Hydrostatic pressure and electric field effects on the normalized binding energy in asymmetrical quantum wells

We have investigated the simultaneous effects of the hydrostatic pressure and electric field on the ground subband level and on normalized binding energy of an on-center donor in asymmetrical GaAs/AlGaAs quantum wells within the effective-mass approximation and a variational approach. We found that the well size at which the impurity energy changes from positive to negative value (turning point) strongly depends on the asymmetry and hydrostatic pressure. As a key result, we suggest that the study of the normalized binding energy for various values of the electric field in direct and inverse polarization regimes can be used to feel the quantum well asymmetry and to unambiguously find out the effective pressure acting on a given heterostructure

Oral selinexor-dexamethasone for triple-class refractory multiple myeloma

BACKGROUND Selinexor, a selective inhibitor of nuclear export compound that blocks exportin 1 (XPO1) and forces nuclear accumulation and activation of tumor suppressor proteins, inhibits nuclear factor κB, and reduces oncoprotein messenger RNA translation, is a potential novel treatment for myeloma that is refractory to current therapeutic options. METHODS We administered oral selinexor (80 mg) plus dexamethasone (20 mg) twice weekly to patients with myeloma who had previous exposure to bortezomib, carfilzomib, lenalidomide, pomalidomide, daratumumab, and an alkylating agent and had disease refractory to at least one proteasome inhibitor, one immunomodulatory agent, and daratumumab (triple-class refractory). The primary end point was overall response, defined as a partial response or better, with response assessed by an independent review committee. Clinical benefit, defined as a minimal response or better, was a secondary end point. RESULTS A total of 122 patients in the United States and Europe were included in the modified intention-to-treat population (primary analysis), and 123 were included in the safety population. The median age was 65 years, and the median number of previous regimens was 7; a total of 53% of the patients had high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities. A partial response or better was observed in 26% of patients (95% confidence interval, 19 to 35), including two stringent complete responses; 39% of patients had a minimal response or better. The median duration of response was 4.4 months, median progression-free survival was 3.7 months, and median overall survival was 8.6 months. Fatigue, nausea, and decreased appetite were common and were typically grade 1 or 2 (grade 3 events were noted in up to 25% of patients, and no grade 4 events were reported). Thrombocytopenia occurred in 73% of the patients (grade 3 in 25% and grade 4 in 33%). Thrombocytopenia led to bleeding events of grade 3 or higher in 6 patients. CONCLUSIONS Selinexor-dexamethasone resulted in objective treatment responses in patients with myeloma refractory to currently available therapies. (Funded by Karyopharm Therapeutics; STORM ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT02336815. © 2019 Massachusetts Medical Society

Dialogue and Dissemination in News Media Interviews

This article analyses the nature of the dialogue of broadcast news media interviews and their public dissemination and argues that political interviews are fundamentally contestable and indeterminate encounters. In contrast to theoretical and journalistic accounts that see conflict and disagreement in news media interviews as problems that need to be minimized and overcome, this article states that the dialogical account of language employed in the work of Bakhtin and Vološinov and agonistic political theory more accurately capture the communicative dynamics of news media interviews. It follows that the function of journalistic interviewers should be cast less in terms of producing consensus and mutual understanding and more in terms of keeping the political open