115 research outputs found
Withdrawal from treatment as an outcome in the Isolde study of COPD
Objectives: To investigate the determinants of patient withdrawal from our study, and the effect
of these withdrawals on the outcome of treatment with inhaled corticosteroids in patients with
COPD.
Design: A double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial.
Setting: Eighteen outpatient centers in the United Kingdom.
Participants: Seven hundred fifty-one patients with stable COPD defined clinically as baseline postbronchodilator FEV1 > 0.8 L and < 85% predicted, FEV1/FVC ratio < 70%, and FEV1 change after albuterol < 10% of predicted.
Intervention: Random assignment of either 500 micrograms bid of inhaled fluticasone propionate (FP)using a spacer device or an identical placebo inhaler. Treatment was continued for 3 years or
until patients withdrew from follow-up.
Measurements and results: Postbronchodilator FEV1 was measured on three occasions before
randomization and every 3 months thereafter. Health status was assessed by the disease-specific
St. George Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and the modified short-form 36 questionnaire
(SF-36) at baseline and every 6 months. Three hundred thirty-nine patients withdrew, of whom
156 patients received FP. Prescription of frequent courses of oral prednisolone was the most
common reason for withdrawing as specified in the protocol (69 patients in the FP group
withdrew due to respiratory symptoms, compared with 93 patients in the placebo group). This
explained the significantly greater dropout of placebo-treated patients that was most evident
when FEV1 was < 50% predicted. Patients withdrawing had a significantly more rapid decline in health status, measured by both the SGRQ and the SF-36 (p < 0.001). Those withdrawing from the placebo group had a more rapid decline in FEV1 and more exacerbations than the FP-treated
groups. Baseline FEV1 was lower in dropouts than in patients completing the study receiving
placebo, but there was no difference between the respective groups receiving FP.
Conclusions: Patients who withdrew from follow-up were those with the most rapidly deteriorating
health status and lung function. Losing these patients from the final analysis can reduce the
power of a study to achieve its primary end point
Light-cone QCD Sum Rules for the Baryon Electromagnetic Form Factors and its magnetic moment
We present the light-cone QCD sum rules up to twist 6 for the electromagnetic
form factors of the baryon. To estimate the magnetic moment of the
baryon, the magnetic form factor is fitted by the dipole formula. The numerical
value of our estimation is , which is in
accordance with the experimental data and the existing theoretical results. We
find that it is twist 4 but not the leading twist distribution amplitudes that
dominate the results.Comment: 13 page, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Euro. Phys. J.
Observation of a Coherence Length Effect in Exclusive Rho^0 Electroproduction
Exclusive incoherent electroproduction of the rho^0(770) meson from 1H, 2H,
3He, and 14N targets has been studied by the HERMES experiment at squared
four-momentum transfer Q**2>0.4 GeV**2 and positron energy loss nu from 9 to 20
GeV. The ratio of the 14N to 1H cross sections per nucleon, known as the
nuclear transparency, was found to decrease with increasing coherence length of
quark-antiquark fluctuations of the virtual photon. The data provide clear
evidence of the interaction of the quark- antiquark fluctuations with the
nuclear medium.Comment: RevTeX, 5 pages, 3 figure
Determination of the Deep Inelastic Contribution to the Generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn Integral for the Proton and Neutron
The virtual photon absorption cross section differences [sigma_1/2-sigma_3/2]
for the proton and neutron have been determined from measurements of polarised
cross section asymmetries in deep inelastic scattering of 27.5 GeV
longitudinally polarised positrons from polarised 1H and 3He internal gas
targets. The data were collected in the region above the nucleon resonances in
the kinematic range nu < 23.5 GeV and 0.8 GeV**2 < Q**2 < 12 GeV**2. For the
proton the contribution to the generalised Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral was
found to be substantial and must be included for an accurate determination of
the full integral. Furthermore the data are consistent with a QCD
next-to-leading order fit based on previous deep inelastic scattering data.
Therefore higher twist effects do not appear significant.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table, revte
Measurement of the Neutron Spin Structure Function with a Polarized ^3He Target
Results are reported from the HERMES experiment at HERA on a measurement of
the neutron spin structure function in deep inelastic scattering
using 27.5 GeV longitudinally polarized positrons incident on a polarized
He internal gas target. The data cover the kinematic range
and . The integral evaluated at a fixed of is . Assuming Regge behavior at low , the first
moment is .Comment: 4 pages TEX, text available at
http://www.krl.caltech.edu/preprints/OAP.htm
Flavor Decomposition of the Polarized Quark Distributions in the Nucleon from Inclusive and Semi-inclusive Deep-inelastic Scattering
Spin asymmetries of semi-inclusive cross sections for the production of
positively and negatively charged hadrons have been measured in deep-inelastic
scattering of polarized positrons on polarized hydrogen and 3He targets, in the
kinematic range 0.023<x<0.6 and 1 GeV^2<Q^2<10 GeV^2. Polarized quark
distributions are extracted as a function of x for up $(u+u_bar) and down
(d+d_bar) flavors. The up quark polarization is positive and the down quark
polarization is negative in the measured range. The polarization of the sea is
compatible with zero. The first moments of the polarized quark distributions
are presented. The isospin non-singlet combination Delta_q_3 is consistent with
the prediction based on the Bjorken sum rule. The moments of the polarized
quark distributions are compared to predictions based on SU(3)_f flavor
symmetry and to a prediction from lattice QCD.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures (eps format), 10 tables in Latex New version
contains tables of asymmetries and correlation matri
Elotuzumab, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone in RRMM: final overall survival results from the phase 3 randomized ELOQUENT-2 study
Prolonging overall survival (OS) remains an unmet need in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). In
ELOQUENT-2 (NCT01239797), elotuzumab plus lenalidomide/dexamethasone (ERd) significantly improved
progression-free survival (PFS) versus lenalidomide/dexamethasone (Rd) in patients with RRMM and 1–3 prior lines of
therapy (LoTs). We report results from the pre-planned final OS analysis after a minimum follow-up of 70.6 months, the
longest reported for an antibody-based triplet in RRMM. Overall, 646 patients with RRMM and 1–3 prior LoTs were
randomized 1:1 to ERd or Rd. PFS and overall response rate were co-primary endpoints. OS was a key secondary
endpoint, with the final analysis planned after 427 deaths. ERd demonstrated a statistically significant 8.7-month
improvement in OS versus Rd (median, 48.3 vs 39.6 months; hazard ratio, 0.82 [95.4% Cl, 0.68–1.00]; P = 0.0408 [less
than allotted α of 0.046]), which was consistently observed across key predefined subgroups. No additional safety
signals with ERd at extended follow-up were reported. ERd is the first antibody-based triplet regimen shown to
significantly prolong OS in patients with RRMM and 1–3 prior LoTs. The magnitude of OS benefit was greatest among
patients with adverse prognostic factors, including older age, ISS stage III, IMWG high-risk disease, and 2–3 prior LoTs
Coherent π0 photoproduction on the deuteron up to 4 GeV
The differential cross section for 2H(γ,d)π0 has been measured at deuteron center-of-mass angles of 90° and 136°. This work reports the first data for this reaction above a photon energy of 1 GeV, and permits a test of the apparent constituent counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude behavior as observed in elastic ed scattering. Measurements were performed up to a photon energy of 4.0 GeV, and are in good agreement with previous lower energy measurements. Overall, the data are inconsistent with both constituent-counting rule and reduced nuclear amplitude predictions
Quasielastic (e,e′p) reaction on 12C,56Fe, and 197Au
We report the results from a systematic study of the quasielastic (e,e′p) reaction on 12C, 56Fe, and 197Au performed at Jefferson Lab. We have measured nuclear transparency and extracted spectral functions (corrected for radiation) over a Q2 range of 0.64–3.25 (GeV∕c)2 for all three nuclei. In addition, we have extracted separated longitudinal and transverse spectral functions at Q2 of 0.64 and 1.8 (GeV∕c)2 for these three nuclei (except for 197Au at the higher Q2). The spectral functions are compared to a number of theoretical calculations. The measured spectral functions differ in detail but not in overall shape from most of the theoretical models. In all three targets the measured spectral functions show considerable excess transverse strength at Q2=0.64 (GeV∕c)2, which is much reduced at 1.8 (GeV∕c)2
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Epstein-Barr virus: clinical and epidemiological revisits and genetic basis of oncogenesis
Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is classified as a member in the order herpesvirales, family herpesviridae, subfamily gammaherpesvirinae and the genus lymphocytovirus. The virus is an exclusively human pathogen and thus also termed as human herpesvirus 4 (HHV4). It was the first oncogenic virus recognized and has been incriminated in the causation of tumors of both lymphatic and epithelial nature. It was reported in some previous studies that 95% of the population worldwide are serologically positive to the virus. Clinically, EBV primary infection is almost silent, persisting as a life-long asymptomatic latent infection in B cells although it may be responsible for a transient clinical syndrome called infectious mononucleosis. Following reactivation of the virus from latency due to immunocompromised status, EBV was found to be associated with several tumors. EBV linked to oncogenesis as detected in lymphoid tumors such as Burkitt's lymphoma (BL), Hodgkin's disease (HD), post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLD) and T-cell lymphomas (e.g. Peripheral T-cell lymphomas; PTCL and Anaplastic large cell lymphomas; ALCL). It is also linked to epithelial tumors such as nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), gastric carcinomas and oral hairy leukoplakia (OHL). In vitro, EBV many studies have demonstrated its ability to transform B cells into lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs). Despite these malignancies showing different clinical and epidemiological patterns when studied, genetic studies have suggested that these EBV- associated transformations were characterized generally by low level of virus gene expression with only the latent virus proteins (LVPs) upregulated in both tumors and LCLs. In this review, we summarize some clinical and epidemiological features of EBV- associated tumors. We also discuss how EBV latent genes may lead to oncogenesis in the different clinical malignancie
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