Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

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A broad range tagging spectrometer for the MAX-laboratory

A broad range tagging spectrometer together with a new beam transport system for photonuclear experiments at the MAX-laboratory in Lund is described. The spectrometer consists of a quadrupole followed by an Elbek-type dipole and has a large momentum acceptance. It can produce both polarized and unpolarized tagged photons in the energy range 10–80 MeV with an energy resolution of about 300 keV

Low-Pressure MWPC System for the detection of Alpha-Particles and Fission Fragments

A low-pressure, position-sensitive, multi-wire proportional chamber (LPMWPC) system with an active area 12×12 cm 2 for the detection of heavy nuclear fragments, has been developed for use in tagged photon beam experiments. The LPMWPC system can be operated in single as well as double step operational modes. In the case of double step operational mode with a high gas amplification factor, signals from α-particles reside well above the electronic noise. Typical energy loss spectra of alpha particles and fission fragments (FF) obtained from a 252 Cf source are shown and discussed. The pulse height distributions of α-particles have a Landau distribution shape, while the pulse height distribution of FFs differs from Gaussian shape. It has long tails at both low-and high-energy sides. The average pulse height ratio of alpha particles and FF's is close to the theoretical value and amounts to about 1/80

High-resolution measurement of the 12C(γ,p)11B reaction to excited states for Eγ=50–70MeV

Relative population of states in 11B following the 12C(γ,p) reaction has been measured with high resolution using the deexcitation γ-ray technique. The states near 7 MeV in 11B are clearly resolved and the measured population clarifies earlier conflicting data. Comparison of the results with new calculations indicates the importance of both one-nucleon and multinucleon processes

The He(γ,n) reaction: a potential testing ground for the alpha-particle wavefunction

Differential cross sections (σ(Eγ,θn)) for the He(γ,n) reaction have been measured at Eγ=50–71 MeV and θn=30–120°. These data are compared with theoretical predictions where a microscopic calculation of the He and He wavefunctions has been made within the Alt-Grassberger-Sandhas, integral-equation formalism

(γ,n) study of the isovector quadrupole resonance in 40Ca

The forward-to-backward asymmetry of neutrons emitted in the 40Ca(γ,n0) reaction was measured at photon energies in the range of 27–50 MeV. An energy-dependent asymmetry was observed that is interpreted as evidence of interference between the isovector quadrupole resonance and the giant dipole resonance. Data analysis in terms of semiclassical and direct-semidirect models estimate the isovector quadrupole resonance to be at an excitation energy of 31.0±1.5 MeV, with a width of 16.0±1.5 MeV, and exhausting most of the energy-weighted sum rule for the isovector quadrupole resonance

A helium gas scintillator active target for photoreaction measurements

A multi-cell He gas scintillator active target, designed for the measurement of photoreaction cross sections, is described. The target has four main chambers, giving an overall thickness of 0.103 g/cm3 at an operating pressure of 2 MPa. Scintillations are read out by photomultiplier tubes and the addition of small amounts of N2 to the He, to shift the scintillation emission from UV to visible, is discussed. First results of measurements at the MAX IV Laboratory tagged-photon facility show that the target has a timing resolution of around 1 ns and can cope well with a high-flux photon beam. The determination of reaction cross sections from target yields relies on a Monte Carlo simulation, which considers scintillation light transport, photodisintegration processes in 4He, background photon interactions in target windows and interactions of the reaction-product particles in the gas and target container. The predictions of this simulation are compared to the measured target response