Complications and reoperations in young versus old patients undergoing cervical disc arthroplasty.

Background: Despite the growing popularity of cervical disc arthroplasty (CDA), there remains a lack of literature investigating outcomes in older patients and no consensus exists on an age threshold beyond which CDA is not recommended. This study aimed to compare outcomes between patients younger than 65 and those aged 65 and older undergoing CDA.

Methods: Patients who underwent CDA at a major spine center (January 2009-December 2023), with at least 1 year of follow-up, were included.

Effectiveness and Safety of Pharmacopuncture on Inpatients with Tension Headache Caused by Traffic Accidents: A Pragmatic Randomized Controlled Trial.

This study investigated the effectiveness and safety of pharmacopuncture for pain relief and functional improvement in patients with traffic accident (TA)-induced acute tension headaches. The study employed a parallel, single-centered, pragmatic, randomized controlled trial design. Eighty patients complaining of acute tension headaches were randomized into the integrative Korean medicine treatment (IKM treatment) group and the pharmacopuncture group on suboccipital muscles (suboccipital muscles pharmacopuncture + IKM treatment), with 40 participants assigned to each group.

Pesticides in wastewater treatment plant effluents in the Yeongsan River Basin, Korea: Occurrence and environmental risk assessment.

Pesticides are among the main drivers posing risks to aquatic environments, with effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serving as a major source. This study aimed to identify the primary pesticides for which there was a risk of release into aquatic environments through WWTP effluents, thereby enabling more effective contamination management in public water bodies. In this study, monitoring, risk assessment, and risk-based prioritization of 87 pesticides in effluents from three WWTPs in the Yeongsan River Basin, Korea, were conducted.

Effectiveness of lumbar motion style acupuncture treatment on inpatients with acute low back pain: A pragmatic, randomized controlled trial.

Background And Purpose: This parallel, single-center, pragmatic, randomized controlled study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of motion style acupuncture treatment (MSAT; a combination of acupuncture and Doin therapy) to reduce pain and improve the functional disability of patients with acute low back pain (aLBP) due to road traffic accidents.

Materials And Methods: Ninety-six patients with aLBP admitted to the Haeundae Jaseng Hospital of Korean Medicine in South Korea due to traffic accidents were treated with integrative Korean medicine (IKM) with additional 3-day MSAT sessions during hospitalization (MSAT group, 48 patients) or without (control group, 48 patients), and followed up for 90 days.

Results: The mean numeric rating scale (NRS) scores of low back pain (LBP) of the MSAT and control groups were both 6.

Single-Level Anterolateral and Posterior Interbody Fusion Techniques are Associated With Equivalent Long-Term Lumbar Reoperations.

Study Design: Retrospective cohort study.

Objective: This study compares reoperation rates and complications following single-level anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF)/lateral lumbar interbody fusion (LLIF) and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF)/posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF).

Summary Of Background Data: ALIF, LLIF, TLIF, and PLIF are widely used for degenerative disc disease.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Inpatients with Rotator Cuff Tear Who Received Integrative Korean Medicine Treatment: A Retrospective Analysis and Questionnaire Survey.

Context: Rotator cuff tear is one of the most common causes of shoulder pain and has become a prominent disease most frequently treated by surgery.

Objectives: To investigate the long-term therapeutic effect of integrative Korean medicine (KM) as a conservative treatment in treating rotator cuff tears.

Design: A multicenter observational study.

Body distribution and ecotoxicological effect of nanoplastics in freshwater fish, Zacco platypus.

The increased consumption of plastics worldwide, has led to the emergence of nanoplastics as important environmental pollutants. Despite the presence of nanoplastics in aquatic environments, their effects on ecosystems remain largely unexplored due to the analysis complexity. This study investigated the organ accumulation and toxic effects of 50 nm polystyrene nanoplastics (PS-NPs) in Zacco platypus (Z.

Effectiveness of motion style acupuncture treatment for patients with shoulder disorders: A prospective observational study.

Context: Shoulder disorders impair the ability to work. In most cases, the primary symptoms caused by shoulder disorders consist of pain and limitations in the range of motion.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the efficacy of motion style acupuncture treatment (MSAT), a conservative treatment modality for shoulder disorders.

De Novo Transcriptomic and Life-History Responses of Moina Micrura Under Stress Environment Conditions.

Moina micrura represents a promising model species for ecological and ecotoxicological investigations in tropical freshwater ecosystems. Illumina NovaSeq™ 6000 sequencing was employed in this study to analyze M. micrura across three distinct developmental stages: juvenile, adult, and male.

Prioritization of pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the surface waters of Korea: Application of an optimized risk-based methods.

The occurrence of PPCPs in aquatic environments and their potential adverse effects on aquatic organisms have raised worldwide concerns. To address this issue, a study was conducted to analyze 137 selected PPCPs in Korean surface waters, and an optimized risk-based prioritization was performed. The results revealed that 120 PPCPs were detected, with 98 quantified at concentrations ranging from few ng/L to 42,733 ng/L for metformin.

Distribution and transformation of organophosphate esters in moving bed biofilm reactor.

A moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) process in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) uses plastic carriers, called biofilm carrier, to increase their treatment efficiency. Biofilm carrier is made up of plastic, containing the OPEs as flame retardants or plasticizers, so OPEs in biofilm carrier are possible to release from WWTPs to the river. This study investigated the effect of the MBBR process in WWTP on aquatic environments, focusing on OPEs.

Acute toxicity and risk assessment of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) in tropical cladocerans Moina micrura.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are gaining worldwide attention because of their toxicity, bioaccumulative and resistance to biological degradation in the environment. PFAS can be categorised into endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and identified as possible carcinogenic agents for the aquatic ecosystem and humans. Despite this, only a few studies have been conducted on the aquatic toxicity of PFAS, particularly in invertebrate species such as zooplankton.

Risk assessment of bisphenol analogues towards mortality, heart rate and stress-mediated gene expression in cladocerans Moina micrura.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a well-known endocrine-disrupting compound that causes several toxic effects on human and aquatic organisms. The restriction of BPA in several applications has increased the substituted toxic chemicals such as bisphenol F (BPF) and bisphenol S (BPS). A native tropical freshwater cladoceran, Moina micrura, was used as a bioindicator to assess the adverse effects of bisphenol analogues at molecular, organ, individual and population levels.

Long-Term Follow-Up of Inpatients with Cervical Myelopathy Who Received Integrative Korean Medicine Treatment: A Retrospective Analysis and Questionnaire Survey Study.

Purpose: Cervical myelopathy (CM) is generally considered an indication for surgery in Western medicine. Case reports have indicated that Korean medicine (KM) treatments are effective in improving CM-associated symptoms. We investigated the effectiveness of non-surgical KM treatment of CM patients through a retrospective chart review and follow-up survey.

Chemical accidents in freshwater: Development of forecasting system for drinking water resources.

Chemical accidents have threatened drinking water safety and aquatic systems when hazardous chemicals flow into inland waterbodies through pipelines in industrial complexes. In this study, a forecasting system was developed for the prevention of drinking water resource pollution by considering chemical transport/fate through both pipelines and river channels. To this end, we coupled a pipe network model (Storm Water Management Model) with a calibrated hydrodynamic model (Environmental Fluid Dynamics Code).

Effects of hypercholesterolism on expansion of abdominal aortic aneurysm in rat model.

Background: Inflammation is recognized as a critical process in expansion of abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). A relationship between effects of cholesterol and statin in this process have been suggested, but remain untested. Therefore, current study aimed to examine the effects of hypercholesterolism on expansion of AAA in a rat model.

Organophosphate esters in Great Lakes fish: An improved analysis to assess concentrations and human exposure via consumption.

Organophosphate esters (OPEs) are flame retardant and plasticizer chemicals added to electronics, furniture, textiles, and other building materials and consumer products. In this study, fillets of fish often caught by anglers in the North American Great Lakes, Lake Trout (Salvelinus namaycush) across four Great Lakes and nearshore fish species near the large urban and industrial centers of Toronto and Hamilton, Canada, were analyzed for 22 OPEs. A rapid microextraction of homogenized tissues with methanol dramatically reduced preparation and sample handling time while achieving recoveries of 69-141%, and the optimized liquid chromatographic separation improved isomeric separations, including aryl-OPEs.

Activation of formyl peptide receptor 1 elicits therapeutic effects against collagen-induced arthritis.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disorder which shows production of autoantibodies, inflammation, bone erosion, swelling and pain in joints. In this study, we examined the effects of an immune-modulating peptide, WKYMVm, that is an agonist for formyl peptide receptors (FPRs). Administration of WKYMVm into collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice, an animal model for RA, attenuated paw thickness, clinical scores, production of type II collagen-specific antibodies and inflammatory cytokines.