Towards pancreatic cancer diagnosis using EIS biochips

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New evidence of increased risk of rhinitis in subjects with COPD: a longitudinal population study

BACKGROUND: The aim of this population-based study was to investigate the risk of developing noninfectious rhinitis (NIR) in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a longitudinal population-based study comprising 3,612 randomly selected subjects from Gothenburg, Sweden, aged 25–75 years. Lung function was measured at baseline with spirometry and the included subjects answered a questionnaire on respiratory symptoms. At follow-up, the subjects answered a questionnaire with a response rate of 87%. NIR was defined as symptoms of nasal obstruction, nasal secretion, and/or sneezing attacks without having a cold, during the last 5 years. COPD was defined as a spirometry ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second divided by forced vital capacity (FEV(1)/FVC) <0.7. Subjects who reported asthma and NIR at baseline were excluded from the study. The odds ratios for developing NIR (ie, new-onset NIR) in relation to age, gender, body mass index, COPD, smoking, and atopy were calculated. RESULTS: In subjects with COPD, the 5-year incidence of NIR was significantly increased (10.8% vs 7.4%, P=0.005) and was higher among subjects aged >40 years. Smoking, atopy, and occupational exposure to gas, fumes, or dust were also associated with new-onset NIR. COPD, smoking, and atopy remained individual risk factors for new-onset NIR in the logistic regression analysis. CONCLUSIONS: This longitudinal population-based study of a large cohort showed that COPD is a risk factor for developing NIR. Smoking and atopy are also risk factors for NIR. The results indicate that there is a link present between upper and lower respiratory inflammation in NIR and COPD

Chemical Composition and Anti-Candida Activity of Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. Essential Oils Obtained by Different Distillation Processes

A comparative study on essential oils extracted from Mentha suaveolens Ehrh. from Italy is reported. Two extraction procedures were investigated: hydrodistillation and steam distillation, carried out as a continuous and fractionated procedure. Fresh and dried plant material from two harvests was used. The hydrodistillation method yielded a higher amount of essential oil. The dried plant was significantly richer in essential oil per kg of starting plant material. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of 112 samples showed that the essential oils belong to the piperitenone oxide-rich chemotype. In addition, piperitenone, p-cymen-8-ol, and limonene were among the most abundant compounds in the different samples. A higher amount of piperitenone oxide was obtained by hydrodistillation, while steam distillation gave a higher percentage of piperitenone and limonene. The essential oils were characterized for their anti-Candida albicans activity; higher potency was observed for the samples rich in piperitenone oxide, with MIC values ranging from 0.39 to 0.78 mg·mL−1 (0.039% and 0.078% p/v). The results of this work provide a deep insight into the methodology of essential oil extraction and the associated chemical variability of M. suaveolens Ehrh. Some of the essential oils are potent against C. albicans and could be considered for potential use in therapy

Non-infectious rhinitis is more strongly associated with early-rather than late-onset of COPD: data from the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS)

Purpose: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with several co-morbidities and non-infectious rhinitis (NIR) has emerged as a new possible co-morbidity. The primary aim of this study is to confirm a previously reported association between NIR and COPD in a multicentre population over time. The secondary aim is to investigate the course over time of such an association through a comparison between early- and late-onset COPD. Methods This study is part of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). A random adult population from 25 centres in Europe and one in Australia was examined with spirometry and answered a respiratory questionnaire in 1998-2002 (ECRHS II) and in 2008-2013 (ECRHS III). Symptoms of non-infectious rhinitis, hay fever and asthma, and smoking habits were reported. Subjects reporting asthma were excluded. COPD was defined as a spirometry ratio of FEV1/FVC < 0.7. A total of 5901 subjects were included. Results Non-infectious rhinitis was significantly more prevalent in subjects with COPD compared with no COPD (48.9% vs 37.1%, p < 0.001) in ECRHS II (mean age 43) but not in ECHRS III (mean age 54). In the multivariable regression model adjusted for COPD, smoking, age, BMI, and gender, non-infectious rhinitis was associated with COPD in both ECRHS II and III. Conclusion Non-infectious rhinitis was significantly more common in subjects with COPD at a mean age of 43. Ten years later, the association was weaker. The findings indicate that NIR could be associated with the early onset of COPD

Evaluating more naturalistic outcome measures:A 1-year smartphone study in multiple sclerosis

Objective: In this cohort of individuals with and without multiple sclerosis (MS), we illustrate some of the novel approaches that smartphones provide to monitor patients with chronic neurologic disorders in their natural setting. Methods: Thirty-eight participant pairs (MS and cohabitant) aged 18–55 years participated in the study. Each participant received an Android HTC Sensation 4G smartphone containing a custom application suite of 19 tests capturing participant performance and patient-reported outcomes (PROs). Over 1 year, participants were prompted daily to complete one assigned test. Results: A total of 22 patients with MS and 17 cohabitants completed the entire study. Among patients with MS, low scores on PROs relating to mental and visual function were associated with dropout (p < 0.05). We illustrate several novel features of a smartphone platform. First, fluctuations in MS outcomes (e.g., fatigue) were assessed against an individual's ambient environment by linking responses to meteorological data. Second, both response accuracy and speed for the Ishihara color vision test were captured, highlighting the benefits of both active and passive data collection. Third, a new trait, a person-specific learning curve in neuropsychological testing, was identified using spline analysis. Finally, averaging repeated measures over the study yielded the most robust correlation matrix of the different outcome measures. Conclusions: We report the feasibility of, and barriers to, deploying a smartphone platform to gather useful passive and active performance data at high frequency in an unstructured manner in the field. A smartphone platform may therefore enable large-scale naturalistic studies of patients with MS or other neurologic diseases

Campanhas Anti-Vacinação, Crenças Dos Pais E Consequências: Uma Mini Revisão De Literatura

RESUMO: O movimento anti-vacinação é presente no contexto mundial desde 1904, sejapor questões políticas, religiosas, culturais ou científicas. Este estudo teve como objetivorealizar uma revisão de literatura sobre as campanhas anti-vacinação, com o intuito decompreender porque os pais não querem mais vacinar seus filhos, enfatizando as consequências desse ato, pois apesar da alta aceitação da prática de imunização, com o adventodos movimentos contra-vacinação, doenças que antes foram erradicadas estão ressurgindo, trazendo consequências significativas para a sociedade. Foram selecionados artigos dos últimos 5 anos, com qualis maior que B2 que tratavam de movimentos contra vacinação. Os artigos analisados convergiram para os mesmos pontos, enfatizando fatorescomo a desconfiança dos pais em relação à vacina e sua eficácia, a propagação de fakenews e a ampla cobertura vacinal. Entretanto, um fato que pode ser considerado comouma lacuna, em todos os estudos, é o contexto econômico-social em que cada grupo analisado está inserido. Com isso, se tornou evidente o fato de que com o avanço tecnológico,tais ideais contra vacinação são propagados mais facilmente, sendo reforçados pela constante disseminação de fake news, tanto pelos pais amedrontados com os efeitos da vacina, como pela mídia mercadológica que busca a publicação de notícias exclusivas, semgarantia de fonte e veracidade. Aliando-se a desconfiança dos pais e a falta de informaçãoverídica, o movimento cria forças cada vez maiores no atual cenário

Promoting inclusive metrics of success and impact to dismantle a discriminatory reward system in science

“The most dangerous phrase in the language is: We’ve always done it this way.” —Rear Admiral Grace HopperSuccess and impact metrics in science are based on a system that perpetuates sexist and racist “rewards” by prioritizing citations and impact factors. These metrics are flawed and biased against already marginalized groups and fail to accurately capture the breadth of individuals’ meaningful scientific impacts. We advocate shifting this outdated value system to advance science through principles of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. We outline pathways for a paradigm shift in scientific values based on multidimensional mentorship and promoting mentee well-being. These actions will require collective efforts supported by academic leaders and administrators to drive essential systemic change.Peer reviewe

Manejo da amamentação de mães infectadas com COVID-19: uma revisão da literatura/ Management of breastfeeding of COVID-19 infected mothers: a literature review

Sabe-se que a amamentação possui inúmeros benefícios para o binômio mãe-filho, entretanto, com a declaração de pandemia no ano de 2020, provocada pelo SARS-CoV-2, isso gerou questionamentos em relação à continuação dessa prática e seus possíveis malefícios. Dessa forma, realizou-se uma revisão integrativa da literatura, com o intuito de investigar o manejo da lactação em mulheres com COVID-19. Para a realização deste estudo, foram utilizadas as plataformas: National Library of Medicine (PubMed), Trip Data Base e Google Acadêmico, no período de agosto a setembro de 2020, e foram selecionados ao todo 20 artigos, em português, inglês e espanhol. Nos artigos analisados, houve uma convergência para a continuidade da amamentação, uma vez que não foram detectadas partículas virais nas amostras de leite materno coletadas. No entanto, há diferentes recomendações para a prática da amamentação. A Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), por exemplo, recomenda que a amamentação continue, uma vez que os benefícios superam os riscos, entretanto, o Central Disease Control (CDC) recomenda que a decisão seja tomada em conjunto com a família, considerando caso a caso. De maneira geral, é necessário um cuidado com a higienização durante a amamentação, além do cuidado com visitas domiciliares, para reduzir os riscos de contaminação do recém-nascido. De forma conclusiva, os estudos são bastante limitados, uma vez que foram analisados poucos casos, em um curto espaço de tempo, necessitando de maior aprofundamento em futuras pesquisas