BACKGROUND:Home noninvasive ventilation (NIV) may improve chronic hypercarbia in COPD and patient-important outcomes. The efficacy of home high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) as an alternative is unclear.METHODS:We searched MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized trials of subjects from inception to March 31, 2023, and updated the search on July 14, 2023. We performed a frequentist network meta-analysis and assessed the certainty of the evidence using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation approach. We analyzed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing NIV, HFNC, or standard care in adult subjects with COPD with chronic hypercapnic respiratory failure. Outcomes included mortality, COPD exacerbations, hospitalizations, and quality of life (St George Respiratory Questionnaire [SGRQ]).RESULTS:We analyzed 24 RCTs (1,850 subjects). We found that NIV may reduce the risk of death compared to standard care (relative risk 0.82 [95% CI 0.66–1.00]) and probably reduces exacerbations (relative risk 0.71 [95% CI 0.58–0.87]). HFNC probably reduces exacerbations compared to standard care (relative risk 0.77 [0.68–0.88]), but its effect on mortality is uncertain (relative risk 1.20 [95% CI 0.63–2.28]). HFNC probably improves SGRQ scores (mean difference −7.01 [95% CI −12.27 to −1.77]) and may reduce hospitalizations (relative risk 0.87 [0.69–1.09]) compared to standard care. No significant difference was observed between HFNC and NIV in reducing exacerbations.CONCLUSIONS:Both NIV and HFNC reduce exacerbation risks in subjects with COPD compared to standard care. HFNC may offer advantages in improving quality of life.

Alveolar capillary dysplasia (ACD) is a fatal disorder that typically presents in the neonatal period with refractory hypoxemia and pulmonary hypertension. Lung biopsy is traditionally required to establish the diagnosis. We report a 22-mo-old male who presented with anemia, severe pulmonary hypertension, and right heart failure. He had a complicated hospital course resulting in cardiac arrest and requirement for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Computed tomography of the chest showed a heterogenous pattern of interlobular septal thickening and pulmonary edema. The etiology of his condition was unknown, lung biopsy was contraindicated because of his medical fragility, and discussions were held to move to palliative care. Rapid whole-genome sequencing (rWGS) was performed. In 2 d it resulted, revealing a novel FOXF1 gene pathogenic variant that led to the presumptive diagnosis of atypical ACD. Cases of atypical ACD have been reported with survival in patients using medical therapy or lung transplantation. Based on the rWGS diagnosis and more favorable potential of atypical ACD, aggressive medical treatment was pursued. The patient was discharged home after 67 d in the hospital; he is currently doing well more than 30 mo after his initial presentation with only one subsequent hospitalization and no requirement for lung transplantation. Our case reveals the potential for use of rWGS in a critically ill child in which the diagnosis is unknown. rWGS and other advanced genetic tests can guide clinical management and expand our understanding of atypical ACD and other conditions.

The Respiratory Intensive Care Assembly of the European Respiratory Society gathered in Berlin to organise the third Respiratory Failure and Mechanical Ventilation Conference in February 2024. The conference covered key points of acute and chronic respiratory failure in adults. During the 3-day conference ventilatory strategies, patient selection, diagnostic approaches, treatment and health-related quality of life topics were addressed by a panel of international experts. In this article, lectures delivered during the event have been summarised by early career members of the Assembly and take-home messages highlighted.

Sony president Hiroki Totoki in a Q&A session with investors was asked about the failure of Concord, which was shut down less than two weeks after it released.

"Currently, we are still in the process of learning," said Totoki (via VideoGamesChronicle). "And basically, with regards to new IP, of course, you don’t know the result until you actually try it.

"So for us, for our reflection, we probably need to have a lot of gates, including user testing or internal evaluation, and the timing of such gates. And then we need to bring them forward, and we should have done those gates much earlier than we did.

"Also, we have a siloed organisation, so going beyond the boundaries of those organisations in terms of development, and also sales, I think that could have been much smoother.

"And then going forward, in our own titles and in third-party titles, we do have many different windows. And we want to be able to select the right and optimal window so that we can deploy them on our own platform without cannibalization, so that we can maximize our performance in terms of title launches. That’s all I have."

Sony senior vice president for finance and IR Sadahiko Hayakawa discussed the success of Helldivers 2 and the failure of Concord.

"We launched two live-service games this year," he said. "Helldivers 2 was a huge hit, while Concord ended up being shut down. We gained a lot of experience and learned a lot from both.

"We intend to share the lessons learned from our successes and failures across our studios, including in the areas of title development management as well as the process of continually adding expanded content and scaling the service after its release so as to strengthen our development management system.

"We intend to build on an optimum title portfolio during the current mid-range plan period that combines single-player games – which are our strengths and which have a higher predictability of becoming hits due to our proven IP – with live-service games that pursue upside while taking on a certain amount of risk upon release."

Concord released for the PlayStation 5 and PC on August 23, and it was shut down on September 6.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can contact the author on Twitter @TrunksWD.

Full Article - https://www.vgchartz.com/article/463026/sony-discusses-what-lessons-can-be-learned-from-the-failure-of-concord/

Former President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Jan. 6, 2021— the day his supporters occupied Congress in a failed insurrection to try to stop lawmakers from certifying Joe Biden’s election victory—was a “day of love.”

Trump made the baffling claim during a televised election town hall hosted by Univision.

Ramiro González, a construction worker from Tampa, told the meeting he deregistered as a Republican because he found Trump’s “inaction” during both Jan. 6 and the COVID-19 pandemic “disturbing.” He asked Trump to square his controversial behavior during the attack on the U.S. Capitol—and the fact that many of his own former administration officials don’t support him any longer—with why he should be re-elected.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

Brown dwarfs could be hiding dark matter inside their cores – if they are, there would be signs that could help us track it down

Contract negotiations in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia's ports since Monday have been called off. It comes as more than 100 organizations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.

We’re seeing an alarming increase in the number of failed biotech companies. While the biotechnology industry holds enormous […]

The post Why Biotech Companies Fail: Lessons for CEOs appeared first on World of DTC Marketing.

For the Pakistani military, the F-16 sale is tangible proof of the post-9/11 bilateral relationship, and we seriously doubt they will allow it to fail.

Jul 13, 2024

Juliette Kayyem writes that politicians and security experts, especially those focused on the upcoming conventions in Milwaukee and Chicago and future political rallies, must now reckon with the evident mismatch between what we know about political violence—it is pervasive and indiscriminate, according to the FBI—and how we plan for it.

Apr 18, 2024

The human tragedy continuing to unfold in Gaza and Israel reminds us how important it is to get strategic forecasting right. While in no way excusing Hamas’ culpability for 7 October, we also cannot dismiss the fact that the failure to anticipate and prepare for such an attack has had grave consequences for communities on both sides of this conflict, undermined efforts to bring peace and prosperity to the region, and affected global interests through the expansion of the conflict to the Red Sea and potentially beyond. 

Thin line between success and failure

Barb E. asked for Navy icing:

She got it.

 

Cindy M. just wanted the initial "G" for her 14-year-old daughter - but I guess that was TOO simple?

 

Jen and Pete asked the bakery to include paper plates and plastic silverware.

 

Pauline ordered a cake that said, "I hate you for leaving!"

...but sure, that's close enough.

 

Holli T. wanted the number 10 written as a number: "you know, with double digits."

Part of me hopes Alexis gets a great nickname outta this.

 

Charli C. made the mistake of telling her bakery who the cake was for:

THANKS, GUYS.

 

And finally, Jared C. asked for rainbow sprinkles.

How do you mess up rainbow sprinkles?

Oh, like this:

Thanks to Barb E., Cindy M., Jen & Pete, Pauline R., Holli T., Charli C., & Jared C. for the head bangers.

*****

Let's keep the Failure celebration going! The Bloggess called this book "freaking hilarious," so that's enough for me:

Confessions of a Domestic Failure: A Book About A Not-So-Perfect Mom

*****

And from my other blog, Epbot:

Fall is officially upon us here in Florida, as evidenced by the fact that it's a blustery 78 degrees outside tonight. (Don't worry; I've already broken out the scarves, sweaters, furry boots, and electric blanket, just to be safe.)

The other way you can tell it's Fall, though - besides all the Floridians in snowsuits - is the fall-tastical offerings in our nation's bakeries:

It's a...um...leaf. 

I think.

Theoretically I KNOW this isn't a Can-Can dancer lifting her skirts, but darned if I can see anything else.

Because nothing says, "MMAAAUUUURGGHHH!!!" like a Hay Beast with peek-a-boo breasticles.

 (HAY-O!)

 Well, except maybe the Bell-Bottomed Scare Bear of Perpetual Perplexity:

He's Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh? Stayin' Alive.

Oooh, and if your birthday happens to fall during Fall, then you also have these fun options:

Thanks to this cake and John's alarmingly comprehensive knowledge of slang words, I now know that "nut" is also a verb.

I don't recommend looking it up.

Here's one for our pyromaniac fans:

My deer, you are on FIRE tonight!

Also, I think I'd have that lump checked out. Just sayin'.

And finally, this bakery helpfully reminds us that Fall is "Harevet Time"

  So get those bunnies in for their yearly check-ups ASAP, hear?

Thanks to Kiki, Nancy M., Addie H., Sarah T., Bevin, Tanya S., & Shelley for the nice trips.

Full Article