Use of automatic 6-minute walking test recording system in patients with chronic respiratory diseases

To the editor: Physical capacity tests are used for the diagnosis, prognosis and monitoring of chronic respiratory diseases (CRD), such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or Pulmonary Hypertension (PH).1 Among these tests, the most widely used is the 6-minute walking test (6MWT).2 Additionally, the guidelines highlight the need to continuously record biological signals, particularly oxygen saturation (SpO2), which has been shown to be a prognostic marker in CRD.2 [...]The study was supported by grants from Societat Catalana de Pneumologia (SOCAP) (ESTEVE TEIJIN/2021), PI17/1515 and PI21/0555 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCiii), co-funded by the European Union (ERDF/ESF, ”A way to make Europe” “Investing in your future”) and Premi d’Innovació de l’Hospital Clínic de Barcelona (2021). For UPC authors this work has been supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under contract PID2021-124463OB-I00, the Catalan Government under contract 2021 SGR 00326 and the Catalan Department of Research and Universities.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Search for dark matter produced in association with a hadronically decaying vector boson in pp collisions at sqrt (s) = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search is presented for dark matter produced in association with a hadronically decaying W or Z boson using 3.2 fb−1 of pp collisions at View the MathML sources=13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. Events with a hadronic jet compatible with a W or Z boson and with large missing transverse momentum are analysed. The data are consistent with the Standard Model predictions and are interpreted in terms of both an effective field theory and a simplified model containing dark matter

Fog-to-cloud Computing (F2C): The key technology enabler for dependable e-health services deployment

Fog Computing recently came up as an extension of cloud computing to facilitate the development of IoT services with strong requirements in latency, security while minimizing the traffic load in the network. The stack of resources set by putting together fog and cloud premises has been recently coined as Fog-to-Cloud (F2C) computing, and has been positioned as an innovative computing paradigm best matching current and foreseen IoT services demands. This paper emphasizes the benefits F2C may bring to a particular health area, namely COPD, whose patients' quality of life intensely depends on the patients mobility. We argue that by enriching current breath assistance systems for COPD patients with F2C capacities, the patients may comfortably afford physical activities, therefore impacting on reducing not only patients deterioration but also the re-admission incidence rate IRR) with a clear impact on the health costs as wel

Fog-to-cloud Computing (F2C): The key technology enabler for dependable e-health services deployment

Fog Computing recently came up as an extension of cloud computing to facilitate the development of IoT services with strong requirements in latency, security while minimizing the traffic load in the network. The stack of resources set by putting together fog and cloud premises has been recently coined as Fog-to-Cloud (F2C) computing, and has been positioned as an innovative computing paradigm best matching current and foreseen IoT services demands. This paper emphasizes the benefits F2C may bring to a particular health area, namely COPD, whose patients' quality of life intensely depends on the patients mobility. We argue that by enriching current breath assistance systems for COPD patients with F2C capacities, the patients may comfortably afford physical activities, therefore impacting on reducing not only patients deterioration but also the re-admission incidence rate IRR) with a clear impact on the health costs as wel

Will it be cloud or will it be fog? F2C, a novel flagship computing paradigm for highly demanding services

Cloud computing has been lately extended by fog computing. The main aim of fog computing is to shift computing resources to the edge of the network, hence generating proximate rich infrastructures highly matching common latency and privacy requirements for IoT services. Recently, fog computing and cloud computing have been merged in a collaborative computing model referred to as Fog-to-Cloud computing (F2C). F2C’s aim is to make the most out of the set of distributed and heterogeneous resources found at fog and cloud premises, hence building a global stack of resources, offered for an optimized service performance. The F2C paradigm is then based on providing services with those resources best matching their demands. In this paper, we illustrate how F2C may be used for a particular ehealth scenario with specific constraints in mobility, also including future research lines in the area.Postprint (published version

Will it be cloud or will it be fog? F2C, a novel flagship computing paradigm for highly demanding services

Cloud computing has been lately extended by fog computing. The main aim of fog computing is to shift computing resources to the edge of the network, hence generating proximate rich infrastructures highly matching common latency and privacy requirements for IoT services. Recently, fog computing and cloud computing have been merged in a collaborative computing model referred to as Fog-to-Cloud computing (F2C). F2C’s aim is to make the most out of the set of distributed and heterogeneous resources found at fog and cloud premises, hence building a global stack of resources, offered for an optimized service performance. The F2C paradigm is then based on providing services with those resources best matching their demands. In this paper, we illustrate how F2C may be used for a particular ehealth scenario with specific constraints in mobility, also including future research lines in the area

Biomass production and alcoholic fermentation performance of Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a function of nitrogen source

Nitrogen limitation is one of the most common causes for stuck or sluggish fermentation. A broad range of values have been reported as the minimum nitrogen concentration necessary for the completion of alcoholic fermentation. We have analyzed the minimum nitrogen concentration required to yield the maximum biomass (nitrogen reference value) using a microwell plate reader to monitor fermentation with different nitrogen sources and sugar concentrations. The biomass yield was dependent on the amount of available nitrogen, the nature of nitrogen source, and the sugar concentration in the medium. Nevertheless, achieving the maximum biomass was not sufficient to ensure the completion of the alcoholic fermentation, because the fermentation of 280 g sugar L -1 stuck, regardless of the nature and concentration of nitrogen source. However, a mixture of five amino acids (Leu, Ile, Val, Phe and Thr) as the nitrogen source allowed for maximum sugar consumption. Analysis of cell vitality by impedance showed a significant improvement in the vitality for cells fermenting using this amino acid combination. © 2012 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.This work was supported by a predoctoral fellowship from the JAE Program (CSIC) to R. M-M, by the DEMETER project (Ingenio2010-CENIT) and by grant AGL2009-07331 from the Ministerio de Educacio´n y Ciencia, SpainPeer Reviewe

Treatment of adult chronic indeterminate Chagas disease with benznidazole and three E1224 dosing regimens: a proof-of-concept, randomised, placebo-controlled trial

Background: Chagas disease is a major neglected vector-borne disease. In this study, we investigated the safety and efficacy of three oral E1224 (a water-soluble ravuconazole prodrug) regimens and benznidazole versus placebo in adult chronic indeterminate Chagas disease. Method: In this proof-of-concept, double-blind, randomised phase 2 clinical trial, we recruited adults (18–50 years) with confirmed diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi infection from two outpatient units in Bolivia. Patients were randomised with a computer-generated randomisation list, which was stratified by centre and used a block size of ten. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1:1:1:1) to five oral treatment groups: high-dose E1224 (duration 8 weeks, total dose 4000 mg), low-dose E1224 (8 weeks, 2000 mg), short-dose E1224 (4 weeks + 4 weeks placebo, 2400 mg), benznidazole (60 days, 5 mg/kg per day), or placebo (8 weeks, E1224-matched tablets). Double-blinding was limited to the E1224 and placebo arms, and assessors were masked to all treatment allocations. The primary efficacy endpoint was parasitological response to E1224 at the end of treatment, assessed by PCR. The secondary efficacy endpoints were parasitological response to benznidazole at end of treatment, assessed by PCR; sustainability of parasitological response until 12 months; parasite clearance and changes in parasite load; incidence of conversion to negative response in conventional and non-conventional (antigen trypomastigote chemiluminescent ELISA [AT CL-ELISA]) serological response; changes in levels of biomarkers; and complete response. The primary analysis population consisted of all randomised patients by their assigned treatment arms. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01489228. Findings: Between July 19, 2011, and July 26, 2012, we screened 560 participants with confirmed Chagas disease, of whom 231 were enrolled and assigned to high-dose E1224 (n=45), low-dose E1224 (n=48), short-dose E1224 (n=46), benznidazole (n=45), or placebo (n=47). Parasite clearance was observed with E1224 during the treatment phase, but no sustained response was seen with low-dose and short-dose regimens, whereas 13 patients (29%, 95% CI 16·4–44·3) had sustained response with the high-dose regimen compared with four (9%, 2·4–20·4) in the placebo group (p<0·0001). Benznidazole had a rapid and sustained effect on parasite clearance, with 37 patients (82%, 67·9–92·0) with sustained response at 12-month follow-up. After 1 week of treatment, mean quantitative PCR repeated measurements showed a significant reduction in parasite load in all treatment arms versus placebo. Parasite levels in the low-dose and short-dose E1224 groups gradually returned to placebo levels. Both treatments were well tolerated. Reversible, dose-dependent liver enzyme increases were seen with E1224 and benznidazole. 187 (81%) participants developed treatment-emergent adverse events and six (3%) developed treatment-emergent serious adverse events. Treatment-emergent adverse events were headaches, nausea, pruritus, peripheral neuropathy, and hypersensitivity. Interpretation: E1224 is the first new chemical entity developed for Chagas disease in decades. E1224 displayed a transient, suppressive effect on parasite clearance, whereas benznidazole showed early and sustained efficacy until 12 months of follow-up. Despite PCR limitations, our results support increased diagnosis and access to benznidazole standard regimen, and provide a development roadmap for novel benznidazole regimens in monotherapy and in combinations with E1224. Funding: Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative.Fil: Torrico, Faustino. Universidad Mayor de San Simon Bolivia; Bolivia. Fundación Ceades; BoliviaFil: Gascon, Joaquim. Instituto de Salud Global de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Ortiz, Lourdes. Universidad Autónoma Juan Misael Saracho de Tarija; BoliviaFil: Alonso Vega, Cristina. Drugs For Neglected Diseases Initiative; SuizaFil: Pinazo, María-Jesús. Instituto de Salud Global de Barcelona; EspañaFil: Schijman, Alejandro Gabriel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Almeida, Igor C. University of Texas at El Paso; Estados UnidosFil: Alves, Fabiana. Drugs For Neglected Diseases Initiative; SuizaFil: Strub-Wourgaft, Nathalie. Drugs For Neglected Diseases Initiative; SuizaFil: Ribeiro, Isabela. Drugs For Neglected Diseases Initiative; SuizaFil: Santina, Glaucia. Drugs For Neglected Diseases Initiative; SuizaFil: Blum, Bethania. Drugs For Neglected Diseases Initiative; SuizaFil: Correia, Erika. Drugs For Neglected Diseases Initiative; SuizaFil: García Bournissen, Facundo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Hospital General de Niños "Ricardo Gutiérrez"; ArgentinaFil: Vaillant, Michel. Competence Center in Methodology and Statistics; LuxemburgoFil: Ramos Morales, Jimena. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Pinto Rocha, Jimy Jose. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Rojas Delgadillo, Gimena. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Magne Anzoleaga, Helmut Ramon. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Mendoza, Nilce. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Quechover, Roxana Challapa. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Caballero, Maria Yurly Escobar. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Lozano Beltran, Daniel Franz. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Zalabar, Albert Mendoza. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Rojas Panozo, Lizeth. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Palacios Lopez, Alejandro. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Torrico Terceros, Dunia. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Fernandez Galvez, Violeta Alejandra. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Cardozo, Letty. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Cuellar, Gabriela. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Vasco Arenas, Rudy Nelson. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Gonzales, Isabel. Platform for Comprehensive Care of Patients with Chagas Disease; BoliviaFil: Hoyos Delfin, Carlos Florencio. Universidad Juan Misael Saracho; BoliviaFil: Garcia, Lineth. Universidad Mayor de San Simón; BoliviaFil: Parrado, Rudy. Universidad Mayor de San Simón; BoliviaFil: de la Barra, Anabelle. Universidad Mayor de San Simón; BoliviaFil: Montaño, Nair. Universidad Mayor de San Simón; BoliviaFil: Villarroel, Sandro. Universidad Mayor de San Simón; BoliviaFil: Duffy, Tomás. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Bisio, Margarita María Catalina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Ramirez Gomez, Juan Carlos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Duncanson, Fred. Eisai; JapónFil: Everson, Michael. Eisai; JapónFil: Daniels, Antonia. Eisai; JapónFil: Asada, Makoto. Eisai; JapónFil: Cox, Eugene. Quantitative Solutions; Países BajosFil: Wesche, David. Quantitative Solutions; Países BajosFil: Diderichsen, Paul Matthias. Quantitative Solutions; Países BajosFil: Marques, Alexandre F. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; BrasilFil: Izquierdo, Luis. ISGlobal; EspañaFil: Sender, Silvia Sanz. ISGlobal; EspañaFil: Reverter, Joan Carlos. Hospital Clinic Barcelona; EspañaFil: Morales, Manuel. Hospital Clinic Barcelona; EspañaFil: Jimenez, Wladimiro. Hospital Clinic Barcelona; Españ