bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Renewable Energy in the Brazilian Amazon
Authors: McCormick Sabrina
Published: May 2017

Understanding the political economic drivers of energy planning in the Brazilian Amazon is critical since the forest is increasingly vulnerable to destruction and related, increased poverty. This chapter investigates how political economy affects biomass and hydroelectricity development in that region. It focuses on political economy as characterized by: (1) the needs and agenda of local communities, (2) economic interests and politics at the national level, and (3) international social actors and financial interests. Findings advance our understanding of the political economy of renewable energy by first, focusing on a critical global resource, and second, by implementing a multi-scalar framework that also considers impacts and drivers of climate change.
The Presidency
Authors: Manor James
Published: May 2017

This chapter assesses the role of Indian presidents—heads of state in this parliamentary system. At most times, they are legally required to comply with the formal “advice” of ministers. But in certain circumstance—for example, in deciding which party leader should be invited to form a government after an election or the fall of a government—they must act independently. This chapter discusses the varied approaches—assertive or restrained—of different presidents. It also analyses the remarkably broad freedom that presidents often enjoy from historical precedents. The chapter concludes with a detailed analysis of the devices which presidents may employ to maximize their room for manoeuvre, including one which has never been used (and has scarcely been recognized) but which could trigger a constitutional crisis.
The Supreme Court
Authors: Khosla Madhav , Padmanabhan Ananth
Published: May 2017

Over time, the Supreme Court of India has evolved from being a court of law to a major institutional actor in the political arena. The present chapter analyses this transition by directing external and internal lenses on the court’s functioning. The external lens reveals engagement by the Court with legislative and executive domains of governance, and the current concerns of transparency and accountability that it faces. The internal lens scrutinizes the Court’s success as a court of law and its capability to streamline the judicial process such that the judicial system lives up to the legitimate expectations of the litigant public. Using the insights offered from these dual perspectives, the authors suggest important changes to the court’s functioning and a reorientation of its priorities that can render it a more effective public institution.
Reserve Bank of India
Authors: D’Souza Errol
Published: May 2017

The RBI was set up to conduct monetary policy, manage public debt and foreign exchange reserves, act as the government’s banker, and support the development of markets and financial institutions. This chapter reviews how the institution has fared on these various dimensions. It begins by examining the appointment process for the Governor and the monetary policy committee. Next, it assesses the importance of an independent debt management agency and consistency between debt management and monetary policy. The connection between monetary policy and macroprudential policy is discussed next. Large foreign exchange reserves may be viewed by government at some time as a source for a national investment fund. This requires the RBI to engage with government and to define the objective of reserves management. The RBI’s actions to improve the resilience of financial markets and its involvement with social and distributional goals of directing credit towards priority activities are also evaluated.
Prehistory and Archaeology of Northeast India
Authors: Hazarika Manjil
Published: May 2017

Northeast India forms a kaleidoscope of a variety of people having distinct culture, ethnicity, religion, language, and physiology, and can be considered as a melting pot of various ethnic cultures of different backgrounds. So, what are the root causes of this bewildering ethnic diversity? The movements of people since the prehistoric period may be considered to be one of the core factors, besides several other socio-cultural, genetic, physical, and environmental explanations for this mosaic ethnic situation. Considering the movements of people of different cultural, linguistic, physical, and geographical backgrounds, it will not be impertinent to anticipate some archaeological signatures left by the ‘people’ who colonized and inhabited and migrated through the region. The book takes a closer look at those archaeological signatures and aims at reconstructing the ways of life of the prehistoric communities and their movements, dispersals, and settlements. Scanty nature of archaeological data from the region has compelled us to gather evidence from all possible scientific lines of enquiry in order to paint a vivid picture of the development of early farming societies, who must have been the ancestors of some or all of the present-day indigenous ethnic groups. This evidence is gathered from ecological, ethnographical, anthropological, and genetic sciences to inspire an interpretation of the available archaeological data. The study also strives to lay a foundation for future research strategies and to set a relevant methodology suitable for the region.
Introduction
Authors: Hazarika Manjil
Published: May 2017

Most of the research on the prehistoric archaeology of the Northeast shows that many such research attempts are confined mainly to surface sites, and that excavated sites from the Neolithic and even the historical period are comparatively rare. It is now time to scrutinize the nature of the studies done so far on Northeast Indian archaeology and assess the historiography, together with the recent theoretical developments in the discipline. The area is a contact zone between the East and the West and will only be fully known when a complete picture emerges of its prehistoric cultural growth through sustained archaeological and interdisciplinary palaeoecological research. This chapter spells out the rationale behind the research, the problem, the working hypotheses, aim, objectives, and methodologies followed in the book.
Northeast India as an Indigenous Centre for the Domestication of Plants and Animals
Authors: Hazarika Manjil
Published: May 2017

Northeast India is situated at the nexus of the South Asian, Southeast Asian, and East Asian biogeographical realms and harbours diverse biota, providing a unique opportunity to archaeologists and anthropologists for the study of the relationship between humans and their environment over the ages. Moreover, this region, the abode of diverse ethnic groups with diverse cultures and customs, hints at a long history of continuous and close association between humans and nature, which is important in the understanding of plant and animal domestication. Genetic analysis of present-day domesticates with their wild counterparts provides valuable insights into their differentiation, time of domestication, and changes in their morphological traits through control by humans. The chapter also elucidates the role played by rice in Northeast Indian culture and highlights the long-term history of rice agriculture in the region.
Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer of Planetary Atmospheres
Authors: Chance Kelly , Martin Randall V.
Published: May 2017

This book develops both spectroscopy and radiative transfer for planetary atmospheric composition in a rigorous and quantitative sense for students of atmospheric and/or planetary science. Spectroscopic field measurements including satellite remote sensing have advanced rapidly in recent years, and are being increasingly applied to provide information about planetary atmospheres. Examples include systematic observation of the atmospheric constituents that affect weather, climate, biogeochemical cycles, air quality on Earth, as well as the physics and evolution of planetary atmospheres in our solar system and beyond. Understanding atmospheric spectroscopy and radiative transfer is important throughout the disciplines of atmospheric science and planetary atmospheres to understand principles of remote sensing of atmospheric composition and the effects of atmospheric composition on climate. Atmospheric scientists need an understanding of the details, strength and weaknesses of the spectroscopic measurement sources. Those in remote sensing require an understanding of the information content of the measured spectra that are needed for the design of retrieval algorithms and for developing new instrumentation.
Spectroscopy Fundamentals
Authors: Chance Kelly , Martin Randall V.
Published: May 2017

This chapter provides a broad overview of the spectroscopic principles required in order to perform quantitative spectroscopy of atmospheres. It couples the details of atmospheric spectroscopy with the radiative transfer processes and also with the assessment of rotational, vibrational, and electronic spectroscopic measurements of atmospheres. The principles apply from line-resolved measurements (chiefly microwave through infrared) through ultraviolet and visible measurements employing absorption cross sections developed from individual transitions. The chapter introduces Einstein coefficients before in turn discussing rotational spectroscopy, vibrational spectroscopy, nuclear spin, and electronic spectroscopy.
Modeling Radiative Transfer
Authors: Chance Kelly , Martin Randall V.
Published: May 2017

Basic concepts and definitions of radiative transfer modeling are introduced. The applicability of single scattering to aerosol retrievals is demonstrated. A two-stream formulation of radiative transfer is introduced. The two streams, upwelling and downwelling radiation, are selected to angularly represent average atmospheric properties: Relatively simple, two-stream calculations form the basis for much practical calculation, particularly of hemispherical fluxes in stratified atmospheres. Following this development, the most usual method for replacing the general integrodifferential equations obtained when setting up a scattering scenario by a system of linear equations is demonstrated.
Data Fitting
Authors: Chance Kelly , Martin Randall V.
Published: May 2017

This chapter explores several of the most common and useful approaches to atmospheric data fitting as well as the process of using air mass factors to produce vertical atmospheric column abundances from line-of-sight slant columns determined by data fitting. An atmospheric spectrum or other type of atmospheric sounding is usually fitted to a parameterized physical model by minimizing a cost function, usually chi-squared. Linear fitting, when the model of the measurements is linear in the model parameters is described, followed by the more common nonlinear fitting case. For nonlinear fitting, the standard Levenberg-Marquardt method is described, followed by the use of optimal estimation, one of several retrieval methods that make use of a priori information to providing regularization for the solution. In the context of optimal estimation, weighting functions, contribution functions, and averaging kernels are described. The Twomey-Tikhonov regularization procedure is presented. Correlated parameters, with the important example of Earth’s atmospheric ozone, are discussed.
The Semantics of Evidentials
Authors: Murray Sarah E.
Published: May 2017

This book gives a compositional, truth‐conditional, crosslinguistic semantics for evidentials set in a theory of the semantics for sentential mood. Central to this semantics is a proposal about a distinction between what propositional content is at‐issue, roughly primary or proffered, and what content is not‐at‐issue. Evidentials contribute not‐at‐issue content, more specifically what I will call a not‐at‐issue restriction. In addition, evidentials can affect the level of commitment a sentence makes to the main proposition, contributed by sentential mood. Building on recent work in the formal semantics of evidentials and related phenomena, the proposed semantics does not appeal to separate dimensions of illocutionary meaning. Instead, I argue that all sentences make three contributions: at‐issue content, not‐at‐issue content, and an illocutionary relation. At‐issue content is presented, made available for subsequent anaphora, but is not directly added to the common ground. Not‐at‐issue content directly updates the common ground. The illocutionary relation uses the at‐issue content to impose structure on the common ground, which, depending on the clause type (e.g., declarative, interrogative), can trigger further updates. Empirical support for this proposal comes from Cheyenne (Algonquian, primary data from the author’s fieldwork), English, and a wide variety of languages that have been discussed in the literature on evidentials.
Declarative sentences
Authors: Murray Sarah E.
Published: May 2017

Chapter 4 develops a compositional implementation of this analysis
for evidentials in declarative sentences that does not appeal to separate
dimensions of illocutionary meaning. In particular, I use an update
semantics where both truth‐conditional content and anaphoric potential
is encoded (Update with Centering). The formal implementation
builds on work in dynamic semantics and the semantics of assertion
and questions. This compositional, dynamic implementation integrates
the different kinds of semantic contributions discussed in Chapter 3 into
a single representation of meaning.
Interrogative sentences
Authors: Murray Sarah E.
Published: May 2017

Chapter 5 extends this implementation to interrogative sentences,
accounting for the various behaviors of evidentials in questions. Not
only does this extension provide support for the proposed analysis of
evidentials, it provides support for the general semantics for mood.
Interrogativemood is treated as a different kind of illocutionary relation,
but evidentials still contribute not‐at‐issue content. In combination,
they account for a range of properties, including the flip interpretation
of evidentials, where the addressee has evidence for one of the answers
to the question.
Conclusion
Authors: Murray Sarah E.
Published: May 2017

Chapter 6 is the conclusion. It gives a summary of the analysis and
the empirical coverage, but also discusses extensions of the proposed
analysis. The proposed semantics for all sentence types is quite general,
though designed for a compositional semantics for evidentials and
mood. Many other phenomena may be seen as contributing similar
kinds ofmeaning, including appositives, non‐restrictive relative clauses,
and (slifting) parentheticals, in addition to other expressions of evidentiality.
Colonial Contexts and Global Dissent
Authors: Cruickshank Joanna
Published: May 2017

Until late in the nineteenth century, the otherwise fractious universe of Dissent united in affirming Scripture as the supreme religious authority and in exalting the individual conscience as the final interpreter of the Bible’s message. Because of this scriptural fixation, Dissenters contributed disproportionately to the manifestly biblical character of nineteenth-century Anglo-American civilization. It is for that very reason often hard to differentiate a specifically Dissenting history of the Bible from much shared with other Protestants. General cultural influences such as an emphasis on human subjectivity had a lot to do with how Dissenters read their Bibles. The ‘Bible civilization’ to which they contributed was permeated with scriptural phrases and assumptions. Disputes about biblical authority became important because most people were privately committed to the intensive reading of Scripture with the aid of family Bibles. Scripture also lived in public through hymnody and preaching. The Bible featured heavily in political controversy, notably due to disagreements about its place in systems of public education. The tendency to found claims to religious authority on a purified reading of Scripture and to contrast this with the practice of Roman Catholicism was characteristic of Dissent, as was the tendency for those claims to clash. Dissenters divided, for instance, on prophetic interpretation or on whether biblical interpretation needed to be guided by creeds. Conflict over how to interpret the Bible deepened and widened to encompass questions about the character of Scripture itself. Representative early nineteenth-century Dissenters such as Moses Stuart and Josiah Conder held on to unsophisticated if potentially liberal assumptions about the nature of its inspiration but disputes about higher criticism would mount in the wake of Anglican controversies in the 1850s and 1860s. It was striking, however, that these disputes were not as acrimonious in the British Empire as in the United Kingdom or the United States, perhaps because Canadian or Australian Dissenters were more interested in confessional identity and national service. By the end of the century, the expanding terrain of intra-Protestant conflict made it increasingly difficult to discern a unified Dissenting voice. By 1900, it was not as clear as it had once been that ‘the Holy Scriptures are the sole authority and sufficient rule in matters of religion’.
Theology
Authors: Bebbington David
Published: May 2017

This chapter examines the pulpit of Protestant Dissent in nineteenth-century Britain and North America. It focuses on a specific rhetorical genre: the lectures that seasoned ministers gave to young men just starting their careers. Texts considered include Charles Haddon Spurgeon’s Lectures to My Students; the Yale Lectures on Preaching by Henry Ward Beecher, R.W. Dale, and other prominent figures; and several discourses delivered before the Theological Union of Victoria University, in Toronto, Canada. Topics addressed in the chapter include the importance of pastoral visitation and prayer; suggestions for overseeing music, Scripture readings, and all other aspects of the worship service; the goals and purposes of preaching; and strategies and techniques for preparing and delivering sermons. The chapter concludes by suggesting avenues for further study. Promising topics might include comparing these lectures to other nineteenth- and twentieth-century discourses and examining sermon texts written not only by the lecturers themselves, but also by women, people of colour, and others not represented in this study.
Preaching and Sermons
Authors: Ellison Robert H.
Published: May 2017

Prompted by the convulsions of the late eighteenth century and inspired by the expansion of evangelicalism across the North Atlantic world, Protestant Dissenters from the 1790s eagerly subscribed to a millennial vision of a world transformed through missionary activism and religious revival. Voluntary societies proliferated in the early nineteenth century to spread the gospel and transform society at home and overseas. In doing so, they engaged many thousands of converts who felt the call to share their experience of personal conversion with others. Though social respectability and business methods became a notable feature of Victorian Nonconformity, the religious populism of the earlier period did not disappear and religious revival remained a key component of Dissenting experience. The impact of this revitalization was mixed. On the one hand, growth was not sustained in the long term and, to some extent, involvement in interdenominational activity undermined denominational identity; on the other hand, Nonconformists gained a social and political prominence they had not enjoyed since the middle of the seventeenth century and their efforts laid the basis for the twentieth-century explosion of evangelicalism in Africa, Asia, and South America.
Politics and Social Reform in Britain and Ireland
Authors: Biagini Eugenio
Published: May 2017

This chapter explains the rise and significance of various social reform movements in the United States from the early republic through the Civil War. It shows how the American political experiment, with its disestablished religion, gave life to a great experiment in Protestant Dissenting theology. Rather than a marginal, outsider movement—as in much of the rest of the Christian world—Protestant Dissent became the establishment in America. Antebellum America was defined by a relatively weak, decentralized state apparatus. It thus allowed space for many low-church, voluntary Protestants to organize in an effort to address a variety of social questions—chief among them the antislavery crusade, temperance, women’s rights, Sabbatarianism, urban relief, and public institutional reform. The ‘Benevolent Empire’ that championed these causes was by no means unified in politics and theology, but its efforts generally flowed from a belief that moral suasion might help build a more robustly ‘Christian’ America. In the end, moral suasion proved limited. Instead, social reformers became increasingly reliant on direct political strategies to achieve their ends. The greatest social reform accomplishment of the nineteenth century was the abolition of slavery, but it required a two-million-man army and expanded state power to reach that goal. Social reform movements would remain after the American Civil War, with much continuity over time. But the abolition of slavery through war and constitutional amendment provided a model going forward: social reform in America would be achieved not through moral suasion, but through political action.
Gender
Authors: Williams S.C.
Published: May 2017

Ministerial training throughout the nineteenth century was dogged by persistent uncertainties about what Dissenters wanted ministers to do: were they to be preachers or scholars, settled pastors or roving missionaries? Sects and denominations such as the Baptists and Congregationalists invested heavily in the professionalization of ministry, founding, building, and expanding ministerial training colleges whose pompous architecture often expressed their cultural ambitions. That was especially true for the Methodists who had often been wary of a learned ministry, while Presbyterians who had always nursed such a status built an impressive international network of colleges, centred on Princeton Seminary. Among both Methodists and Presbyterians, such institution building could be both bedevilled and eventually stimulated by secessions. Colleges were heavily implicated not just in the supply of domestic ministers but also in foreign mission. Even exceptions to this pattern such as the Quakers who claimed not to have dedicated ministers were tacitly professionalizing training by the end of the century. However, the investment in institutions did not prevent protracted disputes over how academic their training should be. Many very successful Dissenting entrepreneurs, such as Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Thomas Champness, William Booth, and Adoniram Judson Gordon, offered unpretentious vocational training, while in colonies such as Australia there were complaints from Congregationalists and others that the colleges were too high-flying for their requirements. The need to offer a liberal education, which came to include science, as well as systematic theological instruction put strain on the resources of the colleges, a strain that many resolved by farming out the former to secular universities. Many of the controversies generated by theological change among Dissenters centred on colleges because they were disputes about the teaching of biblical criticism and how to resolve the tension between free inquiry and the responsibilities of tutors and students to the wider denomination. Colleges were ill-equipped to accommodate theological change because their heads insisted that theology was a static discipline, central to which was the simple exegesis of Scripture. That generated tensions with their students and caused numerous teachers to be edged out of colleges for heresy, most notoriously Samuel Davidson from Lancashire Independent College and William Robertson Smith from the Aberdeen Free Church College. Nevertheless, even conservatives such as Moses Stuart at Andover had emphasized the importance of keeping one’s exegetical tools up to date, and it became progressively easier in most denominations for college teachers to enjoy intellectual liberty, much as Unitarians had always done. Yet the victory of free inquiry was never complete and pyrrhic in any event as from the end of the century the colleges could not arrest a slow decline in the morale and prospects of Dissenting ministers.
Synesthetic Binding and the Reactivation Model of Memory
Authors: Brogaard Berit
Published: May 2017

Despite the recent surge in research on, and interest in, synesthesia, the mechanism underlying this condition is still unknown. Feedforward mechanisms involving overlapping receptive fields of sensory neurons as well as feedback mechanisms involving a lack of signal disinhibition have been proposed. Here I show that a broad range of studies of developmental synesthesia indicate that the mechanism underlying the phenomenon may in some cases involve the reinstatement of brain activity in sensory or cognitive streams in a way that is similar to what happens during memory retrieval of semantically associated items. In the chapter’s final sections I look at the relevance of synesthesia research, given the memory model, to our understanding of multisensory perception and common mapping patterns.
Postscript: Conclusions, Implications, and Comment
Authors: Martin Graham R.
Published: May 2017

The natural world contains a huge amount of constantly changing information but specializations within sensory systems mean that each species receives only a small part of that information. Information is filtered by sensory systems. We cannot assume what a bird can detect–it is important to measure its sensory capacities and to quantify the sensory challenges posed for the conduct of tasks in different environments. No sensory system can function adequately throughout the full ranges of stimuli that are found in the natural world. There have been many trade-offs in the evolution of particular sensory capacities and tradeoffs and complementarity between different sensory capacities within a species. Birds may often be guided by information at the limits of their sensory capacities. Information that guides behaviours may often be sparse and partial. Key behaviours may only be possible because of cognitive abilities which allow adequate interpretation of such partial information.
Can Grants to Consortia Spur Innovation and Science-Industry Collaboration? Regression- Discontinuity Evidence from Poland
Authors: Bruhn Miriam , McKenzie David
Published: May 2017

Innovation policy aims to foster collaborations between science and industry in many countries, but there is little evidence for the effectiveness of such efforts in developing countries. We use regression discontinuity to measure the impact of funding from Poland’s In-Tech program on innovation activities carried out by consortia of firms and research entities. A detailed follow-up survey of applicants enables us to measure a wider variety of outcomes than typically used in the literature. We find that the grants increase the probability of a project being completed by almost 60 percentage points, lead to more science-industry collaboration, and increase the probability of domestic patents and publications related to the proposed project. We also find early effects on commercialization of products related to the proposed project.
Metabolomic Response to Huanglongbing: Role of Carboxylic Compounds in Citrus sinensis Response to ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ and Its Vector, Diaphorina citri
Authors: Killiny Nabil , Nehela Yasser
Published: May 2017

Huanglongbing, a destructive disease of citrus, is caused by the fastidious bacterium ‘Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus’ and transmitted by Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri. The impact of ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ infection or D. citri infestation on Valencia sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) leaf metabolites was investigated using gas chromatography mass spectrometry, followed by gene expression analysis for 37 genes involved in jasmonic acid (JA), salicylic acid (SA), and proline-glutamine pathways. The total amino acid abundance increased after ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ infection, while the total fatty acids increased dramatically after infestation with D. citri, compared with control plants. Seven amino acids (glycine, l-isoleucine, l-phenylalanine, l-proline, l-serine, l-threonine, and l-tryptophan) and five organic acids (benzoic acid, citric acid, fumaric acid, SA, and succinic acid) increased in ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’-infected plants. On the other hand, the abundance of trans-JA and its precursor α-linolenic increased in D. citri-infested plants. Surprisingly, the double attack of both D. citri infestation and ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ infection moderated the metabolic changes in all chemical classes studied. In addition, the gene expression analysis supported these results. Based on these findings, we suggest that, although amino acids such as phenylalanine are involved in citrus defense against ‘Ca. L. asiaticus’ infection through the activation of an SA-mediated pathway, fatty acids, especially α-linolenic acid, are involved in defense against D. citri infestation via the induction of a JA-mediated pathway.
Molecular Characterization of Australian Isolates of Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici Supports Long-Term Clonality but also Reveals Cryptic Genetic Variation
Authors: Zhang Jianping , Zhang Peng , Karaoglu Haydar , Park Robert F.
Published: May 2017

Long-term surveys of pathogenicity in Puccinia graminis f. sp. tritici in Australia have implicated mutation as a major source of virulence, at times leading to the demise of stem-rust-resistant wheat cultivars and substantial yield losses. Since 1925, these surveys have identified at least four occasions on which exotic isolates of P. graminis f. sp. tritici appeared in Australia, with each acting as a founding isolate that gave rise sequentially to derivative pathotypes via presumed single-step mutation. The current study examined the relationship between virulence and molecular patterns using simple-sequence repeat (SSR) markers on selected isolates of P. graminis f. sp. tritici collected in Australia during a 52-year period in order to propose an evolutionary pathway involving these isolates. Studies of SSR variability among this collection of isolates within a putative clonal lineage based on pathotype 21-0, first detected in 1954 (the “21/34 lineage”), provided compelling evidence of clonality over the 52-year period, coupled with single-step acquisition of virulence for resistance genes. It also supported the postulation that two triticale-attacking pathotypes (34-2,12 and 34-2,12,13) detected in the early 1980s were derived from pathotype 21-0 via stepwise sequential acquisition of virulence for Sr5, Sr11, Sr27, and then SrSatu. Some of the isolates examined that were regarded as members of the race 21/34 lineage based on pathogenicity differed significantly in their SSR genotypes, indicating that they may have originated from processes more complex than simple mutation. This included two isolates of pathotype 21-0, which were collected in 1994 and 2006. Given that sexual recombination in P. graminis is rare or absent in Australia, the cryptic complexity observed could indicate that one or more of these isolates arose as a consequence of asexual recombination.
Combined Spinal Epidural Technique for Labor Analgesia Does Not Delay Recognition of Epidural Catheter Failures: A Single-center Retrospective Cohort Survival Analysis
Authors: Booth J.M. , Pan J.C. , Ross V.H. , Russell G.B. , Harris L.C. , Pan P.H.
Published: May 2017

(Anesthesiology. 2016;125(3):516–524)

Traditional epidural (EPID) analgesia has long been used for labor analgesia; combined spinal-epidural (CSE) analgesia was initially viewed as a refinement of EPID. Advantages of CSE compared with EPID include faster onset of complete analgesia and a lower incidence of epidural catheter failures. Other possible advantages include a lower incidence of motor blockade and risk of hypotension and reduced duration of first-stage labor in nulliparous parturients. Despite these advantages, most of the current literature and policies recommend using EPID rather than CSE. One reason for this recommendation is the belief that epidural catheter failure will be recognized sooner when analgesia is initiated with an EPID compared with CSE technique. The first several hours of analgesia using CSE rely on the spinal dose; thus the catheter remains “untested.” Experts have suggested that CSE should not be used in patients who are at increased risk of requiring urgent cesarean delivery, when the presence of a functioning epidural catheter is important for safe care. These patients include women with severe preeclampsia, history of placental abruption, abnormal fetal presentation, multiple gestation, fetal macrosomia, and patients with difficult airway indices and morbid obesity. However, differences in the timing of catheter failure between CSE and EPID have not yet been studied and there is no evidence to suggest recognition of epidural catheter failures is delayed with CSE compared with EPID.
Failure to Extend Epidural Labor Analgesia for Cesarean Delivery Anesthesia: A Focused Review
Authors: Mankowitz S.K. , Gonzalez Fiol A. , Smiley R.
Published: May 2017

(Anesth Analg. 2016;123(5):1174–1180)

Epidural conversion is the process by which cesarean delivery anesthesia is delivered to the patient via an existing in situ labor epidural catheter. It is not always successful. When failure occurs, it often necessitates induction of general anesthesia, which is associated with a higher risk of complications. The epidural conversion rate could potentially be used as a quality measure, and understanding factors associated with epidural conversion failure might help in preventing the need for another mode of surgical anesthesia. In this focused review, authors searched OvidSP and PubMed for studies discussing failed epidural conversion and reviewed factors associated with failure, as well as alternative anesthetic options.
Adjunctive Azithromycin Prophylaxis for Cesarean Delivery
Authors: Tita A.T. , Szychowski J.M. , Boggess K. , Saade G. , Longo S. , Clark E. I , Esplin S. , Cleary K. , Wapner R. , Letson K. , Owens M. , Abramovici A. , Ambalavanan N. , Cutter G. , Andrews W.
Published: May 2017

(N Engl J Med. 2016;375(13):1231–1241)

A significant cause of maternal deaths in the United States is pregnancy-associated infections postcesarean delivery. Earlier studies proposed that azithromycin-based extended spectrum antibiotic prophylaxis in combination with standard cephalosporin prophylaxis may further reduce the risk of infection following cesarean delivery compared with standard prophylaxis alone. This study aimed to evaluate whether the addition of azithromycin to standard antibiotic prophylaxis beofre skin incision would decrease the occurrence of infection postcesarean delivery without increasing the risk of other adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes.
Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy
Authors: Sjaus A. , McKeen D.M. , George R.B.
Published: May 2017

(Can J Anaesth. 2016;63(9):1075–1097)

Failure of timely diagnosis and treatment of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) contributes significantly to maternal and neonatal morbidities such as neurological complications, pulmonary edema, postpartum hemorrhage; neonatal respiratory and neurological complications and stillbirth. HDP affects 3% to 8% of all pregnancies and special attention to its diagnosis and treatment is needed to curb maternal and neonatal mortality and morbidity. Hypertension without proteinuria, as well as preexisting hypertension, has been occurring more frequently, specifically in older pregnant women. In Canada, the maternal and infant mortality rates have been controlled with improved medical care to women. The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) guidelines on the classification, clinical features, laboratory investigations, diagnosis, and care of HDP, which are outlined in this article and emphasize a multidepartmental team including anesthesiologists, enhance the quality of medical care. The guidelines were published in 2008 and revised in 2014.
Building Comprehensive Strategies for Obstetric Safety: Simulation Drills and Communication
Authors: Austin N. , Goldhaber-Fiebert S. , Daniels K. , Arafeh J. , Grenon V. , Welle D. , Lipman S.
Published: May 2017

(Anesth Analg. 2016;123(5):1181–1190)

Severe maternal morbidity has steadily increased in the United States. A robust, nonpunitive culture of safety is thus needed to encourage reporting and investigation of adverse events and systems. In addition, a comprehensive strategy to maximize obstetric safety is imperative. Thus, in this study, a multidisciplinary group of authors reviewed simulation and team communication as obstetric patient safety tools to help develop a comprehensive approach to minimizing preventable harm in obstetric patients.
Prospective Risk of Stillbirth and Neonatal Complications in Twin Pregnancies: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Cheong-See F. , Schuit E. , Arroyo-Manzano D. , Khalil A. , Barrett J. , Joseph K.S. , Asztalos E. , Hack K. , Lewi L. , Lim A. , Liem S. , Norman J.E. , Morrison J. , Combs C.A. , Garite T.J. , Maurel K. , Serra V. , Perales A. , Rode L. , Worda K. , Nassar A. , Aboulghar M. , Rouse D. , Thom E. , Breathnach F. , Nakayama S. , Russo F.M. , Robinson J.N. , Dodd J.M. , Newman R.B. , Bhattacharya S. , Tang S. , Mol B.W. , Zamora J. , Thilaganathan B. , Thangaratinam S.
Published: May 2017

(BMJ. 2016;354:i4353)

Twin pregnancies pose a high risk for stillbirth. Monochorionic twins have been reported to have a 13-fold increase and dichorionic twins a 5-fold increase compared to singleton pregnancies. As a result, it is sometimes decided to deliver uncomplicated twin pregnancies earlier to prevent late stillbirth. However, there is also risk of neonatal complications linked to preterm and early term delivery. The optimal gestational age for delivery of uncomplicated twin pregnancies is unknown. The present study aimed to determine the risks of stillbirth in women with uncomplicated monochorionic and dichorionic twin pregnancies, as well as the risks to the newborn when delivered at various gestational ages.
Vasa Previa: Diagnosis and Management
Authors: Swank M.L. , Garite T.J. , Maurel K. , Das A. , Perlow J.H. , Combs C.A. , Fishman S. , Vanderhoeven J. , Nageotte M. , Bush M. , Lewis D.
Published: May 2017

(Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2016;215(2):223.e1–223.e6)

Data from ultrasound scans and hospital records were examined for patients who gave birth from years 2000 to 2012. Patients with a diagnosis of vasa previa or a suspected vasa previa were considered for inclusion in the study. Only patients in whom the operative, delivery and/or pathology report specifically described a vasa previa met the criteria for a confirmed diagnosis. Among 68 pregnancies, 49 of them were confirmed to have vasa previa, either based on the operative report or the pathology report or both; 47 cases (96%) were diagnosed by antenatal ultrasound scanning, and 2 cases (4%) were documented at delivery. It was found that 86% of the cases had an identifiable placental and/or maternal risk factor. Women who were confirmed to have vasa previa delivered at a mean gestational age of 34.7 weeks. A total of 8 patients needed emergent cesarean delivery at a mean gestational age of 34.6 weeks, while the remaining 41 cases underwent planned cesarean delivery at a mean gestational age of 34.7 weeks. About 20% of the neonates (n=10) were found to have respiratory distress syndrome. However, there was no report of neonatal death or other major neonatal complications.
Anesthetic Management for Cesarean Delivery in Parturients With a Diagnosis of Dwarfism
Authors: Lange E.M. , Toledo P. , Stariha J. , Nixon H.C.
Published: May 2017

(Can J Anaesth. 2016;63(8):945–951)

An adult height of 148 cm or less is defined as dwarfism. Advances in reproductive technologies have enabled women with dwarfism to conceive and bear children. It is known that pregnant women with either proportionate or disproportionate dwarfism have a greater risk of cesarean delivery compared with those without dwarfism. The anesthetic management of parturients with dwarfism is challenging owing to the large anatomical variations and heterogeneity among patients with dwarfism. The present study was a retrospective report on the anesthetic management of 13 parturients who were diagnosed with dwarfism and underwent cesarean deliveries.
Evaluation of Failed and High Blocks Associated With Spinal Anesthesia for Cesarean Delivery Following Inadequate Labour Epidural: A Retrospective Cohort Study
Authors: Einhorn L.M. , Habib A.S.
Published: May 2017

(Can J Anaesth. 2016;63(10):1170–1178)

A retrospective cohort study was conducted with the aim to investigate factors that are associated with failed and high spinal blocks in patients who received spinal anesthesia for cesarean delivery following insufficient surgical anesthesia from a labor epidural that had been appropriately topped up. The study also assessed the incidence of high spinal blocks in this setting. Data from the Duke Perioperative Anesthesia Database were retrospectively retrieved for women in labor with an existing labor epidural who required a cesarean delivery and received either single-shot spinal or combined spinal-epidural (CSE) anesthesia due to inadequacy of the labor epidural to provide surgical anesthesia, either after a top up for cesarean delivery or without receipt of a top-up dose. The occurrence of failed spinal blocks was the primary outcome of the analysis and the occurrence of high blocks following spinal administration was the secondary outcome.
The Gestational Diabetes Tsunami: Can We Survive It?
Authors: Scott P. , Zhang Y. , Nolan C.J.
Published: May 2017

(Aust N Z J Obstet Gynaecol. 2016;56(4):333–335)

Sedentary lifestyles, poor diets, higher obesity levels, increasing maternal age, and migration of women of high-risk ethnicities to Australia are factors contributing to gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). On the basis of results from various randomized controlled trials and on outcomes of the hyperglycemia and pregnancy outcomes study, the International Association of Diabetes in Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) established new diagnostic criteria for GDM, which was endorsed by several organizations such as the Australasian Diabetes in Pregnancy Society (ADIPS), Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), the Royal College of Pathologists of Australia (RACP), and the World Health Organization (WHO).
Maternal Near-miss at University Hospitals With Cesarean Overuse: An Incident Case-control Study
Authors: Mohammadi S. , Essén B. , Fallahian M. , Taheripanah R. , Saleh Gargari S. , Källestål C.
Published: May 2017

(Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand. 2016; 95(7):777–786)

An important cause of maternal health concern, cesarean section (CS) is known to have some correlation with maternal near-miss (MNM). The objective of this study was to investigate the frequency, causes, risk factors, and perinatal outcomes of MNM. Between March 2012 and May 2014, this incident case-control study was conducted at 3 university hospitals in Tehran with high CS rates.
Sleep Enhancement Training for Pregnant Women
Authors: Lee K.A. , Gay C.L. , Alsten C.R.
Published: May 2017

(Obstet Gynecol. 2016;128(5):964–971)

Poor sleep in the late stages of pregnancy as well as in the early postpartum period is known to be associated with various problems. There are few sleep improvement interventions that are available although a well-known one is the Sleep Enhancement Training System. This training is a cognitive-behavioral intervention in which sound-enhanced audio programs are used to promote relaxation and reduce hyperarousal. The objective of this study was to analyze the feasibility and effectiveness of the Sleep Enhancement Training System for Pregnancy to help enhance sleep among pregnant women as their sleep becomes more disrupted during late pregnancy as well as in the early postpartum period.
Caring for Opioid Dependent Pregnant Women: Prenatal and Postpartum Care Considerations
Authors: Krans E.E. , Cochran G. , Bogen D.L.
Published: May 2017

(Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2015;58(2):370–379)

Statistics have shown that the abuse of opioids during pregnancy has risen significantly. Simultaneously there has been an increase in the rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) or neonatal drug withdrawal after birth. As pregnancy provides an appropriate opportunity to identify opioid dependence (OD), health care providers can make a substantive impact on the lives of OD pregnant women and their children by treating and managing the problem effectively.
Maternal and Perinatal Outcomes in Women Planning Vaginal Birth After Cesarean (VBAC) at Home in England: Secondary Analysis of the Birthplace National Prospective Cohort Study
Authors: Rowe R. , Li Y. , Knight M. , Brocklehurst P. , Hollowell J.
Published: May 2017

(BJOG. 2016;123:1123–1132)

Some women in England who have undergone a cesarean section (CS) in an earlier pregnancy prefer a planned vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) in a midwifery-led setting, such as at home, in a freestanding midwifery unit, or in an alongside midwifery unit which resides in the same facility as a hospital obstetric unit (OU). However, present national guidelines suggest that women with a previous CS plan subsequent births in an OU to avoid maternal and fetal complications. This study aimed to compare vaginal birth rates in women planning VBAC at home to those planning VBAC in an OU, and to determine transfer rates for those planning VBAC at home. In addition, analysis of maternal and perinatal outcomes for these groups was undertaken.
Donor Oocyte Conception and Pregnancy Complications: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Authors: Jeve Y.B. , Potdar N. , Opoku A. , Khare M.
Published: May 2017

(BJOG. 2016;123(9):1471–1480)

The demand for donor oocyte (DO) conception has increased along with the growing trend of delayed childbirth. However, increased risk of complications such as pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and preeclampsia have been reported in DO pregnancies irrespective of maternal age. Studies have found rates of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy as high as 16% to 40% in women with pregnancies conceived via DO. This systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken to examine the obstetric outcomes of DO pregnancies compared with autologous-oocyte in vitro fertilization (IVF) pregnancies, and to determine if DO pregnancy is an independent risk factor for pregnancy-related complications.
Does Nitrous Oxide Labor Analgesia Influence the Pattern of Neuraxial Analgesia Usage? An Impact Study at an Academic Medical Center
Authors: Bobb L.E. , Farber M.K. , McGovern C. , Camann W.
Published: May 2017

(J Clin Anesth. 2016;35:54–57)

During labor and delivery, there are many options available for pain relief, and the inhalation of nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the methods that is gaining popularity in the United States. However, the effect of N2O availability on the utilization patterns of other forms of labor analgesia such as neuraxial labor analgesia (especially in large American hospital settings) has not been studied. The objective of this study was to examine how the use of N2O during labor and delivery would influence the pattern of neuraxial labor analgesia.
Prevention of Spinal Anesthesia-induced Hypotension During Cesarean Delivery by 5-Hydroxytryptamine-3 Receptor Antagonists: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis and Meta-regression
Authors: Heesen M. , Klimek M. , Hoeks S.E. , Rossaint R.
Published: May 2017

(Anesth Analg. 2016;123(4):977–988)

Hypotension is a common complication affecting obstetric patients receiving spinal anesthesia, and can lead to nausea and vomiting, altered consciousness, and increased risk of aspiration. As 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT3, serotonin) receptors are involved in the mechanism, studies have evaluated 5-HT3 receptor antagonists for their potential to prevent spinal anesthesia-induced hypotension. The authors of the present meta-analysis reviewed the effect of 5-HT3 receptor antagonists on the frequency of hypotension in patients undergoing spinal anesthesia.