Random walk in nonhomogeneous environments: A possible approach to human and animal mobility.

The random walk process in a nonhomogeneous medium, characterized by a Lévy stable distribution of jump length, is discussed. The width depends on a position: either before the jump or after that. In the latter case, the density slope is affected by the variable width and the variance may be finite; then all kinds of the anomalous diffusion are predicted.

Escape process in systems characterized by stable noises and position-dependent resting times.

Stochastic systems characterized by a random driving in a form of the general stable noise are considered. The particle experiences long rests due to the traps the density of which is position dependent and obeys a power-law form attributed to the underlying self-similar structure. Both the one- and two-dimensional cases are analyzed.

Lévy flights and nonhomogenous memory effects: Relaxation to a stationary state.

The non-Markovian stochastic dynamics involving Lévy flights and a potential in the form of a harmonic and nonlinear oscillator is discussed. The subordination technique is applied and the memory effects, which are nonhomogeneous, are taken into account by a position-dependent subordinator. In the nonlinear case, the asymptotic stationary states are found.

Anomalous diffusion in stochastic systems with nonhomogeneously distributed traps.

The stochastic motion in a nonhomogeneous medium with traps is studied and diffusion properties of that system are discussed. The particle is subjected to a stochastic stimulation obeying a general Lévy stable statistics and experiences long rests due to nonhomogeneously distributed traps. The memory is taken into account by subordination of that process to a random time; then the subordination equation is position dependent.

Anomalous diffusion in nonhomogeneous media: time-subordinated Langevin equation approach.

Diffusion in nonhomogeneous media is described by a dynamical process driven by a general Lévy noise and subordinated to a random time; the subordinator depends on the position. This problem is approximated by a multiplicative process subordinated to a random time: it separately takes into account effects related to the medium structure and the memory. Density distributions and moments are derived from the solutions of the corresponding Langevin equation and compared with the numerical calculations for the exact problem.

Anomalous diffusion in systems driven by the stable Lévy noise with a finite noise relaxation time and inertia.

Dynamical systems driven by a general Lévy stable noise are considered. The inertia is included and the noise, represented by a generalized Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process, has a finite relaxation time. A general linear problem (the additive noise) is solved: the resulting distribution converges with time to the distribution for the white-noise, massless case.

Pixantrone dimaleate in combination with fludarabine, dexamethasone, and rituximab in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma: phase 1 study with a dose-expansion cohort.

Background: Pixantrone dimaleate (pixantrone) has been shown to have antitumor activity in leukemia and lymphoma in vitro models and to lack delayed cardiotoxicity associated with mitoxantrone in animal models. FND-R, a combination regimen of fludarabine, mitoxantrone, dexamethasone, and rituximab, has been shown to be an effective regimen for low-grade lymphomas.

Methods: This dose-escalation study, with an expansion cohort, was conducted to evaluate the safety and preliminary efficacy of FPD-R, in which pixantrone was substituted for mitoxantrone in the FND-R regimen, in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL).

Complications associated with erythropoietin-stimulating agents in patients with metastatic breast cancer: a Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare study.

Background: The authors evaluated the patterns of use and the risk of thromboembolic events (TEE) associated with erythropoietin-stimulating agents (ESAs) in older patients with metastatic breast cancer who were receiving chemotherapy.

Methods: The study was retrospective and used the SEER-Medicare linked database. Stage IV breast cancer patients diagnosed from 1995-2005, treated with chemotherapy, ≥66 years old, with full coverage of Medicare A and B were included.

Nonlinear stochastic equations with multiplicative Lévy noise.

The Langevin equation with a multiplicative Lévy white noise is solved. The noise amplitude and the drift coefficient have a power-law form. A validity of ordinary rules of the calculus for the Stratonovich interpretation is discussed.

Multiplicative Lévy processes: Itô versus Stratonovich interpretation.

Langevin equation with a multiplicative stochastic force is considered. That force is uncorrelated, it has the Lévy distribution and the power-law intensity. The Fokker-Planck equations, which correspond both to the Itô and Stratonovich interpretation, are presented.

Fractional Fokker-Planck equation for Lévy flights in nonhomogeneous environments.

The fractional Fokker-Planck equation, which contains a variable diffusion coefficient, is discussed and solved. It corresponds to the Lévy flights in a nonhomogeneous medium. For the case with the linear drift, the solution is stationary in the long-time limit and it represents the Lévy process with a simple scaling.

Impact of diabetes mellitus on complications and outcomes of adjuvant chemotherapy in older patients with breast cancer.

Purpose: To evaluate whether diabetes affects patterns of adjuvant chemotherapy use, toxic effects of chemotherapy, and breast cancer outcomes.

Patients And Methods: By using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results-Medicare database, we identified patients aged 66 years or older who had stages I through III breast cancer that was diagnosed between 1992 and 2002. Multivariable regression analyses were performed to determine the effect of diabetes on use of chemotherapy, toxicities, and outcomes.

Lévy flights in nonhomogeneous media: distributed-order fractional equation approach.

A jumping process, defined in terms of the Lévi distributed jumping size and the Poissonian, position-dependent waiting time with the algebraic jumping rate, is discussed on the assumption that parameters of both distributions are themselves random variables which are determined from given probability distributions. The fractional equation for the distributed Lévy order parameter mu is derived and solved. The solution is of the form of a combination of the Fox functions and simple scaling is lacking.

Completion of adjuvant radiation therapy among women with breast cancer.

Background: Optimal treatment for breast cancer often involves lengthy multimodality care including 5 to 6 weeks of radiotherapy, but few studies have evaluated adherence to radiotherapy outside the context of a therapeutic clinical trial.

Methods: Using a SEER-Medicare database, the authors identified women age 66 years or older with Stage I to III breast cancer diagnosed between 1992 and 2002. They evaluated rates of completion of radiotherapy, defined as a minimum of 25 sessions.

Expression and localization of GRP75 in human epithelial tumors and normal tissues.

Using differential display mRNA techniques, the authors found cDNA of the heat shock 70 protein known as GRP75 overexpressed in ovarian cancer cell lines. In the current study, the authors used immunohistochemistry to characterize the expression pattern of GRP75 in ovarian carcinomas and compared it with epithelial tumors originating from the female reproductive tract, epithelial neoplasms from non-gynecologic sites (colon, pancreas, breast, and lung), and various normal tissues. The authors also developed an antigen capture ELISA assay to determine if GRP75 can be detected in tumors, ascites, or sera of patients with advanced mullerian adenocarcinomas.