Circular frame fixation for calcaneal fractures risks injury to the medial neurovascular structures: a cadaveric description

Aim: There is a risk of iatrogenic injury to the soft tissues of the calcaneus and this study assesses the risk of injury to these structures in circular frame calcaneal fracture fixation. Materials and Methods: After olive tip wires were inserted, an L-shaped incision on the lateral and medial aspects of 5 formalin fixed cadaveric feet was performed to expose the underlying soft tissues. The calcaneus was divided into zones corresponding to high, medium and low risk using a grading system. Results: Structures at high risk included the posterior tibial artery, posterior tibial vein and posterior tibial nerve on the medial aspect. Soft tissue structures on the lateral side that were shown to be at lower risk of injury were the small saphenous vein and the sural nerve and the tendons of fibularis longus and fibularis brevis. Conclusion: The lateral surface of the calcaneus provides a lower risk area for external fixation. The risk of injury to significant soft tissues using a circular frame fixation approach has been shown to be greater on the medial aspect. Clinical Relevance: This study highlights the relevant anatomical relations in circular frame fixation for calcaneal fractures to minimize damage to these structures

Corporate images and customer behavioral intentions in an environmentally certified context: Promoting environmental sustainability in the hospitality industry

Growing environmental awareness has made customers change their attitudes andincreasingly demand that the hospitality industry provides products and services thatare environmentally friendly. This sector faces increasing pressure to operate in amore ecofriendly manner given its negative influence on the natural environment.Extant research demonstrates that sustainable tourism can be promoted throughenvironmental certifications. However, little attention has been paid to the relevanceof customer perceptions about these schemes and their influence on customerbehavioral intentions. So that, this study attempts to explore the conditions underwhich perceived green image leads to favorable customer behavioral intentionstowards environmentally certified hotels by considering the mediating effects offunctional and emotional images. A structured questionnaire was used to collect datafrom hotel customers in Spain. The results indicate that green image serves as apredictor of functional image, which in turn is linked to customer behavioralintentions. This shows that the evaluation of environmental issues influences theassessment of cognitive aspects, although not the direct evaluation of affectiveaspects. Consequently, green image associations directly influence the cognitiveresponses of consumers but not their emotions. Therefore, consumers will evaluatea hotel's functional image not only by considering traditional attributes but also bytaking into account environmental issues. These findings suggest that hotelcompanies should work to develop a green positioning strategy developing productsand services possessing both greenness and high?value attributes

Fc engineered ACE2-Fc is a potent multifunctional agent targeting SARS-CoV2

Joining a function-enhanced Fc-portion of human IgG to the SARS-CoV-2 entry receptor ACE2 produces an antiviral decoy with strain transcending virus neutralizing activity. SARS-CoV-2 neutralization and Fc-effector functions of ACE2-Fc decoy proteins, formatted with or without the ACE2 collectrin domain, were optimized by Fc-modification. The different Fc-modifications resulted in distinct effects on neutralization and effector functions. H429Y, a point mutation outside the binding sites for FcγRs or complement caused non-covalent oligomerization of the ACE2-Fc decoy proteins, abrogated FcγR interaction and enhanced SARS-CoV-2 neutralization. Another Fc mutation, H429F did not improve virus neutralization but resulted in increased C5b-C9 fixation and transformed ACE2-Fc to a potent mediator of complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) against SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) expressing cells. Furthermore, modification of the Fc-glycan enhanced cell activation via FcγRIIIa. These different immune profiles demonstrate the capacity of Fc-based agents to be engineered to optimize different mechanisms of protection for SARS-CoV-2 and potentially other viral pathogens

The Crowding Out of Complex Social Goods.

The valuation of ecosystem services to inform natural resource management and development has gained acceptance in many arenas. Yet, contemporary economic valuation is constrained to the appraisal of simple goods that generate benefits that accrue to individuals, neglecting complex goods that generate benefits that accrue to society more broadly. Methodological barriers to the valuation of complex social goods have led to their frequent omission from natural resource management deliberations. The prevailing valuation paradigm that focuses on simple individual goods may erode conservation efforts by crowding out the institutions and behaviours that support socially constructed ecosystem service values. Erosion of these values ultimately harms the environment and society as a whole. The institutionalisation of appropriate methods for estimating the value of complex social goods alongside existing methods for valuing simple individual goods within international conservation, development and policy-making discourses, is therefore an important evolution for sustainable natural resource management

Effect of brine immersion freezing on the determination of ecological tracers in fish

The use of a multi-ecological tracer approach provides valuable and complementary insights to investigate the complex biology and ecology of large pelagic fish. Brine immersion freezing is the most common preservation technique used onboard for large fish to be frozen whole until they are delivered for sale and processing. We evaluated the effect of brine freezing on lipid and fatty acid composition, C and N stable isotope ratios, and organochlorine contaminant levels of yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) and skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis). Fresh tunas were stored in a saturated sodium chlorine brine immersion tank maintained at -20 A degrees C for 6 weeks, and ecological tracers were analysed on dorsal muscle samples collected before and after brine freezing. No significant effect of the fish preservation technique was found except for delta N-15 whose signatures slightly increased after a 6-week period of brine immersion. Because N isotopic shift was close to the analytical precision and probably related to a higher risk of salt penetration in small tunas with abraded skin, we consider our results as conservative and conclude that ecological tracers can indeed be analysed on brine-freezing-preserved tunas

Delivery of antigen using a novel mannosylated dendrimer potentiates immunogenicity in vitro and in vivo

Antigen mannosylation has been shown to be an effective approach to potentiate antigen immunogenicity, due to the enhanced antigen uptake and presentation by APC. To overcome disadvantages associated with conventional methods used to mannosylate antigens, we have developed a novel mannose-based antigen delivery system that utilizes a polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimer. It is demonstrated that mannosylated dendrimer ovalbumin (MDO) is a potent immune inducer. With a strong binding avidity to DC, MDO potently induced OVA-specific Tcell response in vitro. It was found that the immunogenicity of MDO was due not only to enhanced antigen presentation, but also to induction of DC maturation. Mice immunized with MDO generated strong OVA-specific CD4-/CD8+ T cell and antibody responses. MDO also targeted lymph node DC to cross-present OVA, leading to OTI CD8+ T cell proliferation. Moreover, upon challenge with B16-OVA tumor cells, tumors in mice pre-immunized with MDO either did not grow or displayed a much more delayed onset, and had slower kinetics of growth than those of OVA-immunized mice. This mannose-based antigen delivery system was applied here for the first time to the immunization study. With several advantages and exceptional adjuvanticity, we propose mannosylated dendrimer as a potential vaccine carrier. © 2008 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim

I mosaici tardoantichi della villa di Mediana (Serbia)

Estimating the value of entire ecosystems in monetary units is difficult because they are complex systems composed of non-linear, interdependent components and the value of the services they produce are interdependent and overlapping. Using the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) as a case study, this paper explores a new ‘whole ecosystem’ approach to assessing both the importance (to overall quality of life) and the monetary value of various community-defined benefits, some of which align with various ecosystem services. We find that provisioning services are considered, by residents, to be less important to their overall quality of life than other ecosystem services. But our analysis suggests that many community-defined benefits are overlapping. Using statistical techniques to identify and control for these overlapping benefits, we estimate that the collective monetary value of a broad range of services provided by the GBR is likely to be between $15 billion and$20 billion AUS per annum. We acknowledge the limitations of our methods and estimates but show how they highlight the importance of the problem, and open up promising avenues for further research. With further refinement and development, radically different ‘whole ecosystem’ valuation approaches like these may eventually become viable alternatives to the more common additive approaches.18 page(s