Publications by authors named "Para A"

Background: Chordoma is a rare bone cancer arising from the embryonic notochord with special predilection to the axial skeleton. The locally destructive nature and metastatic potential of chordomas can lead to devastating outcomes in terms of survival. The purpose of this study was to examine potential risk factors predictive of metastatic disease at presentation and prognostic factors in patients with metastasis.

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Purpose: Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) may have implications as a novel educational resource. There are differences in opinion on the best resource for the Orthopaedic In-Training Exam (OITE) as information changes from year to year. This study assesses ChatGPT's performance on the OITE for use as a potential study resource for residents.

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This study investigates the application of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence tool, in providing information on skin toxicities associated with cancer treatments, highlighting that while ChatGPT can serve as a valuable resource for clinicians, its use for patient education requires careful consideration due to the complex nature of the information provided.

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Background: Approximately 50% of patients with congenital scoliosis will require surgical treatment to prevent further progression. Outcomes following congenital scoliosis are sparse in the literature. The purpose of this study was to identify independent risk factors associated with unplanned readmission and prolonged length of stay (LOS) in patients undergoing primary surgical treatment for congenital scoliosis.

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Purpose: Since its release in November 2022, Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer 3.5 (ChatGPT), a complex machine learning model, has garnered more than 100 million users worldwide. The aim of this study is to determine how well ChatGPT can generate novel systematic review ideas on topics within spine surgery.

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Noble element time projection chambers are a leading technology for rare event detection in physics, such as for dark matter and neutrinoless double beta decay searches. Time projection chambers typically assign event position in the drift direction using the relative timing of prompt scintillation and delayed charge collection signals, allowing for reconstruction of an absolute position in the drift direction. In this paper, alternate methods for assigning event drift distance via quantification of electron diffusion in a pure high pressure xenon gas time projection chamber are explored.

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Background: The Internet is an important source of information for patients, but its effectiveness relies on the readability of its content. Patient education materials (PEMs) should be written at or below a sixth-grade reading level as outlined by agencies such as the American Medical Association. This study assessed PEMs' readability for the novel anterior vertebral body tethering (AVBT), distraction-based methods, and posterior spinal fusion (PSF) in treating pediatric spinal deformity.

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Background And Purpose: Resting brain tissue perfusion in cerebral steno-occlusive vascular disease can be assessed by MR imaging using gadolinium-based susceptibility contrast agents. Recently, transient hypoxia-induced deoxyhemoglobin has been investigated as a noninvasive MR imaging contrast agent. Here we present a comparison of resting perfusion metrics using transient hypoxia-induced deoxyhemoglobin and gadolinium-based contrast agents in patients with known cerebrovascular steno-occlusive disease.

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Background And Purpose: MR imaging-based cerebral perfusion metrics can be obtained by tracing the passage of a bolus of contrast through the microvasculature of the brain parenchyma. Thus, the temporal signal pattern of the contrast agent is typically measured over a large artery such as the MCA to generate the arterial input function. The largest intracranial arteries in the brain may not always be suitable for selecting the arterial input function due to skull base susceptibility artifacts or reduced size from steno-occlusive disease.

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Neurons that participate in sensory processing often display "ON" responses, i.e., fire transiently at the onset of a stimulus.

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Background: Posterior cervical decompression with or without fusion (PCD/F) is used to manage degenerative spinal conditions. Malnutrition has been implicated for poor outcomes in spine surgery. The aim of this study was to assess the ability of the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) as a risk calculator for postoperative complications in patients undergoing PCD/F.

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Objective: Identify trends of navigation and robotic-assisted elective spine surgeries.

Methods: Elective spine surgery patients between 2007 and 2015 in the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) were isolated by ICD-9 codes for Navigation [Nav] or Robotic [Rob]-Assisted surgery. Basic demographics and surgical variables were identified via chi-squared and t tests.

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Cerebrovascular Reactivity (CVR) is a provocative test used with Blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) studies, where a vasoactive stimulus is applied and the corresponding changes in the cerebral blood flow (CBF) are measured. The most common clinical application is the assessment of cerebral perfusion insufficiency in patients with steno-occlusive disease (SOD). Globally, millions of people suffer from cerebrovascular diseases, and SOD is the most common cause of ischemic stroke.

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Small poikilotherms such as the fruit fly Drosophila depend on absolute temperature measurements to identify external conditions that are above (hot) or below (cold) their preferred range and to react accordingly. Hot and cold temperatures have a different impact on fly activity and sleep, but the circuits and mechanisms that adjust behavior to specific thermal conditions are not well understood. Here, we use patch-clamp electrophysiology to show that internal thermosensory neurons located within the fly head capsule (the AC neurons) function as a thermometer active in the hot range.

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Background: The International Spine Study Group (ISSG) and the European Spine Study Group (ESSG) developed an adult spinal deformity (ASD) risk calculator based on one of the most granular, prospective ASD databases. The calculator utilizes preoperative radiographic, surgical, and patient-specific variables to predict patient-reported outcomes and complication rates at 2 years. Our aim was to assess the ISSG-ESSG risk calculator's usability in a single-institution ASD population.

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Background: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is an amalgamation of medical disorders that ultimately increase patient complications. Factors such as obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes are associated with this disease complex.

Objective: To assess the incremental value of improving MetS in relation to clinical outcomes.

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Approximately 10% of US adults experience elder abuse, which often manifests as musculoskeletal and soft tissue injuries. The goal of our study was to determine the rate of elder abuse among orthopedic surgery patients and characterize which patients may be at an increased risk. National Inpatient Sample Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data from 2001 to 2015 were parsed with the Clinical Classifications Software tool.

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Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) is a common orthopaedic condition affecting newborns. The rapid and vast adoption of social media has changed how we access medical information. The aim of this study was to deepen the understanding of the impact of social media as a tool used by caregivers.

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Introduction: Orthopaedic surgery resident case exposure is an important component of surgical training and is monitored by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) to ensure resident readiness for graduation. The purpose of this study was to investigate trends in exposure to adult orthopaedic surgical procedures and analyze the impact of the 2013 update in ACGME case logging expectations.

Methods: A retrospective review of ACGME case log data was conducted for adult orthopaedic procedures performed by graduating orthopaedic surgery residents from 2012 to 2020.

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Article Synopsis
  • A study analyzed orthopedic and neurological surgical case logs from 2014 to 2019, revealing that graduating neurosurgery residents performed significantly more spinal procedures than orthopedic residents, with a ratio of 6.8 times more cases.
  • The authors converted case volumes into operative hours, finding that neurosurgical residents also logged 6.1 times more procedural hours than their orthopedic counterparts during the same period.
  • The overall trend indicated a linear increase in spinal case volume and procedural hours for both specialties, emphasizing a disparity that could impact surgical outcomes.
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Objective: Given its minimally invasive nature and effectiveness, stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) has become a mainstay for the multimodal treatment of intracranial neoplasm. However, no studies have evaluated recent trends in the use of SRS versus those of open resection for the management of brain tumor or trends in the involvement of neurosurgeons in SRS (which is primarily delivered by radiation oncologists). Here, the authors used publicly available Medicare data from 2009 to 2018 to elucidate trends in the treatment of intracranial neoplasm and to compare reimbursements between these approaches.

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Simple innate behavior is often described as hard-wired and largely inflexible. Here, we show that the avoidance of hot temperature, a simple innate behavior, contains unexpected plasticity in Drosophila. First, we demonstrate that hot receptor neurons of the antenna and their molecular heat sensor, Gr28B.

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Catnip (Nepeta cataria) is a common garden herb well known for its euphoric and hallucinogenic effects on domestic cats, for its medicinal properties, as well as for its powerful repellent action on insects. Catnip extracts have been proposed as a natural alternative to synthetic insect repellents, such as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide (DEET), but how catnip triggers aversion in insects is not known. Here, we show that, both in Drosophila melanogaster flies and Aedes aegypti mosquitoes, the major mediator of catnip repellency is the widely conserved chemical irritant receptor TRPA1.

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The internet is increasingly used to access patient education materials. The average American reading level has been found to be that of a 7th- to 8th-grade student, prompting the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Medical Association (AMA) to advise that patient education materials be written between the 4th- to 6th-grade reading level. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the reading level of current patient education materials for the most common musculoskeletal oncological tumors.

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