Carbapenemase-producing Acinetobacter baumannii in two university hospitals in Algeria

International audienc

Infestation by pyrethroids resistant bed bugs in the suburb of Paris, France

Bed bugs are hematophagous insects responsible for a re-emerging and challenging indoor pest in many countries. Bed bugs infestations may have health consequences including nuisance biting, cutaneous and systemic reactions. This resurgence can probably be attributed to factors such as increased international travel and development of resistance against insecticides. Resistance against pyrethroids has been reported several times from the USA and rarely in Europe. In France, very few data on bed bugs are available. The present study aimed to assess the infestation by bed bugs of a complex of two high-rise apartment buildings in the suburb of Paris and to evaluate their susceptibility to pyrethroid insecticides. We inspected for bed bugs 192 out of 198 apartments units (97%) and interviewed their residents. 76 (39.6%) apartments were infested. Among the 97 residents living in infested apartments, 53 (54.6%) reported bed bug bites. A total of 564 bed bugs were collected in the infested units. Bioassays showed that 54 out of 143 bed bugs were resistant to pyrethroids (37.8%; 95% confidence interval: 29.9-45.7%). DNA sequencing showed that all bed bugs tested (n = 124) had homozygous L925I kdr-like gene mutation. The level of pyrethroid resistance found indicates that this phenomenon was already established in the site and prompts the need to reevaluate the wide use of pyrethroids to control bed bugs

Deformation Aware Augmented Reality for Craniotomy using 3D/2D Non-rigid Registration of Cortical Vessels

International audienceIntra-operative brain shift is a well-known phenomenon that describes non-rigid deformation of brain tissues due to gravity and loss of cerebrospinal fluid among other phenomena. This has a negative influence on surgical outcome that is often based on pre-operative planning where the brain shift is not considered. We present a novel brain-shift aware Augmented Reality method to align pre-operative 3D data onto the deformed brain surface viewed through a surgical microscope. We formulate our non-rigid registration as a Shape-from-Template problem. A pre-operative 3D wire-like deformable model is registered onto a single 2D image of the cortical vessels, which is automatically segmented. This 3D/2D registration drives the underlying brain structures, such as tumors, and compensates for the brain shift in sub-cortical regions. We evaluated our approach on simulated and real data composed of 6 patients. It achieved good quantitative and qualitative results making it suitable for neurosurgical guidance

Macular hole formation, progression, and surgical repair: case series of serial optical coherence tomography and time lapse morphing video study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To use a new medium to dynamically visualize serial optical coherence tomography (OCT) scans in order to illustrate and elucidate the pathogenesis of idiopathic macular hole formation, progression, and surgical closure.</p> <p>Case Presentations</p> <p>Two patients at the onset of symptoms with early stage macular holes and one patient following repair were followed with serial OCTs. Images centered at the fovea and at the same orientation were digitally exported and morphed into an Audiovisual Interleaving (avi) movie format. Morphing videos from serial OCTs allowed the OCTs to be viewed dynamically. The videos supported anterior-posterior vitreofoveal traction as the initial event in macular hole formation. Progression of the macular hole occurred with increased cystic thickening of the fovea without evidence of further vitreofoveal traction. During cyst formation, the macular hole enlarged as the edges of the hole became elevated from the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) with an increase in subretinal fluid. Surgical repair of a macular hole revealed initial closure of the macular hole with subsequent reabsorption of the sub-retinal fluid and restoration of the foveal contour.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Morphing videos from serial OCTs are a useful tool and helped illustrate and support anterior-posterior vitreofoveal traction with subsequent retinal hydration as the pathogenesis of idiopathic macular holes.</p

Assessment of nutrient contamination in surface water, case study of Ain Zada Dam (North-East of Algeria)

In order to evaluate the impact of potential pollutions on the water quality in the watershed of the upstream of wadi Boussellem (North-east of Algeria), the evolution of the chemical composition of waters of the Ain Zada dam was studied over a period of ten years. Using a linear  model  of  trends and a  principal  components  analysis  (PCA)  methods,  have  been detected and quantified for the substances that are connected with the fertilizers and domestic effluents. An increasing concentration is observed for most of these substances. The increase of 88% in COD, 66% in BOD5  and the decrease of 4.3% in pH, suggests a degradation of O.M 85% by microorganisms. This degradation was accompanied by a decrease of 2% of O2dis  content. The large increases of E.C 76%, NH4  290% and NO2  100%, are related to a marked  increase  in  fertilizers  applications  and  the denitrification  of NO3  where  latters declined by 77%. These increases are related also to the large amount of human and animal organic materials and industrial waste dumped.Keywords: Pollution; Eutrophication; wadi Boussellem; microorganisms, fertilizer

Comparison of optical coherence tomography models OCT1 and Stratus OCT for macular retinal thickness measurement

Aims: To compare the values measured for retinal macular thickness with the first and last generations of the optical coherence tomograph (OCT1 and Stratus OCT, Zeiss, Humphrey Division). Methods: This was a cohort study. 59 eyes were examined: 17 had a normal macula and 42 had a diabetic macular oedema. In each eye, mean retinal thickness (RT) was measured automatically in the nine macular Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study areas and at the foveal centre, using OCT1 and Stratus OCT. The paired mean RT values for each area and the type and proportion of artefacts were compared. Results: Of the 590 automatic measurements, 505 had no artefact, either with OCT1 or Stratus OCT. The mean difference between the OCT1 and Stratus OCT measurements was 25 (SD 26.2) μm (p<0.0001). With Stratus OCT, RT values were significantly higher, by 8.1% (7.8%), than with OCT1. Artefacts were only observed in cases of diabetic macular oedema and were significantly more frequent with OCT1 than Stratus OCT (10.5% versus 4.4, p<0.0001). Conclusion: The macular retinal thickness values measured with Stratus OCT were significantly higher than those measured with OCT1. Stratus OCT has the advantage of producing fewer artefacts than OCT1 in pathological cases