Effect of pre-seasonal seasonal treatment with budesonide topical nasal powder in patients with seasonal allergic rhinitis

abstract The efficacy and safety of budesonide nasal powder (Rhinocort Turbuhaler®) in seasonal allergic rhinitis when given only at the onset of symptoms during the pollen season or when also given before the pollen season, were compared. The study was carried out in 364 patients from 14 centres in Italy as a randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo- controlled comparison of five alternative treatment regimens given for 4 weeks during the pre-pollen and early pollen season (PPS) and for 6 weeks during the pollen season (PS). It was concluded that either 200 μ g or 400 μ g of budesonide given once daily PPS provides significant control of symptoms experienced during PPS. The 400 μ g dose, however, also provides additional prophylactic protection against symptoms during early PS. When the pollen season is established, the dose of budesonide may be reduced to 200 μ g

Dynamics of charge-displacement channeling in intense laser-plasma interactions

The dynamics of transient electric fields generated by the interaction of high intensity laser pulses with underdense plasmas has been studied experimentally with the proton projection imaging technique. The formation of a charged channel, the propagation of its front edge and the late electric field evolution have been characterised with high temporal and spatial resolution. Particle-in-cell simulations and an electrostatic, ponderomotive model reproduce the experimental features and trace them back to the ponderomotive expulsion of electrons and the subsequent ion acceleration.Comment: 5 figures, accepted for publication in New Journal of Physic

CD30-mediated signaling promotes the development of human T helper type 2-like T cells

We have recently shown that CD30, a member of the tumor necrosis factor/nerve growth factor receptor superfamily, is preferentially expressed by human T cell clones producing T helper (Th) type 2 cytokines. We report here that costimulation with an agonistic anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody enhanced antigen (Ag)-induced proliferation and cytokine secretion by established human Th2 and Th0 clones. Moreover, costimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells with the same anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody resulted in the preferential development of Ag-specific T cell lines and clones showing a Th2-like profile of cytokine secretion. In contrast, early blockade III bulk culture of CD30 ligand-CD30 interaction shifted the development of Ag-specific T cells towards the opposite (Th1-like) phenotype. Taken together, these data suggest that CD30 triggering of activated Th cells by CD30 ligand-expressing Ag-presenting cells may represent an important costimulatory signaling for the development of Th2-type responses

Polarization Dependence of Bulk Ion Acceleration from Ultrathin Foils Irradiated by High-Intensity Ultrashort Laser Pulses

The acceleration of ions from ultrathin (10-100 nm) carbon foils has been investigated using intense (∼ 6 x1020 Wcm-2), ultrashort (45 fs) laser pulses, highlighting a strong dependence of the ion beam parameters on the laser polarization, with circularly polarized (CP) pulses producing the highest energies for both protons and carbons (25-30 MeV/nucleon); carbon ion energies obtained employing CP pulses were signicantly higher (∼2.5 times) than for irradiations employing linearly polarized (LP) pulses. Particle-in-cell simulations indicate that Radiation Pressure Acceleration becomes the dominant mechanism for the thinnest targets and CP pulses

Clonal expansion and epigenetic inheritance of long-lasting NK cell memory

Clonal expansion of cells with somatically diversified receptors and their long-term maintenance as memory cells is a hallmark of adaptive immunity. Here, we studied pathogen-specific adaptation within the innate immune system, tracking natural killer (NK) cell memory to human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. Leveraging single-cell multiomic maps of ex vivo NK cells and somatic mitochondrial DNA mutations as endogenous barcodes, we reveal substantial clonal expansion of adaptive NK cells in HCMV(+) individuals. NK cell clonotypes were characterized by a convergent inflammatory memory signature enriched for AP1 motifs superimposed on a private set of clone-specific accessible chromatin regions. NK cell clones were stably maintained in specific epigenetic states over time, revealing that clonal inheritance of chromatin accessibility shapes the epigenetic memory repertoire. Together, we identify clonal expansion and persistence within the human innate immune system, suggesting that these mechanisms have evolved independent of antigen-receptor diversification