A novel pediatric biventricular assist device: in vitro test results.

Most ventricular assist devices (VADs) currently used in infants are extracorporeal. These VADs require long-term anticoagulation therapy and extensive surgery, and two devices are needed for biventricular support. We designed a biventricular assist device based on shape memory alloy that reproduces the hemodynamic effects of cardiomyoplasty, supporting the heart with a compressing movement, and evaluated its performance in a dedicated mockup system. Nitinol fibers are the device's key component. Ejection fraction (EF), cardiac output (CO), and generated systolic pressure were measured on a test bench. Our test bench settings were a preload range of 0-15 mm Hg, an afterload range of 0-160 mm Hg, and a heart rate (HR) of 20, 30, 40, and 60 beats/min. A power supply of 15 volts and 3.5 amperes was necessary. The EF range went from 34.4% to 1.2% as the afterload and HR increased, along with a CO from 180 to 6 ml/min. The device generated a maximal systolic pressure of 25 mm Hg. Cardiac compression for biventricular assistance in child-sized heart using shape memory alloy is technically feasible. Further testing remains necessary to assess this VAD's in vivo performance range and its reliability.

City Audit Report, Granger Iowa, Auditor of State, July 1, 1999 - January 31, 2002

City Audit Report

Bénéfices de l'utilisation d'un test VIH rapide à la permanence PMU-FLON [Benefits of using rapid HIV testing at the PMU-FLON walk-in clinic in Lausanne].

Lab tests are frequently used in primary care to guide patient care. This is particularly the case when a severe disorder, or one that will affect patients' initial care, needs to be excluded rapidly. At the PMU-FLON walk-in clinic the use of HIV testing as recommended by the Swiss Office of Public Health was hampered by the delay in obtaining test results. This led us to introduce rapid HIV testing which provides results within 30 minutes. Following the first 250 tests the authors discuss the results as well as the benefits of rapid HIV testing in an urban walk-in clinic.

Discriminant validity and test-retest reliability of a self-administered Internet-based questionnaire testing doctors' knowledge in evidence-based medicine.

Aims and objectives  This study aimed to determine the discriminant validity and the test-retest reliability of a questionnaire testing the impact of evidence-based medicine (EBM) training on doctors' knowledge and skills. Methods  Questionnaires were sent electronically to all doctors working as residents and chief residents in two French speaking hospital networks in Switzerland. Participants completed the questionnaire twice, within a 4-week interval. The discriminant validity was examined in comparing doctors' performance according to their reported EBM previous training. Proportion of agreement between both sessions of the questionnaire, Cohen's kappa and 'uniform kappa' determined its test-retest reliability. Results  The participation rate was 9.8%/7.1% to first/second session. Performance increased according to the level of doctors' previous training in EBM. The observed proportion of agreement between both sessions was over 70% for 14/19 questions, and the 'uniform kappa' was superior to 0.60 for 15/19 questions. Conclusion  The discriminant validity and test-retest reliability of the questionnaire were satisfying. The low participation rate did not prevent the study from achieving its aims.

Internal test sets studies in a group of antimalarials

Topological indices have been applied to build QSAR models for a set of 20 antimalarial cyclic peroxy cetals. In order to evaluate the reliability of the proposed linear models leave-n-out and Internal Test Sets (ITS) approaches have been considered. The proposed procedure resulted in a robust and consensued prediction equation and here it is shown why it is superior to the employed standard cross-validation algorithms involving multilinear regression models

City Audit Report, Granger Iowa, Auditor of State, July 1, 1999 - January 31, 2002

City Audit Report

Highly parallel genetic approaches in Mendelian and complex diseases

The recent advance in high-throughput sequencing and genotyping protocols allows rapid investigation of Mendelian and complex diseases on a scale not previously been possible. In my thesis research I took advantage of these modern techniques to study retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a rare inherited disease characterized by progressive loss of photoreceptors and leading to blindness; and hypertension, a common condition affecting 30% of the adult population. Firstly, I compared the performance of different next generation sequencing (NGS) platforms in the sequencing of the RP-linked gene PRPF31. The gene contained a mutation in an intronic repetitive element, which presented difficulties for both classic sequencing methods and NGS. We showed that all NGS platforms are powerful tools to identify rare and common DNA variants, also in case of more complex sequences. Moreover, we evaluated the features of different NGS platforms that are important in re-sequencing projects. The main focus of my thesis was then to investigate the involvement of pre-mRNA splicing factors in autosomal dominant RP (adRP). I screened 5 candidate genes in a large cohort of patients by using long-range PCR as enrichment step, followed by NGS. We tested two different approaches: in one, all target PCRs from all patients were pooled and sequenced as a single DNA library; in the other, PCRs from each patient were separated within the pool by DNA barcodes. The first solution was more cost-effective, while the second one allowed obtaining faster and more accurate results, but overall they both proved to be effective strategies for gene screenings in many samples. We could in fact identify novel missense mutations in the SNRNP200 gene, encoding an essential RNA helicase for splicing catalysis. Interestingly, one of these mutations showed incomplete penetrance in one family with adRP. Thus, we started to study the possible molecular causes underlying phenotypic differences between asymptomatic and affected members of this family. For the study of hypertension, I joined a European consortium to perform genome-wide association studies (GWAS). Thanks to the use of very informative genotyping arrays and of phenotipically well-characterized cohorts, we could identify a novel susceptibility locus for hypertension in the promoter region of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene (NOS3). Moreover, we have proven the direct causality of the associated SNP using three different methods: 1) targeted resequencing, 2) luciferase assay, and 3) population study. - Le récent progrès dans le Séquençage à haut Débit et les protocoles de génotypage a permis une plus vaste et rapide étude des maladies mendéliennes et multifactorielles à une échelle encore jamais atteinte. Durant ma thèse de recherche, j'ai utilisé ces nouvelles techniques de séquençage afin d'étudier la retinite pigmentale (RP), une maladie héréditaire rare caractérisée par une perte progressive des photorécepteurs de l'oeil qui entraine la cécité; et l'hypertension, une maladie commune touchant 30% de la population adulte. Tout d'abord, j'ai effectué une comparaison des performances de différentes plateformes de séquençage NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) lors du séquençage de PRPF31, un gène lié à RP. Ce gène contenait une mutation dans un élément répétable intronique, qui présentait des difficultés de séquençage avec la méthode classique et les NGS. Nous avons montré que les plateformes de NGS analysées sont des outils très puissants pour identifier des variations de l'ADN rares ou communes et aussi dans le cas de séquences complexes. De plus, nous avons exploré les caractéristiques des différentes plateformes NGS qui sont importantes dans les projets de re-séquençage. L'objectif principal de ma thèse a été ensuite d'examiner l'effet des facteurs d'épissage de pre-ARNm dans une forme autosomale dominante de RP (adRP). Un screening de 5 gènes candidats issus d'une large cohorte de patients a été effectué en utilisant la long-range PCR comme étape d'enrichissement, suivie par séquençage avec NGS. Nous avons testé deux approches différentes : dans la première, toutes les cibles PCRs de tous les patients ont été regroupées et séquencées comme une bibliothèque d'ADN unique; dans la seconde, les PCRs de chaque patient ont été séparées par code barres d'ADN. La première solution a été la plus économique, tandis que la seconde a permis d'obtenir des résultats plus rapides et précis. Dans l'ensemble, ces deux stratégies se sont démontrées efficaces pour le screening de gènes issus de divers échantillons. Nous avons pu identifier des nouvelles mutations faux-sens dans le gène SNRNP200, une hélicase ayant une fonction essentielle dans l'épissage. Il est intéressant de noter qu'une des ces mutations montre une pénétrance incomplète dans une famille atteinte d'adRP. Ainsi, nous avons commencé une étude sur les causes moléculaires entrainant des différences phénotypiques entre membres affectés et asymptomatiques de cette famille. Lors de l'étude de l'hypertension, j'ai rejoint un consortium européen pour réaliser une étude d'association Pangénomique ou genome-wide association study Grâce à l'utilisation de tableaux de génotypage très informatifs et de cohortes extrêmement bien caractérisées au niveau phénotypique, un nouveau locus lié à l'hypertension a été identifié dans la région promotrice du gène endothélial nitric oxide sinthase (NOS3). Par ailleurs, nous avons prouvé la cause directe du SNP associé au moyen de trois méthodes différentes: i) en reséquençant la cible avec NGS, ii) avec des essais à la luciférase et iii) une étude de population.

Influència de la dislèxia en els resultats d'eficàcia del test IGF

En el present treball es pretén determinar si existeix una correlació entre la dislèxia (dificultat en l'aprenentatge de la lectura i l'escriptura) i els resultats en el test IGF (intel·ligència general i factorial), concretament els resultats d'eficàcia. Es va seleccionar una mostra d'alumnes a la que, en primer lloc, es va diagnosticar o descartar la dislèxia, i després se'ls-hi va administrar l'IGF. No es van observar diferències significatives en els resultats d'eficàcia del test IGF entre dislèxics i no-dislèxics en dits resultats.

Cloud code test IDE

L'objectiu principal d'aquest projecte final de carrera consisteix en desenvolupar una aplicació web que oferisca un entorn simplificat de desenvolupament integrat (IDE) en el llenguatge C/C++, on els estudiants de batxillerat (o secundària en general) puguen iniciar-se en el seu estudi. La finalitat és proveir un entorn agradable a l'alumnat perquè puga seguir correctament les pràctiques que proposa el professor independentment de les circumstàncies pròpies d'aquest (ubicació temporal o permanentde l'alumnat, sistema operatiu que utilitza, dispositiu emprat per a fer les pràctiques, etc..).

Galveston Orientation Amnesia Test (GOAT)

O trauma crânio-encefálico contuso (TCEC) é freqüentemente seguido pela amnésia pós-traumática (APT), caracterizada como um estado transitório de confusão e desorientação. Sua duração tem sido utilizada para quantificar a gravidade do TCEC e prever distúrbios nas funções cognitivas, assim como para antever as alterações na capacidade funcional das vítimas pós-trauma. O Galveston Orientation Amnesia Test (GOAT) é o primeiro instrumento sistematizado criado e o mais amplamente utilizado para avaliar a APT. Este artigo apresenta esse instrumento, as bases conceituais para seu desenvolvimento e a adaptação e validação do GOAT para cultura brasileira. Além disso, descreve sua aplicação e comenta as restrições do seu uso. Resultados de pesquisas realizadas em nosso meio contribuíram para as evidências sobre a validade do GOAT. Também apontaram os indicadores do momento pós-trauma em que o GOAT deve ser aplicado e destacaram as dificuldades no uso desse instrumento.

XMNS, aplicació web per a la correcció automàtica de proves tipus test

Aplicació web per a la correcció automàtica de proves tipus test realitzada amb un framework PHP MVC propi i no comercial.

Causality and endogeneity: Problems and solutions

Most leadership and management researchers ignore one key design and estimation problem rendering parameter estimates uninterpretable: Endogeneity. We discuss the problem of endogeneity in depth and explain conditions that engender it using examples grounded in the leadership literature. We show how consistent causal estimates can be derived from the randomized experiment, where endogeneity is eliminated by experimental design. We then review the reasons why estimates may become biased (i.e., inconsistent) in non-experimental designs and present a number of useful remedies for examining causal relations with non-experimental data. We write in intuitive terms using nontechnical language to make this chapter accessible to a large audience.

Practical considerations for conducting ecotoxicity test methods with manufactured nanomaterials: what have we learnt so far?

This review paper reports the consensus of a technical workshop hosted by the European network, NanoImpactNet (NIN). The workshop aimed to review the collective experience of working at the bench with manufactured nanomaterials (MNMs), and to recommend modifications to existing experimental methods and OECD protocols. Current procedures for cleaning glassware are appropriate for most MNMs, although interference with electrodes may occur. Maintaining exposure is more difficult with MNMs compared to conventional chemicals. A metal salt control is recommended for experiments with metallic MNMs that may release free metal ions. Dispersing agents should be avoided, but if they must be used, then natural or synthetic dispersing agents are possible, and dispersion controls essential. Time constraints and technology gaps indicate that full characterisation of test media during ecotoxicity tests is currently not practical. Details of electron microscopy, dark-field microscopy, a range of spectroscopic methods (EDX, XRD, XANES, EXAFS), light scattering techniques (DLS, SLS) and chromatography are discussed. The development of user-friendly software to predict particle behaviour in test media according to DLVO theory is in progress, and simple optical methods are available to estimate the settling behaviour of suspensions during experiments. However, for soil matrices such simple approaches may not be applicable. Alternatively, a Critical Body Residue approach may be taken in which body concentrations in organisms are related to effects, and toxicity thresholds derived. For microbial assays, the cell wall is a formidable barrier to MNMs and end points that rely on the test substance penetrating the cell may be insensitive. Instead assays based on the cell envelope should be developed for MNMs. In algal growth tests, the abiotic factors that promote particle aggregation in the media (e.g. ionic strength) are also important in providing nutrients, and manipulation of the media to control the dispersion may also inhibit growth. Controls to quantify shading effects, and precise details of lighting regimes, shaking or mixing should be reported in algal tests. Photosynthesis may be more sensitive than traditional growth end points for algae and plants. Tests with invertebrates should consider non-chemical toxicity from particle adherence to the organisms. The use of semi-static exposure methods with fish can reduce the logistical issues of waste water disposal and facilitate aspects of animal husbandry relevant to MMNs. There are concerns that the existing bioaccumulation tests are conceptually flawed for MNMs and that new test(s) are required. In vitro testing strategies, as exemplified by genotoxicity assays, can be modified for MNMs, but the risk of false negatives in some assays is highlighted. In conclusion, most protocols will require some modifications and recommendations are made to aid the researcher at the bench. [Authors]