498 research outputs found
Hospitalised patients with suspected 2009 H1N1 Influenza A in a hospital in Norway, July - December 2009
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The main objective of this study was to describe the patients who were hospitalised at Oslo University Hospital Aker during the first wave of pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) in Norway.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Clinical data on all patients hospitalised with influenza-like illness from July to the end of November 2009 were collected prospectively. Patients with confirmed H1N1 Influenza A were compared to patients with negative H1N1 tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>182 patients were hospitalised with suspected H1N1 Influenza A and 64 (35%) tested positive. Seventeen patients with positive tests (27%) were admitted to an intensive care unit and four patients died (6%). The H1N1 positive patients were younger, consisted of a higher proportion of non-ethnic Norwegians, had a higher heart rate on admission, and fewer had pre-existing hypertension, compared to the H1N1 negative patients. However, hypertension was the only medical condition that was significantly associated with a more serious outcome defined as ICU admission or death, with a univariate odds ratio of the composite endpoint in H1N1 positive and negative patients of 6.1 (95% CI 1.3-29.3) and 3.2 (95% CI 1.2-8.7), respectively. Chest radiography revealed pneumonia in 24/59 H1N1 positive patients. 63 of 64 H1N1 positive patients received oseltamivir.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The extra burden of hospitalisations was relatively small and we managed to admit all the patients with suspected H1N1 influenza without opening new pandemic isolation wards. The morbidity and mortality were similar to reports from comparable countries. Established hypertension was associated with more severe morbidity and patients with hypertension should be considered candidates for vaccination programs in future pandemics.</p
Nucleation of Al3Zr and Al3Sc in aluminum alloys: from kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to classical theory
Zr and Sc precipitate in aluminum alloys to form the compounds Al3Zr and
Al3Sc which for low supersaturations of the solid solution have the L12
structure. The aim of the present study is to model at an atomic scale this
kinetics of precipitation and to build a mesoscopic model based on classical
nucleation theory so as to extend the field of supersaturations and annealing
times that can be simulated. We use some ab-initio calculations and
experimental data to fit an Ising model describing thermodynamics of the Al-Zr
and Al-Sc systems. Kinetic behavior is described by means of an atom-vacancy
exchange mechanism. This allows us to simulate with a kinetic Monte Carlo
algorithm kinetics of precipitation of Al3Zr and Al3Sc. These kinetics are then
used to test the classical nucleation theory. In this purpose, we deduce from
our atomic model an isotropic interface free energy which is consistent with
the one deduced from experimental kinetics and a nucleation free energy. We
test di erent mean-field approximations (Bragg-Williams approximation as well
as Cluster Variation Method) for these parameters. The classical nucleation
theory is coherent with the kinetic Monte Carlo simulations only when CVM is
used: it manages to reproduce the cluster size distribution in the metastable
solid solution and its evolution as well as the steady-state nucleation rate.
We also find that the capillary approximation used in the classical nucleation
theory works surprisingly well when compared to a direct calculation of the
free energy of formation for small L12 clusters.Comment: submitted to Physical Review B (2004
Phase III Trial of Everolimus in Metastatic Renal Cell Carcinoma: Subgroup Analysis of Japanese Patients from RECORD-1
Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of everolimus in Japanese patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma. Methods: A subgroup analysis of the pivotal Phase III, randomized, double-blind, placebocontrolled trial of everolimus 10 mg/day in patients with disease progression after treatment with sorafenib, sunitinib or both assessed outcomes in Japanese participants. Results were compared with those for the overall study population. Results: The final trial analysis included 24 Japanese patients (everolimus, n 15; placebo, n 9). Median progression-free survival in the Japanese subpopulation was 5.75 months (95% confidence interval, 4.90 months to not reached) with everolimus and 3.61 months (95 % confidence interval, 1.91â9.03 months) with placebo (hazard ratio, 0.19; 95 % confidence interval, 0.05â0.83). Median overall survival was not reached with everolimus and was 14.9 month
Phase transitions in MgSiO3 post-perovskite in super-Earth mantles
The highest pressure form of the major Earth-forming mantle silicate is
MgSiO3 post-perovskite (PPv). Understanding the fate of PPv at TPa pressures is
the first step for understanding the mineralogy of super-Earths-type
exoplanets, arguably the most interesting for their similarities with Earth.
Modeling their internal structure requires knowledge of stable mineral phases,
their properties under compression, and major element abundances. Several
studies of PPv under extreme pressures support the notion that a sequence of
pressure induced dissociation transitions produce the elementary oxides SiO2
and MgO as the ultimate aggregation form at ~3 TPa. However, none of these
studies have addressed the problem of mantle composition, particularly major
element abundances usually expressed in terms of three main variables, the
Mg/Si and Fe/Si ratios and the Mg#, as in the Earth. Here we show that the
critical compositional parameter, the Mg/Si ratio, whose value in the Earth's
mantle is still debated, is a vital ingredient for modeling phase transitions
and internal structure of super-Earth mantles. Specifically, we have identified
new sequences of phase transformations, including new recombination reactions
that depend decisively on this ratio. This is a new level of complexity that
has not been previously addressed, but proves essential for modeling the nature
and number of internal layers in these rocky mantles.Comment: Submitted to Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 28 pages, 6 figure
Modelo experimental de lesĂŁo pulmonar aguda para estudo de manobras de recrutamento alveolar
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