Patient-centred cardio-vascular disease management – end-user perceptions

PurposeThe application of pervasive systems to healthcare has increased in recent years, but resistance to such systems by patients remains high. In this study, the aim is to examine patient and caregiver perceptions of this technology to further develop an understanding of the benefits and functionalities that prospective patients deem as desirable, undesirable, inadequate or in need of further development. The study was conducted as part of the European Union BraveHealth project which is developing a patient‐centred pervasive healthcare system to support cardiac patients at home in everyday life using innovative monitoring and diagnosis, thereby enabling the patient to be more proactive in health management.Design/methodology/approachFocus group studies were conducted in Italy and the Midlands area of the UK, along with a 31‐item questionnaire. The findings were categorized under seven main headings: personal profile; benefits; adoption; acceptance; risks; security, privacy and trust; and (use of) cell phone.FindingsIn the focus group study, most participants felt that there is a great future for this technology and showed positive response to the potential benefits but there are concerns over reliability, security, privacy and trust.Social implicationsEven though this study constitutes only a small group of participants, the Italian and UK study does represent similar patients' and caregivers perceptions towards at‐home healthcare systems.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the understanding of the benefits and functionalities that prospective patients and care‐givers deem as either desirable or undesirable.</jats:sec

Macrophage Activation in Pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) Correlates with Hepatic Progenitor Cell Response via Wnt3a Pathway

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is one of the most important causes of liver-related morbidity in children. In non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, the activation of liver resident macrophage pool is a central event in the progression of liver injury. The aims of the present study were to evaluate the polarization of liver macrophages and the possible role of Wnt3a production by macrophages in hepatic progenitor cell response in the progression of pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. 32 children with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were included. 20 out of 32 patients were treated with docosahexaenoic acid for 18 months and biopsies at the baseline and after 18 months were included. Hepatic progenitor cell activation, macrophage subsets and Wnt/β-catenin pathway were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Our results indicated that in pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, pro-inflammatory macrophages were the predominant subset. Macrophage polarization was correlated with Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease Activity Score, ductular reaction, and portal fibrosis; docosahexaenoic acid treatment determined a macrophage polarization towards an anti-inflammatory phenotype in correlation with the reduction of serum inflammatory cytokines, with increased macrophage apoptosis, and with the up-regulation of macrophage Wnt3a expression; macrophage Wnt3a expression was correlated with β-catenin phosphorylation in hepatic progenitor cells and signs of commitment towards hepatocyte fate. In conclusion, macrophage polarization seems to have a key role in the progression of pediatric non-alcoholic fatty liver disease; the modulation of macrophage polarization could drive hepatic progenitor cell response by Wnt3a production

Neuroblastoma-secreted exosomes carrying miR‐375 promote osteogenic differentiation of bone-marrow mesenchymal stromal cells

Bone marrow (BM) is the major target organ for neuroblastoma (NB) metastasis and its involvement is associated with poor outcome. Yet, the mechanism by which NB cells invade BM is largely unknown. Tumour microenvironment represents a key element in tumour progression and mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have been recognized as a fundamental part of the associated tumour stroma. Here, we show that BM-MSCs isolated from NB patients with BM involvement exhibit a greater osteogenic potential than MSCs from non-infiltrated BM. We show that BM metastasis-derived NB-cell lines secrete higher levels of exosomal miR-375, which promotes osteogenic differentiation in MSCs. Of note, clinical data demonstrate that high level of miR-375 correlates with BM metastasis in NB patients. Our findings suggest, indeed, a potential role for exosomal miR-375 in determining a favourable microenvironment in BM to promote metastatic progression. MiR-375 may, thus, represent a novel biomarker and a potential target for NB patients with BM involvement

Economic Analysis of a New Business for Liposome Manufacturing Using a High-Pressure System

Supercritical assisted Liposome formation (SuperLip) is a lab-scale process for the production of liposomes. SuperLip was recognized as being a versatile supercritical assisted technique for the encapsulation of molecules for different industrial applications, such as pharmaceutic, cosmetic, textile, and nutraceutic purposes. The aim of this work was to perform an economic analysis to assess the profitability of the SuperLip process. The liposomes market was analyzed and the SuperLip process was compared to other techniques in terms of manufacturing advantages using the Canvas and Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Treats (S.W.O.T.) models. SuperLip Plant Capital Expenditures (CAPEX) were estimated, and plant Operating Expenditures (OPEX) were also evaluated and integrated with personnel cost and other plant goods and services. A profit and loss statement was generated, together with a cash flow analysis. According to the market average selling price, liposome price is 1.8 &euro;/mL; in order to join the market rapidly, the selling price of liposomes produced using SuperLip was set at 1.1 &euro;/mL. A payback time has been identified at the fourth year of business. Economic indexes such as ROI and ROS were calculated on a 10-year business prospect, obtaining about a 230% return on investment and a 26.7% return on sales

End-User Perception Towards Pervasive Cardiac Healthcare Services: Benefits, Acceptance, Adoption, Risks, Security, Privacy and Trust

This study examined patient and caregiver’s perception regarding pervasive healthcare technology using five focus groups and a 31-item questionnaire. To further develop an understanding of the benefits and functionalities that prospective patients deem as either desirable, undesirable, inadequate or in need of further development the study was categorized under 7 main headings: Personal Profile; Benefits; Adoption; Acceptance; Risks; Security, Privacy and Trust; (use of) Cell Phone. This study was completed as part of the European Union BRAVEHEALTH project, aimed at the support of cardiac patients in everyday life using in vivo monitoring and diagnosis, thereby enabling the patient to be more proactive in heath management. Most participants felt that there is a great future for this technology and showed positive response in regards to the potential benefits but are (at present) not willing to adopt the system due to concerns over reliability, like security, privacy and trust

OFTEN MEDICAL SRL

Often Medical, spin-off dell’Università del Sannio, è una startup innovativa che si occupa di ricerca in ambito MedTech. E’ stata fondata nel 2018 da un gruppo di ricerca della divisione di Optoelettronica e Fotonica del Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Università del Sannio e da un gruppo di medici del Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Chirurgiche e Medicina Traslazionale dell’Università di Roma Sapienza, in collaborazione con Day One, incubatore di start-up high tech provenienti da centri di ricerca europei. Il gruppo di ricerca dell’ateneo sannita vanta un’esperienza pluridecennale nell’ambito dello sviluppo di sensoristica avanzata in fibra ottica per applicazioni industriali. I medici anestesisti sono massimi esperti in algologia e tecniche invasive e minivasive in terapia del dolore

Establishment and Characterization of a Cell Line (S-RMS1) Derived from an Infantile Spindle Cell Rhabdomyosarcoma with SRF-NCOA2 Fusion Transcript

Background: Spindle cell rhabdomyosarcoma (S-RMS) is a rare tumor that was previously considered as an uncommon variant of embryonal RMS (ERMS) and recently reclassified as a distinct RMS subtype with NCOA2, NCOA1, and VGLL2 fusion genes. In this study, we established a cell line (S-RMS1) derived from a four-month-old boy with infantile spindle cell RMS harboring SRF-NCOA2 gene fusion. Methods: Morphological and molecular characteristics of S-RMS1 were analyzed and compared with two RMS cell lines, RH30 and RD18. Whole genome sequencing of S-RMS1 and clinical exome sequencing of genomic DNA were performed. Results: S-RMS1 showed cells small in size, with a fibroblast-like morphology and positivity for MyoD-1, myogenin, desmin, and smooth muscle actin. The population doubling time was 3.7 days. Whole genome sequencing demonstrated that S-RMS1 retained the same genetic profile of the tumor at diagnosis. A Western blot analysis showed downregulation of AKT-p and YAP-p while RT-qPCR showed upregulation of endoglin and GATA6 as well as downregulation of TGFßR1 and Mef2C transcripts. Conclusion: This is the first report of the establishment of a cell line from an infantile spindle cell RMS with SRF-NCOA2 gene fusion. S-RMS1 should represent a useful tool for the molecular characterization of this rare and almost unknown tumor