6,228 research outputs found
Point-of-care C-reactive protein testing to reduce inappropriate use of antibiotics for non-severe acute respiratory infections in Vietnamese primary health care: a randomised controlled trial
Background Inappropriate antibiotic use for acute respiratory tract infections is common in primary health care, but
distinguishing serious from self-limiting infections is diffi cult, particularly in low-resource settings. We assessed
whether C-reactive protein point-of-care testing can safely reduce antibiotic use in patients with non-severe acute
respiratory tract infections in Vietnam.
Method We did a multicentre open-label randomised controlled trial in ten primary health-care centres in northern
Vietnam. Patients aged 1–65 years with at least one focal and one systemic symptom of acute respiratory tract infection
were assigned 1:1 to receive either C-reactive protein point-of-care testing or routine care, following which antibiotic
prescribing decisions were made. Patients with severe acute respiratory tract infection were excluded. Enrolled
patients were reassessed on day 3, 4, or 5, and on day 14 a structured telephone interview was done blind to the
intervention. Randomised assignments were concealed from prescribers and patients but not masked as the test
result was used to assist treatment decisions. The primary outcome was antibiotic use within 14 days of follow-up. All
analyses were prespecifi ed in the protocol and the statistical analysis plan. All analyses were done on the intention-totreat
population and the analysis of the primary endpoint was repeated in the per-protocol population. This trial is
registered under number NCT01918579.
Findings Between March 17, 2014, and July 3, 2015, 2037 patients (1028 children and 1009 adults) were enrolled and
randomised. One adult patient withdrew immediately after randomisation. 1017 patients were assigned to receive
C-reactive protein point-of-care testing, and 1019 patients were assigned to receive routine care. 115 patients in the
C-reactive protein point-of-care group and 72 patients in the routine care group were excluded in the intention-to-treat
analysis due to missing primary endpoint. The number of patients who used antibiotics within 14 days was 581 (64%)
of 902 patients in the C-reactive protein group versus 738 (78%) of 947 patients in the control group (odds ratio
[OR] 0·49, 95% CI 0·40–0·61; p<0·0001). Highly signifi cant diff erences were seen in both children and adults, with
substantial heterogeneity of the intervention eff ect across the 10 sites (I²=84%, 95% CI 66–96). 140 patients in the
C-reactive protein group and 137 patients in the routine care group missed the urine test on day 3, 4, or 5. Antibiotic
activity in urine on day 3, 4, or 5 was found in 267 (30%) of 877 patients in the C-reactive protein group versus
314 (36%) of 882 patients in the routine treatment group (OR 0·78, 95% CI 0·63–0·95; p=0·015). Time to resolution
of symptoms was similar in both groups. Adverse events were rare, with no deaths and a total of 14 hospital admissions
(six in the C-reactive protein group and eight in the control group).
Interpretation C-reactive protein point-of-care testing reduced antibiotic use for non-severe acute respiratory tract
infection without compromising patients’ recovery in primary health care in Vietnam. Health-care providers might
have become familiar with the clinical picture of low C-reactive protein, leading to reduction in antibiotic prescribing
in both groups, but this would have led to a reduction in observed eff ect, rather than overestimation. Qualitative
analysis is needed to address diff erences in context in order to implement this strategy to improve rational antibiotic
use for patients with acute respiratory infection in low-income and middle-income countries
Search for the exotic resonance in the NOMAD experiment
A search for exotic Theta baryon via Theta -> proton +Ks decay mode in the
NOMAD muon neutrino DIS data is reported. The special background generation
procedure was developed. The proton identification criteria are tuned to
maximize the sensitivity to the Theta signal as a function of xF which allows
to study the Theta production mechanism. We do not observe any evidence for the
Theta state in the NOMAD data. We provide an upper limit on Theta production
rate at 90% CL as 2.13 per 1000 of neutrino interactions.Comment: Accepted to European Physics Journal
Singular Cucker-Smale Dynamics
The existing state of the art for singular models of flocking is overviewed,
starting from microscopic model of Cucker and Smale with singular communication
weight, through its mesoscopic mean-filed limit, up to the corresponding
macroscopic regime. For the microscopic Cucker-Smale (CS) model, the
collision-avoidance phenomenon is discussed, also in the presence of bonding
forces and the decentralized control. For the kinetic mean-field model, the
existence of global-in-time measure-valued solutions, with a special emphasis
on a weak atomic uniqueness of solutions is sketched. Ultimately, for the
macroscopic singular model, the summary of the existence results for the
Euler-type alignment system is provided, including existence of strong
solutions on one-dimensional torus, and the extension of this result to higher
dimensions upon restriction on the smallness of initial data. Additionally, the
pressureless Navier-Stokes-type system corresponding to particular choice of
alignment kernel is presented, and compared - analytically and numerically - to
the porous medium equation
Production properties of K*(892) vector mesons and their spin alignment as measured in the NOMAD experiment
First measurements of K*(892) mesons production properties and their spin
alignment in nu_mu charged current (CC) and neutral current (NC) interactions
are presented. The analysis of the full data sample of the NOMAD experiment is
performed in different kinematic regions. For K*+ and K*- mesons produced in
nu_mu CC interactions and decaying into K0 pi+/- we have found the following
yields per event: (2.6 +/- 0.2 (stat.) +/- 0.2 (syst.))% and (1.6 +/- 0.1
(stat.) +/- 0.1 (syst.))% respectively, while for the K*+ and K*- mesons
produced in nu NC interactions the corresponding yields per event are: (2.5 +/-
0.3 (stat.) +/- 0.3 (syst.))% and (1.0 +/- 0.3 (stat.) +/- 0.2 (syst.))%. The
results obtained for the rho00 parameter, 0.40 +/- 0.06 (stat) +/- 0.03 (syst)
and 0.28 +/- 0.07 (stat) +/- 0.03 (syst) for K*+ and K*- produced in nu_mu CC
interactions, are compared to theoretical predictions tuned on LEP measurements
in e+e- annihilation at the Z0 pole. For K*+ mesons produced in nu NC
interactions the measured rho00 parameter is 0.66 +/- 0.10 (stat) +/- 0.05
(syst).Comment: 20 p
Final NOMAD results on nu_mu->nu_tau and nu_e->nu_tau oscillations including a new search for nu_tau appearance using hadronic tau decays
Results from the nu_tau appearance search in a neutrino beam using the full
NOMAD data sample are reported. A new analysis unifies all the hadronic tau
decays, significantly improving the overall sensitivity of the experiment to
oscillations. The "blind analysis" of all topologies yields no evidence for an
oscillation signal. In the two-family oscillation scenario, this sets a 90%
C.L. allowed region in the sin^2(2theta)-Delta m^2 plane which includes
sin^2(2theta)<3.3 x 10^{-4} at large Delta m^2 and Delta m^2 < 0.7 eV^2/c^4 at
sin^2(2theta)=1. The corresponding contour in the nu_e->nu_tau oscillation
hypothesis results in sin^2(2theta)<1.5 x 10^{-2} at large Delta m^2 and Delta
m^2 < 5.9 eV^2/c^4 at sin^2(2theta)=1. We also derive limits on effective
couplings of the tau lepton to nu_mu or nu_e.Comment: 46 pages, 16 figures, Latex, to appear on Nucl. Phys.
Prediction of Neutrino Fluxes in the NOMAD Experiment
The method developed for the calculation of the flux and composition of the
West Area Neutrino Beam used by NOMAD in its search for neutrino oscillations
is described. The calculation is based on particle production rates computed
using a recent version of FLUKA and modified to take into account the cross
sections measured by the SPY and NA20 experiments. These particles are
propagated through the beam line taking into account the material and magnetic
fields they traverse. The neutrinos produced through their decays are tracked
to the NOMAD detector. The fluxes of the four neutrino flavours at NOMAD are
predicted with an uncertainty of about 8% for nu(mu) and nu(e), 10% for
antinu(mu), and 12% for antinu(e). The energy-dependent uncertainty achieved on
the R(e, mu) prediction needed for a nu(mu)->nu(e) oscillation search ranges
from 4% to 7%, whereas the overall normalization uncertainty on this ratio is
4.2%.Comment: 43 pages, 20 figures. Submitted to Nucl. Phys.
A study of backward going and in interactions with the NOMAD detector
Backward proton and production has been studied in
interactions with carbon nuclei. Detailed analyses of the momentum
distributions, of the production rates, and of the general features of events
with a backward going particle, have been carried out in order to understand
the mechanism producing these particles. The backward proton data have been
compared with the predictions of the reinteraction and the short range
correlation models.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figures, submitted to Nucl. Phys.
A Study of Strange Particles Produced in Neutrino Neutral Current Interactions in the NOMAD Experiment
Results of a detailed study of strange particle production in neutrino
neutral current interactions are presented using the data from the NOMAD
experiment. Integral yields of neutral strange particles (K0s, Lambda,
Lambda-bar) have been measured. Decays of resonances and heavy hyperons with an
identified K0s or Lambda in the final state have been analyzed. Clear signals
corresponding to K* and Sigma(1385) have been observed. First results on the
measurements of the Lambda polarization in neutral current interactions have
been obtained.Comment: Accepted for publication in Nuclear Physics B as a rapid
communicatio
Search for nu(mu)-->nu(e) Oscillations in the NOMAD Experiment
We present the results of a search for nu(mu)-->nu(e) oscillations in the
NOMAD experiment at CERN. The experiment looked for the appearance of nu(e) in
a predominantly nu(mu) wide-band neutrino beam at the CERN SPS. No evidence for
oscillations was found. The 90% confidence limits obtained are delta m^2 < 0.4
eV^2 for maximal mixing and sin^2(2theta) < 1.4x10^{-3} for large delta m^2.
This result excludes the LSND allowed region of oscillation parameters with
delta m^2 > 10 eV^2.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Phys. Lett.
Inclusive production of and mesons in charged current interactions
The inclusive production of the meson resonances ,
and in neutrino-nucleus charged current interactions has been
studied with the NOMAD detector exposed to the wide band neutrino beam
generated by 450 GeV protons at the CERN SPS. For the first time the
meson is observed in neutrino interactions. The statistical
significance of its observation is 6 standard deviations. The presence of
in neutrino interactions is reliably established. The average
multiplicity of these three resonances is measured as a function of several
kinematic variables. The experimental results are compared to the
multiplicities obtained from a simulation based on the Lund model. In addition,
the average multiplicity of in antineutrino - nucleus
interactions is measured.Comment: 23 pages, 14 figures, 8 tables. To appear in Nucl. Phys.
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