MicroArray Facility: a laboratory information management system with extended support for Nylon based technologies

BACKGROUND: High throughput gene expression profiling (GEP) is becoming a routine technique in life science laboratories. With experimental designs that repeatedly span thousands of genes and hundreds of samples, relying on a dedicated database infrastructure is no longer an option. GEP technology is a fast moving target, with new approaches constantly broadening the field diversity. This technology heterogeneity, compounded by the informatics complexity of GEP databases, means that software developments have so far focused on mainstream techniques, leaving less typical yet established techniques such as Nylon microarrays at best partially supported. RESULTS: MAF (MicroArray Facility) is the laboratory database system we have developed for managing the design, production and hybridization of spotted microarrays. Although it can support the widely used glass microarrays and oligo-chips, MAF was designed with the specific idiosyncrasies of Nylon based microarrays in mind. Notably single channel radioactive probes, microarray stripping and reuse, vector control hybridizations and spike-in controls are all natively supported by the software suite. MicroArray Facility is MIAME supportive and dynamically provides feedback on missing annotations to help users estimate effective MIAME compliance. Genomic data such as clone identifiers and gene symbols are also directly annotated by MAF software using standard public resources. The MAGE-ML data format is implemented for full data export. Journalized database operations (audit tracking), data anonymization, material traceability and user/project level confidentiality policies are also managed by MAF. CONCLUSION: MicroArray Facility is a complete data management system for microarray producers and end-users. Particular care has been devoted to adequately model Nylon based microarrays. The MAF system, developed and implemented in both private and academic environments, has proved a robust solution for shared facilities and industry service providers alike

CON-COUR study: Interferential therapy in the treatment of chronic constipation in adults: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

International audienceBackground: The prevalence of chronic constipation is about 15 % in Western countries with a significant impact on quality of life and health care costs. The first-line therapy, based on medical treatment combined with laxatives and dietary rules, is often disappointing. Interferential therapy is a new treatment that has demonstrated its efficiency in the treatment of chronic constipation in children and encouraging results in adults. The primary objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of interferential therapy during 8 weeks in adult patients. The secondary objectives are to assess this new and noninvasive therapy in terms of persistence of the clinical efficacy, colonic transit time, ano-rectal manometry, patient satisfaction and quality of life (QoL), and tolerance. Methods/ Design: Design: multicenter, prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, double blind, two-parallel groups study. Setting: nine French adult gastroenterology centers. Inclusion criteria: adult patients with a history of chronic constipation refractory to medical treatment for at least 3 months. Treatment groups: (1) interferential-experimental group (effective stimulation); (2) placebo-control group (sham stimulation). Randomization: 1:1 allocation ratio. Evaluation times: inclusion (T0, randomization), baseline assessment (T1), start of stimulation (T2), intermediary assessment (T3, 4 weeks), end of stimulation (T4, 8 weeks), follow-up (T5 and T6, 1- and 6-month). Endpoints: (1) primary: short-term efficacy at T4 (treatment response defined as three or more spontaneous, complete bowel movements per week); (2) secondary: efficacy at T5 and T6, symptoms (Patient Assessment of Constipation Symptoms questionnaire), colonic transit time, anorectal manometry, patient satisfaction (analogical visual scale), patient QoL (Patient Assessment of Constipation Quality of Life Questionnaire), side/unexpected effects. Sample size: 200 individuals to obtain 80 % power to detect a 20 % difference in treatment response at T4 between the two groups (15 % of lost to follow-up patients expected). Discussion: The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design is the most appropriate to demonstrate the efficacy of a new experimental therapeutic (Evidence-Based Medicine Working Group classification). National and international recommendations could be updated based on the findings of this study

Report From The Trenches A Case Study In Modernizing Software Development Practices

International audienceOne factor of success in software development companies is their ability to deliver good quality products, fast. For this, they need to improve their software development practices. We work with a medium-sized company modernizing its development practices. The company introduced several practices recommended in agile development. If the benefits of these practices are well documented, the impact of such changes on the developers is less well known. We follow this modernization before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. This paper presents an empirical study of the perceived benefit and drawback of these practices as well as the impact of COVID-19 on the company's employees. One of the conclusions, is the additional difficulties created by obsolete technologies to adapt the technology itself and the development practices it encourages to modern standards

Dépistage des maladies cardiovasculaires chez des étudiants de l'Université de Douala et influence des activités physiques et sportives

Introduction: Les maladies cardiovasculaires (MCV) constituent l’une des principales causes de mortalité dans les pays en développement. Le dépistage de ces dernières chez des jeunes est un défi dans la lutte contre leur expansion. Le but de cette étude était de dépister ces maladies au sein d’une population jeunes d’étudiants camerounais. Methodes: Deux mille six cent cinquante-huit étudiants de l’Université de Douala (23,6 ± 2,9 ans, sex-ratio H/F = 0,9) ont en Avril - Mai 2011 participé à une campagne de dépistage gratuit du diabète, de l’hypertension artérielle (HTA) et de l’obésité. Ils ont également été soumis à une d’enquête évaluant leur niveau en activités physiques et sportives (APS).Resultats: 12,7% des participants avaient une pression artérielle (PA) I 140/90 mmHg, 3,6% étaient obèses et 0,9 % avaient une glycémie I1,26 g/L. Des corrélations ont été trouvées entre certains facteurs de risque (diabète, hypertension et obésité) et le niveau académique d une part (r =0,366 ; p < 0,0001) et le temps passé devant la télévision d’autres part (r = 0,411 ; p < 0,0001). L`APS était inversement corrélée à l`âge (r = - 0,015; p < 0,0001) et au temps passé devant la télévision (r = -0,059 ; p = 0,002). Conclusion: La présence des MCV et leurs facteurs de risque mis en évidence dans cette étude réalisée en milieu estudiantin camerounais interpelle à une prévention et une éducation dans la lutte contre ces dernières

Metronomic Four-Drug Regimen Has Anti-tumor Activity in Pediatric Low-Grade Glioma; The Results of a Phase II Clinical Trial

Background: Metronomic chemotherapy (MC) is defined as the frequent administration of chemotherapy at doses below the maximal tolerated dose and with no prolonged drug-free break. MC has shown its efficacy in adult tumor types such as breast and ovarian cancer and has to some extent been studied in pediatrics.Objective: To assess the anti-tumor activity and toxicity of a four-drug metronomic regimen in relapsing/refractory pediatric brain tumors (BT) with progression-free survival (PFS) after two cycles as primary endpoint.Methods: Patients ≥4 to 25 years of age were included with progressing BT. Treatment consisted of an 8-week cycle of celecoxib, vinblastine, and cyclophosphamide alternating with methotrexate. Kepner and Chang two-steps model was used with 10 patients in the first stage. If stabilization was observed in ≥2 patients, 8 additional patients were recruited. Assessment was according WHO criteria with central radiology review.Results: Twenty-nine patients (27 evaluable) were included in two groups: ependymoma (group 1, N = 8), and miscellaneous BT (group 2): 3 medulloblastoma (MB), 5 high grade glioma (HGG), 11 low grade glioma (LGG), 2 other BT. After first stage, recruitment for ependymoma was closed [one patient had stable disease (SD) for 4 months]. Cohort 2 was opened for second stage since 1 HGG and 3 LGG patients had SD after two cycles. Recruitment was limited to LGG for the second stage and 2 partial responses (PR), 6 SD and 2 progressive disease (PD) were observed after two cycles. Of these patients with LGG, median age was 10 years, nine patients received vinblastine previously. Median number of cycles was 6.8 (range: 1–12). Treatment was interrupted in five patients for grade 3/4 toxicity.Conclusion: This regimen is active in patients with LGG, even if patients had previously received vinblastine. Toxicity is acceptable.Trial Registration: This study was registered under clinicaltrials.gov – NCT01285817; EUDRACT nr: 2010-021792-81

Reply to Alizazgar J. Dangers of the use of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin combination in COVID-19 patients

International audienc

L'adhésion thérapeutique : un nouveau challenge pour les mathématiques

National audienc

Involving patients in a workshop focused on communication skills:a proofofconceptofexperiential trainingforresidents inhospital pharmacy.

International audienceWhat was done?: We developed a workshop involving patients within the training programme of residents in hospital pharmacy. The workshop focused on communication skills needed to improve the quality and effectiveness of a pharmaceutical interview.Why was it done?: The development of clinical pharmacy allows pharmacists to take patient-centered roles and responsibilities. However, patient-centered care requires a specific set of skills and training, such as patient-focused communication and conducting structured interviews. Thus, improvement of pharmacist-patient communication may lead to better clinical outcomes.How was it done?: The workshop was developed jointly by two senior clinical pharmacists and a lecturer in education and communication science. The learning process integrated: working on participants’ perception of pharmacists-patient communication, didactic learning, training activities and evaluation. The assessment of the learning effect was performed by self-, peers-, and patient-scored charts. Patients’ feedback during the training activities and assessments was highlighted as the cornerstone of the learning process.What has been achieved?: First, we built a competency chart on communication skills needed to perform a structured pharmaceutical interview. This tool has been validated by the patients and well accepted by the learners. It was used to assess the learning effect of the workshop, and may serve as a guide for the continuous development of junior practitioners. Secondly, the workshop has actually been implemented, with both the learners and patients expressing a high general acceptance and satisfaction. Finally, preliminary results show a learning effect assessed by both peers and patients.What next?: The involvement of patients needs to be further expanded to the training programmes of undergraduate students, residents and clinical pharmacists. A future action planned is to develop a model with the French Society of Clinical Pharmacy (SFPC) for a national systematic training module: “Improving pharmaceutical interviews’ performance through effective communication”, involving patients

Active involvement of patients in pharmacist education has a positive impact on students’ perspective: a pilot study

International audienceBackground: Patient-led education contributes to the implementation of practical experience of working with patients in health care professional curricula. There are few descriptions of patients' involvement in pharmacists' training and most often, the patients have been used as passive props to facilitate training. More recently, greater emphasis has been given to a more active form of patient involvement but the application in the curriculum of pharmacy has not been conceptualized. Thus, the aim of our study was to implement a workshop involving patients as partners in undergraduate pharmacy educational programme, and to evaluate its impact of on students' perspectives. Method: On a prospective observational study basis, the impact was assessed in terms of relevance, learning outcomes and achievement transfer using the Kirkpatrick training assessment method. In addition, we evaluated social representations of the students before and after the workshop

Mathematical Modeling of Effect Of Microtubule-Targeted Agents On Microtubule Dynamic Instability

Microtubule-targeted agents (MTAs), widely used in chemotherapy, are molecules that are able to block cancer cell migration and division. Their effect on microtubule (MT) dynamic instability is measured by their influence on observable parameters of MT dynamics such as growth speed, time-based catastrophe frequency, time-based rescue fre- quency, etc. In this paper, we propose a new mathematical model that is able to reproduce MT dynamics with an appropriate estimation of the main observable parameters. Using the experimental data on paclitaxel effect in presence of EB proteins, we fitted param- eters of the model from several drug concentrations. It enable us to understand which non-observable model parameters are able to reproduce the effect of MTAs and thus to highlight a new potential mechanism of action associated with MTAs effect in presence of EB protein