Acceptance of mHealth among health professionals : a case study on anesthesia practitioners

No external funding was obtained for the present study. Internal (within-hospital) support has been received from the Willy Gepts scientific fund.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Exploratory outlier detection for acceleromyographic neuromuscular monitoring : Machine learning approach

Funding Information: This research was funded by the Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund, the Willy Gepts Fund for Scientific Research, and the Society for Anesthesia and Resuscitation of Belgium (SARB). Publisher Copyright: © Michaël Verdonck, Hugo Carvalho, Johan Berghmans, Patrice Forget, Jan Poelaert. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 06.06.2021. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://www.jmir.org/, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Forty years of neuromuscular monitoring and postoperative residual curarisation : a meta-analysis and evaluation of confidence in network meta-analysis

Funding: Willy Gepts (Univeristair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium).Peer reviewedPostprin

A survey on the availability, usage and perception of neuromuscular monitors in Europe

Funding This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. This research was funded by the Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund (VLAIO), the Willy Gepts Fund for Scientific Research, the Society for Anesthesia and Resuscitation of Belgium (BeSARPP), and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB).Peer reviewedPostprin

Neutrophils exhibit distinct phenotypes toward chitosans with different degrees of deacetylation: implications for cartilage repair

Introduction Osteoarthritis is characterized by the progressive destruction of cartilage in the articular joints. Novel therapies that promote resurfacing of exposed bone in focal areas are of interest in osteoarthritis because they may delay the progression of this disabling disease in patients who develop focal lesions. Recently, the addition of 80% deacetylated chitosan to cartilage microfractures was shown to promote the regeneration of hyaline cartilage. The molecular mechanisms by which chitosan promotes cartilage regeneration remain unknown. Because neutrophils are transiently recruited to the microfracture site, the effect of 80% deacetylated chitosan on the function of neutrophils was investigated. Most studies on neutrophils use preparations of chitosan with an uncertain degree of deacetylation. For therapeutic purposes, it is of interest to determine whether the degree of deacetylation influences the response of neutrophils to chitosan. The effect of 95% deacetylated chitosan on the function of neutrophils was therefore also investigated and compared with that of 80% deacetylated chitosan.Methods Human blood neutrophils from healthy donors were isolated by centrifugation on Ficoll-Paque. Chemotaxis was performed using the chemoTX system. Production of superoxide anions was evaluated using the cytochrome c reduction assay. Degranulation was determined by evaluating the release of myeloperoxidase and lactoferrin. The internalization of fluorescently labelled 80% deacetylated chitosan by neutrophils was studied by confocal microscopy.Results Neutrophils were dose dependently attracted to 80% deacetylated chitosan. In contrast, 95% deacetylated chitosan was not chemotactic for neutrophils. Moreover, the majority of the chemotactic effect of 80% deacetylated chitosan was mediated by phospholipase-A(2)-derived bioactive lipids. Contrary to the induction of chemotaxis, neither 80% nor 95% deacetylated chitosan activated the release of granule enzymes or the generation of active oxygen species. Despite the distinct response of neutrophils toward 80% and 95% deacetylated chitosan, both chitosans were internalized by neutrophils.Conclusions Eighty per cent deacetylated chitosan induces a phenotype in neutrophils that is distinct from the classical phenotype induced by pro-inflammatory agents. Our observations also indicate that the degree of deacetylation is an important factor to consider in the use of chitosan as an accelerator of repair because neutrophils do not respond to 95% deacetylated chitosan

Fiber Bragg grating-based shear strain sensors for adhesive bond monitoring

The application of shear stress sensors in structural health monitoring remains limited because current sensors are either difficult to implement, they feature a low measurement resolution or the interrogation of the output signal is complex. We propose to use fiber Bragg grating-based sensors fabricated in dedicated highly birefringent microstructured optical fibers. When embedded in a host material, the orientation angle of the fiber should be chosen such that their polarization axes are aligned parallel with the direction of maximum shear stress when the host is mechanically loaded. We present experimental results of sensors embedded in the adhesive layer of single lap and double lap structural joints. These tests demonstrate that when the joints are tension loaded, the embedded sensors have a shear stress sensitivity of around 60 pm/MPa. We study the influence of the adhesive material on the sensor response, as well as the influence of sensor orientation and location in the bond line Finally, we demonstrate the minimal thermal cross-sensitivity of the shear stress sensitivity of this sensor

Análisis estructural y estratigráfico de la subcuenca Pachitea, zona noroccidental de la cuenca Ucayali - Perú

La cuenca del Ucayali está considerada una de las cuencas peruanas de antepaís con más altas posibilidades de hidrocarburos. Específicamente, la subcuenca Pachitea se encuentra en la parte noroeste, actualmente poco explorada. Su secuencia estratigráfica actualmente presenta una estratificación o superposición de secuencia sedimentaria precretácica, con una variación entre las zonas norte y sur de la cuenca Ucayali. Con el aporte de la nueva información sísmica, se ha podido reconocer incongruencias en los modelos estratigráficos actuales y también evidencias que ameritan la elaboración de un nuevo modelo estratigráfico y tectónico. Los resultados muestran: 1) una mejor correlación estratigráfica de las unidades precretácicas en las partes norte y sur de la cuenca Ucayali; 2) el papel principal de dos niveles de evaporitas que controlan la deformación; 3) la presencia de un sistema petrolero paleozoico que se desarrolla hacia la zona norte de la cuenca del Ucayali; 4) la preservación de las estructuras creadas por una compresión tectónica preandina; 5) un posible potencial de estas estructuras preandinas como nuevos objetivos de exploración

Adult Low-Hypodiploid Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Emerges from Preleukemic TP53-Mutant Clonal Hematopoiesis

UNLABELLED Low hypodiploidy defines a rare subtype of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) with a dismal outcome. To investigate the genomic basis of low-hypodiploid ALL (LH-ALL) in adults, we analyzed copy-number aberrations, loss of heterozygosity, mutations, and cytogenetics data in a prospective cohort of Philadelphia (Ph)-negative B-ALL patients (n = 591, ages 18-84 years), allowing us to identify 80 LH-ALL cases (14%). Genomic analysis was critical for evidencing low hypodiploidy in many cases missed by cytogenetics. The proportion of LH-ALL within Ph-negative B-ALL dramatically increased with age, from 3% in the youngest patients (under 40 years old) to 32% in the oldest (over 55 years old). Somatic TP53 biallelic inactivation was the hallmark of adult LH-ALL, present in virtually all cases (98%). Strikingly, we detected TP53 mutations in posttreatment remission samples in 34% of patients. Single-cell proteogenomics of diagnosis and remission bone marrow samples evidenced a preleukemic, multilineage, TP53-mutant clone, reminiscent of age-related clonal hematopoiesis. SIGNIFICANCE We show that low-hypodiploid ALL is a frequent entity within B-ALL in older adults, relying on somatic TP53 biallelic alteration. Our study unveils a link between aging and low-hypodiploid ALL, with TP53-mutant clonal hematopoiesis representing a preleukemic reservoir that can give rise to aneuploidy and B-ALL. See related commentary by Saiki and Ogawa, p. 102. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 101