Sharing knowledge is the key to success in a patient-physician relationship: how to produce a patient information leaflet on COPD

Background. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, and its prevalence is rising. In Italy, respiratory diseases are the third most common cause of death. The aim of the study is to produce a patient information leaflet (PIL) designed to educate patients about COPD in accordance with the best recommendations based on evidence and guidelines for the production of good quality written information, and to evaluate the impact of this intervention on the patients’ knowledge of COPD. Methods. The study was conducted in the Department of Chest Diseases of the Cardarelli Hospital, Naples, Italy. A total of 166 patients admitted with a diagnosis of COPD participated in the study. Patients were asked to answer 10 multiple-choice questions compiled to assess their knowledge of the disease and then to read the leaflet. Two days later they were asked to complete the questionnaire again to assess their post-intervention knowledge. Analysis of the data was performed using SPSS version 15.0. Results. After reading the leaflet, a statistically significant increase in the proportion of correct responses was noted (p<0.001 by Wilcoxon signed rank test). Patients had retained the knowledge gained at the one year followup (p<0.05 by Cochran’s Q test). Conclusions. An educational intervention directed at adults with COPD had a positive impact on the patients’ knowledge of COPD and this effect is long lasting

MOLECULAR AND HYPER-SPECTRAL DETECTION OF STAGONOSPORA NODORUM

Stagonospora nodorum (sex. Phaeosphaeria nodorum) is an ascomycete and the causal agent of stagonospora blotch (SNB) disease which is detected mainly on soft and durum wheat, causing consistent losses in quality and quantity in the main world cereal area (Eyal et al., 1987). This study consists in the setup of the fungal growth monitoring by novel analytical techniques during the Stagonospora nodorum pathogenic attack and blotch disease progression on durum wheat. Durum wheat plant, treated or untreated with Folicur, have been inoculated or not (control) both in greenhouse and in the field at different phenotypic stage. Leaf samples have been harvested at different time intervals and used for the subsequent analyses. These analyses consist in two different approach for monitoring and quantifying fungal growth: a spectral images-based analysis and a molecular quantitative (qPCR) method. The first is a no invasive analytical technique, which has recently been used for determining fungal contamination of plant tissues. The latter allow to specifically and quantitatively detect the amount of fungus inside its host. Fungal contamination can be determined by a classical approach (e.g. microscopy) within 120 hours post infection (hpi). The image spectroscopy combined with a robust statistical analysis (ANOVA+Principal Compenents Analysis) indicates 1510 nm as wavelength predictive for unraveling at 48-72 hpi the presence of S. nodorum. Morevoer, the use of specie-specific primers designed on the b-tub sequence of S. nodorum allows the early detection ( 24 hpi) of the pathogen straight from plant tissues. Results indicate that both approach can be used for early detecting S. nodorum in the field

TOXICITY TESTING IN THE 21ST CENTURY: A VISION AND A STRATEGY

With the release of the landmark report Toxicity Testing in the 21st Century: A Vision and a Strategy, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, in 2007, precipitated a major change in the way toxicity testing is conducted. It envisions increased efficiency in toxicity testing and decreased animal usage by transitioning from current expensive and lengthy in vivo testing with qualitative endpoints to in vitro toxicity pathway assays on human cells or cell lines using robotic high-throughput screening with mechanistic quantitative parameters. Risk assessment in the exposed human population would focus on avoiding significant perturbations in these toxicity pathways. Computational systems biology models would be implemented to determine the dose-response models of perturbations of pathway function. Extrapolation of in vitro results to in vivo human blood and tissue concentrations would be based on pharmacokinetic models for the given exposure condition. This practice would enhance human relevance of test results, and would cover several test agents, compared to traditional toxicological testing strategies. As all the tools that are necessary to implement the vision are currently available or in an advanced stage of development, the key prerequisites to achieving this paradigm shift are a commitment to change in the scientific community, which could be facilitated by a broad discussion of the vision, and obtaining necessary resources to enhance current knowledge of pathway perturbations and pathway assays in humans and to implement computational systems biology models. Implementation of these strategies would result in a new toxicity testing paradigm firmly based on human biology