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Traditional “magic numbers” were once regarded as immutable throughout the nuclear chart. However, unexpected changes were found for unstable nuclei around N = 20. With both proton and neutron numbers around the magic number of 20, the neutron-rich 39Cl isotope provides a good test case for the study of the quantum-state evolution across the major shell. In the present work, the negative parity states in 39Cl are investigated through the β decay spectroscopy of 39S. Newly observed γ transitions together with a new state are assigned into the level scheme of 39Cl. The spin parity of 5/2− for the lowest negative parity state in 39Cl is reconfirmed using the combined γ transition information. These systematic observations of the negative parity states in 39Cl allow a comprehensive comparison with the theoretical descriptions. The lowest 5/2− state in 39Cl remains exotic in terms of comparisons with existing theoretical calculations and with the neighboring isotopes having similar single-particle configurations. Further experimental and theoretical investigations are suggested.

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Aortic stenosis (AS) is a life-threatening comorbidity of cancer patients. Aortic valve replacement (AVR) should be considered for some cancer patients, but neither the characteristics nor prognosis under conservative therapy is well known.We searched our echocardiography log (years 2005-2014) for cancer patients with AS, and 92 patients (54% female) were included in the study. To compare the survival curves, 470 control patients without AS were selected from our cancer registry.Mean age (± SD) was 77.6 ± 6.7 years for males and 81.6 ± 6.3 years for females. Mean aortic valve area (AVA) was 1.0 ± 0.3 cm. Stomach, blood, and urinary bladder cancers were the major sites of current cancer. During the 5-year follow-up period, 44 patients with AS (48%) died; 26 (59%) due to cancer progression, 10 (23%) heart failure, and 4 (9%) stroke. Heart-failure death was significantly higher for patients with AS than for control patients (P < 0.001). Kaplan-Meier survival estimates were worse for stage I or II patients with AVA < 0.75 cm than for control patients (P = 0.016). Older age, advanced stages, absence of dyslipidemia, recent syncope, and chronic heart failure or AVA < 0.75 cm were significantly and independently associated with poor survival.Although the majority of cancer patients with AS died of cancer, a quarter died of heart failure. Careful follow-up is needed because cancer patients at earlier stages with symptomatic AS or AVA < 0.75 cm should be considered for AVR.