Sixty-six patients with acute scaphoid fractures were treated non-operatively in a below elbow plaster for 8 to 12 weeks and underwent CT scans along the longitudinal axis of the scaphoid at 12 to 18 weeks. These scans showed that 14 fractures had not united and that 30 had united throughout the whole cross-section of the scaphoid. The other 22 had partially united with bridging trabeculae in some areas of the cross-section. These 22 partial unions were graded as 0% to 24% union (0 cases), 25% to 49% union (5 cases), 50% to 74% union (7 cases), and 75% to 99% union (10 cases). The 12 patients who had less than 75% fracture union were followed-up further and nine underwent another CT scan at 23 to 40 weeks after the initial injury. These showed union across the whole of the cross-section of the fracture in seven cases and 75% to 99% union in the other two cases, who had full and painless wrist function. We conclude that partial union of the scaphoid is a common occurrence but, in most cases, it progresses to full union without the need for prolonged plaster immobilization.

This essay introduces contributions to a special issue of East European Politics on "Rethinking democratic backsliding in Central and Eastern Europe", which seeks to expand the study of democratic regression in CEE beyond the paradigmatic cases of Hungary and Poland. Reviewing these contributions, we identify several directions for research: 1) the need to critique "democratic backsliding", not simply as a label, but also as an assumed regional trend; 2) a need to better integrate the role of illiberal socio-economic structures such as oligarchical structures or corrupt networks; and 3) a need to (re-)examine the trade-offs between democratic stability and democratic quality. We also note how insights developed researching post-communist regions such as Western Balkans or the post-Soviet space could usefully inform work on CEE backsliding. We conclude by calling for the study of CEE democracy to become more genuinely interdisciplinary, moving beyond some narrowly institutionalist comparative political science assumptions. ARTICLE HISTORYOver the past decade, a scholarly consensus has emerged that that democracy in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) is deteriorating (Kochenov 2008; Sedelmeier 2014), a trend often subsumed under the label "backsliding". 1 However, this emergent paradigm has focused disproportionately on the two most dramatic cases: Hungary and Poland (Müller 2014; Herman 2016; Kelemen and Orenstein 2016) and on the symptomsexecutive aggrandisement and illiberal nationalismthat are most characteristic of the trajectories of those states. In bringing together contributions in this special issue, we attempt to correct for the empirical and thematic biases of this paradigm by examining democratic trajectories through the prism of cases other than Hungary and Poland in both Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and in nearby postcommunist regions, the West Balkans and the former Soviet Union (FSU). We use the term CEE as a matter of convention, to refer to post-communist states that are EU members, whichpartly in consequence of EU accessionhad been considered to be among the post-communist world's more successful and stable democracies. 2 The CEE sub-region has been one of the main focuses of the "backsliding" agenda, as democratic deterioration was unexpected and is weakly explained by existing

This study investigated whether the outcome of bone graft and internal fixation surgery for nonunion of scaphoid fractures could be predicted by gadolinium-enhanced MR assessments of proximal fragment vascularity. Sixteen established scaphoid fracture nonunions underwent gadolinium-enhanced MR scanning before surgical treatment with bone grafting and internal fixation. No relationship was found between MR enhancement and the outcome of surgery. Union was achieved in eight of the 12 nonunions with more than 50% enhancement, and three of the four with less than 50% enhancement, of the proximal pole. Furthermore, union was achieved in both of the nonunions which had less than 25% enhancement of the proximal pole. We conclude that enhanced MR assessments of the vascularity of the proximal fragment of a scaphoid fracture nonunion do not accurately predict the outcome of reconstructive surgery.

This prospective study investigated a cohort of 59 scaphoid waist fractures which were treated nonoperatively in a below-elbow plaster cast for 4 weeks and then underwent a Week 4 CT scan to assess displacement and progress to union. Forty-three were classed as undisplaced and 37 of these 43 were also classed as 'united'. All the 37 undisplaced and 'united' fractures united with up to 8 weeks' cast immobilisation, including 26 which were taken out of plaster at 4 weeks and mobilised. We conclude that scaphoid waist fractures which appear to be undisplaced and united on a week 4 CT scan will unite, and may not need to be immobilised in a plaster cast for more than 4 weeks. Such a treatment policy may reduce the period of disability and time off work associated with nonoperative treatment.