Analysis of generalized negative binomial distributions attached to hyperbolic Landau levels

To each hyperbolic Landau level of the Poincar\'e disc is attached a generalized negative binomial distribution. In this paper, we compute the moment generating function of this distribution and supply its decomposition as a perturbation of the negative binomial distribution by a finitely-supported measure. Using the Mandel parameter, we also discuss the nonclassical nature of the associated coherent states. Next, we determine the L\'evy-Kintchine decomposition its characteristic function when the latter does not vanish and deduce that it is quasi-infinitely divisible except for the lowest hyperbolic Landau level corresponding to the negative binomial distribution. By considering the total variation of the obtained quasi-L\'evy measure, we introduce a new infinitely-divisible distribution for which we derive the characteristic function

External radiotherapy and anaemia treatment: state of the art.

Anaemia is considered a common problem in many cancers secondary to the disease itself or related to chemo- and/or radiotherapy. Several clinical trials have advocated the prognostic value of anaemia and hypoxia in the outcome of many cancers. Erythropoietin is recognised as an effective treatment for anaemia, which also improves the quality of life in patients with malignant disease. External radiotherapy plays an important role in the treatment of loco-regional cancer but its efficacy can be compromised by many factors. Tumor hypoxia is considered by many authors as an important factor contributing to radioresistance. We report in this article the radiobiological rationale in favour of combining radiotherapy and erythropoietin, and review relevant clinical papers published in this field

Molecular characterization of extended spectrum β-lactamase-producing Escherichia coli in a university hospital in Morocco, North Africa

Introduction: β-Lactams are among the most widely prescribed antibiotics in human medicine. However, because of their massive and usually inappropriate use, resistance to these drugs has increased markedly, especially due to extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) production.Objectives: The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of urinary Escherichia coli strains isolated from urine samples taken from patients diagnosed with urinary tract infections (UTIs), to evaluate their current antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and to look for blaSHV, blaTEM and blaCTX-M genes in these multi-drug resistant isolates.Subject and methods: A retrospective survey was made over 3 years from 2010 to 2012. It included all uropathogenic E. coli strains isolated from urine samples taken from consulting and hospitalized patients in the Avicenne Teaching Hospital in Marrakech, Morocco.Results: E. coli was the etiologic agent in 63% of reported UTIs due to Enterobacteriacae. In all, the prevalence of ESBL-producing E. coli reached 6% of all urinary Enterobacteriaceae isolates in 2012. The bacterial resistance rates of ESBL-producing E. coli isolates were as follows: amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (100%), trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (76%), gentamicin (66%), ciprofloxacin (82%) and amikacin (56%). None of these strains was resistant to carbapenems. The ESBL production patterns observed included single production of CTX-M (70%), SHV (12%) and TEM (0%). Some ESBL-producing E. coli isolates produced combinations of 2 ESBLs belonging to different groups: CTX-M+SHV (12%) and CTX-M+TEM (6%).Conclusion: The results of this work report, for the first time in the Marrakech region, the ESBL production pattern with CTX-M being most common among the ESBL-producing urinary E. coli. Moreover, a major finding is the production of multiple ESBL types by some urinary E. coli isolates.KEYWORDS Urinary; Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL); E. coli; Antibiotics; Resistanc

THROMBUS INTRACARDIAQUE AU COURS DE LA MALADIE DE BEHÇET : ETUDE D’UN CAS

Intracardiac thrombus formation is exceptional in Behçet’s disease. We report a case of patient with Behçet’s disease, was diagnosed as Intracardiac thrombus. The intracardiac thrombi are an exceptional achievement during Behçet's disease (MB). We reported a case in this disease. Mr AM, aged 47, followed MB for the past 20 years. He was hospitalized for a progressive resumption of his illness. Clinical examination showed canker sores mouth, a scrotal canker sores, lesions of pseudo folliculitis of both thighs, cardiac auscultation was normal. The sight test the effects of objectifying Retinal vasculitis without uveitis evolving. Echocardiography showed a left ventricular thrombus within an aneurysm of the tip of the heart. The patient was treated by a combination of corticosteroid General (1mg/Kg/j), colchicine (1 mg / d), anti-vitamin K inhibitor of the enzyme and lipid-lowering conversion. The clinical course was good but the ultrasound control after 5 months of treatment highlighted the persistence of thrombus. In our patient, the thrombus intraventricular left, was discovered by accident. The treatment of cardiac thrombi based on corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and anticoagulants. The interest of this is to suggest echocardiography in the assessment of MB even in the absence of clinical signs.Les thrombi intracardiaques constituent une atteinte exceptionnelle au cours de la maladie de Behçet (MB). Nous en rapportons un cas au cours de cette maladie. Mr A.M., âgé de 47 ans, suivi pour une MB depuis 20 ans. Il a été hospitalisé pour une reprise évolutive de sa maladie. L’examen clinique montrait des aphtes buccaux, un aphte scrotal, des lésions de pseudo folliculites des deux cuisses, l’auscultation cardiaque était normale. L’examen ophtalmologique objectivait des séquelles de vascularite rétinienne sans uvéite évolutive. L’échocardiographie a montré un thrombus intra ventriculaire gauche sur un anévrysme de la pointe du coeur. Le malade a été traité par l’association de corticothérapie générale (1mg/Kg/j) indiquée devant cette forme grave des complications thrombotique de la maladie qui peut engager le pronostic vital, colchicine (1mg/j), anti-vitamine K, inhibiteur de l’enzyme de conversion et hypolipidémiant. L’évolution clinique était bonne mais le contrôle échographique après 5 mois de traitement a mis en évidence la persistance du thrombus. Chez notre patient, le thrombus intraventriculaire gauche, était de découverte fortuite. Le traitement des thrombi cardiaques repose sur les corticoïdes, les immunosuppresseurs et les anticoagulants. L’intérêt de cette observation est de suggérer l’échocardiographie dans le bilan de MB même en l’absence de signes cliniques

FORME INHABITUELLE DE LA SARCOÏDOSE : LOCALISATION NASOSINUSIENNE, OSSEUSE ET CUTANEE

La sarcoïdose est une granulomatose systémique d’étiologie inconnue affectant principalement le poumon, les ganglions et la peau. Les atteintes nasosinusiennes et ostéo-articulaires restent rares [1-2], parfois inaugurales et souvent méconnues. Nous en rapportons une nouvelle observation

AGENT BASED MONITORING FOR INVESTIGATION PROCESS AND MAINTENANCE IMPROVEMENT

Agent technology has a widespread usage in most of computerized systems. In this paper agent technology has been applied to monitor wear test for an aluminium silicon alloy which is used in automotive parts and gears of light loads. In addition to wear test monitoring، porosity effect on wear resistance has been investigated. To get a controlled amount of porosity, the specimens have been made by powder metallurgy process with various pressures (100, 200 and 600) MPa. The aim of this investigation is a proactive step to avoid the failure occurrence by the porosity. A dry wear tests have been achieved by subjecting three reciprocated loads (1000, 1500 and 2000)g for three periods (10, 45 and 90)min. The weight difference after each test is immediately measured to find the losing weight and wear rate for each specimen. Wear test was monitored online by two sensors, force sensor to control the applied load, find friction force and coefficient of friction. The sensor is an acoustic emission to detect crack initiations of the worn surface by transfers the emitted ultrasonic waves from crack initiations to electric signals. Scanning electron microscope has been used to examine the worn surfaces. The overall results include that the effect of pores depends on pore shapes, sizes and concentrations

The global oscillation network group site survey. II. Results

The Global Oscillation Network Group (GONG) Project will place a network of instruments around the world to observe solar oscillations as continuously as possible for three years. The Project has now chosen the six network sites based on analysis of survey data from fifteen sites around the world. The chosen sites are: Big Bear Solar Observatory, California; Mauna Loa Solar Observatory, Hawaii; Learmonth Solar Observatory, Australia; Udaipur Solar Observatory, India; Observatorio del Teide, Tenerife; and Cerro Tololo Interamerican Observatory, Chile. Total solar intensity at each site yields information on local cloud cover, extinction coefficient, and transparency fluctuations. In addition, the performance of 192 reasonable components analysis. An accompanying paper describes the analysis methods in detail; here we present the results of both the network and individual site analyses. The selected network has a duty cycle of 93.3%, in good agreement with numerical simulations. The power spectrum of the network observing window shows a first diurnal sidelobe height of 3 × 10⁻⁴ with respect to the central component, an improvement of a factor of 1300 over a single site. The background level of the network spectrum is lower by a factor of 50 compared to a single-site spectrum

Modified magnetic anisotropy at LaCoO_(3)/La_(0.7)Sr_(0.3)MnO_(3) interfaces

Controlling magnetic anisotropy is an important objective towards engineering novel magnetic device concepts in oxide electronics. In thin film manganites, magnetic anisotropy is weak and it is primarily determined by the substrate, through induced structural distortions resulting from epitaxial mismatch strain. On the other hand, in cobaltites, with a stronger spin orbit interaction, magnetic anisotropy is typically much stronger. In this paper, we show that interfacing La0.7Sr0.3MnO3 (LSMO) with an ultrathin LaCoO3 (LCO) layer drastically modifies the magnetic anisotropy of the manganite, making it independent of the substrate and closer to the magnetic isotropy characterizing its rhombohedral structure. Ferromagnetic resonance measurements evidence a tendency of manganite magnetic moments to point out-of-plane suggesting non collinear magnetic interactions at the interface. These results may be of interest for the design of oxide interfaces with tailored magnetic structures for new oxide devices

Exercise-induced bronchoconstriction and atopy in Tunisian athletes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>This study is a cross sectional analysis, aiming to evaluate if atopy is as a risk factor for exercise induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) among Tunisian athletes.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Atopy was defined by a skin prick test result and EIB was defined as a decrease of at least 15% in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) after 8-min running at 80–85% HRmaxTheo. The study population was composed of 326 athletes (age: 20.8 ± 2.7 yrs – mean ± SD; 138 women and 188 men) of whom 107 were elite athletes.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Atopy was found in 26.9% (88/326) of the athletes. Post exercise spirometry revealed the presence of EIB in 9.8% of the athletes including 13% of the elite athletes. Frequency of atopy in athletes with EIB was significantly higher than in athletes without EIB [62.5% vs 23.1%, respectively].</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This study showed that atopic Tunisian athletes presented a higher risk of developing exercise induced bronchoconstriction than non-atopic athletes.</p

Prognostic factors in solitary plasmacytoma of the bone: a multicenter Rare Cancer Network study

BACKGROUND: Solitary plasmacytoma (SP) of the bone is a rare plasma-cell neoplasm. There are no conclusive data in the literature on the optimal radiation therapy (RT) dose in SP. Therefore, in this large retrospective study, we wanted to assess the outcome, prognostic factors, and the optimal RT dose in patients with SP. METHODS: Data from 206 patients with bone SP without evidence of multiple myeloma (MM) were collected. Histopathological diagnosis was obtained for all patients. The majority (n = 169) of the patients received RT alone; 32 chemotherapy and RT, and 5 surgery. Median follow-up was 54 months (7–245). RESULTS: Five-year overall survival, disease-free survival (DFS), and local control was 70%, 46%, and 88%; respectively. Median time to MM development was 21 months (2–135) with a 5-year probability of 51%. In multivariate analyses, favorable factors were younger age and tumor size < 5 cm for survival; younger age for DFS; anatomic localization (vertebra vs. other) for local control. Older age was the only predictor for MM. There was no dose-response relationship for doses 30 Gy or higher, even for larger tumors. CONCLUSION: Younger patients, especially those with vertebral localization have the best outcome when treated with moderate-dose RT. Progression to MM remains the main problem. Further investigation should focus on adjuvant chemotherapy and/or novel therapeutic agents