The effect of ciprofloxacin, a new broad-spectrum quinolone derivative, on concomitant oral contraceptive steroids has been studied in a double-blind cross-over placebo-controlled randomized trial. ...Ten healthy women using long-term oral contraceptive steroids received either ciprofloxacin 500 mg BID or placebo during two consecutive cycles. Therapy was continued for seven days from the first day of contraceptive treatment. FSH, LH and oestradiol blood levels were repeatedly determined to monitor contraceptive steroid efficacy. A seven-day treatment with ciprofloxacin did not affect steroid treatment outcome and appears to be safe in women using this contraceptive method.
We present a method for the in-flight relative flux self-calibration of a spectro-photometer instrument, general enough to be applied to any upcoming galaxy survey on satellite. The instrument ...response function, that accounts for a smooth continuous variation due to telescope optics, on top of a discontinuous effect due to the segmentation of the detector, is inferred with a \(\chi^2\) statistics. The method provides unbiased inference of the sources count rates and of the reconstructed relative response function, in the limit of high count rates. We simulate a simplified sequence of observations following a spatial random pattern and realistic distributions of sources and count rates, with the purpose of quantifying the relative importance of the number of sources and exposures for correctly reconstructing the instrument response. We present a validation of the method, with the definition of figures of merit to quantify the expected performance, in plausible scenarios.
The aim of this study was to assess the predictive value of HIV RNA levels after 1 month of therapy on the long-term virologic outcome in an unselected general population of HIV-infected patients.
...Analysis was conducted retrospectively on an ongoing clinical cohort of HIV-positive patients who were receiving antiretroviral treatment. Data on 575 patients were analyzed.
The HIV RNA value at 1 month was significantly correlated with the virologic outcome after 12 and 24 months of therapy (R = 0.258 and R = 0.44, respectively). The predictive value of the 1-month viral load was also statistically significant after stratification for baseline CD4 T-cell counts. Prediction was similar in highly compromised patients (CD4 < or = 100 cells/microl; R = 0.426; p = .001) or in patients with a better immunologic status (R = 0.419; p < .0001). It retained validity in patients who were naive or experienced for antiretroviral therapy.
HIV RNA level after 1 month of therapy is a useful prognostic marker in HIV-infected patients. It predicts long-term virologic and immunologic outcome. A cutoff level of 5000 copies/ml identifies patients most likely to fail current therapy. In these patients, a more aggressive strategy or specific diagnostic interventions to clarify the relative influence of viral resistance and/or subtherapeutic regimens is advised.
Abridged The measurement of the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation is one of the current frontiers in cosmology. In particular, the detection of the primordial B-modes, could ...reveal the presence of gravitational waves in the early Universe. The detection of such component is at the moment the most promising technique to probe the inflationary theory describing the very early evolution of the Universe. We present the updated performance forecast of the Large Scale Polarization Explorer (LSPE), a program dedicated to the measurement of the CMB polarization. LSPE is composed of two instruments: Strip, a radiometer-based telescope on the ground in Tenerife, and SWIPE (Short-Wavelength Instrument for the Polarization Explorer) a bolometer-based instrument designed to fly on a winter arctic stratospheric long-duration balloon. The program is among the few dedicated to observation of the Northern Hemisphere, while most of the international effort is focused into ground-based observation in the Southern Hemisphere. Measurements are currently scheduled in Winter 2021/22 for SWIPE, with a flight duration up to 15 days, and in Summer 2021 with two years observations for Strip. We describe the main features of the two instruments, identifying the most critical aspects of the design, in terms of impact into performance forecast. We estimate the expected sensitivity of each instrument and propagate their combined observing power to the sensitivity to cosmological parameters, including the effect of scanning strategy, component separation, residual foregrounds and partial sky coverage. We also set requirements on the control of the most critical systematic effects and describe techniques to mitigate their impact. LSPE can reach a sensitivity in tensor-to-scalar ratio of \(\sigma_r<0.01\), and improve constrains on other cosmological parameters.
The Large Scale Polarization Explorer (LSPE) is a cosmology program for the measurement of large scale curl-like features (B-modes) in the polarization of the Cosmic Microwave Background. Its goal is ...to constrain the background of inflationary gravity waves traveling through the universe at the time of matter-radiation decoupling. The two instruments of LSPE are meant to synergically operate by covering a large portion of the northern microwave sky. LSPE/STRIP is a coherent array of receivers planned to be operated from the Teide Observatory in Tenerife, for the control and characterization of the low-frequency polarized signals of galactic origin; LSPE/SWIPE is a balloon-borne bolometric polarimeter based on 330 large throughput multi-moded detectors, designed to measure the CMB polarization at 150 GHz and to monitor the polarized emission by galactic dust above 200 GHz. The combined performance and the expected level of systematics mitigation will allow LSPE to constrain primordial B-modes down to a tensor/scalar ratio of \(10^{-2}\). We here report the status of the STRIP pre-commissioning phase and the progress in the characterization of the key subsystems of the SWIPE payload (namely the cryogenic polarization modulation unit and the multi-moded TES pixels) prior to receiver integration.
In this paper we discuss the latest developments of the STRIP instrument of the "Large Scale Polarization Explorer" (LSPE) experiment. LSPE is a novel project that combines ground-based (STRIP) and ...balloon-borne (SWIPE) polarization measurements of the microwave sky on large angular scales to attempt a detection of the "B-modes" of the Cosmic Microwave Background polarization. STRIP will observe approximately 25% of the Northern sky from the "Observatorio del Teide" in Tenerife, using an array of forty-nine coherent polarimeters at 43 GHz, coupled to a 1.5 m fully rotating crossed-Dragone telescope. A second frequency channel with six-elements at 95 GHz will be exploited as an atmospheric monitor. At present, most of the hardware of the STRIP instrument has been developed and tested at sub-system level. System-level characterization, starting in July 2018, will lead STRIP to be shipped and installed at the observation site within the end of the year. The on-site verification and calibration of the whole instrument will prepare STRIP for a 2-years campaign for the observation of the CMB polarization.
We have measured the flux of cosmic muons in the Laboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso at 3800\,m\,w.e. to be \((3.432 \pm 0.003)\cdot 10^{-4}\,\mathrm{{m^{-2}s^{-1}}}\) based on ten years of Borexino ...data acquired between May 2007 and May 2017. A seasonal modulation with a period of \((366.3 \pm 0.6)\,\mathrm{d}\) and a relative amplitude of \((1.36 \pm0.04)\%\) is observed. The phase is measured to be \((181.7 \pm 0.4)\,\mathrm{d}\), corresponding to a maximum at the 1\(^\mathrm{st}\) of July. Using data inferred from global atmospheric models, we show the muon flux to be positively correlated with the atmospheric temperature and measure the effective temperature coefficient \(\alpha_\mathrm{T} = 0.90 \pm 0.02\). The origin of cosmic muons from pion and kaon decays in the atmosphere allows to interpret the effective temperature coefficient as an indirect measurement of the atmospheric kaon-to-pion production ratio \(r_{\mathrm{K}/\pi} = 0.11^{+0.11}_{-0.07}\) for primary energies above \(18\,\mathrm{TeV}\). We find evidence for a long-term modulation of the muon flux with a period of \(\sim 3000\,\mathrm{d}\) and a maximum in June 2012 that is not present in the atmospheric temperature data. A possible correlation between this modulation and the solar activity is investigated. The cosmogenic neutron production rate is found to show a seasonal modulation in phase with the cosmic muon flux but with an increased amplitude of \((2.6 \pm 0.4)\%\).
Current antiretroviral drugs cannot eradicate HIV infections, and persons living with HIV are often faced with very demanding daily therapeutic schedules that can induce poor adherence. More ...conveniently dosed and patient-friendly regimens are needed. We investigated, in this 48-week pilot study, a once-a-day highly active antiretroviral therapy regimen of didanosine, lamivudine and efavirenz. Seventy-five consecutive antiretroviral-naive subjects were enrolled. Over the 48-week period, plasma HIV-RNA levels declined sharply, with a median decrease at the end of the observation time >3.4 log copies/ml. The proportion of patients achieving a plasma HIV-RNA level below the limit of detection (50 copies/ml) was 77% (intention to treat analysis) at the end of the study period. The mean CD4 cell count increased steadily over time from 251 to 459 cells/μl. Antiviral efficacy was similar in patients with a baseline HIV-RNA level above or below 100 000 copies/ml. However, patients with a baseline CD4 cell count <200 cells/μl showed a significantly worse virological response than that observed in patients with higher baseline CD4 counts. Overall 15 patients interrupted therapy. In four cases treatment interruption was due to lack of treatment response; three additional patients were lost to follow-up or withdrew informed consent. Eight patients stopped therapy because of adverse events. The once-daily combination of didanosine, lamivudine and efavirenz resulted in sustained viral suppression and was well-accepted by patients. This regimen may offer advantages in selected difficult-to-treat populations, allows directly observed therapy and can be a safe and effective alternative in antiretroviral-naive patients. These encouraging pilot results need to be confirmed in a comparative clinical trial.
A spectral fitter based on the graphics processor unit (GPU) has been developed for Borexino solar neutrino analysis. It is able to shorten the fitting time to a superior level compared to the CPU ...fitting procedure. In Borexino solar neutrino spectral analysis, fitting usually requires around one hour to converge since it includes time-consuming convolutions in order to account for the detector response and pile-up effects. Moreover, the convergence time increases to more than two days when including extra computations for the discrimination of \(^{11}\)C and external \(\gamma\)s. In sharp contrast, with the GPU-based fitter it takes less than 10 seconds and less than four minutes, respectively. This fitter is developed utilizing the GooFit project with customized likelihoods, pdfs and infrastructures supporting certain analysis methods. In this proceeding the design of the package, developed features and the comparison with the original CPU fitter are presented.
