Do modic changes affect the fusion rate in spinal interbody fusion surgery? A systematic review and network meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the fusion rates of spinal interbody fusion in patients with modic changes (MCs). METHODS: This meta-analysis was registered at PROSPERO, and the project number was CRD42024538023. This network meta-analysis was conducted according to the PRISMA 2020 statement. The PubMed, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, ClinicalTrials.gov and Cochrane Library databases were searched from inception to March 28, 2024 for potential studies. STATA 13.0 and Review Manager 5.3 were used to perform the meta-analysis. RESULTS: Seven studies with a total of 1162 patients or segments assigned to four groups according to MCs grade were identified. The fusion rate in the non-modic changes (NMCs) was significantly greater than that in the MCs at the 3-month (p = 0.0001) and 6-month (p = 0.002) follow-ups. No significant difference was detected in the fusion rate at 12-month (p = 0.34) and final follow-ups (p = 0.41). No significant difference was found in cervical fusion (p = 0.88) or transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) (p = 0.51). The fusion rate of NMCs was significantly greater than that of MCs in posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) (p < 0.00001). No significant differences were identified among the four groups in the overall comparison, cervical fusion or TLIF subgroups. The fusion rate in the NMCs was significantly greater than that in the MCs-2 and MCs-3 in the PLIF. CONCLUSION: MCs decreased the fusion rate at the 3- and 6-month follow-ups. MCs-2 and MCs-3 decrease the fusion rate in PLIF.

Investigation of the Performance of Heterogeneous MOF-Silver Nanocube Nanocomposites as CO2 Reduction Photocatalysts by In Situ Raman Spectroscopy.

Here, we fabricated two different heterogeneous nanocomposites, core-shell MOF-AgNC and corner MOF-AgNC, as photocatalysts for CO2 conversion by generating metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) on silver nanocube templates. These MOF-AgNC nanocomposites showed good CO2 adsorption features and high CO2 reduction reactivity. The performances of these MOF-AgNC nanocomposites in CO2 adsorption and CO2 reduction reactions can be characterized by in situ Raman spectrum measurement. The corner MOF-AgNC nanocomposite exhibited a faster CO2 adsorption rate than the core-shell MOF-AgNC nanocomposite, which was due to the higher surface area/volume ratio of the MOF in corner MOF-AgNC. The CO2 reaction reactivity and mechanisms (products of the reaction) of CO2 reduction also depended on the morphologies of MOF-AgNC nanocomposites, which were caused by different reaction environments at the interface between the MOF and AgNCs. The CO2 reduction reactivity of MOF-AgNC nanocomposites also exhibited high sensitivity to the irradiation intensity and wavelength, which was caused by the variation of the number of hot electrons and their positions in AgNCs with the irradiation intensity and irradiation wavelength, respectively. This method for the synthesis of heterogeneous nanocomposites should make it possible to design photocatalysts for various reactions by carefully designing the morphology and composition of nanocomposites.

CircRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis participates in the progression of partial bladder outlet obstruction.

BACKGROUND: More and more evidence showed that circRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis played a vital role in the pathogenesis of some diseases. However, the role of circRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis in partial bladder outlet obstruction (pBOO) remains unknown. Our study aimed to explore the complex regulatory mechanism of circRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis in pBOO. METHODS: The pBOO rat model was established, and the bladder tissues were collected for mRNA sequencing. The differentially expressed mRNAs were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing, and the GO and KEGG analysis of the differentially expressed mRNAs were performed. Competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs) analysis identified the potential regulation function of circRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis in pBOO. qRT-PCR detected the expression of circRNA/miRNA/mRNA. miRanda software was performed to predict the relationship between circRNA and miRNA, miRNA and mRNA. RESULTS: Compared with the sham group, a total of 571 mRNAs were differentially expressed in the pBOO group, of which 286 were up-regulated and 285 were down-regulated. GO analysis showed that the mRNAs were mainly involved in cellular process, single-organism process, and cell, etc. KEGG analysis showed that the enriched signaling pathways were metabolic pathways, cell adhesion molecules (CAMs), and HTLV-I infection, etc. Based on the previous transcriptome data and differentially expressed circRNAs, we drew the ceRNA network regulation diagram. qRT-PCR results confirmed that chr3:113195876|113197193/rno-miR-30c-1-3p/Gata4, chr1:126188351|126195625/rno-miR-153-5p/Diaph3, and chr9:81258380|81275269/rno-miR-135b-5p/Pigr axis may have ceRNA function. miRanda confirmed there have the binding sites of circRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis. CONCLUSIONS: CircRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis was involved in the progression of pBOO. Our research on the circRNA/miRNA/mRNA axis revealed new pathogenesis and treatment strategies for pBOO.

Detection Method of Athlete Joint Injury Based on Deep Learning Model.

The research on accurate and intelligent segmentation of knee joint MRI images is of great significance to reduce the work intensity of clinical doctors and nurses. In order to solve the problem that knee joint MRI image segmentation model needs a large number of high-quality tagged images and excessive labeling workload, a semisupervised learning segmentation network model based on 3D scSE-UNet is proposed. The model adopts a self-training semisupervised learning framework and adds a cSE-block+ module on the basis of the 3D UNet model. This module can enhance the effective features of the feature image from two aspects of space and channel, while suppressing irrelevant features and preserving image edge information more completely. In order to solve the problem of rough edge of pseudolabel caused by model segmentation, a fully connected conditional random field is added to refine the edge of pseudolabel in the process of model training. The effectiveness of the model is verified by open source MRNet dataset and OAI dataset. The results show that the proposed model can achieve the segmentation effect of fully supervised learning through a small number of labeled images and effectively reduce the dependence of knee joint MRI image segmentation on expert labeling data.

[Influence of epididymitis history on the results of vasoepididyostomy in patients with epididymal obstruction].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the influence of epididymitis history on the results of microsurgical vasoepididymostomy and spontaneous pregnancy in patients with epididymal obstruction. METHODS: Totally 205 patients with epididymal obstruction underwent microsurgical two-suture longitudinal intussusception vasoepididymostomy from January 2014 to December 2016. After surgery, we evaluated the semen quality of the patients every 3 months till conception and compared the rates of patency and spontaneous pregnancy between the patients with and those without an epididymitis history. RESULTS: The patients ranged in age from 22 to 46 (mean 31) years, 37 (22.2%) with and 126 (77.8%) without an epididymitis history among the 163 patients for whom a 25.4-month follow-up (from 7 to 42 months) was completed. No statistically significant differences were observed postoperatively between the patients with and those without an epididymitis history in the patency rate (73.0% vs 81.7%, P = 0.243), sperm concentration (18 ï¼»1.3－33.6ï¼½ vs 15.2 ï¼»0.8－33.4ï¼½ ×106/ml, P = 0.710), percentage of progressively motile sperm (27.5 ï¼»0－46.1ï¼½% vs 19.3 ï¼»0－41ï¼½% (P = 0.592) or rate of spontaneous pregnancy (24.3% vs 38.9%, P = 0.104). CONCLUSION: Microsurgical vasoepididymostomy is an effective method for the treatment of epididymal obstruction, and epididymitis history does not affect the results of the strategy.

Electroacupuncture for lumbar disc herniation: A protocol for systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of electroacupuncture in treatment of lumbar disc herniation (LDH). METHODS: Electronic databases of all electroacupuncture for LDH will be searched at PubMed, Cochrane Library, Springer, EMBASE, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wan-Fang, and Chinese Biological Medical disc, (CBM) from inception to February 29, 2020, with language restricted in Chinese and English. The primary outcome is Japanese Orthopedic Association Scores, a quantification scale for a comprehensive assessment according to patients' subjects feeling and objective function. Secondary outcomes included visual analogue scale (VAS), Oswestry dysfunction index (ODI), Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI), Self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), self-depression rating scale (SDS), follow-up relapse rate. The systematic review and searches for randomized controlled trials of this therapy for LDH. The Cochrane RevMan V5.3 bias assessment tool is implemented to assess bias risk, data integration risk, meta-analysis risk, and subgroup analysis risk (if conditions are met). Mean difference (MD), standard mean deviation (SMD) and binary data will be used to represent continuous results. RESULTS: This study will provide a comprehensive review and evaluation of the available evidence for the treatment of LDH with this therapy. CONCLUSION: This study will provide new evidence to evaluate the effectiveness and side effects of electroacupuncture for LDH. Due to the data is not personalized, no formal ethical approval is required.