11 research outputs found
A C-13(alpha,n)O-16 calibration source for KamLAND
We report on the construction and performance of a calibration source for
KamLAND using the reaction C-13(alpha,n)O-16 with Po-210 as the alpha
progenitor. The source provides a direct measurement of this background
reaction in our detector, high energy calibration points for the detector
energy scale, and data on quenching of the neutron visible energy in KamLAND
scintillator. We also discuss the possibility of using the reaction
C-13(alpha,n)O-16 as a source of tagged slow neutrons.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Revised to agree with the published tex
Tiotropium versus Salmeterol for the Prevention of Exacerbations of COPD
BACKGROUND
Treatment guidelines recommend the use of inhaled long-acting bronchodilators to
alleviate symptoms and reduce the risk of exacerbations in patients with moderate-tovery-severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) but do not specify whether
a long-acting anticholinergic drug or a β2-agonist is the preferred agent. We investigated whether the anticholinergic drug tiotropium is superior to the β2-agonist
salmeterol in preventing exacerbations of COPD.
METHODS
In a 1-year, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group trial, we compared the effect of treatment with 18 μg of tiotropium once daily with that of 50 μg
of salmeterol twice daily on the incidence of moderate or severe exacerbations in
patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD and a history of exacerbations in the
preceding year.
RESULTS
A total of 7376 patients were randomly assigned to and treated with tiotropium
(3707 patients) or salmeterol (3669 patients). Tiotropium, as compared with salmeterol, increased the time to the first exacerbation (187 days vs. 145 days), with a 17%
reduction in risk (hazard ratio, 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.77 to 0.90;
P<0.001). Tiotropium also increased the time to the first severe exacerbation (hazard ratio, 0.72; 95% CI, 0.61 to 0.85; P<0.001), reduced the annual number of moderate or severe exacerbations (0.64 vs. 0.72; rate ratio, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.83 to 0.96;
P=0.002), and reduced the annual number of severe exacerbations (0.09 vs. 0.13;
rate ratio, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.66 to 0.82; P<0.001). Overall, the incidence of serious
adverse events and of adverse events leading to the discontinuation of treatment was
similar in the two study groups. There were 64 deaths (1.7%) in the tiotropium group
and 78 (2.1%) in the salmeterol group.
CONCLUSIONS
These results show that, in patients with moderate-to-very-severe COPD, tiotropium
is more effective than salmeterol in preventing exacerbations. (Funded by Boehringer
Ingelheim and Pfizer; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00563381.
Changes in the respiratory function of the heart and brain mitochondria of animals after chronic alcohol intoxication affected by a new GABA derivative
Introduction: Chronic ethanol consumption leads to significant functional and structural changes in the mitochondria of the heart and brain, increasing generation of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, the search for substances, which improve the functional state of the mitochondria and, meantime, reduce the oxidative stress, is relevant. Materials and methods: 10-months-old Wistar female rats were used in the experiments. Chronic alcohol intoxication (CAI) was modelled by replacing drinking water with a 10% ethanol solution containing sucrose (50 g/L) for 24 weeks. Four groups were formed: 1 – intact animals; 2 – animals after chronic alcohol consumption; 3 – rats after CAI which were administered RSPU-260 (25 mg/kg); 4 – rats after CAI which were administered the reference drug Mildronate (50 mg/kg). The intensity of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and the rate of oxygen consumption in various metabolic states were determined. Results and discussion: Administration of the compound RSPU-260 to the animals exposed to alcohol over a long period of time resulted in an increase in both the rate of oxygen consumption (state 3) and the respiratory control ratio (RCR) of the mitochondria of heart and brain cells. The use of a GABA derivative promoted a decrease in malonic dialdehyde in the mitochondria of the heart and brain. Total SOD activity in the mitochondria of heart cells was significantly increased in the groups of rats treated with RSPU-260. In terms of efficiency, the compound RSPU-260 was comparable to the reference drug Mildronate. Conclusions: The compound RSPU-260, and the reference drug Mildronate improve mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in heart and brain cells, the functioning of antioxidant enzymes in animals after CAI, and can be used to correct alcoholic damage to these organs
Measuring the neutrino mixing angle theta-13 with the double chooz far detector
The neutrino mixing angle theta-13 is the last one which value is still unknown. This dissertation presents an analysis suggesting a non-zero value of the theta-13. The analysis is based on four months of data taken with the far Double Chooz reactor anti-neutrino detector. Using only rate information yields a best fit value of sin2(2theta-13) equal to 0.0934±0.0785 (1 sigma). Incorporating information on the shape of the signal energy spectrum in the analysis results in a best fit value of 0.0849±0.0509 (1 sigma). Based on frequentist studies, sin2(2theta-13)=0 is excluded at the 92.6% confidence level. The frequentist construction using delta chi-square as an ordering rule gives [0.0098, 0.1825] interval for sin2(2theta-13) at 90% C.L. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries
Changes in the respiratory function of the heart and brain mitochondria of animals after chronic alcohol intoxication affected by a new GABA derivative
Introduction: Chronic ethanol consumption leads to significant functional and structural changes in the mitochondria of the heart and brain, increasing generation of reactive oxygen species. Therefore, the search for substances, which improve the functional state of the mitochondria and, meantime, reduce the oxidative stress, is relevant. Materials and methods: 10-months-old Wistar female rats were used in the experiments. Chronic alcohol intoxication (CAI) was modelled by replacing drinking water with a 10% ethanol solution containing sucrose (50 g/L) for 24 weeks. Four groups were formed: 1 – intact animals; 2 – animals after chronic alcohol consumption; 3 – rats after CAI which were administered RSPU-260 (25 mg/kg); 4 – rats after CAI which were administered the reference drug Mildronate (50 mg/kg). The intensity of lipid peroxidation (LPO) and the rate of oxygen consumption in various metabolic states were determined. Results and discussion: Administration of the compound RSPU-260 to the animals exposed to alcohol over a long period of time resulted in an increase in both the rate of oxygen consumption (state 3) and the respiratory control ratio (RCR) of the mitochondria of heart and brain cells. The use of a GABA derivative promoted a decrease in malonic dialdehyde in the mitochondria of the heart and brain. Total SOD activity in the mitochondria of heart cells was significantly increased in the groups of rats treated with RSPU-260. In terms of efficiency, the compound RSPU-260 was comparable to the reference drug Mildronate. Conclusions: The compound RSPU-260, and the reference drug Mildronate improve mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation in heart and brain cells, the functioning of antioxidant enzymes in animals after CAI, and can be used to correct alcoholic damage to these organs
Snowmass2021 Cosmic Frontier: Modeling, statistics, simulations, and computing needs for direct dark matter detection
This paper summarizes the modeling, statistics, simulation, and computing
needs of direct dark matter detection experiments in the next decade.Comment: Contribution to Snowmass 202