22 research outputs found
A Mobile App to Manage Children Dental Anxiety: Context and Approach
Anxiety and fear related to dentistry interventions have been identified as problems affecting children. This reduces their
quality of life and may have a negative impact on aspects such as sleep, self âesteem, mood, social relationships, and
other psychological issues.The ARCADE project aims to design and develop a technological solution to manage children
dental anxiety. This solution consists on a mobile system co-designed with children. An ecological momentary
intervention is proposed using this solution before, during and after dentistry treatments. This paper presents a
methodological approach to develop the project
Early outcomes from the Minimally Invasive Right Colectomy Anastomosis study (MIRCAST)
Anastomosis; ColectomyAnastomosi; ColectomiaAnastomosis; ColectomĂaBackground
The impact of method of anastomosis and minimally invasive surgical technique on surgical and clinical outcomes after right hemicolectomy is uncertain. The aim of the MIRCAST study was to compare intracorporeal and extracorporeal anastomosis (ICA and ECA respectively), each using either a laparoscopic approach or robot-assisted surgery during right hemicolectomies for benign or malignant tumours.
Methods
This was an international, multicentre, prospective, observational, monitored, non-randomized, parallel, four-cohort study (laparoscopic ECA; laparoscopic ICA; robot-assisted ECA; robot-assisted ICA). High-volume surgeons (at least 30 minimally invasive right colectomy procedures/year) from 59 hospitals across 12 European countries treated patients over a 3-year interval The primary composite endpoint was 30-day success, defined by two measures of efficacyâabsence of surgical wound infection and of any major complication within the first 30 days after surgery. Secondary outcomes were: overall complications, conversion rate, duration of operation, and number of lymph nodes harvested. Propensity score analysis was used for comparison of ICA with ECA, and robot-assisted surgery with laparoscopy.
Results
Some 1320 patients were included in an intention-to-treat analysis (laparoscopic ECA, 555; laparoscopic ICA, 356; robot-assisted ECA, 88; robot-assisted ICA, 321). No differences in the co-primary endpoint at 30 days after surgery were observed between cohorts (7.2 and 7.6 per cent in ECA and ICA groups respectively; 7.8 and 6.6 per cent in laparoscopic and robot-assisted groups). Lower overall complication rates were observed after ICA, specifically less ileus, and nausea and vomiting after robot-assisted procedures.
Conclusion
No difference in the composite outcome of surgical wound infections and severe postoperative complications was found between intracorporeal versus extracorporeal anastomosis or laparoscopy versus robot-assisted surgery.The MIRCAST Study Group has received research intensification grants from the Regional Government of Cantabria, Spain, and a research grant from Intuitive Surgical (Sunnyvale, CA, USA). MIRCAST was designed and conducted independently at the Valdecilla Biomedical Research Institute (IDIVAL). The funding institutions had no influence in the design or conduct of the study
Robotics software frameworks for multi-agent robotic systems development
Robotics is an area of research in which the paradigm of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) can prove to be highly
useful. Multi-Agent Systems come in the form of cooperative robots in a team, sensor networks based on
mobile robots, and robots in Intelligent Environments, to name but a few. However, the development
of Multi-Agent Robotic Systems (MARS) still presents major challenges. Over the past decade, a high
number of Robotics Software Frameworks (RSFs) have appeared which propose some solutions to the
most recurrent problems in robotics. Some of these frameworks, such as ROS, YARP, OROCOS, ORCA,
Open-RTM, and Open-RDK, possess certain characteristics and provide the basic infrastructure necessary
for the development of MARS. The contribution of this work is the identification of such characteristics
as well as the analysis of these frameworks in comparison with the general-purpose Multi-Agent System
Frameworks (MASFs), such as JADE and Mobile-C.Ministerio de Ciencia e InnovaciĂłn TEC2009-10639-C04-02Junta de AndalucĂa P06-TIC-2298Junta de AndalucĂa P08-TIC-0386
How Can Computer Science Help Cancer Survivors Children?
Survival
of
childhood
cancer
has
grown
thanks
to
more
effective
but
more
aggressive
treatments.
As
their
life
expectancy
has
increased,
they
have
discovered
important
long-Ââterm
side
effects
that
significantly
limit
their
quality
of
life:
cognitive,
linguistic,
physical,
and
social
effects.
The
most
significant
problems
are
related
to
language
and
communication,
which
prevent
the
child
from
expressing
himself
properly,
having
difficulty
finding
the
right
word.
This
poster
presents
some
possible
computer
mediated
solutions
to
improve
children
cancer
survivorsâ
quality
of
life
¿Cómo puede la Informåtica ayudar a los niños supervivientes de cåncer?
La
supervivencia
al
cĂĄncer
infantil
ha
crecido
gracias
a
tratamientos
mĂĄs
efectivos,
aunque
mĂĄs
agresivos.
A
medida
que
ha
aumentado
su
esperanza
de
vida,
se
han
descubierto
importantes
efectos
secundarios
a
largo
plazo
que
limitan
de
manera
significativa
su
calidad
de
vida:
efectos
cognitivos,
lingĂŒĂsticos,
fĂsicos,
sociales.
Los
problemas
mĂĄs
significativos
estĂĄn
relacionados
con
el
lenguaje
y
la
comunicaciĂłn,
que
impiden
que
el
niño
pueda
expresarse
de
manera
apropiada,
teniendo
dificultades
para
encontrar
la
palabra
adecuada.
Este
pĂłster
presenta
algunas
posibles
soluciones
basadas
en
tecnologĂas
TIC
para
mejorar
la
calidad
de
vida
de
los
sobrevivientes
de
cĂĄncer
infantil
Applied diagnostics in liver cancer. Efficient combinations of sorafenib with targeted inhibitors blocking AKT/mTOR
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third most common cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. There is increasing interest in developing specific markers to serve as predictors of response to sorafenib and to guide targeted therapy. Using a sequencing platform designed to study somatic mutations in a selection of 112 genes (HepatoExome), we aimed to characterize lesions from HCC patients and cell lines, and to use the data to study the biological and mechanistic effects of case-specific targeted therapies used alone or in combination with sorafenib. We characterized 331 HCC cases in silico and 32 paired samples obtained prospectively from primary tumors of HCC patients. Each case was analyzed in a time compatible with the requirements of the clinic (within 15 days). In 53% of the discovery cohort cases, we detected unique mutational signatures, with up to 34% of them carrying mutated genes with the potential to guide therapy. In a panel of HCC cell lines, each characterized by a specific mutational signature, sorafenib elicited heterogeneous mechanistic and biological responses, whereas targeted therapy provoked the robust inhibition of cell proliferation and DNA synthesis along with the blockage of AKT/mTOR signaling. The combination of sorafenib with targeted therapies exhibited synergistic anti-HCC biological activity concomitantly with highly effective inhibition of MAPK and AKT/mTOR signaling. Thus, somatic mutations may lead to identify case-specific mechanisms of disease in HCC lesions arising from multiple etiologies. Moreover, targeted therapies guided by molecular characterization, used alone or in combination with sorafenib, can effectively block important HCC disease mechanisms.FUNDING: Grants from ISCIII, co-financed by the European Union (FEDER) (PI16/00156), RamĂłn and Cajal research program from MINECO (RYC-2013-14097) and FUNDACIĂN LUCHAMOS POR LA VIDA to JPV. Grants from ISCIII (RD06/0020/0107-RD012/0036/0060) to MAP. Grant from ISCIII (Ref. PIE15/00079) to JC & JPV. NGD is a recipient of a UC-IDIVAL pre-doctoral fellow. I.V. was also supported by the RamĂłn and Cajal research program
Impact of Biological Agents on Postsurgical Complications in Inflammatory Bowel Disease : A Multicentre Study of Geteccu
Background: The impact of biologics on the risk of postoperative complications (PC) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is still an ongoing debate. This lack of evidence is more relevant for ustekinumab and vedolizumab. Aims: To evaluate the impact of biologics on the risk of PC. Methods: A retrospective study was performed in 37 centres. Patients treated with biologics within 12 weeks before surgery were considered "exposed". The impact of the exposure on the risk of 30-day PC and the risk of infections was assessed by logistic regression and propensity score-matched analysis. Results: A total of 1535 surgeries were performed on 1370 patients. Of them, 711 surgeries were conducted in the exposed cohort (584 anti-TNF, 58 vedolizumab and 69 ustekinumab). In the multivariate analysis, male gender (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.2-2.0), urgent surgery (OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.2), laparotomy approach (OR: 1.5; 95% CI: 1.1-1.9) and severe anaemia (OR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.3-2.6) had higher risk of PC, while academic hospitals had significantly lower risk. Exposure to biologics (either anti-TNF, vedolizumab or ustekinumab) did not increase the risk of PC (OR: 1.2; 95% CI: 0.97-1.58), although it could be a risk factor for postoperative infections (OR 1.5; 95% CI: 1.03-2.27). Conclusions: Preoperative administration of biologics does not seem to be a risk factor for overall PC, although it may be so for postoperative infections
Predictive Power of the "Trigger Tool" for the detection of adverse events in general surgery: a multicenter observational validation study
Background
In spite of the global implementation of standardized surgical safety checklists and evidence-based practices, general surgery remains associated with a high residual risk of preventable perioperative complications and adverse events. This study was designed to validate the hypothesis that a new âTrigger Toolâ represents a sensitive predictor of adverse events in general surgery.
Methods
An observational multicenter validation study was performed among 31 hospitals in Spain. The previously described âTrigger Toolâ based on 40 specific triggers was applied to validate the predictive power of predicting adverse events in the perioperative care of surgical patients. A prediction model was used by means of a binary logistic regression analysis.
Results
The prevalence of adverse events among a total of 1,132 surgical cases included in this study was 31.53%. The âTrigger Toolâ had a sensitivity and specificity of 86.27% and 79.55% respectively for predicting these adverse events. A total of 12 selected triggers of overall 40 triggers were identified for optimizing the predictive power of the âTrigger Toolâ.
Conclusions
The âTrigger Toolâ has a high predictive capacity for predicting adverse events in surgical procedures. We recommend a revision of the original 40 triggers to 12 selected triggers to optimize the predictive power of this tool, which will have to be validated in future studies