2,289 research outputs found
Prognostic and therapeutic significance of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 as tumor marker in patients with pancreatic cancer
In pancreatic cancer ( PC) accurate determination of treatment response by imaging often remains difficult. Various efforts have been undertaken to investigate new factors which may serve as more appropriate surrogate parameters of treatment efficacy. This review focuses on the role of carbohydrate antigen 19- 9 ( CA 19- 9) as a prognostic tumor marker in PC and summarizes its contribution to monitoring treatment efficacy. We undertook a Medline/ PubMed literature search to identify relevant trials that had analyzed the prognostic impact of CA 19- 9 in patients treated with surgery, chemoradiotherapy and chemotherapy for PC. Additionally, relevant abstract publications from scientific meetings were included. In advanced PC, pretreatment CA 19- 9 levels have a prognostic impact regarding overall survival. Also a CA 19- 9 decline under chemotherapy can provide prognostic information for median survival. A 20% reduction of CA 19- 9 baseline levels within the first 8 weeks of chemotherapy appears to be sufficient to define a prognostic relevant subgroup of patients ('CA 19- 9 responder'). It still remains to be defined whether the CA 19- 9 response is a more reliable method for evaluating treatment efficacy compared to conventional imaging. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel
A bayesian meta-analysis of multiple treatment comparisons of systemic regimens for advanced pancreatic cancer
© 2014 Chan et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Background: For advanced pancreatic cancer, many regimens have been compared with gemcitabine (G) as the standard arm in randomized controlled trials. Few regimens have been directly compared with each other in randomized controlled trials and the relative efficacy and safety among them remains unclear
Water-Gated Charge Doping of Graphene Induced by Mica Substrates
We report on the existence of water-gated charge doping of graphene deposited
on atomically flat mica substrates. Molecular films of water in units of ~0.4
nm-thick bilayers were found to be present in regions of the interface of
graphene/mica hetero-stacks prepared by micromechanical exfoliation of kish
graphite. The spectral variation of the G and 2D bands, as visualized by Raman
mapping, shows that mica substrates induce strong p-type doping in graphene,
with hole densities of {-2}$. The ultrathin water
films, however, effectively block interfacial charge transfer, rendering
graphene significantly less hole-doped. Scanning Kelvin probe microscopy
independently confirmed a water-gated modulation of the Fermi level by 0.35 eV,
in agreement with the optically determined hole density. The manipulation of
the electronic properties of graphene demonstrated in this study should serve
as a useful tool in realizing future graphene applications.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures; Nano Letters, accepted (2012
Tackling challenges in care of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias amid the COVID-19 pandemic, now and in the future
We have provided an overview on the profound impact of COVID-19 upon older people with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias and the challenges encountered in our management of dementia in different health-care settings, including hospital, outpatient, care homes, and the community during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also proposed a conceptual framework and practical suggestions for health-care providers in tackling these challenges, which can also apply to the care of older people in general, with or without other neurological diseases, such as stroke or parkinsonism. We believe this review will provide strategic directions and set standards for health-care leaders in dementia, including governmental bodies around the world in coordinating emergency response plans for protecting and caring for older people with dementia amid the COIVD-19 outbreak, which is likely to continue at varying severity in different regions around the world in the medium term
Simplified Models for LHC New Physics Searches
This document proposes a collection of simplified models relevant to the
design of new-physics searches at the LHC and the characterization of their
results. Both ATLAS and CMS have already presented some results in terms of
simplified models, and we encourage them to continue and expand this effort,
which supplements both signature-based results and benchmark model
interpretations. A simplified model is defined by an effective Lagrangian
describing the interactions of a small number of new particles. Simplified
models can equally well be described by a small number of masses and
cross-sections. These parameters are directly related to collider physics
observables, making simplified models a particularly effective framework for
evaluating searches and a useful starting point for characterizing positive
signals of new physics. This document serves as an official summary of the
results from the "Topologies for Early LHC Searches" workshop, held at SLAC in
September of 2010, the purpose of which was to develop a set of representative
models that can be used to cover all relevant phase space in experimental
searches. Particular emphasis is placed on searches relevant for the first
~50-500 pb-1 of data and those motivated by supersymmetric models. This note
largely summarizes material posted at http://lhcnewphysics.org/, which includes
simplified model definitions, Monte Carlo material, and supporting contacts
within the theory community. We also comment on future developments that may be
useful as more data is gathered and analyzed by the experiments.Comment: 40 pages, 2 figures. This document is the official summary of results
from "Topologies for Early LHC Searches" workshop (SLAC, September 2010).
Supplementary material can be found at http://lhcnewphysics.or
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