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Introduction: The purpose of this study was to reveal a functional role for arm-swing asymmetry during gait in healthy adults. To this end, the primary aim was to investigate the role of neuromuscular control on the asymmetry of propulsive and collision joint work at either end of the double-support phase (WDS) in the context of sidedness. The secondary aim was to investigate the effect of neuromuscular control on propulsive and collision joint work at either end of the single-support phase (WSS) in the context of arm-swing asymmetry.Methods: Slow -walking trials of 25 participants were analysed using principal component analysis to generate movement synergies (PMk). Independent variables included the tightness of neuromuscular control (N1) formulated from the first PMk and the directional Arm-swing asymmetry index (dASI). Dependent variables included the difference between double-support collision and propulsive joint work (WDS) and a ratio consisting of the difference between single-support collision and propulsive work of both sides (WSS). A linear mixed-effects model was utilized for aim 1 while a multiple linear regression analysis was undertaken for aim 2.Results: Healthy adult gait was accompanied by a left-side dominant arm-swing on average. For aim 1, N1 demonstrated a significant negative effect on WDS while sidedness had a negative direct effect and positive indirect effect through N1 on WDS. The most notable finding was the interaction between dASI and N1 which demonstrated a highly significant positive effect on WSS.Interpretation: Evidence was put forward that arm-swing asymmetry during gait is related to footedness among healthy adults. Future studies should look to formally confirm this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A frequently observed research finding is that females outperform males on tasks of verbal and language abilities, but there is considerable variability in effect sizes from sample to sample. The gold standard for evaluating gender differences in cognitive ability is to recruit a large, demographically representative sample. We examined 3 decades of U.S. student achievement in reading and writing from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to determine the magnitude of gender differences (N = 3.9 million), and whether these were declining over time as claimed by Feingold (1988). Examination of effect sizes found a developmental progression from initially small gender differences in Grade 4 toward larger effects as students progress through schooling. Differences for reading were small-to-medium (d = −.32 by Grade 12), and medium-sized for writing (d = −.55 by Grade 12) and were stable over the historical time. Additionally, there were pronounced imbalances in gender ratios at the lower left and upper right tails of the ability spectrum. These results are interpreted in the context of Hyde's (2005) gender similarities hypothesis, which holds that most psychological gender differences are only small or trivial in size. Language and verbal abilities represent one exception to the general rule of gender similarities, and we discuss the educational implications of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social robots are designed to interact with humans and this technology is entering early childhood classrooms across the world. Research is needed to understand teachers' perspectives on the benefits and barriers of using social robots with children. In this study, 94 teachers working in preschool or the early years of primary school, in Australia, completed a survey that asked teachers about their perspectives on using social robots in the classroom. Teachers reported that the main benefits of social robots would be to improve young children's learning and engagement and barriers included financial cost, limited teacher training, and technical support for using social robots in the classroom. Overall, teachers were generally neutral in their views about social robots, neither dismissing nor embracing them. It is recommended that early childhood teachers be provided with greater opportunities and training to experience these new digital technologies for supporting children's learning in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diphyllobothrium, also known as the "Broad Tapeworm" or "Fish Tapeworm," is a genus of Cestoda acquired through the consumption of undercooked fish. Although infection by a Diphyllobothrium spp. in the United States is rare, it remains an important global zoonosis, with an estimated burden of approximately 20 million people worldwide. A seldom on the Primary Care Physician's differential diagnosis in the United States, Diphyllobothrium spp. should be considered more readily when treating operational service members as they are exposed to endemic regions more frequently than the civilian population. This case presents one such service member diagnosed with Diphyllobothrium while aboard a U.S. naval vessel at sea, illustrating the importance of military medical providers considering Tapeworm infection even when risk factors seem remote. Diagnostic considerations, practical limitations of the Ova and Parasite (O&P) exam, particulars of specimen collection and handling, and recommendations for empiric treatment in the operational setting will be reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An interview with David Reilly, director of the WEL Project, is presented. He mentions that the resilience work can prompt alteration within the system to permit general practitioners (GPs) work to the best of their ability in deprived areas. He states that the slide in burnout begins when doctors feel they are disrupting their own integrity. He says that doctors attempt to protect themselves through a reflex shutting down of inter-personal space.

Sex differences in cognitive abilities are a controversial but actively researched topic. The present study examined whether sex-role identity mediates the relationship between sex and sex-typed cognitive abilities. Three hundred nine participants (105 males and 204 females) were tested on a range of visuospatial and language tasks under laboratory conditions. Participants also completed measures of sex-role identity, used to classify them into masculine, feminine, androgynous and undifferentiated groups. While sex differences were found for some but not all measures, significant sex-role differences were found for all spatial and language measures with the exception of a novel 2D Mental Rotation Task. Masculine sex-roles partially mediated the relationship between sex and a composite measure of spatial ability, while feminine sex-roles fully mediated the relationship between sex and a composite measure of language ability. These results suggest that sex-role identity may have greater utility in explaining individual differences in cognitive performance than biological sex alone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gender gaps in the development of mathematical and scientific literacy have important implications for the general public's understanding of scientific issues and for the underrepresentation of women in science, technology, engineering, and math. We subjected data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress to a meta-analysis to examine whether there were sex differences in mathematics and science achievement for students in the United States across the period 1990-2011. Results show that there were small but stable mean sex differences favoring males in mathematics and science across the past 2 decades, with an effect size of d = .10 and .13, respectively, for students in 12th grade. Furthermore, there were large sex differences in high achievers, with males being overrepresented by a factor of over 2:1 at the upper right of the ability distribution for both mathematics and science. Further efforts are called for to reach equity in mathematics and science educational outcomes for all students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interaction of a small-wavelength multimodal perturbation with a large-wavelength inclined interface perturbation is investigated for the reshocked Richtmyer-Meshkov instability using three-dimensional simulations. The ares code, developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, was used for these simulations and a detailed comparison of simulation results and experiments performed at the Georgia Tech Shock Tube facility is presented first for code validation. Simulation results are presented for four cases that vary in large-wavelength perturbation amplitude and the presence of secondary small-wavelength multimode perturbations. Previously developed measures of mixing and turbulence quantities are presented that highlight the large variation in perturbation length scales created by the inclined interface and the multimode complex perturbation. Measures are developed for entrainment, and turbulence anisotropy that help to identify the effects of and competition between each perturbations type. It is shown through multiple measures that before reshock the flow processes a distinct memory of the initial conditions that is present in both large-scale-driven entrainment measures and small-scale-driven mixing measures. After reshock the flow develops to a turbulentlike state that retains a memory of high-amplitude but not low-amplitude large-wavelength perturbations. It is also shown that the high-amplitude large-wavelength perturbation is capable of producing small-scale mixing and turbulent features similar to the small-wavelength multimode perturbations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The landscape of non-small cell lung cancer has changed dramatically over the past decade. This is largely due to the introduction of immunotherapy, and in particular, immune checkpoint blockade inhibitors. Anti-PD-1 immunotherapy is now standard treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. However, not all patients respond to immunotherapy, and few patients achieve long-term survival. Moreover, some patients experience adverse effects from the treatment. In this review, we explain the modes of actions of common immunotherapy strategies, summarise the clinical trials that have led to the widespread use of immunotherapy and present some current challenges in the field of immunotherapy. Immunotherapy has revolutionised anti-cancer treatment in solid organ malignancies. Specifically, the discovery of CTLA-4 followed by PD-1 in the early 2000s led to the practice-changing clinical development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI). Patients with lung cancer, including both small cell (SCLC) and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), benefit from the most commonly used form of immunotherapy in immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI), resulting in increased survival and quality of life. In NSCLC, the benefit of ICIs has now extended from advanced NSCLC to earlier stages of disease, resulting in durable benefits and the even the emergence of the word 'cure' in long term responders. However, not all patients respond to immunotherapy, and few patients achieve long-term survival. Patients may also develop immune-related toxicity, a small percentage of which is associated with significant mortality and morbidity. This review article highlights the various types of immunotherapeutic strategies, their modes of action, and the practice-changing clinical trials that have led to the widespread use of immunotherapy, with a focus on ICIs in NSCLC and the current challenges associated with advancing the field of immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study on the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability (RMI) is presented, which used a new experimental facility at Texas A&M University built for conducting shock-accelerated, inhomogeneous, inclined fluid interface experiments. The RMI develops from the misalignment of the pressure and density gradients for which the inclined shock tube facility is uniquely well suited since a fluid interface can be created at a prescribed angle to the incident shock. Measurements of the evolving RMI are taken using planar laser Mie scattering images for both the pre- and post-reshock regimes, which capture the qualitative evolution of the interface. Statistical measurements demonstrate that the inclined interface initial conditions have a high degree of run-to-run repeatability. The interface mixing width is scaled using the method developed in author's previous work and shows that the non-dimensional mixing width grows linearly in the pre-reshock regime and then levels off at the onset of reshock, after which it grows linearly again. Mie scattering images at late times exhibit the evolution of a secondary shear instability on the primary vortex feature, which has never been resolved in simulations of the inclined interface RMI. A 2D velocity field is obtained for this feature using particle image velocimetry and processed to indicate the strength of the vorticity present. Images of the interface after reshock reveal the inversion of the bubble and spike features and the decay of prominent features toward a turbulent state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field-based experiential learning is an effective way to introduce alternative dispute resolution concepts. This article presents a model of field-based learning in Cyprus that integrates concepts of conflict resolution with real-world experiences. Through this process, students learn to assess the effectiveness of conflict resolution strategies and to research, analyze, and report on conflict processes and their resolution. Although the model is based on a course in Cyprus, the example and course model are applicable to other locations and other conflicts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although gender-related differences in highly gender typed cognitive abilities are of considerable interest to educators and cognitive researchers alike, relatively little progress has been made in understanding the psychological processes that lead to them. Nash (1979) proposed a gender-role mediation hypothesis for such differences, with particular emphasis on spatial ability. However, changes in gender equality and gender stereotypes in the decades since merit a re-examination of whether a gender-role association still holds (Feingold 1988 ). A meta-analysis of 12 studies that examined gender-role identity and mental rotation performance was conducted. These included studies from the United Kingdom, Canada, Poland, Croatia, and the United States of America. The mean effect size for masculinity was r = .30 for men and r = .23 for women; no association was found between femininity and mental rotation. This effect size was slightly larger than that found previously by Signorella and Jamison (1986), and exceeds many other factors known to influence spatial ability. The implications of gender-role mediation of gender differences are discussed and future research directions are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Healing Shift Enquiry addresses the impasse of today's healthcare model in the face of the long-term conditions epidemic. Its aim is to study the enhancement of individual healing change, and ask how this can be enabled, taught, and scaled up to promote wider levels of change. It asks what services would look like if they held inner capacity, and its enablement, to be central. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although gender differences in cognitive abilities are frequently reported, the magnitude of these differences and whether they hold practical significance in the educational outcomes of boys and girls is highly debated. Furthermore, when gender gaps in reading, mathematics and science literacy are reported they are often attributed to innate, biological differences rather than social and cultural factors. Cross-cultural evidence may contribute to this debate, and this study reports national gender differences in reading, mathematics and science literacy from 65 nations participating in the 2009 round of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Consistently across all nations, girls outperform boys in reading literacy, d =-.44. Boys outperform girls in mathematics in the USA, d=.-2 and across OECD nations, d = .13. For science literacy, while the USA showed the largest gender difference across all OECD nations, d=.14, gender differences across OECD nations were non-significant, and a small female advantage was found for non-OECD nations, d =2.09. Across all three domains, these differences were more pronounced at both tails of the distribution for low- and high-achievers. Considerable cross-cultural variability was also observed, and national gender differences were correlated with gender equity measures, economic prosperity, and Hofstede's cultural dimension of power distance. Educational and societal implications of such gender gaps are addressed, as well as the mechanisms by which gender differences in cognitive abilities are culturally mediated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The cutaneous senses are traditionally thought to comprise four recognized submodalities that relay tactile, thermal, painful and pruritic (itch) information to the central nervous system, but there is growing evidence for the presence of a fifth modality that conveys positive affective (pleasant) properties of touch. Cutaneous sensory channels can be further classified as serving predominantly either discriminative or affective functions. The former provides information about the spatial and temporal localisation of events on the body surface, e.g., the presence of an insect or the temperature of a cold wind; and the latter, although widely recognised as providing the afferent neural input driving the negative emotional experience of pain, is here posited to provide the afferent neural input driving the positive emotional experience of affiliative touch as well. A distinction is made between the properties of fast conducting myelinated afferents and those of slowly conducting unmyelinated afferents, with the former subserving a sensory-discriminative role, and the latter an affective-motivational one. Here we review the basic elements of the somatosensory system and outline evidence for the inclusion of the ‘fifth’ sub-modality, conveyed by low-threshold C-fiber mechanoreceptors as the counterpart of high-threshold C-fiber nociceptors with both C-fiber systems serving opposing aspects of affective touch, yet underpining a common mechanism for the preservation of self and species. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article offers a number of tips for selecting a dedicated business forecasting software. According to the author, the search for such forecasting software should result in a solution that best suits a particular company's needs, circumstances, and expectations about the future. He advises that the forecaster must have a working knowledge of forecasting models, diagnostic tools, and error metrics in the selection process. Further, the author suggests to create a test data set or sets that best characterize a company's forecasting problems.

Background: The challenge of finding practical, patient-rated outcome measures is a key issue in the evaluation of health care systems and interventions. The ORIDL (Outcome in Relation to Impact on Daily Living) instrument (formerly referred to as the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital Outcomes Scale or GHHOS) has been developed to measure patient's views of the outcome of their care by asking about change, and relating this to impact on daily life. The aim of the present paper is to describe the background and potential uses of the ORIDL, and to report on its preliminary validation in a series of three studies in secondary and primary care. Methods: In the first study, 105 patients attending the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital (GHH) were followed-up at 12 months and changes in health status were measured by the EuroQol (EQOL) and the ORIDL. In the second study, 187 new patients at the GHH were followed-up at 3, 12, and 33 months, using the ORIDL, the Short Form 12 (SF-12), and the Measure Yourself Medical Outcome Profile (MYMOP). In study three, 323 patients in primary care were followed for 1 month post-consultation using the ORIDL and MYMOP. In all 3 studies the Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) was also used as an outcome measure. Results: Study 1 showed substantial improvements in main complaint and well-being over 12 months using the ORIDL, with two-thirds of patients reporting improvements in daily living. These improvements were not significantly correlated with changes in serial measures of the EQOL between baseline and 12 months, but were correlated with the EQOL transitions measure. Study 2 showed step-wise improvements in ORIDL scores between 3 and 33 months, which were only weakly associated with similar changes in SF-12 scores. However, MYMOP change scores correlated well with ORIDL scores at all time points. Study 3 showed similar high correlations between ORIDL scores and MYMOP scores. In all 3 studies, ORIDL scores were also significantly correlated with PEI-outcome scores. Conclusion: There is significant agreement between patient outcomes assessed by the ORIDL and the EQOL transition scale, the MYMOP, and the PEI-outcome instrument, suggesting that the ORIDL may be a valid and sensitive tool for measuring change in relation to impact on life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article addresses the issue surrounding the enlargement of the European Union (EU) and whether it will threaten Europeanization. Several national and international surveys, including the Eurobarometer and the World Values Survey, can provide information about the underlying values of European citizens, thus offering a way of assessing just how cohesive the EU is as a unit over time. The notion behind the enlargement is European coherence and the aim for economic interdependence.

Hyde, Bigler, Joel, Tate, and van Anders (2019) opened debate on the treatment by psychologists and researchers of sex−gender as a dichotomous variable (male−female) and the utility of alternative conceptions. In doing so though, they framed the alternative to a gender-binary as treating gender as a categorical variable. Hyde et al.'s review obscures important contributions of a large number of psychological researchers who for decades have treated gender as a continuous variable. Their work offers a forceful contrast to the traditional gender-binary approach and also has a direct bearing on some of the questions raised by Hyde et al., including gender differences in prevalence of depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A letter to the editor is presented in response to the article "Are the Clinical Effects of Homoeopathy Placebo Effects? Comparative Study of Placebo-Controlled Trials of Homoeopathy and Allopathy," by A. Shang and his colleagues, published in a 2005 issue of the journal "The Lancet."

Ordinary Least Square (OLS) models are often used for time series data, though they are most appropriated for cross-sectional data ... provides a check list of conditions that must be satisfied for an OLS model to be most efficient ... also, gives sufficiency variables that can be used to overcome various problems in the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents information on homeopathy. Homeopathy is a branch of Western medicine that has been rejected by Western medical orthodoxy during the last 200 years due to conceptual and scientific clashes. It varied in its approach to patients and illness in two fundamental ways. Firstly, it did not postulate a mind-body divide; it took a whole-person approach. Secondly, it varied in its approach to treatment, using the potential of toxin--suitably diluted--to provoke defense and self-regulatory responses rather than the more orthodox approach of blocking body reactions.

Describes how one can incorporate weather information into a forecasting model to improve the accuracy of demand forecasts ... it is preferable to use weather forecasts which are objectively (not subjectively) derived ... explains the findings of a study of consumer products company where weather information was used to forecast demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated consultations at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital (GHH), by the use of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 14 patients. Interviews (lasting 1–2 h) were taped and transcribed verbatim. Analysis was based on a grounded theory approach. Two main categories of themes emerged: (1) those “outside” the consultation, related to expectations, initially formed from experiences of family and friends, but then strengthened by ongoing attendance at GHH; and (2) themes “inside” the consultation including length of consultations, the whole-person approach, being treated as an individual, and telling and having their “story” listened to in depth. Equality of relationship, mutual respect, and sharing decisions were also prominent themes. In conclusion, patients attending the GHH highly value the holistic approach, and view time, empathy, and the therapeutic relationship as being of key importance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Provides information on the concept, objectives and procedures of the power politics simulation game. Benefits from the simulation; Mechanism of the simulation game; Sequence of events.

The purpose of this paper is to present a description and preliminary findings of a 12-month trial of a Local Court diversion programme, called MERIT for Magistrates' Early Referral into Treatment. The aim of MERIT is to divert eligible drug offenders to treatment and rehabilitation services. A total of 172 offenders were assessed and 131 entered the programme. The sources of referral were court (58%), police (17%) and self (10%). Main problem drugs were heroin (57%), cannabis (21%) and amphetamines (11%). The majority (85%) had previous convictions and 50% had been in jail. At the end of the trial period one-third (33%) completed the programme and one-third (33%) remained in treatment. Main treatment interventions were case management and out-patient counselling, detoxification, residential rehabilitation and methadone maintenance. Police records showed that of the original 43 (33%) graduates only six had come to police notice, mainly for relatively minor offences. Early acceptance and preliminary results has led to an expansion of the MERIT programme across New South Wales. With the rapid expansion of drug courts and diversion programmes across Australia, descriptive studies are useful to provide beneficial data to assist policy makers and service providers to develop programmes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Homeopathy is a branch of Western medicine that has mostly been rejected by Western orthodoxy for the last 200 years because of conceptual and scientific clashes. Homeopathy uses microdoses of potential toxins to provoke defense and self-regulatory responses, rather than the more orthodox approach of blocking body reactions. This approach hints at its clinical scope: it can help, at times resolve, conditions that are intrinsically reversible rather than mechanical problems, deficiencies, or irreversible breakdowns in body functions where it is only palliative. In recent years, there has been a renaissance of interest. Public demand has soared, and with it professional interest. Approximately 20% of Scotland's general practitioners have completed basic training. This is partly occasioned by public interest in complementary medicine and a sympathy with the more mind–body approach of homeopathy, and partly by recent scientific evidence. Some homeopathic dilutions are so extreme they are dismissed by critics as only placebo. Yet trials and meta-analyses of controlled trials are pointing toward real effects, mechanism of action unknown. Clinical outcome studies suggest useful clinical impact and excellent safety. There seems to be a potential to enhance patient care by integrating the two systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the advances in Western medicine, up to one in three people in populations served by this medical system are seeking some form of unorthodox care each year, and Europe is no exception. Patients have driven this change, to the point where complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the second biggest growth industry in Europe. Often patients have to rely on the growing numbers of CAM practitioners with a variable standard of care that ranges from excellent to dangerous. Many practitioners work without regulation or even work illegally. Many orthodox health care professionals have shared their patients' concerns. Over the last 15 years, these practitioners have moved from silent interest to open enquiry and growing use. For example, approximately one in five of Scotland's general practitioners have received basic training in integrating homeopathy with orthodox practice. The demand for CAM is in part a search for a broader range of therapies, but is also a call for a different approach to care, with less emphasis on drugs, and a more whole-person approach. Mostly, people look to CAM when orthodoxy has failed. But CAM is also increasingly becoming a first-line intervention for some, because of the worry about the side effects of conventional treatments and a perception that orthodoxy has become dehumanized. With some exceptions, research is still in its early stages and lacks infrastructure. Patient satisfaction, empirical clinical outcome, and cost are beginning to be emphasized over mechanism of action or explanatory models. Recent official reports are calling for national and European-level enquiry and response. Future development is likely to emphasize integrative care. The challenge is to create better medical systems, with a whole-person emphasis, calling on a broader range of approaches than is currently orthodox. We seem to need a reunion of the art and science of medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the effect of an alcohol brief intervention program on drinkers in bars and taverns. Details of the Operation Drinksafe; Description of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT); Changes in AUDIT scores.

Investigates the changing conflict behavior of high-risk states. Factors that are directly related to the behavior of high-risk states; Signficance of economic interdependence as a mitigating counterforce to aggressive tendencies; Relationship between conomic interdependence and peace; Effect of globalization on the behavior of high-risk states; Regional characteristics and geopolitical influences in high-risk states; Importance of trade openness for conflict propensity.

Examinating some of the basic features of a "person- Centered High School" as a substitute for the present traditional one. In such a high school the extracurricular activities must become an integral part of the personal development for each and every student. The facilities of the school are no longer limited to the school forums, but to the community and to the home as integral components of the school mission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two Diplomates in School Psychology outline the services of a Diplomate in School Psychology in the typical Student-Centered high school for today. Every high school in a democracy is in urgent need for the services of a Diplomate in School Psychology. The authors insist that the Diplomate in School Psychology is the best promise for "delinquency prevention" in our nation. They insist that nearly all health care facilities today boast the services of a Boarded physician, and the youth of our country are equally important and our high schools deserve no less, and deserve a Boarded School Psychologist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To test the hypothesis that homoeopathy is a placebo by examining its effect in patients with allergic rhinitis and so contest the evidence from three previous trials in this series.Design: Randomised, double blind, placebo controlled, parallel group, multicentre study.Setting: Four general practices and a hospital ear, nose, and throat outpatient department.Participants: 51 patients with perennial allergic rhinitis.Intervention: Random assignment to an oral 30c homoeopathic preparation of principal inhalant allergen or to placebo.Main outcome measures: Changes from baseline in nasal inspiratory peak flow and symptom visual analogue scale score over third and fourth weeks after randomisation.Results: Fifty patients completed the study. The homoeopathy group had a significant objective improvement in nasal airflow compared with the placebo group (mean difference 19.8 l/min, 95% confidence interval 10.4 to 29.1, P=0.0001). Both groups reported improvement in symptoms, with patients taking homoeopathy reporting more improvement in all but one of the centres, which had more patients with aggravations. On average no significant difference between the groups was seen on visual analogue scale scores. Initial aggravations of rhinitis symptoms were more common with homoeopathy than placebo (7 (30%) v 2 (7%), P=0.04). Addition of these results to those of three previous trials (n=253) showed a mean symptom reduction on visual analogue scores of 28% (10.9 mm) for homoeopathy compared with 3% (1.1 mm) for placebo (95% confidence interval 4.2 to 15.4, P=0.0007).Conclusion: The objective results reinforce earlier evidence that homoeopathic dilutions differ from placebo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]