Evaluation of the GlideScope (R) for tracheal intubation in patients with cervical spine immobilisation by a semi-rigid collar

Application of cervical collars may reduce cervical spine movements but render tracheal intubation with a standard laryngoscope difficult if not impossible. We hypothesised that despite the presence of a Philadelphia Patriot (R) cervical collar and with the patient's head taped to the trolley, tracheal intubation would be possible in 50 adult patients using the GlideScope (R) and its dedicated stylet. Laryngoscopy was attempted using a Macintosh laryngoscope with a size 4 blade, and the modified Cormack-Lehane grade was scored. Subsequently, laryngoscopy with the GlideScope was graded and followed by tracheal intubation. All patients' tracheas were successfully intubated with the GlideScope. The median (IQR) intubation time was 50 s (43-61 s). The modified Cormack-Lehane grade was 3 or 4 at direct laryngoscopy. It was significantly reduced with the GlideScope (p < 0.0001), reaching grade 2a in most patients. Tracheal intubation in patients wearing a semi-rigid collar and having their head taped to the trolley is possible with the help of the GlideScope.

Percutaneous extraction of retained biliary T-tubes: a new technique.

Retained T-tubes are rare complications after biliary surgery. The authors present three cases of retained T-tubes in patients with transplanted liver that could not be removed by a standard manual traction. The authors describe a new simple percutaneous method that allows removal of these T-tubes without complication.

The high road and the low road: trafficking choices in plants.

Polar transport of the signaling molecule auxin is critical for plant development and depends on both the polar distribution of auxin efflux carriers, which pump auxin out of the cell and the alignment of these polarized cells. Two papers in this issue of Cell (Michniewicz et al., 2007; Jaillais et al., 2007) address how polar transport of these carriers occurs and describe the endosomal pathways involved.

Cheap, rapid and efficient DNA extraction method to perform multilocus microsatellite genotyping on all Schistosoma mansoni stages

Schistosomes are endoparasites causing a serious human disease called schistosomiasis. The quantification of parasite genetic diversity is an essential component to understand the schistosomiasis epidemiology and disease transmission patterns. In this paper, we propose a novel assay for a rapid, low costly and efficient DNA extraction method of egg, larval and adult stages of Schistosoma mansoni. One euro makes possible to perform 60,000 DNA extraction reactions at top speed (only 15 min of incubation and 5 handling steps).

Night and crepuscular mosquitoes and risk of vector-borne diseases in areas of piassaba extraction in the middle Negro River basin, state of Amazonas, Brazil

A study of crepuscular and night-biting mosquitoes was conducted at remote settlements along the Padauiri River, middle Negro River, state of Amazonas, Brazil. Collections were performed with human bait and a CDC-light trap on three consecutive days per month from June 2003-May 2004. In total, 1,203 h of collection were performed, of which 384 were outside and 819 were inside houses. At total of 11,612 specimens were captured, and Anophelinae (6.01%) were much less frequent than Culicinae (93.94%). Anopheles darlingi was the most frequent Anophelinae collected. Among the culicines, 2,666 Culex (Ae.) clastrieri Casal & Garcia, 2,394 Culex. (Mel.) vomerifer Komp, and 1,252 Culex (Mel.) eastor Dyar were the most frequent species collected. The diversity of insects found reveals the receptivity of the area towards a variety of diseases facilitated by the presence of vectors involved in the transmission of Plasmodium, arboviruses and other infectious agents.

Biological activity of neosergeolide and isobrucein B (and two semi-synthetic derivatives) isolated from the Amazonian medicinal plant Picrolemma sprucei (Simaroubaceae)

In the present study, in vitro techniques were used to investigate a range of biological activities of known natural quassinoids isobrucein B (1) and neosergeolide (2), known semi-synthetic derivative 1,12-diacetylisobrucein B (3), and a new semi-synthetic derivative, 12-acetylneosergeolide (4). These compounds were evaluated for general toxicity toward the brine shrimp species Artemia franciscana, cytotoxicity toward human tumour cells, larvicidal activity toward the dengue fever mosquito vector Aedes aegypti, haemolytic activity in mouse erythrocytes and antimalarial activity against the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Compounds 1 and 2 exhibited the greatest cytotoxicity against all the tumor cells tested (IC50 = 5-27 µg/L) and against multidrug-resistant P. falciparum K1 strain (IC50 = 1.0-4.0 g/L) and 3 was only cytotoxic toward the leukaemia HL-60 strain (IC50 = 11.8 µg/L). Quassinoids 1 and 2 (LC50 = 3.2-4.4 mg/L) displayed greater lethality than derivative 4 (LC50 = 75.0 mg/L) toward A. aegypti larvae, while derivative 3 was inactive. These results suggest a novel application for these natural quassinoids as larvicides. The toxicity toward A. franciscana could be correlated with the activity in several biological models, a finding that is in agreement with the literature. Importantly, none of the studied compounds exhibited in vitro haemolytic activity, suggesting specificity of the observed cytotoxic effects. This study reveals the biological potential of quassinoids 1 and 2 and to a lesser extent their semi-synthetic derivatives for their in vitro antimalarial and cytotoxic activities.

Comparative study of two extraction methods for enteric virus recovery from sewage sludge by molecular methods

The aim of this study was to compare two nucleic acid extraction methods for the recovery of enteric viruses from activated sludge. Test samples were inoculated with human adenovirus (AdV), hepatitis A virus (HAV), poliovirus (PV) and rotavirus (RV) and were then processed by an adsorption-elution-precipitation method. Two extraction methods were used: an organic solvent-based method and a silica method. The organic-based method was able to recoup 20% of the AdV, 90% of the RV and 100% of both the PV and HAV from seeded samples. The silica method was able to recoup 1.8% of the AdV and 90% of the RV. These results indicate that the organic-based method is more suitable for detecting viruses in sewage sludge.

Optimization of treatment with interferon beta in multiple sclerosis. Usefulness of automatic system application criteria

Background. A software based tool has been developed (Optem) to allow automatize the recommendations of the Canadian Multiple Sclerosis Working Group for optimizing MS treatment in order to avoid subjective interpretation. METHODS: Treatment Optimization Recommendations (TORs) were applied to our database of patients treated with IFN beta1a IM. Patient data were assessed during year 1 for disease activity, and patients were assigned to 2 groups according to TOR: "change treatment" (CH) and "no change treatment" (NCH). These assessments were then compared to observed clinical outcomes for disease activity over the following years. RESULTS: We have data on 55 patients. The "change treatment" status was assigned to 22 patients, and "no change treatment" to 33 patients. The estimated sensitivity and specificity according to last visit status were 73.9% and 84.4%. During the following years, the Relapse Rate was always higher in the "change treatment" group than in the "no change treatment" group (5 y; CH: 0.7, NCH: 0.07; p < 0.001, 12 m - last visit; CH: 0.536, NCH: 0.34). We obtained the same results with the EDSS (4 y; CH: 3.53, NCH: 2.55, annual progression rate in 12 m - last visit; CH: 0.29, NCH: 0.13). CONCLUSION: Applying TOR at the first year of therapy allowed accurate prediction of continued disease activity in relapses and disability progression.

Distinguishing general concepts from individuals: an automatic coarse-grained classifier

Named entity recognizers are unable to distinguish if a term is a general concept as "scientist" or an individual as "Einstein". In this paper we explore the possibility to reach this goal combining two basic approaches: (i) Super Sense Tagging (SST) and (ii) YAGO. Thanks to these two powerful tools we could automatically create a corpus set in order to train the SuperSense Tagger. The general F1 is over 76% and the model is publicly available.

Semi-online neural-Q_leaming for real-time robot learning

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a very suitable technique for robot learning, as it can learn in unknown environments and in real-time computation. The main difficulties in adapting classic RL algorithms to robotic systems are the generalization problem and the correct observation of the Markovian state. This paper attempts to solve the generalization problem by proposing the semi-online neural-Q_learning algorithm (SONQL). The algorithm uses the classic Q_learning technique with two modifications. First, a neural network (NN) approximates the Q_function allowing the use of continuous states and actions. Second, a database of the most representative learning samples accelerates and stabilizes the convergence. The term semi-online is referred to the fact that the algorithm uses the current but also past learning samples. However, the algorithm is able to learn in real-time while the robot is interacting with the environment. The paper shows simulated results with the "mountain-car" benchmark and, also, real results with an underwater robot in a target following behavior

Be fit or be sick: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors are down the road.

Investigating metabolism by unveiling the functions of the nuclear receptors peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) in the numerous intricate pathways ensuring energy homeostasis and fitness has been extremely rewarding. Major lines of research were initially determined by the first-characterized crucial roles of PPARalpha in fatty oxidation and of PPARgamma in adipocyte differentiation and lipid storage. Today, the molecular bases of the functional links between glucose, lipid, and protein metabolism, under the important but nonexclusive control of PPARalpha and PPARgamma, are starting to be uncovered. In addition, in the last couple of years evidence has been provided for an important role of PPARbeta (delta) in lipid metabolism. Inevitably, such actors of metabolic homeostasis are implicated in the physiopathology of complex metabolic disorders, such as those constituting the metabolic syndrome, resulting in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases. This review presents a summary of the recent findings on their dual involvement in health and disease.

Automatic self-configuration of the logical network using distributed software agents

We present a system for dynamic network resource configuration in environments with bandwidth reservation. The proposed system is completely distributed and automates the mechanisms for adapting the logical network to the offered load. The system is able to manage dynamically a logical network such as a virtual path network in ATM or a label switched path network in MPLS or GMPLS. The system design and implementation is based on a multi-agent system (MAS) which make the decisions of when and how to change a logical path. Despite the lack of a centralised global network view, results show that MAS manages the network resources effectively, reducing the connection blocking probability and, therefore, achieving better utilisation of network resources. We also include details of its architecture and implementation

Automatic classification of breast density

A recent trend in digital mammography is computer-aided diagnosis systems, which are computerised tools designed to assist radiologists. Most of these systems are used for the automatic detection of abnormalities. However, recent studies have shown that their sensitivity is significantly decreased as the density of the breast increases. This dependence is method specific. In this paper we propose a new approach to the classification of mammographic images according to their breast parenchymal density. Our classification uses information extracted from segmentation results and is based on the underlying breast tissue texture. Classification performance was based on a large set of digitised mammograms. Evaluation involves different classifiers and uses a leave-one-out methodology. Results demonstrate the feasibility of estimating breast density using image processing and analysis techniques

Overview of coded light projection techniques for automatic 3D profiling

Obtaining automatic 3D profile of objects is one of the most important issues in computer vision. With this information, a large number of applications become feasible: from visual inspection of industrial parts to 3D reconstruction of the environment for mobile robots. In order to achieve 3D data, range finders can be used. Coded structured light approach is one of the most widely used techniques to retrieve 3D information of an unknown surface. An overview of the existing techniques as well as a new classification of patterns for structured light sensors is presented. This kind of systems belong to the group of active triangulation method, which are based on projecting a light pattern and imaging the illuminated scene from one or more points of view. Since the patterns are coded, correspondences between points of the image(s) and points of the projected pattern can be easily found. Once correspondences are found, a classical triangulation strategy between camera(s) and projector device leads to the reconstruction of the surface. Advantages and constraints of the different patterns are discussed