bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Biomechanics of lateral lumbar interbody fusion constructs with lateral and posterior plate fixation
Authors: Fogel Guy R. , Parikh Rachit D. , Ryu Stephen I. , Turner Alexander W. L. 
Published: January 2014

Object
Lumbar interbody fusion is indicated in the treatment of degenerative conditions. Laterally inserted interbody cages significantly decrease range of motion (ROM) compared with other cages. Supplemental fixation options such as lateral plates or spinous process plates have been shown to provide stability and to reduce morbidity. The authors of the current study investigate the in vitro stability of the interbody cage with a combination of lateral and spinous process plate fixation and compare this method to the established bilateral pedicle screw fixation technique.

Methods
Ten L1–5 specimens were evaluated using multidirectional nondestructive moments (± 7.5 N·m), with a custom 6 degrees-of-freedom spine simulator. Intervertebral motions (ROM) were measured optoelectronically. Each spine was evaluated under the following conditions at the L3–4 level: intact; interbody cage alone (stand-alone); cage supplemented with lateral plate; cage supplemented with ipsilateral pedicle screws; cage supplemented with bilateral pedicle screws; cage supplemented with spinous process plate; and cage supplemented with a combination of lateral plate and spinous process plate. Intervertebral rotations were calculated, and ROM data were normalized to the intact ROM data.

Results
The stand-alone laterally inserted interbody cage significantly reduced ROM with respect to the intact state in flexion-extension (31.6% intact ROM, p < 0.001), lateral bending (32.5%, p < 0.001), and axial rotation (69.4%, p = 0.002). Compared with the stand-alone condition, addition of a lateral plate to the interbody cage did not significantly alter the ROM in flexion-extension (p = 0.904); however, it was significantly decreased in lateral bending and axial rotation (p < 0.001). The cage supplemented with a lateral plate was not statistically different from bilateral pedicle screws in lateral bending (p = 0.579). Supplemental fixation using a spinous process plate was not significantly different from bilateral pedicle screws in flexion-extension (p = 0.476). The combination of lateral plate and spinous process plate was not statistically different from the cage supplemented with bilateral pedicle screws in all the loading modes (p ≥ 0.365).

Conclusions
A combination of lateral and spinous process plate fixation to supplement a laterally inserted interbody cage helps achieve rigidity in all motion planes similar to that achieved with bilateral pedicle screws.
Prenatal latex sensitization in patients with spina bifida: a pilot study
Authors: Boettcher Michael , Goettler Susanne , Eschenburg Georg , Kracht Thorben , Kunkel Philip , Von der Wense Axel , Reinshagen Konrad 
Published: January 2014

Object
Patients with spina bifida are particularly vulnerable to developing immunoglobulin E (IgE)–mediated latex sensitization. Even though many risk factors leading to latex allergy in these patients have been described, it is still unclear whether the increased prevalence of latex sensitization is disease associated or due to the procedures used to treat spina bifida. The aim of this study was to assess prenatal latex sensitization in patients with spina bifida by examining IgE levels in umbilical cord blood.

Methods
Patients with spina bifida and matched healthy infants were recruited from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf and Children's Hospital Altona. Latex-specific and total IgE were assessed in umbilical cord blood using ImmunoCAP testing to evaluate the degree of prenatal latex sensitization.

Results
Twenty-two subjects, 10 with spina bifida and 12 healthy individuals, were included. Subjects were selected after matching for sex, gestational age, weight, parental allergy profile, number of prenatal examinations, and utilization of latex tools during pregnancy (propensity score estimates, p = 0.36). In patients with spina bifida, latex-specific and total IgE levels were significantly higher than those in healthy individuals (p = 0.001). After normalization to total IgE, latex-specific IgE levels were higher, yet not significantly increased (p = 0.085).

Conclusions
Perinatally, there is a significant augmentation of total and latex-specific IgE in patients with spina bifida. After correcting for total IgE, latex-specific IgE was increased, yet not significantly higher than in matched, healthy controls. This pilot study gives novel insights in the immunological reactions related to spina bifida. The increased latex-specific IgE levels could possibly be associated with the occurrence of a latex allergy in the future.
Subjectivité et vulnérabilité chez Ricœur et Levinas
Authors: Sautereau Cyndie 
Published: January 2014

En quoi le soi, tel que Ricœur nous le donne à voir, peut-il être dit vulnérable? Nous soutiendrons que cette vulnérabilité peut être appréhendée à trois niveaux: réflexif, des capacités humaines et ontologique. Cependant, si Ricœur nous aide bien à penser la fragilité humaine et à définir ainsi une conception nouvelle du soi, la vulnérabilité reste envisagée dans le cadre d’une réflexion sur l’agir humain dont elle est en quelque sorte le versant négatif. L’autonomie, comme point d’orgue de l’agir, demeure la visée à atteindre. Ce point de référence à partir duquel la vulnérabilité est pensée mérite selon nous d’être questionné: nous permet-il d’en prendre toute la mesure? Nous mettrons à l’épreuve la conception ricœurienne de la vulnérabilité en nous appuyant sur l’éthique levinassienne. Levinas opère, en effet, un double renversement. Non seulement la vulnérabilité prend-elle la première place mais, de plus, celui qui est vulnérable, c’est d’abord autrui et non le soi.
Revisiting the Andean butterfly Eryphanis zolvizora group (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae): one or several species?
Authors: Blandin Patrick , Bristow Roger , Neild Andrew , Carlos de Sousa Juan , Gareca Yuvinka , Huertas Blanca 
Published: January 2014

Eryphanis zolvizora (Hewitson, 1877) is a rare Andean endemic butterfly, described from Bolivia, which has been historically classified either as a unique species, or as part of a group of three allopatric species from Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia. In this paper, the group is revised using more than 200 specimens housed in 34 European, and North and South American public and private collections. For the first time, the presence of the group in Western Ecuador and Venezuela is confirmed, and important data on Peruvian populations are provided. In some populations, individual variations of genitalia are observed. Nevertheless, male genitalia allow the distinction of four geographical groups. Considering also habitus characters, eight taxa are distinguished and considered to be subspecies, of which five are new: Eryphanis zolvizora inca ssp. nov., Eryphanis zolvizora chachapoya ssp. nov., Eryphanis zolvizora casagrande ssp. nov.., Eryphanis zolvizora reyi ssp. nov., and Eryphanis zolvizora isabelae ssp. nov. In the present state of knowledge, these taxa are allopatric, except for a possible geographic overlap in central Peru, where data are insufficient to prove sympatry. The “several subspecies vs. several species” dilemma is discussed, considering its impact for conservation action and policies.
Russia-Focused Venture Capital Supports In-Bound Technology Transfer and Company Building: An Analysis of Investment Trends and Outcomes
Authors: Garvey John M. , Kerner Shann , Tillmann Axel , Kuzmin Dmitry 
Published: January 2014

This paper analyzes the approaches taken by the Russian government to promote innovation in the biotechnology sector within the country.Â Russia is economically strong, currently with a trade surplus, and the country is investing broadly in initiatives that have resulted in in-bound technology transfer, as well as an expansion of the private sector.Â These initiatives include government venture capital and investment funds, as well as physical technology â€œincubatorâ€ centers.Â The result has been an increase in the number of clinical-stage biotechnology companies operating in Russia, as well as an increase in the number of pharmaceutical candidates undergoing trials in the country.Â The biotechnology â€œboomâ€ has also resulted in an increase in the number of early-stage companies.Â This paper investigates current deal and investment trends from the funds that are the principal supporters of biotechnology companies in Russia.
A biological battlefield: The potential applications of using remote sensing technology and biomarker organisms for identifying, tracking, and differentiating persons of interest within an area of operations
Authors: Rivera Jason 
Published: January 2014

Since World War II, the majority of American wartime engagements have been characterized by a series of low-intensity, asymmetric conflicts. These conflicts have increased the importance of understanding the dynamics of individual actors within complex battlespaces which in turn has led U.S. military commanders, intelligence professionals, and wartime decision makers to seek a variety of means for identifying, tracking, and differentiating persons of interest. From the jungles of Vietnam to the mountains of Afghanistan, the process of understanding the movements and activities of hostile actors has become paramount to successful military targeting and combat operations. Over the last 50 years, the military and intelligence communities have developed a plethora of technologies capable of accomplishing this task to include overhead satellites, infrared imaging, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), advanced biometrics, and host of other personnel identifying and tracking technologies. While these technologies have closed the gap in enabling U.S. military and intelligence professionals to understand the human aspect of the battlespace, there are still significant challenges in uniquely identifying the movements and activities of specific persons or groups of persons.Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Given the above outlined challenge of understanding the battlespace, this article will explore an alternative means of identifying and uniquely tracking individuals. Specifically, this article will explore the combined use of remote sensing technologies and genetically engineered biomarkers in order to uniquely identify, track, and differentiate persons of interest. Such a combination of two disparate technical fields would be technologically challenging both within the biological and remote imaging scientific fields, thus emphasizing the paramount importance of combining biological markers with distinct signatures that are detectable by specific and technologically matching visualization means. In addition to discussing the technical challenges associated with such a combination of technologies, this article will also discuss both the potential military benefits and negative implications this process could have in ethical, legal, and diplomatic terms. At the conclusion of this article, the reader should have a fundamental understanding of how remote sensing technologies and biomarkers can be combined to better understand the battlespace as well as the possible implications of this technological paring.Â
Injecting drug use is associated with a more rapid CD4 cell decline among treatment naïve HIV‐positive patients in Indonesia
Authors: Meijerink Hinta , Wisaksana Rudi , Iskandar Shelly , den Heijer Martin , van der Ven Andre J A M , Alisjahbana Bachti , van Crevel Reinout 
Published: January 2014

BackgroundIt remains unclear whether the natural course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) differs in subjects infected through injecting drug use (IDU) and no data have been published from low‐ or middle‐income countries. We addressed this question in an urban cohort in Indonesia, which is experiencing a rapidly growing HIV epidemic strongly driven by IDU.MethodsAll antiretroviral treatment (ART) naïve HIV‐positive patients who had at least two subsequent CD4 cell counts available before starting ART were included in this study. We examined the association between IDU and CD4 cell decline using a linear mixed model, with adjustment for possible confounders such as HIV viral load and hepatitis C antibodies.ResultsAmong 284 HIV‐positive ART naïve patients, the majority were male (56%) with a history of IDU (79% among men). People with a history of IDU had a statistically significant faster decline in CD4 cells (p<0.001). Based on our data, patients with a history of IDU would have an average 33% decline in CD4 cells after one year without ART, compared with a 22% decline among non‐users. At two years, the decline would average 66 and 40%, respectively. No other factor was significantly associated with CD4 cell decline.ConclusionsWe show that a history of IDU is associated with a more rapid CD4 cell natural decline among HIV‐positive individuals in Indonesia. These findings have implications for monitoring ART naïve patients with a history of IDU and for starting ART in this group.
Frictional properties of exhumed fault gouges in DFDP‐1 cores, Alpine Fault, New Zealand
Authors: Boulton Carolyn , Moore Diane E. , Lockner David A. , Toy Virginia G. , Townend John , Sutherland Rupert 
Published: January 2014

AbstractPrincipal slip zone gouges recovered during the Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP‐1), Alpine Fault, New Zealand, were deformed in triaxial friction experiments at temperatures, T, of up to 350°C, effective normal stresses, σn′, of up to 156 MPa, and velocities between 0.01 and 3 µm/s. Chlorite/white mica‐bearing DFDP‐1A blue gouge, 90.62 m sample depth, is frictionally strong (friction coefficient, μ, 0.61–0.76) across all experimental conditions tested (T = 70–350°C, σn′ = 31.2–156 MPa); it undergoes a transition from positive to negative rate dependence as T increases past 210°C. The friction coefficient of smectite‐bearing DFDP‐1B brown gouge, 128.42 m sample depth, increases from 0.49 to 0.74 with increasing temperature and pressure (T = 70–210°C, σn′ = 31.2–93.6 MPa); the positive to negative rate dependence transition occurs as T increases past 140°C. These measurements indicate that, in the absence of elevated pore fluid pressures, DFDP‐1 gouges are frictionally strong under conditions representative of the seismogenic crust.
The seasonal climate predictability of the Atlantic Warm Pool and its teleconnections
Authors: Misra Vasubandhu , Li H. 
Published: January 2014

AbstractOur study reveals that there is promising seasonal predictability of the Atlantic Warm Pool (AWP; defined as the area enclosed by the 28.5°C isotherm in tropical western Atlantic) and its associated teleconnections of late summer‐early fall seasonal rainfall anomalies over the continental US displayed by a subset of the North American Multi‐Model Ensemble (NMME). We find that of the four NMME models at least two models (CFSv2 and GFDL) exhibit consistently useful deterministic and probabilistic skill in predicting the July‐October (JASO) seasonal anomalies of the area of the AWP at lead times of up to four months. These two models shown are shown to beat the observed persistence skill by a significant margin at all lead times with the exception of lead time zero. The two NMME models also skillfully predict the teleconnections of the JASO AWP anomalies with the corresponding seasonal JASO rainfall anomalies in the eastern Mississippi valley. These prediction skills are significant improvement in warm season rainfall predictability over the continental US.
Signals of solar cosmic ray flux variations inferred from the noise in raw CCD solar images taken by SOHO/EIT
Authors: Oh Suyeon , Park Hyungmin , Yi Yu , Chae Jongchul 
Published: January 2014

AbstractThe noise embedded in the raw data in one scientific discipline has sometimes been proven to be a valuable signal for another discipline, and there are examples throughout science history. The solar images taken by the solid state detectors (CCDs) of the Sun monitoring satellites are usually cleaned by removing the traces of cosmic rays on the raw CCD data files. Thus, while applying the method of removing the cosmic ray traces, we may be able to estimate the cosmic ray flux by counting the number of traces. The net cosmic ray flux is the sum of galactic cosmic rays and solar‐originating particles. The latter are seen as highly transient flux changes related to solar eruptions. We can identify this kind of “cosmic ray” event from the association with phenomena revealed in processed solar images, and we show this using the data of SOHO/extreme ultraviolet imaging telescope (EIT). On the other hand, the estimated cosmic ray flux in the steady state is anticorrelated with solar cycle sunspot number. The profiles of estimated solar cosmic ray flux showing significant increase are found to be strongly correlated with the ground neutron monitor ground level enhancements. Additionally, the profile of estimated cosmic ray flux is consistent with that of the GOES P6 channel. It indicates that the particles with energy higher than 80 MeV may mainly produce the tracks on CCD of EIT. In conclusion, the raw solar images are valuable data for estimating both long‐term cosmic ray variations and transient solar particles events.
Axoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release causes secondary degeneration of spinal axons
Authors: Stirling David P. , Cummins Karen , Wayne Chen S. R. , Stys Peter 
Published: January 2014

ObjectiveTransected axons of the central nervous system fail to regenerate and instead die back away from the lesion site, resulting in permanent disability. Although both intrinsic (eg, microtubule instability, calpain activation) and extrinsic (ie, macrophages) processes are implicated in axonal dieback, the underlying mechanisms remain uncertain. Furthermore, the precise mechanisms that cause delayed “bystander” loss of spinal axons, that is, ones that were not directly damaged by the initial insult, but succumbed to secondary degeneration, remain unclear. Our goal was to evaluate the role of intra‐axonal Ca2+ stores in secondary axonal degeneration following spinal cord injury.MethodsWe developed a 2‐photon laser‐induced spinal cord injury model to follow morphological and Ca2+ changes in live myelinated spinal axons acutely following injury.ResultsTransected axons “died back” within swollen myelin or underwent synchronous pan‐fragmentation associated with robust Ca2+ increases. Spared fibers underwent delayed secondary bystander degeneration. Reducing Ca2+ release from axonal stores mediated by ryanodine and inositol triphosphate receptors significantly decreased axonal dieback and bystander injury. Conversely, a gain‐of‐function ryanodine receptor 2 mutant or pharmacological treatments that promote axonal store Ca2+ release worsened these events.InterpretationCa2+ release from intra‐axonal Ca2+ stores, distributed along the length of the axon, contributes significantly to secondary degeneration of axons. This refocuses our approach to protecting spinal white matter tracts, where emphasis has been placed on limiting Ca2+ entry from the extracellular space across cell membranes, and emphasizes that modulation of axonal Ca2+ stores may be a key pharmacotherapeutic goal in spinal cord injury. Ann Neurol 2014;75:220–229
Ecosystem Services and Environmental Governance: Comparing China and the U.S.
Authors: Costanza Robert , Liu Shuang 
Published: January 2014

AbstractThe concept of ecosystem services (the benefits people derive from functioning ecosystems) is beginning to change the way we view the relationship between humans and the rest of nature. To the extent that we view humanity as embedded in and interdependent with the rest of nature, rather than viewing nature as separate from people or even as an adversary, our whole approach to environmental research, governance and management changes. These ongoing changes are discussed with reference to the evolving situations in China and the United States. The most significant effects on governance are the needs to shift to a more transparent and participatory approach and a broader recognition of the public goods/common property characteristics of ecosystems and their services. The main questions are: (i) to what extent do prevailing governance arrangements in China and the United States facilitate and/or hinder efforts to effectively manage ecosystem services?; and (ii) are there adjustments that are both politically feasible and likely to make a difference in these terms? We conclude that while China and the United States represent two almost polar opposite starting points, especially as concerns property rights, there is significant convergence, and the concept of ecosystem services can help accelerate this positive trend.
Simultaneous and comprehensive in vivo analysis of cytochrome P450 activity by using a cocktail approach in rats
Authors: Uchida Shinya , Tanaka Shimako , Namiki Noriyuki 
Published: January 2014

ABSTRACTA cocktail approach can detect the activities of multiple cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms following the administration of multiple CYP‐specific substrates in a single experiment. This study aimed to develop a simultaneous and comprehensive in vivo analysis of CYP activity in rats. The rats received an oral administration of losartan (10 mg/kg) and omeprazole (40 mg/kg). Caffeine (1 mg/kg), dextromethorphan (10 mg/kg) and midazolam (10 mg/kg) were administered 15 min later. In the drug‐interaction phase, the rats were treated orally with dexamethasone (80 mg/kg) 24 h before, or with ketoconazole (10 mg/kg), fluvoxamine (100 mg kg) or fluconazole (10 mg/kg) 1 h before the administration of cocktail drugs. The concentrations of the drugs and their metabolites were determined by LC/MS/MS. Plasma concentrations of five CYP substrates and their metabolites were simultaneously evaluated after the oral drug administration. Fluvoxamine and fluconazole significantly increased the Cmax and AUC of caffeine, and the AUC of omeprazole and midazolam. Dexamethasone significantly increased Cmax and AUC of losartan, while it decreased the Cmax of midazolam. Ketoconazole showed no significant effect on the pharmacokinetic parameters of the tested drugs. In conclusion, a cocktail approach was developed for simultaneous and comprehensive analysis of the activities of multiple CYP isoforms in rats. In this approach, the effects of inhibitors and an inducer of various CYP isoforms were examined. Although further studies are necessary to predict the effects in humans, this approach may be expected to serve as a convenient method for detecting drug–drug interactions in rats. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.