First Measurement Using Elliptically Polarized Photons of the Double-Polarization Observable E for γp→pπ

We report the measurement of the helicity asymmetry E for the pπ^{0} and nπ^{+} final states using, for the first time, an elliptically polarized photon beam in combination with a longitudinally polarized target at the Crystal Ball experiment at MAMI. The results agree very well with data that were taken with a circularly polarized photon beam, showing that it is possible to simultaneously measure polarization observables that require linearly (e.g., G) and circularly polarized photons (e.g., E) and a longitudinally polarized target. The new data cover a photon energy range 270-1400 MeV for the pπ^{0} final state (230-842 MeV for the nπ^{+} final state) and the full range of pion polar angles, θ, providing the most precise measurement of the observable E. A moment analysis gives a clear observation of the pη cusp in the pπ^{0} final state.

[Conservative and pharmacological treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia : The German S2e-guideline 2023-part2]. / Konservative und medikamentöse Therapie des benignen Prostatasyndroms : Die deutsche S2e-Leitlinie 2023 ­ Teil 2.

BACKGROUND: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH, in German guidelines: benign prostatic syndrome [BPS]) is considered the most common disease of the lower urinary tract in men and can have a tremendous impact on the quality-of-life of affected patients. Conservative and pharmacological therapy of this disease are of great importance, both in improving LUTS and reducing progression-related complications. OBJECTIVES: Presentation of the conservative and pharmacological treatment options according to the current German S2e guideline on BPS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Summary and overview of chapters 9 and 10 of the current German S2e guideline on BPS. RESULTS: In addition to a controlled watchful waiting for BPS patients without an absolute indication for prostate surgery, a variety of phytopharmacological formulations and synthetic drugs according to the symptomatology and clinical progress are available. Phytotherapy should, due to inconsistent study data, only be considered for mild to moderate symptoms. Synthetic drugs include alpha-blockers, 5α-reductase inhibitors, phosphodiesterase inhibitors, antimuscarinics and, more recently, the ß3-agonist mirabegron in the current guideline. In addition, various combination therapies are listed and evaluated according to their indications, effects and side effects. CONCLUSIONS: The current German S2e guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of BPS provides an evidence-based foundation for finding the best possible and most effective medication.

[Surgical treatment options of lower urinary tract symptoms due to benign prostatic obstruction : The German S2e guideline 2023-part 3]. / Operative Therapie des benignen Prostatasyndroms ­ klassische Desobstruktion : Die deutsche S2e-Leitlinie 2023 ­ Teil 3.

BACKGROUND: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) due to benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) are one of the most common diagnoses in clinical practice. Bothersome LUTS impact considerably quality of life of men and may cause severe complications without treatment. According to the diagnostic assessment every patient should be treated with an adequate therapy. Management comprises a conservative approach, medication, novel minimally invasive options, and surgical procedures with the aim to remove the obstructing adenoma. The German guideline panel has updated the German guidelines on diagnostic evaluation and management of LUTS due to BPO. OBJECTIVES: Evidence-based recommendations of surgical treatment options of LUTS due to BPO are evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Chapters 11.1.1 and 11.2 of the updated German S2e guideline on the management of LUTS due to BPO are summarized as a review article. RESULTS: A treatment algorithm based on current evidence has been proposed. It is considered to provide guidance for the selection of the best procedure according to the needs of the patient. Anatomic features of the prostate, the patients' morbidity, and the preservation of ejaculatory function are taken into account for the choice of the best procedures. These surgical options can be divided into techniques with direct, delayed or no removal of the adenoma, procedures with suprapubic access, and embolizing approaches. CONCLUSIONS: The updated German S2e guideline on the management of LUTS due to BPO provides evidence-based recommendations for the selection of the best procedure according to the needs of the individual patient.

[Diagnostic work-up of benign prostatic hyperplasia : The German S2e-guideline 2023 part 1]. / Diagnostik des benignen Prostatasyndroms : Die deutsche S2e-Leitlinie 2023 Teil 1.

BACKGROUND: Lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) suggestive of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH; in German guidelines: benign prostatic syndrome [BPS]) is the most frequent urological disease in men and can result in a considerable deterioration of quality-of-life. BPS can be associated with LUTS, benign prostatic enlargement (BPE), and bladder outlet obstruction (BOO) or benign prostatic obstruction (BPO), respectively. The expert group on BPS of the German Society of Urology has re-evaluated the tests for the assessment of BPH and provides evidence-based recommendations. OBJECTIVES: Presentation and evidence-based rating of tests for the assessment of patients with BPS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Summary and overview of chapters 5, 6, and 8 of the latest long version of the German S2e guideline on BPS. RESULTS: The diagnostic work-up should clarify (1) whether the complaints of the patient are caused by BPS, (2) how relevant the complaints are and whether treatment is necessary, (3) whether complications of the lower or upper urinary tract already exist, and (4) which treatment will be most suitable. Baseline assessment should be done in all BPS patients and include history, measurement of LUTS and quality-of-life, urinalysis, serum prostate-specific antigen, post-void residual, ultrasound of the lower urinary tract, including measurements of prostate volume, intravesical prostatic protrusion and detrusor wall thickness, and ultrasound of the upper urinary tract. Additional tests can follow when questions remain unanswered after baseline assessment. These optional tests include bladder diaries, uroflowmetry, serum creatinine, urethrocystoscopy, other noninvasive tests for the determination of BOO/BPO such as penile cuff test, condom catheter method and near-infrared spectroscopy, and other imagining tests such as X­ray and MRI investigations. CONCLUSIONS: The updated German S2e guideline summarizes evidence-based recommendations on the diagnostic work-up, including the assessment of the BPS components BPE, LUTS, and BOO/BPO.

Measurement of Compton Scattering at MAMI for the Extraction of the Electric and Magnetic Polarizabilities of the Proton.

A precise measurement of the differential cross sections dσ/dΩ and the linearly polarized photon beam asymmetry Σ_{3} for Compton scattering on the proton below pion threshold has been performed with a tagged photon beam and almost 4π detector at the Mainz Microtron. The incident photons were produced by the recently upgraded Glasgow-Mainz photon tagging facility and impinged on a cryogenic liquid hydrogen target, with the scattered photons detected in the Crystal Ball/TAPS setup. Using the highest statistics Compton scattering data ever measured on the proton along with two effective field theories (both covariant baryon and heavy-baryon) and one fixed-t dispersion relation model, constraining the fits with the Baldin sum rule, we have obtained the proton electric and magnetic polarizabilities with unprecedented precision: α_{E1}=10.99±0.16±0.47±0.17±0.34, ß_{M1}=3.14±0.21±0.24±0.20±0.35; in units of 10^{-4} fm^{3} where the errors are statistical, systematic, spin polarizability dependent, and model dependent.

Single π 0 production off neutrons bound in deuteron with linearly polarized photons.

The quasifree γ → d → π 0 n ( p ) photon beam asymmetry, Σ , has been measured at photon energies, E γ , from 390 to 610 MeV, corresponding to center of mass energy from 1.271 to 1.424 GeV, for the first time. The data were collected in the A2 hall of the MAMI electron beam facility with the Crystal Ball and TAPS calorimeters covering pion center-of-mass angles from 49 ∘ to 148 ∘ . In this kinematic region, polarization observables are sensitive to contributions from the Δ ( 1232 ) and N(1440) resonances. The extracted values of Σ have been compared to predictions based on partial-wave analyses (PWAs) of the existing pion photoproduction database. Our comparison includes the SAID, MAID and Bonn-Gatchina analyses; while a revised SAID fit, including the new Σ measurements, has also been performed. In addition, isospin symmetry is examined as a way to predict π 0 n photoproduction observables, based on fits to published data in the channels π 0 p , π + n and π - p .

Helicity-Dependent Cross Sections for the Photoproduction of π

The double-polarization observable E and helicity-dependent cross sections σ_{1/2}, σ_{3/2} have been measured for the photoproduction of π^{0} pairs off quasifree protons and neutrons at the Mainz MAMI accelerator with the Crystal Ball/TAPS setup. A circularly polarized photon beam was produced by bremsstrahlung from longitudinally polarized electrons and impinged on a longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target. The reaction products were detected with an almost 4π covering calorimeter. The results reveal for the first time the helicity- and isospin-dependent structure of the γN→Nπ^{0}π^{0} reaction. They are compared to predictions from reaction models in view of nucleon resonance contributions and also to a refit of one model that predicted results for the proton and for the neutron target. The comparison of the prediction and the refit demonstrates the large impact of the new data.

Signatures of the d

We report a measurement of the spin polarization of the recoiling neutron in deuterium photodisintegration, utilizing a new large acceptance polarimeter within the Crystal Ball at MAMI. The measured photon energy range of 300-700 MeV provides the first measurement of recoil neutron polarization at photon energies where the quark substructure of the deuteron plays a role, thereby providing important new constraints on photodisintegration mechanisms. A very high neutron polarization in a narrow structure centered around E_{γ}∼570 MeV is observed, which is inconsistent with current theoretical predictions employing nucleon resonance degrees of freedom. A Legendre polynomial decomposition suggests this behavior could be related to the excitation of the d^{*}(2380) hexaquark.

Insight into the Narrow Structure in η Photoproduction on the Neutron from Helicity-Dependent Cross Sections.

The double polarization observable E and the helicity dependent cross sections σ_{1/2} and σ_{3/2} were measured for η photoproduction from quasifree protons and neutrons. The circularly polarized tagged photon beam of the A2 experiment at the Mainz MAMI accelerator was used in combination with a longitudinally polarized deuterated butanol target. The almost 4π detector setup of the Crystal Ball and TAPS is ideally suited to detect the recoil nucleons and the decay photons from η→2γ and η→3π^{0}. The results show that the narrow structure previously observed in η photoproduction from the neutron is only apparent in σ_{1/2} and hence, most likely related to a spin-1/2 amplitude. Nucleon resonances that contribute to this partial wave in η production are only N 1/2^{-} (S_{11}) and N 1/2^{+} (P_{11}). Furthermore, the extracted Legendre coefficients of the angular distributions for σ_{1/2} are in good agreement with recent reaction model predictions assuming a narrow resonance in the P_{11} wave as the origin of this structure.

Cigarette smoke exposure and development of infants throughout the first year of life: influence of passive smoking and nursing on cotinine levels in breast milk and infant's urine.

The effects of smoke exposure via mothers' milk and/or via passive smoking during the first year of life were investigated in a prospective longitudinal matched-pair study. The somatic and mental development of 69 infants whose mothers smoked more than five cigarettes per day throughout pregnancy and continued smoking after childbirth were compared with 69 children of non-smoking mothers. At birth, mean body weight of neonates from smoking mothers was significantly lower than the weight of neonates from non-smoking mothers. This weight difference between the two groups was no longer significant in infants at 12 months of age. With the methods employed by the authors, neither psychomotor nor mental development was affected by smoke exposure during pregnancy and early infancy. Infections of the lower respiratory tract were more frequent in the children of smoking mothers. These mothers weaned their babies earlier than non-smokers, but the different feeding behaviour did not influence any of the clinical parameters that were investigated in this study. In order to evaluate the extent of smoke exposure, cotinine was measured in children's urine and in breast milk once a month throughout the first year of life. Cotinine in the urine was significantly dependent on feeding behaviour: infants breast fed showed concentrations 10-fold higher than those who were bottle fed. Cotinine excretion in urine of infants from smoking mothers, who were not breast fed (nicotine exposure via passive smoking only) was even higher than that of adult passive smokers. If infants from smoking mothers were breast fed, their urinary cotinine excretion was in the range of adult smokers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Smoking and passive smoking during pregnancy and early infancy: effects on birth weight, lactation period, and cotinine concentrations in mother's milk and infant's urine.

The extent of smoke exposure via mother's milk and passive smoking was investigated in a prospective, longitudinal matched-pair study by comparison between children, whose mothers smoked substantially throughout pregnancy and nursing period and children whose mothers did not smoke. Our preliminary results show that not only infants of smoking mothers but also those of smoking fathers show reduction of birth weight. Smoking mothers weaned their babies earlier than non-smokers. Cotinine concentrations in breast milk depended on the number of cigarettes smoked. The highest urinary excretion of cotinine (as expressed by ng cotinine/mg creatinine ratios) were observed in infants fully breast-fed by smoking mothers. After weaning the values were in the same range as those of formula-fed infants of smoking mothers (exposed to passive smoking only). In the group of non-smokers only small or undetectable amounts of cotinine were found. Thus it is demonstrated that both nursing and--to a lower degree--passive smoking contribute to the exposure of infants to nicotine and its metabolite cotinine.