Biological factors of inflammation and methods of their detection

Inflammation is a complicated process occurring after a harmful stimuli or infection. During inflammation a large number of biochemical reactions and pathophysiological changes take place. These procedures are all induced by active biological compounds called mediators or chemokines. These molecules are derived from plasma and cells and are capable of performing the appropriate changes both on the endothelium and cells during the inflammatory process. Moreover, some of them have the ability to interact with each other. Today there are different methods to detect and quantitate these compounds. These techniques keep on evolving and improving. Which one is the most suitable depends on the researcher’s scientific aim. A standardized protocol was created in order to make MRU feasible in everyday use, based on protocols suggested by other researchers. Both T1 and T2 weighted images were obtained using the following sequences: 2D Τ2-weighted fat saturation, 3D single shot fast spin-echo (SSFSE/RARE), 2D Radial SSFSE and T1-weighted gradient LAVA (3D SPGR). In 16 out of the 21 cases the MRU images and data agreed with the previous diagnosis based on radionuclide and ultrasound studies. In 5 cases MRU provided additional information, altering or even overruling the previous diagnosis. These 5 cases are presented in this article

Towards Building a Link Set Backed by Domain Experts using the Alignment Tool

Discovering semantic relations between entities (entity linking) is one of the most important activity for both semantic web and linked data areas. Either we need link sets of instances or concepts we can rely on automatic systems only to a certain extent. As a result, an automatic linking is accompanied with a user interaction which enables to increase the quality of resulted link sets. Often, in order to reach as much quality of link set as possible the user should be a domain expert for an area of linking task. This user specifics should be considered by designers of interactive entity linking tools. This work presents an experience from an experiment of building a link set for two fiscal code lists where domain experts have been involved. The experiment has been done using the Alignment tool

Building the evidence for the impact of pharmacists in general practice: a multi-method, realistic study

Background: There has recently been a drive to integrate pharmacists into UK general practices to tackle workload pressures and enhance patient access to healthcare. Although not a new role, it is the first time that pharmacist presence in general practice is being formally funded and tested. Therefore, little is known about how pharmacists in general practices impact the wider healthcare system. Aim: To build evidence on the impact of pharmacists in general practice, via in-depth elicitation of stakeholder experiences. Methods: A multi-method, ‘realistic’ approach was followed, including qualitative focus groups with general practice-based staff to identify impact measurement problems for pharmacists in general practice; an e-Delphi study to reach consensus, amongst experts, on what pharmacist activities are important to record as part of impact identification; and qualitative interviews with community pharmacy teams and patients to explore their experiences of general practice-based pharmacists. Focus groups and interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data was analysed thematically and quantitative data via descriptive statistics. Results: Pharmacists carry out various valuable services in general practice, however, the majority of existing national measures are not fit for purpose in targeting pharmacist work and capturing the whole spectrum and quality of services. There was agreement on recording primarily funding-related activities, which included medication reviews, high-risk drug monitoring and medicines reconciliations. Pharmacy colleagues in general practices and community pharmacies are willing to develop mutual relationships, which could result in stronger links between the two settings and streamlined workloads. Patients are satisfied with easy access to a pharmacist in general practice who is able to interact with them at a high standard. Lack of awareness, however, limits uptake of pharmacist-led services. Conclusions: General practice-based pharmacists could better link different healthcare teams and enhance accessibility to, and quality of, primary care services. Ways to effectively capture pharmacist impact are still needed. Findings will inform policy attempting to frame pharmacist services in general practice as per needs and expectations of stakeholders

Capturing pharmacists' impact in general practice: an e-Delphi study to attempt to reach consensus amongst experts about what activities to record

Background: In the UK, there is ongoing integration of pharmacists into general practice as a new healthcare service in primary care. Evaluation of the service involves national measures that require pharmacists to record their work, on the general practice clinical computer systems, using electronic activity codes. No national agreement, however, has been established on what activities to record. The purpose of this study was to attempt to reach consensus on what activities general practice-based pharmacists should record. Methods: The e-Delphi method was chosen as it is an excellent technique for achieving consensus. The study began with an initial stage in which screening of a general practice clinical computer system and discussion groups with pharmacists from two ‘pharmacists in general practice’ sites identified 81 codes potentially relevant to general practice-based pharmacists’ work. Twenty-nine experts (pharmacists and pharmacy technicians from the two sites along with experts recruited through national committees) were then invited by e-mail to participate as a panel in three e-Delphi questionnaire rounds. In each round, panellists were asked to grade or rank codes and justify their choices. In every round, panellists were provided with anonymised feedback from the previous round which included their individual choices along with their co-panellists’ views. Final consensus (in Round 3) was defined as at least 80% agreement. Commentaries on the codes from all e-Delphi rounds were pooled together and analysed thematically. Results: Twenty-one individual panellists took part in the study (there were 12 responses in Round 1, 18 in Round 2 and 16 in Round 3). Commentaries on the codes included three themes: challenges and facilitators; level of detail; and activities related to funding. Consensus was achieved for ten codes, eight of which related to activities (general and disease specific medication reviews, monitoring of high-risk drugs and medicines reconciliation) and two to patient outcomes (presence of side effects and satisfactory understanding of medication). Conclusions: A formal consensus method revealed general practice-based pharmacists’ preferences for activity coding. Findings will inform policy so that any future shaping of activity coding for general practice-based pharmacists takes account of pharmacists’ actual needs and preferences

Patients’ experiences of pharmacists in general practice: an exploratory qualitative study

Background: Since 2015, pharmacists have been integrating into English general practices and more recently into primary care networks. General practice-based pharmacists provide a range of patient-facing services, such as medication reviews, management of long-term conditions and minor ailments, prescribing duties and answering queries over the telephone. Literature reports patients’ satisfaction with general practice-based pharmacists’ services, however, previous research captured only limited experiences. The aim of the current study was to pursue an extensive exploration of patients’ experiences of pharmacists in general practice. Methods: General practice-based pharmacists, working in practices in West London, Surrey and Berkshire, handed invitation packs to patients seen during consultations. Patients that wanted to take part in the study were invited to undertake a qualitative, in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured interview within the practice with which each patient was registered. Interviews lasted from 15 minutes to more than one hour and were audio-recorded. Recruitment continued until data saturation. Audio-recordings were transcribed verbatim and transcripts analysed thematically. Results: Twenty participants were interviewed. Four themes were discerned: awareness (“I had been coming to this practice for 24 years and I didn’t know that there was a pharmacist”); accessibility (“People ring for a GP [general practitioner] appointment … it’s Monday and they [receptionist] tells you ‘We can slot you in on Friday’ … with a pharmacist on board, they can [instantly] look at you”); interactions (“I’ve always had a really good interaction with them [pharmacists] and they listen and they take on board what I’m trying to say”); and feedback (“It’s easier [to collect feedback instantly] because I could have forgotten half of what they [pharmacists] have told me in an hour or so’s time”). Conclusions: Findings indicate that pharmacists’ integration into general practices could improve accessibility to, and the quality of, care received. The findings will assist policy development to provide general practice-based pharmacists’ services as per patients’ needs

The Antiangiogenic Properties of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in Corneal Neovascularization in a Rabbit Model

The purpose was to study the anti-angiogenic effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (ADMSCs) on experimentally induced corneal injuries. Corneal neovascularization (NV) was induced by incising and subsequently suturing the corneal surface in 32 New Zealand rabbits. Following suturing, the rabbits were randomly allocated into 2 groups, and received either phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (control) or ADMSCs, both administered via three different routes. Digital images of the cornea were obtained two weeks post-incision to measure the area of neovascularized cornea. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was immunohistochemically assessed in the both groups. The corneal tissue was evaluated for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The extent of corneal NV in all eyes was assessed photographically by an independent observer. Fourteen days after the incisions, the degree of corneal NV was substantially decreased in the ADMSC-treated group (1.87 ± 0.9 mm2, 1.4 % ± 0.67 % of corneal surface) compared to the control and PBS-treated group (4.66 ± 1.74 mm2, 3.51 % ± 1.31 %, p < 0.001). ADMSCs significantly decreased injury-induced corneal NV in New Zealand rabbits two weeks post-treatment. This strategy has potential for use in the control of corneal NV in vivo.

The Antiangiogenic Properties of Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells in Corneal Neovascularization in a Rabbit Model

The purpose was to study the anti-angiogenic effect of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (ADMSCs) on experimentally induced corneal injuries. Corneal neovascularization (NV) was induced by incising and subsequently suturing the corneal surface in 32 New Zealand rabbits. Following suturing, the rabbits were randomly allocated into 2 groups, and received either phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (control) or ADMSCs, both administered via three different routes. Digital images of the cornea were obtained two weeks post-incision to measure the area of neovascularized cornea. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was immunohistochemically assessed in the both groups. The corneal tissue was evaluated for vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The extent of corneal NV in all eyes was assessed photographically by an independent observer. Fourteen days after the incisions, the degree of corneal NV was substantially decreased in the ADMSC-treated group (1.87 ± 0.9 mm2, 1.4 % ± 0.67 % of corneal surface) compared to the control and PBS-treated group (4.66 ± 1.74 mm2, 3.51 % ± 1.31 %, p < 0.001). ADMSCs significantly decreased injury-induced corneal NV in New Zealand rabbits two weeks post-treatment. This strategy has potential for use in the control of corneal NV in vivo.Â

Towards Budget Comparative Analysis: The Need for Fiscal Code Lists as Linked Data

ABSTRACT Code lists are a key part of budget datasets as they serve for the coding of fiscal concepts within them. However, the great diversity of classifications across countries and concepts does not allow to presume upon their actual value, as dimension properties. In this paper we discuss the need for creating code lists Linked Data for the classifications used in fiscal datasets, in three basic steps. First, code lists have to be extracted from fiscal datasets, especially if there are no relevant metadata in the budget description, which could easily identify them. Next, code lists from different datasets or sources have to be represented in the same way, with SKOS vocabulary, thus they can be linked with each other. Finally, linking of similar code lists will also allow the linking of the containing datasets, increasing their data analysis and knowledge extraction possibilities