In-vivo measurement of the human soft tissues constitutive laws. Applications to Computer Aided Surgery

In the 80's, biomechanicians were asked to work on Computer Aided Surgery applications since orthopaedic surgeons were looking for numerical tools able to predict risks of fractures. More recently, biomechanicians started to address soft tissues arguing that most of the human body is made of such tissues that can move as well as deform during surgical gestures [1]. An intra-operative use of a continuous Finite Element (FE) Model of a given tissue mainly faces two problems: (1) the numerical simulations have to be "interactive", i.e. sufficiently fast to provide results during surgery (which can be a strong issue in the context of hyperelastic models for example) and (2) during the intervention, the surgeon needs a device that can be used to provide to the model an estimation of the patient-specific constitutive behaviour of the soft tissues. This work proposes an answer to the second point, with the design of a new aspiration device aiming at characterizing the in vivo constitutive laws of human soft tissues. The device was defined in order to permit sterilization as well an easy intra-operative use

Antibiotic prescribing on two medical wards at St Luke’s Hospital : what scope for improvement?

Antibiotics are frequently prescribed drugs and form a significant part of the hospital budget. The literature suggests that prescribing is not without problems and may need constant review. We have no data relating to our hospital. This study aims to explore some aspects of antibiotic use in our setting. Records of all patients prescribed antibiotics on two medical wards over a 4 month period were analysed for indication, choice of antibiotic, outcome and cost. There were 126 patients: 54% males; 75.4%, >60 years old; 62% were admitted because of infection. Of the whole group, 8.7% received antibiotics with no evidence of infection and no indication for prophylaxis. There were 118 infections, 64% respiratory, 13.5% urinary and the rest of miscellaneous sites; 14% of infections were nosocomial. Microbiological studies were available in only 29% of infections. For 6 patients, the antibiotics prescribed were relatively contraindicated because of impaired hepatic and renal function. There was one adverse drug reaction. The total drug cost was Lm2181.79; i.v. treatment accounted for 93% of this cost and ceftazidime for 60%. There is room for improvement in the selection of antibiotics and their route of administration. The hospital microbiologists and the Antibiotic Policy should be consulted more often. Laboratory diagnosis of infection and biochemical patient monitoring are inadequate. Restricting i.v. treatment could reduce cost very substantially.peer-reviewe

PrimPol is required for replicative tolerance of G quadruplexes in vertebrate cells

G quadruplexes (G4s) can present potent blocks to DNA replication. Accurate and timely replication of G4s in vertebrates requires multiple specialized DNA helicases and polymerases to prevent genetic and epigenetic instability. Here we report that PrimPol, a recently described primase-polymerase (PrimPol), plays a crucial role in the bypass of leading strand G4 structures. While PrimPol is unable to directly replicate G4s, it can bind and reprime downstream of these structures. Disruption of either the catalytic activity or zinc-finger of PrimPol results in extreme G4-dependent epigenetic instability at the BU-1 locus in avian DT40 cells, indicative of extensive uncoupling of the replicative helicase and polymerase. Together, these observations implicate PrimPol in promoting restart of DNA synthesis downstream of, but closely coupled to, G4 replication impediments

Group-specific business process improvements via a port community system: the case of Rotterdam

The Port Community System is a type of digital platform that offers several benefits and improvements to the operations and supply chain of an increasing number of ports worldwide. However, prior literature does not explain in detail how these various types of benefits and business process improvements spread within a port and are obtained by its main groups of stakeholders (agents, terminal operators, and so on). The article fills this literature gap by analysing the distribution of benefits and improvements among the main types of port actors in Rotterdam (the Netherlands) after the introduction of the ‘Portbase’ platform. The results show that PCS effectively improves port stakeholders’ business processes only if the platform is the core element of a port digital transformation strategy, and if it offers a large portfolio of smart IT solutions that (a) directly improve the system quality, information quality and service quality, and (b) are properly targeted for the business processes that are carried out by the different groups of port stakeholders

The Views of Non-Psychiatric Medical Specialists about People with Schizophrenia and Depression

This study explored the views of non-psychiatric medical specialists about people with schizophrenia and depression and examined whether specialists’ approach to these clients, and their perception of dangerousness and social distance, differed by disorder. Non-psychiatric medical specialists working in community centers in Italy read either a schizophrenia or depression description and then completed a questionnaire on their views about people with that disorder. The schizophrenia-group (N=114) was more sure than the depression-group (N=97) that the patients should be approached differently in outpatient specialized clinics like those where the respondents worked; are incapable of caring for their open health; and are kept at distance by others. Perceived dangerousness did not significantly differ between the two groups. These findings highlight the potential effects of attitudes on medical practice and outline the need to educate non-psychiatric medical specialists on stigma as a strategy to reduce health discrepancies, particularly toward people diagnosed with schizophrenia

Dietary lipid sources and vitamin E affect fatty acid composition or lipid stability of breast meat from Muscovy duck

A trial was conducted in order to assess the fatty acid composition and lipid stability of breast meat from Muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata domestica L.) fed a basal diet supplemented with 20 g kg 1 of soybean oil or fish oil and 30 or 230 mg kg 1 a-tocopheryl acetate (a-TA). A total of 120 one-day-old female muscovy ducklings were distributed over 12 pens (10 birds/pen). Growth performance traits were measured through the study. Each dietary treatment was randomly administered to three replicates when birds were 43d until the slaughtering age of 66 d. Dietary treatments did not induce differences in growth performances and slaughter traits. Similarly, proximate composition and pH of breast muscle were not influenced by the diets. Significant increases in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) contents in breast meat of ducks fed fish-oil-supplemented diets was observed. Lipid oxidation, expressed as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), of breast meat from birds fed 230 mg kg 1 a-TA-supplemented diets was significantly lower, compared with those fed diets supplemented with 30 mg kg 1 a-TA, both 1 and 7 d after slaughter

Hyper high NA achromatic interferometer for immersion lithography at 193nm

International audienceAn apparatus for immersion interferometric lithography is described here where the interfering beams are created by illuminating a first diffraction grating followed by a second diffraction grating recombining the diffracted beams onto the photo-resist plane. The main advantage of this system is to be achromatic: thus it is possible to use a basic commercial ArF excimer laser as the exposure source. We present here the calculations made to evaluate the different parameters that can influence the depth-of-focus in the immersion configuration. As the set-up is mainly based on the two diffraction gratings, it matters to properly design it. The purpose of this paper is to show the optimization made on the diffraction gratings in taking into account their fabrication process since they are fabricated using the capabilities of the silicon line available in our laboratory. On one hand, calculations have been done to determine the second grating period as a function of the first grating period and the ”immersion NA”. By simply adding a fluid to a “dry” system, we will indeed be able to improve the depth of focus but not the resolution. In playing with the diffraction grating periods, we are able to benefit from the introduction of the immersion fluid. We have performed simulations in order to optimize the grating diffraction efficiency as a function of the etch depth and the fractional linewidth. Finally we report on first results obtained with the achromatic immersion interferometer. The apparatus was used with a 193 nm GAM excimer laser to print resist patterns having a period of 100 nm with excellent contrast