Fluticasone Topical

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... should; do not use tight-fitting diapers or plastic pants. Such use may increase side effects. ... are severe or do not go away: itching, burning, irritation, redness, or dryness of the skin acne ...

Quality of life assessment in asthmatic patients receiving fluticasone compared with equipotent doses of beclomethasone or budesonide

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Thomas Sabin

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Aims: To assess the quality of life in patients with asthma receiving either fluticasone or other inhaled steroids like beclomethasone or budesonide. To assess the effect of equipotent dosage of inhaled steroids at 3 months duration. Methods: Patients were randomised to receive either fluticasone or beclomethasone/budesonide. After spirometry, St. George′s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ was administered at baseline and at 15 th , 30 th , 45 th , 60 th and 90 th day, to assess improvement in lung function and HRQoL. Results: Out of 96 patients who were enrolled, eighty patients completed three months duration of the study, while sixteen patients dropped out. Forty patients received fluticasone and forty received either beclomethasone or budesonide. No significant difference (p>0.05 was found in the baseline values of St. George′s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ scores and Forced Expiratory Volume at first second (FEV 1 between the two groups. However, significant difference (p< 0.05 was noted between the above two groups, in Quality of Life (QoL but not in pulmonary functions, on 15th day favoring fluticasone. No significant difference (p>0.05 was noted either in QoL or in pulmonary function tests on subsequent follow-ups. Conclusion: Early response in terms of improved QoL was observed in fluticasone treated group in patients with moderate to severe asthma.

Fetal human airway smooth muscle cell production of leukocyte chemoattractants is differentially regulated by fluticasone.

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Pearson, Helen; Britt, Rodney D; Pabelick, Christine M; Prakash, Y S; Amrani, Yassine; Pandya, Hitesh C

2015-12-01

Adult human airway smooth muscle (ASM) produce cytokines involved in recruitment and survival of leukocytes within airway walls. Cytokine generation by adult ASM is glucocorticoid-sensitive. Whether developing lung ASM produces cytokines in a glucocorticoid-sensitive fashion is unknown. Cultured fetal human ASM cells stimulated with TNF-α (0-20 ng/ml) were incubated with TNF-α receptor-blocking antibodies, fluticasone (1 and 100 nm), or vehicle. Supernatants and cells were assayed for the production of CCL5, CXCL10, and CXCL8 mRNA and protein and glucocorticoid receptor phosphorylation. CCL5, CXCL10, and CXCL8 mRNA and protein production by fetal ASM cell was significantly and dose-dependently following TNF-α treatment. Cytokine mRNA and protein production were effectively blocked by TNF-α R1 and R2 receptor neutralizing antibodies but variably inhibited by fluticasone. TNF-α-induced TNF-R1 and R2 receptor mRNA expression was only partially attenuated by fluticasone. Glucocorticoid receptor phosphorylation at serine (Ser) 211 but not at Ser 226 was enhanced by fluticasone. Production of CCL5, CXCL10, and CXCL8 by fetal ASM appears to involve pathways that are both qualitatively and mechanistically distinct to those described for adult ASM. The findings imply developing ASM has potential to recruit leukocyte into airways and, therefore, of relevance to childhood airway diseases.

Oesophageal lichen planus: the efficacy of topical steroid-based therapies.

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Podboy, A; Sunjaya, D; Smyrk, T C; Murray, J A; Binder, M; Katzka, D A; Alexander, J A; Halland, M

2017-01-01

Oesophageal lichen planus is an idiopathic inflammatory disorder characterized by significant oesophageal stricturing. Oesophageal lichen planus is a rare, difficult to diagnose, and likely an under recognized disease. As a result, there is no standardized approach to therapy and treatment strategies vary. To examine the utility of topical steroid therapy (fluticasone or budesonide) in the management of oesophageal lichen planus. A retrospective chart review was conducted of patients diagnosed with oesophageal lichen planus who underwent baseline and follow up endoscopy pre and post topical steroid therapy between 1995 and 2016 at Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN. Average time between upper GI endoscopy was 3.2 months (0.7-11.7). Swallowed steroid preparations included fluticasone 880 μg twice daily or budesonide 3 mg twice daily. Patients were reviewed for symptomatic response to therapy using the Dakkak-Bennett dysphagia score (0-4, no dysphagia to total aphagia). Pre- and post-endoscopic findings were assessed. Additional baseline demographic, endoscopic, and histologic data were also obtained. We identified 40 patients who met the inclusion criteria. A significant reduction in median dysphagia score from 1 (0-4) to 0 (0-3) after steroid therapy (P lichen planus. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Budesonide and fluticasone propionate differentially affect the airway epithelial barrier

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heijink, I. H.; Jonker, M.R.; Vries, de Maaike; van Oosterhout, A. J. M.; Telenga, E.; ten Hacken, N. H. T.; Postma, D. S.; van den Berge, M.

2016-01-01

Background: COPD patients have a higher risk of pneumonia when treated with fluticasone propionate (FP) than with placebo, and a lower risk with budesonide (BUD). We hypothesized that BUD and FP differentially affect the mucosal barrier in response to viral infection and/or cigarette smoke. Methods:

Agglomerate behaviour of fluticasone propionate within dry powder inhaler formulations.

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Le, V N P; Robins, E; Flament, M P

2012-04-01

Due to their small size, the respirable drug particles tend to form agglomerates which prevent flowing and aerosolisation. A carrier is used to be mixed with drug in one hand to facilitate the powder flow during manufacturing, in other hand to help the fluidisation upon patient inhalation. Depending on drug concentration, drug agglomerates can be formed in the mixture. The aim of this work was to study the agglomeration behaviour of fluticasone propionate (FP) within interactive mixtures for inhalation. The agglomerate phenomenon of fluticasone propionate after mixing with different fractions of lactose without fine particles of lactose (smaller than 32 μm) was demonstrated by the optical microscopy observation. A technique measuring the FP size in the mixture was developed, based on laser diffraction method. The FP agglomerate sizes were found to be in a linear correlation with the pore size of the carrier powder bed (R(2)=0.9382). The latter depends on the particle size distribution of carrier. This founding can explain the role of carrier size in de-agglomeration of drug particles in the mixture. Furthermore, it gives more structural information of interactive mixture for inhalation that can be used in the investigation of aerosolisation mechanism of powder. According to the manufacturing history, different batches of FP show different agglomeration intensities which can be detected by Spraytec, a new laser diffraction method for measuring aerodynamic size. After mixing with a carrier, Lactohale LH200, the most cohesive batch of FP, generates a lower fine particle fraction. It can be explained by the fact that agglomerates of fluticasone propionate with very large size was detected in the mixtures. By using silica-gel beads as ball-milling agent during the mixing process, the FP agglomerate size decreases accordingly to the quantity of mixing aid. The homogeneity and the aerodynamic performance of the mixtures are improved. The mixing aid based on ball

Spotlight on fluticasone furoate/vilanterol trifenatate for the once-daily treatment of asthma: design, development and place in therapy

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Albertson TE

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Timothy E Albertson,1–3 Samuel W Bullick,1,3 Michael Schivo,1 Mark E Sutter2,3 1Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, 2Department of Emergency Medicine, School of Medicine, UC Davis, Sacramento, 3Department of Medicine, Veterans Administration Northern California Health Care System, Mather, CA, USA Abstract: The use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs plays a key role in the treatment of asthmatic patients, and international guidelines have designated ICSs as an early maintenance therapy in controlling asthma symptoms. When asthmatic patients remain symptomatic on ICSs, one common option is to add a long-acting beta2 agonist (LABA to the maintenance treatment. Fixed combination inhalers that contain both an ICS and a LABA have been popular for both chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD and asthma. Historically, these inhalers have been dosed twice daily. However, currently, there is a once-daily combination therapy with the ICS fluticasone furoate (FF and the LABA vilanterol trifenatate (VI with indications for use in both COPD and asthma. This dry powder inhaler (DPI comes in two doses of FF (100 or 200 µg both combined with VI (25 µg. This article reviews the clinical trial data for FF, VI and FF/VI combination inhalers and documents the efficacy and safety of once-daily inhaled maintenance therapy by DPI in asthmatic patients. Keywords: fluticasone furoate/vilanterol trifenatate, asthma, long-acting beta2 agonist, inhaled corticosteroid, combined inhaler, persistent asthma, dry powder inhaler  

[Iatrogenic adrenal insufficiency secondary to an interaction between ritonavir and inhaled fluticasone. A review of the literature].

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Gómez-Cerquera, Juan Manuel; Hernando-López, Elena; Blanco-Ramos, José Ramón

2014-12-01

Highly effective antiretroviral treatment has improved the life expectancy of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infected patients, but has led to an increase in the comorbidities related to aging, such as the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). All this implies the need for a greater number of drugs and an increasing risk of drugs interactions with antiretroviral treatment, particularly protease inhibitors. We report a case of iatrogenic adrenal insufficiency interaction secondary to ritonavir and inhaled fluticasone in an HIV-infected patient with COPD. A review was made of the cases reported in adults in the medical literature (Medline) up to December 2012. A total of 34 cases were reported. The mean age was 4 years. The mean dose of ritonavir was 187 mg/day, while the fluticasone dose was 866 μg/day. The average time of the interaction between ritonavir and fluticasone was 8 months. In 85% of cases fluticasone was discontinued at the time of diagnosis of adrenal insufficiency/Cushing syndrome. Almost all (90%) patients had a complete resolution of the symptoms after changing the treatment. HIV-infected patients on antiretroviral therapy with protease inhibitor boosted with ritonavir which requires the use of inhaled corticosteroids, beclomethasone would be the best treatment option. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier España, S.L.U. y Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica. All rights reserved.

Effect of Fluticasone and Salmeterol on Tracheal Responsiveness to Ovalbumin and Lung Inflammation, Administrated during and after Sensitization

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Zahra Gholamnezhad

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The effect of duration of administration of fluticasone propionate and salmeterol on tracheal responsiveness to ovalbumin and total and differential white blood cell in sensitized guinea pig was examined. Six groups of guinea pigs (n=7 were sensitized to ovalbumin. Three groups of them were subjected to inhaled fluticasone propionate and salmeterol, one group during sensitization (A, one group after that (for 18 days, B, and the other one during sensitization but with 18 days delay before measurements (C. Three other groups were treated with placebo in the same manner. The tracheal responsiveness to ovalbumin and total and differential white blood cells of three placebo groups were significantly higher than those of control group (P<0.001 for all cases. Tracheal responsiveness to ovalbumin and total and differential white blood cell in treated groups with fluticasone propionate and salmeterol were significantly decreased compared to those of placebo groups (nonsignificant to P<0.001. The improvement in all variables in treatment groups A and C were more pronounced than group B. The results showed that fluticasone propionate and salmeterol had a prevention effect on tracheal hyperresponsiveness to ovalbumin and lung inflammation which was more pronounced when administered during than after sensitization.

Stimulus-selective regulation of human mast cell gene expression, degranulation and leukotriene production by fluticasone and salmeterol.

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Adriana Catalli

Full Text Available Despite the fact that glucocorticoids and long acting beta agonists are effective treatments for asthma, their effects on human mast cells (MC appear to be modest. Although MC are one of the major effector cells in the underlying inflammatory reactions associated with asthma, their regulation by these drugs is not yet fully understood and, in some cases, controversial. Using a human immortalized MC line (LAD2, we studied the effects of fluticasone propionate (FP and salmeterol (SM, on the release of early and late phase mediators. LAD2 cells were pretreated with FP (100 nM, SM (1 µM, alone and in combination, at various incubation times and subsequently stimulated with agonists substance P, C3a and IgE/anti-IgE. Degranulation was measured by the release of β-hexosaminidase. Cytokine and chemokine expression were measured using quantitative PCR, ELISA and cytometric bead array (CBA assays. The combination of FP and SM synergistically inhibited degranulation of MC stimulated with substance P (33% inhibition compared to control, n = 3, P<.05. Degranulation was inhibited by FP alone, but not SM, when MC were stimulated with C3a (48% inhibition, n = 3, P<.05. As previously reported, FP and SM did not inhibit degranulation when MC were stimulated with IgE/anti-IgE. FP and SM in combination inhibited substance P-induced release of tumor necrosis factor (TNF, CCL2, and CXCL8 (98%, 99% and 92% inhibition, respectively, n = 4, P<.05. Fluticasone and salmeterol synergistically inhibited mediator production by human MC stimulated with the neuropeptide substance P. This synergistic effect on mast cell signaling may be relevant to the therapeutic benefit of combination therapy in asthma.

The effect of inhaled fluticasone propionate in the treatment of young asthmatic children

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Bisgaard, H; Gillies, J; Groenewald, M

1999-01-01

The response in asthmatic young children to inhaled steroids within the usual pediatric dose range is unknown. We therefore evaluated the dose-related response in young children with moderate asthma to inhaled fluticasone propionate (FP) (delivered via the Babyhaler spacer device) within the pedi......The response in asthmatic young children to inhaled steroids within the usual pediatric dose range is unknown. We therefore evaluated the dose-related response in young children with moderate asthma to inhaled fluticasone propionate (FP) (delivered via the Babyhaler spacer device) within...... the pediatric dose range. A total of 237 children (mean age 28 mo, range 12 to 47) with moderate asthmatic symptoms were studied in this multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled study of 12 wk treatment following a 4-wk run-in period. The median use of rescue medication was 1...

Case report and review of esophageal lichen planus treated with fluticasone

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Ynson, Marie Lourdes; Forouhar, Faripour; Vaziri, Haleh

2013-01-01

Lichen planus is a fairly common chronic idiopathic disorder of the skin, nails and mucosal surfaces. Esophageal involvement of this disease on the other hand is rare and only about 50 cases have been reported in literature. Given its rarity, it can be difficult to diagnose and may be easily misdiagnosed as reflux esophagitis. Currently, there are no clear recommendations on the optimal management of this disease and little is known about the best treatment approach. Systemic steroids are usually the first line treatment and offer a favorable response. In this report, we would like to present a novel approach in the management of esophageal lichen planus in a middle-aged woman treated successfully with swallowed fluticasone propionate 220 mcg twice a day for 6 wk, as evidenced by objective clinical findings. Based on our review of related literature and experience in this patient, we feel that a trial of swallowed fluticasone may be a prudent approach in the management of these patients since it has a more favorable side effect profile than systemic treatment. PMID:23539434

Lung deposition and systemic availability of fluticasone Diskus and budesonide Turbuhaler in children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agertoft, Lone; Pedersen, Soren

2003-01-01

Pharmacokinetic studies can be used to measure lung dose of inhaled drugs. The aim of this study was to compare the lung deposition of budesonide (BUD) inhaled from Turbuhaler (AstraZeneca, Lund, Sweden) and fluticasone propionate (FP) inhaled from Diskus (GlaxoSmithKline, London, UK) and to assess...

Randomized Trial of Once-Daily Fluticasone Furoate in Children with Inadequately Controlled Asthma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oliver, Amanda J.; Covar, Ronina A.; Goldfrad, Caroline H.

2016-01-01

Objective To evaluate the dose-response, efficacy, and safety of fluticasone furoate (FF; 25 µg, 50 µg, and 100 µg), administered once daily in the evening during a 12-week treatment period to children with inadequately controlled asthma. Study design This was a Phase IIb, multicenter, stratified...

Effects of heated humidification and topical steroids on compliance, nasal symptoms, and quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome using nasal continuous positive airway pressure.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Ryan, Silke

2012-02-01

BACKGROUND: Nasal side effects are common in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) starting on nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. We tested the hypothesis that heated humidification or nasal topical steroids improve compliance, nasal side effects and quality of life in this patient group. METHODS: 125 patients with the established diagnosis of OSAS (apnea\\/hypopnea index > or = 10\\/h), who tolerated CPAP via a nasal mask, and who had a successful CPAP titration were randomized to 4 weeks of dry CPAP, humidified CPAP or CPAP with additional topical nasal steroid application (fluticasone, GlaxoWellcome). Groups were similar in all demographic variables and in frequency of nasal symptoms at baseline. Outcome measures were objective compliance, quality of life (short form 36), subjective sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale score) and nasal symptoms such as runny, dry or blocked nose, sneezing and headaches; all variables assessed using a validated questionnaire and by direct interview. RESULTS: There was no difference in compliance between groups after 4 weeks (dry: 5.21 +\\/- 1.66 h\\/night, fluticasone: 5.66 +\\/- 1.68, humidifier: 5.21 +\\/- 1.84; p = 0.444). Quality of life and subjective sleepiness improved in all groups, but there were no differences in the extent of improvement. Nasal Symptoms were less frequently reported in the humidifier group (28%) than in the remaining groups (dry: 70%, fluticasone: 53%, p = 0.002). However, the addition of fluticasone resulted in increased frequency of sneezing. CONCLUSION: The addition of a humidifier, but not nasal steroids decreases the frequency of nasal symptoms in unselected OSAS patients initiating CPAP therapy; however compliance and quality of life remain unaltered.

Addition of topical pimecrolimus to once-daily mid-potent steroid confers no short-term therapeutic benefit in the treatment of severe atopic dermatitis; a randomized controlled trial.

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Spergel, J M; Boguniewicz, M; Paller, A S; Hebert, A A; Gallagher, P R; McCormick, C; Parneix-Spake, A; Hultsch, T

2007-08-01

Combination therapy with pimecrolimus cream 1%, a topical calcineurin inhibitor (TCI), and fluticasone propionate cream 0.05% (FP), a mid-potency topical corticosteroid, may have a synergistic effect for treatment of atopic dermatitis (AD) because their mechanism of action differs. To assess the efficacy of concomitant pimecrolimus twice daily/FP once daily vs. vehicle twice daily/FP once daily in patients with severe AD. An exploratory, 2-week, double-blind, randomized, within-patient study was conducted (n = 45). Two target areas of similar severity, size and location were assessed. Assessments included the modified Eczema Area and Severity Index (0-12 scale) (primary variable), localized investigator global assessment (0-4 scale) and Patients' Self-Assessment of Disease Severity (0-4 scale). Data for all variables were similar for the TCI/FP and vehicle/FP treatments. The efficacy observed for treatment of severe AD flares with this TCI/FP combination regimen was equivalent to that of vehicle/FP.

Effects of Heated Humidification and Topical Steroids on Compliance, Nasal Symptoms, and Quality of Life in Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome Using Nasal Continuous Positive Airway Pressure

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Ryan, Silke; Doherty, Liam S.; Nolan, Geraldine M.; McNicholas, Walter T.

2009-01-01

Background: Nasal side effects are common in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) starting on nasal continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. We tested the hypothesis that heated humidification or nasal topical steroids improve compliance, nasal side effects and quality of life in this patient group. Methods: 125 patients with the established diagnosis of OSAS (apnea/hypopnea index ≥ 10/h), who tolerated CPAP via a nasal mask, and who had a successful CPAP titration were randomized to 4 weeks of dry CPAP, humidified CPAP or CPAP with additional topical nasal steroid application (fluticasone, GlaxoWellcome). Groups were similar in all demographic variables and in frequency of nasal symptoms at baseline. Outcome measures were objective compliance, quality of life (short form 36), subjective sleepiness (Epworth Sleepiness Scale score) and nasal symptoms such as runny, dry or blocked nose, sneezing and headaches; all variables assessed using a validated questionnaire and by direct interview. Results: There was no difference in compliance between groups after 4 weeks (dry: 5.21 ± 1.66 h/night, fluticasone: 5.66 ± 1.68, humidifier: 5.21 ± 1.84; p = 0.444). Quality of life and subjective sleepiness improved in all groups, but there were no differences in the extent of improvement. Nasal Symptoms were less frequently reported in the humidifier group (28%) than in the remaining groups (dry: 70%, fluticasone: 53%, p = 0.002). However, the addition of fluticasone resulted in increased frequency of sneezing. Conclusion: The addition of a humidifier, but not nasal steroids decreases the frequency of nasal symptoms in unselected OSAS patients initiating CPAP therapy; however compliance and quality of life remain unaltered. Citation: Ryan S; Doherty LS; Nolan GM; McNicholas WT. Effects of heated humidification and topical steroids on compliance, nasal symptoms, and quality of life in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome using nasal

Topical nasal steroid treatment does not improve CPAP compliance in unselected patients with OSAS.

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Strobel, Werner; Schlageter, Manuel; Andersson, Morgan; Miedinger, David; Chhajed, Prashant N; Tamm, Michael; Leuppi, Jörg D

2011-02-01

Continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) for treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can produce troublesome nasal symptoms (i.e. congestion, rhinorrhea) that may reduce the compliance of CPAP. Topical nasal steroids are often prescribed to reduce these side effects, although scientific data are scarce supporting any benefits of this treatment for CPAP-induced nasal side effects. To study whether a topical nasal steroid can reduce CPAP-induced nasal symptoms and improve CPAP adherence during the initial phase of OSA treatment. A randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study with fluticasone propionate 100 μg/nasal cavity twice daily Treatment was started 10 days prior to and continued throughout the first 4 weeks of CPAP. 63 patients who were selected for CPAP treatment participated. Nasal symptoms were recorded, nasal patency was assessed and lung function was measured with a peak flow meter. The patients' adherence to CPAP was recorded by the CPAP device. Total nasal symptoms increased from baseline to 4 wks after CPAP use for both nasal treatments (p < 0.05). No differences in total nasal symptoms between treatments were seen (p = 1), and no differences in nasal peak flow values after treatment were seen (p = 0.11). Moreover, there were no differences in CPAP use between the treatments. Fluticasone propionate as a nasal topical steroid does not reduce CPAP-induced unwanted nasal side effects, and has no beneficial effect on CPAP compliance during the first four weeks of treatment in unselected patients with OSAS. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effect of combined topical heparin and steroid on corneal neovascularization in children.

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Michels, Rike; Michels, Stephan; Kaminski, Stephan

2012-01-01

To demonstrate the effect of topical heparin combined with topical steroid on corneal neovascularization (CN) in children. Four children (5 eyes) with new-onset progressive CN in at least one eye received topical rimexolone or dexamethasone in combination with heparin until complete regression of CN was obtained. The regression of CN was documented by slit-lamp or anterior segment photography. All 5 eyes showed complete regression of CN within 5 months. An anti-angiogenic effect was found as early as 1 week after starting topical combination treatment. No ocular and systemic side effects were detected and treatment was well tolerated by all children. In the 3 eyes with involvement of the optical axis, symmetrical visual acuity was obtained by amblyopia treatment. Recurrence of the CN was detectable in 2 eyes at 1 and 6 months, respectively, after ending combination therapy. Both eyes responded favorably to re-treatment. Combination of topical heparin and steroid leads to rapid regression and complete inactivity of CN. This therapeutic approach is promising, especially in children with limited therapeutic alternatives and a high risk for amblyopia. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

Indacaterol-Glycopyrronium versus Salmeterol-Fluticasone for COPD

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wedzicha, Jadwiga A; Banerji, Donald; Chapman, Kenneth R

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: Most guidelines recommend either a long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) plus an inhaled glucocorticoid or a long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA) as the first-choice treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who have a high risk of exacerbations. The role...... of treatment with a LABA-LAMA regimen in these patients is unclear. METHODS: We conducted a 52-week, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, noninferiority trial. Patients who had COPD with a history of at least one exacerbation during the previous year were randomly assigned to receive, by inhalation, either...... the LABA indacaterol (110 μg) plus the LAMA glycopyrronium (50 μg) once daily or the LABA salmeterol (50 μg) plus the inhaled glucocorticoid fluticasone (500 μg) twice daily. The primary outcome was the annual rate of all COPD exacerbations. RESULTS: A total of 1680 patients were assigned...

Efficacy of combination of glycolic acid peeling with topical regimen in treatment of melasma.

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Chaudhary, Savita; Dayal, Surabhi

2013-10-01

Various treatment modalities are available for management of melasma, ranging from topical and oral to chemical peeling, but none is promising alone. Very few studies are available regarding efficacy of combination of topical treatment with chemical peeling. Combination of chemical peeling and topical regimen can be a good treatment modality in the management of this recalcitrant disorder. To assess the efficacy of combination of topical regimen (2% hydroquinone, 1% hydrocortisone and 0.05% tretinoin) with serial glycolic acid peeling in the treatment of melasma in Indian patients. Forty Indian patients of moderate to severe epidermal variety melasma were divided into two groups of 20 each. One Group i.e. peel group received topical regimen (2% hydroquinone, 1% hydrocortisone and 0.05% tretinoin) with serial glycolic acid peeling and other group i.e. control group received topical regimen (2% hydroquinone, 1% hydrocortisone, 0.05% tretinoin). There was an overall decrease in MASI from baseline in 24 weeks of therapy in both the groups (P value peel with topical regimen showed early and greater improvement than the group which was receiving topical regimen only. This study concluded that combining topical regimen (2% hydroquinone, 1% hydrocortisone and 0.05% tretinoin) with serial glycolic acid peeling significantly enhances the therapeutic efficacy of glycolic acid peeling. The combination of glycolic acid peeling with the topical regimen is a highly effective, safe and promising therapeutic option in treatment of melasma.

Fluticasone furoate and vilanterol inhalation powder for the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Science.gov (United States)

Matera, Maria Gabriella; Capuano, Annalisa; Cazzola, Mario

2015-02-01

Fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/VI) is a novel inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β₂-agonist (ICS/LABA) fixed dose combination that, by simplifying the dosing schedule, allows, for the first time in a member of the ICS/LABA class, a shift from twice-daily to once-daily treatment. FF/VI is delivered via a novel, single-step activation, multi-dose dry powder inhaler for oral inhalation, Ellipta. Regrettably, there are no head-to-head trials that have shown superiority in the safety or efficacy of FF versus other ICSs, but evidence shows that VI has a quicker onset of effect versus salmeterol. However, the clinical utility of this effect in a maintenance medication is still questionable. Furthermore, benefits of FF/VI over twice-daily ICS/LABA comparator have not been shown yet and, in addition, its adverse event profile is generally consistent with the known class effects of an ICS/LABA fixed dose combination. In particular, there is an increase in the risk of pneumonia among patients treated with FF/VI relative to VI, mainly among those who benefit most from FF/VI. Nevertheless, the interesting pharmacological profiles of both FF and VI, the possibility that FF/VI can be administered once-daily, and the attractive characteristics of Ellipta are important features that could help FF/VI to be a successful combination in the treatment of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Penetration of topical, oral, and combined administered ofloxacin into the subretinal fluid

OpenAIRE

Cekic, O.; Batman, C.; Yasar, U.; Totan, Y.; Basci, N.; Bozkurt, A.; Zilelioglu, O.; Kayaalp, S

1999-01-01

AIMS—To assess the subretinal fluid (SRF) levels of ofloxacin following topical, oral or combined administration.
METHODS—31 patients undergoing conventional retinal reattachment surgery were randomly assigned to three groups. Nine patients received topical ofloxacin, 11 patients received oral ofloxacin, and the other 11 patients received combined administration. Collected SRF samples were analysed for drug level by using high performance liquid chromatography.
RESULTS—SRF drug levels after o...

Comparison of the effect of high-dose inhaled budesonide and fluticasone on adrenal function in patients with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Fahim

2012-01-01

Conclusion: Inhaled budesonide and fluticasone have no significantly different effect on adrenal function in moderate to severe COPD. The adverse event profile of high-dose inhaled steroids should not influence the choice of medication.

Comparative efficacy of inhaled ciclesonide, budesonide, and fluticasone in mild to moderately persistent bronchial asthma

OpenAIRE

Tamoghna Maiti; Syed Mohammed Naser; Amrita Panda; Sekhar Mandal; Sonai Mandal; Tanmoy Gangopadhyay; Parvin Banu

2014-01-01

Background: Bronchodilators and glucocorticoids have been proven to be very effective and safe in asthma treatment, which recommend the use of steroids and beta2-agonist (long or short acting) as the first line of treatment in of asthma. This study was aimed to compare the efficacy of three different inhaled corticosteroids ciclesonide, budesonide, and fluticasone in bronchial asthma. Methods: A total of 30 patients with mild to moderately persistent bronchial asthma was selected as per th...

Efficacy of nebulized fluticasone propionate in adult patients admitted to the emergency department due to bronchial asthma attack.

Science.gov (United States)

Starobin, Daniel; Bolotinsky, Ludmila; Or, Jack; Fink, Gershon; Shtoeger, Zev

2008-01-01

Locally delivered steroids by inhalers or nebulizers have been shown in small trials to be effective in acute asthma attack, but evidence-based data are insufficient to establish their place as routine management of adult asthma attacks. To determine the efficacy of nebulized compared to systemic steroids in adult asthmatics admitted to the emergency department following an acute attack. Adult asthmatics admitted to the ED were assigned in random consecutive case fashion to one of three protocol groups: group 1--nebulized steroid fluticasone (Flixotide Nebules), group 2--intravenous methylprednisolone, group 3--combined treatment by both routes. Objective and subjective parameters, such as peak expiratory flow, oxygen saturation, heart rate and dyspnea score, were registered before and 2 hours after ED treatment was initiated. Steroids were continued for 1 week following the ED visit according to the protocol arm. Data on hospital admission/discharge rate, ED readmissions in the week after enrollment and other major events related to asthma were registered. Altogether, 73 adult asthmatics were assigned to receive treatment: 24 patients in group 1, 23 in group 2 and 26 in group 3. Mean age was 44.4 +/- 16.8 years (range 17-75 years). Peak expiratory flow and dyspnea score significantly improved in group 1 patients compared with patients in the other groups after 2 hours of ED treatment (P = 0.021 and 0.009, respectively). The discharge rate after ED treatment was significantly higher in groups 1 and 3 than in group 2 (P = 0.05). All 73 patients were alive a week after enrollment. Five patients (20.8%) in the Flixotide treatment arm were hospitalized and required additional systemic steroids. Multivariate analysis of factors affecting hospitalization rate demonstrated that severity of asthma (odds ratio 8.11) and group 2 (OD 4.17) had a negative effect, whereas adherence to chronic anti-asthma therapy (OD 0.49) reduced the hospitalization rate. Our study cohort

Efficacy and tolerability of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate versus montelukast in childhood asthma: A prospective, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group study

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Maspero, Jorge; Guerra, Frances; Cuevas, Francisco

2008-01-01

BACKGROUND: Asthma control remains suboptimal in adults and children worldwide. Inhaled salmeterol/fluticasone propionate combination (SFC) and oral montelukast (MON) are 2 treatments available for childhood asthma. OBJECTIVE: This study, the PEdiatric Asthma Control Evaluation (PEACE......), investigated the efficacy and tolerability of SFC compared with MON for the control of persistent asthma in children. METHODS: Children with asthma (forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV(1)] 55%-80% predicted; reversibility >or=12%) aged 6 to 14 years who were receiving only short-acting beta(2)-agonists...... in morning peak expiratory flow (PEF). Efficacy assessments included lung function, asthma symptoms, rescue medication use, and asthma control. Tolerability was assessed by recording the number and type of adverse events (AEs) and the number of asthma exacerbations. RESULTS: Of 607 patients screened, 548...

Hot topics from the Assemblies.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-03-01

INSTEAD: a randomised switch trial of indacaterol versus salmeterol/fluticasone in moderate COPD Authors: Rossi A, van der Molen T, Ricardo del Olmo, et al. Eur Respir J 2014; 44: 6, 1548-1556 SUMMARY: Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) remain a highly controversial treatment for stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Data linking high-dose ICS with complications, such as pneumonia and fractures, has necessitated a re-evaluation of their role in COPD management. Guidelines currently suggest ICS for patients with a forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1) <50% predicted (or <60% in some regions) and a history of exacerbations. Nevertheless, it is well known that ICS and combination ICS/long-acting β-agonist (LABA) treatments are commonly used outside these groups. In view of the increasingly recognised dangers of ICS treatment, data demonstrating the safety of discontinuing ICS treatment is welcome.

Causality Assessment of Olfactory and Gustatory Dysfunction Associated with Intranasal Fluticasone Propionate: Application of the Bradford Hill Criteria

OpenAIRE

Muganurmath, Chandrashekhar S.; Curry, Amy L.; Schindzielorz, Andrew H.

2018-01-01

Causality assessment is crucial to post-marketing pharmacovigilance and helps optimize safe and appropriate use of medicines by patients in the real world. Self-reported olfactory and gustatory dysfunction are common in the general population as well as in patients with allergic rhinitis and nasal polyposis. Intranasal corticosteroids, including intranasal fluticasone propionate (INFP), are amongst the most effective drugs indicated in the treatment of allergic rhinitis and nasal polyposis. W...

Comparative cost-effectiveness of a fluticasone-propionate/salmeterol combination versus anticholinergics as initial maintenance therapy for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

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An

2010-12-01

Full Text Available Anand A Dalal1, Melissa H Roberts2, Hans V Petersen2, Christopher M Blanchette3, Douglas W Mapel41US Health Outcomes, GlaxoSmithKline, Research Triangle Park, NC; 2Division of Clinical and Outcomes Research, Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Albuquerque, NM; 3Kannapolis, North Carolina; 4Lovelace Clinic Foundation, Albuquerque, NM, USAPurpose: Relative costs and utilization-related outcomes of a fluticasone propionate 250 µg + salmeterol 50 µg combination (FSC, tiotropium bromide, and ipratropium as initial maintenance therapy in COPD have not been compared in a commercially-insured population.Methods: This retrospective, observational cohort study used health care claims data from January 2004 to June 2009 from a large administrative database for patients aged ≥40 years with COPD. Time-to-first COPD-related health care event beginning 30 days following therapy initiation with FSC (n = 16,684, ipratropium alone or in fixed dose combination with albuterol (n = 14,449, or tiotropium (n = 12,659 was estimated using Cox proportional hazard models that controlled for differences in patient demographic characteristics, health care utilization, and comorbidities at baseline. Mean adjusted costs and numbers of COPD-related health care encounters and prescription medication fills were compared among patients with 12 months of follow-up (FSC, n = 12,595; ipratropium, n = 10,617; tiotropium, n = 9126.Results: With FSC as the reference, risk for a COPD-related hospitalization and/or emergency department visit was significantly higher for ipratropium (hazard ratio [HR] 1.64, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.50–1.79 and tiotropium (HR 1.29, CI 1.17–1.41. Mean adjusted 12-month COPD-related total health care costs were lower for FSC ($2068, standard deviation [SD] $1190 than for ipratropium ($2841, SD $1858 and tiotropium ($2408, SD $1511, both P < 0.05. Mean number of COPD-related hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and outpatient

Combining Open-domain and Biomedical Knowledge for Topic Recognition in Consumer Health Questions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mrabet, Yassine; Kilicoglu, Halil; Roberts, Kirk; Demner-Fushman, Dina

2016-01-01

Determining the main topics in consumer health questions is a crucial step in their processing as it allows narrowing the search space to a specific semantic context. In this paper we propose a topic recognition approach based on biomedical and open-domain knowledge bases. In the first step of our method, we recognize named entities in consumer health questions using an unsupervised method that relies on a biomedical knowledge base, UMLS, and an open-domain knowledge base, DBpedia. In the next step, we cast topic recognition as a binary classification problem of deciding whether a named entity is the question topic or not. We evaluated our approach on a dataset from the National Library of Medicine (NLM), introduced in this paper, and another from the Genetic and Rare Disease Information Center (GARD). The combination of knowledge bases outperformed the results obtained by individual knowledge bases by up to 16.5% F1 and achieved state-of-the-art performance. Our results demonstrate that combining open-domain knowledge bases with biomedical knowledge bases can lead to a substantial improvement in understanding user-generated health content.

Therapeutic Effects of Topical Minoxidil or Rosemary and the Combination of Both on the treatment of Alopecia areata

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Mohammad Hossein Lohrasb

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background & Objectives: Considering the prevalence of Alopecia areata, , failure of treatment, and the unknown pathogenesis of this illness, a comparative study was performed by using topical Minoxidil 2% and topical rosemary solution alone and in combination to treatment this disease. Materials & Methods: This study is a clinical trial performed on 200 patients with Alopecia areata referring to Hamzeh clinic of Fasa during the years 2012 and 2013. They were divided into four groups by random permutation, each group contained 50 patients. Group one received the combination of topical Minoxidil 2% and topical rosemary, group two received only topical Minoxidil 2% solution, group three received only topical rosemary solution and the fourth group, the case-control group, did not receive any medication and were just advised to rub the site of the disease for the same period of time. The patients were under observation for one year. Results: The Results of this investigation showed that the best remissions after treatments were as follow (respectively: combination of topical Minoxidil 2% and topical rosemary (27 patient=54 %, Minoxidil 2% solution (23 patients =46%, rosemary solution (21 patients =42%, and case- control group (9 patients =18%. These results showed that despite better response to the combination of rosemary and Minoxidil solutions in comparison to the two other treated groups, the changes were minimal and statistically insignificant (P-value =0.0411. Conclusion: Using the combination of both rosemary and Minoxidil is more effective than the individual one on treatment of Alopecia areata.

The EFFECT trial: evaluating exacerbations, biomarkers, and safety outcomes with two dose levels of fluticasone propionate/formoterol in COPD

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Papi A

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Alberto Papi,1 Paul W Jones,2 Prashant S Dalvi,3 Kirsten McAulay,4 Tammy McIver,5 Sanjeeva Dissanayake3 1Department of Internal and CardioRespiratory Medicine, Research Centre on Asthma and COPD, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy; 2Institute for Infection and Immunity, St George’s, University of London, London, UK; 3Medical Science – Respiratory, 4Medical Operations, 5Data Management and Statistics, Mundipharma Research Ltd, Cambridge, UK Abstract: Inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-agonist combination therapy is recommended in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD patients at high risk of exacerbations. The EFFECT (Efficacy of Fluticasone propionate/FormotErol in COPD Treatment trial is a Phase III, 52-week, randomized, double-blind study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of two doses of fluticasone propionate/formoterol compared to formoterol monotherapy in COPD patients with FEV1 ≤50% predicted and a history of exacerbations. The primary endpoint is the annualized rate of moderate and severe exacerbations. Secondary endpoints include pre-dose FEV1, EXACT-PRO (EXAcerbations of Chronic pulmonary disease Tool – Patient-Reported Outcome-defined exacerbations, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire for COPD, COPD Assessment Test, and EXACT-Respiratory Symptoms total score. Lung-specific biomarkers (surfactant protein D and CC chemokine ligand-18 will be measured in a subset of patients to explore their relationship to other clinical indices in COPD and their predictive utility. Pneumonia will be diagnosed per criteria defined by the British Thoracic Society community acquired pneumonia guideline, primarily by radiological confirmation and, additionally, using clinical criteria when a chest radiograph cannot be obtained. Serial measurements of serum potassium, vital signs and electrocardiograms, 24-hour Holter monitoring, and 24-hour urinary cortisol measurement will be performed in a subset of patients in addition to

Treatment of vitiligo vulgaris with the combination therapy of topical steroid and vitamin D3 compound

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoko Konishi

2012-06-01

Full Text Available We reported here two cases of vitiligo vulgaris successfully treated with the combination therapy of topical steroid and vitamin D3 compound and currently maintained by vitamin D3 analog without any adverse effects: skin atrophy, striae or telangiectasia on the exposed areas. The best-known mechanism of topical vitamin D3 analog is the enhancement of keratinocytes differentiation and anti-proliferative effects. Vitamin D3 analog is also reported to suppress T-cell mediated immunity, T-cell skin recruitment, and skin infiltration via down-regulating cutaneous lymphocyte antigen expression. Furthermore, vitamin D3 compounds are known to influence melanocyte maturation and differentiation and also to up-regulate melanogenesis. Autoreactive lymphocytes against melanocytes are one of the causes. Topical vitamin D3 analog may control vitiligo itself, however stronger immunosuppressive effects of topical corticosteroid may contribute to rapid re-pigmentation suppressing auto-reactive lymphocytes. The topical combination therapy is a simple, effective and safe option for vitiligo vulgaris in sun-exposed areas.

Efficacy and safety of fluticasone furoate/vilanterol or tiotropium in subjects with COPD at cardiovascular risk

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Covelli H

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Henry Covelli,1 Bonavuth Pek,2 Isabelle Schenkenberger,3 Catherine Scott-Wilson,4 Amanda Emmett,5 Courtney Crim4 1Kootenai Health, Coeur d’Alene, ID, USA; 2Clinique de Pneumologie et de Sommeil de Lanaudière, Quebec, Canada; 3Klinische Forschung, Berlin, Germany; 4GlaxoSmithKline Inc., Research Triangle Park, 5PAREXEL International, Durham, NC, USA Background: Fluticasone furoate/vilanterol (FF/VI is a novel, once-daily, inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting β2-agonist combination approved for the treatment of COPD and asthma. We compared the safety and efficacy of FF/VI and tiotropium (TIO in subjects with moderate-to-severe COPD with greater risk for comorbid cardiovascular disease (CVD.Methods: This randomized, blinded, double-dummy, parallel-group study compared a once-daily morning dose of FF/VI 100/25 mcg delivered via ELLIPTA™ with TIO 18 mcg via HandiHaler® for 12 weeks in subjects with diagnosed COPD, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 30%–70% predicted, and CVD or CVD risk. The primary endpoint was change from baseline in 24-hour weighted mean FEV1 on Day 84. Other efficacy endpoints included time to onset of bronchodilation, trough FEV1, other spirometry measures, rescue medication use, symptoms, quality of life (St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire-COPD [SGRQ-C], and health status (COPD Assessment Tests [CAT] measures. Safety endpoints included cardiovascular monitoring, cortisol excretion, COPD exacerbations, and adverse events, including prespecified drug effects.Results: Both FF/VI and TIO improved the 24-hour weighted mean FEV1 from baseline after 12 weeks with no significant difference between treatments. Other endpoints favored FF/VI for time to onset of bronchodilation, rescue medication use, dyspnea, SGRQ-C and CAT scores, or favored TIO for change from baseline in forced vital capacity and inspiratory capacity. Pneumonia occurred more frequently in the FF/VI group, and two TIO-treated subjects died

Fluticasone furoate: once-daily evening treatment versus twice-daily treatment in moderate asthma

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Woodcock Ashley

2011-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Inhaled corticosteroids are the recommended first-line treatment for asthma but adherence to therapy is suboptimal. The objectives of this study were to compare the efficacy and safety of once-daily (OD evening and twice-daily (BD regimens of the novel inhaled corticosteroid fluticasone furoate (FF in asthma patients. Methods Patients with moderate asthma (age ≥ 12 years; pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 40-85% predicted; FEV1 reversibility of ≥ 12% and ≥ 200 ml were randomized to FF or fluticasone propionate (FP regimens in a double-blind, crossover study. Patients were not permitted to have used any ICS for ≥ 8 weeks prior to enrolment and subsequently received doses of FF or FP 200 μg OD, FF or FP 100 μg BD and matching placebo by inhalation for 28 days each. Primary endpoint was Day 28 evening pre-dose (trough FEV1; non-inferiority of FF 200 μg OD and FF 100 μg BD was assessed, as was superiority of all active treatment relative to placebo. Adverse events (AEs and 24-hour urinary cortisol excretion were assessed. Results The intent-to-treat population comprised 147 (FF and 43 (FP patients. On Day 28, pre-dose FEV1 showed FF 200 μg OD to be non-inferior (pre-defined limit -110 ml to FF 100 μg BD (mean treatment difference 11 ml; 95% CI: -35 to +56 ml; all FF and FP regimens were significantly superior to placebo (p ≤ 0.02. AEs were similar to placebo; no serious AEs were reported. Urinary cortisol excretion at Day 28 for FF was lower than placebo (ratios: 200 μg OD, 0.75; 100 μg BD, 0.84; p ≤ 0.02. Conclusions FF 200 μg OD in the evening is an efficacious and well tolerated treatment for asthma patients and is not inferior to the same total BD dose. Trial registration Clinicaltrials.gov; NCT00766090.

Fluticasone propionate and increased risk of pneumonia in COPD: is it PAFR-dependent?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sohal SS

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Sukhwinder Singh SohalDiscipline of Laboratory Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Health, University of Tasmania, Launceston, AustraliaIt was with great interest that I read the recent comprehensive review by Christer Janson et al1 published in the International Journal of COPD, where authors discussed the possible mechanisms behind the increased risk of pneumonia in COPD patients using inhaled corticosteroids (ICSs, especially with fluticasone propionate (FP, where the risk was highest.1 It is an important area, and it is encouraging and reassuring that leading clinical journals are recognizing this. Understanding the fundamental mechanisms behind pneumococcal infections is critical.2 I would like to suggest that a broader discussion of new insights into the potential mechanisms contributing to the increased adherence of pneumococcus to airway wall and particularly in response to FP might has been appropriate with this opportunity.Authors’ replyChrister Janson,1 Georgios Stratelis,1,2 Anna Miller-Larsson,3 Tim W Harrison,4 Kjell Larsson51Respiratory, Allergy and Sleep Research Unit, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 2Respiratory, Inflammation and Autoimmunity, AstraZeneca Nordic, Södertälje, 3Respiratory GMed, AstraZeneca Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden; 4Nottingham Respiratory Research Unit, City Hospital Campus, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK; 5Lung and Airway Research, National Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SwedenWe thank Dr Sohal for his interest in our recently published manuscript discussing the scientific rationale for the possible inhaled corticosteroid (ICS intraclass difference in the risk of pneumonia in COPD. His own work on platelet-activating factor receptor (PAFR expression on airway epithelial cells in COPD patients shows a trend toward increased expression of PAFR by 6-month treatment with fluticasone propionate (FP, suggesting an

Feline penile erection induced by topical glans penis application of combination alprostadil and SEPA (Topiglan).

Science.gov (United States)

Usta, M F; Sanabria, J; Bivalacqua, T J; Hellstrom, W J G; Sanabriav, J

2004-02-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of topically applied prostaglandin E1 (PGE(1))+5% SEPA (soft enhancement of percutaneous absorption) on the glans penis in a feline erection model. Erectile response after glans penis administration of PGE(1)+5% SEPA cream (Topiglan, MacroChem Co., Lexington, MA, USA) was compared to the erectile response after intracavernosal administration of the triple-drug combination (1.65 mg papaverine, 25 microg phentolamine, and 0.5 microg PGE(1)). The placebo cream and increasing concentrations (0.25%, 2.5 mg/ml; 0.5%, 5 mg/ml; and 1%, 10 mg/ml) of PGE(1)+5% SEPA were applied in a total volume of 0.1 ml via a plastic needle-less syringe. The control triple-drug combination was administrated intracavernosally via a 30-gauge needle at the completion of each experiment to serve as a control reference. With each application of placebo, PGE(1)+SEPA, and the triple-drug combination, changes in intracavernosal pressure and systemic blood pressure were continuously monitored. Topical application of PGE(1)+SEPA induced increases in intracavernosal pressure in a dose-dependent manner, with minimal effects on systemic blood pressure. The increases obtained with 1% PGE(1) Topiglan cream were similar to the intracavernosal pressure values elicited by the standard intracavernosal triple-drug combination. These data demonstrate that topical glans penis application of PGE(1)+SEPA can induce an erectile response in cats with minimal systemic adverse effects. Oral pharmacological agents are the first-line treatment for male ED. Studies investigating the effectiveness of noninvasive modalities such as topical therapy should continue, because these agents have the potential to avoid the systemic effects commonly seen with oral therapies. Additionally, topical therapy may also benefit patients who are unresponsive to oral agents or have explicit contraindications. Topical PGE(1) application to the glans penis may become an important

Development and scintigraphic evaluation of submicron sized dry powder inhalation formulation of fluticasone propionate in healthy human volunteers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ali, Sultana S.; Ahmad, F.J.; Khar, R.K.; Rathore, V.P.; Ali, Rashid; Rawat, H.S.; Chopra, M.K.; Mittal, G.; Bhatnagar, A.

2010-01-01

Full text: Objective of the present study concerns formulation and evaluation of submicron sized dry powder inhalation formulation of Fluticasone propionate for the treatment of bronchial asthma, COPD and a new life saving treatment option in restrictive lung diseases such as Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD), toxic and non-cardiogenic pulmonary inflammations or pulmonary edema, which have no effective treatment presently. Materials and Methods: The submicron sized particles were prepared by precipitation method using acetone as solvent and water as antisolvent. Poloxamer F127 was used as stabilizer. Both submicronized and micronized particles were characterized using FTIR, XRD, DSC, SEM and TEM. The mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of the submicronized and micronized API was calculated using Andersen cascade impactor. The prepared particles and micronized Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) were radiolabeled with 99m Tc. Size3 HPMC capsules were filled with the 12.5 mg radiolabeled blend (100μg Fluticasone propionate and 12.4mg inhalable lactose) and given to healthy volunteers to assess the comparative pulmonary deposition. Results: The prepared formulation has shown better lung deposition as compared to micronized API. The MMAD of submicronized particles was in the range of 1 - 5 μm while the MMAD of micronized API was in the range of 5 - 15μm. Conclusion: The developed submicron sized dry powder inhalation formulation has better lung deposition as compared to micron sized API and it will become a better treatment option for the bronchial asthma, COPD and ILDs

Anti-inflammatory effects of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate 50/250 mcg combination therapy in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asai K

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Kazuhisa Asai,1 Akihiro Kobayashi,2 Yukio Makihara,3 Malcolm Johnson4 1Department of Respiratory Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka City University, Osaka, Japan; 2Biomedical Data Sciences, 3Medical Affairs Respiratory Department, GlaxoSmithKline, Tokyo, Japan; 4Respiratory Global Franchise, GlaxoSmithKline, Uxbridge, UK Purpose: Using sputum neutrophils as the primary measure, and other inflammation biomarkers, this study evaluated the anti-inflammatory effects of the combination salmeterol 50 mcg and fluticasone propionate 250 mcg (SFC 250 in Japanese patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD. Patients and methods: Patients were treated in a randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled trial with SFC 250 twice daily (n=26 or placebo (n=26 for 12 weeks. At the start and end of treatment, inflammation biomarkers (sputum and serum, lung function, and health status (COPD Assessment Test [CAT] questionnaire were measured. Results: Although a numerical decrease in differential neutrophil count was observed from baseline, SFC 250 did not significantly reduce sputum neutrophils compared with placebo, nor were there significant changes from baseline in the other biomarkers (sputum or serum, lung function, or CAT, versus placebo. Squamous epithelial cell contamination in some sputum samples rendered them unacceptable for analysis, which reduced the sample size to n=19 (SFC 250 and n=10 (placebo. However, inclusion of contaminated samples did not affect the overall trend of the outcome. Ad hoc bootstrap statistical analysis showed a 27.9% (SFC 250 and 1.3% (placebo decrease in sputum neutrophils. Sputum IL-8 decreased by 43.2% after SFC 250 but increased by 48.3% with placebo. Responder analyses showed 42% of patients had ≥20% decrease in neutrophils from baseline; and 47% of patients had a ≥200 pg/mL change in sputum IL-8 following SFC 250 versus 20% after placebo; both changes are considered clinically

Topical combinations aimed at treating microvascular dysfunction reduce allodynia in rat models of CRPS-I and neuropathic pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Ragavendran, J Vaigunda; Laferrière, André; Xiao, Wen Hua; Bennett, Gary J; Padi, Satyanarayana S V; Zhang, Ji; Coderre, Terence J

2013-01-01

Growing evidence indicates that various chronic pain syndromes exhibit tissue abnormalities caused by microvasculature dysfunction in the blood vessels of skin, muscle, or nerve. We tested whether topical combinations aimed at improving microvascular function would relieve allodynia in animal models of complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS-I) and neuropathic pain. We hypothesized that topical administration of either α(2)-adrenergic (α(2)A) receptor agonists or nitric oxide (NO) donors combined with either phosphodiesterase (PDE) or phosphatidic acid (PA) inhibitors would effectively reduce allodynia in these animal models of chronic pain. Single topical agents produced significant dose-dependent antiallodynic effects in rats with chronic postischemia pain, and the antiallodynic dose-response curves of PDE and PA inhibitors were shifted 2.5- to 10-fold leftward when combined with nonanalgesic doses of α(2)A receptor agonists or NO donors. Topical combinations also produced significant antiallodynic effects in rats with sciatic nerve injury, painful diabetic neuropathy, and chemotherapy-induced painful neuropathy. These effects were shown to be produced by a local action, lasted up to 6 hours after acute treatment, and did not produce tolerance over 15 days of chronic daily dosing. The present results support the hypothesis that allodynia in animal models of CRPS-I and neuropathic pain is effectively relieved by topical combinations of α(2)A or NO donors with PDE or PA inhibitors. This suggests that topical treatments aimed at improving microvascular function may reduce allodynia in patients with CRPS-I and neuropathic pain. This article presents the synergistic antiallodynic effects of combinations of α(2)A or NO donors with PDE or PA inhibitors in animal models of CRPS-I and neuropathic pain. The data suggest that effective clinical treatment of chronic neuropathic pain may be achieved by therapies that alleviate microvascular dysfunction in affected

Aminolevulinic acid-photodynamic therapy combined with topically applied vascular disrupting agent vadimezan leads to enhanced antitumor responses.

Science.gov (United States)

Marrero, Allison; Becker, Theresa; Sunar, Ulas; Morgan, Janet; Bellnier, David

2011-01-01

The tumor vascular-disrupting agent (VDA) vadimezan (5,6-dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic acid, DMXAA) has been shown to potentiate the antitumor activity of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using systemically administered photosensitizers. Here, we characterized the response of subcutaneous syngeneic Colon26 murine colon adenocarcinoma tumors to PDT using the locally applied photosensitizer precursor aminolevulinic acid (ALA) in combination with a topical formulation of vadimezan. Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS), a noninvasive method for monitoring blood flow, was utilized to determine tumor vascular response to treatment. In addition, correlative CD31-immunohistochemistry to visualize endothelial damage, ELISA to measure induction of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and tumor weight measurements were also examined in separate animals. In our previous work, DCS revealed a selective decrease in tumor blood flow over time following topical vadimezan. ALA-PDT treatment also induced a decrease in tumor blood flow. The onset of blood flow reduction was rapid in tumors treated with both ALA-PDT and vadimezan. CD31-immunostaining of tumor sections confirmed vascular damage following topical application of vadimezan. Tumor weight measurements revealed enhanced tumor growth inhibition with combination treatment compared with ALA-PDT or vadimezan treatment alone. In conclusion, vadimezan as a topical agent enhances treatment efficacy when combined with ALA-PDT. This combination could be useful in clinical applications. © 2011 The Authors. Photochemistry and Photobiology © 2011 The American Society of Photobiology.

Amelioration of FCA induced arthritis on topical application of curcumin in combination with emu oil.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeengar, Manish Kumar; Shrivastava, Shweta; Mouli Veeravalli, S Chandra; Naidu, V G M; Sistla, Ramakrishna

2016-09-01

The aim of the present study was to investigate the skin penetration potential of emu oil and the possibility of enhancing the antiarthritic potential of lipophilic bioactive curcumin, which has poor permeability through biological membranes. Solubility and ex vivo skin permeation studies were performed with water, corn oil, and emu oil as a vehicle using curcumin as a model drug. Carrageenan induced inflammation and Freund's complete adjuvant-induced arthritic rat models were used to evaluate enhanced antiinflammatory and antiarthritic effect of curcumin in combination of emu oil via topical route. The skin permeation study resulted in the combination of emu oil with curcumin enhancing the flux 1.84 and 4.25 times through the rat skin compared to corn oil and water, respectively. Results of carrageenan induced rat paw edema model demonstrated that percentage of paw inhibition shown by curcumin-emu oil combination was 1.42-fold more compared to the total effect shown by both groups treated with curcumin aqueous suspension and emu oil per se. In Freund's complete adjuvant-induced arthritic model, the combined treatment was effective in bringing significant changes in the functional, biochemical, histopathologic, and radiologic parameters. Topical application of curcumin-emu oil combination resulted in significant reduced levels of proinflammatory mediators TNF-α, IL-1 β, and IL-6 (P curcumin with emu oil holds promise as a noninvasive and efficacious intervention for the treatment of inflammatory arthritis and it assists in further development of a topical formulation of curcumin using emu oil as a vehicle. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Combination treatment of oral terbinafine with topical terbinafine and 10% urea ointment in hyperkeratotic type tinea pedis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Tian-Wei; Zhang, Jiang-An; Zhang, Xian-Wei; Yu, Hong-Xing; Tang, Yong-Bo; Yu, Jian-Bin

2014-09-01

Hyperkeratotic-type tinea pedis is chronic and recalcitrant to topical antifungal agents. Some topical antifungal agents are effective; however, long duration of therapy is required, which often reduce the treatment compliance of patients. To seek for short period therapy of hyperkeratotic type tinea pedis, in this study, we observed the efficacy and safety of treatment of topical terbinafine and 10% urea ointment combined oral terbinafine. Participants with hyperkeratotic type tinea pedis were randomly assigned to two groups. Patients in group I were treated with oral terbinafine for 2 weeks and topical terbinafine and 10% urea ointment for 4 weeks, whereas in group II, only the above topical agents were applied for 12 weeks. Clinical improvement rates and fungal eradication rates were compared between the two groups at 24 weeks after the initiation of treatment. The group I had stopped the topical therapy 8 weeks earlier than group II. There were no significant differences in mycological eradication rates and clinical improvement rates between the two groups, besides, no major side effects were noted in both groups. The short combination therapy with oral terbinafine was effective and safe; it should be a valuable option for patients with hyperkeratotic type tinea pedis. © 2014 Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

Efficacy and safety of combinations of first-line topical treatments in chronic plaque psoriasis: a systematic literature review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendriks, A.G.M.; Keijsers, R.R.M.C.; Jong, E.M.G.J. de; Seyger, M.M.B.; Kerkhof, P.C.M. van de

2013-01-01

Background Most psoriasis patients suffering from mild to moderate disease are treated with first-line topical treatments, including corticosteroids, vitamin D analogues, topical retinoids and calcineurin inhibitors. Although evidence-based guidelines on combinations are lacking, the majority of

Pneumonia risk with inhaled fluticasone furoate and vilanterol compared with vilanterol alone in patients with COPD

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Crim, Courtney; Dransfield, Mark T; Bourbeau, Jean

2015-01-01

: Radiographically confirmed pneumonia risk is increased with inhaled FF/VI, although at less than investigator-defined rates. Modifiable pneumonia risk factors should be considered when attempting to optimize COPD management. Clinical trial registered with www.clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01009463 [HZC102871]; NCT......RATIONALE: Radiographically confirmed pneumonia risk with inhaled corticosteroid use in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has not been assessed to date. OBJECTIVES: To determine the incidence of pneumonia, risk factors, and clinical attributes with inhaled fluticasone furoate (FF...... with compatible parenchymal infiltrates, the respective incidences were 2, 4, 4, and 5%. Factors associated with at least a twofold increase in the risk of pneumonia with FF/VI treatment were being a current smoker, having prior pneumonia, body mass index

A self-controlled study of intralesional injection of diprospan combined with topical timolol cream for treatment of thick superficial infantile hemangiomas.

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Xu, Peng; Yu, Qian; Huang, Huizhen; Zhang, Wenjie; Li, Wei

2018-04-30

Topical application of timolol cream is effective and convenient for treating superficial infantile hemangiomas. Intralesional injection of corticosteroids, such as diprospan, is useful for the treatment of superficia infantile hemangiomas without systemic side effects. We conducted a self-controlled study to investigate whether a combination of intralesional injection of diprospan with topical timolol 0.5% cream would be more efficient than timolol cream alone in thick superficial infantile hemangiomas. Thirty-eight patients with 39 thick superficial infantile hemangiomas were recruited. Each lesion was randomly divided into two equal parts: one part was treated with topical timolol 0.5% cream (timolol cream group), while the other part was treated with injection of diprospan combined with topical timolol 0.5% cream (combined treatment group). Infants were followed every 4 weeks to determine whether injections should be continued, and timolol cream was applied four times daily for 5 months. During 5 months of treatment, three specialist physicians were invited to evaluate the therapeutic effects. The combined treatment group showed better lesion involution than did the timolol cream group regarding lesion thickness and color of lesions. The combination of intralesional injection of diprospan with topical timolol 0.5% cream is a suitable and safe strategy for thick superficial infantile hemangiomas. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

CLINICAL AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE LONG-TERM MAINTENANCE THERAPY BY COMBINED DRUGS OF BRONCHIAL ASTHMA IN SCHOOL CHILDREN, RESIDENTS OF THE RURAL REGIONS

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I.N. Ermakova

2011-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of the study: selection of the supporting anti-asthma therapy (SAAT of the moderate asthma in school children, residents of the village with the lowest ratio of price and efficiency. The maximum frequency of achieving control of asthma was 64%. The spectrum of asthma medicines (drugs used in outpatient phase is represented. For 7 years, the proportion of the inhaled corticosteroid (ICS therapy in children with asthma has increased moderately by 5.5 times and was 66%, of which 2/3 was the combination of inhaled glucocorticosteroids. When using the combined drug salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (50/100 mkg during 3 months, after that fluticasone proionat during next 3 months as a level-controlled asthma the SAAT controlling BA increased 2 times. The cost of drugs accounted for 86% of direct medical costs (DMC, the cost of hospitalization decreased from 80 to 56% (DMC savings — 24%. The results of the analysis of «cost–effectiveness» SAAT allow to review the financial resources for health in favor of providing children with mild asthma inhaled high-performance combination that will improve the quality of medical care for children, residents of the rural regions.Key words: asthma, children, inhaled glucocorticosteriods, combined therapies, pharmacoeconomic analysis.

Combined application versus topical and intravenous application of tranexamic acid following primary total hip arthroplasty: a meta-analysis.

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Zhang, Pei; Liang, Yuan; Chen, Pengtao; Fang, Yongchao; He, Jinshan; Wang, Jingcheng

2017-02-21

The use of intravenous (IV) or topical tranexamic acid (TXA) in total hip arthroplasty has been proven to be effective and safe in total hip arthroplasty. However, which of these two administration routes is better has not been determined. The combined administration of TXA has been used in total knee arthroplasty with satisfactory results. We hypothesized that combined application of TXA may be the most effective way without increased rate of thrombotic events such as deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolisms (PE) in patients subjected to primary total hip replacement (THA). A meta-analysis was conducted to compare the efficacy and safety of the combined use of tranexamic acid (TXA) relative to topical or intravenous (IV) use alone for treatment of primary THA. The outcomes included total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, transfusion rates, and the incidence rates of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolisms (PE). We searched electronic databases including PubMed, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, the Chinese Biomedical Literature database, the CNKI database, and Wanfang Data until September 2016. The references of the included articles were also checked for additional potentially relevant studies. There were no language restrictions for the search. The data of the included studies were analyzed using RevMan 5.3 software. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria, encompassing a total of 1762 patients. Our meta-analysis demonstrated that total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, and transfusion rates were significantly lower for patients that received the combined treatment compared to patients that received either topical or intravenous administration of TXA. No statistical differences were found in the incidence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) or pulmonary embolism (PE). The group that received the combined treatment had lower total blood loss, postoperative hemoglobin decline, and transfusion rates without an

LANTERN: a randomized study of QVA149 versus salmeterol/fluticasone combination in patients with COPD

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Zhong N

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Nanshan Zhong,1 Changzheng Wang,2 Xiangdong Zhou,3 Nuofu Zhang,1 Michael Humphries,4 Linda Wang,4 Chau Thach,5 Francesco Patalano,6 Donald Banerji5On behalf of the LANTERN Investigators 1State Key Laboratory of Respiratory Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 2Institute of Respiratory Disease, Xin Qiao Hospital, 3Department of Respiratory Medicine, Southwest Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing City, Chongqing, 4Beijing Novartis Pharma Co. Ltd., Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 5Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA; 6Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, SwitzerlandBackground: The current Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD treatment strategy recommends the use of one or more bronchodilators according to the patient’s airflow limitation, their history of exacerbations, and symptoms. The LANTERN study evaluated the effect of the long-acting β2-agonist (LABA/long-acting muscarinic antagonist (LAMA dual bronchodilator, QVA149 (indacaterol/glycopyrronium, as compared with the LABA/inhaled corticosteroid, salmeterol/fluticasone (SFC, in patients with moderate-to-severe COPD with a history of ≤1 exacerbation in the previous year.Methods: In this double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group study, 744 patients with moderate-to-severe COPD with a history of ≤1 exacerbations in the previous year were randomized (1:1 to QVA149 110/50 µg once daily or SFC 50/500 µg twice daily for 26 weeks. The primary endpoint was noninferiority of QVA149 versus SFC for trough forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1 at week 26.Results: Overall, 676 patients completed the study. The primary objective of noninferiority between QVA149 and SFC in trough FEV1 at week 26 was met. QVA149 demonstrated statistically significant superiority to SFC for trough FEV1 (treatment difference [∆]=75 mL; P<0.001. QVA149 demonstrated a statistically significant

Effects of two inhaled corticosteroid/long-acting beta-agonist combinations on small-airway dysfunction in mild asthmatics measured by impulse oscillometry

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Diong B

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Bill Diong,1 Kshitiz Singh,2 Rogelio Menendez31School of Engineering, Southern Polytechnic State University, Marietta, GA, USA; 2College of Science and Engineering, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, USA; 3Allergy and Asthma Research Center of El Paso, El Paso, TX, USABackground: We previously showed that the long-acting beta agonist (LABA salmeterol as inhalation powder or metered-dose inhaler improves lung-function parameters assessed by impulse oscillometry (IOS in 2- to 5-year-old children with reversible-airway disease within 15 minutes.Objective: We studied 12- to 45-year-olds with mild persistent asthma in order to compare the onset and extent of peripheral airway effects following the first dose and after 4 weeks dosing with two inhaled corticosteroid (ICS/LABA combinations: fluticasone propionate/salmeterol 115/21 and budesonide/formoterol 160/4.5.Methods: Thirty subjects with mild persistent asthma using only an as-needed short-acting beta-agonist (albuterol who had at least a 40% change in integrated low-frequency reactance postalbuterol were selected and randomized to receive either fluticasone propionate/salmeterol or budesonide/formoterol (15 subjects each. We collected three to six IOS replicates at baseline, at 5, 20, 40, 60, 120, and 240 minutes postdose at randomization, and after 4 weeks of twice-daily dosing. Blinded investigators calculated IOS frequency-dependent resistance and reactance (R5–R20 and AX, indicative of small-airway dysfunction, and also estimated the peripheral airway resistance (Rp and peripheral airway compliance (Cp, using a respiratory-impedance model.Results: At randomization visits, onset of action was detected as early as 5 minutes (t-test, P < 0.05 after fluticasone propionate/salmeterol by Cp, and within 5 minutes after budesonide/formoterol by R5–R20, AX, Rp, and Cp. However, after 4 weeks of dosing, only Rp was significantly different (from 60 to 120 minutes after fluticasone

A pilot split-scalp study of combined fractional radiofrequency microneedling and 5% topical minoxidil in treating male pattern hair loss.

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Yu, A-J; Luo, Y-J; Xu, X-G; Bao, L-L; Tian, T; Li, Z-X; Dong, Y-X; Li, Y-H

2018-06-27

Various trials have been conducted on the management of male pattern hair loss (MPHL), but the outcomes often seem to be limited. Adjuvant therapies are urgently needed. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of combined fractional radiofrequency microneedling (FRM) and 5% topical minoxidil in the treatment of male pattern hair loss. In total, 19 Chinese men were enrolled in this randomized, controlled, split-scalp trial. Participants received monotherapy with 5% topical minoxidil twice daily to one half of the scalp, while on the other half of the scalp the treatment with twice-daily 5% topical minoxidil was combined with five sessions of FRM at 4-week intervals. Mean hair count and hair thickness, global assessment by the investigators, subject self-assessment and adverse effects were assessed. After 5 months of treatment, mean hair count increased from 44.12 ± 21.58 to 73.14 ± 25.45 on the combined-therapy side and from 46.22 ± 18.77 to 63.21 ± 19.22 on the monotherapy side, while mean hair thickness increased from 53 ± 13 μm to 71 ± 15 μm and from 52 ± 16 μm to 66 ± 14 μm, respectively. Compared with the monotherapy side, the combined-therapy side had a higher degree of improvement in both hair count (P = 0.01) and hair thickness (P = 0.02). Combined treatment with fractional radiofrequency microneedle and 5% topical minoxidil could be an effective and safe treatment option for male pattern hair loss. © 2018 British Association of Dermatologists.

Precipitation of fluticasone propionate microparticles using supercritical antisolvent

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A Vatanara

2009-03-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT Background: The ability of supercritical fluids (SCFs, such as carbon dioxide, to dissolve and expand or extract organic solvents and as result lower their solvation power, makes it possible the use of SCFs for the precipitation of solids from organic solutions. The process could be the injection of a solution of the substrate in an organic solvent into a vessel which is swept by a supercritical fluid. The aim of this study was to ascertain the feasibility of supercritical processing to prepare different particulate forms of fluticasone propionate (FP, and to evaluate the influence of different liquid solvents and precipitation temperatures on the morphology, size and crystal habit of particles. Method: The solution of FP in organic solvents, was precipitated by supercritical carbon dioxide (SCCO2 at two pressure and temperature levels. Effects of process parameters on the physicochemical characteristics of harvested microparticles were evaluated. Results: Particle formation was observed only at the lower selected pressure, whilst at the higher pressure, no precipitation of particles was occurred due to dissolution of FP in supercritical antisolvent. The micrographs of the produced particles showed different morphologies for FP obtained from different conditions. The results of thermal analysis of the resulted particles showed that changes in the processing conditions didn't influence thermal behavior of the precipitated particles. Evaluation of the effect of temperature on the size distribution of particles showed that increase in the temperature from 40 oC to 50 oC, resulted in reduction of the mean particle size from about 30 µm to about 12 μm. ‍Conclusion: From the results of this study it may be concluded that, processing of FP by supercritical antisolvent could be an approach for production of diverse forms of the drug and drastic changes in the physical characteristics of microparticles could be achieved by changing the

Synergistic activity profile of carbosilane dendrimer G2-STE16 in combination with other dendrimers and antiretrovirals as topical anti-HIV-1 microbicide.

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Sepúlveda-Crespo, Daniel; Lorente, Raquel; Leal, Manuel; Gómez, Rafael; De la Mata, Francisco J; Jiménez, José Luis; Muñoz-Fernández, M Ángeles

2014-04-01

Polyanionic carbosilane dendrimers represent opportunities to develop new anti-HIV microbicides. Dendrimers and antiretrovirals (ARVs) acting at different stages of HIV replication have been proposed as compounds to decrease new HIV infections. Thus, we determined the potential use of our G2-STE16 carbosilane dendrimer in combination with other carbosilane dendrimers and ARVs for the use as topical microbicide against HIV-1. We showed that these combinations obtained 100% inhibition and displayed a synergistic profile against different HIV-1 isolates in our model of TZM.bl cells. Our results also showed their potent activity in the presence of an acidic vaginal or seminal fluid environment and did not activate an inflammatory response. This study is the first step toward exploring the use of different anionic carbosilane dendrimers in combination and toward making a safe microbicide. Therefore, our results support further studies on dendrimer/dendrimer or dendrimer/ARV combinations as topical anti-HIV-1 microbicide. This paper describes the first steps toward the use of anionic carbosilane dendrimers in combination with antivirals to address HIV-1, paving the way to further studies on dendrimer/dendrimer or dendrimer/ARV combinations as topical anti-HIV-1 microbicides. © 2014.

Assessing patient satisfaction with cataract surgery under topical anesthesia supplemented by intracameral lidocaine combined with sedation

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Manuela Bezerril Cipião Fernandes

2013-12-01

Full Text Available PURPOSE: Ocular akinesia, the use of anticoagulants, and patient collaboration are some of the factors that must be taken into consideration when choosing the appropriate anesthesia for phacoemulsification cataract surgery. The satisfaction of patients with the use of topical anesthesia and conscious sedation for this procedure has not been enough described in Brazil. Conscious sedation allows patient walk and answer a voice command. To assess the satisfaction, pain, and perioperative hemodynamic alterations of patients subjected to phacoemulsification under conscious sedation and topical anesthesia supplemented with intracameral lidocaine. METHODS: Prospective cohort non-controlled study that included patients treated by the same surgical team over a 70-day period. Sedation was performed with midazolam at a total dose of 3 mg and topical anesthesia with 0.5% proxymetacaine chlorhydrate and 2% lidocaine gel combined with 2% lidocaine by intracameral route. The intraoperative vital parameters, scores based on the Iowa Satisfaction with Anesthesia Scale (ISAS, and the pain visual analog scale (VAS were recorded at several time points after surgery. RESULTS: A total of 106 patients were enroled in study (73.6% female, the mean age was 65.9 years. The surgical procedures lasted 11.2 minutes on average. The hemodynamic parameters did not exhibit significant changes at any of the investigated time points. The average ISAS score was 2.67 immediately after surgery and 2.99 eight hours after the surgery; this increase was statistically significant (p<0.0001. More than two-thirds (68.9% of the participants (73 patients did not report any pain in the transoperative period, and 98.1% of patients denied the occurrence of pain after surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Patients that received topical anesthesia supplemented by intracameral lidocaine combined with sedation for phacoemulsification cataract surgery reported adequate level of satisfaction with the anesthetic

Effects of topical steroids on tight junction proteins and spongiosis in esophageal epithelia of patients with eosinophilic esophagitis.

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Katzka, David A; Tadi, Ravikanth; Smyrk, Thomas C; Katarya, Eesha; Sharma, Anamay; Geno, Deborah M; Camilleri, Michael; Iyer, Prasad G; Alexander, Jeffrey A; Buttar, Navtej S

2014-11-01

The allergic response associated with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) occurs when food antigens permeate tight junction-mediated epithelial dilated intercellular spaces. We assessed whether levels of tight junction proteins correlate with the dilation of intercellular spaces (spongiosis) and the effects of topical steroids on these parameters. We assessed esophageal biopsy samples from 10 patients with active EoE treated with topical fluticasone, 10 untreated patients, and 10 patients without esophageal disease (controls) for degree of spongiosis. Immunohistochemical assays were used to determine the levels of the tight junction proteins filaggrin, zonula occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-2, ZO-3, and claudin-1. Histology and immunohistochemistry results were assessed blindly, with levels of tight junction proteins and degree of spongiosis rated on scales of 0 to 3. The mean degrees of spongiosis in untreated and treated patients with EoE were 1.3 and 0.4, respectively (P = .016). Esophageal epithelia did not stain significantly for ZO-1 or ZO-2. Filaggrin was observed in a predominant cytoplasmic pattern, compared with the cytoplasmic and membranous patterns of ZO-3 and claudin-1. In biopsy specimens from patients with active EoE, the mean staining intensities for filaggrin, ZO-3, and claudin-1 were 1.6, 1.4, and 0.7, respectively. In biopsy specimens from patients treated with fluticasone, levels of filaggrin, ZO-3, and claudin-1 were 2.8 (P = .002 compared with untreated patients), 1.7 (P = .46 compared with untreated patients), and 1.3 (P = .25 compared with untreated patients), respectively. The correlation between the level of filaggrin and the degree of spongiosis was r = 0.23, and between ZO-3 staining and the degree of spongiosis was r = .016 (P = .001 for filaggrin vs ZO-3 staining). Filaggrin, ZO-3, and claudin-1 (but not ZO-1 or ZO-2) are detected in the esophageal mucosa of patients with EoE treated with steroids and individuals without esophageal disease

Fractional Er:YAG laser assisting topical betamethasone solution in combination with NB-UVB for resistant non-segmental vitiligo.

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Yan, Ru; Yuan, Jinping; Chen, Hongqiang; Li, Yuan-Hong; Wu, Yan; Gao, Xing-Hua; Chen, Hong-Duo

2017-09-01

Resistant non-segmental vitiligo is difficult to be treated. Ablative erbium-YAG (Er:YAG) laser has been used in the treatment of vitiligo, but the ablation of entire epidermis frustrated the compliance of patients. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of fractional Er:YAG laser followed by topical betamethasone and narrow band ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) therapy in the treatment of resistant non-segmental vitiligo. The vitiligo lesions of each enrolled patient were divided into four treatment parts, which were all irradiated with NB-UVB. Three parts were, respectively, treated with low, medium, or high energy of Er:YAG laser, followed by topical betamethasone solution application. A control part was spared with laser treatment and topical betamethasone. The treatment period lasted 6 months. The efficacy was assessed by two blinded dermatologists. Treatment protocol with high energy of 1800 mJ/P of fractional Er:YAG laser followed by topical betamethasone solution and in combination with NB-UVB made 60% patients achieve marked to excellent improvement in white patches. The protocol with medium energy of 1200 mJ/P of laser assisted approximate 36% patients achieve such improvement. The two protocols, respectively, showed better efficacies than NB-UVB only protocol. However, fractional Er:YAG laser at low energy of 600 mJ/P did not provide such contributions to the treatment of vitiligo. The fractional Er:YAG laser in combination with topical betamethasone solution and NB-UVB was suitable for resistant non-segmental vitiligo. The energy of laser was preferred to be set at relatively high level.

New opportunities in the therapy of steroid-specific dermatosis - combination of topical glucocorticosteroid with urinium

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N. N. Filimonkova

2017-01-01

Full Text Available External therapy with topical steroids is used for a long time. To date topical glucocorticosteroids (TGCS are in the leading position in dermatology among all medicines for external therapy. TGCS as a powerful tool of pathogenic action can rapidly reduce or decrease inflammatory changes in the skin and eliminate subjective symptoms of dermatoses (itching, burning. their positive effect lead to the rehabilitation of working ability and daily living activity, positively affect the psychoemotional state and significantly improve the patient’s quality of life. Urea in dermatology has been used for a very long time, as it softens the skin, reduces its dryness and eliminates peeling. In recent decades interest in this compound has intensified after a formation of an idea about natural moisturizing factor (NMF - a complex of substances (which includes urea being a part of the intercellular matrix of the epidermis and capable of retaining the water in the epithelial layer of the skin necessary for its normal functioning. The article presents modern literature data on the reasoning of the inclusion of a combination of topical glucocorticosteroids with urea in a complex therapy of steroid-responsive dermatoses.

EFFECT OF BRONCHODILATORS ON HEART RATE VARIABILITY IN PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE

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H. H. Shugushev

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Aim. To study effect of long-acting theophylline (Theotard, KRKA and combination of salmeterol and fluticasone (Seretide, GlaxoSmithKline on heart rhythm variability (HRV and number of arrhythmic episodes in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD.Material and methods. 144 patients with COPD and 35 patients of control group were examined. The analysis of HRV and Holter monitoring were made f on 2th and 14th days.Results. Treatment with both drugs led to increase in power of low- and high frequencies and their ratio (LF/HF, decrease in rate of supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. Theophylline therapy raised in a number of single and pair supraventricular extrasystoles. Treatment with combination of salmeterol and fluticasone did not change a number of extrasystoles.Conclusion. Combination of salmeterol and fluticasone is more preferable as a broncholytic therapy for patients with COPD and heart rhythm disorders.

Comparison of efficacy combination oral terbinafine pulse-dosed and topical 8% ciclopirox olamine with terbinafine monotherapy for onychomycosis: An evidence-based case report

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Marsha Bianti

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Background: Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of the nails, which manifested as nail discoloration, thickening, and detachment from the nail bed. It is not life-threatening, however inappropriate treatment of onychomycosis might lead to complications and affect the patient’s quality of life; making the management of the disease a challenge for clinicians. Objective: Investigate the efficacy of pulse-dosed oral terbinafine combined with topical 8% ciclopirox olamine to treat onychomycosis. Methods: Literature search was performed in Pubmed and Cochrane databases using the keywords 'combination' AND 'oral terbinafine' AND 'ciclopirox' AND ‘onychomycosis treatment’ along with their synonyms and related terms. Results and Discussion: After critical appraisal, studies by Avner et al. and Jaiswal et al. found to be valid, important, and applicable to the patient. The first study found that oral terbinafine combined with topical 8% ciclopirox olamine is more effective and safe compared to terbinafine as a monotherapy (p0.05. Conclusions: Oral terbinafine combined with topical 8% ciclopirox olamine is more effective than monotherapy, despite statistical irrelevance in one of the studies appraised. Further studies are needed to support the implementation of combination therapy.

Efficacy of functional microarray of microneedles combined with topical tranexamic acid for melasma: A randomized, self-controlled, split-face study.

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Xu, Yang; Ma, Renyan; Juliandri, Juliandri; Wang, Xiaoyan; Xu, Bai; Wang, Daguang; Lu, Yan; Zhou, Bingrong; Luo, Dan

2017-05-01

To evaluate the efficacy of a functional microarray of microneedles (MNs) plus topical tranexamic acid (TA) for melasma in middle-aged women in China.Thirty female subjects with melasma were enrolled in this study. The left or right side of the face was chosen randomly to be pretreated with a functional microarray of MNs, followed by topical 0.5% TA solution once per week for 12 weeks. The other half-face was the control, treated with a sham device plus topical 0.5% TA solution. At baseline and at weeks 4, 8, and 12 of treatment, clinical (photographic) evaluations and parameters determined by Visia were recorded. At baseline and week 12, patient satisfaction scores and the biophysical parameters measured by Mexameter were also recorded. Side effects were evaluated at baseline and at the end of the 12 weeks.In total, 28 women (93.3%) completed the study. The brown spots' scores measured by Visia were significantly lower on the combined therapy side than on the control side at 12 weeks after starting treatment; there was no significant difference between sides at 4 or 8 weeks. After 12 weeks, melanin index (MI) decreased significantly in both 2 groups, and the MI was significantly less on the combined side at week 12. Transepidermal water loss, roughness, skin hydration, skin elasticity, and erythema index showed no significant differences between 2 sides at baseline, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after treatment. Physicians' evaluations of photographs showed better results at week 12 with combined therapy: >25% improvement was observed in the MNs plus TA side in 25 patients, and in the TA side in only 10 patients. Subjective satisfaction scores on both sides increased significantly. The participants were more satisfied with the results of the combined therapy side than the control side. No obvious adverse reactions were observed throughout the study.Combined therapy with a functional microarray of MNs and topical TA solution is a promising treatment for melasma.

[In-transit metastasis in melanoma: Efficacy of topical imiquimod combined with carbon dioxide laser or with electrocautery].

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Elfatoiki, F-Z; Longvert, C; Clerici, T; Bourgault-Villada, I; Roudier-Pujol, C; Vasseur, E; Saiag, P

2014-02-01

In-transit metastases in cutaneous melanoma are common and difficult to manage. Therapy is mainly palliative. Use of topical imiquimod has been assessed for surface metastases. We report on four patients with cutaneous melanoma metastases treated with topical imiquimod associated with carbon dioxide laser in the first two patients and with electrocoagulation in the two others. For two patients, we noted complete regression of the lesions after 15 and 18 months. For the two others, treatment was stopped after 9 to 10 months because of progression of subcutaneous metastasis and distant metastasis. Topical imiquimod is an alternative treatment used in superficial in-transit metastasis of melanoma. Its use as a monotherapy is sometimes ineffective. We elected to use combined pre-treatment with carbon dioxide laser or electrocoagulation in order to potentiate the action of imiquimod. This simple and inexpensive therapeutic strategy constitutes a palliative treatment that can allow prolonged local control of cutaneous metastasis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Management of symptomatic erosive-ulcerative lesions of oral lichen planus in an adult Egyptian population using Selenium-ACE combined with topical corticosteroids plus antifungal agent

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Belal, Mahmoud Helmy

2015-01-01

Aim: Oral lichen planus (OLP) is a chronic mucocutaneous disease with an immunological etiology. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of selenium combined with Vitamins A, C & E (Selenium-ACE) in the treatment of erosive-ulcerative OLP as an adjunctive to topical corticosteroids plus antifungal agent. Subjects and Methods: Thirty patients with a confirmed clinical and histopathologic diagnosis of OLP participated in this clinical trial. Patients were randomly allocated into one of three groups and treated as follows: (I) Topical corticosteroids, (II) topical corticosteroids plus antifungal, and (III) SE-ACE combined with topical corticosteroids plus antifungal. The patients were followed for 6 weeks. The pain and severity of the lesions were recorded at the initial and follow-up visits. All recorded data were analyzed using paired t-test and ANOVA test. A P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The experimental groups showed a marked reduction in pain sensation and size of lesions, particularly in the final follow-up period, but there was no significant difference between the first two Groups I and II. However, healing of lesions and improvement of pain sensation was effective in Group III since a significant difference was found favoring Group III over both Groups I and II. Conclusion: No significant difference was found in treating erosive-ulcerative lesions of OLP by topical corticosteroids alone or combined with antifungal. However, when using SE-ACE in combination with topical corticosteroids plus antifungal, this approach may be effective in managing ulcerative lesions of OLP; but more research with a larger sample size and a longer evaluation period may be recommended. PMID:26681847

Low-dose narrow-band UVB phototherapy combined with topical therapy is effective in psoriasis and does not inhibit systemic T-cell activation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Rie, M. A.; Out, T. A.; Bos, J. D.

1998-01-01

Psoriasis is a chronic T-cell-mediated inflammatory skin disease which can be treated with topical medication, phototherapy or systemic medication. A subgroup of psoriatic patients does not respond to monotherapy and needs combination therapy. We used low-dose narrow-band UVB phototherapy, combined

Twelve-month safety and efficacy of inhaled fluticasone propionate in children aged 1 to 3 years with recurrent wheezing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bisgaard, Hans; Allen, David; Milanowski, Janusz

2004-01-01

, exacerbations, and requirements for oral steroid treatment and more symptom-free days and days without use of rescue treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Twelve months of treatment with inhaled FP (100 microg twice daily) in preschool children aged 1 to 3 years with recurrent wheeze has no effect on growth and no other......OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to compare the 12-month safety and efficacy of fluticasone propionate (FP) and sodium cromoglycate (SCG) in children aged 1 to 3 years with mild to moderate recurrent wheeze. METHODS: The study was a randomized, parallel-group, open-label multicenter study of 625 children......, aged 1 to 3 years, with recurrent wheeze randomized in a 3:1 ratio to treatment for 52 weeks with FP (100 microg twice daily) via metered-dose inhaler and Babyhaler spacer device or SCG (5 mg 4 times daily) via metered-dose inhaler and Nebuhaler spacer device, respectively. RESULTS...

Diclofenac systemic bioavailability of a topical 1% diclofenac + 3% menthol combination gel vs. an oral diclofenac tablet in healthy volunteers: a randomized, open-label, crossover study
.

Science.gov (United States)

Moreira, Sebastian A; Liu, D Jeffery

2017-04-01

Evaluate systemic exposure with repeated topical application of a fixed-combination topical gel product containing 1% diclofenac sodium and 3% menthol in either of 2 formulation packages relative to oral administration. In this phase 1, single-center, 4-way crossover study, healthy volunteers aged 18 - 50 years underwent consecutive 3-day treatment regimens in a randomly assigned sequence with each of 4 treatment groups: 4 g of topical 1% diclofenac + 3% menthol gel administered via an aluminum tube or roll-on device applied 4 times daily; 4 g of topical 1% diclofenac sodium gel (Voltaren Gel) applied 4 times daily; and oral diclofenac sodium tablets 50 mg 3 times daily. Treatment regimens were separated by 2-day washout periods. A total of 18 subjects enrolled and completed the study. Relative to oral administration, area under the concentration time curve from 48 to 72 hours (AUC48-72) with topical administration of 1% diclofenac + 3% menthol gel from a tube or roll-on device was 16.1% (90% CI: 12.2 - 21.1%) and 14.4% (90% CI: 11.0 - 19.0%), respectively. The diclofenac/menthol combination delivered significantly higher exposures of diclofenac compared with Voltaren Gel. A higher number of adverse events (AEs) occurred with the topical diclofenac/menthol combination (61%) vs. Voltaren Gel (22%) or oral diclofenac (6%); most were local skin reactions. No difference in systemic AEs was observed among the groups. As expected, systemic exposure was significantly lower with the topical diclofenac/menthol treatment regimens compared with oral diclofenac. Local skin AEs were increased with the topical combination product, but the risk of systemic AEs was low.
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The effect of topical piperine combined with narrowband UVB on vitiligo treatment: A clinical trial study.

Science.gov (United States)

Shafiee, Anoosh; Hoormand, Mahmood; Shahidi-Dadras, Mohammad; Abadi, Alireza

2018-05-21

Vitiligo is the most common acquired hypopigmentary disease in the community. Piperine as an herbal extract derived from black pepper has strong impact on the melanocyte proliferation and adverse side effects less than synthetic drugs such as corticosteroids. For the first time, this study was aimed to evaluate the effect of topical piperine combined with narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) on vitiligo treatment. In this double-blind clinical trial, 63 patients with facial vitiligo were randomly divided into 2 groups: treated with piperine (case) and placebo (control). Also, both groups received NB-UVB phototherapy every other day for 3 months. In the case group, 10 patients have burning sensation on their skin areas (p value = .002). Also, redness of the treated areas was observed in 6 patients (p value = .028). Both side effects were temporary. Regarding repigmentation at time intervals of 1, 2, and 3 months after treatment, its level in the case group was significantly higher than the control group (p value topical piperine has more influence on facial vitiligo than that of NB-UVB alone. It could be concluded that the simultaneous use of NB-UVB and topical piperine has a remarkable effect on treatment of vitiligo. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Randomized trial of electrodynamic microneedle combined with 5% minoxidil topical solution for the treatment of Chinese male Androgenetic alopecia.

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Bao, Linlin; Gong, Lin; Guo, Menger; Liu, Taoming; Shi, Anyu; Zong, Haifeng; Xu, Xuegang; Chen, Hongduo; Gao, Xinghua; Li, Yuanhong

2017-10-13

In treating androgenetic alopecia, 5% minoxidil is a commonly used topical drug. By using electrodynamic microneedle at the same time may increase absorption of minoxidil and further stimulate hair growth. A 24-week, randomized, evaluator blinded, comparative study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of treating Chinese male androgenetic alopecia using microneedle combined with 5% minoxidil topical solution. Randomized subjects received topical 5% minoxidil (group 1, n = 20), local electrodynamic microneedle treatments (group 2, n = 20), or local electrodynamic microneedle treatments plus topical 5% minoxidil (group 3, n = 20). A total of 12 microneedle treatments were performed every 2 weeks with 2ml 5% minoxidil delivery in group 3 during each microneedle treatment. Patient receiving topical 5% minoxidil applied 1 ml of the solution twice daily over the course of the study. A total of 60 Chinese male subjects with Norwood-Hamilton type III-VI androgenetic alopecia were treated. The mean improvement in total hair density from baseline to 24 weeks was 18.8/cm 2 in group 1, 23.4/cm 2 in group 2, and 38.3/cm 2 in group 3. The hair growth in the 3 groups was significantly different (P = 0.002), but there were no significant differences in toxicity found between the 3 groups. Treatment with microneedle plus topical 5% minoxidil was associated with the best hair growth.

Human-competitive automatic topic indexing

CERN Document Server

Medelyan, Olena

2009-01-01

Topic indexing is the task of identifying the main topics covered by a document. These are useful for many purposes: as subject headings in libraries, as keywords in academic publications and as tags on the web. Knowing a document’s topics helps people judge its relevance quickly. However, assigning topics manually is labor intensive. This thesis shows how to generate them automatically in a way that competes with human performance. Three kinds of indexing are investigated: term assignment, a task commonly performed by librarians, who select topics from a controlled vocabulary; tagging, a popular activity of web users, who choose topics freely; and a new method of keyphrase extraction, where topics are equated to Wikipedia article names. A general two-stage algorithm is introduced that first selects candidate topics and then ranks them by significance based on their properties. These properties draw on statistical, semantic, domain-specific and encyclopedic knowledge. They are combined using a machine learn...

Comparative study of the efficacy of topical steroid and antibiotic combination therapy versus oral antibiotic alone when treating acute rhinosinusitis.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Hennawi, D M; Ahmed, M R; Farid, A M; Al Murtadah, A M

2015-05-01

Acute rhinosinusitis arises as a consequence of viral rhinitis, and bacterial infection can subsequently occur. Intranasal antibiotics as an adjunct to corticosteroids usually demonstrate the greatest symptom relief. We wanted to clinically evaluate the effects of a topical antibiotic and steroid combination administered intranasally, versus an oral antibiotic alone when treating acute rhinosinusitis. Forty patients with acute bacterial rhinosinusitis were divided into two groups. Group A received an antibiotic and steroid combination (ofloxacin 0.26 per cent and dexamethasone 0.053 per cent nasal drops) for 10 days, administered intranasally (5 drops in each nostril/8 hours). Group B, the control group, received an oral antibiotic alone (amoxicillin 90 mg/kg). Eight hours after commencing treatment, facial pain was more severe in group B and nasal obstruction was reduced in both groups. Ten days after commencing treatment, anterior nasal discharge was 0.15 per cent in group A and absent in group B. The application of a topical antibiotic and steroid combination into the nasal cavity is an effective way of treating uncomplicated, acute bacterial rhinosinusitis with the theoretical advantages of easy administration, high local drug concentration and minimal systemic adverse effects.

Patient perspectives on fluticasone–vilanterol versus other corticosteroid combination products for the treatment of asthma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bollmeier SG

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Suzanne G Bollmeier, Theresa R Prosser St Louis College of Pharmacy, St Louis, MO, USA Objective: Fluticasone furoate (FF, an inhaled corticosteroid (ICS, and vilanterol (VI, a long-acting beta2 receptor agonist (LABA, is a new combination used in an Ellipta® device. This article compares FF–VI to other ICS–LABA combinations available, particularly emphasizing product selection from the patient perspective. Data sources: A PubMED and EMBASE search completed in October 2015 identified trials using the MeSH terms “fluticasone”, “vilanterol”, and “asthma”. Additional information was gathered from references cited in the identified publications, the manufacturer, package insert, and ClinicalTrials.gov registry. Study selection/data extraction: Preference was given to randomized controlled clinical trials. Animal trials, trials for COPD, and non-English sources were excluded. Data synthesis: Seven efficacy trials of FF–VI in asthma were identified. Only one (24 weeks trial compared FF–VI to another ICS–LABA combination (fluticasone propionate–salmeterol. Primary outcomes (usually lung function and secondary outcomes (eg, quality of life and symptom scores were comparable. In three FF–VI safety trials, the type and frequency of common adverse reactions (ie, thrush and dysphonia were similar to those in clinical trials. Over 90% of subjects rated the Ellipta® device as “easy to use” and demonstrated correct device technique initially and at 4 weeks. Conclusion: Individuals may have drug- and device-specific preferences that should be incorporated into therapeutic decision making. Limited data indicate that clinical and patient-oriented efficacy/safety outcomes of FF–VI are likely comparable to other available combinations for adults with asthma. Patient-friendly features include once-daily dosing, flexibility of dose timing, and design/ease of the use of the device. Additional larger and long-term comparative

Medical adherence to topical corticosteroid preparations prescribed for psoriasis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Svendsen, Mathias Tiedemann; Andersen, Flemming; Hansen, Jakob

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: Topical corticosteroids and corticosteroid combinations are the principal treatments in psoriasis. The aim of this study was to investigate published literature dealing with medical adherence to topical corticosteroid or corticosteroid combinations in patients with psoriasis. MATERIALS...... health outcome in topical treatment of psoriasis, further studies should be conducted addressing determinants of nonadherence and test interventions to improve adherence. Validated measurements of medical nonadherence, prescription registers, or medication-weight are needed....

Cost-effectiveness of fluticasone propionate administered via metered-dose inhaler plus babyhaler spacer in the treatment of asthma in preschool-aged children

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bisgaard, H; Price, M J; Maden, Christian Nicolai

2001-01-01

a metered-dose inhaler and a Babyhaler (Glaxo Wellcome; Middlesex, UK) spacer device. MEASUREMENTS: Effectiveness in terms of asthma exacerbations, control of cough and wheeze symptoms, symptom-free days, overall direct costs of asthma management in Danish kroner at 1999 prices, and mean and incremental......STUDY OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of inhaled fluticasone propionate (FP) in children aged 12 to 47 months with asthma symptoms. DESIGN: A retrospective economic analysis conducted from the perspective of the Danish health-care system, based on clinical data from a 12-week study...... cost-effectiveness ratios. RESULTS: FP, 200 microg/d, was significantly more effective than placebo treatment in terms of the proportion of exacerbation-free patients (73.7% vs 59.8%; p = 0.025) and patients experiencing a > or = 25% improvement in cough symptoms (57.9% vs 39.0%; p = 0.018). The costs...

The influence of secondary processing on the structural relaxation dynamics of fluticasone propionate.

Science.gov (United States)

Depasquale, Roberto; Lee, Sau L; Saluja, Bhawana; Shur, Jagdeep; Price, Robert

2015-06-01

This study investigated the structural relaxation of micronized fluticasone propionate (FP) under different lagering conditions and its influence on aerodynamic particle size distribution (APSD) of binary and tertiary carrier-based dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations. Micronized FP was lagered under low humidity (LH 25 C, 33% RH [relative humidity]), high humidity (HH 25°C, 75% RH) for 30, 60, and 90 days, respectively, and high temperature (HT 60°C, 44% RH) for 14 days. Physicochemical, surface interfacial properties via cohesive-adhesive balance (CAB) measurements and amorphous disorder levels of the FP samples were characterized. Particle size, surface area, and rugosity suggested minimal morphological changes of the lagered FP samples, with the exception of the 90-day HH (HH90) sample. HH90 FP samples appeared to undergo surface reconstruction with a reduction in surface rugosity. LH and HH lagering reduced the levels of amorphous content over 90-day exposure, which influenced the CAB measurements with lactose monohydrate and salmeterol xinafoate (SX). CAB analysis suggested that LH and HH lagering led to different interfacial interactions with lactose monohydrate but an increasing adhesive affinity with SX. HT lagering led to no detectable levels of the amorphous disorder, resulting in an increase in the adhesive interaction with lactose monohydrate. APSD analysis suggested that the fine particle mass of FP and SX was affected by the lagering of the FP. In conclusion, environmental conditions during the lagering of FP may have a profound effect on physicochemical and interfacial properties as well as product performance of binary and tertiary carrier-based DPI formulations.

Polyaspartamide-Based Nanoparticles Loaded with Fluticasone Propionate and the In Vitro Evaluation towards Cigarette Smoke Effects

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Emanuela Fabiola Craparo

2017-08-01

Full Text Available This paper describes the evaluation of polymeric nanoparticles (NPs as a potential carrier for lung administration of fluticasone propionate (FP. The chosen polymeric material to produce NPs was a copolymer based on α,β-poly(N-2-hydroxyethyl-d,l-aspartamide (PHEA whose backbone was derivatised with different molecules, such as poly(lactic acid (PLA and polyethylenglycol (PEG. The chosen method to produce NPs from PHEA-PLA-PEG2000 was the method based on high-pressure homogenization and subsequent solvent evaporation by adding Pluronic F68 during the process and trehalose before lyophilisation. Obtained colloidal FP-loaded NPs showed a slightly negative surface charge and nanometric dimensions that are maintained after storage for one year at −20 °C and 5 °C. The FP loading was about 2.9 wt % and the drug was slowly released in simulated lung fluid. Moreover, the obtained NPs, containing the drug or not, were biocompatible and did not induce cell necrosis and cell apoptosis on bronchial epithelial cells (16-HBE. Further in vitro testing on cigarette smoke extract (CSE-stimulated 16-HBE revealed that FP-loaded NPs were able to reduce the survivin expression, while either free FP or empty NPs were not able to significantly reduce this effect.

Efficacy of a novel topical fipronil, (S)-methoprene, eprinomectin and praziquantel combination against naturally acquired intestinal nematode and cestode infections in cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Knaus, Martin; Abu-Madi, Marawan A; Ibarra-Velarde, Froylán; Kok, Dawie J; Kusi, Ilir; Postoli, Rezart; Chester, S Theodore; Rosentel, Joseph; Alva, Roberto; Irwin, Jennifer; Visser, Martin; Winter, Renate; Rehbein, Steffen

2014-04-28

The efficacy of a novel topical combination formulation of fipronil, (S)-methoprene, eprinomectin and praziquantel against naturally acquired intestinal nematode and cestode infections in cats was evaluated in seven negative control, blinded studies. Cats were selected based on a pre-treatment faecal examination indicating a patent infection with at least hookworms (two studies), Toxocara ascarids (one study), taeniid cestodes (two studies) or Dipylidium cestodes (two studies). In each study, cats were assigned randomly to blocks of two animals each, based on decreasing pre-treatment body weight and were randomly allocated to one of two groups of six to 12 cats: untreated (control) or treated with topical fipronil (8.3%, w/v), (S)-methoprene (10%, w/v), eprinomectin (0.4%, w/v) and praziquantel (8.3%, w/v) (BROADLINE(®), Merial) at 0.12 mL/kg body weight (providing a minimum of 10mg fipronil+12 mg S-methoprene+0.5mg eprinomectin+10mg praziquantel per kg body weight). The topical treatment was administered directly on the skin in the midline of the neck in a single spot once on Day 0. For parasite recovery and count, cats were euthanized humanely and necropsied seven or ten days after treatment. A single treatment with the novel topical combination product provided 91% efficacy against Ancylostoma braziliense, ≥ 99% efficacy against Ancylostoma tubaeforme, and >97% efficacy against Toxocara cati. Similarly, excellent efficacy was established against Taenia taeniaeformis, Dipylidium caninum and Diplopylidium spp. as demonstrated by >97% and up to 100% reductions of cestode counts in the treated cats when compared to the untreated controls (P<0.01). All cats accepted the treatment well based on health observations post-treatment and daily health observations. No adverse experiences or other health problems were observed throughout the studies. The results of this series of controlled studies demonstrated high efficacy and excellent acceptability of the novel

Efficacy Of Trichloro-acetic Acid Peel Alone Versus Combined Topical Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate For Epidermal Melasma

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murtaza, F.; Noor, S. M.; Bangash, A. R.

2016-01-01

Objective: To compare the efficacy in terms of reduction in melasma area and severity index (MASI) score by more than 10 of a combination of 20% trichloro-acetic acid peel plus 5% topical magnesium ascorbyl phosphate versus 20 percent trichloroacetic acid peel alone in the treatment of epidermal melasma. Study Design: Randomized controlled trial. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Dermatology, Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), Peshawar, from May 2012 to May 2013. Methodology: Patients aged 18 - 65 years, with Fitzpatrick skin type III-V were divided into two equal groups having 74 patients each. Detailed history was taken and Wood's lamp examination done to rule out mixed and dermal melasma. Melasma area and severity index (MASI) score was calculated for every patient. Priming was done for all patients with tretinoin cream applied once daily at night for 2 weeks, and to use a broad spectrum sun block cream before sun exposure. Patients in group A were subjected to combined treatment, i.e. trichloro-acetic acid peel 20 percent (weekly) plus magnesium ascorbyl phosphate cream (applied once daily), while patients in group B were subjected to trichloro-acetic acid peel 20 percent (weekly) alone. Treatment was continued for 6 weeks. After completion of treatment, MASI score was recalculated. Proportion of patients with significant MASI score reduction was compared using chi-square test with significance at p < 0.05. Results: Male and female patients were 11 (14.9 percent) and 63 (85.1 percent), respectively in group A, whereas 13 (17.6 percent) and 61 (82.4 percent) in group B. The mean age in group A was 30.28±8.08 years, and 29.36±6.84 years in group B. Significant MASI score reduction in group A was seen in 60 (81.1 percent) patients and in group B 49 (66.2 percent, p= 0.040). Conclusion: Combination of trichloro-acetic acid peel and topical magnesium ascorbyl phosphate cream was significantly more effective than trichloro-acetic acid peel alone in

Effect of fluticasone propionate on sputum of patients with chronic bronchitis and emphysema.

Science.gov (United States)

Llewellyn-Jones, C G; Harris, T A; Stockley, R A

1996-02-01

The effects of fluticasone propionate (FP) on sputum chemotactic activity, elastase inhibitory potential, albumin concentrations, and peripheral neutrophil function were studied in a group of patients with clinically stable, smoking-related chronic bronchitis and emphysema. Seventeen patients (50 to 75 yr of age) were entered into a double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 1.5 mg inhaled FP/d for 8 wk. Following treatment with FP the chemotactic activity of the sputum sol phase was lower than the corresponding values for the placebo group (p < 0.01). Values fell from a mean of 21.75 (+/- 1.58) during the run-in period to 18.37 (+/- 1.46; p < 0.01) after 4 wk and 17.63 (+/- 1.86; p < 0.05) after 8 wk treatment returning to 22.08 (+/- 1.26) cell/field after the washout period. The neutrophil elastase inhibitory capacity of the sputum sol phase increased (p < 0.025) with treatment from a mean of 0.177 microM elastase inhibited/L (+/- 0.05) pretreatment to 0.413 microM (+/- 0.054) after 4 wk and 0.415 microM (+/- 0.054) after 8 wk returning to 0.270 microM (+/- 0.07) after the washout period. Treatment with FP did not result in a change in the peripheral neutrophil functions studied or sputum albumin and myeloperoxidase concentrations. The results suggest that FP may play a protective role in these patients through a reduction in the chemotactic activity of lung secretions and potentially a reduction in the recruitment of neutrophils to the lung, and also by directly affecting the proteinase/antiproteinase balance, in favor of antiproteinases, within lung secretions.

An open randomized comparative study to test the efficacy and safety of oral terbinafine pulse as a monotherapy and in combination with topical ciclopirox olamine 8% or topical amorolfine hydrochloride 5% in the treatment of onychomycosis

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Jaiswal Amit

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Onychomycosis is a fungal infection of nails caused by dermatophytes, yeasts and molds. Aims: To study the efficacy and safety of oral terbinafine pulse as a monotherapy and in combination with topical ciclopirox olamine 8% or topical amorolfine hydrochloride 5% in onychomycosis. Methods: A clinical comparative study was undertaken on 96 Patients of onychomycosis during the period between August 2005 to July 2006. Forty-eight patients were randomly assigned in group A to receive oral terbinafine 250 mg, one tablet twice daily for seven days every month (pulse therapy; 24 patients in group B to receive oral terbinafine pulse therapy plus topical ciclopirox olamine 8% to be applied once daily at night on all affected nails; and 24 patients in group C to receive oral terbinafine pulse therapy plus topical amorolfine hydrochloride 5% to be applied once weekly at night on all the affected nails. The treatment was continued for four months. The patients were evaluated at four weekly intervals till sixteen weeks and then at 24 and 36 weeks. Results: We observed clinical cure in 71.73, 82.60 and 73.91% patients in groups A, B and C, respectively; Mycological cure rates against dematophytes were 88.9, 88.9 and 85.7 in groups A, B and C, respectively. The yeast mycological cure rates were 66.7, 100 and 50 in groups A, B and C, respectively. In the case of nondermatophytes, the overall response was poor: one out of two cases (50% responded in group A, while one case each in group B and group C did not respond at all. Conclusion: Terbinafine pulse therapy is effective and safe alternative in treatment of onychomycosis due to dermatophytes; and combination therapy with topical ciclopirox or amorolfine do not show any significant difference in efficacy in comparison to monotherapy with oral terbinafine.

Correlated Topic Vector for Scene Classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei, Pengxu; Qin, Fei; Wan, Fang; Zhu, Yi; Jiao, Jianbin; Ye, Qixiang

2017-07-01

Scene images usually involve semantic correlations, particularly when considering large-scale image data sets. This paper proposes a novel generative image representation, correlated topic vector, to model such semantic correlations. Oriented from the correlated topic model, correlated topic vector intends to naturally utilize the correlations among topics, which are seldom considered in the conventional feature encoding, e.g., Fisher vector, but do exist in scene images. It is expected that the involvement of correlations can increase the discriminative capability of the learned generative model and consequently improve the recognition accuracy. Incorporated with the Fisher kernel method, correlated topic vector inherits the advantages of Fisher vector. The contributions to the topics of visual words have been further employed by incorporating the Fisher kernel framework to indicate the differences among scenes. Combined with the deep convolutional neural network (CNN) features and Gibbs sampling solution, correlated topic vector shows great potential when processing large-scale and complex scene image data sets. Experiments on two scene image data sets demonstrate that correlated topic vector improves significantly the deep CNN features, and outperforms existing Fisher kernel-based features.

Effect of interleukin 13 on bronchial hyperresponsiveness and the bronchoprotective effect of beta-adrenergic bronchodilators and corticosteroids.

Science.gov (United States)

Townley, Robert G; Gendapodi, Pradeep R; Qutna, Nidal; Evans, Joseph; Romero, Francisco A; Abel, Peter

2009-03-01

Fluticasone affects airway bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) and enhances bronchodilation and bronchoprotection induced by beta-adrenergic agonists. Interleukin 13 (IL-13), however, induces BHR. To test the hypotheses that fluticasone inhibits BHR after either allergen sensitization or IL-13 administration and that fluticasone restores the bronchodilation and bronchoprotective effects of beta-agonists. The BHR to methacholine induced by IL-13 or ovalbumin was determined in BALB/c mice, and the provocation concentration of methacholine that caused an increase in enhanced pause in expiration of 200% (PC200) was calculated. We compared this response to methacholine in control mice with the response after treatment with IL-13 receptor alpha 2-IgGFc fusion protein (IL-13R alpha 2) (an IL-13 blocker), fluticasone, albuterol, salmeterol, fluticasone-albuterol, and fluticasone-salmeterol. IL-13R alpha 2 (PC200, 17.59) completely blocks the BHR-induced effects of IL-13 (PC200, 7.28; P < .005). After IL-13 therapy (PC200, 5.90; P < .005), 1 mg/mL of albuterol (PC200, 3.38; P = .33), fluticasone (PC200, 4.59; P = .40), or fluticasone plus 50 microg/mL of salmeterol (PC200, 5.59; P = .11) showed no significant bronchoprotection. In nonsensitized mice, fluticasone plus 0.25 microg/mL of salmeterol (PC200, 25.90; P < .005) showed significantly greater bronchoprotection than did salmeterol alone (PC200, 11.08; P = .26). Fluticasone plus 0.3 mg/mL of albuterol and fluticasone plus 1 mg/mL of albuterol were significantly more protective than was fluticasone or albuterol alone in ovalbumin-sensitized mice. The protective effects of fluticasone, beta-agonists, and fluticasone plus beta-agonists are significantly less in IL-13-treated mice than in nonsensitized or ovalbumin-sensitized mice.

Therapeutic potential of combined anti-IL-1β IgY and anti-TNF-α IgY in guinea pigs with allergic rhinitis induced by ovalbumin.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo-Zhu, Hu; Xi-Ling, Zhu; Zhu, Wen; Li-Hua, Wu; Dan, He; Xiao-Mu, Wu; Wen-Yun, Zhou; Wei-Xu, Hu

2015-03-01

We have previously demonstrated that anti-IL-1β immunoglobulin yolk(IgY) inhibits pathological responses in allergic asthma guinea pigs induced by ovalbumin(OVA). This study aims to determine whether the combined blockade of IL-1β and TNF-α can more effectively inhibit allergic inflammation in allergic rhinitis(AR) guinea pigs induced by OVA. Healthy guinea pigs treated with saline were used as the healthy control. The AR guinea pigs induced by OVA were randomly divided into (1) the AR model group containing negative control animals treated with intranasal saline; (2) the 0.1% non-specific IgY treatment group treated with non-specific IgY; (3) the 0.1% anti-TNF-α IgY treatment group treated with 0.1% anti-TNF-α IgY; (4) the 0.1% anti-IL-1β IgY treatment group treated with 0.1% anti-IL-1β IgY; (5) the 0.1% combined anti-IL-1β IgY and anti-TNF-α IgY treatment group treated with 0.1% combined anti-IL-1β IgY and anti-TNF-α IgY; and (6) the fluticasone propionate treatment group treated with fluticasone propionate. Cytokines were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results showed that IL-1β, IL-5, IL-9, IL-13, IL-18, IL-22, IL-33, TNF-α, TGF-β1 and OVA-specific IgE levels in the peripheral blood (PB) and nasal lavage fluid (NLF) significantly decreased at 2h, 4h or 8h in the 0.1% combined anti-IL-1β IgY and anti-TNF-α IgY treatment group compared to the AR model group and the 0.1% non-specific IgY treatment group (P<0.05). The data suggest that blockade of IL-1β and TNF-α by intranasal instillation of combined anti-IL-1β IgY and anti-TNF-α IgY could be a potential alternative strategy for preventing and treating allergic rhinitis. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Recent Advances In Topical Therapy In Dermatology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohan Thappa Devinder

2003-01-01

Full Text Available With changing times various newer topical agents are introduced in the field of dermatology. Tacrolimus and pimecrolimus are immunisuppressants, which are effective topically and are tried in the management of atopic dermatitis as well as other disorders including allergic contact dermatitis, atrophic lichen planus, pyoderma gangrenosum. Imiquimod, an immune response modifier, is presently in use for genital warts but has potentials as anti- tumour agent and in various other dermatological conditions when used topically. Tazarotene is a newer addition to the list of topical reginoids, which is effective in psoriasis and has better effect in combination with calcipotriene, phototherapy and topical costicosteroids. Tazarotene and adapelene are also effective in inflammatory acne. Calcipotriol, a vitamin D analogue has been introduced as a topical agent in the treatment of psoriasis. Steroid components are also developed recently which will be devoid of the side effects but having adequate anti-inflammatory effect. Topical photodynamic therapy has also a wide range of use in dermatology. Newer topical agents including cidofovir, capsaicin, topical sensitizers, topical antifungal agents for onychomycosis are also of use in clinical practice. Other promising developments include skin substitutes and growth factors for wound care.

Topical treatment of psoriasis: questionnaire results on topical therapy accessibility and influence of body surface area on usage.

Science.gov (United States)

Iversen, L; Lange, M M; Bissonette, R; Carvalho, A V E; van de Kerkhof, P C; Kirby, B; Kleyn, C E; Lynde, C W; van der Walt, J M; Wu, J J

2017-07-01

Topical treatment of mild to moderate psoriasis is first-line treatment and exhibits varying degrees of success across patient groups. Key factors influencing treatment success are physician topical treatment choice (high efficacy, low adverse events) and strict patient adherence. Currently, no formalized, international consensus guidelines exist to direct optimal topical treatment, although many countries have national guidelines. To describe and analyse cross-regional variations in the use and access of psoriasis topical therapies. The study was conducted as an observational cross-sectional study. A survey was distributed to dermatologists from the International Psoriasis Council (IPC) to assess topical therapy accessibility in 26 countries and to understand how body surface area (BSA) categories guide clinical decisions on topical use. Variation in the availability of tars, topical retinoids, dithranol and balneotherapy was reported. The vast majority of respondents (100% and 88.4%) used topical therapy as first-line monotherapy in situations with BSA 10%, the number of respondents who prescribe topical therapy decreased considerably. In addition, combination therapy of a topical drug and a systemic drug was frequently reported when BSA measured >10%. This physician survey provides new evidence on topical access and the influence of disease severity on topical usage in an effort to improve treatment strategies on a global level. © 2017 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

Storytelling and Technology Combine to Create Student Engagement Around Locally Relevant Climate Change Topics.

Science.gov (United States)

Leckey, E.; Littrell-Baez, M.; Tayne, K.; Gold, A. U.; Okochi, C.; Oonk, D.; Smith, L. K.; Lynds, S. E.

2017-12-01

Storytelling is a powerful way for students to engage with science topics, particularly topics that may initially seem too broad to impact their lives, like climate change. Empowering students to telling a personal story about climate change's effects and helping them turn their story into a film is powerful approach. Especially because these films can be shared globally and gives students a voice around a complex topic like climate change. Here, we present impacts of the Lens on Climate Change program (LOCC), which engages middle and high school students in producing short films featuring how climate change impacts their communities. LOCC is offered as an intensive week-long summer program and as an extracurricular program during the school year. The majority of student participants are recruited from historically underserved communities and come from ethnical and socioeconomically diverse backgrounds. Survey data revealed that LOCC participants had a significant increase in their belief in the reality of climate change after participation in their program relative to students in a demographically-matched control groups. Furthermore, participant responses on reflection surveys given after the program included statements that suggest that students had begun thinking more deeply about climate change as a serious global challenge and felt empowered to take actions to mitigate climate change and/or spread awareness in their communities. The majority of students in the LOCC program also reported being very proud of their film and intended to share their film with their friends and family. Additionally, we explored the long-term impacts of participation by interviewing students a year after the program and offered them the opportunity to make a subsequent film. Students in this "advanced group" reported being more aware of climate change in their community following making their films and were enthusiastic to increase their filmmaking skills through producing additional

Combined treatment with oral finasteride and topical minoxidil in male androgenetic alopecia: a randomized and comparative study in Chinese patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Ruiming; Xu, Feng; Sheng, Youyu; Qi, Sisi; Han, Yumei; Miao, Ying; Rui, Wenlong; Yang, Qinping

2015-01-01

Finasteride at 1 mg/day and 5% topical minoxidil are effective in male androgenetic alopecia (MAGA). However, studies describing their effects in Chinese individuals are scarce. 450 Chinese MAGA patients were randomly assigned to receive finasteride (n = 160), minoxidil (n = 130) and combined medication (n = 160) for 12 months. The patients returned to the clinic every 3 months for efficacy evaluation. And efficacy was evaluated in 428 men at treatment end, including 154, 122, and 152 in the finasteride, 5% minoxidil, and combination groups, respectively. All groups showed similar baseline characteristics, including age at enrollment, and duration and severity of alopecia (p > 0.05). At 12 months, 80.5, 59, and 94.1% men treated with finasteride, 5% minoxidil and the combination therapy showed improvement, respectively. Adverse reactions were rare (finasteride, 1.8%; minoxidil, 6.1%), and disappeared right after drug withdrawal. In conclusion, finasteride is superior to 5% minoxidil, while the combined medication showed the best efficacy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Changes in photoinduced cutaneous erythema with topical application of a combination of vitamins C and E before and after UV exposure.

Science.gov (United States)

Aguilera, José; de Gálvez, María Victoria; Sánchez, Cristina; Herrera-Ceballos, Enrique

2012-06-01

Ultraviolet radiation is harmful for human skin, and photodamaging pathologies such as actinic erythema, are formerly described as a consequence of UV direct effect on DNA and indirectly by local immune reactions. However, the degree of participation of oxidative stress in actinic erythema and the role of antioxidants in photoprotection are still not fully understood. To evaluate the possible palliative role of a combination of the antioxidants vitamins C and E in human cutaneous erythema when applied topically before and after UV exposure. The study included 20 volunteers of phototypes II, II-III and III with no solar exposure for two months prior to the study. The volunteers were submitted to a phototest consisting on the analysis of the minimal erythemal dose (MED) under different treatments: 1. Untreated irradiated skin; 2. Irradiated skin previously treated with vehicle; 3. Irradiated skin previously treated with a combination of vitamins (2.5% vit E-5% vit C); and 4. Skin treated with the antioxidant combination after irradiation. Cutaneous erythema was evaluated 24h after exposure and the MED was calculated for each treatment. The application of vehicle did not significantly affect the MED compared to untreated irradiated skin. Application of the antioxidant combination, prior to irradiation, increased the MED in all phototypes compared with untreated irradiated skin with an average increase of 36.9%. Antioxidants applied after exposure promoted an average increase of the MED by 19.8%. Combination of topical antioxidants (vitamins C and E) shows photoprotection activity against erythema, mainly owing to their high absorption properties. Moreover, their antioxidant activity could be considered as additive, and independent of their optical properties. Copyright © 2012 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Task-Driven Comparison of Topic Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Alexander, Eric; Gleicher, Michael

2016-01-01

Topic modeling, a method of statistically extracting thematic content from a large collection of texts, is used for a wide variety of tasks within text analysis. Though there are a growing number of tools and techniques for exploring single models, comparisons between models are generally reduced to a small set of numerical metrics. These metrics may or may not reflect a model's performance on the analyst's intended task, and can therefore be insufficient to diagnose what causes differences between models. In this paper, we explore task-centric topic model comparison, considering how we can both provide detail for a more nuanced understanding of differences and address the wealth of tasks for which topic models are used. We derive comparison tasks from single-model uses of topic models, which predominantly fall into the categories of understanding topics, understanding similarity, and understanding change. Finally, we provide several visualization techniques that facilitate these tasks, including buddy plots, which combine color and position encodings to allow analysts to readily view changes in document similarity.

Topical combination of diclofenac, calcipotriol, and difluoromethylornithine has beneficial effects comparable to 5-fluorouracil for the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer in mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Burcharth, Jakob; Rosenberg, Jacob

2014-01-01

Non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) is the most common form of skin cancer. Owing to the significant adverse effects of existing treatments, alternatives are needed. The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of topically administered combination therapy and 5-flurouracil (5-FU) for the treatment...

Combination of PDT and topical angiogenic inhibitor for treatment of port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks: a novel approach

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, Kaihua; Huang, Qiaobing; Huang, Zheng

2009-06-01

Port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks are a congenital cutaneous vascular malformation involving ecstatic post-capillary venules. Current standard treatment for PWS is the pulsed dye laser (PDL). Vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy (PDT) has been used for the treatment of PWS in China since the early 1990's. Both can achieve a certain degree of color blanching in various types of PWS lesions. However, the majority of PWS lesions require multiple treatments. Some PWS lesions can recur or become darker after successful treatment. Recently, it has been proposed that this phenomenon might be initiated by neoangiogenesis that can be caused by treatment via wound healing response. The combined use of photothermolysis and a topical application of an angiogenic inhibitor such as Imiquimod and Rapamycin, were evaluated in several pilot studies. It is well-known that PDT can induce various host immune responses VEGF overexpression. Recent clinical data also show that improved clinical outcomes are obtained through the combination of ocular PDT and anti-VEGF therapy. This article will discuss rationales and implications of using such a combination modality and highlight recent progress based on our clinical experience and published data.

The clinical impact of vehicle technology using a patented formulation of benzoyl peroxide 5%/clindamycin 1% gel: comparative assessments of skin tolerability and evaluation of combination use with a topical retinoid.

Science.gov (United States)

Del Rosso, James Q; Tanghetti, Emil

2006-02-01

A major challenge encountered in clinical practice in patients with acne vulgaris is irritation related to topical medications used for treatment. Advances in vehicle technology have improved formulations containing active ingredients known to produce irritation in some patients, such as benzoyl peroxide (BP) and topical retinoids. Clinical studies, including combination therapy studies have demonstrated that certain additives, such as silicates and specific humectants, reduce irritation by maintaining barrier integrity. A patented gel formulation of BP 5%/clindamycin phosphate 1% (clindamycin) containing dimethicone and glycerin has been studied both as a monotherapy and in combination with topical retinoid use. This article evaluates specific vehicle additives included in this gel formulation and explains their role in reducing irritation. Data from clinical trials utilizing this technology in acne management are also reviewed.

Topic Map for Authentic Travel

OpenAIRE

Wandsvik, Atle; Zare, Mehdi

2007-01-01

E-business is a new trend in Internet use. Authentic travel is an approach to travel and travel business which helps the traveler experience what is authentic in the travel destination. But how can the traveler find those small authentic spots and organize them together to compose a vacation? E-business techniques, combined withTopic Maps, can help.

Topics and topic prominence in two sign languages

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kimmelman, V.

2015-01-01

In this paper we describe topic marking in Russian Sign Language (RSL) and Sign Language of the Netherlands (NGT) and discuss whether these languages should be considered topic prominent. The formal markers of topics in RSL are sentence-initial position, a prosodic break following the topic, and

Microblog sentiment analysis using social and topic context.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Xiaomei; Yang, Jing; Zhang, Jianpei

2018-01-01

Analyzing massive user-generated microblogs is very crucial in many fields, attracting many researchers to study. However, it is very challenging to process such noisy and short microblogs. Most prior works only use texts to identify sentiment polarity and assume that microblogs are independent and identically distributed, which ignore microblogs are networked data. Therefore, their performance is not usually satisfactory. Inspired by two sociological theories (sentimental consistency and emotional contagion), in this paper, we propose a new method combining social context and topic context to analyze microblog sentiment. In particular, different from previous work using direct user relations, we introduce structure similarity context into social contexts and propose a method to measure structure similarity. In addition, we also introduce topic context to model the semantic relations between microblogs. Social context and topic context are combined by the Laplacian matrix of the graph built by these contexts and Laplacian regularization are added into the microblog sentiment analysis model. Experimental results on two real Twitter datasets demonstrate that our proposed model can outperform baseline methods consistently and significantly.

Topical antibiotic monotherapy prescribing practices in acne vulgaris.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoover, William D; Davis, Scott A; Fleischer, Alan B; Feldman, Steven R

2014-04-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate the frequency of dosing topical antibiotics as monotherapy in the treatment of acne vulgaris, and physician specialty prescribing these medications. This study is a retrospective review of all visits with a sole diagnosis of acne vulgaris (ICD-9-CM code 706.1) found on the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NAMCS) in 1993-2010. We recorded the number of visits surveyed where acne vulgaris was the sole diagnosis, number of visits where topical antibiotics were the only treatment prescribed, and the specialty of physician in each encounter. Topical erythromycin or clindamycin were the sole medication prescribed in 0.81% of the visits recorded, with 60% of these prescriptions arising from dermatologists and 40% from non-dermatologists. The trend of prescribing topical antibiotic monotherapy is declining (p acnes to topical antibiotic regimens has led to the need to re-evaluate the use of topical antibiotics in the treatment of acne vulgaris. While the rate of topical antibiotic monotherapy is declining, their use should be reserved for situations where the direct need for antibiotics arises. If a clinician feels that antibiotics are a necessary component to acne therapy, they should be used as part of a combination regimen.

EvoRiver: Visual Analysis of Topic Coopetition on Social Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Guodao; Wu, Yingcai; Liu, Shixia; Peng, Tai-Quan; Zhu, Jonathan J H; Liang, Ronghua

2014-12-01

Cooperation and competition (jointly called "coopetition") are two modes of interactions among a set of concurrent topics on social media. How do topics cooperate or compete with each other to gain public attention? Which topics tend to cooperate or compete with one another? Who plays the key role in coopetition-related interactions? We answer these intricate questions by proposing a visual analytics system that facilitates the in-depth analysis of topic coopetition on social media. We model the complex interactions among topics as a combination of carry-over, coopetition recruitment, and coopetition distraction effects. This model provides a close functional approximation of the coopetition process by depicting how different groups of influential users (i.e., "topic leaders") affect coopetition. We also design EvoRiver, a time-based visualization, that allows users to explore coopetition-related interactions and to detect dynamically evolving patterns, as well as their major causes. We test our model and demonstrate the usefulness of our system based on two Twitter data sets (social topics data and business topics data).

The effect of a topical anaesthetic formulation, systemic flunixin and carprofen, singly or in combination, on cortisol and behavioural responses of Merino lambs to mulesing.

Science.gov (United States)

Paull, D R; Lee, C; Colditz, I G; Atkinson, S J; Fisher, A D

2007-03-01

To determine the pain responses of lambs to mulesing, and the effectiveness of potential analgesic treatments. Merino lambs (n=64) were allocated at 5 weeks of age to eight treatment groups: 1) sham mules; 2) conventional mules; 3) topical anaesthetic, incorporating lignocaine, bupivicaine, adrenaline and cetrimide, applied immediately after mulesing; 4) flunixin + topical anaesthetic, with flunixin administered 2.5 mg/kg s.c. 90 min before mulesing; 5) carprofen + topical anaesthetic, with carprofen administered 4 mg/kg s.c. 90 min before mulesing; 6) carprofen, administered as above; 7) flunixin, administered as above; and 8) carprofen + flunixin, administered as above. Plasma cortisol was measured at 0, 0.5, 6, 12 and 24 h relative to mulesing. Animal behaviour, including posture, was recorded for 12 h after mulesing. The conventional mules lambs exhibited large increases in plasma cortisol, reduced lying and increased standing with a hunched back compared with sham mules animals. Topical anaesthetic reduced the cortisol peak to mulesing and hunched standing, and increased lying compared with the conventional mules treatment, but generally did not result in values equivalent to sham mules animals. Carprofen, flunixin, and carprofen + flunixin treatments did not reduce the cortisol response to mulesing but substantially ameliorated some changes in behavioural postures. Flunixin + topical anaesthetic reduced the cortisol peak following mulesing and substantially ameliorated most changes in behavioural postures. Carprofen + topical anaesthetic abolished the cortisol peak following mulesing and substantially ameliorated most changes in behavioural postures. All mulesed animals lost weight in the week after mulesing regardless of analgesic administration, but there were no significant differences in growth rate between any of the eight treatments over the 3 weeks after mulesing. Analgesics can moderate the pain response of lambs to mulesing. The welfare outcome for

Effects of corticosteroids on hyposmia in persistent allergic rhinitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Catana, Iuliu V; Chirila, Magdalena; Negoias, Simona; Bologa, Ramona; Cosgarea, Marcel

2013-01-01

To asses the effects of two topical nasal corticosteroids sprays on hyposmia in patients with persistent allergic rhinitis. The study was a prospective clinical trial and it included twenty four patients with persistent allergic rhinitis (PER) and hyposmia (H). The patients were divided into two groups depending on the type of corticosteroid topical nasal spray treatment: group A, 200 micrograms dose of mometasone furoate (MF) and group B, 110 micrograms dose of fluticasone furoate (FF) both administered in the morning for 4 weeks. The olfactory function of the patients was evaluated with the extended Test battery "Sniffin' Sticks". The visual analogue scale (VAS) was used for the assessment of hyposmia, nasal discharge. The level of the nasal obstruction, before and after the treatment, was evaluated through the anterior rhinomanometry. The comparisons between the two types of topical corticosteroids showed a significant improvement separately between scores of the odor threshold (OT), odor discrimination (OD) and odor identification (OI) and also on the final olfactory score (SDI) before and after 4 weeks of the treatment. The comparisons of the VAS scores pre and post treatment showed a significant improvement in hyposmia and nasal obstruction. The nasal airflow and the nasal discharge scores were improved, but the differences were not statistically significant between the groups. The final statistical analysis found no significant differences between the two patients groups. The study concludes that fluticasone furoate and mometasone furoate have quite the same effects on hyposmia and on the classical symptoms from PER.

Combination therapies in adjuvant with topical ALA-mediated photodynamic therapy for DMBA-induced hamster buccal pouch premalignant lesions

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Deng-Fu; Hsu, Yih-Chih

2012-03-01

In Taiwan, oral cancer has becomes the fastest growth male cancer disease due to the betel nut chewing habit combing with smoking and alcohol-drinking lifestyle of people. In order to eliminate the systemic phototoxic effect of 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA), this study was designed to use a topical ALA-mediated PDT for treatment of DMBA-induced hamster buccal pouch precancerous lesions. DMBA was applied to one of the buccal pouches of hamsters thrice a week for 10 to 12 weeks. Cancerous lesions were induced and proven by histological examination. These DMBA-induced cancerous lesions were used for testing the efficacy of topical ALA-mediated PDT. Before PDT, fluorescence spectroscopy was used to determine when ALA reached its peak level in the lesional epithelial cells after topical application of ALA gel. We found that ALA reached its peak level in precancerous lesions about 2.5 hrs after topical application of ALA gel. The cancerous lesions in hamsters were then treated with topical ALA -mediated PDT with light exposure dose of 150 J/cm2 using LED 635 nm fiber-guided light device. Visual examination demonstrated that adjuvant topical ALA -mediated PDT group has shown better therapeutic results in compared to those of non-adjuvant topical ALA-mediated PDT group for DMBA-induced hamster buccal pouch precancerous lesions.

A systematic review and meta-analysis comparing combined intravenous and topical tranexamic acid with intravenous administration alone in THA.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yangbai Sun

Full Text Available To compare the effectiveness and safety of combined intravenous and topical tranexamic acid with intravenous use alone in THA.The electronic databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, BIOSIS, Cochrane central, and further adapted for Google and Google Scholar internet, last updated on Dec 30, 2016, were searched. Evaluated outcomes included total blood loss, transfusion rate, maximum postoperative Hb drop, and incidence of thromboembolic complications. The standard mean difference (SMD or the relative risk (RR was calculated for continuous or dichotomous data respectively. The quality of the trial was assessed, and meta-analyses were performed with the Cochrane Collaboration's RevMan 5.0 software.Five RCTs with 457 patients were included. Combined TXA administration reduced blood loss (SMD, 1.39; 95%CI, 0.55 to 2.23; P<0.00001, I2 = 94%, hemoglobin decline (SMD, 0.84; 95%CI, 0.13 to 1.54; P = 0.01, I2 = 83% and the need for transfusion (RR, 2.58; 95%CI, 1.59 to 4.18; P = 0.65, I2 = 0% without increasing the rate of thromboembolic complications significantly (RR, 0.83; 95%CI, 0.27 to 2.54; P = 0.81, I2 = 0%.The present study has emphasized that combined TXA administration can effectively reduce blood loss, hemoglobin decline and the need for transfusion without increasing the rate of thromboembolic complications.

Therapeutic effects of co-inhaled roflumilast or formoterol and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Purpose: To investigate the therapeutic effects of "inhaled" roflumilast and formoterol separately or combined with fluticasone on the ultrastructural airway changes in ovalbumin-induced asthmatic mice. Methods: The asthmatic mice were divided randomly into seven groups (n = 8): positive control, vehicle, and five treated ...

Comparison of topical fixed-combination fortified vancomycin-amikacin (VA solution) to conventional separate therapy in the treatment of bacterial corneal ulcer.

Science.gov (United States)

Chiang, C-C; Lin, J-M; Chen, W-L; Chiu, Y-T; Tsai, Y-Y

2009-02-01

In an in vitro study, fixed-combination fortified vancomycin and amikacin ophthalmic solutions (VA solution) had the same potency and stable physical properties as the separate components. In this retrospective clinical study, we evaluated the efficacy of the topical VA solution in the treatment of bacterial corneal ulcer and comparison with separate topical fortified vancomycin and amikacin. Separate topical fortified eye drops was used prior to January 2004 and switched to the VA solution afterwards in the treatment of bacterial corneal ulcer. The medical records of 223 patients diagnosed with bacterial corneal ulcers between January 2002 and December 2005 were reviewed retrospectively. There were 122 patients in the VA group and 101 in the separate group. Cure was defined as complete healing of the ulcer accompanied by a nonprogressive stromal infiltrate on two consecutive visits. No significant difference was found between the VA and separate therapy group. The mean treatment duration was 15.4 days in the VA group and 16.1 days in the separate therapy group. The average hospital stay was 5.4 days (VA) and 7.2 days (separate antibiotics). Stromal infiltration regressed significantly without further expansion in both groups. All corneal ulcers completely re-epithelialized without complications related to drugs. VA solution provided similar efficacy to the conventional separate therapy in the treatment of bacterial corneal ulcers; however, it is more convenient and tolerable, promotes patient's compliance, avoids the washout effect, and reduces nurse utilization. Hence, VA solution is a good alternative to separate therapy.

Effects of Salmeterol and Fluticasone Propionate Combination versus Fluticasone Propionate on Airway Function and Eosinophilic Inflammation in Mild Asthma

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Makoto Hoshino

2009-01-01

Conclusions: These findings suggest that SFC is more useful than FP in mild asthma cases. The clinical benefit of SFC provides evidence that IOS and induced sputum allows for the detection of changes in airway function and inflammation.

Preparation and Evaluation of Surface Modified Lactose Particles for Improved Performance of Fluticasone Propionate Dry Powder Inhaler.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Deepak J; Jain, Rajesh R; Soni, P S; Abdul, Samad; Darshana, Hegde; Gaikwad, Rajiv V; Menon, Mala D

2015-08-01

Dry powder inhalers (DPI) are generally formulated by mixing micronized drug particles with coarse lactose carrier particles to assist powder handling during the manufacturing and powder aerosol delivery during patient use. In the present study, surface modified lactose (SML) particles were produced using force control agents, and their in vitro performance on dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation of Fluticasone propionate was studied. With a view to reduce surface passivation of high surface free energy sites on the most commonly used DPI carrier, α- lactose monohydrate, effects of various force control agents such as Pluronic F-68, Cremophor RH 40, glyceryl monostearate, polyethylene glycol 6000, magnesium stearate, and soya lecithin were studied. DPI formulations prepared with SML showed improved flow properties, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) studies revealed decrease in surface roughness. The DSC and X-ray diffraction patterns of SML showed no change in the crystal structure and thermal behavior under the experimental conditions. The fine particle fraction (FPF) values of lactose modified with Pluronic F-68, Cremophor RH 40, glyceryl monostearate were improved, with increase in concentration up to 0.5%. Soya lecithin and PEG 6000 modified lactose showed decrease in FPF value with increase in concentration. Increase in FPF value was observed with increasing concentration of magnesium stearate. Two different DPI devices, Rotahaler(®) and Diskhaler(®), were compared to evaluate the performance of SML formulations. FPF value of all SML formulations were higher using both devices as compared to the same formulations prepared using untreated lactose. One month stability of SML formulations at 40°C/75% RH, in permeable polystyrene tubes did not reveal any significant changes in FPF values. SML particles can help in reducing product development hindrances and improve inhalational properties of DPI.

Topical tags vs non-topical tags : Towards a bipartite classification?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Basile, Valerio; Peroni, Silvio; Tamburini, Fabio; Vitali, Fabio

2015-01-01

In this paper we investigate whether it is possible to create a computational approach that allows us to distinguish topical tags (i.e. talking about the topic of a resource) and non-topical tags (i.e. describing aspects of a resource that are not related to its topic) in folksonomies, in a way that

Evaluating topic model interpretability from a primary care physician perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Arnold, Corey W; Oh, Andrea; Chen, Shawn; Speier, William

2016-02-01

Probabilistic topic models provide an unsupervised method for analyzing unstructured text. These models discover semantically coherent combinations of words (topics) that could be integrated in a clinical automatic summarization system for primary care physicians performing chart review. However, the human interpretability of topics discovered from clinical reports is unknown. Our objective is to assess the coherence of topics and their ability to represent the contents of clinical reports from a primary care physician's point of view. Three latent Dirichlet allocation models (50 topics, 100 topics, and 150 topics) were fit to a large collection of clinical reports. Topics were manually evaluated by primary care physicians and graduate students. Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests for Paired Samples were used to evaluate differences between different topic models, while differences in performance between students and primary care physicians (PCPs) were tested using Mann-Whitney U tests for each of the tasks. While the 150-topic model produced the best log likelihood, participants were most accurate at identifying words that did not belong in topics learned by the 100-topic model, suggesting that 100 topics provides better relative granularity of discovered semantic themes for the data set used in this study. Models were comparable in their ability to represent the contents of documents. Primary care physicians significantly outperformed students in both tasks. This work establishes a baseline of interpretability for topic models trained with clinical reports, and provides insights on the appropriateness of using topic models for informatics applications. Our results indicate that PCPs find discovered topics more coherent and representative of clinical reports relative to students, warranting further research into their use for automatic summarization. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Dermal carotenoid level and kinetics after topical and systemic administration of antioxidants: enrichment strategies in a controlled in vivo study.

Science.gov (United States)

Darvin, Maxim E; Fluhr, Joachim W; Schanzer, Sabine; Richter, Heike; Patzelt, Alexa; Meinke, Martina C; Zastrow, Leonhard; Golz, Karin; Doucet, Olivier; Sterry, Wolfram; Lademann, Juergen

2011-10-01

High doses of sun-emitted UV-radiation induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) as major pro-oxidants thus inducing premature skin aging. The best prevention of the destructive action of free radicals in human skin is textile coverings, topical sunscreens and the development of a high antioxidative protective network. The effects of topical, systemic and combined application of antioxidants (AO) were investigated on human skin in vivo. Topical application of creams and systemic incorporation of tablets both containing AO was investigated in vivo by resonance Raman spectroscopy. Topical, systemic and combined AO-treatments induced a statistically significant increase of AO levels in human skin while placebo did not show any changes. The highest accumulation was induced by the combination of topical and systemic AO. Carotenoid-tablets combined with placebo-cream induced less carotenoid accumulation than carotenoid-tablets alone. Carotenoid levelling after the end of treatment lasted for around 2 weeks following the topical application of AOs, and up to 5 weeks after systemic administration, depending on the BMI of volunteers. Topically applied AO are stored in the SC for a short time only due to the rapid AO-depletion by desquamation, textile contact, washing and environmental stress. In contrast to topical application, the systemically applied carotenoids are stored in the body fat tissue and slowly released onto the skin surface with sweat and sebum. The combined topical and systemic application of AO represents an optimal form of protection of the AO-network. Copyright © 2011 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Antibacterial drugs in the form of sprays for the topical treatment of pyodermas and dermatoses complicated with a secondary infection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YE. V. Matushevskaya

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article covers issues related to the application of topical antibacterial drugs for the treatment of pyodermic skin diseases. The author describes mechanisms of action and advantages of the topical form of antibiotics and GCS for the topical treatment of pyodermas. The article substantiates indications for the administration of topical GCS drugs in a combination with antibacterial drugs. The efficacy and safety of antibacterial and combination topical drugs such as Neomycin, Oxycort and Polcortolon TC in the form sprays for the treatment of pyodermas and complicated forms of chronic dermatosis.

Topical therapy for facial allergic dermatoses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Y. S. Kondratyeva

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The research goal is to assess clinical dynamics and morphofunctional skin parameters of patients with facial allergic dermatoses on the background of combined topical therapy. Materials and methods. 45 patients with various facial allergic dermatoses in dry and sensitive skin took part in the research. The methods included anamnesis taking, poll, objective examination and assessment of morphofunctional parameters of skin, as well as estimation of life quality dynamic index (LQDI. Main results. After a course of treatment with 0,05% solution of alclometasone dipropionate inflammation of dermatosis ceased in 45 (100% patients, itching and pains in 39 (86,7% patients, but complaints about dryness and peeling of facial skin remained in 41 (91,1% and 40 (88,8% patients respectively. On the background of therapy including emollient Aflocream the above mentioned symptoms did not appear in 43 (95,6% patients, wherein maximum effect was achieved in patients with allergic contact dermatitis - 14 (93,3%. After a course of topical therapy all patients showed statistically significant increase of epidermal moisture level, alongside with reduction of skin relief and degree of keratinization. During the assessment of LQDI a tendency to reduction of proportion of patients on whom the disease has a strong and extremely strong impact was noted in 10 patients (i.e. 22,2%, moderate influence - in 5 of them (11,45%, insignificant influence or its absence - in 30 (66,7% people. Conclusion. Combined therapy including the use of a topical corticosteroid Afloderm and an emollient Aflocream showed good clinical efficiency in patients with facial allergic dermatoses. The efficiency is also confirmed with improvements in morphofunctional characteristics of patients’ skin on the background of therapy.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of three different combinations of inhalers for severe and very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients at a tertiary care teaching hospital of South India.

Science.gov (United States)

Altaf, Mohammed; Zubedi, Ayesha Mubeen; Nazneen, Fareesa; Kareemulla, Shaik; Ali, Syed Amir; Aleemuddin, N M; Hannan Hazari, Md Abdul

2015-01-01

This study aims at simplifying the practical patient management and offers some general indications for pharmacotherapeutic choice by the implementation of (Global Initiative for Chronic Lung Disease) guidelines. This study was designed to evaluate the clinical and economic consequences of salmeterol/fluticasone (SF), formoterol/budesonide (FB), and formoterol/fluticasone (FF) in severe and very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients. The aim was to find out the most cost-effective drug combination between the three combinations (SF/FB/FF) in COPD patients. A prospective observational comparative study (cost-effectiveness analysis), in which 90 severe (30 ≤ forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] days (SFDs), number of moderate and severe exacerbations, Number of days of hospitalization and direct, indirect, and total cost to assess the cost-effectiveness of SF/FB/FF. Comparison of cost and effects was done during the period of 6 months of using SF/FB/FF. The average FEV1 for Group I, Group II, and Group III subjects at initial visit was 33.47%, 33.73%, and 33.20% and was increased to 36.60%, 35.8%, and 33.4%, respectively. A 3% increment in FEV1 was reported for Group I subjects (SF) and was highly significant statistically (t = -8.833, P = 0.000) at 95% CI. For Group II subjects (FB), a 2% increment in FEV1 was reported and was highly significant statistically (t = -9.001, P = 0.000) at 95% CI. For Group III (FF) subjects 0.2% increment in FEV1. The overall mean total cost for Group I, Group II, and Group III subjects during the 6 months period was found to be Rs. 29,725/-, Rs. 32,602/- and Rs. 37,155/-. Incremental cost-effectiveness of FB versus SF was Rs. 37,781/- per avoided exacerbation and Rs. 661/-per SFD. This study highlights the favorable therapeutic performance of combined inhaled bronchodilators and corticosteroids (SF/FB/FF), thus suggesting that healthcare costs would be also affected positively. Results from our study showed

Changing the Topic. Topic Position in Ancient Greek Word Order

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Allan, R.J.

2014-01-01

Ancient Greek, topics can be expressed as intra-clausal constituents but they can also precede or follow the main clause as extra-clausal constituents. Together, these various topic expressions constitute a coherent system of complementary pragmatic functions. For a comprehensive account of topic

Exploiting Topic Pragmatics for New Event Detection in TDT-2003

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Braun, Ronald K; Kaneshiro, Ryan

2003-01-01

.... We combined a number of "pragmatics-based" classifiers in an ensemble-learning framework to identify the first story of a new topic to link subsequent stories together as they unfold across multiple news streams...

Topics in cement and concrete research

OpenAIRE

Brouwers, Jos; Russel, M.I.; Basheer, P.A.M.

2007-01-01

The present paper addresses several topics in regard to the sustainable design and use of concrete. First, major features concerning the sustainable aspects of the material concrete are summarised. Then the major constituent, from an environmental point of view, cement is discussed in detail, particularly the hydration and application of slag cement. The intelligent combining of mineral oxides, which are found in clinker, slag, fly ashes etc., is designated as mineral oxide engineering. It re...

Safety update regarding intranasal corticosteroids for the treatment of allergic rhinitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Blaiss, Michael S

2011-01-01

Intranasal corticosteroids (INSs) are the most efficacious medication for the treatment of allergic rhinitis. In 2006, the Joint Task Force of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology, published a white paper on the potential over-the-counter switch of INS (Bielory L, Blaiss M, Fineman SM, et al. Concerns about intranasal corticosteroids for over-the-counter use: Position statement of the Joint Task Force for the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology and the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 96:514-525, 2006). The concern of the paper was the safety of the use of these agents without oversight by a health care professional. The objective of this paper was to review published literature on the safety of INS since the publication of the task force white paper. Recent studies, which evaluated topical and systemic adverse events associated with ciclesonide (CIC), fluticasone furoate (FF), mometasone furoate (MF), triamcinolone acetonide, fluticasone propionate, budesonide, and beclomethasone dipropionate were summarized. In general, no significant topical or systemic complications were observed in these studies, although none were >1 year in duration. The newer formulations of topical corticosteroids for allergic rhinitis, such as CIC, FF, and MF, which have less systemic bioavailability, may be safer for long-term use. New studies continue to add to the reassurance of the safety of INSs in the treatment of allergic rhinitis but still do not answer the question if these agents are appropriate for long-term use without oversight by a health care professional.

Energy Drinks: Topical Domain in the Emerging Literature and Neglected Areas of Research

Science.gov (United States)

Piotrowski, Chris

2014-01-01

Prevalence statistics indicate that consumption of Energy drinks (EDs), often in combination with alcohol, is quite popular in the younger generation and particularly with college students. As literature on this topic is advancing at a rapid pace, it seemed instructive to examine which topics are emphasized in emerging EDs research. To that end, a…

Recent advances and perspectives in topical oral anesthesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Franz-Montan, Michelle; Ribeiro, Lígia Nunes de Morais; Volpato, Maria Cristina; Cereda, Cintia Maria Saia; Groppo, Francisco Carlos; Tofoli, Giovana Randomille; de Araújo, Daniele Ribeiro; Santi, Patrizia; Padula, Cristina; de Paula, Eneida

2017-05-01

Topical anesthesia is widely used in dentistry to reduce pain caused by needle insertion and injection of the anesthetic. However, successful anesthesia is not always achieved using the formulations that are currently commercially available. As a result, local anesthesia is still one of the procedures that is most feared by dental patients. Drug delivery systems (DDSs) provide ways of improving the efficacy of topical agents. Areas covered: An overview of the structure and permeability of oral mucosa is given, followed by a review of DDSs designed for dental topical anesthesia and their related clinical trials. Chemical approaches to enhance permeation and anesthesia efficacy, or to promote superficial anesthesia, include nanostructured carriers (liposomes, cyclodextrins, polymeric nanoparticle systems, solid lipid nanoparticles, and nanostructured lipid carriers) and different pharmaceutical dosage forms (patches, bio- and mucoadhesive systems, and hydrogels). Physical methods include pre-cooling, vibration, iontophoresis, and microneedle arrays. Expert opinion: The combination of different chemical and physical methods is an attractive option for effective topical anesthesia in oral mucosa. This comprehensive review should provide the readers with the most relevant options currently available to assist pain-free dental anesthesia. The findings should be considered for future clinical trials.

Single-inhaler combination therapy for maintenance and relief of asthma: a new strategy in disease management.

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Matthew

2009-01-01

When an adequate standard of asthma control is not achieved with maintenance treatment of inhaled corticosteroids, the addition of a long-acting beta(2)-adrenergic receptor agonist (LABA) bronchodilator is recommended. Using a combination product, salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (Seretide or Advair) or budesonide/formoterol (Symbicort) is preferred for convenience and avoids any risk that LABA might be used as monotherapy. As formoterol has a rapid onset of bronchodilator effect, the budesonide/formoterol combination can be used for both the maintenance and reliever components of asthma treatment (Symbicort SMART) and this is endorsed as an effective treatment by the Global Initiative for Asthma. The efficacy of this approach has been evaluated in a series of well conducted, controlled studies. Current control of asthma symptoms is improved or achieved with reduced total dose administration with Symbicort SMART compared with any reasonable alternate option. In every study, the risk of severe exacerbations was lower with Symbicort SMART than comparator treatment. Patients who benefit to the greatest extent are those with evidence of more severe asthma and greater exacerbation risk. When initiated in suitable patients in conjunction with appropriate education, Symbicort SMART is dominant in pharmacoeconomic terms. Symbicort SMART delivers improved asthma outcomes with lower treatment and social costs than any alternative.

Oral zinc sulphate vs. topical application of salicylic (16.7%) and lactic acid (16.7%) combination in the treatment of plantar warts

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salman, S.

2014-01-01

Warts are commonly acquired viral tumors, caused by Human apilloma Virus (HPV). This virus can infect and cause disease at any site in the stratified squamous epithelium either keratinizing or non-keratinizing. A plantar wart (also called verruca plantaris) is a lesion that appears on the plantar surface of foot as a small, shining, sago-grain papule which soon assumes the typical appearance of a sharply-defined rounded lesion with a rough keratotic surface, surrounded by a smooth collar of thickened horn. Objective: To compare the efficacy and safety of oral zinc sulphate versus topical application of salicylic (16.7%) and lactic acid (16.7%) combination, in the treatment of plantar warts. Study Design: Comparative interventional study. Setting and Duration of Study: Department of Dermatology Unit-I, King Edward Medical University, Mayo Hospital Lahore, from 15 February, 2009 till 14 February, 2010. Methodology: After informed consent, one hundred patients of plantar warts were selected from the outpatient Department of Dermatology, Mayo Hospital, Lahore. The patients were divided into two equal groups; in group A, 50 patients were given oral zinc sulphate (10 mg/kg/day) in two or three divided doses and in group B, 50 patients were advised to apply a combination of salicylic (16.7%) and lactic acid (16.7%) once at night daily. In group A, using oral zinc sulphate, the treatment was given for two months and follow up continued for next 4 months. In group B, the topical preparation was also continued for 2 months or till the complete removal of wart (if before two months) and follow up was extended up to 4 months after treatment. Results:The mean age of patients in group A was 26.2 +- 8.1 years and in group B 26.3 +- 7.3 years. The mean number of warts in group A was 7.9 +- 3.5 and in group B 5.7 +- 2.6. The mean duration of disease in group A was 6.9 +- 4.1 months and in group B 6.0 +- 3.9 months. On follow up at 2nd month, in group A, 41 (82%) patients showed an

Topic Modeling of NASA Space System Problem Reports: Research in Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Layman, Lucas; Nikora, Allen P.; Meek, Joshua; Menzies, Tim

2016-01-01

Problem reports at NASA are similar to bug reports: they capture defects found during test, post-launch operational anomalies, and document the investigation and corrective action of the issue. These artifacts are a rich source of lessons learned for NASA, but are expensive to analyze since problem reports are comprised primarily of natural language text. We apply topic modeling to a corpus of NASA problem reports to extract trends in testing and operational failures. We collected 16,669 problem reports from six NASA space flight missions and applied Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling to the document corpus. We analyze the most popular topics within and across missions, and how popular topics changed over the lifetime of a mission. We find that hardware material and flight software issues are common during the integration and testing phase, while ground station software and equipment issues are more common during the operations phase. We identify a number of challenges in topic modeling for trend analysis: 1) that the process of selecting the topic modeling parameters lacks definitive guidance, 2) defining semantically-meaningful topic labels requires nontrivial effort and domain expertise, 3) topic models derived from the combined corpus of the six missions were biased toward the larger missions, and 4) topics must be semantically distinct as well as cohesive to be useful. Nonetheless,topic modeling can identify problem themes within missions and across mission lifetimes, providing useful feedback to engineers and project managers.

The Prosody of Topic Transition in Interaction: Pitch Register Variations.

Science.gov (United States)

Riou, Marine

2017-12-01

In conversation, speakers can mobilize a variety of prosodic cues to signal a switch in topics. This paper uses a mixed-methods approach combining Conversation Analysis and Instrumental Prosody to investigate the prosody of topic transition in American English, and analyzes the ways in which speakers can play on register level and on register span. A cluster of three prosodic parameters was found to be predictive of transitions: a higher maximum fundamental frequency (F0), a higher median F0 (key), and an expanded register span. Relative to speakers' habitual profiles, the mobilization of such prosodic cues corresponds to a marked upgraded prosodic design. This finding is consistent with the general assumption that continuation constitutes the norm in conversation, and that departing from it, as in the case of a topic transition, requires a marked action and marked linguistic design. The disjunctive action of opening a new topic corresponds to the use of a marked prosodic cue.

Effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and diclofenac (topical and intramuscular) as single and combined therapy in experimental model of controlled muscle strain in rats.

Science.gov (United States)

de Paiva Carvalho, Rodrigo Leal; Leal-Junior, Ernesto Cesar Pinto; Petrellis, Maria Carla; Marcos, Rodrigo Labat; de Carvalho, Maria Helena Catelli; De Nucci, Gilberto; Lopes-Martins, Rodrigo Alvaro Brandão

2013-01-01

Muscle injuries represent ca 30% of sports injuries and excessive stretching of muscle causes more than 90% of injuries. Currently the most used treatments are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), however, in last years, low-level laser therapy (LLLT) is becoming an interesting therapeutic modality. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of single and combined therapies (LLLT, topical application of diclofenac and intramuscular diclofenac) on functional and biochemical aspects in an experimental model of controlled muscle strain in rats. Muscle strain was induced by overloading tibialis anterior muscle of rats. Injured groups received either no treatment, or a single treatment with topical or intramuscular diclofenac (TD and ID), or LLLT (3 J, 810 nm, 100 mW) 1 h after injury. Walking track analysis was the functional outcome and biochemical analyses included mRNA expression of COX-1 and COX-2 and blood levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2 ). All treatments significantly decreased COX-1 and COX-2 gene expression compared with injury group (P levels and walking track analysis (P topical and intramuscular diclofenac in treatment of muscle strain injury in acute stage. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Photochemistry and Photobiology © 2012 The American Society of Photobiology.

Clinical application of oral form of ANGIPARSTM and in combination with topical form as a new treatment for diabetic foot ulcers: A randomized clinical trial

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bahrami A

2008-04-01

Full Text Available ANGIPARSTM is a new herbal extract which has been produced in oral, topical, and intravenous forms. The present article contains preliminary results of the study which was planned to evaluate the efficacy and safety of orally applied ANGIPARSTM and to compare it with the combination of oral and topical forms and also with conventional therapy in patients with diabetic ulcers of the lower extremities."nTwenty one patients with diabetic foot ulcers were divided into 3 groups. The first group received 100 mg of oral ANGIPARSTM twice a day for 6 weeks in addition to conventional therapies. In the second group, ANGIPARSTM gel 3% was added to the oral form of the same product besides the conventional therapies for the same period of time. Finally, in the third group which was considered as control, only conventional therapies were performed. The patients were followed for 6 weeks. Parameters such as granulation tissue formation, skin epithelization, and wound surface areas changes were analyzed to determine the effectiveness of the compound in wounds healing. Furthermore, drug safety was assessed by monitoring adverse events and by clinical and laboratory evaluations."nThe study data showed significant differences between the intervention and control groups with respect to efficacy and tolerability. In each intervention group, primary wound healings occurred following 2 weeks. Complete wound healing which was greater than 70% improvement in wounds surface areas was achieved in 83% and 100% of group 1 and group 2 participants, respectively after 6 weeks. On the other hand, at the same period of time, only 22.2% of patients in control group revealed complete healing. Therefore, ANGIPARSTM had significant positive effect in increasing the incidence of complete wound closure compared with control group (p = 0.042. However, our evaluations indicated that adding topical treatment with 3% gel once a day to the oral therapy with the same product did not make

Freshman Health Topics

Science.gov (United States)

Hovde, Karen

2011-01-01

This article examines a cluster of health topics that are frequently selected by students in lower division classes. Topics address issues relating to addictive substances, including alcohol and tobacco, eating disorders, obesity, and dieting. Analysis of the topics examines their interrelationships and organization in the reference literature.…

In touch with psoriasis: topical treatments and current guidelines.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murphy, G

2012-02-01

This article describes topical therapies and treatment guidelines for psoriasis and is based on a presentation given by the authors at a satellite symposium held during the 19th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 6-10 October, 2010, in Gothenburg, Sweden. The highly variable nature of psoriasis and its individual presentation in patients can make it difficult to choose the most appropriate treatment. There are many treatment options, from topical treatment with emollients for very mild psoriasis, to systemic therapy with fumaric acid esters, methotrexate or biologics for severe disease. For the treatment of mild-to-moderate psoriasis, topical therapy is generally the most appropriate and a variety of options, both historical and recent, are available. Newer therapies offer greater convenience and fewer side-effects. Of the more recently available therapies, vitamin D analogues and topical corticosteroids are the two with the greatest proven efficacy in randomized clinical trials. A recent Cochrane review showed the highest efficacy overall with the fixed combination vitamin D analogue (calcipotriol) and corticosteroid (betamethasone dipropionate). Indeed, clinical trials have shown that two-compound calcipotriol\\/betamethasone dipropionate ointment has higher efficacy than calcipotriol or betamethasone dipropionate alone. With regard to safety, two-compound calcipotriol\\/betamethasone dipropionate was shown to be suitable for intermittent long-term treatment of mild-to-moderate psoriasis. The findings of the Cochrane review are reflected in the current treatment guidelines from the USA and Germany regarding the treatment of mild-to-moderate psoriasis. In both these guidelines, which will be discussed in this article, the recommended treatments for this patient group are vitamin D analogues and corticosteroids, particularly when used in combination.

In touch with psoriasis: topical treatments and current guidelines.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Murphy, G

2011-06-01

This article describes topical therapies and treatment guidelines for psoriasis and is based on a presentation given by the authors at a satellite symposium held during the 19th Congress of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 6-10 October, 2010, in Gothenburg, Sweden. The highly variable nature of psoriasis and its individual presentation in patients can make it difficult to choose the most appropriate treatment. There are many treatment options, from topical treatment with emollients for very mild psoriasis, to systemic therapy with fumaric acid esters, methotrexate or biologics for severe disease. For the treatment of mild-to-moderate psoriasis, topical therapy is generally the most appropriate and a variety of options, both historical and recent, are available. Newer therapies offer greater convenience and fewer side-effects. Of the more recently available therapies, vitamin D analogues and topical corticosteroids are the two with the greatest proven efficacy in randomized clinical trials. A recent Cochrane review showed the highest efficacy overall with the fixed combination vitamin D analogue (calcipotriol) and corticosteroid (betamethasone dipropionate). Indeed, clinical trials have shown that two-compound calcipotriol\\/betamethasone dipropionate ointment has higher efficacy than calcipotriol or betamethasone dipropionate alone. With regard to safety, two-compound calcipotriol\\/betamethasone dipropionate was shown to be suitable for intermittent long-term treatment of mild-to-moderate psoriasis. The findings of the Cochrane review are reflected in the current treatment guidelines from the USA and Germany regarding the treatment of mild-to-moderate psoriasis. In both these guidelines, which will be discussed in this article, the recommended treatments for this patient group are vitamin D analogues and corticosteroids, particularly when used in combination.

Topics from the theory of numbers

CERN Document Server

Grosswald, Emil

1984-01-01

Many of the important and creative developments in modern mathematics resulted from attempts to solve questions that originate in number theory. The publication of Emil Grosswald’s classic text presents an illuminating introduction to number theory. Combining the historical developments with the analytical approach, Topics from the Theory of Numbers offers the reader a diverse range of subjects to investigate, including: * divisibility * congruences * the Riemann zeta function * Diophantine equations and Fermat’s conjecture * the theory of partitions Comprehensive in nature, Topics from the Theory of Numbers is an ideal text for advanced undergraduates and graduate students alike. "In my opinion it is excellent. It is carefully written and represents clearly a work of a scholar who loves and understands his subject. One can only wish more authors would take such pains and would be as good and honest expositors as Grosswald." — Marc Kac "This book is designed for use in a first course in number theory at...

High-spatial-resolution isotropic three-dimensional fast-recovery fast spin-echo magnetic resonance dacryocystography combined with topical administration of sterile saline solution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jing, Zhang; Lang, Chen; Qiu-Xia, Wang; Rong, Liu; Xin, Luo; Wen-Zhen, Zhu; Li-Ming, Xia; Jian-Pin, Qi; He, Wang

2013-01-01

Objective: This study aims to investigate the clinical performance of three-dimensional (3D) fast-recovery fast spin-echo (FRFSE) magnetic resonance dacryocystography (MRD) with topical administration of sterile saline solution for the assessment of the lacrimal drainage system (LDS). Methods: A total of 13 healthy volunteers underwent both 3D-FRFSE MRD and two-dimensional (2D)-impulse recovery (IR)-single-shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE) MRD after topical administration of sterile saline solution, and 31 patients affected by primary LDS outflow impairment or postsurgical recurrent epiphora underwent 3D-FRFSE MRD and conventional T1- and T2-weighted sequences. All patients underwent lacrimal endoscopy or surgery, which served as a standard of reference for confirming the MRD findings. Results: 3D-FRFSE MRD detected more visualized superior and inferior canaliculi and nasolacrimal duct than 2D-IR-SSFSE MRD. Compared with 2D-IR-SSFSE MRD, 3D-FRFSE MRD showed more visualized segments per LDS, although the difference was not statistically significant. Significant improvements in the inferior canaliculus and nasolacrimal duct visibility grades were achieved using 3D-FRFSE MRD. 3D-FRFSE MRD had 100% sensitivity and 63.6% specificity for detecting LDS obstruction. In 51 out of the 62 LDSs that were assessed, a 90% agreement was noted between the findings of 3D-FRFSE MRD and lacrimal endoscopy in detecting the obstruction level. Conclusion: 3D-FRFSE MRD combined with topical administration of sterile saline solution is a simple and noninvasive method of obtaining detailed morphological and functional information on the LDS. Overall, 3D-FRFSE MRD could be used as a reliable diagnostic method in many patients with epiphora prior to surgery

Evaluating topic models with stability

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

De Waal, A

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Topic models are unsupervised techniques that extract likely topics from text corpora, by creating probabilistic word-topic and topic-document associations. Evaluation of topic models is a challenge because (a) topic models are often employed...

Topical isoflavones provide effective photoprotection to skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Jing-Yi; Tournas, Joshua A; Burch, James A; Monteiro-Riviere, Nancy A; Zielinski, Jan

2008-04-01

Isoflavones, one main group of phytoestrogens, have antioxidative and photoprotective effects in cellular and mouse studies. The aim of this study is to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the isoflavone-mediated photoprotection with the pig skin model, a more human-resembling model. The pig skin was treated with five well-known isoflavone compounds (genistein, equol, daidzein, biochanin A, and formononetin) and one antioxidant combination solution of 15% vitamin C and 1% vitamin E and 0.5% ferulic acid (CEF) daily for 4 days. Skin was irradiated with solar-simulated UV irradiation, 1 to 5 minimal erythema dose (MED) at 1-MED intervals. Evaluation was carried out 24 h later by colorimeter-measured erythema and sunburn cell numbers. Topical application of 0.5% solutions of three individual phytoestrogens - genistein, daidzein, biochanin A - are better than similar solutions of equol or formononetin in protecting pig skin from solar-simulated ultraviolet (SSUV)-induced photodamage, as measured by sunburn cell formation and/or erythema. However, the protection was less than that provided by a topical combination antioxidant standard containing 15% L-ascorbic acid, 1%alpha-tocopherol, and 0.5% ferulic acid. Isoflavones provide effective photoprotection and are good candidate ingredients for protection against ultraviolet (UV) photodamage.

Topical report review status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1997-08-01

This report provides industry with procedures for submitting topical reports, guidance on how the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) processes and responds to topical report submittals, and an accounting, with review schedules, of all topical reports currently accepted for review schedules, of all topical reports currently accepted for review by the NRC. This report will be published annually. Each sponsoring organization with one or more topical reports accepted for review copies

Strong topical steroid, NSAID, and carbonic anhydrase inhibitor cocktail for treatment of cystoid macular edema

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asahi MG

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Masumi G Asahi, Gabriela L Bobarnac Dogaru, Spencer M Onishi, Ron P GallemoreRetina Macula Institute, Torrance, CA, USA Purpose: To report the combination cocktail of strong steroid, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID, and carbonic anhydrase inhibitor drops for treatment of cystoid macular edema. Methods: This is a retrospective case series of patients with cystoid macular edema managed with a topical combination of strong steroid (difluprednate, NSAID, and carbonic anhydrase inhibitor drops. The patients were followed with optical coherence tomography and fluorescein angiography. Results: In our six cases, resolution of the cystic edema with improvement in visual acuity was achieved with the use of a combination cocktail of drops. Leakage on fluorescein angiography and cystic edema on optical coherence tomography both responded to treatment with the topical cocktail of drops. Conclusion: A topical cocktail of strong steroid, NSAID, and carbonic anhydrase inhibitor drops are effective for managing cystoid macular edema. Further studies comparing this combination with more invasive treatments should be undertaken to determine the efficacy of this cocktail over other treatment options. Keywords: birdshot chorioretinopathy, diabetic macular edema, retinal vein occlusion

Dressings and topical agents for preventing pressure ulcers.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Zena E H; Webster, Joan

2013-08-18

Pressure ulcers, which are localised injury to the skin, or underlying tissue or both, occur when people are unable to reposition themselves to relieve pressure on bony prominences. Pressure ulcers are often difficult to heal, painful and impact negatively on the individual's quality of life. The cost implications of pressure ulcer treatment are considerable, compounding the challenges in providing cost effective, efficient health services. Efforts to prevent the development of pressure ulcers have focused on nutritional support, pressure redistributing devices, turning regimes and the application of various topical agents and dressings designed to maintain healthy skin, relieve pressure and prevent shearing forces. Although products aimed at preventing pressure ulcers are widely used, it remains unclear which, if any, of these approaches are effective in preventing the development of pressure ulcers. To evaluate the effects of dressings and topical agents on the prevention of pressure ulcers, in people of any age without existing pressure ulcers, but considered to be at risk of developing a pressure ulcer, in any healthcare setting. In February 2013 we searched the following electronic databases to identify reports of relevant randomised clinical trials (RCTs): the Cochrane Wounds Group Specialised Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library); Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (The Cochrane Library); Ovid MEDLINE; Ovid MEDLINE (In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations); Ovid EMBASE; and EBSCO CINAHL. We included RCTs evaluating the use of dressings, topical agents, or topical agents with dressings, compared with a different dressing, topical agent, or combined topical agent and dressing, or no intervention or standard care, with the aim of preventing the development of a pressure ulcer. We assessed trials for their appropriateness for inclusion and for their risk of bias. This was done by two review

Topical video object discovery from key frames by modeling word co-occurrence prior.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Gangqiang; Yuan, Junsong; Hua, Gang; Yang, Jiong

2015-12-01

A topical video object refers to an object, that is, frequently highlighted in a video. It could be, e.g., the product logo and the leading actor/actress in a TV commercial. We propose a topic model that incorporates a word co-occurrence prior for efficient discovery of topical video objects from a set of key frames. Previous work using topic models, such as latent Dirichelet allocation (LDA), for video object discovery often takes a bag-of-visual-words representation, which ignored important co-occurrence information among the local features. We show that such data driven co-occurrence information from bottom-up can conveniently be incorporated in LDA with a Gaussian Markov prior, which combines top-down probabilistic topic modeling with bottom-up priors in a unified model. Our experiments on challenging videos demonstrate that the proposed approach can discover different types of topical objects despite variations in scale, view-point, color and lighting changes, or even partial occlusions. The efficacy of the co-occurrence prior is clearly demonstrated when compared with topic models without such priors.

Sixth meeting of the ITPA Topical Group on Diagnostics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Donne, A.J.H.; Costley, A.E.

2004-01-01

The Sixth Meeting of the International Tokamak Physics Activities (ITPA) Topical Group (TG) on Diagnostics was held at JAERI, Naka from 19-21 February 2004. This meeting was combined with a Progress Meeting on ITER/BPX (burning plasma experiment) relevant diagnostic developments on-going in Japan. For the first time, ITPA members from China, as well as observers from South Korea, attended. In addition, an associated sub-meeting was held at General Atomics, San Diego, 23-24 April, immediately after the 15th Topical Conference on High Temperature Plasma Diagnostics. At the sub-meeting a special one-day session was devoted to issues related to beam-aided spectroscopy. In total more than 50 participants attended the meetings and all ITER partners were represented. The key topics reviewed and discussed at the TG meeting were: (i) the overall status of diagnostics developments for ITER, (ii) the progress in the research on the designated high priority topics, (iii) the progress with some key ITER/BPX-relevant diagnostic developments ongoing in the ITPA participant laboratories, (iv) the progress and plans for the work of the specialist working groups, (v) the status and plans for the International Diagnostic Database

Minocycline down-regulates topical mucosal inflammation during the application of microbicide candidates.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Liangzhu Li

Full Text Available An effective anti-human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1 microbicide should exert its action in the absence of causing aberrant activation of topical immunity that will increase the risk of HIV acquisition. In the present study, we demonstrated that the vaginal application of cellulose sulfate (CS gel induced topical mucosal inflammatory responses; the addition of minocycline to CS gel could significantly attenuate the inflammation in a mice model. The combined gel of CS plus minocycline not only reduced the production of inflammatory cytokines in cervicovaginal lavages (CVLs, also down-regulated the activation of CD4+ T cells and the recruitment of other immune cells including HIV target cells into vaginal tissues. Furthermore, an In vitro HIV-1 pseudovirus infection inhibition assay showed that the combined gel decreased the infection efficacy of different subtypes of HIV-1 pseudoviruses compared with that of CS gel alone. These results implicate that minocycline could be integrated into microbicide formulation to suppress the aberrant activation of topical mucosal immunity and enhance the safety profile during the application of microbicides.

Syntacticized topics in Kurmuk

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Torben

2015-01-01

This article argues that Kurmuk, a little-described Western Nilotic language, is characterized by a syntacticized topic whose grammatical relation is variable. In this language, declarative clauses have as topic an obligatory preverbal NP which is either a subject, an object or an adjunct....... The grammatical relation of the topic is expressed by a voice-like inflection of the verb, here called orientation. While subject-orientation is morphologically unmarked, object-oriented and adjunct-oriented verbs are marked by a subject suffix or by a suffix indicating that the topic is not subject, and adjunct......-orientation differs from object-orientation by a marked tone pattern. Topic choice largely reflects information structure by indicating topic continuity. The topic also plays a crucial role in relative clauses and in clauses with contrastive constituent focus, in that objects and adjuncts can only be relativized...

Potentiation of ALA-PDT antitumor activity in mice using topical DMXAA

Science.gov (United States)

Marrero, Allison; Sunar, Ulas; Sands, Theresa; Oseroff, Allan; Bellnier, David

2009-06-01

Photodynamic treatment of subcutaneously implanted Colon 26 tumors in BALB/c mice using the aminolevulinic acid (ALA)-induced photosensitizer protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) was shown to be enhanced by the addition of the vascular disrupting agent 5,6-Dimethylxanthenone-4-acetic-acid (DMXAA; Novartis ASA404). DMXAA increases vascular permeability and decreases blood flow in both murine and human tumors. Sufficiently high parenteral DMXAA doses can lead to tumor collapse and necrosis. We have previously reported marked enhancement of antitumor activity when PDT, using either Photofrin or HPPH, is combined with low-dose intraperitoneal DMXAA. We now describe the first attempt to combine topically-applied DMXAA with PDT. For this, DMXAA was applied two hours before PpIX-activating light delivery. PDT with ALA-PDT alone (ALA 20%; 80 J/cm2 delivered at 75 mW/cm2) caused a 39% decrease in tumor volume compared to unirradiated controls. Addition of topical DMXAA to ALA-PDT resulted in a 74% reduction in tumor volume. Diffuse correlation spectroscopy (DCS), a non-invasive blood flow imaging method, is being used to understand the mechanism of this effect and to aid in the proper design of the therapy. For instance, our most recent DCS data suggests that the 2-hour interval between the DMXAA and light applications may not be optimum. This preliminary study suggests a potential role for topical DMXAA in combination with PDT for dermatologic tumors.

Current Approaches to the Choice of Basic Therapy for Mild Persistent Bronchial Asthma in Children

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S.M. Nedelska

2015-03-01

Conclusions. Leukotrien modifier as monotherapy is indicated to 6–7-year-old children with mild persistent bronchial asthma and serum levels of leukotrienes from 500 to 1000 pg/ml. At the level of leukotrienes below 500 pg/ml it is advisable to administer fluticasone propionate, above 1000 pg/ml — combination of leukotrien modifier and inhaled corticosteroid.

Topical amitriptyline and ketamine for the treatment of neuropathic pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Mercadante, Sebastiano

2015-01-01

A neuropathy is a disturbance of function or pathological change in nerves. In some cases, peripheral neuropathic pain may occur due to a lesion or disease of the peripheral somatosensory nervous system. Efficacy of different agents for peripheral neuropathic pain conditions is less than optimal. The administration of topical analgesics might be an option, due to the potential of reduced adverse effects and increased patient compliance. There is major interest in compounding topical analgesics for peripheral neuropathic pain, but several challenges remain for this approach. Topical analgesics have the potential to be a valuable additional approach for the management of peripheral neuropathic pain. Topical amitriptyline-ketamine combination (AK) is a promising agent for peripheral neuropathic pain conditions. Some studies have shown its efficacy in neuropathic pain conditions. However, this data was not uniformely obtained and its role remains still controversial. Efficacy may depend on many factors, including the choice of the vehicle, the concentration, the pain site, and specific diseases. More studies are necessary to support the use of AK in clinical practice.

Anti-Interleukin-1 Beta/Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha IgY Antibodies Reduce Pathological Allergic Responses in Guinea Pigs with Allergic Rhinitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Wei-Xu, Hu; Wen-Yun, Zhou; Xi-Ling, Zhu; Zhu, Wen; Li-Hua, Wu; Xiao-Mu, Wu; Hui-Ping, Wei; Wen-Ding, Wang; Dan, He; Qin, Xiang; Guo-Zhu, Hu

2016-01-01

This study aims to determine whether the combined blockade of IL-1β and TNF-α can alleviate the pathological allergic inflammatory reaction in the nasal mucosa and lung tissues in allergic rhinitis (AR) guinea pigs. Healthy guinea pigs treated with saline were used as the healthy controls. The AR guinea pigs were randomly divided into (1) the AR model group treated with intranasal saline; (2) the 0.1% nonspecific IgY treatment group; (3) the 0.1% anti-TNF-α IgY treatment group; (4) the 0.1% anti-IL-1β IgY treatment group; (5) the 0.1% combined anti-IL-1β and TNF-α IgY treatment group; and (6) the fluticasone propionate treatment group. The inflammatory cells were evaluated using Wright's staining. Histopathology was examined using hematoxylin-eosin staining. The results showed that the number of eosinophils was significantly decreased in the peripheral blood, nasal lavage fluid, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (P guinea pigs. The data suggest that topical blockade of IL-1β and TNF-α could reduce pathological allergic inflammation in the nasal mucosa and lung tissues in AR guinea pigs.

Successful Treatment of Cutaneous Botryomycosis with a Combination of Minocycline and Topical Heat Therapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Masaya Ishibashi

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Cutaneous botryomycosis is a chronic focal infection characterized by a granulomatous inflammatory response to bacterial pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus. Treatment requires antibiotic therapy and may also require surgical debridement. We employed topical heat therapy and oral minocycline. The lesions became flattened and pigmented after 1 month. We consider that this simple treatment can be an effective and harmless complementary therapy for cutaneous botryomycosis.

Performance on Interdisciplinary Topics in an Integrated Pharmacy Course

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joie Rowles

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: Many colleges and schools of Pharmacy combine interdisciplinary topics such as pathophysiology, pharmacology, medicinal chemistry and therapeutics into one integrated course. Our main aim for this study is to determine if students pass integrated courses and yet fail to pass interdisciplinary sections of those courses. Methods: Two representative integrated sequence courses were evaluated without any study-imposed intervention. Individual student examination scores (~140 students were evaluated for overall performance as well as for performance on the interdisciplinary topics of pathophysiology/pharmacology, medicinal chemistry, and therapeutics. The degree of difficulty of the examination questions, as well as the test item discrimination, were also measured. Results: There were students that passed the course but failed one, or more, of the interdisciplinary topics. Combining data from both courses, medicinal chemistry was the most frequently failed discipline (29 students, followed closely by pharmacology (22 students, and distantly by therapeutics (1 student. The examination questions for medicinal chemistry were not more difficult nor more discriminatory than the questions for the other disciplines. Conclusions: These data indicate that students pass integrated courses, but fail to pass interdisciplinary sections of those courses, especially the pharmaceutical sciences. It is not known if these results are consistent, nor what long-term adverse consequences may result. These results inform curricular and assessment aspects of the pharmacy academy as pertains to establishing the scientific foundation required by the CAPE 2013 Educational Outcomes.   Type: Original Research

Topical Drugs for Pain Relief

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anjali Srinivasan

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Topical therapy helps patients with oral and perioral pain problems such as ulcers, burning mouth syndrome, temporomandibular disorders, neuromas, neuropathies and neuralgias. Topical drugs used in the field of dentistry are topical anaesthetics, topical analgesics, topical antibiotics and topical corticosteroids. It provides symptomatic/curative effect. Topical drugs are easy to apply, avoids hepatic first pass metabolism and more sites specific. But it can only be used for medications that require low plasma concentrations to achieve a therapeutic effect.

Genetics Home Reference: combined malonic and methylmalonic aciduria

Science.gov (United States)

... links) Health Topic: Genetic Brain Disorders Health Topic: Lipid Metabolism Disorders Genetic and Rare Diseases Information Center (1 link) Combined malonic and methylmalonic aciduria Additional NIH Resources (1 link) National Human Genome Research Institute: NHGRI Researchers Serve Up Mysterious ...

Combined use of contrast media containing iodine and gadolinium for imaging and intervention. A hitherto widely ignored topic in radiological practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Golder, W.

2012-01-01

The synchronous use of chemically different contrast media in the same body compartment is a challenge for the radiologist, whether it is scheduled or unexpected. However, to inject contrast media containing iodine and gadolinium at the same time can be a prerequisite for the examination of several organs or organ systems. Unlike other topics of contrast-enhanced imaging procedures, the difficulties encountered with double contrast injections have been widely ignored in the literature. In the absence of reliable data from experimental and clinical studies the radiologist is dependent on case reports, information provided by the contrast media manufacturers, personal communications, mostly scanty personal experiences and a skilful time management, in order to overcome the situation. Only the combination of X-ray, computed tomography and magnetic resonance arthrography can be performed without another thought. However, the more or less synchronous vascular application of contrast media containing iodine and gadolinium requires vigilance. The more seriously ill the patient is, the more caution is advised even if the decision on the combined administration has to be reached urgently. The following overview gives a description of the properties of contrast media containing iodine and gadolinium as far as interactions following simultaneous administration are concerned. Subsequently, the clinically relevant situations and constellations are outlined and analyzed. (orig.) [de

Topical report review status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-08-01

A Topical Report Review Status is scheduled to be published semi-annually. The primary purpose of this document is to provide periodic progress reports of on-going topical report reviews, to identify those topical reports for which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff review has been completed and, to the extent practicable, to provide NRC management with sufficient information regarding the conduct of the topical report program to permit taking whatever actions deemed necessary or appropriate. This document is also intended to be a source of information to NRC Licensing Project Managers and other NRC personnel regarding the status of topical reports which may be referenced in applications for which they have responsibility. This status report is published primarily for internal NRC use in managing the topical report program, but is also used by NRC to advise the industry of report review status

Topical report review status

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-01-01

A Topical Report Review Status is scheduled to be published semi-annually. The primary purpose of this document is to provide periodic progress reports of on-going topical report reviews, to identify those topical reports for which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) staff review has been completed and, to the extent practicable, to provide NRC management with sufficient information regarding the conduct of the topical report program to permit taking whatever actions deemed necessary or appropriate. This document is also intended to be a source of information to NRC Licensing Project Managers and other NRC personnel regarding the status of topical reports which may be referenced in applications for which they have responsibility. This status report is published primarily for internal NRC use in managing the topical report program, but is also used by NRC to advise the industry of report review status

Topical minoxidil fortified with finasteride: An account of maintenance of hair density after replacing oral finasteride

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B S Chandrashekar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Finasteride acts by reducing dihydrotestosterone levels, thereby inhibiting miniaturization of hair follicles in patients with androgenetic alopecia (AGA. Oral finasteride is associated with side effects such as decreased libido, sexual dysfunction, and gynecomastia. Aim: The aim of the following study is to assess the efficacy of maintaining hair growth with 5% topical minoxidil fortified with 0.1% finasteride in patients with AGA after initial treatment with 5% topical minoxidil and oral finasteride for two years. Materials and Methods: A retrospective assessment was done in 50 male patients aged 20-40 years with AGA. All the patients had been initially treated with topical minoxidil and oral finasteride for a period of two years, after which the oral finasteride was replaced with topical minoxidil fortified with finasteride. Five of 50 patients had discontinued the treatment for a period of 8-12 months and were then resumed with only topical minoxidil fortified with finasteride. The patients′ case sheets and photographs were reviewed by independent observers and the efficacy of minoxidil-finasteride combination was assessed. Results: Of the 45 patients who underwent a continuous treatment for AGA, 84.44% maintained a good hair density with topical minoxidil-finasteride combinatio. Of the five patients who discontinued oral finasteride for 8-12 months, four demonstrated good improvement in hair density when treatment was resumed with topical minoxidil-finasteride combination. Conclusion: Topical finasteride can be considered for hair density maintenance after initial improvement with oral finasteride, thereby obviating the indefinite use of oral finasteride.

75 FR 26647 - Ophthalmic and Topical Dosage Form New Animal Drugs; Ivermectin Topical Solution

Science.gov (United States)

2010-05-12

.... FDA-2010-N-0002] Ophthalmic and Topical Dosage Form New Animal Drugs; Ivermectin Topical Solution... are treated with a topical solution of ivermectin. DATES: This rule is effective May 12, 2010. FOR... ANADA 200-340 for PRIVERMECTIN (ivermectin), a topical solution used on cattle to control infestations...

Stepwise withdrawal of inhaled corticosteroids in COPD patients receiving dual bronchodilation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Magnussen, Helgo; Watz, Henrik; Kirsten, Anne

2014-01-01

-controlled fashion, one group of patients continues to receive tiotropium, salmeterol and fluticasone, while the second group initiates stepwise withdrawal of fluticasone. The primary end point is time to first moderate or severe exacerbation following randomized treatment over 52 weeks. Lung function, symptoms...

Women's Health Topics

Science.gov (United States)

... Information by Audience For Women Women's Health Topics Women's Health Topics Share Tweet Linkedin Pin it More sharing options Linkedin Pin it Email Print National Women's Health Week May 13 - 19, 2018 Join us ...

Eosinophilic esophagitis: dilate or medicate? A cost analysis model of the choice of initial therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kavitt, R T; Penson, D F; Vaezi, M F

2014-07-01

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is an increasingly recognized clinical entity. The optimal initial treatment strategy in adults with EoE remains controversial. The aim of this study was to employ a decision analysis model to determine the less costly option between the two most commonly employed treatment strategies in EoE. We constructed a model for an index case of a patient with biopsy-proven EoE who continues to be symptomatic despite proton-pump inhibitor therapy. The following treatment strategies were included: (i) swallowed fluticasone inhaler (followed by esophagogastroduodenoscopy [EGD] with dilation if ineffective); and (ii) EGD with dilation (followed by swallowed fluticasone inhaler if ineffective). The time horizon was 1 year. The model focused on cost analysis of initial treatment strategies. The perspective of the healthcare payer was used. Sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the robustness of the model. For every patient whose symptoms improved or resolved with the strategy of fluticasone first followed by EGD, if necessary, it cost an average of $1078. Similarly, it cost an average of $1171 per patient if EGD with dilation was employed first. Sensitivity analyses indicated that initial treatment with fluticasone was the less costly strategy to improve dysphagia symptoms as long as the effectiveness of fluticasone remains at or above 0.62. Swallowed fluticasone inhaler (followed by EGD with dilation if necessary) is the more economical initial strategy when compared with EGD with dilation first. © 2012 Copyright the Authors. Journal compilation © 2012, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. and the International Society for Diseases of the Esophagus.

Photocarcinogenesis of topical tazarotene and isotretinoin alone and in combination with valproic acid in hairless mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lerche, Catharina Margrethe; Philipsen, Peter Alshede; Sehested, Maxwell

2008-01-01

Retinoids and the histone deacetylase inhibitor valproic acid have shown anticancer properties, but the photocarcinogenic or photoprotective effect is unclear. Therefore, we investigated whether a topical formulation of valproic acid is photocarcinogenic or photoprotective in hairless female C3.Cg/Tif...

Long-term follow-up in dogs with idiopathic eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy treated with inhaled steroid therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Canonne, A M; Bolen, G; Peeters, D; Billen, F; Clercx, C

2016-10-01

Treatment of canine idiopathic eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy mainly consists of long-term oral corticosteroid therapy. To avoid side effects, inhaled steroid therapy has been increasingly used but long-term clinical response and potential side effects are sparsely described. Description of clinical response and side effects with long-term fluticasone in dogs with eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy. Case series of dogs with eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy and treated with fluticasone monotherapy for at least 6 months. Clinical response and side effects assessed by physical examination, standardised questionnaire and ACTH (corticotropin) stimulation test. Eight dogs were treated for between 6 months and 5 years. Cough initially improved in all dogs; two dogs remained free of clinical signs, three were well controlled, but three showed severe relapse. Pituitary-adrenal axis inhibition occurred in two dogs treated with fluticasone monotherapy for more than 2 years; only one dog had clinical signs of iatrogenic hyperadrenocorticism. Fluticasone monotherapy allows initial improvement or remission in the majority of dogs but long-term treatment fails to resolve the cough in some individuals. In addition, such therapy may induce pituitary-adrenal axis inhibition. Prospective larger and randomised studies including both fluticasone and orally-treated dogs are needed to define the optimal treatment. © 2016 British Small Animal Veterinary Association.

Multi-topic assignment for exploratory navigation of consumer health information in NetWellness using formal concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Licong; Xu, Rong; Luo, Zhihui; Wentz, Susan; Scarberry, Kyle; Zhang, Guo-Qiang

2014-08-03

Finding quality consumer health information online can effectively bring important public health benefits to the general population. It can empower people with timely and current knowledge for managing their health and promoting wellbeing. Despite a popular belief that search engines such as Google can solve all information access problems, recent studies show that using search engines and simple search terms is not sufficient. Our objective is to provide an approach to organizing consumer health information for navigational exploration, complementing keyword-based direct search. Multi-topic assignment to health information, such as online questions, is a fundamental step for navigational exploration. We introduce a new multi-topic assignment method combining semantic annotation using UMLS concepts (CUIs) and Formal Concept Analysis (FCA). Each question was tagged with CUIs identified by MetaMap. The CUIs were filtered with term-frequency and a new term-strength index to construct a CUI-question context. The CUI-question context and a topic-subject context were used for multi-topic assignment, resulting in a topic-question context. The topic-question context was then directly used for constructing a prototype navigational exploration interface. Experimental evaluation was performed on the task of automatic multi-topic assignment of 99 predefined topics for about 60,000 consumer health questions from NetWellness. Using example-based metrics, suitable for multi-topic assignment problems, our method achieved a precision of 0.849, recall of 0.774, and F₁ measure of 0.782, using a reference standard of 278 questions with manually assigned topics. Compared to NetWellness' original topic assignment, a 36.5% increase in recall is achieved with virtually no sacrifice in precision. Enhancing the recall of multi-topic assignment without sacrificing precision is a prerequisite for achieving the benefits of navigational exploration. Our new multi-topic assignment method

Infection control as a topic for ward-based nursing education.

Science.gov (United States)

Gould, D; Chamberlain, A

1994-08-01

The link between nursing theory and practice remains a topic of ongoing debate. Related to this issue is the best place to effectively combine the two. The solution may be ward-based teaching programmes as part of formal continuing staff development, involving collaboration between college-based lecturers and acknowledged clinical experts. Using infection control as an example of a topic in need of regular and continual updating for qualified practitioners, it is argued that such programmes would be desirable because they would afford sufficient flexibility to fulfil individual learning needs and could be assessed to indicate whether nursing practice had been enhanced. Participants could be accredited for successful completion of ward-based programmes.

Topic Visualization and Survival Analysis

OpenAIRE

Wang, Ping Jr

2017-01-01

Latent semantic structure in a text collection is called a topic. In this thesis, we aim to visualize topics in the scientific literature and detect active or inactive research areas based on their lifetime. Topics were extracted from over 1 million abstracts from the arXiv.org database using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). Hellinger distance measures similarity between two topics. Topics are determined to be relevant if their pairwise distances are smaller than the threshold of Hellinger ...

GeneTopics - interpretation of gene sets via literature-driven topic models

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Annotation of a set of genes is often accomplished through comparison to a library of labelled gene sets such as biological processes or canonical pathways. However, this approach might fail if the employed libraries are not up to date with the latest research, don't capture relevant biological themes or are curated at a different level of granularity than is required to appropriately analyze the input gene set. At the same time, the vast biomedical literature offers an unstructured repository of the latest research findings that can be tapped to provide thematic sub-groupings for any input gene set. Methods Our proposed method relies on a gene-specific text corpus and extracts commonalities between documents in an unsupervised manner using a topic model approach. We automatically determine the number of topics summarizing the corpus and calculate a gene relevancy score for each topic allowing us to eliminate non-specific topics. As a result we obtain a set of literature topics in which each topic is associated with a subset of the input genes providing directly interpretable keywords and corresponding documents for literature research. Results We validate our method based on labelled gene sets from the KEGG metabolic pathway collection and the genetic association database (GAD) and show that the approach is able to detect topics consistent with the labelled annotation. Furthermore, we discuss the results on three different types of experimentally derived gene sets, (1) differentially expressed genes from a cardiac hypertrophy experiment in mice, (2) altered transcript abundance in human pancreatic beta cells, and (3) genes implicated by GWA studies to be associated with metabolite levels in a healthy population. In all three cases, we are able to replicate findings from the original papers in a quick and semi-automated manner. Conclusions Our approach provides a novel way of automatically generating meaningful annotations for gene sets that are directly

The roles of safety and compliance in determining effectiveness of topical therapy for psoriasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Stein Gold, Linda; Corvari, Linda

2007-01-01

Topical therapies are the mainstays of treatment for most patients with psoriasis because they relieve symptoms and reduce the size and severity of lesions. The effectiveness of a therapeutic intervention is a function of drug efficacy (determined by randomized clinical trial results) and patient safety and compliance. Alterations in any parameter can have a substantial influence on clinical outcomes. However, topical agents can be associated with unwanted and potentially toxic side effects that make physicians reluctant to prescribe them, and patients intentionally discontinue treatment with these topical agents. To maximize effectiveness and improve patient safety, physicians may prescribe medications in combination, sequential, or rotational therapeutic regimens. This treatment strategy has the potential to improve the overall efficacy and safety of topical therapy; however, the effectiveness of this method may be compromised because the complexity of the therapeutic regimen may decrease patient compliance. Newer topical therapies that have a convenient once-daily dosing schedule are needed and will have important implications for patient compliance.

Incorporating Topic Assignment Constraint and Topic Correlation Limitation into Clinical Goal Discovering for Clinical Pathway Mining

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiao Xu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Clinical pathways are widely used around the world for providing quality medical treatment and controlling healthcare cost. However, the expert-designed clinical pathways can hardly deal with the variances among hospitals and patients. It calls for more dynamic and adaptive process, which is derived from various clinical data. Topic-based clinical pathway mining is an effective approach to discover a concise process model. Through this approach, the latent topics found by latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA represent the clinical goals. And process mining methods are used to extract the temporal relations between these topics. However, the topic quality is usually not desirable due to the low performance of the LDA in clinical data. In this paper, we incorporate topic assignment constraint and topic correlation limitation into the LDA to enhance the ability of discovering high-quality topics. Two real-world datasets are used to evaluate the proposed method. The results show that the topics discovered by our method are with higher coherence, informativeness, and coverage than the original LDA. These quality topics are suitable to represent the clinical goals. Also, we illustrate that our method is effective in generating a comprehensive topic-based clinical pathway model.

Combined oral and topical antimicrobial therapy for male partners of women with bacterial vaginosis: Acceptability, tolerability and impact on the genital microbiota of couples - A pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Plummer, Erica L; Vodstrcil, Lenka A; Danielewski, Jennifer A; Murray, Gerald L; Fairley, Christopher K; Garland, Suzanne M; Hocking, Jane S; Tabrizi, Sepehr N; Bradshaw, Catriona S

2018-01-01

Bray-Curtis score day 0 vs day 8 = 0.09 [0.04-0.17]), however this was not as pronounced at day 28 (median Bray-Curtis score day 0 vs day 28 = 0.38 [0.11-0.59]). A decrease in the prevalence and abundance of BV-associated bacteria in the cutaneous penile microbiota was observed immediately following treatment at day 8. Combined oral and topical treatment of male partners of women with BV is acceptable and well tolerated. The combined acceptability and microbiological data presented in this paper supports the need for larger studies with longer follow up to characterize the sustained effect of dual partner treatment on the genital microbiota of couples and assess the impact on BV recurrence.

Combined oral and topical antimicrobial therapy for male partners of women with bacterial vaginosis: Acceptability, tolerability and impact on the genital microbiota of couples - A pilot study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erica L Plummer

microbiota (median Bray-Curtis score day 0 vs day 8 = 0.09 [0.04-0.17], however this was not as pronounced at day 28 (median Bray-Curtis score day 0 vs day 28 = 0.38 [0.11-0.59]. A decrease in the prevalence and abundance of BV-associated bacteria in the cutaneous penile microbiota was observed immediately following treatment at day 8.Combined oral and topical treatment of male partners of women with BV is acceptable and well tolerated. The combined acceptability and microbiological data presented in this paper supports the need for larger studies with longer follow up to characterize the sustained effect of dual partner treatment on the genital microbiota of couples and assess the impact on BV recurrence.

Complementary clinical effects of topical tightening treatment in conjunction with a radiofrequency procedure.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, David J; Yatskayer, Margarita; Raab, Susana; Chen, Nannan; Krol, Yevgeniy; Oresajo, Christian

2014-10-01

Abstract Background: Skin laxity and cellulite on the buttocks and thighs are two common cosmetic concerns. Skin tightening with radiofrequency (RF) devices has become increasingly popular. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a topical skin laxity tightening agent when used in combination with an RF device. A double-blinded, randomized clinical trial enrolled twenty females with mild-to-moderate skin laxity on the posterior thighs/buttocks. Each subject underwent two monthly treatments with an RF source (Alma Accent) to both legs. Subjects were then randomized to apply a topical agent (Skinceuticals Body Tightening Concentrate) twice daily to only one designated thigh/buttock throughout the eight-week duration of the study. All subjects were evaluated for improvement in lifting, skin tone, radiance, firmness/tightness, skin texture, and overall appearance based on photographic evaluation by blinded investigators at 12 weeks following the final RF treatment. A statistically significant improvement was found in the overall appearance on both sides treated with the RF device when compared to baseline. However, the area treated with the topical agent showed a statistically significantly greater degree of improvement than the side where no topical agent was applied. No adverse effects were reported. The use of a novel skin tightening agent used after RF procedures is both safe and effective for treatment of skin laxity on the buttocks and thighs. Combined therapy leads to a better result.

Integrative Approach to Facilitate Fracture Healing: Topical Chinese Herbal Paste with Oral Strontium Ranelate

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wing-Sum Siu

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Strontium ranelate (SrR is one of the pharmaceutical agents reported to be effective on the promotion of fracture healing. This study aimed to evaluate the integrative effect of the oral SrR with a topical Chinese herbal paste, namely, CDR, on facilitation of bone healing. The in vivo efficacy was evaluated using rats with tibial fracture. They were treated with either CDR topically, or SrR orally, or their combined treatments. The in vivo results illustrated a significant additive effect of CDR on SrR in increasing the yield load of the fractured tibia. The in vitro results showed that neither SrR nor CDR exhibited a cytotoxic effect on UMR106 and bone-marrow stem cell (BMSC, but both of them increased the proliferation of BMSC at low concentrations. The combination of CDR at 200 μg/mL with SrR at 200 or 400 μg/ml also showed an additive effect on increasing the ALP activity of BMSC. Both SrR and CDR alone reduced osteoclast formation, and the effective concentration of SrR to inhibit osteoclastogenesis was reduced in the presence of CDR. This integrative approach by combining oral SrR and topical CDR is effective in promoting fracture healing properly due to their additive effects on proosteogenic and antiosteoclastogenic properties.

Combined debridement in chronic wounds: a literature review

OpenAIRE

Liu, Wan-Lin; Jiang, Yun-Lan; Wang, Yan-Qiao; Li, Ying-Xin; Liu, Yi-Xian

2017-01-01

Wounds debridement is important for healing of chronic wounds. Combined debridement is a new technique to deal with the complex chronic wounds. This review introduces several topical methods of combined debridement according to the various color classifications. Methods include combined sharp and hydrogel debridement, combined ultrasonic and enzymatic debridement, ultrasonic debridement combined with surgical debridement and vacuum aspiration on debridement, and other types of debridement. Th...

Health Topic XML File Description

Science.gov (United States)

... this page: https://medlineplus.gov/xmldescription.html Health Topic XML File Description: MedlinePlus To use the sharing ... information categories assigned. Example of a Full Health Topic Record A record for a MedlinePlus health topic ...

Automatic topic identification of health-related messages in online health community using text classification.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Yingjie

2013-01-01

To facilitate patient involvement in online health community and obtain informative support and emotional support they need, a topic identification approach was proposed in this paper for identifying automatically topics of the health-related messages in online health community, thus assisting patients in reaching the most relevant messages for their queries efficiently. Feature-based classification framework was presented for automatic topic identification in our study. We first collected the messages related to some predefined topics in a online health community. Then we combined three different types of features, n-gram-based features, domain-specific features and sentiment features to build four feature sets for health-related text representation. Finally, three different text classification techniques, C4.5, Naïve Bayes and SVM were adopted to evaluate our topic classification model. By comparing different feature sets and different classification techniques, we found that n-gram-based features, domain-specific features and sentiment features were all considered to be effective in distinguishing different types of health-related topics. In addition, feature reduction technique based on information gain was also effective to improve the topic classification performance. In terms of classification techniques, SVM outperformed C4.5 and Naïve Bayes significantly. The experimental results demonstrated that the proposed approach could identify the topics of online health-related messages efficiently.

Identifying Topics in Microblogs Using Wikipedia.

Science.gov (United States)

Yıldırım, Ahmet; Üsküdarlı, Suzan; Özgür, Arzucan

2016-01-01

Twitter is an extremely high volume platform for user generated contributions regarding any topic. The wealth of content created at real-time in massive quantities calls for automated approaches to identify the topics of the contributions. Such topics can be utilized in numerous ways, such as public opinion mining, marketing, entertainment, and disaster management. Towards this end, approaches to relate single or partial posts to knowledge base items have been proposed. However, in microblogging systems like Twitter, topics emerge from the culmination of a large number of contributions. Therefore, identifying topics based on collections of posts, where individual posts contribute to some aspect of the greater topic is necessary. Models, such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA), propose algorithms for relating collections of posts to sets of keywords that represent underlying topics. In these approaches, figuring out what the specific topic(s) the keyword sets represent remains as a separate task. Another issue in topic detection is the scope, which is often limited to specific domain, such as health. This work proposes an approach for identifying domain-independent specific topics related to sets of posts. In this approach, individual posts are processed and then aggregated to identify key tokens, which are then mapped to specific topics. Wikipedia article titles are selected to represent topics, since they are up to date, user-generated, sophisticated articles that span topics of human interest. This paper describes the proposed approach, a prototype implementation, and a case study based on data gathered during the heavily contributed periods corresponding to the four US election debates in 2012. The manually evaluated results (0.96 precision) and other observations from the study are discussed in detail.

Regulatory Information By Topic

Science.gov (United States)

EPA develops and enforces regulations that span many environmental topics, from acid rain reduction to wetlands restoration. Each topic listed below may include related laws and regulations, compliance enforcement information, policies guidance

Identifying Topics in Microblogs Using Wikipedia.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmet Yıldırım

Full Text Available Twitter is an extremely high volume platform for user generated contributions regarding any topic. The wealth of content created at real-time in massive quantities calls for automated approaches to identify the topics of the contributions. Such topics can be utilized in numerous ways, such as public opinion mining, marketing, entertainment, and disaster management. Towards this end, approaches to relate single or partial posts to knowledge base items have been proposed. However, in microblogging systems like Twitter, topics emerge from the culmination of a large number of contributions. Therefore, identifying topics based on collections of posts, where individual posts contribute to some aspect of the greater topic is necessary. Models, such as Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA, propose algorithms for relating collections of posts to sets of keywords that represent underlying topics. In these approaches, figuring out what the specific topic(s the keyword sets represent remains as a separate task. Another issue in topic detection is the scope, which is often limited to specific domain, such as health. This work proposes an approach for identifying domain-independent specific topics related to sets of posts. In this approach, individual posts are processed and then aggregated to identify key tokens, which are then mapped to specific topics. Wikipedia article titles are selected to represent topics, since they are up to date, user-generated, sophisticated articles that span topics of human interest. This paper describes the proposed approach, a prototype implementation, and a case study based on data gathered during the heavily contributed periods corresponding to the four US election debates in 2012. The manually evaluated results (0.96 precision and other observations from the study are discussed in detail.

Differential Topic Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Changyou; Buntine, Wray; Ding, Nan; Xie, Lexing; Du, Lan

2015-02-01

In applications we may want to compare different document collections: they could have shared content but also different and unique aspects in particular collections. This task has been called comparative text mining or cross-collection modeling. We present a differential topic model for this application that models both topic differences and similarities. For this we use hierarchical Bayesian nonparametric models. Moreover, we found it was important to properly model power-law phenomena in topic-word distributions and thus we used the full Pitman-Yor process rather than just a Dirichlet process. Furthermore, we propose the transformed Pitman-Yor process (TPYP) to incorporate prior knowledge such as vocabulary variations in different collections into the model. To deal with the non-conjugate issue between model prior and likelihood in the TPYP, we thus propose an efficient sampling algorithm using a data augmentation technique based on the multinomial theorem. Experimental results show the model discovers interesting aspects of different collections. We also show the proposed MCMC based algorithm achieves a dramatically reduced test perplexity compared to some existing topic models. Finally, we show our model outperforms the state-of-the-art for document classification/ideology prediction on a number of text collections.

Topic Model for Graph Mining.

Science.gov (United States)

Xuan, Junyu; Lu, Jie; Zhang, Guangquan; Luo, Xiangfeng

2015-12-01

Graph mining has been a popular research area because of its numerous application scenarios. Many unstructured and structured data can be represented as graphs, such as, documents, chemical molecular structures, and images. However, an issue in relation to current research on graphs is that they cannot adequately discover the topics hidden in graph-structured data which can be beneficial for both the unsupervised learning and supervised learning of the graphs. Although topic models have proved to be very successful in discovering latent topics, the standard topic models cannot be directly applied to graph-structured data due to the "bag-of-word" assumption. In this paper, an innovative graph topic model (GTM) is proposed to address this issue, which uses Bernoulli distributions to model the edges between nodes in a graph. It can, therefore, make the edges in a graph contribute to latent topic discovery and further improve the accuracy of the supervised and unsupervised learning of graphs. The experimental results on two different types of graph datasets show that the proposed GTM outperforms the latent Dirichlet allocation on classification by using the unveiled topics of these two models to represent graphs.

Efficacy of a novel topical combination of fipronil, amitraz and (S)-methoprene for treatment and control of induced infestations of brown dog ticks (Rhipicephalus sanguineus) on dogs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hunter, James S; Baggott, Derek; Everett, William R; Fourie, Josephus J; Cramer, Luiz G; Yoon, Stephen S; Collidor, Nadia; Mallouk, Yasmina; Lee, Lorne; Blair, Jeffrey; Prullage, Joseph B

2011-07-15

Four laboratory studies were conducted to demonstrate that a single topical dose of a novel spot-on combination containing fipronil, amitraz and (S)-methoprene (CERTIFECT™, Merial Limited, GA, USA) is efficacious against the brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus. In each study, 6-8 male and 6-8 female purpose-bred, laboratory mongrels, terrier cross or Beagles were randomly assigned to one of two study groups (treated and untreated), based on pre-treatment parasite counts. Starting on the day before treatment, each dog was infested weekly with 50 ticks. Ticks were thumb counted at various time points after treatment and weekly infestations starting as early as 6h and continued at 12, 18 and 24h depending on the study. Ticks were removed and counted at 48 h after treatment and weekly infestations. CERTIFECT provided rapid and excellent control of pre-existing and newly acquired infestations of R. sanguineus with efficacy as high as 93% within the first 12h after a single topical treatment. Excellent control (>96%) of R. sanguineus as early as 18 h, following post treatment infestations was maintained for at least 35 days. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Analyses of Research Topics in the Field of Informetrics Based on the Method of Topic Modeling

OpenAIRE

Sung-Chien Lin

2014-01-01

In this study, we used the approach of topic modeling to uncover the possible structure of research topics in the field of Informetrics, to explore the distribution of the topics over years, and to compare the core journals. In order to infer the structure of the topics in the field, the data of the papers published in the Journal of Informetricsand Scientometrics during 2007 to 2013 are retrieved from the database of the Web of Science as input of the approach of topic modeling. The results ...

Analyses of Research Topics in the Field of Informetrics Based on the Method of Topic Modeling

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung-Chien Lin

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In this study, we used the approach of topic modeling to uncover the possible structure of research topics in the field of Informetrics, to explore the distribution of the topics over years, and to compare the core journals. In order to infer the structure of the topics in the field, the data of the papers published in the Journal of Informetricsand Scientometrics during 2007 to 2013 are retrieved from the database of the Web of Science as input of the approach of topic modeling. The results of this study show that when the number of topics was set to 10, the topic model has the smallest perplexity. Although data scopes and analysis methodsare different to previous studies, the generating topics of this study are consistent with those results produced by analyses of experts. Empirical case studies and measurements of bibliometric indicators were concerned important in every year during the whole analytic period, and the field was increasing stability. Both the two core journals broadly paid more attention to all of the topics in the field of Informetrics. The Journal of Informetricsput particular emphasis on construction and applications ofbibliometric indicators and Scientometrics focused on the evaluation and the factors of productivity of countries, institutions, domains, and journals.

Topical treatments of skin pain: a general review with a focus on hidradenitis suppurativa with topical agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheinfeld, Noah

2014-07-15

Hidradenitis Supprurativa (HS) is a painful chronic follicular disease. Few papers have addressed pain control for this debilitating condition. Possible topical agents include tricyclic antidepressants, opioids, anticonvulsants, NSAIDs, NMDA receptor antagonists, local anesthetics and other agents. The first line agents for the topical treatment of the cutaneous pain of HS are diclonefac gel 1% and liposomal xylocaine 4% and 5% cream or 5% ointment. The chief advantage of topical xylocaine is that is quick acting i.e. immediate however with a limited duration of effect 1-2 hours. The use of topical ketamine, which blocks n-methyl-D-aspartate receptors in a non-competitive fashion, might be a useful tool for the treatment of HS pain. Topical doxepin, which available in a 5% commercially preparation (Zonalon®) , makes patients drowsy and is not useful for controlling the pain of HS . Doxepin is available in a 3% or 3.3% concentration (which causes less drowsiness) from compounding pharmacies and can be used in compounded analgesic preparations with positive effect. Topical doxepin is preferred over use of topical amitriptyline because topical doxepin is more effective. Nevertheless, topical amitriptyline increase of the tactile and mechanical nociceptive thresholds and can be used for topical pain control in compound mixture of analgesics . Gabapentin and pregablin can also be used compounded with other agents in topical analgesic preparations with positive topical anesthetic effect. Capsaicin is not useful for topical treatment of the pain of HS. Sometimes compounded of anesthetics medications such as ketamine 10%, bupivacaine 1%, diclofenac 3%, doxepin 3% or 3.3%, and gabapentin 6% can extend the duration of effect so that medication only needs to be used 2 or 3 times a day. Still in my experience the easiest to get and most patient requested agent is topical diclonefac 1% gel.

Developing topic-specific search filters for PubMed with click-through data.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, J; Lu, Z

2013-01-01

Search filters have been developed and demonstrated for better information access to the immense and ever-growing body of publications in the biomedical domain. However, to date the number of filters remains quite limited because the current filter development methods require significant human efforts in manual document review and filter term selection. In this regard, we aim to investigate automatic methods for generating search filters. We present an automated method to develop topic-specific filters on the basis of users' search logs in PubMed. Specifically, for a given topic, we first detect its relevant user queries and then include their corresponding clicked articles to serve as the topic-relevant document set accordingly. Next, we statistically identify informative terms that best represent the topic-relevant document set using a background set composed of topic irrelevant articles. Lastly, the selected representative terms are combined with Boolean operators and evaluated on benchmark datasets to derive the final filter with the best performance. We applied our method to develop filters for four clinical topics: nephrology, diabetes, pregnancy, and depression. For the nephrology filter, our method obtained performance comparable to the state of the art (sensitivity of 91.3%, specificity of 98.7%, precision of 94.6%, and accuracy of 97.2%). Similarly, high-performing results (over 90% in all measures) were obtained for the other three search filters. Based on PubMed click-through data, we successfully developed a high-performance method for generating topic-specific search filters that is significantly more efficient than existing manual methods. All data sets (topic-relevant and irrelevant document sets) used in this study and a demonstration system are publicly available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/CBBresearch/Lu/downloads/CQ_filter/

Topical steroid-damaged skin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anil Abraham

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Topical steroids, commonly used for a wide range of skin disorders, are associated with side effects both systemic and cutaneous. This article aims at bringing awareness among practitioners, about the cutaneous side effects of easily available, over the counter, topical steroids. This makes it important for us as dermatologists to weigh the usefulness of topical steroids versus their side effects, and to make an informed decision regarding their use in each individual based on other factors such as age, site involved and type of skin disorder.

Mental Mechanisms for Topics Identification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Louis Massey

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Topics identification (TI is the process that consists in determining the main themes present in natural language documents. The current TI modeling paradigm aims at acquiring semantic information from statistic properties of large text datasets. We investigate the mental mechanisms responsible for the identification of topics in a single document given existing knowledge. Our main hypothesis is that topics are the result of accumulated neural activation of loosely organized information stored in long-term memory (LTM. We experimentally tested our hypothesis with a computational model that simulates LTM activation. The model assumes activation decay as an unavoidable phenomenon originating from the bioelectric nature of neural systems. Since decay should negatively affect the quality of topics, the model predicts the presence of short-term memory (STM to keep the focus of attention on a few words, with the expected outcome of restoring quality to a baseline level. Our experiments measured topics quality of over 300 documents with various decay rates and STM capacity. Our results showed that accumulated activation of loosely organized information was an effective mental computational commodity to identify topics. It was furthermore confirmed that rapid decay is detrimental to topics quality but that limited capacity STM restores quality to a baseline level, even exceeding it slightly.

Tumid Lupus Erythematosus: An Intriguing Dermatopathological Connotation Treated Successfully with Topical Tacrolimus and Hydroxyxhloroquine Combination

Science.gov (United States)

Verma, Prashant; Sharma, Sonal; Yadav, Pravesh; Namdeo, Chaitanya; Mahajan, Garima

2014-01-01

Tumid lupus erythematosus (LE) is a rare variant of lupus erythematosus, which often follows a favorable course. A case of a young woman is illustrated, who presented with an asymptomatic erythematous, solitary plaque over her face. Histopathological and direct immunofluorescence examination established a diagnosis of tumid lupus erythematosus. She responded slowly and near-completely to hydroxychloroquine sulfate; however, a flare up occurred a month later. Addition of topical tacrolimus 0.1% resulted in complete regression without leaving any residual changes. No recurrence was seen subsequently. PMID:24700961

Political topic-communities and their framing practices in the Dutch Twittersphere

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maranke Wieringa

2018-05-01

Full Text Available In light of the need for political plurality and informed debate this study questions information distribution and curation on Twitter. We contribute to the understanding of ideological homophily by exploring the notion of the ‘echo chamber’. Using a sample of two weeks of Dutch Twitter data, we combine network analysis of retweet networks, with qualitative reading and categorisation of engagement with media content in tweets within political topic communities. We found that media references were predominantly framed in affirmative ways in relation to the referenced medium content. Our findings show that users consciously select media messages that correspond with the general sentiment within their topic community, or frame them accordingly. We see this as a willful ‘echo chamber’, or a ‘repillarisation’.

A case of vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus in a Border collie successfully treated with topical tacrolimus and nicotinamide-tetracycline.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehner, Georg M; Linek, Monika

2013-12-01

Canine vesicular cutaneous lupus erythematosus (VCLE) is an autoimmune skin disease of the Shetland sheepdog and rough collie, which manifests as an erosive dermatitis of sparsely haired skin of the ventrum and concave pinnae. Reported treatment consists of immunosuppression with glucocorticoids alone or in combination with azathioprine, but successful treatment is unpredictable. To report on the treatment of VCLE in a Border collie dog with topical 0.1% tacrolimus and nicotinamide in combination with tetracycline. An 8-year-old male neutered Border collie was presented with multiple coalescing erosions on the ventral abdomen, groin and axillae and ulceration on the oral commissures. Clinical presentation, routine diagnostics, histology and immunohistochemistry were consistent with VCLE. Remission was achieved with topical 0.1% tacrolimus and combination therapy of nicotinamide and tetracycline. This dog responded well to treatment with topical 0.1% tacrolimus, nicotinamide-tetracycline and sun avoidance. Complete remission was achieved after 2.5 months, and the dog was lesion free during a 1 year follow-up period. © 2013 ESVD and ACVD.

Topical Treatment of Degenerative Knee Osteoarthritis.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Zengdong; Huang, Rongzhong

2018-01-01

This article reviews topical management strategies for degenerative osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. A search of Pubmed, Embase and the Cochrane library using MeSH terms including "topical," "treatment," "knee" and "osteoarthritis" was carried out. Original research and review articles on the effectiveness and safety, recommendations from international published guidelines and acceptability studies of topical preparations were included. Current topical treatments included for the management of knee OA include topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, capsaicin, salicylates and physical treatments such as hot or cold therapy. Current treatment guidelines recommend topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as an alternative and even first-line therapy for OA management, especially among elderly patients. Guidelines on other topical treatments vary, from recommendations against their use, to in favor as alternative or simultaneous therapy, especially for patients with contraindications to other analgesics. Although often well-tolerated and preferred by many patients, clinical care still lags in the adoption of topical treatments. Aspects of efficacy, safety and patient quality of life data require further research. Copyright © 2018 Southern Society for Clinical Investigation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Change of Oral to Topical Corticosteroid Therapy Exacerbated Glucose Tolerance in a Patient with Plaque Psoriasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hongo, Yui; Ashida, Kenji; Ohe, Kenji; Enjoji, Munechika; Yamaguchi, Miyuki; Kurata, Tsuyoshi; Emoto, Akiko; Yamanouchi, Hiroko; Takagi, Satoko; Mori, Hitoe; Kawata, Nozomi; Hisata, Yoshio; Sakanishi, Yuta; Izumi, Kenichi; Sugioka, Takashi; Anzai, Keizo

2017-11-13

BACKGROUND Psoriasis is known as the most frequent disease treated by long-term topical steroids. It is also known that patients with thick, chronic plaques require the highest potency topical steroids. However, the treatment is limited to up to four weeks due to risk of systemic absorption. CASE REPORT An 80-year-old man was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes 16 years before, and was being administered insulin combined with alpha glucosidase inhibitor. He was diagnosed with plaque psoriasis and his oral steroid treatment was switched to topical steroid treatment due to lack of improvement and poorly controlled blood glucose level. The hypoglycemic events improved after the psoriatic lesions improved. CONCLUSIONS Control of blood glucose level is difficult at the very beginning of topical steroid treatment for psoriasis especially if a patient is receiving insulin treatment. Intense monitoring of blood glucose level during initiation of topical steroid treatment is necessary to prevent unfavorable complications.

Tumid lupus erythematosus: An intriguing dermatopathological connotation treated successfully with topical tacrolimus and hydroxyxhloroquine combination

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prashant Verma

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Tumid lupus erythematosus (LE is a rare variant of lupus erythematosus, which often follows a favorable course. A case of a young woman is illustrated, who presented with an asymptomatic erythematous, solitary plaque over her face. Histopathological and direct immunofluorescence examination established a diagnosis of tumid lupus erythematosus. She responded slowly and near-completely to hydroxychloroquine sulfate; however, a flare up occurred a month later. Addition of topical tacrolimus 0.1% resulted in complete regression without leaving any residual changes. No recurrence was seen subsequently.

Montelukast or salmeterol combined with an inhaled steroid in adult asthma

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bjermer, L; Bisgaard, H; Bousquet, J

2000-01-01

, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region in early 2000. The study will compare the oral LTRA montelukast with the inhaled LABA salmeterol, each administered on a background of inhaled fluticasone, on asthma attacks, quality of life, lung function, eosinophil levels, healthcare......, asthma attacks, overnight asthma symptoms, and morning peak expiratory flow rate will be assessed using patient diary cards; quality of life will also be assessed using an asthma-specific quality-of life questionnaire. The results of this study are expected to provide physicians with important clinical......Asthma patients who continue to experience symptoms despite taking regular inhaled corticosteroids represent a management challenge. Leukotrienes play a key role in asthma pathophysiology, and since pro-inflammatory leukotrienes are poorly suppressed by corticosteroids it seems rational to add...

PUVA combination therapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Morison, W L

1985-08-01

Various adjunctive treatments are now frequently used in combination with PUVA therapy with the aims of limiting adverse effects, improving efficacy and decreasing the cost of treatment. In the management of psoriasis, PUVA plus retinoids, PUVA plus methotrexate and PUVA plus UVB phototherapy are the most frequently used combinations. PUVA plus topical corticosteroids and PUVA plus anthralin are also efficacious but adverse effects and poor acceptance by patients are limiting factors. Combinations of PUVA plus nitrogen mustard and ionizing radiation are used in mycosis fungoides to treat tumors and residual disease in secluded sites. In the management of photodermatoses with PUVA therapy, prednisone is often required to prevent exacerbation of disease. A combination of prednisone and PUVA therapy can also be useful in lichen planus and atopic eczema. The selection of a suitable combination treatment, will depend upon the preferences of the clinician, the disease being treated, and the characteristics of the patient.

Topical botulinum toxin.

Science.gov (United States)

Collins, Ashley; Nasir, Adnan

2010-03-01

Nanotechnology is a rapidly growing discipline that capitalizes on the unique properties of matter engineered on the nanoscale. Vehicles incorporating nanotechnology have led to great strides in drug delivery, allowing for increased active ingredient stability, bioavailability, and site-specific targeting. Botulinum toxin has historically been used for the correction of neurological and neuromuscular disorders, such as torticollis, blepharospasm, and strabismus. Recent dermatological indications have been for the management of axillary hyperhydrosis and facial rhytides. Traditional methods of botulinum toxin delivery have been needle-based. These have been associated with increased pain and cost. Newer methods of botulinum toxin formulation have yielded topical preparations that are bioactive in small pilot clinical studies. While there are some risks associated with topical delivery, the refinement and standardization of delivery systems and techniques for the topical administration of botulinum toxin using nanotechnology is anticipated in the near future.

Topical methotrexate pretreatment enhances the therapeutic effect of topical 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy on hamster buccal pouch precancers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Deng-Fu; Lee, Jeng-Woei; Chen, Hsin-Ming; Hsu, Yih-Chih

2014-09-01

Topical 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) is effective for treatment of human oral precancerous lesions. This animal study aimed to assess whether topical methotrexate (MTX) pretreatment could enhance the therapeutic effect of topical ALA-PDT on hamster buccal pouch precancerous lesions. Twenty hamster buccal pouch precancerous lesions were treated with either topical ALA-PDT with topical MTX pretreatment (topical MTX-ALA-PDT group, n = 10) or topical ALA-PDT alone (topical ALA-PDT group, n = 10). The intracellular protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) level in another 12 precancerous lesions (n = 6 for either the topical MTX-ALA or topical ALA group) was monitored by fluorescence spectroscopy. The intracellular PpIX reached its peak level in precancerous lesions 6.5 hours and 2.5 hours after topical ALA application for the topical MTX-ALA group (5.63-fold higher in the lesion than in the normal mucosa) and topical ALA group (2.42-fold higher in the lesion than in the normal mucosa), respectively. The complete response rate of precancerous lesions was 80% for the topical MTX-ALA-PDT group and 70% for the topical ALA-PDT group. In addition, the topical MTX-ALA-PDT group required a significantly lower mean treatment number (2.1 ± 0.6) to achieve complete response than the topical ALA-PDT group (4.4 ± 1.3, p topical MTX-ALA-PDT group had a lower recurrence rate (12.5%) than the topical ALA-PDT group (28.6%). We conclude that topical MTX-pretreatment can increase intracellular PpIX production in hamster buccal pouch precancerous lesions and significantly improves the outcomes of the precancerous lesions treated with topical ALA-PDT. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Linear algebra and matrices topics for a second course

CERN Document Server

Shapiro, Helene

2015-01-01

Linear algebra and matrix theory are fundamental tools for almost every area of mathematics, both pure and applied. This book combines coverage of core topics with an introduction to some areas in which linear algebra plays a key role, for example, block designs, directed graphs, error correcting codes, and linear dynamical systems. Notable features include a discussion of the Weyr characteristic and Weyr canonical forms, and their relationship to the better-known Jordan canonical form; the use of block cyclic matrices and directed graphs to prove Frobenius's theorem on the structure of the eigenvalues of a nonnegative, irreducible matrix; and the inclusion of such combinatorial topics as BIBDs, Hadamard matrices, and strongly regular graphs. Also included are McCoy's theorem about matrices with property P, the Bruck-Ryser-Chowla theorem on the existence of block designs, and an introduction to Markov chains. This book is intended for those who are familiar with the linear algebra covered in a typical first c...

Successful treatment of a large oral verrucous hyperplasia with photodynamic therapy combined with cryotherapy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Chao Chang

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Studies have shown that topical 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT can be used successfully for the treatment of oral verrucous hyperplasia (OVH. Studies have also demonstrated that cryotherapy could be used as a treatment modality for OVH lesions. In this case report, we tested the efficacy of topical ALA-PDT, combined with cryogun cryotherapy, for an extensive OVH lesion on the right buccal mucosa of a 65-year-old male areca quid chewer. The tumor was cleared after six treatments of combined topical ALA-PDT and cryogun cryotherapy. No recurrence of the lesion was found after a follow-up period of 18 months. We suggest that our combined treatment protocol may be effective in treating OVH lesions. The treatment course may be slightly shortened with this combined protocol and was well tolerated by the patient.

Recent advances in topical anesthesia

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Topical anesthetics act on the peripheral nerves and reduce the sensation of pain at the site of application. In dentistry, they are used to control local pain caused by needling, placement of orthodontic bands, the vomiting reflex, oral mucositis, and rubber-dam clamp placement. Traditional topical anesthetics contain lidocaine or benzocaine as active ingredients and are used in the form of solutions, creams, gels, and sprays. Eutectic mixtures of local anesthesia cream, a mixture of various topical anesthetics, has been reported to be more potent than other anesthetics. Recently, new products with modified ingredients and application methods have been introduced into the market. These products may be used for mild pain during periodontal treatment, such as scaling. Dentists should be aware that topical anesthetics, although rare, might induce allergic reactions or side effects as a result of an overdose. Topical anesthetics are useful aids during dental treatment, as they reduce dental phobia, especially in children, by mitigating discomfort and pain. PMID:28879311

Discriminative Relational Topic Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Ning; Zhu, Jun; Xia, Fei; Zhang, Bo

2015-05-01

Relational topic models (RTMs) provide a probabilistic generative process to describe both the link structure and document contents for document networks, and they have shown promise on predicting network structures and discovering latent topic representations. However, existing RTMs have limitations in both the restricted model expressiveness and incapability of dealing with imbalanced network data. To expand the scope and improve the inference accuracy of RTMs, this paper presents three extensions: 1) unlike the common link likelihood with a diagonal weight matrix that allows the-same-topic interactions only, we generalize it to use a full weight matrix that captures all pairwise topic interactions and is applicable to asymmetric networks; 2) instead of doing standard Bayesian inference, we perform regularized Bayesian inference (RegBayes) with a regularization parameter to deal with the imbalanced link structure issue in real networks and improve the discriminative ability of learned latent representations; and 3) instead of doing variational approximation with strict mean-field assumptions, we present collapsed Gibbs sampling algorithms for the generalized relational topic models by exploring data augmentation without making restricting assumptions. Under the generic RegBayes framework, we carefully investigate two popular discriminative loss functions, namely, the logistic log-loss and the max-margin hinge loss. Experimental results on several real network datasets demonstrate the significance of these extensions on improving prediction performance.

Topical anesthesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mritunjay Kumar

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Topical anesthetics are being widely used in numerous medical and surgical sub-specialties such as anesthesia, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology, dentistry, urology, and aesthetic surgery. They cause superficial loss of pain sensation after direct application. Their delivery and effectiveness can be enhanced by using free bases; by increasing the drug concentration, lowering the melting point; by using physical and chemical permeation enhancers and lipid delivery vesicles. Various topical anesthetic agents available for use are eutectic mixture of local anesthetics, ELA-max, lidocaine, epinephrine, tetracaine, bupivanor, 4% tetracaine, benzocaine, proparacaine, Betacaine-LA, topicaine, lidoderm, S-caine patch™ and local anesthetic peel. While using them, careful attention must be paid to their pharmacology, area and duration of application, age and weight of the patients and possible side-effects.

Assessment of the efficacy and safety of a combination of 2 topical retinoids (RetinSphere) in maintaining post-treatment response of acne to oral isotretinoin.

Science.gov (United States)

Truchuelo, M T; Jiménez, N; Mavura, D; Jaén, P

2015-03-01

The high rate of relapse of acne lesions following oral isotretinoin treatment is a common problem which remains unsolved. To avoid or minimize relapses, topical retinoids have been used for many years as maintenance treatment. However, adverse effects frequently occur. To determine the efficacy and safety of a new retinoid combination (Retinsphere technology) in maintaining post-treatment response to oral isotretinoin. Prospective, randomized, double-blind and vehicle-controlled study of 30 patients with acne previously treated with isotretinoin. Treatment with the retinoid combination was applied to one side of the face and vehicle was applied to the other, once daily, for 3 months. Standardized photographs were taken using RBX technology at baseline, 1.5 months and 3 months. The primary efficacy endpoint was the appearance of relapse on the treated side compared to the vehicle-treated side. Other endpoints included lesion count, investigator-reported improvement, patient-reported improvement, impact on quality-of-life, and side effects. Although the majority of patients did not reach the total target dose of oral isotretinoin, the relapse rate was significantly lower on the retinoid-treated side compared to the vehicle-treated side. Likewise, improved lesion count and excellent tolerance were observed. This new retinoid combination (Retinsphere technology) were effective and safe as maintenance therapy after post-treatment response to oral isotretinoin in patients with acne. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and AEDV. All rights reserved.

Problematic topic transitions in dysarthric conversation.

Science.gov (United States)

Bloch, Steven; Saldert, Charlotta; Ferm, Ulrika

2015-01-01

This study examined the nature of topic transition problems associated with acquired progressive dysarthric speech in the everyday conversation of people with motor neurone disease. Using conversation analytic methods, a video collection of five naturally occurring problematic topic transitions was identified, transcribed and analysed. These were extracted from a main collection of over 200 other-initiated repair sequences and a sub-set of 15 problematic topic transition sequences. The sequences were analysed with reference to how the participants both identified and resolved the problems. Analysis revealed that topic transition by people with dysarthria can prove problematic. Conversation partners may find transitions problematic not only because of speech intelligibility but also because of a sequential disjuncture between the dysarthric speech turn and whatever topic has come prior. In addition the treatment of problematic topic transition as a complaint reveals the potential vulnerability of people with dysarthria to judgements of competence. These findings have implications for how dysarthria is conceptualized and how specific actions in conversation, such as topic transition, might be suitable targets for clinical intervention.

76 FR 81806 - Ophthalmic and Topical Dosage Form New Animal Drugs; Ivermectin Topical Solution

Science.gov (United States)

2011-12-29

.... FDA-2011-N-0003] Ophthalmic and Topical Dosage Form New Animal Drugs; Ivermectin Topical Solution... solution of ivermectin. DATES: This rule is effective December 29, 2011. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT... ANADA 200-318 for [[Page 81807

Topical methotrexate pretreatment enhances the therapeutic effect of topical 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy on hamster buccal pouch precancers

OpenAIRE

Deng-Fu Yang; Jeng-Woei Lee; Hsin-Ming Chen; Yih-Chih Hsu

2014-01-01

Topical 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy (ALA-PDT) is effective for treatment of human oral precancerous lesions. This animal study aimed to assess whether topical methotrexate (MTX) pretreatment could enhance the therapeutic effect of topical ALA-PDT on hamster buccal pouch precancerous lesions. Methods: Twenty hamster buccal pouch precancerous lesions were treated with either topical ALA-PDT with topical MTX pretreatment (topical MTX-ALA-PDT group, n = 10) or topical A...

Localized demodicosis due to Demodex cati on the muzzle of two cats treated with inhalant glucocorticoids.

Science.gov (United States)

Bizikova, Petra

2014-06-01

Feline demodicosis due to Demodex cati is a rare skin disease often associated with concurrent disease and generalized immunosuppression. Local immunosuppression due to the application of topical immunomodulatory drugs, such as glucocorticoids and tacrolimus, or by tumour cells has been suggested as a potential trigger for development of localized demodicosis in humans and animals. The goal was to describe two cats with asthma that developed localized demodicosis on the muzzle as a result of chronic therapy with a glucocorticoid administered via dispensing inhaler mask. In both cats, the muzzle area exposed to the fluticasone-dispensing chamber exhibited patchy alopecia, mild erythema, crusting and scaling. Deep skin scraping revealed D. cati. Discontinuation or reduction of fluticasone and administration of milbemycin resulted in resolution of clinical signs within 2 months in both cats. A negative skin scrape was obtained after 7 months of milbemycin in one of the cats. Demodicosis should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis in cats with primary alopecia or other skin lesions on the face exposed to inhalant glucocorticoids. Minimization of contact between the inhalant glucocorticoid and the skin can be achieved by wiping residual powder from the face and by keeping the mask tightly pressed to the skin to avoid contact with the surrounding area. © 2014 ESVD and ACVD.

Topical immunomodulators in dermatology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Khandpur Sujay

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Topical immunomodulators are agents that regulate the local immune response of the skin. They are now emerging as the therapy of choice for several immune-mediated dermatoses such as atopic dermatitis, contact allergic dermatitis, alopecia areata, psoriasis, vitiligo, connective tissue disorders such as morphea and lupus erythematosus, disorders of keratinization and several benign and malignant skin tumours, because of their comparable efficacy, ease of application and greater safety than their systemic counterparts. They can be used on a domiciliary basis for longer periods without aggressive monitoring. In this article, we have discussed the mechanism of action, common indications and side-effects of the commonly used topical immunomodulators, excluding topical steroids. Moreover, newer agents, which are still in the experimental stages, have also been described. A MEDLINE search was undertaken using the key words "topical immunomodulators, dermatology" and related articles were also searched. In addition, a manual search for many Indian articles, which are not indexed, was also carried out. Wherever possible, the full article was reviewed. If the full article could not be traced, the abstract was used.

Cost study of dermal substitutes and topical negative pressure in the surgical treatment of burns

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hop, M.J.; Bloemen, M.C.T.; van Baar, M.E.; Nieuwenhuis, M.K.; van Zuijlen, P.P.M.; Polinder, S.; Middelkoop, E.

2014-01-01

AbstractBackground A recently performed randomised controlled trial investigated the clinical effectiveness of dermal substitutes (DS) and split skin grafts (SSG) in combination with topical negative pressure (TNP) in the surgical treatment of burn wounds. In the current study, medical and

Topic Modeling of Hierarchical Corpora /

OpenAIRE

Kim, Do-kyum

2014-01-01

The sizes of modern digital libraries have grown beyond our capacity to comprehend manually. Thus we need new tools to help us in organizing and browsing large corpora of text that do not require manually examining each document. To this end, machine learning researchers have developed topic models, statistical learning algorithms for automatic comprehension of large collections of text. Topic models provide both global and local views of a corpus; they discover topics that run through the co...

Testosterone Topical

Science.gov (United States)

... not apply any testosterone topical products to your penis or scrotum or to skin that has sores, ... are severe or do not go away: breast enlargement and/or pain decreased sexual desire acne depression ...

Credibility improves topical blog post retrieval

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weerkamp, W.; de Rijke, M.

2008-01-01

Topical blog post retrieval is the task of ranking blog posts with respect to their relevance for a given topic. To improve topical blog post retrieval we incorporate textual credibility indicators in the retrieval process. We consider two groups of indicators: post level (determined using

Topical Drug Formulations for Prolonged Corneal Anesthesia

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Liqiang; Shankarappa, Sahadev A.; Tong, Rong; Ciolino, Joseph B.; Tsui, Jonathan H.; Chiang, Homer H.; Kohane, Daniel S.

2013-01-01

Purpose Ocular local anesthetics (OLA’s) currently used in routine clinical practice for corneal anesthesia are short acting and their ability to delay corneal healing makes them unsuitable for long-term use. In this study, we examined the effect on the duration of corneal anesthesia of the site-1 sodium channel blocker tetrodotoxin (TTX), applied with either proparacaine or the chemical permeation enhancer OTAB. The effect of test solutions on corneal healing was also studied. Methods Solutions of TTX, proparacaine, and OTAB, singly or in combination were applied topically to the rat cornea. The blink response, an indirect measure of corneal sensitivity, was recorded using a Cochet-Bonnet esthesiometer, and the duration of corneal anesthesia calculated. The effect of test compounds on the rate of corneal epithelialization was studied in vivo following corneal debridement. Results Combination of TTX and proparacaine resulted in corneal anesthesia that was 8–10 times longer in duration than that from either drug administered alone, while OTAB did not prolong anesthesia. The rate of corneal healing was moderately delayed following co-administration of TTX and proparacaine. Conclusion Co-administration of TTX and proparacaine significantly prolonged corneal anesthesia but in view of delayed corneal re-epithelialization, caution is suggested in use of the combination. PMID:23615270

Topic prominence in Chinese EFL learners’ interlanguage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaopeng Li

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The present study aims to investigate the general characteristics of topicprominent typological interlanguage development of Chinese learners of English in terms of acquiring subject-prominent English structures from a discourse perspective. Topic structures mainly appear in Chinese discourse in the form of topic chains (Wang, 2002; 2004. The research target are the topic chain, which is the main topic-prominent structure in Chinese discourse, and zero anaphora, which is the most common topic anaphora in the topic chain. Two important findings emerged from the present study. First, the characteristics of Chinese topic chains are transferrable to the interlanguage of Chinese EFL learners, thus resulting in overgeneralization of the zero anaphora. Second, the interlanguage discourse of Chinese EFL learners reflects a change of the second language acquisition process from topic-prominence to subject-prominence, thus lending support to the discourse transfer hypothesis.

Topics in modelling of clustered data

CERN Document Server

Aerts, Marc; Ryan, Louise M; Geys, Helena

2002-01-01

Many methods for analyzing clustered data exist, all with advantages and limitations in particular applications. Compiled from the contributions of leading specialists in the field, Topics in Modelling of Clustered Data describes the tools and techniques for modelling the clustered data often encountered in medical, biological, environmental, and social science studies. It focuses on providing a comprehensive treatment of marginal, conditional, and random effects models using, among others, likelihood, pseudo-likelihood, and generalized estimating equations methods. The authors motivate and illustrate all aspects of these models in a variety of real applications. They discuss several variations and extensions, including individual-level covariates and combined continuous and discrete outcomes. Flexible modelling with fractional and local polynomials, omnibus lack-of-fit tests, robustification against misspecification, exact, and bootstrap inferential procedures all receive extensive treatment. The application...

Topical report review status: Volume 10

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1996-03-01

This report provides industry with procedures for submitting topical reports, guidance on how the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) processes and responds to topical report submittals, and an accounting, with review schedules, of all topical reports currently accepted for review by the NRC. This report is published annually

Anesthesia with topical lidocaine hydrochloride gauzes in acute traumatic wounds in triage, a pilot study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ridderikhof, Milan L.; Leenders, Noukje; Goddijn, Helma; Schep, Niels W.; Lirk, Philipp; Goslings, J. Carel; Hollmann, Markus W.

2016-01-01

Topical application of lidocaine in wounds has been studied in combination with vasoconstrictive additives, but the effect without these additives is unknown. The objective was to examine use of lidocaine-soaked gauzes without vasoconstrictive agents, in traumatic wounds in adult patients, applied

Chiropractic: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... for back pain (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Chiropractic updates by ... ENCYCLOPEDIA Chiropractic care for back pain Related Health Topics Back Pain Complementary and Integrative Medicine National Institutes ...

Diets: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... Spanish Mediterranean diet (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Diets updates by ... foods Diet-busting foods Mediterranean diet Related Health Topics Child Nutrition DASH Eating Plan Diabetic Diet Nutrition ...

Colonoscopy: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... Spanish Virtual colonoscopy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Colonoscopy updates by ... Colonoscopy Colonoscopy discharge Sigmoidoscopy Virtual colonoscopy Related Health Topics Colonic Diseases Colonic Polyps Colorectal Cancer National Institutes ...

Dialysis: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... access for hemodialysis (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Dialysis updates by ... for hemodialysis Show More Show Less Related Health Topics Creatinine Kidney Cysts Kidney Failure Peritoneal Disorders National ...

Menopause: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Spanish What is Menopause? (National Institute on Aging) Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Menopause updates by ... test Menopause Types of hormone therapy Related Health Topics Hormone Replacement Therapy Menstruation Premature Ovarian Failure National ...

Vaginitis: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... Spanish Vulvovaginitis - overview (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Vaginitis updates by ... Vaginitis test - wet mount Vulvovaginitis - overview Related Health Topics Trichomoniasis Vaginal Diseases Yeast Infections Other Languages Find ...

Topical Acne Treatments and Pregnancy

Science.gov (United States)

Topical Acne Treatments In every pregnancy, a woman starts out with a 3-5% chance of having a baby ... This sheet talks about whether exposure to topical acne treatments may increase the risk for birth defects ...

Symbiosis: Rich, Exciting, Neglected Topic

Science.gov (United States)

Rowland, Jane Thomas

1974-01-01

Argues that the topic of symbiosis has been greatly neglected and underemphasized in general-biology textbooks. Discusses many types and examples of symbiosis, and provides an extensive bibliography of the literature related to this topic. (JR)

In Vitro Synergism between Azithromycin or Terbinafine and Topical Antimicrobial Agents against Pythium insidiosum

Science.gov (United States)

Itaqui, Sabrina R.; Verdi, Camila M.; Tondolo, Juliana S. M.; da Luz, Thaisa S.; Alves, Sydney H.; Santurio, Janio M.

2016-01-01

We describe here in vitro activity for the combination of azithromycin or terbinafine and benzalkonium, cetrimide, cetylpyridinium, mupirocin, triclosan, or potassium permanganate. With the exception of potassium permanganate, the remaining antimicrobial drugs were active and had an MIC90 between 2 and 32 μg∕ml. The greatest synergism was observed for the combination of terbinafine and cetrimide (71.4%). In vivo experimental evaluations will clarify the potential of these drugs for the topical treatment of lesions caused by Pythium insidiosum. PMID:27216049

Prediabetes:MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... in Spanish Prediabetes (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Prediabetes updates by ... Glucose tolerance test - non-pregnant Prediabetes Related Health Topics A1C Diabetes Diabetes in Children and Teens Diabetes ...

Diabetes: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... High blood sugar (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Diabetes updates by ... ketones test Show More Show Less Related Health Topics A1C Blood Sugar Diabetes and Pregnancy Diabetes Complications ...

A Systematic Analysis of the Sensitivity of Plasma Pharmacokinetics to Detect Differences in the Pulmonary Performance of Inhaled Fluticasone Propionate Products Using a Model-Based Simulation Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Weber, Benjamin; Hochhaus, Guenther

2015-07-01

The role of plasma pharmacokinetics (PK) for assessing bioequivalence at the target site, the lung, for orally inhaled drugs remains unclear. A validated semi-mechanistic model, considering the presence of mucociliary clearance in central lung regions, was expanded for quantifying the sensitivity of PK studies in detecting differences in the pulmonary performance (total lung deposition, central-to-peripheral lung deposition ratio, and pulmonary dissolution characteristics) between test (T) and reference (R) inhaled fluticasone propionate (FP) products. PK bioequivalence trials for inhaled FP were simulated based on this PK model for a varying number of subjects and T products. The statistical power to conclude bioequivalence when T and R products are identical was demonstrated to be 90% for approximately 50 subjects. Furthermore, the simulations demonstrated that PK metrics (area under the concentration time curve (AUC) and C max) are capable of detecting differences between T and R formulations of inhaled FP products when the products differ by more than 20%, 30%, and 25% for total lung deposition, central-to-peripheral lung deposition ratio, and pulmonary dissolution characteristics, respectively. These results were derived using a rather conservative risk assessment approach with an error rate of <10%. The simulations thus indicated that PK studies might be a viable alternative to clinical studies comparing pulmonary efficacy biomarkers for slowly dissolving inhaled drugs. PK trials for pulmonary efficacy equivalence testing should be complemented by in vitro studies to avoid false positive bioequivalence assessments that are theoretically possible for some specific scenarios. Moreover, a user-friendly web application for simulating such PK equivalence trials with inhaled FP is provided.

Efficacy of a Combined Rosemary and Lavender Topical Ointment in the Treatment of Patients with Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alireza Ghannadi

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Background: One of the preservative treatments of knee osteoarthritis is the use of topical medications. This study is aimed to clinically evaluate the effect of topical products containing essential oils of rosemary and lavender herbs on the treatment of patients with osteoarthritis of the knee. Materials and Methods: Rosemary and lavender essential oils were prepared by steam distillation method and inserted into the ointment with the hydrophilic base. In this study, 15 patients with knee osteoarthritis were treated with this ointment for three months. The results were assessed using WOMAC and Lequesne indices and were evaluated by the Wilcoxon statistical test.Results: At the week of admission to the hospital, mean WOMAC index was equal to 71.4, mean Lequesne index was equal to 18 and the average time of passing through the distance of fifty feet by patients was equal to 19.4. After 4, 8 and 12 weeks, all these indices significantly decreased (p≤ 0.05. The WOMAC questionnaire denotative survey also showed that the pain and physical function at the 4th, 8th and 12th weeks were significantly less than the first week of admission (p≤ 0.05, but there was no significant difference as far as joint stiffness is concerned.Conclusion: Topical application of essential oils of rosemary and lavender herbs in a hydrophilic ointment base can be useful as a preservative treatment for the patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Tracking topic birth and death in LDA.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wilson, Andrew T.; Robinson, David Gerald

2011-09-01

Most topic modeling algorithms that address the evolution of documents over time use the same number of topics at all times. This obscures the common occurrence in the data where new subjects arise and old ones diminish or disappear entirely. We propose an algorithm to model the birth and death of topics within an LDA-like framework. The user selects an initial number of topics, after which new topics are created and retired without further supervision. Our approach also accommodates many of the acceleration and parallelization schemes developed in recent years for standard LDA. In recent years, topic modeling algorithms such as latent semantic analysis (LSA)[17], latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA)[10] and their descendants have offered a powerful way to explore and interrogate corpora far too large for any human to grasp without assistance. Using such algorithms we are able to search for similar documents, model and track the volume of topics over time, search for correlated topics or model them with a hierarchy. Most of these algorithms are intended for use with static corpora where the number of documents and the size of the vocabulary are known in advance. Moreover, almost all current topic modeling algorithms fix the number of topics as one of the input parameters and keep it fixed across the entire corpus. While this is appropriate for static corpora, it becomes a serious handicap when analyzing time-varying data sets where topics come and go as a matter of course. This is doubly true for online algorithms that may not have the option of revising earlier results in light of new data. To be sure, these algorithms will account for changing data one way or another, but without the ability to adapt to structural changes such as entirely new topics they may do so in counterintuitive ways.

Chitosan microparticles for sustaining the topical delivery of minoxidil sulphate.

Science.gov (United States)

Gelfuso, Guilherme Martins; Gratieri, Taís; Simão, Patrícia Sper; de Freitas, Luís Alexandre Pedro; Lopez, Renata Fonseca Vianna

2011-01-01

Given the hypothesis that microparticles can penetrate the skin barrier along the transfollicular route, this work aimed to obtain and characterise chitosan microparticles loaded with minoxidil sulphate (MXS) and to study their ability to sustain the release of the drug, attempting a further application utilising them in a targeted delivery system for the topical treatment of alopecia. Chitosan microparticles, containing different proportions of MXS/polymer, were prepared by spray drying and were characterised by yield, encapsulation efficiency, size and morphology. Microparticles selected for further studies showed high encapsulation efficiency (∼82%), a mean diameter of 3.0 µm and a spherical morphology without porosities. When suspended in an ethanol/water solution, chitosan microparticles underwent instantaneous swelling, increasing their mean diameter by 90%. Release studies revealed that the chitosan microparticles were able to sustain about three times the release rate of MXS. This feature, combined with suitable size, confers to these microparticles the potential to target and improve topical therapy of alopecia with minoxidil.

A Topic Model Approach to Representing and Classifying Football Plays

KAUST Repository

Varadarajan, Jagannadan

2013-09-09

We address the problem of modeling and classifying American Football offense teams’ plays in video, a challenging example of group activity analysis. Automatic play classification will allow coaches to infer patterns and tendencies of opponents more ef- ficiently, resulting in better strategy planning in a game. We define a football play as a unique combination of player trajectories. To this end, we develop a framework that uses player trajectories as inputs to MedLDA, a supervised topic model. The joint maximiza- tion of both likelihood and inter-class margins of MedLDA in learning the topics allows us to learn semantically meaningful play type templates, as well as, classify different play types with 70% average accuracy. Furthermore, this method is extended to analyze individual player roles in classifying each play type. We validate our method on a large dataset comprising 271 play clips from real-world football games, which will be made publicly available for future comparisons.

Topics in lightwave transmission systems

CERN Document Server

Li, Tingye

1991-01-01

Topics in Lightwave Transmission Systems is a second volume of a treatise on optical fiber communications that is devoted to the science, engineering, and application of information transmission via optical fibers. The first volume, published in 1985, dealt exclusively with fiber fabrication. The present volume contains topics that pertain to subsystems and systems. The book contains five chapters and begins with discussions of transmitters and receivers, which are basic to systems now operating in the field. Subsequent chapters cover topics relating to coherent systems: frequency and phase m

A blinded comparison of fluticasone propionate with budesonide via powder devices in adult patients with moderate-to-severe asthma: a clinical evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

N. Ringdal

1996-01-01

Full Text Available In Vitro and in vivo data have demonstrated that there are detectable differences between inhaled corticosteroids commonly used to treat asthma. However, controversy still remains as to whether these differences translate into clinical benefits. This 12-week, international, randomized, doubleblind, parallel-group study was undertaken to compare the efficacy and safety of fluticasone propionate (FP 800 μg daily, administered as a powder via the Diskhaler®, and budesonide (BUD 1600 μg daily, administered using the Turbuhaler®, in adult patients with moderate-tosevere asthma. A total of 518 patients participated in the study, 256 of whom received FP and 262 BUD. Assessment of mean morning peak expiratory flow (PEF over the 12-week treatment period revealed a statistically significant difference in efficacy between FP 800 μg daily and BUD 1600 μg daily in favour of FP (p = 0.003, with an overall improvement of 20.9 l/min with FP compared with 12.4 l/min on BUD. Statistically significant differences in favour of FP were seen over the 12 weeks for mean evening PEF (p = 0.04, diurnal PEF variation (p = 0.03 and percentage predicted PEF (p = 0.003, as well as forced expiratory volume (p = 0.008, forced vital capacity (p = 0.02 and PEF (p = 0.005 measured at clinic visits. The median percentage of symptom-free nights increased over the 12-week study period in both treatment groups, with similar changes seen for the median percentage of days with symptom score < 2, rescue medication use and exacerbations of asthma. The incidence of adverse events was found to be comparable in the two treatment groups. The geometric mean ratios of serum cortisol levels were found to be 1.03 for FP, indicating no mean hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis suppression from baseline, and 0.93 for BUD (p = 0.0002 compared with FP. In summary, FP 800 μg daily showed a greater efficacy/safety ratio in the treatment of moderate-to-severe asthma than BUD 1600 μg daily.

Anti-Interleukin-1 Beta/Tumor Necrosis Factor-Alpha IgY Antibodies Reduce Pathological Allergic Responses in Guinea Pigs with Allergic Rhinitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hu Wei-xu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This study aims to determine whether the combined blockade of IL-1β and TNF-α can alleviate the pathological allergic inflammatory reaction in the nasal mucosa and lung tissues in allergic rhinitis (AR guinea pigs. Healthy guinea pigs treated with saline were used as the healthy controls. The AR guinea pigs were randomly divided into (1 the AR model group treated with intranasal saline; (2 the 0.1% nonspecific IgY treatment group; (3 the 0.1% anti-TNF-α IgY treatment group; (4 the 0.1% anti-IL-1β IgY treatment group; (5 the 0.1% combined anti-IL-1β and TNF-α IgY treatment group; and (6 the fluticasone propionate treatment group. The inflammatory cells were evaluated using Wright’s staining. Histopathology was examined using hematoxylin-eosin staining. The results showed that the number of eosinophils was significantly decreased in the peripheral blood, nasal lavage fluid, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (P<0.05, and eosinophil, neutrophil, and lymphocyte infiltration and edema were significantly reduced or absent in the nasal mucosa and lung tissues (P<0.05 in the combined 0.1% anti-IL-1β- and TNF-α IgY-treated guinea pigs. The data suggest that topical blockade of IL-1β and TNF-α could reduce pathological allergic inflammation in the nasal mucosa and lung tissues in AR guinea pigs.

A web search on environmental topics: what is the role of ranking?

Science.gov (United States)

Covolo, Loredana; Filisetti, Barbara; Mascaretti, Silvia; Limina, Rosa Maria; Gelatti, Umberto

2013-12-01

Although the Internet is easy to use, the mechanisms and logic behind a Web search are often unknown. Reliable information can be obtained, but it may not be visible as the Web site is not located in the first positions of search results. The possible risks of adverse health effects arising from environmental hazards are issues of increasing public interest, and therefore the information about these risks, particularly on topics for which there is no scientific evidence, is very crucial. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the presentation of information on some environmental health topics differed among various search engines, assuming that the most reliable information should come from institutional Web sites. Five search engines were used: Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Ask, and AOL. The following topics were searched in combination with the word "health": "nuclear energy," "electromagnetic waves," "air pollution," "waste," and "radon." For each topic three key words were used. The first 30 search results for each query were considered. The ranking variability among the search engines and the type of search results were analyzed for each topic and for each key word. The ranking of institutional Web sites was given particular consideration. Variable results were obtained when surfing the Internet on different environmental health topics. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, when searching for radon and air pollution topics, it is more likely to find institutional Web sites in the first 10 positions compared with nuclear power (odds ratio=3.4, 95% confidence interval 2.1-5.4 and odds ratio=2.9, 95% confidence interval 1.8-4.7, respectively) and also when using Google compared with Bing (odds ratio=3.1, 95% confidence interval 1.9-5.1). The increasing use of online information could play an important role in forming opinions. Web users should become more aware of the importance of finding reliable information, and health institutions should be

Weather/temperature-sensitive vasomotor rhinitis may be refractory to intranasal corticosteroid treatment.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobs, Robert; Lieberman, Philip; Kent, Edward; Silvey, MaryJane; Locantore, Nicholas; Philpot, Edward E

2009-01-01

Vasomotor rhinitis (VMR) is a common but poorly understood disorder of which there are two major subgroups: VMR(w/t), triggered by weather/temperature and VMR(ir), triggered by airborne irritants. No specific biological pathways or specific treatments for VMR(w/t) or VMR(ir) have been identified. However, intranasal corticosteroids (INSs) are effective in treating many forms of nonallergic rhinitis that include these conditions. A recently introduced INS with established efficacy in allergic rhinitis and enhanced affinity, fluticasone furoate, may possess the potency and safety profile required to treat chronic VMR(w/t). Two replicate studies (FFR30006 and FFR30007) were conducted in six countries to evaluate the efficacy and safety of fluticasone furoate nasal spray in subjects with VMR(w/t). After a 7- to 14-day screening period, subjects (n = 699) with symptomatic VMR(w/t) received fluticasone furoate, 110 mug q.d. or placebo for 4 weeks in these two randomized, double-blind, parallel-group studies. Subjects rated their nasal symptoms (congestion, rhinorrhea, and postnasal drip) twice daily on a 4-point categorical scale and evaluated their overall response to treatment at study end. Fluticasone furoate did not significantly improve daily reflective total nasal symptom scores, the primary end point, versus placebo (p = 0.259) and there was no improvement in any other measure of efficacy. The active treatment was well tolerated. Fluticasone furoate was not effective in treating subjects with a newly defined condition, weather-sensitive VMR. These unexpected results suggest that VMR(w/t) is a distinct subgroup of VMR that is refractory to treatment with INSs. Additional study of other treatments for VMR(w/t) (including INSs) is warranted.

Preliminary stop of the TOPical Imiquimod treatment of high-grade Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (TOPIC) trial

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koeneman, M. M.; Kruse, Arnold-Jan; Kooreman, L. F. S.; zur Hausen, Axel; Hopman, Anton H N; Sep, S. J. S.; Van Gorp, T.; Slangen, B. F. M.; van Beekhuizen, H. J.; de Sande, Michiel A. J. van; Gerestein, Cornelis G.; Nijman, H. W.; Kruitwagen, R. F. M. P.

2017-01-01

The "TOPical Imiquimod treatment of high-grade Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia" (TOPIC) trial was stopped preliminary, due to lagging inclusions. This study aimed to evaluate the treatment efficacy and clinical applicability of imiquimod 5% cream in high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia

Evaluation of Aerosol Delivery of Nanosuspension for Pre-clinical Pulmonary Drug Delivery

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chiang Po-Chang

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD are pulmonary diseases that are characterized by inflammatory cell infiltration, cytokine production, and airway hyper-reactivity. Most of the effector cells responsible for these pathologies reside in the lungs. One of the most direct ways to deliver drugs to the target cells is via the trachea. In a pre-clinical setting, this can be achieved via intratracheal (IT, intranasal (IN, or aerosol delivery in the desired animal model. In this study, we pioneered the aerosol delivery of a nanosuspension formulation in a rodent model. The efficiency of different dosing techniques and formulations to target the lungs were compared, and fluticasone was used as the model compound. For the aerosol particle size determination, a ten-stage cascade impactor was used. The mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD was calculated based on the percent cumulative accumulation at each stage. Formulations with different particle size of fluticasone were made for evaluation. The compatibility of regular fluticasone suspension and nanosuspension for aerosol delivery was also investigated. The in vivo studies were conducted on mice with optimized setting. It was found that the aerosol delivery of fluticasone with nanosuspension was as efficient as intranasal (IN dosing, and was able to achieve dose dependent lung deposition.

DNA, Drugs, and Detectives: An Interdisciplinary Special Topics Course for Undergraduate Students in Forensic Science

Science.gov (United States)

Coticone, Sulekha Rao; Van Houten, Lora Bailey

2015-01-01

A special topics course combining two relevant and contemporary themes (forensic DNA analysis and illicit drug detection) was developed to stimulate student enthusiasm and enhance understanding of forensic science. Building on the interest of popular television shows such as "CSI" and "Breaking Bad," this course connects…

Understanding the Correlations between Social Attention and Topic Trends of Scientific Publications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xianlei Dong

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: We propose and apply a simplified nowcasting model to understand the correlations between social attention and topic trends of scientific publications. Design/methodology/approach: First, topics are generated from the obesity corpus by using the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA algorithm and time series of keyword search trends in Google Trends are obtained. We then establish the structural time series model using data from January 2004 to December 2012, and evaluate the model using data from January 2013. We employ a state-space model to separate different non-regression components in an observational time series (i.e. the tendency and the seasonality and apply the “spike and slab prior” and stepwise regression to analyze the correlations between the regression component and the social media attention. The two parts are combined using Markov-chain Monte Carlo sampling techniques to obtain our results. Findings: The results of our study show that (1 the number of publications on child obesity increases at a lower rate than that of diabetes publications; (2 the number of publication on a given topic may exhibit a relationship with the season or time of year; and (3 there exists a correlation between the number of publications on a given topic and its social media attention, i.e. the search frequency related to that topic as identified by Google Trends. We found that our model is also able to predict the number of publications related to a given topic. Research limitations: First, we study a correlation rather than causality between topics' trends and social media. As a result, the relationships might not be robust, so we cannot predict the future in the long run. Second, we cannot identify the reasons or conditions that are driving obesity topics to present such tendencies and seasonal patterns, so we might need to do “field” study in the future. Third, we need to improve the efficiency of our model by finding more efficient

Deep Unfolding for Topic Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Chien, Jen-Tzung; Lee, Chao-Hsi

2018-02-01

Deep unfolding provides an approach to integrate the probabilistic generative models and the deterministic neural networks. Such an approach is benefited by deep representation, easy interpretation, flexible learning and stochastic modeling. This study develops the unsupervised and supervised learning of deep unfolded topic models for document representation and classification. Conventionally, the unsupervised and supervised topic models are inferred via the variational inference algorithm where the model parameters are estimated by maximizing the lower bound of logarithm of marginal likelihood using input documents without and with class labels, respectively. The representation capability or classification accuracy is constrained by the variational lower bound and the tied model parameters across inference procedure. This paper aims to relax these constraints by directly maximizing the end performance criterion and continuously untying the parameters in learning process via deep unfolding inference (DUI). The inference procedure is treated as the layer-wise learning in a deep neural network. The end performance is iteratively improved by using the estimated topic parameters according to the exponentiated updates. Deep learning of topic models is therefore implemented through a back-propagation procedure. Experimental results show the merits of DUI with increasing number of layers compared with variational inference in unsupervised as well as supervised topic models.

Bimatoprost Topical

Science.gov (United States)

... not use a cotton swab or any other brush or applicator to apply topical bimatoprost.To use the solution, follow these steps: Wash your hands and face thoroughly with soap and water. Be sure that all makeup is removed. Do not let the tip of ...

Indacaterol/glycopyrronium in symptomatic patients with COPD (GOLD B and GOLD D versus salmeterol/fluticasone: ILLUMINATE/LANTERN pooled analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vogelmeier C

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Claus Vogelmeier,1 Nanshan Zhong,2 Michael J Humphries,3 Karen Mezzi,4 Robert Fogel,5 Giovanni Bader,4 Francesco Patalano,4 Donald Banerji5 1Department of Medicine, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University Medical Center Giessen and Marburg, Philipps-University Marburg, Member of the German Center for Lung Research (DZL, Marburg, Germany; 2State Key Laboratory, Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases, First Affiliated Hospital, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, 3Beijing Novartis Pharma Co. Ltd., Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 4Novartis Pharma AG, Basel, Switzerland; 5Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ, USA Background: Indacaterol/glycopyrronium (IND/GLY is approved for maintenance treatment of adult patients with COPD. This post hoc analysis explored the efficacy and safety of IND/GLY versus salmeterol/fluticasone (SFC in symptomatic (Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease [GOLD] B and GOLD D patients with moderate-to-severe COPD.Patients and methods: Data from LANTERN and ILLUMINATE studies were pooled and analyzed. In both studies, symptomatic COPD patients were randomized to once-daily IND/GLY 110 µg/50 µg or twice-daily SFC 50 µg/500 µg. End points were pre-dose trough forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1, standardized area under the curve for FEV1 from 0 to 12 hours (FEV1 AUC0–12 hours, peak FEV1, peak forced vital capacity (FVC, pre-dose trough FVC, Transition Dyspnea Index (TDI total score, St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire total score, rescue medication use and safety.Results: A total of 1,263 patients were classified as either GOLD B (n=809 or GOLD D (n=454. At week 26, IND/GLY demonstrated statistically significant improvement in all lung function parameters versus SFC in patients in both the GOLD B and GOLD D subgroups. TDI total score and rescue medication use were significantly improved with IND/GLY versus SFC in the overall population and in the

Salmeterol/fluticasone stable-dose treatment compared with formoterol/budesonide adjustable maintenance dosing: impact on health-related quality of life

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Williams Angela E

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Improving patients' health-related quality of life (HRQoL is recognized as a fundamental part of asthma management. The aims of this study were to evaluate the long-term efficacy (including symptom-free days and exacerbations and impact on HRQoL of a stable-dose regimen of salmeterol/fluticasone propionate (SAL/FP and an adjustable maintenance dosing (AMD regimen of formoterol/budesonide (FOR/BUD where treatment is adjusted based on symptoms [SAM40056]. Methods A total of 688 outpatients with asthma receiving regular low-dose inhaled corticosteroids (ICS plus a long-acting β2-agonist, or medium dose ICS alone participated in this randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel-group, 1-year trial, which was conducted in 91 centers in 15 countries. Patients were randomized to receive 1 inhalation of SAL/FP 50/250 μg BID or 2 inhalations of FOR/BUD 6/200 μg BID during Weeks 1–4. For Weeks 5–52, patients meeting strict continuation criteria for stable asthma at Week 4 received AMD with FOR/BUD or stable-dose SAL/FP. Results The percentage of symptom-free days was significantly greater (58.8% vs 52.1%; p = 0.034 and the annual exacerbation rate was significantly lower (47%; p = 0.008 with stable-dose SAL/FP compared with FOR/BUD AMD. A total of 568 patients completed the Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ at least once during the study. The mean change from baseline in AQLQ overall score was numerically greater with SAL/FP than FOR/BUD at week 28 and week 52, but did not reach statistical significance (p = 0.121 at Week 52. However, in a post hoc logistic regression analyses for any AQLQ improvement, significant benefits with SAL/FP were seen at both time points (p = 0.038 and p = 0.009, respectively. The minimally important difference of ≥ 0.5-point improvement in AQLQ overall score was achieved by a significantly greater number of patients receiving SAL/FP at Week 28 (68% vs 60%; p = 0.049; a trend for this

Topics in quantum field theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dams, C.J.F.

2006-01-01

In this PhD-thesis some topics in quantum field theory are considered. The first chapter gives a background to these topics. The second chapter discusses renormalization. In particular it is shown how loop calculations can be performed when using the axial gauge fixing. Fermion creation and

The use of biodegradable microneedle patches to increase penetration of topical steroid for prurigo nodularis.

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Jung U; Kim, Jung Dong; Kim, Hong Kee; Kang, Hong Kyu; Joo, Chulmin; Lee, Ju Hee; Jeong, Do Hyeon; Song, Seungri; Chu, Howard; Lee, Jung Soo; Lee, Hemin; Lee, Kwang Hoon

2018-02-01

The stratum corneum is an almost impermeable barrier. Recently, microneedles have been used to increase drug delivery passing the stratum corneum by incorporating the drug within the microneedle or by coating the surface of the microneedle with the drug. This study was performed to investigate whether applying a biodegradable microneedle patch after topical steroid application increases penetration of the steroid in vitro, as well as treatment efficacy in patients with prurigo nodularis. In vitro penetration of topical steroids after biodegradable microneedle patch application was measured using a 3D skin model. To evaluate the treatment efficacy of the combination of biodegradable microneedle and topical steroids, a split-body clinical study was performed. Penetration of topical steroid in the in vitro skin model was significantly greater in the microneedle-applied skin. In a split-body clinical study with prurigo nodularis patients, the area and height of skin lesions decreased after four weeks of treatment on both sides, however, the microneedle patch side exhibited a significantly greater decrease in both area and height, compared to the control side. The pruritus visual analogue scale was also significantly lower on the microneedle side. We suggest that simply applying a microneedle patch after topical steroid application could be a useful strategy for treating refractory skin diseases such as prurigo nodularis.

Cumulative irritation potential of topical retinoid formulations.

Science.gov (United States)

Leyden, James J; Grossman, Rachel; Nighland, Marge

2008-08-01

Localized irritation can limit treatment success with topical retinoids such as tretinoin and adapalene. The factors that influence irritant reactions have been shown to include individual skin sensitivity, the particular retinoid and concentration used, and the vehicle formulation. To compare the cutaneous tolerability of tretinoin 0.04% microsphere gel (TMG) with that of adapalene 0.3% gel and a standard tretinoin 0.025% cream. The results of 2 randomized, investigator-blinded studies of 2 to 3 weeks' duration, which utilized a split-face method to compare cumulative irritation scores induced by topical retinoids in subjects with healthy skin, were combined. Study 1 compared TMG 0.04% with adapalene 0.3% gel over 2 weeks, while study 2 compared TMG 0.04% with tretinoin 0.025% cream over 3 weeks. In study 1, TMG 0.04% was associated with significantly lower cumulative scores for erythema, dryness, and burning/stinging than adapalene 0.3% gel. However, in study 2, there were no significant differences in cumulative irritation scores between TMG 0.04% and tretinoin 0.025% cream. Measurements of erythema by a chromameter showed no significant differences between the test formulations in either study. Cutaneous tolerance of TMG 0.04% on the face was superior to that of adapalene 0.3% gel and similar to that of a standard tretinoin cream containing a lower concentration of the drug (0.025%).

Serious Asthma Events with Fluticasone plus Salmeterol versus Fluticasone Alone

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stempel, David A; Raphiou, Ibrahim H; Kral, Kenneth M

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: The safe and appropriate use of long-acting beta-agonists (LABAs) for the treatment of asthma has been widely debated. In two large clinical trials, investigators found a potential risk of serious asthma-related events associated with LABAs. This study was designed to evaluate the ris...

Erythema-directed digital photography for the enhanced evaluation of topical treatments for acne vulgaris.

Science.gov (United States)

Micali, G; Dall'Oglio, F; Tedeschi, A; Lacarrubba, F

2018-01-31

Erythema-directed digital photography is a novel method for evaluating the efficacy and tolerability of topical acne treatments. Here, we describe three case reports in which erythema-directed digital photography was used to evaluate acne before and after up to 12 weeks of treatment with clindamycin 1%/tretinoin 0.025% (Clin-RA). Erythema-directed digital photography was used to evaluate acne in three patients with mild-to-moderate facial acne, two of whom had refused to continue previous topical acne treatment (benzoyl peroxide 5% and clindamycin 1%/benzoyl peroxide 5%) due to persistent irritation. Acne lesions and erythema were evaluated using standard clinical photography and erythema-directed digital photography (VISIA-CR ™ system) before and after 8-12 weeks of treatment with Clin-RA. Erythema-directed digital photography revealed background erythema from previous topical acne treatments that was not evident from standard clinical photographs and allowed a better visualization of both inflammatory and non-inflammatory lesions. In all patients, there was a clear improvement in background erythema and a reduction in acne lesions following treatment with Clin-RA. This study has demonstrated for the first time that erythema-directed digital photography can enhance the evaluation of the efficacy and tolerability of topical acne treatments. These cases show that Clin-RA was associated with improved efficacy and tolerability vs previous treatments with topical monotherapy (benzoyl peroxide 5%) or a topical fixed-dose combination (clindamycin 1%/benzoyl peroxide 5%). © 2018 The Authors. Skin Research and Technology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Learning topic models by belief propagation.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Jia; Cheung, William K; Liu, Jiming

2013-05-01

Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) is an important hierarchical Bayesian model for probabilistic topic modeling, which attracts worldwide interest and touches on many important applications in text mining, computer vision and computational biology. This paper represents the collapsed LDA as a factor graph, which enables the classic loopy belief propagation (BP) algorithm for approximate inference and parameter estimation. Although two commonly used approximate inference methods, such as variational Bayes (VB) and collapsed Gibbs sampling (GS), have gained great success in learning LDA, the proposed BP is competitive in both speed and accuracy, as validated by encouraging experimental results on four large-scale document datasets. Furthermore, the BP algorithm has the potential to become a generic scheme for learning variants of LDA-based topic models in the collapsed space. To this end, we show how to learn two typical variants of LDA-based topic models, such as author-topic models (ATM) and relational topic models (RTM), using BP based on the factor graph representations.

Bare quantifier fronting as contrastive topicalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ion Giurgea

2015-11-01

Full Text Available I argue that indefinites (in particular bare quantifiers such as ‘something’, ‘somebody’, etc. which are neither existentially presupposed nor in the restriction of a quantifier over situations, can undergo topicalization in a number of Romance languages (Catalan, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, but only if the sentence contains “verum” focus, i.e. focus on a high degree of certainty of the sentence. I analyze these indefinites as contrastive topics, using Büring’s (1999 theory (where the term ‘S-topic’ is used for what I call ‘contrastive topic’. I propose that the topic is evaluated in relation to a scalar set including generalized quantifiers such as {lP $x P(x, lP MANYx P(x, lP MOSTx P(x, lP “xP(x} or {lP $xP(x, lP P(a, lP P(b …}, and that the contrastive topic is the weakest generalized quantifier in this set. The verum focus, which is part of the “comment” that co-occurs with the “Topic”, introduces a set of alternatives including degrees of certainty of the assertion. The speaker asserts that his claim is certainly true or highly probable, contrasting it with stronger claims for which the degree of probability is unknown. This explains the observation that in downward entailing contexts, the fronted quantified DPs are headed by ‘all’ or ‘many’, whereas ‘some’, small numbers or ‘at least n’ appear in upward entailing contexts. Unlike other cases of non-specific topics, which are property topics, these are quantifier topics: the topic part is a generalized quantifier, the comment is a property of generalized quantifiers. This explains the narrow scope of the fronted quantified DP.

Topic categorisation of statements in suicide notes with integrated rules and machine learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Kovačević, Aleksandar; Dehghan, Azad; Keane, John A; Nenadic, Goran

2012-01-01

We describe and evaluate an automated approach used as part of the i2b2 2011 challenge to identify and categorise statements in suicide notes into one of 15 topics, including Love, Guilt, Thankfulness, Hopelessness and Instructions. The approach combines a set of lexico-syntactic rules with a set of models derived by machine learning from a training dataset. The machine learning models rely on named entities, lexical, lexico-semantic and presentation features, as well as the rules that are applicable to a given statement. On a testing set of 300 suicide notes, the approach showed the overall best micro F-measure of up to 53.36%. The best precision achieved was 67.17% when only rules are used, whereas best recall of 50.57% was with integrated rules and machine learning. While some topics (eg, Sorrow, Anger, Blame) prove challenging, the performance for relatively frequent (eg, Love) and well-scoped categories (eg, Thankfulness) was comparatively higher (precision between 68% and 79%), suggesting that automated text mining approaches can be effective in topic categorisation of suicide notes.

Inhibition of Akt enhances the chemopreventive effects of topical rapamycin in mouse skin

Science.gov (United States)

Dickinson, Sally E; Janda, Jaroslav; Criswell, Jane; Blohm-Mangone, Karen; Olson, Erik R.; Liu, Zhonglin; Barber, Christie; Rusche, Jadrian J.; Petricoin, Emmanuel; Calvert, Valerie; Einspahr, Janine G.; Dickinson, Jesse; Stratton, Steven P.; Curiel-Lewandrowski, Clara; Saboda, Kathylynn; Hu, Chengcheng; Bode, Ann M.; Dong, Zigang; Alberts, David S.; Bowden, G. Timothy

2016-01-01

The PI3Kinase/Akt/mTOR pathway has important roles in cancer development for multiple tumor types, including UV-induced non-melanoma skin cancer. Immunosuppressed populations are at increased risk of aggressive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Individuals who are treated with rapamycin, (sirolimus, a classical mTOR inhibitor) have significantly decreased rates of developing new cutaneous SCCs compared to those that receive traditional immunosuppression. However, systemic rapamycin use can lead to significant adverse events. Here we explored the use of topical rapamycin as a chemopreventive agent in the context of solar simulated light (SSL)-induced skin carcinogenesis. In SKH-1 mice, topical rapamycin treatment decreased tumor yields when applied after completion of 15 weeks of SSL exposure compared to controls. However, applying rapamycin during SSL exposure for 15 weeks, and continuing for 10 weeks after UV treatment, increased tumor yields. We also examined whether a combinatorial approach might result in more significant tumor suppression by rapamycin. We validated that rapamycin causes increased Akt (S473) phosphorylation in the epidermis after SSL, and show for the first time that this dysregulation can be inhibited in vivo by a selective PDK1/Akt inhibitor, PHT-427. Combining rapamycin with PHT-427 on tumor prone skin additively caused a significant reduction of tumor multiplicity compared to vehicle controls. Our findings indicate that patients taking rapamycin should avoid sun exposure, and that combining topical mTOR inhibitors and Akt inhibitors may be a viable chemoprevention option for individuals at high risk for cutaneous SCC.

Resources for Topics in Architecture.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Noate, Judith, Comp.

This guide for conducting library research on topics in architecture or on the work of a particular architect presents suggestions for utilizing four categories of resources: books, dictionaries and encyclopedias, indexes, and a periodicals and series list (PASL). Two topics are researched as examples: the contemporary architect Richard Meier, and…

Web directories as topical context

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kaptein, R.; Kamps, J.; Aly, R.; Hauff, C.; den Hamer, I.; Hiemstra, D.; Huibers, T.; de Jong, F.

2009-01-01

In this paper we explore whether the Open Directory (or DMOZ) can be used to classify queries into topical categories on different levels and whether we can use this topical context to improve retrieval performance. We have set up a user study to let test persons explicitly classify queries into

Link-topic model for biomedical abbreviation disambiguation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Seonho; Yoon, Juntae

2015-02-01

The ambiguity of biomedical abbreviations is one of the challenges in biomedical text mining systems. In particular, the handling of term variants and abbreviations without nearby definitions is a critical issue. In this study, we adopt the concepts of topic of document and word link to disambiguate biomedical abbreviations. We newly suggest the link topic model inspired by the latent Dirichlet allocation model, in which each document is perceived as a random mixture of topics, where each topic is characterized by a distribution over words. Thus, the most probable expansions with respect to abbreviations of a given abstract are determined by word-topic, document-topic, and word-link distributions estimated from a document collection through the link topic model. The model allows two distinct modes of word generation to incorporate semantic dependencies among words, particularly long form words of abbreviations and their sentential co-occurring words; a word can be generated either dependently on the long form of the abbreviation or independently. The semantic dependency between two words is defined as a link and a new random parameter for the link is assigned to each word as well as a topic parameter. Because the link status indicates whether the word constitutes a link with a given specific long form, it has the effect of determining whether a word forms a unigram or a skipping/consecutive bigram with respect to the long form. Furthermore, we place a constraint on the model so that a word has the same topic as a specific long form if it is generated in reference to the long form. Consequently, documents are generated from the two hidden parameters, i.e. topic and link, and the most probable expansion of a specific abbreviation is estimated from the parameters. Our model relaxes the bag-of-words assumption of the standard topic model in which the word order is neglected, and it captures a richer structure of text than does the standard topic model by considering

Unsupervised topic discovery by anomaly detection

OpenAIRE

Cheng, Leon

2013-01-01

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited With the vast amount of information and public comment available online, it is of increasing interest to understand what is being said and what topics are trending online. Government agencies, for example, want to know what policies concern the public without having to look through thousands of comments manually. Topic detection provides automatic identification of topics in documents based on the information content and enhances many ...

Topical cyclosporine for atopic keratoconjunctivitis.

Science.gov (United States)

González-López, Julio J; López-Alcalde, Jesús; Morcillo Laiz, Rafael; Fernández Buenaga, Roberto; Rebolleda Fernández, Gema

2012-09-12

Atopic keratoconjunctivitis (AKC) is a chronic ocular surface non-infectious inflammatory condition that atopic dermatitis patients may suffer at any time point in the course of their dermatologic disease and is independent of its degree of severity. AKC is usually not self resolving and it poses a higher risk of corneal injuries and severe sequelae. Management of AKC should prevent or treat corneal damage. Although topical corticosteroids remain the standard treatment for patients with AKC, prolonged use may lead to complications. Topical cyclosporine A (CsA) may improve AKC signs and symptoms, and be used as a corticosteroid sparing agent. To determine the efficacy and gather evidence on safety from randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of topical CsA in patients with AKC. We searched CENTRAL (which contains the Cochrane Eyes and Vision Group Trials Register) (The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 6), MEDLINE (January 1946 to July 2012), EMBASE (January 1980 to July 2012), Latin American and Caribbean Literature on Health Sciences (LILACS) (January 1982 to July 2012), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) (January 1937 to July 2012), OpenGrey (System for Information on Grey Literature in Europe) (www.opengrey.eu/), the metaRegister of Controlled Trials (mRCT) (www.controlled-trials.com), ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov), the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/search/en), the IFPMA Clinical Trials Portal (http://clinicaltrials.ifpma.org/no_cache/en/myportal/index.htm) and Web of Science Conference Proceedings Citation Index- Science (CPCI-S). We did not use any date or language restrictions in the electronic searches for trials. The electronic databases were last searched on 9 July 2012. We also handsearched the following conference proceedings: American Academy of Ophthalmology, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, International Council of Opthalmology and Societas

21 CFR 868.5170 - Laryngotracheal topical anesthesia applicator.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 8 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Laryngotracheal topical anesthesia applicator. 868... topical anesthesia applicator. (a) Identification. A laryngotracheal topical anesthesia applicator is a device used to apply topical anesthetics to a patient's laryngotracheal area. (b) Classification. Class...

Integrating nanophotonic concepts and topics into optics curricula

Science.gov (United States)

Sonek, Gregory J.

2007-06-01

Nanophotonics has emerged as a new and important field of study, not only in research, but also in undergraduate optics and photonics education and training. Beyond the study of classical and quantum optics, it is important for students to learn about how the flow of light can be manipulated on a nanoscale level, and used in applications such as telecommunications, imaging, and medicine. This paper reports on our work to integrate basic nanophotonic concepts and topics into existing optics and optical electronics courses, as well as independent study projects, at the undergraduate level. Through classroom lectures, topical readings, computer modeling exercises, and laboratory experiments, students are introduced to nanophotonic concepts subsequent to a study of physical and geometrical optics. A compare and contrast methodology is employed to help students identify similarities and differences that exist in the optical behavior of bulk and nanostructured media. Training is further developed through engineering design and simulation exercises that use advanced, vector-diffraction-based, modeling software for simulating the performance of various materials and structures. To date, the addition of a nanophotonics component to the optics curriculum has proven successful, been enthusiastically received by students, and should serve as a basis for further course development efforts that emphasize the combined capabilities of nanotechnology and photonics.

Radiation and combined heat transfer in channels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamonis, M.

1986-01-01

This book presents numerical methods of calculation of radiative and combined heat transfer in channel flows of radiating as well as nonradiating media. Results obtained in calculations for flow conditions of combustion products from organic fuel products are given and methods used in determining the spectral optical properties of molecular gases are analyzed. The book presents applications of heat transfer in solving problems. Topic covered are as follows: optical properties of molecular gases; transfer equations for combined heat transfer; experimental technique; convective heat transfer in heated gas flows; radiative heat transfer in gaseous media; combined heat transfer; and radiative and combined heat transfer in applied problems

Topical medication utilization and health resources consumption in adult patients affected by psoriasis: findings from the analysis of administrative databases of local health units

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Perrone V

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Valentina Perrone, Diego Sangiorgi, Stefano Buda, Luca Degli Esposti Clicon S.r.l. Health, Economics & Outcomes Research, Ravenna, Italy Aim: The objectives of this study were to: 1 analyze the drug utilization pattern among adult psoriasis patients who were newly prescribed with topical medication; and 2 assess their adherence to topical therapy and the possibility of switching to other strategies in the treatment process. Methods: An observational retrospective analysis was conducted based on administrative databases of two Italian local health units. All adult subjects who were diagnosed with psoriasis or who were newly prescribed for topical medication with at least one prescription between January 1, 2010, and December 31, 2014, were screened. Only patients who were “non-occasional users of topical drugs” (if they had at least two prescriptions of topical drugs in a time space of 2 years were considered for the first and second objectives in the analysis. The date of the first prescription of topical agents was identified as the index date (ID, which was then followed for all time available from ID (follow-up period. The adherence to therapy was assessed on the basis of cycles of treatment covered in the 6 months before the end of the follow-up period. The mean health care costs in patients who switched to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs or biologics after the ID were evaluated. Results: A total of 17,860 patients with psoriasis who were newly prescribed for topical medication were identified. A total of 2,477 were identified as “non-occasional users of topical drugs”, of whom 70.2% had a prescription for a topical fixed combination regimen at ID. Around 19% adhered to their medication, whereas 6% switched to other options of psoriasis treatment. Multivariable logistic regression model shows that patients on fixed combination treatment were less likely to be non-adherent to treatment and less likely to switch to

Topical therapy of atopic dermatitis: controversies from Hippocrates to topical immunomodulators.

Science.gov (United States)

Tilles, Gérard; Wallach, Daniel; Taïeb, Alain

2007-02-01

Although atopic dermatitis can be treated efficiently, there is still much controversy about the risk/benefit ratio of both topical corticosteroids and topical immunomodulators. Conflicting data may be found about the usefulness of bathing, diet regulation, and other therapeutic interventions. These controversies result in part from the persistence of Hippocratic doctrines in modern medical thinking. Humoralist and diathetic doctrines, as they pertain to eczema, are reviewed. The paradoxical worsening of oozing and the deadly hazards of hospitalization before the era of antibiotics are brought to mind. We hope that this historical review will improve the understanding of current controversies and help dermatologists to manage patients with atopic dermatitis and other chronic skin diseases.

Topical tar: Back to the future

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Paghdal, K.V.; Schwartz, R.A. [University of Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey, Newark, NJ (United States)

2009-08-15

The use of medicinal tar for dermatologic disorders dates back to the ancient times. Although coal tar is utilized more frequently in modern dermatology, wood tars have also been widely employed. Tar is used mainly in the treatment of chronic stable plaque psoriasis, scalp psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and seborrheic dermatitis, either alone or in combination therapy with other medications, phototherapy, or both. Many modifications have been made to tar preparations to increase their acceptability, as some dislike its odor, messy application, and staining of clothing. One should consider a tried and true treatment with tar that has led to clearing of lesions and prolonged remission times. Occupational studies have demonstrated the carcinogenicity of tar; however, epidemiologic studies do not confirm similar outcomes when used topically. This article will review the pharmacology, formulations, efficacy, and adverse effects of crude coal tar and other tars in the treatment of selected dermatologic conditions.

Systemic and Topical Use of Tranexamic Acid in Spinal Surgery: A Systematic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Sebastian F.; Santaguida, Carlo; Wong, Jean; Fehlings, Michael G.

2015-01-01

Study Design Combination of narrative and systematic literature reviews. Objectives Massive perioperative blood loss in complex spinal surgery often requires blood transfusions and can negatively affect patient outcome. Systemic use of the antifibrinolytic agent tranexamic acid (TXA) has become widely used in the management of surgical bleeding. We review the clinical evidence for the use of intravenous TXA as a hemostatic agent in spinal surgery and discuss the emerging role for its complementary use as a topical agent to reduce perioperative blood loss from the surgical site. Through a systematic review of published and ongoing investigations on topical TXA for spinal surgery, we wish to make spine practitioners aware of this option and to suggest opportunities for further investigation in the field. Methods A narrative review of systemic TXA in spinal surgery and topical TXA in surgery was conducted. Furthermore, a systematic search (using PRISMA guidelines) of PubMed (MEDLINE), EMBASE, and Cochrane CENTRAL databases as well as World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform, ClinicalTrials.gov (National Institutes of Health), and International Standard Randomized Controlled Trial Number registries was conducted to identify both published literature and ongoing clinical trials on topical TXA in spinal surgery. Results Of 1,631 preliminary search results, 2 published studies were included in the systematic review. Out of 285 ongoing clinical trials matching the search criteria, a total of 4 relevant studies were included and reviewed. Conclusion Intravenous TXA is established as an efficacious hemostatic agent in spinal surgery. Use of topical TXA in surgery suggests similar hemostatic efficacy and potentially improved safety as compared with intravenous TXA. For spinal surgery, the literature on topical TXA is sparse but promising, warranting further clinical investigation and consideration as a clinical option in cases with

Topic Time Series Analysis of Microblogs

Science.gov (United States)

2014-10-01

may be distributed more globally. Tweets on a specific topic that cluster spatially, temporally or both might be of interest to analysts, marketers ...of $ and @, with the latter only in the case that it is the only character in the token (the @ symbol is significant in its usage by Instagram in...is generated by Instagram . Topic 80, Distance: 143.2101 Top words: 1. rawr 2. ˆ0ˆ 3. kill 4. jurassic 5. dinosaur Analysis: This topic is quite

Topic modelling in the information warfare domain

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

De Waal, A

2013-11-01

Full Text Available for interesting and relevant topics. The objectives of this paper is to describe topic modelling, put it in context as a useful IW technique and illustrate its use with two examples. They discuss several applications of topic modelling in the safety and security...

The Typhoon Disaster Analysis Based on Weibo Topic Heat

Science.gov (United States)

Yuan, J.; Gong, A.; Wang, J.; Li, J.

2018-04-01

Could social media data be utilized in hazard evaluation? Typhoon disaster as one of the costly disaster has become devastating threats for human. Moreover, social media change the communication way of human and citizens can turn to this platform to express disasterrelated information at real time. Therefore, social media improves situational awareness and widens the method of hazard information acquiring. With more and more studies investigating in relationship between social media response and degree of damage, the strong correlation has been proved. Weibo as one of the most popular social media in China can provide data with posted text, location, user identification and other additional information. Combining with 10 tropical cyclones and Weibo data in 2013, We perform a quantitative analysis between the grade of hazard situation and Weibo related topic heat in province scale. We provide a new model of Weibo topic heat to evaluate the Weibo activity in study area. Also we demonstrate the hazard assessing formula is H = 1.8845 ln(α) + 15.636 in tropical cyclone disaster. High level goodness of curve fitting also suggest that this equation can be used for rapid assessment of hazard caused by tropical cyclones.

Topical Session on Materials Management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

At its second meeting, in Paris, 5-7 December 2001, the WPDD held two topical sessions on the D and D Safety Case and on the Management of Materials from D and D, respectively. This report documents the topical session on the management of materials. Presentations during the topical session covered key aspects of the management of materials and meant to provide an exchange of information and experience, including: Experience and lessons learnt from VLLW and non-radioactive material management in Spain and Germany with special attention to recycling (How specific solutions came about? Are there 'generic' examples for wider adoption?); Risk assessment of recycling and non-recycling: a CPD study; Waste acceptance issues within different national contexts (What constraints are there on the waste receiving body and what flexibility can the latter have? What constraints does this impose on D and D implementers? What about wastes are without current solution? What needs to be done? What about large items and 'difficult' waste in general?); Radiological characterisation of materials during decommissioning, particularly difficult situations - large volumes, large items,.. wastes, heterogeneous streams (What examples of established practice? What are the approaches or aspects that set the regulatory requirements? How can the flow rates be large but the answers acceptable? How much is needed to be known for later action, e. g., disposal, release, protection of worker, etc.); Radiological characterisation of buildings as they stand, in order to allow conventional demolition (What are strategies for optimisation of characterisation? How much needs to be known to take action later? e.g. for storage, disposal, release, cost estimation and ALARA? What needs to be done in advance and after decommissioning/dismantling?). At the end of each presentation time was allotted for discussion of the paper. Integral to the Topical Session was a facilitated plenary discussion on the topical

Topical vitamin E and hydrocortisone acetate treatment after photorefractive keratectomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Bilgihan, K; Ozdek, S; Ozoğul, C; Gurelik, G; Bilgihan, A; Hasanreisoğlu, B

2000-04-01

To investigate the effects of topical vitamin E and hydrocortisone acetate treatments on corneal healing response after -10.0 D photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) in rabbits. Thirty-three New Zealand white rabbits were divided into four groups and -10 D PRK was performed under in vivo conditions. Following PRK, group 1 (n = 9) received no topical treatment and served as control. Group 2 (n = 8) received 0.1% hydrocortisone acetate ointment twice a day, group 3 (n = 8) received 1% vitamin E ointment and group 4 (n = 8) received both 0.1% hydrocortisone acetate and 1% vitamin E twice a day for a month. At the end of the third month, corneal haze was graded and the corneal hydroxyproline levels were measured, as a crude indicator of new collagen synthesis. Finally corneal samples were examined by transmission electron microscopy. Non-homogeneously distributed strong haze was identified in group 1 which was greater than in the other groups; haze was least in groups 2 and 4. Corneal hydroxyproline levels were found to be significantly lower in groups 2, 3 and 4 compared with the control (Student's t-test, p < 0.05). Histopathologically, the most aggressive wound healing response was detected in group 1. The corneal wound healing response of group 2 was less than that of group 1 and equal to or more than that of group 4. Deep corneal photoablation induces an aggressive healing response, and topical hydrocortisone acetate reduces this corneal wound healing effectively. The inhibitory effect of topical vitamin E on corneal wound healing seems to be less than that of hydrocortisone acetate, but combined treatment with these two drugs may have an additive effect in controlling corneal wound healing after PRK.

Topical steroid addiction in atopic dermatitis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fukaya M

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Mototsugu Fukaya,1 Kenji Sato,2 Mitsuko Sato,3 Hajime Kimata,4 Shigeki Fujisawa,5 Haruhiko Dozono,6 Jun Yoshizawa,7 Satoko Minaguchi8 1Tsurumai Kouen Clinic, Nagoya, 2Department of Dermatology, Hannan Chuo Hospital, Osaka, 3Sato Pediatric Clinic, Osaka, 4Kimata Hajime Clinic, Osaka, 5Fujisawa Dermatology Clinic, Tokyo, 6Dozono Medical House, Kagoshima, 7Yoshizawa Dermatology Clinic, Yokohama, 8Department of Dermatology, Kounosu Kyousei Hospital, Saitama, Japan Abstract: The American Academy of Dermatology published a new guideline regarding topical therapy in atopic dermatitis in May 2014. Although topical steroid addiction or red burning skin syndrome had been mentioned as possible side effects of topical steroids in a 2006 review article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, no statement was made regarding this illness in the new guidelines. This suggests that there are still controversies regarding this illness. Here, we describe the clinical features of topical steroid addiction or red burning skin syndrome, based on the treatment of many cases of the illness. Because there have been few articles in the medical literature regarding this illness, the description in this article will be of some benefit to better understand the illness and to spur discussion regarding topical steroid addiction or red burning skin syndrome. Keywords: topical steroid addiction, atopic dermatitis, red burning skin syndrome, rebound, corticosteroid, eczema

IT0: Discrete Math and Programming Logic Topics as a Hybrid Alternative to CS0

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Nancy L.

2015-01-01

This paper describes the development of a hybrid introductory course for students in their first or second year of an information systems technologies degree program at a large Midwestern university. The course combines topics from discrete mathematics and programming logic and design, a unique twist on most introductory courses. The objective of…

Topical amitriptyline and ketamine for post-herpetic neuralgia and other forms of neuropathic pain.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawynok, Jana; Zinger, Celia

2016-01-01

Neuropathic pain (NP) has several therapeutic options but efficacy is limited and adverse effects occur, such that additional treatment options are needed. A topical formulation containing amitriptyline 4% and ketamine 2% (AmiKet) may provide such an option. This report summarizes both published and unpublished results of clinical trials with AmiKet. In post-herpetic neuralgia (PHN), AmiKet produces a significant analgesia which is comparable to that produced by oral gabapentin. In diabetic painful neuropathy, AmiKet showed a strong trend towards pain reduction. In mixed neuropathic pain, case series reports suggest a favourable response rate, but are limited by trial characteristics. AmiKet is absorbed minimally following topical administration. Over 700 patients have now received topical AmiKet in clinical regimens, and it is well-tolerated with the adverse effects mainly being application site reactions. Both agents are polymodal, and several mechanisms may contribute to the peripheral efficacy of AmiKet. Topical AmiKet has the potential to be a first-line treatment option for PHN, and to be useful in other NP conditions. Furthermore, AmiKet has the potential to be an adjunct to systemic therapies, with the targeting of a peripheral compartment in addition to central sites of action representing a rational drug combination.

Enhancing topical analgesic administration: review and prospect for transdermal and transbuccal drug delivery systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanz, Roser; Calpena, Ana C; Mallandrich, Mireia; Clares, Beatriz

2015-01-01

Topical administration is an appealing method for drug delivery due to its non-invasiveness, self-controlled application, avoidance of first-pass metabolism in the liver and reduction of systemic side effects compared to other conventional routes such as oral and parenteral. However, topical administration must overcome the permeable barriers that skin and mucosa represent for the drug to achieve its desired therapeutic effect. Penetration of drugs through human skin is mainly impaired by the stratum corneum- the uppermost keratinized skin layer. In contrast, the stratified squamous epithelium (a nonkeratinized tissue) represents the major physical barrier for transbuccal drug administration in humans. Different technologies have been studied to enhance the bioavailability or local effects of drugs administered through skin and buccal mucosa. Those technologies involve the use of physical or chemical enhancers and new dosage forms such as vesicles, cyclodextrins, nanoparticles and other complex systems. Combinations of these technologies may further increase drug delivery in some cases. As analgesia is one of the main therapeutic effects sought through topical administration, this paper focuses on the review of drug delivery systems to improve the topical and transdermal/transbuccal drug delivery of substances with known analgesic action. A discussion of their possibilities and limitations is also included.

A Web Search on Environmental Topics: What Is the Role of Ranking?

Science.gov (United States)

Filisetti, Barbara; Mascaretti, Silvia; Limina, Rosa Maria; Gelatti, Umberto

2013-01-01

Abstract Background: Although the Internet is easy to use, the mechanisms and logic behind a Web search are often unknown. Reliable information can be obtained, but it may not be visible as the Web site is not located in the first positions of search results. The possible risks of adverse health effects arising from environmental hazards are issues of increasing public interest, and therefore the information about these risks, particularly on topics for which there is no scientific evidence, is very crucial. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the presentation of information on some environmental health topics differed among various search engines, assuming that the most reliable information should come from institutional Web sites. Materials and Methods: Five search engines were used: Google, Yahoo!, Bing, Ask, and AOL. The following topics were searched in combination with the word “health”: “nuclear energy,” “electromagnetic waves,” “air pollution,” “waste,” and “radon.” For each topic three key words were used. The first 30 search results for each query were considered. The ranking variability among the search engines and the type of search results were analyzed for each topic and for each key word. The ranking of institutional Web sites was given particular consideration. Results: Variable results were obtained when surfing the Internet on different environmental health topics. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that, when searching for radon and air pollution topics, it is more likely to find institutional Web sites in the first 10 positions compared with nuclear power (odds ratio=3.4, 95% confidence interval 2.1–5.4 and odds ratio=2.9, 95% confidence interval 1.8–4.7, respectively) and also when using Google compared with Bing (odds ratio=3.1, 95% confidence interval 1.9–5.1). Conclusions: The increasing use of online information could play an important role in forming opinions. Web users should become

Eye Wear: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... When You Exercise (National Institute on Aging) - PDF Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Eye Wear updates by email What's this? GO Related Health Topics Refractive Errors National Institutes of Health The primary ...

21 CFR 524.1193 - Ivermectin topical solution.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... 21 Food and Drugs 6 2010-04-01 2010-04-01 false Ivermectin topical solution. 524.1193 Section 524...) ANIMAL DRUGS, FEEDS, AND RELATED PRODUCTS OPHTHALMIC AND TOPICAL DOSAGE FORM NEW ANIMAL DRUGS § 524.1193 Ivermectin topical solution. (a) Specifications. Each milliliter (mL) of solution contains 5 milligrams of...

Eosinophilic Esophagitis: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Esophagitis (EoE) (American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology) Also in Spanish Latest News Eosinophilic Esophagitis May ... Pediatric and Adolescent Patients (American College of Gastroenterology) Topic Image Related Health Topics Eosinophilic Disorders Esophagus Disorders ...

Female Infertility: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Prolactin blood test (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Female Infertility updates ... Serum progesterone Show More Show Less Related Health Topics Assisted Reproductive Technology Infertility Male Infertility National Institutes ...

Mobility Aids: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Mobility Problems (AGS Foundation for Health in Aging) Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Mobility Aids updates ... standing and walking Using a cane Related Health Topics Assistive Devices Other Languages Find health information in ...

Genetic Testing: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Folic Acid: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Pneumococcal Infections: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Wilms' Tumor: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Child Safety: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Pneumocystis Infections: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Spanish Pneumothorax - infants (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Collapsed Lung updates ... Lung surgery Pneumothorax - slideshow Pneumothorax - infants Related Health Topics Chest Injuries and Disorders Lung Diseases Pleural Disorders ...

Male Infertility: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Spanish Testicular biopsy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Male Infertility updates ... analysis Sperm release pathway Testicular biopsy Related Health Topics Assisted Reproductive Technology Female Infertility Infertility National Institutes ...

Healthy Aging: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Aging National Institute on Aging Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Healthy Aging updates ... 65 Health screening - women - over 65 Related Health Topics Exercise for Seniors Nutrition for Seniors Seniors' Health ...

Psoriatic Arthritis: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Hip Replacement: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Platelet Disorders: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Thromobocytopenia - drug-induced (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Platelet Disorders updates ... Willebrand disease Show More Show Less Related Health Topics Bleeding Disorders Blood Clots Blood Count Tests Blood ...

Cardiac Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... in Spanish Electrocardiogram (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Cardiac Rehabilitation updates ... How to take your pulse Pulse Related Health Topics Heart Attack Heart Diseases How to Prevent Heart ...

Cardiac Arrest: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Handouts Cardiac arrest (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Cardiac Arrest updates ... this? GO MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA Cardiac arrest Related Health Topics Arrhythmia CPR Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators National Institutes ...

Kawasaki Disease: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Diabetic Diet: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Sweeteners - sugar substitutes (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Diabetic Diet updates ... you have diabetes Sweeteners - sugar substitutes Related Health Topics Blood Sugar Diabetes Diabetes in Children and Teens ...

Infection Control: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Staph infections - hospital (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Infection Control updates ... infections when visiting Staph infections - hospital Related Health Topics Hepatitis HIV/AIDS MRSA National Institutes of Health ...

Hearing Aids: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... for hearing loss (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Hearing Aids updates ... MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA Devices for hearing loss Related Health Topics Cochlear Implants Hearing Disorders and Deafness National Institutes ...

Kidney Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Spanish Total protein (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Kidney Tests updates ... hour volume Show More Show Less Related Health Topics Kidney Cancer Kidney Diseases National Institutes of Health ...

Ischemic Stroke: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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Pulmonary Rehabilitation: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Handouts Postural drainage (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Pulmonary Rehabilitation updates ... this? GO MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA Postural drainage Related Health Topics Lung Diseases National Institutes of Health The primary ...

Recent Progress in Some Active Topics on Complex Networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gu, J; Zhu, Y; Wang, Q A; Guo, L; Jiang, J; Chi, L; Li, W; Cai, X

2015-01-01

Complex networks have been extensively studied across many fields, especially in interdisciplinary areas. It has since long been recognized that topological structures and dynamics are important aspects for capturing the essence of complex networks. The recent years have also witnessed the emergence of several new elements which play important roles in network study. By combining the results of different research orientations in our group, we provide here a review of the recent advances in regards to spectral graph theory, opinion dynamics, interdependent networks, graph energy theory and temporal networks. We hope this will be helpful for the newcomers of those fields to discover new intriguing topics. (paper)

Additive enhancement of wound healing in diabetic mice by low level light and topical CoQ10

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Zhigang; Wu, Jeffrey H.; Dong, Tingting; Wu, Mei X.

2016-02-01

Diabetes, a highly prevalent disease that affects 9.3% of Americans, often leads to severe complications and slow wound healing. Preclinical studies have suggested that low level light therapy (LLLT) can accelerate wound healing in diabetic subjects, but significant improvements must be made to overcome the absence of persuasive evidence for its clinical use. We demonstrate here that LLLT can be combined with topical Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) to heal wounds in diabetic mice significantly faster than LLLT alone, CoQ10 alone, or controls. LLLT followed by topical CoQ10 enhanced wound healing by 68~103% in diabetic mice in the first week and more than 24% in the second week compared with untreated controls. All wounds were fully healed in two weeks following the dual treatment, in contrast to only 50% wounds or a fewer being fully healed for single or sham treatment. The accelerated healing was corroborated by at least 50% higher hydroxyproline levels, and tripling cell proliferation rates in LLLT and CoQ10 treated wounds over controls. The beneficial effects on wound healing were probably attributed to additive enhancement of ATP production by LLLT and CoQ10 treatment. The combination of LLLT and topical CoQ10 is safe and convenient, and merits further clinical study.

Additive enhancement of wound healing in diabetic mice by low level light and topical CoQ10.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Zhigang; Wu, Jeffrey H; Dong, Tingting; Wu, Mei X

2016-02-02

Diabetes, a highly prevalent disease that affects 9.3% of Americans, often leads to severe complications and slow wound healing. Preclinical studies have suggested that low level light therapy (LLLT) can accelerate wound healing in diabetic subjects, but significant improvements must be made to overcome the absence of persuasive evidence for its clinical use. We demonstrate here that LLLT can be combined with topical Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) to heal wounds in diabetic mice significantly faster than LLLT alone, CoQ10 alone, or controls. LLLT followed by topical CoQ10 enhanced wound healing by 68~103% in diabetic mice in the first week and more than 24% in the second week compared with untreated controls. All wounds were fully healed in two weeks following the dual treatment, in contrast to only 50% wounds or a fewer being fully healed for single or sham treatment. The accelerated healing was corroborated by at least 50% higher hydroxyproline levels, and tripling cell proliferation rates in LLLT and CoQ10 treated wounds over controls. The beneficial effects on wound healing were probably attributed to additive enhancement of ATP production by LLLT and CoQ10 treatment. The combination of LLLT and topical CoQ10 is safe and convenient, and merits further clinical study.

Antibiotic Resistance: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... GO GO About MedlinePlus Site Map FAQs Customer Support Health Topics Drugs & Supplements Videos & Tools Español You Are Here: Home → Health Topics → Antibiotic Resistance URL of this page: https://medlineplus.gov/antibioticresistance. ...

Successful Treatment of Nivolumab-Resistant Multiple In-Transit Melanomas with Ipilimumab and Topical Imiquimod

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Taku Fujimura

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Simultaneous or sequential, planned administration of ipilimumab could significantly enhance the antitumor effects of nivolumab in advanced melanoma patients. On the other hand, the efficacy of ipilimumab for nivolumab-resistant advanced melanoma is extremely poor. Therefore, additional supportive therapy for anti-PD-1 antibody therapy-resistant advanced melanoma has been widely investigated. In this report, we describe a case of multiple in-transit melanomas developing in a nivolumab-resistant patient successfully treated with ipilimumab in combination with imiquimod. Our present case suggested a possible therapy for nivolumab-resistant multiple in-transit melanomas using ipilimumab in combination with topical imiquimod.

Evaluation of the efficacy of emodepside+praziquantel topical solution against cestode (Dipylidium caninum, Taenia taeniaeformis, and Echinococcus multilocularis) infections in cats.

Science.gov (United States)

Charles, S D; Altreuther, G; Reinemeyer, C R; Buch, J; Settje, T; Cruthers, L; Kok, D J; Bowman, D D; Kazacos, K R; Jenkins, D J; Schein, E

2005-10-01

Emodepside+praziquantel topical solution was developed to provide broad-spectrum anthelmintic activity against gastrointestinal parasites in cats. Eight controlled studies were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a topical solution of emodepside (3 mg/kg) and praziquantel (12 mg/kg) (Profender, BayerAG, Leverkusen, Germany) against feline infections with three species of cestodes. Studies featured naturally acquired infections of Dipylidium caninum or Taenia taeniaeformis, or experimental infections with Echinococcus multilocularis that were placebo-controlled, randomized and blinded. Cats were euthanatized and necropsied between 2 and 11 days after treatment, depending on the target parasite. The efficacy of emodepside+praziquantel topical solution was 100% against D. caninum and T. taeniaeformis, and 98.5- 100% against E. multilocularis. No significant systemic or local adverse reactions to treatment were noted in cats that received the combination. Topical treatment of cats with emodepside+praziquantel topical solution was safe and highly effective against cestode infections.

Zeaxanthin-based dietary supplement and topical serum improve hydration and reduce wrinkle count in female subjects.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Steve; Frank, Emily; Gierhart, Dennis; Simpson, Paula; Frumento, Robert

2016-12-01

Dietary modification, through supplementation and elimination diets, has become an area of interest to help slow skin aging, reduce symptom severity or prevent reoccurrence of certain dermatologic conditions [Clinical Dermatology vol. 31 (2013) 677-700]. Free radical components (reactive oxygen species or ROS) or lipid peroxide (LPO) is involved in the pathogenesis and progression of accelerated skin aging when prolonged oxidative stress occurs. The use of antioxidant-related therapies such as nutraceuticals is of particular interest in restoring skin homeostasis. Antioxidant carotenoid zeaxanthin is concentrated in the eye and skin tissue and believed to decrease the formation of ROS associated with UV light exposure. With zeaxanthin, phytoceramides, and botanical extracts an oral and topical test product (with zeaxanthin, algae extracts, peptides, hyaluronate) have been developed to improve the appearance and condition of skin when used as directed. Subjects were divided into three groups: two tests (skin formula 1 - oral product alone (ZO-1), skin formula 2- oral product with topical product (ZO-2 + ZT)), and one placebo control. The study consisted of a washout visit, baseline (randomization), week two (2), week four (4), week six (6), week eight (8), and week twelve (12). Key parameters measured were as follows: fine lines, deep lines, total wrinkles, wrinkle severity, radiance/skin color (L, a*, b*), discolorations, and skin pigment homogeneity. Thirty-one subjects completed the twelve-week study; no adverse events were recorded during the study. Statistically significant improvements from baseline mean hydration score were observed in active groups at weeks 2, 6, and 8. A statistically significant difference was observed between mean differences from baseline scores for total wrinkle count at week 4 for the combination active groups compared to placebo. A statistically significant difference from baseline scores for fine lines count was also observed at

Large-Scale Topic Detection and Language Model Adaptation

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Seymore, Kristie

1997-01-01

.... We have developed a language model adaptation scheme that takes apiece of text, chooses the most similar topic clusters from a set of over 5000 elemental topics, and uses topic specific language...

Quantum mechanics II advanced topics

CERN Document Server

Rajasekar, S

2015-01-01

Quantum Mechanics II: Advanced Topics uses more than a decade of research and the authors’ own teaching experience to expound on some of the more advanced topics and current research in quantum mechanics. A follow-up to the authors introductory book Quantum Mechanics I: The Fundamentals, this book begins with a chapter on quantum field theory, and goes on to present basic principles, key features, and applications. It outlines recent quantum technologies and phenomena, and introduces growing topics of interest in quantum mechanics. The authors describe promising applications that include ghost imaging, detection of weak amplitude objects, entangled two-photon microscopy, detection of small displacements, lithography, metrology, and teleportation of optical images. They also present worked-out examples and provide numerous problems at the end of each chapter.

Topical application of hemostatic paste

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Mizanur Rahman

2017-02-01

Full Text Available As a measure to control minor surgical bleeding, surgeons usually depend on a number of hemostatic aids. Topical use of bovine thrombin is a widely used procedure to arrest such minor bleeding. A 35 year old male sergeant of Bangladesh Air Force presented with repeated development of hematoma in his left thigh without any history of trauma or previous history of bleeding. Critical analysis of the patient’s history, routine and sophisticated hematological investigations revealed that the patient developed anti-thrombin antibody following the application of hemostatic paste in the tooth socket five years back during minor dental procedure to stop ignorable bleeding episodes. Therefore, topical use of hemostatic glue/paste or bovine thrombin should be avoided to desist minor bleeding as recombinant human thrombin is now available for topical use.

Fluticasone Nasal Spray

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... class of medications called corticosteroids. It works by blocking the release of certain natural substances that cause ... your thumb. Point the applicator away from your face. If you are using the pump for the ...

Coherent combination of ultrafast fiber amplifiers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hanna, Marc; Guichard, Florent; Druon, Frédéric; Georges, Patrick; Zaouter, Yoann; Papadopoulos, Dimitris N

2016-01-01

We review recent progress in coherent combining of femtosecond pulses amplified in optical fibers as a way to scale the peak and average power of ultrafast sources. Different methods of achieving coherent pulse addition in space (beam combining) and time (divided pulse amplification) domains are described. These architectures can be widely classified into active methods, where the relative phases between pulses are subject to a servomechanism, and passive methods, where phase matching is inherent to the geometry. Other experiments that combine pulses with different spectral contents, pulses that have been nonlinearly broadened or successive pulses from a mode-locked laser oscillator, are then presented. All these techniques allow access to unprecedented parameter range for fiber ultrafast sources. (topical review)

Topics in quantum cryptography, quantum error correction, and channel simulation

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Zhicheng

In this thesis, we mainly investigate four different topics: efficiently implementable codes for quantum key expansion [51], quantum error-correcting codes based on privacy amplification [48], private classical capacity of quantum channels [44], and classical channel simulation with quantum side information [49, 50]. For the first topic, we propose an efficiently implementable quantum key expansion protocol, capable of increasing the size of a pre-shared secret key by a constant factor. Previously, the Shor-Preskill proof [64] of the security of the Bennett-Brassard 1984 (BB84) [6] quantum key distribution protocol relied on the theoretical existence of good classical error-correcting codes with the "dual-containing" property. But the explicit and efficiently decodable construction of such codes is unknown. We show that we can lift the dual-containing constraint by employing the non-dual-containing codes with excellent performance and efficient decoding algorithms. For the second topic, we propose a construction of Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) [19, 68] quantum error-correcting codes, which are originally based on pairs of mutually dual-containing classical codes, by combining a classical code with a two-universal hash function. We show, using the results of Renner and Koenig [57], that the communication rates of such codes approach the hashing bound on tensor powers of Pauli channels in the limit of large block-length. For the third topic, we prove a regularized formula for the secret key assisted capacity region of a quantum channel for transmitting private classical information. This result parallels the work of Devetak on entanglement assisted quantum communication capacity. This formula provides a new family protocol, the private father protocol, under the resource inequality framework that includes the private classical communication without the assisted secret keys as a child protocol. For the fourth topic, we study and solve the problem of classical channel

Aerodynamics of wind turbines emerging topics

CERN Document Server

Amano, R S

2014-01-01

Focusing on Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines with topics ranging from Fundamental to Application of horizontal axis wind turbines, this book presents advanced topics including: Basic Theory for Wind turbine Blade Aerodynamics, Computational Methods, and Special Structural Reinforcement Technique for Wind Turbine Blades.

Laser-assisted delivery of synergistic combination chemotherapy in in vivo skin.

Science.gov (United States)

Wenande, Emily; Tam, Joshua; Bhayana, Brijesh; Schlosser, Steven Kyle; Ishak, Emily; Farinelli, William A; Chlopik, Agata; Hoang, Mai P; Pinkhasov, Omar R; Caravan, Peter; Rox Anderson, R; Haedersdal, Merete

2018-04-10

The effectiveness of topical drugs for treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer is greatly reduced by insufficient penetration to deep skin layers. Ablative fractional lasers (AFLs) are known to enhance topical drug uptake by generating narrow microchannels through the skin, but information on AFL-drug delivery in in vivo conditions is limited. In this study, we examined pharmacokinetics, biodistribution and toxicity of two synergistic chemotherapy agents, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), following AFL-assisted delivery alone or in combination in in vivo porcine skin. Detected at 0-120 h using mass spectrometry techniques, we demonstrated that fractional CO 2 laser pretreatment (196 microchannels/cm 2 , 852 μm ablation depth) leads to rapid drug uptake in 1500 μm deep skin layers, with a sixfold enhancement in peak cisplatin concentrations versus non-laser-treated controls (5 h, P = 0.005). Similarly, maximum 5-FU deposition was measured within an hour of AFL-delivery, and exceeded peak deposition in non-laser-exposed skin that had undergone topical drug exposure for 5 days. Overall, this accelerated and deeper cutaneous drug uptake resulted in significantly increased inflammatory and histopathological effects. Based on clinical scores and transepidermal water loss measurement, AFL intensified local toxic responses to drugs delivered alone and in combination, while systemic drug exposure remained undetectable. Quantitative histopathologic analyses correspondingly revealed significantly reduced epidermal proliferation and greater cellular apoptosis after AFL-drug delivery; particularly after combined cisplatin + 5-FU exposure. In sum, by overcoming the primary limitation of topical drug penetration and providing accelerated, enhanced and deeper delivery, AFL-assisted combination chemotherapy may represent a promising treatment strategy for non-melanoma skin cancer. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

SETI: A good introductory physics topic

Science.gov (United States)

Hobson, Art

1997-04-01

If America is to achieve the science literacy that is essential to industrialized democracy, all students must study such topics as scientific methodology, pseudoscience, ozone depletion, and global warming. My large-enrollment liberal-arts physics course covers the great principles of physics along with several such philosophical and societal topics. It is easy to include the interdisciplinary context of physics in courses for non-scientists, because these courses are flexible, conceptual, and taught to students whose interests span a broad range. Students find these topics relevant and fascinating, leading to large enrollments by non-scientists even in courses labeled ''physics.'' I will discuss my approach to teaching the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence (SETI), a topic with lots of good physics and with connections to scientific methodology and pseudoscience. A textbook for this kind of course has been published, Physics: Concepts and Connections (Prentice-Hall, 1995).

Affinity between information retrieval system and search topic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ebinuma, Yukio

1979-01-01

Ten search profiles are tested on the INIS system at the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute. The results are plotted on recall-precision chart ranging from 100% recall to 100% precision. The curves are not purely systems-dependent nor search-dependent, and are determined substantially by the ''affinity'' between the system and the search topic. The curves are named ''Affinity curves of search topics with information retrieval systems'', and hence retrieval affinity factors are derived. They are obtained not only for individual search topics but also for averages in the system. By such a quantitative examination, the difference of affinity among search topics in a given system, that of the same search topic among various systems, and that of systems to the same group of search topics can be compared reasonably. (author)

Analyzing the history of Cognition using Topic Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen Priva, Uriel; Austerweil, Joseph L

2015-02-01

Very few articles have analyzed how cognitive science as a field has changed over the last six decades. We explore how Cognition changed over the last four decades using Topic Models. Topic Models assume that every word in every document is generated by one of a limited number of topics. Words that are likely to co-occur are likely to be generated by a single topic. We find a number of significant historical trends: the rise of moral cognition, eyetracking methods, and action, the fall of sentence processing, and the stability of development. We introduce the notion of framing topics, which frame content, rather than present the content itself. These framing topics suggest that over time Cognition turned from abstract theorizing to more experimental approaches. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Topics of Bioengineering in Wikipedia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vassia Atanassova

2009-10-01

Full Text Available The present report aims to give a snapshot of how topics from the field of bioengineering (bioinformatics, bioprocess systems, biomedical engineering, biotechnology, etc. are currently covered in the free electronic encyclopedia Wikipedia. It also offers insights and information about what Wikipedia is, how it functions, how and when to cite Wikipedian articles, if necessary. Several external wikis, devoted to topics of bioengineering, are also listed and reviewed.

Updates of Topical and Local Anesthesia Agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyce, Ricardo A; Kirpalani, Tarun; Mohan, Naveen

2016-04-01

As described in this article, there are many advances in topical and local anesthesia. Topical and local anesthetics have played a great role in dentistry in alleviating the fears of patients, eliminating pain, and providing pain control. Many invasive procedures would not be performed without the use and advances of topical/local anesthetics. The modern-day dentist has the responsibility of knowing the variety of products on the market and should have at least references to access before, during, and after treatment. This practice ensures proper care with topical and local anesthetics for the masses of patients entering dental offices worldwide. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Anesthesia: A Topic for Interdisciplinary Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Labianca, Dominick A.; Reeves, William J.

1977-01-01

Describes an interdisciplinary approach for teaching the topic of anesthesia as one aspect of a chemistry-oriented course for nonscience majors which focuses on timely topics such as the energy crisis and drugs. Historical treatment with the examination of literature is emphasized in teaching. (HM)

2940-nm Er:YAG fractional laser enhanced the effect of topical drug for psoriasis.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Ruilian; Zhou, Jun; Su, Hui; Wang, Mei; Wang, Yongxian; Xiao, Shengxiang; Ma, Huiqun

2017-08-01

We observed the promoting effects of the 2940-nm erbium:YAG (Er:YAG) fractional laser in topical drug delivery for psoriasis. A total of five (four males and one female) recalcitrant psoriasis patients were given laser treatment eight times at 1-week intervals with the following parameters: 5-11% spot density and 100-μm energy depth. The psoriatic skin lesions on the left knee and the corresponding lesions at the right ones of each psoriasis patient were randomly divided into two groups: laser + topical drug group (L) and drug alone group (D). The psoriatic lesions in both groups were treated with the same topical treatment (calcipotriol ointment). The corresponding psoriatic lesions in the L group received extra 2940-nm Er:YAG laser irradiation before topical treatment. The photos of psoriatic lesions were taken before each treatment. The final photos were obtained from the patients at the seventh day after the final treatment. Drug alone or in combination with laser Er:YAG both reduced psoriatic lesions. However, with the increase in the number of treatments, increasing differences were observed between the treatment and the control sides. The therapeutic outcomes in the L groups were better than those in the D groups. Psoriasis area and severity index (PASI) scores for five cases of both groups were decreased. However, the scores in the L groups were lower than those in the D groups. The use of 2940 nm Er:YAG promoted the absorption of topical drugs for psoriasis, improving the therapeutic effect.

Radio over fiber for wireless communications from fundamentals to advanced topics

CERN Document Server

Fernando, Xavier N

2014-01-01

A comprehensive evaluation of Fi-Wi,  enabling readers to design links using channel estimation and equalization algorithms  This book provides a detailed study of radio over fiber (ROF) based wireless communication systems, otherwise called fiber wireless (Fi-Wi) systems. This is an emerging hot topic where the abundant bandwidth of optical fiber is directly combined with the flexibility and mobility of wireless networks to provide broadband connectivity.  Its application is increasing because of the growing demand for broadband wireless services. In such a system the transmission of the ra

Comparing the ocular surface effects of topical vancomycin and linezolid for treating bacterial keratitis.

Science.gov (United States)

Akova Budak, Berna; Baykara, Mehmet; Kıvanç, Sertaç Argun; Yilmaz, Hakan; Cicek, Serhat

2016-01-01

Vancomycin is the gold standard in combination therapy for severe and resistant gram-positive keratitis and in particular for Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. The aim of this study was to report the ocular surface toxicity and scoring in patients whose treatment shifted to topical linezolid/ceftazidime from topical vancomycin/ceftazidime due to their vancomycin intolerance. A retrospective, interventional case series of bacterial keratitis was treated with topical linezolid (one drop of 0.2% solution per eye), administered hourly until epithelization and then gradually decreased. The number and extent of punctate epithelial erosions were noted across the entire surface of the cornea. Ocular discomfort was assessed by means of (a) patient-reported pain upon instillation of the medication (vancomycin/linezolid), (b) reported burning sensation between doses and (c) reported foreign-body sensation. No ocular surface toxicity related to linezolid use was noted. Patients were followed for at least 2 months after treatment between April and December 2013. Of the seven patients included in the study (age range: 2-88 years; five females, two males), complete epithelization and resolution was achieved in five patients. One patient was treated with linezolid after penetrating keratoplasty. The second culture of another patient with impending perforation despite linezolid/ceftazidime therapy yielded Fusarium spp., so he underwent tectonic keratoplasty. The mean ocular surface score was 9.4 ± 1.6 during vancomycin treatment and 5.9 ± 1.3 during linezolid treatment after discontinuation of vancomycin. The topical linezolid score was significantly lower (p = 0.027). Topical linezolid may be better tolerated, according to the mean ocular surface score, than topical vancomycin by some patients and can be considered an alternative for patients who do not well tolerate vancomycin.

Efficacy, tolerability and consumer acceptability of terbinafine topical spray versus terbinafine topical solution: a phase IIa, randomised, observer-blind, comparative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Marc; Evans, Charles; Muddle, Andrew; Turner, Rob; Lim, Sian; Reed, Jessica; Traynor, Matt

2013-10-01

Tinea pedis is one of the world's most prevalent dermatophyte infections. MedSpray™ tinea pedis 1 % w/w (topical spray) is a novel, easy-to-use propellant-based spray formulation containing 1 % w/w terbinafine, requiring no manipulation at the site of infection. This is in contrast to the only formulation currently approved in Europe for single application (none are approved in the USA for single use), which is Lamisil(®) Once 1 % w/w (topical solution), containing 1 % w/w terbinafine hydrochloride, which requires manipulation on the affected area. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, tolerability and consumer acceptability of a topical spray versus a topical solution in the treatment of tinea pedis. This study is a phase IIa, randomised, observer-blind, non-inferiority comparative study of the topical spray compared with the topical solution over a 12-week study period. The study was conducted at Bioskin GmbH, Hamburg and Berlin. Patients (n = 120) who presented with the presence of interdigital tinea pedis caused by dermatophytes on one or both feet were enrolled in the study. Patients were randomly assigned between the two treatment groups. Either the topical spray or the topical solution was administered by the study nurse and consisted of a single application (equivalent to 20 mg of terbinafine per foot) on day 1 of the study. No further applications were made for the duration of the study. The hypothesis formulated before commencement of the study was that the topical spray would prove to be non-inferior to the topical solution. Efficacy assessments, including clinical signs and symptoms, mycology and microscopy were performed at baseline and 1, 6 and 12 weeks after treatment. The rate of mycological cure at week 1 was statistically equivalent for both treatments. There was a significant reduction in the overall clinical score as assessed by the Physician's Global Assessment of signs and symptoms for both treatment groups. The topical

Topical thrombin-related corneal calcification.

Science.gov (United States)

Kiratli, Hayyam; Irkeç, Murat; Alaçal, Sibel; Söylemezoğlu, Figen

2006-09-01

To report a highly unusual case of corneal calcification after brief intraoperative use of topical thrombin. A 44-year-old man underwent sclerouvectomy for ciliochoroidal leiomyoma, during which 35 UNIH/mL lyophilized bovine thrombin mixed with 9 mL of diluent containing 1500 mmol/mL calcium chloride was used. From the first postoperative day, corneal and anterior lenticular capsule calcifications developed, and corneal involvement slightly enlarged thereafter. A year later, 2 corneal punch biopsies confirmed calcification mainly in the Bowman layer. Topical treatment with 1.5% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid significantly restored corneal clarity. Six months later, a standard extracapsular cataract extraction with intraocular lens placement improved visual acuity to 20/60. This case suggests that topical thrombin drops with elevated calcium concentrations may cause acute corneal calcification in Bowman layer and on the anterior lens capsule.

A Comprehensive Study of Features and Algorithms for URL-Based Topic Classification

CERN Document Server

Weber, I; Henzinger, M; Baykan, E

2011-01-01

Given only the URL of a Web page, can we identify its topic? We study this problem in detail by exploring a large number of different feature sets and algorithms on several datasets. We also show that the inherent overlap between topics and the sparsity of the information in URLs makes this a very challenging problem. Web page classification without a page's content is desirable when the content is not available at all, when a classification is needed before obtaining the content, or when classification speed is of utmost importance. For our experiments we used five different corpora comprising a total of about 3 million (URL, classification) pairs. We evaluated several techniques for feature generation and classification algorithms. The individual binary classifiers were then combined via boosting into metabinary classifiers. We achieve typical F-measure values between 80 and 85, and a typical precision of around 86. The precision can be pushed further over 90 while maintaining a typical level of recall betw...

Topics in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1963-2015.

Science.gov (United States)

Oh, JungSu; Stewart, Alan E; Phelps, Rosemary E

2017-11-01

Historical trends in a scientific field should be apparent in the changing content of journal articles over time. Using a topic modeling approach, a statistical method for quantifying the thematic content of text, 70 topics were extracted from the abstracts of 3,603 articles published in the Journal of Counseling Psychology from 1963 to 2015. After examining interpretability of 70 topics derived from the model, 64 meaningful topics and their trends were named. In addition, the authors also classified some of the related topics into 4 categories-counseling process and outcome, multiculturalism, research methodology, and vocational psychology. Counseling process and outcome related topics have decreased recently, while topics relating to multiculturalism and diversity have shown increasing trends. The authors also discussed trends that were observed and tried to account for the changing frequencies of some important research topics within these categories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Influence of number of topics, topic duration, and curricular focus on biology achievement of Population 3 TIMSS countries

Science.gov (United States)

Hodges, Eddie Louis

The purposes of this study were to determine if a relationship exists between biology achievement and (1) number of topics, (2) topic duration, (3) curricular focus, and (4) science achievement using TIMSS data from Population 3---the final year of secondary school. Students included in this study were subsets of the 55,675 students from 22 countries who participated in the science literacy portion of TIMSS at the Population 3 level (IEA, 1997). The sample included in this study for the four research questions were comprised of between (1) 17,769 and 37,794 students from 15 countries, (2) 17,769 and 37,794 students from 15 countries, (3) 21,715 and 46,458 students from 18 countries, and (4) 19,518 and 46,458 students from 18 countries, respectively. A Pearson's product moment correlation was used to determine whether a relationship exists between the number of biology topics addressed by intended national science curricula and mean student achievement on selected items by country. No statistically significant correlation was found by country between biology achievement and number of topics. To determine whether a relationship exists between the topic duration of biology topics addressed by released, biology-oriented, Population 3 Science Literacy items and student achievement on those items, a Pearson's product moment correlation was also used. A statistically significant correlation between biology achievement and topic duration for only one topic (Interdependence of Life) was found at the .05 level of significance. A possible relationship between the degree of curricular focus of Population 3 TIMSS countries and student achievement on selected items by country was evaluated using a Pearson's product moment correlation. No statistically significant correlation by country between biology achievement and degree of curricular focus was found. A Pearson's product moment correlation was used to determine whether a relationship exists between science literacy

Extracting Hot spots of Topics from Time Stamped Documents

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Chundi, Parvathi

2011-01-01

Identifying time periods with a burst of activities related to a topic has been an important problem in analyzing time-stamped documents. In this paper, we propose an approach to extract a hot spot of a given topic in a time-stamped document set. Topics can be basic, containing a simple list of keywords, or complex. Logical relationships such as and, or, and not are used to build complex topics from basic topics. A concept of presence measure of a topic based on fuzzy set theory is introduced to compute the amount of information related to the topic in the document set. Each interval in the time period of the document set is associated with a numeric value which we call the discrepancy score. A high discrepancy score indicates that the documents in the time interval are more focused on the topic than those outside of the time interval. A hot spot of a given topic is defined as a time interval with the highest discrepancy score. We first describe a naive implementation for extracting hot spots. We then construct an algorithm called EHE (Efficient Hot Spot Extraction) using several efficient strategies to improve performance. We also introduce the notion of a topic DAG to facilitate an efficient computation of presence measures of complex topics. The proposed approach is illustrated by several experiments on a subset of the TDT-Pilot Corpus and DBLP conference data set. The experiments show that the proposed EHE algorithm significantly outperforms the naive one, and the extracted hot spots of given topics are meaningful. PMID:21765568

Effects of Topical Anaesthetic and Buccal Meloxicam Treatments on Concurrent Castration and Dehorning of Beef Calves.

Science.gov (United States)

Van der Saag, Dominique; White, Peter; Ingram, Lachlan; Manning, Jaime; Windsor, Peter; Thomson, Peter; Lomax, Sabrina

2018-02-28

The use of pain relief during castration and dehorning of calves on commercial beef operations can be limited by constraints associated with the delivery of analgesic agents. As topical anaesthetic (TA) and buccal meloxicam (MEL) are now available in Australia, offering practical analgesic treatments for concurrent castration and dehorning of beef calves, a study was conducted to determine their efficacy in providing pain relief when applied separately or in combination. Weaner calves were randomly allocated to; (1) no castration and dehorning/positive control (CONP); (2) castration and dehorning/negative control (CONN); (3) castration and dehorning with buccal meloxicam (BM); (4) castration and dehorning with topical anaesthetic (TA); and (5) castration and dehorning with buccal meloxicam and topical anaesthetic (BMTA). Weight gain, paddock utilisation, lying activity and individual behaviours following treatment were measured. CONP and BMTA calves had significantly greater weight gain than CONN calves ( p castrated calves spent more time walking ( p = 0.024) and less time eating ( p castration and amputation dehorning.

The future of integrated coal gasification combined cycle power plants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mueller, R.; Termuehlen, H.

1991-01-01

This paper examines the future of integrated coal gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants as affected by various technical, economical and environmental trends in power generation. The topics of the paper include a description of natural gas-fired combined cycle power plants, IGCC plants, coal gasifier concepts, integration of gasifiers into combined cycle power plants, efficiency, environmental impacts, co-products of IGCC power plants, economics of IGCC power plants, and a review of IGCC power plant projects

Topics in supergravity and string theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eastaugh, A.G.

1987-01-01

The first topic covered in this dissertation concerns the harmonic expansion technique and its application to the dimensional compactification of higher dimensional supergravity. A simple example is given to explain the method and then the method is applied to the problem of obtaining the mass spectrum of the squashed seven-sphere compactification of eleven dimensional supergravity. The second topic concerns the application of Fujikawa's method of anomaly calculation to the calculation of the critical dimension of various string models. The third topic is a study and explicit calculation of the Fock space representation of the vertex in Witten's formulation of the interacting open bosonic string field theory

Topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of pain due to soft tissue injury: diclofenac epolamine topical patch

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David R Lionberger

2010-11-01

Full Text Available David R Lionberger1, Michael J Brennan21Southwest Orthopedic Group, Houston, TX, USA; 2Department of Medicine, Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport, CT, USAAbstract: The objective of this article is to review published clinical data on diclofenac epolamine topical patch 1.3% (DETP in the treatment of acute soft tissue injuries, such as strains, sprains, and contusions. Review of published literature on topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs, diclofenac, and DETP in patients with acute soft tissue injuries was included. Relevant literature was identified on MEDLINE using the search terms topical NSAIDs, diclofenac, diclofenac epolamine, acute pain, sports injury, soft tissue injury, strain, sprain, and contusion, and from citations in retrieved articles covering the years 1978–2008. Review of published, randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses shows that topical NSAIDs are significantly more effective than placebo in relieving acute pain; the pooled average relative benefit was 1.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.5–1.9. In a limited number of comparisons, topical and oral NSAIDs provided comparable pain relief, but the use of topical agents produced lower plasma drug concentrations and fewer systemic adverse events (AEs. The physical–chemical properties of diclofenac epolamine make it well suited for topical use. In patients with acute soft tissue injuries treated with DETP, clinical data report an analgesic benefit within hours of the first application, and significant pain relief relative to placebo within 3 days. Moreover, DETP displayed tolerability comparable with placebo; the most common AEs were pruritus and other application site reactions. Review of published literature suggests that DETP is generally safe and well tolerated, clinically efficacious, and a rational treatment option for patients experiencing acute pain associated with strains, sprains, and contusions, and other localized painful conditions

Topics in modern differential geometry

CERN Document Server

Verstraelen, Leopold

2017-01-01

A variety of introductory articles is provided on a wide range of topics, including variational problems on curves and surfaces with anisotropic curvature. Experts in the fields of Riemannian, Lorentzian and contact geometry present state-of-the-art reviews of their topics. The contributions are written on a graduate level and contain extended bibliographies. The ten chapters are the result of various doctoral courses which were held in 2009 and 2010 at universities in Leuven, Serbia, Romania and Spain.

Key Topics in Sports Medicine

OpenAIRE

2006-01-01

Key Topics in Sports Medicine is a single quick reference source for sports and exercise medicine. It presents the essential information from across relevant topic areas, and includes both the core and emerging issues in this rapidly developing field. It covers: 1) Sports injuries, rehabilitation and injury prevention, 2) Exercise physiology, fitness testing and training, 3) Drugs in sport, 4) Exercise and health promotion, 5) Sport and exercise for special and clinical populations, 6) The ps...

Topical Mitomycin-C versus Subconjunctival 5‑Fluorouracil for Management of Bleb Failure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mohammad Pakravan

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: To compare the efficacy and safety of topical mitomycin‑C (MMC drops with that of subconjunctival 5‑fluorouracil (5‑FU injections for management of early bleb failure after trabeculectomy or combined phacoemulsification and trabeculectomy with posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation (PT+PCIOL. Methods: In a randomized comparative study, 37 eyes of 37 patients with impending early bleb failure received MMC 0.02% eye drops for 2 or 4 weeks (19 eyes or subconjunctival 5‑FU injections, 5 mg per dose (18 eyes. Complete success was defined as 5 < IOP ≤ 18 mmHg without medications. Results: Baseline characteristics were comparable between the study groups. However, there were more cases of combined PT+PCIOL in the MMC group [11 (57.9% eyes versus 3 (16.7% eyes, P = 0.017]. Mean preoperative IOP was 20.5΁8.85 mmHg in the MMC group and 25.82΁11.35 mmHg in the 5‑FU group (P = 0.129, which was decreased to 13.2΁6.1 and 10.6΁4.8 mmHg respectively after 12 months (P = 0.159. There was no significant difference between the study groups in terms of bleb extent (P = 0.170, height (P = 0.178 or vascularity (P = 0.366. At the end of the study, complete success was achieved in 13 eyes (68.4% in the MMC group and 14 eyes (77.8% in the 5‑FU group (P = 0.714. The survival of success at 8 months (median follow-up was 89.5% and 86.5% in the MMC and 5‑FU groups respectively; the number of glaucoma medications (P = 0.707 and best-corrected visual acuity (P = 0.550 were also comparable. Complication rates were similar in the study groups (P = 0.140. Conclusion: Topical MMC 0.02% has comparable safety and efficacy to subconjunctival 5‑FU injections for management of early bleb failure. Topical MMC 0.02% drops are more convenient and can be initiated first, while 5‑FU injections may be reserved for eyes with an insufficient response to topical MMC.

Nonlinear optical beam manipulation, beam combining, and atmospheric propagation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fischer, R.A.

1988-01-01

These proceedings collect papers on optics: Topics include: diffraction properties of laser speckle, coherent beam combination by plasma modes, nonlinear responses, deformable mirrors, imaging radiometers, electron beam propagation in inhomogeneous media, and stability of laser beams in a structured environment

Proper balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid supplements with topical cyclosporine attenuated contact lens-related dry eye syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ling; Chen, Xi; Hao, Jingfang; Yang, Lu

2016-12-01

Essential fatty acids had been applied in the treatment of dry eye syndrome (DES), but the effects of different combinations of fatty acids have not been investigated. 360 long-term contact lens wearers were included in this double-blinded study. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids were combined in different ratios and supplied to the participants that were randomly divided into six groups, and the effects of different essential fatty acids mixture on DES with or without topical cyclosporine were investigated. More than half of long-term contact lens wearers suffered from DES, which were found to be attenuated by oral supplement of properly balanced O3FA and O6FA fatty acid. The topical cyclosporine treatment considerably inhibited the production of cytokines compared to the cyclosporine negative groups, which further relieved DES. Proper balance of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid combination significantly alleviated contact lens-related DES.

Salicylic Acid Topical

Science.gov (United States)

... the package label for more information.Apply a small amount of the salicylic acid product to one or two small areas you want to treat for 3 days ... know that children and teenagers who have chicken pox or the flu should not use topical salicylic ...

Efficacy of topical latanoprost versus minoxidil and betamethasone valerate on the treatment of alopecia areata.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Ashmawy, Amal Ahmad; El-Maadawy, Iman Hamed; El-Maghraby, Gamal Mohamed

2018-02-01

Alopecia areata (AA) is one of the most common causes of localized hair loss. There is no universally proven therapy that induces and sustains remission of hair growth in AA. To compare the efficacy and safety of topical latanoprost, minoxidil and betamethasone valerate on hair growth in patients with AA. Hundred patients with AA classified into five groups of 20 treated with: Group I, latanoprost 0.1% lotion; Group II, minoxidil 5% lotion; Group III, betamethasone valerate 0.1% solution; Group IV, combination of latanoprost lotion and betamethasone valerate solution and Group V, a vehicle lotion control group. There was a statistically significant improvement in all therapeutic groups when compared with control group and reduction of severity of alopecia tool score of scalp and beard before and after treatment for all therapeutic groups. Latanoprost, minoxidil and betamethasone valerate are effective and safe in the treatment of patchy AA. The use of latanoprost added to the therapeutic efficacy of topical betamethasone valerate in the treatment of AA and could be an effective adjunctive topical therapy for AA.

Topical report review status. Volume 9, No. 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-02-01

This report provides industry with procedures for submitting topical reports, guidance on how the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) processes and responds to topical report submittals, and an accounting, with review schedules, of all topical reports currently accepted for review by the NRC. This report is published semiannually

Topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of pain due to soft tissue injury: diclofenac epolamine topical patch.

Science.gov (United States)

Lionberger, David R; Brennan, Michael J

2010-11-10

The objective of this article is to review published clinical data on diclofenac epolamine topical patch 1.3% (DETP) in the treatment of acute soft tissue injuries, such as strains, sprains, and contusions. Review of published literature on topical nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), diclofenac, and DETP in patients with acute soft tissue injuries was included. Relevant literature was identified on MEDLINE using the search terms topical NSAIDs, diclofenac, diclofenac epolamine, acute pain, sports injury, soft tissue injury, strain, sprain, and contusion, and from citations in retrieved articles covering the years 1978-2008. Review of published, randomized clinical trials and meta-analyses shows that topical NSAIDs are significantly more effective than placebo in relieving acute pain; the pooled average relative benefit was 1.7 (95% confidence interval, 1.5-1.9). In a limited number of comparisons, topical and oral NSAIDs provided comparable pain relief, but the use of topical agents produced lower plasma drug concentrations and fewer systemic adverse events (AEs). The physical-chemical properties of diclofenac epolamine make it well suited for topical use. In patients with acute soft tissue injuries treated with DETP, clinical data report an analgesic benefit within hours of the first application, and significant pain relief relative to placebo within 3 days. Moreover, DETP displayed tolerability comparable with placebo; the most common AEs were pruritus and other application site reactions. Review of published literature suggests that DETP is generally safe and well tolerated, clinically efficacious, and a rational treatment option for patients experiencing acute pain associated with strains, sprains, and contusions, and other localized painful conditions.

Combination chemoprevention with diclofenac, calcipotriol and difluoromethylornithine inhibits development of non-melanoma skin cancer in mice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pommergaard, Hans-Christian; Burcharth, Jakob; Rosenberg, Jacob

2013-01-01

Background/Aim: With increasing incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), focus on chemoprevention of this disease is growing. The aim of this study was to evaluate topical combination therapies as chemoprevention of UV radiation-induced tumors in a mouse model.......Background/Aim: With increasing incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), focus on chemoprevention of this disease is growing. The aim of this study was to evaluate topical combination therapies as chemoprevention of UV radiation-induced tumors in a mouse model....

Topical treatment of psoriasis: questionnaire results on topical therapy accessibility and influence of body surface area on usage

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Iversen, L.; Lange, M.M. De; Bissonette, R.; Carvalho, A.V.E.; Kerkhof, P.C.M. van de; Kirby, B.; Kleyn, C.E.; Lynde, C.W.; Walt, J.M. van der; Wu, J.J.

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Topical treatment of mild to moderate psoriasis is first-line treatment and exhibits varying degrees of success across patient groups. Key factors influencing treatment success are physician topical treatment choice (high efficacy, low adverse events) and strict patient adherence.

Hot topics: Signal processing in acoustics

Science.gov (United States)

Gaumond, Charles F.

2005-09-01

Signal processing in acoustics is a multidisciplinary group of people that work in many areas of acoustics. We have chosen two areas that have shown exciting new applications of signal processing to acoustics or have shown exciting and important results from the use of signal processing. In this session, two hot topics are shown: the use of noiselike acoustic fields to determine sound propagation structure and the use of localization to determine animal behaviors. The first topic shows the application of correlation on geo-acoustic fields to determine the Greens function for propagation through the Earth. These results can then be further used to solve geo-acoustic inverse problems. The first topic also shows the application of correlation using oceanic noise fields to determine the Greens function through the ocean. These results also have utility for oceanic inverse problems. The second topic shows exciting results from the detection, localization, and tracking of marine mammals by two different groups. Results from detection and localization of bullfrogs are shown, too. Each of these studies contributed to the knowledge of animal behavior. [Work supported by ONR.

Topical Valproate Solution for Hair Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anil Kakunje

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Valproate is used regularly in the treatment of various seizure disorders, bipolar disorder, migraine prophylaxis and off label in many other conditions. Alopecia or hair loss is cosmetic side effect of oral valproate administration. Hair loss with valproate is diffused, non-scarring and dose related. A large number of drugs may interfere with the hair cycle and produce hair loss. We have only a few drugs like Minoxidil, Finasteride used for hair regeneration and both have its own side effects and limitations. In contrast to oral ingestions of valproate causing hair loss, early experiments with topical Valproic acid cream showed hair regeneration. Valproic acid cream is currently unavailable in the market, alternatively, we do have valproate and divalproex solutions available in various strengths which have a potential to be used topically for hair regeneration. The side effects and cost of topical valproate solution could be much less than the available options in the market. Valproate solution topically has the potential to be used for hair growth.

Antimicrobial efficacy of oral topical agents on microorganisms associated with radiated head and neck cancer patients: an in vitro study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bidra, Avinash S; Tarrand, Jeffery J; Roberts, Dianna B; Rolston, Kenneth V; Chambers, Mark S

2011-04-01

A variety of oral topical agents have been used for prevention and management of radiotherapy-induced adverse effects. The antimicrobial nature of some of the commonly used agents is unknown. The purpose of this study was to evaluate antimicrobial efficacies of various oral topical agents on common microorganisms associated with radiated head and neck cancer patients. Seven commonly used topical oral agents-0.12% chlorhexidine with alcohol, 0.12% chlorhexidine without alcohol, baking soda-salt rinse, 0.4% stannous fluoride gel, 0.63% stannous fluoride rinse, calcium phosphate mouthrinse, and acemannan hydrogel (aloe vera) rinse-were evaluated in vitro for their antimicrobial efficacies against four common microorganisms. A combination of baking soda-salt rinse and 0.4% stannous fluoride gel was evaluated as the eighth agent. The microorganisms used were Staphylococcus aureus, group B Streptococcus, Escherichia coli, and Candida albicans. An ELISA reader was used to measure the turbidity of microbial culture wells and optical density (OD) values for each of the 960 wells recorded. Mean OD values were rank ordered based on their turbidity. One-way ANOVA with Tukey HSD post hoc analysis was used to study differences in OD values (P baking soda- salt, calcium phosphate rinse, and the combination of baking soda-salt and stannous fluoride gel. Mean OD values classified for microorganisms from lowest to highest were Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, group B Streptococcus, and Candida albicans. A significant difference among the antimicrobial efficacies of topical agents was evident for each of four microorganisms (P < .05). There was also a significant difference among the antimicrobial efficacies of the same topical agent on the four microorganisms tested (P < .05).

Efficient genome-wide association in biobanks using topic modeling identifies multiple novel disease loci.

Science.gov (United States)

McCoy, Thomas H; Castro, Victor M; Snapper, Leslie A; Hart, Kamber L; Perlis, Roy H

2017-08-31

Biobanks and national registries represent a powerful tool for genomic discovery, but rely on diagnostic codes that may be unreliable and fail to capture the relationship between related diagnoses. We developed an efficient means of conducting genome-wide association studies using combinations of diagnostic codes from electronic health records (EHR) for 10845 participants in a biobanking program at two large academic medical centers. Specifically, we applied latent Dirichilet allocation to fit 50 disease topics based on diagnostic codes, then conducted genome-wide common-variant association for each topic. In sensitivity analysis, these results were contrasted with those obtained from traditional single-diagnosis phenome-wide association analysis, as well as those in which only a subset of diagnostic codes are included per topic. In meta-analysis across three biobank cohorts, we identified 23 disease-associated loci with p<1e-15, including previously associated autoimmune disease loci. In all cases, observed significant associations were of greater magnitude than for single phenome-wide diagnostic codes, and incorporation of less strongly-loading diagnostic codes enhanced association. This strategy provides a more efficient means of phenome-wide association in biobanks with coded clinical data.

Topics on continua

CERN Document Server

Macias, Sergio

2005-01-01

Specialized as it might be, continuum theory is one of the most intriguing areas in mathematics. However, despite being popular journal fare, few books have thoroughly explored this interesting aspect of topology. In Topics on Continua, Sergio Macías, one of the field's leading scholars, presents four of his favorite continuum topics: inverse limits, Jones's set function T, homogenous continua, and n-fold hyperspaces, and in doing so, presents the most complete set of theorems and proofs ever contained in a single topology volume. Many of the results presented have previously appeared only in research papers, and some appear here for the first time. After building the requisite background and exploring the inverse limits of continua, the discussions focus on Professor Jones''s set function T and continua for which T is continuous. An introduction to topological groups and group actions lead to a proof of Effros''s Theorem, followed by a presentation of two decomposition theorems. The author then offers an...

Topical cholesterol in clofazimine induced ichthyosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pandey S

1994-01-01

Full Text Available Topical application of 10% cholesterol in petrolatum significantly (P< 0.05 controlled the development of ichthyosis in 62 patients taking 100 mg clofazimine daily for a period of 3 months. However, topical cholesterol application did not affect the lowering of serum cholesterol induced by oral clofazimine. Probable mechanism of action is being discussed.

Baby Health Checkup: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... Know (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - PDF Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Baby Health Checkup ... GO MEDICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA Well-child visits Related Health Topics Childhood Immunization Common Infant and Newborn Problems Infant ...

Laser Eye Surgery: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... corneal surgery - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Laser Eye Surgery ... surgery - what to ask your doctor Related Health Topics Refractive Errors National Institutes of Health The primary ...

Child Mental Health: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... events and children (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Child Mental Health ... in childhood Traumatic events and children Related Health Topics Bullying Child Behavior Disorders Mental Disorders Mental Health ...

Bone Marrow Transplantation: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... marrow transplant - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Bone Marrow Transplantation ... transplant - slideshow Graft-versus-host disease Related Health Topics Bone Marrow Diseases Stem Cells National Institutes of ...

Nutrition for Seniors: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... America) National Institute on Aging Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Nutrition for Seniors updates by email What's this? GO Related Health Topics Nutrition Seniors' Health National Institutes of Health The ...

Blood Count Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... Spanish WBC count (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Blood Count Tests ... WBC count Show More Show Less Related Health Topics Bleeding Disorders Blood Laboratory Tests National Institutes of ...

Hormone Replacement Therapy: MedlinePlus Health Topic

Science.gov (United States)

... of hormone therapy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Hormone Replacement Therapy ... Estrogen overdose Types of hormone therapy Related Health Topics Menopause National Institutes of Health The primary NIH ...

Topics in millimeter wave technology

CERN Document Server

Button, Kenneth

1988-01-01

Topics in Millimeter Wave Technology, Volume 1 presents topics related to millimeter wave technology, including fin-lines and passive components realized in fin-lines, suspended striplines, suspended substrate microstrips, and modal power exchange in multimode fibers. A miniaturized monopulse assembly constructed in planar waveguide with multimode scalar horn feeds is also described. This volume is comprised of five chapters; the first of which deals with the analysis and synthesis techniques for fin-lines as well as the various passive components realized in fin-line. Tapers, discontinuities,

Under Persistent Assault: Understanding the Factors that Deteriorate Human Skin and Clinical Efficacy of Topical Antioxidants in Treating Aging Skin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Patricia K. Farris

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Recent studies contend that the skin is subject to far more damage than just ultraviolet (UV light, with infrared radiation and pollution now clearly demonstrated to degrade cutaneous tissue. While consumers continue to strive for new ways to augment the aesthetic appeal and improve the health of their skin, awareness regarding environmental insults and effective ways to protect the skin remains low. New advances in dermatologic science have exponentially increased the available information on the underlying mechanism of cutaneous damage and potential of topical antioxidants to treat aging skin. Combining antioxidants that can work through multiple pathways holds great potential for a cumulative and synergistic way to treat aging skin. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive review on environmental factors that damage human skin, discuss scientifically proven benefits of topical antioxidants, understand challenges of formulating and administering topical antioxidants, evaluate novel mechanisms of antioxidant activity, and suggest practical ways of integrating topical antioxidants with aesthetic procedures to complement clinical outcomes.

Topical report review status. Volume 7, No. 2

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1984-11-01

Purpose of this document is to provide periodic progress reports of on-going topical report reviews, to identify those topical reports for which the NRC staff review has been completed and those which are under review and to provide NRC management with sufficient information regarding the conduct of the topical report program to permit taking whatever actions are deemed necessary or appropriate. This document is also intended to be a source of information to NRC Licensing Project Managers and other NRC personnel regarding the status of topical reports which may be referenced in applications for which they have responsibility

Development and Evaluation of Topical Gabapentin Formulations

Science.gov (United States)

Alcock, Natalie; Hiom, Sarah; Birchall, James C.

2017-01-01

Topical delivery of gabapentin is desirable to treat peripheral neuropathic pain conditions whilst avoiding systemic side effects. To date, reports of topical gabapentin delivery in vitro have been variable and dependent on the skin model employed, primarily involving rodent and porcine models. In this study a variety of topical gabapentin formulations were investigated, including Carbopol® hydrogels containing various permeation enhancers, and a range of proprietary bases including a compounded Lipoderm® formulation; furthermore microneedle facilitated delivery was used as a positive control. Critically, permeation of gabapentin across a human epidermal membrane in vitro was assessed using Franz-type diffusion cells. Subsequently this data was contextualised within the wider scope of the literature. Although reports of topical gabapentin delivery have been shown to vary, largely dependent upon the skin model used, this study demonstrated that 6% (w/w) gabapentin 0.75% (w/w) Carbopol® hydrogels containing 5% (w/w) DMSO or 70% (w/w) ethanol and a compounded 10% (w/w) gabapentin Lipoderm® formulation were able to facilitate permeation of the molecule across human skin. Further pre-clinical and clinical studies are required to investigate the topical delivery performance and pharmacodynamic actions of prospective formulations. PMID:28867811

Selected topics in nuclear structure

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Solov` ev, V G; Gromov, K Ya; Malov, L A; Shilov, V M

1994-12-31

The Fourth International Conference on selected topics in nuclear structure was held at Dubna in July 1994 on recent experimental and theoretical investigations in nuclear structure. Topics discussed were the following: nuclear structure at low-energy excitations (collective quasiparticle phenomena, proton-neutron interactions, microscopic and phenomenological theories of nuclear structure; nuclear structure studies with charged particles). heavy ions, neutrons and photons; nuclei at high angular momenta and superdeformation, structure and decay properties of giant resonances, charge-exchange resonances and {beta}-decay; semiclassical approach of large amplitude collective motion and structure of hot nuclei.

Topics in current aerosol research

CERN Document Server

Hidy, G M

1971-01-01

Topics in Current Aerosol Research deals with the fundamental aspects of aerosol science, with emphasis on experiment and theory describing highly dispersed aerosols (HDAs) as well as the dynamics of charged suspensions. Topics covered range from the basic properties of HDAs to their formation and methods of generation; sources of electric charges; interactions between fluid and aerosol particles; and one-dimensional motion of charged cloud of particles. This volume is comprised of 13 chapters and begins with an introduction to the basic properties of HDAs, followed by a discussion on the form

Selected topics in nuclear structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Solov'ev, V.G.; Gromov, K.Ya.; Malov, L.A.; Shilov, V.M.

1994-01-01

The Fourth International Conference on selected topics in nuclear structure was held at Dubna in July 1994 on recent experimental and theoretical investigations in nuclear structure. Topics discussed were the following: nuclear structure at low-energy excitations (collective quasiparticle phenomena, proton-neutron interactions, microscopic and phenomenological theories of nuclear structure; nuclear structure studies with charged particles. heavy ions, neutrons and photons; nuclei at high angular momenta and superdeformation, structure and decay properties of giant resonances, charge-exchange resonances and β-decay; semiclassical approach of large amplitude collective motion and structure of hot nuclei

Topical Antibacterials and Global Challenges on Resistance ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

skin infections can be easily treated with topical antibacterial medication that is available over the counter or by ... infection in minor cut or burn, eyes and ear infection [5]. .... Sensitive/dry skin ... includes both oral and topical antibiotics, but.

Topical phenytoin for treating pressure ulcers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Xiang Yong; Li, Hong Ling; Su, He; Cai, Hui; Guo, Tian Kang; Liu, Ruifeng; Jiang, Lei; Shen, Yan Fei

2017-02-22

Pressure ulcers are common in clinical practice and pose a significant health problem worldwide. Apart from causing suffering to patients, they also result in longer hospital stays and increase the cost of health care. A variety of methods are used for treating pressure ulcers, including pressure relief, patient repositioning, biophysical strategies, nutritional supplementation, debridement, topical negative pressure, and local treatments including dressings, ointments and creams such as bacitracin, silver sulphadiazine, neomycin, and phenytoin. Phenytoin is a drug more commonly used in the treatment of epilepsy, but may play an important role in accelerating ulcer healing. To assess the effects of topical phenytoin on the rate of healing of pressure ulcers of any grade, in any care setting. In September 2016, we searched the following electronic databases to identify relevant randomized clinical trials: the Cochrane Wounds Specialised Register; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL; the Cochrane Library); Ovid MEDLINE; Ovid Embase; and EBSCO CINAHL Plus. We handsearched conference proceedings from the European Pressure Ulcer Advisory Panel, European Wound Management Association and the Tissue Viability Society for all available years. We searched the references of the retrieved trials to identify further relevant trials. We also searched clinical trials registries to identify ongoing and unpublished studies. There were no restrictions with respect to language, date of publication or study setting. We included all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) addressing the effects (both benefits and harms) of topical phenytoin on the healing of pressure ulcers of any grade compared with placebo or alternative treatments or no therapy, irrespective of blinding, language, and publication status. Two review authors independently selected studies, extracted information on participants, interventions, methods and results and assessed risk of bias using

Topics in Finance Part VII--Dividend Policy

Science.gov (United States)

Laux, Judy

2011-01-01

This series inspects the major topics in finance, reviewing the roles of stockholder wealth maximization, the risk-return tradeoff, and agency conflicts. The current article, devoted to dividend policy, also reviews the topic as presented in textbooks and the literature.

Topics in Nuclear Astrophysics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chung, K.C.

1982-01-01

Some topics in nuclear astrophysics are discussed, e.g.: highly evolved stellar cores, stellar evolution (through the temperature analysis of stellar surface), nucleosynthesis and finally the solar neutrino problem. (L.C.) [pt

[Combine fats products: methodic opportunities of it identification].

Science.gov (United States)

Viktorova, E V; Kulakova, S N; Mikhaĭlov, N A

2006-01-01

At present time very topical problem is falsification of milk fat. The number of methods was considered to detection of milk fat authention and possibilities his difference from combined fat products. The analysis of modern approaches to valuation of milk fat authention has showed that the main method for detection of fat nature is gas chromatography analysis. The computer method of express identification of fat products is proposed for quick getting of information about accessory of examine fat to nature milk or combined fat product.

Case Of Iatrogenic Cushing's Syndrome By Topical Triamcinolone.

Science.gov (United States)

Zil-E-Ali, Ahsan; Janjua, Omer Hanif; Latif, Aiza; Aadil, Muhammad

2018-01-01

Cushing's syndrome is a collection of signs and symptoms due to hypercortisolism. Prolong use of topical steroid may cause this syndrome and suppression of hypothalamic and pituitary function, however such events are more common with oral and parenteral route. There are very few cases of Cushing's syndrome with a topical application amongst which triamcinolone is the rarest drug. We report a case of 11-year-old boy is presented who developed Cushing's disease by topical application. The child had body rashes for which the caregiver consulted a local quack, a topical cream of triamcinolone was prescribed. After application for three months, the patient became obese and developed a moon-like face. A thorough biochemical workup and diagnostic test for Cushing's disease was done to confirm. The following case report a dramatic example of development of the syndrome from chronic topical application of the least potent corticosteroid.

Interpretable Topic Features for Post-ICU Mortality Prediction.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yen-Fu; Rumshisky, Anna

2016-01-01

Electronic health records provide valuable resources for understanding the correlation between various diseases and mortality. The analysis of post-discharge mortality is critical for healthcare professionals to follow up potential causes of death after a patient is discharged from the hospital and give prompt treatment. Moreover, it may reduce the cost derived from readmissions and improve the quality of healthcare. Our work focused on post-discharge ICU mortality prediction. In addition to features derived from physiological measurements, we incorporated ICD-9-CM hierarchy into Bayesian topic model learning and extracted topic features from medical notes. We achieved highest AUCs of 0.835 and 0.829 for 30-day and 6-month post-discharge mortality prediction using baseline and topic proportions derived from Labeled-LDA. Moreover, our work emphasized the interpretability of topic features derived from topic model which may facilitates the understanding and investigation of the complexity between mortality and diseases.

Exploring Topic Structure: Coherence, Diversity and Relatedness

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. He (Jiyin)

2011-01-01

htmlabstractThe use of topical information has long been studied in the context of information retrieval. For example, grouping search results into topical categories enables more effective information presentation to users, while grouping documents in a collection can lead to efficient information

topicmodels: An R Package for Fitting Topic Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina Grun

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Topic models allow the probabilistic modeling of term frequency occurrences in documents. The fitted model can be used to estimate the similarity between documents as well as between a set of specified keywords using an additional layer of latent variables which are referred to as topics. The R package topicmodels provides basic infrastructure for fitting topic models based on data structures from the text mining package tm. The package includes interfaces to two algorithms for fitting topic models: the variational expectation-maximization algorithm provided by David M. Blei and co-authors and an algorithm using Gibbs sampling by Xuan-Hieu Phan and co-authors.

Topical Research: Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Lynn, Karen

This lesson plan can be used in social studies, language arts, or library research. The instructional objective is for students to select a topic of study relating to Africa, write a thesis statement, collect information from media sources, and develop a conclusion. The teacher may assign the lesson for written or oral evaluation. The teacher…

Topic structure affects semantic integration: evidence from event-related potentials.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Xiaohong; Chen, Xuhai; Chen, Shuang; Xu, Xiaoying; Yang, Yufang

2013-01-01

This study investigated whether semantic integration in discourse context could be influenced by topic structure using event-related brain potentials. Participants read discourses in which the last sentence contained a critical word that was either congruent or incongruent with the topic established in the first sentence. The intervening sentences between the first and the last sentence of the discourse either maintained or shifted the original topic. Results showed that incongruent words in topic-maintained discourses elicited an N400 effect that was broadly distributed over the scalp while those in topic-shifted discourses elicited an N400 effect that was lateralized to the right hemisphere and localized over central and posterior areas. Moreover, a late positivity effect was only elicited by incongruent words in topic-shifted discourses, but not in topic-maintained discourses. This suggests an important role for discourse structure in semantic integration, such that compared with topic-maintained discourses, the complexity of discourse structure in topic-shifted condition reduces the initial stage of semantic integration and enhances the later stage in which a mental representation is updated.

Diclofenac Topical (osteoarthritis pain)

Science.gov (United States)

... gel (Voltaren) is used to relieve pain from osteoarthritis (arthritis caused by a breakdown of the lining ... Diclofenac topical liquid (Pennsaid) is used to relieve osteoarthritis pain in the knees. Diclofenac is in a ...

Diclofenac Topical (actinic keratosis)

Science.gov (United States)

... topical gel (Solaraze) is used to treat actinic keratosis (flat, scaly growths on the skin caused by ... The way diclofenac gel works to treat actinic keratosis is not known.Diclofenac is also available as ...

Digital Social Network Mining for Topic Discovery

Science.gov (United States)

Moradianzadeh, Pooya; Mohi, Maryam; Sadighi Moshkenani, Mohsen

Networked computers are expanding more and more around the world, and digital social networks becoming of great importance for many people's work and leisure. This paper mainly focused on discovering the topic of exchanging information in digital social network. In brief, our method is to use a hierarchical dictionary of related topics and words that mapped to a graph. Then, with comparing the extracted keywords from the context of social network with graph nodes, probability of relation between context and desired topics will be computed. This model can be used in many applications such as advertising, viral marketing and high-risk group detection.

Development and Evaluation of Topical Gabapentin Formulations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher J. Martin

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Topical delivery of gabapentin is desirable to treat peripheral neuropathic pain conditions whilst avoiding systemic side effects. To date, reports of topical gabapentin delivery in vitro have been variable and dependent on the skin model employed, primarily involving rodent and porcine models. In this study a variety of topical gabapentin formulations were investigated, including Carbopol® hydrogels containing various permeation enhancers, and a range of proprietary bases including a compounded Lipoderm® formulation; furthermore microneedle facilitated delivery was used as a positive control. Critically, permeation of gabapentin across a human epidermal membrane in vitro was assessed using Franz-type diffusion cells. Subsequently this data was contextualised within the wider scope of the literature. Although reports of topical gabapentin delivery have been shown to vary, largely dependent upon the skin model used, this study demonstrated that 6% (w/w gabapentin 0.75% (w/w Carbopol® hydrogels containing 5% (w/w DMSO or 70% (w/w ethanol and a compounded 10% (w/w gabapentin Lipoderm® formulation were able to facilitate permeation of the molecule across human skin. Further pre-clinical and clinical studies are required to investigate the topical delivery performance and pharmacodynamic actions of prospective formulations.

Antimicrobial topical agents used in the vagina.

Science.gov (United States)

Frey Tirri, Brigitte

2011-01-01

Vaginally applied antimicrobial agents are widely used in the vagina in women with lower genital tract infections. An 'antimicrobial' is a general term that refers to a group of drugs that are effective against bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa. Topical treatments can be prescribed for a wide variety of vaginal infections. Many bacterial infections, such as bacterial vaginosis, desquamative inflammatory vaginitis or, as some European authors call it, aerobic vaginitis as well as infection with Staphylococcus aureus or group A streptococci, may be treated in this way. Candida vulvovaginitis is a fungal infection that is very amenable to topical treatment. The most common viral infections which can be treated with topical medications are condylomata acuminata and herpes simplex. The most often encountered protozoal vaginitis, which is caused by Trichomonas vaginalis, may be susceptible to topical medications, although this infection is treated systemically. This chapter covers the wide variety of commonly used topical antimicrobial agents for these diseases and focuses on the individual therapeutic agents and their clinical efficacy. In addition, potential difficulties that can occur in practice, as well as the usage of these medications in the special setting of pregnancy, are described in this chapter. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Which inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting β-agonist combination is better in patients with moderate-to-severe asthma, a dry powder inhaler or a pressurized metered-dose inhaler?

Science.gov (United States)

Muraki, Masato; Gose, Kyuya; Hanada, Soichiro; Sawaguchi, Hirochiyo; Tohda, Yuji

2017-11-01

Two main types of devices are used to facilitate the administration of inhaled corticosteroid (ICS) and long-acting β-agonist (LABA) in combination, dry powder inhalers (DPIs) and pressurized metered-dose inhalers (pMDIs). There are few reports comparing the effects of the two devices, and it is unknown which should be recommended for asthma patients with given sets of characteristics. In the current study, the beneficial effects and side effects associated with DPIs and pMDIs were compared, and the question of which device should be recommended for asthma patients was investigated. A prospective, randomized, crossover, comparative study in adult outpatients with asthma was conducted using salmeterol/fluticasone propionate combination (SFC) 50 μg/250 μg, one inhalation of Adoair ® 250 Diskus ® twice daily or two inhalations of Adoair ® 125 Aerosol twice daily, for 8 weeks. Questionnaires, exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) tests and pulmonary function tests were administered after the use of each device for 8 weeks, and the results derived from each device were compared. Sixty-eight subjects were included in the final analysis. There were no significant differences between quality-of-life scores, FeNO, spirometry test results and forced oscillation results. With regard to patient preferences, 57.4% preferred the Adoair ® Aerosol and 35.3% preferred the Adoair ® Diskus ® , as determined via the comparative evaluation questionnaire. Although DPI prescription accounts for the predominant market share of combined ICS/LABA in Japan, patients preferred a pMDI device to a DPI device. Compared to DPIs, pMDIs may be the preferential choice for patients with asthma.

Influence of input matrix representation on topic modelling performance

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

De Waal, A

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Topic models explain a collection of documents with a small set of distributions over terms. These distributions over terms define the topics. Topic models ignore the structure of documents and use a bag-of-words approach which relies solely...

Two-Port Pars Plana Anterior and Central Core Vitrectomy (Lam Floaterectomy) in Combination With Phacoemulsification and Intraocular Lens Implantation Under Topical Anesthesia for Patients with Cataract and Significant Floaters: Results of the First 50 Consecutive Cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Lam, Dennis S C; Leung, Hiu Ying; Liu, Shu; Radke, Nishant; Yuan, Ye; Lee, Vincent Y W

2017-01-01

To study the safety and efficacy of 2-port pars plana anterior and central core vitrectomy (Lam floaterectomy) in combination with phacoemulsification (phaco) and intraocular lens implantation (IOL) for patients with cataract and significant floaters under topical anesthesia. Retrospective review of the first 50 consecutive cases. A standardized treatment protocol was used for patients with cataract and significant (moderate to severe) floaters (duration > 3 months). Data analysis included intraoperative and postoperative complications, floater status, and patient satisfaction. There were 50 eyes (38 patients) with a male-to-female ratio of 1 to 2.3. Twelve patients had bilateral eye surgeries. Mean age was 58.10 ± 9.85 years (range, 39-83). All patients completed the 3-month follow-up. One eye had mild vitreous hemorrhage at the end of surgery arising from sclerotomy wound oozing. No other intraoperative compli-cations were encountered. Postoperatively, there was 1 case of transient hypotony and 1 case of congestion at sclerotomy wound. No cases of retinal break or detachment, or clinically significant macular edema, were reported. There were 5 cases (10%) of mild residual floaters and 1 case (2%) of floater recurrence. Total floater clearance rate was 88%. Patient satisfaction rates were 80%, 14%, 6%, and 0% for very satisfied, satis-fied, acceptable, and unsatisfied, respectively. The 3-month results in terms of safety and efficacy of the Lam floaterectomy in combination with phaco and IOLfor patients with cataract and significant floaters under topical anesthesia are encouraging. Further larger-scale, prospective, multicenter studies seem warranted. Copyright© 2017 Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology.

Topical methotrexate pretreatment enhances the therapeutic effect of topical 5-aminolevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy on hamster buccal pouch precancers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deng-Fu Yang

2014-09-01

Conclusion: We conclude that topical MTX-pretreatment can increase intracellular PpIX production in hamster buccal pouch precancerous lesions and significantly improves the outcomes of the precancerous lesions treated with topical ALA-PDT.

A Data-Based Approach to Discovering Multi-Topic Influential Leaders.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xing Tang

Full Text Available Recently, increasing numbers of users have adopted microblogging services as their main information source. However, most of them find themselves drowning in the millions of posts produced by other users every day. To cope with this, identifying a set of the most influential people is paramount. Moreover, finding a set of related influential users to expand the coverage of one particular topic is required in real world scenarios. Most of the existing algorithms in this area focus on topology-related methods such as PageRank. These methods mine link structures to find the expected influential rank of users. However, because they ignore the interaction data, these methods turn out to be less effective in social networks. In reality, a variety of topics exist within the information diffusing through the network. Because they have different interests, users play different roles in the diffusion of information related to different topics. As a result, distinguishing influential leaders according to different topics is also worthy of research. In this paper, we propose a multi-topic influence diffusion model (MTID based on traces acquired from historic information. We decompose the influential scores of users into two parts: the direct influence determined by information propagation along the link structure and indirect influence that extends beyond the restrictions of direct follower relationships. To model the network from a multi-topical viewpoint, we introduce topic pools, each of which represents a particular topic information source. Then, we extract the topic distributions from the traces of tweets, determining the influence propagation probability and content generation probability. In the network, we adopt multiple ground nodes representing topic pools to connect every user through bidirectional links. Based on this multi-topical view of the network, we further introduce the topic-dependent rank (TD-Rank algorithm to identify the multi-topic

A Data-Based Approach to Discovering Multi-Topic Influential Leaders.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Xing; Miao, Qiguang; Yu, Shangshang; Quan, Yining

2016-01-01

Recently, increasing numbers of users have adopted microblogging services as their main information source. However, most of them find themselves drowning in the millions of posts produced by other users every day. To cope with this, identifying a set of the most influential people is paramount. Moreover, finding a set of related influential users to expand the coverage of one particular topic is required in real world scenarios. Most of the existing algorithms in this area focus on topology-related methods such as PageRank. These methods mine link structures to find the expected influential rank of users. However, because they ignore the interaction data, these methods turn out to be less effective in social networks. In reality, a variety of topics exist within the information diffusing through the network. Because they have different interests, users play different roles in the diffusion of information related to different topics. As a result, distinguishing influential leaders according to different topics is also worthy of research. In this paper, we propose a multi-topic influence diffusion model (MTID) based on traces acquired from historic information. We decompose the influential scores of users into two parts: the direct influence determined by information propagation along the link structure and indirect influence that extends beyond the restrictions of direct follower relationships. To model the network from a multi-topical viewpoint, we introduce topic pools, each of which represents a particular topic information source. Then, we extract the topic distributions from the traces of tweets, determining the influence propagation probability and content generation probability. In the network, we adopt multiple ground nodes representing topic pools to connect every user through bidirectional links. Based on this multi-topical view of the network, we further introduce the topic-dependent rank (TD-Rank) algorithm to identify the multi-topic influential users

The clinical effect of JetpPeel-assisted topical minoxidil in the treatment of androgenetic alopecia: A randomized pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Lin; Bao, Linlin; Tian, Tian; Li, Yuanhong

2018-02-01

We used JetPeel, combined with topical minoxidil to treat patients with AGA, in order to observe whether the JetPeel can accelerate the recovery of the disease and find a new method for AGA treatment. Thirty patients who met the standard were included in the study. The patients were randomly divided into three groups. The first group was treated with JetPeel-assisted topical minoxidil. The second group received topical minoxidil monotherapy. The third group was not given any treatment. We used objective evaluation (amount and diameter of hair, oil secretion level) and subjective evaluation (hair growth score marked by dermatologist and patient) to evaluate the hair growth condition before treatment and every other month. The calculated p values of less than 0.05 were accepted as significant. All of the 30 patients finished the study. There was no difference in age, sex, and duration and severity of the disease among groups prior to treatment (p > 0.05). And there was greater improvement in scores of hair growth in the first group compared to the second and third group, which was statistically significant (p topical minoxidil monotherapy, JetPeel-assisted topical minoxidil is more effective during the treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

Topical melatonin for treatment of androgenetic alopecia.

Science.gov (United States)

Fischer, Tobias W; Trüeb, Ralph M; Hänggi, Gabriella; Innocenti, Marcello; Elsner, Peter

2012-10-01

In the search for alternative agents to oral finasteride and topical minoxidil for the treatment of androgenetic alopecia (AGA), melatonin, a potent antioxidant and growth modulator, was identified as a promising candidate based on in vitro and in vivo studies. One pharmacodynamic study on topical application of melatonin and four clinical pre-post studies were performed in patients with androgenetic alopecia or general hair loss and evaluated by standardised questionnaires, TrichoScan, 60-second hair count test and hair pull test. FIVE CLINICAL STUDIES SHOWED POSITIVE EFFECTS OF A TOPICAL MELATONIN SOLUTION IN THE TREATMENT OF AGA IN MEN AND WOMEN WHILE SHOWING GOOD TOLERABILITY: (1) Pharmacodynamics under once-daily topical application in the evening showed no significant influence on endogenous serum melatonin levels. (2) An observational study involving 30 men and women showed a significant reduction in the degree of severity of alopecia after 30 and 90 days (P melatonin solution can be considered as a treatment option in androgenetic alopecia.

Interactional Organization and Topic Control in Conciliation Hearings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wânia Terezinha Ladeira

2011-07-01

Full Text Available We analyse discursive topic in talk-in-interaction within the institutional setting of three conciliation hearings held in a kind of small claims court for consumption conflict resolution. This research is based on Interactional Sociolinguistics and Conversation Analysis theories. The analysis shows that the participants of those meetings have asymmetric rights regarding the choice of discussion topics. Thus, the mediator is the one who has the right to suggest and control the discursive topics of the conversation. This topic control is the most important institutional procedure that can cause a reduction in accusations and adjacent replies. Consequently, the chance of mediators achieving their institutional task of reaching an agreement between parts in conflict is increased.

The use of compound topical anesthetics: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Kravitz, Neal D

2007-10-01

The author reviewed the history of, federal regulations regarding, risks of and adverse drug reactions of five compound topical anesthetics: tetracaine, adrenaline/epinephrine and cocaine (TAC); lidocaine, adrenaline/epinephrine and tetracaine (LET); lidocaine, tetracaine and phenylephrine (TAC 20 percent Alternate); lidocaine, prilocaine and tetracaine (Profound); and lidocaine, prilocaine, tetracaine and phenylephrine with thickeners (Profound PET). The author reviewed clinical trials, case reports, descriptive articles, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and recent public advisory warnings regarding the federal approval of and risks associated with the use of compound topical anesthetics. Compound topical anesthetics are neither FDA-regulated nor -unregulated. Some compounding pharmacies bypass the new FDA drug approval process, which is based on reliable scientific data and ensures that a marketed drug is safe, effective, properly manufactured and accurately labeled. Two deaths have been attributed to the lay use of compound topical anesthetics. In response, the FDA has announced the strengthening of its efforts against unapproved drug products. Compound topical anesthetics may be an effective alternative to local infiltration for some minimally invasive dental procedures; however, legitimate concerns exist in regard to their safety. Until they become federally regulated, compound topical anesthetics remain unapproved drug products whose benefits may not outweigh their risks for dental patients.

Topical Apigenin Alleviates Cutaneous Inflammation in Murine Models

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mao-Qiang Man

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Herbal medicines have been used in preventing and treating skin disorders for centuries. It has been demonstrated that systemic administration of chrysanthemum extract exhibits anti-inflammatory properties. However, whether topical applications of apigenin, a constituent of chrysanthemum extract, influence cutaneous inflammation is still unclear. In the present study, we first tested whether topical applications of apigenin alleviate cutaneous inflammation in murine models of acute dermatitis. The murine models of acute allergic contact dermatitis and acute irritant contact dermatitis were established by topical application of oxazolone and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (TPA, respectively. Inflammation was assessed in both dermatitis models by measuring ear thickness. Additionally, the effect of apigenin on stratum corneum function in a murine subacute allergic contact dermatitis model was assessed with an MPA5 physiology monitor. Our results demonstrate that topical applications of apigenin exhibit therapeutic effects in both acute irritant contact dermatitis and allergic contact dermatitis models. Moreover, in comparison with the vehicle treatment, topical apigenin treatment significantly reduced transepidermal water loss, lowered skin surface pH, and increased stratum corneum hydration in a subacute murine allergic contact dermatitis model. Together, these results suggest that topical application of apigenin could provide an alternative regimen for the treatment of dermatitis.

Knowledge-Based Topic Model for Unsupervised Object Discovery and Localization.

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, Zhenxing; Hua, Gang; Wang, Le; Gao, Xinbo

Unsupervised object discovery and localization is to discover some dominant object classes and localize all of object instances from a given image collection without any supervision. Previous work has attempted to tackle this problem with vanilla topic models, such as latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA). However, in those methods no prior knowledge for the given image collection is exploited to facilitate object discovery. On the other hand, the topic models used in those methods suffer from the topic coherence issue-some inferred topics do not have clear meaning, which limits the final performance of object discovery. In this paper, prior knowledge in terms of the so-called must-links are exploited from Web images on the Internet. Furthermore, a novel knowledge-based topic model, called LDA with mixture of Dirichlet trees, is proposed to incorporate the must-links into topic modeling for object discovery. In particular, to better deal with the polysemy phenomenon of visual words, the must-link is re-defined as that one must-link only constrains one or some topic(s) instead of all topics, which leads to significantly improved topic coherence. Moreover, the must-links are built and grouped with respect to specific object classes, thus the must-links in our approach are semantic-specific , which allows to more efficiently exploit discriminative prior knowledge from Web images. Extensive experiments validated the efficiency of our proposed approach on several data sets. It is shown that our method significantly improves topic coherence and outperforms the unsupervised methods for object discovery and localization. In addition, compared with discriminative methods, the naturally existing object classes in the given image collection can be subtly discovered, which makes our approach well suited for realistic applications of unsupervised object discovery.Unsupervised object discovery and localization is to discover some dominant object classes and localize all of object

Topic Prominence in Chinese EFL Learners' Interlanguage

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Shaopeng; Yang, Lianrui

2014-01-01

The present study aims to investigate the general characteristics of topicprominent typological interlanguage development of Chinese learners of English in terms of acquiring subject-prominent English structures from a discourse perspective. Topic structures mainly appear in Chinese discourse in the form of topic chains (Wang, 2002; 2004). The…

A Discourse Perspective of Topic-prominence in Chinese EFL Learners’ Interlanguage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shaopeng Li

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The present study aims to investigate the general characteristics of topic-prominent typological interlanguage development of Chinese learners of English in terms of acquiring subject-prominent English structures from the discourse perspective. We have selected as the research target “topic chain” which is the main topic-prominent structure in Chinese discourse and “zero anaphora” which is the most common topic anaphor of topic chain. Topic structures mainly appear in Chinese discourse in the form of “topic chain” (Wang, 2002; 2004. Actually, in the event of a topic chain, research on topic structures should go into the typical range of discourse. Two important findings were yielded by the present study. First, the characteristics of Chinese topic chain are transferrable to the interlanguage of Chinese EFL learners, thus resulting in overgeneralization of zero anaphora; second, interlanguage discourse of Chinese EFL learners reflects the characteristics of a second language acquisition process from topic-prominence to subject-prominence, thus lending support to the discourse transfer hypothesis.

Topical reports on Louisiana salt domes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1983-09-01

The Institute for Environmental Studies at Louisiana State University conducted research into the potential use of Louisiana salt domes for disposal of nuclear waste material. Topical reports generated in 1981 and 1982 related to Vacherie and Rayburn's domes are compiled and presented, which address palynological studies, tiltmeter monitoring, precise releveling, saline springs, and surface hydrology. The latter two are basically a compilation of references related to these topics. Individual reports are abstracted

Data Mining Thesis Topics in Finland

OpenAIRE

Bajo Rouvinen, Ari

2017-01-01

The Theseus open repository contains metadata about more than 100,000 thesis publications from the different universities of applied sciences in Finland. Different data mining techniques were applied to the Theseus dataset to build a web application to explore thesis topics and degree programmes using different libraries in Python and JavaScript. Thesis topics were extracted from manually annotated keywords by the authors and curated subjects by the librarians. During the project, the quality...

Selected topics in e+e- physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sau Lan Wu

1981-01-01

Selected topics of recent experimental results from the high-energy electron-positron storage rings are presented. The topics include some of the tau and charm physics from SPEAR, the upsilon physics from DORIS and CESR, and the γγ physics and quark and gluon physics from the PLUTO and TASSO Collaborations at PETRA. Related data from the JADE and MARK J Collaborations at PETRA are discussed in separated papers at this school. (orig.)

A comparison of patient pain and visual outcome using topical anesthesia versus regional anesthesia during cataract surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosoda, Yoshikatsu; Kuriyama, Shoji; Jingami, Yoko; Hattori, Hidetsugu; Hayashi, Hisako; Matsumoto, Miho

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the level of patient pain during the phacoemulsification and implantation of foldable intraocular lenses while under topical, intracameral, or sub-Tenon lidocaine. This was a retrospective study. Three hundred and one eyes subjected to cataract surgery were included in this study. All eyes underwent phacoemulsification surgery and intraocular lens implantation using topical, sub-Tenon, or intracameral anesthesia. The topical group received 4% lidocaine drops, and the intracameral group received a 0.1-0.2 cc infusion of 1% preservative-free lidocaine into the anterior chamber through the side port combined with topical drops of lidocaine. The sub-Tenon group received 2% lidocaine. Best-corrected visual acuity, corneal endothelial cell loss, and intraoperative pain level were evaluated. Pain level was assessed on a visual analog scale (range 0-2). There were no significant differences in visual outcome and corneal endothelial cell loss between the three groups. The mean pain score in the sub-Tenon group was significantly lower than that in the topical and intracameral groups (P=0.0009 and P=0.0055, respectively). In 250 eyes without high myopia (< -6D), there were no significant differences in mean pain score between the sub-Tenon and intracameral groups (P=0.1417). No additional anesthesia was required in all groups. Intracameral lidocaine provides sufficient pain suppressive effects in eyes without high myopia, while sub-Tenon anesthesia is better for cataract surgery in eyes with high myopia.

An overview of topic modeling and its current applications in bioinformatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Lin; Tang, Lin; Dong, Wen; Yao, Shaowen; Zhou, Wei

2016-01-01

With the rapid accumulation of biological datasets, machine learning methods designed to automate data analysis are urgently needed. In recent years, so-called topic models that originated from the field of natural language processing have been receiving much attention in bioinformatics because of their interpretability. Our aim was to review the application and development of topic models for bioinformatics. This paper starts with the description of a topic model, with a focus on the understanding of topic modeling. A general outline is provided on how to build an application in a topic model and how to develop a topic model. Meanwhile, the literature on application of topic models to biological data was searched and analyzed in depth. According to the types of models and the analogy between the concept of document-topic-word and a biological object (as well as the tasks of a topic model), we categorized the related studies and provided an outlook on the use of topic models for the development of bioinformatics applications. Topic modeling is a useful method (in contrast to the traditional means of data reduction in bioinformatics) and enhances researchers' ability to interpret biological information. Nevertheless, due to the lack of topic models optimized for specific biological data, the studies on topic modeling in biological data still have a long and challenging road ahead. We believe that topic models are a promising method for various applications in bioinformatics research.

Statistical evaluation of diagnostic performance topics in ROC analysis

CERN Document Server

Zou, Kelly H; Bandos, Andriy I; Ohno-Machado, Lucila; Rockette, Howard E

2016-01-01

Statistical evaluation of diagnostic performance in general and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis in particular are important for assessing the performance of medical tests and statistical classifiers, as well as for evaluating predictive models or algorithms. This book presents innovative approaches in ROC analysis, which are relevant to a wide variety of applications, including medical imaging, cancer research, epidemiology, and bioinformatics. Statistical Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance: Topics in ROC Analysis covers areas including monotone-transformation techniques in parametric ROC analysis, ROC methods for combined and pooled biomarkers, Bayesian hierarchical transformation models, sequential designs and inferences in the ROC setting, predictive modeling, multireader ROC analysis, and free-response ROC (FROC) methodology. The book is suitable for graduate-level students and researchers in statistics, biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, biomedical engineering, radiology, medi...

Control of pain with topical plant medicines

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James David Adams Jr.

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Pain is normally treated with oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents and opioids. These drugs are dangerous and are responsible for many hospitalizations and deaths. It is much safer to use topical preparations made from plants to treat pain, even severe pain. Topical preparations must contain compounds that penetrate the skin, inhibit pain receptors such as transient receptor potential cation channels and cyclooxygenase-2, to relieve pain. Inhibition of pain in the skin disrupts the pain cycle and avoids exposure of internal organs to large amounts of toxic compounds. Use of topical pain relievers has the potential to save many lives, decrease medical costs and improve therapy.

Topics in Finance Part VI--Capital Budgeting

Science.gov (United States)

Laux, Judy

2011-01-01

This series on the theory of financial management offers insight into the roles of stockholder wealth maximization, the risk-return tradeoff, and agency conflicts as they apply to major topics in finance. The current article investigates capital budgeting. Much literature addresses this topic, with a number of articles challenging mainstream…

Fostering Topic Knowledge: Essential for Academic Writing

Science.gov (United States)

Proske, Antje; Kapp, Felix

2013-01-01

Several researchers emphasize the role of the writer's topic knowledge for writing. In academic writing topic knowledge is often constructed by studying source texts. One possibility to support that essential phase of the writing process is to provide interactive learning questions which facilitate the construction of an adequate situation…

Withdrawal of inhaled glucocorticoids and exacerbations of COPD

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Magnussen, Helgo; Disse, Bernd; Rodriguez-Roisin, Roberto

2014-01-01

fluticasone propionate (500 μg twice daily) during a 6-week run-in period. Patients were then randomly assigned to continued triple therapy or withdrawal of fluticasone in three steps over a 12-week period. The primary end point was the time to the first moderate or severe COPD exacerbation. Spirometric......-acting bronchodilators has not been fully explored. METHODS: In this 12-month, double-blind, parallel-group study, 2485 patients with a history of exacerbation of COPD received triple therapy consisting of tiotropium (at a dose of 18 μg once daily), salmeterol (50 μg twice daily), and the inhaled glucocorticoid...

Revealing the Structural Complexity of Component Interactions of Topic-Specific PCK when Planning to Teach

Science.gov (United States)

Mavhunga, Elizabeth

2018-04-01

Teaching pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) at a topic-specific level requires clarity on the content-specific nature of the components employed, as well as the specific features that bring about the desirable depth in teacher explanations. Such understanding is often hazy; yet, it influences the nature of teacher tasks and learning opportunities afforded to pre-service teachers in a teaching program. The purpose of this study was twofold: firstly, to illuminate the emerging complexity when content-specific components of PCK interact when planning to teach a chemistry topic; and secondly, to identify the kinds of teacher tasks that promote the emergence of such complexity. Data collected were content representations (CoRes) in chemical equilibrium accompanied by expanded lesson outlines from 15 pre-service teachers in their final year of study towards a first degree in teaching (B Ed). The analysis involved extraction of episodes that exhibited component interaction by using a qualitative in-depth analysis method. The results revealed the structure in which the components of PCK in a topic interact among each other to be linear, interwoven, or a combination of the two. The interwoven interactions contained multiple components that connected explanations on different aspects of a concept, all working in a complementary manner. The most sophisticated component interactions emerged from teacher tasks on descriptions of a lesson sequence and a summary of a lesson. Recommendations in this study highlight core practices for making pedagogical transformation of topic content knowledge more accessible.

Ego Involvement and Topic Controversiality as Related to Attitude Change.

Science.gov (United States)

Sledden, Elizabeth A.; Fernandez, Katherine A.

Attitude change was measured on four different topics before and immediately after a persuasion was presented in order to compare the degree of change with the level of ego involvement as it relates to topic controversiality. Ego involvement was based on self-ratings of concern for each topic. Objective topic controversiality was based on the…

Pharmacodynamic Activity of Dapivirine and Maraviroc Single Entity and Combination Topical Gels for HIV-1 Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

Dezzutti, Charlene S; Yandura, Sarah; Wang, Lin; Moncla, Bernard; Teeple, Elizabeth A; Devlin, Brid; Nuttall, Jeremy; Brown, Elizabeth R; Rohan, Lisa C

2015-11-01

Dapivirine (DPV), a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, and maraviroc (MVC), a CCR5 antagonist, were formulated into aqueous gels designed to prevent mucosal HIV transmission. 0.05% DPV, 0.1% MVC, 0.05% DPV/0.1% MVC and placebo gels were evaluated for pH, viscosity, osmolality, and in vitro release. In vitro assays and mucosal tissues were used to evaluate anti-HIV activity. Viability (Lactobacilli only) and epithelial integrity in cell lines and mucosal tissues defined safety. The gels were acidic and viscous. DPV gel had an osmolality of 893 mOsm/kg while the other gels had an osmolality of <100 mOsm/kg. MVC release was similar from the single and combination gels (~5 μg/cm(2)/min(1/2)), while DPV release was 10-fold less from the single as compared to the combination gel (0.4331 μg/cm(2)/min(1/2)). Titrations of the gels showed 10-fold more drug was needed to protect ectocervical than colonic tissue. The combination gel showed ~10- and 100-fold improved activity as compared to DPV and MVC gel, respectively. All gels were safe. The DPV/MVC gel showed a benefit blocking HIV infection of mucosal tissue compared to the single entity gels. Combination products with drugs affecting unique steps in the viral replication cycle would be advantageous for HIV prevention.

Ontology-based topic clustering for online discussion data

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yongheng; Cao, Kening; Zhang, Xiaoming

2013-03-01

With the rapid development of online communities, mining and extracting quality knowledge from online discussions becomes very important for the industrial and marketing sector, as well as for e-commerce applications and government. Most of the existing techniques model a discussion as a social network of users represented by a user-based graph without considering the content of the discussion. In this paper we propose a new multilayered mode to analysis online discussions. The user-based and message-based representation is combined in this model. A novel frequent concept sets based clustering method is used to cluster the original online discussion network into topic space. Domain ontology is used to improve the clustering accuracy. Parallel methods are also used to make the algorithms scalable to very large data sets. Our experimental study shows that the model and algorithms are effective when analyzing large scale online discussion data.

A survey of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service employees regarding topics for distance education-Summary report to respondents

Science.gov (United States)

Ratz, Joan M.; Shuster, Rudy M.; Marcy, Ann M.

2011-01-01

This report provides a summary of responses to the questions included in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) National Conservation Training Center (NCTC) Distance Education survey conducted from January 26, 2010, to February 8, 2010. The survey included questions for two studies sponsored by the Division of Education Outreach (DEO) at the NCTC. The first study identifies the topics of interest to FWS employees on which training could be provided via distance education. The topics were limited to the area of conservation and environmental education, outreach, and partnerships because these topics are within the scope of the DEO. The second study focused on characterizing the relation between onsite course enrollment at NCTC and distance education offerings. Because there were only a few questions on the survey for the second study and because the target populations were the same for both, the two surveys were combined.

Selected topics in magnetism

CERN Document Server

Gupta, L C

1993-01-01

Part of the ""Frontiers in Solid State Sciences"" series, this volume presents essays on such topics as spin fluctuations in Heisenberg magnets, quenching of spin fluctuations by high magnetic fields, and kondo effect and heavy fermions in rare earths amongst others.

Topics in quantum theory

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yuille, A.L.

1980-11-01

Topics in the Yang-Mills theories of strong interactions and the quantum theories of gravity are examined, using the path integral approach, including; Yang-Mills instantons in curved spacetimes, Israel-Wilson metrics, Kaehler spacetimes, instantons and anti-instantons. (U.K.)

EFFICIENCY EVALUATION OF THE TOPICAL THERAPY OF ACUTE PHARYNGITISES AMONG CHILDREN BY MEANS OF BICLOTYMOL CONTAINED MEDICATIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu.L. Soldatskiy

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The researchers studied the results of the topical antibacterial therapy of acute pharyngitis among children by means of biclotymol contained medications. The treatment was carried on in two ways: the first group of patients (22 children was made of those, who received or dispersible pills, containing biclotymol, lysozyme and enoxolone; while in the therapy of children from the second group (24 children they additionally used biclotymol in the form of a dosing spray. The treatment efficiency proved to be comparable, yet in spite of somewhat subjectively worse to lerance of the combined therapy its application is statistically reliable to quickly improve the pharyngoscopical picture and remove the pain syndrome.Key words: acute pharyngitis, topical antibacterial therapy, childhood, biclotymol.

Risk assessment of topically applied products

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Søborg, Tue; Basse, Line Hollesen; Halling-Sørensen, Bent

2007-01-01

The human risk of harmful substances in semisolid topical dosage forms applied topically to normal skin and broken skin, respectively, was assessed. Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE) and three derivatives of BADGE previously quantified in aqueous cream and the UV filters 3-BC and 4-MBC were used...... as model compounds. Tolerable daily intake (TDI) values have been established for BADGE and derivatives. Endocrine disruption was chosen as endpoint for 3-BC and 4-MBC. Skin permeation of the model compounds was investigated in vitro using pig skin membranes. Tape stripping was applied to simulate broken...... parameters for estimating the risk. The immediate human risk of BADGE and derivatives in topical dosage forms was found to be low. However, local treatment of broken skin may lead to higher exposure of BADGE and derivatives compared to application to normal skin. 3-BC permeated skin at higher flux than 4-MBC...

Luminosity monitor topics for RHIC spin and AA, and pA interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Underwood, D.

1998-01-01

This is a note to define topics to be studied in more depth for the Luminosity monitoring for Spin Asymmetries. My numerical examples here are to stimulate discussion and should be taken with a grain of salt. The RHIC Spin experiments will require a very high degree of coordination between the experiments and the accelerator. For example see AGS/RHIC/SN 035. In this note we list some of the issues to be considered in monitoring the relative luminosity between various beam-beam spin combinations and beam-gas combinations. We give simplified numerical examples of the problems encountered in doing the luminosity monitoring to the 10 -4 level. It is hoped that this will provide a framework for serious study of these problems with simulations and other means. Many of the issues may also be relevant to pA and AA running where there may be sizable beam-gas backgrounds

Detecting Hotspot Information Using Multi-Attribute Based Topic Model.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Wang

Full Text Available Microblogging as a kind of social network has become more and more important in our daily lives. Enormous amounts of information are produced and shared on a daily basis. Detecting hot topics in the mountains of information can help people get to the essential information more quickly. However, due to short and sparse features, a large number of meaningless tweets and other characteristics of microblogs, traditional topic detection methods are often ineffective in detecting hot topics. In this paper, we propose a new topic model named multi-attribute latent dirichlet allocation (MA-LDA, in which the time and hashtag attributes of microblogs are incorporated into LDA model. By introducing time attribute, MA-LDA model can decide whether a word should appear in hot topics or not. Meanwhile, compared with the traditional LDA model, applying hashtag attribute in MA-LDA model gives the core words an artificially high ranking in results meaning the expressiveness of outcomes can be improved. Empirical evaluations on real data sets demonstrate that our method is able to detect hot topics more accurately and efficiently compared with several baselines. Our method provides strong evidence of the importance of the temporal factor in extracting hot topics.

Detecting Hotspot Information Using Multi-Attribute Based Topic Model

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jing; Li, Li; Tan, Feng; Zhu, Ying; Feng, Weisi

2015-01-01

Microblogging as a kind of social network has become more and more important in our daily lives. Enormous amounts of information are produced and shared on a daily basis. Detecting hot topics in the mountains of information can help people get to the essential information more quickly. However, due to short and sparse features, a large number of meaningless tweets and other characteristics of microblogs, traditional topic detection methods are often ineffective in detecting hot topics. In this paper, we propose a new topic model named multi-attribute latent dirichlet allocation (MA-LDA), in which the time and hashtag attributes of microblogs are incorporated into LDA model. By introducing time attribute, MA-LDA model can decide whether a word should appear in hot topics or not. Meanwhile, compared with the traditional LDA model, applying hashtag attribute in MA-LDA model gives the core words an artificially high ranking in results meaning the expressiveness of outcomes can be improved. Empirical evaluations on real data sets demonstrate that our method is able to detect hot topics more accurately and efficiently compared with several baselines. Our method provides strong evidence of the importance of the temporal factor in extracting hot topics. PMID:26496635

Combinations of potent topical steroids, mercury and hydroquinone are common in internationally manufactured skin-lightening products: a spectroscopic study.

Science.gov (United States)

Maneli, M H; Wiesner, L; Tinguely, C; Davids, L M; Spengane, Z; Smith, P; van Wyk, J C; Jardine, A; Khumalo, N P

2016-03-01

The topical steroids betamethasone (BM) and clobetasol propionate (CP) are illegal in cosmetics. Hydroquinone (HQ) and mercury (Hg) are either illegal or allowed only in limited concentrations (2% and 1 ppm, respectively). To investigate active ingredients and countries of origin of popular skin-lightening products available in Cape Town, South Africa. In total, 29 products were examined; of these, 22 products were purchased from informal vendors, and 2 products (out of a total of 29) were purchased over the counter. HQ, Hg(2+) and steroids were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet spectrophotometry, inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. Of the 29 products, 22 (75.9%), all imported and bought from informal vendors, contained illegal or banned ingredients: 13 (44.8%) contained steroids (9 CP, 4 BM), 12 (41.4%) contained Hg (30-2300 ppm), and 11 (37.9%) contained HQ. Sequentially, the products originated from Italy (27.3%, n = 6), India (22.7%, n = 5), the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) (22.7%, n = 5), Cote d'Ivoire (9.1%, n = 2), USA (9.1%, n = 2), UK (4.5%, n = 1) and France (4.5%, n = 1). Two products, one from India and one from the DRC, contained all four ingredients (HQ, Hg, BM, CP). Of the 12 products containing Hg, 10 also contained HQ and/or a steroid, yet none listed Hg as an ingredient. A significant proportion of the steroid-containing products (76.9%) also contained at least one other skin-lightening agent. Not all internationally available products were tested, which is a limitation of the study. In spite of a European Union ban on skin lighteners, a third of the products tested were from Europe. Combinations of Hg and ultrapotent steroids were prominent. International law enforcement and random testing is needed to encourage industry compliance and help protect consumers. © 2015 British Association of Dermatologists.

Analysis of the Cochrane Review: Topical Treatments for Scalp Psoriasis. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2016;2:CD009687.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catarina Soares Queirós

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Regardless the psoriasis subtype, up to 79% of people with this skin condition present scalp involvement, which is often the first site to show symptoms of the disease. In addition to being itchy, the red and scaly lesions are usually easy to see, and may be embarrassing. Topical therapy is usually the first line of treatment; however the wide array of available interventions can make the choice difficult, and may even lead to an inadequate treatment. The objective of this review was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of topical treatments for scalp psoriasis. A systematic review was performed according to the methodology recommended by Cochrane in order to evaluate the clinical severity of psoriasis, quality of life, and adverse events that led to treatment discontinuation. To evaluate this, 59 studies were included, with a total of 11 561 participants, and 15 comparisons were made between the various drugs and application vehicles tested. The principal conclusion is that corticosteroids of high or very high potency are more effective than vitamin D. The combination of a corticosteroid with vitamin D has only a marginal benefit over corticosteroid monotherapy, but is superior to vitamin D alone. Given the similar safety profile and only marginal benefit of the combination of corticosteroid with vitamin D over the corticosteroid alone, topical corticosteroid monotherapy appears to be fully acceptable for short-term therapy of scalp psoriasis.

Spectral Learning for Supervised Topic Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Yong; Wang, Yining; Zhu, Jun

2018-03-01

Supervised topic models simultaneously model the latent topic structure of large collections of documents and a response variable associated with each document. Existing inference methods are based on variational approximation or Monte Carlo sampling, which often suffers from the local minimum defect. Spectral methods have been applied to learn unsupervised topic models, such as latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA), with provable guarantees. This paper investigates the possibility of applying spectral methods to recover the parameters of supervised LDA (sLDA). We first present a two-stage spectral method, which recovers the parameters of LDA followed by a power update method to recover the regression model parameters. Then, we further present a single-phase spectral algorithm to jointly recover the topic distribution matrix as well as the regression weights. Our spectral algorithms are provably correct and computationally efficient. We prove a sample complexity bound for each algorithm and subsequently derive a sufficient condition for the identifiability of sLDA. Thorough experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets verify the theory and demonstrate the practical effectiveness of the spectral algorithms. In fact, our results on a large-scale review rating dataset demonstrate that our single-phase spectral algorithm alone gets comparable or even better performance than state-of-the-art methods, while previous work on spectral methods has rarely reported such promising performance.

Image Re-Ranking Based on Topic Diversity.

Science.gov (United States)

Qian, Xueming; Lu, Dan; Wang, Yaxiong; Zhu, Li; Tang, Yuan Yan; Wang, Meng

2017-08-01

Social media sharing Websites allow users to annotate images with free tags, which significantly contribute to the development of the web image retrieval. Tag-based image search is an important method to find images shared by users in social networks. However, how to make the top ranked result relevant and with diversity is challenging. In this paper, we propose a topic diverse ranking approach for tag-based image retrieval with the consideration of promoting the topic coverage performance. First, we construct a tag graph based on the similarity between each tag. Then, the community detection method is conducted to mine the topic community of each tag. After that, inter-community and intra-community ranking are introduced to obtain the final retrieved results. In the inter-community ranking process, an adaptive random walk model is employed to rank the community based on the multi-information of each topic community. Besides, we build an inverted index structure for images to accelerate the searching process. Experimental results on Flickr data set and NUS-Wide data sets show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Adherence to oral and topical medication in 445 patients with tinea pedis as assessed by the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsunemi, Yuichiro; Abe, Shinya; Kobayashi, Miwa; Kitami, Yuki; Onozuka, Daisuke; Hagihara, Akihito; Takeuchi, Satoshi; Murota, Hiroyuki; Sugaya, Makoto; Masuda, Koji; Hiragun, Takaaki; Kaneko, Sakae; Saeki, Hidehisa; Shintani, Yoichi; Tanioka, Miki; Imafuku, Shinichi; Abe, Masatoshi; Inomata, Naoko; Morisky, Donald E; Furue, Masutaka; Katoh, Norito

2015-01-01

Adherence is defined as the extent to which a person's behavior corresponds with recommendations from health care providers. Adherence to treatment is an important factor for a good therapeutic outcome. This study aimed to examine the adherence of patients with tinea pedis and to clarify the factors related to it. We assessed medication adherence for oral and topical drugs using a translated version of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8) together with other background factors in 445 Japanese patients with tinea pedis, using a questionnaire in a web-based monitoring system. Overall, high, medium and low adherence rates as assessed by MMAS-8 were 8.7%, 31.7% and 59.6% for oral medication, and 8.6%, 17.4% and 74.0% for topical medication, respectively. The adherence level was significantly higher for oral medication than for topical medication. Subgroup analyses showed that the adherence level for topical medication was significantly higher when topical and oral medications were used in combination than when topical medication was used alone. A low adherence level was shown in employed patients, those for whom their oral medication had not been effective and those with topical medication who had visited their hospital less often than once every six months. Patient adherence to therapy can be effectively improved by selecting highly effective medication while considering the prescription of topical and oral antifungal medications concomitantly, by carefully selecting a therapy plan for employed patients and by encouraging patients to visit their doctor regularly.

Recent topics in NMR imaging and MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Watanabe, Tokuko

2002-01-01

NMR and NMR imaging (MRI) are finding increasing use not only in the clinical and medical fields, but also in material, physicochemical, biological, geological, industrial and environmental applications. This short review is limited to two topics: new techniques and pulse sequences and their application to non-clinical fields that may have clinical application; and new trends in MR contrast agents. The former topic addresses pulse sequence and data analysis; dynamics such as diffusion, flow, velocity and velocimetry; chemometrics; pharmacological agents; and chemotherapy; the latter topic addresses contrast agents (CA) sensitive to biochemical activity; CA based on water exchange; molecular interactions and stability of CA; characteristics of emerging CA; superparamagnetic CA; and macromolecular CA. (author)

Asthma control in patients receiving inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta2-agonist fixed combinations. A real-life study comparing dry powder inhalers and a pressurized metered dose inhaler extrafine formulation

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Nicolini Gabriele

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although patients have more problems using metered dose inhalers, clinical comparisons suggest they provide similar control to dry powder inhalers. Using real-life situations this study was designed to evaluate asthma control in outpatients with moderate to severe persistent asthma and to compare efficacy of fixed combinations of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS and long acting beta-agonists (LABA. Methods This real-life study had a cross-sectional design. Patients using fixed combinations of ICS and LABA had their asthma control and spirometry assessed during regular visits. Results 111 patients were analyzed: 53 (47.7% received maintenance therapy of extrafine beclomethasone-formoterol (BDP/F pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI, 25 (22.5% fluticasone-salmeterol (FP/S dry powder inhaler (DPI, and 33 (29.7% budesonide-formoterol (BUD/F DPI. Severity of asthma at time of diagnosis, assessed by the treating physician, was comparable among groups. Asthma control was achieved by 45.9% of patients; 38.7% were partially controlled and 15.3% were uncontrolled. In the extrafine BDF/F group, asthma control total score, daytime symptom score and rescue medication use score were significantly better than those using fixed DPI combinations (5.8 ± 6.2 vs. 8.5 ± 6.8; 1.4 ± 1.8 vs. 2.3 ± 2.1; 1.8 ± 2.2 vs. 2.6 ± 2.2; p = 0.0160; p = 0.012 and p = 0.025, respectively and the mean daily ICS dose were significantly lower. Conclusions pMDI extrafine BDP/F combination demonstrated better asthma control compared to DPIs formulated with larger particles. This could be due to the improved lung deposition of the dose or less reliance on the optimal inhalation technique or both.

Sexual Problems in Men: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... Spanish Retrograde ejaculation (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Sexual Problems in ... Premature ejaculation Reifenstein syndrome Retrograde ejaculation Related Health Topics Erectile Dysfunction Penis Disorders Prostate Diseases Testicular Disorders ...

Cancer--Living with Cancer: MedlinePlus Health Topic

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... during cancer treatment (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish Topic Image MedlinePlus Email Updates Get Cancer--Living with ... care plan Show More Show Less Related Health Topics Cancer Cancer Chemotherapy Palliative Care National Institutes of ...

Full Text or Abstract? : Examining Topic Coherence Scores Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Syed, S.; Spruit, M.

2017-01-01

This paper assesses topic coherence and human topic ranking of uncovered latent topics from scientific publications when utilizing the topic model latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) on abstract and full-text data. The coherence of a topic, used as a proxy for topic quality, is based on the

Infantile generalized hypertrichosis caused by topical minoxidil.

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Rampon, Greice; Henkin, Caroline; de Souza, Paulo Ricardo Martins; Almeida, Hiram Larangeira de

2016-01-01

Rare cases of hypertrichosis have been associated with topically applied minoxidil. We present the first reported case in the Brazilian literature of generalized hypertrichosis affecting a 5-year-old child, following use of minoxidil 5%, 20 drops a day, for hair loss. The laboratory investigation excluded hyperandrogenism and thyroid dysfunction. Topical minoxidil should be used with caution in children.

Topicality of the problem of combined course of multi-drug resistant pulmonary tuberculosis with diabetes mellitus

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O. M. Raznatovska

2017-08-01

Full Text Available According to the World Health Organization, today in the world among the infectious chronic diseases one of the leading places and causes of death is multi-drug resistant tuberculosis of the lungs, and chronic non-communicable diseases – diabetes mellitus. The situation is complicated by the fact that the number of patients with combined course of these two heavy separate illnesses that complicate each other increases. It is established that with increasing severity of diabetes mellitus, tuberculosis process in the lungs becomes more complicate and deteriorates, and vice versa, the specific process complicates the course of diabetes mellitus, contributing to the development of diabetic complications. Against this background, the effectiveness of treatment of patients suffering from multi-drug resistant tuberculosis of the lungs in our country remains very low, mainly due to the toxic adverse reactions to antimycobacterial drugs of the reserve line, and in the case of adding diabetes mellitus, it deteriorates even more. The aim of this study was to review the scientific literature to determine the relevance of the study of combined course of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis of the lungs with diabetes mellitus and perspectives of innovative methods of diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Early diagnosis of pre-diabetes, and autoimmune diseases will allow the use of timely correction techniques that prevents the development of diabetes mellitus, depending on its type, and in the future the development of serious irreversible processes, allow timely applying appropriate methods of correction of the revealed violations. Results. Very little amount of work is dedicated to the problem of combined course of multi-drug resistant tuberculosis of the lungs with diabetes mellitus, regardless of its type, the theme is relevant for today, in Ukraine there are no data regarding its study. This combined course of very difficult in the treatment diseases requires

Combining the essential oil of Piper aduncum L. with commercial insecticides

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Murilo Fazolin

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The use of synergists is important to minimize the amount of chemical insecticide required for insect control. Their use may contribute to reducing environmental contamination and preserving beneficial insects. The aim of this study was to evaluate the synergy and uniformity of the response of Spodoptera frugiperda (Noctuidae larvae to doses of an essential oil of an Amazon chemotype, Piper aduncum (Piperaceae, when combinationed with the following commercial insecticides: cypermethrin, zeta-cypermethrin, permethrin and esfenvarelate, compared to piperonyl butoxide (PBO. Through the relationship between CL50 and DL50 of insecticides taken separately and their synergistic combinations with the essential oil and PBO, synergism factors (SF were obtained for comparison with each other. With residual contact, there was a significant enhancement of commercial insecticides formulated with cypermethrin (SF = 73.03, zeta-cypermethrin (SF = 16.51 and permethrin (SF = 8.46-17.22, when combined with the P. aduncum essential oil; in turn, with topical application, there was only an observed significant enhancement for zeta-cypermethrin (SF = 0.40-4.26, permethrin (SF = 2.10-4.79 and esfenvarelate (SF = 3.80 insecticides when combined with the essential oil. With the exception of esfenvarelate, the other synergistic combinations showed homogeneous responses for topical application and residual contact for at least one synergistic combination with P. aduncum essential oil. The significance of the SF values from combining P. aduncum essential oil with cypermethrin, zeta-cypermethrin, permethrin and esfenvarelate insecticides may indicate that this essential oil is an alternative option to PBO.

Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection following Topical Hormone Replacement Therapy

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Alexander L. Pan

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a rare condition, usually presenting as an acute coronary syndrome, and is often seen in states associated with high systemic estrogen levels such as pregnancy or oral contraceptive use. While topical hormonal replacement therapy may result in increased estrogen levels similar to those documented with oral contraceptive use, there are no reported cases of spontaneous coronary dissection with topical hormonal replacement therapy. We describe a 53-year-old female who developed two spontaneous coronary dissections while on topical hormonal replacement therapy. The patient had no other risk factors for coronary dissection. After withdrawal from topical hormonal therapy, our patient has done well and has not had recurrent coronary artery dissections over a one-year follow-up period. The potential contributory role of topical hormonal therapy as a cause of spontaneous coronary dissection should be recognized.

Emu oil based nano-emulgel for topical delivery of curcumin.

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Jeengar, Manish Kumar; Rompicharla, Sri Vishnu Kiran; Shrivastava, Shweta; Chella, Naveen; Shastri, Nalini R; Naidu, V G M; Sistla, Ramakrishna

2016-06-15

Curcumin and emu oil derived from emu bird (Dromaius novaehollandiae) has shown promising results against inflammation. However, the delivery of curcumin is hindered due to low solubility and poor permeation. In addition, till date the role of emu oil in drug delivery has not been explored systemically. Hence, the current investigation was designed to evaluate the anti-inflammatory potential of curcumin in combination with emu oil from a nanoemulgel formulation in experimental inflammation and arthritic in vivo models. Nanoemulsion was prepared using emu oil, Cremophor RH 40 and Labrafil M2125CS as oil phase, surfactant and co-surfactant. The optimized curcumin loaded nanoemulsion with emu oil was incorporated into carbopol gel for convenient application by topical route. The anti-inflammatory efficacy was evaluated in carrageenan induced paw edema and FCA induced arthritic rat model in terms of paw swelling, weight indices of the liver and spleen, pathological changes in nuclear factor kappa B, iNOS, COX-2 expression and inflammatory cytokines. Arthritic scoring, paw volume, biochemical, molecular, radiological and histological examinations indicated significant improvement in anti-inflammatory activity with formulations containing curcumin in combination with emu oil compared to pure curcumin. These encouraging results demonstrate the potential of formulations containing curcumin and emu oil combination in rheumatoid arthritis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Do scientists trace hot topics?

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Wei, Tian; Li, Menghui; Wu, Chensheng; Yan, Xiao-Yong; Fan, Ying; Di, Zengru; Wu, Jinshan

2013-01-01

Do scientists follow hot topics in their scientific investigations? In this paper, by performing analysis to papers published in the American Physical Society (APS) Physical Review journals, it is found that papers are more likely to be attracted by hot fields, where the hotness of a field is measured by the number of papers belonging to the field. This indicates that scientists generally do follow hot topics. However, there are qualitative differences among scientists from various countries, among research works regarding different number of authors, different number of affiliations and different number of references. These observations could be valuable for policy makers when deciding research funding and also for individual researchers when searching for scientific projects.

#Healthy Selfies: Exploration of Health Topics on Instagram.

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Muralidhara, Sachin; Paul, Michael J

2018-06-29

Social media provides a complementary source of information for public health surveillance. The dominate data source for this type of monitoring is the microblogging platform Twitter, which is convenient due to the free availability of public data. Less is known about the utility of other social media platforms, despite their popularity. This work aims to characterize the health topics that are prominently discussed in the image-sharing platform Instagram, as a step toward understanding how this data might be used for public health research. The study uses a topic modeling approach to discover topics in a dataset of 96,426 Instagram posts containing hashtags related to health. We use a polylingual topic model, initially developed for datasets in different natural languages, to model different modalities of data: hashtags, caption words, and image tags automatically extracted using a computer vision tool. We identified 47 health-related topics in the data (kappa=.77), covering ten broad categories: acute illness, alternative medicine, chronic illness and pain, diet, exercise, health care & medicine, mental health, musculoskeletal health and dermatology, sleep, and substance use. The most prevalent topics were related to diet (8,293/96,426; 8.6% of posts) and exercise (7,328/96,426; 7.6% of posts). A large and diverse set of health topics are discussed in Instagram. The extracted image tags were generally too coarse and noisy to be used for identifying posts but were in some cases accurate for identifying images relevant to studying diet and substance use. Instagram shows potential as a source of public health information, though limitations in data collection and metadata availability may limit its use in comparison to platforms like Twitter. ©Sachin Muralidhara, Michael J. Paul. Originally published in JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (http://publichealth.jmir.org), 29.06.2018.

Infantile generalized hypertrichosis caused by topical minoxidil*

Science.gov (United States)

Rampon, Greice; Henkin, Caroline; de Souza, Paulo Ricardo Martins; de Almeida Jr, Hiram Larangeira

2016-01-01

Rare cases of hypertrichosis have been associated with topically applied minoxidil. We present the first reported case in the Brazilian literature of generalized hypertrichosis affecting a 5-year-old child, following use of minoxidil 5%, 20 drops a day, for hair loss. The laboratory investigation excluded hyperandrogenism and thyroid dysfunction. Topical minoxidil should be used with caution in children. PMID:26982785

An essential primer for understanding the role of topical hemostats, surgical sealants, and adhesives for maintaining hemostasis.

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Gabay, Michael; Boucher, Bradley A

2013-09-01

A wide variety of topical hemostats are approved as adjunctive therapies in the maintenance of hemostasis during surgical procedures in which conventional methods are insufficient or not practical. A multidisciplinary approach to the selection and application of these agents requires input from all members of the surgical team including surgeons, perioperative nurses, blood bank specialists, and pharmacists. However, pharmacist knowledge regarding topical hemostats may be limited based on lack of formal education within college of pharmacy curricula as well as their use being predominantly in the operating room setting. Furthermore, some of these agents might be procured through central supply rather than the hospital pharmacy. Topical hemostats include agents that act as a mechanical barrier to bleeding and provide a physical matrix for clotting, biologically active agents that catalyze coagulation, combination therapies, and synthetic sealants and adhesives. Although many of the topical hemostats were approved for use before the requirement for clinical trials, this review provides an overview of the available clinical evidence regarding the appropriate uses and safety considerations associated with these agents. Proper use of these agents is vital to achieving the best clinical outcomes. Specifically, knowledge of the contraindications and potential adverse events associated with topical hemostats can help prevent unwanted outcomes. Therefore, an understanding of the benefits and potential risks associated with these agents will allow hospital pharmacists to assist in the development and implementation of institutional policies regarding the safe and effective use of hemostatic agents commonly used in the surgical suite. © 2013 Pharmacotherapy Publications, Inc.

Lecture Notes on Topics in Accelerator Physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chao, Alex W.

2002-01-01

These are lecture notes that cover a selection of topics, some of them under current research, in accelerator physics. I try to derive the results from first principles, although the students are assumed to have an introductory knowledge of the basics. The topics covered are: (1) Panofsky-Wenzel and Planar Wake Theorems; (2) Echo Effect; (3) Crystalline Beam; (4) Fast Ion Instability; (5) Lawson-Woodward Theorem and Laser Acceleration in Free Space; (6) Spin Dynamics and Siberian Snakes; (7) Symplectic Approximation of Maps; (8) Truncated Power Series Algebra; and (9) Lie Algebra Technique for nonlinear Dynamics. The purpose of these lectures is not to elaborate, but to prepare the students so that they can do their own research. Each topic can be read independently of the others

Lecture Notes on Topics in Accelerator Physics

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chao, Alex W.

2002-11-15

These are lecture notes that cover a selection of topics, some of them under current research, in accelerator physics. I try to derive the results from first principles, although the students are assumed to have an introductory knowledge of the basics. The topics covered are: (1) Panofsky-Wenzel and Planar Wake Theorems; (2) Echo Effect; (3) Crystalline Beam; (4) Fast Ion Instability; (5) Lawson-Woodward Theorem and Laser Acceleration in Free Space; (6) Spin Dynamics and Siberian Snakes; (7) Symplectic Approximation of Maps; (8) Truncated Power Series Algebra; and (9) Lie Algebra Technique for nonlinear Dynamics. The purpose of these lectures is not to elaborate, but to prepare the students so that they can do their own research. Each topic can be read independently of the others.

Nebulized fluticasone propionate, a viable alternative to systemic route in the management of childhood moderate asthma attack: A double-blind, double-dummy study.

Science.gov (United States)

Demirca, Beyza Poplata; Cagan, Hasret; Kiykim, Ayca; Arig, Ulku; Arpa, Medeni; Tulunay, Aysin; Ozen, Ahmet; Karakoc-Aydiner, Elif; Baris, Safa; Barlan, I B

2015-09-01

In this study, we compared the clinical and immunological efficacy of nebulized corticosteroid (CS) to systemic route during treatment of moderate asthma attack in children. In this randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, double-dummy, prospective study, 81 children aged 12 months to 16 years experiencing asthma attack randomized into two treatment groups to receive, either; nebulized fluticasone propionate (n = 39, 2000 mcg/day) or oral methylprednisolone (n = 41, 1 mg/kg/day). Pulmonary index scores (PIS) were assessed at admission and at 1st, 4th, 8th, 12th, 24th, 48th hours, as well as, on day 7 and peak expiratory flow (PEF) at baseline and at the 7th day. Daily symptom and medication scores were recorded for all subjects. Immunological studies included phytohemagglutinin induced peripheral blood mononuclear cells culture supernatant for cytokine responses and CD4(+) CD25(+) FOXP3(+) T regulatory cell (T reg) percentage at baseline and day 7. The changes in PIS and PEF were similar in both treatment groups, with a significant improvement in both values at the 7th day, when compared to baseline. In both groups, significant reductions in symptom and medication scores were observed during the treatment period with no significant difference between the groups. At day 7 of intervention, phytohemagglutinin induced IL-4 level was significantly decreased only in the nebulized group compared to baseline (p = 0.01). Evaluation of cytokine responses by means of fold increase (stimulated (S)/unstimulated (US) ratio) revealed a significant reduction in IL-4, IL-5 and IL-17 only in nebulized group (p = 0.01, 0.01, 0.02; respectively). The fold increase value of IL-5 was significantly lower at 7th day in nebulized group when compared to systemic one (p = 0.02). At 7th day, although in both treatment groups the percentage of T reg cells was suppressed, it remained significantly higher in the nebule one when compared to systemic route (p = 0.04). In the management of

Relativity theory - topical

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schmutzer, E.

1979-01-01

Issued on the occasion of Albert Einstein's 100th birthday the book deals topically with the special and general relativity theory. The latest experiments to confirm the relativity theory are described and the historical development of the theory is presented in detail. Emphasis is given to the disclosure of deep insights into the nature of matter. Of interest to experts in physical and natural sciences and to mathematicians

A comparison of patient pain and visual outcome using topical anesthesia versus regional anesthesia during cataract surgery

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Hosoda Y

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Yoshikatsu Hosoda, Shoji Kuriyama, Yoko Jingami, Hidetsugu Hattori, Hisako Hayashi, Miho Matsumoto Department of Ophthalmology, Otsu Red-Cross Hospital, Otsu, Japan Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the level of patient pain during the phacoemulsification and implantation of foldable intraocular lenses while under topical, intracameral, or sub-Tenon lidocaine.Patients and methods: This was a retrospective study. Three hundred and one eyes subjected to cataract surgery were included in this study. All eyes underwent phacoemulsification surgery and intraocular lens implantation using topical, sub-Tenon, or intracameral anesthesia. The topical group received 4% lidocaine drops, and the intracameral group received a 0.1–0.2 cc infusion of 1% preservative-free lidocaine into the anterior chamber through the side port combined with topical drops of lidocaine. The sub-Tenon group received 2% lidocaine. Best-corrected visual acuity, corneal endothelial cell loss, and intraoperative pain level were evaluated. Pain level was assessed on a visual analog scale (range 0–2.Results: There were no significant differences in visual outcome and corneal endothelial cell loss between the three groups. The mean pain score in the sub-Tenon group was significantly lower than that in the topical and intracameral groups (P=0.0009 and P=0.0055, respectively. In 250 eyes without high myopia (<-6D, there were no significant differences in mean pain score between the sub-Tenon and intracameral groups (P=0.1417. No additional anesthesia was required in all groups.Conclusion: Intracameral lidocaine provides sufficient pain suppressive effects in eyes without high myopia, while sub-Tenon anesthesia is better for cataract surgery in eyes with high myopia. Keywords: cataract, anesthesia, topical, intracameral, sub-Tenon

Analyzing research trends on drug safety using topic modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Zou, Chen

2018-04-06

Published drug safety data has evolved in the past decade due to scientific and technological advances in the relevant research fields. Considering that a vast amount of scientific literature has been published in this area, it is not easy to identify the key information. Topic modeling has emerged as a powerful tool to extract meaningful information from a large volume of unstructured texts. Areas covered: We analyzed the titles and abstracts of 4347 articles in four journals dedicated to drug safety from 2007 to 2016. We applied Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) model to extract 50 main topics, and conducted trend analysis to explore the temporal popularity of these topics over years. Expert Opinion/Commentary: We found that 'benefit-risk assessment and communication', 'diabetes' and 'biologic therapy for autoimmune diseases' are the top 3 most published topics. The topics relevant to the use of electronic health records/observational data for safety surveillance are becoming increasingly popular over time. Meanwhile, there is a slight decrease in research on signal detection based on spontaneous reporting, although spontaneous reporting still plays an important role in benefit-risk assessment. The topics related to medical conditions and treatment showed highly dynamic patterns over time.

Topical Curcumin-Based Cream Is Equivalent to Dietary Curcumin in a Skin Cancer Model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sonavane, K.; Phillips, J.; Lakshmaiah, R. R.; Ekshyyan, O.; Moore-Medlin, T.; Rong, X.; Nathan, C. O.; Ekshyyan, O.; Moore-Medlin, T.; Rong, X.; Nathan, C.O.; Gill, J. R.; Clifford, J. L.; Abreo, F.; Boudreaux, D.; Nathan, C. O.

2012-01-01

Skin squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), the most common cancer in the USA, is a growing problem with the use of tanning booths causing sun-damaged skin. Antiproliferative effects of curcumin were demonstrated in an aggressive skin cancer cell line SRB12-p9 (ρ< 0.05 compared to control). Topical formulation was as effective as oral curcumin at suppressing tumor growth in a mouse skin cancer model. Curcumin at 15 mg administered by oral, topical, or combined formulation significantly reduced tumor growth compared to control (ρ=0.004). Inhibition of pAKT, pS6, p-4EBP1, pSTAT3, and pERK 1/2 was noted in SRB12-p9 cells post-curcumin treatment compared to control (ρ<0.05). Inhibition of pSTAT3 and pERK 1/2 was also noted in curcumin-treated groups in vivo. IHC analysis revealed human tumor specimens that expressed significantly more activated pERK ( ρ=0.006) and pS6 (ρ< 0.0001) than normal skin samples. This is the first study to compare topical curcumin to oral curcumin. Our data supports the use of curcumin as a chemo preventive for skin SCC where condemned skin is a significant problem. Prevention strategies offer the best hope of future health care costs in a disease that is increasing in incidence due to increased sun exposure.

The topical treatment of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis with the tincture of thioxolone plus benzoxonium chloride (Thio-Ben) along with cryotherapy: a single-blind randomized clinical trial.

Science.gov (United States)

Daie Parizi, Mohammad Hossein; Karvar, Mehran; Sharifi, Iraj; Bahrampour, Abbas; Heshmat Khah, Amireh; Rahnama, Zahra; Baziar, Zahra; Amiri, Rezvan

2015-01-01

A simple efficacious topical treatment for cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) is still an unresolved challenge. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of the topical use of thioxolone plus benzoxonium chloride (Thio-Ben) tincture in combination with cryotherapy in comparison with intralesional meglumine antimoniate (Glucantime) along with cryotherapy in treating anthroponotic CL (ACL). The study was conducted in Leishmaniasis Center in Dadbin Health Care Clinic, Kerman, Iran. Sixty-four CL lesions were randomly assigned to receive Thio-Ben plus cryotherapy (TC) (n = 32) or Glucantime plus cryotherapy (GC) (n = 32). Thio-Ben was used topically every other day and Glucantime was used intralesionally once a week for a maximum of 3 months. In both study groups, cryotherapy was administered using liquid nitrogen once every 2 weeks. Of 64 recruited lesions, 47 lesions completed the study protocol. Twenty lesions (91%) in TC group and 23 lesions (92%) in GC group showed complete cure. TC group showed faster clinical response. Pain, hypersensitivity reaction, dizziness, and nausea were only seen in GC group. This study showed that the topical use of Thio-Ben combined with cryotherapy has a good efficacy in treating ACL with the benefit that Thio-Ben has more patient compliance and less side effects than intralesional Glucantime. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Radiation risks -a possible teaching topic

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Howes, R.W.

1975-01-01

Radiation risks has been the subject of hot debate since 1969 due in main to the energy crisis and the switch to nuclear power. Topics of this debate including; the controversy concerned with the late radiobiological effects of low level radiation, the social responsibility of modern scientists, the sometimes acrimonious discussion which has taken place over many years concerning radiation standards, and present day misgivings over the environmental aspect of the nuclear power programme, are discussed and suggestions are made of ways in which the topics could be introduced into teaching courses. (U.K.)

Efficacy of adding topical simvastatin to topical calcipotriol on improvement of cutaneous plaque psoriasis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fariba Iraji

2014-01-01

Conclusion: This study indicates that topical simvastatin is not associated with significant impacts in the treatment of psoriasis as compared to oral form. This study indicates that psoriasis is a systemic disorder with variable skin manifestations.

Nuclear safety - Topical issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-01-01

The following topical issues related to nuclear safety are discussed: steam generators; maintenance strategies; control rod drive nozzle cracks; core shrouds cracks; sump strainer blockage; fire protection; computer software important for safety; safety during shutdown; operational safety experience; external hazards and other site related issues. 5 figs, 5 tabs

Real-time topic-aware influence maximization using preprocessing.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Wei; Lin, Tian; Yang, Cheng

2016-01-01

Influence maximization is the task of finding a set of seed nodes in a social network such that the influence spread of these seed nodes based on certain influence diffusion model is maximized. Topic-aware influence diffusion models have been recently proposed to address the issue that influence between a pair of users are often topic-dependent and information, ideas, innovations etc. being propagated in networks are typically mixtures of topics. In this paper, we focus on the topic-aware influence maximization task. In particular, we study preprocessing methods to avoid redoing influence maximization for each mixture from scratch. We explore two preprocessing algorithms with theoretical justifications. Our empirical results on data obtained in a couple of existing studies demonstrate that one of our algorithms stands out as a strong candidate providing microsecond online response time and competitive influence spread, with reasonable preprocessing effort.

Molecular and clinical pharmacology of intranasal corticosteroids: clinical and therapeutic implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Derendorf, H; Meltzer, E O

2008-10-01

Intranasal corticosteroids (INSs) are effective treatments for allergic rhinitis, rhinosinusitis, and nasal polyposis. In recent years, increased understanding of corticosteroid and glucocorticoid receptor pharmacology has enabled the development of molecules designed specifically to achieve potent, localized activity with minimal risk of systemic exposure. Pharmacologic potency studies using affinity and other assessments have produced similar rank orders of potency, with the most potent being mometasone furoate, fluticasone propionate, and its modification, fluticasone furoate. The furoate and propionate ester side chains render these agents highly lipophilic, which may facilitate their absorption through nasal mucosa and uptake across phospholipid cell membranes. These compounds demonstrate negligible systemic absorption. Systemic absorption rates are higher among the older corticosteroids (flunisolide, beclomethasone dipropionate, triamcinolone acetonide, and budesonide), which have bioavailabilities in the range of 34-49%. Studies, including 1-year studies with mometasone furoate, fluticasone propionate, and budesonide that evaluated potential systemic effects of INSs in children have generally found no adverse effects on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis function or growth. Clinical data suggest no significant differences in efficacy between the INSs. Theoretically, newer agents with lower systemic availability may be preferable, and may come closer to the pharmacokinetic/pharmacologic criteria for the ideal therapeutic choice.

Topical minoxidil: cardiac effects in bald man.

Science.gov (United States)

Leenen, F H; Smith, D L; Unger, W P

1988-01-01

Systemic cardiovascular effects during chronic treatment with topical minoxidil vs placebo were evaluated using a double-blind, randomized design for two parallel groups (n = 20 for minoxidil, n = 15 for placebo). During 6 months of follow-up, blood pressure did not change, whereas minoxidil increased heart rate by 3-5 beats min-1. Compared with placebo, topical minoxidil caused significant increases in LV end-diastolic volume, in cardiac output (by 0.751 min-1) and in LV mass (by 5 g m-2). We conclude that in healthy subjects short-term use of topical minoxidil is likely not to be detrimental. However, safety needs to be established regarding ischaemic symptoms in patients with coronary artery disease as well as for the possible development of LV hypertrophy in healthy subjects during years of therapy. PMID:3191000

Topical erythropoietin promotes wound repair in diabetic rats.

Science.gov (United States)

Hamed, Saher; Ullmann, Yehuda; Masoud, Muhannad; Hellou, Elias; Khamaysi, Ziad; Teot, Luc

2010-01-01

Wound healing in diabetic patients is slower than in healthy individuals. Erythropoietin (EPO) has non-hemopoietic targets in the skin, and systemically administered EPO promotes wound healing in experimental animals. This study investigated the effect of topical EPO treatment on defective wound repair in the skin of diabetic rats. Full-thickness excisional skin wounds were made in 38 rats, of which 30 had diabetes. The wounds were then treated topically with a cream that contained either vehicle, 600 IU ml(-1) EPO (low dose), or 3,000 IU ml(-1) (high dose) EPO. We assessed the rate of wound closure during the 12-day treatment period, and microvascular density (MVD), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and hydroxyproline (HP) contents, and the extent of apoptosis in wound tissues at the end of the 12-day treatment period. Topical EPO treatment significantly reduced the time to final wound closure. This increased rate of closure of the two EPO-treated wounds in diabetic rats was associated with increased MVD, VEGF, and HP contents, and a reduced extent of apoptosis. In light of our finding that topical EPO treatment promotes skin wound repair in diabetic rats, we propose that topical EPO treatment is a therapeutically beneficial method of treating chronic diabetic wounds.

Comparative evaluation of topical Sodium fusidate cream in common pyodermas with topical gentamicin ointment and systemic antibiotics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roy AK

1996-01-01

Full Text Available ABSTRACT: One hundred cases of common pyodermas consisting of four groups, namely impetigo, furunculosis and chronic folliculitis were taken. Each group containing twenty five cases were divided again into three subgroups. From each group, 15 were treated with 2 percent Sodium fusidate cream, 5 were with 0.1 percent Gentamycin sulphate cream and the rest 5 with systemic Erythromycin stearate. In the group of Impetigo, Bockhart′s Impetigo and Furunculosis, topical Sodium fusidate cream showed excellent result, better than Gentamycin topical and equal to that of systemic Erythromycin stearate.

Characters and Topical Diversity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksson, Rune

2014-01-01

The purpose of this article is to contribute to our understanding of the difference between the bestseller and the non-bestseller in nonfiction. It is noticed that many bestsellers in nonfiction belongs to the sub-genre of creative nonfiction, but also that the topics in this kind of literature i...

Analysis and application of opinion model with multiple topic interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Xiong, Fei; Liu, Yun; Wang, Liang; Wang, Ximeng

2017-08-01

To reveal heterogeneous behaviors of opinion evolution in different scenarios, we propose an opinion model with topic interactions. Individual opinions and topic features are represented by a multidimensional vector. We measure an agent's action towards a specific topic by the product of opinion and topic feature. When pairs of agents interact for a topic, their actions are introduced to opinion updates with bounded confidence. Simulation results show that a transition from a disordered state to a consensus state occurs at a critical point of the tolerance threshold, which depends on the opinion dimension. The critical point increases as the dimension of opinions increases. Multiple topics promote opinion interactions and lead to the formation of macroscopic opinion clusters. In addition, more topics accelerate the evolutionary process and weaken the effect of network topology. We use two sets of large-scale real data to evaluate the model, and the results prove its effectiveness in characterizing a real evolutionary process. Our model achieves high performance in individual action prediction and even outperforms state-of-the-art methods. Meanwhile, our model has much smaller computational complexity. This paper provides a demonstration for possible practical applications of theoretical opinion dynamics.

Ligation of the ipsilateral common carotid artery and topical treatment for the prevention of epistaxis from guttural pouch mycosis in horses.

Science.gov (United States)

Cousty, M; Tricaud, C; De Beauregard, T; Picandet, V; Bizon-Mercier, C; Tessier, C

2016-01-09

The objective of the study was to evaluate the effect of ligation of the ipsilateral common carotid artery (CCA) combined with various antimycotic treatments for the prevention of epistaxis in horses with guttural pouch mycosis. For each case, ipsilateral ligation of the CCA was performed, followed by application of various topical medications under endoscopic guidance. Frequency and number of treatments, outcome and recurrence of haemorrhage were retrospectively recorded. Twenty-four horses were included. Topical medication was administered by detachment of the diphtheric membrane and spraying (n=16) or by intralesional injection directly in the plaques using a transendoscopic needle (n=8). Epistaxis recurred in five horses (20.8 per cent), causing death of four horses (16.6 per cent). The mean number of treatments was 6.3±4.0 (range 2-14) for all topical treatments. Ligation of the ipsilateral CCA and topical medication carries a fair prognosis for avoidance of recurrent episodes of epistaxis, but fatal haemorrhage can occur. Removal of the fungal plaque and topical treatment of the underlying lesion appeared to speed up resolution of the mycotic mucosal lesions. The described technique is a salvage procedure when financial or technical constraints prevent the use of transarterial catheter occlusion techniques. British Veterinary Association.

Topic structure for information retrieval

NARCIS (Netherlands)

He, J.; Sanderson, M.; Zhai, C.; Zobel, J.; Allan, J.; Aslam, J.A.

2009-01-01

In my research, I propose a coherence measure, with the goal of discovering and using topic structures within and between documents, of which I explore its extensions and applications in information retrieval.

Generative Topic Modeling in Image Data Mining and Bioinformatics Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xin

2012-01-01

Probabilistic topic models have been developed for applications in various domains such as text mining, information retrieval and computer vision and bioinformatics domain. In this thesis, we focus on developing novel probabilistic topic models for image mining and bioinformatics studies. Specifically, a probabilistic topic-connection (PTC) model…

Progressive Learning of Topic Modeling Parameters: A Visual Analytics Framework.

Science.gov (United States)

El-Assady, Mennatallah; Sevastjanova, Rita; Sperrle, Fabian; Keim, Daniel; Collins, Christopher

2018-01-01

Topic modeling algorithms are widely used to analyze the thematic composition of text corpora but remain difficult to interpret and adjust. Addressing these limitations, we present a modular visual analytics framework, tackling the understandability and adaptability of topic models through a user-driven reinforcement learning process which does not require a deep understanding of the underlying topic modeling algorithms. Given a document corpus, our approach initializes two algorithm configurations based on a parameter space analysis that enhances document separability. We abstract the model complexity in an interactive visual workspace for exploring the automatic matching results of two models, investigating topic summaries, analyzing parameter distributions, and reviewing documents. The main contribution of our work is an iterative decision-making technique in which users provide a document-based relevance feedback that allows the framework to converge to a user-endorsed topic distribution. We also report feedback from a two-stage study which shows that our technique results in topic model quality improvements on two independent measures.

Topical cetirizine and oral vitamin D: a valid treatment for hypotrichosis caused by ectodermal dysplasia.

Science.gov (United States)

Rossi, A; Miraglia, E; Fortuna, M C; Calvieri, S; Giustini, S

2017-02-01

Ectodermal dysplasia is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of inherited disorders characterized by abnormal development of two or more of the following ectodermal-derived structures: hair, teeth, nails and sweat glands. The hair is the most frequently affected structure. Hair shaft abnormalities are of great concern to these patients, but no effective treatments are available. We describe three girls with congenital hypotrichosis (9, 5 and 6 years old) caused by ectodermal dysplasia treated with topical cetirizine solution (2 mL. once daily) and oral vitamin D supplementation (1000 IU daily). After 6 months of treatment, the density of hair on the scalp increased in all patients. The vellus hair was replaced by terminal hair. Hair regrowth was evaluated both from the clinical and trichoscopic point of view. We propose a combination of topical cetirizine and oral vitamin D as a rational treatment of choice in congenital hypotrichosis caused by ectodermal dysplasia. © 2016 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology.

Selected topics in nuclear structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1994-01-01

The collection of abstracts on selected topics in nuclear structure are given. Special attention pays to collective excitations and high-spin states of nuclei, giant resonance structure, nuclear reaction mechanisms and so on

Topical anti-infective sinonasal irrigations: update and literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jivianne T; Chiu, Alexander G

2014-01-01

Sinonasal anti-infective irrigations have emerged as a promising therapeutic modality in the comprehensive management of chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS), particularly in the context of recalcitrant disease. The purpose of this article was to delineate the current spectrum of topical anti-infective therapies available and evaluate their role in the treatment of CRS. A systematic literature review was performed on all studies investigating the use of topical antimicrobial solutions in the medical therapy of CRS. Anti-infective irrigations were stratified into topical antibacterial, antifungal, and additive preparations according to their composition and respective microbicidal properties. The use of topical antibiotic irrigations has been supported by low-level studies in the treatment of refractory CRS, with optimal results achieved in patients who have undergone prior functional endoscopic sinus surgery and received culture-directed therapy. Multiple evidence-based reviews have not established any clinical benefit with the administration of topical antifungals, and their use is not currently recommended in the management of routine CRS. Topical additives including surfactants may be beneficial as adjunctive treatment for recalcitrant CRS, but additional research is needed to investigate their efficacy in comparison with other agents and establish safety profiles. Topical anti-infective solutions are not recommended as first-line therapy for routine CRS but may be considered as a potential option for patients with refractory CRS who have failed traditional medical and surgical intervention. Additional research is necessary to determine which patient populations would derive the most benefit from each respective irrigation regimen and identify potential toxicities associated with prolonged use.

Photostability and efficacy studies of topical formulations containing UV-filters combination and vitamins A, C and E.

Science.gov (United States)

Gaspar, L R; Campos, P M B G Maia

2007-10-01

It is already known that the photostability of a sunscreen is important for its performance on human skin. On the other hand, there are many formulations besides sunscreens containing combinations of UV-filters and daily use active substances with other claims like hydration and anti-aging effects. Vitamins A, C and E are frequently added in these kinds of products and it is not known if the UV-filters have some influence on the hydration and anti-aging effects of these vitamins on the skin as well as on their stability mainly when photounstable UV-filters like avobenzone and octyl methoxycinnamate are present in the formulation. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of two different UV-filters combinations, a photostable and a photounstable one, on the photostability as well as on the efficacy of a formulation containing vitamin A, C and E derivatives. The formulations that were investigated contained or not (vehicle: formulation 1) a combination of 0.6 % (w/w) vitamin A palmitate (1,700,000 UI/g), 2 % (w/w) vitamin E acetate and 2% (w/w) ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate (formulation 2) supplemented with a photounstable UV filter combination octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC), avobenzone (AVB) and 4-methylbenzilidene camphor (MBC) (formulation 3) or with a photostable UV filter combination OMC, benzophenone-3 (BP-3) and octocrylene (OC) (formulation 4). In the photostability studies, all formulations were spread onto a glass plate and exposed to UVA/UVB irradiation. The filter components and vitamins were quantified by HPLC analysis with detection at 325 and 235 nm and by spectrophotometry. To simulate the effects of these formulations daily use, all of them (formulations 1-4) were applied on the dorsum of hairless mice, which were submitted to a controlled light-dark cycle (and were not irradiated), once a day for 5 days. Transepidermal water loss (TEWL), water content of the stratum corneum and viscoelastic properties of the skin were analyzed by using

Building bridges across electronic health record systems through inferred phenotypic topics.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, You; Ghosh, Joydeep; Bejan, Cosmin Adrian; Gunter, Carl A; Gupta, Siddharth; Kho, Abel; Liebovitz, David; Sun, Jimeng; Denny, Joshua; Malin, Bradley

2015-06-01

Data in electronic health records (EHRs) is being increasingly leveraged for secondary uses, ranging from biomedical association studies to comparative effectiveness. To perform studies at scale and transfer knowledge from one institution to another in a meaningful way, we need to harmonize the phenotypes in such systems. Traditionally, this has been accomplished through expert specification of phenotypes via standardized terminologies, such as billing codes. However, this approach may be biased by the experience and expectations of the experts, as well as the vocabulary used to describe such patients. The goal of this work is to develop a data-driven strategy to (1) infer phenotypic topics within patient populations and (2) assess the degree to which such topics facilitate a mapping across populations in disparate healthcare systems. We adapt a generative topic modeling strategy, based on latent Dirichlet allocation, to infer phenotypic topics. We utilize a variance analysis to assess the projection of a patient population from one healthcare system onto the topics learned from another system. The consistency of learned phenotypic topics was evaluated using (1) the similarity of topics, (2) the stability of a patient population across topics, and (3) the transferability of a topic across sites. We evaluated our approaches using four months of inpatient data from two geographically distinct healthcare systems: (1) Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH) and (2) Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). The method learned 25 phenotypic topics from each healthcare system. The average cosine similarity between matched topics across the two sites was 0.39, a remarkably high value given the very high dimensionality of the feature space. The average stability of VUMC and NMH patients across the topics of two sites was 0.988 and 0.812, respectively, as measured by the Pearson correlation coefficient. Also the VUMC and NMH topics have smaller variance of characterizing

Systemic exposure to benzoic acid and hippuric acid following topical application of clindamycin 1%/benzoyl peroxide 3% fixed-dose combination gel in Japanese patients with acne vulgaris.

Science.gov (United States)

Ino, Hiroko; Takahashi, Naoki; Saenz, Alessandra Alio; Wakamatsu, Akira; Hashimoto, Hirofumi; Nakahara, Norie; Hasegawa, Setsuo

2015-01-01

Clindamycin 1%/benzoyl peroxide 3% fixed-dose combination gel (CLDM/BPO3%) is a topical product for the treatment of acne vulgaris. In this study, plasma and urine concentrations of benzoic acid (BA) and hippuric acid (HA) were analyzed to estimate the pharmacokinetics (PK) of BPO after application of CLDM/BPO3% twice-daily for 7 days in Japanese patients with acne vulgaris. Seven-day repeated application of CLDM/BPO3% appears to be safe in this patient population. Concentrations of plasma and urine BA were below the limit of quantification before and after repeated application in most of the 12 adult male patients. Mean difference in Cmax and AUC0-last for plasma HA indicated increased exposures after repeated application, but with wide 90% confidence intervals. Mean Ae0-12 for urine HA was similar before and after repeated application. Repeated application of CLDM/BPO3% is thus unlikely to result in accumulation of BA and HA. The study suggests negligible systemic exposure to BPO metabolites from CLDM/BPO3% after 7-day repeated application in male patients with acne vulgaris. © 2014, The American College of Clinical Pharmacology.

Getting Started with Topic Modeling and MALLET

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shawn Graham

2012-09-01

Full Text Available In this lesson you will first learn what topic modeling is and why you might want to employ it in your research. You will then learn how to install and work with the MALLET natural language processing toolkit to do so. MALLET involves modifying an environment variable (essentially, setting up a short-cut so that your computer always knows where to find the MALLET program and working with the command line (ie, by typing in commands manually, rather than clicking on icons or menus. We will run the topic modeller on some example files, and look at the kinds of outputs that MALLET installed. This will give us a good idea of how it can be used on a corpus of texts to identify topics found in the documents without reading them individually.

Is topical haloperidol a useful glaucoma treatment?

OpenAIRE

Lavin, M. J.; Andrews, V.

1986-01-01

A randomised, double blind, single dose study of topical haloperidol, a dopamine receptor blocking drug, was performed on 20 healthy volunteers. After its administration a modest reduction in intraocular pressure was recorded over the six-hour study period, but the difference was not significant at the p less than 0.05 level. Although dopamine blocking agents are effective in reducing intraocular pressure in experimental animals, topical haloperidol appears unlikely to be clinically useful in...

Topical Melatonin for Treatment of Androgenetic Alopecia