Clinical Significance of Improved Intraoperative Neurophysiological Monitoring Signal during Spine Surgery: A Retrospective Study of a Single-Institution Prospective Cohort.

Study Design: Retrospective case series.

Purpose: We reviewed the cases that showed significant improvement of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) signals during spine surgery to assess whether there is a correlation with signal improvement and postoperative clinical status and its clinical significance.

Overview Of Literature: To reduce the risk of neural injury, many spine surgeons are using multimodality IONM.

Quantitative evaluation of gait features after total knee arthroplasty: Comparison with age and sex-matched controls.

Background: Gait function after total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is suboptimal. However, quantified analysis with comparing a control group is lacking.

Research Question: The aims of this study were 1) to compare the gait before and after TKA and 2) to compare postoperative gait to that of an age-sex matched control group.

Sawing toward the fibular head during open-wedge high tibial osteotomy carries the risk of popliteal artery injury.

Purpose: Popliteal artery injury is a rare but devastating complication of open-wedge high tibial osteotomy (OWHTO). The objectives of this study were: to document the location of the artery in the virtual osteotomy plane (VOP), to measure the minimal distance between the popliteal artery and three virtual saw-progression lines (VSLs), and to present a safe sawing technique for OWHTO.

Method: In total, 45 computed tomography angiographies were reconstructed and virtual osteotomy was simulated using 3D image-processing software.

Room Temperature Compressive Property and Deformation Behavior of Microporous STS 316L Stainless Steel Tube Manufactured with Powder Sintering Process.

This study investigated the room-temperature compressive property and deformation behavior of microporous STS 316L stainless steel tube for catalyst manufactured with powder sintering after two-way compression molding. The microporous tube was manufactured using STS 316L powder stocks with an outer diameter of 30 mm, inner diameter of 25 mm and length of 120 mm. In initial microstructure observed from different directions and locations, the porosity was measured as 32%, and the relative density obtained using micro-computed tomography was 0.

Cementless Total Hip Arthroplasty Using the COREN Hip System: A Minimum Five-Year Follow-up Study.

Purpose: This study presents the clinical and radiological outcomes of cementless total hip arthroplasty using the COREN hip system after a minimum duration of follow-up of 5 years.

Materials And Methods: We evaluated the results of a consecutive series of the first 200 primary total hip arthroplasties that had been performed in our hospital in 169 patients between February 2007 and April 2011. Six patients (6 hips) had died within 5 years, and 12 patients (13 hips) had been lost to follow-up, leaving a total of 151 patients (181 hips) available for the study.

Revision surgery for failed anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction with extension deficiency.

Background: Some patients with recurrent symptomatic instability after primary anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction have an extension deficiency (ED). This study (a) compared preoperative clinical conditions between the ED and non-ED groups undergoing revision ACL reconstruction, (b) documented clinical and arthroscopic findings in ACL-reconstructed patients with reinstability and ED, and (c) determined whether the ED could be resolved and whether the clinical results of revision surgery differed between the ED and non-ED groups.

Methods: This study included 58 patients who underwent revision ACL reconstruction.

Meso-dihydroguaiaretic acid induces apoptosis and inhibits cell migration via p38 activation and EGFR/Src/intergrin β3 downregulation in breast cancer cells.

Aims: Meso-dihydroguaiaretic acid (MDA) is known for its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-tumor activity. However, the anti-breast cancer effect and the mechanism of MDA remain undefined.

Main Methods: In this study, we examined the anti-cancer activity and the mechanisms of action of MDA in breast cancer cell lines, 4T-1 and MCF-7 cells; and 4T-1 bearing mouse model.

Apios americana Medik Extract Alleviates Lung Inflammation in Influenza Virus H1N1- and Endotoxin-Induced Acute Lung Injury.

Apios americana Medik (hereinafter Apios) has been reported to treat diseases, including cancer, hypertension, obesity, and diabetes. The therapeutic effect of Apios is likely to be associated with its anti-inflammatory activity. This study was conducted to evaluate the protective effects of Apios in animal models of acute lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or pandemic H1N1 2009 influenza A virus (H1N1).

Inhibitory effects of Saururus chinensis and its components on stomach cancer cells.

Saururus chinensis (SC) Baill. (Saururaceae), a perennial herb commonly called Chinese lizard's tail or Sam-baekcho in Korea, has been used in the treatment of edema, gonorrhea, jaundice, and inflammatory diseases. Recently, several reports have been commissioned to examine the anti-cancer activities of this plant.

Whole-exome sequencing identifies mutations of KIF22 in spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia with joint laxity, leptodactylic type.

Spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia with joint laxity (SEMDJL), leptodactylic (lepto-SEMDJL) or Hall type, is an autosomal-dominant skeletal dysplasia manifesting with short stature, joint laxity with dislocation(s), limb malalignment, and spinal deformity. Its causative gene mutation has not yet been discovered. We captured and sequenced the exomes of eight affected individuals in six unrelated kindreds (three individuals in a family and five simplex individuals).

Primary intramedullary spinal sarcoma : a case report and review of the current literatures.

Primary central nervous system (CNS) sarcomas are exceedingly rare, and, to the best of our knowledge, there has not yet been a report of intramedullary sarcoma. Here, we report a primary intradural intramedullary sarcoma of the spinal cord in a four-year-old boy who presented with low back pain and a radiculopathy involving both lower extremities. The tumor showed significant enhancement on magnetic resonance (MR) images due to its extreme vascularity.

Synaptic connections of calbindin-immunoreactive cone bipolar cells in the inner plexiform layer of rabbit retina.

In the mammalian retina, information concerning various aspects of an image is transferred in parallel, and cone bipolar cells are thought to play a major role in this parallel processing. We have examined the synaptic connections of calbindin-immunoreactive (IR) ON cone bipolar cells in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) of rabbit retina and have compared these synaptic connections with those that we have previously described for neurokinin 1 (NK1) receptor-IR cone bipolar cells. A total of 325 synapses made by calbindin-IR bipolar axon terminals have been identified in sublamina b of the IPL.

Random parameter structure and the testlet model: extension of the Rasch testlet model.

The current Rasch testlet model (RT) assumes independence of the testlet effect and the target dimension. This article investigated the impact of the violation of that assumption on RT and the performance of an extended Rasch testlet model (ET) in which the random parameter variance-covariance matrix is estimated without any constraints. Our simulation results showed that ET was the same or superior to RT in its performance.

Identification and characterization of an aquaporin 1 immunoreactive amacrine-type cell of the mouse retina.

Using immunocytochemistry, a type of amacrine cell that is immunoreactive for aquaporin 1 was identified in the mouse retina. AQP1 immunoreactivity was found in photoreceptor cells of the outer nuclear layer (ONL) and in a distinct type of amacrine cells of the inner nuclear layer (INL). AQP1-immunoreactive (IR) amacrine cell somata were located in the INL and their processes extended through strata 3 and 4 of the inner plexiform layer (IPL) with thin varicosities.

Synaptic connections of cone bipolar cells that express the neurokinin 1 receptor in the rabbit retina.

We have investigated and further characterized, in the rabbit retina, the synaptic connectivity of the ON-type cone bipolar cells that are immunoreactive for an antibody against the neurokinin-1 receptor (NK1R). NK1R-immunoreactive bipolar cell axons terminate in stratum 4 of the inner plexiform layer. The axons of NK1R-positive bipolar cells receive synaptic inputs from amacrine cells through conventional synapses and from putative AII amacrine cells via gap junctions.

Changes in retinal neuronal populations in the DBA/2J mouse.

DBA/2J (D2) mice develop a form of progressive pigmentary glaucoma with increasing age. We have compared retinal cell populations of D2 mice with those in control C57BL/6J mice to provide information on retinal histopathology in the D2 mouse. The D2 mouse retina is characterized by a reduction in retinal thickness caused mainly by a thinning of the inner retinal layers.

Comparative study of cholinergic cells in retinas of various mouse strains.

We examined cholinergic cells in the retinas of BALB/C albino, C57BL/6J black, and 129/SvJ light chinchilla mice by using immunocytochemistry with specific antisera against choline acetyltransferase (ChAT). Two types of ChAT-immunoreactive amacrine cell bodies were found in the inner nuclear layer (INL) and ganglion cell layer in the retinas of all three mouse strains. They were distributed with mirror-image symmetry and their processes ramified in strata 2 and 4 of the inner plexiform layer.

Morphological analysis of the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channel 1 (HCN1) immunoreactive bipolar cells in the rabbit retina.

Hyperpolarization-activated cation currents (I(h)) have been identified in neurons in the central nervous system, including the retina. There is growing evidence that these currents, mediated by the hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channel (HCN), may play important roles in visual processing in the retina. This study was conducted to identify and characterize HCN1-immunoreactive (IR) bipolar cells by immunocytochemistry, quantitative analysis, and electron microscopy.

Expression of interferon inducible genes following Hantaan virus infection as a mechanism of resistance in A549 cells.

Hantaan virus (HTN) is a causative agent of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome (HFRS). Little is known of its pathogenesis or the molecular mechanisms underlying resistance to HTN infection. In the present study, DNA microarray technology was used to monitor changes in mRNA levels after HTN infection, to elucidate resistance mechanisms to viral infection by understanding virus-host interactions.

Obovatols, new chitin synthase 2 inhibitors of Saccharomyces cerevisiae from Magnolia obovata.

In the course of the search for inhibitors of ScCHS2 from natural sources, we have isolated a new type of chitin synthase 2 inhibitor, obovatol, which has a biphenol skeleton, from Magnolia obovata. Obovatol inhibited chitin synthase 2 activity of Saccharomyces cerevisiae with an IC(50) of 38 microM. Its derivative, tetrahydroobovatol, inhibited chitin synthase 2 activity under the same conditions with an IC(50) of 59 microM.