Acetylsalicylic acid prevents intermittent hypoxia-induced vascular remodeling in a murine model of sleep apnea

Study objectives: Chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH), a hallmark feature of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), induces accelerated atherogenesis as well as aorta vascular remodeling. Although the cyclooxygenase (COX) pathway has been proposed to contribute to the cardiovascular consequences of OSA, the potential benefits of a widely employed COX-inhibitor such (acetylsalicylic acid, ASA) on CIH-induced vascular pathology are unknown. Therefore, we hypothesized that a common non-selective COX inhibitor such as ASA would attenuate the aortic remodeling induced by CIH in mice. Methods: 40 wild-type C57/BL6malemice were randomly allocated to CIH or normoxic exposures (N) and treated with daily doses of ASA or placebo for 6 weeks. At the end of the experiments, intima-media thickness (IMT), elastin disorganization (ED), elastin fragmentation (EF), length between fragmented fiber endpoints (LFF), aortic wall collagen abundance (AC) and mucoid deposition (MD) were assessed. Results: Compared to N, CIH promoted significant increases in IMT (52.58 ± 2.82μm vs. 46.07 ± 4.18μm, p < 0.003), ED (25.29 ± 14.60% vs. 4.74 ± 5.37%, p < 0.001), EF (5.80 ± 2.04 vs. 3.06 ± 0.58, p < 0.001), LFF (0.65 ± 0.34% vs. 0.14 ± 0.09%, p < 0.001), AC (3.43 ± 1.52% vs. 1.67 ± 0.67%, p < 0.001) and MD (3.40 ± 2.73 μm2 vs. 1.09 ± 0.72 μm2, p < 0.006). ASA treatment mitigated the CIH-induced alterations in IMT: 44.07 ± 2.73μm; ED: 10.57 ± 12.89%; EF: 4.63 ± 0.88; LFF: 0.25 ± 0.17% and AC: 0.90 ± 0.13% (p<0.05 for all comparisons). Conclusions: ASA prevents the CIH-induced aortic vascular remodeling, and should therefore be prospectively evaluated as adjuvant treatment in patients with OSA.This work was supported by the Spanish Respiratory Society (SEPAR), SOCAP, the Associació Lleidatana de Respiratori (ALLER), and the Spanish Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias (PI14/00486 and PI14-00004), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII), European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) “Una manera de hacer Europa”. DG is supported by National Institutes of Health grant HL130984

Soluble RAGE in COPD, with or without coexisting obstructive sleep apnoea

Background: Hypoxia can reduce the levels of soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products (sRAGE), a new anti-infammatory biomarker of COPD. We assessed sRAGE in patients with hypoxia-related diseases such as COPD, OSA and OSA-COPD overlap. Methods: Plasma levels of sRAGE were measured in 317 subjects at baseline (57 heathy nonsmokers [HNS], 84 healthy smokers [HS], 79 OSA, 62 COPD and 35 OSA-COPD overlap patients) and in 294 subjects after one year of follow-up (50 HNS, 74 HS, 77 OSA, 60 COPD and 33 overlap). Results: After adjusting for age, sex, smoking status and body mass index, sRAGE levels showed a reduction in OSA (− 12.5%, p=0.005), COPD (− 14.8%, p<0.001) and OSA-COPD overlap (− 12.3%, p=0.02) compared with HNS. There were no diferences when comparing sRAGE plasma levels between overlap patients and those with OSA or COPD alone. At follow-up, sRAGE levels did not change signifcantly in healthy subjects, COPD and OSA or OSA-COPD overlap nontreated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP). Moreover, in patients with OSA and OSA-COPD overlap who were treated with CPAP, sRAGE increased signifcantly. Conclusions: The levels of sRAGE are reduced in COPD and OSA. Treatment with CPAP appears to improve sRAGE levels in patients with OSA who also had COPD.The EPIOSA study (NCT02131610) was supported by Grants Number PI12/02175, PI15/01940 and PI18/01524 from the Instituto Salud Carlos III, Spanish Ministry of Health, Madrid, Spain and the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) and by a Grant Number 01/2010 from the SADAR-Pneumo Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain

The pharmaceutical compounding: acquisition of competences by PBL and out of class strategie

La formulación magistral, una de las actividades profesionales más representativas del farmacéutico, consiste en la elaboración, de acuerdo con una prescripción médica, de un medicamento personalizado, adaptado a un paciente concreto, en un compromiso profesional de solucionar un problema de salud específico. La amplia oferta de medicamentos industriales ha reducido considerablemente esta actividad, que a pesar de todo, debe considerarse una herramienta de futuro en sintonía con la tendencia personalizadora actual de la medicina y las necesidades del paciente. Los conocimientos y competencias requeridas para dicha actividad profesional se introducen actualmente en la carrera de Farmacia mediante una asignatura optativa. En el presente trabajo se presenta el planteamiento metodológico diseñado por el Grupo de Innovación Docente de Tecnología Farmacéutica (GIDTF) y el grupo e-Galenica, ambos de la Universidad de Barcelona, para esta asignatura. Dicha metodología esta basada en el Aprendizaje Basado en Problemas (ABP) incluyendo tutorías y prácticas de campo, apoyada en estrategias no presenciales como foro de debate, recursos on-line, cuestionarios y tareas de autoevaluación a través de la plataforma Moodle del Campus Virtual de la UB. Se evalúan asimismo los resultados académicos y las respuestas de los estudiantes a las encuestas realizadas en relación al sistema de impartición de la asignatura.The pharmaceutical compounding, one of the most representative professional activities of pharmacists, involves the preparation of an individualized medicine tailored to a specific patient in a professional commitment to solve a specific health problem, according to a prescription. The wide range of industrial medicine has significantly reduced this activity, which nevertheless should be considered a tool of the future in line with the current trend of personalizing medicine and patient needs. The knowledge and competences required for this professional activity are introduced to the students of Pharmacy through an optional subject. In this paper we present the methodological approach developed for this subject by the Teaching Innovation Group of Pharmaceutical Technology (GIDTF) and e-Galenica group, both from the University of Barcelona. This methodology is based on Problem-Based Learning (PBL) including tutorials and practices in other centres, supported by out of class strategies as discussion forum, online resources, self-assessment questionnaires and work through the platform Moodle of Virtual Campus UB. The academic performance and student responses to surveys in relation to the didactic methodology are also assessed

Persistence with Partial Survival

We introduce a parameter $p$, called partial survival, in the persistence of stochastic processes and show that for smooth processes the persistence exponent $\theta(p)$ changes continuously with $p$, $\theta(0)$ being the usual persistence exponent. We compute $\theta(p)$ exactly for a one-dimensional deterministic coarsening model, and approximately for the diffusion equation. Finally we develop an exact, systematic series expansion for $\theta(p)$, in powers of $\epsilon=1-p$, for a general Gaussian process with finite density of zero crossings.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, references added, to appear in Phys.Rev.Let

Introduction to galenic pharmacy: a challenge in the first year of pharmacy

Este curso académico 2009-2010 se implanta el nuevo plan de estudios de Farmacia en la Universidad de Barcelona, diseñado según los planteamientos del EEES. Como consecuencia, y por primera vez en la historia de la Facultad de Farmacia de la UB, se imparte una asignatura troncal de cariz galénico en el primer año de la carrera. Esto constituye un nuevo reto para el Grupo de Innovación Docente de Tecnología Farmacéutica (GIDTF), dado que la asignatura Introducción a la Farmacia Galénica se ha de impartir a grandes grupos de estudiantes, al inicio de su carrera, mediante sesiones teóricas de 1,5 h. Excepcionalmente en este curso académico, la asignatura se imparte en el primer semestre y se repite en el segundo. En este trabajo se presenta el planteamiento metodológico presencial diseñado para esta asignatura, apoyado en estrategias no presenciales como foro de debate, recursos on-line, cuestionarios y tareas de autoevaluación a través de la plataforma Moodle del Campus Virtual de la UB, puesto que el equipo docente considera prioritario iniciar al estudiante en el uso de la misma en el primer año de carrera. Se han efectuado encuestas de satisfacción a los estudiantes que se han evaluado, así también como los resultados académicos obtenidos. En el análisis de los puntos fuertes y débiles de la metodología empleada, se han detectado evaluaciones positivas y también aspectos que podrían mejorarse, estableciendo las medidas correctoras adecuadas. En cuanto a los resultados académicos, han sido muy satisfactorios.This academic year 2009-2010, the new curriculum of Pharmacy according to the premises of the EHEA is started at the University of Barcelona. As a result, for the first time in the history of the Faculty of Pharmacy of UB, an obligatory galenic subject will be given during the first year of the career. This is a new challenge for Teaching Innovation Group of Pharmaceutical Technology (GIDTF), as the subject Introduction to Galenic Pharmacy is given by a team of teachers to large groups of students who began its career, through theoretical sessions of 1.5 h. The subject will be taught exceptionally this academic year in the first semester and repeated in the second. In this paper we present the methodological approach designed to face this subject, supported by virtual strategies as discussion forum, online resources, self-assessment test and work through the platform Moodle of the Virtual Campus UB, as the team considers it a priority to initiate the student in using it in the first year of pharmacy study. Were carried out satisfaction surveys to students and we have evaluated them, as well as academic performance. Through the analysis of the methodology, we detected positive evaluations and areas for improvement that have been used to establish appropriate corrective measures. Academic results have been very satisfactory.Este trabajo forma parte del proyecto de innovación docente 2009PID-UB/28 de la Universidad de Barcelona

Observations And Experiments For The Definition Of A New Robotic Device Dedicated To CT, CBCT And MRI-Guided Percutaneous Procedures.

In this paper, we present the work achieved to define the robotic functionalities of interest for percutaneous procedures as performed in interventional radiology. Our contributions are twofold. First, a detailed task analysis is performed with workflow analysis of biopsies, one of the most frequent tasks, under three imaging modalities, namely CT, CBCT and MRI. Second, the functionalities of a robotic assistant are identified, and we analyze whether a single device can bring an added value during procedures in the three modalities while keeping the robotized workflow close to manual tasks, to minimize learning time and difficulty of use. Experimental analysis on CBCT is notably used to confirm the interest of the determined robotic functionalities.journal articleresearch support, non-u.s. gov't2018 07importedIEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, Honolulu, United States, juillet 2018 Research team : AV

Hydraulically-actuated compliant revolute joint for medical robotic systems based on multimaterial additive manufacturing

IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), Montréal, Canada, janvier 2019 Research team : AV