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As part of its Geo-mapping for Energy and Minerals program, the Geological Survey of Canada included the Hudson Bay Basin in its research portfolio with the goal of generating a modern understanding of its geological framework and a precise knowledge of its hydrocarbon systems. The Hudson Bay-Foxe Basins GEM-1 project led to the proposal of modern stratigraphic frameworks and produced extensive geochemical data on hydrocarbon source rocks as well as data on diverse burial-thermal indicators. Satellite data were acquired over the entire offshore domain in the search for evidence for active hydrocarbon systems. For the Hudson-Ungava GEM-2 project, the aim of the research activities was to better understand local and regional factors associated with the burial and exhumation histories as they pertain to regional or local hydrocarbon prospectivity. This research led to a basin-scale stratigraphic framework coupled with detailed analyses of hydrocarbon generation and the appraisal of the best potential reservoir units.

Objectives There is currently a low level of evidence for the impact of patient education on the management of patients with chronic neurological disease at risk of developing pressure ulcers. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of a patient education programme on pressure ulcer prevention in patients with chronic spinal cord injuries. Materials and methods This study included adult patients with any spinal cord injury, regardless of the cause. Participants attended 2 group workshops focusing on pressure ulcer prevention. Various clinical data were gathered during an initial individual interview and at 3, 6 and 12 months, along with rating scale values from the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Rosenberg self-esteem scale, Schwarzer self-efficacy scale, a quality of life scale (SF-36) and the revised Skin Management Needs Assessment Checklist (Revised SMnac), which was used as the primary endpoint. Results Twenty patients were included in the study. The mean patient age was 52 years (SD: 9,8). Sixteen patients had traumatic spinal cord injuries, with a median injury duration of 234 months (IQR: 123–407). Seventy-five percent had had a pressure ulcer in the twelve months prior to the study. Patient education was shown to have a significant impact on skin management ability, with a highly significant increase in the overall revised SMnac score at 3 months. These results were stable over time, from 6 to 12 months. Six patients developed a pressure ulcer during the study (30%). Conclusion This study supports the hypothesis that a therapeutic educational program conducted at the chronic phase in spinal cord injured individuals has an impact.

Introduction: The RAVE trial has revolutionized induction treatment of anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA)-Associated Vasculitis (AAV)by demonstrating the non-inferiority of rituximab (RT...

Objective 16S rRNA PCR (16S PCR) performed on clinical samples contributes to bacterial identification in cases of negative culture due to an antibiotic therapy. Sensitivity of the 16S PCR is low (19–42%). Little data is available on its impact on the management of patients. We aimed to evaluate the contribution of 16S PCR to diagnosis and therapeutic management at the university hospital of Dijon, France. Patients and methods 16S PCR was performed on the clinical specimens of 132 patients. Clinical settings, laboratory results, and data on antibiotic therapy were collected, as well as conclusions drawn from the 16S PCR result by physicians. Each case was analyzed to determine if the 16S PCR was helpful. The relevance of the 16S PCR was also assessed. Results The 16S PCR yield was 27.3%, ranging from 14.3% to 64.3% depending on the type of specimen. 16S PCR had a positive impact on diagnosis in 28.8% of cases. Five negative 16S PCR results were considered helpful as they contributed to ruling out bacterial infection. 16S PCR led to treatment changes in six patients (4.5%): three narrower spectrums, two treatment adaptations, and one discontinuation. The 16S PCR was considered “non-relevant” in 35 cases (26.5%). None of these 35 PCRs contributed to the patient's management. Conclusion Physicians should be aware of performances of 16S PCR. Dialogue between physicians and bacteriologists is essential for appropriate selection of indications and correct interpretation of results.

Liquid ingredients in livestock feed are often added by spraying through commercial agricultural nozzles to a powdery matrix of mash feed. Homogenously distributing these ingredients is of utmost importance to achieve the required quality. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of working pressure, fluid temperature, and nozzle type and orifice size on droplet diameter distributions and spray area, which may influence liquid applications on feed. Optical diagnostics methods were used to study droplet size distributions and spray morphologies. DL-2-hydroxy-4-(methylthio)-butanoic acid, a common liquid additive, was chosen for this study. The spray droplet size distribution was coarser with conditions of low temperature and/or low pressure, while it was finer with high pressure and/or high temperature in a nonlinear way, sometimes giving bimodal distributions. The spray angle decreased strongly with temperature and/or pressure. Flat fan nozzles in this study produced sprays with greater maximum spray angle than the tested full cone nozzle but also with less regular droplet distributions. This work shows the effect that working parameters, and nozzle configuration have on spray morphology, particularly spray angle and volumetric droplet size distributions, and helps in the choice regarding these characteristics to improve spray applications for livestock feed manufacturing.

In the framework of ChArMEx (the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment), the air quality model Polyphemus is used to understand the sources of inorganic and organic particles in the western Mediterranean and evaluate the uncertainties linked to the model parameters (meteorological fields, anthropogenic and sea-salt emissions and hypotheses related to the model representation of condensation/evaporation). The model is evaluated by comparisons to in situ aerosol measurements performed during three consecutive summers (2012, 2013 and 2014). The model-to-measurement comparisons concern the concentrations of PM10, PM1, organic matter in PM1 (OM1) and inorganic aerosol concentrations monitored at a remote site (Ersa) on Corsica Island, as well as airborne measurements performed above the western Mediterranean Sea. Organic particles are mostly from biogenic origin. The model parameterization of sea-salt emissions has been shown to strongly influence the concentrations of all particulate species (PM10, PM1, OM1 and inorganic concentrations). Although the emission of organic matter by the sea has been shown to be low, organic concentrations are influenced by sea-salt emissions; this is owing to the fact that they provide a mass onto which gaseous hydrophilic organic compounds can condense. PM10, PM1, OM1 are also very sensitive to meteorology, which affects not only the transport of pollutants but also natural emissions (biogenic and sea salt). To avoid large and unrealistic sea-salt concentrations, a parameterization with an adequate wind speed power law is chosen. Sulfate is shown to be strongly influenced by anthropogenic (ship) emissions. PM10, PM1, OM1 and sulfate concentrations are better described using the emission inventory with the best spatial description of ship emissions (EDGAR-HTAP). However, this is not true for nitrate, ammonium and chloride concentrations, which are very dependent on the hypotheses used in the model regarding condensation/evaporation. Model simulations show that sea-salt aerosols above the sea are not mixed with background transported aerosols. Taking the mixing state of particles with a dynamic approach to condensation/evaporation into account may be necessary to accurately represent inorganic aerosol concentrations.

Objectives Understanding the drivers of delays from diagnosis to treatment can elucidate how to reduce the time to treatment (TTT) in patients with prostate cancer. In addition, the available treatments depending on the stage of cancer can vary widely for many reasons. This study investigated the relationship of TTT and treatment choice with sociodemographic factors in patients with prostate cancer who underwent external beam radiation therapy (RT), radical prostatectomy (RP), androgen deprivation therapy (ADT), or active surveillance (AS) at a safety-net academic medical center. Methods and materials A retrospective review was performed on 1088 patients who were diagnosed with nonmetastatic prostate cancer between January 2005 and December 2013. Demographic data as well as data on TTT, initial treatment choice, American Joint Committee on Cancer stage, and National Comprehensive Cancer Network risk categories were collected. Analyses of variance and multivariable logistic regression models were performed to analyze the relationship of these factors with treatment choice and TTT. Results Age, race, and marital status were significantly related to treatment choice. Patients who were nonwhite and older than 60 years were less likely to undergo RP. Black patients were 3.8 times more likely to undergo RT compared with white patients. The median TTT was 75 days. Longer time delays were significant in patients of older age, nonwhite race/ethnicity, non-English speakers, those with noncommercial insurance, and those with non-married status. The average TTT of high-risk patients was 25 days longer than that of low-risk patients. Patients who underwent RT had an average TTT that was 34 days longer than that of RP patients. Conclusions The treatment choice and TTT of patients with prostate cancer are affected by demographic factors such as age, race, marital status, and insurance, as well as clinical factors including stage and risk category of disease.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE(S) TRUS-guided biopsies still yield a notable rate of sampling error for prostate cancer (PCa) and do not allow in situ characterization. Raman spectroscopy (RS) is a minimally invasive optical imaging modality allowing to measure tissue properties within seconds. In this study, we present the first in man results from a navigated RS optical probe used to confirm sites of tumor burden during HDR brachytherapy. MATERIALS/METHODS The study included 8 prospectively recruited subjects with PCa prior to HDR brachytherapy. An electromagnetic (EM) guidance system was used to navigate in vivo RS acquisition using MRI-TRUS image fusion, and integrated within the HDR brachytherapy procedure workflow. The optical device includes a dual wavelength laser source (680 and 785 nm), a spectrometer, a custom design probe, and an acquisition/processing software. For each case, deformable registration of mpMRI (with prostate, urethra and GTV segmentations) to interventional 3D TRUS reconstructed images (with prostate and urethra segmentations), enabled visualization of GTV with the navigation system. The EM tracked RS probe was inserted through a co-axial needle. Once in place, high wavenumber (HW) and fingerprint (FP) spectra were measured, a biopsy was taken at the corresponding site, and the location was recorded; then, the HDR brachytherapy procedure resumed. Biopsy samples were evaluated histologically to confirm presence of cancer. For the radiomics analysis, 8 first order and 8 GLCM image features were calculated on the MRI (T2W and ADC), extracted from the corresponding optically scanned sites, using open-source software. RESULTS In total, 26 sites were inspected with the RS probe and biopsied (range 2-5 per case). The pathology results identified 14 samples as cancer (Gleason score ≥ 7) and 12 samples as benign. On average the optical measurements took 45 seconds per site (range 23-90) and added 20 minutes (range 15-24) to the intervention. The spectra were pre-processed and labeled according to the pathology results. Neighborhood component analysis was applied to select the features that optimize the prediction performance, extracting 15 features from FP, 1 from HW and 11 from MRI radiomics. Classification models using a support vector machine were trained with a leave one out scheme for evaluation, using different feature combinations. Table 1 presents the average results over all folds. CONCLUSION We presented an image-guided system allowing the first in situ characterization of prostate lesions with RS during brachytherapy, in a manner integrated with the procedural workflow. The acquired spectra from benign and malignant regions show promising preliminary data, demonstrating the potential of the technique for real-time PCa confirmation. Finally, the combination of optical and MRI features yields an improvement in classification accuracy.