The influence of wife abuse on women's reproductive choices inSouthern African Countries: Findings from a cross-sectional analysis of demographic and health surveys.

Understanding women's attitudes towards wife abuse and its effects on their reproductive choices is crucial for promoting gender equality in Southern Africa. However, a paucity of research has explored this relationship. Using IPUMS Demographic and Health Surveys data from 2011-2018 across eight Southern African nations, we analyzed 17,968 women's attitudes towards wife beating and their reproductive choices through a cross-sectional design and multilevel logistic regression models.

Regional trends, spatial patterns and determinants of health facility delivery among women of reproductive age in Nigeria: A national population based cross-sectional study.

Background: Globally, about 810 women die daily from pregnancy and childbirth complications, and the burden is highest in Africa. The United Nations sustainable development goal has a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) target of 70 per 100,000 live births by 2030. Nigeria, the largest country in Africa, has an MMR of 512 per 100,000 live births, thus there is need for intensified efforts to reduce maternal deaths in the country.

Five days of inpatient scoliosis-specific exercises improve preoperative spinal flexibility and facilitate curve correction of patients with rigid idiopathic scoliosis.

Preoperative spine flexibility plays a key role in the intraoperative treatment course of severe scoliosis. In this cohort study, we examined the effects of 5 day inpatient scoliosis-specific exercise (SSE) on the spinal flexibility of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis before surgery. A total of 65 patients were analyzed.

Trends and risk indicators for high fertility among Nigerian female youth aged 15-29 years: A pooled data analysis.

Introduction: Nigeria's age-specific fertility rates are highest among the country's youth population, yet little is known about the factors that influence female youth fertility in Nigeria. This study examined fertility trends and risk factors associated with high fertility among Nigerian female youth aged 15 to 29.

Methods: We examined a pooled data from four rounds of the Nigeria Demographic and Health Surveys (conducted in 2003, 2008, 2013, and 2018).

Multi-omics analyses reveal aberrant differentiation trajectory with WNT1 loss-of-function in type XV osteogenesis imperfecta.

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a group of severe genetic bone disorders characterized by congenital low bone mass, deformity, and frequent fractures. Type XV OI is a moderate to severe form of skeletal dysplasia caused by WNT1 variants. In this cohort study from southern China, we summarized the clinical phenotypes of patients with WNT1 variants and found that the proportion of type XV patients was around 10.

Progenitor-like cells contributing to cellular heterogeneity in the nucleus pulposus are lost in intervertebral disc degeneration.

The nucleus pulposus (NP) in the intervertebral disc (IVD) arises from embryonic notochord. Loss of notochordal-like cells in humans correlates with onset of IVD degeneration, suggesting that they are critical for healthy NP homeostasis and function. Comparative transcriptomic analyses identified expression of progenitor-associated genes (GREM1, KRT18, and TAGLN) in the young mouse and non-degenerated human NP, with TAGLN expression reducing with aging.

Insights, beliefs, and myths surrounding tuberculosis among pulmonary patients with delayed healthcare access in a high-burden TB state in Nigeria - a qualitative inquiry.

Introduction: Nigeria grapples with a substantial burden of tuberculosis (TB), particularly in Oyo State, designated as a high-burden State for TB. Effectively addressing this persistent health challenge necessitates more than just medical interventions; it requires a profound understanding of the diverse insights, beliefs, and myths held by TB patients.

Methods: This qualitative study explores the perspectives of pulmonary TB patients with delayed healthcare access in Oyo State, Nigeria, focusing on their beliefs, and conceptions.

Nusinersen Initiation After Onset of Weakness Does Not Prevent Progression of Hip Instability.

Background: We report changes in the natural history of hip instability with nusinersen treatment among patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type II after onset of weakness, historically wheelchair-bound but now potentially ambulatory in the era of disease-modifying therapy.

Methods: Patients with genetically confirmed diagnoses of SMA type II who received intrathecal nusinersen from January 1, 2018, to June 30, 2022, were screened for inclusion. Patients with less than 6 months of follow-up, or prior hip surgeries were excluded.

Elasticity and cross-sectional thickness of paraspinal muscles in progressive adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Objectives: (1) Compare the cross-sectional thickness (CST) and shear wave speed (SWS) of paraspinal muscles (PSM) in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) with and without curve progression; (2) investigate the relationship between CST/SWS and radiographic characteristics in AIS with curve progression; (3) compare the CST/SWS between AIS and non-scoliosis controls.

Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed the CST and SWS of PSM in 48 AIS with mild to moderate curvature and 24 non-scoliosis participants. Participants with scoliosis greater than 45° of Cobb angles were excluded.

Suppression of apoptosis impairs phalangeal joint formation in the pathogenesis of brachydactyly type A1.

Apoptosis occurs during development when a separation of tissues is needed. Synovial joint formation is initiated at the presumptive site (interzone) within a cartilage anlagen, with changes in cellular differentiation leading to cavitation and tissue separation. Apoptosis has been detected in phalangeal joints during development, but its role and regulation have not been defined.

Prevalence and factors associated with contraceptive use among sexually active adolescent girls in 25 sub-Saharan African countries.

Introduction: Various countries in sub-Saharan Africa have taken divergent steps toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goal's target of universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services by 2030, particularly among sexually active adolescent girls who are at risk of unplanned pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. However, because contraceptive use among sexually active adolescents remains unexplored in sub-Saharan Africa, the researchers intended to examine the prevalence and factors associated with contraceptive use among adolescent girls who had been sexually active in the previous four weeks.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional data from the most recent demographic and health surveys of 25 sub-Saharan African countries on 16,442 sexually active adolescent girls were analyzed.

Virtual reality-based surgical planning simulator for tumorous resection in FreeForm Modeling: an illustrative case of clinical teaching.

The importance of virtual reality (VR) has been emphasized by many medical studies, yet it has been relatively under-applied to surgical operation. This study characterized how VR has been applied in clinical education and evaluated its tutorial utility by designing a surgical model of tumorous resection as a simulator for preoperative planning and medical tutorial. A 36-year-old male patient with a femoral tumor who was admitted to the Affiliated Jiangmen Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital was randomly selected and scanned by computed tomography (CT).

Percutaneous endoscopic lumbar discectomy in lumbar disc herniation with posterior ring apophysis fracture: A case report in a 15-year-old child.

Rationale: Lumbar disc herniation (LDH) with posterior ring apophysis fracture (PRAF) is rather rare in children, and in all age-stratified LDH patients, the incidence of RAF was 5.3% to 7.5%.

Scoliosis in osteogenesis imperfecta: identifying the genetic and non-genetic factors affecting severity and progression from longitudinal data of 290 patients.

Background: Scoliosis is widely prevalent among osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) patients, and is progressive with age. However, factors affecting scoliosis in OI are not well known.

Methods: We retrospectively retrieved longitudinal radiographic and clinical records of consecutive OI patients seeking treatments at our hospital from 2014 to 2022, graded their pre-operative spinal conditions into four outcome groups, estimated their progression rates, and descriptively and inferentially analyzed the genetic and non-genetic factors that may affect the outcomes and progression rates.

Electromyographic Discrepancy in Paravertebral Muscle Activity Predicts Early Curve Progression of Untreated Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.

Study Design: This study adopted a prospective cohort study design.

Purpose: This study aimed to examine electromyogram (EMG) discrepancy in paravertebral muscle activity and scoliosis progression, determine how vertebral morphology and EMG discrepancy evolve during scoliosis progression, and identify differences in EMG activity between individuals with and without adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS).

Overview Of Literature: Higher EMG activity is observed in the convex side of scoliotic curves, but not in populations without scoliosis, suggesting that higher EMG activity is a causative factor for curve progression.

Assessment of reliability and validity of a handheld surface spine scanner for measuring trunk rotation in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Purpose: To assess the reliability and validity of a handheld scanner (SpineScan3D) for trunk rotation measurement in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) subjects, as compared with Scoliometer.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with AIS subjects recruited. Biplanar spine radiographs were performed using an EOS imaging system with coronal Cobb angle (CCA) determined.

Virtual operation for hip joint replacement implemented by Sensable_FreeForm_Modelling: A surgical drill.

Objective: To design a virtual operation of joint replacement for surgical drills using a haptic device, SenSable_FreeForm_Modelling (SFM), to enhance surgeons' efficiency and enable "Virtual tutorial without reality" for interns.

Method: A patient with hip joint osteoarthritis is randomly selected to perform Total Hip Replacement (THR). The hip images were input into Mimics in the format of *.

Can anterior vertebral body tethering provide superior range of motion outcomes compared to posterior spinal fusion in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis? A systematic review.

Purpose: Anterior vertebral body tethering (AVBT) was introduced as a fusionless alternative to treating adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) while preserving range of motion (ROM). This is the first systematic review to compare the ROM outcomes between AVBT and PSF in treating AIS.

Methods: We conducted a comprehensive search on PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library.

Application of silver nanoparticles for improving motor recovery after spinal cord injury via reduction of pro-inflammatory M1 macrophages.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) possess anti-inflammatory activities and have been widely deployed for promoting tissue repair. Here we explored the efficacy of AgNPs on functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI). Our data indicated that, in a SCI rat model, local AgNPs delivery could significantly recover locomotor function and exert neuroprotection through reducing of pro-inflammatory M1 survival.

Fibro-Gel: An All-Aqueous Hydrogel Consisting of Microfibers with Tunable Release Profile and its Application in Wound Healing.

Injectable hydrogels are valuable tools in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine due to their unique advantages of injectability with minimal invasiveness and usability for irregularly shaped sites. However, it remains challenging to achieve scalable manufacturing together with matching physicochemical properties and on-demand drug release for a high level of control over biophysical and biomedical cues to direct endogenous cells. Here, the use of an injectable fibro-gel is demonstrated, a water-filled network of entangled hydrogel microfibers, whose physicochemical properties and drug release profiles can be tailored to overcome these shortcomings.

Clinical features and molecular characterization of Chinese patients with FKBP10 variants.

Background: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a group of rare skeletal dysplasia. Long bone deformity and scoliosis are often associated with progressively deforming types of OI. FKBP65 (encoded by FKBP10, OMIM *607063) plays a crucial role in the processing of type I procollagen.

Retrospective analyses of clinical features in 28 Chinese patients with type V osteogenesis imperfecta: new perspectives in an old issue.

Unlabelled: Type V osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a form of OI characterized by radial head dislocation (RHD), calcification of interosseous membrane (CIM), and hyperplastic callus (HPC). In this study, we characterized the clinical features of 28 type V OI patients. We presented that dysfunctions of elbow, hip joint, and abnormal epiphyseal growth plate were associated with ectopic calcification and summarized the history of HPC progression and treatment.

Family planning method discontinuation among Nigerian women: Evidence from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2018.

Objectives: The cessation of family planning among sexually active women who do not intend to have children increases the number of unplanned pregnancies and the risks to maternal health. This study examined the predictors of family planning method discontinuation among sexually active Nigerian women.

Methods: Data from the Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) were used.