Percent spinal canal compromise on MRI utilized for predicting the need for surgical treatment in single-level lumbar intervertebral disc herniation

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: There is limited information describing the correlation between the initial quantitative measurements on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of disc herniation area, canal cross-section areas, percent canal compromise, and disc herniation location to the need for surgery. PURPOSE: Our aim is to determine if the size of disc herniation area, canal cross-section area, percent canal compromise, and disc herniation location taken from MRI images of patients with symptomatic single-level lumbar herniated intervertebral discs upon initial presentation to a spine surgeon, were predictive of the need for surgical treatment. STUDY DESIGN/SETTING: This is a retrospective case matched study of patient MRI images in the senior author's private practice. PATIENT SAMPLE: From a pool of 332 patients with sciatica caused by lumbar intervertebral disc herniations at our institution, 65 patients had surgery, of which MRI images were available and analyzed on 44 patients. Forty-four additional patients were randomly selected from the remaining 267 original group as nonoperative controls. METHODS: The axial MRI image showing the largest canal compromise by the herniated disc was selected for measurements. Using T1- and T2-weighted images, the areas of interest were digitally scanned at high resolution. The canal area and disc herniation area measurement were calculated from the total number of pixels per cross-sectional area, multiplied by a scan correction factor, mm(2) /pixel. Disc herniation locations were classified into either central or paracentral. The percent canal compromise was obtained by disc herniation area divided by canal cross-section area and multiplied by 100. RESULTS: The surgical group's overall mean herniated disc area was 219.6 square millimeter (mm(2)), 179.8 at L4-5, and 267.4 at L5-S1. The nonoperative group's overall mean herniated disc area was 178.4 mm(2), 135.1 at L2-3, 160.3 at L4-5, and 207.4 at L5-S1. The surgical group's overall mean canal cross-sectional area was 471.8 mm(2), 418.6 at L4-5, and 535.6 at L5-S1. The nonoperative group's overall mean canal cross-sectional area was 541.3 mm(2), 518.1 at L2-3, 446.8 at L4-5, and 669.9 at L5-S1. The overall percent canal compromise ratio in the surgery group was 46.7%, 44.1% at L4-5, and 49.8% at L5-S1. The overall percent canal compromise in the nonoperative group was 34.2%, 34.1% at L2-3, 36.1% at L4-5, and 31.8% at L5-S1. The percent canal compromise in central herniations at L4-5 level was 53.0% in the surgical group, and 32.8% in the nonoperative group; at the L5-S1 level surgical group percent canal compromise was 64.1% and in the nonoperative group canal compromise was 27%. L4-L5 level paracentral herniations canal compromise was 36.7% in the surgical group compared with 42.5% canal compromise in the nonoperative group. At the L5-S1 level the canal compromise was 45% in the surgical group and 34.8% in the nonoperative group. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show a trend for patients treated with surgery to have larger disc herniation areas and smaller canal cross-section areas, corresponding to larger percent canal compromise than the nonoperative group. Centrally located herniations followed this trend closely at all levels studied. However, the paracentral herniation at the L4-5 level does not follow this trend, possibly because paracentral disc herniation clinical course is determined more by herniation location rather than the overall herniation size.     

后鼓室颞骨切片与CT对照研究

目的：为后鼓室及耳科病变的影像诊断和手术治疗提供解剖学基础。方法：l5例成人头部标本，以眦耳线（cML）为基线，获得间隔为1．00mm，厚度为1．00mm的CT图像，扫描后的头部标本按原定位截取以耳颞区为中心的组织块并将其制成厚为1．00mm的连续横断薄层切片。标本切片与CT图像对照，对颞骨内砧骨窝、鼓索隆起、茎突隆起、面神经隐窝、鼓室窦、岬小桥、外耳道上棘等结构进行观察。结果：砧骨窝深度为1．49mm，至面神经锥曲的距离为5．67mm。后鼓室窦内侧壁至面神经水平部的距离为3．14mm。外耳道上棘至面神经垂直段、鼓索神经、鼓岬的距离分别为16．76mm、15．94mm和21．81mm。结论：耳颞区断面标本与CT图像进行对照研究，其结果对耳科疾病的影像诊断及手术治疗具有参考价值。     

颈椎不同位置时椎管矢状径及截面积的解剖研究

为观察坐位颈椎不同位置时椎管内结构的变化,解剖颈椎标本８具。用灌石蜡的方法测量颈椎矢状径及截面积的变化。结果：颈椎轻度屈曲时,椎间盘、黄韧带、椎板、硬膜、脊髓的形态与位置发生变化,但对椎管容积影响不大,中立位和自然屈颈位时椎管矢状径和椎管截面积两者均无明显差异（ｐ＞０．０５）。提示：颈椎后路椎板成形椎管扩大手术时,坐位是值得推荐的一种体位。     

Regional cycles of perfusion and non-perfusion in the lung of the term fetal rabbit.

The spatial distribution of pulmonary blood flow and its change over time was investigated in term fetal rabbits, using the plasma tracer fluorescein-isothiocyanate-labeled bovine serum albumin (FITC-BSA). A tracer bolus was injected intravenously and allowed to circulate in vivo for increasing periods of time (2-30 minutes) prior to arrest of the circulation and tissue preparation. Initially, fluorescence was present in the vasculature of 43% of lung parenchymal tissue, disposed as discrete regions or "lobules." Interspersed regions of lung tissue received no tracer inflow. With increasing tracer circulation times (10, 20, and 30 minutes), a greater percentage of lung cross-sectional area contained vessels exhibiting tracer fluorescence (64, 96, and 100%, respectively). In the fetal lung, a high pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) is maintained. Our studies indicate that, at any given moment, fetal pulmonary blood flow is distributed only to a proportion of discrete lung "lobules," while interspersed "lobules" receive no flow at all. The "lobules" alternate between these "high" and "low" vascular resistance states with a periodicity of approximately 35 minutes, comprising 22 minutes of non-perfusion followed by 13 minutes of perfusion. This circulatory pattern permits both the maintenance of high PVR and uniform lung development. Further, by directing flow to only a portion of the vasculature, greater microvascular flow rates are achieved and hence the risk of blood sludging and stasis is reduced. Recruitment of these "non-perfused" regions at birth could thus produce a significant reduction in PVR.     

Novel α + β Zr Alloys with Enhanced Strength

Low-alloyed zirconium alloys are widely used in nuclear applications due to their low neutron absorption cross-section. These alloys, however, suffer from limited strength. Well-established guidelines for the development of Ti alloys were applied to design new two-phase ternary Zr alloys with improved mechanical properties. Zr-4Sn-4Nb and Zr-8Sn-4Nb alloys have been manufactured by vacuum arc melting, thermo-mechanically processed by annealing, forging, and aging to various microstructural conditions and thoroughly characterized. Detailed Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed that the microstructural response of the alloys is rather similar to alpha + beta Ti alloys. Duplex microstructure containing primary alpha phase particles surrounded by lamellar alpha + beta microstructure can be achieved by thermal processing. Mechanical properties strongly depend on the previous treatment. Ultimate tensile strength exceeding 700 MPa was achieved exceeding the strength of commercial Zr alloys for nuclear applications by more than 50%. Such an improvement in strength more than compensates for the increased neutron absorption cross-section. This study aims to exploit the potential of alpha + beta Zr alloys for nuclear applications.     

Modified Histopathological Protocol for Poly-ɛ-Caprolactone Scaffolds Preserving Their Trabecular,Honeycomb-like Structure

Poly-ɛ-caprolactone (PCL) is now widely studied in relation to the engineering of bone, cartilage, tendons, and other tissues. Standard histological protocols can destroy the carefully created trabecular and honeycomb-like architecture of PCL scaffolds, and could lead to scaffold fibers swelling, resulting in the displacement or compression of tissues inside the scaffold. The aim of this study was to modify a standard histopathological protocol for PCL scaffold preparation and evaluate it on porous cylindrical PCL scaffolds in a rat model. In 16 inbred Wag rats, 2 PCL scaffolds were implanted subcutaneously to both inguinal areas. Two months after implantation, harvested scaffolds were first subjected to μCT imaging, and then to histopathological analysis with standard (left inguinal area) and modified histopathological protocols (right inguinal area). To standardize the results, soft tissue percentages (STPs) were calculated on scaffold cross-sections obtained from both histopathological protocols and compared with corresponding µCT cross-sections. The modified protocol enabled the assessment of almost 10× more soft tissues on the scaffold cross-section than the standard procedure. Moreover, STP was only 1.5% lower than in the corresponding µCT cross-sections assessed before the histopathological procedure. The presented modification of the histopathological protocol is cheap, reproducible, and allows for a comprehensive evaluation of PCL scaffolds while maintaining their trabecular, honeycomb-like structure on cross-sections.     

血管内支架结构截面形状的生物力学实验

血管内支架置入体内后会影响血流动力学和血管壁剪切应力等生物力学耦合作用。分析支架杆件扩张受力弯曲的梯形截面比例系数,分别对二维支架梯形截面结构进行血管壁接触和血液流场流固耦合数值计算实验。结果显示,支架结构梯形截面比例系数为4时可减小支架对血管壁的接触应力,并改善支架表面的血流动力学状况。这可以避免支架置入后对血管壁形成的应力受损,显著减低支架表面血栓沉积的再狭窄率,对于血管内支架的设计具有重要的指导意义。     

Exploring changes in dental workforce,dental care utilisation and dental caries levels in Europe, 1990–2004

Objectives : To provide a conceptual framework of the relationships between dental health and dental care utilisation with socio‐economic factors, human resources and the finance and organisation of dental healthcare systems in European countries from 1990 to 2004. Methods : Bivariate relations and longitudinal analysis using time series cross‐sectional regression models. Data were obtained from published papers and official publications. Results : We found no evidence that greater access to dental healthcare professionals has contributed to improving dental health among 12‐year‐old children. The main parameters influencing oral health and its evolution are income and educational levels within countries. The greater number of dentists and a relatively young adult population have a positive effect on the utilisation of dental services. Conclusions : The improvement in dental health obtained among European children over the last 15 years does not seem to be attributable to policies aimed at improving access to oral health services. What has been achieved is a higher rate of utilisation by adults, due in part to the greater relative numbers of dental healthcare personnel in European countries between 1990 and 2004.     

Acoustic properties of normal and cancerous human liver—I. Dependence on pathological condition

Ultrasonic speed, attenuation and backscattering were measured as functions of frequency and orientation in specimens of exercised human liver, with a view to establishing the usefulness of such measurements to characterize the pathology and structure of the tissue. It is observed that acoustic speed is superior to any attenuation or backscattering characteristics for distinguishing in vitro between specimens of tumours and normal human liver selected at random. However, when the data are corrected for variations between one subject and another, sound speed, attenuation and the mean back-scattering coefficient at a given frequency show a comparable degree of usefulness in this respect. Analysis of the periodicities present in the backscattering diffraction patterns did not contribute any improvement in the ability to distinguish between tissue states. On average, by comparison with normal liver, ultrasound travels about 1.5% (± 1%) slower, is attenuated by about 20% (± 30%) less at 3 MHz and is backscattered by about 80% (±115%) less at 3 MHz in the tumor specimens that were measured. Livers infiltrated by diffuse malignant disease appear to possess quite different ultrasonic propagation properties to normal liver although insufficient data are yet available for firm conclusions to be drawn.