bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Comparing fourth ventricle shunt survival after placement via stereotactic transtentorial and suboccipital approaches
Authors: Garber Sarah T. , Riva-Cambrin Jay , Bishop Frank S. , Brockmeyer Douglas L. 
Published: April 2013

Object
Fourth ventricle hydrocephalus, or a “trapped” fourth ventricle, presents a treatment challenge in pediatric neurosurgery. Fourth ventricle hydrocephalus develops most commonly as a result of congenital anomalies, intraventricular hemorrhage, or infection. Standard management of loculated fourth ventricle hydrocephalus consists of fourth ventricle shunt placement via a suboccipital approach. An alternative approach is stereotactic-guided transtentorial fourth ventricle shunt placement via the nondominant superior parietal lobule. In this report, the authors compare shunt survival after placement via the suboccipital and stereotactic parietal transtentorial (SPT) approaches.

Methods
A retrospective chart review was performed to find all patients with a fourth ventricle shunt placed between January 1, 1998, and December 31, 2011. Time to shunt failure was quantified as the number of days from shunt placement to first shunt revision or removal. Other variables studied included patient age and sex, origin of hydrocephalus, comorbidities, number of existing supratentorial catheters at the time of fourth ventricle shunt placement (as a proxy for complexity), operating surgeon, and number of previous shunt revisions. The crossover rate from one technique to the other after shunt failure from the original approach was also investigated.

Results
In the 29 fourth ventricle shunts placed during the study period, 18 were placed via the suboccipital approach (62.1%) and 11 via the SPT approach (37.9%). There was a statistically significant difference in time to shunt failure, with the SPT shunts lasting an average of 901 days and suboccipital shunts lasting 122 days (p = 0.04). In addition, there was a significant difference in the rate of crossover from one technique to another, with 1 SPT shunt changed to a suboccipital shunt (5.6%) and 5 suboccipital shunts changed to SPT shunts (45.5%).

Conclusions
Fourth ventricle shunt placement using an SPT approach resulted in significantly longer shunt survival times and lower rates of revision than the traditional suboccipital approach, despite a higher rate of crossover from previously failed shunting procedures. Stereotactic parietal transtentorial shunt placement may be considered for patients with loculated fourth ventricle hydrocephalus, especially when shunt placement via the standard suboccipital approach fails. It is therefore reasonable to offer this procedure either as a first option for the treatment of fourth ventricle hydrocephalus or when the need for fourth ventricle shunt revision arises.
Intrasacral meningocele in the pediatric population
Authors: Lohani Subash , Rodriguez Diana P. , Lidov Hart G. W. , Scott R. Michael , Proctor Mark R. 
Published: April 2013

Object
Intrasacral meningoceles are rare cystic lesions that can cause focal compression within the bony sacral canal. Their mechanisms are poorly understood, but most intrasacral meningoceles appear to be intrasacral extradural cysts caused by arachnoid herniating through a small dural defect in the caudal end of the thecal sac. As opposed to perineural cysts, they are not associated with an exiting nerve root. When symptomatic, they can cause sacral pain or sacral nerve root dysfunction due to local compression.

Methods
This is a retrospective series from Boston Children's Hospital. All patients in whom symptomatic intrasacral meningocele that required surgical treatment was diagnosed between May 1994 and March 2011 were included in the study. Spine MRI was the diagnostic modality of choice. All patients underwent sacral exploration, with ligation and obliteration of the cyst. Resected cyst wall was subjected to pathological examination.

Results
There were 13 patients (11 boys and 2 girls) who underwent operation for intrasacral meningocele. The median age was 8 years (range 5 months–16 years). The most common presenting symptom was back pain (in 5) often described as deep tail bone pain, followed by urinary incontinence (3) and constipation (2). Three patients had evidence of associated tethered cord on MRI studies. Four patients were asymptomatic and their diagnosis was made following imaging for other reasons; they were surgically treated because of the increasing size of the lesion or association with other congenital lesions. Most patients had symptomatic improvement after surgery.

Conclusions
Intrasacral meningoceles are rare lesions that may result from a congenital dural weakness and a resultant arachnoid diverticulum. They present in childhood either incidentally or with symptoms secondary to nerve root compression. Identification of the point of herniation through the dura mater and ligation of the lesion provides cyst cure and resolution of symptoms in most patients.
Quantitative evaluation of the anatomical parameters for subaxial cervical spondylectomy: an anatomical study
Authors: Şimşek Serkan , Uz Aysun , Er Uygur , Apaydın Nihal 
Published: April 2013

Object
The object of this investigation was to conduct a morphometric study in cadavers to determine anatomical structures, their relationships, and their morphometry for subaxial cervical spondylectomy.

Methods
Forty sides of 20 cadavers were used for this study. Dissections were performed in 2 stages (anteriorly and posteriorly). Twenty-one morphometric measurements were performed for both sides of the C3–6 vertebrae. Data were analyzed statistically.

Results
Morphometry of the laminas, tuberculum posterius, pedicle, corpus, foramen transversarium, and processus costalis were measured.

Conclusions
Detailed quantitative anatomical knowledge for operations requiring wide dissection and resection, such as cervical spondylectomy, lowers the morbidity rate.
Superior articulating facet violation: percutaneous versus open techniques
Authors: Jones-Quaidoo Sean M. , Djurasovic Mladen , Owens R. Kirk , Carreon Leah Y. 
Published: April 2013

Object
Recent studies have reported the incidence of superior facet joint violation using percutaneous techniques. These techniques have not been compared with the open midline approach. An increased incidence of superior facet violation may lead to adjacent-segment disease. In this paper, the authors' goal is to compare the rate of superior facet violation with the use of percutaneously placed pedicle screws versus midline approach open placement.

Methods
Patients who underwent a single-level fusion using a percutaneous approach from L-1 to S-1 who had undergone CT scanning within 1 year after surgery were identified. A cohort who underwent open fusion matched by level of surgery was identified. All CT scans were reviewed by 3 fellowship-trained spine surgeons to determine the degree of facet violation. The final categorization for each screw was based on the most frequent reading among the 6 evaluations. The Fisher test was used to determine the association of facet violation with approach.

Results
There were 66 patients in each group. Patients in the Percutaneous group were younger (mean 42.5 years) than those in the Open group (mean 57.8 years, p = 0.000). There was no statistically significant difference in sex distribution, surgical levels fused, or time between surgery and CT scan between the groups. Thirty-six (13.6%) of 264 screws in the percutaneous and 16 (6%) of 263 screws in the Open group were in the facet joint (p = 0.005). Of these, 17 (12%) of the 132 proximal screws in the percutaneous and 7 (5%) of the 131 proximal screws in the Open group were in the facet joint (p = 0.052).

Conclusions
The use of a percutaneous method to insert pedicle screws results in a statistically significantly higher incidence of facet joint violation, even if only proximal screws are considered. Further studies are needed to determine if this leads to a higher incidence of symptomatic adjacent-level disease.
Onyx injection by direct puncture for the treatment of hypervascular spinal metastases close to the anterior spinal artery: initial experience
Authors: Clarençon Frédéric , Di Maria Federico , Cormier Evelyne , Sourour Nader-Antoine , Enkaoua Eric , Sailhan Frédéric , Iosif Christina , Le Jean Lise , Chiras Jacques 
Published: April 2013

Presurgical devascularization of hypervascular spinal metastases has been shown to be effective in preventing major blood loss during open surgery. Most often, embolization can be performed using polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) microparticles. However, in some cases, the close relationship between the feeders of the metastases and the feeders of the anterior spinal artery (ASA) poses a risk of spinal cord ischemia when PVA microparticle embolization is performed.
The authors present their early experience in the treatment of spinal metastases close to the ASA; in 2 cases they injected Onyx-18, by direct puncture, into hypervascular posterior arch spinal metastases situated close to the ASA.
Two women, one 36 and the other 55 years of age, who presented with spinal lesions (at the posterior arch of C-4 and T-6, respectively) from thyroid and a kidney tumors, were sent to the authors' department to undergo presurgical embolization. After having performed a complete spinal digital subtraction angiography study, a regular angiography catheter was positioned at the ostium of the artery that mainly supplied the lesion. Then, with the patient in the left lateral decubitus position, direct puncture with 18-gauge needles of the lesion was performed using roadmap guidance. Onyx-18 was injected through the needles under biplanar fluoroscopy.
Satisfactory devascularization of the lesions was obtained; the ASA remained patent in both cases. The metastases were surgically removed in both cases within the 48 hours after the embolization and major blood loss did not occur.
Presurgical devascularization of hypervascular spinal metastases close the ASA by direct puncture with Onyx-18 seems to be an effective technique and appears to be safe in terms of the preserving the ASA's patency.
Different surgical treatment techniques used by neurosurgeons and orthopedists for syringomyelia caused by Chiari I malformation in Japan
Authors: Sakushima Ken , Hida Kazutoshi , Yabe Ichiro , Tsuboi Satoshi , Uehara Ritei , Sasaki Hidenao 
Published: April 2013

Object
Syringomyelia is a rare disease commonly caused by Chiari I malformation. Surgery by neurosurgeons and orthopedists is a critical treatment for symptomatic patients, and surgical techniques are associated with improved symptoms for these patients. The aim of this study was to determine the different surgical techniques used by neurosurgeons and orthopedists in Japan to treat syringomyelia caused by Chiari I malformation.

Methods
Patients who had undergone a surgical treatment were identified from a 2-stage postal survey conducted in late 2009. The authors compared the type of surgery performed and its association with cavity size reduction, on the basis of whether patients were receiving care in a neurosurgery or orthopedics department.

Results
A total of 232 patients with syringomyelia caused by Chiari I malformation were included in this study. Two-thirds of patients were treated in a neurosurgery department and the other third in an orthopedics department. Neurosurgeons preferred foramen magnum decompression (FMD) with dural patch grafting, and orthopedists preferred FMD with dural dissection. Foramen magnum decompression with dural patch grafting was associated with better outcomes than was dural dissection with regard to the following: motor impairment (66% vs 39%, p < 0.05), sensory disturbance (60% vs 43%, p = 0.051), pain (67% vs 47%, p < 0.05), and cavity size (74% vs 58%, p < 0.05). Improved motor function was associated more with cavity size reduction than with sensory disturbance and pain.

Conclusions
Surgical procedures and outcomes differed, depending on whether the patient's care was managed in a neurosurgery or orthopedics department. Outcomes were better after FMD with dural patch grafting.
Incorporation of satellite-derived snow-cover area in spatial snowmelt modeling for a large area: determination of a gridded degree-day factor
Authors: Asaoka Yoshihiro , Kominami Yuji 
Published: April 2013

AbstractSpatial degree-day factors (DDFs) are required for spatial snowmelt modeling over large areas by the degree-day method. We propose a method to obtain DDFs by incorporating snow disappearance dates (SDDs), derived from 10 day composites of Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre (SPOT)/VEGETATION data, into the degree-day method. This approach allowed determination of DDFs for each gridpoint so as to better reflect regional characteristics than use of spatially constant DDFs obtained from point measurements. Simulations at six observation sites successfully accounted for variations in snow water equivalent (SWE), even at elevations different from the closest measurement site. These results suggest that incorporating satellite-derived SDDs into the degree-day method decreases spatial uncertainty compared with the use of spatially constant DDFs. Application of our method to Japanese cold regions revealed that gridded DDFs were negatively correlated with accumulated positive degree-days (APDDs) and were high only when APDDs were low. These results imply that high DDFs resulted from the dominant contribution of solar radiation to snowmelt at low temperatures and that low DDFs resulted from a relatively high contribution of sensible heat flux at high temperatures. The proposed method seems to adequately account for the main energetic components of snowmelt during the snow-cover season over large areas.
Interannual fluctuations of the relationship between winter precipitation and air temperature in the heavy-snowfall zone of Japan
Authors: Yamaguchi Satoru , Iwamoto Katsushi , Nakai Sento 
Published: April 2013

AbstractRegions of Japan facing the Sea of Japan have some of the world’s deepest seasonal snowpack, although air temperatures averaged over the coldest winter months (January-February) are above 0°C in this mid-altitude zone (35–40˚ N). Therefore, even a slight temperature increase is likely to drastically decrease the snow depth in this area by changing the precipitation form from snow to rain. In this study, to enhance understanding of winter precipitation conditions, we introduce the winter precipitation curve (WPC), which plots the distribution of winter precipitation (December-February) against the corresponding air temperature using hourly data. We then examine the relationship between the WPC and regional climate conditions. The WPC was classified into two types in the study: the single-peak (SP) type, having one sharp peak near 0°C, and the multiple-peaks (MP) type, having several small peaks. Here ‘peak’ indicates that precipitation frequently occurs at a certain temperature. Peaks of the MP type changed position with fluctuations in mean winter temperature, but the peak of the SP type moved only slightly despite annual fluctuations in winter mean temperature. One of the multiple peaks of the MP type appeared at ∼0°C and this peak also remained nearly stationary with fluctuations in winter mean temperature. The peak of the WPC appearing near 0°C in both the SP and MP types likely resulted from the development of the 0°C isothermal layer due to the cooling effect of melting snow particles.
Les collocations lexicales : une relation essentiellement binaire définie par la relation prédicat-argument
Authors: Tutin Agnès 
Published: April 2013

Les collocations lexicales, définies comme des associations lexicales privilégiées et sémantiquement compositionnelles (ex : tristesse infinie , pertes abyssales , jouer un rôle , etc.) constituent désormais une notion essentielle dans les approches contemporaines de la phraséologie. Nous revenons ici sur une propriété qui nous paraît constitutive de ce sous-ensemble d’expressions, la binarité catégorielle et fonctionnelle, dont nous montrons qu’elle n’est nullement le fruit du hasard, mais déterminée par le fonctionnement sémantique sous-jacent, analysable en termes de structure prédicat-argument. On observe, en outre, que certaines relations sémantiques « primitives » (l’intensité, la cause, par exemple) sont particulièrement susceptibles de donner lieu à des lexicalisations souvent idiosyncrasiques qui répondent toutefois à des schémas sémantiques et syntaxiques productifs.
A Standalone RFID and NFC Based Healthcare
Authors: Potgantwar Amol Dnyaneshwar 
Published: April 2013

NFC is a standards-based, short-range wireless
connectivity technology that enables simple and safe two-way
interactions between electronic devices. The concept is based
on combination of smartcard and contactless interconnection
technologies; NFC is compatible with todays field proven RFIDtechnology.
If this technology is used for identification of patient
in hospital, it will be very useful. Patients have different illness.
When doctors operate patients or exanimate patients, if the doctor
confuses the disease of patient, a fatal medical circumstance
may occur. If RFID and NFC technology is used for this case, we
can easily protect patients from fatal medical mistakes. It has the
potential to make almost all wireless technologies and also the
applications on these technologies easy enough so that everyone,
even the non-technical can use them.
Technological development and modern medicine practices are
amongst the outstanding factors triggering this shift. This trend is
resulting in a greater demand for health care-related services and
greater competition among health care providers. Achieving a
high operational efficiency in the health care sector is an essential
goal for organizational performance evaluation. Efficiency uses to
be considered as the primary indicator of hospital performance.
In order to bring down the cost and improve efficiency, intelligent
systems can play a significant role in providing intelligently
processed and personalized information about patients to doctors,
their health care staff (i.e. nurses) and health care administrators
The diversity of South African spiders (Arachnida: Araneae: Documenting a National Survey).
Authors: Dippenaar-Schoeman Ansie , Van den Berg Almie , Lyle Robin , Haddad Charles , Foord Stefan , Lotz Leon 
Published: April 2013

The South African National Survey of Arachnida (SANSA) was initiated in 1997 by the Agricultural Research Council (ARC), with the main aim of documenting the Arachnid fauna of South Africa at a national level. Through their Endangered Species Programme, the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) came on board for the project’s second phase, called SANSA II, from 2006 to 2010, in partnership with the ARC. During this four-year project an attempt was made to consolidate all available data on South African spiders into one database. This data was used to determine the spatial coverage of the already available data, and to determine where ‘gaps’ in the data lie to identify priority areas for focused field work. Due to extensive collecting done by SANSA field work managers, specimen bycatches from other research projects, student projects, and through public participation in collecting specimens, more than 40 degree square grids were sampled in previously poorly sampled areas. This effort has provided valuable material that has improved our knowledge of the distribution of species, and provided specimens for future taxonomic studies. All this data was used to compile the First Atlas of the Spider Species of South Africa, including georeferenced locality data, distribution maps and information on the level of endemicity of each species. Following SANSA II, 71 spider families, 471 genera and 2028 species are presently known in South Africa. The third phase of SANSA started in 2011 and several actions, such as Red Listing of species, a handbook series for all the biomes, publication of the atlas, and description of new species are underway.
Long term outcome and sequelae in patients after acute thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura episodes
Authors: Falter T. , Alber K. J. , Scharrer I. 
Published: April 2013

SummaryWe report on 21 patients with idiopathic thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) whose courses of disease have been followed from the respective diagnosis until now. They had a documented ADAMTS13 activity below 5%, a high autoantibody titer and detectable ultralarge von Willebrand factor (VWF) multimers during their episodes. The initial diagnosis was based on clinical symptoms and on laboratory parameters: thrombocytopenia, haemolytic anaemia, schistocytes and an increased LDH level. 103 acute clinical episodes of 21 TTPpatients during a time period of 30 years are described. Case histories, comorbidities and sequelae were retrospectively documented. Results, conclusion: Although patients are consistently in a prothrombotic status, clinical acute manifestations only occur after triggering. Most common trigger factors are gastrointestinal infections and pregnancy. The relapse risk per month is 0.026; men have a higher risk for relapses (0.044) than women (0.021). Patients recover physically well, except for renal insufficiency in four cases. Nevertheless, major portion of patients suffers persistently from depression, anxiety disorders and persistent neurocognitive impairments.
Rapid and Efficient Directed Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Into Retinal Pigmented Epithelium
Authors: Buchholz David E. , Pennington Britney O. , Croze Roxanne H. , Hinman Cassidy R. , Coffey Peter J. , Clegg Dennis O. 
Published: April 2013

Abstract
Controlling the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells is the goal of many laboratories, both to study normal human development and to generate cells for transplantation. One important cell type under investigation is the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE). Age-related macular degeneration (AMD), the leading cause of blindness in the Western world, is caused by dysfunction and death of the RPE. Currently, RPE derived from human embryonic stem cells are in clinical trials for the treatment of AMD. Although protocols to generate RPE from human pluripotent stem cells have become more efficient since the first report in 2004, they are still time-consuming and relatively inefficient. We have found that the addition of defined factors at specific times leads to conversion of approximately 80% of the cells to an RPE phenotype in only 14 days. This protocol should be useful for rapidly generating RPE for transplantation as well as for studying RPE development in vitro.