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Purpose of the study Fractures of the distal radius are frequently associated with injuries of the scapholunate (SL) and lunotriquetral (LT) ligaments. Our study is aimed at revealing their hidden lesions by employing a fast and accessible fluoroscopic identification. Patients and methods We investigated 40 patients who were indicated for plate osteosynthesis of distal radius fracture. After completing the osteosynthesis, the procedure was concluded with a wrist arthrography. The patients with SL and LT interval lesions had their wrists immobilized by a plaster splint while patients with normal findings with an elastic bandage. The patients were followed up for 12 months after the surgery. The functional results were evaluated by Mayo wrist score. Results The intra-operative examination identified 62.5 % of patients with lesions of SL and/or LT interval, and 37.5 % of patients were lesion-free. The Mayo wrist scores after 3, 6 and 12 months in patients whose wrists were not immobilized were 72, 86.3, and 86.3, respectively. The latter scores in the group of patients with external immobilization were 54.4, 82, and 84.8, respectively. The difference between the groups was significant three months after the surgery. After six and twelve months, the difference became negligible. Conclusion The exclusion of hidden lesions allows earlier rehabilitation, while in patients with signs of lesions, it is appropriate to immobilize the wrist (Tab. 1, Fig. 3, Ref. 31). Text in PDF www.elis.sk Keywords: distal radius fractures, scapholunate ligament, lunotriquetral ligament, fluoroscopic, diagnosis.

S. inaequidens is a herbaceous perennial considered native to South Africa. It has spread rapidly in North and Central Europe following its accidental introduction from South Africa in wool exports. In the absence of rigorous phytosanitary controls, it is very likely to spread further along roads and railways. As its present realized niche differs to a large extent from its equilibrium niche (Vacchiano et al., 2013), it has to be expected that the species will spread into grasslands and pastures in the near future. S. inaequidens is a prolific achene producer, has vigorous growth and is toxic. Its economic impacts are currently minimal, and so far, no environmental impacts have been observed; however, due to its toxicity, its potential to spread into arable land should be considered a serious threat for cattle and human health. This species should in no case be considered for cultivation, even though its usefulness for health care (for example) has been demonstrated.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY The standard procedure in treating distal humerus fractures is the open reduction internal fixation (ORIF). The surgical approach is still a matter of discussion. The submitted study focuses on comparing the conventional approach with olecranon osteotomy and the paratricipital approach. MATERIAL AND METHODS Since January 2015 a total of 18 patients have been operated on, who met the inclusion criteria of the study on type C distal humerus fracture without the use of olecranon osteotomy. This group of patients was subsequently compared with a control group of patients in whom the olecranon osteotomy was performed in the period 2010-2015. The patients were assessed using the Mayo Elbow Performance Score (MEPS), the range of motion and complications, including the need for removal of osteosynthesis material. RESULTS The control group (Group 1), in which 22 patients operated directly by olecranon osteotomy were assessed, was compared with the group of operated patients (Group 2) consisting of 18 patients. When comparing the range of motion and MEPS, no significant difference was found between the groups (flexion: p = 0.519, extension: p = 0.382, MEPS: p = 0.110). Unlike Group 2, in Group 1 the osteosynthesis material of cerclage was removed in 13 cases. DISCUSSION Apart from the complexity of fracture and choice of fixation technique, it is the choice of surgical approach which constitutes another factor having effect on the final elbow function. Basically, the approaches to distal humerus can be divided into 4 groups, namely splitting, reflecting and sparing approaches and olecranon osteotomy which offers the best access to the fracture during fixation and which is recommended by many experts in treating these complex fractures which, however, has its disadvantages such as longer duration of surgery, longer healing time, non-union or malunion, protruding osteosynthesis material and secondary procedures necessary to remove the material. CONCLUSIONS In our study no significant difference in functional outcomes was found between the examined approaches. A difference was identified with respect to protruding material of the cerclage and soft tissue irritation with subsequent removal of osteosynthesis material after the olecranon osteotomy. Key words:distal humerus fracture, internal fixation, surgical approach, olecranon osteotomy, paratricipital approach, tricepssparing approach, triceps reflecting anconeus pedicle approach.

About 1100 studies focusing on 12 major invasion hypotheses have been analysed in Chapters 8-16 of this book. A network of these 12 hypotheses, in which topically similar hypotheses are connected, was presented in Chapter 7. We here combine and synthesize these previous chapters, colour coding the hypothesis network depending on the level of empirical support of each hypothesis. Overall, six of the 12 hypotheses were supported by the majority of available empirical studies, three hypotheses were questioned by the majority of studies, and empirical studies were undecided for the three remaining hypotheses. The three questioned hypotheses were: evolution of increased competitive ability (EICA), biotic resistance and the tens rule. On the basis of these findings, we propose an alternative hypothesis network in which the biotic resistance hypothesis and the tens rule are replaced by revised hypotheses that are better empirically supported, and the EICA hypothesis is abandoned because the better empirically supported shifting defence hypothesis already is a refinement of this hypothesis. The revised hypothesis network therefore consists of 11 major hypotheses. Most studies analysed in this book focused on terrestrial plants in affluent countries, whereas other taxonomic groups, habitats and other countries are underrepresented in the invasion literature. Observational studies currently dominate the field. We further found that the level of empirical support has declined over time for some but not all focal hypotheses. The hypothesis network featured here is provided online, where it is also connected to the empirical data analysed in this book. This website is envisioned as the initiation of an advanced online tool that grows beyond invasion biology and should cover different scientific disciplines such as community ecology, biodiversity science and evolutionary biology. It is meant to visualize the major concepts, ideas and hypotheses in these disciplines including their links and connections, thus featuring a large structured network that is connected to the data generated in these disciplines.

Reviewing empirical evidence for major hypotheses in ecology is connected to two methodological challenges. First, all available empirical tests for a given hypothesis should be identified, collected and organized. This can be difficult due to divergent formulations of the hypothesis in the literature and divergent empirical approaches to address it. Second, the entire body of available data should be used to systematically assess the overall level of support of the hypothesis. Many approaches (e.g. formal meta-analyses) typically use only a fraction of the available data, often because of inconsistencies in the data. In this chapter, we show how the new hierarchy-of-hypotheses (HoH) approach can be used to overcome these challenges.

In Chapters 3, 4 and 5, three groups of authors have commented on the hierarchy-of-hypotheses (HoH) approach as introduced in Chapter 2. Here, we make suggestions on how to account for the issues raised in Chapters 3-5, whilst also considering several comments by other colleagues that we received during discussions or in response to our presentations on this topic. We focus on five issues and address each in a separate section of this chapter. In the concluding section, we suggest treating the HoH approach as a toolbox; we describe its core as well as an array of modules that can be chosen.

Positive interactions among species can be central for community structure and ecosystem functioning. Given the current scenario of species invasions worldwide, the question arises how non-native species will interact in the new environment. Such reasoning has led to the invasional meltdown hypothesis (IM) which states that non-native species facilitate one another's invasion, increasing their likelihood of survival, ecological impact and possibly the magnitude of their impact. However, given the importance of antagonistic interactions in natural communities, it is not yet known to what extent these facilitative effects of non-native species occur. We used the hierarchy-of-hypotheses (HoH) approach to differentiate key aspects of IM and link empirical studies to specific sub-hypotheses of the overall hypothesis. Evidence related to IM was gathered by assessing citations of Simberloff and Von Holle (1999) who first defined it. Our HoH was categorized by the type of interaction among non-native species (e.g. facilitation, mutualism and multi-species interactions), ecological level of evidence and the outcome of the interaction for each non-native species (i.e. response variable measured in the study). We additionally looked for taxonomic and geographic variability. On the basis of the 208 relevant studies we found, the broad hypothesis and the majority of sub-hypotheses indicate that positive interactions among non-natives are happening more frequently than negative ones. Thus, IM is broadly supported by currently available studies. Evidence against IM relates to sub-hypotheses involving reciprocal interactions (e.g. competition between non-native species). We suggest that future research focuses on controlled experimental setups aiming at elucidating the community- or ecosystem-level effects of non-native species interactions, especially for reciprocal interactions.

In Chapters 8-16, the hierarchy-of-hypotheses (HoH) toolbox has been applied in various ways. The results displayed as HoHs and additional bar graphs in most chapters, and as networks in Chapter 17, can now be used to identify knowledge gaps and promising paths for future research. We suggest some further steps that could be taken, making use of the data gathered for this book (which are freely available at www. hi-knowledge.org) and possible avenues for more general methodological advancements. To strengthen research in invasion biology, we specifically suggest four steps: (i) a more efficient provision and use of existing data and knowledge; (ii) a stronger focus on experiments or ideally research projects combining field studies with experiments; (iii) the development of sets of conceptually based 'case-sensitive' generalizations; and (iv) continuous integration of newly gained data and knowledge into a growing and developing atlas of invasion biology, which could potentially be expanded into an atlas of science. In this final chapter, we will first discuss how the chapters in Part II of the book made use of the HoH approach, what we think was achieved and which further methodological steps can be taken. The second section of this chapter, and final section of the book, will be an overall brief conclusion about the current state of invasion biology and possible ways forward.

The vast majority of studies on fractures of the acetabulum are concerned with surgical treatment. All displaced fractures are presented as surgically treated. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the results of surgical and conservative treatment of patients with acetabular fractures in relation to the degree of fracture displacement.We analysed 140 fractures of the acetabulum treated in our institution by different methods between 2009 and 2013. In addition to the use of Letournel´s classification, we allocated each fracture to one of six groups: 1. Sixty displaced fractures treated surgically, 2. Twenty three fractures with a displacement of more than 6 mm, 3. Eighteen slightly displaced fractures (2-3 mm in the acetabular roof or 4-5 mm in other parts of the acetabulum), 4. Twenty non-displaced fractures, 5. Six pelvic fractures involving the acetabulum and 6. Thirteen fractures of old people, mostly displaced but not examined by CT. Groups 2 to 6 were treated conservatively. In all patients, demographic and epidemiologic factors were analysed in relation to the patient's group assignment. In 107 patients, hip function was assessed using the Matta clinical grading system at a minimum follow-up of 12 months (average 3.16 years). Radiological status, time of admission, start of weight-bearing after the accident, working ability, mortality and complications were also evaluated.Non-displaced fractures were often associated with serious injury or polytrauma in 20 patients; not all of them had excellent functional outcome. (mean score, 17.25). Excluding two patients who developed avascular necrosis, fourteen slightly displaced fractures had a fixal score of 16.92. Sixteen patients with displaced fractures were managed conservatively due to their poor medical condition and other circumstances. Their functional outcome (mean score, 15.25) was significantly worse than that of the patients with non-displaced fractures (p=0.02) and worse than the outcome in patients with slightly displaced fractures, but the difference was not significant (p=0.32). No occurrence of accelerated post-traumatic arthritis was observed in these groups. The mean clinical score of 14.80 and 60% of excellent and good results were achieved in surgically treated patients. Eight of them were treated by primary hip arthroplasty and osteosynthesis. A total of 11 patients required total hip arthroplasty because of post-traumatic osteoarthritis, but only one from the group of slightly displaced fractures, all others from the group of surgically treated patients.Displaced fractures of the acetabulum are best treated by open reduction and internal fixation. The type of fracture and the quality of reduction influence the functional outcome. There are a few studies reporting long-term outcomes in conservatively treated acetabular fractures. Although conservative treatment continues to be the mainstay of treatment in most centres in the developing countries, it is obvious that not all of acetabular fractures can or must be treated surgically or identically. We found that, in many cases, surgery was too dangerous for the patient and his/her medical condition or that the result of surgery was doubtful, mostly because of a late presentation. In some cases, primary hip arthroplasty is a solution. Secondary total hip replacement is technically more demanding and has a higher rate of failure.Conservative treatment is the method of choice for the treatment of non-displaced acetabular fractures. Excellent or very good results can also be expected in slightly displaced fractures if acetabular roof involvement is minor. In displaced fractures, if the result of surgery is doubtful under various circumstances or if high-risk medical conditions are present in the patient, conservative treatment can be the method of choice with satisfying results. Key words: acetabular fractures, conservative treatment, degree of displacement, epidemiology of acetabular fractures.

Hintergrund. Eine Pupillenstorung bei einer Varizelleninfektion ist sehr selten. In der Literatur werden nur wenige Falle beschrieben. Nur bei einigen dieser Patienten wurde eine pharmakologische Pupillentestung durchgefuhrt. Material und Methode. Ein 5-jahriger Patient stellte sich mit linksseitig lichtstarrer Pupille vor.Drei Monate zuvor hatte sich wahrend einer Windpockenerkrankung eine Uveitis anterior des linken Auges entwickelt, die sich unter kortisonhaltigen Augentropfen und Mydriatika rasch zuruckgebildet hatte. Die Pupille blieb jedoch auch nach Absetzen der Medikamente dauerhaft weit.Es fanden sich aufgehobene Lichtreaktionen und eine Akkommodationsinsuffizienz. Eine festgestellte Pilokarpin-Hypersensitivitat sprach gegen einen direkten Muskelschaden und fur eine Denervierung des Sphinktermuskels. Die verminderte Reaktion auf einen Cholinesterasehemmer (Physostigmin) wies auf eine postganglionare Schadigung hin. Schlussfolgerung. Vermutlich kam es bei dem Patienten zu einer Virusinfektion des Ganglion ciliare, die eine Uveitis und eine postganglionare parasympathische Nervenfaserschadigung verursachte.Das klinische Bild entsprach einer atypischen Pupillotonie. Gemas den wenigen bisherigen ahnlichen Fallberichten ist von einer irreversiblen Nervenschadigung auszugehen.

Fractures of the thoracic spine involve injury at the levels of Th2 to Th10. Because of pedicle morphology, pedicle screw fixation is a demanding procedure. However, evidence on the reliability and efficiency of this technique has recently been provided by several studies. The aim of this study was to analyse a group of patients with thoracic spine fractures treated by pedicle screw fixation and to evaluate treatment outcomes.A total number of 33 patients treated by pedicle screw fixation for thoracic spine fractures between January 2007 and December 2011 were enrolled in this retrospective study. The mean age was 39.7 ± 16.7 years. The evaluation included demographic data, mechanism of injury, associated injuries, neurological status, fracture type (AO classification), levels of the fractured vertebrae, injury-surgery interval, type and duration of surgery, type and length of pedicle screw fixation and complications. The position of pedicular screws in relation to the pedicle walls and correction of kyphotic deformity were assessed on post-operative CT scans.Of the 33 patients, 24 had associated injuries (72.7%), 22 had thorax injury (66.7%) and 17 had neurological deficit (51.5%). The most frequent spinal fracture type was type B2, 15 (45.5%); followed by type C, nine (33.3%); and type B1, five (15.1%). The mean injury-to-surgery interval was 5.2 ± 4.3 days. The mean operative time was 210 ± 56 min. The most frequently used configuration of pedicle screw fixation involving two segments above and two below the fracture level was used in 20 cases (58.8%). The position of 149 out of 282 pedicle screws (52.8%) was evaluated on post-operative CT scans as follows: 98 % of the pedicle screws were placed in acceptable positions, 76% were placed completely within pedicle borders. The mean pre-operative Cobb angle was 18.7° ± 8.2°, the mean post-operative Cobb angle was 9.3 ± 3.4°. Six intraoperative and three post-operative complications occurred. During follow-up no instrumentation failure or apparent loss of correction was recorded.Early stabilisation of thoracic spine fractures reduces the risk of complications, shortens the hospital stay and allows for faster recovery of patients. Early thoracic spine stabilisation is most beneficial in patients with a high ISS (Injury Severity Score). In the case of small-sized pedicles there is the possibility of pedicle screw insertion via an extrapedicular or parapedicular trajectory. Recommended pedicle screw fixation is two levels above and two levels below the fracture level.Pedicle screw fixation of thoracic spine fractures is a safe therapeutic method with a low risk of complications. It facilitates effective reduction and stable fixation with a low risk of secondary displacement and implant failure. Key words:transpedicular stabilisation, thoracic spine, fracture, pedicle screws.

Finite element results of Low Beta Quadrupole magnets are compared to measurements from three mechanical models. Stress, as measured with internal strain gauges, and radial deflections, as measured with a precision measuring device, are compared to the finite element analysis. The results indicate that measured internal pressures are in agreement with calculations but measured deflections are approximately lower than predicted. The findings will help develop better analyzing and manufacturing techniques to be used on developing the High Gradient Quadrupole magnet.

The recently revived superconducting magnet program at Fermilab is currently focused on the development of high gradient quadrupoles for possible use in the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) interaction regions at CERN. In order to provide input for the new quadrupole design which will operate in superfluid helium, we have tested a Fermilab Tevatron low-/spl beta/ quadrupole cold mass and compared its low temperature performance to a newly assembled heavily instrumented version which was mechanically modified to take advantage of the gain in critical current.

The magnetic design of the LHC interaction region quadrupole by the BNL, FNAL, LBNL collaboration eliminates the manufacturing complication of a graded cable splice in the outer coil and still attains a maximum gradient above 235 T/m. The mechanical design includes strong preloaded collars, shims to adjust the fit between components when warm, contact between the collar and iron when cold for better coil support, and a closed iron to reduce harmonics. This paper summarizes mechanical finite element results for assembly, cooldown to 1.8 K, and excitation to maximum gradient.

3-D topography of objects is often obtained only on a qualitative basis by a sequential reconstruction process using segmented images obtained under different illumination conditions. The approach we present in this paper is based on the direct segmentation and topography analysis of a topographic scene using a sequence of images obtained by varying the illumination parameters in a pre-selected format. Thereby a correlation of the grey level variations of the individual pixels with the variations of the illumination parameters is employed to achieve superior segmentation and topographical information. An advantage is that the pipeline of separate operations viz. image fusion, segmentation topographical analysis is reduced to just one direct operation. The method has been successfully applied to determine the topography of grinding surfaces in machining in manufacturing processes.

Capturing 3-D information using several 2-D images of topological 3-D objects obtained by acquiring the images under varying illumination conditions is a technique, which can be employed in manufacturing systems. The paper deals with the tasks of acquiring the images from objects with hybrid reflecting behaviour and algorithms for extracting the 3-D information and gives results obtained for a grinding tool inspection system.

Aim: Breast cancer (BC) is the most frequent cancer and the principal cause of cancer death for females worldwide. Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC), carries extraordinarily poor prognosis due to its aggressive biology, fast development of drug resistance, and lack of molecular targets such as hormone receptors and HER2/Neu. Until now, chemotherapy remains the standard care for advanced TNBC, with a poor median overall survival. Recently, pharmacological aggravation of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS) has become an attractive strategy for cancer therapy. In our work we present evidence that pharmacological aggravation of ERS may lead to efficient killing of breast cancer preclinical models in vitro. Methods: We determined the cytotoxic activity of proteasome inhibitors (bortezomib, bzb; carfilzomib, cfz) alone and in combination with the two HIV protease inhibitors nelfinavir (nfv) and lopinavir (lpv) in five different breast cancer cell lines. To assess cytotoxicity of each drug and their combinations, the MTS assay was applied. Results: Both proteasome inhibitors moderately reduced cell survival in all BC cell lines at clinically relevant concentrations (125 nM) when applied alone (8% - 36%). Importantly, combinations with HIV protease inhibitors yielded significantly enhanced cytotoxicity in all cell lines compared with either proteasome (see table) or HIV protease inhibitors alone. Moreover, preliminary data shows that these combinations cause strong cytotoxic effects in TNBC cell lines. Conclusions: Drug combinations of the irreversible proteasome inhibitors and an HIV protease inhibitor resulted in substantial cytotoxicity in preclinical models of TNBC. The concept of pharmacological aggravation of ERS is promising in patients with TNBC, and a respective phase IB-II clinical study is in early planning. Cell Lines Bzb (125 nM) Cfz (125 nM) - Nfv Lpv - Nfv Lpv MDA-MB 468 27 ± 8 57 ± 0.1 80 ± 1 21 ± 7 65 ± 2 79 ± 4 MDA-MB 231 36 ± 8 56 ± 0.1 57 ± 2 41 ± 2 74 ± 4 78 ± 8 BT 549 23 ± 3 90 ± 1 56 ± 0.2 44 ± 3 91 ± 1 69 ± 4 BT 474 8 ± 6 28 ± 6 32 ± 3 33 ± 6 82 ± 6 61 ± 1 SK-BR-3 - - - 30 ± 2 68 ± 3 21 ± 4 Cytotoxic effects of mono and combination experiments in BC cell lines (% cell death +/- SD) Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

The mechanical design of the Fermilab high gradient quadrupole (HGQ) magnet cold mass is presented, along with its expected behavior and performance under fabrication and operational conditions. Coil stresses, end forces and collared coil diameter measurements obtained during fabrication and cryogenic testing are also presented, and are discussed in the context of expected behavior and feedback into the design.

A new type of strain gauge has been developed for measuring coil stresses in superconducting magnets. It consists of commercial film-type strain gauges mounted directly on the pole-tip area of coil collar laminations. These gauges are extremely simple to manufacture, calibrate, and install in prototype magnets. We discuss the motivation for and design of these gauges, present results from calibration tests performed at 300 K and 4.2 K, and compare these results with calibration of existing beam-type transducer gauges. We discuss calibration reproducibility, reliability, and accuracy. We also present preliminary coil stress measurements using these gauges in a model quadrupole magnet during the collaring, yoking, cool down, and excitation processes.

In this study, a finite element model is used to predict the vacuum vessel’s response to loads resulting from its own self-weight and shipping and handling. Structural members of the cold mass support system must behave elastically during assembly and transport of the magnets so that alignment with respect to an external reference is reproducible. This paper includes deflection and stress analyses of the vacuum vessel for the SSC 50 mm collider dipole cryostats. In addition, material selection and stress relieving techniques are discussed. Several methods of local structural reinforcement were analyzed prior to the selection of the current design. The results from these analyses are given for comparison.