R. H. van Gent

The effect of 3% and 6% hypertonic saline in viral bronchiolitis: a randomised controlled trial

Bronchiolitis is a common disorder in young children that often results in hospitalisation. Except for a possible effect of nebulised hypertonic saline (sodium chloride), no evidence-based therapy is available. This study investigated the efficacy of nebulised 3% and 6% hypertonic saline compared with 0.9% hypertonic saline in children hospitalised with viral bronchiolitis. In this multicentre, double-blind, randomised, controlled trial, children hospitalised with acute viral bronchiolitis were randomised to receive either nebulised 3%, 6% hypertonic saline or 0.9% normal saline during their entire hospital stay. Salbutamol was added to counteract possible bronchial constriction. The primary endpoint was the length of hospital stay. Secondary outcomes were need for supplemental oxygen and tube feeding. From the 292 children included in the study (median age 3.4 months), 247 completed the study. The median length of hospital stay did not differ between the groups: 69 h (interquartile range 57), 70 h (IQR 69) and 53 h (IQR 52), for 3% (n=84) and 6% (n=83) hypertonic saline and 0.9% (n=80) normal saline, respectively, (p=0.29). The need for supplemental oxygen or tube feeding did not differ significantly. Adverse effects were similar in the three groups. Nebulisation with hypertonic saline (3% or 6% sodium chloride) although safe, did not reduce the length of stay in hospital, duration of supplemental oxygen or tube feeding in children hospitalised with moderate-to-severe viral bronchiolitis. Hypertonic saline nebulisation did not reduce hospital stay for children with viral bronchiolitis http://ow.ly/xRVVx

Poor perception of dyspnoea in children with undiagnosed asthma

The aim of the present study was to establish the differences in dyspnoea perception between children with undiagnosed and diagnosed asthma. A cross-sectional community-based study was performed, which included a parental questionnaire on the childs respiratory health and testing of airway reversibility and bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR). “Diagnosed asthma” was defined by a physicians diagnosis of asthma. “Undiagnosed asthma” was defined by the presence of asthma symptoms combined with either airway reversibility or BHR without a physicians diagnosis of asthma. Only children with a positive BHR test were selected for further analysis. Perception of dyspnoea was assessed using the Borg scale and the visual analogue scale (VAS), plotted against the percentage fall in forced expiratory volume in one second and expressed as the slope of the regression line. Of the initial 1,758 participating children, 70 had undiagnosed asthma and 38 had diagnosed asthma. The Borg and VAS slopes in children with undiagnosed asthma were less steep than those of children with diagnosed asthma (Borg: 0.07 and 0.14, respectively; VAS: 0.06 and 0.11, respectively). Among children with bronchial hyperresponsiveness, those without a parents report of physicians diagnosis of asthma had a worse perception of dyspnoea than children with diagnosed asthma.

Participation in Daily Life of Children with Asthma

Asthma can have a negative effect on psychological and social well-being in childhood. Sports participation, school attendance, and quality of life are important issues for children with asthma and their parents. However, a structural evaluation of these factors is not always incorporated in the routine medical approach of children with asthma. Moreover, goals in asthma treatment, such as minimal symptoms and normal activity levels, are achieved in a minority of children. This review describes determinants that are important for the well-being of children with asthma and their parents. Besides the control of symptoms, factors such as sports participation, socializing in peer groups, school attendance, and quality of life must be considered. These issues are relevant when evaluating the management of children and adolescents with asthma. A multidisciplinary evaluation by a pediatrician, school nurse, gym teacher, and psychologist might contribute to an important decrease in the impact of asthma on daily life.

The star catalogues of Ptolemaios and Ulugh Beg - Machine-readable versions and comparison with the modern Hipparcos Catalogue

Context. The Australia Telescope Large Area Survey (ATLAS) aims to image a 7 deg2 region centred on the European Large Area ISO Survey – South 1 (ELAIS-S1) field and the Chandra Deep Field South (CDF-S) at 1.4 GHz with high sensitivity (up to σ ~ 10 μJy) to study the evolution of star-forming galaxies (SFGs) and Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) over a wide range of cosmic time. Aims. We present here ancillary radio observations at a frequency of 2.3 GHz obtained with the Australia Telescope Compact Array (ATCA). The main goal of this is to study the radio spectra of an unprecedented large sample of sources (~2000 observed, ~600 detected in both frequencies). Methods. With this paper, we provide 2.3 GHz source catalogues for both ATLAS fields, with a detection limit of 300 μJy (equivalent to 4.5σ in the ELAIS-S1 field and 4.0σ in the CDF-S). We compute spectral indices between 1.4 GHz and 2.3 GHz using matched-resolution images and investigate various properties of our source sample in dependence of their spectral indices. Results. We find the entire source sample to have a median spectral index αmed = −0.74, in good agreement with both the canonical value of −0.7 for optically thin synchrotron radiation and other spectral index studies conducted by various groups. Regarding the radio spectral index as indicator for source type, we find only marginal correlations so that flat or inverted spectrum sources are usually powered by AGN and hence conclude that at least for the faint population the spectral index is not a strong discriminator. We investigate the z–α relation for our source sample and find no such correlation between spectral index and redshift at all. We do find a significant correlation between redshift and radio to near-infrared flux ratio, making this a much stronger tracer of high-z radio sources. We also find no evidence for a dependence of the radio-IR correlation on spectral index.

Three editions of the star catalogue of Tycho Brahe - Machine-readable versions and comparison with the modern Hipparcos Catalogue

Tycho Brahe completed his catalogue with the positions and magnitudes of 1004 fixed stars in 1598. This catalogue circulated in manuscript form. Brahe edited a shorter version with 777 stars, printed in 1602, and Kepler edited the full catalogue of 1004 stars, printed in 1627. We provide machine-readable versions of the three versions of the catalogue, describe the differences between them and briefly discuss their accuracy on the basis of comparison with modern data from the Hipparcos Catalogue. We also compare our results with earlier analyses by Dreyer (1916) and Rawlins (1993), finding good overall agreement. The magnitudes given by Brahe correlate well with modern values, his longitudes and latitudes have error distributions with widths of about 2 arcmin, with excess numbers of stars with larger errors (as compared to Gaussian distributions), in particular for the faintest stars. Errors in positions larger than 10 arcmin, which comprise about 15 per cent of the entries, are likely due to computing or copying errors.

Adherence to follow-up recommendations in asthma

A cross-sectional study showed that 130 out of 1758 (8%) primary school children without a previous asthma diagnosis had undiagnosed asthma. Thirty-eight per cent of their parents refused to visit a general practitioner for this disorder. Factors associated with the refusal were high maternal education, mild symptoms and absence of airway reversibility.

No Evidence for an Early Seventeenth-Century Indian Sighting of Kepler's Supernova (SN1604)

In a recent paper in this journal, Sule et al. (2011) argued that an early 17th-century Indian mural of the constellation Sagittarius with a dragon-headed tail indicated that the bright supernova of 1604 was also sighted by Indian astronomers. In this paper it will be shown that this identification is based on a misunderstanding of traditional Islamic astrological iconography and that the claim that the mural represents an early 17th-century Indian sighting of the supernova of 1604 has to be rejected

Some modifications to the Wilson-Devinney program

Two important modifications implemented in the Wilson-Devinney light-curve interpretation program (Wilson & Devinney, 1971, 1973; Wilson, 1979), currently in use at Utrecht, are described.

A Photometric-Spectroscopic Analysis of the Algol-Type Binary U CRB

U CrB is a well-known Algol-type eclipsing binary (P = 3ḍ522, spectrum B6 V + GO III-IV). Although the system has been closely observed since it’s discovery (Winnecke, 1870), progress in unraveling its true nature has been slow. Early spectroscopic work suggested an early-type spectrum for the secondary which was in variance with the near absence of a secondary eclipse in the lightcurve. Rapid variations were also noted in the lightcurve (Lause, 1938; Batten, 1964; Piotrowski et al. , 1974; Olson, 1982), which are only partly attributable to the variability of the commonly used comparison star HD 137147 (Olson, 1980; van Gent, 1982a).