bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Long-term follow up of surgical outcomes in patients with cervical disorders undergoing hemodialysis
Authors: Sudo Hideki , Ito Manabu , Abumi Kuniyoshi , Kotani Yoshihisa , Takeuchi Tatsuto , Yasui Keigo , Minami Akio 
Published: January 2008

Object
As increasing numbers of patients receive long-term hemodialysis, the number of reports regarding hemodialysis-related cervical spine disorders has also increased. However, there have been few reports summarizing the surgical results in patients with these disorders. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term follow up and clinical results after surgical treatment of cervical disorders in patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Methods
Seventeen patients in whom surgery was performed for cervical spine disorders while they received long-term hemodialysis therapy were enrolled in this study. Of these, 15 underwent follow-up review for more than 3 years after surgery, and these represent the study population. The remaining two patients died of postoperative sepsis. The average follow-up period was 120 months. Five patients without spinal instability underwent spinal cord decompression in which bilateral open-door laminoplasty was performed. Ten patients with destructive spondyloarthropathy (DSA) underwent reconstructive surgery involving pedicle screw (PS) fixation. In eight patients in whom posterior instrumentation was placed, anterior strut bone grafting was performed with autologous iliac bone to treat anterior-column destruction. Marked neurological recovery was obtained in all patients after the initial surgery. In the mobile segments adjacent to the site of previous spinal fusion, the authors observed progressive destructive changes with significant instability in four patients (40%) who underwent circumferential spinal fusion. No patients required a second surgery after laminoplasty for spinal canal stenosis without DSA changes.

Conclusions
Cervical PS-assisted reconstruction provided an excellent fusion rate and good spinal alignment. During the long-term follow-up period, however, some cases required extension of the spinal fusion due to the destructive changes in the adjacent vertebral levels. Guidelines or recommendations to overcome these problems should be produced to further increase the survival rates of patients undergoing hemodialysis.
Microscopic bilateral decompression through unilateral laminotomy for lumbar canal stenosis in patients undergoing hemodialysis
Authors: Sasaki Manabu , Abekura Makoto , Morris Shayne , Akiyama Chihiro , Kaise Kazuya , Yuguchi Takamichi , Mori Shintaro , Iwatsuki Koichi , Yoshimine Toshiki 
Published: January 2008

Object
Microscopic bilateral decompression through a unilateral laminotomy (MBDUL) is a minimally invasive technique used to treat lumbar canal stenosis (LCS). In the present study, MBDUL was performed to treat LCS in eight patients undergoing hemodialysis.

Methods
Surgical outcomes were evaluated using the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale (highest possible score 29). The JOA scale was administered preoperatively, at 1 month and 3 months postoperatively, and at the final follow-up examination. One patient refused to undergo the postoperative assessment after the 1-month examination; the mean follow-up duration of the remaining seven patients was 24 months (range 18–31 months). The mean age at the time of surgery was 62 years (range 48–76 years), and the mean duration of hemodialysis therapy was 21.4 years (range 3–28 years). All patients could walk within 2 days of surgery. The mean angle of the straight leg–raising (SLR) test was 53.8° preoperatively, and this increased to 69.4° postoperatively. Six patients felt enhancement of sciatica or leg pain when performing the SLR test preoperatively, a finding that was absent postoperatively at least until the final follow-up examination. The mean preoperative JOA score was 11.6 (range 4–22), and the score markedly improved to 19.8 (range 15–23) at 1 month and 20.6 (range 16–25) at 3 months. The mean JOA score decreased to 17.1 (range 12–25) at the final follow-up examination, but this decrease was attributed to other physical disorders.

Conclusions
The authors conclude that MBDUL is a safe and effective surgical treatment for patients undergoing hemodialysis who are suffering from LCS.
An evaluation of vascular anatomy for minilaparotomic anterior L4–5 procedures
Authors: Kang Byung-Uk , Lee Sang-Ho , Jeon Sang-Hyeop , Park Jong Dae , Maeng Dae Hyeon , Choi Young Geun , Tsang Yi-Sheng 
Published: January 2008

Object
The complexity of the vascular anatomy pertinent to the L4–5 intervertebral disc space has led to difficulties when performing the anterior approach to the lumbar spine. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the variations of the great vessels to match the imaging-documented axial anatomy with the surgical exposure.

Methods
The authors analyzed data obtained in 223 patients who had undergone mini–open anterior lumbar surgery involving the L4–5 disc. The preoperative magnetic resonance images or computed tomography scans were evaluated by examiners blinded to the surgical approach to determine the vascular configuration. All complications of the procedures were described.
Two major variations of the vascular configuration were delineated according to the location of the bifurcation of the inferior vena cava. On images showing the lower margin of the L-4 vertebra, the anatomy in 182 patients (81%) was classified as Type A because the inferior vena cava (IVC) was not bifurcated; in 38 patients (17%) it was classified as Type B because the IVC was bifurcated. Type A could be subdivided into Types A1 and A2 according to whether the aorta was bifurcated (A2) or not (A1) on the same image. The surgical exposure used was above the bifurcations (in Type A) and below the bifurcations (in Type B). The major complications were three venous injuries, and the leading complication was sympathetic dysfunction in 14 patients, which in most cases resolved spontaneously.

Conclusions
Careful preoperative evaluation of the vascular anatomy is essential to conducting successful anterior lumbar surgery. The determination of an appropriate approach can contribute to a reduction of unnecessary vascular retraction and a consequent decrease in vascular complications.
Ossification of Ligamentum
Authors: Wang Wenbao , Kong Linghua 
Published: January 2008

Object
The authors evaluated different surgical methods used to treat thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF).

Methods
Data obtained in 40 patients who underwent posterior decompression for thoracic myelopathy caused by thoracic OLF were studied retrospectively. There were 32 men and eight women. All patients underwent posterior decompression in which laminoplasty was performed or laminectomy combined with lateral fusion. Every surgical specimen was stained with H & E, and scanning electron microscopy was performed in 20 cases. The mean follow-up period was 28 months. Postoperative outcomes were evaluated using a recovery scale based on the Japanese Orthopaedic Association classification. There were a total of 168 ossified segments in this series, 77.4% of which were located in the lower thoracic spine. Marginal osteophyte formation was found in 36 patients; in 32 of the 36 patients, these marginal osteophytes were located at the intervertebral space either higher or lower than the ossified segment. Scanning electron microscopy showed elastic fiber breakdown, proliferation of collagenous fibers, calcification, and OLF in the same microscopy region. Laminoplasty was performed in four patients. In three cases surgery resulted in unchanged or worse outcome (increased kyphotic deformity in two), and in one it resulted in good outcome. Laminectomy combined with lateral fusion was performed in 36 patients, in 30 cases of which it resulted in a good or fair outcome, and increased kyphotic deformity in only one. Of these 36 laminectomy-treated patients, an en bloc laminectomy-treated procedure was performed in 16 patients; in 11 of the 12 patients with lateral or diffuse-type lesions the surgery resulted in a good or fair outcome. En bloc laminectomy, however, seems ineffective in the treatment of patients with thickened, nodular-type thoracic OLF, as the procedure resulted in worse outcome in two of the four patients. The authors have thus developed a new modality of laminectomy that they have termed “separating laminectomy,” which they performed in 16 patients with thickened, nodular-type OLF; in 13 cases it resulted in a good or fair outcome, and in only one case did it result in a worse outcome.

Conclusions
The pathogenesis of thoracic OLF is mainly due to the localized mechanical stress on the ligament. Laminectomy combined with lateral fusion is the treatment of choice for thoracic OLF; furthermore, in terms of the configuration of the ossified lesion, en bloc laminectomy is suitable for the treatment of lateral-type and diffuse-type OLF, and the separating laminectomy is suitable for the thickened, nodular-type OLF.
Nonoperative Treatment
Authors: Natelson Stephen E. 
Published: January 2008

Object
Despite extensive published research on thoracolumbar burst fractures, controversy still surrounds which is the most appropriate treatment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the scientific literature on operative and nonoperative treatment of patients with thoracolumbar burst fractures and no neurological deficit.

Methods
In their search of the literature, the authors identified all possible relevant studies concerning thoracolumbar burst fracture without neurological deficit. Two independent observers performed study selection, methodological quality assessment, and data extraction in a blinded and objective manner for all papers identified during the search. In a synthesis of the literature, the authors obtained evidence for both operative and nonoperative treatments.

Conclusions
There is a lack of evidence demonstrating the superiority of one approach over the other as measured using generic and disease-specific health-related quality of life scales. There is no scientific evidence linking posttraumatic kyphosis to clinical outcomes. The authors found that there is a strong need for improved clinical research methodology to be applied to this patient population.
Clinical and radiographic analysis of cervical disc arthroplasty compared with allograft fusion: a randomized controlled clinical trial
Authors: Mummaneni Praveen V. , Burkus J. Kenneth , Haid Regis W. , Traynelis Vincent C. , Zdeblick Thomas A. 
Published: January 2008

Object
The authors report the results of a prospective randomized multicenter study in which the results of cervical disc arthroplasty were compared with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) in patients treated for symptomatic single-level cervical degenerative disc disease (DDD).

Methods
Five hundred forty-one patients with single-level cervical DDD and radiculopathy were enrolled at 32 sites and randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups: 276 patients in the investigational group underwent anterior cervical discectomy and decompression and arthroplasty with the PRESTIGE ST Cervical Disc System (Medtronic Sofamor Danek); 265 patients in the control group underwent decompressive ACDF. Eighty percent of the arthroplasty-treated patients (223 of 276) and 75% of the control patients (198 of 265) completed clinical and radiographic follow-up examinations at routine intervals for 2 years after surgery.
Analysis of all currently available postoperative 12- and 24-month data indicated a two-point greater improvement in the neck disability index score in the investigational group than the control group. The arthroplasty group also had a statistically significant higher rate of neurological success (p = 0.005) as well as a lower rate of secondary revision surgeries (p = 0.0277) and supplemental fixation (p = 0.0031). The mean improvement in the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey Physical Component Summary scores was greater in the investigational group at 12 and 24 months, as was relief of neck pain. The patients in the investigational group returned to work 16 days sooner than those in the control group, and the rate of adjacent-segment reoperation was significantly lower in the investigational group as well (p = 0.0492, log-rank test). The cervical disc implant maintained segmental sagittal angular motion averaging more than 7°. In the investigational group, there were no cases of implant failure or migration.

Conclusions
The PRESTIGE ST Cervical Disc System maintained physiological segmental motion at 24 months after implantation and was associated with improved neurological success, improved clinical outcomes, and a reduced rate of secondary surgeries compared with ACDF.
Augmentation of an anterior lumbar interbody fusion with an anterior plate or pedicle screw fixation: a comparative biomechanical in vitro study
Authors: Nichols Tann A. , Yantzer Brenda K. , Alameda Suzanne , Johnson Wesley M. , Guiot Bernard H. 
Published: January 2008

Object
Posterior pedicle screw (PS) instrumentation is often used to augment anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) but at the cost of an increase in the morbidity rate due to the second approach and screw placement. If anterior plates were found to be biomechanically equivalent to PS fixation (PSF) after ALIF, then this second approach could be avoided without decreasing vertebral stability.

Methods
Eight cadaveric L5–S1 spinal segments were tested under four conditions: intact, following anterior discectomy and interbody spacer placement, after placement of an anterior plate, and following PSF. The elastic zone and stiffness were calculated for axial compression, flexion/extension, lateral bending, and torsion.
Neither anterior plate stabilization nor PSF showed significant intergroup differences in stiffness or the elastic zone. Both exhibited greater stiffness in flexion than the intact specimens (p < 0.001). Pedicle screw fixation was associated with a decreased elastic zone in lateral bending compared with the intact specimen (p < 0.04).

Conclusions
Anterior plate fixation is biomechanically similar to PSF following ALIF. Surgeons may wish to use anterior plates in place of PSs to avoid the need for a posterior procedure. This may lead to a decrease in operative morbidity and improved overall outcomes.
Open kyphoplasty for management of metastatic and severe osteoporotic spinal fracture
Authors: Fuentes Stéphane , Métellus Phillipe , Pech-Gourg Grégoire , Adetchessi Tarek , Dufour Henri , Grisoli François 
Published: January 2008

Object
Elderly patients in poor general health frequently suffer vertebral body (VB) fractures due to osteoporosis or vertebral metastatic lesions. Kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty have become the standard treatment for these types of fractures. In certain conditions that cause local kyphosis, such as spinal cord compression due to a metastatic epidural tumor or the shortening of the spinal canal secondary to vertebral compression, the surgical treatment should provide decompression and stabilization during a short intervention. In this study the authors evaluated a surgical technique that frequently combines a same-session surgical decompression, such as a laminectomy, and posterior instrumentation-assisted stabilization during the same open intervention in which the VB is stabilized by kyphoplasty.

Methods
During an 18-month period, the authors treated 18 patients with VB fractures according to this protocol: 14 patients with vertebral metastatic lesions and four with osteoporosis. The patients' mean age was 60 years. All suffered severe pain preoperatively (mean visual analog scale [VAS] score of 7). Fourteen of the 18 patients suffered a neurological deficit. Twenty-three vertebral levels were treated; in 15 patients it was necessary to place posterior instrumentation. The mean duration of the intervention was 90 minutes.
Pain in all patients improved 3 days after the intervention, and the mean VAS score decreased to 2. Patients with a neurological dysfunction improved. The mean quantity of injected cement for the kyphoplasty procedure was 7 ml. The mean duration of hospitalization was 7 days. Neuroimaging revealed cement leaks in two cases: one into the disc interspace and one anteriorly into the fractured part of the vertebra. After the intervention, most patients with metastatic lesions underwent radiotherapy. No procedure-related complications occurred.

Conclusions
This procedure allows decompression of the spinal cord, consolidation of the VB and thus a stabilization of the vertebral column, and may provide an alternative treatment to invasive VB excision in patients in poor general health.
Surgical management of chordomas of the cervical spine
Authors: Barrenechea Ignacio J. , Perin Noel I. , Triana Aymara , Lesser Jonathan , Costantino Peter , Sen Chandranath 
Published: January 2008

Object
Chordomas of the cervical spine are rare tumors. Although en bloc resection has proven to be the ideal procedure in other areas, there is controversy regarding this approach in the cervical spine. The goal in this study was to determine whether piecemeal tumor resection was efficient in the management of chordomas that arise in this location.

Methods
The authors retrospectively reviewed all 74 cases of chordoma treated by their group. Seven patients with isolated cervical chordomas who were treated between October 1992 and January 2006 were identified. There were four male and three female patients, whose ages ranged from 6 to 61 years (mean 34.4 years). Follow-up duration ranged from 7 to 169 months (median 23 months). All cases were managed using a retrocarotid approach with mobilization of the vertebral artery. When the tumor could not be completely resected via the initial anterior approach, a subsequent posterior resection was performed. Tumor resection was intralesional in all cases, and gross-total tumor resection was achieved in six cases. One patient required a second resection 4 months later. In all cases, a posterior stabilization procedure was performed. Five patients underwent anterior fusion (three with fibular allograft and two with iliac crest), whereas two underwent occipitocervical fusion. In two patients with dedifferentiated chordoma metastasis developed, and one of them died 7 months later. The other patient with metastasis died suddenly at home 26 months postsurgery, presumably from aspiration. At the time of this submission, there were no signs of recurrence in five patients.

Conclusions
The authors believe that, in most cases, en bloc resection of cervical chordoma is not feasible. This is due to the tendency of chordomas to involve multiple compartments at the time of diagnosis. In the authors' experience, intralesional radical resection remains an effective surgical approach to this disease entity.
'Loved to Death': Coral Collecting in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, 1770-1970
Authors: Daley Ben , Griggs Peter 
Published: January 2008

Abstract
Recent scholarship has investigated the rate of deterioration of the Great Barrier Reef of Australia since European settlement and the severity of human impacts on that ecosystem. Yet in previous environmental histories of the Great Barrier Reef, the impacts of coral collecting have not been adequately documented. Using documentary and oral history sources, a reconstruction of historical coral collecting is possible; analysis of those sources indicates that the extent, duration and intensity of coral collecting led to profound transformations of some coral reefs, with particular degradation at Double, Green, Heron, Masthead and Lady Musgrave Islands, and at Wistari Reef. That degradation was due to the combined impacts of prolonged, cumulative coral souveniring by tourists and to the removal of large amounts of material by commercial collectors. Although coral collecting has been restricted since 1933, both licensed and unlicensed collecting continued after that year. Extensive documentary evidence indicates that coral collecting was accompanied by the deterioration of coral reefs; those documentary accounts are supported by oral history evidence. Evaluation of the precise impacts of coral collectors in the Great Barrier Reef requires further scientific research and monitoring, although comparison with other coral reef ecosystems suggests that those impacts are likely to have been severe.
The Mammalian Rod Cell Photoreceptor Rhodopsin
Authors: Abdulaev Najmoutin G. , Ridge Kevin D. 
Published: January 2008

AbstractOriginally published in: Handbook of Photosensory Receptors. Edited by Winslow R. Briggs and John L. Spudich. Copyright © 2005 Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA Weinheim. Print ISBN: 3‐527‐31019‐7The sections in this article areIntroductionRhodopsin and Mammalian Visual PhototransductionSignal Amplification by Light‐activated RhodopsinInactivation of Light‐activated RhodopsinProperties of RhodopsinIsolation of RhodopsinBiochemical and Physicochemical Properties of RhodopsinPost‐translational Modifications in RhodopsinMembrane Topology of Rhodopsin and Functional DomainsTransmembrane Domain of RhodopsinIntradiscal Domain of RhodopsinCytoplasmic Domain of RhodopsinChromophore Binding Pocket and Photolysis of RhodopsinStructure of RhodopsinCrystal Structure of RhodopsinAtomic Force Microscopy of Rhodopsin in the Disk MembraneActivation Mechanism of RhodopsinConclusionsAcknowledgements
Water and Asphalt The Projection of Isotropy in the Metropolitan Region of Venice
Authors: Viganò Paula 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThrough an exploration of the Veneto region close to Venice, in northeastern Italy, Paola Viganò provides an alternative definition of the dispersed territory. Rather than archetypal sprawl, which has developed out of untamed growth of metropolitan areas, this is an ancient landscape of evenly scattered development that has grown up alongside roads and waterways. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
String Block Vs Superblock Patterns of Dispersal in China
Authors: Monson Kjersti 
Published: January 2008

AbstractThe superblock in China has become the dominant unit of urban planning, allowing for rapid urban growth while also meeting the needs of state and property developer alike. Kjersti Monson explains the conditions that have given rise to the superblock, while challenging it by proposing an alternative ‘stringblock’ approach, rooted more in collective culture and addressing the demands of the market‐driven economy. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Urban [IM]plants Tactics for Recombining Landscape and Collective Space in Bonheiden, Belgium
Authors: Verbakel Els , Derman Elie 
Published: January 2008

AbstractBonheiden, in the province of Antwerp in Belgium, lies in a region known for its exceptional natural beauty. Though the surrounding rural setting has remained protected this has often been to the detriment of urban life, as the built environment has been subject to a process of banal suburbanisation. Els Verbakel and Elie Derman explain how they propose to turn this situation around by creating public spaces that use the town's ‘original landscape as the base material’. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Nam Van Square, Macau
Authors: Vicente Manuel 
Published: January 2008

AbstractA peninsula, lying 60 kilometres (37 miles) to the southwest of Hong Kong, Macau is the Las Vegas of the new China. As Manuel Vicente explains, when he was asked to create an important new public space for the city it provided the opportunity to create a plaza that was able to assimilate the past forms of the historic city without absorbing the symbolism of its colonial history. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.