2,442 research outputs found
IgA-BEM for 3D Helmholtz problems using conforming and non-conforming multi-patch discretizations and B-spline tailored numerical integration
An Isogeometric Boundary Element Method (IgA-BEM) is considered for the numerical solution of Helmholtz problems on 3D bounded or unbounded domains, admitting a smooth multi-patch representation of their finite boundary surface. The discretization spaces are formed by C0 inter-patch continuous functional spaces whose restriction to a patch simplifies to the span of tensor product B-splines composed with the given patch NURBS parameterization. Both conforming and non-conforming spaces are allowed, so that local refinement is possible at the patch level. For regular and singular integration, the proposed model utilizes a numerical procedure defined on the support of each trial B-spline function, which makes possible a function-by-function implementation of the matrix assembly phase. Spline quasi-interpolation is the common ingredient of all the considered quadrature rules; in the singular case it is combined with a B-spline recursion over the spline degree and with a singularity extraction technique, extended to the multi-patch setting for the first time. A threshold selection strategy is proposed to automatically distinguish between nearly singular and regular integrals. The non-conforming C0 joints between spline spaces on different patches are implemented as linear constraints based on knot removal conditions, and do not require a hierarchical master-slave relation between neighbouring patches. Numerical examples on relevant benchmarks show that the expected convergence orders are achieved with uniform discretization and a small number of uniformly spaced quadrature nodes
Omalizumab treatment in Samter's triad: case series and review of the literature
OBJECTIVE: Samter’s triad is the combination of asthma, aspirin sensitization, and nasal polyposis. Few data are available on the use of omalizumab in this disease. The study aimed to describe the impact of omalizumab on clinical and functional parameters and the quality of life of a series of patients with Samter’s triad. Moreover, we aimed to provide a review of the literature on this topic.
PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively described four patients with Samter’s triad undergoing omalizumab therapy. Clinical, functional, and immunological data of these patients were collected at baseline and follow-up.
RESULTS: Reduction of asthma exacerbations and salbutamol rescue therapy were observed in all patients after anti-IgE treatment together with an improvement in the quality of life. A significant improvement in FEV1, FVC, and FEF25-75 was observed. No major side-effects were observed. A total of 14 studies regarding omalizumab in aspirin-exacerbated respiratory diseases were included in the review, comprising 78 patients. All studies reported a good efficacy in improving asthma control; restoration of aspirin tolerance was repeatedly reported.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of our case series and review of the literature suggest that omalizumab effectively improves asthma control, lung function tests, and quality of life in patients with Samter’s triad
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Social Mpower: An Educational Game for Energy Efficiency
A number of serious games have been developed for energy systems that act as an educational tool and help energy consumers to better understand concepts such as resource allocation, electricity prices and grid sustainability. In such gamified environments, players use technology to solve environmental problems including greener environment, optimised energy and water infrastructure, sustainable resources and reduced energy use. Social Mpower game is a representation of an autonomous energy community for local power generation and distribution in which the participants have to avoid a collective blackout by individually reducing their energy consumption by synchronising and coordinating their actions. Our experimental hypothesis is that collective awareness can be enhanced by appropriate features of the game interface, and therefore to increase the opportunities and prospects for successful collective action (e.g to avoid a blackout)
Pirfenidone in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis: real-life experience in the referral centre of Siena
Background: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is the most common idiopathic interstitial pneumonia and has a median survival after diagnosis of 2–5 years. Pirfenidone is the first approved antifibrotic drug for the treatment of IPF. Here we report the functional progress, side effects and survival data of a population of patients with IPF, diagnosed at our centre and treated with pirfenidone. Methods: We enrolled 91 patients with IPF (71 males) treated with pirfenidone. Clinical, survival and functional details were collected retrospectively at start of therapy and after 12, 24, 36 and 48 months of treatment. Lung function tests at least 12 months before starting therapy were available for 40 patients and were entered in the database, as well as side effects. Results: During the observation period (922 ± 529 days), 27 patients died, 5 patients underwent lung transplant and 10 patients interrupted therapy due to adverse events or IPF progression. The median survival was 1606 days. There was a significant reduction in disease progression rate, as measured by trend of forced vital capacity, after 1 year of therapy with respect to before treatment (p = 0.0085). Forced vital capacity reduction rate was progressively higher in the subsequent years of treatment. Treatment-related side effects were reported in 25 patients and were predominantly mild. Overall, four patients discontinued therapy due to severe photosensitivity. Conclusions: Our findings confirm the efficacy of pirfenidone in reducing functional progression of IPF and its excellent safety profile in a real-life setting. This study, designed on a long-term follow up, contributes to the growing evidence on safety, tolerability and efficacy of pirfenidone in IPF. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section
Quantum numbers of the state and orbital angular momentum in its decay
Angular correlations in decays, with , and , are used to measure
orbital angular momentum contributions and to determine the value of
the meson. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity of 3.0
fb of proton-proton collisions collected with the LHCb detector. This
determination, for the first time performed without assuming a value for the
orbital angular momentum, confirms the quantum numbers to be .
The is found to decay predominantly through S wave and an upper limit
of at C.L. is set on the fraction of D wave.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figure
Observation of two new baryon resonances
Two structures are observed close to the kinematic threshold in the mass spectrum in a sample of proton-proton collision data, corresponding
to an integrated luminosity of 3.0 fb recorded by the LHCb experiment.
In the quark model, two baryonic resonances with quark content are
expected in this mass region: the spin-parity and
states, denoted and .
Interpreting the structures as these resonances, we measure the mass
differences and the width of the heavier state to be
MeV,
MeV,
MeV, where the first and second
uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively. The width of the
lighter state is consistent with zero, and we place an upper limit of
MeV at 95% confidence level. Relative
production rates of these states are also reported.Comment: 17 pages, 2 figure
Observation of the decay
The first observation of the decay is reported. The
study is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions corresponding to
of integrated luminosity collected with the LHCb detector. The
significance of the signal is standard deviations. The branching fraction
is measured to be , where the third uncertainty comes from the
branching fraction that is used as a normalisation.
In addition, the charge asymmetries of and
, which are control channels, are measured to be and , respectively. All results are consistent with
theoretical expectations
First observation and amplitude analysis of the decay
The decay is observed in a data sample
corresponding to of collision data recorded by the LHCb
experiment during 2011 and 2012. Its branching fraction is measured to be
where the uncertainties are statistical, systematic and from
the branching fraction of the normalisation channel , respectively. An amplitude analysis of the resonant
structure of the decay is used to measure the
contributions from quasi-two-body ,
, and
decays, as well as from nonresonant sources. The
resonance is determined to have spin~1.Comment: 39 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev. D. Updated following
erratum 10.1103/PhysRevD.93.11990
Study of and decays and determination of the CKM angle
We report a study of the suppressed and favored
decays, where the neutral meson is detected
through its decays to the and CP-even and
final states. The measurement is carried out using a proton-proton
collision data sample collected by the LHCb experiment, corresponding to an
integrated luminosity of 3.0~fb. We observe the first significant
signals in the CP-even final states of the meson for both the suppressed
and favored modes, as well as
in the doubly Cabibbo-suppressed final state of the decay. Evidence for the ADS suppressed decay , with , is also presented. From the observed
yields in the , and their
charge conjugate decay modes, we measure the value of the weak phase to be
. This is one of the most precise
single-measurement determinations of to date.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures; All figures and tables, along with any
supplementary material and additional information, are available at
https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/LHCbProjectPublic/LHCb-PAPER-2015-020.htm
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