BMC Proceedings最新文献

The Tri-Service Microbiome Consortium (TSMC) was founded to enhance collaboration, coordination, and communication of microbiome research among DoD organizations and to facilitate resource, material and information sharing among consortium members, which includes collaborators in academia and industry. The 2023 annual symposium was a hybrid meeting held in Washington DC on 26-27 September 2023 concurrent with the virtual attendance, with oral and poster presentations and discussions centered on microbiome-related topics within five broad thematic areas: 1) Environmental Microbiome Characterization; 2) Microbiome Analysis; 3) Human Microbiome Characterization; 4) Microbiome Engineering; and 5) In Vitro and In Vivo Microbiome Models. Collectively, the symposium provided an update on the scope of current DoD and DoD-affiliated microbiome research efforts and fostered collaborative opportunities. This report summarizes the presentations and outcomes of the 7th annual TSMC symposium.

The 2024 edition of the One Health symposium explored the intergenerational health impacts of drought and famine in developing countries, with a focus on innovative strategies for resilience-building in healthcare infrastructures. Organized by students of the CIH^LMU Center for International Health at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Germany, the event convened experts and participants from diverse backgrounds to address the urgent challenges posed by climate change-induced crises. Through presentations, panel discussions, and collaborative exchanges, the symposium underscored the profound health and socioeconomic implications of climate-related disasters, emphasizing the need for cross-sectoral cooperation and transformative action. Key recommendations emerged, including integrating climate change considerations into health systems, fostering multidisciplinary collaboration, and empowering communities to withstand future challenges. Despite the severity of the current situation, the symposium instilled optimism and determination among participants, inspiring a collective commitment to building a brighter and more resilient future for generations to come.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia encountered in acute and critical illness and is associated with poor short and long-term outcomes. Given the consequences of developing AF, research into prevention, prediction and treatment of this arrhythmia in the critically ill are of great potential benefit, however, study of AF in critically ill patients faces unique challenges, leading to a sparse evidence base to guide management in this population. Major obstacles to the study of AF in acute and critical illness include absence of a common definition, challenges in designing studies that capture complex etiology and assess causality, lack of a clear outcome set, difficulites in recruitment in acute environments with respect to timing, consent, and workflow, and failure to embed studies into clinical care platforms and capitalize on emerging technologies. Collaborative effort by researchers, clinicians, and stakeholders should be undertaken to address these challenges, both through interdisciplinary cooperation for the optimization of research efficiency and advocacy to advance the understanding of this common and complex arrhythmia, resulting in improved patient care and outcomes. The Symposium on Atrial Fibrillation in Acute and Critical Care was convened to address some of these challenges and propose potential solutions.

Population screening for breast cancer (BC) is currently offered in the UK for women aged 50 to 71 with the aim of reducing mortality. There is additional screening within the national programme for women identified as having a very high risk of BC. There is growing interest in further risk stratification in breast screening, which would require a whole population risk assessment and the subsequent offer of screening tailored to the individual's risk. Some women would be offered more intensive screening than others or no screening. This might provide a better balance of screening benefits and harms for each individual than the current population age-based programme alone. The UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) is considering using decision-analytic and other models to evaluate different risk stratification screening strategies and identify remaining gaps in evidence. This paper reports the proceedings of a UK NSC workshop where experts in the field discussed both risk prediction models, as well as decision-analytic models providing a benefit-harm analysis/economic evaluation of risk-stratified screening programmes (see Table 1). The aim of the meeting was to present and discuss the current work of experts, including some data which had not been published at the time of the meeting, to inform the UK NSC. The workshop was not intended to present a balanced evaluation of how to deliver screening in future. Areas for further work identified included methods for comparing models to assess accuracy, the optimum risk assessment tools, the digital screening infrastructure, acceptability of stratification, choice of screening test and reducing inequalities. A move to risk stratification of the whole programme would require a careful phased introduction with continuing assessment of real-world evidence during deployment.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) created powerful tools for research, particularly for extracting meaningful insights from extremely large data sets. These developments increase research benefits of big data and risks posed to individual privacy, forcing a re-examination of ethics in research which is of particular importance to the Military Health System. To advance discussion of research ethics in this context, the Forum on Health and National Security: Ethical Use of Big Data for Healthy Communities and a Strong Nation was held in December 2018. The workshop was designed to identify ethical questions relevant to population and health research studies using difficult to access, health-related data in the Department of Defense (DoD). Discussions explored researchers' ethical obligations to research subjects, particularly in the areas of privacy, trust, and consent, as well as potential methods to improve researchers' ability to collect, access, and share data while protecting privacy and potential risks to national security. These include creating risk management frameworks and data governance policies, improving education and workplace training, and increasing community involvement in research design and practice. While the workshop was conducted in 2018, the discussion of data ethics is still relevant today. The research agenda of the nation is best served by building ethics into the research ecosystem. There are substantial challenges to fully realizing this goal including commitments of time and funding to address the ethical complexities, train others to understand them, and create appropriate ethical frameworks before research begins.

Background: In line with the WHO Global Action Plan's objective to achieve a 30% relative reduction in the mean population intake of sodium by 2025, the Nigeria Sodium Study (NaSS) team, which aimed to evaluate the implementation and scale-up of national sodium reduction programme, hosted a policy meeting May 22, 2023, in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. The aim was to deliberate on strategies for translating data on salt levels in food and dietary patterns, intending to strengthen sodium policies in Nigeria, with the ultimate goal of producing evidence-based information that can effectively guide strategies and policies for sodium reduction.

Methods: Policymakers from federal, state, and local government levels attended, as well as representatives from national and international universities and non-governmental organizations. Topics presented and discussed included retail survey data from the NaSS to inform front-of-package labeling, salt targets for packaged food, and best practices for supporting stakeholders in implementing best-practice evidence-informed policymaking.

Results: The meeting brought together 72 participants from 38 organizations, including government ministries and agencies (n = 21), international and non-governmental organizations (n = 6), and international health organizations and institutes (n = 2). Participants took decisive policy actions, including stringent national-level food system monitoring by relevant government agencies, implementing front-of-package labeling for healthier choices, establishing mandatory sodium limits for both packaged and unpackaged foods and school meals, launching diverse sector-wide educational campaigns to reduce salt use, conducting mass mobilization campaigns for awareness, and advocating for salt reduction in fast food outlets. Salt substitutes were also recognized as integral to the comprehensive sodium reduction approach.

Conclusion: To advance policy action, stakeholders should prioritize establishing robust monitoring systems, engage in public awareness campaigns, and collaborate with international organizations for insights. Exploring partnerships, addressing funding challenges, and implementing innovative strategies like low-sodium substitutes are crucial steps toward effective sodium reduction policies in Nigeria.