Clinical and Radiological Outcomes in C2 Recapping Laminoplasty for the Pathologies in the Upper Cervical Spine.

Objective: To evaluate C2 muscle preservation effect and the radiological and clinical outcomes after C2 recapping laminoplasty.

Methods: Fourteen consecutive patients who underwent C2 recapping laminoplasty around C1-2 level were enrolled. To evaluate muscle preservation effect, the authors conducted a morphological measurement of extensor muscles between the operated and nonoperated side.

Screw Insertional Torque Measurement in Spine Surgery: Correlation With Bone Mineral Density and Hounsfield Unit.

Objective: Achieving successful fusion during spine surgery is dependent on rigid pedicle screw fixation. To assess fixation strength, the insertional torque can be measured during intraoperative screw fixation. This study aimed to explore the technical feasibility of measuring the insertional torque of a pedicle screw, while investigating its relationship with bone density.

Temporal Analysis of Postoperative Outcomes With or Without Intraoperative Motor Evoked Potentials and Somatosensory Evoked Potentials Monitoring for Intracranial Meningioma Surgery.

Background: This study aimed to retrospectively assess results of intracranial meningioma surgery with or without intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) in a single institution.

Methods: Two cohorts (a historical cohort and a monitoring cohort) were collected for the analysis. Before IONM was introduced, a total of 107 patients underwent intracranial meningioma operation without IONM from January 2000 to December 2008 by one neurosurgeon (historical cohort).

Analysis of sagittal parameters for easier and more accurate determination of cervical spine alignment.

Cross-sectional comparative study. This study aimed to analyze the role of cervical parameters, in terms of the perception process, when evaluating cervical sagittal balance on an X-ray image. Reports on the role of cervical parameters in the perception of cervical sagittal balance have not been made.

The safety and effectiveness of lumbar drainage for cerebrospinal fluid leakage after spinal surgery.

Purpose: Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leakage is a frequent complication after spinal surgery. The lumbar drainage procedure (LDP) is the preferred method for early closure of a dural tear. This study was conducted to assess the safety and effectiveness of LDP after spinal surgery.

Failure to Obtain Baseline Signals of Transcranial Motor-Evoked Potentials in Spine Surgery: Analysis of the Reasons.

Objective: Among the various intraoperative neurophysiologic monitoring (IONM) techniques, transcranial motor-evoked potential (Tc-MEP) has recently become the most widely used method to monitor motor function. However, we often find that Tc-MEP is not sufficiently detected at the start of surgery. Therefore, we aimed to analyze the reasons and risk factors for not detecting sufficient baseline signal of Tc-MEP from the beginning of spinal surgery.

Are plain radiographic measurements still consistent with a diagnosis of basilar invagination in the era of cross-sectional images?

Retrospective cross-sectional study To evaluate the validity and obtain optimal cutoff values of 3 radiologic measurements for the diagnosis of basilar invagination (BI). Two hundred seventy-six patients (46 patients who underwent atlantoaxial fusion for BI and 230 patients who were treated for minor cervical trauma) seen in a single institution from January 2010 to December 2016 were included in this study. Age, sex, and body mass index were adjusted for the patients.

Physiological Properties, Functions, and Trends in the Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors in Inflammation-Mediated Human Diseases.

Background: Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), also known as metalloproteinases, are enzymes that degrade proteins and require the presence of active metal atoms. There are more than 20 types of MMPs, and they promote cell migration through the proteolytic degradation of the extracellular basement. MMPs are upregulated in cancers and inflamed regions.

Over-Expression of Dehydroascorbate Reductase Improves Salt Tolerance, Environmental Adaptability and Productivity in .

Abiotic stress induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation in plants, and high ROS levels can cause partial or severe oxidative damage to cellular components that regulate the redox status. Here, we developed salt-tolerant transgenic rice plants that overexpressed the dehydroascorbate reductase gene () under the control of a stress-inducible sweet potato promoter (). -expressing transgenic plants exhibited improved environmental adaptability compared to wild-type plants, owing to enhanced ascorbate levels, redox homeostasis, photosynthetic ability, and membrane stability through cross-activation of ascorbate-glutathione cycle enzymes under paddy-field conditions, which enhanced various agronomic traits, including root development, panicle number, spikelet number per panicle, and total grain yield.

Analysis of Parameters That Can Predict the Cervical Sagittal Vertical Axis in Cervical Fusion Surgery.

Objective: The absolute value of the cervical sagittal parameters cannot be guaranteed with certainty on all follow-up cervical radiographs. With the assumption that neck posture changes can occur at any time at each follow-up radiographic session, we examined whether the sagittal parameters change meaningfully and identified the factors most closely related to the C2-C7 sagittal vertical axis (SVA).

Methods: We enrolled 200 patients who had undergone either anterior cervical fusion (n = 100) or posterior cervical fusion (n = 100).

Analysis of Associating Radiologic Parameters With Clinical Outcomes After Posterior C1-2 Fusion.

Objective: To evaluate which radiologic parameters affect clinical outcomes in patients underwent posterior C1-2 fusion for atlantoaxial dislocation.

Methods: From January 2014 to December 2017, among 98 patients underwent C1-2 posterior fusion, patients with previous cervical surgery or extending to subaxial spine or basilar invagination were excluded. Finally, 38 patients were included.

Investigating the Functional Role of the Cysteine Residue in Dehydrin from the Arctic Mouse-Ear Chickweed .

The stress-responsive, SK subclass, dehydrin gene, , has been identified from the Arctic mouse-ear chickweed . CaDHN contains an unusual single cysteine residue (Cys143), which can form intermolecular disulfide bonds. Mutational analysis and a redox experiment confirmed that the dimerization of CaDHN was the result of an intermolecular disulfide bond between the cysteine residues.

Hounsfield unit measurement method and related factors that most appropriately reflect bone mineral density on cervical spine computed tomography.

Objective: Our study's purpose was to determine the most reliable Hounsfield unit (HU) measurement method to reflect bone mineral density (BMD) on cervical spine computed tomography (CT) and to identify any factors that influence these results.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 439 consecutive patients with mild head and neck injuries. Mean HU values of the C2-C7 vertebra were determined on each sagittal, coronal, and axial CT image.

Safety and Efficacy of Intraoperative Doppler Sonography-Assisted Cervical Pedicle Screw Fixation-A Retrospective Comparison with Conventional Pedicle Screw Implantation.

Study Design: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Objective: To introduce a new Doppler sonography-assisted pedicle screw fixation technique that enables vertebral artery (VA) monitoring during surgery and compares the accuracies of Doppler sonography-assisted cervical pedicle screw fixation and the conventional technique.

Methods: This retrospective study was performed on 164 consecutive patients that underwent pedicle-based screw fixation from C2 to C6 between January 2013 and August 2020.

Analyzing the Significance of T1 Slope minus Cervical Lordosis in Patients with Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Surgery.

Objective: Accurate measurement of T1 slope (a component of T1s minus cervical lordosis [CL]) is often constrained by anatomical limitations. In this situation, efforts should be made to find the exact meaning of T1s-CL and whether there are any alternatives to it.

Methods: We enrolled 117 patients who received two-level anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF).

Modified Orbitozygomatic Approach for Resecting a Parasellar Tumor in a Single Institution.

Background: Modified orbitozygomatic craniotomy is characterized by simplicity and wide exposure. The purpose of the present study was to describe a modified orbitozygomatic approach without resecting the zygomatic arch for large parasellar tumor surgeries.

Methods: Between April 2016 and December 2019, seven patients with parasellar tumor underwent surgiest with a modified orbitozygomatic approach.

Beneficial Effects of Soybean-Derived Bioactive Peptides.

Peptides present in foods are involved in nutritional functions by supplying amino acids; sensory functions related to taste or solubility, emulsification, etc.; and bioregulatory functions in various physiological activities. In particular, peptides have a wide range of physiological functions, including as anticancer agents and in lowering blood pressure and serum cholesterol levels, enhancing immunity, and promoting calcium absorption.

Physiologic Cervical Alignment Change between Cervical Spine X-ray and Computed Tomography.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlations among various radiological parameters used to determine cervical alignment from cervical spine radiographs (X-CS) and cervical spine computed tomography (CT-CS), both within and between modalities.

Methods: This study included 168 patients (≤60 years old) without a definite whole spine deformity who underwent CT-CS and X-CS. We measured occipital slope (O-s), C1 slope, C2 slope, C7 slope, sella turcica - C7 sagittal vertical axis (StC7-SVA), spinocranial angle, T1 slope, and C27-SVA.

Significance of Cervical Spine Computed Tomography Hounsfield Units to Predict Bone Mineral Density and the Subsidence After Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

Study Design: This study was a retrospective review.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation analysis between Hounsfield units (HU) and dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) based on the clinical results of patients who underwent anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgery.

Summary Of Background Data: There is no technique to directly measure bone mineral density (BMD) in the cervical spine.

Physiologically Active Molecules and Functional Properties of Soybeans in Human Health-A Current Perspective.

In addition to providing nutrients, food can help prevent and treat certain diseases. In particular, research on soy products has increased dramatically following their emergence as functional foods capable of improving blood circulation and intestinal regulation. In addition to their nutritional value, soybeans contain specific phytochemical substances that promote health and are a source of dietary fiber, phospholipids, isoflavones (e.