287 research outputs found
Vanishing Loss Effect on the Effective ac Conductivity behavior for 2D Composite Metal-Dielectric Films At The Percolation Threshold
We study the imaginary part of the effective conductivity as well as its
distribution probability for vanishing losses in 2D composites. This
investigation showed that the effective medium theory provides only
informations about the average conductivity, while its fluctuations which
correspond to the field energy in this limit are neglected by this theory.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, submitted to Phys.Rev.
Relative Hypocalcaemia and Muscle Cramps in Patients Receiving Imatinib for Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumour
Purpose. Imatinib treatment causes muscle cramps in up to 40% of patients, but their pathogenesis is unknown. We present a case series illustrating an association between imatinib, relative hypocalcaemia, and the development of cramps. Patients. The index patient developed muscle spasms and cramps after receiving imatinib for gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) for 5 months. The adjusted serum calcium had dropped to the lower limit of normal. The low serum calcium and muscle cramps improved on stopping imatinib and recurred on rechallenge. We reviewed the medical records of 16 further patients. Results. Two patients reported muscle cramps (12%). There was a rapid and sustained reduction in adjusted serum calcium in the first 6 months from 2.45 ± 0.11 mmol/L (mean ± SD) to 2.30 ± 0.08 mmol/L (p = 0.025). Conclusion. Imatinib treatment of GIST is associated with reduction in serum calcium which may explain the development of neuromuscular symptoms. In patients receiving imatinib, serum electrolytes should be monitored and muscle cramps treated by correction of serum calcium, or an empirical trial of quinine sulphate
Localization and Absorption of Light in 2D Composite Metal-Dielectric Films at the Percolation Threshold
We study in this paper the localization of light and the dielectric
properties of thin metal-dielectric composites at the percolation threshold and
around a resonant frequency where the conductivities of the two components are
of the same order. In particular, the effect of the loss in metallic components
are examined. To this end, such systems are modelized as random networks,
and the local field distribution as well as the effective conductivity are
determined by using two different methods for comparison: an exact resolution
of Kirchoff equations, and a real space renormalization group method. The
latter method is found to give the general behavior of the effective
conductivity but fails to determine the local field distribution. It is also
found that the localization still persists for vanishing losses. This result
seems to be in agreement with the anomalous absorption observed experimentally
for such systems.Comment: 14 page latex, 3 ps figures. submitte
Monte Carlo simulation of the transmission of measles: Beyond the mass action principle
We present a Monte Carlo simulation of the transmission of measles within a
population sample during its growing and equilibrium states by introducing two
different vaccination schedules of one and two doses. We study the effects of
the contact rate per unit time as well as the initial conditions on the
persistence of the disease. We found a weak effect of the initial conditions
while the disease persists when lies in the range 1/L-10/L ( being
the latent period). Further comparison with existing data, prediction of future
epidemics and other estimations of the vaccination efficiency are provided.
Finally, we compare our approach to the models using the mass action
principle in the first and another epidemic region and found the incidence
independent of the number of susceptibles after the epidemic peak while it
strongly fluctuates in its growing region. This method can be easily applied to
other human, animals and vegetable diseases and includes more complicated
parameters.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures, 1 table, Submitted to Phys.Rev.
The effects of disorder and interactions on the Anderson transition in doped Graphene
We undertake an exact numerical study of the effects of disorder on the
Anderson localization of electronic states in graphene. Analyzing the scaling
behaviors of inverse participation ratio and geometrically averaged density of
states, we find that Anderson metal-insulator transition can be introduced by
the presence of quenched random disorder. In contrast with the conventional
picture of localization, four mobility edges can be observed for the honeycomb
lattice with specific disorder strength and impurity concentration. Considering
the screening effects of interactions on disorder potentials, the experimental
findings of the scale enlarges of puddles can be explained by reviewing the
effects of both interactions and disorder.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figure
Lapatinib-based therapy for women with advanced/metastatic HER2 positive breast cancer
Background: Lapatinib alone or in combination with other agents, mostly capecitabine is used for patients with advanced/metastatic HER2 positive breast cancer (HER2+BC) after progression on trastuzumab based therapy. Here we report our experience with lapatinib based therapy in this setting. Material and Methods: 67 consecutive patients received lapatinib based therapy. 58 (86.6%) received lapatinib + capecitabine (LC), 7 (10.4%) with other agents and 2 (3.0%) as single agent lapatinib. Data was collected from patients’ records retrospectively. Results: Objective response to lapatinib based therapy in 64 evaluable patients was 64.0% in all patients and 64.0% in patients who received LC. Median progression free survival and overall survival were 10 and 27 months in all patients and 10 and 17 months in patients who received LC, respectively. 16 (24.0%) patients had dose delay > 1 week and/or dose reduction. Conclusion: Lapatinib based therapy is an effective treatment for women with advanced/metastatic HER2+BC after prior exposure to trastuzumab. It yields meaningful response rates, progression free and overall survival. Some patients require dose adjustments. Key Words: lapatinib-based therapy, metastatic breast cancer, HER2 positive breast cancer, trastuzumab
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