First-principles study on the origin of large thermopower in hole-doped LaRhO3 and CuRhO2

Based on first-principles calculations, we study the origin of the large thermopower in Ni-doped LaRhO3 and Mg-doped CuRhO2. We calculate the band structure and construct the maximally localized Wannier functions from which a tight binding Hamiltonian is obtained. The Seebeck coefficient is calculated within the Boltzmann's equation approach using this effective Hamiltonian. For LaRhO3, we find that the Seebeck coefficient remains nearly constant within a large hole concentration range, which is consistent with the experimental observation. For CuRhO2, the overall temperature dependence of the calculated Seebeck coefficient is in excellent agreement with the experiment. The origin of the large thermopower is discussed.Comment: 7 pages, to be published J. Phys.: Cond. Matt., Proc. QSD 200

Candida biofilms and oral candidosis : treatment and prevention

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the incidence of human fungal infections (60). A number of factors have been implicated with this increase, but it is generally accepted that the main influences relate to the more widespread provision of new medical practices, such as immunosuppressive therapy and use of broad spectrum antibiotics, and invasive surgical procedures such as solid organ or bone marrow transplantation. Infections may either be superficial, affecting the skin, hair, nails and mucosal membranes, or systemic, involving major body organs (95). The risk of systemic infection appears to be enhanced in cases where the individual is already colonized by Candida (71). With regard to superficial mucosal infections, the continued spread of HIV infection (29) and the more extensive use of inhaled steroids (36) have also played significant roles

Transport properties of the layered Rh oxide K_0.49RhO_2

We report measurements and analyses of resistivity, thermopower and Hall coefficient of single-crystalline samples of the layered Rh oxide K_0.49RhO_2. The resistivity is proportional to the square of temperature up to 300 K, and the thermopower is proportional to temperature up to 140 K. The Hall coefficient increases linearly with temperature above 100 K, which is ascribed to the triangular network of Rh in this compound. The different transport properties between Na_xCoO_2 and K_0.49RhO_2 are discussed on the basis of the different band width between Co and Rh evaluated from the magnetotransport.Comment: 3 figures, submitted to PR

Controlling malignant pericardial effusion by intrapericardial carboplatin administration in patients with primaryon-small-cell lung cancer

Malignant pericarditis, when associated with massive pericardial effusion, presents a critical condition in lung cancer patients. Because this condition often arises in terminally ill patients, intensive therapy such as multi-drug combination chemotherapy is rarely appropriate. This study evaluated the clinical relevance of intrapericardial administration of carboplatin for controlling malignant pericardial effusions associated with non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). The method used for 10 eligible patients consisted of draining the pericardial effusion and infusing 300 mg/body of carboplatin in 50 ml of saline through an in-place catheter into the pericardial space and clamping the catheter for 40 min. Nine of the 10 patients showed satisfactory results, and 8 experienced complete regression of the effusion. No major or minor adverse effects were observed. Pharmacokinetics analysis revealed that the concentration of free platinum in the pericardial fluid was very high while that of total platinum in the circulating plasma was very low, assuring the usefulness of the intrapericardial instillation of carboplatin in terminally ill patients for controlling malignant pericardial effusion when the systemic delivery of cytotoxic agents is inappropriate. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig