bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, multidrug resistant and extended spectrum β-lactamase producing gram negative bacilli causing wound infections at a tertiary care hospital of Nepal
Authors: Upreti Narbada , Rayamajhee Binod , Sherchan Samendra P. , Choudhari Mahesh Kumar , Banjara Megha Raj 
Published: October 2018

Abstract
Background
Treatment and prevention of wound infection continues to be a challenging issue in clinical settings of Nepal especially in the context of globally growing problem of antimicrobial resistance. Study on opportunistic pathogens and sensitivity to commonly prescribed local antimicrobial agents are cardinal to reduce the disease burden of wound infections. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing bacteria from wound infections of patients at a tertiary care hospital in Nepal.

Methods
Pus specimens were processed using standard microbiological procedures. Antimicrobial susceptibility test was performed following the modified Kirby Bauer disc diffusion technique. Clinical information of patients was obtained from preformed questionnaire and hospital record.

Results
One hundred eighty two pus specimens from wounds of different body parts: leg, hand, backside, abdominal part, foot, breast and chest, head and neck region were collected and analyzed; 113 bacterial isolates were isolated showing the overall bacterial growth rate of 62%, where the highest rate was among patients of ≤10 years age group (82.1%). A higher rate (68.5%) of bacterial isolates were from inpatients (p < 0.05). Among 116 bacterial isolates, Staphylococcus aureus was the most predominant bacteria (56.9%) followed by Escherichia coli (8.6%), coagulase negative staphylococci (7.8%), Acinetobacter spp. (5.2%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (5.2%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.3%), Enterococcus spp. (4.3%), Citrobacter freundii (2.6%), Proteus vulgaris (1.6%) and P. mirabilis (0.9%). Both Gram positive (73.3%) and negative (78.8%) isolates showed high frequency of sensitive to gentamycin.

Conclusion
Among S. aureus isolates, 60.6% were MRSA strains, whereas 40% of K. pneumoniae and 33.3% of C. freundii were ESBL producing bacteria followed by E. coli (25%). It is thus paramount to address the burden of silently and speedily increasing infections caused by drug resistant strains of MRSA and ESBL in Nepal.
Between Science and Politics: Science Fiction as a Critical Discourse in South Korea, 1960s–1990s
Authors: Park Sunyoung 
Published: October 2018

Abstract
A positivist vision of science fiction as a discourse closely bound to science and technology has been influential in South Korea ever since the first flourishing of the genre in the 1960s. Using that normative vision as a reference, the present essay investigates the ways in which select science-fictional texts have actually represented the technoscientific enterprise in South Korea in the period spanning the 1960s through the 1990s. As the analysis suggests, the heyday of positivist-oriented science fiction in the country was largely limited to the 1960s, which was a time when Koreans looked keenly upon science for its utopian promise of development and modernization for the nation. As later years brought dictatorship and forced industrialization, however, a marked shift toward dystopia and social protest became evident in cultural texts that critically depicted technoscience and modernization as tools of oppression rather than as progress and liberation. The historical existence of this more critical vein of science fiction, it is argued, attests to the genre’s hitherto underappreciated potential for fruitful engagement with the political and social challenges of modernization both globally and within South Korea’s technologically saturated society.
Distinct subsets of Eve-positive pericardial cells stabilise cardiac outflow and contribute to Hox gene-triggered heart morphogenesis in Drosophila
Authors: Zmojdzian Monika , de Joussineau Svetlana , Da Ponte Jean Philippe , Jagla Krzysztof 
Published: October 2018

ABSTRACT
The Drosophila heart, composed of discrete subsets of cardioblasts and pericardial cells, undergoes Hox-triggered anterior-posterior morphogenesis, leading to a functional subdivision into heart proper and aorta, with its most anterior part forming a funnel-shaped cardiac outflow. Cardioblasts differentiate into Tin-positive ‘working myocytes’ and Svp-expressing ostial cells. However, developmental fates and functions of heart-associated pericardial cells remain elusive. Here, we show that the pericardial cells that express the transcription factor Even Skipped adopt distinct fates along the anterior-posterior axis. Among them, the most anterior Antp-Ubx-AbdA-negative cells form a novel cardiac outflow component we call the outflow hanging structure, whereas the Antp-expressing cells differentiate into wing heart precursors. Interestingly, Hox gene expression in the Even Skipped-positive cells not only underlies their antero-posterior diversification, but also influences heart morphogenesis in a non-cell-autonomous way. In brief, we identify a new cardiac outflow component derived from a subset of Even Skipped-expressing cells that stabilises the anterior heart tip, and demonstrate non-cell-autonomous effects of Hox gene expression in the Even Skipped-positive cells on heart morphogenesis.
Παράγοντες Πρόβλεψης της Ικανοποίησης των Φοιτητών του Ελληνικού Ανοικτού Πανεπιστημίου
Authors: Iliou Theodoros , Tamvakis Androniki , Anastassopoulos George , Giossos Yiannis 
Published: October 2018

Η παρούσα εργασία έχει σκοπό να καταγράψει το βαθμό στον οποίο συμμετέχουν στην πρόβλεψη της ικανοποίησης των φοιτητών του Ελληνικού Ανοικτού Πανεπιστημίου από τις σπουδές τους η αλληλεπίδραση που είχαν με τον/την καθηγητή/τρια σύμβουλο, η αποτελεσματικότητα του καθηγητή – συμβούλου και η αξιολόγηση του προγράμματος της θεματικής ενότητας. Για την έρευνα χρησιμοποιήσαμε τη μέθοδο του ερωτηματολογίου το οποίο διανείμαμε σε ενενήντα τέσσερις προπτυχιακούς και μεταπτυχιακούς φοιτητές του ΕΑΠ κατά τη διάρκεια των Ομαδικών Συμβουλευτικών Συναντήσεων σε Αθήνα και Θεσσαλονίκη. Η επιλογή του ερωτηματολογίου βασίστηκε σε προηγούμενη έρευνα που πραγματοποιήθηκε σε ξένο πανεπιστήμιο και η επεξεργασία και η ανάλυση των δεδομένων πραγματοποιήθηκε με το πρόγραμμα στατιστικής επεξεργασίας SPSS 20. Τα αποτελέσματα της έρευνας έδειξαν ότι η αξιολόγηση του προγράμματος ήταν υπεύθυνη για το 34% της διακύμανσης της ικανοποίησης ενώ οι υπόλοιπες μεταβλητές δεν ερμήνευσαν κάποιο επιπλέον ποσοστό της διακύμανσης. Τα ευρήματα της έρευνας αναφέρονται και στις συσχετίσεις των παραπάνω παραγόντων με την ικανοποίηση των φοιτητών. Τα συμπεράσματα της έρευνας είναι σημαντικά για όλα τα πανεπιστήμια που παρέχουν μάθηση από απόσταση έτσι ώστε να βελτιώσουν τις παρεχόμενες υπηρεσίες και το επίπεδο σπουδών των φοιτητών τους. Επιπλέον, η συγκεκριμένη εργασία αποτελεί κίνητρο για περεταίρω έρευνα στο πεδίο της εξ αποστάσεως εκπαίδευσης από Ελληνικά και ξένα πανεπιστήμια.
Mean deviation based identification of activated voxels from time-series fMRI data of schizophrenia patients
Authors: Chatterjee Indranath 
Published: October 2018

Background: Schizophrenia is a serious mental illness affecting different regions of the brain, which causes symptoms such as hallucinations and delusions. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is the most popular technique to study the functional activation patterns of the brain. The fMRI data is four-dimensional, composed of 3D brain images over time. Each voxel of the 3D brain volume is associated with a time series of signal intensity values. This study aimed to identify the distinct voxels from time-series fMRI data that show high functional activation during a task. Methods: In this study, a novel mean-deviation based approach was applied to time-series fMRI data of 34 schizophrenia patients and 34 healthy subjects. The statistical measures such as mean and median were used to find the functional changes in each voxel over time. The voxels that show significant changes for each subject were selected and thus used as the feature set during the classification of schizophrenia patients and healthy controls. Results: The proposed approach identifies a set of relevant voxels that are used to distinguish between healthy and schizophrenia subjects with high classification accuracy. The study shows functional changes in brain regions such as superior frontal gyrus, cuneus, medial frontal gyrus, middle occipital gyrus, and superior temporal gyrus. Conclusions: This work describes a simple yet novel feature selection algorithm for time-series fMRI data to identify the activated brain voxels that are generally affected in schizophrenia. The brain regions identified in this study may further help clinicians to understand the illness for better medical intervention. It may be possible to explore the approach to fMRI data of other psychological disorders.
Material loss at the femoral head taper
Authors: Langton D. J. , Wells S. R. , Joyce T. J. , Bowsher J. G. , Deehan D. , Green S. , Nargol A. V. F. , Holland J. P. 
Published: October 2018

Aims There are limited published data detailing the volumetric material loss from tapers of conventional metal-on-polyethylene (MoP) total hip arthroplasties (THAs). Our aim was to address this by comparing the taper wear rates measured in an explanted cohort of the widely used Exeter THA with those measured in a group of metal-on-metal (MoM) THAs. Patients and Methods We examined an existing retrieval database to identify all Exeter V40 and Universal MoP THAs. Volumetric wear analysis of the taper surfaces was conducted using previously validated methodology. These values were compared with those obtained from a series of MoM THAs using non-parametric statistical methodology. A number of patient and device variables were accounted for using multiple regression modelling. Results A total of 95 Exeter MoP and 249 MoM THAs were examined. The median volumetric loss from the MoM cohort was over four times larger than that from the MoP cohort (1.01 mm3 vs 0.23 mm3, p < 0.001), despite a significantly shorter median period in vivo for the MoM group (48 months vs 90 months, p < 0.001). Multiple regression modelling indicated that the dominant variables leading to greater female taper material loss were bearing diameter (p < 0.001), larger female taper angles (p < 0.001), and male titanium stem tapers (p < 0.001). Conclusion Consistent with the long-term clinical success of the device, the volumetric material loss from Exeter femoral head tapers was, in general, small compared with that from larger-diameter MoM head tapers. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:1310–9.
Antioxidant-stabilized highly crosslinked polyethylene in total knee arthroplasty
Authors: Ponzio D. Y. , Weitzler L. , deMeireles A. , Esposito C. I. , Wright T. M. , Padgett D. E. 
Published: October 2018

Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate the surface damage, the density of crosslinking, and oxidation in retrieved antioxidant-stabilized highly crosslinked polyethylene (A-XLPE) tibial inserts from total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and to compare the results with a matched cohort of standard remelted highly crosslinked polyethylene (XLPE) inserts. Materials and Methods A total of 19 A-XLPE tibial inserts were retrieved during revision TKA and matched to 18 retrieved XLPE inserts according to the demographics of the patients, with a mean length of implantation of 15 months (1 to 42). The percentage areas of PE damage on the articular surfaces and the modes of damage were measured. The density of crosslinking of the PE and oxidation were measured at loaded and unloaded regions on these surfaces. Results A-XLPE inserts had higher rates of burnishing and lower rates of pitting and scratching compared with XLPE. There were no differences in the density of crosslinking at loaded and unloaded regions. A-XLPE showed higher oxidation indices in the unloaded surface region compared with XLPE. There were no differences in the levels of oxidation in the loaded regions. Conclusion Retrieval analysis of A-XLPE did not reflect a clinically relevant difference in surface damage, density of crosslinking, or oxidation compared with XLPE tibial inserts at short-term evaluation. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:1330–5.
Chopart amputation with tibiotalocalcaneal arthrodesis and free flap reconstruction for severe foot crush injury
Authors: Chiu Y-C. , Chung T-C. , Wu C-H. , Tsai K-L. , Jou I-M , Tu Y-K. , Ma C-H. 
Published: October 2018

AimsThis study reports the outcomes of a technique of soft-tissue coverage and Chopart amputation for severe crush injuries of the forefoot.Patients and MethodsBetween January 2012 to December 2016, 12 patients (nine male; three female, mean age 38.58 years; 26 to 55) with severe foot crush injury underwent treatment in our institute. All patients were followed-up for at least one year. Their medical records, imaging, visual analogue scale score, walking ability, complications, and functional outcomes one year postoperatively based on the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) and 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) scores were reviewed.ResultsThe mean length of follow-up was 18.6 months (13 to 28). Two patients had a local infection, flap necrosis was seen in one patient, and one patient experienced a skin graft wound healing delay. Of the 12 patients, one had persistent infection and eventually required below-knee amputation, but pain-free walking was achieved in all the other patients. The mean one-year postoperative AOFAS and SF-36 scores were 75.6 (68 to 80) and 82 (74 to 88), respectively.ConclusionAlthough our sample size was small, we believe that this treatment method may be a valuable alternative for treating severe foot crush injuries. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:1359–63.
The effectiveness of ultra-clean air operating theatres in the prevention of deep infection in joint arthroplasty surgery
Authors: Thomas A. M. , Simmons M. J. 
Published: October 2018

Deep infection was identified as a serious complication in the earliest days of total hip arthroplasty. It was identified that airborne contamination in conventional operating theatres was the major contributing factor. As progress was made in improving the engineering of operating theatres, airborne contamination was reduced. Detailed studies were carried out relating airborne contamination to deep infection rates. In a trial conducted by the United Kingdom Medical Research Council (MRC), it was found that the use of ultra-clean air (UCA) operating theatres was associated with a significant reduction in deep infection rates. Deep infection rates were further reduced by the use of a body exhaust system. The MRC trial also included a detailed microbiology study, which confirmed the relationship between airborne contamination and deep infection rates. Recent observational evidence from joint registries has shown that in contemporary practice, infection rates remain a problem, and may be getting worse. Registry observations have also called into question the value of “laminar flow” operating theatres. Observational evidence from joint registries provides very limited evidence on the efficacy of UCA operating theatres. Although there have been some changes in surgical practice in recent years, the conclusions of the MRC trial remain valid, and the use of UCA is essential in preventing deep infection. There is evidence that if UCA operating theatres are not used correctly, they may have poor microbiological performance. Current UCA operating theatres have limitations, and further research is required to update them and improve their microbiological performance in contemporary practice. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:1264–9.
Repeat epidural steroid injections for radicular pain due to lumbar or cervical disc herniation
Authors: Joswig H. , Neff A. , Ruppert C. , Hildebrandt G. , Stienen M. N. 
Published: October 2018

Aims The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of repeat epidural steroid injections as a form of treatment for patients with insufficiently controlled or recurrent radicular pain due to a lumbar or cervical disc herniation. Patients and Methods A cohort of 102 patients was prospectively followed, after an epidural steroid injection for radicular symptoms due to lumbar disc herniation, in 57 patients, and cervical disc herniation, in 45 patients. Those patients with persistent pain who requested a second injection were prospectively followed for one year. Radicular and local pain were assessed on a visual analogue scale (VAS), functional outcome with the Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) or the Neck Pain and Disability Index (NPAD), as well as health-related quality of life (HRQoL) using the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey questionnaire (SF-12). Results A second injection was performed in 17 patients (29.8%) with lumbar herniation and seven (15.6%) with cervical herniation at a mean of 65.3 days (sd 46.5) and 47 days (sd 37.2), respectively, after the initial injection. All but one patient, who underwent lumbar microdiscectomy, responded satisfactorily with a mean VAS for leg pain of 8.8 mm (sd 10.3) and a mean VAS for arm pain of 6.3 mm (sd 9) one year after the second injection, respectively. Similarly, functional outcome and HRQoL were improved significantly from the baseline scores: mean ODI, 12.3 (sd 12.4; p < 0.001); mean NPAD, 19.3 (sd 24.3; p = 0.041); mean SF-12 physical component summary (PCS) in lumbar herniation, 46.8 (sd 7.7; p < 0.001); mean SF-12 PCS in cervical herniation, 43 (sd 6.8; p = 0.103). Conclusion Repeat steroid injections are a justifiable form of treatment in symptomatic patients with lumbar or cervical disc herniation whose symptoms are not satisfactorily relieved after the first injection. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:1364–71.
Increased complications in geriatric patients with a fracture of the hip whose postoperative weight-bearing is restricted
Authors: Ottesen T. D. , McLynn R. P. , Galivanche A. R. , Bagi P. S. , Zogg C. K. , Rubin L. E. , Grauer J. N. 
Published: October 2018

Aims The aims of this study were to evaluate the incidence of postoperatively restricted weight-bearing and its association with outcome in patients who undergo surgery for a fracture of the hip. Patients and Methods Patient aged > 60 years undergoing surgery for a hip fracture were identified in the 2016 National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) Hip Fracture Targeted Procedure Dataset. Analysis of the effect of restricted weight-bearing on adverse events, delirium, infection, transfusion, length of stay, return to the operating theatre, readmission and mortality within 30 days postoperatively were assessed. Multivariate regression analysis was used to adjust for confounding demographic, comorbid and procedural characteristics. Results Of the 4918 patients who met inclusion criteria, 3668 (63.53%) were allowed to weight-bear as tolerated postoperatively. Controlling for patient and procedural factors, multivariate odds of any adverse event, major adverse event, delirium, infection, transfusion, length of stay ≥ 75th percentile (six days) and mortality within 30 days were all higher in patients with weight-bearing restrictions. Notably, there were no differences for thromboembolic events, return to the operating theatre or readmission within 30 days between the groups. Conclusion Elderly patients with a fracture of the hip with postoperative weight-bearing restrictions have a significantly greater risk of developing most adverse events compared with those who are encouraged to weight-bear as tolerated. These findings emphasize the importance of immediate weight-bearing as tolerated to optimize the outcome in these frail patients; however nearly 25% of surgeons fail to meet this evidence-based guideline. Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2018;100-B:1377–84.
Instantaneous Midbrain Control of Saccade Velocity
Authors: Smalianchuk Ivan , Jagadisan Uday K. , Gandhi Neeraj J. 
Published: October 2018

The ability to interact with our environment requires the brain to transform spatially represented sensory signals into temporally encoded motor commands for appropriate control of the relevant effectors. For visually guided eye movements, or saccades, the superior colliculus (SC) is assumed to be the final stage of spatial representation, and instantaneous control of the movement is achieved through a rate code representation in the lower brain stem. We investigated whether SC activity in nonhuman primates (Macaca mulatta, 2 male and 1 female) also uses a dynamic rate code, in addition to the spatial representation. Noting that the kinematics of amplitude-matched movements exhibit trial-to-trial variability, we regressed instantaneous SC activity with instantaneous eye velocity and found a robust correlation throughout saccade duration. Peak correlation was tightly linked to time of peak velocity, the optimal efferent delay between SC activity and eye velocity was constant at ∼12 ms both at onset and during the saccade, and SC neurons with higher firing rates exhibited stronger correlations. Moreover, the strong correlative relationship and constant efferent delay observation were preserved when eye movement profiles were substantially altered by a blink-induced perturbation. These results indicate that the rate code of individual SC neurons can control instantaneous eye velocity and argue against a serial process of spatial-to-temporal transformation. They also motivated us to consider a new framework of saccade control that does not incorporate traditionally accepted elements, such as the comparator and resettable integrator, whose neural correlates have remained elusive.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENTAll movements exhibit time-varying features that are under instantaneous control of the innervating neural command. At what stage in the brain is dynamical control present? It is well known that, in the skeletomotor system, neurons in the motor cortex use dynamical control. In the oculomotor system, in contrast, instantaneous velocity control of saccadic eye movements is not thought to be enforced until the lower brainstem. Using correlations between residual signals across trials, we show that instantaneous control of saccade velocity is present earlier in the visuo-oculomotor neuraxis, at the level of superior colliculus. The results require us to consider alternate frameworks of the neural control of saccades.