4th Symposium Research Articles

Impact of the New Pulmonary Hypertension Definition on Heart Transplant Outcomes: Expanding the Hemodynamic Risk Profile

At the recent 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension (PH), the definition of PH was redefined to include lower pulmonary artery pressures in the setting of elevated pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR). However, the relevance of this change to subjects with PH due to left-heart disease as well as the preoperative assessment of heart transplant (HT) recipients is unknown. The United Network for Organ Sharing database was queried to identify adult recipients who underwent primary HT from 1996 to 2015. Recipients were subdivided into those with mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP)< 25mmHg and≥ 25mmHg. Exploratory univariable analysis was undertaken to identify candidate risk factors associated with 30-day and 1-year survival (conditional on 30-day survival) in recipients with mPAP< 25mmHg, and subsequently, parsimonious multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were constructed to assess the independent association with PVR. Over the study period, 32,465 patients underwent HT, including 12,257 (38%) with mPAP< 25mmHg. The median age was 55 years (interquartile range, 47-62) and the median PVR was 1.5 Wood units (WU) (interquartile range, 1-2.2) in recipients with mPAP< 25mmHg. After controlling for confounders, PVR was independently associated with increased risk for 30-day mortality (hazard ratio, 1.16; 95%CI, 1.05-1.27; P< .01), but not conditional 1-year mortality (hazard ratio, 1.03; 95%CI, 0.94-1.12; P= .55). PVR≥ 3 WU was associated with an absolute 1.9%increase in 30-day mortality in those with mPAP< 25mmHg, a similar risk to recipients with PVR≥ 3 WU and mPAP≥ 25mmHg. Elevated PVR remains associated with a significant increase in the hazard for 30-day mortality after cardiac transplantation, even in the setting of lower pulmonary artery pressures. These data support the validity of the new definition of pulmonary hypertension.

List of Partcipant The 14th Pacific Rim Bio-Based Composites Symposium 29-31, October 2018, Swiss-BelHotel, Makassar

List of List of Participants name, institution, country and Email are available in this pdf.COMMITTEEList of International Steering Committee and Organizing Committee are present in this pdf.

Case records from the 13th annual international symposium on ventricular arrhythmias

A 60-year old male with a history of nonischemic cardiomyopathy and the high burden of premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) was evaluated for possible PVC-induced cardiomyopathy.

4th Symposium on Advances in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy, November 29-December 1, 2018, Athens, Greece.

4th Symposium on Advances in Cancer Immunology and Immunotherapy, November 29-December 1, 2018, Athens, Greece.

ACS participates in Symposium on Women in Chemistry

On June 24, ACS president Bonnie Charpentier spoke at the 4th Symposium on Women in Chemistry at the headquarters of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Netherlands. The theme of this meeting was “Women Scientists for the Next Generation: Responsible Culture in Chemical Safety and Security Management.” Charpentier gave a presentation on women in the American Chemical Society; the presentation focused on challenges for retaining women in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields, leadership opportunities for women in professional societies, and possible career paths in chemical safety and security. Charpentier also cofacilitated a breakout session and group discussion on safety and security issues facing industry with Renate Becker-Arnold, vice president of global trade control with BASF. The event attracted over 60 participants from 40 countries and included students, academics, and industry professionals. The OPCW is the implementing body for t...

Hemodynamic Definition of Pulmonary Hypertension: Commentaryon the Proposed Change by the 6th World Symposiumon Pulmonary Hypertension

The ESC/ERS guidelines (published at the end of 2015) and other international recommendations defined pulmonary hypertension (PH) by an invasively measured mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) ≥ 25 mmHg at rest. At the 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension in Nice a modification of this hemodynamic definition in the sense of lowering the threshold to > 20 mmHg was proposed. A pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) ≥ 3 Wood units (WU) is additionally required for the diagnosis of pre-capillary PH. This modification must be critically reviewed with regard to the underlying rationale and possible consequences. Therefore, a detailed explanation is required. In particular, it must be made clear that this change currently has no influence on the evidence-based and approval-compliant prescription of drugs for the targeted therapy of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).

The 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension: what's old is new.

In February 2018, the 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension (WSPH) brought together experts from various disciplines to review the most relevant clinical and scientific advances in the field of PH over the last 5 years. Based on careful review and discussions by members of the different task forces, major revisions were made on the hemodynamic definition for various forms of PH and new genes were added to the list of genetic markers associated with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and pulmonary veno-occlusive disease. In addition, the use of risk stratification tools was encouraged as a strategy to reduce one-year mortality risk in PAH patients through early implementation of PAH therapies. While members of the medical community are still debating some of the proposed changes, the new WSPH guidelines advocate early diagnosis and initiation of combination therapy to reduce mortality and improve quality of life in patients with PH.

Impact of the revised haemodynamic definition on the diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is one of the leading causes of mortality in systemic sclerosis (SSc). We explored the impact of the updated haemodynamic definition of pulmonary hypertension (PH), as proposed by the 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension. In this single-centre retrospective analysis, patients with SSc who had right heart catheterisation (RHC) were included. We compared the prior PH definition to the updated PH definition. The prior definition classified PH as mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP) ≥25 mmHg and further divided into pre-capillary PH (PAH and PH due to lung disease and/or hypoxia), post-capillary PH, and combined pre- and post-capillary PH groups. For the updated definition, PH was classified as mPAP >20 mmHg and further divided into the different groups. We validated our findings in the DETECT cohort. Between 2005 and March 2019, 268 RHCs were performed in this single-centre cohort. Using the prior definition, 137 (51%) were diagnosed with PH, with 89 classified as pre-capillary PH (56 with PAH and 33 with PH due to lung diseaseand/or hypoxia), 29 as post-capillary PH, and 19 as combined pre- and post-capillary PH. When the updated definition was applied to the cohort, seven out of 131 (5%) with no PH were reclassified to pre-capillary PH (PAH (n=1), PH due to lung disease (n=3) and post-capillary PH (n=3)). In those with mPAP 21-24 mmHg, with no left heart or significantlung disease, one out of 28 (4%) in our cohort and four out of 36 (11%) in the DETECT cohort were reclassified as PAH. The updated PH definition does not appear to have a significant impact on the diagnosis of PH in two different screening cohorts.

(Invited) Model-Based Battery Management System of Lithium-Ion Batteries

The advances in the automotive sector for plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) along with penetration of renewables for power generation, cell phones and electric-flights have increased the use of batteries, as energy storage devices to a great deal. Some limitations of existing lithium-ion battery technology include underutilization, stress-induced material damage, capacity fade, and the potential for thermal runaway.1-3 Model-based control approaches (Model predictive control) can be used to design a smarter Battery Management System (BMS) that guarantees safety, efficiency, lifetime and performance of lithium-ion batteries at the stack and module level.4-7 This talk will present approaches for determining model-based optimal charging profiles for batteries, and experimental validation of the same. Optimal profiles that increase the cycle life of the cells were implemented on 16 Ah cells. An improvement of more than 100% in cycle life is observed experimentally, for our test conditions on this cell design.8 To test across multiple chemistries and form factors, optimal profiles were also implemented on a 1.5 Ah cylindrical cell, leading to an improved cycle life for these cells. The interplay between the fundamental depth in modeling, choice of numerical algorithms, and application-driven problem formulation will be presented. Acknowledgements The work presented herein was funded in part by the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E), U.S. Department of Energy, under Award Number DE-AR0000275 along with the Clean Energy Institute (CEI) at the University of Washington (UW) and the Washington Research Foundation. References P. Arora, R.E. White, and M. Doyle, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 145, 3647 (1998).V. Ramadesigan, P.W.C. Northrop, S. De, S. Santhanagopalan, R.D. Braatz, and V.R. Subramanian, Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 159, R31 (2012).S. Santhanagopalan, Q. Guo, P. Ramadass and R.E. White, Journal of Power Sources, 156, 620 (2006).B. Suthar, P.W.C. Northrop, R.D. Braatz,and V.R. Subramanian Journal of the Electrochemical Society, 161, F3144 (2014).B. Suthar, V. Ramadesigan, P.W.C. Northrop, B. Gopaluni, S. Santhanagopalan, R.D. Braatz, and V.R. Subramanian, in American Control Conference (ACC), p. 5350, Seattle, WA, USA (2013).M. Torchio, L. Magni, R.D. Braatz, and D.M. Raimondo, in 11th IFAC Symposium on Dynamics and Control of Process Systems, including Biosystems, p. 827, Trondheim, Norway (2016).M. Torchio, N.A. Wolff, D.M. Raimondo, L. Magni, U. Krewer, R.B. Gopaluni, J.A. Paulson, and R.D. Braatz, in American Control Conference (ACC), p. 4536, Chicago, IL, USA (2015).M. Pathak, D. Sonawane, M. Powell, S. Santhanagopalan, R.D. Braatz, and V.R. Subramanian, ECS Transactions, 75, 51 (2017).

An insider view on the World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension

An insider view on the World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension

14th International Symposium on Geometric Function Theory and Applications

14th International Symposium on Geometric Function Theory and Applications (GFTA 2018)3-5 December 2018, Puri Pujangga Hotel, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Selangor, MalaysiaThe 14th International Symposium on Geometric Function Theory and Applications (GFTA 2018) is a continuation of the series of the annual international “GFTA” symposia. GFTA 2018 is the 14th symposium in its series. The first symposium was held in 2005 at the University of Victoria, Canada. Since then, the symposium was held annually at different locations, mainly in Romania, Turkey, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Malaysia. The list of all the symposia can be found in the conference website. The scientific program will focus on Geometric Function Theory and its Applications, as well as other fields of Mathematical Sciences, particularly Pure and Applied Mathematics. Therefore, the main topics of the conference is divided into two main categories: Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics.The aim of the symposium is to bring together leading experts as well as young researchers working on topics mainly related to Univalent and Geometric Function Theory along with other areas of Pure and Applied Mathematics and to present their recent works to the mathematical sciences community. Notable speakers in the field of Geometric Function Theory and other fields of mathematical sciences are invited to give their plenary talks. The Symposium is also open to other fields. Thus, it is with great pleasure for the School of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (the National University of Malaysia) together with the Malaysian Mathematical Sciences Society (PERSAMA) to organise the 14th International Symposium on Geometric Function Theory and Applications (GFTA 2018) to bridge as well as nurture the understanding and collaboration amongst the regional and global mathematical scientists and practitioners.EditorsRoslinda NazarMaslina DarusAlawiah IbrahimList of Organising Committee, Keynote Speakers and Invited Speakers (Parallel Sessions) are available in this pdf.

My Life With Erwin: The Beginning of an Atom-Probe Legacy.

The atom-probe field ion microscope was introduced in 1967 at the 14th Field Emission Symposium held at the National Bureau of Standards (now, NIST) in Gaithersburg, Maryland. The atom-probe field ion microscope was, and remains, the only instrument capable of determining "the nature of one single atom seen on a metal surface and selected from neighboring atoms at the discretion of the observer". The development of the atom-probe is a story of an instrument that one National Science Foundation (NSF) reviewer called "impossible because single atoms could not be detected". It is also a story of my life with Erwin Wilhelm Müller as his graduate student in the Field Emission Laboratory at the Pennsylvania State University in the late 1960s and his strong and volatile personality, perhaps fostered by his pedigree as Gustav Hertz's student in the Berlin of the 1930s. It is the story that has defined by scientific career.

Call for Participation in the Second Workshop Organized by the IAFSS Working Group on Measurement and Computation of Fire Phenomena

Early 2015, a new initiative called ‘‘the IAFSS Working Group on Measurement and Computation of Fire Phenomena’’ (aka the MaCFP Working Group) was launched (http://www.iafss.org/macfp/). This initiative is endorsed and supported by the International Association for Fire Safety Science (IAFSS, http://www.iafss. org). The first workshop organized by the MaCFP Working Group was held in June 2017 as a pre-event to the 12th IAFSS Symposium in Lund, Sweden. Details are found on https://iafss.org/3770-2/ and in Ref. [1]. The primary objective of this letter is to engage the members of the fire research community to participate in the second MaCFP workshop, scheduled on April 25–26 2020 as a pre-event to the 13th IAFSS Symposium in Waterloo, Canada (http://iafss2020.ca). Continued updated information on the MaCFP Working Group effort is found at http:// www.iafss.org/macfp/.

Meeting report of the 14th Japan-Korea joint symposium on cancer and aging research: current status of translational research and approaches to precision medicine.

The 14th Japan-Korea joint symposium on cancer and aging research was held at an auditorium of Saga University, Japan, May 31-Jun 2, 2018. Participants presented 31 oral and 21 poster presentations, two lectures at a luncheon seminar, plus special lectures from two Korean Emeritus Professors and founders of our joint symposia. The essential parts of the lectures are reviewed here. This Symposium was called Japan-Korea, because the host country comes first. Our symposia are organized every 18 months and the program includes keynote and plenary lectures, and oral and poster presentations. (1) Subjects related to cancer development at this symposium were: prostate cancer progression, molecules activating GSK3β, suppressing the activation of cancer stem cells, profiling human B cell receptor repertoires, and hereditary gastrointestinal cancer syndrome. (2) Subjects related to treatment were: G-quadruplex ligands for glioma stem cells, tankyrase inhibitor for colorectal cancer, and eradication of ATL. (3) Cancer prevention subjects were: physical adsorption of EGCG to cell membrane, inhibition of immune evasion of cancer cells with EGCG, and prevention with antidiabetic agents. (4) Aging subjects were life span extension with Toll-like receptor 5 vaccine and reversal of senescence with inhibitors of ATM and ROCK. (5) The results of epidemiology focused on aldehyde dehyrogenase-2 and alcohol consumption. The 14th symposium demonstrated the cutting-edge of presentations with discussion of numerous ideas by the participants.

4th IEEE European Symposium on Security &amp; Privacy

4th IEEE European Symposium on Security &amp; Privacy

The 13th International Double-Stranded RNA Virus Symposium, Houffalize, Belgium, 24 to 28 September 2018.

The triennial International Double-Stranded RNA Virus Symposium, this year organized by J. Matthijnssens, J. S. L. Parker, P. Danthi, and P. Van Damme in Belgium, gathered over 200 scientists to discuss novel observations and hypotheses in the field. The keynote lecture on functional interactions of bacteria and viruses in the gut microbiome was presented by Julie Pfeiffer. Workshops were held on viral diversity, molecular epidemiology, molecular virology, immunity and pathogenesis, virus structure, the viral use and abuse of cellular pathways, and applied double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virology. The establishment of a plasmid only-based reverse genetics system for rotaviruses by several Japanese research groups in 2017 has now been reproduced by various other research groups and was discussed in detail. The visualization of dsRNA virus replication steps in living cells received much attention. Mechanisms of the cellular innate immune response to virus infection and of viral pathogenesis were explored. Knowledge of the gut microbiome's influence on specific immune responses has increased rapidly, also due to the availability of relevant animal models of virus infection. The method of cryo-electron microscopic (cryo-EM) tomography has elucidated various asymmetric structures in viral particles. The use of orthoreoviruses for oncolytic virotherapy was critically assessed. The application of llama-derived single chain nanobodies for passive immunotherapy was considered attractive. In a satellite symposium the introduction, impact and further developments of rotavirus vaccines were reviewed. The Jean Cohen Lecturer of this meeting was Harry B. Greenberg, who presented aspects of his research on rotaviruses over a period of more than 40 years. He was also interviewed at the meeting by Vincent Racaniello for the 513th session of This Week in Virology.

Special Section: Wittgenstein and Applied Epistemology

Abstract In this introductory piece I summarize the aims and contents of the special section on Wittgenstein and Applied Epistemology, which consists of a selection of papers presented at the 6th Symposium of the International Ludwig Wittgenstein Society that took place at the Nova University of Lisbon in 2017. After explaining the sense in which “applied epistemology” is here employed in connection with Wittgenstein’s thought, brief comments are made on papers by Natalie Alana Ashton, Anna Boncompagni, Marco Brusotti, Michel Le Du, Andrew Lugg, Sofia Miguens, Constantine Sandis, Genia Schönbaumsfeld, and Vicente Sanfélix Vidarte and Chon Tejedor.

4th IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy

4th IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy

Understanding the Prevalence and Patient Characteristics of Pulmonary Hypertension According to the Updated Haemodynamic Definition

The widely accepted definition of pulmonary hypertension (PH) - a mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) of >25 mmHg, has come under renewed focus at the 2018 6th world PH symposium with healthy human studies showing that, on average, the mPAP was 14 ± 3.3 mmHg at rest. The mPAP is also affected by pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) and cardiac output (CO). Aims: To provide a descriptive analysis of all patients with a mPAP of 21–25 mmHg referred to a specialist quaternary PH centre. Methods: All patients referred for right heart catheter (RHC) at our institution between 2008 and 2018, with: an MPAP of 21–25 mmHg; pulmonary vascular resistance ≥3 Wood units, and; PAWP ≤15 mmHg were included. Data were extracted from the medical records for: aetiology; six-minute walk test (6MWT), and mortality. Results: 59 patients were included, representing 3.5% of all cases with an mPAP >20 mmHg. The average age was 66.3 ± 13.8 years. Average 6MWT was 339.5 ± 110.9 m. There were a total of 13 deaths over the study period. Patients were classified according to aetiology of PH: 13 (22%) of patients were classified as group 1; 12 (20%) group 2; 22 (37%) group 3; 8 (14%) group 4; 1 (1.7%) group 5; and 3 (5%) unclear pathology. Conclusion: The updated haemodynamic definition of PH, whilst more closely reflecting human physiological values, is likely to detect patients earlier in the course of their disease and will be of prognostic significance. It could be argued that the same precision applied to mPAP could also be applied to PAWP.

Paediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension: updates on definition, classification, diagnostics and management.

Paediatric pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) shares common features of adult disease, but is associated with several additional disorders and challenges that require unique approaches. This article discusses recent advances, ongoing challenges and distinct approaches for the care of children with PAH, as presented by the Paediatric Task Force of the 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension. We provide updates of the current definition, epidemiology, classification, diagnostics and treatment of paediatric PAH, and identify critical knowledge gaps. Several features of paediatric PAH including the prominence of neonatal PAH, especially in pre-term infants with developmental lung diseases, and novel genetic causes of paediatric PAH are highlighted. The use of cardiac catheterisation as a diagnostic modality and haemodynamic definitions of PAH, including acute vasoreactivity, are addressed. Updates are provided on issues related to utility of the previous classification system to reflect paediatric-specific aetiologies and approaches to medical and interventional management of PAH, including the Potts shunt. Although a lack of clinical trial data for the use of PAH-targeted therapy persists, emerging data are improving the identification of appropriate targets for goal-oriented therapy in children. Such data will likely improve future clinical trial design to enhance outcomes in paediatric PAH.