A blinded comparison of fluticasone propionate with budesonide via powder devices in adult patients with moderate-to-severe asthma: a clinical evaluation

In Vitro and in vivo data have demonstrated that there are detectable differences between inhaled corticosteroids commonly used to treat asthma. However, controversy still remains as to whether these differences translate into clinical benefits. This 12-week, international, randomized, doubleblind, parallel-group study was undertaken to compare the efficacy and safety of fluticasone propionate (FP) 800 μg daily, administered as a powder via the Diskhaler®, and budesonide (BUD) 1600 μg daily, administered using the Turbuhaler®, in adult patients with moderate-tosevere asthma. A total of 518 patients participated in the study, 256 of whom received FP and 262 BUD. Assessment of mean morning peak expiratory flow (PEF) over the 12-week treatment period revealed a statistically significant difference in efficacy between FP 800 μg daily and BUD 1600 μg daily in favour of FP (p = 0.003), with an overall improvement of 20.9 l/min with FP compared with 12.4 l/min on BUD. Statistically significant differences in favour of FP were seen over the 12 weeks for mean evening PEF (p = 0.04), diurnal PEF variation (p = 0.03) and percentage predicted PEF (p = 0.003), as well as forced expiratory volume (p = 0.008), forced vital capacity (p = 0.02) and PEF (p = 0.005) measured at clinic visits. The median percentage of symptom-free nights increased over the 12-week study period in both treatment groups, with similar changes seen for the median percentage of days with symptom score < 2, rescue medication use and exacerbations of asthma. The incidence of adverse events was found to be comparable in the two treatment groups. The geometric mean ratios of serum cortisol levels were found to be 1.03 for FP, indicating no mean hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression from baseline, and 0.93 for BUD (p = 0.0002 compared with FP). In summary, FP 800 μg daily showed a greater efficacy/safety ratio in the treatment of moderate-to-severe asthma than BUD 1600 μg daily

Cerenkov radiation of longitudinal photons by neutrinos

In a relativistic plasma neutrino can emit plasmons by the Cerenkov process which is kinematically allowed for a range of frequencies for which refractive index is greater than one. We have calculated the rate of energy emission by this process. We compute the energy deposited in a stalled supernova shock wave by the Cerenkov process and find that it is much smaller than the Bethe-Wilson mechanism.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures available on reques

Street Earnings Activation Delay

Street earnings are non-GAAP earnings, adjusted for consistency with the analyst majority basis and disseminated by forecast data providers (FDPs). We find that the time it takes an FDP to incorporate street earnings in its products (activation delay, hereafter) reflects variation in the difficulty of constructing street earnings, investor demand for timely street earnings, and FDPs' limited attention and resources. Furthermore, the market reaction to reported earnings is more timely when activation delay is shorter, and price discovery is highly concentrated during the hour after street earnings are activated. Finally, activation delay increases the delay with which street earnings are incorporated in analyst forecasts. We conclude that frictions in information processing prevent market participants from instantaneously constructing and incorporating street earnings in their decisions, and that FDPs play a key role in alleviating these frictions

Diffuse duodenal nodular lymphoid hyperplasia: a large cohort of patients etiologically related to Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract Background Nodular lymphoid hyperplasia of gastrointestinal tract is a rare disorder, often associated with immunodeficiency syndromes. There are no published reports of its association with Helicobacter pylori infection. Methods From March 2005 till February 2010, we prospectively followed all patients with diffuse duodenal nodular lymphoid hyperplasia (DDNLH). Patients underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy with targeted biopsies, colonoscopy, and small bowel video capsule endoscopy. Duodenal nodular lesions were graded from 0 to 4 based on their size and density. Patients were screened for celiac sprue (IgA endomysial antibody), immunoglobulin abnormalities (immunoglobulin levels & serum protein electrophoresis), small intestine bacterial overgrowth (lactulose hydrogen breath test), and Helicobacter pylori infection (rapid urease test, and histological examination of gastric biopsies). Patients infected with Helicobacter pylori received sequential antibiotic therapy and eradication of infection was evaluated by 14C urea breath test. Follow up duodenoscopies with biopsies were performed to ascertain resolution of nodular lesions. Results Forty patients (Males 23, females 17; mean age ± 1SD 35.6 ± 14.6 years) with DDNLH were studied. Patients presented with epigastric pain, vomiting, and weight loss. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed diffuse nodular lesions (size varying from 2 to 5 mm or more) of varying grades (mean score ± 1SD 2.70 ± 0.84) involving postbulbar duodenum. Video capsule endoscopies revealed nodular disease exclusively limited to duodenum. None of the patients had immunoglobulin deficiency or small intestine bacterial overgrowth or positive IgA endomysial antibodies. All patients were infected with Helicobacter pylori infection. Sequential antibiotic therapy eradicated Helicobacter pylori infection in 26 patients. Follow up duodenoscopies in these patients showed significant reduction of duodenal nodular lesions score (2.69 ± 0.79 to 1.50 ± 1.10; p Helicobacter pylori infection showed no significant reduction of nodular lesions score (2.71 ± 0.96 to 2.64 ± 1.15; p = 0.58). Nodules partially regressed in score in 2 patients, showed no interval change in 10 patients and progressed in 2 patients. Conclusions We report on a large cohort of patients with DDNLH, etiologically related to Helicobacter pylori infection.</p

COVID-19: Rapid antigen detection for SARS-CoV-2 by lateral flow assay: A national systematic evaluation of sensitivity and specificity for mass-testing

Background Lateral flow device (LFD) viral antigen immunoassays have been developed around the world as diagnostic tests for SARS-CoV-2 infection. They have been proposed to deliver an infrastructure-light, cost-economical solution giving results within half an hour. Methods LFDs were initially reviewed by a Department of Health and Social Care team, part of the UK government, from which 64 were selected for further evaluation from 1st August to 15th December 2020. Standardised laboratory evaluations, and for those that met the published criteria, field testing in the Falcon-C19 research study and UK pilots were performed (UK COVID-19 testing centres, hospital, schools, armed forces). Findings 4/64 LFDs so far have desirable performance characteristics (orient Gene, Deepblue, Abbott and Innova SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Rapid Qualitative Test). All these LFDs have a viral antigen detection of >90% at 100,000 RNA copies/ml. 8951 Innova LFD tests were performed with a kit failure rate of 5.6% (502/8951, 95% CI: 5.1–6.1), false positive rate of 0.32% (22/6954, 95% CI: 0.20–0.48). Viral antigen detection/sensitivity across the sampling cohort when performed by laboratory scientists was 78.8% (156/198, 95% CI 72.4–84.3). Interpretation Our results suggest LFDs have promising performance characteristics for mass population testing and can be used to identify infectious positive individuals. The Innova LFD shows good viral antigen detection/sensitivity with excellent specificity, although kit failure rates and the impact of training are potential issues. These results support the expanded evaluation of LFDs, and assessment of greater access to testing on COVID-19 transmission. Funding Department of Health and Social Care. University of Oxford. Public Health England Porton Down, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, National Institute of Health Research

Author Correction: Drivers of seedling establishment success in dryland restoration efforts

1 Pág. Correción errata.In the version of this Article originally published, the surname of author Tina Parkhurst was incorrectly written as Schroeder. This has now been corrected.Peer reviewe

A comparison of marketing techniques of women\u27s and men\u27s NCAA Division I basketball

The purpose of this study was to determine the marketing techniques perceived to effectively promote attendance at women\u27s and men\u27s NCAA Division I basketball events. Further, efforts were made to determine whether there were any differences in the marketing techniques perceived to be effective in the promotion of attendance between women\u27s and men\u27s basketball programs. The study surveyed sport marketers at NCAA Division I college basketball institutions which had both a women\u27s and a men\u27s basketball program in the 1993-94 basketball season. The marketers responded to the Marketing Technique Questionnaire which contained 25 statements pertaining to marketing techniques. It was hypothesized that there were no significant differences between the perceived effectiveness of the marketing techniques and proportion of seats filled. Also, it was hypothesized that there would be no significant differences in the perceived effectiveness of marketing techniques between NCAA Division I women\u27s basketball and NCAA Division I men\u27s basketball programs in the promotion of attendance. Mean analysis and standard deviation, chi-square analysis, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test were incorporated into the statistical analyses. Based on the results of these statistical analyses, both hypothesis were rejected