A patient preference study that evaluated fluticasone furoate and mometasone furoate nasal sprays for allergic rhinitis

Background: Corticosteroid nasal sprays are the mainstay of treatment for allergic rhinitis. These sprays have sensory attributes such as scent and/or odor, taste and aftertaste, and run down the throat and/or the nose, which, when unpleasant, can affect patient preference for, and compliance with, treatment. Objective: This study examined patient preference for fluticasone furoate nasal spray (FFNS) or mometasone furoate nasal spray (MFNS) based on their sensory attributes after administration in patients with allergic rhinitis. Methods: This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, cross-over study. Patient preferences were determined by using three questionnaires (Overall Preference, Immediate Attributes, and Delayed Attributes). Results: Overall, 56% of patients stated a preference for FFNS versus 32% for MFNS (p _ 0.001); the remaining 12% stated no preference. More patients stated a preference for FFNS versus MFNS for the attributes of “less drip down the throat” (p _ 0.001), “less run out of the nose” (p _ 0.05), “more soothing” (p _ 0.05), and “less irritating” (p _ 0.001). More patients responded in favor of FFNS versus MFNS for the immediate attributes, “run down the throat” (p _ 0.001), and “run out of the nose” (p _ 0.001), and, in the delayed attributes, “run down the throat” (p _ 0.001), “run out of the nose” (p _ 0.01), “presence of aftertaste” (p _ 0.01), and “no nasal irritation” (p _ 0.001). Conclusion: Patients with allergic rhinitis preferred FFNS versus MFNS overall and based on a number of individual attributes, including “less drip down the throat,” “less run out of the nose,” and “less irritating.” Greater preference may improve patient adherence and thereby improve symptom management of the patient’s allergic rhinitis

Warm dust in the terrestrial planet zone of a sun-like Pleiad: collisions between planetary embryos?

Only a few solar-type main sequence stars are known to be orbited by warm dust particles; the most extreme is the G0 field star BD+20 307 that emits ~4% of its energy at mid-infrared wavelengths. We report the identification of a similarly dusty star HD 23514, an F6-type member of the Pleiades cluster. A strong mid-IR silicate emission feature indicates the presence of small warm dust particles, but with the primary flux density peak at the non-standard wavelength of ~9 micron. The existence of so much dust within an AU or so of these stars is not easily accounted for given the very brief lifetime in orbit of small particles. The apparent absence of very hot (>~1000 K) dust at both stars suggests the possible presence of a planet closer to the stars than the dust. The observed frequency of the BD+20 307/HD 23514 phenomenon indicates that the mass equivalent of Earth's Moon must be converted, via collisions of massive bodies, to tiny dust particles that find their way to the terrestrial planet zone during the first few hundred million years of the life of many (most?) sun-like stars. Identification of these two dusty systems among youthful nearby solar-type stars suggests that terrestrial planet formation is common.Comment: ApJ in press, 19 pages including 3 figures and 2 tables, minor changes to the tables and figure

The Ellipticity and Orientation of Clusters of Galaxies from N-Body Experiments

In this study we use simulations of 128$^3$ particles to study the ellipticity and orientation of clusters of galaxies in N-body simulations of differing power-law initial spectra (P(k) \propto k^n ,n = +1, 0, -1, -2$), and density parameters ($\Omega_0 = 0.2$to 1.0). Furthermore, unlike most theoretical studies we mimic most observers by removing all particles which lie at distances greater than 2 1/h Mpc from the cluster center of mass. We computed the axial ratio and the principal axes using the inertia tensor of each cluster. The mean ellipticity of clusters increases strongly with increasing$n$. We also find that clusters tend to become more spherical at smaller radii. We compared the orientation of a cluster to the orientation of neighboring clusters as a function of distance (correlation). In addition, we considered whether a cluster's major axis tends to lie along the line connecting it to a neighboring cluster, as a function of distance (alignment). Both alignments and correlations were computed in three dimensions and in projection to mimic observational surveys. Our results show that significant alignments exist for all spectra at small separations ($D < 15 h^{-1}$Mpc) but drops off at larger distance in a strongly$n-$dependent way.Comment: 22 pages, requires aaspp4.sty, flushrt.sty, and epsf.sty Revised manuscript, accepted for publication in Ap

Einstein Cluster Alignments Revisited

We have examined whether the major axes of rich galaxy clusters tend to point toward their nearest neighboring cluster. We have used the data of Ulmer, McMillan, and Kowalski, who used position angles based on X-ray morphology. We also studied a subset of this sample with updated positions and distances from the MX Northern Abell Cluster Survey (for rich clusters ($R \geq 1$) with well known redshifts). A Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) test showed no significant signal for nonrandom angles on any scale $\leq 100h^{-1}$Mpc. However, refining the null hypothesis with the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, we found a high confidence signal for alignment. Confidence levels increase to a high of 99.997% as only near neighbors which are very close are considered. We conclude there is a strong alignment signal in the data, consistent with gravitational instability acting on Gaussian perturbations.Comment: Minor revisions. To be published in Ap

Alignments of the Dominant Galaxies in Poor Clusters

We have examined the orientations of brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in poor MKW and AWM clusters and find that, like their counterparts in richer Abell clusters, poor cluster BCGs exhibit a strong propensity to be aligned with the principal axes of their host clusters as well as the surrounding distribution of nearby (< 20/h Mpc) Abell clusters. The processes responsible for dominant galaxy alignments are therefore independent of cluster richness. We argue that these alignments most likely arise from anisotropic infall of material into clusters along large-scale filaments.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figure

Microalgae for municipal wastewater nutrient remediation: mechanisms, reactors and outlook for tertiary treatment

This review explores the use of microalgae for nutrient removal in municipal wastewater treatment, considering recent improvements in the understanding of removal mechanisms and developments of both suspended and non-suspended systems. Nutrient removal is associated to both direct and indirect uptake, with the former associated to the biomass concentration and growth environment (reactor). Importantly, direct uptake is influenced by the Nitrogen:Phosphorus content in both the cells and the surrounding wastewater, with opposite trends observed for N and P. Comparison of suspended and non-suspended systems revealed that whilst all were capable of achieving high levels of nutrient removal, only non-suspended immobilized systems could do so with reduced hydraulic retention times of less than 1 day. As microalgae are photosynthetic organisms, the metabolic processes associated with nutrient assimilation are driven by light. Optimization of light delivery remains a key area of development with examples of improved mixing in suspended systems and the use of pulsating lights to enhance light utilization and reduce costs. Recent data provide increased confidence in the use of microalgae for nutrient removal in municipal wastewater treatment, enabling effluent discharges below 1 mg L−1 to be met whilst generating added value in terms of bioproducts for energy production or nutrient recovery. Ultimately, the review suggests that future research should focus on non-suspended systems and the determination of the added value potential. In so doing, it is predicted that microalgae systems will be significant in the delivery of the circular economy

The Intrinsic Alignment of Dark Halo Substructures

We investigate the intrinsic alignments of dark halo substructures with their host halo major-axis orientations both analytically and numerically. Analytically, we derive the probability density distribution of the angles between the minor axes of the substructures and the major axes of their host halos from the physical principles, under the assumption that the substructure alignment on galaxy scale is a consequence of the tidal fields of the host halo gravitational potential. Numerically, we use a sample of four cluster-scale halos and their galaxy-scale substructures from recent high-resolution N-body simulations to measure the probability density distribution. We compare the numerical distribution with the analytic prediction, and find that the two results agree with each other very well. We conclude that our analytic model provides a quantitative physical explanation for the intrinsic alignment of dark halo substructures. We also discuss the possibility of discriminating our model from the anisotropic infall scenario by testing it against very large N-body simulations in the future.Comment: accepted version, ApJL in press, minor revision, 12 pages, 2 figure

Lung penetration, bronchopulmonary pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile and safety of 3 g of ceftolozane/tazobactam administered to ventilated, critically ill patients with pneumonia

Objectives: Ceftolozane/tazobactam is approved for hospital-acquired/ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia at double the dose (i.e. 2 g/1 g) recommended for other indications. We evaluated the bronchopulmonary pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic profile of this 3 g ceftolozane/tazobactam regimen in ventilated pneumonia patients. Methods: This was an open-label, multicentre, Phase 1 trial (clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02387372). Mechanically ventilated patients with proven/suspected pneumonia received four to six doses of 3 g of ceftolozane/tazobactam (adjusted for renal function) q8h. Serial plasma samples were collected after the first and last doses. One bronchoalveolar lavage sample per patient was collected at 1, 2, 4, 6 or 8 h after the last dose and epithelial lining fluid (ELF) drug concentrations were determined. Pharmacokinetic parameters were estimated by noncompartmental analysis and pharmacodynamic analyses were conducted to graphically evaluate achievement of target exposures (plasma and ELF ceftolozane concentrations >4 mg/L and tazobactam concentrations >1 mg/L; target in plasma: similar to 30% and similar to 20% of the dosing interval, respectively). Results: Twenty-six patients received four to six doses of study drug; 22 were included in the ELF analyses. Ceftolozane and tazobactam T-max (6 and 2 h, respectively) were delayed in ELF compared with plasma (1h). Lung penetration, expressed as the ratio of mean drug exposure (AUC) in ELF to plasma, was 50% (ceftolozane) and 62% (tazobactam). Mean ceftolozane and tazobactam ELF concentrations remained >4 mg/L and >1mg/L, respectively, for 100% of the dosing interval. Therewere no deaths or adverse event-related study discontinuations. Conclusions: In ventilated pneumonia patients, 3 g of ceftolozane/tazobactam q8h yielded ELF exposures considered adequate to cover ceftolozane/tazobactam-susceptible respiratory pathogens

Alignments of Voids in the Cosmic Web

We investigate the shapes and mutual alignment of voids in the large scale matter distribution of a LCDM cosmology simulation. The voids are identified using the novel WVF void finder technique. The identified voids are quite nonspherical and slightly prolate, with axis ratios in the order of c:b:a approx. 0.5:0.7:1. Their orientations are strongly correlated with significant alignments spanning scales >30 Mpc/h. We also find an intimate link between the cosmic tidal field and the void orientations. Over a very wide range of scales we find a coherent and strong alignment of the voids with the tidal field computed from the smoothed density distribution. This orientation-tide alignment remains significant on scales exceeding twice the typical void size, which shows that the long range external field is responsible for the alignment of the voids. This confirms the view that the large scale tidal force field is the main agent for the large scale spatial organization of the Cosmic Web.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to MNRAS, for high resolution version, see http://www.astro.rug.nl/~weygaert/tim1publication/voidshape.pd

The Origin of the Brightest Cluster Galaxies

Most clusters and groups of galaxies contain a giant elliptical galaxy in their centres which far outshines and outweighs normal ellipticals. The origin of these brightest cluster galaxies is intimately related to the collapse and formation of the cluster. Using an N-body simulation of a cluster of galaxies in a hierarchical cosmological model, we show that galaxy merging naturally produces a massive, central galaxy with surface brightness and velocity dispersion profiles similar to observed BCG's. To enhance the resolution of the simulation, 100 dark halos at $z=2$ are replaced with self-consistent disk+bulge+halo galaxy models following a Tully-Fisher relation using 100000 particles for the 20 largest galaxies and 10000 particles for the remaining ones. This technique allows us to analyze the stellar and dark matter components independently. The central galaxy forms through the merger of several massive galaxies along a filament early in the cluster's history. Galactic cannibalism of smaller galaxies through dynamical friction over a Hubble time only accounts for a small fraction of the accreted mass. The galaxy is a flattened, triaxial object whose long axis aligns with the primordial filament and the long axis of the cluster galaxy distribution agreeing with observed trends for galaxy-cluster alignment.Comment: Revised and accepted in ApJ, 25 pages, 10 figures, online version available at http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~dubinski/bcg