Dose-related efficacy and toxicity of gemtuzumab ozogamicin in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia

Gemtuzumab ozogamicin, an anti-tumour antibiotic linked to an anti-CD33 antibody (Mylotarg®), has been well studied in AML in adults but to a lesser extent in children. No review has yet been published on the dose-related toxicity and efficacy of gemtuzumab ozogamicin in pediatric AML patients. Here we looked at 14 studies then scatterplots and linear regressions were used to estimate the relationship between the dose of gemtuzumab and its toxicity and efficacy. A non-significant increase in bilirubin level and in incidence of veno-occlusive disease was seen with higher doses of gemtuzumab ozogamicin when used as single-agent. In terms of efficacy, even a low dose of 3 mg/m2 of gemtuzumab ozogamicin can have antileukemic effect, but available data do not allow conclusions on its dose-dependency. Data indicate that higher doses of gemtuzumab ozogamicin account for more adverse events. The data do not show that a high dose is required for anti-leukemic efficacy of gemtuzumab ozogamicin. This study also indicates that there seems to be a role for gemtuzumab ozogamicin in the treatment of pediatric AML and further studies are required to assess its optimal dose, schedule and balance between efficacy and side-effects

A single hollow beam optical trap for cold atoms

We present an optical trap for atoms that we have developed for precision spectroscopy measurements. Cold atoms are captured in a dark region of space inside a blue-detuned hollow laser beam formed by an axicon. We analyze the light potential in a ray optics picture and experimentally demonstrate trapping of laser-cooled metastable xenon atoms.Comment: 12 pages, 8 figure

On the measurement of laser-induced plasma breakdown thresholds

The breakdown threshold of a gas exposed to intense laser-radiation is a function of gas and laser properties. Breakdown thresholds reported in the literature often vary greatly and these differences can partially be traced back to the method that is typically used to determine breakdown thresholds. This paper discusses the traditional method used to determine breakdown thresholds and the potential errors that can arise using this approach, and presents an alternative method which can yield more accurate data especially when determining breakdown thresholds as functions of gas pressure

Non-word repetition in Dutch-speaking children with specific language impairment with and without reading problems

Recently, English studies have shown a relationship between non-word repetition (NWR) and the presence of reading problems (RP). Children with specific language impairment (SLI) but without RP performed similarly to their typically developing (TD) peers, whereas children with SLI and RP performed significantly worse on an NWR task. The current study was undertaken to investigate whether this difference in NWR performance is also found in a language with a transparent orthography - Dutch. The study included 15 TD children and 29 children with SLI. All children performed an NWR task that included non-words of 2-5 syllables in length. Children with SLI−RP (N=11) did not differ on any of the four conditions from the TD group, whereas the children with SLI+RP (N=18) scored more poorly on the 3-, 4-, and 5-syllable items compared to the TD group. NWR performance was significantly poorer on the 3- and 4-syllable conditions for children with SLI+RP compared to SLI−RP. To conclude, NWR is specifically affected in children with SLI+RP who are learning to read and write in a transparent orthography. Our data underline the dependency relation between literacy development and NWR performance in children with SLI

Measurement and Analysis of C₂ Swan Spectra Following Breakdown of Nitro Compound Simulants

Recent measurements of micro-plasma following laser-induced optical breakdown on 3-nitrobenzoic acid show well developed molecular spectra during the first several hundreds of nanoseconds. Analysis of Carbon Swan spectra for well-above breakdown threshold energy/pulse is accomplished using an accurate line strength file. Moreover, presence of hydrogen-beta allows us to infer electron density in the plasma evolution. Computational challenges include accounting for background variation and appropriate modeling of hydrogen embedded in molecular spectra. Recorded and computed spectra agree nicely for time delays on the order of 1600 ns from optical breakdown when using a single temperature for local thermodynamic equilibrium plasma