Report from the 5th cardiovascular outcome trial (CVOT) summit

The 5th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial (CVOT) Summit was held in Munich on October 24th-25th, 2019. As in previous years, this summit served as a reference meeting for in-depth discussions on the topic of recently completed and presented CVOTs. This year, focus was placed on the CVOTs CAROLINA, CREDENCE, DAPA-HF, REWIND, and PIONEER-6. Trial implications for diabetes management and the impact on new treatment algorithms were highlighted for diabetologists, cardiologists, endocrinologists, nephrologists, and general practitioners. Discussions evolved from CVOTs to additional therapy options for heart failure (ARNI), knowledge gained for the treatment and prevention of heart failure and diabetic kidney disease in populations with and without diabetes, particularly using SGLT-2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists. Furthermore, the ever increasing impact of CVOTs and substances tested for primary prevention and primary care was discussed. The 6th Cardiovascular Outcome Trial Summit will be held in Munich on October 29th-30th, 2020 (https://www.cvot.org)

Investigation of plasma-induced chemistry in organic solutions for enhanced electrospun PLA nanofibers

Electrospinning is a versatile technique for the fabrication of polymer-based nano/microfibers. Both physical and chemical characteristics of pre-electrospinning polymer solutions affect the morphology and chemistry of electrospun nanofibers. An atmospheric-pressure plasma jet has previously been shown to induce physical modifications in polylactic acid (PLA) solutions. This work aims at investigating the plasma-induced chemistry in organic solutions of PLA, and their effects on the resultant PLA nanofibers. Therefore, very broad range of gas, liquid, and solid (nanofiber) analyzing techniques has been applied. Plasma alters the acidity of the solutions. SEM studies illustrated that complete fiber morphology enhancement only occurred when both PLA and solvent molecules were exposed to pre-electrospinning plasma treatment. Additionally, the surface chemistry of the PLA nanofibers was mostly preserved

How to improve healthcare for autistic people: A qualitative study of the views of autistic people and clinicians

Autism spectrum condition is associated with co-occurring physical health conditions and premature mortality. Autistic people experience multiple barriers to accessing healthcare. This study investigated autistic people’s experiences of healthcare and professionals’ experiences of providing healthcare to autistic people. Focus groups with 11 autistic people and one supporter, and 15 one-to-one interviews with healthcare professionals were completed. Nine themes emerged from the autistic participants’ data and eight themes emerged from the health professionals’ data. Three themes were identified by both groups: healthcare contacts (for improving the patient–provider relationship), making reasonable adjustments to healthcare (e.g. providing alternative places to wait for an appointment) and autism diagnosis. Autistic participants discussed the role of cognitive factors in the success of healthcare visits (such as rehearsing an anticipated conversation with the clinician the night before an appointment) and clinicians described system-level constraints that may affect healthcare delivery (such as time limits on appointments). This study identified inexpensive changes that health professionals and managers can make to improve healthcare access for autistic people. Lay abstract Research has shown that on average, autistic people are more likely to die earlier than non-autistic people, and barriers can stop autistic people accessing healthcare. We carried out a study where we interviewed healthcare professionals (including doctors and nurses), and held discussion groups of autistic people. Our results highlighted several key points: seeing the same professional is important for autistic people and clinicians; both clinicians and autistic people think making adjustments to healthcare is important (and often possible); autistic people process information in a different way and so may need extra support in appointments; and that clinicians are often constrained by time pressures or targets

Methodologies for in vitro and in vivo evaluation of efficacy of antifungal and antibiofilm agents and surface coatings against fungal biofilms

KT acknowledges receipt of a mandate of Industrial Research Fund (IOFm/05/022). JB acknowledges funding from the European Research Council Advanced Award 3400867/RAPLODAPT and the Israel Science Foundation grant # 314/13 (www.isf.il). NG acknowledges the Wellcome Trust and MRC for funding. CD acknowledges funding from the Agence Nationale de Recherche (ANR-10-LABX-62-IBEID). CJN acknowledges funding from the National Institutes of Health R35GM124594 and R21AI125801. AW is supported by the Wellcome Trust Strategic Award (grant 097377), the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (grant MR/N006364/1) at the University of Aberdeen MaCA: outside this study MaCA has received personal speaker’s honoraria the past five years from Astellas, Basilea, Gilead, MSD, Pfizer, T2Candida, and Novartis. She has received research grants and contract work paid to the Statens Serum Institute from Astellas, Basilea, Gilead, MSD, NovaBiotics, Pfizer, T2Biosystems, F2G, Cidara, and Amplyx. CAM acknowledges the Wellcome Trust and the MRC MR/N006364/1. PVD, TC and KT acknowledge the FWO research community: Biology and ecology of bacterial and fungal biofilms in humans (FWO WO.009.16N). AAB acknowledges the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – CRC FungiNet.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Guinea Pig as a model for sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (AD): the impact of cholesterol intake on expression of AD-related genes

Extent: 12p.We investigated the guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, as a model for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), both in terms of the conservation of genes involved in AD and the regulatory responses of these to a known AD risk factor - high cholesterol intake. Unlike rats and mice, guinea pigs possess an Aβ peptide sequence identical to human Aβ. Consistent with the commonality between cardiovascular and AD risk factors in humans, we saw that a high cholesterol diet leads to up-regulation of BACE1 (β-secretase) transcription and down-regulation of ADAM10 (α-secretase) transcription which should increase release of Aβ from APP. Significantly, guinea pigs possess isoforms of AD-related genes found in humans but not present in mice or rats. For example, we discovered that the truncated PS2V isoform of human PSEN2, that is found at raised levels in AD brains and that increases γ-secretase activity and Aβ synthesis, is not uniquely human or aberrant as previously believed. We show that PS2V formation is up-regulated by hypoxia and a high-cholesterol diet while, consistent with observations in humans, Aβ concentrations are raised in some brain regions but not others. Also like humans, but unlike mice, the guinea pig gene encoding tau, MAPT, encodes isoforms with both three and four microtubule binding domains, and cholesterol alters the ratio of these isoforms. We conclude that AD-related genes are highly conserved and more similar to human than the rat or mouse. Guinea pigs represent a superior rodent model for analysis of the impact of dietary factors such as cholesterol on the regulation of AD-related genes.Mathew J. Sharman, Seyyed H. Moussavi Nik, Mengqi M. Chen, Daniel Ong, Linda Wijaya, Simon M. Laws, Kevin Taddei, Morgan Newman, Michael Lardelli, Ralph N. Martins, Giuseppe Verdil

Nutrition and cancer: A review of the evidence for an anti-cancer diet

It has been estimated that 30–40 percent of all cancers can be prevented by lifestyle and dietary measures alone. Obesity, nutrient sparse foods such as concentrated sugars and refined flour products that contribute to impaired glucose metabolism (which leads to diabetes), low fiber intake, consumption of red meat, and imbalance of omega 3 and omega 6 fats all contribute to excess cancer risk. Intake of flax seed, especially its lignan fraction, and abundant portions of fruits and vegetables will lower cancer risk. Allium and cruciferous vegetables are especially beneficial, with broccoli sprouts being the densest source of sulforophane. Protective elements in a cancer prevention diet include selenium, folic acid, vitamin B-12, vitamin D, chlorophyll, and antioxidants such as the carotenoids (α-carotene, β-carotene, lycopene, lutein, cryptoxanthin). Ascorbic acid has limited benefits orally, but could be very beneficial intravenously. Supplementary use of oral digestive enzymes and probiotics also has merit as anticancer dietary measures. When a diet is compiled according to the guidelines here it is likely that there would be at least a 60–70 percent decrease in breast, colorectal, and prostate cancers, and even a 40–50 percent decrease in lung cancer, along with similar reductions in cancers at other sites. Such a diet would be conducive to preventing cancer and would favor recovery from cancer as well

4to. Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad. Memoria académica

Este volumen acoge la memoria académica de la Cuarta edición del Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad, CITIS 2017, desarrollado entre el 29 de noviembre y el 1 de diciembre de 2017 y organizado por la Universidad Politécnica Salesiana (UPS) en su sede de Guayaquil. El Congreso ofreció un espacio para la presentación, difusión e intercambio de importantes investigaciones nacionales e internacionales ante la comunidad universitaria que se dio cita en el encuentro. El uso de herramientas tecnológicas para la gestión de los trabajos de investigación como la plataforma Open Conference Systems y la web de presentación del Congreso http://citis.blog.ups.edu.ec/, hicieron de CITIS 2017 un verdadero referente entre los congresos que se desarrollaron en el país. La preocupación de nuestra Universidad, de presentar espacios que ayuden a generar nuevos y mejores cambios en la dimensión humana y social de nuestro entorno, hace que se persiga en cada edición del evento la presentación de trabajos con calidad creciente en cuanto a su producción científica. Quienes estuvimos al frente de la organización, dejamos plasmado en estas memorias académicas el intenso y prolífico trabajo de los días de realización del Congreso Internacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación para la Sociedad al alcance de todos y todas