This document is a summary of the European Public Assessment Report ( EPAR ) . It explains how the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use ( CHMP ) assessed the studies performed , to reach their recommendations on how to use the medicine . If you need more information about your medical condition or your treatment , read the Package Leaflet ( also part of the EPAR ) or contact your doctor or pharmacist . If you want more information on the basis of the CHMP recommendations , read the Scientific Discussion ( also part of the EPAR ) . What is Alimta ? Alimta is a powder that is made up into a solution for infusion ( drip into a vein ) . It contains the active substance pemetrexed . What is Alimta used for ? Alimta is used to treat two types of cancer : pleural mesothelioma ( cancer of the lining of the lungs that is usually caused by exposure to asbestos ) . Alimta is used together with cisplatin ( another anticancer medicine ) when the cancer is unresectable ( cannot be removed by surgery alone ) and malignant ( has spread , or is likely to spread easily , to other parts of the body ) , in patients who have not received chemotherapy ( medicines for cancer ) before advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer that is not affecting the squamous cells . Alimta is used in combination with cisplatin in patients who have not been treated before , and on its own in patients who have received another type of chemotherapy in the past . The medicine can only be obtained with a prescription . How is Alimta used ? Alimta should only be given under the supervision of a doctor who is qualified in the use of anticancer chemotherapy . The recommended dose of Alimta is 500 mg per square metre of body surface area ( calculated using the patient s height and weight ) . It is given once every three weeks as an intravenous infusion lasting 10 minutes . To reduce side effects , patients should take a corticosteroid and folic acid ( a type of vitamin ) , and receive injections of vitamin B12 during treatment with Alimta . When Alimta is given with cisplatin , an anti-emetic medicine ( to prevent vomiting ) and fluids ( to prevent dehydration ) should also be given before or after the cisplatin dose . Treatment should be delayed or discontinued , or the dose reduced , in patients whose blood counts are abnormal or who have certain other side effects . Alimta is not recommended for use in patients with moderate or severe kidney problems . For more information , see the Summary of Product Characteristics ( also part of the EPAR ) . How does Alimta work ? The active substance in Alimta , pemetrexed , is a cytotoxic medicine ( a medicine that kills cells that are dividing , such as cancer cells ) , which belongs to the group antimetabolites . In the body , pemetrexed is converted into an active form that blocks the activity of the enzymes that are involved in producing nucleotides ( the building blocks of DNA and RNA , the genetic material of cells ) . How has Alimta been studied ? For the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma , Alimta has been studied in one main study in 456 patients who had not received chemotherapy for their disease before . The effects of Alimta in combination with cisplatin were compared with those of cisplatin alone . For the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer , the effects of Alimta were compared with those of docetaxel ( another anticancer medicine ) in one study involving 571 patients with locally advanced or metastatic disease who had received chemotherapy in the past . Alimta was also compared with gemcitabine ( another anticancer medicine ) , both in combination with cisplatin , in a study involving 1,725 patients who had not received chemotherapy for lung cancer in the past . In all three studies , the main measure of effectiveness was how long the patients survived . What benefit has Alimta shown during the studies ? Alimta increased the survival time of patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma . Patients receiving Alimta and cisplatin survived for an average of 12.1 months , compared with 9.3 months in those receiving cisplatin alone . In the treatment of patients with non-small cell lung cancer , Alimta was as effective as the comparators . In patients who had received chemotherapy in the past , the average survival time was 8.3 months with Alimta , compared with 7.9 months with docetaxel . In patients who had not received chemotherapy in the past , the average survival time was 10.3 months in both groups . However , in both studies , patients whose cancer was not affecting squamous cells had longer survival times if they received Alimta than if they received the comparator . In contrast , patients whose cancer was affecting squamous cells had shorter survival times if they received Alimta . kalgebra is a mathematical calculator based on content markup MathML language . Nowadays it is capable to make simple MathML operations ( arithmetic and logical ) and to representate 2D and 3D graphs . It is actually not necessary to know MathML to use kalgebra . kalgebra is a MathML based graph calculator . Although it was initially MathML oriented it can now be used by everyone with little mathematical knowledge . Here 's a screenshot of kalgebra main window kalgebra main window kalgebra main window consists in a Console tab , a 2D Graph tab , a 3D Graph tab and a Dictionary tab . Below these tabs you will find an input field to type your functions or do your calculations . If we want to understand how it works , the best thing we can do is to realize that our input is being converted into MathML although it is not necessary to know MathML . I have based the syntax basically on common sense , it should not be hard for anyone . I ve looked closely to maxima and maple s syntax so they look very similar . + - * / : Addition , subtraction , multiplication and division . ^ , ** : Power , you can use them both . Also it is possible to use the unicode ² characters . Powers are one way to make roots too . -gt : It s the way to specify the bounded variable in a function . ( ) : It is used to specify a higher priority . abc(params) : When the parser finds a function , it checks if abc is an operator . If it is , it will be treated as an operator , if it is not , it will be treated as a user function . : = : It is used to define a variable value . ? : Piecewise condition definition . Piecewise is the way we can define conditional operations in kalgebra . If we introduce the condition before the ? it will use this condition only if it is true , if it finds a ? without any condition , it will enter in the last instance . { } : MathML container . It can be used to define a container . Mainly useful for working with piecewise . Now you could ask me , why should the user mind about MathML ? That s easy . With this , we can operate with functions like cos() , sin() , any other trigonometric functions , sum () or product () . It does not matter what kind it is . We can use plus() , times() and everything which has its operator . kalgebra 's console is useful as a calculator . There you have a list of the declared variables . By double clicking on them you will see a dialog that lets you change their values ( just a way to trick the log ) . Every time you enter an expression , the " ans " variable value will be changed to the last result . Ctrl N New Window Flushes the log . Ctrl L Load Script Executes the instructions in a file sequentially . Nice if you want to define some libraries or resume some previous work . Ctrl G Save Script Saves the instructions you have typed since the session began to be able to reuse . Generates text files so it should be easy to fix using any text editor , like Kate . Ctrl S Save Log Saves the log with all results into an HTML file to be able to print or publish . Ctrl Q Quit Shuts the program down . To add a new 2D graph on kalgebra , what you have to do is to go to the 2D Graph tab and click in the Add tab to add the new function . Then your focus will go to an input text box where you can type your function . If you want to use a typical f(x) function it is not necessary to specify it . If you have entered the function click on the OK button to display the graph in the main window . You can set several graphs on the same view . Just use the Add button when you are in List mode . You can set each graph its own color . The Foundation has recently been involved in organising a conference which dealt with this critical challenge . Over 100 participants from the main interest groups attended and debated issues such as the role of key actors including public authorities , social partners , voluntary and community organisations as well as service users . There were relatively few cases reported of attempts to involve users in service planning but their involvement in service provision was found to be more common . Note was also taken of the variety of different roles played by public welfare The Foundation organised , together with the European Commission , the Spanish Ministry of Social Affairs and the Galician regional government , a European conference on social exclusion : a major challenge for public welfare services . The Foundation recently published a comparative study as part of the EPOC project which assesses the extent to which direct participation can humanise work while increasing profitability . The study is based on 195 personal interviews with senior officials of the social partners as representatives of national level peak organisations in fifteen European countries . As important industrial sectors , the metal industry and the banking sector were also included . Key speakers at the social exclusion conference were ( left to right ) Cristina Louro , Employment , Industrial Relations and Social Affairs Directorate , European Commission Fernando Gomes , a high degree of Committee of the Regions Barbara Weiler , Member of the European Parliament José Maria Gil-Robles , Vice-President , European Parliament and John Carroll , Economic and Social Committee . Case Studies Each national report contains a portfolio of between 25 and 30 initiatives which best present policies and practices to improve the recruitment , training and development of ageing workers in both the work place and the community . For each country , two or three initiatives have been selected for further in depth case study . These case studies analysed the background of the initiatives , their impact on employment patterns and work organisations and assessed the benefits and problems of the initiative . Visits and interviews with key personnel were also undertaken . These national studies will form the basis of a European report which synthesises overall practices . The report and a casebook of initiatives will be published in 1996 and provide the backdrop for a conference to be staged in Autumn , 1996 . The Foundation aims to document the characteristics of age barriers in job recruitment and training and to analyse their causes . The perspectives of the social partners is also being examined , with particular attention paid to proposals for removing age barriers . Thirdly , the project documents and assesses initiatives , in both the public and private sectors which combat age barriers , especially for older workers . Seeking alternatives to early retirement and redundancy , the project is primarily concerned with the retention , reintegration and retraining of older workers . The gender and ethnic backgrounds of workers and how these relate to age discrimination are examined . The project also considers initiatives to combat age discrimination in rural areas and in small and medium sized enterprises . Seven member states are covered by the project : Belgium , France , Germany , Greece , Italy , the Netherlands and the United Kingdom . This document is a summary of the European Public Assessment Report . It explains how the Committee for Medicinal Products for Veterinary Use ( CVMP ) assessed the studies performed , to reach their recommendations on how to use the medicine . What is Cerenia ? Cerenia contains the active substance maropitant and is available as tablet or as solution for injection . The tablets are pale-orange and have a score line on both sides so that they can be halved . Each tablet is marked with the Pfizer logo on one side and with the letters MPT and the quantity of maropitant on the other side . What is Cerenia used for ? Cerenia is an anti-emetic , this means that it stops vomiting . It is used in dogs to prevent vomiting such as vomiting caused by chemotherapy ( medicines used for the treatment of cancer , some of which are known to cause vomiting ) . In combination with supportive measures such as other veterinary treatment or a special diet , Cerenia can also be used in the treatment of vomiting ( either as injection or as injection followed by tablets ) . For these purposes , Cerenia can be given for up to five days How does Cerenia work ? Cerenia blocks a neurokinin 1 ( NK1 ) receptor , which acts in the central nervous system . How has Cerenia been studied ? A large number of studies with Cerenia were carried out either in laboratory dogs or in animal patients at veterinary practises in several European countries and in the USA . What benefit has Cerenia shown during the studies ? The results of the studies showed that Cerenia was more effective than the placebo : less vomiting was seen in dogs that received the medicine than in dogs that received a placebo , both in the treatment or in the prevention of vomiting . The treatment of a vomiting dog should be started with the injection , since vomiting animals might not be able to keep a tablet down ( as they might throw the intact tablet up again ) . For follow-up treatment , the animal owner can administer the tablets to the dog . Also , the treatment of vomiting should only be together with other supportive measure or other veterinary therapy while addressing the underlying causes of the vomiting . What is the risk associated with Cerenia ? Cerenia was generally well tolerated when administered daily at dosages up to 5 times the recommended doses for an extended period of time ( up to 3 times the recommended maximum duration of treatment ) . What are the precautions for the person who gives the medicine or comes into contact with the animal ? Cerenia does not represent a particular risk for people .