FReD: the Floral Reflectance Database - a web portal for analyses of flower colour

Background: Flower colour is of great importance in various fields relating to floral biology and pollinator behaviour. However, subjective human judgements of flower colour may be inaccurate and are irrelevant to the ecology and vision of the flower's pollinators. For precise, detailed information about the colours of flowers, a full reflectance spectrum for the flower of interest should be used rather than relying on such human assessments. Methodology/Principal Findings: The Floral Reflectance Database (FReD) has been developed to make an extensive collection of such data available to researchers. It is freely available at http://www.reflectance.co.uk. The database allows users to download spectral reflectance data for flower species collected from all over the world. These could, for example, be used in modelling interactions between pollinator vision and plant signals, or analyses of flower colours in various habitats. The database contains functions for calculating flower colour loci according to widely-used models of bee colour space, reflectance graphs of the spectra and an option to search for flowers with similar colours in bee colour space. Conclusions/Significance: The Floral Reflectance Database is a valuable new tool for researchers interested in the colours of flowers and their association with pollinator colour vision, containing raw spectral reflectance data for a large number of flower species

SUMMIT (Serially Unified Multicenter Multiple Sclerosis Investigation): creating a repository of deeply phenotyped contemporary multiple sclerosis cohorts.

BackgroundThere is a pressing need for robust longitudinal cohort studies in the modern treatment era of multiple sclerosis.ObjectiveBuild a multiple sclerosis (MS) cohort repository to capture the variability of disability accumulation, as well as provide the depth of characterization (clinical, radiologic, genetic, biospecimens) required to adequately model and ultimately predict a patient's course.MethodsSerially Unified Multicenter Multiple Sclerosis Investigation (SUMMIT) is an international multi-center, prospectively enrolled cohort with over a decade of comprehensive follow-up on more than 1000 patients from two large North American academic MS Centers (Brigham and Women's Hospital (Comprehensive Longitudinal Investigation of Multiple Sclerosis at the Brigham and Women's Hospital (CLIMB; BWH)) and University of California, San Francisco (Expression/genomics, Proteomics, Imaging, and Clinical (EPIC))). It is bringing online more than 2500 patients from additional international MS Centers (Basel (Universitätsspital Basel (UHB)), VU University Medical Center MS Center Amsterdam (MSCA), Multiple Sclerosis Center of Catalonia-Vall d'Hebron Hospital (Barcelona clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) cohort), and American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC-Multiple Sclerosis Interdisciplinary Research (AMIR)).Results and conclusionWe provide evidence for harmonization of two of the initial cohorts in terms of the characterization of demographics, disease, and treatment-related variables; demonstrate several proof-of-principle analyses examining genetic and radiologic predictors of disease progression; and discuss the steps involved in expanding SUMMIT into a repository accessible to the broader scientific community

Dermatite alérgica de contato a medicamentos de uso tópico: uma análise descritiva Allergic contact dermatitis to topical drugs: a descriptive analysis

FUNDAMENTOS: A dermatite de contato é uma dermatose comum e suas múltiplas causas dificultam seutratamento. OBJETIVO: O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar a frequência da sensibilização aos medicamentos de uso tópico, em serviço universitário; estudar as características da população afetada e identificar os principais sensibilizantes relacionados aos medicamentos tópicos. MÉTODOS: Realizou-se um estudo retrospectivo dos pacientes com hipótese diagnóstica de dermatite alérgica de contato e que foram submetidos a testes epicutâneos. Avaliaram-se os que tiveram diagnóstico final de dermatite alérgica de contato a medicamentos tópicos. RESULTADOS: Em um grupo de 329 pacientes submetidos a testes de contato, 42 (13%) tiveram testes de contato positivos e relevantes para medicamentos tópicos, pelo princípio ativo e/ou por outros componentes. Entre os testes positivos, 36 (85,7%) corresponderam aos princípios ativos e 28 (66,7%), a outros componentes das fórmulas, com alguns pacientes apresentando mais de um teste positivo. Entre os princípios ativos, a neomicina foi o mais frequente. CONCLUSÕES: Entre os pacientes estudados, a sensibilização aos medicamentos tópicos ocorreu em 13% dos casos, com discreta preferência pelo sexo feminino e maior número de casos entre pacientes brancos. Houve elevada frequência de dermatite alérgica de contato pela neomicina, agente de uso comum como automedicação e também como prescrição médica.<br>BACKGROUND: Allergic Contact Dermatitis is a common type of dermatitis, but its multiple etiologies hinder its management. OBJECTIVE: the objective of this study was to evaluate the frequency of sensitization to topical drugs in a university center, to study the main characteristics of the affected population, and to identify the allergens related with the dermatitis. METHODS: a retrospective and descriptive study with patients submitted to patch tests. The study was conducted with subjects whose patch test to topical drugs was positive. RESULTS: 329 patients were submitted to patch tests and 42 (13%) had positive and relevant patch tests to topical drugs. Among these patients, 36 (85.7%) had positive patch tests to the principal component and 28 (66.7%) to the other components. Some patients had more than one sensitization. Neomycin was the most important allergen. CONCLUSIONS: Among the studied patients, sensitization to topical agents happened in 13% of the cases, with slight preference for females and Caucasians. There was elevated sensitization to neomycin, a popular agent among patients and medical doctors