Lungenheilkunde München-Pasing

Two review articles previously published from our working group were dedicated to the selection of endpoints as well as to reasons for premature stopping of randomized clinical trials (RCTs).1,2 We there first discussed the importance of mortality and morbidity endpoints vs. softer endpoints like revascularization rates and the issue of endpoint adjudication. Second, we have shed light on the statistical methods and requirements to stop RCTs prematurely due to safety, futility, or overwhelming efficacy (vs. the control arm). The main objective of this article is now to provide the clinical cardiologist with information how to judge and interpret published subgroup analyses. The next section will summarize the situation regarding subgroup analysis and put the current article in context. Modern RCTs typically look at outcomes of large populations. Based on the selection of the primary endpoint(s), and of size and duration of trials, their...

Radiation is the most important of all meteorological elements. It is the source of power that drives the atmospheric circulation, the oceanic circulation, and the hydrological cycle, and is the only means of energy exchange between the earth and the rest of the universe. In spite of this paramount importance, it is only in the present century that meteorologists have seriously turned their attention to radiation problems. The primary reasons for this involve the technical difficulties in the design and use of instruments for measuring radiation. These difficulties are much greater than those encountered with the coarser instruments for measuring temperature, air pressure, humidity, wind, and other climatic elements.