New results are reported from the operation of the PICO-60 dark matter detector, a bubble chamber filled with 52 kg of C_{3}F_{8} located in the SNOLAB underground laboratory. As in previous PICO bubble chambers, PICO-60 C_{3}F_{8} exhibits excellent electron recoil and alpha decay rejection, and the observed multiple-scattering neutron rate indicates a single-scatter neutron background of less than one event per month. A blind analysis of an efficiency-corrected 1167-kg day exposure at a 3.3-keV thermodynamic threshold reveals no single-scattering nuclear recoil candidates, consistent with the predicted background. These results set the most stringent direct-detection constraint to date on the weakly interacting massive particle (WIMP)-proton spin-dependent cross section at 3.4×10^{-41}  cm^{2} for a 30-GeV c^{-2} WIMP, more than 1 order of magnitude improvement from previous PICO results.

Final results are reported from operation of the PICO-60 C3F8 dark matter detector, a bubble chamber filled with 52 kg of C3F8 located in the SNOLAB underground laboratory. The chamber was operated at thermodynamic thresholds as low as 1.2 keV without loss of stability. A new blind 1404-kg-day exposure at 2.45 keV threshold was acquired with approximately the same expected total background rate as the previous 1167-kg-day exposure at 3.3 keV. This increased exposure is enabled in part by a new optical tracking analysis to better identify events near detector walls, permitting a larger fiducial volume. These results set the most stringent direct-detection constraint to date on the WIMP-proton spin-dependent cross section at 2.5 × 10 −41 cm 2 for a 25 GeV WIMP, and improve on previous PICO results for 3-5 GeV WIMPs by an order of magnitude.

Ultrasound-guided neurostimulator-confirmed supraclavicular block is more rapidly performed and provides a block of better quality than supraclavicular block using anatomic landmarks and neurostimulator confirmation.

New data are reported from the operation of the PICO-60 dark matter detector, a bubble chamber filled with 36.8 kg of CF3I and located in the SNOLAB underground laboratory. PICO-60 is the largest bubble chamber to search for dark matter to date. With an analyzed exposure of 92.8 live-days, PICO-60 exhibits the same excellent background rejection observed in smaller bubble chambers. Alpha decays in PICO-60 exhibit frequency-dependent acoustic calorimetry, similar but not identical to that reported recently in a C3F8 bubble chamber. PICO-60 also observes a large population of unknown background events, exhibiting acoustic, spatial, and timing behaviors inconsistent with those expected from a dark matter signal. These behaviors allow for analysis cuts to remove all background events while retaining 48.2% of the exposure. Stringent limits on WIMPs interacting via spin-dependent proton and spin-independent processes are set, and most interpretations of the DAMA/LIBRA modulation signal as dark matter interacting with iodine nuclei are ruled out.

The objectives of this study were to compare the survival of sarcoid patients with pulmonary fibrosis with that of the general population and to determine the causes of death and the incidence of evolutive complications.This retrospective cohort included 142 sarcoid patients in radiographic stage IV (74 males; mean¡SD age 48.1¡12 yrs). Their survival was compared with that of the general French population, matched for the year and age at diagnosis of stage IV disease, sex and length of follow-up. Expected survival probabilities were calculated year-by-year on the basis of probabilities provided by official demographic data for France. Survival curves were based on the Kaplan-Meier method and compared using the log-rank test.During the follow-up period (7.1¡4.8 yrs), pulmonary hypertension (PH) was observed in 29.7% of cases and aspergilloma in 11.3%. Long-term oxygen therapy was required in 12%. Survival was 84.1% at 10 yrs, which was worse than for the general population (p50.013). 16 (11.3%) patients died from the following causes: refractory PH (n55), chronic respiratory insufficiency (n54), acute respiratory insufficiency (n52), haemoptysis due to aspergilloma (n51), heart sarcoidosis (n51), nocardiosis (n51) and unknown causes (n52).Survival is significantly decreased in stage IV patients. 75% of fatalities are directly attributable to respiratory causes.