964 research outputs found
Multiple Myeloma Vaccination Patterns in a Large Health System: A Pilot Study
Purpose: Common reasons for hospitalization and death in patients with multiple myeloma (MM) are infections. As patients with MM are living longer and are treated with immunomodulatory drugs, there is a need to immunize against vaccine-preventable diseases and ultimately determine the efficacy of these vaccines. We evaluated vaccination practice patterns in MM patients at our health system using electronic medical records and data analytics.
Methods: This institutional review board-approved study retrospectively reviewed patients with MM who visited the health system from May 2012 to May 2014. Data collected included demographics, influenza vaccination (FV) and pneumonia vaccination (PV) history, hospitalization episodes and associated costs, and duration of survival. Patients were considered PV-positive if vaccinated within 5 years prior to study. FV was defined as optimal (two FV in 2012–2014), suboptimal (one FV in 2012–2014) or none (in 2012–2014).
Results: Of 411 MM patients, 55% were male and 85% Caucasian. Nearly 58% received PV in the past 5 years. FV was 15% optimal, 52% suboptimal and 33% none. A total of 444 hospitalizations involving 204 patients were observed over 2-year follow-up. More than $23 million was incurred from hospitalizations in the 2-year study period. There was no statistically significant difference in all-cause hospitalization and overall survival by FV and PV status.
Conclusions: Despite recommendations of vaccination in multiple myeloma, our cohort had low rates of influenza and pneumonia vaccination. FV and PV status did not show any significant association with additional hospitalization or overall survival in this pilot study. Future prospective studies are needed to ascertain the immunological and clinical efficacy and effectiveness of these vaccines in immunosuppressed patients
Antiferromagnetic Excitations and Van Hove Singularities in YBaCuO
We show that in quasi-two-dimensional -wave superconductors Van Hove
singularities close to the Fermi surface lead to novel magnetic quasi-particle
excitations. We calculate the temperature and doping dependence of dynamical
magnetic susceptibility for YBCO and show that the proposed excitations are in
agreement with inelastic neutron scattering experiments. In addition, the
values of the gap parameter and in-plane antiferromagnetic coupling are much
smaller than usually believed.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages + 3 PostScript (compressed) figures; to appear in
Phys. Rev. B (Rap. Comm.
Resonant Raman Scattering in Antiferromagnets
Two-magnon Raman scattering provides important information about electronic
correlations in the insulating parent compounds of high- materials. Recent
experiments have shown a strong dependence of the Raman signal in
geometry on the frequency of the incoming photon. We present an analytical and
numerical study of the Raman intensity in the resonant regime. It has been
previously argued by one of us (A.Ch) and D. Frenkel that the most relevant
contribution to the Raman vertex at resonance is given by the triple resonance
diagram. We derive an expression for the Raman intensity in which we
simultaneously include the enhancement due to the triple resonance and a final
state interaction. We compute the two-magnon peak height (TMPH) as a function
of incident frequency and find two maxima at and . We argue that the
high-frequency maximum is cut only by a quasiparticle damping, while the
low-frequency maximum has a finite amplitude even in the absence of damping. We
also obtain an evolution of the Raman profile from an asymmetric form around
to a symmetric form around . We
further show that the TMPH depends on the fermionic quasiparticle damping, the
next-nearest neighbor hopping term and the corrections to the
interaction vertex between light and the fermionic current. We discuss our
results in the context of recent experiments by Blumberg et al. on
and and R\"{u}bhausen et al. on
and show that the triple resonance theory yields a qualitative
and to some extent also quantitative understanding of the experimental data.Comment: 19 pages, RevTeX, 16 figures embedded in the text, ps-file is also
available at http://lifshitz.physics.wisc.edu/www/morr/morr_homepage.htm
C-axis electronic Raman scattering in Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}
We report a c-axis-polarized electronic Raman scattering study of
Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta} single crystals. In the normal state, a resonant
electronic continuum extends to 1.5 eV and gains significant intensity as the
incoming photon energy increases. In the superconducting state, a coherence
2\Delta peak appears around 50 meV, with a suppression of the scattering
intensity at frequencies below the peak position. The peak energy, which is
higher than that seen with in-plane polarizations, signifies distinctly
different dynamics of quasiparticle excitations created with out-of-plane
polarization.Comment: 12 pages, REVTEX, 3 postscript figure
Anomalous Self-Energy Effects of the B_1g Phonon in Y_{1-x}(Pr,Ca)_xBa_2Cu_3O_7 Films
In Raman spectra of cuprate superconductors the gap shows up both directly,
via a redistribution of the electronic background, the so-called "2Delta
peaks", and indirectly, e.g. via the renormalization of phononic excitations.
We use a model that allows us to study the redistribution and the related
phonon self-energy effects simultaneously. We apply this model to the B_1g
phonon of Y_{1-x}(Pr,Ca)_xBa_2Cu_3O_7 films, where Pr or Ca substitution
enables us to investigate under- and overdoped samples. While various
self-energy effects can be explained by the strength and energy of the 2\Delta
peaks, anomalies remain. We discuss possible origins of these anomalies.Comment: 6 pages including 4 figure
Spin correlations in the electron-doped high-transition-temperature superconductor Nd{2-x}Ce{x}CuO{4+/-delta}
High-transition-temperature (high-Tc) superconductivity develops near
antiferromagnetic phases, and it is possible that magnetic excitations
contribute to the superconducting pairing mechanism. To assess the role of
antiferromagnetism, it is essential to understand the doping and temperature
dependence of the two-dimensional antiferromagnetic spin correlations. The
phase diagram is asymmetric with respect to electron and hole doping, and for
the comparatively less-studied electron-doped materials, the antiferromagnetic
phase extends much further with doping [1, 2] and appears to overlap with the
superconducting phase. The archetypical electron-doped compound
Nd{2-x}Ce{x}CuO{4\pm\delta} (NCCO) shows bulk superconductivity above x \approx
0.13 [3, 4], while evidence for antiferromagnetic order has been found up to x
\approx 0.17 [2, 5, 6]. Here we report inelastic magnetic neutron-scattering
measurements that point to the distinct possibility that genuine long-range
antiferromagnetism and superconductivity do not coexist. The data reveal a
magnetic quantum critical point where superconductivity first appears,
consistent with an exotic quantum phase transition between the two phases [7].
We also demonstrate that the pseudogap phenomenon in the electron-doped
materials, which is associated with pronounced charge anomalies [8-11], arises
from a build-up of spin correlations, in agreement with recent theoretical
proposals [12, 13].Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure
Resonant Two-Magnon Raman Scattering in Cuprate Antiferromagnetic Insulators
We present results of low-temperature two-magnon resonance Raman excitation
profile measurements for single layer Sr_2CuO_2Cl_2 and bilayer YBa_2Cu_3O_{6 +
\delta} antiferromagnets over the excitation region from 1.65 to 3.05 eV. These
data reveal composite structure of the two-magnon line shape and strong
nonmonotic dependence of the scattering intensity on excitation energy. We
analyze these data using the triple resonance theory of Chubukov and Frenkel
(Phys. Rev. Lett., 74, 3057 (1995)) and deduce information about magnetic
interaction and band parameters in these materials.Comment: REVTeX, 4 pages + 2 PostScript (compressed) figure
Interlayer Registry Determines the Sliding Potential of Layered Metal Dichalcogenides: The case of 2H-MoS2
We provide a simple and intuitive explanation for the interlayer sliding
energy landscape of metal dichalcogenides. Based on the recently introduced
registry index (RI) concept, we define a purely geometrical parameter which
quantifies the degree of interlayer commensurability in the layered phase of
molybdenum disulphide (2HMoS2). A direct relation between the sliding energy
landscape and the corresponding interlayer registry surface of 2H-MoS2 is
discovered thus marking the registry index as a computationally efficient means
for studying the tribology of complex nanoscale material interfaces in the
wearless friction regime.Comment: 13 pages, 7 figure
Raman spectrum and lattice parameters of MgB2 as a function of pressure
We report Raman spectra and synchrotron x-ray diffraction measurements of
lattice parameters of polycrystalline MgB2 under hydrostatic pressure
conditions up to 15 GPa. An anomalously broadened Raman band at 620 cm-1 is
observed that exhibits a large linear pressure shift of its frequency. The
large mode damping and Gruneisen parameter indicate a highly anharmonic nature
of the mode, broadly consistent with theoretical predictions for the E2g
in-plane boron stretching mode. The results obtained may provide additional
constraints on the electron-phonon coupling in the system.Comment: 3 pages, 3 figure
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