The Smokeless Paradox: Nontobacco Nicotine Use and Complications in Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion.

Introduction: Cervical fusion surgeries are commonly performed to stabilize the spine and relieve pain from various conditions. Recent increases in nontobacco nicotine product use, such as electronic cigarettes, present new challenges because of their unknown effects on spinal fusion outcomes. Our study aims to explore the effect of nontobacco nicotine dependence (NTND) on the success of cervical spinal fusions.

Laser Scan Compression for Rail Inspection.

The automation of rail track inspection addresses key issues in railway transportation, notably reducing maintenance costs and improving safety. However, it presents numerous technical challenges, including sensor selection, calibration, data acquisition, defect detection, and storage. This paper introduces a compression method tailored for laser triangulation scanners, which are crucial for scanning the entire rail track, including the rails, rail fasteners, sleepers, and ballast, and capturing rail profiles for geometry measurement.

Constraining the trend in the ocean CO sink during 2000-2022.

The ocean will ultimately store most of the CO emitted to the atmosphere by human activities. Despite its importance, estimates of the 2000-2022 trend in the ocean CO sink differ by a factor of two between observation-based products and process-based models. Here we address this discrepancy using a hybrid approach that preserves the consistency of known processes but constrains the outcome using observations.

Direct observational evidence of strong CO uptake in the Southern Ocean.

The Southern Ocean is the primary region for the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO) and is, therefore, crucial for Earth's climate. However, the Southern Ocean CO flux estimates reveal substantial uncertainties and lack direct validation. Using seven independent and directly measured air-sea CO flux datasets, we identify a 25% stronger CO uptake in the Southern Ocean than shipboard dataset-based flux estimates.

Transient Generalized Osteosclerosis in a Newborn Mimicking Congenital Osteopetrosis with Negative Comprehensive Genetic Workup: A Case Report.

We present a newborn with transient generalized osteosclerosis and negative genetic workup. The etiology of this condition is unknown. Given overlapping radiologic signs with severe forms of osteopetrosis, familiarity with this condition is crucial for correct diagnosis and management.