ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: A modified grass allergen subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) product with MicroCrystalline Tyrosine and monophosphoryl lipid-A as an adjuvant system (Grass MATA MPL [PQ Grass]) is being developed as short-course treatment of grass-pollen allergic rhinitis (SAR) and/or rhinoconjunctivitis. We sought to evaluate the combined symptom and medication score (CSMS) of the optimized cumulative dose of 27,600 standardized units (SU) PQ Grass in a field setting prior to embarking on a pivotal Phase III trial. METHODS: In this exploratory, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial subjects were enrolled across 14 sites (Germany and the United States of America). Six pre-seasonal subcutaneous injections of PQ Grass (using conventional or extended regimens) or placebo were administered to 119 subjects (aged 18-65 years) with moderate-to-severe SAR with or without asthma that was well-controlled. The primary efficacy endpoint was CSMS during peak grass pollen season (GPS). Secondary endpoints included Rhinoconjunctivitis Quality of Life Questionnaire standardized (RQLQ-S) and allergen-specific IgG4 response. RESULTS: The mean CSMS compared to placebo was 33.1% (p = .0325) and 39.5% (p = .0112) for the conventional and extended regimens, respectively. An increase in IgG4 was shown for both regimens (p < .01) as well as an improvement in total RQLQ-S for the extended regimen (mean change -0.72, p = .02). Both regimens were well-tolerated. CONCLUSIONS: This trial demonstrated a clinically relevant and statistically significant efficacy response to PQ Grass. Unprecedented effect sizes were reached for grass allergy of up to ≈40% compared to placebo for CSMS after only six PQ Grass injections. Both PQ Grass regimens were considered equally safe and well-tolerated. Based on enhanced efficacy profile extended regime will be progressed to the pivotal Phase III trial.
ABSTRACT
In older adults' everyday life, time-based prospective memory (TBPM) is relevant as health-related intentions are often part of daily activities. Nonetheless, it is still unclear which task-related factors can potentially moderate the magnitude of age-related differences, such as duration of the PM target time (the time-window within which an individual must complete a given TBPM task), the frequency of the TBPM tasks, and the criterion chosen to compute PM accuracy. The present meta-analysis aimed to quantify age-related differences in laboratory TBPM tasks, and to investigate how specific task-related factors potentially moderate the magnitude of age effects. The results showed that age effects consistently emerged among the studies, with older adults showing lower TBPM performance and checking the clock less often than younger adults, especially for shorter intervals (e.g., ≤ 4â min). Furthermore, the results indicated that the duration of the PM target time interacted with the frequency of the PM task, suggesting that learning effects may attenuate the magnitude of age differences in TBPM performance. The results are discussed in terms of potential implications about the possible cognitive processes involved in TBPM and aging, as well as in terms of robustness of the TBPM laboratory paradigm in aging research.
Subject(s)
Memory, Episodic , Humans , Aged , Aging/psychology , Cognition , Time , LearningABSTRACT
We study the optical trapping of highly elongated linear nanostructures in the focal region of a high-numerical aperture lens (optical tweezers). The radiation torque and trapping force on these nanostructures that are modeled as chains of identical spherical scatterers are calculated by means of multipole field expansions in the framework of the transition matrix approach. We investigate both orientational and trapping stability and calculate force constants and trap parameters in order to clarify the role of the linear geometry in the optical trapping mechanism. Furthermore, we calculate optical trapping of nanowires of different materials and compare our theoretical findings with available experimental results.
Subject(s)
Models, Theoretical , Nanostructures/chemistry , Optical Tweezers , TorqueABSTRACT
The effectiveness of modeling atmospheric ice crystals of varying aspect ratios as clusters of spheres is investigated by calculation of the backscattered intensity in the millimeter-wave range by the transition matrix approach. Both single crystals and dispersions with a few choices of the orientational distribution are considered. Our calculations reproduce the features of the backscattered intensity that are due to the overall symmetry of the crystals and yield results in agreement with analogous calculations performed by other authors within the framework of the discrete dipole approximation.
ABSTRACT
Our previous theory for calculating the scattering pattern from a single aggregate of spheres deposited on a dielectric substrate is extended to deal with a dispersion of identical aggregates onto the substrate with a random distribution of their orientations. To this end the definition of the transition matrix of an aggregate is generalized to take account of the presence of the substrate; then the transformation properties under rotation of the newly defined transition matrix are used to perform analytically the required orientational averages. When the patterns calculated with this theory are compared with the calculations for a single aggregate, it can easily be seen that the features that reveal the anisotropy of the scatterers are not canceled by the averaging procedure.
ABSTRACT
The extinction spectrum from single and aggregated hemispheres whose flat faces lie on a reflecting surface is calculated, and some of the expected resonances are found to disappear for specific choices of the direction and the polarization of the incident wave. This resonance-suppressing effect is fully explained for the case of single hemispheres, whereas for the case of aggregated hemispheres the guidelines for its explanation are given.
ABSTRACT
The optical properties of a cloud of anisotropic dielectric particles when the orientational distribution is made nonrandom by interaction with an electrostatic field are studied. Since the interaction energy is determined by the polarizability of the particles, a general expression for the polarizability of nonspherical particles is worked out. In particular, we investigated the response to the electrostatic field of two different dispersions whose component particles are built as clusters of four identical spheres. Although in one cloud the clusters were shaped as linear chains, and in the other cloud the clusters were shaped as squares, the optical properties of both dispersions as a function of the static field are rather similar. There are, however, noticeable ranges of size within which the optical response of the two kinds of particles is substantially different.
ABSTRACT
The formalism that was previously devised [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 9, 1327 (1992)] to deal with the optical properties of homogeneous spheres containing an eccentric spherical inclusion is extended to the case of several inclusions. The extinction efficiency of dielectric spheres containing two identical metallic inclusions is calculated for a few significant geometries. Extinction by a low-density dispersion of the anisotropic scatterers mentioned above is also evaluated. Our results show that the subdivision of the included material has quite visible effects that strongly depend on both the polarization of the incident light and the geometric arrangement of the inclusions.
ABSTRACT
A method for studying the scattering properties of a cluster of dielectric spheres is proposed. The vector scattering problem is handled through Debye potentials and a mathematical technique that accounts for multiple scattering effects. The scattered field as well as the scattering and absorption cross sections can be computed without any restriction of principle on the angle of incidence of light and on the radia and refractive indexes of the spheres in the cluster. The resulting expressions take on the well known form when the cluster reduces to a single sphere.
