How to Prevent Nerve Root Injury in Uniportal Full Endoscopic Lumbar Fusion Surgery? Insights From a Cadaveric Anatomic Study With Simulation Surgery.

Study Design: The study included 2 fresh-frozen cadavers.

Objective: To elucidate the positional relationship between surgical instruments and nerve roots during full endoscopic facet-sparing (FE fs-TLIF) and full endoscopic facet-resecting (FE fr-TLIF) transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion and propose safe instrumentation insertion procedures and recommend cage glider designs aimed at protecting nerve roots.

Background: Endoscopic surgical techniques are increasingly used for minimally invasive lumbar fusion surgery, with FE fr-TLIF and FE fs-TLIF being common approaches.

Effect of recommendations of breakfast and late-evening snack habits on body composition and blood pressure: A pilot randomized trial.

Breakfast skipping and late-evening snack are prevalent in young adults. This randomized controlled intervention aimed to evaluate the influence of meal habit recommendations on young adults' body composition and blood pressure. Nonpregnant adults (≥20 y old) who were eligible for bioelectrical impedance analysis examination (neither pacemaker installed nor medications that would affect body composition, like diuretics or corticosteroids) were enrolled after they provided informed consent ( = 125).

Superior sequence-controlled poly(L-lactide)-based bioplastic with tunable seawater biodegradation.

Developing superior-performance marine-biodegradable plastics remains a critical challenge in mitigating marine plastic pollution. Commercially available biodegradable polymers, such as poly(L-lactide) (PLA), undergo slow degradation in complex marine environments. This study introduces an innovative bioplastic design that employs a facile ring-opening and coupling reaction to incorporate hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) into PLA, yielding PEG-PLA copolymers with either sequence-controlled alternating or random structures.

[Practical Implementation of Gerontechnology Smart Products: Product Suitability Assessment].

Because of the critical importance to national healthcare of developing and applying smart technologies to address the needs of Taiwan's rapidly aging society, "gerontechnology" is an industry sector that must be promoted to achieve related policy goals. The scope of technologies involved in gerontechnology is broad, with the application of smart technology often the focus of industrial development. The most crucial feature of gerontechnology-related "smart" products is the collection, analysis, and feedback of target data in the application process necessary to facilitate the provision of "precision" aged care.

Pacing Strategies in Elite Individual-Medley Swimmers: A Decision-Tree Approach.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine pacing strategies and identify the stroke that has the most significant impact on overall performance in men's and women's 200-m and 400-m individual-medley events from 2000 to 2021.

Methods: The time in each lap and overall race was retrieved from the World Aquatics website. The standardized time for each stroke in individual medley was calculated by dividing the actual time by a reference time specific to each stroke.

Diagnosis and treatment of syphilitic uveitis: Taiwan experts consensus.

A recent resurgence in the incidence of syphilis has sparked a new interest in this old disease. Syphilitic uveitis remains a challenging disease, among the variable syphilis infections, due to the diagnostic complexity and the wide clinical manifestations. Here, we provide recommendations regarding clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment for patients with syphilitic uveitis in Taiwan based on an expert meeting and consensus from experienced uveitis specialists.

Optimizing aesthetic results in Asian women with giant phyllodes tumors over 10 cm: the periareolar mastopexy approach.

Giant phyllodes tumors, typically exceeding 10 cm in size, are neoplastic lesions with malignant potential. Surgical excision in small-breasted Asian women presents unique challenges where expected poor aesthetic outcomes may delay timely medical intervention. The periareolar mastopexy technique offers a comprehensive solution, enabling complete tumor removal alongside mastopexy to achieve optimal breast contouring.

Temporal trends of food consumption patterns in Tuvalu under the context of climate change: COMmunity-based Behavior and Attitude survey in Tuvalu (COMBAT) since 2020.

Aim: The aim of this study was to analyze temporal trends of food consumption patterns, attitudes, and health-related knowledge in Tuvalu, a small Pacific Island country facing the triple threat of obesity, climate change, and food insecurity.

Methods: Two waves of the COMmunity-based Behavior and Attitude (COMBAT) survey were conducted in 2020 and 2022. Descriptive characteristics of changes in obesity proportion, food intake, and sociodemographic factors were assessed.

Banff-based histologic chronicity index is associated with graft failure but has poor interobserver reproducibility.

Background: Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) often leads to chronic kidney allograft damage and is a critical cause of allograft failure. The Banff classification, used to diagnose AMR, has become complex and challenging for clinicians. A Banff-based histologic chronicity index (CI) was recently proposed as a simplified prognostic indicator.

Falls, fracture and frailty risk in multiple sclerosis: a Mendelian Randomization study to identify shared genetics.

Introduction: Patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) commonly present musculoskeletal disorders characterized by lower bone mineral density (BMD) and muscle weakness. However, the underlying etiology remains unclear. Our objective is to identify shared pleiotropic genetic effects and estimate the causal relationship between MS and musculoskeletal disorders.

Arterial pulsation dependence of perivascular cerebrospinal fluid flow measured by dynamic diffusion tensor imaging in the human brain.

Perivascular cerebrospinal fluid (pCSF) flow is a key component of the glymphatic system. Arterial pulsation has been proposed as the main driving force of pCSF influx along the superficial and penetrating arteries; however, evidence of this mechanism in humans is limited. We proposed an experimental framework of dynamic diffusion tensor imaging with low b-values and ultra-long echo time (dynDTI) to capture pCSF flow properties during the cardiac cycle in human brains.

Complement decay-accelerating factor inhibits inflammation-induced myopia development.

Myopia is regarded as a worldwide epidemic ocular disease, has been proved related to inflammation. CD55, also known as decay-accelerating factor (DAF) can modulate the activation of complement through inhibiting the formation of complement 3 convertase and its dysregulation is involved in various inflammatory diseases. To investigate the association between CD55 and myopia, and to test whether CD55 can inhibit myopia development by suppressing inflammation in the eye, we use three different animal models including monocular form-deprivation myopia, myopia induced by TNF-α administration and allergic conjunctivitis animal model to reveal the CD55 in myopia development.

Protective Effects of Pear Extract on Skin from In Vitro and In Vivo UVA-Induced Damage.

The ancient Chinese medical book "Compendium of Materia Medica" records that pears can relieve symptoms of respiratory-related diseases. Previous research has shown that pear (Burm.f.

Serum Malondialdehyde-Modified Low-Density Lipoprotein as a Risk Marker for Peripheral Arterial Stiffness in Maintenance Hemodialysis Patients.

: Peripheral arterial stiffness (PAS), assessed by brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV), is an independent biomarker of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in patients on maintenance hemodialysis (HD). Malondialdehyde-modified low-density lipoprotein (MDA-LDL), an oxidative stress marker, has been linked to atherosclerosis and CVD. However, the association between serum MDA-LDL and PAS among HD patients has not been fully elucidated.

Study of a Deep Convolution Network with Enhanced Region Proposal Network in the Detection of Cancerous Lung Tumors.

A deep convolution network that expands on the architecture of the faster R-CNN network is proposed. The expansion includes adapting unsupervised classification with multiple backbone networks to improve the Region Proposal Network in order to improve accuracy and sensitivity in detecting minute changes in images. The efficiency of the proposed architecture is investigated by applying it to the detection of cancerous lung tumors in CT (computed tomography) images.

Neural representations of perspectival shapes and attentional effects: Evidence from fMRI and MEG.

Does the human brain represent perspectival shapes, i.e., viewpoint-dependent object shapes, especially in relatively higher-level visual areas such as the lateral occipital cortex? What is the temporal profile of the appearance and disappearance of neural representations of perspectival shapes? And how does attention influence these neural representations? To answer these questions, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and multivariate decoding techniques to investigate spatiotemporal neural representations of perspectival shapes.

Evaluation of Pm2.5 Influence on Human Lung Cancer Cells Using a Microfluidic Platform.

In this study, we developed a microfluidic device that is able to monitor cell biology under continuous PM2.5 treatment. The effects of PM2.

Photo-Healable Fabrics: Achieving Structural Control via Photochemical Solid-Liquid Transitions of Polystyrene/Azobenzene-Containing Polymer Blends.

While polymer fabrics are integral to a wide range of applications, their vulnerability to mechanical damage limits their sustainability and practicality. Addressing this challenge, our study introduces a versatile strategy to develop photohealable fabrics, utilizing a composite of polystyrene (PS) and an azobenzene-containing polymer (PAzo). This combination leverages the structural stability of PS to compensate for the mechanical weaknesses of PAzo, forming the fiber structures.

Neuroimmunological effects of omega-3 fatty acids on migraine: a review.

Migraine is a highly prevalent disease worldwide, imposing enormous clinical and economic burdens on individuals and societies. Current treatments exhibit limited efficacy and acceptability, highlighting the need for more effective and safety prophylactic approaches, including the use of nutraceuticals for migraine treatment. Migraine involves interactions within the central and peripheral nervous systems, with significant activation and sensitization of the trigeminovascular system (TVS) in pain generation and transmission.