A comparison of the academic impact of plastic surgery units in the United Kingdom and Ireland using bibliometric analysis

Academic output is just one aspect of a successful career as a plastic surgeon. However, for those with a strong interest in academia, the academic output of a department will likely be a key factor when deciding how to rank jobs. The aim of this study was to quantify and rank the academic output of plastic surgery units across the UK and Ireland. The Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Science Bibliometric analysis tool was used to collate cumulative (1950–2016), 10 year (2006–2016) and 3 years (2013–2015) research output data for plastic surgery units in the UK and Ireland. Sixty-six plastic surgery units were identified. Departments were ranked for each time period according to the number of papers produced, number of citations (Nc) and h-index (a measure of the impact of scientific output). The top 3 departments for number of papers in the last 10 years were The Royal Free Hospital, London (226) Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford (218), and Morriston Hospital and Swansea (188). The top 3 for h-number were The Royal Free Hospital (21) Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester (18) and Morriston Hospital (17). Academic output varies across plastic surgery units in the UK and Ireland. A number of departments have consistently maintained high academic outputs across the years and will be of interest to surgeons hoping to pursue a career in academia.     

Ethik,Kommunikation und interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit – per Gesetz?!

Die Onkologie - Die Corona-Pandemie hat in den letzten Monaten verdeutlicht, dass das Thema Sterblichkeit trotz erheblicher Fortschritte im Bereich der Hospiz- und Palliativversorgung zu...     

Explicit Finite Element Models Accurately Predict Subject-Specific and Velocity-Dependent Kinetics of Sideways Fall Impact

The majority of hip fractures in the elderly are the result of a fall from standing or from a lower height. Current injury models focus mostly on femur strength while neglecting subject-specific loading. This article presents an injury modeling strategy for hip fractures related to sideways falls that takes subject-specific impact loading into account. Finite element models (FEMs) of the human body were used to predict the experienced load and the femoral strength in a single model. We validated these models for their predicted peak force, effective pelvic stiffness, and fracture status against matching ex vivo sideways fall impacts (n = 11) with a trochanter velocity of 3.1 m/s. Furthermore, they were compared to sideways impacts of volunteers with lower impact velocities that were previously conducted by other groups. Good agreement was found between the ex vivo experiments and the FEMs with respect to peak force (root mean square error [RMSE] = 10.7%, R² = 0.85) and effective pelvic stiffness (R² = 0.92, RMSE = 12.9%). The FEMs were predictive of the fracture status for 10 out of 11 specimens. Compared to the volunteer experiments from low height, the FEMs overestimated the peak force by 25% for low BMI subjects and 8% for high BMI subjects. The effective pelvic stiffness values that were derived from the FEMs were comparable to those derived from impacts with volunteers. The force attenuation from the impact surface to the femur ranged between 27% and 54% and was highly dependent on soft tissue thickness (R² = 0.86). The energy balance in the FEMS showed that at the time of peak force 79% to 93% of the total energy is either kinetic or was transformed to soft tissue deformation. The presented FEMs allow for direct discrimination between fracture and nonfracture outcome for sideways falls and bridge the gap between impact testing with volunteers and impact conditions representative of real life falls. © 2019 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.     

Is routine extubation overnight safe in cardiac surgery patients?

Objectives

Expedient extubation after cardiac surgery has been associated with improved outcomes, leading to postoperative extubation frequently during overnight hours. However, recent evidence in a mixed medical-surgical intensive care unit population demonstrated worse outcomes with overnight extubation. This study investigated the impact of overnight extubation in a statewide, multicenter Society of Thoracic Surgeons database.

The chondrocyte channelome: A narrative review

Chondrocytes are the main cells in the extracellular matrix (ECM) of articular cartilage and possess a highly differentiated phenotype that is the hallmark of the unique physiological functions of this specialised load-bearing connective tissue. The plasma membrane of articular chondrocytes contains a rich and diverse complement of membrane proteins, known as the membranome, which defines the cell surface phenotype of the cells. The membranome is a key target of pharmacological agents and is important for chondrocyte function. It includes channels, transporters, enzymes, receptors, and anchors for intracellular, cytoskeletal and ECM proteins and other macromolecular complexes. The chondrocyte channelome is a sub-compartment of the membranome and includes a complete set of ion channels and porins expressed in these cells. Many of these are multi-functional proteins with “moonlighting” roles, serving as channels, receptors and signalling components of larger molecular assemblies. The aim of this review is to summarise our current knowledge of the fundamental aspects of the chondrocyte channelome, discuss its relevance to cartilage biology and highlight its possible role in the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis (OA). Excessive and inappropriate mechanical loads, an inflammatory micro-environment, alternative splicing of channel components or accumulation of basic calcium phosphate crystals can result in an altered chondrocyte channelome impairing its function. Alterations in Ca²⁺ signalling may lead to defective synthesis of ECM macromolecules and aggravated catabolic responses in chondrocytes, which is an important and relatively unexplored aspect of the complex and poorly understood mechanism of OA development.