Decision tool and Sample Size Calculator for composite endpoints

This article considers the combination of two binary or two time-to-event endpoints to form the primary composite endpoint for leading a trial. • It discusses the relative efficiency of choosing a composite endpoint over one of its components in terms of: the frequencies of observing each component; the relative treatment effect of the tested therapy; and the association between both components. • We highlight the very important role of the association between components in choosing the most efficient endpoint to use as primary. • For better grounded future trials, we recommend trialists to always reporting the association between components of the composite endpoint • Common fallacies to note when using composite endpoints: i) composite endpoints always imply higher power; ii) treatment effect on the composite endpoint is similar to the average effects of its components; and iii) the probability of observing the primary endpoint increases significantly.Peer ReviewedPreprin

Design of trials with composite endpoints with the R package compAREdesign

Composite endpoints are widely used as primary endpoints in clinical trials. Designing trials with time-to-event endpoints can be particularly challenging because the proportional hazard assumption usually does not hold when using a composite endpoint, even when the premise remains true for their components. Consequently, the conventional formulae for sample size calculation do not longer apply. We present the R package CompAREdesign by means of which the key elements of trial designs, such as the sample size and effect sizes, can be computed based on the information on the composite endpoint components. CompAREdesign provides the functions to assess the sensitivity and robustness of design calculations to variations in initial values and assumptions. Furthermore, we describe other features of the package, such as functions for the design of trials with binary composite endpoints, and functions to simulate trials with composite endpoints under a wide range of scenarios.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) under Grant PID2019- 104830RB-I00 and the Departament d’Empresa i Coneixement de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Spain) under Grant 2017 SGR 622 (GRBIO). Marta Bofill Roig is a member of the EU Patient Centric Clinical Trial Platforms (EU-PEARL). This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program and EFPIA and Children’s Tumor Foundation, Global Alliance for TB Drug Development nonprofit organization, Springworks Therapeutics Inc. This publication reflects the authors’ views. Neither IMI nor the European Union, EFPIA, nor any Associated Partners are responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained herein.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Influencia de aditivos orgánicos en las propiedades reológicas de pastas de cemento de aluminato de calcio

[ES] El cemento de aluminato de calcio (CAC) es un tipo de cemento utilizado en elementos constructivos que necesitan propiedades refractarias, debido a su resistencia a elevadas temperaturas. Sin embargo, este tipo de cemento presenta diversas dificultades para su puesta en obra debido a su fraguado rápido y la dificultad para obtener trabajabilidades elevadas con relaciones agua/cemento bajas. Este trabajo realiza un análisis de la reología obtenida al utilizar distintas familias de aditivos con CAC, incluyendo superplastificantes basados en policarboxilato, vinílicos, naftalenos o lignosulfonatos, así como aditivos retardadores como ácido cítrico y gluconato. Además, se estudia la influencia de la presencia de cenizas volantes y escorias de alto horno como adiciones minerales. Para ello se ha calculado el esfuerzo de cizalla umbral de pastas con aditivos a partir de los valores de escurrimiento a lo largo del tiempo. Los resultados muestran la elevada compatibilidad de los aditivos tipo lignosulfonato y de los retardadores manteniéndose la fluidez hasta 90 minutos tras el inicio de la hidratación. Finalmente, la adición conjunta de aditivos basados en lignosulfonato y policarboxilato ha permitido obtener una fluidez óptima de los sistemas de CAC.Los autores agradecen al proyecto NewSOL H2020-IA-NMBP-17-2016 (project ID: 720985) la financiación recibida, así como a las empresas Cementos Molins S.A., Cementos Tudela Veguín y Secil Companhia Geral de Cal e Cimento, por el suministro de material y las discusiones técnicas.Roig-Flores, M.; Palacios, M.; Martínez-Urbanos, M.; Alonso, M. (2018). Influencia de aditivos orgánicos en las propiedades reológicas de pastas de cemento de aluminato de calcio. En HAC 2018. V Congreso Iberoamericano de hormigón autocompactable y hormigones especiales. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 75-84. https://doi.org/10.4995/HAC2018.2018.7226OCS758

Effectiveness and tolerability of a squalane and dimethicone-based treatment for head lice

Head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis) are worldwide obligate human ectoparasites, with high implications in pediatrics. In Europe, first-line topical neurotoxic insecticidal therapeutic strategies are being replaced by topical physically acting agents as the first-choice treatment. Safety of the active ingredients and high efficacy in a one-time single-dose treatment with a brief treatment application time are key issues for consumer use and effective compliance. The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro efficacy of a newly developed squalane and dimethicone-based pediculicidal formula, against motile head lice and eggs after 2 and 5 min immersion in the product, as well as its skin tolerance and acceptability under dermatological and pediatric expert control in children with atopic skin. The results indicate that at both time points, 100% mortality rate of head lice crawling stages and latest age eggs was achieved. The formula was well tolerated and suitable for children with atopic skin from 12 months of age. Showing high in vitro efficacy and good skin acceptability, this solution is presented as a new safe alternative therapy for treatment of head lice infestations.This work was funded by Ferrer International S.A., the company that developed the human head louse treatment discussed in this paper. This solution is marketed as “OTC ANTIPIOJOS FORMULA TOTAL” by Ferrer International S.A. in Spain

Influencia de aditivos orgánicos en las propiedades reológicas de pastas de cemento de aluminato de calcio

El cemento de aluminato de calcio (CAC) es un tipo de cemento utilizado en elementos constructivos que necesitan propiedades refractarias, debido a su resistencia a elevadas temperaturas. Sin embargo, este tipo de cemento presenta diversas dificultades para su puesta en obra debido a su fraguado rápido y la dificultad para obtener trabajabilidades elevadas con relaciones agua/cemento bajas. Este trabajo realiza un análisis de la reología obtenida al utilizar distintas familias de aditivos con CAC, incluyendo superplastificantes basados en policarboxilato, vinílicos, naftalenos o lignosulfonatos, así como aditivos retardadores como ácido cítrico y gluconato. Además, se estudia la influencia de la presencia de cenizas volantes y escorias de alto horno como adiciones minerales. Para ello se ha calculado el esfuerzo de cizalla umbral de pastas con aditivos a partir de los valores de escurrimiento a lo largo del tiempo. Los resultados muestran la elevada compatibilidad de los aditivos tipo lignosulfonato y de los retardadores manteniéndose la fluidez hasta 90 minutos tras el inicio de la hidratación. Finalmente, la adición conjunta de aditivos basados en lignosulfonato y policarboxilato ha permitido obtener una fluidez óptima de los sistemas de CAC

Influence of cracking on oxygen transport in UHPFRC using stainless steel sensors

[EN] Reinforced concrete elements frequently suffer small cracks that are not relevant from the mechanical point of view, but they can be an entrance point for aggressive agents, such as oxygen, which could initiate the degradation processes. Fiber-Reinforced Concrete and especially Ultra High Performance Concrete increase the multi-cracking behavior, reducing the crack width and spacing. In this work, the oxygen availability of three types of concrete was compared at similar strain levels to evaluate the benefit of multi-cracking in the transport of oxygen. The types of concrete studied include traditional, High-Performance, and Ultra-High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete with and without nanofibers. To this purpose, reinforced concrete beams sized 150 x 100 x 750 mm(3) were prepared with embedded stainless steel sensors that were located at three heights, which have also been validated through this work. These beams were pre-cracked in bending up to fixed strain levels. The results indicate that the sensors used were able to detect oxygen availability due to the presence of cracks and the detected differences between the studied concretes. Ultra High Performance Concrete in the cracked state displayed lower oxygen availability than the uncracked High Performance Concrete, demonstrating its potential higher durability, even when working in cracked state, thanks to the increased multi-cracking response.The authors would like to express their gratitude to the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation for the pre-doctoral scholarship granted to Ana Martinez Ibernon (FPU 16/00723), to the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia for the pre-doctoral scholarship granted to Josep Ramon Lliso Ferrando (FPI-UPV-2018), and the European Union's Horizon 2020 ReSHEALience project (Grant Agreement No. 760824).Martínez-Ibernón, A.; Roig-Flores, M.; Lliso-Ferrando, JR.; Mezquida-Alcaraz, EJ.; Valcuende Payá, MO.; Serna Ros, P. (2020). Influence of cracking on oxygen transport in UHPFRC using stainless steel sensors. Applied Sciences. 10(1):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10010239S117101Front Matter. (2013). fib Model Code for Concrete Structures 2010, I-XXXIII. doi:10.1002/9783433604090.fmatterYoo, D.-Y., & Banthia, N. (2016). Mechanical properties of ultra-high-performance fiber-reinforced concrete: A review. Cement and Concrete Composites, 73, 267-280. doi:10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2016.08.001Wittmann, F., & Van Zijl, G. (Eds.). (2011). Durability of Strain-Hardening Fibre-Reinforced Cement-Based Composites (SHCC). doi:10.1007/978-94-007-0338-4Li, V. C. (2003). On Engineered Cementitious Composites (ECC). Journal of Advanced Concrete Technology, 1(3), 215-230. doi:10.3151/jact.1.215Asgari, M. A., Mastali, M., Dalvand, A., & Abdollahnejad, Z. (2017). Development of deflection hardening cementitious composites using glass fibres for flexural repairing/strengthening concrete beams: experimental and numerical studies. European Journal of Environmental and Civil Engineering, 23(8), 916-944. doi:10.1080/19648189.2017.1327888Ravindrarajah, R. S., & Swamy, R. N. (1989). Load effects on fracture of concrete. Materials and Structures, 22(1), 15-22. doi:10.1007/bf02472690Bascoul, A. (1996). State of the art report—Part 2: Mechanical micro-cracking of concrete. Materials and Structures, 29(2), 67-78. doi:10.1007/bf02486196Damgaard Jensen, A., & Chatterji, S. (1996). State of the art report on micro-cracking and lifetime of concrete—Part 1. Materials and Structures, 29(1), 3-8. doi:10.1007/bf02486001Berrocal, C. G., Löfgren, I., Lundgren, K., Görander, N., & Halldén, C. (2016). Characterisation of bending cracks in R/FRC using image analysis. Cement and Concrete Research, 90, 104-116. doi:10.1016/j.cemconres.2016.09.016Correia, M. J., Pereira, E. V., Salta, M. M., & Fonseca, I. T. E. (2006). Sensor for oxygen evaluation in concrete. Cement and Concrete Composites, 28(3), 226-232. doi:10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2006.01.006Yoon, I.-S. (2018). Comprehensive Approach to Calculate Oxygen Diffusivity of Cementitious Materials Considering Carbonation. International Journal of Concrete Structures and Materials, 12(1). doi:10.1186/s40069-018-0242-yBanthia, N., Zanotti, C., & Sappakittipakorn, M. (2014). Sustainable fiber reinforced concrete for repair applications. Construction and Building Materials, 67, 405-412. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.12.073Berrocal, C. G., Löfgren, I., & Lundgren, K. (2018). The effect of fibres on steel bar corrosion and flexural behaviour of corroded RC beams. Engineering Structures, 163, 409-425. doi:10.1016/j.engstruct.2018.02.068Sisomphon, K., Copuroglu, O., & Koenders, E. A. B. (2012). Self-healing of surface cracks in mortars with expansive additive and crystalline additive. Cement and Concrete Composites, 34(4), 566-574. doi:10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2012.01.005Ferrara, L., Krelani, V., & Carsana, M. (2014). A «fracture testing» based approach to assess crack healing of concrete with and without crystalline admixtures. Construction and Building Materials, 68, 535-551. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.07.008Roig-Flores, M., Pirritano, F., Serna, P., & Ferrara, L. (2016). Effect of crystalline admixtures on the self-healing capability of early-age concrete studied by means of permeability and crack closing tests. Construction and Building Materials, 114, 447-457. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2016.03.196López, J. Á., Serna, P., Navarro-Gregori, J., & Camacho, E. (2014). An inverse analysis method based on deflection to curvature transformation to determine the tensile properties of UHPFRC. Materials and Structures, 48(11), 3703-3718. doi:10.1617/s11527-014-0434-0Lopez, J. A., Serna, P., Camacho, E., Coll, H., & Navarro-Gregori, J. (2014). First Ultra-High-Performance Fibre-Reinforced Concrete Footbridge in Spain: Design and Construction. Structural Engineering International, 24(1), 101-104. doi:10.2749/101686614x13830788505793Negrini, A., Roig-Flores, M., Mezquida-Alcaraz, E. J., Ferrara, L., & Serna, P. (2019). Effect of crack pattern on the self-healing capability in traditional, HPC and UHPFRC concretes measured by water and chloride permeability. MATEC Web of Conferences, 289, 01006. doi:10.1051/matecconf/20192890100

Guia de medicaments d’Atenció Primària que requereixen una vigilància especial per la seva dispensació en pacients amb funció renal disminuïda.

Projecte: AVCRI 279 Requeriments tècnics: L’entorn és l’EXCEL de Microsoft. L'accés al codi no estarà disponible fins la fi de la data d'embargament. Si esteu interessats a accedir-hi, contacteu amb idea(at)fbg.ub.eduAquesta Base de Dades (Guia de Medicaments) recull informació per tal d’indicar quins medicaments són susceptibles d'ajustos de dosi per evitar la iatrogènia medicamentosa en pacients amb deteriorament de la funció renal. Aquesta informació s'ha consensuat entre farmacèutics i metges nefròlegs a partir de la informació disponible en diferents bases de dades nacionals i internacionals. Per agilitzar l'ús de la Guia s'ha consensuat categoritzar en nivell baix, moderat o alt el risc que suposa pel pacient l’ús d'aquests medicaments segons el seu filtrat glomerular. A més la Guia recull els ajustos de dosi a realitzar, les interaccions medicamentoses i la simptomatologia per sobre dosificació en pacients amb funció renal disminuïda. A partir d'aquesta Base de Dades, s'ha dissenyat una aplicació web que facilita al professional sanitari la presa de decisions per a l'ajust de dosis de medicaments en funció del filtrat glomerular del pacient

Eating disorders during gestation: Implications for mother's health, fetal outcomes, and epigenetic changes

Introduction: Eating disorders (EDs) have increased globally in women of childbearing age, related to the concern for body shape promoted in industrialized countries. Pregnancy may exacerbate a previous ED or conversely may be a chance for improving eating patterns due to the mother's concern for the unborn baby. EDs may impact pregnancy evolution and increase the risk of adverse outcomes such as miscarriage, preterm delivery, poor fetal growth, or malformations, but the knowledge on this topic is limited. Methods: We performed a systematic review of studies on humans in order to clarify the mechanisms underpinning the adverse pregnancy outcomes in patients with EDs. Results: Although unfavorable fetal development could be multifactorial, maternal malnutrition, altered hormonal pathways, low pre-pregnancy body mass index, and poor gestational weight gain, combined with maternal psychopathology and stress, may impair the evolution of pregnancy. Environmental factors such as malnutrition or substance of abuse may also induce epigenetic changes in the fetal epigenome, which mark lifelong health concerns in offspring. Conclusions: The precocious detection of dysfunctional eating behaviors in the pre-pregnancy period and an early multidisciplinary approach comprised of nutritional support, psychotherapeutic techniques, and the use of psychotropics if necessary, would prevent lifelong morbidity for both mother and fetus. Further prospective studies with large sample sizes are needed in order to design a structured intervention during every stage of pregnancy and in the postpartum period

Espècies singulars del Jardí de la Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l’Alimentació

Facultat de Farmàcia i Ciències de l'Alimentació, Universitat de Barcelona. Ensenyament: Grau de Farmàcia , Assignatura: Plantes Medicinals, Etnobotànica i Bioprospecció , Curs: 2018-2019, Coordinadors: Joan Simon i Carles BenedíEl grup d’innovació GIBAF, ha dut a terme una activitat acadèmica amb els estudiants de l’assignatura de Plantes Medicinals, Etnobotànica i Bioprospecció que s’inscriu en un projecte d’innovació docent que pren com a base les espècies del campus de la Facultat i que s’orienta en l’àmbit de l’aprenentatge-servei (ApS). Aquesta activitat ha consistit en la redacció d’una vintena de fitxes d’espècies presents al jardí i, de manera especial, la redacció d’unes monografies sobre espècies que considerem com a singulars. Aquesta singularitat ve determinada per aspectes botànics, com en el cas del Ginkgo biloba i Dracaena drago, per ser plantes emblemàtiques, com ara l’exemplar d’olivera (Olea europaea) plantada amb motiu del 150è aniversari de la Facultat, o del grup de margallons (Chamaerops humilis) trasplantat amb motiu del centenari de la mort de Pius Font i Quer, o bé per ser espècies pròpies de la mediterrània, com ara en el cas del baladre (Nerium oleander), el garrofer (Ceratonia siliqua) i el llorer (Laurus nobilis) o per tenir una presència destacada en el campus, con ara el ficus de cautxú (Ficus elàstica)