Modified Pulmonary Index Score Was Sufficiently Reliable to Assess the Severity of Acute Asthma Exacerbations in Children

Background: The Modified Pulmonary Index Score (MPIS) was developed as an indicator of the severity of acute asthma in children. The objective of this study is to evaluate the reliability and validity of the MPIS for children with acute asthma, including those five years or younger in age. Methods: We evaluated the inter-rater reliability and internal consistency of the MPIS by having at least two trained physicians and a nurse—each of whom was blinded to the others’ scores—simultaneously examine inpatients with asthma exacerbation and rate them according to the MPIS. We also evaluated the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), kappa, Cronbach’s α and correlations between the MPIS and other indicators associated with asthma severity. Results: A total of 25 children (median age, five years; 13 patients were five years or younger in age) were enrolled in this study. The MPIS showed excellent inter-rater reliability (all ages: ICC = 0.95, 95% CI = 0.94-0.97; five years or younger: ICC = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.89-0.96) and good internal consistency (all ages: Cronbach’s α = 0.87; five years or younger: Cronbach’s α = 0.85). The MPIS showed good correlation with a visual analogue scale assessed by the physicians. Conclusions: The MPIS was a sufficiently reliable assessment tool for children with acute asthma, including those five years or younger in age

Highly porous nature of a primitive asteroid revealed by thermal imaging

International audienceCarbonaceous (C-type) asteroids1 are relics of the early Solar System that have preserved primitive materials since their formation approximately 4.6 billion years ago. They are probably analogues of carbonaceous chondrites2,3 and are essential for understanding planetary formation processes. However, their physical properties remain poorly known because carbonaceous chondrite meteoroids tend not to survive entry to Earth’s atmosphere. Here we report on global one-rotation thermographic images of the C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu, taken by the thermal infrared imager (TIR)4 onboard the spacecraft Hayabusa25, indicating that the asteroid’s boulders and their surroundings have similar temperatures, with a derived thermal inertia of about 300 J m−2 s−0.5 K−1 (300 tiu). Contrary to predictions that the surface consists of regolith and dense boulders, this low thermal inertia suggests that the boulders are more porous than typical carbonaceous chondrites6 and that their surroundings are covered with porous fragments more than 10 centimetres in diameter. Close-up thermal images confirm the presence of such porous fragments and the flat diurnal temperature profiles suggest a strong surface roughness effect7,8. We also observed in the close-up thermal images boulders that are colder during the day, with thermal inertia exceeding 600 tiu, corresponding to dense boulders similar to typical carbonaceous chondrites6. These results constrain the formation history of Ryugu: the asteroid must be a rubble pile formed from impact fragments of a parent body with microporosity9 of approximately 30 to 50 per cent that experienced a low degree of consolidation. The dense boulders might have originated from the consolidated innermost region or they may have an exogenic origin. This high-porosity asteroid may link cosmic fluffy dust to dense celestial bodies