INTRODUCTION Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) (in fixed combinations with long-acting β2-agonists [LABAs]) are frequently prescribed for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), outside their labeled indications and recommended treatment strategies and guidelines, despite having the potential to cause significant side effects. AREAS COVERED Although the existence of asthma in ...

The Société de Pneumologie de Langue Française proposes a decision algorithm on long-term pharmacological COPD treatment. A working group reviewed the literature published between January 2009 and May 2016. This document lays out proposals and not guidelines. It only focuses on pharmacological treatments except vaccinations, smoking cessation treatments and oxygen therapy. Any COPD diagnosis, b...

Landmarks are facts that must hold true at some point in all solutions to a planning problem. The exploitation of landmarks and associated ordering constraints has been shown to be very effective in computing high-quality plans, quickly. Indeed the success of LAMA, winner of the 2008 International Planning Competition sequential satisficing track, can be attributed in some measure to its abilit...

Inhaled bronchodilators with or without inhaled steroids (IGCs) are the mainstay of pharmacological treatment for stable obstructive airway diseases, including beta2agonists and muscarinic antagonists. Long-acting muscarinic antagonist bronchodilators (LAMA) and long-acting β2-agonists (LABA) are the treatment of choice for moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Also, ...

In this paper, we present a case study of KBS engines built thanks to our knowledge-based system (KBS) development platform Lama. The Lama platform enables the software-level composition of KBS engines (hence PSMs) for a given task from reusable reasoning blocks. This paper emphasizes engine design activity and shows how our platform helps easily create new engines or modify existing ones. Inde...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) represents a significant cause of global morbidity and mortality, with a substantial economic impact. Recent changes in the Global initiative for chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) guidance refined the classification of patients for treatment using a combination of spirometry, assessment of symptoms, and/or frequency of exacerbations. The aim of...

Utilizing multiple queues in Greedy Best-First Search (GBFS) has been proven to be a very effective approach to satisficing planning. Successful techniques include extra queues based on Helpful Actions (or Preferred Operators), as well as using Multiple Heuristics. One weakness of all standard GBFS algorithms is their lack of exploration. All queues used in these methods work as priority queues...

The bcr-abl oncogene is a fusion gene resulting from a reciprocal translocation which forms the hallmark of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Antisense oligonucleotides complementary to the two possible mRNA breakpoints were found to inhibit cell growth of CML patient cells and cell lines, but doubt exists about their specificity. In order to test the specificity, phosphorothioate and 3' phosphor...

The purpose of this study was to clarify the additive efficacy of short-acting β(2)-agonists (SABA) or muscarinic antagonists (SAMA) on dynamic hyperinflation and exercise tolerance in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who had been treated with long-acting bronchodilators. Thirty-two patients with stable COPD who had been treated with long-acting bronchodilators, includ...

OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of patients leaving against medical advice (LAMA) in an inpatient psychiatric facility in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. STUDY DESIGN Descriptive cross-sectional study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY Institute of Psychiatry, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Rawalpindi, from August 2010 to February 2011. METHODOLOGY Patients who got admitted during study period irrespectiv...