The Classification for Early-onset Scoliosis (C-EOS) Correlates With the Speed of Vertical Expandable Prosthetic Titanium Rib (VEPTR) Proximal Anchor Failure.

Background: The Classification for Early-onset Scoliosis (C-EOS) was developed by a consortium of early-onset scoliosis (EOS) surgeons. This study aims to examine if the C-EOS classification correlates with the speed (failure/unit time) of proximal anchor failure in EOS surgery patients.

Methods: A total of 106 EOS patients were retrospectively queried from an EOS database.

Ethanol inhibits γ-secretase proteolytic activity in vascular smooth muscle cells.

Background: Ethanol (EtOH) inhibits Notch-mediated vascular smooth muscle cell (SMC) proliferation, an event that is key in vessel remodeling and atherogenesis. The object of this study was to determine whether EtOH inhibits Notch signaling in SMC at the level of γ-secretase, a protease that in concert with α-secretase catalyzes the release of the intracellular domain of the Notch receptor necessary for signaling.

Methods: Human coronary artery SMCs (HCASMCs) were treated with a recombinant soluble Notch ligand, Delta-like ligand 4 (DLL4) (2 μg/ml), or transfected with a constitutively active Notch 1 intracellular domain (N1ICD), in the absence or presence of EtOH.

Serial Casting for Infantile Idiopathic Scoliosis: Radiographic Outcomes and Factors Associated With Response to Treatment.

Background: Serial casting for early-onset scoliosis has been shown to improve curve deformity. Our goal was to define clinical and radiographic features that determine response to treatment.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients with idiopathic infantile scoliosis with a minimum of 2-year follow-up.

Reliability analysis of Cobb angle measurements of congenital scoliosis using X-ray and 3D-CT images.

Purpose: Therapeutic decisions for congenital scoliosis rely on Cobb angle measurements on consecutive radiographs. There have been no studies documenting the variability of measuring the Cobb angle using 3D-CT images in children with congenital scoliosis. The purpose of this study was to compare the reliability and measurement errors using X-ray images and those utilizing 3D-CT images.

Do Ponte Osteotomies Enhance Correction in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis? An Analysis of 191 Lenke 1A and 1B Curves.

Study Design: Retrospective review of a prospectively collected multicenter database of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Objective: To determine if Ponte osteotomies improve correction in Lenke 1A and 1B AIS curves treated with pedicle screws.

Summary Of Background Data: There is little data studying the risks and benefits of Ponte osteotomies in AIS.

Biomechanics of high-grade spondylolisthesis with and without reduction.

The clinical advantages of reducing spondylolisthesis over fusion in situ have several intuitive reasons such as restore the spinal column into a more anatomic relationship and alignment. However, there is only little evidence in the literature supporting the theoretical advantages of reduction, and its effect on spinopelvic alignment remains poorly defined. In this study, a comprehensive finite element model was developed to analyze the biomechanics of the spine after spinal fusion at L5-S1 in both types of high-grade spondylolisthesis (balanced and unbalanced pelvis).

What is the Risk of Developing Proximal Junctional Kyphosis During Growth Friendly Treatments for Early-onset Scoliosis?

Background: Rib-based and spine-based systems are commonly used distraction-based growth friendly treatments for early-onset scoliosis (EOS). Our primary purpose was to determine the risk of developing postoperative proximal junctional kyphosis (PJK) during distraction-based growth friendly surgery.

Methods: A multicenter, retrospective, radiographic comparison was performed for a group of 40 children with EOS who were treated with posterior distraction-based implants.

Major perioperative complications after spine surgery in patients with cerebral palsy: assessment of risk factors.

Purpose: A prospective, longitudinal cohort was studied to determine the incidence, consequences, and risk factors of major perioperative complications in patients with cerebral palsy (CP) treated with spinal fusion. There is a wide variety of data available on the complications of spine surgery; however, little exists on the perioperative complications in patients with CP.

Methods: A prospective multicenter dataset of consecutive patients with CP treated with spinal fusion was evaluated.

Body Mass Index in Adolescent Spinal Deformity: Comparison of Scheuermann's Kyphosis, Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis, and Normal Controls.

Study Design: Prospective, multicenter study of Scheuermann's kyphosis (SK) and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) compared to a control group.

Objectives: Compare body mass index (BMI) and Scoliosis Research Society Questionnaire-22 (SRS-22) scores among two diagnosis and one control group.

Summary Of Background Data: BMI has been reported as increased in SK patients; however, there are few recent data on this subject or comparing SK to AIS.

Hedgehog and Resident Vascular Stem Cell Fate.

The Hedgehog pathway is a pivotal morphogenic driver during embryonic development and a key regulator of adult stem cell self-renewal. The discovery of resident multipotent vascular stem cells and adventitial progenitors within the vessel wall has transformed our understanding of the origin of medial and neointimal vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) during vessel repair in response to injury, lesion formation, and overall disease progression. This review highlights the importance of components of the Hh and Notch signalling pathways within the medial and adventitial regions of adult vessels, their recapitulation following vascular injury and disease progression, and their putative role in the maintenance and differentiation of resident vascular stem cells to vascular lineages from discrete niches within the vessel wall.

Minimally Invasive Lateral Interbody Fusion in the Treatment of Scoliosis Associated with Myelomeningocele.

Introduction: Surgical correction of spinal deformity in myelomeningocele is associated with high rates of pseudarthrosis and implant failure. The anterior fusion is traditionally a wide exposure from the thorax to the sacrum. We report minimally invasive lateral interbody fusion (MILIF) to address the issue of fusion between vertebrae with marginal posterior elements while minimizing the morbidity of an open approach.

SRS-7: A Valid, Responsive, Linear, and Unidimensional Functional Outcome Measure for Operatively Treated Patients With AIS.

Study Design: Comparison of the Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) questionnaire with a 7-item Rasch-derived questionnaire (SRS-7).

Objective: To compare the construct and discriminant validity, internal consistency, responsiveness, and dimensionality of SRS-7 against SRS-22 in operatively treated children with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Summary Of Background Data: SRS-22 has not been shown to possess linearity or unidimensionality (internal validity).

Child maltreatment and adult psychopathology in an Irish context.

One-hundred-ninety-nine adult mental health service users were interviewed with a protocol that included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Structured Clinical Interviews for Axis I and II DSM-IV disorders, the Global Assessment of Functioning scale, the SCORE family assessment measure, the Camberwell Assessment of Need Short Appraisal Schedule, and the Readiness for Psychotherapy Index. Compared to a U.S.

The 'BlueScreen HC' assay as a decision making test in the genotoxicity assessment of flavour and fragrance materials.

The genotoxicity of a library of 70 flavour and fragrance substances having a high proportion of in vivo and/or carcinogenicity test data has been assessed using the GADD45a-GLuc 'BlueScreen HC' genotoxicity assay, with and without exogenous metabolic activation. There are only limited genotoxicity and carcinogenicity study data for compounds in this applicability domain, but this study allowed the following conclusions: (i) The BlueScreen HC results are highly predictive of positive results from regulator-required in vitro genotoxicity assays for the test set of materials; the moderate negative predictivity of BlueScreen HC from the in vitro test set of material is mainly due to the high rate of false positive in regulatory in vitro mammalian tests. (ii) BlueScreen HC negative results are predictive of negative in vivo results and provide a specific prediction of in vivo genotoxicity assay results.

Sagittal Spinopelvic Parameters in Scheuermann's Kyphosis: A Preliminary Study.

Study Design: Retrospective, controlled, clinical study.

Objectives: To define the average values for sagittal spinopelvic parameters including pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), and sacral slope (SS) in Scheuermann's kyphosis (SK); evaluate the differences in spinopelvic parameters among patients with SK and unaffected normal controls; and evaluate the correlation of various sagittal spinopelvic parameters to each other in SK and normal controls.

Methods: Prospectively collected radiographic data from a study on SK were compared with those from previously published series of unaffected patients.

Autologous bone graft harvesting: a review of grafts and surgical techniques.

Spinal fusion with or without instrumentation often requires the use of bone graft. Bone graft may be autogenous or exogenous. There are various forms of bone graft which may be acquired from numerous sites.

Smaller body size increases the percentage of blood volume lost during posterior spinal arthrodesis.

Background: Our goal was to analyze the relationship between patient size and the proportion of blood volume lost during spinal arthrodesis in patients with a diagnosis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, Scheuermann kyphosis, or cerebral palsy. We hypothesized that smaller patients (those with less blood volume) lose a greater proportion of circulating total blood volume during surgery.

Methods: We reviewed a large, multicenter database, identifying patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (1832), Scheuermann kyphosis (106), or cerebral palsy (196) who had undergone posterior spinal arthrodesis for spinal deformity.

Psychometric Properties and Responsiveness to Change of 15- and 28-Item Versions of the SCORE: A Family Assessment Questionnaire.

The SCORE (Systemic Clinical Outcome and Routine Evaluation) is a 40-item questionnaire for completion by family members 12 years and older to assess outcome in systemic therapy. This study aimed to investigate psychometric properties of two short versions of the SCORE and their responsiveness to therapeutic change. Data were collected at 19 centers from 701 families at baseline and from 433 of these 3-5 months later.

Dynamic response signatures of a scaled model platform for floating wind turbines in an ocean wave basin.

Understanding of dynamic behaviour of offshore wind floating substructures is extremely important in relation to design, operation, maintenance and management of floating wind farms. This paper presents assessment of nonlinear signatures of dynamic responses of a scaled tension-leg platform (TLP) in a wave tank exposed to different regular wave conditions and sea states characterized by the Bretschneider, the Pierson-Moskowitz and the JONSWAP spectra. Dynamic responses of the TLP were monitored at different locations using load cells, a camera-based motion recognition system and a laser Doppler vibrometer.

Management of spinal cord injury-related scoliosis using pedicle screw-only constructs.

Object: Almost all pediatric patients who incur a spinal cord injury (SCI) will develop scoliosis, and younger patients are at highest risk for curve progression requiring surgical intervention. Although the use of pedicle screws is increasing in popularity, their impact on SCI-related scoliosis has not been described. The authors retrospectively reviewed the radiographic outcomes of pedicle screw-only constructs in all patients who had undergone SCI-related scoliosis correction at a single institution.

Polygodial: a contact active antifouling biocide.

Ongoing investigation of the candidate antifouling (AF) biocide polygodial (PG) has revealed that this compound may be contact active, whereby it can confer effect while remaining bound within a stable matrix. To test this hypothesis, the AF activity of PG-laced coatings was compared to that of seawater in which PG-laced coatings had been soaked. Four coating types spanning high to low affinity for PG were examined and AF activity was assessed based on inhibition of settlement and metamorphosis of larvae of three fouling organisms: Ciona savignyi Herdman, Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck and Spirobranchus caraniferus Gray.

Flk-1/KDR mediates ethanol-stimulated endothelial cell Notch signaling and angiogenic activity.

Unlabelled: We previously reported that ethanol (EtOH) stimulates endothelial angiogenic activity mediated via a notch- and angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) pathway. As crosstalk exists between notch and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling, we examined whether the VEGF receptor (VEGFR) Flk-1 (fetal liver kinase 1) mediates EtOH-stimulated notch signaling and angiogenic activity.

Methods And Results: Treatment of human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) with EtOH (1-50 mM, 24 h) dose-dependently increased Flk-1 expression with a maximum increase observed at 25 mM EtOH.

Results of selective thoracic versus nonselective fusion in Lenke type 3 curves.

Study Design: A retrospective analysis of a prospectively collected multicenter database.

Objective: To identify the radiographical and clinical outcomes in Lenke 3 curves fused selectively (S) versus nonselectively (NS).

Summary Of Background Data: Surgical treatment options for Lenke 3 curves include fusion of both curves (NS) or selective thoracic curve fusion (S).

The effect of surgeon experience on outcomes of surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Background: Single-surgeon series investigating the learning curve involved in surgery for spinal deformity may be confounded by changes in technology and techniques. Our objective with this multicenter, prospective study was to present a cross-sectional analysis of the impact of surgeon experience on surgery for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Methods: All posterior-only surgical procedures for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis performed in the 2007 to 2008 academic year, with a minimum of two years of patient follow-up, were included.