59 research outputs found
The future of patient safety: Surgical trainees accept virtual reality as a new training tool
BACKGROUND: The use of virtual reality (VR) has gained increasing interest to acquire laparoscopic skills outside the operating theatre and thus increasing patients' safety. The aim of this study was to evaluate trainees' acceptance of VR for assessment and training during a skills course and at their institution.
METHODS: All 735 surgical trainees of the International Gastrointestinal Surgery Workshop 2006-2008, held in Davos, Switzerland, were given a minimum of 45 minutes for VR training during the course. Participants' opinion on VR was analyzed with a standardized questionnaire.
RESULTS: Fivehundred-twenty-seven participants (72%) from 28 countries attended the VR sessions and answered the questionnaires. The possibility of using VR at the course was estimated as excellent or good in 68%, useful in 21%, reasonable in 9% and unsuitable or useless in 2%. If such VR simulators were available at their institution, most course participants would train at least one hour per week (46%), two or more hours (42%) and only 12% wouldn't use VR. Similarly, 63% of the participants would accept to operate on patients only after VR training and 55% to have VR as part of their assessment.
CONCLUSION: Residents accept and appreciate VR simulation for surgical assessment and training. The majority of the trainees are motivated to regularly spend time for VR training if accessible
Transcriptome profiling of ontogeny in the acridid grasshopper Chorthippus biguttulus
Acridid grasshoppers (Orthoptera:Acrididae) are widely used model organisms
for developmental, evolutionary, and neurobiological research. Although there
has been recent influx of orthopteran transcriptomic resources, many use
pooled ontogenetic stages obscuring information about changes in gene
expression during development. Here we developed a de novo transcriptome
spanning 7 stages in the life cycle of the acridid grasshopper Chorthippus
biguttulus. Samples from different stages encompassing embryonic development
through adults were used for transcriptomic profiling, revealing patterns of
differential gene expression that highlight processes in the different life
stages. These patterns were validated with semi-quantitative RT-PCR. Embryonic
development showed a strongly differentiated expression pattern compared to
all of the other stages and genes upregulated in this stage were involved in
signaling, cellular differentiation, and organ development. Our study is one
of the first to examine gene expression during post-embryonic development in a
hemimetabolous insect and we found that only the fourth and fifth instars had
clusters of genes upregulated during these stages. These genes are involved in
various processes ranging from synthesis of biogenic amines to chitin binding.
These observations indicate that post-embryonic ontogeny is not a continuous
process and that some instars are differentiated. Finally, genes upregulated
in the imago were generally involved in aging and immunity. Our study
highlights the importance of looking at ontogeny as a whole and indicates
promising directions for future research in orthopteran development
On some models in linear thermo-elasticity with rational material laws
In the present work, we shall consider some common models in linear thermo-elasticity within a common structural framework. Due to the flexibility of the structural perspective we will obtain well-posedness results for a large class of generalized models allowing for more general material properties such as anisotropies, inhomogeneities, etc
A note on a two-temperature model in linear thermoelasticity
We discuss the so-called two-temperature model in linear thermoelasticity and provide a Hilbert space framework for proving well-posedness of the equations under consideration. With the abstract perspective of evolutionary equations, the two-temperature model turns out to be a coupled system of the elastic equations and an abstract ordinary differential equation (ODE). Following this line of reasoning, we propose another model which is entirely an abstract ODE.We also highlight an alternative method for a two-temperature model, which might be of independent interest
- …