Reslizumab in patients with inadequately controlled late-onset asthma and elevated blood eosinophils

INTRODUCTION: Asthma with adult onset and elevated blood eosinophils is a difficult-to-treat subgroup. This post hoc analysis evaluated reslizumab, an anti-interleukin-5 monoclonal antibody, in patients with late-onset eosinophilic asthma. METHODS: Data from two 52-week placebo-controlled trials of reslizumab IV 3 mg/kg every 4 weeks in patients aged 12-75 years with inadequately controlled asthma, ≥1 asthma exacerbation within 12 months, and screening blood eosinophils ≥400/μL (NCT01287039/NCT01285323) were stratified by age of asthma onset (<40 or ≥40 years). Annual clinical asthma exacerbation rates, change in lung function, and patient-reported outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: 273 patients with late-onset asthma (placebo, n = 130; reslizumab, n = 143) and 658 with early-onset asthma (placebo, n = 336; reslizumab, n = 322) were included. Baseline demographics were similar between groups. The interaction between age at onset of asthma and effect of reslizumab on asthma exacerbations was statistically significant (p = 0.0083). Compared with placebo, reslizumab produced a 75% relative reduction in asthma exacerbations in patients with late-onset asthma (rate ratio [RR] 0.25; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16, 0.40), substantially larger than the reduction in earlier onset patients (RR 0.58; 95% CI, 0.44, 0.76). Similar findings were observed for other measures of asthma, including forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1). The adverse event profile of reslizumab was similar in patients with early- or late-onset asthma. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with placebo, reslizumab produced larger reductions in asthma exacerbations and larger improvements in lung function in patients with late versus early-onset asthma

Ebola Contact Tracing Study data

The collection contains four datasets captured in the Ebola Contact Tracing Study: [1] 'summary_data_cases' contains details of the 41 confirmed Ebola cases included in the study; [2] 'app_data_contacts' contains details of the 646 Ebola contacts registered on the Ebola Contact Tracing App (ECT) smartphone app. These originate from 18 Ebola cases (16 were laboratory confirmed and 2 were “secret burials” that were not confirmed); [3] 'paper_data_contacts' describes 408 Ebola contacts who were identified from 25 Ebola cases for monitoring using the standard paper-based system for contact tracing; and [4] 'main_analysis_dataset' contains information on 804 Ebola contacts and their contact tracing monitoring status collected using both the ECT app and paper-based system

The Constitutionality of Open Space Requirements and Minimum Lot Sizes

The United States Supreme Court and other federal and state courts have consistently dismissed challenges against open space requirements and reductions in minimum lot sizes similar to those that exist within ordinances regulating conservation subdivisions. Although some precedent exists for finding open space requirements and minimum lot sizes unconstitutional, courts have only reached such conclusions in limited situations where the challenged regulations destroy the entire economic value of a plaintiff’s property, where there is no rational basis for the regulations, or where the land use regulation is found to substantially interfere with the property owner’s use and enjoyment of their property. This paper analyzes the constitutionality of requirements in conservation subdivision ordinances to cluster houses together and preserve the remaining open space

Peace Process Pathologies: A Comparative Analysis of the Breakdown of the Israeli-Palestinian and Turkish-Kurdish Peace Processes

Despite the significant differences between the issues under contention, the Oslo peace process between Israel and the Palestinians and the “solution process” between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) were plagued by common dysfunctions that militated against their success. A comparative investigation points to several salient common denominators that rendered both peace processes susceptible to collapse, including the inadequate identification of the end goals of negotiations by the conflicting parties, mistrust and societal polarization. Over-reaching security measures enacted by the stronger side in each conflict (Israel and Turkey) that stifled freedom of expression, conflated lawful dissent with criminality, tended towards collective punishment and undermined the ability of the weaker parties to organize in the political arena and negotiate effectively also contributed to the breakdown of negotiations. Systematic analysis of these peace process pathologies will suggest critical “lessons learned” from which fellow researchers and policymakers can glean valuable insights

Impactful phenomenologies : Minnesota marching arts

An emerging field of research in Architectural discourse, Architectural Phenomenology can be represented as the perception of space through the five senses. For some of the world’s most established practitioners and researchers in the stated field, their strife to understand the connection between experience and experiential qualities is a major milestone in understanding architecture itself. This thesis aims at perpetuating the discussion, not solving a theoretical question, behind Phenomenological processes, with special interest in the brash nature of Impactful buildings. ‘Impactful Phenomenologies: Minnesota Marching Arts’ aims at promoting further discussion on both impactful architecture and experiential datum through the typology of a Marching Arts facility for Minnesota. The campus is located in Shoreview, MN, encompassing more than 21,000 sf of dormitory/small campus space, a performance shell incorporating roughly 6000 seats, and supporting facilities. The Minnesota Marching Arts will prove the perfect archetype for an impactfully built environment

Forecast Errors Before and After the Great Moderation

This paper investigates the change in private-sector and Federal Reserve forecasts before and after the Great Moderation. We view the Great Moderation as a natural experiment. Using forecasts produced by the Survey of Professional Forecasters and the Federal Reserve (Greenbook forecasts) we investigate four questions: 1) How large was the decline in forecast errors? 2) Did forecast accuracy improve relative to the decline in volatility of growth and inflation? 3) Did forecasters respond to the Great Moderation? 4) What are the potential benefits to monetary policymakers of smaller forecast errors? We find that the absolute median error as well as the cross-sectional volatility of forecast errors decreased significantly. Forecasters appeared to have narrowed the dispersion of their forecasts in response to the Great Moderation. Forecast accuracy did not improve relative to the reduction in the volatility of the economy. To the extent that the Fed is forward-looking when it sets its federal funds rate target, improvements in forecast accuracy imply substantial improvements in the Fed’s ability to reach its optimum federal funds rate target.forecast errors, Greenbook, Survey of Professional Forecasters, Great Moderation