Projet Rosace : robot sécurisé d’assistance à la chirurgie endoscopique

This article presents work carried out as part of the robot sécurisé d’assistance à la chirurgie endoscopique (Rosace) project (funding ANR TecSan06), involving both academic and clinical partners along with an industrial partner in charge of technology integration. The main subject is a lightweight and compact robot for assistance in the endoscopic surgery field. The goal of the project has been to improve then transfer on a medical-grade product some technologies initially developed by the two academic partners. These technologies are: a first prototype of a robotic endoscope holder, an original method for visual servoing based on instrument tracking and some work done on comanipulation concept which consists in synergic interaction between robot and user. In accordance with the initial goals, major improvements have been obtained on these three aspects of the project. Robotic architecture improvement has contributed to enhance robot's versatility while robot command has been made more efficient and simple to use thanks to instrument tracking and comanipulation. After this 3-year project, initial prototype has turned into a commercially available product integrating (or that will integrate in a few months) these new technologies.     

Restoring our native woodlands: a case study on the RSPB reserve of Isle Martin

Summary

This paper is an account of small scale work in recreating native woodland in a highly degraded and exposed environment on the north-west coast of Scotland. The project is now beginning to spread its influence beyond Isle Martin 160 ha) on which the work has so far been mostly concentrated. The work is being done on some of the poorest, most eroded soils in the country with high exposure to salt spray. Soil rather than climate has been found to be the limiting factor. Nevertheless native willows (Salix spp.) and downy birch (Betula pubescens) have achieved 60–90 cm growth a year in appropriate sites while on better soils hazel(Corylus avellana), oak (Quercus petraea) and gean (Prunus avium) have grown 30 cm a year. On the poorest shallow peats only Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) has established well and fertilization trials are in progress to release deciduous trees from check. The difficulty of obtaining genuine west coast native trees has led to the establishment of a tree nursery, the aims of which are as much educational as they are to ensure the use of local origin native trees.     

基因工程药物研制过程中相关问题探讨

以DNA重组技术为核心的现代生物技术是国际上优先发展的高技术领域之一。以基因工程技术为核心的生物药物已形成一个高新技术产业。利益驱使很多科研单位和企业投入大量资金到基因工程药物的开发中来。在基因工程制药选题立项时应首先考虑产品市场风险、研制过程中的技术风险和国家政策法规的修改所带来的风险;其次,在药学研究、临床前药理药效研究、临床研究、资料申报的具体过程中,要根据产品的具体特性确定好实验方案、工作计划和合作单位,并按药品注册管理办法的要求作好每一阶段的具体工作。就基因工程药物研究过程中的实际问题阐述了一些经验,希望对业内同仁有所帮助。     

The use of mini-projects in preparing students for independent open-ended investigative labwork

Undergraduate research project work is very demanding — of students, of tutors and of resources — and many students find the transition from traditional practical work difficult. In particular, they have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved. In order to prepare students for their project work, some second-year courses include mini-projects. This paper reports on a case study of one such mini-project: it was effective in preparing students for their project work but most students were unaware of this and as a result, many felt demoralised by their experience. A number of factors which might improve the effectiveness of mini-projects and reduce the students’ negative feelings were identified including: making the aims and objectives unambiguous, achievable and explicit; recognising the nature and difficulty of the demands which are being made of students; and providing sufficient time, support and guidance for students. It is not possible for one lecturer to provide the high level of support which this requires. Demonstrators should also be available.     

Sub-specialization or Super-specialization in Surgery?

A special centre for prosthetic hip replacement set up 10 years ago has been successful in its primary objectives, producing high quality work at low cost and stimulating research. The project has not yet been successful in achieving a permanent staffing structure, but this is the effect of certain British ideologies in surgical training, with the result that craftsmanship and technology cannot be reconciled with pure intellectual attainment.The success of the project suggests the importance of isolating elective surgery from emergency surgery in the interests of cost-effectiveness. Problems of isolation from teaching hospitals are not insurmountable, but isolation to some degree is essential to achieve the minimum size necessary for efficiency and to ensure unbroken professional team-work among all levels of staff. While maximum efficiency in this field can be achieved only in special centres, too many primary operations will be required every year to insist that total hip replacement should be done only in special centres. A special feature of this field is the need for a permanent staffing structure to hand on technical expertise as an unbroken tradition.     

The data quality foundation in OMNIITOX information system

Extended Summary Goal and Scope  This paper describes the data quality foundation for the OMNIITOX information system, with regard to data quality requirements and maintenance. Main Features  The data quality concept applied in the OMNIITOX project is based on results that are successfully used in other contexts (Fig. 1). Specific data quality requirements have been developed, which are applied in data acquisition and data review. The data quality requirements and quality maintenance is supported by the OMNIITOX concept model, which supplies a common language for the users from the different disciplines. Results and Discussion  The quality requirements and the concept model have been tested during data acquisition for the information system, and have been found to be a successful framework. The results from practical work demonstrate that it is possible to have a common understanding of the concept model and quality requirements. The user's experience the initial phase of learning the concepts and quality requirements as tedious. Nevertheless, experiences show that the users will benefit from the education during the further work. A considerable amount of data has been acquired based on the data quality foundation. Conclusions  The data quality foundation has been a successful framework for managing data quality in the design and establishment of the OMNIITOX information system. The data quality concept, the concept model, and specific quality requirements are applied as quality management tools to find, acquire, document, and interpret the information. Several quality issues deriving from interdisciplinary differences between the different users have been resolved, which facilitates a common understanding and reduces the risk of misinterpretations and misuse of information. Recommendations and Outlook  An important task for the finalization of the OMNIITOX project is to secure the credibility and long-term stability of the information system. The OMNIITOX information system will somewhat have less potential to support the toxicology related assessments in Europe if any of the involved disciplines chooses to reject or not to apply the concept model and the quality requirements.     

Measuring Enthalpy of Sublimation of Volatiles by Means of Piezoelectric Crystal Microbalances

Piezoelectric Crystal Microbalances (PCM’s) are widely used to study the chemical processes involving volatile compounds in any environment, such as condensation process. Since PCM’s are miniaturized sensor, they are very suitable for planetary in situ missions, where can be used to detect and to measure the mass amount of astrobiologically significant compounds, such as water and organics. This work focuses on the realization and testing of a new experimental setup, able to characterize volatiles which can be found in a planetary environment. In particular the enthalpy of sublimation of some dicarboxylic acids has been measured. The importance of dicarboxylic acids in planetology and astrobiology is due to the fact that they have been detected in carbonaceous chondritic material (e.g. Murchinson), among the most pristine material present in our Solar System. In this work, a sample of acid was heated in an effusion cell up to its sublimation. For a set of temperatures (from 30 °C to 75 °C), the deposition rate on the PCM surface has been measured. From these measurements, it has been possible to infer the enthalpy of sublimation of Adipic acid, i.e. ΔH = 141.6 ± 0.8 kJ/mol and Succinic acid, i.e. ΔH = 113.3 ± 1.3 kJ/mol. This technique has so demonstrated to be a good choice to recognise a single compound or a mixture (with an analysis upstream) even if some improvements concerning the thermal stabilization of the system will be implemented in order to enhance the results’ accuracy. The experiment has been performed in support of the VISTA (Volatile In Situ Thermogravimetry Analyzer) project, which is included in the scientific payload of the ESA MarcoPolo-R mission study.     

Generation of a Double KO Mouse by Simultaneous Targeting of the Neighboring Genes Tmem176a and Tmem176b Using CRISPR/Cas9:Key Steps from Design to Genotyping

The CRISPR/Cas9 system has been tailored to a revolutionary genetic tool because of its remarkable simplicity and efficacy.While complex genome editing in the mouse since the 1990 s has been dominated by the use of embryonic stem(ES) cells,CRISPR/Cas9 now offers a versatile and fast approach to precisely modify virtually any DNA regions directly in mouse zygotes.Yet,this relative simplicity does not preclude a conscientious preparatory work that is often neglected when initiating a project.Here,we describe the key steps leading to successful generation of a double knockout(KO) mouse by simultaneously targeting two homolog genes,Tmem176 a and Tmem176 b,which are located in the same genomic locus.Additionally,we show that similar efficiency can be obtained in a mixed genetic background or directly in the C57BL/6 inbred strain.Thus,presented as a detailed case study that should be helpful to the non-specialists,we focus on the genotyping strategy to anticipate the various possibilities.     

中国现生轮藻研究现状

中国是轮藻的主要产地,记有5属、152种、39变种,且半数以上为中国特有种、变种,其研究对世界轮藻研究意义重大。然而我国的相关研究起步晚,虽在20世纪的80年代进行了较为全面的资源调查,但其后的研究几乎处于停顿状态,尽管一些单位在轮藻生理、细胞学、多样性以及现生与化石轮藻研究的相关性等方面有着良好的研究苗头,却未能得到足够的重视,使我国现生轮藻研究大大落后于国际同行。积极寻求项目支持,打开现生轮藻研究新局面是我们的当务之急。     

Role of the EXPO ’70 forest project in forest restoration in urban areas

The forest-restoration project of EXPO ’70 Commemorative Park, Japan, is an epoch-making attempt to restore a nature-oriented forest park in an urban area in which large-scale land reclamation had occurred. The objective of this paper is to review the concept, planning, and design, and the outcome so far, and discuss current aspects of creating a core natural habitat in the city of Osaka. Innovative planning policy and design methods have been used for construction of the forest-restoration project of EXPO Park. Unexpected troubles have occurred, however. After approximately 10 years severe effects of poor drainage and soil compaction on the establishment of the forest have been revealed by intensive monitoring. Partial redevelopment and soil-amendment work has therefore been conducted. These improvements seemed to have resulted in “a self-sustaining forest”, the original objective of the planning policy. After approximately 25 years, however, a second intensive monitoring program has revealed that the status of nature restoration is generally favorable in quantity but not in structure of forest communities or biodiversity. The major issues identified are excessive tree density with a single foliage layer caused by the single generation of immature forest stand, and ecological isolation from the source of nature. The EXPO forest is currently in the “Second Generation” stage; this involves management, including artificial gap regeneration, and soil seed bank introduction, with careful monitoring. The project is expected to be an ideal example of a core habitat of nature-oriented forest in urban areas achieved by adaptive management.     

Integration of mental health into primary care and community health working in Kenya: context, rationale, coverage and sustainability

Integration of mental health into primary care is essential to meet population needs yet faces many challenges if such projects are to achieve impact and be sustainable in low income countries alongside other competing priorities. This paper describes the rationale and progress of a collaborative project in Kenya to train primary care and community health workers about mental health and integrate mental health into their routine work, Within a health systems strengthening approach. So far 1877 health workers have been trained. The paper describes the multiple challenges faced by the project, and reviews the mechanisms deployed which have strengthened its impact and sustainability to date.     

COMBREX: COMputational BRidge to EXperiments

COMBREX (computational bridges to experimentation) is a project to engage the biological community in providing better functional annotation of genomes. In essence, the project involves the generation by computational biologists of a database of predicted functions for genes in bacterial genomes. Those genes for which no functional assignments have been proven experimentally are then open for bids by biochemists to test the predicted functions. High-priority genes are those for which no previous functional assignment has been made as well as those where uncharacterized examples are present in many genomes. A pilot project is running that focuses on bacterial and archaeal genomes.     

Project work in social biology at GCE Advanced level

The Cambridge Advanced level GCE Examination¹ in Social Biology includes an individual study (project). The system by which project topics are submitted, modified, and approved is outlined in this paper and an indication is given of the standard and quantity of work expected. The criteria on which assessment is based are explained, the range of individual studies is summarized, and the cases for and against project work are given.     

The realization of the concept of Harm Reduction in Russia

By the present moment cases of HIV infection among injecting narcotic users (INU) have been registered in more than 100 countries. To prevent HIV infection, the program "Harm Reduction" has been developed in Britain; the program states that the prevention of HIV infection must be considered more important than the prevention of the use of narcotic drugs, as this infection is a growing danger for both drug users and public health in general. Breaking drug dependence must not be the only aim of services working with drug addicts, because this will exclude persons decisively disposed to the mode of life including the prolonged use of drugs from the sphere of their activity. Active INU having no contacts with organizations which must give them treatment and assistance find themselves in dangerous situations more often than INU maintaining contacts with such organizations. Penetration into such hidden group and its education must be the primary task. Propaganda plays a decisive role in this process, as the only way to penetrate into such group is to develop work in its territory, so that drug addicts, supplied with the necessary means could change their behavior in the desired direction. In the Russian Federation work on the project "Harm Reduction" has been carried out in 50 regions. This work has contributed to conducting teaching seminars, working out teaching programs, as well as to augmenting the interest among specialists of different professions to the problem of decreasing the spread of HIV infection. The importance of information distributed by the narcological service and the probability that very responsible persons take correct decisions on the basis of their understanding the situation have increased. The rating of public organization has risen.     

The reification of concrete work in Egyptian film production

The anthropology of cinema has been instrumental in describing the ‘unseen’ labour invested in making films. What has been less explored is film workers’ erasure of each other's concrete effort in a similar manner. This process is what I call ‘reification’. Extending Georg Lukács's reflections, I argue that the relations of production throughout the film-making process seem to be transformed into relations between things (images and sounds) in a recurring pattern. In Egypt, this transformation impacts every juncture in commercial film production, and film workers manage its continuous impact via conventional means of recognition towards their concrete work. The overarching project is to understand, on the one hand, how the serial erasure of concrete work contributes to creating the film as a commodity and, on the other hand, how workers find value in their work under conditions where their effort is consumed by the things that they produce.     

Biology Teaching in West Africa

Simulation games designed as training exercises have been used in a wide variety of fields. With the exception of medical education they have as yet been little used in teaching science. Lebemo is a game simulating research in bacterial genetics. The player has to manipulate data, interpret results, plan an overall strategy, and decide upon appropriate experimental protocols; a combination of features found in research and project work but rarely in traditional laboratory classes. In its present form Lebemo is self-instructional and takes a few hours to play. Lebemo and games like it might prove useful adjuncts to traditional laboratory classes and could perhaps replace more time-consuming project work.     

A single protein research integrated advanced biochemistry laboratory course: design and general outline

An advanced biochemistry laboratory has been designed to focus on a detoxifying enzyme, glutathione-S-transferase, which is involved in the metabolism of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), pesticides, herbicides, and other electrophilic xenobiotic compounds. The enzyme is known to catalyze conjugation of glutathione to xenobiotics, which makes them water-soluble so that they can be easily discarded through further metabolism and excretion. About two-thirds of the laboratory course incorporates nine advanced biochemical techniques, all focused to analyze various chemical characteristics of the glutathione-S-transferase. The remaining third of the semester time students work on a project that involves application of all the newly acquired techniques to solve a biochemical problem that encompasses the same detoxifying enzyme.     

Production and purification of rhamnose from microbial polysaccharide produced by Klebsiella sp. I-714

A rhamnose-containing microbial polysaccharide has been produced by Klebsiella sp. I-714. strain. The polysaccharide has been used as a source for the obtention of L-rhamnose. A biotechnological process has been developed to purify the hydrolyzed polysaccharide (EPSH), which contains rhamnose, galactose and glucuronic acid.Microbial removal of galactose is followed by a continuous chromatographie separation of glucuronic acid to render pure rhamnose.The technical feasibility of the process has been studied, with special emphasis on microbial inhibitor's removal.This work was funded by the project AGRE-0011 of the ECLAIR program and CTT-480 of the VALUE program (European Communities). The research was also sponsored by the Spanish program on Biotechnology (CICYT) BI089-1106CE.     

Cell adhesion and migration in the organization of spinal motor neurons

Spinal motor neurons are critical to the ability of animals to move and thus essential to survival. Motor neurons that project axons to distinct limb-muscle targets are topographically organized such that central nervous system position reflects the location of the muscle in the limb. The central positioning of limb-projecting motor neurons arises during development through motor neuron migration followed by a period of coalescence into discrete groupings of motor neurons which project axons to an individual muscle. These so-called motor pools are a common feature of motor organization in higher vertebrates. Recent work has highlighted the critical role for armadillo family member catenin-dependent functions of the cadherin family of cell adhesion molecules in directing the organization of motor neurons. Cadherin function appears to be important for both the motor neuron migration and coalescence phases of the emergence of motor neuron topography. Here, I review this recent work in the context of our understanding of the general development of spinal motor neurons.