Towards a 21st-century roadmap for biomedical research and drug discovery: consensus report and recommendations

Decades of costly failures in translating drug candidates from preclinical disease models to human therapeutic use warrant reconsideration of the priority placed on animal models in biomedical research. Following an international workshop attended by experts from academia, government institutions, research funding bodies, and the corporate and nongovernmental organisation (NGO) sectors, in this consensus report, we analyse, as case studies, five disease areas with major unmet needs for new treatments. In view of the scientifically driven transition towards a human pathway-based paradigm in toxicology, a similar paradigm shift appears to be justified in biomedical research. There is a pressing need for an approach that strategically implements advanced, human biology-based models and tools to understand disease pathways at multiple biological scales. We present recommendations to help achieve this.

Databases for quantitative history

This paper will propose that, rather than sitting on silos of data, historians that utilise quantitative methods should endeavour to make their data accessible through databases, and treat this as a new form of bibliographic entry. Of course in many instances historical data does not lend itself easily to the creation of such data sets. With this in mind some of the issues regarding normalising raw historical data will be looked at with reference to current work on nineteenth century Irish trade. These issues encompass (but are not limited to) measurement systems, geographic locations, and potential problems that may arise in attempting to unify disaggregated sources. It will discuss the need for a concerted effort by historians to define what is required from digital resources for them to be considered accurate, and to what extent the normalisation requirements for database systems may conflict with the desire for accuracy. Many of the issues that the historian may encounter engaging with databases will be common to all historians, and there would be merit in having defined standards for referencing items, such as people, places, locations, and measurements.

Evolution of emerging iPS cell-based therapies for age-related macular degeneration (AMD)

Stem cell-based regenerative medicine is poised to revolutionize the way diseases are treated. In recent years, induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, a newly stem cell species, has attracted significant attention. This paper seeks to understand the pathways along which emerging clinical research efforts in the field of iPS cells is evolved. In particular, the empirical case of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is used, which is the world-pioneering clinical application of iPS cells. In line with the literature, this study explores the interrelations between three different pathways, such as biomedical scientific understanding, development of medical technologies, and learning in clinical practice. For this, a techmining approach is used including co-term, co-citation, and direct citation methods. Scientific publications indexed in the Thomson Reuters' Web of Science and Elsevier's Scopus databases form the basis of the study. This research first explores the iPS cell research landscape through the construction of a co-term map, particularly stressing the location and intensity of disease-tackling efforts; then focus on the evolution of scientific knowledge on AMD through co-citation networks and the main path algorithm on direct citations. At the researcher level, the development of four different research groups working on cell therapies for AMD is evaluated through the software CitNetExplorer. By integrating these approaches, the result shows a wider picture of the complexities inherent in the translation of knowledge into revolutionary clinical methods.

A multiagent based strategy for detecting attacks in databases in a distributed mode

This paper presents a distributed hierarchical multiagent architecture for detecting SQL injection attacks against databases. It uses a novel strategy, which is supported by a Case-Based Reasoning mechanism, which provides to the classifier agents with a great capacity of learning and adaptation to face this type of attack. The architecture combines strategies of intrusion detection systems such as misuse detection and anomaly detection. It has been tested and the results are presented in this paper.

Guía de práctica clínica para la enfermedad hepática grasa no alcohólica

Objetivo: Brindar una guía de práctica clínica basada con la evidencia más reciente para el diagnóstico y tratamiento de la Enfermedad Hepática Grasa No alcohólica teniendo en cuenta la efectividad y seguridad de las intervenciones dirigidas a pacientes, personal asistencial, administrativo y entes gubernamentales de cualquier servicio de atención en Colombia. Materiales y métodos: Esta guía fue desarrollada por un equipo multidisciplinario con apoyo de la Asociación Colombiana de Gastroenterología, el Grupo Cochrane ITS y el Instituto de Investigaciones Clínicas de la Universidad Nacional de Colombia. Se desarrollaron preguntas clínicas relevantes y se realizó la búsqueda de guías nacionales e internacionales en bases de datos especializadas. Las guías existentes fueron evaluadas en términos de calidad y aplicabilidad. Una guía cumplió los criterios de adaptación, por lo que se decidió adaptar 3 preguntas clínicas. El Grupo Cochrane realizó la búsqueda sistemática de la literatura. Las tablas de evidencia y recomendaciones fueron realizadas con base a la metodología GRADE. Las recomendaciones de la guía fueron socializadas en una reunión de expertos con entes gubernamentales y pacientes. Resultados: Se desarrolló una guía de práctica clínica basada en la evidencia para el diagnóstico y tratamiento de la Enfermedad Hepática Grasa No alcohólica en Colombia Conclusiones: El diagnóstico y manejo oportuno de la Enfermedad Hepática Grasa No alcohólica contribuirá a disminuir la carga de la enfermedad en Colombia y las enfermedades asociadas

An investigation of contact transmission of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus

Hand hygiene is critical in the healthcare setting and it is believed that methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), for example, is transmitted from patient to patient largely via the hands of health professionals. A study has been carried out at a large teaching hospital to estimate how often the gloves of a healthcare worker are contaminated with MRSA after contact with a colonized patient. The effectiveness of handwashing procedures to decontaminate the health professionals' hands was also investigated, together with how well different healthcare professional groups complied with handwashing procedures. The study showed that about 17% (9–25%) of contacts between a healthcare worker and a MRSA-colonized patient results in transmission of MRSA from a patient to the gloves of a healthcare worker. Different health professional groups have different rates of compliance with infection control procedures. Non-contact staff (cleaners, food services) had the shortest handwashing times. In this study, glove use compliance rates were 75% or above in all healthcare worker groups except doctors whose compliance was only 27%.

Weather variability, tides, and Barmah Forest Virus Disease in the Gladstone region, Australia

In this study we examined the impact of weather variability and tides on the transmission of Barmah Forest virus (BFV) disease and developed a weather-based forecasting model for BFV disease in the Gladstone region, Australia. We used seasonal autoregressive integrated moving-average (SARIMA) models to determine the contribution of weather variables to BFV transmission after the time-series data of response and explanatory variables were made stationary through seasonal differencing. We obtained data on the monthly counts of BFV cases, weather variables (e.g., mean minimum and maximum temperature, total rainfall, and mean relative humidity), high and low tides, and the population size in the Gladstone region between January 1992 and December 2001 from the Queensland Department of Health, Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland Department of Transport, and Australian Bureau of Statistics, respectively. The SARIMA model shows that the 5-month moving average of minimum temperature (β = 0.15, p-value < 0.001) was statistically significantly and positively associated with BFV disease, whereas high tide in the current month (β = −1.03, p-value = 0.04) was statistically significantly and inversely associated with it. However, no significant association was found for other variables. These results may be applied to forecast the occurrence of BFV disease and to use public health resources in BFV control and prevention.