6,511 research outputs found
The Listmaker
I have a habit of making up lists. My very first list, which I wrote in first grade, was a list of all lists I wanted to make in the future. That list began with my second list, which was called a list of my very first list . My third list came next, but I lost it soon after I made it. My fourth was a list of lists I\u27d lost. My fifth was a list of things that might have been on my third list
Nobody\u27s News
A few blocks form here, there lived a man named Nobody. He used to have a normal first, middle, and last name, but he officially changed all three to just one word, Nobody. When anyone asked him why, he said I\u27m a nobody, like billions of other people in the world, but they\u27re afraid to admit it
The Dene languages : considered in themselves and incidentally in their relations to non-american idioms
Inhaled corticosteriod use and the risk of pneumonia and COPD exacerbations in the UPLIFT study
Rationale Unlike many other COPD studies, the 4-year UPLIFT trial permitted inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) use during run-in and treatment phases. This provided the opportunity to prospectively observe the continuing effects of ICS on respiratory events in closely observed COPD population. Objectives We aimed to determine rate and number of episodes of pneumonia and exacerbations of COPD in patients entering the study on no ICS, fluticasone proprionate (FP), and other ICS. Methods The UPLIFT dataset was examined retrospectively, and patients were divided into three groups based on their medications at entry: no ICS, FP and other ICS. Poisson regression was used to compare the frequency of respiratory adverse events. Measurements and main results At entry, the groups were well matched apart from a higher FEV1% predicted (38 vs. 41%; ICS vs. no ICS, respectively) and prevalence of current smoking (26 vs. 36%; ICS vs. no ICS, respectively). Incidence rates of pneumonia were significantly higher in patients taking ICS compared to no ICS (0.068 vs. 0.056 respectively; p = 0.012). When the FP group was compared to the other ICS, the event rate was even higher (0.077 vs. 0.058, respectively; p < 0.001). COPD exacerbations were more frequent in patients taking ICS, with significantly greater rate in the FP group compared to that seen with other ICS (0.93 vs. 0.84 respectively; p = 0.013). Conclusions ICS use was associated an increase in respiratory adverse event rates, but whether this was due to more severe illness at entry is unknown. In subgroup analysis, the excess of morbidity in the ICS group appeared to be mainly associated with those receiving FP at randomisation
The phase diagram of the underdoped cuprates at high magnetic field
The experimentally measured phase diagram of cuprate superconductors in the
temperature-applied magnetic field plane illuminates key issues in
understanding the physics of these materials. At low temperature, the
superconducting state gives way to a long-range charge order with increasing
magnetic field; both the orders coexist in a small intermediate region. The
charge order transition is strikingly insensitive to temperature, and quickly
reaches a transition temperature close to the zero-field superconducting .
We argue that such a transition along with the presence of the coexisting phase
cannot be described simply by a competing orders formalism. We demonstrate that
for some range of parameters there is an enlarged symmetry of the strongly
coupled charge and superconducting orders in the system depending on their
relative masses and the coupling strength of the two orders. We establish that
this sharp switch from the superconducting phase to the charge order phase can
be understood in the framework of a composite SU(2) order parameter comprising
the charge and superconducting orders. Finally, we illustrate that there is a
possibility of the coexisting phase of the competing charge and superconducting
orders only when the SU(2) symmetry between them is weakly broken due to
biquadratic terms in the free energy. The relation of this sharp transition to
the proximity to the pseudogap quantum critical doping is also discussed
Collective mode in the SU(2) theory of cuprates
Recent advances in momentum-resolved electron energy-loss spectroscopy
(MEELS) and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) now allow one to access
the charge response function with unprecedented versatility and accuracy. This
allows for the study of excitations which were inaccessible recently, such as
low-energy and finite momentum collective modes. The SU(2) theory of the
cuprates is based on a composite order parameter with SU(2) symmetry
fluctuating between superconductivity and charge order. The phase where it
fluctuates is a candidate for the pseudogap phase of the cuprates. This theory
has a signature, enabling its strict experimental test, which is the
fluctuation between these two orders, corresponding to a charge 2 spin 0 mode
at the charge ordering wave-vector. Here we derive the influence of this SU(2)
collective mode on the charge susceptibility in both strong and weak coupling
limits, and discuss its relation to MEELS, RIXS and Raman experiments. We find
two peaks in the charge susceptibility at finite energy, whose middle is the
charge ordering wave-vector, and discuss their evolution in the phase diagram
Chronic cough and esomeprazole: A double-blind placebo-controlled parallel study
Background and objective: Gastro-oesophageal reflux has been implicated in the pathogenesis of chronic cough. Guidelines on management suggest a therapeutic trial of anti-reflux medication. Esomeprazole is a proton pump inhibitor licensed for the long-term treatment of acid reflux in adults and we compared the effects of esomeprazole and placebo on patients with chronic cough. Methods: This was a prospective, single-centre, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study conducted over 8 weeks. Fifty adult non-smokers with chronic cough and normal spirometry were randomized. Patients completed cough-related quality-of-life and symptom questionnaires and subjective scores of cough frequency and severity at the beginning and end of the study. They also kept a daily diary of symptom scores. Citric acid cough challenge and laryngoscopic examination were performed at baseline and the end of the study. The primary outcome was improvement in cough score. Results: There were no differences in cough scores in the placebo and treatment arms of the study although some significant improvements were noted when compared to baseline. In the cough diary scores there was a trend towards greater improvement in the treatment arm in patients with dyspepsia. Conclusions: Esomeprazole did not have a clinically important effect greater than placebo in patients with cough. It suggests a marked placebo effect in the treatment of cough. There is paucity of evidence on which to base the treatment of reflux-associated cough. We demonstrate that acid suppressive therapy does not lead to a significant clinical effect in these patients. There may be some improvement in those with coexisting dyspeptic symptoms and therapy should be restricted to this group. © 2011 Asian Pacific Society of Respirology
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