Case report: A Stauffer’s syndrome variant associated with renal cell carcinoma and thrombocytopenia

Stauffer’s syndrome is a rare paraneoplastic manifestation of renal cell carcinoma which is characterized by elevated alkaline phosphatase, erythrocyte  sedimentation rate, -2-globulin, -glutamyl transferase,  thrombocytosis, prolongation of prothrombin time and hepatosplenomegaly, in the absence of hepatic  metastasis and jaundice. In this case report, we report a patient who was admitted with fever, fatigue,  abdominal pain, weight loss and pruritus in whom renal cell carcinoma was incidentally found in the right kidney during an initial workup.KEYWORDS: Cholestasis; Paraneoplastic syndrome; RCC; Stauffer’s syndrome; Thrombocytopeni

Adiabatic entanglement transport in Rydberg aggregates

We consider the interplay between excitonic and atomic motion in a regular, flexible chain of Rydberg atoms, extending our recent results on entanglement transport in Rydberg chains [W\"uster et al., Phys.Rev.Lett 105 053004 (2010)]. In such a Rydberg chain, similar to molecular aggregates, an electronic excitation is delocalised due to long range dipole-dipole interactions among the atoms. The transport of an exciton that is initially trapped by a chain dislocation is strongly coupled to nuclear dynamics, forming a localised pulse of combined excitation and displacement. This pulse transfers entanglement between dislocated atoms adiabatically along the chain. Details about the interaction and the preparation of the initial state are discussed. We also present evidence that the quantum dynamics of this complex many-body problem can be accurately described by selected quantum-classical methods, which greatly simplify investigations of excitation transport in flexible chains

Nonlocal Nonlinear Optics in cold Rydberg Gases

We present an analytical theory for the nonlinear optical response of a strongly interacting Rydberg gas under conditions of electromagnetically induced transparency. Simple formulae for the third order optical susceptibility are derived and shown to be in excellent agreement with recent experiments. The obtained expressions reveal strong nonlinearities, which in addition are of highly nonlocal character. This property together with enormous strength of the Rydberg-induced nonlinearities is shown to yield a unique laboratory platform for nonlinear wave phenomena, such as collapse-arrested modulational instabilities in a self-defocussing medium.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Unusual metastases of lung cancer: bulbus oculi and maxillary sinus

Lung adenocarcinoma often makes metastasis to the brain, liver, kidneys, bone, bone marrow and adrenal glands. It can also make metastasis to other parts of the body rarely for example eye, nose, parotid gland and paranasal sinus. We did not encounter with combined ocular bulbus and the maxillary sinus metastases of lung cancer in the accessible literature. In this case report, a patient who was combined ocular bulbus and the maxillary sinus metastases of lung adenocarcinoma will be discussed. Key Words: eye metastases, lung adenocarcinoma, paranasal sinus metastases

Effect of Friction Time on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Friction Welded AISI 304 Stainless Steel to AISI 1060 Steel

The influence of friction time on the hardness, tensile properties, and microstructure of the welded samples is investigated. With increasing friction time, the hardness and tensile strength values increase too. The hardness of the welding interfaces is higher than that of the base alloys. Microstructures of the welds are examined by the optical and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that all welding joints are perfectly bonded and free of any cracks, pores, and defects. The tensile fracture of welded joint occurred in the AISI 304 side. The chemical composition of the interfaces and deformation zones are detected using energy dispersive spectroscopy. Diffusion of the Cr and Ni is evident on the AISI 1060 side.Досліджено вплив тривалости тертя на твердість, властивості при розтягу та на мікроструктуру зварних зразків. При збільшенні тривалости тертя твердість та границя міцности на розрив також збільшуються. Міцність поверхні зварних контактів виявляється більшою, аніж у основних стопів. Мікроструктуру зварних швів було досліджено методами оптичної й електронної мікроскопії. Показано, що зварні з’єднання були досконало звареними та не мали ніяких тріщин, пор і дефектів. Руйнування при розтягу відбувалося з боку криці AISI 304. Хемічний склад зварних контактів і зон деформації досліджено за допомогою енергодисперсійної спектроскопії. Спостерігалася дифузія Cr та Ni в бік криці AISI 1060. Исследуется влияние времени трения на твёрдость, свойства при растяжении и на микроструктуру сварных образцов. При увеличении времени трения твёрдость и предел прочности на разрыв также увеличиваются.Прочность поверхности сварных контактов оказывается выше, чем у основных сплавов. Микроструктура сварных швов исследуется методами оптической и электронной микроскопии. Показано, что все сварные соединения были идеально сварены и не имели никаких трещин, пор и дефектов. Разрушение при растяжении происходит со стороны стали AISI 304. Химический состав сварных контактов и зон деформации исследуются с помощью энергодисперсионной спектроскопии. Наблюдается диффузия Cr и Ni в сторону стали AISI 1060

Accessory spleen hypertrophy mimicking colon cancer metastasis

Accessory spleen is a congenital form of an ectopic splenic tissue. In this report, we present a case of a patient who was followed with the diagnosis of rectal and sigmoid colon cancer and an accessory spleen hypertrophy, which was thought to be colon cancer metastasis in the left hypochondriac region. After colectomy and splenectomy, accessory spleen that mimics cancer metastasis was diffrentially diagnosed using scintigraphy

Boosting up quantum key distribution by learning statistics of practical single photon sources

We propose a simple quantum-key-distribution (QKD) scheme for practical single photon sources (SPSs), which works even with a moderate suppression of the second-order correlation $g^{(2)}$ of the source. The scheme utilizes a passive preparation of a decoy state by monitoring a fraction of the signal via an additional beam splitter and a detector at the sender's side to monitor photon number splitting attacks. We show that the achievable distance increases with the precision with which the sub-Poissonian tendency is confirmed in higher photon number distribution of the source, rather than with actual suppression of the multi-photon emission events. We present an example of the secure key generation rate in the case of a poor SPS with $g^{(2)} = 0.19$, in which no secure key is produced with the conventional QKD scheme, and show that learning the photon-number distribution up to several numbers is sufficient for achieving almost the same achievable distance as that of an ideal SPS.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures; published version in New J. Phy

Improving the performance of bright quantum dot single photon sources using amplitude modulation

Single epitaxially-grown semiconductor quantum dots have great potential as single photon sources for photonic quantum technologies, though in practice devices often exhibit non-ideal behavior. Here, we demonstrate that amplitude modulation can improve the performance of quantum-dot-based sources. Starting with a bright source consisting of a single quantum dot in a fiber-coupled microdisk cavity, we use synchronized amplitude modulation to temporally filter the emitted light. We observe that the single photon purity, temporal overlap between successive emission events, and indistinguishability can be greatly improved with this technique. As this method can be applied to any triggered single photon source, independent of geometry and after device fabrication, it is a flexible approach to improve the performance of solid-state systems, which often suffer from excess dephasing and multi-photon background emission

Sildenafil Citrate for Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction in Men With Type 1 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—In the 5–10% of diabetic men with type 1 diabetes, erectile dysfunction (ED) may be a particularly common and unwanted complication. This is the first study focusing exclusively on the effects of sildenafil in men with type 1 diabetes and ED.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A total of 188 patients were entered into a double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, flexible-dose study and were randomized to receive sildenafil (25–100 mg; n = 95) or placebo (n = 93) for 12 weeks. Efficacy was evaluated using questions three (Q3; achieving an erection) and four (Q4; maintaining an erection) from the International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF), a global efficacy question (GEQ; "Did treatment improve your erections?"), and a patient event log of sexual activity.RESULTS—Improvements in mean scores from baseline to end-of-treatment for IIEF Q3 (35.7 vs. 19.9%) and Q4 (68.4 vs. 26.5%) were significant in patients receiving sildenafil compared with those receiving placebo (P = 0.0001). Moreover, the percent of improved erections (GEQ, 66.6 vs. 28.6%) and successful intercourse attempts (63 vs. 33%) was significantly increased with sildenafil compared with placebo. Improvements in sexual function were seen irrespective of the degree of ED severity. Adverse events were generally mild to moderate in severity, with headache (20 vs. 8%), flushing (18 vs. 3%), and dyspepsia (8 vs. 1%) reported more often in the sildenafil than in placebo-treated patients.CONCLUSIONS—Treatment with sildenafil for ED was effective, resulting in an increased percentage of successful attempts at intercourse, and was well tolerated among men with type 1 diabetes

Subhepatically located appendicitis due to adhesions: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Acute appendicitis occurs frequently and is a major indication for acute abdominal surgery. Subhepatic appendicitis has rarely been reported and is more difficult to diagnose.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 71-year-old man with multiple medical comorbidities presented with undifferentiated right abdominal pain. Diagnostic difficulty was encountered due to subhepatic mal-location of the appendix and subsequently atypical presentation for acute appendicitis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Subhepatic anatomical location of the appendix makes it more difficult to diagnose acute appendicitis at any age, including in older adults.</p