Moxifloxacin versus levofloxacin against acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis: the Latin American Cohort

We compared the efficacy and safety of moxifloxacin and levofloxacin for the treatment of patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis (AECB) using a prospective, randomized, double blind, parallel-group clinical trial design. A total of 563 patients with AECB were enrolled (437 efficacy-valid) at 34 centers in Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. Patients were randomized to oral therapy with either moxifloxacin 400 mg once daily for 5 days or levofloxacin 500 mg once daily for 7 days. Clinical success was achieved in 201 out of 221 (91.0%) patients in the moxifloxacin group, and in 203 out of 216 (94.0%) in the levofloxacin group, indicating that moxifloxacin is equivalently effective to levofloxacin. Bacteriologic eradication or presumed eradication was also similar in the two treatment groups: 92.8% in the moxifloxacin group and 93.8% in the levofloxacin group. Nausea was the most common drug-related adverse event in each treatment group. the rate of discontinuation because of adverse events was very low (<= 2%). in conclusion, a 5-day course of moxifloxacin is clinically and bacteriologically equivalent to a 7-day course of levofloxacin in the treatment of patients with AECB. the short treatment duration with moxifloxacin may have compliance advantages over other currently used therapies in the 'real-Life' clinical setting. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Fdn LUSARA, Mexico City 08930, DF, MexicoInst Nacl Enfermedades Resp, Mexico City, DF, MexicoHosp Mi Pueblo, Buenos Aires, DF, ArgentinaUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilClin Reina Sofia, Bogota, ColombiaClin Ricardo Palma, Lima, PeruBayer Mexico, SA & CV, Mexico City, DF, MexicoUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Performance of the CMS Cathode Strip Chambers with Cosmic Rays

The Cathode Strip Chambers (CSCs) constitute the primary muon tracking device in the CMS endcaps. Their performance has been evaluated using data taken during a cosmic ray run in fall 2008. Measured noise levels are low, with the number of noisy channels well below 1%. Coordinate resolution was measured for all types of chambers, and fall in the range 47 microns to 243 microns. The efficiencies for local charged track triggers, for hit and for segments reconstruction were measured, and are above 99%. The timing resolution per layer is approximately 5 ns

The Immune System in Stroke

Stroke represents an unresolved challenge for both developed and developing countries and has a huge socio-economic impact. Although considerable effort has been made to limit stroke incidence and improve outcome, strategies aimed at protecting injured neurons in the brain have all failed. This failure is likely to be due to both the incompleteness of modelling the disease and its causes in experimental research, and also the lack of understanding of how systemic mechanisms lead to an acute cerebrovascular event or contribute to outcome. Inflammation has been implicated in all forms of brain injury and it is now clear that immune mechanisms profoundly influence (and are responsible for the development of) risk and causation of stroke, and the outcome following the onset of cerebral ischemia. Until very recently, systemic inflammatory mechanisms, with respect to common comorbidities in stroke, have largely been ignored in experimental studies. The main aim is therefore to understand interactions between the immune system and brain injury in order to develop novel therapeutic approaches. Recent data from clinical and experimental research clearly show that systemic inflammatory diseases -such as atherosclerosis, obesity, diabetes or infection - similar to stress and advanced age, are associated with dysregulated immune responses which can profoundly contribute to cerebrovascular inflammation and injury in the central nervous system. In this review, we summarize recent advances in the field of inflammation and stroke, focusing on the challenges of translation between pre-clinical and clinical studies, and potential anti-inflammatory/immunomodulatory therapeutic approaches

Search for neutral MSSM Higgs bosons decaying to a pair of tau leptons in pp collisions

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CMS Data Processing Workflows during an Extended Cosmic Ray Run

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Measurement of top quark–antiquark pair production in association with a W or Z boson in pp collisions at √s=8 TeV

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Measurement of prompt J/ψ pair production in pp collisions at √s = 7 Tev

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Searches for electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos, and sleptons decaying to leptons and W, Z, and Higgs bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

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Study of hadronic event-shape variables in multijet final states in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

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Constraints on parton distribution functions and extraction of the strong coupling constant from the inclusive jet cross section in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

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