Combinatorial discovery of polymers resistant to bacterial attachment

Bacterial attachment and subsequent biofilm formation are key challenges to the long term performance of many medical devices. Here, a high throughput approach coupled with the analysis of surface structure-property relationships using a chemometics approach has been developed to simultaneously investigate the interaction of bacteria with hundreds of polymeric materials on a microarray format. Using this system, a new group of materials comprising ester and hydrophobic moieties are identified that dramatically reduce the attachment of clinically relevant, pathogenic bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus and uropathogenic Escherichia coli). Hit materials coated on silicone catheters resulted in up to a 30 fold reduction in coverage compared to a commercial silver embedded catheter, which has been proven to half the incidence of clinically acquired infection. These polymers represent a new class of materials resistant to bacterial attachment that could not have been predicted from the current understanding of bacteria-surface interactions

Breast cancer management pathways during the COVID-19 pandemic: outcomes from the UK ‘Alert Level 4’ phase of the B-MaP-C study

Abstract: Background: The B-MaP-C study aimed to determine alterations to breast cancer (BC) management during the peak transmission period of the UK COVID-19 pandemic and the potential impact of these treatment decisions. Methods: This was a national cohort study of patients with early BC undergoing multidisciplinary team (MDT)-guided treatment recommendations during the pandemic, designated ‘standard’ or ‘COVID-altered’, in the preoperative, operative and post-operative setting. Findings: Of 3776 patients (from 64 UK units) in the study, 2246 (59%) had ‘COVID-altered’ management. ‘Bridging’ endocrine therapy was used (n = 951) where theatre capacity was reduced. There was increasing access to COVID-19 low-risk theatres during the study period (59%). In line with national guidance, immediate breast reconstruction was avoided (n = 299). Where adjuvant chemotherapy was omitted (n = 81), the median benefit was only 3% (IQR 2–9%) using ‘NHS Predict’. There was the rapid adoption of new evidence-based hypofractionated radiotherapy (n = 781, from 46 units). Only 14 patients (1%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 during their treatment journey. Conclusions: The majority of ‘COVID-altered’ management decisions were largely in line with pre-COVID evidence-based guidelines, implying that breast cancer survival outcomes are unlikely to be negatively impacted by the pandemic. However, in this study, the potential impact of delays to BC presentation or diagnosis remains unknown

Lithium, sodium and potassium picolyl complexes : syntheses, structures and bonding

Synthetically important for introducing a picolyl scaffold into a molecular construction, alkali metallated picoline (methylpyridine) complexes are also interesting in their own right for the diversity of their ligand-metal bonding possibilities. Here the syntheses of seven new such complexes are reported: namely three 4-picoline derivatives 4-picLi·Me6TREN, 1, 4-picNa·Me6TREN, 2, and [4-picK·2(4-picH)]∞, 3; and four 2-picoline derivatives, 2-picLi·Me6TREN, 4, 2-picLi·PMDETA, 4′, 2-picNa·Me6TREN, 5, and [2-picK·PMDETA]2, 6′ [where pic = NC5H4(CH2); Me6TREN = tris(N,N-dimethyl-2-aminoethyl)amine, (Me2NCH2CH2)3N; PMDETA = N,N,N′,N′′,N′′-pentamethyldiethylenetriamine, (Me2NCH2CH2)2NMe]. X-ray crystallographic studies establish that the lighter alkali metal complexes 1, 2, 4′ and 5 adopt monomeric structures in contrast to the polymeric and dimeric arrangements adopted by potassium complexes 3 and 6′ respectively. All complexes have also been characterized by solution NMR spectroscopy (1H, 13C, and where relevant 7Li). This study represents the first example of sodium and potassium picolyl complexes to be isolated and characterized. DOSY (Diffusion-Ordered Spectroscopy) experiments performed on 4 and 4′ suggest both compounds retain their monomeric constitutions in C6D6solution. Discussion focuses on the influence of the metal and neutral donor molecule on the structures and the nature of the ligand-metal (enamido versus aza-allylic) interactions

Applications of Evolutionary Computation

This book constitutes the refereed proceedings of the International Conference on the Applications of Evolutionary Computation, EvoApplications 2013, held in Vienna, Austria, in April 2013, colocated with the Evo* 2013 events EuroGP, EvoCOP, EvoBIO, and EvoMUSART. The 65 revised full papers presented were carefully reviewed and selected from 119 submissions. EvoApplications 2013 consisted of the following 12 tracks: EvoCOMNET (nature-inspired techniques for telecommunication networks and other parallel and distributed systems), EvoCOMPLEX (evolutionary algorithms and complex systems), EvoENERGY (evolutionary computation in energy applications), EvoFIN (evolutionary and natural computation in finance and economics), EvoGAMES (bio-inspired algorithms in games), EvoIASP (evolutionary computation in image analysis, signal processing, and pattern recognition), EvoINDUSTRY (nature-inspired techniques in industrial settings), EvoNUM (bio-inspired algorithms for continuous parameter optimization), EvoPAR (parallel implementation of evolutionary algorithms), EvoRISK (computational intelligence for risk management, security and defence applications), EvoROBOT (evolutionary computation in robotics), and EvoSTOC (evolutionary algorithms in stochastic and dynamic environments