14 children with severe asthma were studied for 2 months in a double-blind cross-over trial to compare the efficacy of beclomethasone dipropionate delivered as an aerosol and as a powder from a rotahaler. Inhalation via the aerosol was satisfactory in 13 patients, each of whom used the rotahaler correctly. Younger children preferred to use the rotahaler. Comparison of daily symptoms, twice dail...

Family factors associated with the incidence of asthma and wheezing during childhood have been studied in a cohort of over 2000 children who, together with their families, were followed-up for five years. Episodes of wheezing not regarded by the parents as asthma had a different pattern of association with family factors to that found for asthma. The outcome of the two conditions in terms of ve...

A two part 8.5 month study was undertaken to see if peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) could be used to guide casualty officers deciding whether to admit or discharge children with asthma. In part 1 PEFR, immediate treatment, and admission or discharge of all children attending because of asthma were recorded. In part 2 the same information was recorded after the introduction of admission and dis...

We show that genetic recombination can be a powerful mechanism for escaping suboptimal peaks. Recent studies of empirical fitness landscapes reveal complex gene interactions and multiple peaks. However, classical work on recombination largely ignores the effect of complex gene interactions. Briefly, we restrict to fitness landscapes where the global peak is difficult to access. If the optimal g...

Resampling techniques are used widely within the ERP community to assess statistical significance and especially in the deception detection literature. Here we argue that because of statistical bias, bootstrap should not be used in combination with methods like peak – to –peak. Instead permutation tests provide a more appropriate alternative. Keywords: bootstrap, permutation, significance testi...

Using the theory of noncommutative symmetric functions, we introduce the higher order peak algebras (Sym(N))N≥1, a sequence of graded Hopf algebras which contain the descent algebra and the usual peak algebra as initial cases (N = 1 and N = 2). We compute their Hilbert series, introduce and study several combinatorial bases, and establish various algebraic identities related to the multisection...

BACKGROUND The aesthetically appealing eyebrow shape has been defined by its arch, located near the junction between the medial two-thirds and lateral one-third. The position of this arch has been historically described by arbitrary anatomical landmarks that have no logical structural relationship. Moreover, selection of endoscopic brow lift incision sites that define vector of pull and fixatio...

Background: PEF is a reasonably good measure of ventilatory function. It varies with various anthropometric parameters, geographical location of the subjects as well as various disease processes. Objective: To assess the relationship between PEF and certain selected anthropometric parameters and to devise prediction equation based upon these parameters. Materials and Methods: Three hundred heal...

Measurement of peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) is required for effective asthma treatment, but ethnic differences affect the application of prediction equations for lung function. PEFR was measured in a representative sample of 1000 students in Nablus, Palestine. Predicted PEFR equations for Europeans and Iranians were applied to both males and females in age groups < 21 and > or = 21 years. T...