Photoproduction of D∗±D^{*\pm} mesons associated with a leading neutron

The photoproduction of $D^{*\pm} (2010)$ mesons associated with a leading neutron has been observed with the ZEUS detector in $ep$ collisions at HERA using an integrated luminosity of 80 pb$^{-1}$. The neutron carries a large fraction, {$x_L>0.2$}, of the incoming proton beam energy and is detected at very small production angles, {$\theta_n<0.8$ mrad}, an indication of peripheral scattering. The $D^*$ meson is centrally produced with pseudorapidity {$|\eta| 1.9$ GeV}, which is large compared to the average transverse momentum of the neutron of 0.22 GeV. The ratio of neutron-tagged to inclusive $D^*$ production is $8.85\pm 0.93({\rm stat.})^{+0.48}_{-0.61}({\rm syst.})\%$ in the photon-proton center-of-mass energy range {$130 <W<280$ GeV}. The data suggest that the presence of a hard scale enhances the fraction of events with a leading neutron in the final state.Comment: 28 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Integrating productive water points into rural water supply as a means of coping with drought

Lack of water is preventing many household and community-based activities for millions of people living in dry areas of sub-Saharan Africa. When water becomes available it is put to a wide variety of uses: drinking, washing, food processing, beer brewing, brick making, small-scale irrigation, fruit orchards, livestock feedlots, small-scale dairy etc. Many of these water-related activities have a high economic value. They can play an important role in household income and livelihood strategies, and through diversification can avoid over-reliance on single production activities such as rain-fed cropping of marginal lands. However, the diverse range of production strategies that can be associated with a water point have not formally been promoted. Rural water supply policy has tended to focus on only two social aspects: improved access to domestic supply and improved sanitation. Less attention has been paid to exactly how a community would prefer to use the water to develop their own livelihoods. This is due in part to the difficulties of abstracting sufficient reliable groundwater in dryland areas, and in part to a misunderstanding of why wells and boreholes fail which leads to a general belief that abstraction should be limited to domestic supply to conserve the resource. This paper provides an overview of research that has shed light on why wells and boreholes fail, on the potential of the groundwater resource to support production through improved siting and selection of more appropriate well designs, and on the positive impact that productive water points can have on community resource management and livelihood strategies. Productive water points in this context are community-managed water points, designed and implemented as part of rural water supply to provide water surplus to domestic needs which may be used for economically productive purposes. Importantly, they are implemented in a manner that empowers the local people to own the resource and assume responsibility for operation and maintenance. Policy implications of integrating productive water points into national programmes as a means of coping with drought are discussed, drawing on lessons to emerge from Zambia and Zimbabwe

Safety and efficacy of mipomersen in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (HeFH) is a common genetic disorder characterized by elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and increased cardiovascular disease risk. Despite multiple LDL-C-lowering therapies, many HeFH patients do not reach LDL-C targets. Mipomersen, an antisense oligonucleotide against apolipoprotein B (apoB), might further lower LDL-C in HeFH patients. We assessed the efficacy and safety of two mipomersen dosing regimens in HeFH patients and explored whether thrice-weekly dosing improves the benefit-risk profile. METHODS: In this double-blind trial, HeFH patients (LDL-C >160\u202fmg/dL) on maximal tolerated LDL-lowering therapy were randomized to mipomersen 200\u202fmg once weekly (n\u202f=\u202f104), mipomersen 70\u202fmg thrice weekly (n\u202f=\u202f102), or placebo in matching frequency (n\u202f=\u202f103) for 60 weeks. Main outcomes were LDL-C, apoB, and lipoprotein(a) levels after 60 weeks of treatment. RESULTS: Mipomersen 200\u202fmg once weekly and mipomersen 70\u202fmg thrice weekly significantly lowered LDL-C compared with placebo by 21.0% and 18.8%, respectively, and apoB by 22.1% and 21.7% (all p\u202f<\u202f0.001). Lipoprotein(a) was significantly lowered by 27.7% (p\u202f<\u202f0.001) with thrice-weekly dosing. Injection-site reactions and flu-like symptoms led to discontinuation in 21.2% (200\u202fmg), 17.6% (70\u202fmg), and 5.8% (placebo) of participants. Alanine transaminase was elevated ( 653 7 upper limit of normal at least once) in 21.2%, 21.6%, and 1.0% of subjects, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Mipomersen 200\u202fmg once weekly and 70\u202fmg thrice weekly are effective in lowering apoB-containing lipoproteins in HeFH patients. This is counterbalanced by limited tolerability and increased hepatic transaminase levels in about 21% of patients. The thrice-weekly dosing regimen was associated with lower frequency of flu-like symptoms, which might help avert discontinuation in some patients, but otherwise had no major benefits

Optimizing Cholesterol Treatment in Patients with Muscle Complaints

Statins are highly effective for preventing cardiovascular events by reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). However, many patients taking statins report muscle-related symptoms that prevent the use of guideline recommended doses. Patients with reported intolerance to statins have a high risk of cardiovascular events. Clinical strategies that optimize cardiovascular risk reduction through LDL-C lowering need to be applied in patients experiencing intolerable side effects that they attribute to statins. In this paper, the authors review definitions of statin intolerance, propose algorithms to better define statin intolerance, and describe approaches to optimize cardiovascular risk reduction among individuals reporting statin-associated muscle symptoms