Financial Inclusion as Enabler for Innovation in Banking

Using evidence from Spain, this study assesses the readiness of the banking sector of the EU to introduce technological and social innovations to implement the European policy of financial inclusivity. Despite the evident benefits for banks in terms of enhancing legitimacy and improving consumer knowledge and loyalty, mostly banks at present merely comply with the formal aspects of financial inclusion regulation, but are not going further in terms of technical or social innovation, using compliance to avoid the ?stick? of regulation. In contrast, a review of the banks? own corporate social responsibility strategies shows a higher level of commitment and innovation in terms of financial inclusion. Based on the analysis of institutional factors that determine the involvement of banks in the inclusivity policy, recommendations are proposed for adjusting development strategies in order to combine the efforts of the public and private sectors in the provision of public services

Structural and magnetic behavior of ferrogels obtained by freezing thawing of polyvinyl alcohol/poly (acrylic acid) (PAA)-coated iron oxide nanoparticles

Superparamagnetic ferrogels with high swelling ability and potential applications as solvent absorbers and stimuli-responsive drug delivery devices were obtained by a non-toxic and environmentally friendly route based on dispersion of poly(acrylic acid)-coated iron oxide nanoparticles (PAA-coated NPs) in poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solutions followed by freezing–thawing. Presence of carboxylate groups arising from the PAA coating allowed hydrogen bonding formation between NPs and PVA and enabled the synthesis of optically homogenous, superparamagnetic materials formed by a homogenous distribution of NPs diffuse clusters in the PVA matrix. The addition of PAA-coated NPs produced a remarkable increase in crystallinity degree, thermal degradation and swelling percentage respect to the neat matrix, which demonstrates that ferrogels with improved properties can be obtained by this procedure. Thereafter, combination of a cryogenic technique with the use of non-toxic components and magnetic NPs coated by a pH sensitive polymer makes these ferrogels very promising for applications in the biomedical field.Fil: Moscoso Londoño, Oscar. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Tecnologías y Ciencias de la Ingeniería; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingenieria. Departamento de Fisica. Laboratorio de Sólidos Amorfos; ArgentinaFil: Gonzalez, Jimena Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Muraca, D.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Instituto de Física ’Gleb Wataghin’. Laboratorio de Materiais e Baixas Temperaturas; Brasil;Fil: Hoppe, Cristina Elena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Alvarez, Vera Alejandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigación en Ciencia y Tecnología de Materiales (i); Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: López Quintela, A.. Universidad de Santiago de Compostela; España;Fil: Socolovsky, Leandro Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Oficina de Coordinacion Administrativa Houssay. Instituto D/tec.y Cs.de la Ing.;Fil: Pirota, K. R.. Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Instituto de Física ’Gleb Wataghin’. Laboratorio de Materiais e Baixas Temperaturas; Brasil

European Network of Gynaecological Oncological Trial Groups’ requirements for trials between academic groups and industry partners – a new Model D for drug and medical device development

No abstract available

Los Olmos empiezan a recuperar sus territorios

El artículo describe la problemática de la grafiosis y el papel del proyecto LIFE+"Olmos Vivos" (LIFE13 BIO/ES/000556)en la recuperación de los olmos

Activity of Antibiotics and Potential Antibiofilm Agents against Biofilm-Producing Mycobacterium avium- intracellulare Complex Causing Chronic Pulmonary Infections

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause lung infections in patients with underlying pulmonary diseases (PD). The Mycobacteriumavium-intracellulare complex (MAC) is the most frequently involved NTM. The MAC-PD treatment is based on the administration of several antibiotics for long periods of time. Nonetheless, treatment outcomes remain very poor. Among the factors involved is the ability of MAC isolates to form biofilm. The aim of the study was to assess the in vitro activity of different antibiotics and potential antibiofilm agents (PAAs) against MAC biofilm. Four antibiotics and six PAAs, alone and/or in combination, were tested against planktonic forms of 11 MAC clinical isolates. Biofilm was produced after 4 weeks of incubation and analyzed with the crystal violet assay. The antibiotics and PAAs were tested by measuring the absorbance (minimum biofilm inhibition concentrations, MBICs) and by performing subcultures (minimum biofilm eradication concentrations, MBECs). The clarithromycin/amikacin and clarithromycin/ethambutol combinations were synergistic, decreasing the MBECs values compared to the individual antibiotics. The amikacin/moxifloxacin combination showed indifference. The MBIC values decreased significantly when PAAs were added to the antibiotic combinations. These results suggest that antibiotic combinations should be further studied to establish their antibiofilm activity. Moreover, PAAs could act against the biofilm matrix, facilitating the activity of antibiotics

Plasmatic BRAF-V600E allele fraction as a prognostic factor in metastatic colorectal cancer treated with BRAF combinatorial treatments

BRAF inhibitor; Colorectal cancerInhibidor de BRAF; Cáncer colorrectalInhibidor de BRAF; Càncer colorectalBackground Combination of a BRAF inhibitor (BRAFi) and an anti-epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), with or without a MEK inhibitor (MEKi), improves survival in BRAF-V600E-mutant metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) over standard chemotherapy. However, responses are heterogeneous and there are no available biomarkers to assess patient prognosis or guide doublet- or triplet-based regimens. In order to better characterize the clinical heterogeneity observed, we assessed the prognostic and predictive role of the plasmatic BRAF allele fraction (AF) for these combinations. Patients and methods A prospective discovery cohort including 47 BRAF-V600E-mutant patients treated with BRAFi–anti-EGFR ± MEKi in clinical trials and real-world practice was evaluated. Results were validated in an independent multicenter cohort (n = 29). Plasmatic BRAF-V600E AF cut-off at baseline was defined in the discovery cohort with droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). All patients had tissue-confirmed BRAF-V600E mutations. Results Patients with high AF have major frequency of liver metastases and more metastatic sites. In the discovery cohort, median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) were 4.4 and 10.1 months, respectively. Patients with high BRAF AF (≥2%, n = 23) showed worse PFS [hazard ratio (HR) 2.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.55-5.69; P = 0.001] and worse OS (HR 3.28, 95% CI 1.58-6.81; P = 0.001) than low-BRAF AF patients (<2%, n = 24). In the multivariable analysis, BRAF AF levels maintained independent significance. In the validation cohort, high BRAF AF was associated with worse PFS (HR 3.83, 95% CI 1.60-9.17; P = 0.002) and a trend toward worse OS was observed (HR 1.86, 95% CI 0.80-4.34; P = 0.15). An exploratory analysis of predictive value showed that high-BRAF AF patients (n = 35) benefited more from triplet therapy than low-BRAF AF patients (n = 41; PFS and OS interaction tests, P < 0.01). Conclusions Plasmatic BRAF AF determined by ddPCR is a reliable surrogate of tumor burden and aggressiveness in BRAF-V600E-mutant mCRC treated with a BRAFi plus an anti-EGFR with or without a MEKi and identifies patients who may benefit from treatment intensification. Our results warrant further validation of plasmatic BRAF AF to refine clinical stratification and guide treatment strategies.This work was supported by the Fundación FERO; the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) ISCIII-FEDER [grant number PI20/00968]; and Fundación AECC [grant number CLSEN19001ELEZ], CRIS contra el Cancer and Mutual Medica Fellowship

Dynamic Edematous Response of the Human Heart to Myocardial Infarction Implications for Assessing Myocardial Area at Risk and Salvage

BACKGROUND: Clinical protocols aimed to characterize the post-myocardial infarction (MI) heart by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) need to be standardized to take account of dynamic biological phenomena evolving early after the index ischemic event. Here, we evaluated the time course of edema reaction in patients with ST-segment-elevation MI by CMR and assessed its implications for myocardium-at-risk (MaR) quantification both in patients and in a large-animal model. METHODS: A total of 16 patients with anterior ST-segment-elevation MI successfully treated by primary angioplasty and 16 matched controls were prospectively recruited. In total, 94 clinical CMR examinations were performed: patients with ST-segment-elevation MI were serially scanned (within the first 3 hours after reperfusion and at 1, 4, 7, and 40 days), and controls were scanned only once. T2 relaxation time in the myocardium (T2 mapping) and the extent of edema on T2-weighted short-tau triple inversion-recovery (ie, CMR-MaR) were evaluated at all time points. In the experimental study, 20 pigs underwent 40-minute ischemia/reperfusion followed by serial CMR examinations at 120 minutes and 1, 4, and 7 days after reperfusion. Reference MaR was assessed by contrast-multidetector computed tomography during the index coronary occlusion. Generalized linear mixed models were used to take account of repeated measurements. RESULTS: In humans, T2 relaxation time in the ischemic myocardium declines significantly from early after reperfusion to 24 hours, and then increases up to day 4, reaching a plateau from which it decreases from day 7. Consequently, edema extent measured by T2-weighted short-tau triple inversion-recovery (CMR-MaR) varied with the timing of the CMR examination. These findings were confirmed in the experimental model by showing that only CMR-MaR values for day 4 and day 7 postreperfusion, coinciding with the deferred edema wave, were similar to values measured by reference contrast-multidetector computed tomography. CONCLUSIONS: Post-MI edema in patients follows a bimodal pattern that affects CMR estimates of MaR. Dynamic changes in post-ST-segment-elevation MI edema highlight the need for standardization of CMR timing to retrospectively delineate MaR and quantify myocardial salvage. According to the present clinical and experimental data, a time window between days 4 and 7 post-MI seems a good compromise solution for standardization. Further studies are needed to study the effect of other factors on these variables.This study was partially supported by a competitive grant from the Spanish Society of Cardiology (Proyectos de Investigacion Traslacional en Cardiologia de la Sociedad Espanola de Cardiologia 2015, for the project Caracterizacion tiSUlar miocaRdica con resonancia magnetica en pacientes tras inFarto agudo de mioCardio con elevacioN de ST sometidos a angloplastia Coronaria primaria. Estudio SURF-CNIC), by a competitive grant from the Carlos III Institute of Health-Fondo de Investigacion Sanitaria- and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF/FEDER) (PI10/02268 and PI13/01979), the Spanish Ministry of economy, industry, and competitiveness (MEIC) and ERDF/FEDER SAF2013-49663-EXP. Dr Fernandez-Jimenez holds a FICNIC fellowship from the Fundacio Jesus Serra, the Fundacion Interhospitalaria de Investigacion Cardiovascular, and the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC), and Dr Aguero is a FP7-PEOPLE-2013-ITN-Cardionext fellow. This study forms part of a Master Research Agreement between the CNIC and Philips Healthcare, and is part of a bilateral research program between Hospital de Salamanca Cardiology Department and the CNIC. This research program is part of an institutional agreement between FIIS-Fundacion Jimenez Diaz and CNIC. The CNIC is supported by the MEIC and the Pro CNIC Foundation, and is a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence (MEIC award SEV-2015-0505).S