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PurposeEvaluate the ability of pre-contoured rods to induce thoracic kyphosis (TK) in human cadaveric spines and determine the effectiveness of sequential surgical adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) release procedures.MethodsSix thoracolumbar (T3-L2) spine specimens were instrumented with pedicle screws bilaterally (T4–T12). Over correction using pre-contoured rods was performed for intact condition and Cobb angle was measured. Rod radius of curvature (RoC) was measured pre- and post-reduction. The process was repeated following sequential release procedures of (1) interspinous and supraspinous ligaments (ISL); (2) ligamentum flavum; (3) Ponte osteotomy; (4) posterior longitudinal ligament (PLL); and (5) transforaminal discectomy. Cobb measurements determined the effective contribution of release on TK and RoC data displayed effects of reduction to the rods.ResultsThe intact TK (T4–12) was 38.0° and increased to 51.7° with rod reduction and over correction. Each release resulted in 5°–7°of additional kyphosis; the largest releases were ISL and PLL. All releases resulted in significant increases in kyphosis compared to intact with rod reduction and over correction. Regionally, kyphosis increased ∼2° for each region following successive releases. Comparing RoC before and after reduction showed significant 6° loss in rod curvature independent of release type.ConclusionKyphosis increased in the thoracic spine using pre-contoured and over corrected rods. Subsequent posterior releases provided a substantial, meaningful clinical change in the ability to induce additional kyphosis. Regardless of the number of releases, the ability of the rods to induce and over correct kyphosis was reduced following reduction.

Supplementary Materials

Supplement 1

Characterization of the microenvironment features of tumors, such as its microstructures, biomolecular metabolism, and functional dynamics, may provide essential pathologic information about the tumor, tumor margin, and adjacent normal tissue for early and intraoperative diagnosis. However, it can be particularly challenging to obtain faithful and comprehensive pathological information simultaneously from unperturbed tissues due to the complexity of the microenvironment in organisms. Super-multiplex nonlinear optical imaging system emerged and matured as an attractive tool for acquisition and elucidation of the nonlinear properties correlated with tumor microenvironment. Here, we introduced a nonlinear effects-based multidimensional optical imaging platform and methodology to simultaneously and efficiently capture contrasting and complementary nonlinear optical signatures of freshly excised human skin tissues. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of autofluorescence (FAD), collagen fiber, and intracellular components (lipids and proteins) illustrated the differences about morphological changes and biomolecular metabolic processes of the epidermis and dermis in different skin carcinogenic types. Interpretation of multi-parameter stain-free histological findings complements conventional H&E-stained slides for investigating basal cell carcinoma and pigmented nevus, validates the platform’s versatility and efficiency for classifying subtypes of skin carcinoma, and provides the potential to translate endogenous molecule into biomarker for assisting in rapid cancer screening and diagnosis.

To investigate the changes in respiratory function of COPD patients with osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) after kyphoplasty (KP). Pain scores, pulmonary function parameters (PFT), and local kyphotic angle (LKA) were measured in 31 older patients (25 women, 6 men) with OVCFs before, 3 days after and 3 months after kyphoplasty. The preoperative and postoperative (3 days, 3 months) PFT parameters were as follows: % pred FVC, 74.33 ± 12.35, 85.23.8 ± 13.23, and 84.86 ± 14.01; % pred FEV1, 60.23 ± 11.2, 60.02 ± 11.90, and 60.78 ± 12.70; FEV1/FVC ratio (%), 68.22 ± 16.74, 59.56 ± 13.23, and 60.77 ±12.28, % pred MVV 52.46 ± 14.37, 55.23 ± 15.68, and 62.12 ± 14.48, respectively. The preoperative mean VAS score was 8.01 ± 1.41 and significantly decreased to 2.52 ± 0.89 and 2.34 ± 0.78 at 3 days, 3 months after kyphoplasty, respectively. The preoperative local kyphotic angle degree was 21.96 ± 5.75°, significantly decreased to 13.48 ± 6.12° 3 days after KP, and maintained 3 month after KP. The decrease in the VAS scores correlated with the PFT parameters; however, there were no significant correlations between the PFT parameters and the LKA, the VAS scores and the LKA. Kyphoplasty under local anesthesia is a safety treatment for the COPD patients with OVCFS, and is able to improve the lung function impaired by OVCFs.

The phase behavior and phase composition of TBP-kerosene/ H3PO4-H2O three-phase extraction system have been "inves-tigated and compared with the two-phase system without the diluent. In TBP-kerosene/H3PO4-H2O system, the formation of the third phase is related only to the equilibrium concentration of H3PO4 in the bottom (aqueous) phase (CH3 PO4, b > 9.8 mol/L). The composition of the middle phase is not a function of only the CH3PO4, b, but also relates to the initial concentration of TBP. At CH3PO4 = 9.8 mol/L, the composition of the extracted complex in the middle phase is (TBP)·(H3PO4)·(H2O)0.5, which is the same as that of the organic phase in two-phase system. *This work has been supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (29971020) and the Natural Science Foundation of Shandong Province (L2000B01).

The extraction behavior and phase behavior of TOPO (or TRPO)–kerosene/H 2 SO 4 –Ti(IV) systems have been investigated. Stable colloidal liquid aphrons (CLAs) have been prepared by using the organic phase loaded Ti(IV) as the inner phase. Under favorable hydrolysis conditions, a porous spherical TiO 2 has been obtained after the hydrolysis of Ti(IV) in the inner phase of CLAs.

The very sensitive adsorptive complex catalytic wave of Ge(IV)-catechol-NaBrO 3 with acetic acid—sodium acetate as supporting electrolyte in linear-sweep polarography has been successfully applied to the determination of germanium in vegetables and soils. The optimum experimental conditions are: 0.07 M acetic acid—sodium acetate buffer of pH 4.6, 1.5 × 10 −3 M catechol and 0.1 M NaBrO 3 . The detection limit of Ge(IV) is 1.0 × 10 −9 M and the linear range is 1.0 × 10 −9 −7.0 × 10 −6 M. Different acid digestion procedures were compared, and a HNO 3 -HClO 4 -HF digestion method for the soil sample and a HNO 3 -HClO 4 -H 2 SO 4 digestion method for the vegetable sample were adopted. The experiments show that the polarographic wave behaves as an adsorptive complex wave and also as a parallel catalytic wave.