Where are caregivers in the clinical trial? Evaluation of caregiver responsibilities in Alzheimer's disease and related dementias clinical trials.

INTRODUCTION: Family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) have significant responsibilities within health care. They may identify relevant clinical trials and support decision-making about their relative's participation. The objectives of this study were to (a) evaluate the responsibilities of caregivers related to their relative's participation in ADRD clinical trials and (b) examine how these responsibilities are communicated on clinicaltrials.gov. METHODS: We reviewed ADRD clinical trials completed between 1990 and 2021 using clinicaltrials.gov. RESULTS: Less than half of clinical trial study information pages included caregiver responsibilities. Nine caregiver responsibilities were provided among those with information (e.g., giving consent, caregiver training and education, monitoring patient's response to intervention, communicating with study team). DISCUSSION: ADRD clinical trial study information pages should consistently include caregiver responsibilities to help caregivers better prepare for trial responsibilities. This enhanced engagement with caregivers could also facilitate recruitment and retention, including participants from diverse communities. HIGHLIGHTS: Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) clinical trial study information does not consistently include caregiver responsibilities. Caregiver responsibilities in clinical trials span communication, monitoring, and transportation. Robust information provision to caregivers could support participant recruitment and retention. Meaningfully engaging caregivers could support recruitment of diverse participants.

Evaluation of pectin extractions and their application in the alkaline Maillard reaction.

A 23 factorial design was used to evaluate the influence of temperature, catalyst and time and esterification degree (DE) of pectin obtained from mango, orange and tangerine peels as well as tamarind seeds by using the acid hydrolysis method. The study showed that a high temperature positively influenced the percentage of pectin yield for the four second generation biomasses. Nevertheless, the temperature showed a greater influence in the solubility and diffusion of the acid solvent in the tamarind seed matrix, resulting a pectin recovery 32.9%. Concerning the %DE, the most statistically significant value observed was dependent on the type of biomass studied. The %DE and the nature of the pectin are determining factors in the pectin's final use, in the present work the pectin extracted was used to produce furfural, a precursor of high value chemicals. The furfural production was achieved through alkaline hydrolysis and enhanced using the Maillard reaction, reaching a maximum concentration of 71.8 g/L which represents a 42.1% increase from the alkaline hydrolysis.

Plasma Synthesis of Graphene from Mango Peel.

The excess of mango peels is considered manufacturing waste in the sugar and juice industry. There is an increasing interest in looking for alternative ways to employ this waste to address this overload. Here, we show the efficient use of mango peels as a noncost carbon source for the synthesis of graphene. We demonstrate for the first time the synthesis of graphene on Cu substrates from mango peels, a biomass rich in pectin. It is observed that plasma presence is essential for the growth of graphene from mango peels. At 15 and 30 min of plasma exposure, we observed the presence of multilayered graphene, at longer plasma exposure, i.e., 60 min, there is the formation of monolayer graphene, attributed to the etching of multiple layers formed at short times due to long plasma exposure time. When employing this technique, precautions must be taken due to the etching effect of plasma, such as reducing either the plasma exposure time or the plasma power. Finally, we present a graphene growth pathway under plasma environment on the basis of our experimental observations.

Design of a strong cation exchange methodology for the evaluation of charge heterogeneity in glatiramer acetate.

Complex pharmaceuticals are in demand of competent analytical methods able to analyze charge heterogeneity as a critical quality attribute (CQA), in compliance with current regulatory expectations. A notorious example is glatiramer acetate (GA), a complex polypeptide mixture useful for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. This pharmaceutical challenges the current state of analytical technology in terms of the capacity to study their constituent species. Thus, a strong cation exchange methodology was designed under the lifecycle approach to support the establishment of GA identity, trough the evaluation of its chromatographic profile, which acts as a charge heterogeneity fingerprint. In this regard, a maximum relative margin of error of 5% for relative retention time and symmetry factor were proposed for the analytical target profile. The methodology met the proposed requirements after precision and specificity tests results, the former comprised of sensitivity and selectivity. Subsequently, method validation was conducted and showed that the method is able to differentiate between intact GA and heterogeneity profiles coming from stressed, fractioned or process-modified samples. In summary, these results provide evidence that the method is adequate to assess charge heterogeneity as a CQA of this complex pharmaceutical.

Manifestaciones clínicas ecográficas en pacientes alcohólicos / Echographics clinical manifestations in alcoholic patients

Se realizó una investigación en pacientes con antecedentes de más de 10 años de ingestión de bebidas alcohólicas en el municipio de Baracoa, en el período comprendido desde enero a junio de 1997. Las variables analizadas fueron: grupos de edades, sexo, edad de comienzo de la ingestión del tóxico, motivo de la ingestión, escolaridad, síntomas, características sonográficas, resultados de laparoscopía y biopsias en los pacientes a los cuales se les indicó. Entre los principales resultados encontrados tenemos: el grupo de edades con mayor número de afectados fue el comprendido entre 45-64 años, así como los del sexo masculino. La mayoría de los alcohólicos comenzaron a beber entre los 15-24 años, con el principal motivo de la ingestión: "porque le gustaba". El promedio de escolaridad fue el nivel medio. Los principales síntomas después de la ingestión del tóxico fueron: vómitos y diarreas, así como temblores. Entre los principales resultados ecográficos se encontraron afecciones del hígado y el bazo, así como ascitis. Las principales enfermedades diagnosticadas por laparoscopía y biopsia fueron la esteatosis y la cirrosis hepática(AU)