• Aurora Universities Network

Purpose: It remains unclear whether the long-term results of RCTs regarding the outcome of microdiscectomy for lumbosacral radicular syndrome (LSRS) are generalizable. The purpose of this study was to determine the external validity of the outcome preseneted in RCTs after microdicectomy for LSRS in a patient cohort from a high-volume spine center. Methods: Between 2007 and 2010, 539 patients had a single level microdiscectomy for MRI disk-related LSRS of whom 246 agreed to participate. Questionnaires included visual analogue scores (VAS) for leg pain, RDQ, OLBD, RAND-36 and Likert scores for recovery, leg and back pain. Lumbar re-operation(s) were registered. Results: Mean age was 51.3, and median time of follow-up was 8.0 years. Re-operation occurred in 64 (26%) patients. Unfavorable perceived recovery was noted in 85 (35%) patients, and they had worse leg and back pain than the 161 (65%) patients with a favorable recovery: median VAS for leg pain 28/100 mm versus 2/100 mm and median VAS for back pain 9/100 mm versus 3/100 mm, respectively. In addition, the median RDQ and OLBD scores differed significantly: 9 vs 3 for RDQ and 26 vs 4 for OLBD, respectively (p < 0.001). Conclusion: In this cohort study, the long-term results after microdiscectomy for LSRS were less favorable than those obtained in RCTs, possibly caused by less strict patient selection than in RCTs. Our findings emphasize that patients, who do not meet the same inclusion criteria for surgery as in RCTs, should be informed about the chances of a less favorable result.

Extant cultural adaptation literature has tended to privilege psychological approaches to studying voluntary, international migration. This study seeks to extend such theory by examining the interplay of communication, culture, structure, and identity in the adaptation of involuntary domestic migrants. Using phenomenological interviews to explore the lived experiences of Hurricane Katrina evacuees to San Antonio, the authors found that their adaptation was affected by structural, cultural, and discursive conditions such as government actions, media portrayals, race relations, and host culture receptivity, all of which were connected to one another and to evacuees' ascribed identity as refugees.

Volume homeostasis is essential for the preservation of lens transparency and this is of particular significance to anadromous fish species where migration from freshwater to seawater presents severe osmotic challenges. In Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar L.), aqueous humor (AH) osmolality is greater in fish acclimated to seawater compared with young freshwater fish, and levels of lens N-acetylhistidine (NAH) are much higher in seawater fish. Here we investigate NAH as an osmolyte in the lenses of salmon receiving diets either with or without histidine supplementation. In the histidine-supplemented diet (HD) histidine content was 14.2 g/kg, and in the control diet (CD) histidine content was 8.9 g/kg. A transient increase in AH osmolality of 20 mmol/kg was observed in fish transferred from freshwater to seawater. In a lens culture model, temporary decreases in volume and transparency were observed when lenses were exposed to hyperosmotic conditions. A positive linear relationship between extracellular osmolality and lens NAH content was also observed, whereas there was no change in lens histidine content. Hypoosmotic exposure stimulated [14C]-histidine efflux by 9.2- and 2.6-fold in CD and HD lenses, respectively. NAH efflux, measured by HPLC, was stimulated by hypoosmotic exposure to a much greater extent in HD lenses. In vivo, lens NAH increased in response to elevated AH osmolality in HD but not CD fish. In conclusion, NAH has an important and novel role as a compatible osmolyte in salmon lens. Furthermore, it is the major osmolyte that balances increases in AH osmolality when fish move from freshwater to seawater. A deficiency in NAH would lead to a dysfunction of the normal osmoregulatory processes in the lens, and we propose that this would contribute to cataract formation in fish deficient in histidine.

Aim To examine associations of pre-diabetes and well-controlled diabetes with periodontitis. Materials and Methods The Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP)-Trend is a cross-sectional survey in North-Eastern Germany including 3086 participants (49.4% men; age 20–82 years). Clinical attachment loss (CAL) and periodontal probing depth (PPD) were assessed applying a random half-mouth protocol. The number of teeth was determined. Pre-diabetes comprised impaired fasting glucose and impaired glucose tolerance. Previously known diabetes was defined as well controlled if glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) was <7.0%. Participants were categorized as follows: normal glucose tolerance (NGT), pre-diabetes, newly detected type 2 diabetes (T2DM), known T2DM with HbA1c<7.0% and known T2DM with HbA1c≥7.0%. Results Pre-diabetes was neither associated with mean CAL and PPD in multivariable adjusted linear regression models nor with edentulism (OR = 1.09 (95%-CI: 0.69-1.71)) and number of teeth (OR = 0.96 (95%-CI: 0.75–1.22), lowest quartile versus higher quartiles) in logistic regression models. Associations with mean CAL and edentulism were stronger in poorly controlled previously known diabetes than in well-controlled previously known diabetes (for edentulism: OR = 2.19 (95%-CI: 1.18–4.05), and OR = 1.40 (95%-CI: 0.82–2.38), respectively, for comparison with NGT). Conclusions Periodontitis and edentulism were associated with poorly controlled T2DM, but not with pre-diabetes and well-controlled diabetes.

The paper is devoted to the performance analysis of a new receiver structure recently introduced for OFDM/OQAM systems. Such a structure is based on the frequency-despreading at the receiver and it is designed to minimize the processing delay of the receiver structure. Its performance analysis and the comparison with the performance of the standard receiver structure show the capability of the new structure to operate with a small number of subcarriers.

We report on a patient who had chronic renal failure and relapse of secondary hyperparathyroidism after earlier extirpation of three glands. Whereas 201Tl-chloride uptake was absent in the thyroid and an ectopic parathyroid adenoma during routine subtraction 201Tl-99mTc scintigraphy, both glands could be visualized with 99mTc-sestamibi and [123I]sodium.