Effect of glucose on growth and co-culture of Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in artificial sputum medium

People with cystic fibrosis-related diabetes (CFRD) suffer from chronic infections with Staphylococcus aureus and/or Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In people with CFRD, the concentration of glucose in the airway surface liquid (ASL) was shown to be elevated from 0.4 to 4 mM. The effect of glucose on bacterial growth/interactions in ASL is not well understood and here we studied the relationship between these lung pathogens in artificial sputum medium (ASM), an environment similar to ASL in vivo. S. aureus exhibited more rapid adaptation to growth in ASM than P. aeruginosa. Supplementation of ASM with glucose significantly increased the growth of S. aureus (p < 0.01, n = 5) and P. aeruginosa (p < 0.001, n = 3). ASM conditioned by the presence of S. aureus promoted growth of P. aeruginosa with less lag time compared with non-conditioned ASM, or conditioned medium that had been heated to 121 °C. Stable co-culture of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa could be established in a 50:50 mix of ASM and S. aureus-conditioned supernatant. These data indicate that glucose, in a nutrient depleted environment, can promote the growth of S. aureus and P. aeruginosa. In addition, heat labile factors present in S. aureus pre-conditioned ASM promoted the growth of P. aeruginosa. We suggest that the use of ASM allows investigation of the effects of nutrients such as glucose on common lung pathogens. ASM could be further used to understand the relationship between S. aureus and P. aeruginosa in a co-culture scenario. Our model of stable co-culture could be extrapolated to include other common lung pathogens and could be used to better understand disease progression in vitro

Towards an interoperable ecosystem of AI and LT platforms : a roadmap for the implementation of different levels of interoperability

With regard to the wider area of AI/LT platform interoperability, we concentrate on two core aspects: (1) cross-platform search and discovery of resources and services; (2) composition of cross-platform service workflows. We devise five different levels (of increasing complexity) of platform interoperability that we suggest to implement in a wider federation of AI/LT platforms. We illustrate the approach using the five emerging AI/LT platforms AI4EU, ELG, Lynx, QURATOR and SPEAKER

Behaviour of Timber-Concrete Joints in Hybrid Members Subjected to Flexure

Abstract Possibility to develop rigid timber-concrete joint for hybrid timber-concrete specimens was stated. Behaviour of timber-concrete rigid and compliant joints were evaluated numerically and by experiment for the members subjected to flexure. Small scale hybrid timber-concrete specimens with the length, width and thickness equal to 400, 95 and 43 mm were investigated for case of three points bending. The small-scale hybrid timber-concrete specimens consists from the layers of cement base finishing mass Sacret BAM and timber boards of strength class C24 with thicknesses equal to 25 and 18 mm, correspondingly. The rigid timber-concrete joint was provided by the pieces of crushed granite, which were strengthened on the surface of the timber boards by epoxy glue Sica Dur 330. Dimensions of the crushed granite pieces changes within the limits from 2 to 25 mm. The compliant timber-concrete joint was provided by the screws with diameter and length equal to 4 and 40 mm, correspondingly. The screws were placed under the angles equal to 45 and 90 degrees relatively to the direction of fibres of the timber layers. Load-carrying capacity and maximum vertical displacements were gotten for groups of small-scale hybrid timber-concrete specimens with rigid and compliant timber-concrete joints. It was shown that providing of rigid timber-concrete joint enables to decrease 1.86 - 3.50 times the maximum vertical displacements of hybrid timber-concrete specimens. Load-carrying capacity of the specimens grows by 16.5 – 50.0% at the same moment.</jats:p

A modified fluorescent sensor for reporting glucose concentration in the airway lumen

We have modified the periplasmic Escherichia coli glucose/galactose binding protein (GBP) and labelled with environmentally sensitive fluorophores to further explore its potential as a sensor for the evaluation of glucose concentration in airway surface liquid (ASL). We identified E149C/A213R GBP labelled with N,N’-Dimethyl-N-(iodoacetyl)-N’-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl)ethylenediamine (IANBD, emission wavelength maximum 536nm) with a Kd for D-glucose of 1.02mM and a fluorescence dynamic range of 5.8. This sensor was specific for D-glucose and exhibited fluorescence stability in experiments for several hours. The use of E149C/A213R GBP-IANBD in the ASL of airway cells grown at air-liquid-interface (ALI) detected an increase in glucose concentration 10 minutes after raising basolateral glucose from 5 to 15mM. This sensor also reported a greater change in ASL glucose concentration in response to increased basolateral glucose in H441 airway cells compared to human bronchial epithelial cells (HBEC) and there was less variability with HBEC data than that of H441 indicating that HBEC more effectively regulate glucose movement into the ASL. The sensor detected glucose in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALf) from diabetic db/db mice but not normoglycaemic wildtype mice, indicating limited sensitivity of the sensor at glucose concentrations &lt;50μM. Using nasal inhalation of the sensor and spectral unmixing to generate images, E149C/A213R GBP-IANBD fluorescence was detected in luminal regions of cryosections of the murine distal lung that was greater in db/db than wildtype mice. In conclusion, this sensor provides a useful tool for further development to measure luminal glucose concentration in models of lung/airway to explore how this may change in disease.</jats:p

Data Science in Healthcare: Benefits, Challenges and Opportunities

The advent of digital medical data has brought an exponential increase in information available for each patient, allowing for novel knowledge generation methods to emerge. Tapping into this data brings clinical research and clinical practice closer together, as data generated in ordinary clinical practice can be used towards rapid-learning healthcare systems, continuously improving and personalizing healthcare. In this context, the recent use of Data Science technologies for healthcare is providing mutual benefits to both patients and medical professionals, improving prevention and treatment for several kinds of diseases. However, the adoption and usage of Data Science solutions for healthcare still require social capacity, knowledge and higher acceptance. The goal of this chapter is to provide an overview of needs, opportunities, recommendations and challenges of using (Big) Data Science technologies in the healthcare sector. This contribution is based on a recent whitepaper (http://www.bdva.eu/sites/default/files/Big%20Data%20Technologies%20in%20Healthcare.pdf) provided by the Big Data Value Association (BDVA) (http://www.bdva.eu/), the private counterpart to the EC to implement the BDV PPP (Big Data Value PPP) programme, which focuses on the challenges and impact that (Big) Data Science may have on the entire healthcare chain

Impact of chronic coronary syndromes on cardiovascular hospitalization and mortality: the ESC-EORP CICD-LT registry

Abstract Aims In Europe, global data on guideline adherence, geographic variations, and determinants of clinical events in patients with chronic coronary syndrome (CCS) remain suboptimal. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) EURObservational Research Programme (EORP) Chronic Ischemic Cardiovascular Disease Long-Term (CICD-LT) registry is a prospective European registry, and was designed to describe the profile, management, and outcomes of patients with CCS across the ESC countries. Methods and results We aimed to investigate clinical events at 1-year follow-up from the ESC EORP CICD-LT registry. One-year outcomes of 6655 patients from the 9174 recruited in this European registry were analysed. Overall, 168 patients (2.5%) died, mostly from cardiovascular (CV) causes (n = 97, 1.5%). Northern Europe had the lowest CV mortality rate, while southern Europe had the highest (0.5 vs. 2.0%, P = 0.04). Women had a higher rate of CV mortality compared with men (2.0 vs. 1.3%, P = 0.02). During follow-up, 1606 patients (27.1%) were hospitalized at least once, predominantly for CV indications (n = 1220, 20.6%). Among the population with measured low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol level at 1 year, 1434 patients (66.5%) were above the recommended target. Age, history of atrial fibrillation, previous stroke, liver disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or asthma, increased serum creatinine, and impaired left ventricular function were associated with an increased risk of CV death or hospitalization. Conclusion In the CICD registry, the majority of patients with CCS have uncontrolled CV-risk factors. The 1-year mortality rate is low, but these patients are frequently hospitalized for CV causes. Early identification of comorbidities may represent an opportunity for enhanced care and better outcomes. </jats:sec

Cohort profile. the ESC-EORP chronic ischemic cardiovascular disease long-term (CICD LT) registry

The European Society of cardiology (ESC) EURObservational Research Programme (EORP) Chronic Ischemic Cardiovascular Disease registry Long Term (CICD) aims to study the clinical profile, treatment modalities and outcomes of patients diagnosed with CICD in a contemporary environment in order to assess whether these patients at high cardiovascular risk are treated according to ESC guidelines on prevention or on stable coronary disease and to determine mid and long term outcomes and their determinants in this population

The ESC-EORP Chronic Ischaemic Cardiovascular Disease Long Term (CICD LT) registry

Abstract Aims The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) EURObservational Research Programme (EORP) Chronic Ischaemic Cardiovascular Disease Long Term (CICD LT) registry aims to study the clinical profile, treatment modalities, and outcomes of patients diagnosed with CICD in a contemporary environment in order to assess whether these patients at high cardiovascular (CV) risk are treated according to ESC guidelines on prevention or on stable coronary disease and to determine mid- and long-term outcomes and their determinants in this population. Methods and results Nine thousand one hundred and seventy-four patients over 18 years with documented CICD defined by a history acute coronary syndrome with/without ST elevation, previous coronary revascularization, or stable coronary artery disease were enrolled between 1 May 2015 and 31 July 2018. Individual patient data on clinical profile, biology, and treatment modalities were collected across 154 centres from 20 ESC countries. Two years of follow-up is scheduled in order to determine the following clinical outcomes: all-cause and CV death, all-cause and CV hospitalizations, changes in medications, and quality of life using the EuroQol5D-5L score. Conclusion The CICD LT is an international registry of care and outcomes of patients hospitalized with CICD which will provide insights into the contemporary profile and management of patients with this common disease. </jats:sec