bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Learning curve and complications of minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion
Authors: Silva Pedro S. , Pereira Paulo , Monteiro Pedro , Silva Pedro A. , Vaz Rui 
Published: August 2013

Object
Minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (MI-TLIF) has the potential advantage of minimizing soft-tissue damage and reducing recovery time compared to open procedures. A steep learning curve has been described for the technique. The aim of the present study was to define the learning curve that describes the progress of a single surgeon performing the MI-TLIF.

Methods
One hundred fifty consecutive patients with degenerative lumbar disease who underwent 1- or 2-level MI-TLIF were included in the study. Operative time, corrected operative time per level, and complications were analyzed. The learning curve was assessed using a negative exponential curve-fit regression analysis.

Results
One hundred ten patients underwent 1-level and 18 patients underwent 2-level MI-TLIF; the remaining 22 underwent a single-level procedure plus an ancillary procedure (decompression at adjacent level, vertebral augmentation through fenestrated pedicle screws, interspinous device at adjacent level). Negative exponential curves appropriately described the relationship between operative time and experience for 1-level surgery and after correction of operative time per level (R2 = 0.65 and 0.57). The median operative time was 140 minutes (interquartile range 120–173 minutes), and a 50% learning milestone was achieved at Case 12; a 90% learning milestone was achieved at Case 39. No patient required transfusion in the perioperative period. The overall complication rate was 12.67% and the most frequent complication was a dural tear (5.32%). Before the 50% and 90% learning milestones, the complication rates were 33% and 20.51%, respectively.

Conclusions
The MI-TLIF is a reliable and effective option for lumbar arthrodesis. According to the present study, 90% of the learning curve can be achieved at around the 40th case.
Management of simultaneous traumatic brain injury and aortic injury
Authors: Kitagawa Ryan S. , Van Haren Robert M. , Yokobori Shoji , Cohen David , Beckerman Samuel R. , Ahmad Faiz , Bullock M. Ross 
Published: August 2013

Object
Simultaneous traumatic brain injury (TBI) and aortic injury has been considered unsurvivable for many years because treatments such as sedation and blood pressure goals conflict for these 2 conditions. Additionally, surgical interventions for aortic injury often require full anticoagulation, which is contraindicated in patients with TBI. For these reasons, and due to the relative rarity of aortic injury/TBI, little data are available to guide treating physicians.

Methods
A retrospective review was performed on all simultaneous TBI and aortic injury cases from 2000 to 2012 at a university-affiliated, Level I trauma center. Patient demographics, imaging studies, interventions, and outcomes were analyzed. Traumatic brain injury/aortic injury cases treated with endovascular stenting were specifically studied to determine trends in procedure timing, use of anticoagulation, and neurological outcome.

Results
Thirty-three patients with concurrent TBI and aortic injury were identified over a 12-year period. The median patient age was 44 years (range 16–86 years) and the overall mortality rate after imaging diagnosis was 46%. All surviving patients were awake and neurologically functional at discharge, and 83% were discharged home or to rehabilitation facilities. Patients who died had a higher Injury Severity Scale score (p = 0.006). Severe TBI (p = 0.045) or hemodynamic instability (p = 0.015) upon arrival to the hospital was also correlated with increased mortality rates. Thirty-three percent of aortic injury/TBI patients (n = 11) underwent endovascular stenting, and 7 of these patients received intravenous anticoagulation therapy at the time of surgery. Six of these 7 anticoagulation-treated patients experienced no significant progression on postoperative brain CT, whereas 1 patient died of hemodynamic instability prior to undergoing further imaging.

Conclusions
Simultaneous TBI and aortic injury is a rare condition with a historically poor prognosis. However, these results suggest that many patients can survive with a good quality of life. Technological advances such as endovascular aortic stenting may improve patient outcome, and anticoagulation is not absolutely contraindicated after TBI.
Die Sache mit der Nachhaltigkeit (Essay)
Authors: Schmidtke Hubertus 
Published: August 2013

The thing called sustainability (essay)
Concepts of sustainable land-use are older than the term sustainability itself, which was developed 300 years ago in the forestry sector. Sustainability became the central principle of forest management. Already in the 19th century, sustainability was recognized as a multigeneration and multifunction concept. The forest laws of Central Europe are all based on the concept of sustainability. But forest sustainability is also questioned. Economic threats may stress the concept of sustainability on enterprise level. After 1970, the term was developed further towards the general concept of “sustainable development”. The meaning was expanded far beyond the definitions in forestry. Sustainable development may be a global goal but the deficits in realization are enormous. All the same, some optimism seems to be justified. The future is not completely predictable and there are also positive, sometimes erratic developments. Foresters as we are can be proud that sustainability has been our priority principle since long and that the term originates from our métier. But the meanings of sustainability change as society changes. We have to meet the claim to manage the forests in a sustainable manner.
Nachhaltige Waldentwicklung – Herausforderungen aus Sicht des Bundes (Essay)
Authors: Röösli Bruno , Landolt-Parolini Daniel 
Published: August 2013

Sustainable forest development – challenges from the perspective of the federal authorities (essay)
Economic structural change, climate change, the energy “turnaround” and rampant population growth are all megatrends that influence forest development directly or indirectly. In this essay, the authors investigate the question as to the challenges presented by the constitutional mandate to “ensure sustainable forest development” and how the federal authorities aim to meet them. Together with the cantons, the federal authorities will deploy a mix of instruments in the future (e.g. financial incentives, regulations, development of decision aids, etc.), as they did before. However, some instruments need specific development so that the forest can fulfill its wide-ranging functions for future generations and in the context of changing conditions.
300 ans de durabilité? (Essai)
Authors: Pleines Willem 
Published: August 2013

300 years of sustainability? (Essay)
Largely thanks to the Industrial Revolution, our forefathers stopped the massacre of the forests and rebuilt them from the ruins. This was not “sustainable development”. Of course the concept of sustainable development includes the rules of wise management of natural resources. But how to achieve the value added which will make it possible to develop our forest heritage on a sustainable basis? In the conditions which prevail now in Switzer-land, most forest owners are losing money. They can only survive by producing high quality wood, thanks, among other things to silviculture which respects nature. This presupposes effective coordination with the various users of forests and a coherent policy to manage the forest and the wood it produces. Hoping that the “Coming Age of Wood” is not a utopian vision, let us, today, work to get the best value from our beautiful forests. This is possible with sustainable forest management.
Le franchissement de la Seiche par la voie antique Rennes (Condate) - Angers (Juliomagus). Fouille, datation et typologie du Pont-Long de la Basse Chaussée à Visseiche (Ille-et-Vilaine)
Authors: Leroux Gilles , Gaumé Éric , Gebhardt Anne , Jean Stéphane , Labaune Françoise , Lavier Catherine , Perrault Christophe 
Published: August 2013

Une fouille préventive, préalable à des travaux rectificatifs de la route départementale 463, sur la commune de
Visseiche, près du lieu-dit "La Basse Chaussée", a permis l'étude d'un tronçon de la voie antique Rennes-Angers. Deux
routes successives ont été mises en évidence sur un axe unique.
La nécessité du franchissement de la vallée de la Seiche a conditionné la nature et le mode de construction des différentes
phases de la route antique. Sur le plateau, l'ossature de la voie est constituée d'un simple hérisson de pierres posées sur
le substrat. Lorsqu'elle aborde la vallée, elle nécessite l'appoint d'une structure charpentée qui offre un maintien latéral à
une chaussée, dont le rôle principal est de rattraper la pente du versant, puis d'offrir un niveau horizontal de circulation à
un ouvrage spécifique de franchissement de la rivière.
La première voie est surtout remarquable par sa fondation de pièces de bois disposées sur le sol. La seconde offre un
caractère monumental avec une imposante œuvre de charpenterie alliant poutres longitudinales et transversales, ancrées
sur des poteaux ou des pieux verticaux. Cet assemblage assure à la bande de circulation solidité et mise hors eaux. Ce
véritable "pont-long" est complété par un ponceau qui réduisait la poussée latérale des flots.
L'étude dendrochronologique, réalisée sur les pieux conservés dans la partie basse du site, mais appartenant à plusieurs
phases d'aménagement ou de réfection de la chaussée, indique une mise en place dès la fin du Ile siècle av. J.-C.
Melanoacanthoma of External Ear: Report of Two Cases
Authors: Patnayak Rashmi , Jena Amitabh , Chowhan Amit Kumar , Rukmangadha Nandyala , Reddy Mandyam Kumaraswamy 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACTMelanoacanthoma is a rare lesion. Melanoacanthoma of external ear is still rarer. We present two cases of melanoacanthoma of external ear in adults which presented as pigmented growths and clinically were suspected as malignant lesions. Histopathology was diagnostic as it demonstrated the characteristic elevated lesion with abundant melanin pigment. No recurrence of the lesion was reported after four years of initial diagnosis. These cases have been presented because of their uncommon location, highlighting the differential diagnoses.
Association of Hematological Profile of Human Immunodeficiency Virus-Positive Patients with Clinicoimmunologic Stages of the Disease
Authors: Mathews Sujata E , Srivastava Dinesh , Yadav Raj Bala , Sharma Anjali 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACT
Aim: This work was carried out to study the hematologic profile of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive patients and its association with the clinicoimmunologic stage of the disease.
Materials and Methods: A total of 187 patients with HIV, whether symptomatic or asymptomatic, diagnosed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method according to the National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) guidelines were included in this study. Patients in the study population were divided into two groups: (1) Group A (antiretroviral therapy (ART) included patients receiving ART [ART-Y]) and (2) Group B included treatment naïve patients (ART-N). The patients were tested for hemoglobin (Hb), total red blood cells (RBC) count, RBC indices, reticulocyte count, packed cell volume (PCV), total lymphocyte counts(TLC), differential leukocyte counts (DLC), platelet count, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR). Cut-off values were determined as Hb < 10 g/dl, platelet count < 1.5 lakh/cumm, and TLC < 4,000/cumm. The group or categorical data were tested for statistical significance using Chi-square test and Z-test. The difference was reported as significant if P< 0.05.
Results: (1) Anemia (predominantly normocytic normochromic) was prevalent in 40.1%, with slightly higher prevalence in those not receiving ART. It occurred with high frequency in patients with immunological (42.05%) and clinical acquired immunodeficiency disease syndrome (AIDS) (70.58%) compared with those who had an asymptomatic HIV infection with CD4 > 200/μl (28.57%). Patients on zidovudine (AZT) therapy had 34.6% anemia with increased mean corpuscular volume (MCV). (2) Thrombocytopenia was seen in 3.74% patients (higher percentage in untreated patients). (3) Leucopenia was observed in 5.88% in ART-Y (Group A) and 8.14% in ART-N (Group B) patients. (4) Pancytopenia was found in 1.6% patients.
Comparison of Serum Lipid Profiles between Normal Controls and Breast Cancer Patients
Authors: Laisupasin Pikul , Thompat Warayupa , Sukarayodhin Saowakon , Sornprom Adisak , Sudjaroen Yuttana 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACT
Background: Researchers have reported association of plasma/serum lipids and lipoproteins with different cancers. Increase levels of circulating lipids and lipoproteins have been associated with breast cancer risk. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare serum lipid profiles: total-cholesterol (T-CHOL), triglyceride (TG), high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C), low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (LDL-C) and very low density lipoprotein-cholesterol (VLDL-C) between breast cancer patients and normal participants. Materials and Methods: A total of 403 women in this study were divided into two groups in the period during May 2006-April 2007. Blood samples were collected from 249 patients with early stage breast cancer and 154 normal controls for serum lipid profiles (T-CHOL, TG, HDL-C, LDL-C and VLDL-C) analysis using Hitachi 717 Autoanalyzer (Roche Diagnostic GmbH, Germany). TG, LDL-C and VLDL-C levels in breast cancer group were significantly increased as compared with normal controls group (P < 0.001), whereas HDL-C and T-CHOL levels were not. Results: The results of this study suggest that increased serum lipid profiles may associate with breast cancer risk in Thai women. Further studies to group important factors including, cancer stages, types of cancer, parity, and menopausal status that may affect to lipid profiles in breast cancer patients along with an investigation of new lipid profiles to clarify most lipid factors that may involve in breast cancer development are needed.
Comparison of Various Culture Methods for Isolation of Group B Streptococcus from Intrapartum Vaginal Colonization
Authors: Konikkara Kavitha P , Baliga Shrikala , Shenoy Suchitra M , Bharati B 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACT
Aims: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is one of the most common causes of neonatal sepsis throughout the world. Reports of vaginal colonization of GBS in India are few and variable. A study was conducted on pregnant women in a tertiary care hospital to compare various methods for isolation of GBS, to study the prevalence of GBS in pregnant women in third trimester, and to determine risk factors for GBS colonization.
Settings and Design: Observational descriptive study.
Materials and Methods: High vaginal swabs from 150 pregnant women in their third trimester were used to compare three methods for isolation of GBS viz. direct culture on 5% Sheep Blood agar, direct culture on selective Columbia Blood Agar and culture in LIM enrichment broth with subsequent culture on 5% Sheep Blood agar. A history of associated risk factors was also taken.
Statistical Analysis Used: Statistical analysis was performed by Chi–square test.
Results: Isolation was best from LIM enrichment broth with subsequent culture on 5% Sheep Blood Agar. Prevalence of GBS colonization by using culture method was 12.67%. Most frequently associated risk factor was intrapartum fever (42.11%).
Conclusions: Standard Culture Method using LIM enrichment should be adopted as standard practice for isolation of GBS from vaginal swabs.
Understanding the Morphological Mismatch between Magnetic Susceptibility Source and T2* Image
Authors: Chen Zikuan , Calhoun Vince 
Published: August 2013

Background and Purpose Recent research has shown that a T2* image (either magnitude or phase) is not identical to the internal spatial distribution of a magnetic susceptibility (χ) source. In this paper, we examine the reasons behind these differences by looking into the insights of T2*-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (T2*MRI) and provide numerical characterizations of the source/image mismatches by numerical simulations. Methods For numerical simulations of T2*MRI, we predefine a 3D χ source and calculate the complex-valued T2* image by intravoxel dephasing in presence and absence of diffusion. We propose an empirical α-power model to describe the overall source/image transformation. For a Gaussian-shaped χ source, we numerically characterize the source/image morphological mismatch in terms of spatial correlation and FWHM (full width at half maximum). Results In theory, we show that the χ-induced fieldmap is morphologically different from the χ source due to dipole effect, and the T2* magnitude image is related to the fieldmap by a quadratic transformation in the small phase angle regime, which imposes an additional morphological change. The numerical simulations with a Gaussian-shaped χ source show that a T2* magnitude image may suffer an overall source/image morphological shrinkage of 20% to 25% and that the T2* phase image is almost identical to the fieldmap thus maintaining a morphological mismatch from the χ source due to dipole effect. Conclusion The morphological mismatch between a bulk χ source and its T2* image is caused by the 3D convolution during tissue magnetization (dipole effect), the nonlinearity of the T2* magnitude and phase calculation, and the spin diffusion effect. In the small phase angle regime, the T2* magnitude exhibits an overall morphological shrinkage, and the T2* phase image suffers a dipole effect but maintains the χ-induced fieldmap morphology.
Effect of Digoxin on the Color Vision Disorder, A Case-Control Study
Authors: Toba Kazemi  , Mohammad Hossien Davari  , Hanie Afrazande  
Published: August 2013

Background and Aim: Digoxin is a drug commonly used in order to treat cardiac failure but its use has got different complications including color vision disorder .Regarding the high prevalence of cardiac failure and the role of taking this drug by patients, it was decided to study color vision disorder in patients who take digoxin.
Materials and Methods: The present case-control study was conducted during 2008-2009 in Valli-e-asr hospital in Birjand.The case group consisted of 59 patients having cardiac failure who, at least, had taken oral digoxin for one year. The controls were non-cardiac patients referring to the hospital or were patients’ attendants who did not take digoxin. The controls were matched with the cases with respect to age and sex. Both groups were examined regarding whether they had color vision disorder or not by means of Ishiharatest. Venous blood was derived from all the cases to assess serum digoxin level.
Then, the obtained data was an encoded and statistically analysed by means of SPSS software at the significant level α=0.05.
Findings:In this survey, 59 patients with Heart failure who took digoxin and 59 controls were studied. Relative frequency of color vision disorder in the cases was estimated at 6.8%, but in the controls it was estimated at 1.7%; hence the difference was not statistically significant (P=0.36).Frequency of color vision disorder did not reveal a significant difference regarding age and sex. Serum digoxin level was abnormal in 5.1% of the patients. A significant difference was not found between mean serum digoxin and color vision disorder.
Results:Using color vision disorder, as a diagnostic measure of Digoxin toxicity, is of no use.
2D:4D finger length ratio and reproductive indices in a Chuvashian population
Authors: Kalichman Leonid , Batsevich Valery , Kobyliansky Eugene 
Published: August 2013

Objectiveto evaluate the association between 2D:4D finger length ratios (representing the prenatal environment, i.e., early androgen exposure) and reproductive indices, such as age at menarche, menopausal age, and length of reproductive period.MethodsRetrospective data on age at menarche and menopausal age as well as x‐rays of both hands were obtained from 674 Chuvashian women aged 18–70 years (mean 46.32 ± 15.42). Finger and metacarpal length ratios as well as visual classification of finger ratio types, were estimated from the x‐rays.Results and ConclusionsWe found that a low 2D:4D ratio (radiologically evaluated), a masculine 2D:4D ratio type (visually evaluated), and a putative bioassay for prenatal androgen exposure, were associated with a later menarche and a shorter reproductive period. No association was found with menopausal age. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 25:617–621, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Reliability of standard circumferences in domain‐related constitutional applications
Authors: Jonathan Tresignie , Aldo Scafoglieri , Pieter Clarys Jan , Erik Cattrysse 
Published: August 2013

ABSTRACTObjectivesThere may be no doubt that circumferences, measured at different sites of body segments, have a variety of applications. Studies using girths are based on assumed logic, but within a general context no literature is found as to the origin of choice of a particular circumference for a particular application.The purpose of this study is to relate each circumference (i) with the segmental tissue masses and (ii) with all whole‐body tissue masses; in order to provide a complete constitutional reliability report of each girth available.MethodsSubsequent to an anthropometric protocol, 23 (9 male aged 74.8 ± 5.7 years and 14 female aged 79.2 ± 7.3 years) well‐preserved white Caucasian cadavers, of lean subjects were dissected according to the 5‐component model and expressed on its tissue‐system level, for example, skin, muscle, adipose tissue, viscera, and bones.ResultsThe relations range from r = 0.80 to r = 0.99 (P < 0.01). A majority of circumferences (e.g., head, neck, upper thigh, mid‐thigh, and calf) do represent what is expected. Other girths (e.g., waist, upper arm, elbow, forearm, and wrist) do not relate adequately to the assumed constituent.ConclusionThis study suggests the appreciation of the waist circumference. This measure is not valid for lean individuals, but might be for the obese. It is suggested likewise that a combination of chest and hip circumference may have a more general application within the public health sector. In summary, evidence confirms the reliability of a series of circumferences but creates doubts or rejects other colloquially established perimeters. Am. J. Hum. Biol., 25:637–642, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.