SWAT Operations Unmanned Vehicle

During SWAT operations, it is common to have a barricaded suspect who may be armed and a serious threat to SWAT team personnel. In these cases, sending a robot into harm\u27s way to assess the situation as opposed to an operator has become the standard. The purpose of this of this research was to design and develop an unmanned system for the City of Akron\u27s SWAT Team that can be injected into these scenarios to improve outcomes and mitigate risk to SWAT operators

Inconsistencies of Spurling’s Test in Chiropractic Education: A Survey Study Design

Objectives: To explore the in consistencies of Spurling’s test in chiropractic education. To identify areas of discrepancy in methodology, interpretation and utility of Spurling’s test in the chiropractic profession. To encourage other fields of practice to evaluate Spurling’s test in both clinical and educational settings. To contribute valuable data in efforts to make Spurling’s test a more dependable orthopedic exam

Training programme in gasless laparoscopy for rural surgeons of India (TARGET study) - Observational feasibility study

Background: Benefits of laparoscopic surgery are well recognised but uptake in rural settings of low- and middle-income countries is limited due to implementation barriers. Gasless laparoscopy has been proposed as an alternative but requires a trained rural surgical workforce to upscale. This study evaluates a feasibility of implementing a structured laparoscopic training programme for rural surgeons of North-East India. Methods: A 3-day training programme was held at Kolkata Medical College in March 2019. Laparoscopic knowledge and Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Skills (FLS) were assessed pre and post simulation training using multiple choice questions and the McGill Inanimate System for Training and Evaluation of Laparoscopic Skills (MISTELS), respectively. Competency with an abdominal lift device was assessed using the Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) and live operating performance via the Global Operative Assessment of Laparoscopic Skills (GOALS) scores during live surgery. Costs of the training programme and qualitative feedback were evaluated. Results: Seven rural surgeons participated. There was an improvement in knowledge acquisition (mean difference in MCQ score 5.57 (SD = 4.47)). The overall normalised mean MISTELS score for the FLS tasks improved from 386.02 (SD 110.52) pre-to 524.40 (SD 94.98) post-training (p = 0.09). Mean OSATS score was 22.4 out of 35 (SD 3.31) indicating competency with the abdominal lift device whilst a mean GOALS score of 16.42 out of 25 (SD 2.07) indicates proficiency in performing diagnostic laparoscopy using the gasless technique during live operating. Costs of the course were estimated at 354 USD for trainees and 461 USD for trainers. Conclusion: Structured training programme in gasless laparoscopy improves overall knowledge and skills acquisition in laparoscopic surgery for rural surgeons of North-East India. It is feasible to deliver a training programme in gasless laparoscopy for rural surgeons. Larger studies are needed to assess the benefits for wider adoption in a similar context

Homologous recombination DNA repair defects in PALB2- associated breast cancers

Abstract: Mono-allelic germline pathogenic variants in the Partner And Localizer of BRCA2 (PALB2) gene predispose to a high-risk of breast cancer development, consistent with the role of PALB2 in homologous recombination (HR) DNA repair. Here, we sought to define the repertoire of somatic genetic alterations in PALB2-associated breast cancers (BCs), and whether PALB2-associated BCs display bi-allelic inactivation of PALB2 and/or genomic features of HR-deficiency (HRD). Twenty-four breast cancer patients with pathogenic PALB2 germline mutations were analyzed by whole-exome sequencing (WES, n = 16) or targeted capture massively parallel sequencing (410 cancer genes, n = 8). Somatic genetic alterations, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the PALB2 wild-type allele, large-scale state transitions (LSTs) and mutational signatures were defined. PALB2-associated BCs were found to be heterogeneous at the genetic level, with PIK3CA (29%), PALB2 (21%), TP53 (21%), and NOTCH3 (17%) being the genes most frequently affected by somatic mutations. Bi-allelic PALB2 inactivation was found in 16 of the 24 cases (67%), either through LOH (n = 11) or second somatic mutations (n = 5) of the wild-type allele. High LST scores were found in all 12 PALB2-associated BCs with bi-allelic PALB2 inactivation sequenced by WES, of which eight displayed the HRD-related mutational signature 3. In addition, bi-allelic inactivation of PALB2 was significantly associated with high LST scores. Our findings suggest that the identification of bi-allelic PALB2 inactivation in PALB2-associated BCs is required for the personalization of HR-directed therapies, such as platinum salts and/or PARP inhibitors, as the vast majority of PALB2-associated BCs without PALB2 bi-allelic inactivation lack genomic features of HRD

BioVeL : a virtual laboratory for data analysis and modelling in biodiversity science and ecology

Background: Making forecasts about biodiversity and giving support to policy relies increasingly on large collections of data held electronically, and on substantial computational capability and capacity to analyse, model, simulate and predict using such data. However, the physically distributed nature of data resources and of expertise in advanced analytical tools creates many challenges for the modern scientist. Across the wider biological sciences, presenting such capabilities on the Internet (as "Web services") and using scientific workflow systems to compose them for particular tasks is a practical way to carry out robust "in silico" science. However, use of this approach in biodiversity science and ecology has thus far been quite limited. Results: BioVeL is a virtual laboratory for data analysis and modelling in biodiversity science and ecology, freely accessible via the Internet. BioVeL includes functions for accessing and analysing data through curated Web services; for performing complex in silico analysis through exposure of R programs, workflows, and batch processing functions; for on- line collaboration through sharing of workflows and workflow runs; for experiment documentation through reproducibility and repeatability; and for computational support via seamless connections to supporting computing infrastructures. We developed and improved more than 60 Web services with significant potential in many different kinds of data analysis and modelling tasks. We composed reusable workflows using these Web services, also incorporating R programs. Deploying these tools into an easy-to-use and accessible 'virtual laboratory', free via the Internet, we applied the workflows in several diverse case studies. We opened the virtual laboratory for public use and through a programme of external engagement we actively encouraged scientists and third party application and tool developers to try out the services and contribute to the activity. Conclusions: Our work shows we can deliver an operational, scalable and flexible Internet-based virtual laboratory to meet new demands for data processing and analysis in biodiversity science and ecology. In particular, we have successfully integrated existing and popular tools and practices from different scientific disciplines to be used in biodiversity and ecological research.Peer reviewe

Cone beam CT analysis of Haller cells: Prevalence and clinical significance

Objectives: Haller cells are anterior ethmoid air cells located in the medial orbital floor immediately lateral to the maxillary infundibulum. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the prevalence and relationship between the existence and size of these cells with ipsilateral maxillary sinusitis and orbital floor dehiscence as visualized on cone beam CT (CBCT) images. Methods: CBCT image volumes of 50 patients were retrieved and analysed. All CBCT images were acquired with a 9-inch field of view scan. x2 and Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel tests were used for statistical analysis of the obtained data, and p-values of <0.05 were considered to be statistically significant. Results: There was no statistically significant association between the existence and size of Haller cells and maxillary sinusitis. There was a significant association between Haller cells and orbital floor dehiscence. Conclusions: The explanation of maxillary sinusitis on the basis of mechanical obstruction is unlikely. This study provides evidence for the usefulness of CBCT scan in delineation of the sinonasal anatomy. © 2013 The Authors. Published by the British Institute of Radiology.link_to_subscribed_fulltex