Treatment B (treatment + b)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Acceptability of willingness to pay techniques to consumers

HEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 4 2002
Susan J. Taylor PhD
Abstract Objective The purpose of this study was to assess and compare the proportion of usable responses and protest votes obtained with two willingness to pay (WTP) techniques, contingent valuation (CV) and discrete choice experiment (DCE) and to assess the acceptability of the techniques to respondents. Setting and participants Pregnant women attending the public antenatal clinics of a Sydney teaching hospital were surveyed. Main variables studied Preference for either Treatment A (artificial rupture of the membranes followed by intravenous oxytocin) or Treatment B (prostaglandin E2 gel followed by oxytocin if necessary) was assessed. Then WTP for the preferred treatments was assessed using CV and WTP for specific attributes of the treatments in the DCE. In addition, the acceptability of the two techniques was compared in terms of responses deemed to be valid according to defined criteria, protest votes and comments recorded by consumers. Results With the CV, 74% of respondents chose gel and their maximum WTP was Aus$178 compared with $133 for the alternative. A total of 68% of responses were deemed to be valid including 5% who may have been expressing a protest vote. With the DCE, respondents were WTP $55 for every 1 h reduction in the length of time from induction to delivery. A total of 72% of responses were deemed valid and only two of these 258 women were considered to have expressed a protest vote. Conclusions Only a small number of women expressed objections to the use of WTP questions in health-care and the majority of women completed both questions successfully. [source]


Absence of clinically relevant drug interactions following simultaneous administration of didanosine-encapsulated, enteric-coated bead formulation with either itraconazole or fluconazole

BIOPHARMACEUTICS AND DRUG DISPOSITION, Issue 2 2002
B. Damle
Abstract This open-label, two-way crossover study was undertaken to determine whether the enteric formulation of didanosine influences the pharmacokinetics of itraconazole or fluconazole, two agents frequently used to treat fungal infections that occur with HIV infection, and whose bioavailability may be influenced by changes in gastric pH. Healthy subjects were randomized to Treatment A (200-mg itraconazole or 200-mg fluconazole) or Treatment B (same dose of itraconazole or fluconazole with 400 mg of didanosine as an encapsulated, enteric-coated bead formulation). In the itraconazole study, a lack of interaction was concluded if the 90% confidence interval (CI) of the ratio of the geometric means of log-transformed Cmax and AUC0,T values of itraconazole and hydroxyitraconazole, the active metabolite of itraconazole, were contained entirely between 0.75 and 1.33. In the fluconazole study, the equivalence interval for Cmax and AUC0,T was 0.80,1.25. The data showed that for itraconazole the point estimate and 90% CI of the ratios of Cmax and AUC0,T values were 0.98 (0.79, 1.20) and 0.88 (0.71, 1.09), respectively; for hydroxyitraconazole the respective values were 0.91 (0.76, 1.08) and 0.85 (0.68, 1.06). In the fluconazole study, the point estimate and 90% CI of the ratios of Cmax and AUC0,T values were 0.98 (0.93, 1.03) and 1.01 (0.99, 1.03), respectively. The Tmax for itraconazole, hydroxyitraconazole, and fluconazole were similar between treatments. Both studies indicated a lack of clinically significant interactions of the didanosine formulation with itraconazole or fluconazole. These results showed that the encapsulated, enteric-coated bead formulation of didanosine can be concomitantly administered with drugs, such as the azole antifungal agents, whose bioavailability may be influenced by interaction with antacids. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Effect of inoculation dosing on the composting of source-selected organic fraction of municipal solid wastes

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 3 2006
Raquel Barrena
Abstract The effects of a commercial inoculum (MicroGest 10X, Brookside Agra L.C.) on the field-scale composting of the source-selected organic fraction of municipal solid wastes (OFMSW) have been studied by following routine parameters of the composting process (temperature, oxygen content and moisture) and biologically-related tests such as the respirometric index and the maturity grade. The inoculum was added to composting piles of OFMSW at different levels: control (no added inoculum), treatment A (105 CFU g,1 of OFMSW), treatment B (106 CFU g,1 of OFMSW) and treatment C (107 CFU g,1 of OFMSW). The inoculum selected produced a significant acceleration of the composting process with high levels of biological activity in the thermophilic phase. In terms of the acceleration of composting and economy the optimal treatment was B, which produced a reduction of approximately half of the total composting time. Treatment C did not improve significantly the results obtained with treatment B, whereas treatment A has little effect on the composting of OFMSW when compared with the control experiment. Respirometric index (determined at 55 °C) and maturity grade appeared to be the most reliable tests to follow the biological activity of the composting of OFMSW. On the other hand, routine parameters such as temperature, oxygen content and moisture showed no significant differences among the different inoculation levels tested in the composting process. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry [source]


Reduced oral itraconazole bioavailability by antacid suspension

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PHARMACY & THERAPEUTICS, Issue 3 2005
M. Lohitnavy
Summary Aims:, To investigate the effects of antacid suspension on oral absorption of itraconazole. Methods:, A randomized, open-labelled, two-period, crossover study with a 1-week washout period was conducted in 12 healthy Thai male volunteers. The participants were allocated in either treatment A or B in the first period. In treatment A, the volunteers were orally administered with 200 mg of itraconazole alone. In treatment B, the volunteers were administered orally with 200 mg of itraconazole co-administered with antacid suspension. Serial serum samples were collected over the period of 24 h and subsequently analysed by using a validated high-pressure liquid chromatographic method with ultraviolet detection. Pharmacokinetic parameters were determined by non-compartmental analysis. Results:, Time to reach maximal concentration (Tmax), maximal concentration (Cmax) and area under the curve (AUC0--,) were markedly decreased in antacid-treated group. Tmax for treatment A was 3·0 ± 0·4 and 5·1 ± 2·7 h for treatment B. Cmax and AUC0--, of treatments A and B were 146·3 ± 70·5 vs. 43·6 ± 16·9 (ng/mL) and 1928·5 ± 1114·6 vs. 654·8 ± 452·2 (ng·h/mL) respectively. 90% Confidence interval (90% CI) of Cmax and AUC0--, were 24·1,42·1 and 16·2,65·9 respectively. Conclusions:, Rate and extent of itraconazole oral absorption were markedly decreased by concurrent use of antacid suspension. Hence, co-administration of itraconazole and antacid suspension should be avoided. [source]


A randomized study of docetaxel and dexamethasone with low- or high-dose estramustine for patients with advanced hormone-refractory prostate cancer

BJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2006
THOMAS NELIUS
OBJECTIVE To test the combination of docetaxel with two different doses of estramustine in patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), to improve response rates and to lower side-effects, as docetaxel-based chemotherapy is an increasing option for men with advanced HRPC, and alone or combined with estramustine, docetaxel improves median survival. PATIENTS AND METHODS In all, 72 patients with metastatic HRPC were randomly assigned to receive docetaxel (70 mg/m2 intravenously, on day 2 every 21 days) and estramustine (3 × 280 mg/day oral starting 1 day before docetaxel, for 5 consecutive days) for arm A, or estramustine (3 × 140 mg/day oral starting 1 day before docetaxel, for 3 consecutive days) for arm B. Premedication with oral dexamethasone at a total daily dose of 16 mg, in divided doses twice a day was administered in arm A on day 1,5 and in arm B on day 1,3. Initially, six cycles were administered. Chemotherapy was restarted after a significant increase in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) level. Patients were monitored for any measurable PSA response and toxicity. RESULTS Between the arms there was no statistically significant difference in time to progression and overall survival. However, treatment B had less treatment-related toxicity than A. Independent prognostic variables were baseline factors like PSA level, haemoglobin level, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status, and bone pain at presentation. CONCLUSIONS In this randomized phase II study the combination of docetaxel and estramustine had substantial activity in HRPC, with a significant incidence of severe toxicity, both haematological and not. Nevertheless, treatment-related toxicity was predictable and manageable. There was no better effect with a higher dose of estramustine with docetaxel than for a lower dose. There was a slight tendency to higher toxicity for high-dose estramustine but this was not statistically significant. The present results support the assertion that estramustine is not necessary in docetaxel-based treatment regimens. [source]


Effects on growth and survival of loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) larvae when co-fed on live and microparticle diets

AQUACULTURE RESEARCH, Issue 4 2009
Youji Wang
Abstract The effectiveness of co-feeding loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) larvae with live and microparticle diets on weaning performance was described here. Dry weight, total length, length and weight-specific growth rate (SGR) and survivals were monitored at 23,25 °C from the 4th day post hatching (dph) in different diet regimes, which included: microparticle diets (A), live cladocerans (B), enriched cladocerans (C), half microparticle diets plus half live cladocerans (D) and half microparticle diets plus half enriched cladocerans (E). The SGR (L and W) were significantly lower in treatment A than in other treatments after completing metamorphosis (day 4,20, P<0.05). On 30 dph, dry weight (mg) and total length (mm) were significantly lower in treatment A than in other treatments (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in growth in treatments B, C, D and E before 30 dph. However, when live feed was withdrawn from 31,60 dph, in metamorphosed fish, there were significant differences (P<0.05) among the treatments in survival and growth. Metamorphosed fish in treatment E had higher survival than the fish in other treatments at the end of the experiment. The SGR (L and W) of weaned fish in treatments B and C were similar but lower than in treatments A, D and E respectively. However, dry weight and total length in treatment A were significantly lower than in treatments D and E. It is suggested that weaning of M. anguillicaudatus from early development would appear to be feasible and that larval co-feeding improves the growth and the survival. [source]