Beneficial Choice Research Articles

The effects of 3D interface metaphor on older adults’ mobile navigation performance and subjective evaluation

Navigating vast information spaces through mobile interfaces has become a common activity in older adults' everyday lives. Studies suggested that interface metaphors could be used to facilitate users' metal model development and information processing when using mobile technologies. However, we know little about how metaphors affect older adults' mobile navigation behavior, and which user characteristics matter during this perceptual and cognitive process. To investigate this, a card interface with a 3D metaphor and a list interface without 3D metaphors were compared among twenty-two participants when performing four navigation tasks. User characteristics including demographic factors, technology experience, and user capabilities were examined. The participants' navigation performance and subjective evaluations were measured as the dependent variables. From the results, we recommend the list interface without 3D metaphors as a beneficial choice for older adults. It performed better in navigation performance, although the differences are not statistically significant. Moreover, navigation performance using the card interface with a 3D metaphor was significantly associated with participants' perceptual speed, thus this interface may be more sensitive to capability declines. Valuable insights into the older adults’ mobile navigation performance and preferences are discussed and important implications for the design of mobile navigation user interfaces are proposed based on the results. Relevance to industryThe experimental results propose a more beneficial way to present contents on a mobile user interface for older adults and provide valuable insights for the designers and industry to help them understand the older adults’ usage and perceptions towards the application of 3D metaphors when navigating with mobile interfaces.

Does Desperation Breed Deceiver? A Behavioral Model of New Venture Opportunism

We develop a behavioral–decision model to highlight entrepreneurs’ decision making behind venture opportunism. We find that opportunism can present to entrepreneurs and their new ventures a risky yet beneficial choice to secure short–term gains at potential social costs. We posit that, motivated by loss aversion, entrepreneurs may accept the risk and engage in opportunism when their ventures confront economic losses. For instance, a high risk of venture failure may motivate entrepreneurs to act opportunistically in the hope that the failure can be averted. We further posit that such loss–averse decisions will be moderated by the entrepreneurs’ personal bonds to their new ventures. That is, the scale of entrepreneurs’ personal investment in their ventures will intensify their economic loss aversion posed by venture failure risk. In contrast, when entrepreneurs use their personal social capital to support their ventures, they will personally bear more of the down–side risks of opportunistic behavior and thus be less likely to act opportunistically to countervail a potential economic loss. Results based on the data collected from 244 NEEQ–listed new ventures in Beijing and Tianjin in China support our predictions.

Activating AMPK to Restore Tight Junction Assembly in Intestinal Epithelium and to Attenuate Experimental Colitis by Metformin.

Adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK), a crucial molecule in energy metabolism, is reported to play a potential role in gut epithelial differentiation and barrier function recently; however, its performance and mechanisms in the pathological process of inflammatory bowel diseases remain unidentified. In this study, we have found that the phosphorylation of AMPK in colonic tissues is negatively correlated with severity of disease during the initiation and development of experimental colitis induced by dextran sulfate sodium. Activation of AMPK by metformin significantly controls the progression of colitis, which is associated with the maintenance of tight junction in colonic epithelium in mice. Moreover, our in vitro data in colonic epithelial Caco2 cells shows that metformin promotes expression and assembly of tight junctions via an AMPK-dependent way. Overall, our results suggested that activating AMPK by a clinically safe drug metformin could be a beneficial choice for colitis treatment.

Examination of physical property degradation due to severe short-term ageing and effect of hydrated lime as antioxidant in asphalt mixture

If the short-term ageing (SA) level of asphalt mixture is intense before paving, the pavement service life will be reduced due to the highly stiffened binder from the starting time of service. However, since how much the ageing damage is induced by the severe SA is not known, this study was initiated to examine the physical property degradation of the binder in the SA treated mixes. Four SA times (1, 2, 4 and 8 h) at 160°C and 180°C were used for 3 mixes: a dense-graded HMA mix with a normal binder (PG64-22), the same mixes including a hydrated lime (HL; 1.5% by wt. of mix) and a polymer stabiliser (KL; 1.5% by wt. of binder). Increasing patterns of absolute viscosity (AV) and stiffness (G*/sin δ) due to ageing were found to follow the form of exponential function. They were highly increased in 2 h (h) SA, but exceedingly increased in 4 h and longer SA at 180°C. These AV and stiffness increase resulted in DSR critical temperature (CT) escalation and degradation of bending beam rheometer (BBR) CT. The AV, G*/sin δ, DSR CT and BBR CT of the normal mixes were found to have a very high correlation (R2 > 0.98) with large-molecular size (LMS) ratio (%) of gel-permeation chromatography. The binder AV and G*/sin δ of HL and KL mixes were estimated using LMS. In comparison of binder ageing level of mixes with and without HL or KL, it was found that both HL and KL retarded the ageing, but HL more significantly, for longer SA time at higher temperature. Therefore, it was evidenced that the use of HL in the HMA mix should be a highly beneficial choice for preserving durable pavement.

Auditing profession regulation: Lesson learned from code and common law countries regulatory approaches

This paper aims to explore the common regulatory approaches for audit and accounting profession and identify the suitable approach to the Libyan audit profession. Mixed methods both quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed, in which a questionnaire was completed by 196 respondents. Statistical analysis, via the SPSS, was performed on the data. The outcomes are believed to be generalized given the size of the sample. In addition to 9 semi-structured interviews were conducted, representing five stakeholder groups in the Libyan auditing arena. This study has found that the majority of respondents are clearly in favour of the appointment of an independent regulator, believing this to be the most beneficial option of the list available for the Libyan audit profession, while statutory regulation (government intervention) is considered the next beneficial choice. Likewise, the findings from the interviewee exercise show a preference for an independent regulator. Due to the lack of research on governance and regulations among developing countries, this study contributes to the body of literature in respect of the Libyan accounting and auditing environment by specifically exploring the perception of stakeholders towards the existing regulatory approaches implemented in both developed and developing countries. By implication, it makes a contribution to the wider body of knowledge about auditing in the Arab countries, where similar cultural conventions and attitudes exist.

Accelerated removal of high concentration p-chloronitrobenzene using bioelectrocatalysis process and its microbial communities analysis

p-Chloronitrobenzene (p-CNB) is a persistent refractory and toxic pollutant with a concentration up to 200 mg/L in industrial wastewater. Here, a super-fast removal rate was found at 0.2–0.8 V of external voltage over a p-CNB concentration of 40–120 mg/L when a bioelectrochemical technology is used comparing to the natural biodegradation and electrochemical methods. The reduction kinetics (k) was fitted well according to pseudo-first order model with respect to the different initial concentration, indicating a 1.12-fold decrease from 1.80 to 0.85 h−1 within the experimental range. Meanwhile, the highest k was provided at 0.5 V with the characteristic of energy saving. It was revealed that the functional bacterial (Propionimicrobium, Desulfovibrio, Halanaerobium, Desulfobacterales) was selectively enriched under electro-stimulation, which possibly processed Cl-substituted nitro-aromatics reduction. The possible degradation pathway was also proposed. This work provides the beneficial choice on the rapid treatment of high-concentration p-CNB wastewater.

The influence of thermal properties on power transmission characteristics of HVDC cables – a factor analysis

Power transmission capacity of HVDC cable links depend to a large extent on the voltage level but also on operating temperature and consequently conductor cross-section. A high operating temperature offers larger transmission capacity at a given conductor crosssection. However, an increasing temperature will alsoincrease the conductor loss and the associated costs. The most beneficial design choice is seldom straightforward and involves a trade-off between several design parameters. In this paper the influence of thermal properties of the insulating material and the surrounding soil, as well as operating temperature and conductor cross-section, is investigated by means of factor analysis with respect to important criteria such as transmission capacity, loss and associated cost of operation. This approach is chosen in order to separate different influencing factors as well as elucidating the interaction between said factors.

Network effects on strategic interactions: A laboratory approach

We examine the effect of interaction structure (network) on two classes of collective activities, herding and shirking, respectively referring to the situation where a player’s incentive to take a certain action increases and decreases if more of her network neighbors follow the same action. In our experiment, we find that subjects do not act according to theoretical equilibrium, and their frequencies of making the socially beneficial choice in herding and shirking games are inversely influenced by the number of network neighbors they have. Moreover, the observed local network effect is stronger in shirking games, while the global network effect is more significantly present in herding games. We explain the behavioral regularities through a hybrid learning model, which extends SEWA learning into a network context. As such, our learning model provides a foundation for the observed dynamics, disequilibrium behavior, as well as the local and global network effects.

The antidepressant-like effects of pioglitazone in a chronic mild stress mouse model are associated with PPARγ-mediated alteration of microglial activation phenotypes.

BackgroundDiscoveries that microglia-mediated neuroinflammation is involved in the pathological process of depression provided a new strategy for novel antidepressant therapy. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a nuclear receptor regulating inflammation and microglial polarization and, therefore, a potential target for resolving depressive disorders. Our hypothesis was that antidepressant effects could be achieved through anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective activities by PPARγ-dependent microglia-modulating agents.MethodsChronic mild stress (CMS) treatment was performed on C57BL/6 mice for 6 weeks. After 3 weeks with the CMS procedure, depressive-like behaviors were evaluated by sucrose preference (SP), tail suspension test (TST), forced swimming test (FST), and locomotor activity. Pioglitazone was administered intragastrically once per day for 3 weeks at different doses. Neuroinflammatory cytokines were determined by real time-PCR (RT-PCR), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and western blot. The activated microglial state was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. N9 microglial cells were subjected to lipopolysaccharide, pioglitazone, and GW9662 to discuss the phenotype of activated microglia by RT-PCR, ELISA, and western blot.ResultsIt was demonstrated that the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone (2.5 mg/kg) ameliorated depression-like behaviors in CMS-treated mice, as indicated by body weight (BW), the SP test, the FST, and the TST. The amelioration of the depression was blocked by the PPARγ antagonist GW9662. The expression of M1 markers (IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, iNOS, and CCL2) increased, and the gene expression of M2 markers (Ym1, Arg1, IL-4, IL-10, and TGFβ) decreased in the hippocampus of the stress-treated mice. Pioglitazone significantly inhibited the increased numbers and morphological alterations of microglia in the hippocampus, reduced the elevated expression of microglial M1 markers, and increased the downgraded expression of microglial M2 markers in C57BL/6 mice exposed to CMS. In an in vitro experiment, pioglitazone reversed the imbalance of M1 and M2 inflammatory cytokines, which is correlated with the inhibition of nuclear factor kB activation and is expressed in LPS-stimulated N9 microglial cells.ConclusionsWe showed that pioglitazone administration induce the neuroprotective phenotype of microglia and ameliorate depression-like behaviors in CMS-treated C57BL/6 mice. These data suggested that the microglia-modulating agent pioglitazone present a beneficial choice for depression.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12974-016-0728-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Male within-individual variability in a sexual signal component and its impact on female choice

A growing body of literature deals with the influence of physical or social environments on signal components over long time periods. Surprisingly, variations of signal quality over minutes or hours are less studied although most of the behavioral decisions of the receiver are taken at this time scale. Despite potentially strong implications on theoretical developments linked to sexual selection and communication, within-individual variability in a signal component and its possible consequence on accuracy of female choice has never been thoroughly investigated. Focusing on call dominant frequency (DF) in the European tree frog, Hyla arborea, we showed that frequency variability is due to a warm-up effect on the beginning of the call sequence but not to an exhaustion effect at the end of the sequence. Nevertheless, the great majority of male within-variability at the night scale is due to sudden discontinuities with independent temporal patterns from one individual to another. Secondly, we simulated female mate choice decisions with simple rules based on DF. Within-individual variability in DF the proportion of beneficial choice decreases up to 30% in the worst case. In addition, to overcome these temporary variations in male signal, we emphasize a weak advantage supplied by increasing sampling duration. The costs of being selective are assumed to increase with time sampling. We suggest that females may benefit from assessing several signal components simultaneously in short samples instead of disproportionately increasing sampling duration.

Surgical results for pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum: a single-centre 15-year experience and medium-term follow-up.

The optimal surgical strategies for pulmonary atresia with intact ventricular septum (PAIVS) are still not well established. This study reviewed our 15-year experience in the management of PAIVS. Between July 1999 and June 2014, 170 patients were treated for PAIVS in our heart centre. Based on the morphology of the right ventricle (RV), age and surgical approaches, the patients were divided into two groups: the one-stage surgery group (n = 33) and the staged surgery group (n = 137), in which patients received definitive repair, including biventricular repair, 1.5 ventricular repair and univentricular palliation without or with initial intervention. The median follow-up time was 6.6 years (range: 1-15 years); survival rates, risk factors for death and clinical status after operation were assessed. In the one-stage surgery group, there were three deaths post operation; the estimated 1-, 5- and 15-year survival rates were 97.0, 93.7 and 88.5%, respectively. In the staged surgery group, 23 patients died, including 15 in the waiting period after initial intervention. The estimated 1-, 5- and 15-year survival rates of the staged group were 89.8, 88.2 and 69.1%, without significant difference when compared with the one-stage surgery group (P > 0.05). Independent predictors of mortality were severe RV hypoplasia (P < 0.05) and lower tricuspid valve Z-scores (P < 0.01). At the latest follow-up, most of the patients in both groups had a good clinical status after definitive repair. The re-operation rate was 16.0% (4/25) in the one-stage surgery group compared with 15.4% (6/39) in the staged surgery group. Both one-stage repair and the staged surgical procedure had acceptable surgical outcomes in this retrospective study. Initial intervention is suitable for neonates or younger patients to promote the growth of the RV, and one-stage definitive repair is a beneficial choice for older patients with PAIVS, in whom the growth potential of the RV is limited.

Surgery for Patients With Spontaneous Deep Supratentorial Intracerebral Hemorrhage: A Retrospective Case-Control Study Using Propensity Score Matching.

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (sICH) is one of the most dangerous cerebrovascular diseases, especially when in deep brain. The treatment of spontaneous deep supratentorial intracerebral hemorrhage is still controversial. We conducted a retrospective case-control study using propensity score matching to compare the efficacy of surgery and conservative treatment for patients with deep surpatentorial hemorrhage.We observed the outcomes of consecutive patients with spontaneous deep supratentorial hemorrhage retrospectively from December 2008 to July 2013. Clinical outcomes of surgery and conservative treatments were compared in patients with deep sICH using propensity score matching method. The primary outcome was neurological function status at 6 months post ictus. The second outcomes included mortality at 30 days and 6 months, and the incidence of complications. Subgroup analyses of 6-month outcome were conducted.Sixty-three (22.66%) of the 278 patients who received surgery had a favorable neurological function status at 6 months, whereas in the conservative group, 66 of 278 (23.74%) had the same result (P = 0.763). The 30-day mortality in the surgical group was 19.06%, whereas 30.58% in the conservative group (P = 0.002). There was significant difference in the mortality at 6 months after ictus as well (23.38% vs 36.33%, P = 0.001). The subgroup analyses showed significantly better outcomes for the surgical group when hematoma was >40 mL (13.33% vs 0%, P = 0.005) or complicated with intraventricular hemorrhage (16.67% vs 7.27%, P = 0.034). For complications, the risk of pulmonary infection, gastrointestinal hemorrhage, urinary infection, pulmonary embolus, and need for tracheostomy/long term ventilation in the surgical group was higher than the conservative group (31.29% vs 15.47%, P < 0.001; 6.83% vs 3.96%, P = 0.133; 2.88% vs 1.80%, P = 0.400; 1.80% vs 1.08%, P = 0.476; 32.73% vs 23.38%, P = 0.014).Surgery could reduce the short-term mortality as well as long-term mortality in patients with spontaneous deep supratentorial hemorrhage. Moreover, surgery might improve the functional outcome in patients with large hematoma or with IVH compared with conservative treatment. Surgery might be a beneficial choice for part of the patients with spontaneous deep supratentorial hemorrhage, but further detailed research is still needed.

Bone grafts and bone substitutes in dentistry

Bone resorption is a natural phenomenon and can occur due to old age, loss of teeth, prolonged denture wear, or as a result of systemic conditions. For the replacement of teeth by fabrication of prosthesis or the use of implants, a minimum amount of bone density is required. Bone grafting is a method by which bone-deficient areas are built up, with the use of different materials, such as autografts, allografts, alloplasts, and xenografts. Over recent times, the use of frozen bone matrix formulations and synthetic ceramics has been used in greater frequency. This article discusses the use of human bone material (allografts), synthetic materials (alloplasts) and blood components as successful grafting materials. Their use has shown an effective amount of bone formation and proliferation in the defective sites and proves to be a beneficial choice in bringing back lost bone.

Evaluation of Light-Activated Provisional Resin Materials for Periodontal Soft Tissue Management.

The purpose of this study was to determine mechanical properties using a compressive test with cylinder specimen (h = 6 mm and ϕ = 4 mm) as well as cytotoxicity using elutes from disk specimen (ϕ = 10 mm and h = 2 mm) against human gingival fibroblasts and oral keratinocytes with light-activated provisional resin materials (Revotek LC and Luxatemp Solar) compared to chemically activated counterpart (Snap, Trim II, and Jet). Significantly increased compressive strength (210~280 MPa) was detected in light-activated products compared to chemically activated ones (20~65 MPa, P < 0.05) and similar compressive modulus was detected in both types (0.8~1.5 and 0.5~1.3 GPa). Simultaneously, the light-activated products showed less adverse effects on the periodontal soft tissue cells in any polymerization stage compared to the chemically activated products. Particularly, chemically activated products had significantly greater adverse effects during the “polymerizing” phase compared to those that were “already set” (P < 0.05), as shown in confocal microscopic images of live and dead cells. In conclusion, light-activated provisional resin materials have better mechanical properties as well as biocompatibility against two tested types of oral cells compared to the chemically activated counterpart, which are considered as more beneficial choice for periodontal soft tissue management.

Sensitive and Specific Protein Sensing Using Single-Mode Tapered Fiber Immobilized With Biorecognition Molecules

We examine and demonstrate a biosensor using single-mode tapered fiber that has been immobilized with biorecognition molecules to sense targeted proteins. Interaction of evanescent waves with the external medium surrounding the tapered region produces an interferometric-patterned spectrum, which shifts correspondingly to any changes of refractive index (RI) in the external medium. The proposed setup managed to obtain an RI sensitivity and concentration sensitivity of 2526.8 nm/RIU and 20.368 nm/μM, respectively, which, to our knowledge, is highly sensitive when compared with previous studies. The dynamic performance, good specificity, and high sensitivity of the proposed method highlight an immensely beneficial choice for immunological diagnostics.

Possible clinical effects of macrolides on the treatment of primary pulmonary mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma

pulmonary nodules in left S and S were observed in December 2009 (Fig. 1d), CAM was increased to 400 mg/ day in January 2010. The nodules remained unchanged, and AZM (750 mg/week) was added to CAM (400 mg/ day) in November 2010, which subsequently decreased the nodules 2 months later (Fig. 1e). These findings in the left lower lobe were unchanged in December 2014 (Fig. 1f). Case 2: A 58-year-old Japanese woman with multiple cystic lesions (Fig. 1g) was diagnosed with p-MALToma in 2010. CAM (400 mg/day) was started in November 2010, and the chest CT findings remained unchanged for 2 years (Fig. 1h, i). CAM was discontinued at the patient’s request in May 2012; however, a pulmonary nodule in the left upper lobe was observed in May 2014, but increased in size over time (Fig. 1j). A bronchoscopic examination revealed lymphocytic inflammatory change, and she restarted CAM (400 mg/day) therapy in October 2014. The nodular lesion started to decrease in December 2014 (Fig. 1k) and nearly disappeared by May 2015 (Fig. 1l). The comprehensive mechanism of action of macrolides on MALToma remains unclear. However, among macrolides, AZM is more concentrated in cells, which may help to induce the apoptosis of T-lymphocytes that may be included in the pathogenesis and progression of MALToma, and anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects of macrolides may also indirectly suppress tumor progression of p-MALToma. The clinical course of Case 1 may show the potential combined effects of CAM and AZM therapy. In addition, the long-term follow-up of Case 2 demonstrates the clinical suppressive effect of CAM on p-MALToma. In addition to rituximab monotherapy or use of this drug in combination with other agents, we think that macrolides represent a potentially beneficial alternative treatment choice of p-MALT lymphoma; however, further studies are needed to elucidate the most effective strategy for the treatment of p-MALToma. To the Editor,

Significance of CD44st gene expression in non-small cell lung carcinoma cancer

Objective To investigate the clinical significance of CD44st expression in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC). Methods Specific primers for the CD44st gene (Gene Bank NO.FJ216964) which was found in multidrug resistance cells were designed, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), gene sequencing and real-time PCR were used to validate the expression of the CD44st in the tissues and cancer adjacent tissues of 83 NSCLC patients (47 cases of adenocarcinoma, 36 cases of squamous carcinoma). The clinicopathologic features were analyzed by statistical analysis method. Results The positive expressive rate of CD44st gene mRNA in NSCLC tissue was 63.9 % (53/83) and the negative expressive rate was 36.1 % (30/83), which were more higher than those of cancer adjacent tissues (0/30, 0 %) (P 0.05). The rates of two years disease progression and stable condition in the group of lower CD44st expression were 45.2 % (19/42) and 54.8 % (23/42), respectively, and the rates in the group of higher CD44st expression were 68.3 % (28/41) and 31.7 % (13/41), respectively (P<0.05). Conclusions The expression level of CD44st is closely related to pathological pattern, the lymph node metastasis and the TNM-staging in NSCLC patients, which seriously influences the prognosis of the NSCLC patients. Therefore, the detection and the therapy to this special target may be a beneficial choice for the prognostic prediction of NSCLC. Key words: CD44st; Carcinoma, non-small cell lung; Prognosis

C1 posterior arch screw as an auxiliary anchor in posterior reconstruction for atlantoaxial dislocation associated with type II odontoid fracture: a case report and review of the literature.

AbtractIntroductionAlthough pedicle or lateral mass screws are usually chosen to fix atlantoaxial (C1-C2) instability, there is an increased risk for vertebral artery (VA) injury when used in patients with bone or arterial anomalies or osteoporotic bone. Here we report the C1 posterior arch screw as a new technique for upper cervical fixation.Case descriptionA 90-year-old man complained of upper cervical pain after falling in his house. The initial computed tomography (CT) scan showed C1-C2 posterior dislocation with a type II odontoid fracture. The patient underwent C2 fracture reduction and posterior C1-C2 fixation. On the right side of C1, because lateral mass screw placement could cause injury to the dominant VA considering a risk in oldest-old osteoporotic patients, a posterior arch screw was chosen instead as an auxiliary anchor. An intralaminar screw was placed on the right side of C2 because a high-riding VA was observed. A lateral mass screw and a pars interarticularis screw were placed on the left side of C1 and C2, respectively. Ten months later, the odontoid fracture had healed, with normal anatomical alignment. Although the patient experienced slight weakness when spreading his bilateral fingers, his overall condition was good.Discussion and evaluationWe have presented a novel technique using C1 posterior arch screws for the fixation of a C1-C2 dislocation. Such a screw is an alternative to the C1 lateral mass screw in patients who are at risk for a VA injury because of anomalous bone and arterial structures or poor bone quality.ConclusionsAlthough there have been few comparable studies, and the long-term outcome is unknown, fixation with a posterior arch screw could be a beneficial choice for surgeries involving the upper cervical region.

Doble lesión de pared abdominal: hernia incisional lumbar izquierda y seudohernia por denervación y atrofia muscular derecha. Manejo laparoscópico conjunto

IntroductionIncisional defects of the posterolateral abdominal wall are a challenge for any surgeon. No standard surgical treatment has been set for these patients. ObjectiveThe aim of this study is present the unusual case of a patient with 2 incisional lesions, a left lumbar hernia and a giant right-sided pseudohernia, and to develop their surgical treatment at the same time using double laparoscopy. Clinical caseA 65-year-old woman, who after a car accident needed 4 spinal surgeries, and another 4 for right renal lithiasis. A tomography confirmed the existence of a left lumbar incisional hernia and a pseudohernia with intense lateral muscular atrophy. A single laparoscopic approach is set out: transabdominal retroperitoneal hernioplasty (left), and intra-abdominal hernioplasty of the left hemiabdominal wall (right) with fixation to the osseous margins (12th rib and the iliac crest). Follow-up over one year shows no recurrence of the lumbar hernia but no clear improvement of the pseudohernia, which had a similar abdominal perimeter and costoiliac axis. DiscussionLaparoscopic surgery for the treatment of posterolateral abdominal wall defects is still a controversial choice as it does not reproduce the open technique. Laparoscopic repair seems to be the most beneficial choice for the patient with lumbar hernia, but for incisional pseudohernias the documentation available is limited. ConclusionLumbar hernias and pseudohernias are frequent complications after previous surgery. Laparoscopic approach is an effective treatment for the lumbar hernia, but ineffective for the pseudohernia.

On a Deformation‐Driven Continuum‐Related Parrinello‐Rahman Molecular Dynamics

AbstractInvestigations into the atomistic‐to‐continuum coupling are recently pursued in literature. A hierarchical modelling in terms of a macroscale treated by continuum mechanics and the microscale governed by statistical mechanics may be a very fruitful combination. If the microscale is simulated with the help of molecular dynamics, the isostress‐isoenthalpic ensemble as proposed by Parrinello and Rahman presents a beneficial choice. This statistical ensemble is remarkable as the equations of motion are derived from a Lagrangian. Recently, this Lagrangian was situated into a continuum mechanics setting. This paper investigates the behavior of this continuum‐related Lagrangian in a kinetics‐driven setting (by imposing an external stress) and a kinematics‐driven setting (by imposing the shape of the molecular dynamics cell) in terms of a numerical example. (© 2013 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH &amp; Co. KGaA, Weinheim)