Experimental measurement of the nonlinearities of electrodynamic microphones

International audienceThis paper presents an experimental way of characterizing the nonlinearities of electrodynamic microphones used as acoustical sources. This functioning occurs for reciprocal calibration techniques. For this purpose, its electrical impedance is measured with a Wayne Kerr wedge which has an excellent precision. Moreover, it can be noted that the Thiele and Small model is used to characterize its electrical impedance. Furthermore, an experimental method based on Simplex algorithm allows us to construct polynomial laws which describe the dependence of the Thiele and Small parameters with the input voltage. The nonlinear variations obtained allow us to determine the nonlinear differential equation of the electrodynamic microphone. Then, this equation is solved numerically in order to confirm the accuracy of the polynomial laws obtained by the Simplex algorithm. The distortions are measured with a laser Doppler velocimeter and compared with the ones obtained by the numerical solving of the nonlinear differential equation. The experimental displacement spectrum is consistent with the theoretical one

Time-varying non linear modeling of electrodynamic loudspeakers

International audienceThis paper deals with the time-varying nonlinear analytical modeling of the electrodynamic loudspeaker. We propose a model which takes into account the variations of Small signal parameters. The six Small signal parameters ($R_{e}$, $L_{e}$, $Bl$, $R_{ms}$, $M_{ms}$, $C_{ms}$) depend on both time and input current. The electrodynamic loudspeaker is characterized by the electrical impedance which, precisely measured, allows us to construct polynomial functions for each Small signal parameter. By using this analytical model, we propose to compare two identical electrodynamic loudspeakers. One of them is supposed to be run in and the other one is not. The experimental methodology is based on a precise measurement. In all the paper, the time scale is assumed to be much longer than one period of the harmonic excitation

Meta-analysis of stomatitis in clinical studies of everolimus: incidence and relationship with efficacy.

BackgroundEverolimus, an oral mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, is used to treat solid tumors and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Stomatitis, an inflammation of the mucous membranes of the mouth, is a common adverse event associated with mTOR inhibitors, including everolimus. We conducted a meta-analysis of data from seven randomized, double-blind phase 3 clinical trials of everolimus to determine the clinical impact of stomatitis on efficacy and safety.Patients and methodsData were pooled from the safety sets of solid tumor [breast cancer (BOLERO-2 and BOLERO-3), renal cell carcinoma (RECORD-1), carcinoid tumors (RADIANT-2), and pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (RADIANT-3)] and TSC studies (EXIST-1 and EXIST-2). Data from solid tumor trials and TSC trials were analyzed separately.ResultsThe rate of stomatitis was 67% in the solid tumor trials (973/1455 patients) and 70% in the TSC trials (110/157 patients). Most stomatitis events were grade 1/2, with grade 3/4 events reported in only 9% (solid tumor trials) and 8% (TSC trials) of patients. Low TSC patient numbers prevented an in-depth evaluation of stomatitis and response. In the solid tumor trials, most first stomatitis episodes (89%; n = 870) were observed within 8 weeks of starting everolimus. Patients with stomatitis occurring within 8 weeks of everolimus initiation had longer progression-free survival (PFS) than everolimus-treated patients without stomatitis in BOLERO-2 {8.5 versus 6.9 months, respectively; hazard ratio (HR), 0.78 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.62-1.00]} and RADIANT-3 [13.9 versus 8.3 months, respectively; HR, 0.70 (95% CI, 0.48-1.04)]. A similar trend was observed in RECORD-1 [HR, 0.90 (95% CI, 0.66-1.22)] and RADIANT-2 [HR, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.61-1.22)] but not in BOLERO-3 [HR, 1.01 (95% CI, 0.75-1.36)].ConclusionsStomatitis did not adversely affect PFS, supporting the administration of everolimus in accordance with standard management guidelines

Magnetic Field Produced by a Tile Permanent Magnet Whose Polarization is both Uniform and Tangential

pages 1-20International audienceThis paper presents the exact 3D calculation of the magnetic field produced by a tile permanent magnet whose polarization is both tangential and uniform. Such a calculation is useful for optimizing magnetic couplings or for calculating the magnetic field produced by alternate magnet structures. For example, our 3D expressions can be used for calculating the magnetic field produced by a Halbach structure. All our expressions are determined by using the coulombian model. This exact analytical approach has always proved its accuracy and its usefulness. As a consequence, the tile permanent magnet considered is represented by using the fictitious magnetic pole densities that are located on the faces of the magnet. In addition, no simplifying assumptions are taken into account for calculating the three magnetic field components. Consequently, the expressions obtained are valid inside and outside of the tile permanent magnet, whatever its dimensions. Such an approach allows us to realize easily parametric studies. To our knowledge, this calculation appears for the first time in the literature

Comparison of Treatment Effect Estimates for Pharmacological Randomized Controlled Trials Enrolling Older Adults Only and Those including Adults: A Meta-Epidemiological Study

Context Older adults are underrepresented in clinical research. To assess therapeutic efficacy in older patients, some randomized controlled trials (RCTs) include older adults only. Objective To compare treatment effects between RCTs including older adults only (elderly RCTs) and RCTs including all adults (adult RCTs) by a meta-epidemiological approach. Methods All systematic reviews published in the Cochrane Library (Issue 4, 2011) were screened. Eligible studies were meta-analyses of binary outcomes of pharmacologic treatment including at least one elderly RCT and at least one adult RCT. For each meta-analysis, we compared summary odds ratios for elderly RCTs and adult RCTs by calculating a ratio of odds ratios (ROR). A summary ROR was estimated across all meta-analyses. Results We selected 55 meta-analyses including 524 RCTs (17% elderly RCTs). The treatment effects differed beyond that expected by chance for 7 (13%) meta-analyses, showing more favourable treatment effects in elderly RCTs in 5 cases and in adult RCTs in 2 cases. The summary ROR was 0.91 (95% CI, 0.77–1.08, p = 0.28), with substantial heterogeneity (I2 = 51% and τ2 = 0.14). Sensitivity and subgroup analyses by type-of-age RCT (elderly RCTs vs RCTs excluding older adults and vs RCTs of mixed-age adults), type of outcome (mortality or other) and type of comparator (placebo or active drug) yielded similar results. Conclusions The efficacy of pharmacologic treatments did not significantly differ, on average, between RCTs including older adults only and RCTs of all adults. However, clinically important discrepancies may occur and should be considered when generalizing evidence from all adults to older adults

Effect of editors’ implementation of CONSORT guidelines on the reporting of abstracts in high impact medical journals: interrupted time series analysis

Objective To investigate the effect of the CONSORT for Abstracts guidelines, and different editorial policies used by five leading general medical journals to implement the guidelines, on the reporting quality of abstracts of randomised trials

Meta-Analysis of a Complex Network of Non-Pharmacological Interventions: The Example of Femoral Neck Fracture

Background Surgical interventions raise specific methodological issues in network meta-analysis (NMA). They are usually multi-component interventions resulting in complex networks of randomized controlled trials (RCTs), with multiple groups and sparse connections. Purpose To illustrate the applicability of the NMA in a complex network of surgical interventions and to prioritize the available interventions according to a clinically relevant outcome. Methods We considered RCTs of treatments for femoral neck fracture in adults. We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, EMBASE and ClinicalTrials.gov up to November 2015. Two reviewers independently selected trials, extracted data and used the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing the risk of bias. A group of orthopedic surgeons grouped similar but not identical interventions under the same node. We synthesized the network using a Bayesian network meta-analysis model. We derived posterior odds ratios (ORs) and 95% credible intervals (95% CrIs) for all possible pairwise comparisons. The primary outcome was all-cause revision surgery. Results Data from 27 trials were combined, for 4,186 participants (72% women, mean age 80 years, 95% displaced fractures). The median follow-up was 2 years. With hemiarthroplasty (HA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) as a comparison, risk of surgical revision was significantly higher with the treatments unthreaded cervical osteosynthesis (OR 8.0 [95% CrI 3.6–15.5] and 5.9 [2.4–12.0], respectively), screw (9.4 [6.0–16.5] and 6.7 [3.9–13.6]) and plate (12.5 [5.8–23.8] and 7.8 [3.8–19.4]). Conclusions In older women with displaced femoral neck fractures, arthroplasty (HA and THA) is the most effective treatment in terms of risk of revision surgery

Quality of Reporting of Bioequivalence Trials Comparing Generic to Brand Name Drugs: A Methodological Systematic Review

BACKGROUND: Generic drugs are used by millions of patients for economic reasons, so their evaluation must be highly transparent. OBJECTIVE: To assess the quality of reporting of bioequivalence trials comparing generic to brand-name drugs. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: PubMed was searched for reports of bioequivalence trials comparing generic to brand-name drugs between January 2005 and December 2008. Articles were included if the aim of the study was to assess the bioequivalency of generic and brand-name drugs. We excluded case studies, pharmaco-economic evaluations, and validation dosage assays of drugs. We evaluated whether important information about funding, methodology, location of trials, and participants were reported. We also assessed whether the criteria required by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the European Medicine Agency (EMA) to conclude bioequivalence were reported and that the conclusions were in agreement with the results. We identified 134 potentially relevant articles but eliminated 55 because the brand-name or generic drug status of the reference drug was unknown. Thus, we evaluated 79 articles. The funding source and location of the trial were reported in 41% and 56% of articles, respectively. The type of statistical analysis was reported in 94% of articles, but the methods to generate the randomization sequence and to conceal allocation were reported in only 15% and 5%, respectively. In total, 65 articles of single-dose trials (89%) concluded bioequivalence. Of these, 20 (31%) did not report the 3 criteria within the limits required by the FDA and 11 (17%) did not report the 2 criteria within the limits required by the EMA. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Important information to judge the validity and relevance of results are frequently missing in published reports of trials assessing generic drugs. The quality of reporting of such trials is in need of improvement