Field and Laboratory Investigations on the Use of Fly Ash and LI-Based Admixtures to Prevent ASR in Concrete

Since the early 1990’s, CANMET (Department of Natural Resources Canada) is carrying out a comparative field and laboratory research program to investigate the efficacy of laboratory test procedures for properly predicting the long-term efficacy of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) in controlling expansion due to alkali-silica reaction (ASR). Binary and ternary concrete systems, i.e. fly ash (Class F), lithium-based admixtures, fly ash / Li-based admixtures, were selected with a variety of alkali-silica reactive aggregates. The expansive behaviour of the various combinations listed above was investigated in the laboratory using concrete prisms stored under accelerated test conditions (38oC and 100% RH). Exposure blocks cast from the above mixtures were placed outdoors at the CANMET facilities located in Ottawa (Canada). This paper compares the results of expansion testing in the laboratory against that of exposure blocks after 15 years outdoors. The results are also analysed in view of providing recommendations for the use of such materials / combinations for the manufacture of concrete that will be at a minimum risk of developing deleterious expansion and cracking due to ASR

EPIdemiology of Surgery-Associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) : Study protocol for a multicentre, observational trial

More than 300 million surgical procedures are performed each year. Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after major surgery and is associated with adverse short-term and long-term outcomes. However, there is a large variation in the incidence of reported AKI rates. The establishment of an accurate epidemiology of surgery-associated AKI is important for healthcare policy, quality initiatives, clinical trials, as well as for improving guidelines. The objective of the Epidemiology of Surgery-associated Acute Kidney Injury (EPIS-AKI) trial is to prospectively evaluate the epidemiology of AKI after major surgery using the latest Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) consensus definition of AKI. EPIS-AKI is an international prospective, observational, multicentre cohort study including 10 000 patients undergoing major surgery who are subsequently admitted to the ICU or a similar high dependency unit. The primary endpoint is the incidence of AKI within 72 hours after surgery according to the KDIGO criteria. Secondary endpoints include use of renal replacement therapy (RRT), mortality during ICU and hospital stay, length of ICU and hospital stay and major adverse kidney events (combined endpoint consisting of persistent renal dysfunction, RRT and mortality) at day 90. Further, we will evaluate preoperative and intraoperative risk factors affecting the incidence of postoperative AKI. In an add-on analysis, we will assess urinary biomarkers for early detection of AKI. EPIS-AKI has been approved by the leading Ethics Committee of the Medical Council North Rhine-Westphalia, of the Westphalian Wilhelms-University Münster and the corresponding Ethics Committee at each participating site. Results will be disseminated widely and published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at conferences and used to design further AKI-related trials. Trial registration number NCT04165369

Flux de travail du guidage tridimensionnel en chirurgie orale

L’implantologie assistée par ordinateur permet de sécuriser le geste, de prévoir les potentielles complications, d’anticiper la séquence de forage et le choix de l’implant et donne la possibilité d’avoir une transition entre la simulation et la chirurgie à l’aide d’un guide chirurgical, elle est utilisée pour faciliter l’établissement d’un diagnostic précis et du plan de traitement idéal[1]. Dès que les images radiologiques (sous format DICOM) sont acquises suite à la réalisation d’une tomodensitométrie ou d’un cône-beam, elles sont transférées dans un logiciel de planification qui permettra la transformation des vues bidimensionnelles en une vision tridimensionnelle, pour évaluer la quantité et la qualité du volume osseux disponible et réaliser une représentation colorée et tridimensionnelle des éléments anatomiques présents sur les coupes dans le but de réaliser une simulation implantaire, Une fois placé, l’implant est visualisé immédiatement dans les trois plans de lespace, ensuite le praticien peut anticiper les caractéristiques du pilier, l’axe prothétique, et simuler l’épaisseur de la gencive. Ainsi un guide chirurgical à appui dentaire, muqueux ou osseux est conçu, à sa réception du guide, le fabricant fournit une feuille de route correspondant au système implantaire et à la trousse chirurgicale utilisée. Elle contient toutes les informations pour chaque implant et peut être complété par des cuillères et des porte-implants individualisés.Les résultats montrent que les écarts entre la réalité clinique et la planification émanent du type d’appui du guide. Un bio-modèle peut être imprimé en 3D, il servira comme outil pédagogique pour expliquer au patient le déroulement du projet et permettra également de réaliser une chirurgie « sèche » en amont de la pose d’implant ; et dans le cas de régénération osseuse guidée utilisant des grilles en titane il servira de support pour les préformer dans l’asepsie totale [2]. Les prothèses provisoires immédiates sont également réalisées au besoin, grâce à la superposition de la conception tridimensionnelle implantaire au modèle du patient scanné optiquement éviteant les erreurs de conception des prothèses immédiates. En oncologie buccale, la planification assistée permettra en segmentant la tumeur, de visualiser ses marges et sa taille, de réaliser un guide de résection et de customiser les plaques et les treillis imprimés en 3D. L’avènement de la conception et de la fabrication assistée par ordinateur a permis de révolutionner la chirurgie orale et de supprimer les erreurs opérateur dépendant en codifiant les actes, le travail présenté vise à décrire les différentes étapes du flux de travail optimal à adopter en chirurgie orale, permettant la réalisation de chirurgie totalement assistée, la conception et la fabrication de différents guides de forage et de résection osseuse ainsi que des prothèses provisoires immédiates [3]

Abstract C056: Cancer patterns and trends in Costa Rica: A population-based tumor registry study

Abstract Background: Recent economic and social changes in low- and middle-income countries in Latin American have influenced the raise of noncommunicable diseases, including cancer. Data from cancer registries are critical for surveilling disease trends during periods of epidemiologic transition. The aim of this study is to generate population estimates of cancer incidence rates in Costa Rica and to evaluate geographical differences. Methods: The National Tumor Registry in Costa Rica was queried for cancer cases diagnosed between 2009-2014. Population data were used to calculate sex, country and region-specific age standardized rates (ASR) per 100,000 people using the World Health Organization's 2000 standard population. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated to assess the effect of sex and geographic regions. Results: The overall cancer incidence rate in Costa Rica was 219.24 cases per 100,000. Females had a higher cancer rates relative to males (SIR: 1.1, 95% CI: 1.08-1.11, p < .001). The leading cancers were prostate (ASR: 53.09, 95% CI: 51.75-54.46), female breast (ASR: 48.73; 95% CI: 47.54-49.94), cervical (ASR: 30.78; 95% CI: 29.77-31.62), stomach (ASR: 17.45; 95% CI: 16.93-17.99), colorectal (ASR: 16.49; 95% CI: 15.98-17.00) and thyroid (ASR: 12.96; 95% CI: 12.54-13.40) cancers. San Jose had the highest breast and colon cancers rates whereas, Cartago had the highest rates for gastric and thyroid cancers. Conclusion: Costa Rica has a growing cancer burden involving preventable cancers. Continued monitoring of trends in incidence rates is needed to implement cancer control actions. Further involvement to create cancer prevention strategies and programs aimed to reduce cancer burden is warranted. Citation Format: Omar Picado, Jordan Baeker-Bispo, Layla Bouzoubaa, Raymond R. Balise, Gilberto Lopes, Erin N. Kobetz. Cancer patterns and trends in Costa Rica: A population-based tumor registry study [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr C056

Beet necrotic yellow vein virus noncoding rna production depends on a 5\u2032\u21923\u2032xrn exoribonuclease activity

The RNA3 species of the beet necrotic yellow vein virus (BNYVV), a multipartite positive-stranded RNA phytovirus, contains the \u2018core\u2019 nucleotide sequence required for its systemic movement in Beta macrocarpa. Within this \u2018core\u2019 sequence resides a conserved \u201ccoremin\u201d motif of 20 nucleotides that is absolutely essential for long-distance movement. RNA3 undergoes processing steps to yield a noncoding RNA3 (ncRNA3) possessing \u201ccoremin\u201d at its 5\u2032end, a mandatory element for ncRNA3 accumulation. Expression of wild-type (wt) or mutated RNA3 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae allows for the accumulation of ncRNA3 species. Screening of S. cerevisiae ribonuclease mutants identified the 5\u2032-to-3\u2032exoribonuclease Xrn1 as a key enzyme in RNA3 processing that was recapitulated both in vitro and in insect cell extracts. Xrn1 stalled on ncRNA3-containing RNA substrates in these decay assays in a similar fashion as the flavivirus Xrn1-resistant structure (sfRNA). Substitution of the BNYVV-RNA3 \u2018core\u2019 sequence by the sfRNA sequence led to the accumulation of an ncRNA species in yeast in vitro but not in planta and no viral long distance occurred. Interestingly, XRN4 knockdown reduced BNYVV RNA accumulation suggesting a dual role for the ribonuclease in the viral cycle