GRAB: Computer graphics access for blind people through a haptic & audio virtual environment

This work describes a new haptic & audio virtual environment to allow visually impaired people to have access to the three-dimensional graphic computer world through the sense of touch (using a new dual-finger haptic interface) and augmented by audio output and voice commands. Such system has been developed within the European project "GRAB ". The new system provides an integrated platform for the design and development of audio-haptic applications in different fields (architecture, art, aeronautics, medicine,..). In order to demonstrate the validity of the approach, the project was specifically focused on the development of three applications for visual impaired people: an adventure game, a city map explorer and a chart explorer. Both the new environment and the applications were tested by visually impaired people with different profiles (congenitally blind, advantageously blind, partially sighted,..) to evaluate the usefulness and potential of these developments. The results of this validation confirm the validity of the system. Overall, it seems the GRAB system is feasible for these kinds of applications, although some features require some adjustments to create future usable tools

Age of onset of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis:a distribution analysis

ObjectiveDistribution of age of onset of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is generally described to be bimodal, with peaks at approximately 5 years and 30 years. This assumption has never been scientifically confirmed, and authors tend to refer to an article that does not describe distribution. Knowledge of the distribution of age of onset is important for virological and epidemiological comprehension. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution of age of onset of RRP in a large international sample. DesignCross-sectional distribution analysis. ParticipantsLaryngologists from 12 European hospitals provided information on date of birth and date of onset of all their RRP patients treated between 1998 and 2012. Centers that exclusively treated either patients with juvenile onset RRP or patients with adult onset RRP, or were less accessible for one of these groups, were excluded to prevent skewness. Main outcome measuresA mixture model was implemented to describe distribution of age of onset. The best fitting model was selected using the Bayesian information criterion. ResultsSix hundred and thirty-nine patients were included in the analysis. Age of onset was described by a three component mixture distribution with lognormally distributed components. Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis starts at three median ages 7, 35 and 64 years. ConclusionsDistribution of age of onset of RRP shows three peaks. In addition to the already adopted idea of age peaks at paediatric and adult age, there is an additional peak around the age of 6

Safety of intralesional cidofovir in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis: An international retrospective study on 635 RRP patients

Intralesional use of cidofovir (Vistide®) has been one of the mainstays of adjuvant therapy in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) since 1998. In 2011, a communication provided by the producer of cidofovir addressed very serious side effects concerning its off-label use. As this was a general warning, it was inconclusive whether this would account for its use in RRP. The aim of this study is to determine whether nephrotoxic, neutropenic, or oncogenic side effects have occurred after intralesional use of cidofovir in patients with RRP. Update of recent developments in RRP, a multicentre questionnaire and a multicentre retrospective chart review. Sixteen hospitals from eleven countries worldwide submitted records of 635 RRP patients, of whom 275 were treated with cidofovir. RRP patients received a median of three intralesional injections (interquartile range 2-6). There were no statistical differences in occurrence of neutropenia or renal dysfunction before and after cidofovir. There was no statistical difference in occurrence of upper airway and tracheal malignancies between the cidofovir and the non-cidofovir group. In this retrospective patient chart review, no clinical evidence was found for more long-term nephrotoxicity, neutropenia or laryngeal malignancies after the administration of intralesional cidofovir in RRP patients. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

Safety of intralesional cidofovir in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis:an international retrospective study on 635 RRP patients

<p>Intralesional use of cidofovir (Vistide(A (R))) has been one of the mainstays of adjuvant therapy in patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) since 1998. In 2011, a communication provided by the producer of cidofovir addressed very serious side effects concerning its off-label use. As this was a general warning, it was inconclusive whether this would account for its use in RRP. The aim of this study is to determine whether nephrotoxic, neutropenic, or oncogenic side effects have occurred after intralesional use of cidofovir in patients with RRP. Update of recent developments in RRP, a multicentre questionnaire and a multicentre retrospective chart review. Sixteen hospitals from eleven countries worldwide submitted records of 635 RRP patients, of whom 275 were treated with cidofovir. RRP patients received a median of three intralesional injections (interquartile range 2-6). There were no statistical differences in occurrence of neutropenia or renal dysfunction before and after cidofovir. There was no statistical difference in occurrence of upper airway and tracheal malignancies between the cidofovir and the non-cidofovir group. In this retrospective patient chart review, no clinical evidence was found for more long-term nephrotoxicity, neutropenia or laryngeal malignancies after the administration of intralesional cidofovir in RRP patients.</p>

Association study of androgen signaling pathway genes in polycystic ovary syndrome

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate genes involved in androgen receptor (AR) signaling as candidate genes for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). DESIGN: Two groups of PCOS and control women (discovery and replication cohorts) were genotyped for single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in eight genes for AR chaperones and co-chaperones: HSPA1A, HSPA8, ST13, STIP1, PTGES3, FKBP4, BAG1, and STUB1. SNPs were tested for association with PCOS status, and with androgenic and metabolic parameters. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: Discovery cohort: 354 PCOS and 161 control women. Replication cohort: 397 PCOS and 306 control women. INTERVENTIONS: Phenotypic and genotypic assessment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: SNP genotypes, association with PCOS status, and androgenic and metabolic parameters. RESULTS: In the discovery cohort, FKBP4 SNPs rs2968909 and rs4409904 were associated with lower odds of PCOS. This finding was not confirmed in the replication cohort analysis; however, when combining the two cohorts, rs4409904 was associated with lower odds of PCOS. In PCOS subjects in the replication cohort as well as in the combined cohort, rs2968909 was associated with lower BMI. CONCLUSIONS: SNPs in FKBP4, which codes for the AR co-chaperone FKBP52, may be associated with PCOS and BMI in PCOS patients. The remaining genes studied do not appear to be major contributors to the development of PCOS. These findings warrant confirmation in future studies, and genes encoding other androgen pathway components remain to be studied