bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Leaf morphogenesis influences nutritive-value dynamics of tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) cultivars of different leaf softness
Authors: Insua J. R. , Agnusdei M. G. , Di Marco O. N.
Published: January 2017

The objective of this study was to compare the dynamics of neutral detergent fibre (NDF), and the 24-h in-vitro digestibility of NDF (NDFD) and dry matter (DMD) in leaf blades of two tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh.) cultivars of different leaf softness: a soft- and a tough-leaved cultivar. The experiment was conducted during the summer regrowth of three replicated, dense mini-swards per cultivar arranged in a completely randomised design, all grown under non-limiting water, nitrogen and phosphorus. Cultivars were harvested eight times over 14 weeks to measure morphogenetic traits and nutritive value in six predefined leaf-age categories (from growing to complete senescence). The leaf lifespan and leaf length of the first three successive leaves were measured on 30 marked tillers throughout the experiment. Following analysis of variance, linear regression models were fitted to describe variations of NDF, NDFD and DMD with increasing leaf age and leaf length. Similar leaf NDF contents were found for the two cultivars, which remained stable throughout the leaf lifespan and increased markedly during leaf senescence. Leaf NDFD and leaf DMD both declined with increasing leaf age and length for the two cultivars. However, owing to shorter leaf lifespan of the soft-leaved cultivar, this decline in leaf NDFD and leaf DMD was faster for the soft- than for the tough-leaved cultivar. These results suggest that the soft-leaved cultivar will require more frequent defoliations than the tough-leafed cultivar to prevent decreases in nutritive value.
Mercury(II) reduction and sulfite oxidation in aqueous systems: kinetics study and speciation modeling
Authors: Solis Kurt L. B. , Nam Go-un , Hong Yongseok
Published: January 2017

Environmental contextWastewater contains various substances such as sulfur-containing chemicals and heavy metals including mercury ions. Several technologies have been developed to trap mercury ions; however, mercury can undergo reactions with sulfite and change to its vapour form, which easily escapes to the atmosphere. Here, we devised a model to predict the formation of vapour-phase mercury as a function of sulfite concentration, temperature and water acidity based on coal-fired power plant wastewater. AbstractThe re-emission of mercury (Hg) as a consequence of the formation and dissociation of the unstable complex HgSO3 is a problem encountered in flue gas desulfurisation treatment in coal-fired power plants. A model following a pseudo-second-order rate law for Hg2+ reduction was derived as a function of [SO32–], [H+] and temperature and fitted to experimentally obtained data to generate kinetics rate values of 0.120±0.04, 0.847±0.07, 1.35±0.4mM–1 for 40°C, 60°C and 75°C respectively. The rate of reduction of Hg2+ increases with a temperature increase but shows an inverse relationship with proton concentration. Plotting the model-fit kinetics rate constants yields ΔH=61.7±1.82 kJ mol–1, which is in good agreement with literature values for the formation of Hg0 by SO32–. The model could be used to better understand the overall Hg2+ re-emission due to SO32– happening in aquatic systems such as flue gas desulfurisation wastewaters.
Near-perfect broadband absorption from hyperbolic metamaterial nanoparticles
Authors: Riley Conor T. , Smalley Joseph S. T. , Brodie Jeffrey R. J. , Fainman Yeshaiahu , Sirbuly Donald J. , Liu Zhaowei
Published: January 2017

Significance

The ability to perfectly absorb light with optically thin materials poses a significant challenge for many applications such as camouflage, light detection, and energy harvesting. Current designs require planar reflectors that crack and delaminate after heating or flexing. Moreover, they cannot be transferred to more desirable substrates for mechanically flexible and low-cost applications. Although particulate-based materials overcome these challenges, broadband absorption from standalone systems has not been demonstrated. Here, a class of materials, transferrable hyperbolic metamaterial particles (THMMP), is introduced. When closely packed, these materials show broadband, selective, omnidirectional, perfect absorption. This is demonstrated with nanotubes made on a silicon substrate that exhibit near-perfect absorption at telecommunication wavelengths even after being transferred to a mechanically flexible, visibly transparent polymer.
Public Memory
Authors: Houdek Matthew , Phillips Kendall R.
Published: January 2017

The term public memory refers to the circulation of recollections among members of a given community. These recollections are far from being perfect records of the past; rather, they entail what we remember, the ways we frame it, and what aspects we forget. Broadly, public memory differs from official histories in that the former is more informal, diverse, and mutable where the latter is often presented as formal, singular, and stable. Beginning in the 1980s, scholars from various disciplines became interested in the way ideas about the past were crafted, circulated, and contested. A wide variety of artifacts give evidence of public memory, including public speeches, memorials, museums, holidays, and films. Scholars interested in public memory have observed the importance of such informal practices in relation to the conception of the nation-state, as well as a growing sense of an interconnected transnational or global network of memories. While the study of public memory spans multiple disciplines, its uptake in communication and rhetorical studies has produced a wealth of critical and theoretical perspectives that continues to shape the field.
Statistical Evidence in Health and Risk Messaging
Authors: Allen Mike
Published: January 2017

Persuasive messages use statistical evidence in order to convince an audience to accept a conclusion. Statistical evidence represents a compilation of experiences structured and collected in a manner that permits expression in mathematical form. Research demonstrates that the use of statistical evidence increases the persuasiveness of a message, and a message that uses both statistical and narrative evidence generates the greatest persuasiveness.

Statistical evidence can take the form of summarizing the collective opinion of experts on a topic or an expression of the collective set of experiences. The challenge becomes gaining acceptance of statistical expressions of experience versus what is perceived as the narrative or lived experience of the single person. Statistical evidence is often presented using a mathematical expression to indicate the size or force of the evidence.

The accumulation of statistical evidence often involves the use of meta-analysis to reduce Type I (false positive) and Type II (false negative) error. The use of evidence is strategic and can target specific elements of belief by understanding the structure of beliefs and the connectivity among elements. The use of the Subjective Probability Model provides a means to capitalize on the use of evidence by changing probabilities in beliefs to increase the effectiveness of a message campaign.

Statistical evidence, however, may be ineffective under circumstances referred to as the “base-rate fallacy.” The base-rate fallacy occurs when the presentation of statistical information is accepted, but examples are used that contradict the base-rate. The impact of the use of the example is to create a shift in the belief in the typicality of the example, despite knowledge of the base-rate.

Fear appeals provide a particularly useful and important application of statistical evidence in the pursuit of public health campaigns. The tenets of the Extended Parallel Processing Model indicate that message effectiveness relies on a combination of: (a) perceived severity of the threat, (b) perceived vulnerability to the threat, (c) perceived efficacy of the solution, and (d) perceived personal efficacy of the solution. Each element is largely impacted by the application and use of statistical information to make claims. The use of statistics generally outlines the argument and supports the conclusion offered in support of a conclusion offered to the message recipient.

Statistical evidence when used in a message often offers data or information that becomes the justification for a conclusion. A large part of a message becomes gaining acceptance of information by an audience, then explaining (reasoning) to the audience how those facts support a conclusion, often involving some type of recommendation for behavior. Understanding statistical evidence requires understanding how the material functions within the context of the belief system of the individual.
Theorizing the U.S. Supreme Court
Authors: Cameron Charles M. , Kornhauser Lewis A.
Published: January 2017

We summarize the formal theoretical literature on Supreme Court decision-making. We focus on two core questions: What does the Supreme Court of the United States do, and how can one model those actions; and, what do the justices of the Supreme Court want, and how can one model those preferences? Given the current state of play in judicial studies, these questions then direct this survey mostly to so-called separation of powers (SOP) models, and to studies of a multi-member (“collegial”) court employing the Supreme Court’s very distinctive and highly unusual voting rule.

The survey makes four main points. First, it sets out a new taxonomy that unifies much of the literature by linking judicial actions, modeling conventions, and the treatment of the status quo. In addition, the taxonomy identifies some models that employ inconsistent assumptions about Supreme Court actions and consequences. Second, the discussion of judicial preferences clarifies the links between judicial actions and judicial preferences. It highlights the relationships between preferences over dispositions, preferences over rules, and preferences over social outcomes. And, it explicates the difference between consequential and expressive preferences. Third, the survey delineates the separate strands of SOP models. It suggests new possibilities for this seemingly well-explored line of inquiry. Fourth, the discussion of voting emphasizes the peculiar characteristics of the Supreme Court’s voting rule. The survey maps the movement from early models that ignored the special features of this rule, to more recent ones that embrace its features and explore the resulting (and unusual) incentive effects.
Defending Classical Geopolitics
Authors: Kelly Phil
Published: January 2017

Three successive parts are presented within this article, all intended to raise the visibility and show the utility of classical geopolitics as a deserving and separate international-relations model: (a) a common traditional definition, (b) relevant theories that correspond to that definition, and (c) applications of certain theories that will delve at some depth into three case studies (the Ukrainian shatterbelt, contemporary Turkish geopolitics, and a North American heartland).

The placement of states, regions, and resources, as affecting international relations and foreign policies, defines classical geopolitics. This definition emphasizes the application of spatially composed unbiased theories that should bring insight into foreign-affairs events and policies. Specifically, a “model” contains theories that correspond to its description. A “theory” is a simple sentence of probability, with “A” happening to likely affect “B.” Importantly, models are passive; they merely hold theories. In contrast, theories possess their own titles and perform actively when taken from such models.

Various methodological challenges are presented: (a) combining concepts with theories, (b) estimating probability for testing theories, (c) claiming the “scientific,” (d) accounting for determinism, (e) revealing a dynamic environment for geopolitics, (f) separating realism from geopolitics, and (g) drawing classical geopolitics away from the critical. Certain theories that are placed within the geopolitical model are examined next: (a) heartlands and rimlands, (b) land and sea power, (c) choke points and maritime lines of communication, (d) offshore balancing, (e) the Monroe doctrine, (f) balances of power, (g) checkerboards, (h) shatterbelts, (i) pan-regions, (j) influence spheres, (k) dependency, (l) buffer states, (m) organic borders, (n) imperial thesis, (o) borders/wars, (p) contagion, (q) irredentism, (r) demography, (s) fluvial laws, (t) petro-politics, and (u) catastrophic events in nature. Additional theories apply elsewhere in the article as well.

Of the three case studies, the Ukrainian shatterbelt represents the sole contemporary geopolitical configuration of this type, a regional conflict coupling with a strategic rivalry. Here, partisans of the civil war between the eastern and the western sectors of the country have joined with the Russians against the Europeans and Americans, respectively. Next, Turkey’s pivotal location has afforded it both advantages and disadvantages, a topic discussed at some length earlier in the article. Its “zero-problems” strategy of seeking positive relations with neighbors has now been forced to change tactics, reflective of new forces within and beyond the country. Finally, a North American heartland compares nicely to Halford Mackinder’s earlier Eurasia heartland thesis, with the American perhaps proving more stable, wealthy, and enduring, based in large part on its stronger geopolitical features.
Politometrics: Quantitative Models of Political Institutions
Authors: Colomer Josep M.
Published: January 2017

Logical models and statistical techniques have been used for measuring political and institutional variables, quantifying and explaining the relationships between them, testing theories, and evaluating institutional and policy alternatives. A number of cumulative and complementary findings refer to major institutional features of a political process of decision-making: from the size of the assembly to the territorial structure of the country, the electoral system, the number of parties in the assembly and in the government, the government’s duration, and the degree of policy instability. Mathematical equations based on sound theory are validated by empirical tests and can predict precise observations.
Expectancy Theory and the Election of Judges: Do Judicial Campaigns Really Stink?
Authors: Nelson Michael J. , Gibson James L.
Published: January 2017

Even though most judges in the United States stand for election in the context of strong normative objections to the practice of electing judges, political scientists have produced a surprisingly thin theoretical framework for understanding how judicial campaigns affect voters. This paucity of research is particularly surprising given the increasingly politicized environment in which judicial elections operate. The literature on judicial campaigns is well-served to draw upon the well-trodden research about campaign effects for executive and legislative office. In some important respects, however, judicial contests differ from those for executive or legislative office. To this end, the Expectancy Theory pioneered by James L. Gibson provides an important theoretical development, emphasizing that the effects of judicial campaigns are highly conditional upon variation in voters’ willingness to tolerate different types of campaign activity. Moreover, the effects of campaigns are highly dependent on the context of both institutional design and voters’ own experiences with judicial elections.
The Yazidis
Authors: Allison Christine
Published: January 2017

One of the world’s most endangered religious minorities, the Yazidis are a predominantly Kurdish-speaking group numbering some 500,000 souls, who once inhabited a wide area stretching across eastern Turkey, northern Syria, northern Iraq, and western Iran. Of these territories, only the community in Iraq still numbers in the hundreds of thousands. Most come from two areas: Sheikhan, a collection of villages and towns to the northeast of Mosul, and Sinjar, a mountain to the northwest close to the border with Syria. Until recently these areas seemed stable; however, in August 2014, the so-called Islamic State (Da‘esh) attacked the ancient community of Yazidis of Mount Sinjar, massacring hundreds of men, enslaving thousands of women and children, and driving the population of some 350,000 Yazidis into camps for internally displaced persons in the Kurdistan region. They are targeted because of their non-Abrahamic religion; for many years they have been erroneously known as “devil-worshippers.” In fact, their belief system incorporates visible elements from the three “religions of the Book” (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) and traces of lesser-known religions, upon a substratum that may derive from Iranian religions (Zoroastrianism or similar). It is not a proselytizing faith, and religious relationships within the community are determined by birth. Marrying out is traditionally forbidden.

Yazidis are relative newcomers to urban life and are often socially, economically, and educationally disadvantaged. Internal pressures, especially from the youth, to “modernize” the religion have existed at least since the 1990s. However, the main drive toward change comes now from the Yazidis’ loss of confidence in their safety in Iraq and their consequent migration toward Europe and the stresses of diaspora life. At the same time, an increasingly activist younger generation is demanding justice. The future of Yazidism is unclear, but it will certainly never be the same again.
Race, the Arts, and Religion in America
Authors: Prentiss Craig R.
Published: January 2017

With the slow realization that race was not a category in nature, but rather the fruit of social imagination emerging from colonialism, scholars in the late 20th century shifted their focus to the cultural elements feeding that imagination, including religion and the arts. Although most studies in the field address fairly conventional constructions of religion and the arts (two categories that, like race, have also been destabilized), some studies reveal the potential for these three categories to be co-constituting. Studies addressing religiously themed music, including spirituals, gospel, hip-hop, and a significant portion of country music, have shed light on the ways in which these genres encode and inform racial paradigms. Portraits in theater, dance, and film of ideas and practices associated with Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and other social groupings have proven active sites for the production of influential, and often competing, conceptions of race. Stereotypes linking religious and racial classifications are perpetuated as well as challenged in these artistic media. Given that the racial imagination in the United States is articulated using the language of color, painting and sculpture have been instrumental in conveying vivid connections between race and religion. For instance, many paintings celebrating Christianity’s triumph over America’s indigenous people concurrently depicted white dominance over them as well. A theological system rooting skin color in divine decree, like the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints did in its Book of Mormon, helped assure a fair-skinned and fair-haired Jesus would populate its art. The politics of Jesus’ color continued to be played out in painting and sculpture in the United States to the present day, and exemplifies the interaction of racial, religious, and artistic categories.
Seasonal variations of infrasonic arrivals from long-term ground truth observations in Nevada and implication for event location
Authors: Negraru Petru , Golden Paul
Published: January 2017

Long-term ground truth observations were collected at two infrasound arrays in Nevada to investigate how seasonal atmospheric variations affect the detection, traveltime and signal characteristics (azimuth, trace velocity, frequency content and amplitudes) of infrasonic arrivals at regional distances. The arrays were located in different azimuthal directions from a munition disposal facility in Nevada. FNIAR, located 154 km north of the source has a high detection rate throughout the year. Over 90 per cent of the detonations have traveltimes indicative of stratospheric arrivals, while tropospheric waveguides are observed from only 27 per cent of the detonations. The second array, DNIAR, located 293 km southeast of the source exhibits strong seasonal variations with high stratospheric detection rates in winter and the virtual absence of stratospheric arrivals in summer. Tropospheric waveguides and thermospheric arrivals are also observed for DNIAR. Modeling through the Naval Research Laboratory Ground to Space atmospheric sound speeds leads to mixed results: FNIAR arrivals are usually not predicted to be present at all (either stratospheric or tropospheric), while DNIAR arrivals are usually correctly predicted, but summer arrivals show a consistent traveltime bias. In the end, we show the possible improvement in location using empirically calibrated traveltime and azimuth observations. Using the Bayesian Infrasound Source Localization we show that we can decrease the area enclosed by the 90 per cent credibility contours by a factor of 2.5.
Single-Paper Meta-Analysis: Benefits for Study Summary, Theory Testing, and Replicability
Authors: McShane Blakeley B , Böckenholt Ulf
Published: January 2017

A typical behavioral research paper features multiple studies of a common phenomenon that are analyzed solely in isolation. Because the studies are of a common phenomenon, this practice is inefficient and forgoes important benefits that can be obtained only by analyzing them jointly in a single-paper meta-analysis (SPM). To facilitate SPM, we introduce meta-analytic methodology that is user-friendly, widely applicable, and specially tailored to the SPM of the set of studies that appear in a typical behavioral research paper. Our SPM methodology provides important benefits for study summary, theory testing, and replicability that we illustrate via three case studies that include papers recently published in the Journal of Consumer Research and the Journal of Marketing Research. We advocate that authors of typical behavioral research papers use it to supplement the single-study analyses that independently examine the multiple studies in the body of their papers as well as the “qualitative meta-analysis” that verbally synthesizes the studies in the general discussion of their papers. When used as such, this requires only a minor modification of current practice. We provide an easy-to-use website that implements our SPM methodology.
A Mixed-Methods Analysis of a Novel Mistreatment Program for the Surgery Core Clerkship
Authors: Lau James N. , Mazer Laura M. , Liebert Cara A. , Bereknyei Merrell Sylvia , Lin Dana T. , Harris Ilene
Published: January 2017

Purpose

To review mistreatment reports from before and after implementation of a mistreatment program, and student ratings of and qualitative responses to the program to evaluate the short-term impact on students.

Method

In January 2014, a video- and discussion-based mistreatment program was implemented for the surgery clerkship at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The program aims to help students establish expectations for the learning environment; create a shared and personal definition of mistreatment; and promote advocacy and empower ment to address mistreatment. Counts and types of mistreatment were compared from a year before (January–December 2013) and two years after (January 2014–December 2015) implementation. Students’ end-of-clerkship ratings and responses to open-ended questions were analyzed.

Results

From March 2014–December 2015, 141/164 (86%) students completed ratings, and all 47 (100%) students enrolled from January–August 2014 provided qualitative program evaluations. Most students rated the initial (108/141 [77%]) and final (120/141 [85%]) sessions as excellent or outstanding. In the qualitative analysis, students valued that the program helped establish expectations; allowed for sharing experiences; provided formal resources; and provided a supportive environment. Students felt the learning environment and culture were improved and reported increased interest in surgery. There were 14 mistreatment reports the year before the program, 9 in the program’s first year, and 4 in the second year.

Conclusions

The authors found a rotation-specific mistreatment program, focused on creating shared understanding about mistreatment, was well received among surgery clerkship students, and the number of mistreatment reports decreased each year following implementation.
Health Professions Education Scholarship Unit Leaders as Institutional Entrepreneurs
Authors: Varpio Lara , O’Brien Bridget , J. Durning Steven , van der Vleuten Cees , Gruppen Larry , ten Cate Olle , Humphrey-Murto Susan , Irby David M. , Hamstra Stanley J. , Hu Wendy
Published: January 2017

Purpose

Health professions education scholarship units (HPESUs) are organizational structures within which a group is substantively engaged in health professions education scholarship. Little research investigates the strategies employed by HPESU administrative leaders to secure and maintain HPESU success. Using institutional entrepreneurship as a theoretical lens, this study asks: Do HPESU administrative leaders act as institutional entrepreneurs (IEs)?

Method

This study recontextualizes two preexisting qualitative datasets that comprised interviews with leaders in health professions education in Canada (2011–2012) and Australia and New Zealand (2013–1014). Two researchers iteratively analyzed the data using the institutional entrepreneurship construct until consensus was achieved. A third investigator independently reviewed and contributed to the recontextualized analyses. A summary of the analyses was shared with all authors, and their feedback was incorporated into the final interpretations.

Results

HPESU leaders act as IEs in three ways. First, HPESU leaders construct arguments and position statements about how the HPESU resolves an institution’s problem(s). This theorization discourse justifies the existence and support of the HPESU. Second, the leaders strategically cultivate relationships with the leader of the institution within which the HPESU sits, the leaders of large academic groups with which the HPESU partners, and the clinician educators who want careers in health professions education. Third, the leaders work to increase the local visibility of the HPESU.

Conclusions

Practical insights into how institutional leaders interested in launching an HPESU can harness these findings are discussed.
OVERVIEW OF THE COMPLICATIONS OF HIGH MYOPIA
Authors: Ikuno Yasushi
Published: January 2017

High myopia is very common and one of the major causes of social blindness, especially in East Asian countries. It is characterized by axial length elongation, and induces various specific complications, including cataract formation, retinal detachment from peripheral retinal tears, myopic foveoschisis, macular hole with or without retinal detachment, peripapillary deformation, dome-shaped macula, choroidal/scleral thinning, myopic choroidal neovascularization, and glaucoma. This article will review these complications and discuss the current concepts relating to these complications and their treatments.

Conclusion:

This information will be helpful for the daily practice of treating myopic eyes.
The Use of Integra® Dermal Regeneration Template for the Orbital Exenteration Socket: A Novel Technique
Authors: Ozgonul Cem , Diniz Grisolia Ana Beatriz , Demirci Hakan
Published: January 2017

Purpose:

Integra® dermal regeneration template is a bilayer membrane system that acts as a scaffold for regenerating dermal skin cells. It is used for wound reconstruction following burns, extensive injuries, and a large tumor excision in multiple parts of the body. The dermal layer is made of porous matrix of bovine tendon collagen and glycosaminoglycan. The epidermal layer is made of polysiloxane layer. In this study, the authors evaluated the use of Integra® dermal regeneration template for the immediate reconstruction of the orbital exenteration socket.

Methods:

Five patients who underwent exenteration and immediate reconstruction of the socket with Integra® dermal regeneration template were included in this study. Demographic and clinical features, healing time, complications, and follow-up time were recorded.

Results:

The study included 4 male patients and 1 female patient with a mean age of 74 years (range, 49–87 years). The primary diagnoses were orbital extension of conjunctival melanoma in 2 patients, squamous cell carcinoma in 1 patient, and uveal melanoma in 1 patient, and aggressive orbital Wegener granulomatosis in 1 patient. There was no postoperative infection, necrosis, hematoma, or fluid accumulation in any patients. The mean postoperative follow-up period was 20 months (range, 11–42 months). The sockets were completely granulated by 4 weeks, and epithelized, getting ready for the prosthesis in 8 weeks.

Conclusions:

Integra® dermal regeneration template can be used for the immediate reconstruction of the socket following exenteration. It is easy to use, and provides a short healing time without any need for any additional reconstructive procedures.
Chronic Eyelid Edema Following Periocular Hyaluronic Acid Filler Treatment
Authors: Yu Jonathan T.S. , Peng Liam , Ataullah Sajid
Published: January 2017

A 54-year-old woman received multiple injections of hyaluronic acid filler to the brow region to address volume loss over a 21-month period. She then developed significant pitting edema of both upper eyelids, which persisted for 6 years. Hyaluronidase (Hyalase) was injected into the subcutaneous brows and resulted in complete resolution of the edema within 2 days. This confirms that the hyaluronic acid injected into the brows was responsible for this patient’s chronic eyelid edema. This case illustrates an unusual long-term complication of periocular hyaluronic acid filler.
Outcomes of the Suture “Pull-Through” Technique for Repair of Lateral Skull Base CSF Fistula and Encephaloceles
Authors: O’Connell Brendan P. , Hunter Jacob B. , Sweeney Alex D. , Thompson Reid C. , Chambless Lola B. , Wanna George B. , Rivas Alejandro
Published: January 2017

Objective:

Describe the safety profile and surgical outcomes of a combined transmastoid-middle cranial fossa suture “pull-through” technique for repair of lateral skull base defects.

Study Design:

Retrospective.

Setting:

Tertiary care hospital.

Patients:

Patients undergoing surgery for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) fistula and/or encephalocele.

Intervention:

Combined transmastoid and middle fossa approach using suture pull-through technique.

Main Outcome Measures:

The primary outcome measures of interest were recurrence of CSF fistula or encephalocele, and postoperative air-bone gap.

Results:

Twenty-six patients were included; mean age at surgery was 60 ± 14 years and 65% of patients were female. The majority of defects involved both the tegmen mastoideum and tympani (69%); multiple defects were present in 11 patients. Small craniotomy (2 × 3 cm) was performed and defects were repaired using composite grafts constructed with fascia, bone, and/or cartilage, and dural substitute affixed with suture. The suture tail was left long and passed from the middle fossa through the defect into the mastoid. At average follow-up of 8.3 months, no patients of recurrent CSF leak were noted. Significant improvements in both mean pure-tone average and air-bone gap were noted for the entire cohort (p = 0.04 and p = 0.02, respectively).

Conclusion:

A combined transmastoid-middle cranial fossa for the repair of lateral skull base CSF fistula and encephaloceles using the suture “pull-through” technique is efficacious and the complication profile is favorable. This method facilitates reliable placement of a composite graft in the center of lateral skull base defects through a small craniotomy that minimizes temporal lobe retraction.
Resorbable Mesh Cranioplasty Repair of Bilateral Cerebrospinal Fluid Leaks Following Pediatric Simultaneous Bilateral Auditory Brainstem Implant Surgery
Authors: Colletti Giacomo , Mandalà Marco , Colletti Vittorio , Deganello Alberto , Allevi Fabiana , Colletti Liliana
Published: January 2017

Objective:

To present a child with cochlear nerve deficiency (CND) who received simultaneous bilateral simultaneous auditory brainstem implants (BS-ABI) and subsequently presented with bilateral cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leaks unresponsive to standard treatments. To propose a novel rigid retrosigmoid cranioplasty for treating and preventing CSF leaks in children at high risk for this complication.

Patient:

A 3.5-year-old child with CND, vertebral defects, anal atresia, cardiac defects, tracheo-esophageal fistula, renal anomalies, and limb abnormalities, coloboma, heart defect, atresia choanae, retarded growth and development, genital abnormality, and ear abnormality, Arnold Chiari malformation, previous treated tracheo-esophageal fistula underwent BS-ABI. Postoperatively, the child had recurrent bilateral retroauricular fluid collections. A standard revision procedure revealed breaches in the dural closure, migration of the auditory brainstem implantation (ABI) receiver stimulator on both sides and was unsuccessful in stopping the leak.

Interventions:

Bilateral repair with free fat grafting filling the craniectomy space and two absorbable meshes of poly-L-D-lactic (PLDL) acid stabilized with PLDL pins on the surrounding cranium, one to stabilize the fat graft and one to fix the ABI receiver stimulators inside the subperiosteal pockets.

Main Outcome Measure:

CSF leak recurrence, postoperative computed tomographic (CT) scans, intra- and postoperative simultaneous electrically evoked auditory brainstem responses (EABRs). Subjective and objective assessment of ABI function.

Results:

No postoperative CSF leaks at 60 days follow-up. EABRs and consistent behavioral responses obtained at initial mapping on both sides.

Conclusions:

The use of BS-ABI likely contributed to bilateral CSF leaks requiring revision surgeries in this child. Simultaneous bilateral craniotomies can put patients at risk for CSF leak. A novel cranioplasty technique employed finally proved successful in stopping the CSF leak in this case.
Bilateral Upper Extremity Hyperesthesia and Absence of Neck Tenderness in Four Adolescent Athletes With Cervical Spine Injuries
Authors: Fisher Jay Douglas , Thorpe Elizabeth Lewis
Published: January 2017

Cervical spine injury in the pediatric athlete is an uncommon but potentially devastating condition that can require a heightened index of suspicion to correctly diagnose.
1
Although some cervical spine injuries present overtly with paraplegia due to cord transection, others can present more subtly with symptoms suggestive of bilateral peripheral neuropathy. Patients with traumatic brachial neuropraxia or “stinger” physiology can present similarly, but symptoms are exclusively unilateral.
2,3
We present 4 patients with bilateral upper extremity hyperesthesias and absence of tenderness over the cervical vertebral landmarks who were subsequently diagnosed with cervical spine injuries.
Interstage Assessment of Remnant Liver Function in ALPPS Using Hepatobiliary Scintigraphy
Authors: Serenari Matteo , Collaud Carlos , Alvarez Fernando A. , de Santibañes Martin , Giunta Diego , Pekolj Juan , Ardiles Victoria , de Santibañes Eduardo
Published: January 2017

Objective:

The aim of this study was to evaluate interstage liver function in associating liver partition and portal vein occlusion for staged hepatectomy (ALPPS) using hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS) and whether this may help to predict posthepatectomy liver failure (PHLF).

Background:

ALPPS remains controversial given the high rate of liver-related mortality after stage 2. HBS combined with single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) accurately estimates future liver remnant function and may be useful to predict PHLF.

Methods:

Between 2011 and 2016, 20 of 39 patients (51.3%) underwent SPECT-HBS before ALPPS stage 2 for primary (n = 3) or secondary liver tumors (n = 17) at the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires (HIBA). PHLF was defined by the International Study Group of Liver Surgery criteria, 50–50 criteria, or peak bilirubin >7 mg/dL. Grade A PHLF was excluded, as it requires no change in clinical management. Receiver-operating characteristic curves were used to determine cutoff for HBS parameters.

Results:

Interstagely, 3 HBS parameters differed significantly between patients with (n = 4) and without PHLF (n = 16) after stage 2. Among these, the HIBA-index best predicted PHLF, with a cutoff value of 15%. The risk of PHLF in patients with cutoff <15% was 80%, whereas no patient with cutoff ≥15% developed PHLF.

Conclusions:

Interstage HBS could help to predict clinically significant PHLF after ALPPS stage 2. An HIBA-index cutoff of 15% seemed to give the best diagnostic performance. Although further studies are needed to confirm our findings, the routine application of this noninvasive low-cost examination could facilitate decision-making in institutions performing ALPPS.
The Role of Fructose, and Specifically Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, in Pediatric Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
Authors: Patusco Rachael , Smith Tracey J. , Ziegler Jane
Published: January 2017

The prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) among US children and adolescents is rising, with diet identified as a risk factor. The clinical burden of pediatric NAFLD makes it a serious health concern. The aim of this review was to explore the association between fructose consumption, specifically sugar-sweetened beverage intake, and NAFLD and the effect of fructose on associated risk factors. The relationship that fructose may have with NAFLD and its related risk factors may highlight whether certain dietary constituents should be altered among those with NAFLD.
Hugh Esmor Huxley MBE. 25 February 1924 — 25 July 2013
Authors: Holmes Kenneth C. , Weeds Alan
Published: January 2017

Hugh Esmor Huxley devoted his life to understanding how muscles contract. He was born in Birkenhead and entered Christ's College, Cambridge, in 1941 to study Physics. Joining the RAF in 1943 as an Acting Pilot Officer, he later moved to the Malvern Telecommunications Research Establishment where his pioneering work on developing H
2
S Mk IVA airborne radar over two years to 1947 led to his being elected a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1948 while still an undergraduate. He started X-ray research on living muscle with Sir John Kendrew at the Medical Research Council Unit in the Cavendish Laboratory and showed that skeletal muscle is made of a hexagonal array of thick and thin filaments. In 1952 he moved to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to study muscle ultrastructure by electron microscopy, where he was joined by Jean Hanson, and in 1954 they published the sliding filament hypothesis (7)
†
. Back in London he produced ultra-thin sections of muscle barely 150 Å thick, which showed cross-bridges between the filaments, and in 1960 was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. His research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology from 1962 led to his proposal of the swinging cross-bridge model. His ambition of studying cross-bridge movement in living muscle by X-ray diffraction in the millisecond time range required ever stronger X-ray sources and more sensitive detectors. The development in the 1970s of beam lines from synchrotron radiation opened a new perspective that fascinated him for the rest of his working life. From his last work at Argonne National Laboratory with Massimo Reconditi, Hugh finally convinced himself that he had incontrovertible evidence for the tilting lever-arm model.
Deep conservation of bivalve nacre proteins highlighted by shell matrix proteomics of the Unionoida
Elliptio complanata
and
Villosa lienosa
Authors: Marie Benjamin , Arivalagan Jaison , Mathéron Lucrèce , Bolbach Gérard , Berland Sophie , Marie Arul , Marin Frédéric
Published: January 2017

The formation of the molluscan shell nacre is regulated to a large extent by a matrix of extracellular macromolecules that are secreted by the shell-forming tissue, the mantle. This so-called ‘calcifying matrix’ is a complex mixture of proteins, glycoproteins and polysaccharides that is assembled and occluded within the mineral phase during the calcification process. Better molecular-level characterization of the substances that regulate nacre formation is still required. Notable advances in expressed tag sequencing of freshwater mussels, such as
Elliptio complanata
and
Villosa lienosa
, provide a pre-requisite to further characterize bivalve nacre proteins by a proteomic approach. In this study, we have identified a total of 48 different proteins from the insoluble matrices of the nacre, 31 of which are common to both
E. complanata
and
V. lienosa
. A few of these proteins, such as PIF, MSI60, CA, shematrin-like, Kunitz-like, LamG, chitin-binding-containing proteins, together with A-, D-, G-, M- and Q-rich proteins, appear to be analogues, if not true homologues, of proteins previously described from the pearl oyster or the edible mussel nacre matrices, thus forming a remarkable list of deeply conserved nacre proteins. This work constitutes a comprehensive nacre proteomic study of non-pteriomorphid bivalves that has enabled us to describe the molecular basis of a deeply conserved biomineralization toolkit among nacreous shell-bearing bivalves, with regard to proteins associated with other shell microstructures, with those of other mollusc classes (gastropods, cephalopods) and, finally, with other lophotrochozoans (brachiopods).
Numerical and analytical results for the two discs capacitor problem
Authors: Paffuti Giampiero
Published: January 2017

In this paper, we study the two discs capacitor, for equal and different radii. The new results obtained allow a complete characterization of capacity coefficients and forces at short distances. An extensive numerical calculation confirms the theoretical results. The study shows the existence of a hierarchy in the divergent behaviour of the capacitance coefficients and this implies some unusual behaviour of the forces, strictly related to the dimensionality of the near-contact zone between electrodes.
Fluctuations in population fecundity drive variation in demographic connectivity and metapopulation dynamics
Authors: Castorani Max C. N. , Reed Daniel C. , Raimondi Peter T. , Alberto Filipe , Bell Tom W. , Cavanaugh Kyle C. , Siegel David A. , Simons Rachel D.
Published: January 2017

Demographic connectivity is vital to sustaining metapopulations yet often changes dramatically through time due to variation in the production and dispersal of offspring. However, the relative importance of variation in fecundity and dispersal in determining the connectivity and dynamics of metapopulations is poorly understood due to the paucity of comprehensive spatio-temporal data on these processes for most species. We quantified connectivity in metapopulations of a marine foundation species (giant kelpMacrocystis pyrifera) across 11 years and approximately 900 km of coastline by estimating population fecundity with satellite imagery and propagule dispersal using a high-resolution ocean circulation model. By varying the temporal complexity of different connectivity measures and comparing their ability to explain observed extinction–colonization dynamics, we discovered that fluctuations in population fecundity, rather than fluctuations in dispersal, are the dominant driver of variation in connectivity and contribute substantially to metapopulation recovery and persistence. Thus, for species with high variability in reproductive output and modest variability in dispersal (most plants, many animals), connectivity measures ignoring fluctuations in fecundity may overestimate connectivity and likelihoods of persistence, limiting their value for understanding and conserving metapopulations. However, we demonstrate how connectivity measures can be simplified while retaining utility, validating a practical solution for data-limited systems.
Tales from the crypt: a parasitoid manipulates the behaviour of its parasite host
Authors: Weinersmith Kelly L. , Liu Sean M. , Forbes Andrew A. , Egan Scott P.
Published: January 2017

There are many examples of apparent manipulation of host phenotype by parasites, yet few examples of hypermanipulation—where a phenotype-manipulating parasite is itself manipulated by a parasite. Moreover, few studies confirm manipulation is occurring by quantifying whether the host's changed phenotype increases parasite fitness. Here we describe a novel case of hypermanipulation, in which the crypt gall waspBassettia pallida(a phenotypic manipulator of its tree host) is manipulated by the parasitoid crypt-keeper waspEuderus set, and show that the host's changed behaviour increases parasitoid fitness.Bassettia pallidaparasitizes sand live oaks and induces the formation of a ‘crypt’ within developing stems. When parasitized byE. set,B. pallidaadults excavate an emergence hole in the crypt wall, plug the hole with their head and die. We show experimentally that this phenomenon benefitsE. set, asE. setthat need to excavate an emergence hole themselves are about three times more likely to die trapped in the crypt. In addition, we discuss museum and field data to explore the distribution of the crypt-keeping phenomena.
Fitness determinants of vancomycin-resistantEnterococcus faeciumduring growth in human serum
Authors: Zhang Xinglin , Guzman Prieto Ana M. , de Maat Vincent , Prajsnar Tomasz K. , Bayjanov Jumamurat R. , de Been Mark , Rogers Malbert R. C. , Bonten Marc J. M. , Mesnage Stéphane , Willems Rob J. L. , van Schaik Willem
Published: January 2017

Enterococcus faeciumis a commensal of the human gastrointestinal tract and a frequent cause of bloodstream infections in hospitalized patients. Here, we identify genes that contribute to growth ofE. faeciumin human serum. We first sequenced the genome ofE. faeciumE745, a vancomycin-resistant clinical isolate, to completion and then compared its transcriptome during exponential growth in rich medium and in human serum by RNA-seq. This analysis revealed that 27.8% of genes on theE. faeciumE745 genome were differentially expressed in these two conditions. A gene cluster with a role in purine biosynthesis was among the most upregulated genes inE. faeciumE745 upon growth in serum. A high-throughput transposon sequencing (Tn-seq) approach was used to identify conditionally essential genes inE. faeciumE745 during growth in serum. Genes involved inde novonucleotide biosysnthesis (includingpyrK_2, pyrF, purD, purH) and a gene encoding a phosphotransferase system subunit (manY_2) were thus identified to be contributing toE. faeciumgrowth in human serum. Transposon mutants inpyrK_2, pyrF, purD, purHandmanY_2were isolated from the library and their impaired growth in human serum was confirmed. In addition, thepyrK_2andmanY_2mutants also exhibited significantly attenuated virulence in an intravenous zebrafish infection model. We conclude that genes involved in carbohydrate and nucleotide metabolism ofE. faeciumare essential for growth in human serum and contribute to the pathogenesis of this organism.