49 research outputs found
Microbial ligand costimulation drives neutrophilic steroid-refractory asthma
Funding: The authors thank the Wellcome Trust (102705) and the Universities of Aberdeen and Cape Town for funding. This research was also supported, in part, by National Institutes of Health GM53522 and GM083016 to DLW. KF and BNL are funded by the Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, BNL is the recipient of an European Research Commission consolidator grant and participates in the European Union FP7 programs EUBIOPRED and MedALL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Parity-Violating Electron Scattering from 4He and the Strange Electric Form Factor of the Nucleon
We have measured the parity-violating electroweak asymmetry in the elastic
scattering of polarized electrons from ^4He at an average scattering angle
= 5.7 degrees and a four-momentum transfer Q^2 = 0.091 GeV^2. From
these data, for the first time, the strange electric form factor of the nucleon
G^s_E can be isolated. The measured asymmetry of A_PV = (6.72 +/- 0.84 (stat)
+/- 0.21 (syst) parts per million yields a value of G^s_E = -0.038 +/- 0.042
(stat) +/- 0.010 (syst), consistent with zero
New Measurement of Parity Violation in Elastic Electron-Proton Scattering and Implications for Strange Form Factors
We have measured the parity-violating electroweak asymmetry in the elastic
scattering of polarized electrons from the proton. The result is A = -15.05 +-
0.98(stat) +- 0.56(syst) ppm at the kinematic point theta_lab = 12.3 degrees
and Q^2 = 0.477 (GeV/c)^2. The measurement implies that the value for the
strange form factor (G_E^s + 0.392 G_M^s) = 0.025 +- 0.020 +- 0.014, where the
first error is experimental and the second arises from the uncertainties in
electromagnetic form factors. This measurement is the first fixed-target parity
violation experiment that used either a `strained' GaAs photocathode to produce
highly polarized electrons or a Compton polarimeter to continuously monitor the
electron beam polarization.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, Tex, elsart.cls; revised version as accepted for
Phys. Lett.
Display of probability densities for data from a continuous distribution
Based on cumulative distribution functions, Fourier series expansion and
Kolmogorov tests, we present a simple method to display probability densities
for data drawn from a continuous distribution. It is often more efficient than
using histograms.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, presented at Computer Simulation Studies XXIV,
Athens, GA, 201
Awareness and acceptability of human papillomavirus vaccine: an application of the instrumental variables bivariate probit model
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although lower uptake rates of the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations have been documented, less is known about the relationships between awareness and acceptability, and other factors affecting HPV vaccine uptake.</p> <p>The current study aimed to estimate the potential effectiveness of increased HPV vaccine awareness on the acceptability of HPV vaccination in a nationally representative sample of women, using a methodology that controlled for potential non-random selection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study used a population-based sample from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey, a cross-sectional study of the US population aged 18 years or older, and focused on the subsample of 742 women who have any female children under the age of 18 years in the household. An instrumental variables bivariate probit model was used to jointly estimate HPV vaccine awareness and acceptability.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The proportion of HPV vaccine acceptability among the previously aware and non-aware groups was 58% and 47%, respectively. Results from the instrumental variables bivariate probit model showed that the estimated marginal effect of awareness on acceptability was 46 percentage points, an effect that was even greater than observed.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Among populations who are not currently aware of the HPV vaccine, the potential impact of raising awareness on acceptability of HPV vaccination is substantial. This finding provides additional support to strengthening public health programs that increase awareness and policy efforts that address barriers to HPV vaccination.</p
Budesonide and Formoterol Reduce Early Innate Anti-Viral Immune Responses In Vitro
Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airways disease in which respiratory viral infections frequently trigger exacerbations. Current treatment of asthma with combinations of inhaled corticosteroids and long acting beta2 agonists improves asthma control and reduces exacerbations but what impact this might have on innate anti-viral immunity is unclear. We investigated the in vitro effects of asthma drugs on innate anti-viral immunity. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy and asthmatic donors were cultured for 24 hours with the Toll-like receptor 7 agonist, imiquimod, or rhinovirus 16 (RV16) in the presence of budesonide and/or formoterol. Production of proinflammatory cytokines and expression of anti-viral intracellular signalling molecules were measured by ELISA and RT-PCR respectively. In PBMC from healthy donors, budesonide alone inhibited IP-10 and IL-6 production induced by imiquimod in a concentration-dependent manner and the degree of inhibition was amplified when budesonide and formoterol were used in combination. Formoterol alone had little effect on these parameters, except at high concentrations (10−6 M) when IL-6 production increased. In RV16 stimulated PBMC, the combination of budesonide and formoterol inhibited IFNα and IP-10 production in asthmatic as well as healthy donors. Combination of budesonide and formoterol also inhibited RV16-stimulated expression of the type I IFN induced genes myxovirus protein A and 2′, 5′ oligoadenylate synthetise. Notably, RV16 stimulated lower levels of type Myxovirus A and oligoadenylate synthase in PBMC of asthmatics than control donors. These in vitro studies demonstrate that combinations of drugs commonly used in asthma therapy inhibit both early pro-inflammatory cytokines and key aspects of the type I IFN pathway. These findings suggest that budesonide and formoterol curtail excessive inflammation induced by rhinovirus infections in patients with asthma, but whether this inhibits viral clearance in vivo remains to be determined
Beam-Target Double Spin Asymmetry A_LT in Charged Pion Production from Deep Inelastic Scattering on a Transversely Polarized He-3 Target at 1.4<Q^2<2.7 GeV^2
We report the first measurement of the double-spin asymmetry for
charged pion electroproduction in semi\nobreakdash-inclusive
deep\nobreakdash-inelastic electron scattering on a transversely polarized
He target. The kinematics focused on the valence quark region,
with . The corresponding neutron
asymmetries were extracted from the measured He asymmetries and
proton over He cross section ratios using the effective polarization
approximation. These new data probe the transverse momentum dependent parton
distribution function and therefore provide access to quark
spin-orbit correlations. Our results indicate a positive azimuthal asymmetry
for production on He and the neutron, while our
asymmetries are consistent with zero.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 1 tables, published in PR
Single Spin Asymmetries in Charged Pion Production from Semi-Inclusive Deep Inelastic Scattering on a Transversely Polarized He Target
We report the first measurement of target single spin asymmetries in the
semi-inclusive reaction on a transversely polarized
target. The experiment, conducted at Jefferson Lab using a 5.9 GeV electron
beam, covers a range of 0.14 0.34 with 1.3 2.7 GeV. The
Collins and Sivers moments were extracted from the azimuthal angular dependence
of the measured asymmetries. The extracted Collins moments for He
are consistent with zero, except for the moment at , which
deviates from zero by 2.3. While the Sivers moments are
consistent with zero, the Sivers moments favor negative values. The
neutron results were extracted using the nucleon effective polarization and the
measured cross section ratio of proton to He, and are largely consistent
with the predictions of phenomenological fits and quark model calculations.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figures, 2 tables, published in PR