bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Honeyvine Milkweed (Ampelamus albidus) Response to Foliar Herbicides
Authors: Moshier Loren J. , Russ Oliver G. , O'Connor Joseph P. , Claassen Mark M.
Published: May 2019

A 3-yr experiment and a 1-yr experiment in continuous winter wheat (Triticum aestivumL. ‘Newton’) and two 3-yr experiments in continuous grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolorL. (Moench.) ‘Co-op SG-10’ or ‘DeKalb DX-42Y’] were conducted to evaluate selected foliage-applied herbicides for control of honeyvine milkweed [Ampelamus albidus(Nutt.) Britt # AMPAL]. Glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl)-glycine] applied at 3.4 kg ae/ha, glyphosate plus dicamba (3,6-dichloro-2-methoxybenzoic acid) applied at 1.7 plus 0.6 kg ae/ha, and glyphosate plus 2,4-D [(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid] applied at 1.7 plus 1.1 kg ae/ha in summer between harvesting and planting winter wheat and in spring prior to planting grain sorghum effectively reduced honeyvine milkweed regrowth 1 yr after initial application in both cropping systems. One or two additional annual applications did not provide complete control in either cropping system. Applications of 2,4-D at 2.2 kg ae/ha dicamba at 1.1 kg ae/ha and 2,4-D plus dicamba at 1.1 plus 0.6 kg ae/ha were effective if applied consecutively for 3 yr in continuous winter wheat but not in continuous grain sorghum.
Effect of Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) Herbicide Carryover on Subsequent Crops
Authors: Rogers C. Brent , Talbert Ronald , Frans Robert
Published: May 2019

The residual effect of three cotton (Gossypium hirsutumL.) herbicide programs, including the use of no herbicides, a minimum program consisting of fluometuron {N,N-dimethyl-N′-[3-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl] urea} and MSMA (monosodium salt of methylarsonic acid), and an intensive program consisting of trifluralin [2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzenamine], fluometuron, MSMA, and linuron [N′-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-methoxy-N-methylurea], were evaluated from 1976 to 1982. Herbicide injury to wheat (Triticum aestivumL.) and hairy vetch (Vicia villosaRoth.) on three soils showed carryover effects in the following sequence: Sharkey silty clay > Dundee silt loam > Loring silt loam. The intensive program was the most injurious on the Sharkey silty clay. The effects of the two herbicide programs were nearly equal on the Dundee and Loring silt loams. Possible replacement crops for cotton, such as grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench.] and corn (Zea maysL.) suffered the least damage from carryover; rice (Oryza sativaL.), soybeans [Glycine max(L.) Merr.] and cucumber (Cucumis sativisL.) suffered severe damage. Greenhouse bioassays generally confirmed field results, and fluometuron appeared to be the major component of carryover.
Competition for Light by Broadleaf Weeds in Soybeans (Glycine max)
Authors: Stoller Edward W. , Woolley Joseph T.
Published: May 2019

Common cocklebur (Xanthium pensylvanicumWallr. ♯ XANPE), velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrastiMedic. ♯ ABUTH), and jimsonweed (Datura stramoniumL. ♯ DATST) are weeds that grow taller than soybeans [Glycine max(L.) Merr.] and compete for limited resources such as light. These weeds have an average area of influence of 0.5 m2, thus a density of 1 to 2 plants/m2forms a full canopy of weed leaves above the soybeans that intercept 44 to 56% of the sunlight. Shade of 44 to 56% without weeds, placed above soybeans late in the season corresponding to times of weed shading, reduced soybean yield 19 to 26%. Since reported soybean yield reductions at weed densities of 0.7 to 2.5 plants/m2were 18 to 54% for common cocklebur and 12 to 31% for jimsonweed and velvedeaf, it was concluded that most of the interference from jimsonweed and velvetleaf infestations in soybeans could be ascribed to competition for light, but only about one-half the interference was due to competition for light for common cocklebur. Soybean photosynthesis in the field was reduced about twice as much as soybean yield at equivalent levels of shading.
Evaluation of Early-Season and Postharvest Herbicide Treatments on Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)
Authors: Winton Kimberly T. , Stritzke Jimmy F.
Published: May 2019

Terbacil (3-tert-butyl-5-chloro-6-methyluracil), diuron [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea], hexazinone [3-cyclohexyl-6-(dimethylamino)-1-methyl-1,3,5-triazine-2,4(1H,3H)-dione], and metribuzin [4-amino-6-butyl-3-(methylthio)-as-triazin-5(4H)-one] controlled palmer amaranth (Amaranthus palmeriS. Wats. ♯ AMAPA) in established alfalfa (Medicago sativaL.) when applied after first harvest. However, these same herbicides did not control palmer amaranth when applied early-season in March. Alfalfa forage yields were increased when palmer amaranth was controlled. Residue levels of terbacil and its metabolites in alfalfa forage from plots treated postharvest with 1.1 kg/ha of terbacil were well below the 5-ppm tolerance level established for terbacil in alfalfa. There was some chlorosis of alfalfa foliage following the postharvest use of the 1.1 kg ai/ha of terbacil. There was also a yield reduction of alfalfa in two of the six experiments (one from a March and one from a June application) where 1.1 kg ai/ha of terbacil was evaluated.
IL VOTO DI PREFERENZA IN ITALIA E LA LEGGE ELETTORALE EUROPEA
Authors: Bardi Luciano
Published: May 2019

Introduzione

Il voto di preferenza è da tempo uno degli elementi più discussi del sistema elettorale italiano. Nel corso del dibattito apertosi in concomitanza con i lavori della commissione bicamerale per le riforme istituzionali, è emerso un quasi unanime orientamento a favore di una soppressione di tale strumento. Si ritiene che il voto di preferenza favorisca i processi disgregativi all'interno dei partiti e che una sua eliminazione, o quanto meno una revisione dei meccanismi che lo regolano, possa avere l'effetto «di moralizzare la vita politica e di evitare una malsana lotta fratricida all'interno dei partiti». Tale opinione riassume, forse un po’ enfaticamente, alcune delle osservazioni di quanti hanno studiato il voto di preferenza nel contesto del sistema e del comportamento elettorale in Italia. Il voto di preferenza sembra infatti essere maggiormente utilizzato in presenza di situazioni clientelari (quali il ‘voto di scambio’) e caratterizzate da un alto grado di frazionismo dei partiti.
Suspended leaf litter in an understorey treelet as habitat extension for ground-dwelling ants in the Atlantic Forest, south-eastern Brazil
Authors: Macedo-Reis Luiz Eduardo , Leite Alice Carvalho , Guerra Tadeu José , Antoniazzi Reuber , Neves Frederico de Siqueira
Published: May 2019

Ground-dwelling ants are active foragers that may extend their foraging area into the vegetation, although the factors affecting their diversity in the suspended litter of understorey plants remain overlooked. To evaluate the influence of the distance between strata, litter biomass and plant size on the ant fauna, the litter ant assemblage of the suspended stratum was compared with the ground immediately below the understorey treeletErythrochiton brasiliensis(Rutaceae) in an Atlantic Forest, south-eastern Brazil. We collected 1364 ants from 26 ant species. The suspended litter ant assemblage represented a subset of the ground-dwelling ants present in soil litter. The beta diversity results primarily from the high ant species turnover among individual suspended-litter samples, and among ground-litter samples, while species turnover among suspended-ground pairs is lower. Additionally, plant height was not important in determining the species turnover between strata. However, plant height positively correlated with ant species richness, probably because of the increased number of microhabitats. These results suggest that suspended litter in the forest understorey can provide the conditions for ground-dwelling ants to forage and nest, functioning as a vertical extension of resources and microhabitat conditions present in the ground litter.
Partial validation of a numerical model for tidal motion in the Tay Estuary
Authors: Gunn D. J. , McManus J. , Yenigun O.
Published: May 2019

Synopsis

In a mathematical model of the Tay (Gunn & Yenigun 1987) based upon the Local Integral Method (Gunn & Yenigun 1985), tidal levels at the seaward boundaries and velocities at landward boundaries are used in setting boundary conditions, so that validation studies are mainly based upon changes in internal tidal levels, and comparison between computed and measured velocities within the modelled region. The comparisons of tidal levels within this estuary over a 5.0 m tide showed agreement with overall values from Buddon Ness to the rail bridge, but within the overall agreement there were significant differences in the immediate vicinity of the road bridge. Velocities predicted within the estuary have been compared with measurements provided by a number of surveys in the period from 1972-78. The agreement between experiment and prediction was good in the central and western regions of the model, but the comparison between measurement and prediction was less good near the eastern boundaries. The principal reason for poorer agreement in the east was the difficulty in setting boundary conditions at the open sea extremes of the model. The most satisfactory way of improving the model near the open sea boundaries would be to link the model for the Tay with a model for velocity and level in the North Sea.
Radioactivity in the Forth, Scotland
Authors: Leatherland T. M.
Published: May 2019

Synopsis

The natural background concentrations of radioactivity in the waters of the Forth are shown to be only marginally increased by anthropogenic inputs. The nature of the background levels and anthropogenic influences is briefly described.
Fungal associations on field-weathered plants and their role in residue decomposition
Authors: Simpson Marion E. , Marsh Paul B. , Sikora Lawrence J.
Published: May 2019

Basic microbiological information is presented which is relevant to an understanding of the decomposition of crop residues in conservation and conventional tillage practices. Little has been known about the role in crop residue decomposition of microbial populations that grow on dead leaves and stems of crop plants standing in the field after maturation. Even the identity of such organisms has not been thoroughly defined. Dead leaves and stems were collected from corn and from other field crop, garden, and native plants standing during weathering after maturation in fields at Beltsville, Md., and at seven other U.S. locations in the fall of 1984 and the spring of 1985. Certain “field fungi” from the genera Alternaria, Cladosporium, Fusarium, and Helminthosporium (Bipolaris) occurred as a common population growing on samples from most locations in spite of major differences in temperature and precipitation during the weathering. All fungi observed are known from the literature to be able to decompose native cellulose in pure culture. Some can grow on plant waxes. They grow poorly, if at all, in the absence of oxygen. All grow best in the presence of free water; none are true xerophytes, although some can resist wetting-drying cycles. They are mesophiles and exhibit most rapid growth at about 25–28 C. Some can survive over winter in plant tissues in cold climates. Probable relevance of these characteristics to residue decomposition in field situations is discussed.
Factors Affecting Participation in the Milk Diversion Program in the U.S. and New York
Authors: Lee David R. , Boisvert Richard N.
Published: May 2019

Participation in the 1984–85 Milk Diversion Program (MDP) is examined through the analysis of aggregate state level data for the U.S. and county level data from New York. Linear probability, logit and probit models of participation are estimated. The empirical results are highly similar across models and identify the important determinants of farmer participation in the MDP. Models explaining contracted diversion levels are also estimated but do not have the explanatory power of the participation models. The implications of the results for the analysis of U.S. dairy policy alternatives are discussed.
Ethical Preferences and the Assessment of Existence Values: Does the Neoclassical Model Fit?
Authors: Edwards Steven F.
Published: May 2019

Some of the implications of ethical preferences for traditional welfare analyses of existence values are discussed in this paper and illustrated with a lexicographic model for preference structures. Although willingness-to-pay and willingness-to-sell are well-defined, their connection with Hicksian surpluses is lost when a person is motivated by an ethical commitment to others’ welfare. Researchers need to expand contingent valuation methods to collect information on underlying motives and types of preferences in order to identify respondents who fit the neoclassical model of egoistic man.
Helping the Academically Handicapped Reader: Peer Tutoring Revisited
Authors: Gill W. Malcolm
Published: May 2019

The characteristics of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) which makes it so worthy of consideration for use by the teacher of pupils with special needs, whose time for individual attention with her pupils is limited, are briefly discussed, and comment is made about the limitations of this approach. Attention is drawn to the alternative approach of peer tutoring, where the desirable one-to-one characteristic is attainable, and where there is the possibility that the sensitivity to the quality of the computer program, which is one of the limitations of the approach of CAI, may be contrasted with the not-so-sensitive-to-quality-of-program characteristic of peer tutoring. This possibility is examined in the context of a sample of poor reading Year eight pupils who were given a period of peer tutoring by Year eleven and twelve pupils in the same school, where the demonstrably not high quality program consisted of relatively few meetings between tutor and tutee, of short duration, at which it was expected that there would be talk, reading and being read to. Use of a control group enabled the conclusions to be reached that this peer tutoring resulted in gains for the tutees in reading ability and in attitude towards and behaviour in school, this being suggestive of the power of this low staff input, low cost, low technology technique in the area of special education.
The Use of Behavioural Self-Control as a Teaching Tool
Authors: Roe Diana , Plummer Sandi
Published: May 2019

This paper examines the use of self-control techniques as a teaching tool to change children’s behaviour, and to generalize that behaviour change to other settings. Four case studies are presented to illustrate the use of self-assessment, using the child’s own criteria for rating behaviour, self-modelling with videotapes of the child in the classroom, and self-monitoring using a wrist counter. It is concluded that self-control techniques can be a valuable way of teaching special children to discriminate and evaluate how they are behaving.
Airport Disaster Arrangements in the United Kingdom
Authors: Baskett Peter J.F.
Published: May 2019

Some two years ago the Club of Mainz Executive Committee endorsed a proposal to investigate the rescue and medical facilities at a selection of the world's airports. A number of members of the Club agreed to take part in a survey of a sample of airports in their own regions and some of these reports will be presented in this article. Three airports were studied in the United Kingdom — London Heathrow and Stansted — both civilian airports, and one military airport, Brize Norton, in Oxfordshire.

London Heathrow is one of the biggest international airports in the world, handling more airlines than any other. More than 25 million passengers a year pass through Heathrow and at peak periods there are up to 78 aircraft arrivals and departures per hour. More than 60,000 people are employed at Heathrow. A wide variety of planes are handled from Concorde and wide-bodied jets to small executive aircraft.

Stansted Airport is situated some 30 miles north of London and is also a standby airport for both Heathrow and London's second airport, Gatwick. At present only 500,000 passengers use the airport each year, but it has a capacity for four times this number and there are facilities for further expansion. Stansted is also the fourth biggest air cargo handler in Britain and caters to a complete range of aircraft.
Aircraft Crash Management in Australia and New Zealand
Authors: Fahey Morgan
Published: May 2019

In the history of aviation there has never been a period when so much effort has been demonstrated to improve the safety standards of international and national airports. This has come about through the knowledge that aircraft crashes in recent years at some airports have been mismanaged because of bad or non-existent planning for such a disaster, and by poor emergency medical response.

We share today a faith in the safety of the aircraft. We share, too, the awareness that more people have survived aircraft crashes than have perished, and that if there are survivors on board, in most cases there will be more survivors than dead (1).

The encouragement to improve airport safety and crash management has come largely from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO); from the Club of Mainz Association, who in 1979 set up a consultant committee to investigate and improve international airports; from the Flight Safety Foundation and from the US Airline Pilots Association. All these organizations have rightly questioned the quality of existing emergency medical response to an aircraft crash, and have offered expert advice to improve disaster preparedness and management. This article will report our response to this challenge, particularly in New Zealand, but will also concern our neighboring continent of Australia.

New Zealand, set in the Pacific Ocean with its two long islands, has international flight contacts through its three major airports with North America, South East Asia, Japan and the South West Pacific. It has its own national aviation hazards of mountain chains, difficult landing approaches from the sea, made more hazardous with strong winds which are a feature of our capital city airport. Despite this, the safety record of New Zealand airports is extremely high.
Trauma Teams and Their Use in Aircraft Disasters
Authors: Star Leon D. , DelGuercio Louis R.M. , Abelson Louis C.
Published: May 2019

The concept of treating mass casualties in major disasters, particularly at or near airports, has gained considerable momentum in recent years (1). Major urban airports are almost without exception, plagued by access road traffic problems even under normal circumstances. Given a disaster within the confines of an airport, emergency equipment and medical support are found to be mired in a morass of sightseer and emergency service vehicles, compounding the congestion already present immeasurably (2).

Evolving from experiences gained over the past 30 years in handling masses of casualties resulting from aircraft disasters, we at Kennedy Airport have developed a Mobile Emergency Hospital which now serves as the “workshop” for stabilizing large numbers of injuries prior to subsequent transfer to definitive hospitals. The keys to this plan are the Trauma Team support used in conjunction with the mobile hospitals.

The ideal trauma team consists of 2 surgeons or trauma-trained physicians, one surgical nurse and one medical or 2 surgical technicians. These teams can be varied according to the immediate situation, time of day, available physicians, nurses and technicians. Anesthesiologists respond either individually or as members of some of the teams reporting directly to the operating units on arrival.

For an efficient response plan to function, previous liaison must be established primarily with teaching hospitals with a surgical staff that includes surgery and trauma residents. The Kennedy plan has a working arrangement with the New York Medical College and 8 of its affiliated major teaching hospitals in Manhattan, as well as in the main campus at Valhalla, which maintains an associated Burn Center.
Surgical Care of Victims in Aeroplane and Airport Disasters
Authors: Domres B. , Dürner P. , Zahradnicek J.
Published: May 2019

We must be prepared for a survivorship of about 600 to 700 injured passengers in case of an accident involving two jumbo jets as these planes are able to absorb more impact forces than earlier types, and 40%-50% of the passengers may survive.

A triage post, an anteroom for resuscitation and anesthesia, and an operating room with 3 tables must be installed within the airport. Mobile operation units are necessary in addition for urgent surgical care on the spot. The optimum time of the operational readiness is approximately half an hour, if “on the spot surgical care” is to be effective.

At the triage post several tables are available, each with an experienced surgeon for the rapid medical examination. The time of examination and triage for each victim of the earthquake disaster in El Asnam was three minutes.

In an airport disaster, about 10% of survivors might belong to the first category of triage, i.e., have life-threatening injuries. They will require resuscitation and urgent surgical care. Twenty percent might be seriously wounded passengers of the second category, who should be conveyed to hospital as soon as possible. Seventy percent might have minor injuries of the third category and can wait for care and transportation.

Many victims may require neurosurgical operations, but this should be carried out by trained experts and not at the airport. Open depressed skull fractures should be treated at the airport by shaving the scalp, irrigating the wound, applying a sterile dressing and instituting antibiotic therapy. Foreign bodies should be left in place until definitive surgery can be undertaken.
Shock Rules and Their Use During Triage
Authors: Gorgass B. , Driessen A. , Bautista J.
Published: May 2019

In a mass casualty situation after airplane accidents, it is not unusual that physicians with only limited experience in emergency medicine need to perform initial triage. In their day to day work, they may not usually be confronted with the problems of hypovolemic shock. The same holds true for a proportion of the paramedical personnel employed.

Speedy assessment and immediate, purposeful therapy is of the utmost importance in a mass casualty situation to increase the survival prospects of the victims. Timeconsuming and elaborate examinations are naturally precluded.

The estimation of blood loss from profusely bleeding open wounds should not be too difficult. The extent, however, of the total blood loss associated with the insidious development of fracture hematomas is more frequently underestimated. This error can be avoided during triage at a mass casualty situation by means of a quick approximate calculation of the probably internal bleeding volumes:

More difficulty is presented by internal hemorrhage in individuals appearing uninjured or only slightly injured. In such cases, the personnel employed in the early phase after an airplane accident should use simple and proven rules as criteria for their evaluation.

The quotient of the pulse frequency and the systolic blood pressure has been called the shock index (Allgöwer and Burryi) (1). Disregarding the later and more complicated pathophysiological processes such as cardiogenic shock or septic shock, this index has been suggested as a method of assessment of the seveity of the hypovolemic shock in an injured person (Figure 1).
Continuous Infusion of Ketamine and Althesin for Anesthesia in Disaster Situations
Authors: Bisio E. , Zattoni J. , Roccatagliata C.D. , Germi M.R. , Fuccaro P.
Published: May 2019

Traffic, industrial or natural disasters and wars frequently threaten the lives of a large number of victims. Often the patients suffer a combination of injuries to the head, extremities, thorax, lung and abdomen. Immediate anesthetic measures at the site of the accident are required and essential to the survival of the patients with multiple injuries. During transport, further surgical and anesthetic treatment may also be needed. Occasionally, the number of people involved in a disaster exceeds the treatment capacity of the nearby medical institutions. Urgent and improvised decisions are required with a clear picture of the treatment resources at the site of the accident or during transport.

Special attention must be focused on necessary surgical measures and intensive care, as well as resuscitation and advanced anesthetic expertise — essential pillars of support. In many cases, the anesthetic treatment of patients with multiple injuries is the decisive therapeutic measure. The anesthetic technique must be guided by the pathophysiological requirements. The medications used should have a controllable and pronounced hypnotic-sedative and analgesic effect, without having a depressant influence on respiration or circulation, and they should improve organ perfusion. Furthermore, they should provide a means for cerebral protection. The anesthetic apparatus should be simple and compact and it should be possible to apply the technique over several hours, using room air, with or without the addition of oxygen. The agents and apparatus should be compatible with the use of every type of muscle relaxant and narcotic. New intravenous anesthetic agents meet these criteria.
Host Resistance in Patients after Resuscitation
Authors: Wolowicka Laura , Bartkowiak Hanna , Gorny Ryszard
Published: May 2019

There has recently been a steady increase in the number of patients treated in intensive care units (ICUs) and requiring resuscitation. This number has risen from 1 to 3% in patients after cardiac arrest (19) and from 7 to 13% in those with severe injuries (18). The immune system investigations, introduced more and more widely in intensive care medicine for prophylactic, therapeutic and prognostic reasons, did not, in principle, concern the cases of post-resuscitation disease after cardiac arrest. Only a few reports have been published on this subject (11).

The aims of our investigations were the analysis of selected humoral and cellular factors in patients after cardiac arrest in comparison to those with multiple injuries, evaluation of the host resisctance against infection and of prognostic values of some immunological indices.

Examinations were carried out in 50 patients, treated in an ICU of 15 beds, from 1981 to 1982, and in 20 healthy volunteers. The patients were divided into two main groups (Fig. 1): The first group consisted of 25 patients after cardiac arrest, age 47±12. The second group consisted of 25 patients after severe multiple injuries, age 42±18 y; they corresponded to an abbreviated injury scale (AIS) of 4–6 (8). 56% of the patients with cardiac arrest could not be resuscitated. In 64% of the trauma patients treatment was unsuccessful. Infection complications, influencing recovery were observed in 10 (40%) after cardiac arrest and in 12 (48%) after trauma. The cardiopulmonary-cerebral resuscitation methods used were standard (16).
Blockage of ovulation and insemination in the tsetse Glossina morsitans morsitans with reserpine
Authors: Samaranayaka-Ramasamy M. , Denlinger D. L.
Published: May 2019

Reserpine (a pharmacological agent of plant origin) injected into females of Glossina morsitans morsitans was highly effective in preventing ovulation when injected 1–2 days before the egg is normally ovulated. In contrast, reserpine was only modestly effective in blocking parturition, thus suggesting that these two closely related temporal events may be independently regulated. Males injected with reserpine frequently initiated copulation, but sperm and accessory reproductive gland secretions were never transferred to the female. Reserpine, which presumably acts by depleting stores of amines in the nervous system, may have considerable utility in probing the neuroendocrine regulation of tsetse reproduction.
Studies on the biology of the palm aphid, Cerataphis variabilis (Homoptera: Pemphigidae), on Raphia hookeri–1: Developmental period of the immatures, fecundity and longevity of the apterous adults
Authors: Enobakhare D. A.
Published: May 2019

The biology of the aphid, Cerataphis variabilis H.R.L., on Raphia hookeri Mann & Wendl., was studied in the laboratory and the field using a ‘clip-on’ cage and a sleeve cage. The first instar lasted 5.1 days. The second and third instars each lasted 2.45 days, while the fourth instar lasted 2.4 days. The total developmental period of the nymphs was 11.3 days at 26.4 ± 1.43°C and r.h. 83 ± 1.46%; 11.6 days at 26.4 ± 1.63°C and r.h. 85 ± 1.19%; 12.9 days at 27.9 ± 1.04°C and r.h. 75.5 ± 1.64%; 12.95 days at 27.8 ± 0.33°C and r.h. 69 ± 1.23%; 15 days at 21.4 ± 0.58°C and r.h. 45 ± 1.77%. These periods were significantly different at 5% level (LSD = 0.59 days). The higher the temperature and relative humidity the shorter the developmental period (with temperature: r = −0.69, 20.8–28.9°C; r.h.: r = −0.97, 43.2–86.2%). The number of progeny per adult ranged from 54 to 60 in a period of 28–31 days. The longevity ranged from 31 to 34 days.
Blasenentleerungsstörungen bei der Frau – Ursachen, Diagnostik und Therapie
Authors: Scheiner David , Ghisu Gian-Piero , Betschart Cornelia
Published: May 2019

Zusammenfassung. Bis zu jede vierte Frau ist von Blasenentleerungsstörungen betroffen. Darunter verstehen wir die erschwerte Entleerung der Blase. Blasenentleerungsstörungen können sich subjektiv durch häufigen und starken Harndrang oder Restharngefühl äussern. Erhöhter Restharn und / oder eine pathologische Miktion mit erhöhten Druckwerten und / oder pathologischen Flusskurven objektivieren die Störung. Häufige Ursachen sind ein Genitaldeszensus oder iatrogen bedingt ein Zustand nach Inkontinenzeingriffen. Daneben kann die Blasenentleerungsstörung auch dysfunktional bedingt sein. Entsprechend richtet sich die Therapie nach der Ursache: Die Korrektur des Deszensus führt meist zur Behebung der Miktionsproblematik, eine zu straff gelegte Inkontinenzschlinge soll gelockert oder gespalten werden, und dysfunktionale Störungen lassen sich gut mittels Beckenbodenrehabilitation angehen.
Reflect and Remember: The Ethics of Complications in Interventional Radiology
Authors: Keller Eric J.
Published: May 2019

Clinicians, particularly those in procedural specialties, tend to feel personally responsible when complications occur. Medical errors among surgeons have been studied and provide an insightful window into the ethics of complications. Ethically we must consider what we owe patient and families, ourselves, and our colleagues. To some degree, the answers are similar: reflection, confession, and resolution. We owe patients and families an explanation and lack of abandonment; we owe ourselves thoughtful reflection on what caused the complication and how we can learn from it; and we owe our colleagues assistance managing our complications and a chance to learn from our mistakes. As a specialty that prides itself on innovation and novel therapies, interventional radiology has a unique relationship with complications that has not been well developed. As the specialty grows, it will be important to provide forums for further understanding the ethical challenges in interventional radiology.
Role of N-Terminal Pro-brain Natriuretic Peptide in the Early Diagnosis of Neonatal Sepsis
Authors: Okur Nilufer , Buyuktiryaki Mehmet , Uras Nurdan , Oncel Mehmet Yekta , Halil Halid , Isık Sehribanu , İpek Mehmet Sah , Canpolat Fuat Emre , Oguz Serife Suna
Published: May 2019

Objective Sepsis is one of the most significant contributors to mortality and morbidity in the neonatal population. The need to find specific biomarkers that provide meaningful information about the diagnosis of sepsis is still ongoing. This study aimed to investigate the utility of N-terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) as a diagnostic biomarker in newborn infants with late-onset sepsis.

Methods A prospective, observational study was conducted in the neonatal intensive care unit between July 2016 and January 2017. The patients suspected of having late-onset sepsis and meeting the selection criteria were included in the study, and serial measurements of white blood cell count, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma interleukin (IL) 6, and whole blood NT-proBNP levels were performed.

Results The study included 87 patients diagnosed with sepsis and 35 control patients. The median NT-proBNP levels were higher in septic patients (58 [22–169] vs. 14 [7–21]; p < 0.001), showing a significant correlation with CRP and IL-6 levels (r = 0.327, p < 0.01 and r = 0.216, p < 0.05, respectively). The optimal diagnostic cutoff value for differentiating sepsis was 27.5 pg/mL. Predictive parameters of NT-proBNP, such as sensitivity (72%) and specificity (86%), were comparable to those of CRP and IL-6 for the early diagnosis of sepsis in neonates.

Conclusion Plasma NT-proBNP levels were higher in septic neonates, and the predictive values were comparable to those of CRP and IL-6. However, these values were not high enough to make it a reliable diagnostic biomarker for identifying neonates in the early stages of sepsis.
Cardiogenic pulmonary edema: mechanisms and treatment - an intensivist's view
Authors: Ingbar David H.
Published: May 2019

Purpose of review

This review summarizes current understanding of the pathophysiology of cardiogenic pulmonary edema, its causes and treatment.

Recent findings

The pathobiology and classification of pulmonary edema is more complex than the hydrostatic vs. permeability dichotomy of the past. Mechanisms of alveolar fluid clearance and factors that affect the clearance rate are under intensive study to find therapeutic strategies. Patients need early stabilization of oxygenation and ventilation, preferably with high-flow nasal cannula oxygen or noninvasive ventilation whereas the diagnostic cause is quickly sought with echocardiography and other testing.

Treatments must be initiated early, whereas evaluation still is occurring and requires multimodality intervention. The general treatment of cardiogenic pulmonary edema includes diuretics, possibly morphine and often nitrates. The appropriate use of newer approaches – such as, nesiritide, high-dose vasodilators, milrinone, and vasopressin receptor antagonists – needs larger clinical trials.
Prior Participation in Simulation Events Is Associated With Insimulation Team Performance Among Emergency Medical Services Professionals
Authors: Gurňáková Jitka , Gröpel Peter
Published: May 2019

Introduction

Prior evidence has supported the use of high-fidelity simulation in initial emergency medical services (EMS) education, but there is a dearth of research on whether EMS professionals can also benefit from it. We sought to examine simulation use and years of practice as predictors of insimulation team performance among EMS professionals. The hypothesis is that both the prior participation in simulation events and the accumulated years of practice will predict insimulation performance.

Methods

This cross-sectional study was conducted as part of a simulation-based EMS competition. Paramedic and physician teams were tested. Participants' years of EMS and healthcare practice and their prior participation in simulation events were assessed with a survey and correlated with performance in the competition.

Results

Participants were 120 EMS professionals from 51 teams, which was 75% of all competitors. They had in average 8.03 years of healthcare practice and 5.71 years of EMS practice and had previously participated in 4.34 simulation events. The prior participation in simulation events correlated significantly with EMS insimulation performance at the team level (r = 0.40–0.59). In contrast, neither the years of healthcare practice nor the years of EMS practice significantly predicted insimulation team performance. Furthermore, there was no interaction of simulation use and years of practice.

Conclusions

The benefits of simulation use are not limited to initial EMS education but spread also to experienced professionals. Even individuals who have been working in the field for many years may benefit from high-fidelity simulation. Future research should examine whether this also translates into better clinical performance.
Levetiracetam inhibits SV2A-synaptotagmin interaction at synapses that lack SV2B
Authors: Ciruelas Kristine , Marcotulli Daniele , Sullivan Jane M , Bajjalieh Sandra M
Published: May 2019

Epilepsy remains a difficult-to-treat neurological disorder prompting the need for new therapies that work via alternate mechanisms. Levetiracetam (LEV) is the first in a series of anti-epilepsy drugs that target presynaptic functioning. LEV binds the synaptic vesicle protein SV2A, and has been shown to decrease neurotransmitter release in hippocampal slices. The molecular basis of LEV action is unknown, however, and direct effects of LEV on SV2A function remain to be determined. SV2A is the most widely expressed paralog of a three-gene family (SV2A, B, C) that is variably co-expressed throughout the CNS. All three SV2s bind the calcium sensor protein synaptotagmin and SV2 plays a crucial role in synaptotagmin stability and trafficking. Here we addressed the action of LEV at the cellular and molecular level asking whether the presence of non-LEV binding SV2 paralogs influences drug action and whether LEV impacts SV2A’s role in synaptotagmin function. We report that LEV altered short-term synaptic plasticity in isolated neurons from SV2B knockout but not wild-type mice, mimicking the loss of SV2 function. Similarly, LEV reduced SV2A binding to synaptotagmin only in the absence of SV2B. Furthermore, LEV reduced and slowed the internalization of synaptotagmin in neurons cultured from SV2B KO but not WT mice. Taken together, these findings suggest that LEV alters synaptic release probability by disrupting SV2’s regulation of synaptotagmin selectively in neurons that express only SV2A. Neurons that meet this requirement include most inhibitory neurons and the granule cells of the dentate gyrus, two classes of neuron implicated in epilepsy.
Debbie MacInnis, autobiographical reflections
Authors: MacInnis Debbie
Published: May 2019

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide some background and context to MacInnis’ 33-year life as a marketing academic and to share some of the trials, tribulations and joys that have characterized her professional career.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper is autobiographical, highlighting some key aspects of MacInnis’ career, including the various educational, administrative, editorial, teaching and consulting roles she has held and how they have influenced her development as a scholar.

Findings

MacInnis emphasizes the importance of doing what is interesting, sticking with topics you love and working with people who inspire you and are great collaborators. We continually evolve as scholars in light of the continual changes in academic knowledge and in the world of marketing. Those changes provide exciting and enticing career opportunities.

Practical implications

Everyone should follow their own path. She has been fortunate to pursue a number of different roles in the profession, but she has learned to differentiate which activities best match who she is as an individual. Debbie would encourage others to do the same.

Social implications

We can contribute most when we understand ourselves, our strengths, our weaknesses and the other aspects of our lives that make life meaningful to us.

Originality/value

The essay offered here reflects Debbie’s path alone. Her hope is that by articulating her history, she can share with others the range of opportunities available in the field. There is no one way to succeed, and while she is not sure that her choices have made her the most successful that she could be, they are the choices she has made and she is happy to have learned both about the world and herself through these choices.
The failure to learn from others: Vertical fiscal imbalance, centralisation, and Australia's metropolitan knowledge deficit
Authors: Tomlinson Richard
Published: May 2019

This paper questions the routes to knowledge of metropolitan governance elsewhere in the world and then explains how and why these are rendered more difficult in Australia. The paper begins with the policy literature on the exchange of knowledge relevant to metropolitan governance. The paper next explains the constitutional and fiscal backdrop to metropolitan governance in Australia; the ‘unique’ role of state governments in the funding, planning, and management of cities, and the powers adopted by the federal government that are made possible by vertical fiscal imbalance and funding conditionality. The paper then explores horizontal knowledge exchange of metropolitan governance in the form of transnational municipal networks, corporations, international organisations, and consultants. The final section of the paper considers the thesis that were Australia's cities to function independently, as metropolitan governments, the potential for knowledge exchange would be optimised. Knowledge of smart city technologies is used for case study purposes.
Forefronts of the Sharing Economy: Uber in Cape Town
Authors: Pollio Andrea
Published: May 2019

The sharing economy, often phrased as ‘platform capitalism’, enables firms such as Uber and Airbnb to monetize, through specific technologies of mediation, the networks, the assets and the precarious labour of those who are described as ‘the entrepreneurs of sharing’. This article explores the urban geographies of ride‐sharing in the marketization of Uber in Cape Town, South Africa. I use empirical evidence collected during the first phase of its operations in the city, between 2013 and 2015, to show how Uber relied upon the developmental entrepreneurialism of Cape Town to embed its ride‐sharing market locally, and how the drivers enacted multiple technical, economic and ethical regimes within and without the constraints of the software platform. The research presented in this article thus contributes to understanding how the discourses of millennial development, with its promises of entrepreneurial empowerment, are adopted by global sharing‐economy firms to enact their markets in the global South. It also reveals how a different genealogy of Uber's urban transactions offers an alternative perspective on the normative rationalities of the sharing economy and on the diverse economies that exist in relation to platform capitalism in the global South.
DEveloping a Complex Intervention for DEteriorating patients using theoretical modelling (DECIDE study): Study protocol
Authors: Smith Duncan , Francis Jill J. , Aitken Leanne M.
Published: May 2019

Aim

To develop a theory‐based complex intervention (targeting nursing staff), to enhance enablers and overcome barriers to enact expected behaviour when monitoring patients and responding to abnormal vital signs that signal deterioration.

Design

A mixed method design including structured observations on hospital wards, field notes, brief, unrecorded interviews and semi‐structured interviews to inform the development of an intervention to enhance practice.

Methods

Semi‐structured interviews will be conducted with nursing staff using a topic guide informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework. Semi‐structured interviews will be transcribed verbatim and coded deductively into the 14 Theoretical Domains Framework domains and then inductively into “belief statements”. Priority domains will be identified and mapped to appropriate behaviour change techniques. Intervention content and mode of delivery (how behaviour change techniques are operationalized) will be developed using nominal groups, during which participants (clinicians) will rank behaviour change techniques/mode of delivery combinations according to acceptability and feasibility. Findings will be synthesised to develop an intervention manual.

Discussion

Despite being a priority for clinicians, researchers and policymakers for two decades, “sub‐optimal care” of the deteriorating ward patient persists. Existing interventions have been largely educational (i.e. targeting assumed knowledge deficits) with limited evidence that they change staff behaviour. Staff behaviour when monitoring and responding to abnormal vital signs is likely influenced by a range of mediators that includes barriers and enablers.

Impact

Systematically applying theory and evidence‐based methods, will result in the specification of an intervention which is more likely to result in behaviour change and can be tested empirically in future research.
Plant traits moderate pollen limitation of introduced and native plants: a phylogenetic meta‐analysis of global scale
Authors: Burns Jean H. , Bennett Joanne M. , Li Junmin , Xia Jing , Arceo‐Gómez Gerardo , Burd Martin , Burkle Laura A. , Durka Walter , Ellis Allan G. , Freitas Leandro , Rodger James G. , Vamosi Jana C. , Wolowski Marina , Ashman Tia‐Lynn , Knight Tiffany M. , Steets Janette A.
Published: May 2019

The role of pollination in the success of invasive plants needs to be understood because invasives have substantial effects on species interactions and ecosystem functions. Previous research has shown both that reproduction of invasive plants is often pollen limited and that invasive plants can have high seed production, motivating the questions: How do invasive populations maintain reproductive success in spite of pollen limitation? What species traits moderate pollen limitation for invaders?

We conducted a phylogenetic meta‐analysis with 68 invasive, 50 introduced noninvasive and 1931 native plant populations, across 1249 species.

We found that invasive populations with generalist pollination or pollinator dependence were less pollen limited than natives, but invasives and introduced noninvasives did not differ. Invasive species produced 3× fewer ovules/flower and >250× more flowers per plant, compared with their native relatives. While these traits were negatively correlated, consistent with a tradeoff, this did not differ with invasion status.

Invasive plants that produce many flowers and have floral generalisation are able to compensate for or avoid pollen limitation, potentially helping to explain the invaders’ reproductive successes.
Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Optimization: A Comprehensive Approach
Authors: Katbeh Asim , Van Camp Guy , Barbato Emanuele , Galderisi Maurizio , Trimarco Bruno , Bartunek Jozef , Vanderheyden Marc , Penicka Martin
Published: May 2019

Since the first report on biventricular pacing in 1994, cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has become standard for patients with advanced heart failure (HF) and ventricular conduction delay. CRT improves myocardial function by resynchronizing myocardial contraction, which results in reverse left ventricular remodeling and improves symptoms and clinical outcomes. Despite the accelerated development of CRT device technology and its increased application in treating HF patients, almost one-third of these patients do not respond to the therapy or gain any clinical benefit from device implantation. Over the last decade, multiple cardiac imaging modalities have provided a deeper understanding of myocardial pathophysiology, thereby improving HF treatment management. However, the optimal strategy for improving the CRT response remains debatable. This article provides an updated overview of the electropathophysiology of myocardial dysfunction in ventricular conduction delay and the diagnostic approaches involving the use of multiple modalities.