Lung function improvements following inhaled indacaterol/glycopyrronium/mometasone furoate are independent of dosing time in asthma patients: a randomised trial.

Once-daily asthma treatment should prevent night-time deterioration, irrespective of the time of dosing. IND/GLY/MF, a fixed-dose combination of inhaled indacaterol acetate (IND, long-acting β-agonist (LABA)), glycopyrronium bromide (GLY, long-acting muscarinic antagonist) and mometasone furoate (MF, inhaled corticosteroid (ICS)) delivered by Breezhaler, is indicated in adult asthma patients inadequately controlled on LABA/ICS. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, three-period, crossover, phase II study was performed to investigate the bronchodilator effect of IND/GLY/MF (150/50/80 μg) dosed morning and evening placebo in patients with mild-moderate asthma.

Letter to the editor: indacaterol/glycopyrronium/mometasone furoate compared with salmeterol/fluticasone propionate in patients with asthma: a randomized controlled cross-over study.

Indacaterol (IND; 150 μg), glycopyrronium (GLY; 50 μg) and mometasone furoate (MF; 160 μg [high-dose ICS] and 80 μg [medium-dose ICS]) have been formulated as a once-daily (o.d.) fixed-dose combination treatment delivered via the Breezhaler® device for the treatment of patients with asthma.

Effects of bimagrumab, an activin receptor type II inhibitor, on pituitary neurohormonal axes.

Background: Bimagrumab is a human monoclonal antibody inhibitor of activin type II receptors (ActRII), with anabolic action on skeletal muscle mass by blocking binding of myostatin and other negative regulators of muscle growth. Bimagrumab is under evaluation for muscle wasting and associated functional loss in hip fracture and sarcopenia, and in obesity. Bimagrumab also blocks other endogenous ActRII ligands, such as activins, which act on the neurohormonal axes, pituitary, gonads and adrenal glands.

New laser power sensor using diamagnetic levitation.

This paper presents a preliminary study of an elementary device consisting of a small plate made from pyrolytic carbon levitated above a magnet array which is sensitive to any irradiating laser power. This device might provide an interesting alternative to power meters based on thermal measurement techniques via the Stefan-Boltzmann law or the photon-electron interaction. We show that the photo-response of a pyrolytic carbon plate in terms of levitation height versus irradiation power in the range of 20 mW to 1 W is sufficiently linear, sensitive, and reproducible to be used as a laser power sensor.

Static phase improvements in the LNE watt balance.

This paper describes the mechanical and electrical modifications carried out on the LNE watt balance to reduce the noise level associated with the static phase. The mechanical improvements concern the home-made balance beam using flexure hinges as pivots of the force comparator. The electrical improvements involve the source used to servo-control the equilibrium position of the beam during the static phase.

Effect of Hepatic Impairment on the Pharmacokinetics of Pradigastat, a Diacylglycerol Acyltransferase 1 (DGAT1) Inhibitor.

Background And Objective: Pradigastat, a novel diacylglycerol acyltransferase 1 inhibitor, is under development to treat familial chylomicronemia syndrome. The potential impact of hepatic impairment on the pharmacokinetics of pradigastat was evaluated in this study.

Methods: In this study, a single oral dose of 20 mg pradigastat was administered first to patients with mild and moderate hepatic impairment (n = 10/group) and subsequently to patients with severe hepatic impairment (n = 6).

Thermal desorption mass spectrometer for mass metrology.

This article presents a device for the study of physisorbed elements on polished surfaces (diameter ⩽56 mm) of the kind used in mass metrology. The technique is based on mass spectrometry of molecules desorbed after heating under vacuum of the analyzed surface. We describe a first application of the device to study current and future mass standards in order to understand how their surface reactivity depends on storage conditions, cleaning processes, and polishing methods.

Apparatus to measure adsorption of condensable solvents on technical surfaces by photothermal deflection.

This article describes an instrument for the measurement of the mirage effect as a tool to determine the molar adsorption per unit surface area Y(1) of condensable solvents in the presence of a non-condensable carrier gas. The present apparatus is a much improved version of previous prototypes developed in our laboratory and elsewhere with a higher surface bake-out temperature (150 °C rather than 40 °C), lower residual vacuum (3 Pa versus 100 Pa), greater sample surface (40 mm diameter instead of 10 mm), more powerful optical pump beam (150 W cf. 50 W), and larger saturated vapour preparation volume (4 L instead of 1 L).

[Abnormal electroencephalography results and specific language impairment: towards a theoretical neurodevelopmental model?].

Background: Specific language impairment (SLI) is a primary developmental disorder in which language is significantly more impaired than other developmental domains. Abnormal electroencephalographic recordings without clinical seizures are often observed. The aim of this retrospective study was to characterize the frequency of these abnormalities, to describe them and to analyze their association with anamnestic, clinical, paraclinical and evolution characteristics.

Theoretical analysis for the design of the French watt balance experiment force comparator.

This paper presents a preliminary analysis for designing a force comparator to be used in the French watt balance experiment. The first stage of this experiment consists in a static equilibrium, by means of a mechanical beam balance, between a gravitational force (a weight of an artefact having a known mass submitted to the acceleration due to the gravity) and a vertical electromagnetic force acting on a coil driven by a current subject to the magnetic induction field provided by a permanent magnet. The principle of the force comparison in the French experiment is explained.

The effect of the potassium channel activator, cromakalim, on antidepressant drugs in the forced swimming test in mice.

The forced swimming test (FST) is a widely used behavioural model to predict potential antidepressant (AD) action of compounds in humans. It has been previously shown that pretreatment with lithium, quinine and clonidine had additive effects on AD drugs in the FST, an effect proposed to be a result of potassium channel blockade. It is possible that pretreatment with potassium channel openers may induce opposite effects to those seen following pretreatment with potassium channel blockers in the FST.