Surgical declarative knowledge learning: concept and acceptability study.

Improving surgical training by means of technology assistance is an important challenge that aims to directly impact surgical quality. Surgical training includes the acquisition of two categories of knowledge: declarative knowledge (i.e. 'knowing what') and procedural knowledge (i.e. 'knowing how'). It is essential to acquire both before performing any particular surgery. There are currently many tools for acquiring procedural knowledge, such as simulators. However, few approaches or tools allow a trainer to formalize and record surgical declarative knowledge, and a trainee to have easy access to it. In this paper, we propose an approach for structuring surgical declarative knowledge according to procedural knowledge and based on surgical process modeling. A dedicated software application has been implemented. We evaluated the concept and the software usability on two procedures with different medical populations: endoscopic third ventriculostomy involving 6 neurosurgeons and preparation of a surgical table for craniotomy involving 4 scrub nurses. The results of both studies show that surgical process models could be a well-adapted approach for structuring and visualizing surgical declarative knowledge. The software application was perceived by neurosurgeons and scrub nurses as an innovative tool for managing and presenting surgical knowledge. The preliminary results show that the feasibility of the proposed approach and the acceptability and usability of the corresponding software. Future experiments will study impact of such an approach on knowledge acquisition.

Intestinal variation of serotonin, melatonin, and digestive enzymes activities along food passage time through GIT in Salmo salar fed with supplemented diets with tryptophan and melatonin.

In teleosts, peripheral serotonin (5-HT) and melatonin (MEL) are synthesised in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and regulate secretion and motility processes. Their production is regulated by diet and the passage of food through the GIT. This study aimed to evaluate how intestinal 5-HT, melatonin, and the activity of digestive enzymes varied with food passage time through GIT in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). We fed fish diets supplemented with tryptophan and melatonin (L-Trp 2.5% and MEL 0.01%) and measured the activity of digestive enzymes (amylase, lipase, and total protease) in the pyloric caeca, midgut, and hindgut at different times after feeding. 5-HT levels increased in all GIT portions and diets at 120 min post-intake and were highest in the pyloric caeca. Intestinal enzymatic activity was varied with diet, post-intake time and in different intestinal portions. In conclusion, food passage time directly affects GIT 5-HT secretion and digestive enzyme activity in S. salar, and diet composition regulates S. salar GIT function.

Ectoparasite Caligus rogercresseyi modifies the lactate response in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch).

Although Caligus rogercresseyi negatively impacts Chilean salmon farming, the metabolic effects of infection by this sea louse have never been completely characterized. Therefore, this study analyzed lactate responses in the plasma, as well as the liver/muscle lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity and gene expression, in Salmo salar and Oncorhynchus kisutch infested by C. rogercresseyi. The lactate responses of Atlantic and Coho salmon were modified by the ectoparasite. Both salmon species showed increasing in plasma levels, whereas enzymatic activity increased in the muscle but decreased in the liver. Gene expression was overexpressed in both Coho salmon tissues but only in the liver for Atlantic salmon. These results suggest that salmonids need more energy to adapt to infection, resulting in increased gene expression, plasma levels, and enzyme activity in the muscles. The responses differed between both salmon species and over the course of infection, suggesting potential species-specific responses to sea-lice infection.