bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Institutions and Gender
Authors: Prügl Elisabeth , Thompson Hayley Anna
Published: November 2018

Feminism seeks to establish educational and professional opportunities for women that are equal to such opportunities for men. Until now, women face serious inequalities based on social institutions such as norms, cultural traditions, and informal family laws. Scholars argue that this aspect has so far been neglected in international policy debates, and that there needs to be further discussion about the economic status of women (labor force participation); women’s access to resources, such as education (literacy) or heath (life expectancy); and the political empowerment of women (women in ministerial positions). In some instances, social norms such as female genital mutilation or any other type of violence against women–within or outside of the household–not only violate women’s basic human rights, but seriously impair their health status and future chances in a professional career. Gender stereotypes are also frequently brought up as one disadvantage to women during the hiring process, and as one explanation of the lack of women in key organizational positions. Liberal feminist theory states that due to these systemic factors of oppression and discrimination, women are often deprived of equal work experiences because they are not provided equal opportunities on the basis of legal rights. Liberal feminists further propose that an end needs to be put to gender discrimination through legal means, leading to equality and major economic redistributions.
Anthropology Between Academia and Practice
Authors: Ginsberg Daniel
Published: November 2018

Anthropological skills and perspectives are of use in many professional contexts, and in a few industries, the value of anthropology is generally accepted: historic preservation, public health, and user experience research are prominent examples. As a result, a vibrant community of “practicing,” “professional,” “public,” and “applied” anthropologists has taken root in a variety of non-academic settings. The relationship between academia and professional practice is sometimes difficult, however, as some practitioners feel stigmatized or excluded by academics, while others inhabit professional spaces where academic anthropology is largely irrelevant.

While anthropologists often speak of a “divide” or “split” between academic and practicing anthropology, this view overlooks the fact that much work in the discipline maintains a presence both inside and outside of higher education institutions. Not only do anthropologists often form collaborative partnerships among members with diverse professional commitments, but individual anthropologists may simultaneously maintain both academic and non-academic affiliations, and they may move among professional spheres over the course of their career. If we are to reach a full understanding of the profession, we must move beyond a simplistic “academic/practitioner” dualism to consider these diverse professional contexts and work-life trajectories.
Universities and Information Centers in U.S. Cities
Authors: Winling LaDale
Published: November 2018

The transformation of post-industrial American life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries includes several economically robust metropolitan centers that stand as new models of urban and economic life, featuring well-educated populations that engage in professional practices in education, medical care, design and legal services, and artistic and cultural production. By the early 21st century, these cities dominated the nation’s consciousness economically and culturally, standing in for the most dynamic and progressive sectors of the economy, driven by collections of technical and creative spark. The origins of these academic and knowledge centers are rooted in the political economy, including investments shaped by federal policy and philanthropic ambition. Education and health care communities were and remain frequently economically robust but also rife with racial, economic, and social inequality, and riddled with resulting political tensions over development. These information communities fundamentally incubated and directed the proceeds of the new economy, but also constrained who accessed this new mode of wealth in the knowledge economy.
Law in Early America
Authors: Hadden Sally
Published: November 2018

Law in early America came from many sources. To focus exclusively on the English common law excludes other vital sources including (but not limited to) civil law, canon law, lex mercatoria (the law merchant), and custom. Also, the number of sources increases the farther back in time one goes and the greater the geographic area under consideration.

By the 18th century, common law had come to dominate, but not snuff out, other competing legal traditions, in part due to the numerical, political, military, and linguistic advantages of its users. English colonists were well-acquainted with the common law, but after arriving in the New World, the process of adaptation to new experiences and new surroundings meant that English common law would undergo numerous alterations.

Colonists in early America had to create legal explanations for the dispossession of Native American land and the appropriation of labor by enslaved Native Americans and Africans. Their colonial charters provided that all colonial law must conform to English law, but deviations began to appear in several areas almost from the first moment of colonization. When controversies arose within the colonies, not all disagreements were settled in courts: churches and merchants provided alternative settings to arbitrate disputes. In part, other groups provided mediation because there were so few trained lawyers and judges available in 17th-century colonies. By the 18th century, however, the number of trained practitioners increased, and the sophistication of legal knowledge in the colonies grew. The majority of legal work handled by colonial lawyers concerned contracts and property.

Law and the language of rights became more widely used by early Americans as the English attempted to tighten their control over the colonists in the mid-18th century. Rights and law became firmly linked with the Revolution in the minds of Americans, so much so that law, rights, and the American Revolution continue to form an integral part of American national identity.
The American City and Environmental Pollution
Authors: McCammack Brian J.
Published: November 2018

Urban areas have been the main source of pollution for centuries. The United States is no exception to this more general rule. Pollution of air, water, and soil only multiplied as cities grew in size and complexity; people generated ever more domestic waste and industry continually generated new unwanted byproducts. Periods of pollution intensification—most notably those spurts that came with late 19th-century urban industrialization and the rapid technological innovation and consumer culture of the post-World War II era—spurred social movements and scientific research on the problem, mostly as it pertained to adverse impacts on human health. Technological innovations aimed to eliminate unwanted wastes and more stringent regulations followed. Those technological and political solutions largely failed to keep pace with the increasing volume and diversity of pollutants industrial capitalism introduced into the environment, however, and rarely stopped pollution at its root cause. Instead, they often merely moved pollutants from one “sink”—a repository of pollution—to another (from water to land, for instance) and/or from one place to another (to a city downstream, for instance, or from one urban neighborhood to another).

This “end of pipe” approach remained overwhelmingly predominant even as most pollution mitigation policies became nationalized in the 1970s. Prior to that, municipalities and states were primarily responsible for addressing air, water, and land pollution. During this post-World War II period, policy—driven by ecological science—began to exhibit an understanding of urban pollution’s detrimental effects beyond human health. More broadly, evolving scientific understanding of human health and ecosystemic impacts of pollution, new technology, and changing social relations within growing metropolitan areas shifted the public perception of pollution’s harmful impacts. Scientific understanding of how urban and suburban residents risked ill health when exposed to polluted water, air, and soil grew, as did the social understanding of who was most vulnerable to these hazards. From the nation’s founding, the cumulative impact of both urban exposure to pollutants and attempts to curb that exposure has been unequal along lines of race and ethnicity, class, and gender. Despite those consistent inequalities, the 21st-century American city looks little like the 18th-century American city, whether in terms of population size, geographical footprint, demographics, economic activity, or the policies that governed them: all of these factors influenced the very definitions of ideas such as pollution and the urban.
Christianity in Hawaiʻi
Authors: Williams Jr. Ronald
Published: November 2018

On January 17, 1893, Her Majesty Queen Liliʻuokalani, sovereign of the Hawaiian Kingdom, was overthrown in a coup de main led by a faction of business leaders comprised largely of descendants of the 1820 American Protestant mission to the “Sandwich Islands.” Rev. Charles Hyde, an officer of the ecclesiastic Papa Hawaiʻi (Hawaiian Board) declared, “Hawaii is the first Country in which the American missionaries have labored, whose political relations to the United States have been changed as a result of missionary labors.” The actions of these “Sons of the Mission” were enabled by U.S. naval forces landed from the USS Boston the evening prior.

Despite blatant and significant connections between early Christian missionaries to Hawaiʻi and their entrepreneurial progeny, the 1893 usurpation of native rule was not the result of a teleological seventy-year presence in the Hawaiian Kingdom by the American Protestant Church. An 1863 transfer of authority over the Hawaiian mission from the Boston-based American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM) to the local ʻAhahui ʻEuanelio o Hawaiʻi (AEH) (Hawaiian Evangelical Association) served as a pivotal inflection point that decidedly altered the original mission, driving a political and economic agenda masked only by the professed goals of the ecclesiastic institution. Christianity, conveyed to the Hawaiian Islands initially by representatives of the ABCFM, became a contested tool of religio-political significance amidst competing foreign and native claims on leadership in both church and state. In the immediate aftermath of the January 1893 overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government, this introduced religion became a central tool of the Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) struggle for a return of their queen and the continued independence of their nation.

Native Christian patriots organized and conducted a broad array of political actions from within the churches of the AEH using claims on Ke Akua (God) and Christianity as a foundation for their vision of continued native rule. These efforts were instrumental in the defeat of two proposed treaties of annexation of their country—1893 and 1897—before the United States, declaring control of the archipelago a strategic necessity in fighting the Spanish/Filipino–American War, took possession of Hawaiʻi in late 1898. Widespread Americanization efforts in the islands during the early 20th century filtered into Hawaiʻi’s Christian churches, transforming many of these previous focal points of relative radicalism into conservative defenders of the American way. A late-20th-century resurgence of cultural and political activism among Kanaka Maoli, fostered by a “Hawaiian Renaissance” begun in the 1970s, has driven a public and academic reexamination of the past and present role of Christianity in this current-day American outpost in the center of the Pacific.
The Marketplace and Religion in America
Authors: Silliman Daniel
Published: November 2018

There is a long and complicated relationship between religious activities and marketplace activities in the United States. Despite popular expectations that these spheres of life, the sacred and profane, ought to be completely separate, the two are often intimately related. Further, the relationship is messy, multifold, and complex.

In contemporary American life, the connections are readily visible. Churches employ branding experts, while tech companies forgo profit to promote disruptions that promise to save the world. Christians organize financial seminars and corporations sponsor spiritual retreats. According to the Supreme Court, some companies have religious beliefs. Meanwhile, the spiritual-but-not-religious express their spirituality with practices of ethical consumption. Advertisers promise “your best life now,” as do prosperity preachers. The sacrament of marriage is worth billions, built on the belief that the special day deserves and requires special expense. Holidays are big business, and so are Bibles.

This is not a new phenomenon, either. It was a religious group that invented corn flakes. The Massachusetts Bay Colony was a joint stock company before it was a model for Christian charity. The Quakers made an economic argument for religious freedom. Revivalist preachers were often as skilled in advertizing as they were in sermonizing. The leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints faced religious persecution in Ohio in the 1850s, but were also opposed because of their wildcat bank. It was economic interests that brought the Catholic and Jewish immigrants, who challenged Protestant dominance of American life. End-to-end, American culture is chockfull of case studies of the manifold, mutual, and often highly contradictory forms of interaction between religion and marketplace.

Religion-and-the-marketplace studies examine these interactions. The field is quite diverse, and includes a number of different disciplines that ask different questions. There are, broadly speaking, three approaches to religion-and-the-marketplace studies. One looks at the market conditions that shaped or influenced religious movements. One makes use of economic terms to explain religious diversity in America. One looks at the underlying assumptions that unite religious activity and market activity.
Social Progressivism and Religion in America
Authors: Trodd Zoe
Published: November 2018

American reformers have always put religion at the heart of their protest movements. They have invoked divine law and the word of God, ignored expediency and pragmatics, and acted on behalf of a transcendent truth. Nearly all major progressive reform movements have drawn on religious belief as they envisioned a new society. In particular, the American prophetic mode has been crucial to the reform tradition. American reformers in nearly all of the country’s reform movements of the past two hundred years have used the prophetic mode. But of the major reform movements, abolitionism and anti-lynching were the most thoroughly infused with religion. Abolitionists drew on the imagery of both Revelation and the Old Testament God of war, infusing their performative martyrdoms with apocalyptic imagery. They depicted Christ as the warrior of Revelation and Christ as the son of the Old Testament vengeful God, transforming the abolitionist martyr into the abolitionist messiah: a portent of divine judgment. Anti-lynching activists echoed and revised abolitionism’s Christ-like sacrifice for white America’s soul and created a series of black Christs that restaged the passion play for the Jim Crow South. This reform rhetoric, displaying the same righteous anger as abolitionists, met the religious imagery of racists head-on and turned anti-lynching’s calls for social change into a sacred text. At the heart of both major movements, which laid the groundwork for the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s and for the Black Lives Matter movement of the 21st century, was a messianic martyrdom that countered the religious justifications for slavery, lynching, and white supremacy.
Esoteric Buddhism in Southeast Asia
Authors: McGovern Nathan
Published: November 2018

“Esoteric Buddhism” and “Buddhist Tantra” are contested categories to begin with in Buddhist studies; within the specific context of the study of Buddhism in Southeast Asia, they are doubly contested. That is, on top of the usual contestations applying to these categories within the contexts in which they are usually studied—medieval north India, Tibet, and Zhenyan/Shingon in East Asia—there arises the issue of whether and to what extent these categories are applicable to Southeast Asian Buddhism. There are two discrete ways in which the category “esoteric Buddhism” can be used as a lens through which to study aspects of Southeast Asian Buddhism. The first is historical and pertains to the usual referent of “esoteric Buddhism,” namely, Tantra as an aspect or subdivision of Mahāyāna Buddhism (mantranaya). Although Mahāyāna Buddhism is no longer a major force within Southeast Asian Buddhism (aside from Vietnamese Buddhism, which shares more affinities with East Asian Buddhism), Mahāyāna Buddhism did play a significant role in several “classical” Southeast Asian states in the past, and there is some evidence of mantranaya ideas and practices within certain historical Southeast Asian Mahāyāna contexts. The second way in which “esoteric Buddhism” can be applied to Southeast Asian Buddhism is as a (putative) aspect of Theravāda or Pali Buddhism, which continues to be practiced over much of mainland Southeast Asia to the present day. Certain aspects of contemporary (and recent historical) Theravāda/Pali Buddhism have been labeled variously “Tantric Theravāda” or “esoteric Southern Buddhism” out of perceived similarities to the more familiar system of Mahāyāna Buddhist Tantra.
The Economic Impact of Critical National Infrastructure Failure Due to Space Weather
Authors: Oughton Edward J.
Published: November 2018

Space weather is a collective term for different solar or space phenomena that can detrimentally affect technology. However, current understanding of space weather hazards is still relatively embryonic in comparison to terrestrial natural hazards such as hurricanes, earthquakes, or tsunamis. Indeed, certain types of space weather such as large Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) are an archetypal example of a low-probability, high-severity hazard. Few major events, short time-series data, and the lack of consensus regarding the potential impacts on critical infrastructure have hampered the economic impact assessment of space weather. Yet, space weather has the potential to disrupt a wide range of Critical National Infrastructure (CNI) systems including electricity transmission, satellite communications and positioning, aviation, and rail transportation.

In the early 21st century, there has been growing interest in these potential economic and societal impacts. Estimates range from millions of dollars of equipment damage from the Quebec 1989 event, to some analysts asserting that losses will be in the billions of dollars in the wider economy from potential future disaster scenarios. Hence, the origin and development of the socioeconomic evaluation of space weather is tracked, from 1989 to 2017, and future research directions for the field are articulated. Since 1989, many economic analyzes of space weather hazards have often completely overlooked the physical impacts on infrastructure assets and the topology of different infrastructure networks. Moreover, too many studies have relied on qualitative assumptions about the vulnerability of CNI. By modeling both the vulnerability of critical infrastructure and the socioeconomic impacts of failure, the total potential impacts of space weather can be estimated, providing vital information for decision makers in government and industry.

Efforts on this subject have historically been relatively piecemeal, which has led to little exploration of model sensitivities, particularly in relation to different assumption sets about infrastructure failure and restoration. Improvements may be expedited in this research area by open-sourcing model code, increasing the existing level of data sharing, and improving multidisciplinary research collaborations between scientists, engineers, and economists.
Long-term outcomes of pneumonectomy, back-table lung preservation, double-sleeve resection and reimplantation for advanced central lung cancer: the Oto procedure
Authors: Tanaka Shin , Sugimoto Seiichiro , Soh Junichi , Oto Takahiro
Published: November 2018

The technique of pneumonectomy, back-table lung preservation, double-sleeve resection and reimplantation of basal segments (the Oto procedure) has been proposed as a useful technique for the management of locally advanced central lung cancer with short-term follow-up. We report the long-term outcomes of 5 consecutive patients who underwent the Oto procedure.
Percutaneous coronary intervention in cancer patients: a report of the prevalence and outcomes in the United States
Authors: Potts Jessica E , Iliescu Cezar A , Lopez Mattei Juan C , Martinez Sara C , Holmvang Lene , Ludman Peter , De Belder Mark A , Kwok Chun Shing , Rashid Muhammad , Fischman David L , Mamas Mamas A
Published: November 2018

Aims

This study aims to examine the temporal trends and outcomes in patients who undergo percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with a previous or current diagnosis of cancer, according to cancer type and the presence of metastases.

Methods and results

Individuals undergoing PCI between 2004 and 2014 in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample were included in the study. Multivariable analyses were used to determine the association between cancer diagnosis and in-hospital mortality and complications. 6 571 034 PCI procedures were included and current and previous cancer rates were 1.8% and 5.8%, respectively. Both rates increased over time and the four most common cancers were prostate, breast, colon, and lung cancer. Patients with a current lung cancer had greater in-hospital mortality (odds ratio (OR) 2.81, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 2.37–3.34) and any in-hospital complication (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10–1.36), while current colon cancer was associated with any complication (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.90–2.48) and bleeding (OR 3.65, 95% CI 3.07–4.35) but not mortality (OR 1.39, 95% CI 0.99–1.95). A current diagnosis of breast was not significantly associated with either in-hospital mortality or any of the complications studied and prostate cancer was only associated with increased risk of bleeding (OR 1.41, 95% CI 1.20–1.65). A historical diagnosis of lung cancer was independently associated with an increased OR of in-hospital mortality (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.32–2.05).

Conclusions

Cancer among patients receiving PCI is common and the prognostic impact of cancer is specific both for the type of cancer, presence of metastases and whether the diagnosis is historical or current. Treatment of patients with a cancer diagnosis should be individualized and involve a close collaboration between cardiologists and oncologists.
Virulence factor-dependent basolateral invasion of choroid plexus epithelial cells by pathogenic Escherichia coli in vitro
Authors: Rose Rebekah , Häuser Svenja , Stump-Guthier Carolin , Weiss Christel , Rohde Manfred , Kim Kwang Sik , Ishikawa Hiroshi , Schroten Horst , Schwerk Christian , Adam Rüdiger
Published: November 2018

Escherichia coli is the most common Gram-negative causative agent of neonatal meningitis and E. coli meningitis is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Previous research has been carried out with regard to the blood–brain barrier and thereby unveiled an assortment of virulence factors involved in E. coli meningitis. Little, however, is known about the role of the blood–cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier (BCSFB), in spite of several studies suggesting that the choroid plexus (CP) is a possible entry point for E. coli into the CSF spaces. Here, we used a human CP papilloma (HIBCPP) cell line that was previously established as valid model for the study of the BCSFB. We show that E. coli invades HIBCPP cells in a polar fashion preferentially from the physiologically relevant basolateral side. Moreover, we demonstrate that deletion of outer membrane protein A, ibeA or neuDB genes results in decreased cell infection, while absence of fimH enhances invasion, although causing reduced adhesion to the apical side of HIBCPP cells. Our findings suggest that the BCSFB might constitute an entry point for E. coli into the central nervous system, and HIBCPP cells are a valuable tool for investigating E. coli entry of the BCSFB.
Potential for managing life history diversity in a commercially exploited intermediate predator, the goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris)
Authors: Olsen Esben Moland , Halvorsen Kim Tallaksen , Larsen Torkel , Kuparinen Anna
Published: November 2018

Small-bodied wrasse species are important for structuring coastal marine ecosystems but are also increasingly harvested as parasite cleaners on farmed salmon. Identifying management regulations that will support long-term sustainability of wrasse fisheries is challenging, because there is still limited knowledge about the impacts of fisheries on the demography of these intermediate predators in their natural environments. To this end, we studied individual growth histories of goldsinny wrasse (Ctenolabrus rupestris) at a fine spatial scale across replicated marine protected areas (MPAs) and areas open to commercial harvesting on the Norwegian coast. The MPAs were established 1–7 years prior to our sampling. We detected significant fine-scale spatial variation in wrasse asymptotic body size, but found no consistent difference between MPAs and fished areas. Male wrasses reached larger asymptotic body sizes than females, whereas fyke nets captured individuals with larger asymptotic body sizes compared with baited traps. These are the two commonly used gear types in wrasse fisheries. An extended use of baited traps, along with slot-size limits, could therefore aid in protecting large-growing phenotypes such as nest-guarding males.
Cytidine deaminase enables Toll-like receptor 8 activation by cytidine or its analogs
Authors: Furusho Katsuhiro , Shibata Takuma , Sato Ryota , Fukui Ryutaro , Motoi Yuji , Zhang Yun , Saitoh Shin-ichiroh , Ichinohe Takeshi , Moriyama Masafumi , Nakamura Seiji , Miyake Kensuke
Published: November 2018

Toll-like receptor 8 (TLR8), a sensor for pathogen-derived single-stranded RNA (ssRNA), binds to uridine (Uri) and ssRNA to induce defense responses. We here show that cytidine (Cyd) with ssRNA also activated TLR8 in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) and a myeloid cell line U937, but not in an embryonic kidney cell line 293T. Cyd deaminase (CDA), an enzyme highly expressed in leukocytes, deaminates Cyd to Uri. CDA expression enabled TLR8 response to Cyd and ssRNA in 293T cells. CDA deficiency and a CDA inhibitor both reduced TLR8 responses to Cyd and ssRNA in U937. The CDA inhibitor also reduced PBL response to Cyd and ssRNA. A Cyd analogue, azacytidine, is used for the therapy of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia. Azacytidine with ssRNA induced tumor necrosis factor-α expression in U937 and PBLs in a manner dependent on CDA and TLR8. These results suggest that CDA enables TLR8 activation by Cyd or its analogues with ssRNA through deaminating activity. Nucleoside metabolism might impact TLR8 responses in a variety of situations such as the treatment with nucleoside analogues.
Topological quantum states of matter in iron-based superconductors: from concept to material realization
Authors: Hao Ning , Hu Jiangping
Published: November 2018

We review recent progress in the exploration of topological quantum states of matter in iron-based superconductors. In particular, we focus on the non-trivial topology existing in the band structures and superconducting states of iron’s 3d orbitals. The basic concepts, models, materials and experimental results are reviewed. The natural integration between topology and high-temperature superconductivity in iron-based superconductors provides great opportunities to study topological superconductivity and Majorana modes at high temperature.
Starspots in contact and semi-detached binary systems
Authors: Kouzuma Shinjirou
Published: November 2018

We investigated the statistical properties of both cool and hot starspots in eclipsing binary stars. The starspot and binary parameters for contact and semi-detached systems were collected from literature, determined on the basis of synthetic light-curve analysis. We examined associations between these parameters. It was found that the cool spots in W-type binaries show properties similar to those of sunspots and starspots generated by dynamos, which differs from those of the cool spots in A-type binaries.The properties of hotspots also differ between the W- and A-type samples. From the physical properties of A- and W-type binaries, we infer that mass transfer is a dominant process for forming the hotspots in A-type binaries, and that both mass transfer and magnetic activity can contribute to the formation of the hotspots in W-type binaries. Our results also indicate that the hotspot size in the A-type sample is correlated with the temperature of spotted stars, orbital period, mass ratio, and fill-out factor.
Mifepristone Pretreatment for the Medical Management of Early Pregnancy Loss
Authors: Schreiber C.A. , Creinin M.D. , Atrio J. , Sonalkar S. , Ratcliffe S.J. , Barnhart K.T.
Published: November 2018

(N Engl J Med. 2018;378:2161–2170)

First-trimester miscarriage, or early pregnancy loss, is the most common complication in pregnancy. It can frequently be identified before onset of symptoms, and many women prefer active management, which provides the ability to have some control over the situation. Current guidelines recommend the use of prostaglandin analogues to expedite the expulsion of nonviable pregnancy tissue, with a standard dose of 800 μg misoprostol administered vaginally. However, misoprostol has low efficacy among women with a closed cervical os. Although mifepristone, a 19-nor steroid, can help to prepare the myometrium and cervix for prostaglandin activity, its reported effectiveness ranges from 52% to 95%. The authors of the present study thus compared the efficacy of pretreatment with mifepristone followed by treatment with misoprostol with misoprostol use alone, for the management of early pregnancy loss in women with a closed cervical os.
A Validated Calculator to Estimate Risk of Cesarean After an Induction of Labor With an Unfavorable Cervix
Authors: Levine L.D. , Downes K.L. , Parry S. , Elovitz M.A. , Sammel M.D. , Srinivas S.K.
Published: November 2018

(Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2018;218(2):254.e1–254.e7)

Although >20% of pregnant women undergo induction of labor, there is a limited ability to predict success of induction. While some risk factors of failed induction have been identified, prediction models have been limited to nulliparous women. This study aimed to develop and validate a prediction model for cesarean section to supplement counseling for nulliparous and multiparous women with an unfavorable cervix undergoing induction.
Use of Combined Botulinum Toxin and Physical Therapy for Treatment Resistant Congenital Muscular Torticollis
Authors: Limpaphayom Noppachart , Kohan Eitan , Huser Aaron , Michalska-Flynn Malgorzata , Stewart Sara , Dobbs Matthew B.
Published: November 2018

Background:

Physical therapy (PT) alone is not always effective for treatment of congenital muscular torticollis (CMT). The adjunctive use of botulinum toxin (BTX) injection into the sternocleidomastoid, followed by PT, could provide correction and avoid more invasive surgery. Aims of the study were to review clinical and caregiver-reported outcomes of children with resistant CMT treated by BTX injection combined with a guided-PT program.

Methods:

Medical records of consecutive children with resistant CMT treated by our protocol between 2010 and 2015 were reviewed. A minimum 2-year follow-up was required. Demographic parameters, numbers of BTX required and pre-BTX and post-BTX head tilt and range of neck rotation were recorded. A univariate analysis test was conducted to identify variables related to the need of repeated BTX injections. A phone interview with the caregivers was done regarding their satisfaction.

Results:

A cohort of 39 patients with treatment resistant CMT were identified that had an average age of 14 (range, 6.5 to 27.6) months at initiation of BTX treatment. Multiple BTX injections were utilized in 21/39 (54%) of patients. No patient required tendon lengthening surgery. At the final evaluation, there was improvement in both head tilt (18.7±6.8 degrees vs. 1.7±2.4 degrees, mean difference (95% CI) 16.9 (14.6-19.3); P<0.001) and range of neck motion (56.0°±11.7 degrees vs. 86.0±3.8 degrees, mean difference (95% CI) 30.0 (26.1-33.9), P<0.001). Pre-BTX parameters were not associated with the requirement of repeated BTX injections (P>0.05). Caregivers were satisfied with the treatment protocol. No untoward effect was observed during the study period.

Conclusions:

The proposed minimally invasive protocol provided correction of resistant CMT and obviated the need for more invasive surgical procedures.

Level of Evidence:

Level IV.
Selection of Patients With Rectal Cancer for Preoperative Chemoradiotherapy: Are T Category and Nodal Status All That Matters?
Authors: Pooni Amandeep , Al-Sukhni Eisar , Milot Laurent , Fruitman Mark , Victor J. Charles , Schmocker Selina , Brown Gina , Kennedy Erin
Published: November 2018

BACKGROUND:

Although the accuracy of preoperative MRI staging has been established on follow-up histopathologic examination, the reproducibility of MRI staging has been evaluated in studies with expert radiologists reading a large sample of MRI images and therefore is not generalizable to the real-world setting.

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the interrater reliability of MRI for distance to the mesorectal fascia, T category, mesorectal lymph node status, and extramural depth of invasion for preoperative staging of primary rectal cancer.

DESIGN:

This was a prospective, cross-sectional survey.

SETTINGS:

The study was conducted in Ontario, Canada.

PARTICIPANTS:

Participants included GI radiologists.

INTERVENTIONS:

Participants read 5 preselected staging MRIs using a synoptic report and participated in an educational Webinar.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

Distance to the mesorectal fascia, T category, extramural depth of invasion, and mesorectal lymph node status for each MRI were abstracted. Data were analyzed in aggregate using percentage of agreement, Fleiss κ, and interclass correlation coefficients to assess interrater reliability.

RESULTS:

Reliability was highest for distance to the mesorectal fascia with an intraclass correlation of 0.58 (95% CI, 0.27–0.80). Kappa scores for T category, mesorectal lymph node status, and extramural depth of invasion were 0.38 (95% CI, 0.23–0.46), 0.41 (95% CI, 0.32–0.49), and 0.37 (95% CI, 0.16–0.82). There was no difference when radiologists were stratified by experience or volume.

LIMITATIONS:

Scores may have been affected by MRI selection, because they were chosen to demonstrate diagnostic challenges for the Webinar and did not reflect a representative sample.

CONCLUSIONS:

Interrater reliability was highest for distance to mesorectal fascia, and therefore, it may be a more reliable criterion than T category, extramural depth of invasion, or mesorectal lymph node status. Combined with the fact that an uninvolved mesorectal fascia is more consistent with the overall goal of rectal cancer surgery, it should be considered as an important MRI criterion for preoperative treatment decision making in the real-world setting. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A763.
Impact of the “Weekend Effect” for Hospital Discharges on Readmissions After Elective Colectomy
Authors: Hoang Chau M. , Alavi Karim , Flahive Julie M. , Sturrock Paul R. , Maykel Justin A. , Davids Jennifer S.
Published: November 2018

BACKGROUND:

Hospital readmissions after elective colectomy are costly and potentially preventable. It is unknown whether hospital discharge on a weekend impacts readmission risk.

OBJECTIVE:

This study aimed to use a national database to determine whether discharge on a weekend versus weekday impacts the risk of readmission, and to determine what discharge-related factors impact this risk.

DESIGN:

This investigation is a retrospective cohort study.

SETTINGS:

Data were derived from the University HealthSystem Consortium,

PATIENTS:

Adults who underwent elective colectomy from 2011 to 2015 were included.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:

The primary outcome measured was the 30-day hospital readmission rate.

RESULTS:

Of the 76,031 patients who survived the index hospitalization, the mean age of the study population was 58 years; half were men and more than 75% were white. Overall, 20,829 (27%) were discharged on the weekend, and the remaining 55,202 (73%) were discharged on weekdays. The overall 30-day readmission rate was 10.5%; 8.9% for those discharged on the weekend vs 11.1% for those discharged during the weekday (unadjusted OR, 0.78; 95% CI, 0.74–0.83). The adjusted readmission risk was lower for patients discharged home without services (routine, without organized home health service) on a weekend compared with on a weekday (adjusted OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.81–0.93; readmission rates, 7.4% vs 8.9%, p < 0.001); however, the combination of weekend discharge and the need for home services increased readmission risk (adjusted OR, 1.39; 95% CI, 1.25–1.55; readmission rate, 16.2% vs 8.9%, p < 0.001). Although patients discharged to rehabilitation and skilled nursing facilities were at an increased risk of readmission compared with those discharged to home, there was no additive increase in risk of readmission for weekend discharge.

LIMITATIONS:

Data did not capture readmission beyond 30 days or to nonindex hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS:

Patients discharged on a weekend following elective colectomy were at increased risk of readmission compared with patients discharged on a weekday if they required organized home health services. Further prospective studies are needed to identify areas of intervention to improve the discharge infrastructure. See Video Abstract at http://links.lww.com/DCR/A799.
Double Opposing Triangular Flaps for Circular Skin Defects: Clinical Considerations
Authors: Borgognone Alessandro
Published: November 2018

Background:

Dealing with circular lesions turns out to be a difficult task. Several techniques are aimed at working out the issue, and there are two main goals to achieve: less distortion of the adjacent tissue and sparing as much healthy tissue as possible.

Methods:

Six patients have been selected in a period of 6 months, the skin lesions or reoperations entailed a residual round gap up to 5 cm as a diameter. The anatomical distribution is representative of the usual experience seen in the clinical setting. The technique introduced is based on the rotation of two opposing triangular flaps facing each other from the circular skin gap. The triangular landmarks of the flaps prevent both the pinch cushioning of the margins, the resection of wedge healthy tissue needed to regularize the surface and a longer scar.

Results:

The six patients’ follow-up has been technically uneventful and subjectively satisfying.

Conclusion:

Double opposing triangular flaps are proposed as a reliable method to deal with circular skin lesions up to 5 cm of diameter.
SURGICAL MANAGEMENT OF TRAUMATIC MACULAR HOLE
Authors: Tang Yi Fan , Chang Andrew , Campbell William G. , Connell Paul P. , Hunyor Alex P. , McAllister Ian L. , Essex Rohan W. ,   for the Australian and New Zealand Society of Retinal Specialists (ANZSRS) Macular Hole Study Group
Published: November 2018

Purpose:

To report the outcomes of eyes receiving surgical management for traumatic macular holes. To describe the preoperative and postoperative optical coherence tomography features of traumatic macular holes and to explore associations between preoperative clinical and optical coherence tomography features, and visual outcome.

Methods:

Retrospective study of patients undergoing vitrectomy for traumatic macular hole and entered into the Australian and New Zealand Society of Retinal Specialists surgical registry. Preoperative clinical data, surgical details, and 3-month postoperative outcomes were recorded prospectively. Longer-term outcomes at 12 months were requested retrospectively, as were preoperative and postoperative optical coherence tomography scans.

Results:

Hole closure was achieved in 91% (21/23) of patients with a single procedure. The average preoperative visual acuity was 20/120. At 3 months postoperatively, the mean visual acuity had improved to 20/70 (P < 0.001), 11/23 (48%) of eyes improved ≥15 letters, and the number of eyes with 20/40 acuity or better increased from 1/23 to 7/23. Eyes with worse visual outcomes (visual acuity < 20/80) had larger holes, worse preoperative acuity, and a greater extent of preoperative ellipsoid band attenuation than those with better postoperative visual acuity.

Conclusion:

Eyes receiving surgical management for traumatic macular hole achieved good anatomical results and approximately half had a substantial improvement in acuity. Ellipsoid band attenuation on preoperative optical coherence tomography and worse preoperative acuity were associated with poorer visual outcomes.
Facial Nerve Stimulation Patterns Associated With Cochlear Implantation in Labyrinthitis Ossificans
Authors: Nassiri Ashley M. , Yawn Robert J. , Dedmon Matthew M. , O’Connell Brendan P. , Holder Jourdan T. , Haynes David S. , Rivas Alejandro
Published: November 2018

Objective:

To describe and characterize facial nerve stimulation (FNS) patterns in patients with labyrinthitis ossificans who underwent cochlear implantation (CI) for sensorineural hearing loss.

Patients:

Five ears in four patients with labyrinthitis ossificans who underwent CI and subsequently developed FNS.

Interventions:

CI, electrode mapping, and/or explantation to resolve FNS.

Main Outcome Measures:

FNS, postoperative computed tomography imaging, and resolution of FNS.

Results:

Fourteen ears with labyrinthitis ossificans underwent CI over an 11-year period at a single institution; 5 of these ears exhibited postoperative FNS (35.7% incidence). Four cases had involvement of basal electrodes, while all five cases had middle and/or apical electrode stimulation. All cases had resolution of FNS with CI reprogramming, however, the resultant map in two cases provided minimal audiologic benefit and patients became nonusers in that ear.

Conclusions:

FNS arising from all cochlear regions is possible in patients with labyrinthitis ossificans who undergo CI. Mapping and electrode deactivation can resolve symptoms, but resultant audiologic benefit is variable and may lead to explantation.
Single Intravenous High Dose Administration of Prednisolone Has No Influence on Postoperative Impedances in the Majority of Cochlear Implant Patients
Authors: Prenzler Nils Kristian , Kappelmann Christin , Steffens Melanie , Lesinski-Schiedat Anke , Lenarz Thomas , Warnecke Athanasia
Published: November 2018

Objective:

To evaluate effect of prednisolone on the impedances after cochlear implantation.

Study Design:

Retrospective case series.

Setting:

Tertiary referral center.

Patients and Intervention:

A total of 130 patients underwent cochlear implantation with a Med-El Flex28 synchrony device between 2012 and 2016 and met the inclusion criteria. Only patients with full datasets regarding impedance measurements perioperatively, at first fitting (before and after chronic electric stimulation) and at 3 and 12 months appointments afterward were included. Patients (n = 101) received a single intravenous administration of at least 200 mg prednisolone intraoperatively and control patients (n = 29) did not receive any steroids at all. Patients receiving low dose steroids during surgery were excluded.

Main Outcome Measures:

Mean values for impedances were calculated over all electrode contacts and separately for basal, medial, and apical regions.

Results:

Impedances increased significantly from perioperative measures to first fitting in both groups. Mainly at the basal region of the electrode array, impedances were slightly lower in the steroid group compared with controls. However, the majority of the patients showed increased impedances whether they received steroid treatment or not.

Conclusion:

The present study shows a slight but statistically significant reduction of the mean value of postoperative impedances at the basal electrode contacts in patients receiving a single systemic high dose application of prednisolone. Less than half of the patients showed a decrease in impedances and whether this decrease is clinically relevant remains to be elucidated.
Evidence-based update on the surgical treatment of pediatric tibial shaft fractures
Authors: Cruz Aristides I. , Raducha Jeremy E. , Swarup Ishaan , Schachne Jonathan M. , Fabricant Peter D.
Published: November 2018

Purpose of review

To describe surgical treatment options for pediatric tibial shaft fractures which are the third most common pediatric long bone fracture. Management of these injuries is dictated by fracture location, fracture pattern, associated injuries, skeletal maturity, and other patient-specific factors. Although most pediatric tibial shaft fractures can be treated nonoperatively, this review provides an update on surgical treatment options when operative intervention is indicated.

Recent findings

Advances in surgical implants and techniques affords a wide range of options for the surgical treatment of pediatric tibial shaft fractures. Flexible intramedullary nailing is gaining wide adoption for acute surgical treatment. Recent studies support cross-sectional imaging for further evaluation and scrutiny of fracture patterns suspicious for intraphyseal or intra-articular extension. Grade I open tibial shaft fractures may be safely treated with irrigation and debridement in the emergency department; however, no high-level comparative studies have been performed to make any definitive conclusions regarding the effectiveness of this treatment strategy.

Tibial shaft fractures are common injuries in pediatric patients. Management is dictated by fracture location, fracture pattern, associated injuries, patient age, and other patient-specific factors. Surgical intervention is indicated for fractures that are open, irreducible, have failed nonoperative management, are associated with compartment syndrome, or in the multiply injured patient. Surgical treatment options include flexible intramedullary nailing, plate osteosynthesis, external fixation, and rigid intramedullary nailing. Recent literature has shown increased rates of flexible intramedullary nailing. All operative and nonoperative management options can result in complications including compartment syndrome, infection, delayed union, nonunion, malunion, limb length discrepancy, and symptomatic hardware. Most pediatric patients go on to uneventful union with excellent final outcomes and return to full activities.