Multiscale hierarchical structures from a nanocluster mesophase.

Spontaneous hierarchical self-organization of nanometre-scale subunits into higher-level complex structures is ubiquitous in nature. The creation of synthetic nanomaterials that mimic the self-organization of complex superstructures commonly seen in biomolecules has proved challenging due to the lack of biomolecule-like building blocks that feature versatile, programmable interactions to render structural complexity. In this study, highly aligned structures are obtained from an organic-inorganic mesophase composed of monodisperse CdS magic-size cluster building blocks.

Efficacy and safety of inhaled extrafine beclomethasone dipropionate in adults with asthma: a randomized, parallel-group, dose-ranging study (BEAM).

This manuscript describes a Phase II, dose-ranging, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active-controlled, parallel-group study conducted to identify the appropriate dose of beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) to be used in a single-inhaler extrafine formulation triple combination of BDP, formoterol fumarate and glycopyrronium. Patients aged 18-75 years with poorly-controlled asthma, receiving low/medium-dose inhaled corticosteroid (ICS), and who had forced expiratory volume in the 1st second (FEV) 50-85% predicted, were randomized to inhale BDP 50, 200 or 400 µg twice daily (BID; total daily doses of 100, 400 and 800 µg), placebo, or the active comparator QVAR® 160 µg BID, all via pressurized metered-dose inhalers for 8 weeks. The primary objective was to evaluate superiority of BDP over placebo for change from baseline in pre-dose morning FEV at Week 8.

Analytic solution of the SEIR epidemic model via asymptotic approximant.

An analytic solution is obtained to the SEIR Epidemic Model. The solution is created by constructing a single second-order nonlinear differential equation in and analytically continuing its divergent power series solution such that it matches the correct long-time exponential damping of the epidemic model. This is achieved through an asymptotic approximant (Barlow et al.

Accurate closed-form solution of the SIR epidemic model.

An accurate closed-form solution is obtained to the SIR Epidemic Model through the use of Asymptotic Approximants (Barlow et al., 2017). The solution is created by analytically continuing the divergent power series solution such that it matches the long-time asymptotic behavior of the epidemic model.

Effects of Reslizumab on Asthma Outcomes in a Subgroup of Eosinophilic Asthma Patients with Self-Reported Chronic Rhinosinusitis with Nasal Polyps.

Background: An estimated 7% of patients with asthma have chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP), and more than 80% have at least some radiographic evidence of sinonasal inflammation. Aspirin sensitivity is strongly associated with elevated blood eosinophil levels and increased asthma severity. Intravenous (IV) reslizumab has been shown to improve asthma control in patients with nasal polyps.

Efficacy and safety of dupilumab in perennial allergic rhinitis and comorbid asthma.

Background: Dupilumab, an anti-IL-4 receptor α mAb, inhibits IL-4/IL-13 signaling, key drivers of type 2/T2 immune diseases (eg, atopic/allergic disease). In a pivotal, phase 2b study (NCT01854047), dupilumab reduced severe exacerbations, improved lung function and quality of life, and was generally well tolerated in patients with uncontrolled persistent asthma despite using medium-to-high-dose inhaled corticosteroids plus long-acting β2-agonists.

Objective: To examine dupilumab's effect on the 22-item Sino-Nasal Outcome Test (SNOT-22) total score and its allergic rhinitis (AR)-associated items in asthma patients with comorbid perennial allergic rhinitis (PAR).

Collectively Improving Our Teaching: Attempting Biology Department-wide Professional Development in Scientific Teaching.

Many efforts to improve science teaching in higher education focus on a few faculty members at an institution at a time, with limited published evidence on attempts to engage faculty across entire departments. We created a long-term, department-wide collaborative professional development program, Biology Faculty Explorations in Scientific Teaching (Biology FEST). Across 3 years of Biology FEST, 89% of the department's faculty completed a weeklong scientific teaching institute, and 83% of eligible instructors participated in additional semester-long follow-up programs.

A Murine Model to Study Epilepsy and SUDEP Induced by Malaria Infection.

One of the largest single sources of epilepsy in the world is produced as a neurological sequela in survivors of cerebral malaria. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological mechanisms of such epileptogenesis remain unknown and no adjunctive therapy during cerebral malaria has been shown to reduce the rate of subsequent epilepsy. There is no existing animal model of postmalarial epilepsy.

Classroom sound can be used to classify teaching practices in college science courses.

Active-learning pedagogies have been repeatedly demonstrated to produce superior learning gains with large effect sizes compared with lecture-based pedagogies. Shifting large numbers of college science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty to include any active learning in their teaching may retain and more effectively educate far more students than having a few faculty completely transform their teaching, but the extent to which STEM faculty are changing their teaching methods is unclear. Here, we describe the development and application of the machine-learning-derived algorithm Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART), which can analyze thousands of hours of STEM course audio recordings quickly, with minimal costs, and without need for human observers.

Data on the oral CRTh2 antagonist QAW039 (fevipiprant) in patients with uncontrolled allergic asthma.

This article contains data on clinical endpoints (Peak Flow Expiratory Rate, fractional exhaled nitric oxide and total IgE serum levels) and plasma pharmacokinetic parameters concerning the use of the oral CRTh2 antagonist QAW039 (fevipiprant) in mild to moderate asthma patients. Information on experimental design and methods on how this data was obtained is also described. Further interpretation and discussion of this data can be found in the article "The oral CRTh2 antagonist QAW039 (fevipiprant): a phase II study in uncontrolled allergic asthma" (Erpenbeck et al.

Efficacy and safety of benralizumab for patients with severe asthma uncontrolled with high-dosage inhaled corticosteroids and long-acting β-agonists (SIROCCO): a randomised, multicentre, placebo-controlled phase 3 trial.

Background: Eosinophilia is associated with worsening asthma severity and decreased lung function, with increased exacerbation frequency. We assessed the safety and efficacy of benralizumab, a monoclonal antibody against interleukin-5 receptor α that depletes eosinophils by antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity, for patients with severe, uncontrolled asthma with eosinophilia.

Methods: We did a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled phase 3 study at 374 sites in 17 countries.

Phase 3 Study of Reslizumab in Patients With Poorly Controlled Asthma: Effects Across a Broad Range of Eosinophil Counts.

Background: IL-5, a mediator of eosinophil activity, is an important potential treatment target in patients with uncontrolled asthma. The efficacy of reslizumab, a humanized anti-human IL-5 monoclonal antibody, has been characterized in patients with blood eosinophils ≥ 400 cells/μL. This study further characterizes the efficacy and safety of reslizumab in patients with poorly-controlled asthma, particularly those with eosinophils < 400 cells/μL.

Reformulation of Ensemble Averages via Coordinate Mapping.

A general framework is established for reformulation of the ensemble averages commonly encountered in statistical mechanics. This "mapped-averaging" scheme allows approximate theoretical results that have been derived from statistical mechanics to be reintroduced into the underlying formalism, yielding new ensemble averages that represent exactly the error in the theory. The result represents a distinct alternative to perturbation theory for methodically employing tractable systems as a starting point for describing complex systems.

Efficacy and safety of dupilumab in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis inadequately controlled by topical treatments: a randomised, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging phase 2b trial.

Background: Data from early-stage studies suggested that interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-13 are requisite drivers of atopic dermatitis, evidenced by marked improvement after treatment with dupilumab, a fully-human monoclonal antibody that blocks both pathways. We aimed to assess the efficacy and safety of several dose regimens of dupilumab in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis inadequately controlled by topical treatments.

Methods: In this randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, we enrolled patients aged 18 years or older who had an Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) score of 12 or higher at screening (≥16 at baseline) and inadequate response to topical treatments from 91 study centres, including hospitals, clinics, and academic institutions, in Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland, and the USA.

Communication: Analytic continuation of the virial series through the critical point using parametric approximants.

The mathematical structure imposed by the thermodynamic critical point motivates an approximant that synthesizes two theoretically sound equations of state: the parametric and the virial. The former is constructed to describe the critical region, incorporating all scaling laws; the latter is an expansion about zero density, developed from molecular considerations. The approximant is shown to yield an equation of state capable of accurately describing properties over a large portion of the thermodynamic parameter space, far greater than that covered by each treatment alone.

The association between seasonal asthma exacerbations and viral respiratory infections in a pediatric population receiving inhaled corticosteroid therapy with or without long-acting beta-adrenoceptor agonist: a randomized study.

Background: A seasonal peak in asthma exacerbations in the fall has previously been reported. The association between fall exacerbations and viral respiratory tract infections (RTI) remains uncertain.

Objective: To investigate the number of fall exacerbations and the incidence of RTIs in a pediatric asthmatic population using an at-home mucus collection methodology.

Reversible oxygen scavenging at room temperature using electrochemically reduced titanium oxide nanotubes.

A material capable of rapid, reversible molecular oxygen uptake at room temperature is desirable for gas separation and sensing, for technologies that require oxygen storage and oxygen splitting such as fuel cells (solid-oxide fuel cells in particular) and for catalytic applications that require reduced oxygen species (such as removal of organic pollutants in water and oil-spill remediation). To date, however, the lowest reported temperature for a reversible oxygen uptake material is in the range of 200-300 °C, achieved in the transition metal oxides SrCoOx (ref. 1) and LuFe₂O(4+x) (ref.

Sarilumab Plus Methotrexate in Patients With Active Rheumatoid Arthritis and Inadequate Response to Methotrexate: Results of a Phase III Study.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of sarilumab in combination with methotrexate (MTX) for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Methods: Adults with moderate-to-severe RA and an inadequate response to MTX were randomized (1:1:1) to receive sarilumab (doses of 150 mg or 200 mg) or placebo every 2 weeks in conjunction with weekly MTX for 52 weeks. Co-primary end points were the proportion of patients achieving American College of Rheumatology 20% (ACR20) improvement responses at week 24, change from baseline in the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) disability index (DI) at week 16, and change from baseline in the modified Sharp/van der Heijde score (SHS) of radiographic damage at week 52.

Recommendations for the pharmacologic management of allergic rhinitis.

Allergic rhinitis (AR) affects at least 60 million people in the United States each year, resulting in a major impact on patient quality of life, productivity, and direct and indirect costs. As new therapies, data, and literature emerge in the management of AR, there is a need to communicate and disseminate important information to health care professionals to advance the practice of medicine and lessen the disease burden from AR. Treatment recommendations for AR have not been updated since the 2012 Food and Drug Administration approval of nonaqueous intranasal aerosol agents using hydrofluoroalkane propellants and the first aqueous intranasal combination product.

Rilonacept for gout flare prevention in patients receiving uric acid-lowering therapy: results of RESURGE, a phase III, international safety study.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of once-weekly subcutaneous rilonacept 160 mg for prevention of gout flares in patients initiating or continuing urate-lowering therapy (ULT).

Methods: This phase III study was conducted in the United States, South Africa, Europe, and Asia. Adults (n = 1315, 18-80 yrs) with gout, who were initiating or continuing ULT, were randomized to treatment with weekly subcutaneous injections of rilonacept 160 mg or placebo for 16 weeks followed by a 4-week safety followup.

Dupilumab treatment in adults with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis.

Background: Dupilumab, a fully human monoclonal antibody that blocks interleukin-4 and interleukin-13, has shown efficacy in patients with asthma and elevated eosinophil levels. The blockade by dupilumab of these key drivers of type 2 helper T-cell (Th2)-mediated inflammation could help in the treatment of related diseases, including atopic dermatitis.

Methods: We performed randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials involving adults who had moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis despite treatment with topical glucocorticoids and calcineurin inhibitors.

Long-term efficacy and safety of once-daily treatment with beclomethasone dipropionate nasal aerosol.

Beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) nasal aerosol has an established efficacy and safety profile for short-term allergic rhinitis (AR) treatment. However, managing perennial AR (PAR) symptoms often requires long-term treatment. This study evaluates efficacy and safety of long-term treatment with BDP nasal aerosol in PAR patients.

Free-standing carbon nanotube/graphene hybrid papers as next generation adsorbents.

The adsorption of a series of aromatic compounds from aqueous solution onto purified, free-standing single-walled carbon nanotube/graphene nanoplatelet hybrid papers is studied both experimentally and theoretically. Experimental data is obtained via changes in optical absorption spectra of the aqueous solutions and is used to extract all parameters required to implement a semi-empirical mass-transfer model. Agreement between experiment and theory is excellent and data from all compounds can be cast on a universal adsorption curve.

Rapid eye movement sleep and hippocampal theta oscillations precede seizure onset in the tetanus toxin model of temporal lobe epilepsy.

Improved understanding of the interaction between state of vigilance (SOV) and seizure onset has therapeutic potential. Six rats received injections of tetanus toxin (TeTX) in the ventral hippocampus that resulted in chronic spontaneous seizures. The distribution of SOV before 486 seizures was analyzed for a total of 19 d of recording.