Measurement of helicity-dependent photoabsorption cross sections on the neutron from 815 to 1825 MeV.

Helicity-dependent total photoabsorption cross sections on the deuteron have been measured for the first time at ELSA (Bonn) in the photon energy range from 815 to 1825 MeV. Circularly polarized tagged photons impinging on a longitudinally polarized LiD target have been used together with a highly efficient 4pi detector system. The data around 1 GeV are not compatible with predictions from existing multipole analyses. From the measured energy range an experimental contribution to the GDH integral on the neutron of [33.9 +/- 5.5(stat) +/- 4.5(syst)] microb is extracted.

Experimental check of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule for 1H.

For the first time we checked the fundamental Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule for the proton experimentally in the photon energy range from 0.2-2.9 GeV with the tagged photon facilities at MAMI (Mainz) and ELSA (Bonn). New data of the doubly polarized total cross section difference are presented in the energy range from 1.6 to 2.9 GeV. The contribution to the GDH integral from 0.2-2.9 GeV yields [254+/-5(stat)+/-12(syst)] microb with negative contributions in the Regge regime at photon energies above 2.1 GeV. This trend supports the validity of the GDH sum rule.

First Measurement of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Sum Rule for 1H from 0.7 to 1.8 GeV at ELSA.

To verify the fundamental Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn (GDH) sum rule for the first time experimentally, we measured the helicity dependent total photoabsorption cross section with circularly polarized real photons and longitudinally polarized nucleons in the photon energy range 0.68-1.82 GeV with the tagged photon facility at ELSA. The experiment was carried out with a 4pi detection system, a circularly polarized tagged photon beam, and a frozen spin polarized proton target. The contribution to the GDH sum rule in this photon energy range is [49.9+/-2.4(stat)+/-2.2(syst)] microb.

Measurement of spin-transfer observables in p p-->Lambda Lambda at 1.637 GeV/c.

Spin-transfer observables for p p-->Lambda Lambda have been measured using a transversely polarized frozen-spin target and a beam momentum of 1.637 GeV/c. Current models of the reaction near threshold are in good agreement with existing measurements performed with unpolarized particles in the initial state but produce conflicting predictions for the spin-transfer observables Dnn and Knn (the normal-to-normal depolarization and polarization transfer), which are measurable only with polarized target or beam. Measurements of Dnn and Knn presented here are found to be in disagreement with predictions from these models.

Helicity dependence of gammap --> Npi below 450 MeV and contribution to the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule.

The helicity dependence of the single pion photoproduction on the proton has been measured in the energy range from 200 to 450 MeV for the first time. The experiment, performed at the Mainz microtron MAMI, used a 4pi-detector system, a circularly polarized, tagged photon beam, and a frozen-spin target. The data obtained provide new information for multipole analyses of pion photoproduction and determine the main contributions to the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule and the forward spin polarizability gamma(0).

Polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule serum levels in normal children.

Serum concentrations of polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM), a developmentally regulated form of the NCAM, have been recently described to be elevated in children with rhabdomyosarcoma and neuroblastoma, proving PSA-NCAM to be a tumor marker of diagnostic relevance to these malignancies. The present investigation was undertaken to define age-dependent reference intervals in normal children. Serum concentrations of polysialylated NCAM were determined in 366 children aged newborn to 17 y and in 18 adult patients by an immunoluminescence assay using the polysialic acid-specific MAb 735. Serum levels in newborn children were 51.7 kU/L (mean +/- 12.0 kU/L SD), whereas in adult patients they were 9.9 kU/L (mean +/- 3.5 kU/l SD). Assigning the patients to 14 different age groups, a gradual decay of PSA-NCAM serum concentrations was observed, and therefore, mean levels and empirical interpolated percentiles were determined for every age group. Applying specially fitted logistic functions, two different sigmoid graphs were obtained describing the age-dependent decrease of serum PSA-NCAM during the neonatal period and during childhood. The age at which the levels reach half the initial value was located at 3.1 d (mean +/- 2 d SE) and 14 y (mean +/- 1 y SE), respectively. There was no difference between male and female individuals. Repeated measurements revealed variations below 10%. For the first time, our study describes serum levels of PSA-NCAM in children of different age and their gradual decay until adulthood.

Polysialylated neural cell adhesion molecule in childhood ganglioneuroma and neuroblastoma of different histological grade and clinical stage.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Neuroblastoma cells express the polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM), which normally becomes restricted to a few neural regions after embryogenesis. The aim of the present study was to evaluate PSA-NCAM as a marker in childhood neuroblastoma. PATIENTS/METHODS: We studied the expression of PSA-NCAM on tumor specimens and in sera of 27 children, altogether, with ganglioneuroma and neuroblastoma of different histological grades and clinical stages. For both methods, immunohistochemistry on 5-microm frozen sections and immunoluminescence serum assay, the polysialic-acid-specific monoclonal antibody 735 was used. RESULTS: PSA-NCAM expression was highest in patients with undifferentiated neuroblastoma and advanced stages of disease, whereas children with differentiated tumor types and low clinical stages had distinctly reduced or no reactivity in immunohistochemistry and, simultaneously, normal serum levels. PSA-NCAM expression correlated with other prognostic and diagnostic markers, such as MYCN gene amplification, and serum concentrations decreased during successful treatment. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that PSA-NCAM, both immunohistochemically and in the serum, is a promising candidate for another useful diagnostic and prognostic tumor marker in childhood neuroblastoma.

[Expression of polysialylated NCAM on neuroblastomas of various histology and clinical stages]. / Expression von polysialyliertem NCAM auf Neuroblastomen unterschiedlicher Histologie und klinischer Stadien.

We studied the expression of the polysialylated form of the neural cell adhesion molecule (PSA-NCAM) on the surface of tumor cells and in the serum of 26 patients with neuroblastoma of different histological grades and clinical stages. For both methods, immunohistochemistry and chemiluminescence immunoassay, the plysialic acid specific monoclonal antibody 735 was used. We show that the expression of this NCAM form correlates with the histological differentiation, stage, other tumor markers and course of disease. PSA-NCAM expression seems to enhance the malignancy of neuroblastoma cells and their tendency to metastasis. Since PSA-NCAM serum concentrations correlate to the amount of PSA-NCAM positive tumor cells, we conclude that PSA-NCAM is a new useful diagnostic and prognostic marker for childhood neuroblastoma.