278 research outputs found
Probiotiques, aliments fonctionnels et kéfir : le point sur la situation règlementaire en Belgique et sur les avancées scientifiques en matière d'évaluation des effets santé du kéfir
Probiotics, functional foods and kefir: a review of the Belgian regulation and the scientific progress in evaluating the beneficial health effects of kefir. In Belgium and more widely in Europe, conditions for putting probiotics on the market are defined on the basis of their application: medicinal or food use. Probiotics used as food supplements, as well as functional foods, are governed by food legislation. By the 31st of January 2010 at the latest, new restrictions will be introduced governing the publication of positive health claims that are authorized to be made about foods and the conditions for using them. For any other health claim, as well as for a medicinal application, the scientific evidence of the claimed effect must be provided. The potential of kefir to promote human health has been subject to various studies. These aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of probiotic strains isolated from kefir and the positive action of kefir, or some of its chemical components (fatty matter, polysaccharides), on specific health features predominantly related to cancerous tumour development, immunity, allergy and cholesteromia. The abilities of kefir to improve human health were evaluated on human cells and on laboratory animals but have not yet been confirmed by human trials
Consequences of the multipatient use of a single-patient capillary blood sampling device (CBSD)
Introduction/objectives: Multipatient use of a single-patient CBSD occurred inan outpatient clinic during 4 to 16 months before itsnotification. We looked for transmission of blood-bornepathogens among exposed patients.Methods: Exposed patients underwent serology testing for HBV,HCV and HIV. Patients with isolated anti-HBc receivedone dose of hepatitis B vaccine to look for a memoryimmune response. Possible transmissions were investigatedby mapping visits and sequencing of the viral genomeif needed.Results: Of 280 exposed patients, 9 had died without suspicionof blood-borne infection, 3 could not be tested, and 5declined investigations. Among the 263 (93%) testedpatients, 218 (83%) had negative results. We confirmeda known history of HCV infection in 6 patients (1 coinfectedby HIV), and also identified resolved HBVinfection in 37 patients, of whom 18 were alreadyknown. 2 patients were found to have a previouslyunknown HCV infection. According to the time elapsedfrom the closest previous visit of a HCV-infected potentialsource patient, we could rule out nosocomial transmissionin one case (14 weeks) but not in the other (1day). In the latter, however, transmission was deemedvery unlikely by 2 reference centers based on thesequences of the E1 and HVR1 regions of the virus.Conclusion: We did not identify any transmission of blood-bornepathogens in 263 patients exposed to a single-patientCBSD, despite the presence of potential source cases.Change of needle and disinfection of the device betweenpatients may have contributed to this outcome.Although we cannot exclude transmission of HBV, previousacquisition in endemic countries is a more likelyexplanation in this multi-national population
Usage of inhalation devices in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a Delphi consensus statement.
peer reviewedOBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess usage of inhalation devices in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). METHODS: In this two-round Delphi survey, 50 experts in asthma and COPD completed a 13-item, Internet-based, self-administered questionnaire about choice of inhalation device, training and monitoring of inhalation techniques, the interchangeability and the role of costs in the selection of inhalation devices. For each item, the median (central tendency) and interquartile ranges (degree of consensus) were calculated. RESULTS: Experts considered that the choice of inhalation device was as important as that of active substance (very good consensus) and should be driven by ease of use (good to very good consensus) and teaching (very good consensus). Experts recommended giving oral and visual instructions (good consensus) and systematic monitoring inhalation techniques. Pulmonologists and paramedics have predominantly educational roles (very good consensus). Experts discouraged inhalation device interchangeability (good consensus) and switching for cost reasons (good to very good consensus) without medical consultation (good consensus). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this survey thus suggested that inhalation devices are as important as active substances and training and monitoring are essential in ensuring effective treatment of asthma and COPD. Inhalation device switching without medical consultation should be avoided
Structure of 12Be: intruder d-wave strength at N=8
The breaking of the N=8 shell-model magic number in the 12Be ground state has
been determined to include significant occupancy of the intruder d-wave
orbital. This is in marked contrast with all other N=8 isotones, both more and
less exotic than 12Be. The occupancies of the 0 hbar omega neutron p1/2-orbital
and the 1 hbar omega, neutron d5/2 intruder orbital were deduced from a
measurement of neutron removal from a high-energy 12Be beam leading to bound
and unbound states in 11Be.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure
Three-body correlations in Borromean halo nuclei
Three-body correlations in the dissociation of two-neutron halo nuclei are
explored using a technique based on intensity interferometry and Dalitz plots.
This provides for the combined treatment of both the n-n and core-n
interactions in the exit channel. As an example, the breakup of 14Be into
12Be+n+n by Pb and C targets has been analysed and the halo n-n separation
extracted. A finite delay between the emission of the neutrons in the reaction
on the C target was observed and is attributed to 13Be resonances populated in
sequential breakup.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to PR
The CMS Event Builder
The data acquisition system of the CMS experiment at the Large Hadron
Collider will employ an event builder which will combine data from about 500
data sources into full events at an aggregate throughput of 100 GByte/s.
Several architectures and switch technologies have been evaluated for the DAQ
Technical Design Report by measurements with test benches and by simulation.
This paper describes studies of an EVB test-bench based on 64 PCs acting as
data sources and data consumers and employing both Gigabit Ethernet and Myrinet
technologies as the interconnect. In the case of Ethernet, protocols based on
Layer-2 frames and on TCP/IP are evaluated. Results from ongoing studies,
including measurements on throughput and scaling are presented.
The architecture of the baseline CMS event builder will be outlined. The
event builder is organised into two stages with intelligent buffers in between.
The first stage contains 64 switches performing a first level of data
concentration by building super-fragments from fragments of 8 data sources. The
second stage combines the 64 super-fragments into full events. This
architecture allows installation of the second stage of the event builder in
steps, with the overall throughput scaling linearly with the number of switches
in the second stage. Possible implementations of the components of the event
builder are discussed and the expected performance of the full event builder is
outlined.Comment: Conference CHEP0
Structure of Be probed via secondary beam reactions
The low-lying level structure of the unbound neutron-rich nucleus Be
has been investigated via breakup on a carbon target of secondary beams of
B at 35 MeV/nucleon. The coincident detection of the beam velocity
Be fragments and neutrons permitted the invariant mass of the
Be+ and Be++ systems to be reconstructed. In the case of
the breakup of B, a very narrow structure at threshold was observed in
the Be+ channel. Contrary to earlier stable beam fragmentation
studies which identified this as a strongly interacting -wave virtual state
in Be, analysis here of the Be++ events demonstrated that
this was an artifact resulting from the sequential-decay of the
Be(2) state. Single-proton removal from B was found to
populate a broad low-lying structure some 0.70 MeV above the neutron-decay
threshold in addition to a less prominent feature at around 2.4 MeV. Based on
the selectivity of the reaction and a comparison with (0-3)
shell-model calculations, the low-lying structure is concluded to most probably
arise from closely spaced J=1/2 and 5/2 resonances
(E=0.400.03 and 0.85 MeV), whilst the broad
higher-lying feature is a second 5/2 level (E=2.350.14 MeV). Taken
in conjunction with earlier studies, it would appear that the lowest 1/2
and 1/2 levels lie relatively close together below 1 MeV.Comment: 14 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables. Accepted for publication in Physical
Review
Phase III randomized trial comparing moderate-dose cisplatin to combined cisplatin and carboplatin in addition to mitomycin and ifosfamide in patients with stage IV non-small-cell lung cancer
A phase III randomized trial was conducted in patients with metastatic NSCLC, to determine if, in association with mitomycin (6 mg m–2) and ifosfamide (3 g m–2), the combination of moderate dosages of cisplatin (60 mg m–2) and carboplatin (200 mg m–2) – CarboMIP regimen – improved survival in comparison with cisplatin (50 mg m–2) alone – MIP regimen. A total of 305 patients with no prior chemotherapy were randomized, including 297 patients assessable for survival (147 in the MIP arm and 150 in the CarboMIP arm) and 268 patients assessable for response to chemotherapy. All but eight (with malignant pleural effusion) had stage IV disease. There was a 27% (95% CI, 19–34) objective response (OR) rate to MIP (25% of the eligible patients) and a 33% (95% CI, 24–41) OR rate to CarboMIP (29% of the eligible patients). This difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.34). Duration of response was not significantly different between both arms. There was also no difference (P = 0.67) in survival: median survival times were 28 weeks (95% Cl, 24–32) for MIP and 32 weeks (95% Cl, 26–35) for CarboMIP, with respectively 1-year survival rates of 24% and 23% and 2-year survival rates of 5% and 2%. The main toxicities consisted in emesis, alopecia, leucopenia and thrombocytopenia, that were, except alopecia, significantly more severe in the CarboMIP arm. Our trial failed to demonstrate a significant improvement in response or survival when patients with metastatic NSCLC were treated, in addition to ifosfamide and mitomycin, by combination of moderate dosages of cisplatin and carboplatin instead of moderate dosage of cisplatin alone. The results support the use of a moderate dose (50 mg m–2) of cisplatin in combination with ifosfamide and mitomycin for the chemotherapy of this disease. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig
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