bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Napoléon Bonaparte and the Atlantic World
Authors: Girard Philippe R.
Published: August 2019

Napoléon Bonaparte (b. 1769–d. 1821), also known as Napoléon I after his 1804 coronation, served as general, first consul, and emperor of France during the era of the French Revolution. Though he is best known for his military exploits on the battlefields of Europe and his political reforms in revolutionary France, he took a keen interest in France’s colonial holdings, particularly in the Caribbean and North America. To that effect, he outfitted several large colonial expeditions, most notably during the period of the Peace of Amiens (1802–1803), when the French navy briefly regained access to French colonies overseas. His goals were generally in line with those of the Old Regime: to enforce direct French control over colonial agents, to impose mercantilist trade restrictions over French merchants and planters, to promote plantation agriculture, and to threaten strategic rivals such as Great Britain. Restoring slavery, which France had abolished in 1794, was also a goal in colonies like Guadeloupe, French Guiana (Guyane), and possibly Saint-Domingue (Haiti). Despite a notable investment in time, men, and treasure, Napoléon’s policies were generally a failure: Great Britain remained dominant on the seas, Napoléon sold the territory of Louisiana to the United States in 1803, and Saint-Domingue declared its independence in 1804. In the long run, his involvement in the restoration of slavery in parts of the French colonial empire in 1802–1803 also tarnished his reputation in France and the Caribbean, particularly as scholarly interest in the field of Atlantic history grew in the 1990s and modern historians revisited Napoléon’s policies in the context of the bicentennial of the French and Haitian Revolutions. By 2005, Napoléon’s reputation was so tainted that French president Jacques Chirac decided not to celebrate the bicentennial of his greatest triumph at Austerlitz. Instead, two of Napoléon’s main Atlantic victims, Toussaint Louverture of Saint-Domingue and Louis Delgrès of Guadeloupe, were honored with a plaque in the Paris Panthéon for their role in the struggle for emancipation, in an indirect indictment of Napoléon’s Atlantic policies.
Native American Networks
Authors: Anderson Chad
Published: August 2019

Networks describe how people and places are connected. In Native North America, these connections took the form of kinship, trade, and various forms of alliance—all of which overlapped in ways that make it impossible to analyze one category without considering the others. At a basic level, all of these networks depended on the communication of information, which circulated as fact and rumor across the continent. Varying by region and topography, Native peoples traveled by canoe, foot, and (from the colonial period onward) horseback along trail networks that linked diverse Native American towns and facilitated both continental and transatlantic trade and communication. The study of networks, whether in the form of trade, kinship, or Native-defined alliances, allows historians to transcend typical boundaries of analysis, such as borders drawn by European cartographers. Throughout the 18th century and even into the 19th century, these borders were fictions, as Native Americans continued to control much of the continent. An abundance of archaeological evidence reveals the exchange networks that spread material items and cultural beliefs long before the colonial period. Some of the most well-known pre-Columbian networks involved agriculturalist settlements often grouped under the label “Mississippian,” which thrived along the Mississippi and its tributaries from approximately the 11th through 16th centuries. But other networks crisscrossed the continent, from the Great Plains to the Southwest. These long-existing but shifting networks facilitated the later spread of European trade goods. To varying degrees, following the arrival of Europeans, Native peoples participated in a new system of exchange, capitalism, which commodified the natural world and has drawn considerable attention from scholars. Political power in Native North America was dynamic, organized by kinship networks that were both local and regional in importance. Families belonged to larger groups known as clans, which facilitated connections beyond the village. Typically, Native peoples traced these clan origins to some other-than-human ancestor. Kinship did not necessarily represent biological connections. Through ceremonies, Native peoples created what scholars call “fictive kinship” to create networks across distances and even into Euro-American communities.
Human Rights Films
Authors: Lipkin Stein Nancy
Published: August 2019

What defines a human rights film, and how does one go about setting the criteria? Here, the selected websites, festival listings, and films comprise short lists that represent very broad categories. The examples included speak to the ways our dignity, respect for ourselves and one another, and accessibility to resources to look after ourselves and our communities connect through the basic rights of health care, housing, education, and clean natural resources—rights as defined by many of the legal doctrines in circulation. The films listed contribute to building an awareness of how people’s rights come under attack. Such work can also provide a way to respond. While the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was established in 1948 to address some form of normalization by law to safeguard individuals and communities, these protections were not recognized or accepted universally. We now have a wide array of instruments that are both international and national, as well as both local and global, to address individuals’ as well as specific communities’ rights. Films use moving images to select and construct very specific representations. Such devices become a powerful tool to communicate and educate the public. Today’s reality provides fertile ground for communities to share films focusing on human rights issues. With the global reach of the Internet, individuals as well as groups can find outlets as well as shared access through websites, film festivals, human rights groups, and individuals. This bibliography provides a small sampling of the available films, and of course new films are released all the time, so it cannot be completely up to date. In addition, this is one person’s selection; certainly another writer would have their own. For that reason, colleagues from India, France, Germany, Korea, the United States, and other countries have made useful suggestions to help represent a broad spectrum of academic disciplines and interests. The reader will also find several feature films mixed in within these categories. Several publications cover these more extensively (see Mark Gibney’s 2016 book, Watching human rights: The 101 best films, cited under Publications on Human Rights Films). This compilation also makes a point to include entries made by individuals who are experiencing some violation of their rights.
Citizenship
Authors: Lazar Sian
Published: August 2019

At its most fundamental, citizenship means political belonging, and to study citizenship is to study how we live with others in a political community. Anthropological work on the theme of citizenship tends to break open the classic version of citizenship as a universal legal status belonging to citizens of a given nation-state. Instead, it recognizes the differentiated nature of political membership, and the ways that citizenship acts as an ordering and disciplining device as well as a mechanism for making claims upon different kinds of political communities. These may include the state but they are not limited to it. In dialogue with political theorists, anthropologists of citizenship have argued that the constitution of any given community requires a considerable amount of work, and that meaningful membership is more than the possession of rights and responsibilities. Citizenship may be formal or substantive, full or partial, and it is always under construction, as citizens and noncitizens claim inclusion and effective participation in political life. That may be articulated through languages of rights but may also be conducted—and contested—through other kinds of everyday or insurgent political practices. One of the main focuses of ethnographic study of the practices of citizenship has therefore been on how people relate to the state, bringing out the relationship between people and state bureaucracies and between people and law. Another aspect is the scale at which relevant political communities operate, as anthropologists have added to the discussion of national citizenship with studies of cosmopolitan, transnational, or global citizenships and of local, city-based formations. Citizenship is a complex bundle of practices of encounter between the state and citizens at different scales or levels. Because citizenship practices are also the means by which societies organize inclusion and exclusion, the figure of the noncitizen is crucial to the construction of citizenship. Noncitizens might be conceptualized as strangers, migrants, or refugees, and these individuals always raise questions about the definitions of political communities and their borders. Central to all these processes of inclusion, exclusion, encounter, and claims-making is the way that people (citizens and noncitizens) build their own political agency and subjecthood under what constraints and in what realms of life, including the most intimate.
Stochastic Processes in Ecology
Authors: Kadowaki Kohmei
Published: August 2019

Chance events (such as lightning strikes or floods) occur commonly in nature. In ecology, random events that can affect population and community dynamics are called stochastic processes. Although ecologists recognize that stochastic processes occur, their importance in shaping populations and communities has been controversial. Determining when and how stochastic processes are important ecologically is critical for predicting extinction events or responses to climate change and explaining tropical biodiversity. Many population dynamics appears to be stochastic, particularly when the environment fluctuates or the population is small. For example, environmental variation that can reduce population size can increase the likelihood of stochastic extinction, because a small population is prone to go extinct due to random fluctuation in population size. Chance colonization and random order of immigration/emigration can influence the dynamics of populations and communities if early-arriving species outcompete later-arriving species. Stochastic processes can also create environmental fluctuations that favor species that could otherwise go extinct, if such fluctuations can allow for coexistence when species benefit from different environmental conditions. Modern ecologists generally agree that dynamics of populations and communities have both deterministic and stochastic components that operate simultaneously. The author wishes to thank Stacey Halpern for comments.
Social Cognitive Theory
Authors: Stajkovic Alexander , Sergent Kayla
Published: August 2019

In conceptualizations presented in social cognitive theory (SCT), humans are not passive objects shaped and shepherded by contingent consequences of an environment. People are agentic; they proactively make their way through the intricacies and dualities of life. To attain desired outcomes, people make judgments about the interplay among environment, personal factors, and consequences of their behavior. SCT conceptualizes these cognitive appraisals in terms of triadic, reciprocal, and asymmetric influences among the environment, person, and behavior. The belief system formed by the model’s cognitive dynamics is shaped by one’s current working conception of the world. This belief system guides behavior adaptively toward desirable pursuits and away from undesirable consequences. As people set goals, devise accordant courses of action, and anticipate outcomes, they act on this thread of beliefs. People operate on the environment, they monitor and analyze their actions, reflect on the consequences, and react to course-correct. These behaviors rely on self-awareness, self-reflection, and adaptive self-regulation. To explain and predict the fluent vagaries of social life, nuanced conceptions of interactive factors are conferred by SCT in the triadic model. A transformative contributor to adaptive self-regulation in SCT is perceived self-efficacy. Self-efficacy is a malleable belief formed by personal appraisal of how well a person can execute courses of action required to deal successfully with a given prospect. Self-efficacy does not signify people believe they can walk on water; it simply implies they believe they can enact the potential they already have. Even when people have acquired the knowledge and ability to succeed, cherished outcomes are forsaken if they harbor doubt in their capacity to self-regulate.
Pediatric mediastinal ALK- negative anaplastic large cell lymphoma (Hodgkin-like pattern) in a 13-year-old girl: a case report and review of literature
Authors: Ismail Sawsan , Haydar Mariana , Ghanem Abdulmoniem , Alkadi Sulman , Al-Shehabi Zuheir
Published: August 2019

Anaplastic large-cell Lymphoma (ALCL) is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that is characterized by an entity of large neoplastic cells labeled by the Ki-1 antibody. It constitutes ~2% of all lymphoid neoplasms and is divided into two main categories: anaplastic large-cell kinase (ALK)+ALCL and ALK–ALCL that is recognized by the absence of ALK expression and mostly affects men at older ages. Thus, in this report we present a rare case of ALK-negative ALCL (ALK–ALCL) that was described and diagnosed in a 13-year-old girl in the mediastinum. Highlighting the rarity of manifestation at younger ages and the importance of using immunohistochemical staining in the differential diagnosis of this lymphoid neoplasm.
Lessons from Marias: what the titleness and nameless taught me that elite medical institutions couldn’t teach me
Authors: Almeida Marcela
Published: August 2019

In an era of rapid advancements in healthcare and technology, sophisticated treatments and pressure for speedy recoveries, contemporary physicians are often led to neglect some of the support pillars of medicine: That science, guidelines and protocols should not come before the individual; prescriptions serve little purpose without books and literacy; medications are not a substitute for nourishment. That hearing lamenting stories and watching tears run through despondent, downcast faces are sometimes our only resort. That social justice is a powerful healing instrument. That rather than treating the sickness, we shall treat the sick--helpless, deprived, forsaken and in need.
Measuring the effect of a competency-based education conference for PAs and NPs
Authors: Laghezza Matthew , Clapper Timothy C. , Christos Paul J. , Sharma Rahul , Naik Neel
Published: August 2019

Objective:

To evaluate the effectiveness of a competency-based continuing medical education (CME) conference model for physician assistants (PAs) and NPs.

Methods:

This mixed-method research included a pretest/post-test assessment of knowledge and procedural assessment for six clinical skills, along with an open-ended survey to assess the value of an educational conference for PAs and NPs (N = 48) in an urban academic healthcare facility.

Results:

Significant increases in knowledge scores and all six clinical skill procedures were noted from pre- to post-test. Participants said they acquired new techniques and knowledge (55%) or improved current knowledge and skills (40%).

Conclusions:

The competency-based conference model could serve as a viable method for providing evidence-based learning and informed practice as well as instilling reflective practice and a commitment to personal growth.
Reading between the lines for a solution to burnout
Authors: Bernard Kari , McMoon Michelle
Published: August 2019

Physician assistants (PAs) have historically reported high levels of professional satisfaction, but emerging research indicates increasing levels of professional burnout. This article explores burnout interventions in the literature and their usefulness to PAs. We propose that PAs and leaders of the profession must acknowledge and assess the phenomenon of burnout through standardized measurement at the population level, be mindful of personal boundaries in order to maintain a healthy work life balance, and commit to creating an organizational culture that sustains overall clinician well-being and fosters PA engagement.
Blood level of adiponectin is positively associated with lean mass in women without type 2 diabetes
Authors: Banh Taylor H. , Puchala Sarah E. , Cole Rachel M. , Andridge Rebecca R. , Kiecolt-Glaser Janice K. , Belury Martha A.
Published: August 2019

Objective:

The objective of this study was to evaluate the relationship between blood levels of adiponectin and leptin with lean body and trunk adipose mass in women with and without type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods:

This cross-sectional study analyzed baseline data from five previous clinical studies involving postmenopausal women (n = 95). Body composition was assessed by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry, and appendicular lean mass was calculated based on body mass index (ALMBMI). Adipokines and cytokines were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Linear mixed-effect models with a random study effect were used to investigate the relationship between predictors (eg, adiponectin, leptin), outcomes (eg, ALMBMI, trunk adipose mass), and co-variables (T2DM status, age, interleukin-6, and C-reactive protein).

Results:

Postmenopausal women with T2DM had lower ALMBMI than those without T2DM. There was a positive association between blood adiponectin and ALMBMI in postmenopausal women without T2DM, but no association in those with T2DM. Blood leptin was negatively associated with ALMBMI for women regardless of T2DM diagnosis. Blood adiponectin was negatively associated, whereas blood leptin was positively associated with trunk adipose mass for the entire cohort.

Conclusions:

T2DM status moderated the relationship between blood adiponectin and ALMBMI, where blood adiponectin was positively associated with ALMBMI in postmenopausal women without T2DM, but not those with T2DM. Dysregulated metabolism in T2DM may contribute to lower muscle mass in women with T2DM, but future research is required to elucidate this mechanistic link. The negative association between blood leptin and ALMBMI was a novel finding. Future studies will need to more clearly define the relationship between these variables.
Relationship between BMI and aortic stiffness: influence of anthropometric indices in hypertensive men and women
Authors: Vallée Alexandre , Olié Valérie , Lelong H.é.lène , Kretz Sandrine , Safar Michel E. , Blacher Jacques
Published: August 2019

Background:

Increased aortic stiffness could be one of the mechanisms by which obesity increases cardiovascular risk independently of traditional risk factors. Studies have suggested that anthropometric indices may be predictors of cardiovascular risk but few studies have investigated their relations with aortic stiffness in high cardiovascular risk population. We investigated the strength of correlation between different anthropometric indices with aortic stiffness in hypertensive and diabetic patients.

Methods:

A cross-sectional study was performed in 474 hypertensive patients. Anthropometric indices were calculated: BMI, waist circumference, waist–hip ratio, and waist–height ratio (WHtR). Aortic stiffness was assessed by measurement of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). Correlations between indices and PWV were investigated by linear regression analyses and hierarchical analyses after adjusting for cardiovascular risk factors.

Results:

Regional anthropometric indices were more strongly correlated with PWV than BMI in both sexes. In linear regression analyses, WHtR presented the highest correlation with PWV than other indices in our study population. In adjusted hierarchical regression used, WHtR had the highest additive value on top of BMI while there no additive value of BMI on top of WHtR. These differences remained after adjustment on cardiovascular events. In men WHtR was more closely correlated with PWV than others. In women, waist–hip ratio and WHtR were equally correlated with PWV compared with BMI.

Conclusion:

Regional anthropometric indices are more closely correlated with PWV than BMI in hypertensive patients. WHtR presents the highest correlation with PWV beyond BMI.

Registration:

The study was registered in the French National Agency for Medicines and Health Products Safety (No. 2013-A00227-38) and was approved by the Advisory Committee for Protection of Persons in Biomedical Research.
Association Between Flexibility and Low Back Pain in Female Adolescent Gymnasts
Authors: Sweeney Emily A. , Daoud Ariel Kiyomi , Potter Morgan N. , Ritchie Lauren , Howell David R.
Published: August 2019

Objective:

To determine the relationship between low back pain (LBP), flexibility, and individual demographic characteristics in competitive adolescent female gymnasts.

Design:

Cross-sectional observational study.

Setting:

Gymnastics facilities in Colorado.

Participants:

Six- to 18-year-old gymnasts who participate in the USA Gymnastics Women's Artistic Junior Olympic Program levels 3 to 10.

Independent Variables:

Demographic data included height, weight, menstrual status, gymnastics level, and participation hours per week. Flexibility measurements were obtained on the gymnasts. Gymnasts also completed a questionnaire documenting LBP in the past 12 months. Univariable (t test and χ2) analyses were used to assess between-group differences; multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the association between LBP, flexibility, and demographics/injury history.

Main Outcome Measures:

Low back pain within the past 12 months.

Results:

Thirty (45%) of 67 gymnasts reported LBP within the past year. Those who reported LBP were older (11.7 vs 13.7 years, P = 0.005), heavier (37.5 vs 43.4 kg, P = 0.049), and participated in gymnastics more often (19.1 vs 22.4 h/wk, P = 0.017). A greater proportion of gymnasts with LBP had experienced menarche compared with those without LBP (47% vs 16%; P = 0.008). On multivariable analysis, gymnasts with LBP were less likely to have left Iliotibial (IT) band tightness compared with those without LBP [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 0.186; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.04-0.82] and more likely to have experienced menarche (aOR = 8.0; 95% CI, 1.2-50.9).

Conclusions:

Low back pain is more common in gymnasts who experienced menarche, whereas limited joint flexibility does not seem to be associated with LBP in this population.
The use of cochlear implantation in the elderly
Authors: Lally John W. , Adams Jason K. , Wilkerson Brent J.
Published: August 2019

Purpose of review

To evaluate the impact of cochlear implantation on hearing outcomes, quality of life, complications, and cognitive function in elderly patients.

Recent findings

Nine articles published between 2014 and 2019 pertain to cochlear implantation in the elderly population. The findings conclude that cochlear implantation improves autonomy and overall quality of life in the elderly.

Design: a pubmed search was employed with title search terms ‘cochlear implant,’ AND ‘elderly’ or ‘aged.’ Twenty-one articles were generated. Of the 21, articles without evidence-based findings were excluded and those published more than 5 years ago were excluded, yielding a final number of nine articles for review. Results: nine articles published on the use of cochlear implantation in the elderly were identified through the literature search between the years 2014–2019. Outcomes included quality of life, speech recognition improvement, improvement in cognitive function as defined by geriatric validated scales, outcomes of hearing rehabilitation, improvement in verbal comprehension, surgical complications, and the ability to manage the external components of the device. Conclusion: cochlear implantation improves autonomy and the quality of life in the elderly. Age should not be a factor limiting surgical decision-making, and cochlear implantation can be utilized as a well tolerated, efficient treatment option for severe-to-profound hearing loss in the elderly population.
Safety and Adjuncts in Face Lifting
Authors: Wan Dinah , Dayan Erez , Rohrich Rod J.
Published: August 2019

Learning Objectives:

After studying this article, the participant should be able to: 1. Classify the commonly performed types of face-lift procedures based on the extent of skin incision and face and neck dissection, and superficial musculoaponeurotic system treatment and perform the appropriate amount of skin undermining in variations of superficial musculoaponeurotic system techniques. 2. Select the optimal placement of skin incisions and list the danger zones encountered in face-lift dissection and their relationship to the fat compartments and retaining ligaments. 3. Use fat grafting as an adjunctive procedure to face lift and apply safe skin resurfacing techniques at the time of rhytidectomy. 4. Institute a preprocedure and postprocedure skin care regimen and use an antihypertensive protocol for postoperative hematoma prevention. 5. List the commonly injured sensory and motor nerves in rhytidectomy, including prevention and treatment strategies.

Today’s face lifts can be classified as “traditional,” “short-scar,” or “mini.” Placement of skin incision, extent of dissection in the face and neck, and methods of superficial musculoaponeurotic system treatment are standard components of face-lift techniques. Proper knowledge of facial anatomy and danger zones is crucial for patient safety. Adjunctive fat grafting and skin resurfacing procedures can create superior results without adding to patient morbidity. Management options for more serious yet potentially preventable surgical complications are discussed, including hematoma and sensory and motor nerve injuries.
Cell-Enriched Fat Grafting Improves Graft Retention in a Porcine Model: A Dose-Response Study of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells versus Stromal Vascular Fraction
Authors: Rasmussen Bo S. , Sørensen Celine L. , Kurbegovic Sorel , Ørholt Mathias , Talman Maj-Lis M. , Herly Mikkel , Pipper Christian B. , Kølle Stig-Frederik T. , Rangatchew Filip , Holmgaard Rikke , Vester-Glowinski Peter V. , Fischer-Nielsen Anne , Drzewiecki Krzysztof T.
Published: August 2019

Background:

Cell-enrichment of fat grafts has produced encouraging results, but the optimal concentrations and types of added cells are unknown. The authors investigated the effects of enrichment with various concentrations of ex vivo–expanded adipose-derived stem/stromal cells and stromal vascular fraction on graft retention in a porcine model.

Methods:

Adipose-derived stem/stromal cells were culture-expanded, and six fat grafts (30 ml) were prepared for each minipig (n = 13). The authors investigated grafts enriched with 2.5 × 106 to 20 × 106 adipose-derived stem cells/ml and stromal vascular fraction and nonenriched control grafts. Each pig served as its own control. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed immediately after grafting and 120 days postoperatively before the pigs were euthanized, and histologic samples were collected.

Results:

The authors recorded an enhanced relative graft retention rate of 41 percent in a pool of all cell-enriched grafts compared to the nonenriched control (13.0 percent versus 9.2 percent; p = 0.0045). A comparison of all individual groups showed significantly higher graft retention in the 10 × 106–adipose-derived stem/stromal cells per milliliter group compared with the control group (p = 0.022). No significant differences were observed between the cell-enriched groups (p = 0.66). All fat grafts showed a significantly better resemblance to normal fat tissue in the periphery than in the center (p < 0.009), but no differences in overall graft morphology were observed between groups (p > 0.17).

Conclusions:

Cell-enriched fat grafting improved graft retention and was feasible in this porcine model. No significant differences in graft retention were observed among the various adipose-derived stem/stromal cell concentrations or between adipose-derived stem/stromal cell and stromal vascular fraction enrichment. Future studies using this model can help improve understanding of the role of adipose-derived stem/stromal cells in cell-enriched fat grafting.
The Greater Occipital Nerve and Obliquus Capitis Inferior Muscle: Anatomical Interactions and Implications for Occipital Pain Syndromes
Authors: Scherer Saja S. , Schiraldi Luigi , Sapino Gianluca , Cambiaso-Daniel Janos , Gualdi Alessandro , Peled Ziv M. , Hagan Robert , Pietramaggiori Giorgio
Published: August 2019

Background:

The compression/injury of the greater occipital nerve has been identified as a trigger of occipital headaches. Several compression points have been described, but the morphology of the myofascial unit between the greater occipital nerve and the obliquus capitis inferior muscle has not been studied yet.

Methods:

Twenty fresh cadaveric heads were dissected, and the greater occipital nerve was tracked from its emergence to its passage around the obliquus capitis inferior. The intersection point between the greater occipital nerve and the obliquus capitis inferior, and the length and thickness of the obliquus capitis inferior, were measured. In addition, the nature of the interaction and whether the nerve passed through the muscle were also noted.

Results:

All nerves passed either around the muscle loosely (type I), incorporated in the dense superficial muscle fascia (type II), or directly through a myofascial sleeve within the muscle (type III). The obliquus capitis inferior length was 5.60 ± 0.46 cm. The intersection point between the obliquus capitis inferior and the greater occipital nerve was 6.80 ± 0.68 cm caudal to the occiput and 3.56 ± 0.36 cm lateral to the midline. The thickness of the muscle at its intersection with the greater occipital nerve was 1.20 ± 0.25 cm. Loose, tight, and intramuscular connections were found in seven, 31, and two specimens, respectively.

Conclusions:

The obliquus capitis inferior remains relatively immobile during traumatic events, like whiplash injuries, placing strain as a tethering point on the greater occipital nerve. Better understanding of the anatomical relationship between the greater occipital nerve and the obliquus capitis inferior can be clinically useful in cases of posttraumatic occipital headaches for diagnostic and operative planning purposes.
Evaluating the Economic Impact of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgical Efforts in the Developing World: The ReSurge Experience
Authors: Nasser Jacob S. , Billig Jessica I. , Sue Gloria R. , Chang James , Gosain Arun K. , Chung Kevin C.
Published: August 2019

Background:

As the global burden of disease continues to rise, it becomes increasingly important to determine the sustainability of specialty surgery in the developing world. The authors aim to (1) evaluate the cost-effectiveness of plastic and reconstructive surgery in the developing world and (2) quantify the economic benefit.

Methods:

In this study, the authors performed a retrospective analysis of surgical trips performed by ReSurge International from 2014 to 2017. The organization gathered data on trip information, cost, and clinical characteristics. The authors measured the cost-effectiveness of the interventions using cost per disability-adjusted life-years and defined cost-effectiveness using World Health Organization Choosing Interventions That Are Cost-Effective thresholds. The authors also performed a cost-to-benefit analysis using the human capital approach.

Results:

A total of 22 surgical trips from eight different developing countries were included in this study. The authors analyzed a total of 756 surgical interventions. The cost-effectiveness of the surgical trips ranged from $52 to $11,410 per disability-adjusted life-year averted. The economic benefit for the 22 surgical trips was $9,795,384. According to World Health Organization Choosing Interventions That Are Cost-Effective thresholds, 21 of the surgical trips were considered very cost-effective or cost-effective.

Conclusions:

Plastic and reconstructive operations performed during short-term surgical trips performed by this organization are economically sustainable. High-volume trips and those treating complex surgical conditions prove to be the most cost-effective. To continue to receive monetary funding, providing fiscally sustainable surgical care to low- and middle-income countries is imperative.
Parenchymal Sparing Anatomical Liver Resections With Full Laparoscopic Approach
Authors: Berardi Giammauro , Igarashi Kazuharu , Li Chao Jen , Ozaki Takahiro , Mishima Kohei , Nakajima Kosuke , Honda Masayuki , Wakabayashi Go
Published: August 2019

Objective:

The aim of this study was to describe laparoscopic anatomical parenchymal sparing liver resections for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) and report the short-term outcomes.

Background:

Anatomical resections (ARs) have better oncological outcomes compared to partial resections in patients with HCC, and some suggest should be performed also for CRLM as micrometastasis occurs through the intrahepatic structures. Furthermore, remnant liver ischemia after partial resections has been associated with worse oncological outcomes. Few experiences on laparoscopic anatomical resections have been reported and no data on limited AR exist.

Methods:

We performed a retrospective analysis of 86 patients undergoing full laparoscopic anatomical parenchymal sparing resections with preoperative surgical simulation and standardized procedures.

Results:

A total of 55 patients had HCC, whereas 31 had CRLM with a median of 1 lesion and a size of 30 mm. During preoperative three-dimensional (3D) simulation, a median resection volume of 120 mL was planned. Sixteen anatomical subsegmentectomies, 56 segmentectomies, and 14 sectionectomies were performed. Concordance between preoperative 3D simulation and intraoperative resection was 98.7%. Two patients were converted, and 7 patients experienced complications. Subsegmentectomies had comparable blood loss (166 mL, P = 0.59), but longer operative time (426 min, P = 0.01) than segmentectomies (blood loss 222 mL; operative time 355 min) and sectionectomies (blood loss 120 mL; operative time 295 min). R0 resection and margin width remained comparable among groups.

Conclusions:

A precise preoperative planning and a standardized surgical technique allow to pursue the oncological quality of AR enhancing the safety of the parenchyma sparing principle, reducing surgical stress through a laparoscopic approach.
Evolution of mantis shrimp telson armour and its role in ritualized fighting
Authors: Taylor Jennifer R. A. , Scott Nina I. , Rouse Greg W.
Published: August 2019

Mantis shrimp possess both formidable weapons and impact-resistant armour that clash during ritualized combat. The telson is one of few biological structures known to withstand the repeated high impact forces of smashing mantis shrimp strikes, and it is hypothesized that this pairing of armour and weapon is associated with the evolution of telson sparring. We carried out a comparative analysis of telson impact mechanics across 15 mantis shrimp species to assess if the telsons of sparring species (i) are consistently specialized for impact-resistance, (ii) are more impact-resistant than those of non-sparring species, and (iii) have impact parameters that correlate with body size, and thereby useful for assessment. Our data from ball drop tests show that the telsons of all species function like a stiff spring that dissipates most of the impact energy, but none of the measured impact parameters are correlated with the occurrence of sparring behaviour. Impact parameters were correlated with body mass for only some species, suggesting that it is not broadly useful for size assessment during ritualized fighting. Contrary to expectation, sparring mantis shrimp do not appear to have coevolved telson armour that is more robust to impact than non-sparring species. Rather, telson structure is inherently impact-resistant.
The surface adsorption, aggregate structure and antibacterial activity of Gemini quaternary ammonium surfactants with carboxylic counterions
Authors: Zhou Xiqin , Hu Siqi , Wang Yu , Ullah Sana , Hu Jun , Liu Hongqin , Xu Baocai
Published: August 2019

A group of Gemini quaternary ammonium surfactants with the formula C

n

H

2
n
+1

CONH(CH
2
)
2
N
+
(CH
3
)
2
(CH
2
)
2
N
+
(CH
3
)
2
(CH
2
)
2
NHCOC

n

H

2
n
+1

· 2Y (
n
= 11, 13 and 15, Y = HCOO
−
, CH
3
COO
−
and CH
3
CHOHCOO
−
) have been synthesized by a counterion conversion process and characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and mass spectroscopy. Their adsorption and self-aggregation properties are investigated by surface tension, conductivity, dynamic light scattering and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. The results show that these surfactants reduce the surface tension of water to a minimum value of 26.51 mN m
−1
at a concentration of 5.72 × 10
−2
mmol l
−1
. Furthermore, the increased alkyl chain length of the carboxylic counterions leads to the increased critical micelle concentration, the decreased degree of counterion binding (
β
) and the decreased self-assembly tendency, but the minimum area per surfactant molecule (
A
min
) adsorbed at the air–aqueous solution are similar. TEM images reveal that these surfactants self-assemble spontaneously into aggregates with vesicle or bilayer structures. It is also found that they have superior antibacterial activity at a concentration of 0.1 g l
−1
. The high surface activity and high antibacterial activity of the Gemini quaternary ammonium salt surfactants containing different carboxylic counterions bring more possibilities for the application in the field of biomedicine.
Will natural resistance result in populations of ash trees remaining in British woodlands after a century of ash dieback disease?
Authors: Evans Matthew R.
Published: August 2019

Novel pests and diseases are becoming increasingly common, and often cause additional mortality to host species in the newly contacted communities. This can alter the structure of the community up to, and including, the extinction of host species. In the last 20 years, ash dieback (ADB) disease has spread into Europe from East Asia. It has caused substantial mortality in ash tree (
Fraxinus excelsior
L
.
) populations. However, a proportion of the individuals in most populations appear to be less susceptible to ADB and resistance seems to have high heritability. These observations have led to suggestions that ash populations may be sustainable after the disease. In order to test this hypothesis, I modified an existing model of UK woodland (parametrized for Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire) to take into account the impact of ADB and allowed offspring to inherit resistance traits from their parent. The results suggest that ash populations would still exist in 100 years, but at lower levels than they are currently. For example, when the initial proportion of resistant individuals is about 10% and heritability of resistance is 0.5, then the population of ash falls to about one-third of present levels. The proportion of individuals initially resistant to ADB had a larger effect on population size after 100 years than the heritability of resistance. The fact that the initial size of the resistant population is important to achieve a high population size in the presence of ADB suggests that a selective breeding programme with the intention of augmenting the natural ash populations would be beneficial.
Isolation and characterization of novel soil- and plant-associated bacteria with multiple phytohormone-degrading activities using a targeted methodology
Authors: Nascimento Francisco X. , Glick Bernard R. , Rossi Márcio J.
Published: August 2019

Ethylene (ET), salicylic acid (SA) and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) are important phytohormones regulating plant growth and development, as well as plant-microbe interactions. Plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) naturally associate with plants and facilitate plant growth through a variety of mechanisms, including the ability to modulate the concentrations of these phytohormones in planta. Importantly, the wide presence of phytohormone degradation mechanisms amongst symbiotic and other soil- and plant-associated bacteria indicates that the ability to modulate phytohormone concentrations plays an important role in bacterial colonization and plant-growth promotion abilities. Obtaining phytohormone-degrading bacteria is therefore key for the development of novel solutions aiming to increase plant growth and protection. In this paper, we report an optimized targeted methodology and the consequent isolation of novel soil- and plant-associated bacteria, including rhizospheric, endophytic and phyllospheric strains, with the ability to degrade the phytohormones, SA and IAA, as well as the ET precursor, 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC). By using an optimized targeted methodology, we rapidly isolated diverse soil- and plant-associated bacteria presenting phytohormone-degrading abilities from several plants, plant tissues and environments, without the need for prior extensive and laborious isolation and maintenance of large numbers of isolates. The developed methodology facilitates PGPB research, especially in developing countries. Here, we also report, for the first time, the isolation of bacterial strains able to concomitantly catabolize three phytohormones (SA, IAA and ACC). Ultimately, the described targeted methodology and the novel phytohormone-degrading bacteria obtained in this work may be useful tools for future plant-microbe interaction studies, and in the development of new inoculant formulations for agriculture and biotechnology.
Subtractive Genomic Analysis for Identification of Novel Drug Targets and Vaccine Candidates against Bartonella bacilliformis subsp. Ver097
Authors: Khan Md. Tahsin , Mahmud Araf , Iqbal Md. Asif , Hasan Mahmudul
Published: August 2019

Bartonella bacilliformis is the causative agent of Carrión’s disease, one of the truly neglected tropical diseases found in Peru, Colombia and Ecuador. Recent evidence predicts that Bartonella bacilliformis subsp. ver097 can emerge as an antibacterial resistant strain and hence identification of novel drug targets is a crying need. Subtractive genome analysis of B. bacilliformis subsp. ver097 was successfully done in order to address the challenges. Various computational tools and online based servers were used to screen out human homologous proteins of pathogen and proteins involved in common metabolic pathways of host and pathogen. Only 7 proteins involved in pathogen specific pathways were further analyzed to identify membrane proteins. ‘Flagellar biosynthesis protein FlhA’ and ‘ABC transporter permease’ were found to be novel as targets according to DrugBank database. To avoid side effects in human while administering drugs, human ‘anti-targets’ analysis was performed to confirm non-homology of selected novel drug targets. Both predicted proteins also showed probability of antigenicity prediction through VaxiJen, however, ‘Flagellar biosynthesis protein FlhA’ showed broad spectrum conservancy with Bartonella strains. Therefore, Flagellar biosynthesis protein FlhAcould facilitate the development of novel drugs and therapeutic compounds along with vaccines for efficient treatment of infections caused by Bartonella bacilliformis subsp. ver097.
Overlapping Genetic Architecture between Parkinson Disease and Melanoma
Authors: Dube Umber , Ibanez Laura , Budde John P , Benitez Bruno A , Davis Albert A , Harari Oscar , Iles Mark M , Law Matthew H , Brown Kevin M ,   23andMe Research Team,   Melanoma-Meta-analysis Consortium, Cruchaga Carlos
Published: August 2019

Epidemiologic studies have reported inconsistent results regarding an association between Parkinson disease (PD) and cutaneous melanoma (melanoma). Identifying shared genetic architecture between these diseases can support epidemiologic findings and identify common risk genes and biological pathways. Here we apply polygenic, linkage disequilibrium-informed methods to the largest available case-control, genome-wide association study summary statistic data for melanoma and PD. We identify positive and significant genetic correlation (correlation: 0.17, 95% CI 0.10 to 0.24;P= 4.09 × 10-06) between melanoma and PD. We further demonstrate melanoma and PD-inferred gene expression to overlap across tissues (correlation: 0.14, 95% CI 0.06 to 0.22;P= 7.87 × 10-04), and highlight seven genes includingPIEZO1, TRAPPC2L, andSOX6as potential mediators of the genetic correlation between melanoma and PD. These findings demonstrate specific, shared genetic architecture between PD and melanoma that manifests at the level of gene expression.
Dynamic changes in natural killer cell subset frequencies in the absence of cytomegalovirus infection
Authors: Gyurova Ivayla E. , Schlums Heinrich , Sucharew Heidi , Ambroggio Lilliam , Ochayon David E. , Win Hannah Than , Bryceson Yenan T. , Bernstein David I. , Waggoner Stephen N.
Published: August 2019

Individuals lacking functional natural killer (NK) cells suffer severe, recurrent infections with cytomegalovirus (CMV), highlighting the critical role of NK cells in antiviral defense. Therefore, ongoing attempts to develop an efficacious vaccine to prevent CMV infection should potentially aim to elicit NK-cell antiviral responses as an accessory to conventional T- and B-cell based approaches. In this regard, CMV infection provokes marked phenotypic and functional differentiation of the NK-cell compartment, including development of adaptive NK cells that exhibit enhanced antiviral activity. We examined longitudinal blood samples collected from 40 CMV-seronegative adolescents to ascertain whether a CMV glycoprotein B (gB) vaccine in the absence of CMV infection can stimulate differentiation or expansion of CMV-associated subsets of NK cells. Study participants uniformly lacked the CMV-dependent NKG2C+subset of NK cells, suggesting that an adjuvanted CMV gB vaccine alone is an inadequate stimulus for sustained expansion of these cells. In contrast, we observed unexpected dynamic fluctuations in the frequency of NK cells lacking FcRγ, EAT-2, and SYK, which were independent of vaccination or CMV infection. Whereas FcRγnegNK cells in CMV infection are reported to express increased levels of the maturation marker CD57, the FcRγnegNK cells observed in our CMV-negative vaccine cohort express less CD57 than their FcRγ+counterparts. The FcRγnegNK cells in CMV-negative individuals were also functionally distinct from this subset in CMV infection, exhibiting comparable IFN-γ production and degranulation as FcRγ+NK cells in response to cytokine or antibody-dependent stimuli. These results suggest that frequencies of some NK cell subsets may increase in response to unknown environmental or inflammatory cues distinct from that which occurs after CMV infection. Greater understanding of the nature of the signals driving CMV-independent accumulation of these subsets should permit development of mechanisms to facilitate vaccine-driven expansion of CMV-reactive NK cells.