bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Thin elevation: A technique for achieving thin perforator flaps
Authors: Jeong Hyung Hwa , Hong Joon Pio , Suh Hyun Suk
Published: July 2018

Elevating thin flaps has long been a goal of reconstructive surgeons. Thin flaps have numerous advantages in reconstruction. In this study, we present a surgical method for elevating a thin flap and demonstrate the safety of the procedure. A retrospective review was performed of the electronic medical records of patients who underwent thin flap elevation for lower extremity reconstruction from April 2016 to September 2016 at the Department of Plastic Surgery of Asan Medical Center. All flaps included in this study were elevated above the superficial fascia. A total of 15 superficial circumflex iliac artery free flaps and 13 anterolateral thigh free flaps were enrolled in the study. The total complication rate was 17.56% (n=5), with total loss of the flap in one patient (3.57%) and partial necrosis of the flap in four patients (14.28%). No wound dehiscence or graft loss at the donor wound took place. Elevation above the superficial fascia is not inferior in terms of flap necrosis risk and is superior for reducing donor site morbidity. In addition to its safety, it yields good aesthetic results.
Flap thinning: Defatting after conventional elevation
Authors: Park Bo Young
Published: July 2018

Perforator flaps become a reliable option for coverage of various defects and the interest is change from survival of perforator flaps to make thin flaps for better aesthetic and functional outcomes. Multiple flap thinning methods have been demonstrated but it has not been widely attempted because of concerns about compromising circulation of flap thinning. This article will demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of flap thinning technique: defatting after conventional flap elevation.
Prospects for freshwater turtle population recovery are catalysed by pan-Amazonian community-based management
Authors: Norris Darren , Peres Carlos A , MIchalski Fernanda , Gibbs James P
Published: July 2018

Sustainable use as a mechanism for the conservation and recovery of exploited wildlife populations remains intensely debated, including for freshwater turtles, a diverse and imperilled group of aquatic reptiles that are an important food source for many residents of tropical regions. Here we evaluated the geographical extent of recovery options for a heavily exploited tropical freshwater turtle fauna across 8.86 M km2 of South American river catchments under Business-as-Usual (BAU), Protection (Pr) and Community-Based-Management (CBM) scenarios. For the widespread indicator species, Podocnemis unifilis, demographic analysis showed that populations subject moderate levels of female harvest (≤10%) can recover over broad areas if concurrent headstarting of hatchlings is practiced more widely. With regional strengthening of the protected area network unlikely, CBM developed with harvest frameworks derived from demographic rates appropriate to tropical species could catalyse a rapid continental scale recovery of Amazonian freshwater turtles within a few decades.
Transformation of English Language in Amitav Ghosh’s The Hungry Tide
Authors: Tasnim Zakiyah
Published: July 2018

With millions of non-native English language users, English has gained the position of ‘global language’ in the last century. English literature also has a significant number of non-native writers from around the world. While grasping their own cultures in English, these non-native writers have been transforming English language to a remarkable extent. On many occasions, these transformed varieties are recognised as versions of English language. This essay explores the notion of translingual writers and their use of English language, taking The Hungry Tide, a novel of the Indian translingual writer Amitav Ghosh, as an example. The novel is studied, along with the works of other researchers, with the sole focus on the transformation of English language in it. This study looks for the answers of two questions. They are: 1. How do the translingual writers justify their transformation of English language?; and 2. How is Amitav Ghosh transforming English language in The Hungry Tide and why is he doing it?
The Use of Body Language in Jordanian Cartoons: A Semiotic analysis
Authors: Hajjaj Duaa
Published: July 2018

This paper presents a semiotic analysis of visuals used in 10 Jordanian cartoons. The cartoons, which were drawn by a number of cartoonists, were collected from online and print media sources. The visuals were examined using the Barthes’ (1967) model of signs, which provides a model for analyzing the connotative meanings communicated by the visuals. The results showed the connotative meaning revealed through the use of body language.
The Implementation of ISSECI Model for Enhancing Thai EFL Students’ Intercultural Pragmatic Competence: Politeness Strategies
Authors: KONG-IN Wapee , Damnet Anamai
Published: July 2018

Regarding pedagogical purpose, Thai EFL learners’ communicative English proficiency is obviously restricted by the limited experiences of L2 politeness strategies. The aim of the current study is to investigate the effectiveness of the innovative teaching, ISSECI Model in terms of intercultural pragmatic competence: face threatening ace (FTA) – Do FTA and Don’t do FTA. The twenty Thai EFL undergraduate students from Rajabhat University were selected as participants through simple random sampling. Data were collected using rejoinder-discourse completion task mixed with open time free response construction, and was statistically analyzed in MEAN, standard deviation, and t-test. The findings revealed that the participants’ intercultural pragmatic competence after learning through ISSECI Model is significantly higher than that before the experiment (*p < 0.05). The participants’ perception with regard to ISSECI Model included four domains, i.e., English knowledge gained, cultural awareness, strengths, and weaknesses of the model.
A Pragmatic Study of CNN and BBC News Headlines Covering the Syrian Conflict
Authors: Al-Hindawi Fareed Hameed , Hmood Ali Abid
Published: July 2018

Lately, there has been a growing interest in media. As a result, many trends are found from both the academic and industrial points of view. News channels, for example, play an important role in transmitting news about political situations, military events and other issues to people all over the world. The language used in news reports or even in their headlines is very influential in attaining the communicative intent of such news reports. This language is characterized by various linguistic features. One aspect of those features is the pragmatic one. This latter issue has not been given its due attention in research study. Precisely, the use of speech acts as a basic component of pragmatics has not been sufficiently tackled in research work in this regard. Thus, the present study attempts to fill this gap and investigate the types of speech acts employed in CNN and BBC headlines that represent the Syrian conflict. Fifty-six headlines are selected from each of these news channels - 26 from CNN and 30 from BBC. This study purports that headlines can be loaded with the encoded pragmatic meanings which makes this study worth conducting to reveal those kinds of meanings. The selected period ranges from September 2015 to May 2016.The investigation performed by this study shows that scrutinizing the speech acts employed in the headlines in news channels can be a good way to understand the intended meaning set by writers. It is found out that assertive speech acts are the most frequent speech acts used in the headlines of CNN and BBC news channels. The results also indicate that the headlines of CNN news channel show a preponderance use of commissives whereas the headlines of BBC news channel show an eminent employment of expressives.
An Investigation of the Marked Parallel Structure in Alice Munro’s “Amundsen”
Authors: Padgate Usa
Published: July 2018

Parallel structure is one linguistic feature implemented to bring aesthetics to the delivery of the English language. Traditional grammar and writing classes usually emphasize that parallelism must be observed when the language is used. In literature, as well as in real-life usage, however, parallelism is often flaunted to effect various purposes, a fact that is generally overlooked in grammar classrooms. In the present study, the concept of linguistic markedness is applied to the investigation of the parallel structure in Alice Munro’s short story “Amundsen” in order to explore the pragmatic usage of parallelism, as opposed to the grammatical usage listed in general commercial grammar textbooks and to answer the research question: How and for what purposes is parallel structure flaunted in Alice Munro’s short story “Amundsen”? The investigation of the marked parallel structure in Alice Munro’s short story “Amundsen” shows that approximately one out of four instances of parallel structure is flaunted to effect emphasis, exaggeration, elaboration and evaluation, which affirms that parallelism is routinely observed as well as purposefully flaunted to bring about linguistic flavours that reflect hands-on usage of the language.
Relationships Between Metacognitive Strategies and Characteristics of Professional Tour Guide Trainees in English for Tourism
Authors: Phaiboonnugulkij Malinee
Published: July 2018

The objectives of this study are to investigate and compare the total and individual metacognitive strategies used by professional tour guides in four English for Domestic Tourism lessons, and to explore the relationships between the use of metacognitive strategies in these lessons and characteristics of professional tour guide trainees. A total of eighteen professional tour guide trainees participated in this study and they were classified into groups from their proficiency levels in English, duration in English language study and the level of responsibility of their current jobs. The research instruments were a metacognitive strategy questionnaire, strategy coding scheme, English for Domestic Tourism lessons and English for Domestic speaking test and rating scale. Chi-square, One-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), frequency, means, standard deviations and the qualitative content analysis from the questionnaires and coding scheme were used in the data analysis. The results show no significant differences in the use of both the total and individual metacognitive strategies in four lessons. However, there are significant relationships at the.05 level between proficiency level and goal setting and control of linguistic execution strategies. There are also significant relationships between duration of English language study and planning strategies and control of linguistic execution. The substantive insights from a qualitative content analysis show the prominent ways of how characteristics affect the strategy use of particular groups which should be included in both teacher and students’ training on how to make use of these higher order thinking to effectively teach and learn English language.
A Pen-Eye-Voice Approach Towards The Process of Note-Taking and Consecutive Interpreting: An Experimental Design
Authors: Chen Sijia
Published: July 2018

Interpreting is a cognitively demanding language-processing task. Investigating the process of interpreting helps to explicate what happens inside the black box of interpreters’ minds, with implications on how the human mind processes language under taxing conditions. Since the interpreting process involves multitasking, it is challenging to develop an experimental design to investigate this process. In the case of consecutive interpreting (CI), it is particularly challenging because different methods need to be applied to tap into the two phases of CI, which involve different combinations of sub-tasks. This paper advocates the use of a triangulation of pen recording, eye tracking and voice recording to investigate the process of note-taking and CI.
“The One” “to Rule the Other” Translations: Comparative Analysis of the Turkish Translations of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hobbit from an Intertextual Perspective
Authors: Elif Taşdan Tuğçe , Tarakçioğlu Aslı Özlem
Published: July 2018

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is one of the most outstanding British authors and the creator of an imaginary world called “the Middle Earth”. Tolkien’s novels prominent with a new world and a fictitious language have become quite popular worldwide. However, the fictitious words and expressions in Tolkien’s novels are challenging for the translators since the equivalents of these words may not be found in the target language. Çiğdem Erkal İpek, the translator of The Lord of the Rings, is the first Turkish translator taking the responsibility of transferring Tolkien’s fictitious concepts into Turkish. During this transfer, she invented new fictitious concepts which are not used in the target language. By this way, The Lord of the Rings (Yüzüklerin Efendisi in Turkish) has become one of the most popular novels in Turkey. On the other hand, The Hobbit, Tolkien’s another novel about the Middle Earth, was translated into Turkish by a different translator. Since the above-mentioned two novels narrate the events occurring in the same imaginary world, a consistency may be expected in the translated versions of these books in terms of fictitious words and expressions. In this context, the present study aims to analyze the similarities between the Turkish translations of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hobbit within the scope of intertextuality in terms of the transfer of fictitious language in Tolkien’s novels. Accordingly, the examples of fictitious words and expressions selected from these novels will be examined from the perspective of intertextual relations among the translated texts. By this way, the study will argue whether a translated text can go beyond the scope of the intertextuality and whether the translation can become a source text for future intertextual references in the target literature.
Los anglicismos de la moda en la prensa rosa española
Authors:   Universidad de Cádiz (España), Vázquez Amador María
Published: July 2018

La moda es uno de los fenómenos sociales más influyentes que existen hoy en día. De un tiempo a esta parte se ha convertido en accesible al público general a través de distintos formatos de comunicación, siendo uno de ellos las revistas del corazón. Es un elemento que está siempre en continuo cambio y evolución. Continuamente surgen nuevos estilos y tendencias y con ellos nuevas voces para nombrarlos que normalmente proceden de la lengua inglesa. El objetivo de este trabajo es comprobar hasta qué punto la prensa rosa se hace eco de estas palabras relacionadas con la moda en sus páginas. Para ello se analizaron una serie de ejemplares de revistas del corazón y se anotaron los anglicismos relacionados con el mundo de la moda. Estos se clasificaron atendiendo a la tipología formal, subárea temática y marcación discursiva. Los anglicismos localizados se consultaron en la versión en línea del Oxford Dictionary (OD), tanto en el diccionario monolingüe como en el bilingüe para ratificar su existencia y definición en inglés y su traducción en español, y el Diccionario de la lengua (DRAE), con el fin de comprobar si estaban ya asentados dentro de la lengua española. El número de anglicismos encontrados fue bastante elevado, siendo en su mayoría crudos, es decir, iguales a su voz de procedencia. Estas voces eran normalmente prendas de vestir, estilos y palabras relacionadas con la moda, aunque también se localizaron diversos adjetivos que describían prendas o colores. El número de voces admitidas en el DRAE no fue demasiado significativo, probablemente por tratarse de palabras recién incorporadas a la lengua española.
Tailoring T&I curriculum for better employability: An exploratory case study of using internship surveys to inform curriculum modification
Authors:   Xi’an International Studies University (China), Li Xiangdong
Published: July 2018

T&I scholars advocate an experiential approach, for example, internships, to bridge curriculum-employability gap. However, the advantage of using internships to diagnose curriculum problems and tailor it to market needs is under-researched. This exploratory case study aimed at investigating interpreting students’ internship responsibilities, the effect of internships and their inadequacies in internships, and ultimately diagnosing curriculum problems and making modifications accordingly. Twelve third-year MA students interning as interpreters contributed to the study through online questionnaires. The survey highlights that interpreters are supposed to provide both interpreting (mostly consecutive) and translation services in the local market, that internships can effectively upgrade their interpreting skills particularly professionalism, and that the interns’ linguistic competence still needs improving. Accordingly, translation courses should be available for interpreting students; consecutive interpreting should be given more pedagogical attention; more internship opportunities should be introduced to the T&I curriculum and language enhancement courses should be added. This contribution provides a conceptual model for T&I curriculum development and demonstrates how to diagnose curriculum problems and tailor the curriculum to market needs. As an initial effort, the present study will hopefully lead to changes in curriculum development norms in collegiate T&I communities.
Daily Pain Measurements and Retrospective Pain Measurements in Hip Osteoarthritis Patients With Intermittent Pain
Authors: Teirlinck Carolien H. , Sonneveld Dieke S. , Bierma‐Zeinstra Sita M. A. , Luijsterburg Pim A. J.
Published: July 2018

Objective

To examine the value of daily pain measurements in patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA), and whether the reliability of retrospective measurements was lower in patients with intermittent pain than in patients with more constant pain.

Methods

We used data from a randomized controlled trial that investigated the effectiveness of general practitioner care plus exercise therapy in 203 patients with hip OA. During the first 6 weeks, patients scored their pain each day. These daily measurements were available for 185 patients. At 6‐week follow‐up, patients filled in a questionnaire rating their pain during the previous week. We examined whether the daily measurements provided results for pain other than those provided by retrospective measurements, using a linear mixed‐effects model. We also explored differences between subgroups, based on the frequency and severity of intermittent pain, during the pain course and reliability between retrospective measurements and daily measurements.

Results

Daily measurements showed no different effect of exercise therapy on pain compared with retrospective measurements. We found statistical differences (by analysis of variance) during the course of pain between the subgroups based on the intensity of intermittent pain. Reliability between retrospective and daily measurements was lower in the subgroup with severe intermittent pain (Cronbach's α = 0.642) than in other subgroups (Cronbach's α >0.843).

Conclusion

In this specific trial, daily measurements did not yield more precise or additional information compared with retrospective measurements at the 6‐week follow‐up. However, reliability of retrospective measurements may be lower in patients with a higher intensity of intermittent pain.
Visible Light Promoted 2‐Bromotetrafluoroethylation of Nitrones
Authors: Dmitriev Igor A. , Supranovich Vyacheslav I. , Levin Vitalij V. , Struchkova Marina I. , Dilman Alexander D.
Published: July 2018

A reaction of nitrones with 1,2‐dibromotetrafluoroethane affording bromodifluoroethyl‐substituted hydroxylamines is described. The process is performed in the presence of a ruthenium photocatalyst and ascorbic acid as a stoichiometric reducing agent and is mediated by blue light irradiation. The fluroalkylation products can undergo chemoselective transformations involving either N−O or C−Br bonds furnishing various tetrafluorinated compounds.

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Preparation of polymer of intrinsic microporosity composite membranes and their applications for butanol recovery
Authors: Lan Yongqiang , Peng Ping
Published: July 2018

We fabricated novel composite membranes composed of a polymer of intrinsic microporosity (PIM‐1) and carbon black (CB) nanoparticles functionalized with the silane coupling agent aminopropyl triethoxysilane to recover butanol from aqueous solutions by pervaporation (PV). Scanning electron microscopy showed that the composite membranes were dense and defect free and had good adhesion with substrates. Compared with the those of pristine PIM‐1 membranes, the water contact angles of the composite membranes increased from around 86° to more than 90°; this confirmed the improvement of the hydrophobicity. The swelling degree of the 6 wt % CB‐filled PIM‐1 membranes dropped 23%; this indicated an increase in the swelling resistance. Furthermore, the PV results show experimentally that the incorporation of the functionalized CBs into the PIM‐1 matrix considerably improved both the permeability and selectivity to butanol. At a 4 wt % CB content, the optimum separation performance, with a separation factor of 19.7 and a permeation flux of 1116 g m−2 h−1, was achieved in an aqueous solution containing 5 wt % butanol at 30°C. It was noteworthy that the as‐fabricated membranes exhibited a good separation stability. This is a step forward in terms of continuous butanol production with hybrid membranes in fermentation processes. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 46912.
Same Redox Evidence But Different Physiological “Stories”: The Rashomon Effect in Biology
Authors: Nikolaidis Michalis G. , Margaritelis Nikos V.
Published: July 2018

The Rashomon effect – a phenomenon studied in the arts and social sciences – occurs when the same event is given contradictory interpretations by different individuals involved. The effect was named after Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, in which a murder is described in four contradictory ways by four witnesses. In the film, a samurai has been killed under mysterious circumstances. Four people give contradictory reports about the crime. In particular, the samurai's wife claims that she was sexually abused by a bandit, fainted, and then awoke to find her husband dead; the bandit claims that he seduced the wife and challenged the samurai in a battle to victory or at least to an honorable death; the woodcutter (who may have been an onlooker) claims that he witnessed the rape and murder but was not involved; and the dead samurai's spirit claims that he committed suicide. The Rashomon effect is not only about constructing different versions of the world based on differences in perspective; it occurs when such differences appear together with the absence of evidence to assess any version of the truth, plus “the social pressure for closure on the question.” In this commentary, we describe the relevance of the Rashomon effect beyond the arts and social sciences, namely in the field of biology. We use examples from redox biology, which is full of contradictions, thus making it fertile ground on which to apply reasoning derived from the Rashomon effect.
Recommendations for Comparison of Productivity Between Fed‐Batch and Perfusion Processes
Authors: Bausch Mona , Schultheiss Christian , Sieck Jochen B.
Published: July 2018

Due to the growing interest in integrated continuous processing in the biopharmaceutical industry, productivity comparison of batch‐based and continuous processes is considered a challenge. Integrated continuous manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals requires scientists and engineers to collaborate effectively. Differing definitions, for example, of volumetric productivity, may cause confusion in this interdisciplinary field. Therefore, the aim of this communication is to reiterate the standard definitions and their underlying assumptions. Applying them to an exemplary model scenario allows to demonstrate the differences and to develop recommendations for the comparison of productivity of different upstream processes.
Identification and Antibiotic‐Susceptibility Profiling of Infectious Bacterial Agents: A Review of Current and Future Trends
Authors: Maugeri Gaetano , Lychko Iana , Sobral Rita , Roque Ana C. A.
Published: July 2018

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most worrying threats to humankind with extremely high healthcare costs associated. The current technologies used in clinical microbiology to identify the bacterial agent and profile antimicrobial susceptibility are time‐consuming and frequently expensive. As a result, physicians prescribe empirical antimicrobial therapies. This scenario is often the cause of therapeutic failures, causing higher mortality rates and healthcare costs, as well as the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. As such, new technologies for rapid identification of the pathogen and antimicrobial susceptibility testing are needed. This review summarizes the current technologies, and the promising emerging and future alternatives for the identification and profiling of antimicrobial resistance bacterial agents, which are expected to revolutionize the field of clinical diagnostics.
Pancreas-sparing, ampulla-preserving duodenectomy for major duodenal (D1–D2) perforations
Authors: Di Saverio S , Segalini E , Birindelli A , Todero S , Podda M , Rizzuto A , Tugnoli G , Biondi A
Published: July 2018

Background

Ideal surgical treatment for acute duodenal injuries should offer a definitive treatment, with low morbidity and mortality. It should be simple and easily reproducible by acute care surgeons in an emergency. Duodenal injury, due to major perforated or bleeding peptic ulcers or iatrogenic/traumatic perforation, represents a surgical challenge, with high morbidity and mortality. The aim was to review definitive surgery with pancreas-sparing, ampulla-preserving duodenectomy for these patients.

Methods

Pancreas-sparing, ampulla-preserving D1–D2 duodenectomy was used for patients presenting with major duodenal injuries over a 5-year interval. The ampulla was identified and preserved using a transcystic/transpapillary tube. The outcomes were recorded.

Results

Ten patients were treated with this technique; seven had perforated or bleeding peptic ulcers, two had iatrogenic perforations and one blunt abdominal trauma. Their mean age was 78 (range 65–84) years. Four patients were haemodynamically unstable. The location of the duodenal injury was always D1 and/or D2, above or in close proximity to the ampulla of Vater. The surgical approach was open in nine patients and laparoscopic in one. The mean duration of surgery was 264 (range 170–377) min. All patients were transferred to the ICU after surgery (mean ICU stay 4·4 (range 1–11) days), and the overall mean hospital stay was 17·8 (range 10–32) days. Six patients developed major postoperative complications: cardiorespiratory failure in five and gastrointestinal complications in four. Surgical reoperation was needed in one patient for postoperative necrotizing and bleeding pancreatitis. Two patients died from their complications.

Conclusion

Pancreas-sparing, ampulla-preserving D1–D2 duodenectomy for emergency treatment of major duodenal perforations is feasible and associated with satisfactory outcomes.
Effect of aspirin in vascular surgery in patients from a randomized clinical trial (POISE-2)
Authors: Biccard B M , Sigamani A , Chan M T V , Sessler D I , Kurz A , Tittley J G , Rapanos T , Harlock J , Szalay D , Tiboni M E , Popova E , Vásquez S M , Kabon B , Amir M , Mrkobrada M , Mehra B R , El Beheiry H , Mata E , Tena B , Sabaté S , Zainal Abidin M K , Shah V R , Balasubramanian K , Devereaux P J
Published: July 2018

Background

In the POISE-2 (PeriOperative ISchemic Evaluation 2) trial, perioperative aspirin did not reduce cardiovascular events, but increased major bleeding. There remains uncertainty regarding the effect of perioperative aspirin in patients undergoing vascular surgery. The aim of this substudy was to determine whether there is a subgroup effect of initiating or continuing aspirin in patients undergoing vascular surgery.

Methods

POISE-2 was a blinded, randomized trial of patients having non-cardiac surgery. Patients were assigned to perioperative aspirin or placebo. The primary outcome was a composite of death or myocardial infarction at 30 days. Secondary outcomes included: vascular occlusive complications (a composite of amputation and peripheral arterial thrombosis) and major or life-threatening bleeding.

Results

Of 10 010 patients in POISE-2, 603 underwent vascular surgery, 319 in the continuation and 284 in the initiation stratum. Some 272 patients had vascular surgery for occlusive disease and 265 had aneurysm surgery. The primary outcome occurred in 13·7 per cent of patients having aneurysm repair allocated to aspirin and 9·0 per cent who had placebo (hazard ratio (HR) 1·48, 95 per cent c.i. 0·71 to 3·09). Among patients who had surgery for occlusive vascular disease, 15·8 per cent allocated to aspirin and 13·6 per cent on placebo had the primary outcome (HR 1·16, 0·62 to 2·17). There was no interaction with the primary outcome for type of surgery (P = 0·294) or aspirin stratum (P = 0·623). There was no interaction for vascular occlusive complications (P = 0·413) or bleeding (P = 0·900) for vascular compared with non-vascular surgery.

Conclusion

This study suggests that the overall POISE-2 results apply to vascular surgery. Perioperative withdrawal of chronic aspirin therapy did not increase cardiovascular or vascular occlusive complications. Registration number: NCT01082874 (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).
Ultrafiltration behavior of partially retained proteins and completely retained proteins using equally‐staged single pass tangential flow filtration membranes
Authors: Arunkumar Abhiram , Zhang Junyan , Singh Nripen , Ghose Sanchayita , Li Zheng Jian
Published: July 2018

This work examines the ultrafiltration behavior of partially retained proteins like lysozyme and completely retained proteins like monoclonal antibodies using single pass tangential flow filtration (SPTFF) modules with different screen channels and molecular weight cut‐offs. When the staging of the SPTFF used the same membrane area in each stage, there was no impact of the module screened channel or the buffer matrix on the final concentration achieved for completely retained monoclonal antibodies. A hybrid configuration containing 30 kDa membranes and 50 kDa membranes increased the maximum achievable concentration for both the monoclonal antibodies used in this work, at the same time, allowing a two‐fold to four‐fold increase in normalized feed flow‐rate through the system compared to only the 30 kDa or only the 50 kDa membranes. The sieving coefficient of lysozyme measured and calculated using SPTFF was lower than those measured during conventional recirculation TFF indicating a more complicated concentration polarization effect than conventional recirculation TFF. Moreover, the sieving coefficients of lysozyme were the same for the 10 kDa regenerated cellulose and 50 kDa PES membranes while it was higher for the 30 kDa regenerated cellulose membrane. The difference in TFF and SPTFF behavior is important when the product of interest is desired to be permeated. This work presents the first body of data for partially and completely retained solutes together in the SPTFF mode and provides a strategy to increase protein concentration at higher feed flow rates. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2018 © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 34:1137–1148, 2018
A 3‐year experience of a simple, novel technique for accurate ostial/non‐ostial coronary stenting: The buddy balloon anchor stent technique
Authors: Chen G. C. , Lu X. M. , Song Y. M. , Gyawail Laxman , Geng Z. H. , Song M. B. , Qian D. H. , Zhang Y. P. , Ni D. C. , He Yun
Published: July 2018

Objective

To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new technique for accurate ostial/non‐ostial coronary stenting in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Background

Accurate stent localization is a key factor impacting the postoperative success of patients undergoing PCI. However, the accurate localization of some lesions, especially ostial lesions, is very difficult to achieve, because they are often complicated by bobbing or to‐and‐fro movement of the stent during cardiac contractions.

Methods

We report a novel technique of precise ostial/non‐ostial stenting based on the buddy balloon anchor stent (BBAS) technique. Between May 2014 and July 2017, 47 patients with significant ostial/non‐ostial coronary stenosis that required accurate stenting were included in this study. Of them, 23 patients were treated using the conventional method and the remaining 24 patients were treated using (BBAS) technique. Evaluation was then performed using intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) in the procedural, or coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) in the follow up.

Results

Using the BBAS technique, the procedural success was achieved in all 24 (100%) cases. IVUS was performed in seven patients (29.17%) and no procedural complications occurred. All six failed cases that occurred among patients with right coronary artery and left anterior descending artery ostial stenosis treated using the conventional method, the lesions were subsequently successfully re‐stented using the BBAS technique. After a follow‐up of 3–36 months, CCTA was performed in 11 patients (45.83%), all the stents were in the accurate position. There were no major cardiovascular events of death, myocardial infarction, or target lesion revascularization.

Conclusion

BBAS is a simple, highly successful and safe technique for accurate stenting of difficult ostial/nonostial coronary stenosis lesions.
Slope of left ventricular filling as an index of valvular and paravalvular regurgitation in native and prosthetic aortic valves
Authors: Makki Nader , Ghao Xu , Whitson Bryan , Shreenivas Satya , Crestanello Juan , Lilly Scott
Published: July 2018

Background

Precise quantification of paravalvular aortic regurgitation (PAR) is challenging. Aortic regurgitation index (AR index) has been validated in transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) cohorts; however, accuracy is limited by heart rate dependency. Diastolic pressure time (DPT) index has been suggested as an alternative and also predicts mortality after TAVR. We chose to evaluate the left ventricular diastolic filling slope (LVDFS) as a surrogate of AR, and suggest it is less heart rate dependent than the AR index and comparable to DPT index.

Methods

For initial validation, we compared the LVDFS between three cohorts of patients with native aortic valves referred for hemodynamic assessment: (1) Patients without AR; (2) moderate AR; and (3) severe AR. We then retrospectively identified TAVR patients between January 2012 and 2017, and compared LVDFS to echocardiographic PAR.

Results

In both TAVR patients and those patients with native aortic valve disease, the LVDFS showed a stepwise increase with increasing echocardiographic AR severity. When compared to AR or DPT indices, LVDFS better discriminated the degree of AR in native valves and post‐TAVR when AR is primarily paravalvular. Additionally, the slope did not considerably change across a spectrum of heart rates in both native and post‐TAVR populations.

Conclusions

The LVDFS is a simple, reproducible metric that can be operationalized in patients undergoing TAVR, as well as those with native valve regurgitation. Additional studies are necessary to determine the relationship between LVDFS and post‐TAVR outcomes.
Long‐term outcomes after treatment of bare‐metal stent restenosis with paclitaxel‐coated balloon catheters or everolimus‐eluting stents: 3‐year follow‐up of the TIS clinical study
Authors: Pleva Leos , Kukla Pavel , Zapletalova Jana , Hlinomaz Ota
Published: July 2018

Background

The efficacy of paclitaxel‐eluting balloon catheters (PEB) and drug‐eluting stents for treatment of bare‐metal stent restenosis (BMS‐ISR) have been demonstrated in several studies with follow‐up times of 9 to 12 months; however, the long‐term outcomes of ISR treatment are less defined.

Objectives

We aimed to compare the long‐term efficacy of PEB and everolimus‐eluting stents (EES) for the treatment of BMS‐ISR.

Methods

We analyzed 3‐year clinical follow‐up data from patients included in the TIS randomized clinical study. A total of 136 patients with BMS‐ISR were allocated to receive treatment with either PEB or EES (68 patients with 74 ISR lesions per group).

Results

The PEB and EES groups did not significantly differ in major adverse cardiac events‐free survival (MACE; P = .211; including individual events: CV death: P = .622; myocardial infarction: P = .650 or target vessel revascularization: P = .286) at 3‐year clinical follow‐up. No event‐free survival differences were found between the groups regarding overall mortality (P = .818), definite stent thrombosis (P = .165) or the second MACE (P = .270).

Conclusions

At the 3‐year follow‐up, no significant differences in clinical outcomes were found between iopromide‐coated PEB and EES for the treatment of BMS‐ISR. (ClinicalTrials.gov; https://clinicaltrials.gov; NCT01735825).
Tertiary Amine‐Naphthenic Acid Self‐Assembled Surfactants for Viscosity Reduction of Crude Oil
Authors: Liu Dongfang , Suo Yuxin , Tan Jiang , Zhu Peiyao , Zhao Jihe , Wang Baogang , Lu Hongsheng
Published: July 2018

The formation of low‐viscosity emulsions is a vital method for viscosity reduction of crude oil. Naphthenic acids, which are present in crude oil, are potential surface‐active substances. Tertiary amines with CO2 response can be self‐assembled in situ with the naphthenic acids in the crude oil to form a surfactant, which can emulsify the heavy crude oil and water to form an emulsion. The emulsion can be easily demulsified in the presence of CO2. N,N‐Dimethylbutylamine, N,N‐dimethyloctylamine, and N,N‐dimethyldodecylamine were used to prepare heavy crude oil emulsions in this work. This convenient emulsification and demulsification approach provides a new concept for pipeline transportation of heavy crude oil.
PKC epsilon signaling effect on actin assembly is diminished in cardiomyocytes when challenged to additional work in a stiff microenvironment
Authors: Mkrtschjan Michael A. , Solís Christopher , Wondmagegn Admasu Y. , Majithia Janki , Russell Brenda
Published: July 2018

The stiffness of the microenvironment surrounding a cell can result in cytoskeletal remodeling, leading to altered cell function and tissue macrostructure. In this study, we tuned the stiffness of the underlying substratum on which neonatal rat cardiomyocytes were grown in culture to mimic normal (10 kPa), pathological stiffness of fibrotic myocardium (100 kPa), and a nonphysiological extreme (glass). Cardiomyocytes were then challenged by beta adrenergic stimulation through isoproterenol treatment to investigate the response to acute work demand for cells grown on surfaces of varying stiffness. In particular, the PKCɛ signaling pathway and its role in actin assembly dynamics were examined. Significant changes in contractile metrics were seen on cardiomyocytes grown on different surfaces, but all cells responded to isoproterenol treatment, eventually reaching similar time to peak tension. In contrast, the assembly rate of actin was significantly higher on stiff surfaces, so that only cells grown on soft surfaces were able to respond to acute isoproterenol treatment. Förster Resonance Energy Transfer of immunofluorescence on the cytoskeletal fraction of cardiomyocytes confirmed that the molecular interaction of PKCɛ with the actin capping protein, CapZ, was very low on soft substrata but significantly increased with isoproterenol treatment, or on stiff substrata. Therefore, the stiffness of the culture surface chosen for in vitro experiments might mask the normal signaling and affect the ability to translate basic science more effectively into human therapy.
Correlation of flow complexity parameter with aneurysm rupture status
Authors: Hodis Simona
Published: July 2018

Ruptured aneurysms are known to have complex flow patterns and concentrated inflow jet, but a quantifiable measure for the degree of flow complexity in patient‐specific geometries has not been established. Previously, we proposed a flow complexity parameter that provides a quantitative description of the complexity of flow patterns through calculated curvature and torsion of the flow field. The purpose of the current study was to provide an analytic solution of the flow complexity parameter and assess a possible correlation with the rupture status of cerebral aneurysms by analyzing the parameter on five ruptured and five unruptured aneurysms from anterior communicating artery. We analyzed the flow complexity parameter in jet and non‐jet regions in order to measure the concentration of the jet flow and the complexity of the non‐jet flow. We found that on average, in a ruptured case the jet region is significantly less complex (4.5 times) than the jet region in an unruptured case, while the non‐jet region is significantly more complex (3.5 times) than the non‐jet region in an unruptured case. We also found a strong positive correlation of the non‐jet complexity with dome volume in ruptured cases, but no correlation of jet complexity with dome volume. These findings suggest that a ruptured aneurysm has more than 4 times more concentrated inflow jet and more than 3 times more complex flow patterns in non‐jet region than an unruptured aneurysm. This newly implemented kinematic parameter provides a measurable degree of complexity of flow patterns in cerebral aneurysms that can better assess aneurysm rupture risk.
Hurricane disturbance and forest dynamics in east Caribbean mangroves
Authors: Imbert Daniel
Published: July 2018

Despite low plant diversity and structural simplicity, mangroves offer various ecosystem services to local human communities, including sheltering coastal social‐ecological systems from high‐energy storm damage. The expected increasing intensity of hurricanes due to climate change raises questions concerning the capacity of mangroves to resist and recover from such disturbances. Herein, this study contributes to a better understanding of (1) the relation between storm intensity and damage to mangrove vegetation, (2) the contributions of species‐specific as well as stand‐specific components of mangrove vegetation to ecosystem resistance, and (3) the recovery of pre‐hurricane forest structure through time. The first two issues have been addressed using a stand‐level approach implemented at two east Caribbean mangrove sites in response to three storm events. The third was addressed through a 23‐yr survey of forest recovery following the passage of a high‐energy storm across one of the two study sites. Generally, hurricane damage was primarily controlled by wind velocity, followed by the hydro‐geomorphic context of mangrove forests and species‐specific composition, respectively. The relationship between damage to trees and wind velocity evidenced a sigmoidal trend, with a maximum slope at a wind velocity averaging 130 and 180 km/h for higher vs. lower canopy stands, respectively. The red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, was significantly less resistant to hurricane damage than was the black mangrove, Avicennia germinans. Unlike the fringe and scrub stands, inner, tall‐canopy stands fully recovered by the end of the study (23 yr). These stands were more resilient because of their growth performances. Finally, the time for east Caribbean mangroves to recover from high‐energy storms seems to fall within the range of the average return time of such disturbances. This may prevent such ecosystems from ever reaching a steady state.
Plant diversity and density predict belowground diversity and function in an early successional alpine ecosystem
Authors: Porazinska Dorota L. , Farrer Emily C. , Spasojevic Marko J. , Bueno de Mesquita Clifton P. , Sartwell Sam A. , Smith Jane G. , White Caitlin T. , King Andrew J. , Suding Katharine N. , Schmidt Steve K.
Published: July 2018

Despite decades of interest, few studies have provided evidence supporting theoretical expectations for coupled relationships between aboveground and belowground diversity and ecosystem functioning in non‐manipulated natural ecosystems. We characterized plant species richness and density, soil bacterial, fungal and eukaryotic species richness and phylogenetic diversity (using 16S, ITS, and 18S gene sequencing), and ecosystem function (levels of soil C and N, and rates of microbial enzyme activities) along a natural gradient in plant richness and density in high‐elevation, C‐deficient soils to examine the coupling between above‐ and belowground systems. Overall, we observed a strong positive relationship between aboveground (plant richness and density) and belowground (bacteria, fungi, and non‐fungal eukaryotes) richness. In addition to the correlations between plants and soil communities, C and N pools, and rates of enzyme activities increased as plant and soil communities became richer and more diverse. Our results suggest that the theoretically expected positive correlation between above‐ and belowground communities does exist in natural systems, but may be undetectable in late successional ecosystems due to the buildup of legacy organic matter that results in extremely complex belowground communities. In contrast, microbial communities in early successional systems, such as the system described here, are more directly dependent on contemporary inputs from plants and therefore are strongly correlated with plant diversity and density.
Magnitude of acute toxicity of marine sediments amended with conventional copper and nanocopper
Authors: Parks Ashley N. , Cashman Michaela A. , Perron Monique M. , Portis Lisa , Cantwell Mark G. , Katz David R. , Ho Kay T. , Burgess Robert M.
Published: July 2018

It is well known that copper (Cu) is toxic to marine organisms. We measured and compared the acute toxicity of several forms of Cu (including nanoCu) amended into a marine sediment with mysids and amphipods. For all the forms of Cu tested, toxicity, measured as the median lethal concentration, ranged from 708 to > 2400 mg Cu/kg (dry sediment) for mysids and 258 to 1070 mg Cu/kg (dry sediment) for amphipods. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:2677–2681. © 2018 SETAC. This article is a US government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.