndrome.

Recently, de novo heterozygous variants in DDX3X have been reported in about 1.5% of 2659 females with previously unexplained intellectual disability (ID). We report on the identification of DDX3X variants in two unrelated girls with clinical features of Toriello-Carey Syndrome (T-CS).

A genome-wide association study identifies risk loci for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia at 10q26.13 and 12q23.1.

Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have shown that common genetic variation contributes to the heritable risk of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). To identify new susceptibility loci for the largest subtype of ALL, B-cell precursor ALL (BCP-ALL), we conducted a meta-analysis of two GWASs with imputation using 1000 Genomes and UK10K Project data as reference (totaling 1658 cases and 7224 controls). After genotyping an additional 2525 cases and 3575 controls, we identify new susceptibility loci for BCP-ALL mapping to 10q26.