bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Instrumented Circumferential Fusion for Tuberculosis of the Dorso-Lumbar Spine. A Single- or Double-Stage Procedure?
Authors: Refai Omar , Elsabrout Moataz , Hasan Mohamed , Ali Hassan , El-Sharkawi Mohammad , Said Galal 
Published: April 2016

Introduction The purpose of this study was to present our experience in treating dorso-lumbar tuberculosis by one-stage posterior circumferential fusion and to compare this group with a historical group treated by anterior debridement followed by postero-lateral fusion and stabilization. Material and Methods Between 2003 and 2012, 43 patients with active spinal tuberculosis were treated by one-stage posterior circumferential fusion and prospectively followed for a minimum of two years. Pain severity was measured using Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Neurological assessment was done using the Frankel scale. The operative data, clinical, radiological, and functional outcomes were also compared with a similar group of 25 patients treated with anterior debridement and fusion, followed 10–14 days later by posterior stabilization and postero-lateral fusion. Results The mean operative time and duration of hospital stay were significantly longer in the two-stage group. The mean estimated blood loss was also larger, though insignificantly, in the two-stage group. The incidence of complications was significantly lower in the one-stage group. At final follow-up, all 38 patients with pre-operative neurological deficits showed at least one Frankel grade of neurological improvement, all 68 patients showed significant improvement of their VAS back pain score, the mean kyphotic angle has significantly improved, all patients achieved solid fusion and 53 (78%) patients returned to their pre-disease activity level or work. Conclusion Instrumented circumferential fusion, whether in one or two stages, is an effective treatment for dorso-lumbar tuberculosis. One-stage surgery, however, is advantageous because it has lower complication rate, shorter hospital stay, less operative time and blood loss.
Stimulation EMG Thresholds during Percutaneous Robotic Assisted Pedicle Screw Placement
Authors: Cannestra Andrew 
Published: April 2016

Introduction Robotic assisted placement of pedicle screws has become increasingly popular in minimally invasive lumbar surgery (MIS). Stimulated EMG measurements during robotic pedicle cannulation have previously not been possible. Although often performed as a second step during subsequent tapping, this tapping may result in the destruction of the pedicle and a breach if too medial. We developed an insulated cannulation tube for electrical measurements to increase patient safety. Methods We developed a custom insulated cannulation tube for robotic assisted pedicle screw placement. This was coated with a micron thick non-conductive coating with 3cm of exposure at the distal tip corresponding to the length of the pedicle. This was then used in surgery and stimulated EMG thresholds were take prior to and after tapping (with a 4.5mm tap) during robot assisted surgery. Measurements were taken using in house neural monitoring as well as using the Nuvasive NVM5 system. Results 34 levels were cannulated using the Mazor Renaissance Robotic system in a percutenous MIS approach. No breaches were identified by stimulation criteria. (i.e all stimulation EMG thresholds were greater then 10 in all groups). The difference (absolute value) between the cannula and tap was 5.3 +/− 0.3 mA. The tap had equal or lower thresholds 75% of the time (relative to the insulated cannula) and higher values in 25% of the stimulations. When comparing between the two monitoring techniques, the variability was consistent, 3.8 +/− 0.3mA Conclusions An insulated cannula during percutenous robotic assisted pedicle cannulation provides accurate and reliable measures of stimulated EMG thresholds. These measurements were consistent with subsequent tapping with only small variation. Measurements between in house monitoring and Nuvasive monitoring were consistent with only slight variation.
Final Fusion in Patients Treated with Rib Based Distraction: A Review of Peri-Operative Results
Authors: Heflin John , Morgan Jessica , Heagy Victoria , Smith John 
Published: April 2016

Introduction Rib based distraction for early onset scoliosis (EOS) and thoracic insufficiency is an accepted form of managing progressive spinal and chest wall deformities. Once growth has ceased, these patients generally undergo definitive fusion surgery to prevent further progression of deformity. Our objective was to review peri-operative outcomes in patients undergoing definitive fusion following rib-based distraction treatment for EOS. Methods 27 patients treated with rib-based distraction for EOS who subsequently underwent final fusion were evaluated with an IRB approved patient registry. All patients were treated by a single surgeon. Information from the registry, patient operative reports, and X-rays were reviewed. Surgical time, blood-loss, complications, overall correction, and need for osteotomies were documented. Radiographic measurements included pre and post-operative sagittal and coronal Cobb angles. All numerical measurements were evaluated for statistical mean, range, and standard deviation. Results The average age at implantation of the rib-based construct was 7.45 (1.78–11.78) years. The mean age at definitive fusion was 13.51 (9.21–18.51) years, following an average of 10.5 (0–18) lengthening procedures and 13.35 (3–21) total surgeries. The mean coronal Cobb angle measured 67.42 (40–107) degrees prior to fusion and 50.17 (32–82) degrees following fusion. Pre-operative mean kyphosis was 61.08 (8–113) degrees and post-operatively averaged 50.00 (20–85) degrees. Operative time averaged 256 (115–520) minutes with a mean 534 cc (180–1280) blood loss. Osteotomies were required in 11 patients (41%). Complications occurred in 12 patients (44%), 9 requiring a repeat procedure. Conclusion Definitive fusion in patients treated with rib-based distraction is both technically challenging and tends to be associated with longer operative times, higher blood loss, and a higher rate of complications. Although the amount of correction is limited by stiffness, scaring, and autofusion, definitive fusion surgery does improve pre-operative coronal Cobb angles and kyphosis. Longer term studies will be needed to establish whether correction is maintained over time.
Sacral Fractures
Authors: Suarez-Huerta Maria Luz , Betegon-Nicolas Jesus , Casas-Ramos Paula , Esteban-Blanco Marta , Villar-Perez Julio , Encinas Jose Hernandez , Lozano-Muñoz Ana Isabel , Fernandez-Gonzalez Manuel 
Published: April 2016

Introduction Sacral fractures can result from a range of injury mechanisms. While sacral fractures typically result from high-energy injuries, there is increasing identification of low-energy insufficiency fractures of the sacrum and pelvis in elderly and osteoporotic patients. The pattern, location, and stability of the fracture also vary greatly. Stable nondisplaced fractures are usually treated nonoperatively, while significantly displaced fractures require reduction and internal fixation. Materials and Methods Observational, longitudinal, retrospective study of patients diagnosed sacrum fracture at the Leon hospital from 1 January 2010 until 31 December 2014. We collected sociodemographic variables, types of fractures, treatments and sequelae. We did a statistical analysis using SPSS software v22.0 Results 55 patients, 56,1% men, 39.3 years. The pelvic fracture occur in ~50,9% of sacral fractures. Etiology: 40% precipitates, 27% traffic crash, 23% hit by car. 64% had associated fracture in the superior extremities, 56% in the lower extremities, 50% had vertebral fractures. There were 7% of deaths. Denis classification more frequent were 1 and 2. 14% had spinopelvic dissociation, 80% were men of 32,4 years, 70% were suicidal jumpers. The kind more frequent of Transverse Sacral Fractures was H and U. Conclusion Sacral fractures can be classified based on anatomical and morphological characteristics. This classification serves an important purpose in that it helps the surgeon identify fractures more commonly associated with neural compromise as well as those fractures requiring surgical fixation.
Evaluation of Functional and Radiographic Outcomes of Thoracolumbar Fractures
Authors: Andalib Ali 
Published: April 2016

Introduction Thoracolumbar fractures are the most common fractures of the spinal column. There is no consensus about the preference of treatment method among the authors. The purpose of this study to compare the radiographic and functional outcomes of conservative management with that of surgical treatment in thoracolumbar spine fractures. Material and Methods Forty-nine patients with single level acute thoracolumbar fractures and without neurological complications were evaluated, of those 21 underwent surgery and 28 were treated with orthosis. Radiographic outcomes were evaluated by measuring sagittal kyphotic angle and anterior vertebral body collapse; and functional outcomes were assessed using SF36 health survey questionnaire and Denis work and pain scales Results Among the surgically treated patients, sagittal kyphotic angle was significantly lower immediately after operation and in the last follow-up compared with preoperative measurements ( p < 0.001), and the functional results of SF36 score and pain scale were satisfactory. Among those receiving conservative management, sagittal kyphotic angle and anterior vertebral collapse were not significantly different before and after bracing ( p = 0.4 and p = 0.8, respectively), functional outcome of SF36 scores were satisfactory, and functional and radiographic results had no correlation. Conclusion This study showed that functional outcome in both groups with surgical and non surgical treatment was satisfactory. Radiographic indices were improved with surgical treatment, and no correlation was found between functional and radiographic outcome.
Preclinical evaluation of an endoscopic electroporation system
Authors: Forde Patrick F. , Sadadcharam Mira , Bourke Michael G. , Conway Thomas A. , Guerin Shane R. , de Kruijf Marcel , O’Sullivan Gerald C. , Impellizeri Joseph , Clover Anthony J. P. , Soden Declan M. 
Published: April 2016

Background and study aims: Targeted delivery of specific chemotherapeutic drugs into tumors can be achieved by delivering electrical pulses directly to the tumor tissue. This causes a transient formation of pores in the cell membrane that enables passive diffusion of normally impermeant drugs. A novel device has been developed to enable the endoscopic delivery of this tumor permeabilizing treatment. The aim of the preclinical studies described here was to investigate the efficacy and safety of this nonthermal ablation system in the treatment of gastrointestinal cancer models.
Methods: Murine, porcine, and canine gastrointestinal tumors and tissues were used to assess the efficacy and safety of electroporation delivered through the special device in combination with bleomycin. Tumor cell death, volume, and overall survival were recorded.
Results: Murine tumors treated with electrochemotherapy showed excellent responses, with cell death being induced rapidly, mainly via an apoptotic-type mechanism. Use of the system in canine gastrointestinal cancers demonstrated successful local endoluminal tumor resolution, with no safety or adverse effects noted.
Conclusions: Electroporation via the new device in combination with bleomycin offers a nonthermal tumor ablative approach, and presents clinicians with a new option for the management of gastrointestinal cancers.
Pietro Aretino
Authors: Waddington Raymond B. 
Published: April 2016

Pietro Aretino (b. 1492–d. 1556) displaced the humanist Pietro Bembo, a generation his senior, as the leading man of letters in Italy during the second quarter of the century. His dominance signaled a revolution. Whereas Bembo was a skilled Latinist and advocated imitating the “pure” Italian of 14th-century Tuscany, Aretino wrote exclusively in the vernacular, evolving his own colorful, vital, and distinctive prose style. His work reveals an acute knowledge of humanist literary kinds and conventions as well as the approved fashions of Ciceronianism, Petrarchism, and Neoplatonism, often satirizing or inverting them. Aretino adopted “follow nature” as his credo and boasted that he lived by the sweat of his ink. After having begun his career as a court poet in Rome, he adapted to Venice’s flourishing printing industry, becoming highly and variously productive. Equally adept at praise and blame, Aretino was a justly feared satirist; however, his greatest success came with his enormously popular books of letters, which created a new literary vogue. His religious writings, biblical narratives and saints’ lives, also were popular and influential before Counter-Reformation repression. Aretino spearheaded the emancipation of writers from dependence on court patronage. Despite the handicaps of modest origin and lack of formal education, Aretino transcended class barriers to become the correspondent and confidant of nobility and princes, “the secretary of the world” in one of his epithets (“secretary” meaning “keeper of secrets”). Aretino befriended and cultivated many artists, particularly the painter Titian (Tiziano Vecellio) and the architect and sculptor Jacopo Sansovino; the three men came to be recognized as an informal artistic triumvirate in Venice. Aretino’s letters and sonnets have been recognized for contributing to the development of art criticism. He was the first writer to take full advantage of reproductive artistic media to enhance his status as a celebrity author whose face and personality were even better known than his books. All of this makes it possible to argue that Aretino was not the greatest but the most important Italian author of the 16th century.
Gender identification in Chicken (Gallus gallus) by PCR using whole blood and dried blood spot on filter paper as template: without prior DNA isolation
Authors: Dhanasekaran S. , Dhinakar Raj G. , Vignesh A. R. , Selvan S. T. , Prakash B. , Perumal P. , Arivudainambi Seenichamy , Ganesh Babu Thambidurai 
Published: April 2016

AbstractAccurate sex identification of pure line chickens in their early age has significant economic impact in breeding industry. In the recent years, range of Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) based sex determination techniques are routinely used to identify the sex of parent lines in breeding industries, however purified DNA is a prerequisite. Hence this study was aimed to develop a rapid and inexpensive PCR based gender identification method for chicken using whole blood samples and dried blood spots as template for PCR without DNA extraction. In addition, practicability of two W-chromosome specific gene targets in chicken for sex determination also characterised. Successful amplification of sex specific fragments and an internal control was achieved with the range of 0.125μl and 0.250μl volume of whole blood on filter paper (~1 mm) prepared from chicken and dried blood spot. This technique does not require DNA extraction, freeze/thawing of blood samples, pre-treatment with any reagents, dilution of whole blood or dried blood spots on filter paper. It can be carried out with commercially available Taq polymerase enzymes with increased concentration of MgCl2 (3 mM) and 0.5% of DMSO without optimisation of PCR buffers. In conclusion, as compared to the existing PCR based sex identification techniques, the present approach is relatively economic, time saving, requires minimal steps and eliminates the need for DNA extraction.
Privacy-Preserving Read Mapping Using Locality Sensitive Hashing and Secure Kmer Voting
Authors: Popic Victoria , Batzoglou Serafim 
Published: April 2016

AbstractThe recent explosion in the amount of available genome sequencing data imposes high computational demands on the tools designed to analyze it. Low-cost cloud computing has the potential to alleviate this burden. However, moving personal genome data analysis to the cloud raises serious privacy concerns. Read alignment is a critical and computationally intensive first step of most genomic data analysis pipelines. While significant effort has been dedicated to optimize the sensitivity and runtime efficiency of this step, few approaches have addressed outsourcing this computation securely to an untrusted party. The few secure solutions that have been proposed either do not scale to whole genome sequencing datasets or are not competitive with the state of the art in read mapping. In this paper, we presentBALAUR, a privacy-preserving read mapping algorithm based on locality sensitive hashing and secure kmer voting.BALAURsecurely outsources a significant portion of the computation to the public cloud by formulating the alignment task as a voting scheme between encrypted read and reference kmers. Our approach can easily handle typical genome-scale datasets and is highly competitive with non-cryptographic state-of-the-art read aligners in both accuracy and runtime performance on simulated and real read data. Moreover, our approach is significantly faster than state-of-the-art read aligners in long read mapping.
Investigating drivers of internet giving behaviour in Malaysia
Authors: Amin Hanudin 
Published: April 2016

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore drivers influencing internet giving behaviour among bank customers in Malaysia.

Design/methodology/approach
Using the theory of interpersonal behaviour (TIB) and the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) as a baseline theory, this study proposes a conceptual model of internet giving behaviour in Malaysia. Data from the 372 usable questionnaires are analysed using partial least squares (PLS).

Findings
PLS results reveal that affect, social factors, facilitating conditions, relative advantage, complexity and compatibility are significantly related to internet giving behaviour, revealing the appropriateness of the TIB and the IDT in the context of internet giving in Malaysia. The proposed relationship between internet giving behaviour and religious satisfaction is also fruitful.

Research limitations/implications
The samples of this study are confined to Malaysian respondents. Further testing of the proposed model across different countries is needed to determine the generalisability of this study’s findings. Further testing on other factors is also needed to extend the finding. In addition, future studies should consider a mediator variable that helps to enrich the finding.

Practical implications
Results obtained provide directions to bank managers at improving internet giving services to their customers. Internet giving tends to be used by individuals if the factors investigated in the current study are considered.

Originality/value
This study examines internet giving behaviour with an enhanced consumer model includes the TIB, the IDT and religious satisfaction. With the support of the TIB and the IDT in this study, the model could be applied as a useful theoretical framework to investigate other giving areas.
Shame and institutional stability – or – change in healthcare
Authors: Jarvis Lee C. 
Published: April 2016

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to help introduce the empirical study of emotion within an institutional framework by examining shame and shaming as drivers of institutional stability and change, respectively.Design/methodology/approach– The author conducted a qualitative study of 101 US print media articles generated by major US news publications and trade magazines from 1999 to 2011 in the wake of the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 1999 report To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System.Findings– This study resulted in two major findings. First, this research found that the institutions constituting the collective professional identity of physicians persisted via institutionalized shame inculcated in physicians during their extensive socialization into the medical profession. Potential shame over medical error served to reinforce institutionalized cultures which exacerbated medicine’s problems with error reporting. Second, this study reveals that field-level actors engage in shaming to affect institutional change. This research suggests that the IOM report was in effect a shaming effort directed at physicians and the institutions constituting their collective identity.Research limitations/implications– This study provides some verification of recent theoretical works incorporating emotion into institutional theory and also illustrates how shame can be incorporated into collective identity as an institutional imperative.Originality/value– This study provides a rare empirical investigation of emotion within an institutional framework, and illuminates ways in which the emotion of shame interacts with institutional processes. This research also focusses on collective identity and institutional stability, two topics which are largely ignored by contemporary institutional researchers but are integral aspects of social life.
Israel ' s failed experiment with American-style welfare reform
Authors: Fisher-Shalem Orit , Quadagno Jill 
Published: April 2016

Purpose– According to convergence theory, over time societies form similar social structures, political processes and public policies. In 2001, Israel adopted a welfare reform plan that rejected the traditional strategy of passive income support and instead endorsed the concept of activation. The plan was modeled on the Wisconsin Welfare to Work program and was designed to put the long-term unemployed to work. The program began operating in four regions in 2004 but was abruptly terminated six years later. The purpose of this paper is to analyze why Israel’s welfare reform failed to follow the smooth path predicted by convergence theory and elucidates the factors in the Israeli environment that made the implementation of a program borrowed from the USA unsustainable.Design/methodology/approach– A multi-method approach including interviews with key informants, content analysis of media materials and government documents and a quantitative comparative values analysis of four nations.Findings– The failure of US-style welfare reform in Israel was due to four main factors: a more diverse recipient population, a lack of understanding of Israeli cultural values, a welfare population that included a substantial number of ethnic minorities whose customs conflicted with program regulations and a social movement against the program by non-profit organizations.Originality/value– This paper demonstrates the limitations of convergence theory and highlights the salience of cultural values in the transmission of activation policies across nations. Specifically, it shows that outcomes vary when policies that are superficially similar are implanted in nations with fundamentally different cultures.