Interest in a Mobile App for Two-Way Risk Communication: A Survey Study Among European Healthcare Professionals and Patients

INTRODUCTION: Previously, an app has been developed for healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients to report adverse drug reactions (ADRs) to national medicines agencies and to receive drug safety information. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess (1) European HCPs' and patients' interest in an app for this two-way risk communication; (2) their preferences and perceptions towards specific app characteristics; and (3) which HCPs and patients are particularly interested in the app. In addition, these aspects were studied specifically for the countries where such an app was already available, i.e. Croatia, The Netherlands, and The UK. METHODS: European HCPs and patients were asked to complete a web-based survey developed in the context of the Web-Recognizing Adverse Drug Reactions (Web-RADR) project. Data on app interest and preferences and perceptions towards app characteristics were analysed descriptively. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the association of HCP characteristics and patient characteristics on the level of interest in the app (i.e. very interested vs. not/somewhat interested). RESULTS: In total, 399 HCPs and 656 patients completed the survey. About half of the patients (48%; ranging from 38% from The Netherlands to 54% from The UK), and 61% of the HCPs (ranging from 42% from The Netherlands to 54% from The UK) were very interested in the app. A faster means of reporting ADRs and easier access to the reporting form were the main perceived benefits. HCPs and patients who already use a health app were particularly interested in the app (HCPs: odds ratio [OR] 3.52; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.96-6.30, patients: OR 1.64; 95% CI 1.19-2.27). CONCLUSIONS: An app is positively perceived by HCPs and patients for reporting ADRs quickly and for receiving drug safety information from national medicines agencies. In particular, HCPs and patients who already use other health apps were interested in the app

Investigating poultry trade patterns to guide avian influenza surveillance and control: a case study in Vietnam

Live bird markets are often the focus of surveillance activities monitoring avian influenza viruses (AIV) circulating in poultry. However, in order to ensure a high sensitivity of virus detection and effectiveness of management actions, poultry management practices features influencing AIV dynamics need to be accounted for in the design of surveillance programmes. In order to address this knowledge gap, a cross-sectional survey was conducted through interviews with 791 traders in 18 Vietnamese live bird markets. Markets greatly differed according to the sources from which poultry was obtained, and their connections to other markets through the movements of their traders. These features, which could be informed based on indicators that are easy to measure, suggest that markets could be used as sentinels for monitoring virus strains circulating in specific segments of the poultry production sector. AIV spread within markets was modelled. Due to the high turn-over of poultry, viral amplification was likely to be minimal in most of the largest markets. However, due to the large number of birds being introduced each day, and challenges related to cleaning and disinfection, environmental accumulation of viruses at markets may take place, posing a threat to the poultry production sector and to public health

Low Efficiency of Homology-Facilitated Illegitimate Recombination during Conjugation in Escherichia coli

Homology-facilitated illegitimate recombination has been described in three naturally competent bacterial species. It permits integration of small linear DNA molecules into the chromosome by homologous recombination at one end of the linear DNA substrate, and illegitimate recombination at the other end. We report that homology-facilitated illegitimate recombination also occurs in Escherichia coli during conjugation with small non-replicative plasmids, but at a low frequency of 3×10−10 per recipient cell. The fate of linear DNA in E. coli is either RecBCD-dependent degradation, or circularisation by ligation, and integration into the chromosome by single crossing-over. We also report that the observed single crossing-overs are recA-dependent, but essentially recBCD, and recFOR independent. This suggests that other, still unknown, proteins may act as mediator for the loading of RecA on DNA during single crossing-over recombination in E. coli

Trends in HbA1c thresholds for initiation of hypoglycemic agents:Impact of changed recommendations for older and frail patients

Aims: Less strict glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) thresholds have been recommended in older and/or frail type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients than in younger and less frail patients for initiating hypoglycemic agents since 2011. We aimed to assess trends in HbA1c thresholds at initiation of a first hypoglycemic agent(s) in T2D patients and the influence of age and frailty on these trends. Materials and methods: The groningen initiative to analyze type 2 diabetes treatment (GIANTT) database was used, which includes primary care T2D patients from the north of the Netherlands. Patients initiating a first non-insulin hypoglycemic agent(s) between 2008 and 2014 with an HbA1c measurement within 120 days before initiation were included. The influence of calendar year, age, or frailty and the interaction between calendar year and age or frailty were assessed using multilevel regression analyses adjusted for confounders. Results: We included 4588 patients. The mean HbA1c threshold at treatment initiation was 7.4% up to 2010, decreasing to 7.1% in 2011 and increasing to 7.4% in 2014. This quadratic change over the years was significant (P 0.05). Conclusions: HbA1c thresholds at initiation of a first hypoglycemic agent(s) changed significantly over time, showing a decrease after 2010 and an increase after 2012. The HbA1c threshold at initiation was not influenced by age or frailty, which is in contrast with recommendations for more personalized treatment

Incentives as connectors : insights into a breastfeeding incentive intervention in a disadvantaged area of North-West England

PMID: 22458841 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] PMCID: PMC3414740 Free PMC ArticlePeer reviewedPublisher PD

Towards a global platform for linking soil biodiversity data

Soil biodiversity is immense, with an estimated 10–100 million organisms belonging to over 5000 taxa in a handful of soil. In spite of the importance of soil biodiversity for ecosystem functions and services, information on soil species, from taxonomy to biogeographical patterns, is incomplete and there is no infrastructure to connect pre-existing or future data. Here, we propose a global platform to allow for greater access to soil biodiversity information by linking databases and repositories through a single open portal. The proposed platform would for the first time, link data on soil organisms from different global sites and biomes, and will be inclusive of all data types, from molecular sequences to morphology measurements and other supporting information. Access to soil biodiversity species records and information will be instrumental to progressing scientific research and education. Further, as demonstrated by previous biodiversity synthesis efforts, data availability is key for adapting to, and creating mitigation plans in response to global changes. With the rapid influx of soil biodiversity data, now is the time to take the first steps forward in establishing a global soil biodiversity information platform

Oral mucositis and selective elimination of oral flora in head and neck cancer patients receiving radiotherapy: a double-blind randomised clinical trial

Mucositis is an acute inflammation of the oral mucosa because of radiotherapy and/or chemotherapy. All patients receiving radiotherapy in the head and neck region develop oral mucositis. The aim of this study was to analyse the effects of selective oral flora elimination on radiotherapy-induced oral mucositis, in a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Sixty-five patients with a malignant tumour in the head and neck regions to be treated with primary curative or postoperative radiotherapy participated in this study. The patients received either the active lozenges of 1 g containing polymyxin E 2 mg, tobramycin 1.8 mg and amphotericin B 10 mg (PTA) (33 patients) or the placebo lozenges (32 patients), four times daily during the full course of radiotherapy. Mucositis, changes in the oral flora, quality of feeding and changes of total body weight were assessed. Mucositis score did not differ between the groups during the first 5 weeks of radiotherapy. Nasogastric tube feeding was needed in six patients (19%) of the placebo group and two patients (6%) of the PTA group (P=0.08). Mean weight loss after 5 weeks of radiation was less in the PTA group (1.3 kg) (s.d.: 3.0) than in the placebo group (2.8 kg) (s.d.: 2.9) (P=0.05). Colonisation index of Candida species and Gram-negative bacilli was reduced in the PTA group and not in the placebo group (P<0.05). No effect on other microorganisms was detected. In conclusion, selective oral flora elimination in head and neck irradiation patients does not prevent the development of severe mucositis. Record 8 of 10 - SilverPlatter MEDLINE(R)

Serine protease identification (in vitro) and molecular structure predictions (in silico) from a phytopathogenic fungus, Alternaria solani

Citation: Chandrasekaran, M., Chandrasekar, R., Sa, T., & Sathiyabama, M. (2014). Serine protease identification (in vitro) and molecular structure predictions (in silico) from a phytopathogenic fungus, Alternaria solani. Retrieved from http://krex.ksu.eduSerine proteases generally share a relatively high degree of sequence identity and play a major role in the diversity of biological processes. Here we focus on three-dimensional molecular architecture of serine proteases from Alernaria solani. The difference in flexibility of active binding pockets and electrostatic surface potential distribution of serine proteases in comparison with other fungal species is reported in this study. In this study we have purified a serine protease from the early blight pathogen, Alernaria solani. MALDI-TOF-MS/MS analysis revealed that protease produced by A. solani belongs to alkaline serine proteases. AsP is made up of 403 amino acid residues with molecular weight of 42.1kDa (Isoelectric point (pI)-6.51) and molecular formula C[subscript 1859]H[subscript 2930]N[subscript 516]O[subscript 595]S[subscript 4]. The follow-up research on the molecular structure prediction is used for assessing the quality of A. solani Protease (AsP). The AsP protein structure model was built based on its comparative homology with serine protease using the program, MODELER. AsP had 16 β-sheets and 10 α-helices, with Ser[superscript 350] (G347-G357), Asp[superscript 158] (D158-H169) and His[superscript 193] (H193-G203) in separate turn/coil structures. Biological metal binding region situated near the 6th-helix and His[superscript 193] residue is responsible for metal binding site. In addition, the calcium ion is coordinated by the carboxyl groups of Lys[superscript 84], Ile[superscript 85], Lys[superscript 86], Asp[superscript 87], Phe[superscript 88], Ala[superscript 89], Ala[superscript 90] (K84-A90) for first calcium (Ca[superscript 2+]) binding site and carbonyl oxygen atom of Lys[superscript 244], Gly[superscript 245], Arg[superscript 246], Thr[superscript 247], Lys[superscript 248], Lys[superscript 249], and Ala[superscript 250] (K244–A250), for second Ca[superscript 2+] binding site. Moreover, Ramachandran plot analysis of protein residues falling into most favored secondary structures were determined (83.3%). The predicted molecular 3D structural model was further verified using PROCHECK, ERRAT and VADAR servers to confirm the geometry and stereo-chemical parameters of the molecular structural design. The functional analysis of AsP 3D molecular structure predictions familiar in the current study may provide a new perspective in the understanding and identification of antifungal protease inhibitor designing

Promoting ecosystem and human health in urban areas using green infrastructure: A literature review

Europe is a highly urbanised continent. The consequent loss and degradation of urban and peri-urban green space could adversely affect ecosystems as well as human health and well-being. The aim of this paper is to formulate a conceptual framework of associations between urban green space and ecosystem and human health. Through an interdisciplinary literature review the concepts of Green Infrastructure, ecosystem health, and human health and well-being are discussed. The possible contributions of urban and peri-urban green space systems, or Green Infrastructure, on both ecosystem and human health are critically reviewed. Finally, based on a synthesis of the literature a conceptual framework is presented. The proposed conceptual framework highlights many dynamic factors, and their complex interactions, affecting ecosystem health and human health in urban areas. This framework forms the context into which extant and new research can be placed. In this way it forms the basis for a new interdisciplinary research agenda

Political Regimes and Sovereign Credit Risk in Europe, 1750-1913

This article uses a new panel data set to perform a statistical analysis of political regimes and sovereign credit risk in Europe from 1750 to 1913. Old Regime polities typically suffered from fiscal fragmentation and absolutist rule. By the start of World War I, however, many such countries had centralized institutions and limited government. Panel regressions indicate that centralized and?or limited regimes were associated with significant improvements in credit risk relative to fragmented and absolutist ones. Structural break tests also reveal close relationships between major turning points in yield series and political transformations