Rapid One-Step Selection Method for Generating Nucleic Acid Aptamers: Development of a DNA Aptamer against alpha-Bungarotoxin

Background: Nucleic acids based therapeutic approaches have gained significant interest in recent years towards the development of therapeutics against many diseases. Recently, research on aptamers led to the marketing of Macugen (R), an inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) for the treatment of age related macular degeneration (AMD). Aptamer technology may prove useful as a therapeutic alternative against an array of human maladies. Considering the increased interest in aptamer technology globally that rival antibody mediated therapeutic approaches, a simplified selection, possibly in one-step, technique is required for developing aptamers in limited time period

Creating a database of internet-based clinical trials to support a public-led research programme: A descriptive analysis

Background: Online trials are rapidly growing in number, offering potential benefits but also methodological, ethical and social challenges. The International Network for Knowledge on Well-being (ThinkWell™) aims to increase public and patient participation in the prioritisation, design and conduct of research through the use of technologies. Objective: We aim to provide a baseline understanding of the online trial environment, determining how many trials have used internet-based technologies; how they have been used; and how use has developed over time. Methods: We searched a range of bibliographic databases to March 2015, with no date limits, supplemented by citation searching and references provided by experts in the field. Results were screened against inclusion and exclusion criteria, and included studies mapped against a number of key dimensions, with key themes developed iteratively throughout the process. Results: We identified 1992 internet-based trials to March 2015. The number of reported studies increased substantially over the study timeframe. The largest number of trials were conducted in the USA (49.7%), followed by The Netherlands (10.2%); Australia (8.5%); the United Kingdom (5.8%); Sweden (4.6%); Canada (4%); and Germany (2.6%). South Korea (1.5%) has the highest number of reported trials for other continents. There is a predominance of interventions addressing core public health challenges including obesity (8.6%), smoking cessation (5.9%), alcohol abuse (7.7%) and physical activity (10.2%); in mental health issues such as depression (10.9%) and anxiety (5.6%); and conditions where self-management (16.6%) or monitoring (8.1%) is a major feature of care. Conclusions: The results confirm an increase in the use of the internet in trials. Key themes have emerged from the analysis and further research will be undertaken in order to investigate how the data can be used to improve trial design and recruitment, and to build an open access resource to support the public-led research agenda

New records of biting midges of the genus \u3ci\u3eCulicoides\u3c/i\u3e Latreille from the southeastern United States (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

We provide new state and county records of biting midges in the genus Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from the southeastern United States collected with CDC miniature light traps during 2007–2012 in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas. The primary goals of the surveys were to identify the presence of exotic Culicoides, and determine the ranges of known and possible vectors of bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV). Included are the first records of: Culicoides (Amossovia) beckae Wirth and Blanton from Louisiana and Mississippi, C. (A.) oklahomensis Khalaf from Alabama and Arkansas, C. (Avaritia) alachua Jamnback and Wirth from Alabama, C. (Culicoides) neopulicaris Wirth from Alabama, C. (Drymodesmyia) butleri Wirth and Hubert from Texas, C. (Hoffmania) insignis Lutz from Mississippi, C. (Oecacta) barbosai Wirth and Blanton from Georgia, C. (Silvaticulicoides) loisae Jamnback from Alabama, and C. kirbyi Glick and Mullen from Mississippi. We also provide new Florida county records for C. alachua, C. barbosai, C. (Beltranmyia) hollensis (Melander and Brues), C. insignis, and C. (Monoculicoides) sonorensis Wirth and Jones; a new Georgia county record for C. alachua; and new Alabama county records for C. insignis, and C. sonorensis

Arduous implementation: Does the Normalisation Process Model explain why it's so difficult to embed decision support technologies for patients in routine clinical practice

Background: decision support technologies (DSTs, also known as decision aids) help patients and professionals take part in collaborative decision-making processes. Trials have shown favorable impacts on patient knowledge, satisfaction, decisional conflict and confidence. However, they have not become routinely embedded in health care settings. Few studies have approached this issue using a theoretical framework. We explained problems of implementing DSTs using the Normalization Process Model, a conceptual model that focuses attention on how complex interventions become routinely embedded in practice.Methods: the Normalization Process Model was used as the basis of conceptual analysis of the outcomes of previous primary research and reviews. Using a virtual working environment we applied the model and its main concepts to examine: the 'workability' of DSTs in professional-patient interactions; how DSTs affect knowledge relations between their users; how DSTs impact on users' skills and performance; and the impact of DSTs on the allocation of organizational resources.Results: conceptual analysis using the Normalization Process Model provided insight on implementation problems for DSTs in routine settings. Current research focuses mainly on the interactional workability of these technologies, but factors related to divisions of labor and health care, and the organizational contexts in which DSTs are used, are poorly described and understood.Conclusion: the model successfully provided a framework for helping to identify factors that promote and inhibit the implementation of DSTs in healthcare and gave us insights into factors influencing the introduction of new technologies into contexts where negotiations are characterized by asymmetries of power and knowledge. Future research and development on the deployment of DSTs needs to take a more holistic approach and give emphasis to the structural conditions and social norms in which these technologies are enacte

Alterations in vascular function in primary aldosteronism - a cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging study

Introduction: Excess aldosterone is associated with increased cardiovascular risk. Aldosterone has a permissive effect on vascular fibrosis. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (CMR) allows study of vascular function by measuring aortic distensibility. We compared aortic distensibility in primary aldosteronism (PA), essential hypertension (EH) and normal controls and explored the relationship between aortic distensibility and pulse wave velocity (PWV).<p></p> Methods: We studied PA (n=14) and EH (n=33) subjects and age-matched healthy controls (n=17) with CMR, including measurement of aortic distensibility, and measured PWV using applanation tonometry. At recruitment, PA and EH patients had similar blood pressure and left ventricular mass.<p></p> Results: Subjects with PA had significantly lower aortic distensibilty and higher PWV compared to EH and healthy controls. These changes were independent of other factors associated with reduced aortic distensibility, including aging. There was a significant relationship between increasing aortic stiffness and age in keeping with physical and vascular aging. As expected, aortic distensibility and PWV were closely correlated.<p></p> Conclusion: These results demonstrate that PA patients display increased arterial stiffness compared to EH, independent of vascular aging. The implication is that aldosterone invokes functional impairment of arterial function. The long-term implications of arterial stiffening in aldosterone excess require further study.<p></p&gt