Application of Transverse Process Hooks at Distal Thoracic Vertebrae in Uppermost Vertebral Instrumentation for Adult Spinal Deformity Surgery: Special Focus on Delayed-Onset Neurologic Deficits.

Objective: We aimed to investigate the incidence of delayed-onset neurological deficits (DONDs), DOND-related reoperation rates following adult spinal deformity (ASD) surgery, and efficacy of transverse process hooks (TPHs) at the uppermost instrumented vertebra (UIV) compared to pedicle screws (PSs).

Methods: We included 90 consecutive patients who underwent instrumented fusion from the sacrum to the distal thoracic spine for ASD, with a minimum follow-up of 24 months. Clinical and radiological outcomes were compared between 33 patients in the TPH group and 57 patients in the PS group, using the Scoliosis Research Society-22 Outcomes questionnaire (SRS-22), Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire Short-Form 36 (SF-36), and various spinal sagittal parameters.

Comparison of Outcomes After Anterior Cervical Discectomy and Fusion Using Bioactive Glass-Ceramic Spacer-7 (NOVOMAX-FUSION) and an Allograft Spacer: A Retrospective, Case-Matched, Multicenter Study.

The bioactive glass-ceramic spacer (BGS)-7, a biosynthetic intervertebral fusion material introduced in 2014, has not been the subject of comparative clinical studies on anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) surgery. This study, for the first time, aims to compare the radiological and clinical outcomes of the renewed BGS-7, released in 2019, with those of an allograft spacer. The comparison includes a finite element analysis of the biomechanical properties of each implant, adding a novel dimension to the research.

Transdural location as a predictor of recurrence in spinal cord meningiomas.

Spinal cord meningiomas are typically benign, rare tumors that pose clinical challenges owing to their location and potential for spinal cord compression. This study aimed to assess the radiological features of spinal cord meningiomas and the key factors associated with their recurrence. We conducted a retrospective, single-institution study on 67 patients with pathologically confirmed spinal cord meningiomas who were surgically treated between January 2016 and December 2023.

Microcystis abundance is predictable through ambient bacterial communities: A data-oriented approach.

The number of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (cyanoHABs) has increased, leading to the widespread development of prediction models for cyanoHABs. Although bacteria interact closely with cyanobacteria and directly affect cyanoHABs occurrence, related modeling studies have rarely utilized microbial community data compared to environmental data such as water quality. In this study, we built a machine learning model, the multilayer perceptron (MLP), for the prediction of Microcystis dynamics using both bacterial community and weekly water quality data from the Daechung Reservoir and Nakdong River, South Korea.

Korean red ginseng alleviates benign prostatic hyperplasia by dysregulating androgen receptor signaling and inhibiting DRP1-mediated mitochondrial fission.

Panax ginseng (C.A. Mey.

Undibacterium cyanobacteriorum sp. nov., an auxin-producing bacterium isolated from fresh water during cyanobacterial bloom period.

A novel Gram-negative, white-pigmented, and auxin-producing strain, 20NA77.5, was isolated from fresh water during cyanobacterial bloom period. Pairwise comparison of the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strain 20NA77.

Succession of particle-attached and free-living bacterial communities in response to microalgal dynamics induced by the biological cyanocide paucibactin A.

Microalgae, including cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae, are hotspots of primary production and play a critical role in global carbon cycling. However, these species often form blooms that poses a threat to aquatic ecosystems. Although the use of bacteria-derived cyanocides is regarded as an environmentally friendly method for controlling cyanobacterial blooms, only a few studies have examined their potential impact on ecosystems.

Prognostic Factors of Spinal Intramedullary Hemangioblastoma : Analysis of Surgical Outcomes and Tumor Characteristics.

Objective: Spinal intramedullary hemangioblastoma is a rare and highly vascularized benign tumor. The characteristics of the tumor, its corresponding location, and surgical outcomes remain unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify risk factors and strategies for neurologic deterioration following hemangioblastoma surgery.

Effect of rainfall in shaping microbial community during Microcystis bloom in Nakdong River, Korea.

Various environmental factors play a role in the formation and collapse of Microcystis blooms. This study investigates the impact of heavy rainfall on cyanobacterial abundance, microbial community composition, and functional dynamics in the Nakdong River, South Korea, during typical and exceptionally rainy years. The results reveal distinct responses to rainfall variations, particularly in cyanobacterial dominance and physicochemical characteristics.

Development of Wafer-Type Plasma Monitoring Sensor with Automated Robot Arm Transfer Capability for Two-Dimensional In Situ Processing Plasma Diagnosis.

In this work, we propose our newly developed wafer-type plasma monitoring sensor based on a floating-type double probe method that can be useful for two-dimensional (2D) in situ plasma diagnosis within a semiconductor processing chamber. A key achievement of this work is the first realization of an ultra-thin plasma monitoring sensor with a system thickness of ~1.4 mm, which supports a fully automated robot arm transfer capability for in situ plasma diagnosis.

sp. nov., isolated from a marine sponge (), and reclassification of as nom. nov.

A Gram-stain-negative, aerobic and non-motile rods strain, designated as strain 2012CJ39-3, was isolated from a marine sponge, , collected on Chuja Island, Republic of Korea. Optimal growth of strain 2012CJ39-3 was observed at 25 °C, pH 7.0 and in the presence of 2.

Fulvestrant alleviates cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury via repression of BNIP3-mediated apoptosis and autophagy.

Cisplatin-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) is a clinical disease characterized by a sudden loss of renal function within a few hours or days, due to cisplatin uptake. Fulvestrant is an oestrogen receptor alpha (ERα) antagonist used for endocrine therapy. However, the role of fulvestrant in cisplatin-induced AKI remains unclear.

Ensemble Machine Learning of Gradient Boosting (XGBoost, LightGBM, CatBoost) and Attention-Based CNN-LSTM for Harmful Algal Blooms Forecasting.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a serious threat to ecosystems and human health. The accurate prediction of HABs is crucial for their proactive preparation and management. While mechanism-based numerical modeling, such as the Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code (EFDC), has been widely used in the past, the recent development of machine learning technology with data-based processing capabilities has opened up new possibilities for HABs prediction.

A child who presented with cerebral infarction: Clipping combined with bypass surgery of a thrombosed giant aneurysm.

Background: Cerebral aneurysms are not common among children and most of them are presented with subarachnoid hemorrhage or mass effect. Here, we describe a rare case of a pediatric giant aneurysm presented with cerebral infarction.

Case Description: A 38-month-old boy visited the emergency room due to left hemiparesis and left central type facial palsy.

Risk factors for unplanned reoperation after corrective surgery for adult spinal deformity.

To determine the major risk factors for unplanned reoperations (UROs) following corrective surgery for adult spinal deformity (ASD) and their interactions, using machine learning-based prediction algorithms and game theory. Patients who underwent surgery for ASD, with a minimum of two-year follow-up, were retrospectively reviewed. In total, 210 patients were included and randomly allocated into training (70% of the sample size) and test (the remaining 30%) sets to develop the machine learning algorithm.

Extract Ameliorates Androgenic Alopecia by Inhibiting Androgen Signaling in Testosterone-induced Alopecia Mice.

Background: has been a traditional folk remedy for alleviating fever and providing anti-inflammatory properties. Androgenetic alopecia (AGA) is the most common form mediated by the presence of the dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Objectives: In this study, we evaluated the effects of an extract of on AGA models and its mechanisms of action.

A Self-Crystallized Nanofibrous Ni-GDC Anode by Magnetron Sputtering for Low-Temperature Solid Oxide Fuel Cells.

The optimum composition ratio of the anode cermet (Ni-GDC) for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) varies because the electron-collecting mechanism is different depending on its applications. A Co-sputtering method facilitates ratio control with sputtering power adjustment. However, there is a practical issue with fabricating anode cermet with various ratios attributed to the large sputtering yield gap of the metal target, Ni, and the ceramic target, gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC).

Decreased mitophagy aggravates benign prostatic hyperplasia in aged mice through DRP1 and estrogen receptor α.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is an age-related disease, whose etiology largely remains unclear. The regulation of mitophagy plays a key role in aging and associated diseases, however, its function in BPH has not been studied. Although the expression of the androgen receptor is primarily implicated in BPH, the estrogen receptor (ER) has been reported to be involved in the development of BPH by mediating the proliferation of prostate cells.

Predictive risk factors for mechanical complications after multilevel posterior cervical instrumented fusion.

Objective: Mechanical complications should be considered following the correction of multilevel posterior cervical instrumented fusion. This study aimed to investigate clinical data on the patients' pre- and postoperative cervical alignment in terms of the incidence of mechanical complications after multilevel posterior cervical instrumented fusion.

Methods: Between January 2008 and December 2018, 156 consecutive patients who underwent posterior cervical laminectomy and instrumented fusion surgery of 4 or more levels and were followed up for more than 2 years were included in this study.

Clinical Effect of Transverse Process Hook with K-Means Clustering-Based Stratification of Computed Tomography Hounsfield Unit at Upper Instrumented Vertebra Level in Adult Spinal Deformity Patients.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of transverse process (TP) hook system at the upper instrumented vertebra (UIV) for preventing screw pullout in adult spinal deformity surgery using the pedicle Hounsfield unit (HU) stratification based on K-means clustering.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed 74 patients who underwent deformity correction surgery between 2011 and 2020 and were followed up for >12 months. Pre- and post-operative data were used to determine the incidence of screw pullout, UIV TP hook implementation, vertebral body HU, pedicle HU, and patient outcomes.

Silencing of LLGL2 Suppresses the Estradiol-Induced BPH-1 Cell Proliferation through the Regulation of Autophagy.

Lethal giant larvae (Lgl) is an apical-basal polarity gene first identified in . LLGL2 is one of the mammalian homologs of Lgl. However, little is known about its function in the prostate.

The extract of Celtis choseniana Nakai alleviates testosterone-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia through inhibiting 5α reductase type 2 and the Akt/NF-κB/AR pathway.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a chronic male disease characterized by the enlarged prostate. Celtis chosenianaNakai (C. choseniana) is medicinally used to alleviate pain, gastric disease, and lung abscess.

Impact assessment of on-site swine wastewater treatment facilities on spatiotemporal variations of nitrogen loading in an intensive livestock farming watershed.

Excess nitrogen (N) resulting from human activity causes environmental issues, including eutrophication in agricultural watersheds with intensive livestock farming. Among the N sources in Korea, on-site swine wastewater treatment facilities (OSWTFs) tend to be densely distributed in watersheds with intensive livestock farming. Therefore, it is critical to sustainably manage livestock excreta.

Concentrations and Risk Assessments of Antibiotics in an Urban-Rural Complex Watershed with Intensive Livestock Farming.

Antibiotics used for the treatment of humans and livestock are released into the environment, whereby they pose a grave threat to biota (including humans) as they can cause the emergence of various strains of resistant bacteria. An improved understanding of antibiotics in the environment is thus vital for appropriate management and mitigation. Herein, surface water and groundwater samples containing antibiotics were analyzed in an urban-rural complex watershed (Cheongmi Stream) comprising intensive livestock farms by collecting samples across different time points and locations.