Health beliefs and compliance with inhaled corticosteroids by asthmatic patients in primary care practices

AbstractThe aim of this study was to determine factors associated with regular use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) by asthmatic patients in primary care practices. A cross-sectional survey was carried out over 12 family practices in the Philadelphia greater Metropolitan area. A total of 394 patients aged 18–49 years, who received medical care for asthma from their primary care physician and had been prescribed ICS between 1 January 1995 and 31 December 1996, were included.The study measured self-reported demographics, experience with asthma, use of and attitudes about ICS, and health beliefs in six domains.Only 38% of patients reported using ICS at least twice a day almost every day. The most frequently cited reasons for inconsistent or non-use of ICS were related to a belief that ICS were unnecessary during asymptomatic periods and to a general concern about side-effects. By logistic regression, factors associated with regular use of ICS were two patient health beliefs, namely the health belief of ‘Active’ participation in clinical decision-making with their physician (OR=4·6, 95% CI 2·8, 7·5), and the health belief that asthma was a ‘Serious’ health problem (OR=2·3, 95% CI 1·4, 3·7), and hospitalization for asthma within the previous 12 months (OR=2·3, 95% CI 1·6, 4·6).Patients were more likely to report regular use of ICS if they saw themselves as active participants in their treatment planning and conceptualized asthma as a potentially serious illness. These results support the themes of patient education and shared decision-making between patients and physicians that are promoted by the Asthma Guidelines from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Egypt’s 2011–2012 parliamentary elections: Voting for religious vs. secular democracy?

This study investigates whether individuals’ attitudes towards democracy and secular politics have any influence on voting behavior in Egypt. Based on data from a survey conducted immediately after the Egyptian parliamentary elections in January 2012, this study finds that Egyptians’ attitudes towards democratic governance were quite negative around the parliamentary elections, yet Egyptians still endorsed democracy as the ideal political system for their country. However, empirical findings suggest that support for democracy has a limited impact on electoral results. On the other hand, the main division in Egyptian society around the first free and fair parliamentary elections was the religious-secular cleavage. As people support secular politics more, they become significantly less likely to vote for Islamist parties. These results illustrate that preferences in regard to the type of democracy – either a liberal and secular or a religious democracy – were the main determinant of the historic 2012 elections in Egypt

Research of working area development parameters in conditions of deep steep deposit finalizing

Отримано формули розрахунку об’єму запасів корисних копалин в приконтурній та глибинній зоні. Встановлено характер впливу параметрів доробки глибоких крутоспадних родовищ відкритим способом на доцільне положення поточних та проектних контурів кар’єру. Встановлено, що найменший середній коефіцієнт розкриву досягається при мінімальному значенні суми обсягів корисної копалини приконтурної зони лежачого і висячого боків покладу в проектному положенні. Найменший поточний коефіцієнт розкриву досягається при мінімальному значенні суми обсягів корисної копалини приконтурної зони лежачого і висячого боків покладу, а також робочого борту кар'єру в поточному положенні

Search for a W' boson decaying to a bottom quark and a top quark in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for a W' boson using a dataset corresponding to 5.0 inverse femtobarns of integrated luminosity collected during 2011 by the CMS experiment at the LHC in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV. The W' boson is modeled as a heavy W boson, but different scenarios for the couplings to fermions are considered, involving both left-handed and right-handed chiral projections of the fermions, as well as an arbitrary mixture of the two. The search is performed in the decay channel W' to t b, leading to a final state signature with a single lepton (e, mu), missing transverse energy, and jets, at least one of which is tagged as a b-jet. A W' boson that couples to fermions with the same coupling constant as the W, but to the right-handed rather than left-handed chiral projections, is excluded for masses below 1.85 TeV at the 95% confidence level. For the first time using LHC data, constraints on the W' gauge coupling for a set of left- and right-handed coupling combinations have been placed. These results represent a significant improvement over previously published limits.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters B. Replaced with version publishe

Search for the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in pp collisions at sqrt(s)=7 TeV

A search for a Higgs boson decaying into two photons is described. The analysis is performed using a dataset recorded by the CMS experiment at the LHC from pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV, which corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 inverse femtobarns. Limits are set on the cross section of the standard model Higgs boson decaying to two photons. The expected exclusion limit at 95% confidence level is between 1.4 and 2.4 times the standard model cross section in the mass range between 110 and 150 GeV. The analysis of the data excludes, at 95% confidence level, the standard model Higgs boson decaying into two photons in the mass range 128 to 132 GeV. The largest excess of events above the expected standard model background is observed for a Higgs boson mass hypothesis of 124 GeV with a local significance of 3.1 sigma. The global significance of observing an excess with a local significance greater than 3.1 sigma anywhere in the search range 110-150 GeV is estimated to be 1.8 sigma. More data are required to ascertain the origin of this excess.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Measurement of the Lambda(b) cross section and the anti-Lambda(b) to Lambda(b) ratio with Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda decays in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

The Lambda(b) differential production cross section and the cross section ratio anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) are measured as functions of transverse momentum pt(Lambda(b)) and rapidity abs(y(Lambda(b))) in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV using data collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. The measurements are based on Lambda(b) decays reconstructed in the exclusive final state J/Psi Lambda, with the subsequent decays J/Psi to an opposite-sign muon pair and Lambda to proton pion, using a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.9 inverse femtobarns. The product of the cross section times the branching ratio for Lambda(b) to J/Psi Lambda versus pt(Lambda(b)) falls faster than that of b mesons. The measured value of the cross section times the branching ratio for pt(Lambda(b)) > 10 GeV and abs(y(Lambda(b))) < 2.0 is 1.06 +/- 0.06 +/- 0.12 nb, and the integrated cross section ratio for anti-Lambda(b)/Lambda(b) is 1.02 +/- 0.07 +/- 0.09, where the uncertainties are statistical and systematic, respectively.Comment: Submitted to Physics Letters

Search for new physics in events with opposite-sign leptons, jets, and missing transverse energy in pp collisions at sqrt(s) = 7 TeV

A search is presented for physics beyond the standard model (BSM) in final states with a pair of opposite-sign isolated leptons accompanied by jets and missing transverse energy. The search uses LHC data recorded at a center-of-mass energy sqrt(s) = 7 TeV with the CMS detector, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of approximately 5 inverse femtobarns. Two complementary search strategies are employed. The first probes models with a specific dilepton production mechanism that leads to a characteristic kinematic edge in the dilepton mass distribution. The second strategy probes models of dilepton production with heavy, colored objects that decay to final states including invisible particles, leading to very large hadronic activity and missing transverse energy. No evidence for an event yield in excess of the standard model expectations is found. Upper limits on the BSM contributions to the signal regions are deduced from the results, which are used to exclude a region of the parameter space of the constrained minimal supersymmetric extension of the standard model. Additional information related to detector efficiencies and response is provided to allow testing specific models of BSM physics not considered in this paper.Comment: Replaced with published version. Added journal reference and DO