bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Ex Vivo Pneumostasis Evaluation of a Variable-Height Staple Design
Authors: Contini Elizabeth , Godek Marisha L. , Whiffen Jennifer M. , Bronson Dwight G. 
Published: October 2013

Objective This study examined the effect of using a variable-height staple construct containing three rows of staples with heights of 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 mm (staple leg length, medial to lateral) versus standard three-row single-height staplers (with staple heights of either 3.5 or 4.8 mm) for pneumostasis in healthy porcine and canine lung parenchyma to determine whether a single stapler that uses variable staple heights could perform as well as, or better than, existing single-height stapling devices. The work presented here used healthy animal tissues, in lieu of diseased tissue, which is extremely difficult to obtain and quantify. Methods Briefly, fresh explanted porcine and canine trachea-lung blocs were used for all testing. Tissue thicknesses were measured with a custom-design spring-loaded caliper before stapling with control and test articles to ensure that the tissue was of “appropriate” thickness for the stapler size (staple height) selected (per manufacturer's instructions for use). All tissue measurements were comparable across each area of lung tested, and both test and control devices were fired into the same tissue thicknesses. After stapling, the lungs were submerged in water, insufflated, checked for air leaks at four discrete (increasing) pressures, and scored using a predetermined scale. Statistical analysis was performed for n = 26 (3.5-mm staples), n = 29 (4.8-mm staples), and n = 26 or 29 (paired to the standard group) for the variable-height stapler (3.0-, 3.5-, and 4.0-mm staples). Results The results demonstrated that the test article comprising three rows of variable-height staples provided comparable pneumostasis with the standard three-row single-height staplers (with staple heights of either 3.5 or 4.8 mm) under the test conditions described. Conclusions A novel test article containing three rows of staples with heights of 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 mm (variable-height stapler) showed promising results when compared with standard commercially available single-height staplers, performing as well as or better than the standard single-height staplers. This work demonstrates important first steps to proving equivalent device performance, which might facilitate the use of a variable-height stapler in place of multiple single-height staplers.
Performance of a Novel Bipolar/Monopolar Radiofrequency Ablation Device on the Beating Heart in an Acute Porcine Model
Authors: Saint Lindsey L. , Lawrance Christopher P. , Okada Shoichi , Kazui Toshinobu , Robertson Jason O. , Schuessler Richard B. , Damiano Ralph J. 
Published: October 2013

Objective Although the advent of ablation technology has simplified and shortened surgery for atrial fibrillation, only bipolar clamps have reliably been able to create transmural lesions on the beating heart. Currently, there are no devices capable of reproducibly creating the long linear lesions in the right and left atria needed to perform a Cox-Maze procedure. This study evaluated the performance of a novel suction-assisted radiofrequency device that uses both bipolar and monopolar energy to create lesions from an epicardial approach on the beating heart. Methods Six domestic pigs underwent median sternotomy. A dual bipolar/monopolar radiofrequency ablation device was used to create epicardial linear lesions on the superior and inferior vena cavae, the right and left atrial free walls, and the right and left atrial appendages. The heart was stained with 2,3,5-triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride, and each lesion was cross-sectioned at 5-mm intervals. Lesion depth and transmurality were determined. Results Transmurality was documented in 94% of all cross sections, and 68% of all ablation lines were transmural along their entire length. Tissue thickness was not different between the transmural and nontransmural cross sections (3.1 ± 1.3 and 3.4 ± 2.1, P = 0.57, respectively), nor was the anatomic location on the heart ( P = 0.45 for the distribution). Of the cross sections located at the end of the ablation line, 11% (8/75) were found to be nontransmural, whereas only 4% (8/195) of the cross sections located within the line of ablation were found to be nontransmural ( P = 0.04). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that failure of the device to create transmural lesions was associated with low body temperature ( P = 0.006) but not with cardiac output ( P = 0.54). Conclusions This novel device was able to consistently create transmural epicardial lesions on the beating heart, regardless of anatomic location, cardiac output, or tissue thickness. The performance of this device was improved over most devices previously tested but still falls short of ideal clinical performance. Transmurality was lower at the end of the lesions, highlighting the importance of overlapping lines of ablation in the clinical setting.
Effect of a Low‐Intensity Parent‐Focused Nutrition Intervention on Dietary Intake of 2‐ to 5‐Year Olds
Authors: Duncanson Kerith , Burrows Tracy , Collins Clare 
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACTObjectives:Community‐based nutrition interventions aimed at influencing child dietary intake are rarely evaluated. We hypothesised that providing self‐directed nutrition and parenting resources to parents living in rural northern New South Wales, Australia, would positively affect the dietary patterns of children ages 2 to 5 years.Methods:A total of 146 parent–child dyads (76 boys, ages 2.0–5.9 years) were randomly assigned to either a 12‐month parent‐centred intervention involving self‐directed education provided in CD and DVD formats, or a participant‐blinded control group who received generic nutrition and physical activity information. Data were collected at baseline, 3, and 12 months.Results:Total reported energy from nutrient‐dense food groups and percentage energy from energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor foods were high at baseline relative to estimated total energy expenditure for child age. Using random effects modelling, there were significant group‐by‐time effects for a reduction in mean (standard deviation) total energy intake (EI) at 12 months (−461 kJ/day (196); P = 0.04). An intervention group‐by‐time effect on carbohydrate intake (−17.4 g/day (10.6); P < 0.05) was largely attributable to decreased consumption of breads and cereals (−180 g/day (80); P = 0.007). Decreases in energy‐dense, nutrient‐poor foods were not statistically significant.Conclusions:The proportion of total EI from noncore foods in children in rural New South Wales is high and did not improve in response to a low‐intensity nutrition intervention. Parents reported small changes in consumption frequency for core and noncore food intakes, leading to a reduction in total EI. Strategies to increase resource use such as prompting via e‐mail are required to further explore the effectiveness of nutrition resource dissemination at a population level.
Early‐Life Factors Associated With Pediatric Functional Constipation
Authors: Turco Rossella , Miele Erasmo , Russo Marina , Mastroianni Rossella , Lavorgna Alessandra , Paludetto Roberto , Pensabene Licia , Greco Luigi , Campanozzi Angelo , Borrelli Osvaldo , Romano Claudio , Chiaro Andrea , Guariso Graziella , Staiano Annamaria 
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACTObjective:This multicenter prospective study aimed to establish possible risk factors for functional constipation (FC) in the first year of life.Methods:At the infant's age of 3, 6, and 12 months, parents of all included infants completed 2 questionnaires: one about the presence of FC and the other screened the possible risk factors for FC. Parents of 465 infants completed the questionnaires at 3 and 6 months and of 402 infants at 12 months of life.Results:According to the Rome III criteria, FC was found in 11.6% of the infants at 3 months, in 13.7% at 6 months, and in 10.7% at 12 months after birth. Family history of atopy was present in 38.8% and 45.3% of infants with constipation at 3 and 6 months (P = 0.04 and P = 0.02, respectively), but no significant association was found at 12 months (P = 0.80). Breast‐feeding was significantly related to a normal evacuation pattern at 3 months (P = 0.05), but not at 6 and 12 months (P = 0.12 and P = 0.9, respectively). Acetaminophen and female sex appeared to be risk factors for FC at 12 months. After the adjustment for all analyzed variables, FC in infants was significantly associated with the use of acetaminophen (odds ratio 6.98, 95% confidence interval 0.82–13.50).Conclusions:Our results confirmed that breast‐feeding is a protective factor for FC in the first 3 months of life and that the female sex is at risk to have FC. We found that the use of acetaminophen was associated with a higher incidence of FC in the first year of life.
Structural, compositional and trait differences between native‐ and non‐native‐dominated grassland patches
Authors: Molinari Nicole A. , D'Antonio Carla M. 
Published: October 2013

Summary

Non‐native species with growth forms that are different from the native flora may alter the physical structure of the area they invade, thereby changing the resources available to resident species. This in turn can select for species with traits suited for the new growing environment.

We used adjacent uninvaded and invaded grassland patches to evaluate whether the shift in dominance from a native perennial bunchgrass, Nassella pulchra, to the early season, non‐native annual grass, Bromus diandrus, affects the physical structure, available light, plant community composition and community‐weighted trait means.

Our field surveys revealed that the exotic grass B. diandrus alters both the vertical and horizontal structure creating more dense continuous vegetative growth and dead plant biomass than patches dominated by N. pulchra. These differences in physical structure are responsible for a threefold reduction in available light and likely contribute to the lower diversity, especially of native forbs in B. diandrus‐dominated patches. Further, flowering time began earlier and seed size and plant height were higher in B. diandrus patches relative to N. pulchra patches.

Our results suggest that species that are better suited (earlier phenology, larger seed size and taller) for low light availability are those that coexist with B. diandrus, and this is consistent with our hypothesis that change in physical structure with B. diandrus invasion is an important driver of community and trait composition.

The traits of species able to coexist with invaders are rarely considered when assessing community change following invasion; however, this may be a powerful approach for predicting community change in environments with high anthropogenic pressures, such as disturbance and nutrient enrichment. It also provides a means for selecting species to introduce when trying to enhance native diversity in an otherwise invaded community.
Quasi‐continuous reservoir monitoring with surface seismic data
Authors: Arogunmati Adeyemi , Harris Jerry M. 
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACTWe present an approach that creates the possibility of reservoir monitoring on a quasi‐continuous basis using surface seismic data. Current strategies and logistics for seismic data acquisition impose restrictions on the calendar‐time temporal resolution obtainable for a given surface‐seismic time‐lapse monitoring program. One factor that restricts the implementation of a quasi‐continuous monitoring program using conventional strategies is the time it takes to acquire a complete survey. Here quasi‐continuous monitoring describes the process of reservoir monitoring at short‐time intervals. Our approach circumvents the restriction by requiring only a subset of complete survey data each time an image of the reservoir is needed using surface seismic data. Ideally, the time interval between survey subset acquisitions should be short so that changes in the reservoir properties are small. The accumulated data acquired are used to estimate the unavailable data at the monitor survey time and the combined recorded and estimated data are used to produce an image of the subsurface for monitoring. We will illustrate the effectiveness of our approach using 2D and 3D synthetic seismic data and 3D field seismic data. We will explain the benefits and drawbacks of the proposed approach.
Aeromagnetic surveying using a simulated unmanned aircraft system
Authors: Caron Raymond M. , Samson Claire , Straznicky Paul , Ferguson Stephen , Sander Luise 
Published: October 2013

ABSTRACTCarleton University and Sander Geophysics are developing an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) for aeromagnetic surveying. As an early indication of the expected performance of the unmanned aircraft system, a simulated unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) was built. The simulated unmanned aircraft system is a T‐shaped structure configured as a horizontal gradiometer with two cesium magnetometers spaced 4.67 m apart, which is the same sensor geometry as planned for the unmanned aircraft system. The simulated unmanned aircraft system is flown suspended beneath a helicopter.An 8.5 km2 area in the Central Metasedimentary Belt of the Grenville Province, near Plevna, Ontario, Canada, was surveyed with the simulated unmanned aircraft system suspended 50 m above ground. The survey site was chosen on the basis of its complex geological structure. The total magnetic intensity (TMI) data recorded were compared to that obtained during a conventional fixed‐wing survey and a ground survey. Transverse magneto‐gradiometric data were also recorded by the simulated unmanned aircraft system.The simulated unmanned aircraft system total magnetic intensity data have a higher resolution than the conventional fixed‐wing data and were found to have a similar resolution to that of the ground survey data. The advantages of surveying with the simulated unmanned aircraft system were: (1) the acquisition of a detailed data set free of gaps in coverage at a low altitude above the terrain and (2) substantial saving of time and effort.In the survey site, the 4.67 m simulated unmanned aircraft system gradiometer measured the transverse magnetic gradient reliably up to an altitude of 150 m above ground.
Implementation of Evidence‐Based Employment Services in Specialty Mental Health
Authors: Hamilton Alison B. , Cohen Amy N. , Glover Dawn L. , Whelan Fiona , Chemerinski Eran , McNagny Kirk P. , Mullins Deborah , Reist Christopher , Schubert Max , Young Alexander S. 
Published: October 2013

ObjectiveStudy a quality improvement approach for implementing evidence‐based employment services at specialty mental health clinics.Data Sources/Study SettingSemistructured interviews with clinicians and administrators before, during, and after implementation. Qualitative field notes, structured baseline and follow‐up interviews with patients, semistructured interviews with patients after implementation, and administrative data.Study DesignSite‐level controlled trial at four implementation and four control sites. Hybrid implementation–effectiveness study with mixed methods intervention evaluation design.Data Collection/Extraction MethodsSite visits, in‐person and telephone interviews, patient surveys, patient self‐assessment. A total of 801 patients completed baseline surveys and 53 clinicians and other clinical key stakeholders completed longitudinal qualitative interviews.Principal FindingsAt baseline, sites varied in the availability, utilization, and quality of supported employment. Each site needed quality improvement for this service, though for differing reasons, with some needing development of the service itself and others needing increased service capacity. Improvements in knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and referral behaviors were evident in mid‐ and postimplementation interviews, though some barriers persisted. Half of patients expressed an interest in working at baseline. Patients at implementation sites were 2.3 times more likely to receive employment services during the study year. Those who had a service visit were more likely to be employed at follow‐up than those who did not.ConclusionsStudies of implementation and effectiveness require mixed methods to both enhance implementation in real time and provide context for interpretation of complex results. In this study, a quality improvement approach resulted in superior patient‐level outcomes and improved clinician knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors, in the context of substantial variation among sites.
Latitudinal and seasonal variation in reproductive effort of the eastern fence lizard (Sceloporus undulatus)
Authors: DU Weiguo , ROBBINS Travis R. , WARNER Daniel A. , LANGKILDE Tracy , SHINE Richard 
Published: October 2013

AbstractGeographic variation in life‐history traits among populations of wide‐ranging species is influenced by both spatial and temporal aspects of the environment. Rarely, however, are the effects of both aspects examined concurrently. We collected gravid female lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) from northern (Indiana), central (Mississippi) and southern (Florida) populations, spanning nearly the full latitudinal range of the species, to examine amongpopulation differences in strategies of reproductive energy allocation. Adult females from the southern population were smaller, and produced fewer and smaller eggs in their first clutches than did females from the more northern populations. Southern females were more likely to produce a second clutch, and second clutches were smaller than first clutches for females from the 2 northern populations. Together these trends eliminated population differences in overall reproductive output after accounting for body size. The trend for greater reproductive energy to be allocated to first clutches at higher latitudes, and to later clutches at lower latitudes is corroborated by published data from field studies on multiple populations. Distributing reproductive effort by producing more clutches of smaller eggs may be an adaptive response to the long season available for egg incubation and lizard activity in sub‐tropical southern environments. In contrast, allocating greater resources to early reproduction may enhance maternal fitness in the relatively short activity seasons that characterize more northern sites.
Small mammal community succession on the beach of Dongting Lake, China after the Three Gorges Project
Authors: ZHANG Meiwen , WANG Yong , LI Bo , GUO Cong , HUANG Guoxian , SHEN Guo , ZHOU Xunjun 
Published: October 2013

AbstractAlthough the Three Gorges Project (TGP) may have affected the population structure and distribution of plant and animal communities, few studies have analyzed the effect of this project on small mammal communities. Therefore, the present paper compares the small mammal communities inhabiting the beaches of Dongting Lake using field investigations spanning a 20‐year period, both before and after the TGP was implemented. Snap traps were used throughout the census. The results indicate that the TGP caused major changes to the structure of the small mammal community at a lake downstream of the dam. First, species abundance on the beaches increased after the project commenced. The striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) and the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), which rarely inhabited the beach before the TGP, became abundant (with marked population growth) once water was impounded by the Three Gorges Reservoir. Second, dominant species concentration indices exhibited a stepwise decline, indicating that the community structure changed from a single dominant species to a more diverse species mix after TGP implementation. Third, the regulation of water discharge release by the TGP might have caused an increase in the species diversity of the animal community on the beaches. A significant difference in diversity indices was obtained before and after the TGP operation. Similarity indices also indicate a gradual increase in species numbers. Hence, a long‐term project should be established to monitor the population fluctuations of the Yangtze vole (Microtus fortis), the striped field mouse and the Norway rat to safeguard against population outbreaks (similar to the Yangtze vole outbreak in 2007), which could cause crop damage to adjacent farmland, in addition to documenting the succession process of the small mammal community inhabiting the beaches of Dongting Lake.
Triassic actinopterygian fishes: the recovery after the end‐Permian crisis
Authors: TINTORI Andrea , HITIJ Tomaž , JIANG Dayong , LOMBARDO Cristina , SUN Zuoyu 
Published: October 2013

AbstractIn the last 15 years, the discovery of several new actinopterygian fish faunas from the Early and Middle Triassic of the Tethys, cast new light on the timing, speed and range of their recovery after the end‐Permian crisis. In addition to several new taxa having been described, the stratigraphical and geographical record of many others have been greatly extended. In fact, most of the new fossiliferous sites are in southern China, thus at the Eastern end of the Tethys, and furthermore a few are somewhat older (Chaohu, Panxian, Luoping) than the major classical Western Tethys sites (Monte San Giorgio). Following these new finds, it is possible to have a better definition of the Triassic recovery stages. Indeed, after a quite short phase till the end of the Smithian (Olenekian, Early Triassic) in which a rather consistent fauna was present all around the Pangea coasts, a major radiation occurred in the Early–Middle Anisian after the new Middle Triassic fish fauna already appeared in the late Early Triassic, thus occuring well before what was previously supposed from the Alps localities. Furthermore, the new assemblages from southern China point to an early broader differentiation among the basal neopterygians rather than in the ‘subholosteans', the group that was then dominant in the Western Tethys since the Late Anisian. It stands that during the Norian a new basal neopterygian radiation gave rise to several new branches that dominated the remaining part of the Mesozoic.
Effects of human disturbance on nest placement of the woodpigeon (Columba palumbus): a case study from the Middle Atlas, Morocco
Authors: HANANE Saâd 
Published: October 2013

AbstractThe woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) is a common and widespread bird in Morocco (North Africa). I examined, over 2 years (2010 and 2011), the breeding density and nest placement of this game species in relation to nest site habitat and degree of human disturbance. The study area was in the Middle Atlas Tighboula mountain forest, Morocco, in a disturbed and an undisturbed site. Using data collected in the 2 study sites, I aimed to identify the factors influencing the placement of nests within holm oak trees (Quercus rotundifolia) and their densities. I found that habitat structures, influenced by grazing disturbance, have affected nesting density and the location of nests of this species. Woodpigeons place their nests in a higher position (3.42 ± 0.19 m) when disturbance intensity is high and lower (1.68 ± 0.1 m) when disturbance intensity is low, and show higher nesting density in less disturbed zone (3.1 ± 0.4 nests/ha) than in highly disturbed zones (1.4 ± 0.2 nests/ha). Grazing disturbance could pose a threat to population persistence at a broader scale and could potentially reduce the abundance of this species by altering the composition and the structure of the forest nesting habitat. Further multi‐scale studies are needed to assess the effects of different levels of grazing disturbance on woodpigeon nest density and placement, and to enhance our knowledge of the breeding behavior of this game species under variable environments.