Background A Seasonal Asthma Exacerbation Predictive Index (saEPI) was previously reported based on 2 prior National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Inner City Asthma Consortium trials. ...Objective This study sought to validate the saEPI in a separate trial designed to prevent fall exacerbations with omalizumab therapy. Methods The saEPI and its components were analyzed to characterize those who had an asthma exacerbation during the Preventative Omalizumab or Step-Up Therapy for Fall Exacerbations (PROSE) study. We characterized those inner-city children with and without asthma exacerbations in the fall period treated with guidelines-based therapy (GBT) in the absence and presence of omalizumab. Results A higher saEPI was associated with an exacerbation in both the GBT alone ( P < .001; area under the curve, 0.76) and the GBT + omalizumab group ( P < .01; area under the curve, 0.65). In the GBT group, younger age at recruitment, higher total IgE, higher blood eosinophil percentage and number, and higher treatment step were associated with those who had an exacerbation compared with those who did not. In the GBT + omalizumab group, younger age at recruitment, increased eosinophil number, recent exacerbation, and higher treatment step were also associated with those who had an exacerbation. The saEPI was associated with a high negative predictive value in both groups. Conclusions An exacerbation in children treated with GBT with or without omalizumab was associated with a higher saEPI along with higher markers of allergic inflammation, treatment step, and a recent exacerbation. Those that exacerbated on omalizumab had similar features with the exception of some markers of allergic sensitization, indicating a need to develop better markers to predict poor response to omalizumab therapy and alternative treatment strategies for children with these risk factors. The saEPI was able to reliably predict those children unlikely to have an asthma exacerbation in both groups.
The NuTeV Collaboration has extracted the electroweak parameter sin(2)theta(W) from the measurement of the ratios of neutral current to charged current nu and (-)nu cross sections. Our value, ...sin(2)theta((on-shell))(W) = 0.2277 +/- 0.0013(stat) +/- 0.0009(syst), is 3 standard deviations above the standard model prediction. We also present a model independent analysis of the same data in terms of neutral-current quark couplings.
We present a new measurement of the difference between the nucleon strange and antistrange quark distributions from dimuon events recorded by the NuTeV experiment at Fermilab. This analysis is the ...first to use a complete next to leading order QCD description of charm production from neutrino scattering. Dimuon events in neutrino deep inelastic scattering allow direct and independent study of the strange and antistrange content of the nucleon. We find a positive strange asymmetry with a significance of 1.6sigma. We also report a new measurement of the charm mass.
Abstract
Complement activation is a hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and can proceed through the classical (CP), lectin (LP), or alternative pathway (AP). When managing SLE patients, ...pathway-specific complement activation is rarely monitored as clinical assays are unavailable. In this study, we aim to differentiate between CP- or LP-mediated complement activation in SLE patients by quantifying pathway-specific protein complexes, namely C1s/C1-inhibitor (C1-INH) (CP-specific activation) and MASP-1/C1-INH (LP-specific activation). Levels for both complexes were assessed in 156 SLE patients and 50 controls using two newly developed ELISAs. We investigated whether pathway-specific complement activation was associated with disease activity and lupus nephritis (LN). Disease activity stratification was performed using SLEDAI scores assessed at inclusion. C1s/C1-INH concentrations were significantly increased in active SLE patients (SLEDAI ≥6) when compared with SLE patients with low disease activity (SLEDAI <6, P < 0.01) and correlated with SLEDAI score (r = .29, P < 0.01). In active LN, MASP-1/C1-INH plasma concentrations were significantly increased compared with nonactive LN (P = 0.02). No differences in MASP-1/C1-INH plasma concentrations were observed between active SLE patients and patients with low disease activity (P = 0.11) nor did we observe a significant correlation with disease activity (r = 0.12, P = 0.15). Our data suggest that the CP and the LP are activated in SLE. The CP is activated in active SLE disease, whereas activation of the LP might be more specific to disease manifestations like LN. Our results warrant further research into specific complement pathway activation in SLE patients to potentially improve specific-targeted and tailored-treatment approaches.
Complement activation is a hallmark of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but when managing SLE patients, pathway-specific complement activation is rarely monitored, as clinical assays are unavailable. In this study, we aim to differentiate between classical- or lectin pathway-mediated complement activation in 156 SLE patients by quantifying pathway-specific protein complexes, namely C1s/C1-INH (classical pathway-specific activation) and MASP-1/C1-INH (lectin pathway-specific activation). Our data suggest that the classical pathway is activated in active SLE disease, whereas activation of the lectin pathway might be more specific to disease manifestations like lupus nephritis.
Graphical Abstract
Graphical Abstract
The International Classification of Sleep Disorders, Second Edition (ICSD-2) distinguishes 5 subtypes of central sleep apnea syndromes (CSAS) in adults. Review of the literature suggests that there ...are two basic mechanisms that trigger central respiratory events: (1) post-hyperventilation central apnea, which may be triggered by a variety of clinical conditions, and (2) central apnea secondary to hypoventilation, which has been described with opioid use. The preponderance of evidence on the treatment of CSAS supports the use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Much of the evidence comes from investigations on CSAS related to congestive heart failure (CHF), but other subtypes of CSAS appear to respond to CPAP as well. Limited evidence is available to support alternative therapies in CSAS subtypes. The recommendations for treatment of CSAS are summarized as follows: CPAP therapy targeted to normalize the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is indicated for the initial treatment of CSAS related to CHF. (STANDARD)Nocturnal oxygen therapy is indicated for the treatment of CSAS related to CHF. (STANDARD)Adaptive Servo-Ventilation (ASV) targeted to normalize the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is indicated for the treatment of CSAS related to CHF. (STANDARD)BPAP therapy in a spontaneous timed (ST) mode targeted to normalize the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) may be considered for the treatment of CSAS related to CHF only if there is no response to adequate trials of CPAP, ASV, and oxygen therapies. (OPTION)The following therapies have limited supporting evidence but may be considered for the treatment of CSAS related to CHF after optimization of standard medical therapy, if PAP therapy is not tolerated, and if accompanied by close clinical follow-up: acetazolamide and theophylline. (OPTION)Positive airway pressure therapy may be considered for the treatment of primary CSAS. (OPTION)Acetazolamide has limited supporting evidence but may be considered for the treatment of primary CSAS. (OPTION)The use of zolpidem and triazolam may be considered for the treatment of primary CSAS only if the patient does not have underlying risk factors for respiratory depression. (OPTION)The following possible treatment options for CSAS related to end-stage renal disease may be considered: CPAP, supplemental oxygen, bicarbonate buffer use during dialysis, and nocturnal dialysis. (OPTION) .
Background Pathway analyses can be used to determine how host and environmental factors contribute to asthma severity. Objective To investigate pathways explaining asthma severity in inner-city ...children. Methods On the basis of medical evidence in the published literature, we developed a conceptual model to describe how 8 risk-factor domains (allergen sensitization, allergic inflammation, pulmonary physiology, stress, obesity, vitamin D, environmental tobacco smoke ETS exposure, and rhinitis severity) are linked to asthma severity. To estimate the relative magnitude and significance of hypothesized relationships among these domains and asthma severity, we applied a causal network analysis to test our model in an Inner-City Asthma Consortium study. Participants comprised 6- to 17-year-old children (n = 561) with asthma and rhinitis from 9 US inner cities who were evaluated every 2 months for 1 year. Asthma severity was measured by a longitudinal composite assessment of day and night symptoms, exacerbations, and controller usage. Results Our conceptual model explained 53.4% of the variance in asthma severity. An allergy pathway (linking allergen sensitization, allergic inflammation, pulmonary physiology, and rhinitis severity domains to asthma severity) and the ETS exposure pathway (linking ETS exposure and pulmonary physiology domains to asthma severity) exerted significant effects on asthma severity. Among the domains, pulmonary physiology and rhinitis severity had the largest significant standardized total effects on asthma severity (−0.51 and 0.48, respectively), followed by ETS exposure (0.30) and allergic inflammation (0.22). Although vitamin D had modest but significant indirect effects on asthma severity, its total effect was insignificant (0.01). Conclusions The standardized effect sizes generated by a causal network analysis quantify the relative contributions of different domains and can be used to prioritize interventions to address asthma severity.
A search for neutral heavy leptons (NHLs) has been performed using an instrumented decay channel at the NuTeV (E-815) experiment at Fermilab. The data were examined for NHLs decaying into muonic ...final states ({mu}{mu}{nu} , {mu}e{nu} , {mu}{pi} , and {mu}{rho} ); no evidence has been found for NHLs in the 0.25-2.0 GeV mass range. This analysis places limits on the mixing of NHLs with standard light neutrinos at a level up to an order of magnitude more restrictive than previous search limits in this mass range. (c) 1999 The American Physical Society.
Study of HTS Wires at High Magnetic Fields Turrioni, D.; Barzi, E.; Lamm, M.J. ...
IEEE transactions on applied superconductivity,
06/2009, Letnik:
19, Številka:
3
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Fermilab is working on the development of high field magnet systems for ionization cooling of muon beams. The use of high temperature superconducting (HTS) materials is being considered for these ...magnets using Helium refrigeration. Critical current (I c ) measurements of HTS conductors were performed at FNAL and at NIMS up to 28 T under magnetic fields at zero to 90 degree with respect to the sample face. A description of the test setups and results on a BSCCO-2223 tape and second generation (2G) coated conductors are presented.
Large aperture superconducting solenoid magnets are needed for the production and capture of pions, which decay to create intense muon beams in future experiments to search for direct muon to ...electron conversion. The COMET experiment in Japan and the Mu2e experiment in the U.S. are jointly conducting research into the design of capture solenoid coils made from aluminum-stabilized NbTi superconductor that is cooled by conduction to a supply of liquid helium. A prototype coil of 1.3-m inner diameter, having four layers of eight turns each, has been wound with pure aluminum interlayer fins for the conduction cooling. The test coil includes two types of welded splices, two film heaters for quench studies, and extensive instrumentation to evaluate strain, temperature profiles, and coil voltages. Details of the cryogenic conduction cooling scheme, test systems design, and test program plans will be discussed.
The Fermilab Mu2e experiment has been developed to search for evidence of charged lepton flavor violation through the direct conversion of muons into electrons. The transport solenoid is an s-shaped ...magnet that guides the muons from the source to the stopping target. It consists of 52 superconducting coils arranged in 27 coil modules. A full-size prototype coil module, with all the features of a typical module of the full assembly, was successfully manufactured by a collaboration between INFN-Genoa and Fermilab. The prototype contains two coils that can be powered independently. To validate the design, the magnet went through an extensive test campaign. Warm tests included magnetic measurements with a vibrating stretched wire and electrical and dimensional checks. The cold performance was evaluated by a series of power tests and temperature dependence and minimum quench energy studies.
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