Simulation of Micro-Electronic FlowFET Systems

A microelectronic fluidic system has been investigated by modeling and 3D simulation of fluid flow controlled by an applied gate voltage. The simulations have helped to characterize a novel FlowFET (a fluidic Field Effect Transistor) device under fault-free conditions. The FlowFET operates by applying a voltage field from a gate electrode in the insulated side wall of a microchannel to modulate the ␣-potential at the shear plane [1]. The change in ␣-potential can be used to control both the magnitude and direction of the electroosmotic flow in the microchannel

Modeling of Micro-Electronic Fluidic Systems

A microelectronic fluidic system is studied using modeling and simulation of fluid flow controlled by applying gate voltage. 2D simulations were used to characterize the fluidic Field Effect Transistor (FlowFET) device under fault-free conditions. The FlowFET operates by applying a voltage from a gate electrode in the insulated side wall of a microchannel, to modulate the z-potential at the shear plane. The change in z-potential can be used to control both the magnitude and the direction of the electroosmotic flow in the microchannel

Assessment of Nurses’ Knowledge Level Regarding the Procedure of Blood Transfusion in a Hospital from Bucharest

Background and Aim: Blood transfusion is an invasive procedure with a high risk that could have unwanted consequences for both the patient and the nurses. Therefore, nurses must have the necessary knowledge to perform their roles safely and effectively. The aim of the study was to assess nurses’ knowledge level regarding the procedure of blood transfusion. Materials and Methods: The cross-sectional research study was conducted with a randomly selected sample of 26 nurses (response rate of 100%) and used a paper version validated questionnaire to collect the data. The scores of the knowledge <50% were considered as poor, between 50–74% - moderate, and ≥75% - high. The statistical data analysis was carried out using the SPSS version 20. Results: This study included nurses (45.35 ± 7.12 years average age and 18.96 ± 8.31 years average experience) from the medical wards (n=12), surgical wards (n=7), Intensive Care Units (ICU) (n=6) and Blood Transfusion Unit (BTU) (n=1). Most nurses were female, between 40 and 55 years old, post-secondary school graduates, and without specific blood transfusion courses. Based on the scoring system, nurses' overall knowledge of blood transfusion was estimated to be moderate (54 ± 5.16%). The percentage of knowledge calculated for each assessed dimension was 85.5% (Transfusion safety), 15.4% (The last pre-transfusion control), 46.2% (Transfusion administration), 46.2% (Patient monitoring), and 30.8% (Transfusion complications). In general, nurses from BTU, ICU, and surgical wards provided the most correct answers. Conclusions: The findings of this study indicated that the nurses’ knowledge of blood transfusion was at a moderate level, which also corresponds with international research. Extending this study could demonstrate the need to implement courses in the field of transfusion management at the national level

Rapid progression of prostate cancer in men with a BRCA2 mutation.

Men with BRCA2 mutations have been found to be at increased risk of developing prostate cancer. There is a recent report that BRCA2 carriers with prostate cancer have poorer survival than noncarrier prostate cancer patients. In this study, we compared survival of men with a BRCA2 mutation and prostate cancer with that of men with a BRCA1 mutation and prostate cancer. We obtained the age at diagnosis, age at death or current age from 182 men with prostate cancer from families with a BRCA2 mutation and from 119 men with prostate cancer from families with a BRCA1 mutation. The median survival from diagnosis was 4.0 years for men with a BRCA2 mutation vs 8.0 years for men with a BRCA1 mutation, and the difference was highly significant (P&lt;0.01). It may be important to develop targeted chemotherapies to treat prostate cancer in men with a BRCA2 mutation

Uptake of BRCA Testing and Downstream Healthcare Utilization

Introduction: For almost 25 years, BRCA testing has been used to successfully personalize cancer risk for primary prevention, and can serve as model for integration of genetics and genomics into routine clinical care. Historically, most studies of BRCA testing and downstream healthcare utilization have focused on clinical populations. Recent efforts have looked at population-wide uptake of BRCA testing using claims analysis, but have not correctly and fully identified historical BRCA tests, since billing practices have been complex. Angelina Jolie’s editorial in 2013 discussing her risk-reducing surgery due to her positive BRCA status provides a natural experiment to assess whether BRCA uptake and downstream utilization is affected by public endorsements. Methods: The current study utilized the Healthcare Cost Institute (HCCI) multi-payer claims database to assess a novel method for identifying BRCA tests with increased accuracy. Analysis focused on characterizing enrollees eligible for BRCA testing and drivers for BRCA testing, and assessing adherence to clinical management guidelines for BRCA carriers. Results: This method identified more BRCA tests than the other published methods. The testing rate among eligible enrollees was 5.1%. Most BRCA tests were ordered on young enrollees, with a family history that justifies the medical necessity of the test. From 2008-2017, there was an increase in BRCA testing across all ages, cancer diagnoses and types of family history. A clear “Jolie Effect” was observed especially in young, unaffected enrollees. These effects persisted after adjusting for covariates. The BRCA mutation pick up rate was 7.3%. About one quarter of BRCA carriers chose risk-reducing procedures in the first year post BRCA testing. The majority of BRCA carriers who chose screening, underwent at least one recommended surveillance procedure in the first year, but adherence decreased throughout the five-year follow-up period, dropping to under 10% for annually recommended screenings. Conclusion: Complicated billing methodology, and changing procedure codes make it challenging to capture all BRCA tests via claims analysis. The current method leveraged knowledge of BRCA testing methodology and billing practices of laboratories, to maximize BRCA test identification from claims analysis. BRCA testing rates, and BRCA mutation pick-up rates were less than 10%. Risk reducing surgery had incomplete uptake, and there was a lack of adherence to recommended increased screening among BRCA carriers. These testing and healthcare utilization patterns may diminish the primary prevention effect of BRCA testing across large populations

Genetic Testing for Cancer: Psychological Approaches for Helping Patients and Families. Andrea FarkasPatenaude2005American Psychological AssociationWashington, DC:312$59.95, hardcover

Unknow

3D printing new direction and collaboration in scientific research. A scientometric study using Web of Science, Clarivate Analytics database

A scientometric study to quantify the global research activity in the field of 3D printing has been conducted by the authors. Primary data was acquired as plain text files from Web of Science database (WoS). 11529 results were found. Hereby, the total research productivity, scientific output of countries, individual institution authors, journals and their collaborative networks were assessed. The results - keywords based on co-occurrence and co-citation networks - were visualized by using VOS Viewer, a software tool for constructing and visualizing bibliometric networks

Improvement of Emergency Situation Management through an Integrated System Using Mobile Alerts

The capacity to act as quickly as possible in the event of an emergency is a major concern for all those involved in providing first aid. Responses in due time are crucial for efficient alarm and event management. Currently, in most systems, notifications regarding alarms and events are sent to a list of recipients. The recipients can be operators, workstations, and/or formations. For a more effective response, it would be advantageous for an alarm or event to be announced to the operators, workstations, and/or the mobile formations closest to the location where the alarm or event occurred. The authors present an innovative solution—an integrated system consisting of a mobile application intended for users and a web application for dispatchers—which aims to reduce the response time and to facilitate the identification of the emergency situation. The proposed applications are validated through usability tests, the results of which demonstrate the ease of use and acceptance of the application by users and dispatchers. It is shown that this tool can have benefits at a large scale, but depends on the involvement of governmental decision-makers for implementation