Reporting of conflicts of interest in oral presentations at medical conferences : a delegate-based prospective observational study

© Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

P-glycoprotein-9 and macrocyclic lactone resistance status in selected strains of the ovine gastrointestinal nematode, Teladorsagia circumcincta

The Teladorsagia circumcincta P-glycoprotein-9 (Tci-pgp-9) gene has previously been implicated in multiple-anthelmintic resistance in this parasite. Here we further characterise genetic diversity in Tci-pgp-9 and its possible role in ivermectin (IVM) and multi-drug resistance using two UK field isolates of T. circumcincta, one susceptible to anthelmintics (MTci2) and the other resistant to most available anthelmintics including IVM (MTci5). A comparison of full-length Tci-pgp-9 cDNA transcripts from the MTci2 and MTci5 isolates (∼3.8 kb in both cases) indicated that they shared 95.6% and 99.5% identity at the nucleotide and amino acid levels, respectively. Nine non-synonymous SNPs were found in the MTci5 sequences relative to their MTci2 counterparts. Twelve genomic sequence variants of the first internucleotide binding domain of Tci-pgp-9 were identified and up to 10 of these were present in some individual worms, strongly supporting previous evidence that amplification of this gene has occurred in T. circumcincta. On average, fewer distinct sequence variants of Tci-pgp-9 were present in individual worms of the MTci5 isolate than in those of the MTci2 isolate. A further reduction in the number of sequence variants was observed in individuals derived from an IVM-treated sub-population of MTci5. These findings suggest that Tci-pgp-9 was under purifying selection in the face of IVM treatment in T. circumcincta, with some sequence variants being selected against

Size-Exclusion Chromatography Separation Reveals That Vesicular and Non-Vesicular Small RNA Profiles Differ in Cell Free Urine.

Urinary extracellular vesicles (EVs) and their RNA cargo are a novel source of biomarkers for various diseases. We aimed to identify the optimal method for isolating small (<200 nm) EVs from human urine prior to small RNA analysis. EVs from filtered healthy volunteer urine were concentrated using three methods: ultracentrifugation (UC); a precipitation-based kit (PR); and ultrafiltration (UF). EVs were further purified by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC). EV preparations were analysed with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Western blotting, nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA) and an Agilent Bioanalyzer Small RNA kit. UF yielded the highest number of particles both before and after SEC. Small RNA analysis from UF-concentrated urine identified two major peaks at 10-40 nucleotides (nt) and 40-80 nt. In contrast, EV preparations obtained after UC, PR or SEC combined with any concentrating method, contained predominantly 40-80 nt sized small RNA. Protein fractions from UF+SEC contained small RNA of 10-40 nt in size (consistent with miRNAs). These data indicate that most of the microRNA-sized RNAs in filtered urine are not associated with small-sized EVs, and highlights the importance of removing non-vesicular proteins and RNA from urine EV preparations prior to small RNA analysis

Active ingredients are reported more often for pharmacologic than non-pharmacologic interventions: an illustrative review of reporting practices in titles and abstracts

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A core outcome set for localised prostate cancer effectiveness trials : protocol for a systematic review of the literature and stakeholder involvement through interviews and a Delphi survey

Acknowledgements We would like to thank Professor Craig Ramsay, Professor Luke Vale, and Professor Vikki Entwistle for their comments on earlier drafts of the protocol. This study is funded by the Cancer Research Aberdeen and North East Scotland (CRANES) charity. Paula Williamson would like to acknowledge funding from the European Union Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013, FP7/2007-2011) under grant agreement number 305081 for the COMET initiative, which provided support for this work.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Impact of the Extent of Lymphadenectomy on Oncologic Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Radical Cystectomy for Bladder Cancer : A Systematic Review

Copyright © 2014 European Association of Urology. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewedPostprin

An ancient river landscape preserved beneath the East Antarctic Ice Sheet

The East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS) has its origins ca. 34 million years ago. Since then, the impact of climate change and past fluctuations in the EAIS margin has been reflected in periods of extensive vs. restricted ice cover and the modification of much of the Antarctic landscape. Resolving processes of landscape evolution is therefore critical for establishing ice sheet history, but it is rare to find unmodified landscapes that record past ice conditions. Here, we discover an extensive relic pre-glacial landscape preserved beneath the central EAIS despite millions of years of ice cover. The landscape was formed by rivers prior to ice sheet build-up but later modified by local glaciation before being dissected by outlet glaciers at the margin of a restricted ice sheet. Preservation of the relic surfaces indicates an absence of significant warm-based ice throughout their history, suggesting any transitions between restricted and expanded ice were rapid

Spatio-temporal changes in chimpanzee density and abundance in the Greater Mahale Ecosystem, Tanzania

Authors would like to acknowledge the Arcus Foundation, Jane Goodall Institute, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), The Nature Conservancy, and Frankfurt Zoological Society for supporting, facilitating, and funding this work.Species conservation and management require reliable information about animal distribution and population size. Better management actions within a species' range can be achieved by identifying the location and timing of population changes. In the Greater Mahale Ecosystem (GME), western Tanzania, deforestation due to the expansion of human settlements and agriculture, annual burning, and logging are known threats to wildlife. For one of the most charismatic species, the Endangered eastern chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii), about 75% of the individuals are distributed outside national park boundaries, requiring monitoring and protection efforts over a vast landscape of various protection statuses. These efforts are especially challenging when we lack data on trends in density and population size. To predict spatio-temporal chimpanzee density and abundance across the GME, we employed density surface modelling, fitting a generalised additive model to a ten-year time series data set of nest counts based on line transect surveys. Chimpanzee population declined at an annual rate of 2.41%, including declines of 1.72% in riparian forests (hereafter forests), 2.05% in miombo-woodlands (hereafter woodlands) and 3.45% in non-forests. These population declines were accompanied by ecosystem-wide declines in vegetation types of 1.36% and 0.32% per year for forests and woodlands, respectively; we estimated an annual increase of 1.35% for non-forests. Our model predicted the highest chimpanzee density in forests (0.86 chimpanzees/km2, 95% CI 0.60-1.23; as of 2020), followed by woodlands (0.19, 95% CI 0.12-0.30) and non-forests (0.18, 95% CI 0.10-1.33). Although forests represent only 6% of the landscape, they support nearly a quarter of the chimpanzee population (769 chimpanzees, 95% CI 536-1,103). Woodlands dominate the landscape (71%) and thus support more than a half of the chimpanzee population (2,294; 95% CI 1,420-3,707). The remaining quarter of the landscape is represented by non-forests and supports another quarter of the chimpanzee population (750; 95% CI 408-1,381). Given the pressures on the remaining suitable habitat in Tanzania and the need of chimpanzees to access both forest and woodland vegetation to survive, we urge future management actions to increase resources and expand the efforts to protect critical forest and woodland habitat and promote strategies and policies that more effectively prevent irreversible losses. We suggest that regular monitoring programmes implement a systematic random design to effectively inform and allocate conservation actions and facilitate inter-annual comparisons for trend-monitoring, measuring conservation success and guiding adaptive management.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Is the pharmacy profession innovative enough?: meeting the needs of Australian residents with chronic conditions and their carers using the nominal group technique

Background Community pharmacies are ideally located as a source of support for people with chronic conditions. Yet, we have limited insight into what innovative pharmacy services would support this consumer group to manage their condition/s. The aim of this study was to identify what innovations people with chronic conditions and their carers want from their ideal community pharmacy, and compare with what pharmacists and pharmacy support staff think consumers want. Methods We elicited ideas using the nominal group technique. Participants included people with chronic conditions, unpaid carers, pharmacists and pharmacy support staff, in four regions of Australia. Themes were identified via thematic analysis using the constant comparison method. Results Fifteen consumer/carer, four pharmacist and two pharmacy support staff groups were conducted. Two overarching themes were identified: extended scope of practice for the pharmacist and new or improved pharmacy services. The most innovative role for Australian pharmacists was medication continuance, within a limited time-frame. Consumers and carers wanted improved access to pharmacists, but this did not necessarily align with a faster or automated dispensing service. Other ideas included streamlined access to prescriptions via medication reminders, electronic prescriptions and a chronic illness card. Conclusions This study provides further support for extending the pharmacist’s role in medication continuance, particularly as it represents the consumer’s voice. How this is done, or the methods used, needs to optimise patient safety. A range of innovative strategies were proposed and Australian community pharmacies should advocate for and implement innovative approaches to improve access and ensure continuity of care