PURPOSE Hepatobiliary surgery has changed dramatically in recent decades with the advent of laparoscopic techniques. The aim of this retrospective study was to compare survival rates according to stages, adjusting for important prognostic factors. METHODS A retrospective study of a 17-year period from January 1994 to April 2011 was carried out. The cases studied were divided into two time per...

Purpose. The carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF) is an abnormal arteriovenous communication and its drainage pathways may affect the clinic presentation and change treatment approach. We evaluated drainage patterns of CCFs by digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and categorized drainage pathways according to their types and etiology. Materials and Methods. Venous drainage patterns of 13 CCFs from ...

Mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA markers were applied to infer the phylogeography, intraspecific diversity and dynamics of the distributional history of European grayling (Thymallus thymallus) with focus on its central and northern European distribution range. Phylogenetic and nested clade analyses revealed at least four major mtDNA lineages, which evolved in geographical isolation during t...

Buergeria japonica is a widely distributed treefrog occurring from Ryukyu Archipelago to Taiwan. Across this wide distributional range, we combined molecular, acoustic, morphological, and behavioral characters to clarify the taxonomic status among these insular populations. Genetic differentiation in mitochondrial sequences indicated an over 16% divergence among two deeply divergent clades: Jap...

The biogeography of Central America is viewed as a classic case study in understanding the impact of vicariant events on patterns of biotic dispersal. While many biogeographers have focused on community composition and geographical limits of species at broad scales across Central America, much less work has focused on post-colonization diversification patterns at finer scales. The livebearing f...

Ingestion of microplastics by fishes could be an emerging environmental crisis because of the proliferation of plastic pollution in aquatic environments. Microplastics in marine ecosystems are well documented, however only one study has reported percent occurrence of microplastics in freshwater fishes. The purpose of this study was to quantify the occurrences and types of microplastics ingested...

In this study we explored the most important topics of acculturation experiences among Iranian refugees in the Netherlands, using the Self-Confrontation Method (Hermans & Hermans-Jansen, 1995). We discussed the Dialogical Self Theory reffering to the multiple selves of people who have to deal with different cultures. Ewing (1990) and Hermans and Kempen (1993) argued that a person could have con...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the features of Iranian nursing journals, specifically the subject areas used in articles, study designs, sampling methods, international collaboration of Iranian nursing scholars, specialty and academic rank of authors, and the most frequently contributing academic institutions in articles. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to analyze the content of the ar...