KhepOnTheWeb: open access to a mobile robot on the Internet

For years research has focused on ways to allow remote access via standard communication networks to unique or expensive structures. With the growth of the Internet, one finds more and more devices connected to it. Despite the fact that one may spy on other people with hundreds of cameras, it is currently possible to interact only with a few robots, which often have restricted access. To use a camera over the web, the user usually just sits and watches or sometimes has the ability to choose different camera orientation/views. With a robot, you have strong interaction. For instance, with a mobile robot equipped with an arm you can move along the floor and grasp objects. Discovering the control interface, the user has to understand rapidly the goal of the site and what the possibilities of the robot are in order to achieve them. The article analyses one year of netsurfer behavior regarding the use of KhepOnTheWeb, which was realized to demonstrate some possibilities of remote control of a Khepera mobile robot. After one year of access, we performed an analysis of the log files in order to understand the behavior of the public facing such an installation. This analysis was rather difficult because of the large amount of data involved, and specific software was developed in order to extract and present the relevant information. The goal of the project is presented, the hardware and software components of our robot installation are described, and the analysis of the web server log files is discussed. We also introduce another concept of a remote-controlled robot on the we

Is high prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in wild and domestic animals associated with disease incidence in humans?

We investigated a focus of highly endemic Echinococcus multilocularis infection to assess persistence of high endemicity in rural rodents, explore potential for parasite transmission to domestic carnivores, and assess (serologically) putative exposure versus infection frequency in inhabitants of the region. From spring 1993 to spring 1998, the prevalence of E. multilocularis in rodents was 9% to 39% for Arvicola terrestris and 10% to 21% for Microtus arvalis. From June 1996 to October 1997, 6 (7%) of 86 feral dogs and 1 of 33 cats living close to the region tested positive for intestinal E. multilocularis infection. Testing included egg detection by coproscopy, antigen detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and specific parasite DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction. Thus, the presence of infected domestic carnivores can increase E. multilocularis exposure risk in humans. A seroepidemiologic survey of 2,943 blood donors in the area used specific Em2-ELISA. Comparative statistical analyses of seroprevalence and clinical incidence showed an increase in Em2-seroprevalence from 1986 and 1996-97 but no increase in clinical incidence of alveolar hydatid disease

Who Should Be Operated When Presenting with a Ruptured Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm? A Monocentric Study in a Tertiary Hospital.

Mortality with ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysms (rAAAs) is 80% overall, 50% when operated, and 100% when not operated. Distinguishing in emergency patients who should be operated versus being offered palliative treatment is difficult. We sought to identify key factors to consider in this decision-making. Between 2001 and 2014, we selected all consecutive patients with rAAA treated by open or endovascular procedures in a tertiary hospital for inclusion in this retrospective, single-center study. Symptomatic aneurysms and isolated ruptured iliac aneurysms were excluded. The primary outcome was in-hospital mortality, and secondary outcomes were institutionalization rate and long-term mortality. Associations between predictive factors and in-hospital mortality were evaluated using univariate logistic regression. The local ethics committee approved this study. The mean age (±standard deviation) of the 72 included patients was 73 years (±9.0) and 88% were men. Among the 65 open (90%) and 7 endovascular procedures (10%), overall in-hospital mortality was 21%, 1- and 2-year mortalities were both 26%, and the institutionalization rate was 5%. Mean follow-up was 43 months (Kaplan-Meier estimate). Univariate analysis identified age as associated with a 20% per year increased risk of in-hospital mortality (correlation, P < 0.0001). Female sex was the other main preoperative risk factor correlated with in-hospital mortality (P = 0.006). Significant perioperative risk factors were suprarenal clamping (P = 0.038), amount of fresh frozen plasma transfused (P = 0.018), and number of blood transfusions (P < 0.0001). The most significant preoperative mortality-related factors were age and female sex. Our study also showed that institutionalization and long-term mortality are not factors to consider in the decision-making process

Prise en charge des sténoses carotidiennes [Management of the carotid artery stenosis].

In the western world, the carotid-artery stenosis is one of the major causes of ischemic stroke in elderly people. The principal therapeutic indication is a symptomatic stenosis > 50% in the first two weeks and the surgical approach has shown the best results. Despite inferior results to carotid endarterectomy in terms of post-operative rate of stroke and/or death, except for young patients, carotid stenting remains the best choice in patients at high surgical risk. The best medical treatment, consisting in correction of cardiovascular risk factors, statin therapy and anti-aggregation led to a drastic reduction in the annual rate of stroke associated to carotid stenosis and thus limited the surgical intervention in asymptomatic patient to men with a life expectancy of at least 5 years and a stenosis > 70%