Temperature effect in the Casimir attraction of a thin metal film

The Casimir effect for conductors at arbitrary temperatures is theoretically studied. By using the analytical properties of the Green functions and applying the Abel-Plan formula to Lifshitz's equation, the Casimir force is presented as sum of a temperature dependent and vacuum contributions of the fluctuating electromagnetic field. The general results are applied to the system consisting of a bulk conductor and a thin metal film. It is shown that a characteristic frequency of the thermal fluctuations in this system is proportional to the square root of a thickness of the metal film. For the case of the sufficiently high temperatures when the thermal fluctuations play the main role in the Casimir interaction, this leads to the growth of the effective dielectric permittivity of the film and to a disappearance of the dependence of Casimir's force on the sample thickness.Comment: LaTeX 2.09, 8 pages, no figure

Androgen Receptor Status in Triple Negative Breast Cancer: Does It Correlate with Clinicopathological Characteristics?

Alex L Dubrava,1,2 Pan Su Pyae Kyaw,1,2 Joseph Newman,1,2 Jarrad Pringle,1,2 Justin Westhuyzen,3 Gina La Hera Fuentes,2 Thomas P Shakespeare,1,2 Renukadas Sakalkale,2,4 Noel J Aherne1– 3 1Department of Radiation Oncology, Mid North Coast Cancer Centre, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia; 2Coffs Harbour Rural Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Coffs Harbour Health Campus, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia; 3School of Health and Human Sciences, Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia; 4Coffs Harbour Base Hospital Pathology, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, AustraliaCorrespondence: Noel J Aherne, Department of Radiation Oncology, Mid North Coast Cancer Centre, Coffs Harbour Hospital, Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, 2450, Australia, Tel + 61 2 6656 5125, Fax +61 2 6656 5855, Email [email protected]: Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a breast carcinoma subtype that neither expresses estrogen (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) nor the human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). Patients with TNBC have been shown to have poorer outcomes mainly owing to the limited treatment options available. However, some studies have shown TNBC tumors expressing androgen receptors (AR), raising hopes of its prognostic role.Patients and Methods: This retrospective study investigated the expression of AR in TNBC and its relationship with known patient demographics, tumor and survival characteristics. From the records of 205 TNBC patients, 36 had available archived tissue samples eligible for AR staining. For statistical purposes, tumors were classified as either “positive” or “negative” for AR expression. The nuclear expression of AR was scored by measuring the percentage of stained tumor cells and its staining intensity.Results: AR was expressed by 50% of the tissue samples in our TNBC cohort. The relationship between AR status with age at the time of TNBC diagnosis was statistically significant, with all AR positive TNBC patients being greater than 50 years old (vs 72.2% in AR negative TNBC). Also, the relationship between AR status and type of surgery received was statistically significant. There were no statistically significant associations between AR status with other tumor characteristics including “TNM status”, tumor grade or treatments received. There was no statistically significant difference in median survival between AR negative and AR positive TNBC patients (3.5 vs 3.1 years; p = 0.581). The relationship between OS time and AR status (p = 0.581), type of surgery (p = 0.061) and treatments (p = 0.917) were not statistically significant.Conclusion: The androgen receptor may be an important prognostic marker in TNBC, with further research warranted. This research may benefit future studies investigating receptor-targeted therapies in TNBC.Keywords: triple negative, breast cancer, androgen recepto

Effects of varenicline on smoking cessation in adults with stably treated current or past major depression: a randomized trial.

UnlabelledChinese translationBackgroundDepression is overrepresented in smokers.ObjectiveTo evaluate smoking abstinence and changes in mood and anxiety levels in smokers with depression treated with varenicline versus placebo.DesignPhase 4, multicenter, parallel, 1:1 allocation, double-blind, randomization trial. Randomization, stratified by antidepressant use and depression score at baseline, was blocked in sizes of 4. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01078298).Setting38 centers in 8 countries.Participants525 adult smokers with stably treated current or past major depression and no recent cardiovascular events.InterventionVarenicline, 1 mg twice daily, or placebo for 12 weeks, with 40-week nontreatment follow-up.MeasurementsPrimary outcome was carbon monoxide-confirmed continuous abstinence rate (CAR) for weeks 9 to 12. Other outcomes included CARs assessed during nontreatment follow-up and ratings of mood, anxiety, and suicidal ideation or behavior.Results68.4% versus 66.5% of the varenicline and placebo groups, respectively, completed the study. Varenicline-treated participants had higher CARs versus placebo at weeks 9 to 12 (35.9% vs. 15.6%; odds ratio [OR], 3.35 [95% CI, 2.16 to 5.21]; P < 0.001), 9 to 24 (25.0% vs. 12.3%; OR, 2.53 [CI, 1.56 to 4.10]; P < 0.001), and 9 to 52 (20.3% vs. 10.4%; OR, 2.36 [CI, 1.40 to 3.98]; P = 0.001). There were no clinically relevant differences between groups in suicidal ideation or behavior and no overall worsening of depression or anxiety in either group. The most frequent adverse event was nausea (varenicline, 27.0%; placebo, 10.4%). Two varenicline-group participants died during the nontreatment phase.LimitationsSome data were missing, and power to detect differences between groups was low in rare events. Smokers with untreated depression, with co-occurring psychiatric conditions, or receiving mood stabilizers and antipsychotics were not included.ConclusionVarenicline increased smoking cessation in smokers with stably treated current or past depression without exacerbating depression or anxiety.Primary funding sourcePfizer

Effects of varenicline on smoking cessation in adults with stably treated current or past major depression: a randomized trial.

UnlabelledChinese translationBackgroundDepression is overrepresented in smokers.ObjectiveTo evaluate smoking abstinence and changes in mood and anxiety levels in smokers with depression treated with varenicline versus placebo.DesignPhase 4, multicenter, parallel, 1:1 allocation, double-blind, randomization trial. Randomization, stratified by antidepressant use and depression score at baseline, was blocked in sizes of 4. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01078298).Setting38 centers in 8 countries.Participants525 adult smokers with stably treated current or past major depression and no recent cardiovascular events.InterventionVarenicline, 1 mg twice daily, or placebo for 12 weeks, with 40-week nontreatment follow-up.MeasurementsPrimary outcome was carbon monoxide-confirmed continuous abstinence rate (CAR) for weeks 9 to 12. Other outcomes included CARs assessed during nontreatment follow-up and ratings of mood, anxiety, and suicidal ideation or behavior.Results68.4% versus 66.5% of the varenicline and placebo groups, respectively, completed the study. Varenicline-treated participants had higher CARs versus placebo at weeks 9 to 12 (35.9% vs. 15.6%; odds ratio [OR], 3.35 [95% CI, 2.16 to 5.21]; P < 0.001), 9 to 24 (25.0% vs. 12.3%; OR, 2.53 [CI, 1.56 to 4.10]; P < 0.001), and 9 to 52 (20.3% vs. 10.4%; OR, 2.36 [CI, 1.40 to 3.98]; P = 0.001). There were no clinically relevant differences between groups in suicidal ideation or behavior and no overall worsening of depression or anxiety in either group. The most frequent adverse event was nausea (varenicline, 27.0%; placebo, 10.4%). Two varenicline-group participants died during the nontreatment phase.LimitationsSome data were missing, and power to detect differences between groups was low in rare events. Smokers with untreated depression, with co-occurring psychiatric conditions, or receiving mood stabilizers and antipsychotics were not included.ConclusionVarenicline increased smoking cessation in smokers with stably treated current or past depression without exacerbating depression or anxiety.Primary funding sourcePfizer

Suicidal ideation and behavior assessment in dementia studies: An Internet survey.

INTRODUCTION:The AARR task force on suicidal ideation and behavior (SI/SB) in dementia conducted an online survey on the extent of SI/SB in individuals diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia who were participating in clinical trials. METHODS:Investigators with experience in conducting SI/SB assessments in clinical trial subjects with MCI or dementia were invited to complete a global 19-item online survey. RESULTS:A total of 204 evaluable responses were collected with the majority from North America and Europe (83.4%) and the remainder from Asia, Latin America, and Mideast/Africa. The mean (SD) number of subjects personally assessed by the respondents in the past year with MCI, mild-moderate dementia, or severe dementia was 12.8 (26.2), 31.2 (39.6), and 10.1 (34.7), respectively. The mean number of subjects in each diagnostic group with suicidal ideation (SI), suicidal behavior (SB), or completed suicide (CS) was on average quite low (0.3 to 1.1 for SI, 0.1 to 0.2 for SB, and 0.0 to 0.2 for CS). Confidence in subject self-reports of SI/SB over different time periods declined with increasing severity of cognitive impairment and with increasing duration of the recall time period assessed. Of respondents, 56% and 75% had low confidence in self-ratings of SI/SB from subjects with severe dementia over the past 24 hours and the past week to 1 month, respectively. Ratings of the reliability of information collected on SI/SB also decreased with increasing severity of cognitive impairment. Approximately 70% of respondents rated the reliability of the information they obtained from all sources (patient, caregiver, and others) for subjects with MCI as high, but only about half (42.0% to 55.3%) and less than a quarter (17.4% to 24.3%) rated the reliability of information obtained for subjects with mild to moderate dementia or severe dementia as high, respectively. DISCUSSION:These results support the usefulness of prospective SI/SB assessments in MCI and mild dementia, raise questions about the reliability of assessments in moderate dementia, and confirm their lack of clinical utility in severe dementia. The results highlight the need for development of validated assessment instruments adapted to the stage of cognitive decline of the patients under study and may be the most effective in the earliest stages of the disease