Patent Information on the Internet

Many people believe that the entire world's information is somehow accessible on the Internet and costs virtually nothing to retrieve. Others view the Internet as a slow, overrated mechanism for obtaining information that may or may not be reliable. For the information specialist, the Internet has become another useful resource for obtaining information. This article is an attempt to provide an overview of free and commercial sites containing patent databases and to outline the possibilities as well as the limitations of these patent information sources. In addition to this written article, we have set up a Web site (http://chemsear.ch/chimia/) which contains all the important links as well as additional information about patents on the Internet

Potential for acrylamide formation in potatoes: data from the 2003 harvest

Reducing sugars, free amino acids, and the potential for acrylamide formation were determined in more than 50 potato samples from the 2003 harvest in Switzerland. The reducing sugar content strongly correlated with acrylamide, whereas no correlation was found between acrylamide and free asparagine or the pool of free amino acids. The reducing sugar contents and the acrylamide potentials were higher in most of the cultivars tested than in the samples from 2002. This was probably due to the hot and dry summer of 2003. Monitoring sugars and amino acids during heating at 120°C and 180°C showed that glucose and fructose reacted much faster than sucrose and the amino acids. Glutamine was consumed to a larger extent than any of the other amino acids. During prolonged storage, the reducing sugars decreased considerably while only moderate changes in the free amino acids were observed. Altogether, glucose and fructose remain the critical factors for acrylamide formation in potatoes and represent the most feasible way of reducing the formation of acrylamide in potato product

Strengthen the European collaborative environmental research to meet European policy goals for achieving a sustainable, non-toxic environment

To meet the United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals and the European Union (EU) strategy for a non-toxic environment, water resources and ecosystems management require cost-efficient solutions for prevailing complex contamination and multiple stressor exposures. For the protection of water resources under global change conditions, specific research needs for prediction, monitoring, assessment and abatement of multiple stressors emerge with respect to maintaining human needs, biodiversity, and ecosystem services. Collaborative European research seems an ideal instrument to mobilize the required transdisciplinary scientific support and tackle the large-scale dimension and develop options required for implementation of European policies. Calls for research on minimizing society’s chemical footprints in the water–food–energy–security nexus are required. European research should be complemented with targeted national scientific funding to address specific transformation pathways and support the evaluation, demonstration and implementation of novel approaches on regional scales. The foreseeable pressure developments due to demographic, economic and climate changes require solution-oriented thinking, focusing on the assessment of sustainable abatement options and transformation pathways rather than on status evaluation. Stakeholder involvement is a key success factor in collaborative projects as it allows capturing added value, to address other levels of complexity, and find smarter solutions by synthesizing scientific evidence, integrating governance issues, and addressing transition pathways. This increases the chances of closing the value chain by implementing novel solutions. For the water quality topic, the interacting European collaborative projects SOLUTIONS, MARS and GLOBAQUA and the NORMAN network provide best practice examples for successful applied collaborative research including multi-stakeholder involvement. They provided innovative conceptual, modelling and instrumental options for future monitoring and management of chemical mixtures and multiple stressors in European water resources. Advancement of EU water framework directive-related policies has therefore become an option

Thrombophilia and outcomes of venous thromboembolism in older patients.

BACKGROUND Limited data exist on thrombophilic risk factors and clinical outcomes in the elderly with venous thromboembolism (VTE). OBJECTIVES To describe the prevalence of laboratory thrombophilic risk factors and their association with VTE recurrence or death in a cohort of elderly people with VTE. METHODS In 240 patients aged ≥65 years with acute VTE without active cancer or an indication for extended anticoagulation, we performed laboratory thrombophilia testing 1 year after the index VTE. Recurrence or death was assessed during the 2-year follow-up. RESULTS A total of 78% of patients had ≥1 laboratory thrombophilic risk factor(s). Elevated levels of von Willebrand factor, homocysteine, coagulant activity of factor VIII (FVIII:C), fibrinogen, FIX:C, and low antithrombin activity were the most prevalent risk factors (43%, 30%, 15%, 14%, 13%, and 11%, respectively). Additionally, 16.2% of patients experienced VTE recurrence and 5.8% of patients died. Patients with a von Willebrand factor of >182%, FVIII:C level >200%, homocysteine level >15μmol/L, or lupus anticoagulant had a significantly higher rate of recurrence than those without these risk factors (15.0 vs. 6.1 [P = .006], 23.5 vs. 8.2 [P = .01], 17.0 vs. 6.8 [P = .006], and 89.5 vs. 9.2 [P = .02] events per 100 patient-years, respectively). Furthermore, patients with a high fibrinogen level or hyperhomocysteinemia with a homocysteine level ≥30 μmol/L had significantly higher mortality than patients with normal levels (18.5 vs. 2.8 [P = .049] and 13.6 vs. 2 [P = .002] deaths per 100 patient-years, respectively). After adjustments for relevant confounders, these associations remained unchanged. CONCLUSION Laboratory thrombophilic risk factors are common in elderly people with VTE and allow for the identification of a population at the risk of worse clinical outcomes

A role for β-melanocyte-stimulating hormone in human body-weight regulation

SummaryPro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) expressing neurons mediate the regulation of orexigenic drive by peripheral hormones such as leptin, cholecystokinin, ghrelin, and insulin. Most research effort has focused on α-melanocyte-stimulating hormone (α-MSH) as the predominant POMC-derived neuropeptide in the central regulation of human energy balance and body weight. Here we report a missense mutation within the coding region of the POMC-derived peptide β-MSH (Y5C-β-MSH) and its association with early-onset human obesity. In vitro and in vivo data as well as postmortem human brain studies indicate that the POMC-derived neuropeptide β-MSH plays a critical role in the hypothalamic control of body weight in humans

A Comprehensive Approach for the Diagnosis of Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia-Experiences from the First 100 Patients of the PCD-UNIBE Diagnostic Center

Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a rare genetic disease characterized by dyskinetic cilia. Respiratory symptoms usually start at birth. The lack of diagnostic gold standard tests is challenging, as PCD diagnostics requires different methods with high expertise. We founded PCD-UNIBE as the first comprehensive PCD diagnostic center in Switzerland. Our diagnostic approach includes nasal brushing and cell culture with analysis of ciliary motility via high-speed-videomicroscopy (HSVM) and immunofluorescence labeling (IF) of structural proteins. Selected patients undergo electron microscopy (TEM) of ciliary ultrastructure and genetics. We report here on the first 100 patients assessed by PCD-UNIBE. All patients received HSVM fresh, IF, and cell culture (success rate of 90%). We repeated the HSVM with cell cultures and conducted TEM in 30 patients and genetics in 31 patients. Results from cell cultures were much clearer compared to fresh samples. For 80 patients, we found no evidence of PCD, 17 were diagnosed with PCD, two remained inconclusive, and one case is ongoing. HSVM was diagnostic in 12, IF in 14, TEM in five and genetics in 11 cases. None of the methods was able to diagnose all 17 PCD cases, highlighting that a comprehensive approach is essential for an accurate diagnosis of PCD

Long-Term Efficacy and Safety of Adalimumab in Pediatric Patients with Crohn's Disease

Background: IMAgINE 1 assessed 52-week efficacy and safety of adalimumab in children with moderate to severe Crohn's disease. Long-Term efficacy and safety of adalimumab for patients who entered the IMAgINE 2 extension are reported. Methods: Patients who completed IMAgINE 1 could enroll in IMAgINE 2. Endpoints assessed from weeks 0 to 240 of IMAgINE 2 were Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index remission (Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index ≤ 10) and response (Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index decrease ≥15 from IMAgINE 1 baseline) using observed analysis and hybrid nonresponder imputation (hNRI). For hNRI, discontinued patients were imputed as failures unless they transitioned to commercial adalimumab (with study site closure) or adult care, where last observation was carried forward. Corticosteroid-free remission in patients receiving corticosteroids at IMAgINE 1 baseline, discontinuation of immunomodulators (IMMs) in patients receiving IMMs at IMAgINE 2 baseline, and linear growth improvement were reported as observed. Adverse events were assessed for patients receiving ≥1 adalimumab dose in IMAgINE 1 and 2 through January 2015. Results: Of 100 patients enrolled in IMAgINE 2, 41% and 48% achieved remission and response (hNRI) at IMAgINE 2 week 240. Remission rates were maintained by 45% (30/67, hNRI) of patients who entered IMAgINE 2 in remission. At IMAgINE 2 week 240, 63% (12/19) of patients receiving corticosteroids at IMAgINE 1 baseline achieved corticosteroid-free remission and 30% (6/20) of patients receiving IMMs at IMAgINE 2 baseline discontinued IMMs. Adalimumab treatment led to growth velocity normalization. No new safety signals were identified. Conclusions: Efficacy and safety profiles of prolonged adalimumab treatment in children with Crohn's disease were consistent with IMAgINE 1 and adult Crohn's disease adalimumab trials