Measuring D_A and H at z=0.35 from the SDSS DR7 LRGs using baryon acoustic oscillations

We present measurements of the angular diameter distance D_A(z) and the Hubble parameter H(z) at z=0.35 using the anisotropy of the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) signal measured in the galaxy clustering distribution of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 7 (DR7) Luminous Red Galaxies (LRG) sample. Our work is the first to apply density-field reconstruction to an anisotropic analysis of the acoustic peak. Reconstruction partially removes the effects of non-linear evolution and redshift-space distortions in order to sharpen the acoustic signal. We present the theoretical framework behind the anisotropic BAO signal and give a detailed account of the fitting model we use to extract this signal from the data. Our method focuses only on the acoustic peak anisotropy, rather than the more model-dependent anisotropic information from the broadband power. We test the robustness of our analysis methods on 160 LasDamas DR7 mock catalogues and find that our models are unbiased at the ~0.2% level in measuring the BAO anisotropy. After reconstruction we measure D_A(z=0.35)=1050+/-38 Mpc and H(z=0.35)=84.4+/-7.0 km/s/Mpc assuming a sound horizon of r_s=152.76 Mpc. Note that these measurements are correlated with a correlation coefficient of 0.58. This represents a factor of 1.4 improvement in the error on D_A relative to the pre-reconstruction case; a factor of 1.2 improvement is seen for H.Comment: 30 pages, 21 figures, accepted by MNRAS, updated to version accepted by journa

The clustering of galaxies in the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey: cosmological implications of the large-scale two-point correlation function

We obtain constraints on cosmological parameters from the spherically averaged redshift-space correlation function of the CMASS Data Release 9 (DR9) sample of the Baryonic Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). We combine this information with additional data from recent CMB, SN and BAO measurements. Our results show no significant evidence of deviations from the standard flat-Lambda CDM model, whose basic parameters can be specified by Omega_m = 0.285 +- 0.009, 100 Omega_b = 4.59 +- 0.09, n_s = 0.96 +- 0.009, H_0 = 69.4 +- 0.8 km/s/Mpc and sigma_8 = 0.80 +- 0.02. The CMB+CMASS combination sets tight constraints on the curvature of the Universe, with Omega_k = -0.0043 +- 0.0049, and the tensor-to-scalar amplitude ratio, for which we find r < 0.16 at the 95 per cent confidence level (CL). These data show a clear signature of a deviation from scale-invariance also in the presence of tensor modes, with n_s <1 at the 99.7 per cent CL. We derive constraints on the fraction of massive neutrinos of f_nu < 0.049 (95 per cent CL), implying a limit of sum m_nu < 0.51 eV. We find no signature of a deviation from a cosmological constant from the combination of all datasets, with a constraint of w_DE = -1.033 +- 0.073 when this parameter is assumed time-independent, and no evidence of a departure from this value when it is allowed to evolve as w_DE(a) = w_0 + w_a (1 - a). The achieved accuracy on our cosmological constraints is a clear demonstration of the constraining power of current cosmological observations.Comment: 26 pages, 15 figures. Minor changes to match version accepted by MNRA

A 2% Distance to z=0.35 by Reconstructing Baryon Acoustic Oscillations - I : Methods and Application to the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We apply the reconstruction technique to the clustering of galaxies from the SDSS DR7 LRG sample, sharpening the baryon acoustic oscillation (BAO) feature and achieving a 1.9% measurement of the distance to z=0.35. This is the first application of reconstruction of the BAO feature in a galaxy redshift survey. We update the reconstruction algorithm of Eisenstein et al, 2007 to account for the effects of survey geometry as well as redshift-space distortions and validate it on 160 LasDamas simulations. We demonstrate that reconstruction sharpens the BAO feature in the angle averaged galaxy correlation function, reducing the nonlinear smoothing scale \Sigma_nl from 8.1 Mpc/h to 4.4 Mpc/h. Reconstruction also significantly reduces the effects of redshift-space distortions at the BAO scale, isotropizing the correlation function. This sharpened BAO feature yields an unbiased distance estimate (< 0.2%) and reduces the scatter from 3.3% to 2.1%. We demonstrate the robustness of these results to the various reconstruction parameters, including the smoothing scale, the galaxy bias and the linear growth rate. Applying this reconstruction algorithm to the SDSS LRG DR7 sample improves the significance of the BAO feature in these data from 3.3 sigma for the unreconstructed correlation function, to 4.2 sigma after reconstruction. We estimate a relative distance scale D_V/r_s to z=0.35 of 8.88+/-0.17, where r_s is the sound horizon and D_V = (D_A^2/H)^{1/3} is a combination of the angular diameter distance D_A and Hubble parameter H. Assuming a sound horizon of 154.25 Mpc, this translates into a distance measurement D_V (z=0.35) = 1.356+/-0.025 Gpc. We find that reconstruction reduces the distance error in the DR7 sample from 3.5% to 1.9%, equivalent to a survey with three times the volume of SDSS.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures, MNRAS submitted. This is the first of a series of three papers. See http://www.astro.yale.edu/padmanabhan/dr7recon/ for associated data files and figure

The comparative responsiveness of Hospital Universitario Princesa Index and other composite indices for assessing rheumatoid arthritis activity

Objective To evaluate the responsiveness in terms of correlation of the Hospital Universitario La Princesa Index (HUPI) comparatively to the traditional composite indices used to assess disease activity in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to compare the performance of HUPI-based response criteria with that of the EULAR response criteria. Methods Secondary data analysis from the following studies: ACT-RAY (clinical trial), PROAR (early RA cohort) and EMECAR (pre-biologic era long term RA cohort). Responsiveness was evaluated by: 1) comparing change from baseline (Delta) of HUPI with Delta in other scores by calculating correlation coefficients; 2) calculating standardised effect sizes. The accuracy of response by HUPI and by EULAR criteria was analyzed using linear regressions in which the dependent variable was change in global assessment by physician (Delta GDA-Phy). Results Delta HUPI correlation with change in all other indices ranged from 0.387 to 0.791); HUPI's standardized effect size was larger than those from the other indices in each database used. In ACT-RAY, depending on visit, between 65 and 80% of patients were equally classified by HUPI and EULAR response criteria. However, HUPI criteria were slightly more stringent, with higher percentage of patients classified as non-responder, especially at early visits. HUPI response criteria showed a slightly higher accuracy than EULAR response criteria when using Delta GDA-Phy as gold standard. Conclusion HUPI shows good responsiveness in terms of correlation in each studied scenario (clinical trial, early RA cohort, and established RA cohort). Response criteria by HUPI seem more stringent than EULAR''s

Seguimiento de las guías españolas para el manejo del asma por el médico de atención primaria: un estudio observacional ambispectivo

Objetivo Evaluar el grado de seguimiento de las recomendaciones de las versiones de la Guía española para el manejo del asma (GEMA 2009 y 2015) y su repercusión en el control de la enfermedad. Material y métodos Estudio observacional y ambispectivo realizado entre septiembre del 2015 y abril del 2016, en el que participaron 314 médicos de atención primaria y 2.864 pacientes. Resultados Utilizando datos retrospectivos, 81 de los 314 médicos (25, 8% [IC del 95%, 21, 3 a 30, 9]) comunicaron seguir las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2009. Al inicio del estudio, 88 de los 314 médicos (28, 0% [IC del 95%, 23, 4 a 33, 2]) seguían las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2015. El tener un asma mal controlada (OR 0, 19, IC del 95%, 0, 13 a 0, 28) y presentar un asma persistente grave al inicio del estudio (OR 0, 20, IC del 95%, 0, 12 a 0, 34) se asociaron negativamente con tener un asma bien controlada al final del seguimiento. Por el contrario, el seguimiento de las recomendaciones de la GEMA 2015 se asoció de manera positiva con una mayor posibilidad de que el paciente tuviera un asma bien controlada al final del periodo de seguimiento (OR 1, 70, IC del 95%, 1, 40 a 2, 06). Conclusiones El escaso seguimiento de las guías clínicas para el manejo del asma constituye un problema común entre los médicos de atención primaria. Un seguimiento de estas guías se asocia con un control mejor del asma. Existe la necesidad de actuaciones que puedan mejorar el seguimiento por parte de los médicos de atención primaria de las guías para el manejo del asma. Objective: To assess the degree of compliance with the recommendations of the 2009 and 2015 versions of the Spanish guidelines for managing asthma (Guía Española para el Manejo del Asma [GEMA]) and the effect of this compliance on controlling the disease. Material and methods: We conducted an observational ambispective study between September 2015 and April 2016 in which 314 primary care physicians and 2864 patients participated. Results: Using retrospective data, we found that 81 of the 314 physicians (25.8%; 95% CI 21.3–30.9) stated that they complied with the GEMA2009 recommendations. At the start of the study, 88 of the 314 physicians (28.0%; 95% CI 23.4–33.2) complied with the GEMA2015 recommendations. Poorly controlled asthma (OR, 0.19; 95% CI 0.13–0.28) and persistent severe asthma at the start of the study (OR, 0.20; 95% CI 0.12–0.34) were negatively associated with having well-controlled asthma by the end of the follow-up. In contrast, compliance with the GEMA2015 recommendations was positively associated with a greater likelihood that the patient would have well-controlled asthma by the end of the follow-up (OR, 1.70; 95% CI 1.40–2.06). Conclusions: Low compliance with the clinical guidelines for managing asthma is a common problem among primary care physicians. Compliance with these guidelines is associated with better asthma control. Actions need to be taken to improve primary care physician compliance with the asthma management guidelines

Carlos Alférez y la conversión de «Actas de la AEU» en «Actas Urológicas Españolas»

Sin financiaciónNo data 2022UE

Patient-reported outcomes with the β3 -adrenoceptor agonist mirabegron in a phase III trial in patients with overactive bladder

Aims: To assess patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) receiving the novel β3 -adrenoceptor agonist mirabegron. Methods: Data from a randomised, double-blind, controlled phase III trial in 1,987 patients aged ≥18 years with OAB symptoms for ≥3 months were analysed. Patients received placebo, mirabegron 50 or 100 mg/day, or tolterodine extended release (ER) 4 mg orally once daily for 12 weeks after a 2-week placebo run-in. Prespecified analysis of PROs (changes in OAB Questionnaire [OAB-q], Patient Perception of Bladder Condition [PPBC], and Work Productivity and Activity Impairment: Specific Health Problem [WPAI-SHP] instrument) in patients treated with mirabegron 50 mg/day, tolterodine ER 4 mg/day or placebo is reported. Post-hoc analyses of OAB-q, PPBC and the Treatment Satisfaction-Visual Analogue Scale (TS-VAS) in patients who were incontinent at baseline are also reported. RESULTS: Significant improvements over placebo in OAB-q coping and concern from baseline to final visit were observed with mirabegron 50 mg/day. No significant improvements in these parameters were observed with tolterodine ER 4 mg/day. Mirabegron 50 mg/day significantly increased the proportion of patients showing a PPBC improvement over placebo. Mirabegron 50 mg/day also produced greater improvements in WPAI-SHP presenteeism and greater reductions in absenteeism and overall work impairment than placebo or tolterodine ER 4 mg/day. The impact of mirabegron 50 mg/day treatment on PROs in the incontinent population appears to be greater than that in the overall OAB population. Conclusions: At the approved dose of 50 mg/day, mirabegron significantly improves OAB patients' perception of disease and quality of life, independent of whether they are incontinent at baseline. Neurourol. Urodynam.Sin financiación3.560 JCR (2016) Q1, 17/77 Urology & NephrologyUE

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases in urinary tract infections caused by enterobacteria: Understanding and guidelines for action

Se revisa la magnitud del problema de las betalactamasas de espectro extendido (BLEE) en el ámbito urológico y se presentan las pautas de actuación fundamentales al respecto, los principales factores de riesgo y las estrategias de prevención. Se lleva a cabo una estrategia de búsqueda estructurada tipo paciente, problema, intervención, comparación y resultado en PubMed-Medline identificando los estudios más relevantes relacionados con el manejo de pacientes con infección urinaria por microorganismos productores de BLEE. Se presenta también análisis de la casuística de nuestro centro en esta misma problemática.1.022 JCR (2014) Q4, 60/76 Urology & nephrologyUE

La severidad de la vejiga hiperactiva modifica la carga asistencial y la productividad laboral

The objective of this study is to explore the relationship between the severity of urinary urge incontinence (UUI) on healthcare resources utilization (HRU) and loss of labor productivity in subjects with overactive bladder (OAB) in the general population in Spain.1.022 JCR (2014) Q4, 60/76 Urology & nephrologyUE