A correction of a gut microflora composition for the allergic bronchial asthma complex therapy

The efficacy of a gut microbiota control was investigated for patients with atopic asthma. 45 patients with atopic asthma were included in the study. The results of our clinical and lab tests, pulmonary function tests and the lactulose hydrogen breath tests have been presented to evaluate small intestine bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). Under the standard SIBO’s therapy (long-acting beta-agonists, inhaled glucocorticoids), the first group (15 patients) had being tested with Rifaximin for the SIBO therapy during 7 days. The second group (15 patients) had been tested with Rifaximin and with a succeeding probiotics therapy for three months (B. bifidum, B. longum, B. infantis, L. rhamnosus). SIBO was diagnosed for 30 (67%) patients. We have detected a higher IgE level (P<0.01), a higher eosinophils level (P<0.001) in sputum and more significant decrease of FEV1 (P<0.01) in SIBO(+). The IgE level in patients was decreased (P<0.01) after the complex SIBO therapy both for the Rifaximin therapy group (P<0.05) and for the Rifaximin + Probiotic therapy group (P<0.05). A dramatic decrease of the IgE level (P<0.05) had been induced by probiotics and it was confirmed by the control testing results with a high statistical accuracy for the observed groups of patients. We did not detect any changes for the patients without SIBO (P=0.46), those who had been treated with a standard therapy. A decrease in the number of patient hospitalization was defined by the treatment with probiotics after SIBO therapy (P<0.05). So, SIBO is a significant factor aggravating the atopic asthma in patients. The gut microflora correction with probiotics therapy has been accompanied by a statistical reliability improvement for the immune response and spirometry, as well as by a decrease in the number of hospitalizations for these patients during the year

Study of exclusive one-pion and one-eta production using hadron and dielectron channels in pp reactions at kinetic beam energies of 1.25 GeV and 2.2 GeV with HADES

We present measurements of exclusive ensuremathπ+,0 and η production in pp reactions at 1.25GeV and 2.2GeV beam kinetic energy in hadron and dielectron channels. In the case of π+ and π0 , high-statistics invariant-mass and angular distributions are obtained within the HADES acceptance as well as acceptance-corrected distributions, which are compared to a resonance model. The sensitivity of the data to the yield and production angular distribution of Δ (1232) and higher-lying baryon resonances is shown, and an improved parameterization is proposed. The extracted cross-sections are of special interest in the case of pp → pp η , since controversial data exist at 2.0GeV; we find \ensuremathσ=0.142±0.022 mb. Using the dielectron channels, the π0 and η Dalitz decay signals are reconstructed with yields fully consistent with the hadronic channels. The electron invariant masses and acceptance-corrected helicity angle distributions are found in good agreement with model predictions

The very forward hadron calorimeter PSD for the future CBM@FAIR experiment

The Projectile Spectator Detector (PSD) of the CBM experiment at the future FAIR facility is a compensating lead-scintillator calorimeter designed to measure the energy distribution of the forward going projectile nucleons and nuclei fragments (reaction spectators) produced close to the beam rapidity. The detector performance for the centrality and reaction plane determination is re- viewed based on Monte-Carlo simulations of gold-gold collisions by means of four different heavy-ion event generators. The PSD energy resolution and the linearity of the response measured at CERN PS for the PSD supermodule consisting of 9 modules are presented. Predictions of the calorimeter radiation conditions at CBM and response measurement of one PSD module equipped with neutron irradiated MPPCs used for the light read out are discussed

Pharmacokinetics and safety of fidaxomicin in patients with inflammatory bowel disease and Clostridium difficile infection: An open-label Phase IIIb/IV study (PROFILE)

©The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Objectives Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) poses an increased risk for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI). Fidaxomicin has demonstrated non-inferiority to vancomycin for initial clinical cure of CDI in patients without IBD; however, lack of data has caused concerns regarding potential systemic absorption of fidaxomicin in patients with IBD. Methods The plasma pharmacokinetics (PK) of fidaxomicin and its primary metabolite OP-1118 were evaluated in a multicentre, open-label, single-arm, Phase IIIb/IV study enrolling patients with active IBD and CDI. Patients received fidaxomicin, 200 mg twice daily for 10 days. The primary and secondary endpoints were, respectively, plasma and stool PK of fidaxomicin and OP-1118 on Days 1, 5 and 10 of treatment. Other secondary endpoints included safety of fidaxomicin treatment (assessed until Day 180). ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02437591. Results Median T max of fidaxomicin and OP-1118 for the PK analysis set (PKAS; 24 patients) was 1-2 h across Days 1, 5 and 10. C max ranges were 1.2-154 ng/mL for fidaxomicin and 4.7-555 ng/mL for OP-1118 across Days 1, 5 and 10 (PKAS). The ranges of concentrations in stool were 17.8-2170 μg/g for fidaxomicin and 0-1940 μg/g for OP-1118. Sixty percent (15/25) of patients experienced treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs), none of which led to treatment discontinuation or death. Conclusions Maximum fidaxomicin and OP-1118 plasma concentrations observed in this study population suggest no increase in absorption, compared with patients without IBD. Incidence of TEAEs was similar to previous Phase III trials, suggesting that fidaxomicin is comparatively well tolerated in patients with IBD

Challenges in QCD matter physics - The Compressed Baryonic Matter experiment at FAIR

Substantial experimental and theoretical efforts worldwide are devoted to explore the phase diagram of strongly interacting matter. At LHC and top RHIC energies, QCD matter is studied at very high temperatures and nearly vanishing net-baryon densities. There is evidence that a Quark-Gluon-Plasma (QGP) was created at experiments at RHIC and LHC. The transition from the QGP back to the hadron gas is found to be a smooth cross over. For larger net-baryon densities and lower temperatures, it is expected that the QCD phase diagram exhibits a rich structure, such as a first-order phase transition between hadronic and partonic matter which terminates in a critical point, or exotic phases like quarkyonic matter. The discovery of these landmarks would be a breakthrough in our understanding of the strong interaction and is therefore in the focus of various high-energy heavy-ion research programs. The Compressed Baryonic Matter (CBM) experiment at FAIR will play a unique role in the exploration of the QCD phase diagram in the region of high net-baryon densities, because it is designed to run at unprecedented interaction rates. High-rate operation is the key prerequisite for high-precision measurements of multi-differential observables and of rare diagnostic probes which are sensitive to the dense phase of the nuclear fireball. The goal of the CBM experiment at SIS100 (sqrt(s_NN) = 2.7 - 4.9 GeV) is to discover fundamental properties of QCD matter: the phase structure at large baryon-chemical potentials (mu_B > 500 MeV), effects of chiral symmetry, and the equation-of-state at high density as it is expected to occur in the core of neutron stars. In this article, we review the motivation for and the physics programme of CBM, including activities before the start of data taking in 2022, in the context of the worldwide efforts to explore high-density QCD matter.Comment: 15 pages, 11 figures. Published in European Physical Journal

Two-particle correlations in azimuthal angle and pseudorapidity in inelastic p + p interactions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Results on two-particle ΔηΔϕ correlations in inelastic p + p interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80, and 158 GeV/c are presented. The measurements were performed using the large acceptance NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The data show structures which can be attributed mainly to effects of resonance decays, momentum conservation, and quantum statistics. The results are compared with the Epos and UrQMD models.ISSN:1434-6044ISSN:1434-605

Correlation of Objective Endpoints and Subjective Patient-Reported Outcomes in NAFLD Treatment with Essential Phospholipids: Real-World Data Based on Pooled Analysis of Observational Studies

BackgroundWhile no “gold-standard” pharmacotherapy for nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is yet established, essential phospholipids (EPLs) are reported to decrease steatosis and improve laboratory parameters.ObjectiveThis analysis evaluated adherence and satisfaction with EPL treatment as patient-reported outcomes and their relationship with changes in laboratory and ultrasound parameters among Russian patients with NAFLD.MethodsData were pooled from three observational Russian studies—MANPOWER (2015–2016), LIDER 1 (2012–2013), and LIDER 2 (2013)—in which EPLs were used for at least 12 weeks in the treatment of liver diseases and which measured both subjective and objective endpoints. Only patients who had NAFLD were included in this analysis. The main endpoints were to determine treatment adherence and satisfaction with 12 weeks of EPL therapy, relationship between adherence/satisfaction and changes in the laboratory and ultrasound parameters. A secondary subgroup analysis was performed to identify patients with NAFLD who responded better (or worse) to 24 weeks of adjunctive EPL treatment.ResultsOverall, 3384 patients were included. A total of 82.2% of patients were adherent to 12 weeks of EPL treatment; high/very high satisfaction was reported by 15.3%/65.9% of clinicians and 15.9%/64.4% of patients. There was positive correlation between patients’ adherence and satisfaction and significant improvement in laboratory (transaminases, lipid profile; p