42 research outputs found
Mobility of solitons in one-dimensional lattices with the cubic-quintic nonlinearity
We investigate mobility regimes for localized modes in the discrete nonlinear
Schr\"{o}dinger (DNLS) equation with the cubic-quintic onsite terms. Using the
variational approximation (VA), the largest soliton's total power admitting
progressive motion of kicked discrete solitons is predicted, by comparing the
effective kinetic energy with the respective Peierls-Nabarro (PN) potential
barrier. The prediction is novel for the DNLS model with the cubic-only
nonlinearity too, demonstrating a reasonable agreement with numerical findings.
Small self-focusing quintic term quickly suppresses the mobility. In the case
of the competition between the cubic self-focusing and quintic self-defocusing
terms, we identify parameter regions where odd and even fundamental modes
exchange their stability, involving intermediate asymmetric modes. In this
case, stable solitons can be set in motion by kicking, so as to let them pass
the PN barrier. Unstable solitons spontaneously start oscillatory or
progressive motion, if they are located, respectively, below or above a
mobility threshold. Collisions between moving discrete solitons, at the
competing nonlinearities frame, are studied too.Comment: 12 pages, 15 figure
Dissipative vortex solitons in 2D-lattices
We report the existence of stable symmetric vortex-type solutions for
two-dimensional nonlinear discrete dissipative systems governed by a
cubic-quintic complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. We construct a whole family of
vortex solitons with a topological charge S = 1. Surprisingly, the dynamical
evolution of unstable solutions of this family does not alter significantly
their profile, instead their phase distribution completely changes. They
transform into two-charges swirl-vortex solitons. We dynamically excite this
novel structure showing its experimental feasibility.Comment: 4 pages, 20 figure
Spatial rogue waves in photorefractive SBN crystals
We report on the excitation of large-amplitude waves, with a probability of
around 1% of total peaks, on a photorefractive SBN crystal by using a simple
experimental setup at room temperature. We excite the system using a narrow
Gaussian beam and observe different dynamical regimes tailored by the value and
time rate of an applied voltage. We identify two main dynamical regimes: a
caustic one for energy spreading and a speckling one for peak emergence. Our
observations are well described by a two-dimensional Schr\"odinger model with
saturable local nonlinearity.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure
Nonlinear optical lattices with a void impurity
We examine a one-dimensional nonlinear (Kerr) waveguide array which contains
a single "void" waveguide where the nonlinearity is identically zero.
We uncover a new family of nonlinear localized modes centered at or near the
void, and their stability properties. Unlike a usual impurity problem, here the
void acts like a repulsive impurity causing the center of the simplest mode to
lie to the side of the void's position. We also compute the stability of
extended nonlinear modes showing significant differences from the usual
homogeneous nonlinear array. The transmission of a nonlinear pulse across the
void shows three main regimes, transmission, reflection and trapping at the
void's position, and we identify a critical momentum for the pulse below
(above) where the pulse gets reflected (transmitted), or trapped indefinitely
at the void's position. For relatively wide pulses, we observe a steep increase
from a regime of no transmission to a regime of high transmission, as the
amplitude of the soliton increases beyond a critical wavevector value. Finally,
we consider the transmission of an extended nonlinear wave across the void
impurity numerically, finding a rather complex structure of the transmission as
a function of wavevector, with the creation of more and more transmission gaps
as nonlinearity increases. The overall transmittance decreases and disappears
eventually, where the boundaries separating passing from non-passing regions
are complex and fractal-like.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure
Vortex solitons of the discrete Ginzburg-Landau Equation
We have found several families of vortex soliton solutions in two-dimensional
discrete dissipative systems governed by the cubic-quintic complex
Ginzburg-Landau equation. There are symmetric and asymmetric solutions, and
some of them have simultaneously two different topological charges. Their
regions of existence and stability are determined. Additionally, we have
analyzed the relation- ship between dissipation and stability for a number of
solutions. We have obtained that dissipation favours the stability of the
solutions.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figure
Reproductive Strategy of the Giant Electric Ray in the Southern Gulf of California
The objective of the present study was to describe and characterize macroscopic and microscopic aspects of the reproductive biology of the Giant Electric Ray Narcine entemedor, a viviparous elasmobranch targeted by commercial fishers in Mexico. A total of 305 individual rays were captured (260 females, 45 males); all males were sexually mature. The median size at maturity for females was estimated to be 58.5 cm TL, the median size at pregnancy was 63.7 cm TL, and the median size at maternity was 66.2 cm TL. The range of ovarian follicles recorded per female was 1–69; the maximum ovarian fecundity of fully grown vitellogenic oocytes was 17, and uterine fecundity ranged from 1 to 24 embryos per female. The lengths of the oblong ovarian follicles varied significantly among months, and the largest ovarian follicles were found in July, August, and September. Median embryo size was largest in August, and the size at birth was between 12.4 and 14.5 cm TL. Histological evidence of secretions from the glandular tissue of the uterine villi indicate that this species probably has limited histotrophy as a reproductive mode. Vitellogenesis in the ovary occurred synchronously with gestation in the uterus. The Giant Electric Ray has a continuous annual reproductive cycle; a period of ovulation occurs between May and September and two peaks of parturition, one in January and one in August, occur, suggesting that embryonic diapause occurs in some individuals. These results provide useful information for the management of this important commercial species in Bahía de La Paz, Mexico, and will allow possible modification of the current Mexican regulations to enable better protection of this species
Evaluation of factors leading to poor outcomes for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia in Mexico: a multi-institutional report of 2,116 patients
Background and aimsPediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) survival rates in low- and middle-income countries are lower due to deficiencies in multilevel factors, including access to timely diagnosis, risk-stratified therapy, and comprehensive supportive care. This retrospective study aimed to analyze outcomes for pediatric ALL at 16 centers in Mexico.MethodsPatients <18 years of age with newly diagnosed B- and T-cell ALL treated between January 2011 and December 2019 were included. Clinical and biological characteristics and their association with outcomes were examined.ResultsOverall, 2,116 patients with a median age of 6.3 years were included. B-cell immunophenotype was identified in 1,889 (89.3%) patients. The median white blood cells at diagnosis were 11.2.5 × 103/mm3. CNS-1 status was reported in 1,810 (85.5%), CNS-2 in 67 (3.2%), and CNS-3 in 61 (2.9%). A total of 1,488 patients (70.4%) were classified as high-risk at diagnosis. However, in 52.5% (991/1,889) of patients with B-cell ALL, the reported risk group did not match the calculated risk group allocation based on National Cancer Institute (NCI) criteria. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and PCR tests were performed for 407 (19.2%) and 736 (34.8%) patients, respectively. Minimal residual disease (MRD) during induction was performed in 1,158 patients (54.7%). The median follow-up was 3.7 years. During induction, 191 patients died (9.1%), and 45 patients (2.1%) experienced induction failure. A total of 365 deaths (17.3%) occurred, including 174 deaths after remission. Six percent (176) of patients abandoned treatment. The 5-year event-free survival (EFS) was 58.9% ± 1.7% for B-cell ALL and 47.4% ± 5.9% for T-cell ALL, while the 5-year overall survival (OS) was 67.5% ± 1.6% for B-cell ALL and 54.3% ± 0.6% for T-cell ALL. The 5-year cumulative incidence of central nervous system (CNS) relapse was 5.5% ± 0.6%. For the whole cohort, significantly higher outcomes were seen for patients aged 1–10 years, with DNA index >0.9, with hyperdiploid ALL, and without substantial treatment modifications. In multivariable analyses, age and Day 15 MRD continued to have a significant effect on EFS.ConclusionOutcomes in this multi-institutional cohort describe poor outcomes, influenced by incomplete and inconsistent risk stratification, early toxic death, high on-treatment mortality, and high CNS relapse rate. Adopting comprehensive risk-stratification strategies, evidence-informed de-intensification for favorable-risk patients and optimized supportive care could improve outcomes
International nosocomial infection control consortium (INICC) report, data summary of 36 countries, for 2004-2009
The results of a surveillance study conducted by the International Nosocomial Infection Control Consortium (INICC) from January 2004 through December 2009 in 422 intensive care units (ICUs) of 36 countries in Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe are reported. During the 6-year study period, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN; formerly the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance system [NNIS]) definitions for device-associated health care-associated infections, we gathered prospective data from 313,008 patients hospitalized in the consortium's ICUs for an aggregate of 2,194,897 ICU bed-days. Despite the fact that the use of devices in the developing countries' ICUs was remarkably similar to that reported in US ICUs in the CDC's NHSN, rates of device-associated nosocomial infection were significantly higher in the ICUs of the INICC hospitals; the pooled rate of central line-associated bloodstream infection in the INICC ICUs of 6.8 per 1,000 central line-days was more than 3-fold higher than the 2.0 per 1,000 central line-days reported in comparable US ICUs. The overall rate of ventilator-associated pneumonia also was far higher (15.8 vs 3.3 per 1,000 ventilator-days), as was the rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (6.3 vs. 3.3 per 1,000 catheter-days). Notably, the frequencies of resistance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates to imipenem (47.2% vs 23.0%), Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates to ceftazidime (76.3% vs 27.1%), Escherichia coli isolates to ceftazidime (66.7% vs 8.1%), Staphylococcus aureus isolates to methicillin (84.4% vs 56.8%), were also higher in the consortium's ICUs, and the crude unadjusted excess mortalities of device-related infections ranged from 7.3% (for catheter-associated urinary tract infection) to 15.2% (for ventilator-associated pneumonia). Copyright © 2012 by the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved