The impact of exposure to tobacco smoke and e-cigarettes on asthma-related outcomes: Systematic review informing the EAACI guidelines on environmental science for allergic diseases and asthma.

To inform the clinical practice guidelines' recommendations developed by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology systematic reviews (SR) assessed using GRADE on the impact of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) and active smoking on the risk of new-onset asthma/recurrent wheezing (RW)/low lung function (LF), and on asthma-related outcomes. Only longitudinal studies were included, almost all on combustion cigarettes, only one assessing e-cigarettes and LF. According to the first SR (67 studies), prenatal ETS increases the risk of RW (moderate certainty evidence) and may increase the risk of new-onset asthma and of low LF (low certainty evidence). Postnatal ETS increases the risk of new-onset asthma and of RW (moderate certainty evidence) and may impact LF (low certainty evidence). Combined in utero and postnatal ETS may increase the risk of new-onset asthma (low certainty evidence) and increases the risk of RW (moderate certainty evidence). According to the second SR (24 studies), ETS increases the risk of severe asthma exacerbations and impairs asthma control and LF (moderate certainty evidence). According to the third SR (25 studies), active smoking increases the risk of severe asthma exacerbations and of suboptimal asthma control (moderate certainty evidence) and may impact asthma-related quality-of-life and LF (low certainty evidence).

Clinical recommendations for dry powder inhaler use in the management of COPD in primary care.

Over 1400 patients using dry powder inhalers (DPIs) to deliver COPD maintenance therapies were recruited across Europe and Australia. Their peak inspiratory flow (PIF) was measured, inhaler technique was observed, and adherence to treatment assessed. From relating the findings with patient health status, and thereby identifying critical errors, key clinical recommendations for primary care clinicians were determined, namely - measure PIF before prescribing a DPI to ensure inhalation manoeuvre ability is well-matched with the device. Some patients could benefit from inhalation training whereas others should have their DPI changed for one better suited to their inspiratory ability or alternatively be prescribed an active device (such as a soft mist inhaler or pressurized metered dose inhaler). Observing the inhalation technique was valuable however this misses suboptimal PIF (approaching one fourth of patients with a satisfactory observed manoeuvre had a suboptimal PIF for their DPI). Assess adherence as deliberate non-adherence can point to a mismatch between a patient and their inhaler (deliberate non-adherence was significantly associated with PIFs below the minimum for the DPI). In-person observation of inhalation technique was found to be inferior to video rating based on device-specific checklists. Where video assessments are not possible, observation training for healthcare professionals would therefore be valuable particularly to improve the ability to identify the critical errors associated with health status namely 'teeth and lips sealed around mouthpiece', 'breathe in' and 'breathing out calmly after inhalation'. However, it is recommended that observation alone should not replace PIF measurement in the DPI selection process.Trial registration: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04532853 .

Mid-to-far infrared tunable perfect absorption by a sub - λ/100 nanofilm in a fractal phasor resonant cavity.

Integrating an absorbing thin film into a resonant cavity is the most practical way to achieve perfect absorption of light at a selected wavelength in the mid-to-far infrared, as required to target blackbody radiation or molecular fingerprints. The cavity is designed to resonate and enable perfect absorption in the film at the chosen wavelength λ. However, in current state-of-the-art designs, a still large absorbing film thickness (∼λ/50) is needed and tuning the perfect absorption wavelength over a broad range requires changing the cavity materials. Here, we introduce a new resonant cavity concept to achieve perfect absorption of infrared light in much thinner and thus, really nanoscale films, with a broad wavelength tenability by using a single set of cavity materials. It requires a nanofilm with giant refractive index and small extinction coefficient (found in emerging semi-metals, semi-conductors and topological insulators) backed by a transparent spacer and a metal mirror. The nanofilm acts both as absorber and multiple reflector for the internal cavity waves, which after escaping follow a fractal phasor trajectory. This enables a totally destructive optical interference for a nanofilm thickness more than 2 orders of magnitude smaller than λ. With this remarkable effect, we demonstrate angle-insensitive perfect absorption in sub - λ/100 bismuth nanofilms, at a wavelength tunable from 3 to 20 µm.

Enhancing the use of Asthma and COPD Assessment Tools in Balearic Primary Care (ACATIB): a region-wide cluster-controlled implementation trial.

Asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) health status assessment tools have demonstrated their value in guiding clinical management. Their use in primary care is still suboptimal. The objective of this study was to assess the effect of an educational intervention programme on the use of the Asthma Control Test (ACT), modified Medical Research Council (mMRC) and COPD Assessment Test (CAT) among primary care settings of the Balearic Islands, Spain. In this region-wide cluster-controlled implementation study, an educational intervention on the use of respiratory health status tools was provided to primary care practices in Mallorca (intervention group). Practices in Ibiza and Menorca functioned as control practices. Written and multimedia materials were provided to all participants to educate their colleagues. Primary outcome was the difference between intervention and control practices in the percentage of practices that increased the use-and recording-of ACT, CAT and mMRC tests between the 6-month period before intervention and the 6-month period after intervention. In the intervention group, 32 out of 45 (71%) centres enhanced the total number of tests, compared with 4 out of 12 (33%) in the non-intervention group (χ(2); P=0.02). Before intervention, 399 test scores were recorded in 88,194 patients (asthma: 57,339; COPD: 30,855). After intervention, 1,576 test scores were recorded in 92,714 patients (asthma: 61,841; COPD: 30,873). An educational intervention programme targeted on primary care physicians enhances the use of respiratory health status tools and promotes behavioural changes. However, the effect is very low and difficult to measure in clinical terms.