Hypertension and Exposure to Noise Near Airports: the HYENA Study

We compare two approaches for high-level power estimation of DSP components implemented in FPGAs for different sets of data streams from real-world applications. The first model is a power macro-model based on the Hamming distance of input signals. The second model is an analytical high-level power model based on switching activity computation and knowledge about the component’s internal structure, which has been improved to also consider additional information on the signal distribution of two consecutive input vectors. The results show that the accuracy of both models is, in most cases, within 10% of the low-level power estimates given by the tool XPower when cycle-bycycle input signal distributions are taken into account, and that the difference between the model accuracies depends significantly on the nature of the signals. Additionally, the effort required for the characterization and construction of the models for different component structures is discussed in detail

Guidelines : early management of persistent non-specific low back pain : summary of NICE guidance

Why read this summary? Most episodes of acute low back pain resolve spontaneously. 1 However, among those in whom low back pain and disability have persisted for over a year, few return to normal activities. Thus the focus for preventing the onset of long term disability caused by non-specific low back pain is on the early management of persistent low back pain (pain present for more than six weeks and less than one year). No consensus exists on how to help health professionals and their patients choose the best treatments for this condition. This article summarises the most recent recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the early management of non-specific low back pain. 1 The diagnosis of specific causes of low back pain (malignancy, infection, fracture, ankylosing spondylitis, and other inflammatory disorders) is not part of this guideline. Recommendations: NICE recommendations are based on systematic reviews of best available evidence. When minimal evidence is available, recommendations are based on the Guideline Development Group’s experience and opinion of what constitutes good practice. Evidence levels for the recommendations are given in italic in square brackets. The box lists treatments that should not be offered for non-specific low back pain

Targeting periostin reduces inflammation and respiratory barrier injury in lung diseases.

This is the final version of the article, which has been published in final form at: https://www.lestudium-ias.com/content/targeting-periostin-reduces-inflammation-and-respiratory-barrier-injury-lung-diseasesInternational audiencePeriostin (POSTN) is a matricellular protein that plays a key role in development and repair within the biological matrix of the lung. POSTN is highly expressed in several cell types in lung such as epithelial or endothelial cells, fibroblasts, smooth muscle and mast cells, contributing to mucus secretion, alveolar epithelial repair, and lung fibrosis. However, the underlying mechanism how POSTN contributes to the development of lung inflammation remains unclear. In the current study, we attempted to determine whether treatment with a monoclonal anti-POSTN antibody induces a significant inhibition of asthmatic reactions in a mouse asthma model. Mice sensitized and challenged with papain evidenced an increased periostin expression in lung and typical asthmatic reactions, as follows: an increase in the number of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; a marked influx of inflammatory cells into the lung around blood vessels and airways, and Th2 cytokines including IL-4 and IL-5 and chemokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid; emphysema; the detection of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) produced by epithelial cells. However, the administration of anti-POSTN prior to the final airway papain challenge resulted in a significant inhibition of all asthmatic reactions. We also demonstrated that anti-POSTN antibody treatment resulted in significant reductions on collagen expression and a reduction in the increased eosinophil. The treatment of animals with anti-POSTN resulted in a significant reduction in the concentrations of the chemokines (CCL-11 and CCL-17) in the airways, without any concomitant increase in the concentration of Th1 cytokines. This study identifies a novel therapeutic strategy for airway hyperresponsiveness, which uses antibodies reactive against POSTN via the inhibition of the Th2 response. It also provides theoretical evidence for the control of allergic asthma and fibrosis by targeting POSTN