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The study objective was to evaluate the outcomes of slide tracheoplasty in infancy and identify predictors of adverse outcomes.We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data of infants aged less than 1 year with congenital tracheal stenosis who underwent slide tracheoplasty at a single center from April 2010 to September 2020.Of 120 infants, 71.7% (86/120) had a pulmonary artery sling and 37.5% (45/120) had simultaneous intracardiac repairs. Additionally, 52.5% (63/120) of the patients had anomalous tracheobronchial arborization, and 17.5% (21/120) had diffuse tracheal stenosis. Six airway reoperations (5%) and 6 deaths (5%) occurred, and the mortality decreased annually. Multivariate analysis revealed that a low body weight, cardiovascular anomalies, and normal tracheobronchial arborization predicted a longer intubation duration. Univariate analysis revealed that a low body weight, preoperative invasive ventilation, a long cardiopulmonary bypass time, and granulation tissue were associated with death. After surgery, 26 patients had dysphagia, 24 of whom resumed oral feeding during follow-up. Ninety-two patients underwent chest computed tomography reexamination, and the trachea diameter had increased significantly from 2.32 ± 0.72 mm to 5.46 ± 1.24 mm. Nineteen and 29 patients underwent spirometry before and after surgery, respectively, and showed improvements in ventilation function, with the ratio of time to peak tidal expiratory flow to total expiratory time and ratio of volume to peak tidal expiratory flow to total expiratory volume values significantly improved from 19.80% (interquartile range, 16.90-23.80) and 23.10% (interquartile range, 21.10-25.90) to 26.80% (interquartile range, 21.20-34.40) and 30.20% (interquartile range, 25.00-34.50), respectively (P .05).A tailored individual management strategy of slide tracheoplasty in infancy facilitates favorable clinical outcomes. Close postoperative follow-up and long-term functional evaluations including clinical symptoms and pulmonary function are still needed.

BACKGROUND: As degenerative disease with nerve compression, little is known about the relationship between cervical ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) and intervertebral disc degeneration (IVDD). This study investigates the effect of ossification of ligaments on IVDD in patients with cervical OPLL. We focus on the ossification-related segment in patients diagnosed with OPLL, which is characterized by ossification that crosses intervertebral space or occurs concurrently in the upper and lower vertebrae. METHODS: A total of 92 ossification-related segments from 40 patients were involved in the study. X-ray, computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were used to evaluate the ossification thickness, disc height, cervical range of motion (ROM) of the segment, Kang’s grade, and disc signal loss. We conducted correlation analysis and subgroup comparisons to analyze the type of ossification, ossification thickness, disc height, disc signal loss, ROM and Kang’s grade. RESULTS: The specific ossification thickness was negatively correlated with the disc signal loss (P

OBJECTIVES Slide tracheoplasty has become the mainstream treatment for long-segment congenital tracheal stenosis (LSCTS). However, technical improvements are still needed to improve the clinical outcomes of patients exhibiting LSCTS with tracheobronchial malacia. METHODS LSCTS patients who underwent tracheoplasty from January 2010 to December 2020 were reviewed. According to the time of surgical technique modifications for reconstructing a supportive carina, the patients were divided into 2 groups: group A (2010–2018) and group B (2019–2020). We identified a well-balanced cohort matched by propensity score to evaluate the differences in surgical outcomes between the 2 groups. RESULTS There were no significant differences between group A and group B in any of the 8 characteristics before and after propensity score matching. In the propensity score-matched cohort, the number of patients who accepted anterior carina tracheopexy (75/77 vs 4/77, P CONCLUSIONS Reconstructing a supportive, stable carina of the neotrachea and tracheobronchopexy are helpful to improve the outcomes of slide tracheoplasty.

In medical fields it is very difficult and time-consuming to label samples. Only a small number of labeled samples or unlabeled samples are often encountered in medical fields. How to deal with this problem in medical diagnosis? Domain adaptation is an effective machine learning method to solve the scarce or no labeled samples problem. In this paper, an improved adversarial domain adaptation network is presented to solve this problem in tumor image diagnosis. We construct the tumor image diagnosis adversarial domain adaptation network framework. The framework consists of three parts: a feature extractor, a domain discriminator and a label predictor. The loss function of framework is designed in the paper. We design a feature extractor to acquire the domain invariant feature between the source domain and target domain. The feature extractor is an improved neural network consisting of several convolutional layers and sampling layers. The feature extractor pre-processes the input samples and gets the initial feature of the input space. The domain discriminator predicts the domain label and works adversarial with the feature extractor. The adversarial learning between the feature extractor and the domain discriminator acts as a regularization in the framework. The adversarial game can minimize the distance between the two domains and make sure the feature extractor learns the domain invariant feature. A label predictor is designed to classify the tumor image of the target domain based on the domain-invariant feature. The experiments on tumor image dataset are presented to validate the performance of proposed method. The experimental results show that the proposed method is superior to the other domain adaptation methods.

Tartary buckwheat is rich in flavonoids. The application of physical processing technology and exogenous materials treatment can effectively promote grain germination and the accumulation of bioactive secondary metabolites. The content of four flavonoids, the activities of key enzymes (phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), chalcone isomerase (CHI), flavonol synthase (FLS)) and the expression of key enzyme genes (FtPAL, FtCHI, FtFLS1, FtFLS2) in Tartary buckwheat sprouts treated with microwave and l-phenylalanine (l-Phe) were investigated, and the relationship between them was analyzed to explore the mechanism of promoting flavonoid accumulation, and to provide a theoretical basis for the development of functional Tartary buckwheat sprout food.Germination can promote the synthesis of flavonoids. The contents of chlorogenic acid and rutin in 7-day sprouts increased by 13 420.63% and 225.12% compared with seeds, respectively. Under the best treatment condition TIt suggested that microwave and l-Phe treatment may promote the synthesis of flavonoids by promoting the expression of key enzymes genes in phenylpropane metabolism and controlling the activity of key enzymes in phenylpropane metabolism. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

Study design A retrospective study. Objective To develop a new MRI scoring system to assess patients’ clinical characteristics, outcomes and complications. Methods A retrospective 1-year follow-up study of 366 patients with cervical spondylosis from 2017 to 2021. The CCCFLS scores (cervical curvature and balance (CC), spinal cord curvature (SC), spinal cord compression ratio (CR), cerebrospinal fluid space (CFS). Spinal cord and lesion location (SL). Increased Signal Intensity (ISI) were divided into Mild group (0-6), Moderate group (6-12), and Severe group (12-18) for comparison, and the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores, visual analog scale (VAS), numerical rating scale (NRS), Neck Disability Index (NDI) and Nurick scores were evaluated. Correlation and regression analyses were performed between each variable and the total model in relation to clinical symptoms and C5 palsy. Results The CCCFLS scoring system was linearly correlated with JOA, NRS, Nurick and NDI scores, with significant differences in JOA scores among patients with different CC, CR, CFS, ISI scores, with a predictive model (R2 = 69.3%), and significant differences in preoperative and final follow-up clinical scores among the 3 groups, with a higher rate of improvement in JOA in the severe group ( P < .05), while patients with and without C5 paralysis had significant differences in preoperative SC and SL ( P < .05). Conclusions CCCFLS scoring system can be divided into mild (0-6). moderate (6-12), severe (12-18) groups. It can effectively reflect the severity of clinical symptoms, and the improvement rate of JOA is better in the severe group, while the preoperative SC and SL scores are closely related to C5 palsy. Level of Evidence III

The objective of this study was to reveal the mechanism underlying the effects of microwave treatment on Tartary buckwheat germination and flavonoids enrichment. Label-free quantitative proteomic analysis showed that Tartary buckwheat germinated at 3, 5, and 7 days after 300 W/50 s microwave treatment had 7, 5, and 5 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) compared to those of control. These DEPs are mainly related to energy production and conversion, gene expression, and flavonoids metabolism. Based on KEGG analysis, the DEPs were mainly enriched in photosynthesis, RNA polymerase, flavonoid biosynthesis, phenylalanine metabolism, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis metabolic pathways. Further, the upregulation of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and flavonol synthase protein enzymes promoted germination and flavonoids accumulation in Tartary buckwheat. These findings reveal the mechanism of Tartary buckwheat germination and the enrichment of flavonoids induced by microwaves and provide a scientific basis for the development of functional foods for Tartary buckwheat.

The phenolic substances, antioxidant capacity, and enzyme inhibitory activity of germinated

This study investigated the morphologic characteristics of congenital heart disease (CHD) combined with anomalous tracheobronchial arborization (ATBA) to provide new considerations for surgically treating congenital tracheal stenosis.A retrospective review of surgical experience with ATBA was conducted of 147 patients. The proportion of patients with ATBA combined with tracheal stenosis was determined. Four ATBA types were identified: type A, tracheal bronchus (n = 58); type B, bronchial trifurcation (n = 46); type C, bridging bronchus (n = 38); and type D, tracheal bronchus combined with bronchial trifurcation (n = 5). The rate of tracheoplasty for each type was determined. We measured the carina/pseudocarina angle and assessed the distribution of CHD, especially pulmonary artery sling.The tracheal diameter of 14 patients (24.1%) with type A and 5 patients (10.9%) with type B was normal. There were 128 patients with tracheal stenosis and complete tracheal rings; of them, 113 patients received tracheoplasty. The tracheoplasty rate was higher for type C than type A (100% vs 62.1%, P.001). The carina/pseudocarina angle was significantly reduced postoperatively (P.001). The repair in 78 patients (60.9%) was combined with a pulmonary artery sling. A pulmonary azygos lobe was found in 10 patients (6.8%) and was resected.ATBA is common in patients with congenital tracheal stenosis and may be associated with abnormal embryonic development. The new classification of ATBA has clinical significance in treating patients with congenital tracheal stenosis. The poor tracheal development cannot be explained merely with vascular compression. Tracheoplasty is currently the optimal option for every type.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different microwave radiation power and treatment time on the antioxidant enzyme activities and radical scavenging potency in Tartary buckwheat sprouts. The results indicated that the optimal microwave irradiation conditions for superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidise and ascorbate peroxidise antioxidant enzymes was the power 300 W for 75 s, and their activities were all higher than those of the control and the ungerminated seeds. In addition, under the above microwave conditions, the total reducing power and the ability to scavenge DPPH, ABTS, O(2)– and •OH were also optimal. These results indicated that suitable microwave treatment could effectively improve the antioxidant enzyme activity in Tartary buckwheat sprouts and enhance the antioxidant capacity of sprouts.

Background Low cardiac output syndrome (LCOS) is an important complication of cardiac surgery. It is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. The incidence of LCOS after surgery is high in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). Therefore, determining the risk factors of LCOS has clinical significance for the management of CHD. This study aimed to analyze the risk factors of LCOS. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of children with CHD who underwent cardiac surgery at Shanghai Children’s Medical Center between January 1, 2014, and December 31, 2017. Demographic characteristics and baseline data were extracted from the health data resource center of the hospital, which integrates clinical routine data including medical records, diagnoses, orders, surgeries, laboratory tests, imaging, nursing, and other subsystems. Logistic regressions were performed to analyze the risk factors of LCOS. Results Overall, 8660 infants with CHD were included, and 864 (9.98%) had LCOS after surgery. The multivariate regression analysis identified that age (OR 0.992, 95% CI: 0.988–0.997, p = 0.001), tricuspid regurgitation (1.192, 1.072–1.326, p = 0.001), Risk Adjustment in Congenital Heart Surgery-1 risk grade (1.166, 1.011–1.345, p = 0.035), aortic shunt (left-to-right: 1.37, 1.005–1.867, p = 0.046; bi-directional: 1.716, 1.138–2.587, p = 0.01), atrial shunt (left-to-right: 1.407, 1.097–1.805, p = 0.007; right-to-left: 3.168, 1.944–5.163, p p p = 0.02; bi-directional: 2.09, 1.611–2.712, p p = 0.004), left ventricular outflow tract obstruction (3.934, 1.673–9.254, p = 0.002), right ventricular outflow tract obstruction (3.638, 1.225–10.798, p = 0.02), circulating temperature (mild hypothermia: 1.526, 95% CI: 1.205–1.934, p p = 0.001), duration of cardiopulmonary bypass (1.009, 1.006–1.012, p p p Conclusions The incidence of postoperative LCOS in CHD children remains high. Circulation temperature, myocardial preservation using histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate, and usage of residual shunt after surgery were independent risk predictors for LCOS.

To investigate the changes of spinal cord angle between anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion (ACAF) and posterior laminectomy in treating severe ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). Seventy-one patients with cervical OPLL were enrolled. Patients in this study were divided into group A and group P. Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) score was utilized to evaluate the neurological function. Radiological assessments included the spinal cord angle, Cobb angle, and area of the spinal cord. Surgery-related complications were also recorded. At the final follow-up, patients in group A had better recovery of local and whole cord angle, and the area of the cord than those in group P (all p

Intervertebral foramen endoscopy has developed rapidly, but compared with transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), the progress of degeneration is unknown. We aim to compare the changes of intervertebral disc and intervertebral foramen in adjacent segments after TLIF and endoscopic discectomy for patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH).From 2014 to 2017, 87 patients who were diagnosed with single-level LDH and received surgery of TLIF (group T, n = 43) or endoscopic discectomy (group F, n = 44) were retrospectively analyzed. X-ray, MRI, CT and clinical symptoms were recorded before operation and at the last follow-up (FU). The neurological function was originally evaluated by the Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scores. Radiological evaluation included the height of intervertebral space (HIS), intervertebral foramen height (FH), intervertebral foramen area (FA), lumbar lordosis (CA) and intervertebral disc degeneration Pfirrmann scores.There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics, JOA improvement rate, reoperation rate and complications between the two groups. The age, average blood loss, average hospital stays and average operation time in group F were lower than those in group T. During the last FU, HIS, CA and FA decreased in both groups, and the changes in group T were more significant than those in group F (P .05). There was no significant difference in FH changes between the two groups (P .05).Both TLIF and endoscopic surgery can achieve good results in the treatment of LDH, but the risk of lumbar disc height loss and intervertebral foramina reduction in the adjacent segment after endoscopic surgery is lower.

BACKGROUND: The use of contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) to locate sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer has been studied more and more in recent years. This prospective study aimed to compare periareolar injection of two different contrast agents, SonoVue(®) (SNV) and Sonazoid(®) (SNZ), followed by CEUS to identify SLNs in breast cancer patients with clinically negative nodes. METHODS: A total of 205 patients with T1-2N0M0 breast cancer were divided into the SNV group and SNZ group. All were administered a periareolar injection of SNV or SNZ and underwent US to identify contrast-enhanced SLNs. Each contrast-enhanced SLN underwent a biopsy with blue dye and examined again by CEUS in vitro. RESULTS: In all cases, contrast-enhanced lymphatic vessels were clearly visualized using US soon after the periareolar injection of SNZ, and the SLNs were easily identified. The SLN identification rates were 75.27% (210/279) for SNV and 93.58% (102/109) for SNZ. Although the accuracy of detecting SLN metastasis was slightly different between the two groups, there was no statistically significant difference between those groups (P=0.615). Moreover, it was possible to identify SLNs in vitro in the SNZ group, and these could be compared with the lymph nodes (LNs) located using SNZ during the preoperative stage and with blue dye during the procedure. This helped in determining the resection requirements. CONCLUSIONS: When comparing the subdermal use of SNV and SNZ, no significant differences in the number of detected SLNs and the diagnosis of metastatic LNs were observed. Because SLNs can be detected for a longer time in living tissues with SNZ, this contrast agent may provide more intraoperative information for complete resection of all preoperative localization of SLN.

Background Calcification of intervertebral disc is a common impairment, which has been considered as the degenerative condition of the spine. In clinical practice, we note that the onset of intervertebral disc calcification (IDC) and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) can exist simultaneously in some cases, especially in younger children. However, only 8 cases have been reported in detail previously. In addition, controversy remains in terms of the best way to treat this condition. Case Description An 8-year-old female child was referred to our department in March 2018 complaining of severe back pain and neck pain with a sign of neurologic dysfunction. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging revealed the calcified intervertebral disc and OPLL at the C5−C6 level and spinal cord compression. We performed a noninterventional strategy for the patient. The patient's symptom recovered significantly in approximately 1 month. At 6 months of follow-up, the patient felt no discomfort, and computed tomography revealed the complete resorption of ossified lesion. Magnetic resonance imaging also showed no sign of compression on the spinal cord and nerve root at the involved segment. Conclusions Pediatric IDC accompanied with OPLL is much less frequent, but we must be aware of this disease. Since the distribution of this disease is age-specific and sex-specific, further research is necessary. Treatment for IDC combined with OPLL needs to follow the treatment principles as described in the text.

The functional changes of nucleus pulposus (NP) cells are considered to be the initiating factors of intervertebral disc degeneration (IDD), and the differentially expressed circRNAs in NP cells may play an important role in the process of IDD. To identify circular RNAs (circRNAs) associated with human IDD, we isolated the NP cells from human degenerated and non-degenerated intervertebral disc and identified NP cells by microscopy and cell proliferation. CircRNA microarray expression profiles were obtained from NP cells of degenerated and non-degenerated intervertebral disc and further validated by quantitative reverse transcription PCR (qRT-PCR). The expression data were analyzed by bioinformatics. Microarray analysis identified 7294 circRNAs differentially expressed in degenerated human IDD NP cells. Among them, 3724 circRNAs were up-regulated and 3570 circRNAs were down-regulated by more than 2 folds. After validating by qRT-PCR, we predicted the possible miRNAs of the top dysregulated circRNAs using TargetScan, and miRanda. Furthermore, Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathway analysis showed that the most modulated circRNAs regulate the viability, degradation, apoptosis and oxidative stress in NP cells, and the possible mechanism underlying IDD was discussed. These results revealed that circRNAs may play a role in IDD and might be a promising candidate molecular target for gene therapy.

Background Anterior or posterior decompression has been widely used to treat patients with ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). However, when OPLL extends to the C2 level, the complex anatomic structures around the C2 vertebral body and postoperative destabilization or kyphosis would make it difficult to perform anterior or posterior surgery. This study proposed a novel technique named “shelter technique” to deal with C2 OPLL. Methods Sixteen patients with cervical OPLL involving the C2 segment were included. The OPLL below C2 was dealt with anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion, including diskectomy of involved levels, resection of the anterior vertebral bodies, installation of the intervertebral cages and anterior cervical plate, isolation of the vertebrae-OPLL complex (VOC), and the final hoisting of the VOC. When dealing with C2 OPLL, the posterior portion of the C2 vertebral body was resected to create the shelter based on the thickness of the C2 OPLL, which could provide space for further antedisplacement of the ossified mass behind the C2 vertebra. Finally, OPLL behind C2 was moved forward together with the antedisplacement of VOC below C2. Results Postoperative magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography scan showed sufficient decompression of the spinal cord, including the C2 segment, and the shelter provided enough space for the antedisplacement of the ossified mass behind the C2 segment. At the final follow-up of 1 year, neurologic function of all patients recovered significantly. Conclusions The shelter technique can be relatively effective and safe for patients with OPLL involving the C2 segment. However, further studies with more cases and longer follow-up will be required to reveal the surgical value of the technique.

Objective We investigated whether the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) space on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) correlates with the outcomes of anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion (ACAF) for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). Methods A total of 53 patients with OPLL who had undergone ACAF were enrolled. The Japanese Orthopaedic Association (JOA) scale, visual analog scale, and neck disability index were used to evaluate the clinical outcomes. The area of CSF space and spinal cord on T2-weighted MRI, the occupying rate of the CSF space and spinal cord, and the postoperative MRI score of the CSF space were measured. The patients were divided into 2 groups according to the JOA score improvement rate (IR). The relationship between the postoperative MRI score and the JOA score IR was analyzed. Results The patients in group A experienced better recovery compared with those in group B regarding the JOA, visual analog scale, and neck disability index score at the final follow-up visit. On both axial and sagittal T2-weighed MRI, patients in group A experienced lower improvement of the area of the spinal cord than in group B (P > 0.05). However, the mean improvement in the CSF space in group A was better than that in group B (62.86 ± 30.05 mm2 vs. −6.36 ± 24.58 mm2; P Conclusion These results suggest that ACAF could provide good decompression of the spinal cord and neurological improvement. Also, recovery of the CSF space correlated closely with the surgical ACAF outcomes for cervical myelopathy due to OPLL.

Objective Dysregulation of KLF7 participates in the development of various cancers, but it is unclear whether there is a link between HCC and aberrant expression of KLF7. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of KLF7 in proliferation and migration of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. Methods CCK8, colony growth, transwell, cell cycle analysis and apoptosis detection were performed to explore the effect of KLF7, VPS35 and Ccdc85c on cell function in vitro. Xenografted tumor growth was used to assess in vivo role of KLF7. Chip-qPCR and luciferase reporter assays were applied to check whether KLF7 regulated VPS35 at transcriptional manner. Co-IP assay was performed to detect the interaction between VPS35 and Ccdc85c. Immunohistochemical staining and qRT-PCR analysis were performed in human HCC sampels to study the clinical significance of KLF7, VPS35 and β-catenin. Results Firstly, KLF7 was highly expressed in human HCC samples and correlated with patients’ differentiation and metastasis status. KLF7 overexpression contributed to cell proliferation and invasion of HCC cells in vitro and in vivo. KLF7 transcriptional activation of VPS35 was necessary for HCC tumor growth and metastasis. Further, co-IP studies revealed that VPS35 could interact with Ccdc85c in HCC cells. Rescue assay confirmed that overexpression of VPS35 and knockdown of Ccdc85c abolished the VPS35-medicated promotion effect on cell proliferation and invasion. Finally, KLF7/VPS35 axis regulated Ccdc85c, which involved in activation of β-catenin signaling pathway, confirmed using β-catenin inhibitor, GK974. Functional studies suggested that downregulation of Ccdc85c partly reversed the capacity of cell proliferation and invasion in HCC cells, which was regulated by VPS35 upregulation. Lastly, there was a positive correlation among KLF7, VPS35 and active-β-catenin in human HCC patients. Conclusion We demonstrated that KLF7/VPS35 axis promoted HCC cell progression by activating Ccdc85c-medicated β-catenin pathway. Targeting this signal axis might be a potential treatment strategy for HCC.

Retrospective study.To investigate the clinical effect of anterior controllable antedisplacement and fusion (ACAF) technique for the treatment of multilevel cervical spondylotic myelopathy with spinal stenosis (MCSMSS), compared with hybrid decompression fixation (HDF).A retrospective analysis of 94 cases with MCSMSS was carried out. Fifty-four patients were treated with ACAF, whereas 40 patients were treated with HDF.The operation time, intraoperative blood loss, postoperative complications, Japanese Orthopedic Association score, Neck Disability Index score, parameters at axial computed tomography, cervical curvature and the Kang grade were compared between 2 groups.The patients were followed up for 12-17 (15.6±1.6) months. Compared with HDF, ACAF group achieved better decompression according to computed tomography measurement and Kang grade (P0.05), and recovered to a greater cervical Cobb angle (P0.05). However, Japanese Orthopedic Association score and Neck Disability Index showed no significant difference 1 year after surgery (P0.05). In addition, ACAF presented longer operation time (P0.05) and similar intraoperative blood loss (P0.05), compared with HDF. In terms of complications, ACAF produced less incidences of cerebrospinal fluid leakage, implant complication, epidural hematoma, and C5 palsy compared with HDF.ACAF is an effective method for the treatment of MCSMSS. In comparison to HDF, ACAF has the advantages of more sufficient decompression, more satisfactory cervical curvature, and lower incidence rates of complications.

Additional file 1: Table S1. The Variance Inflation Factor of selected variables.

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) seeds were irradiated with microwaves at various power levels of 200, 400, 600 and 800 W for 10 or 30 s. The irradiated grains were germinated for 3, 5, and 7 days and harvested. The germination rate of the tartary buckwheat seeds and contents of some compounds in the sprouts were investigated. The results showed that the exposure to 600 W microwaves for 10 s resulted in the highest final germination rate after 7 days of germination, which was 2 times that of the control. The exposure of seeds to 800 W for 30 s showed the lowest germination rate (approximately 10%), which decreased by 87% compared with the control (p

Tartary buckwheat (Fagopyrum tataricum) sprouts are an excellent source of dietary flavonoids. Here, we examined the effects of exposing F. tataricum ‘Chuanqiao No.1’ sprouts to various time/power settings during microwave irradiation, by determining their impact on the expression of key flavonoid biosynthetic enzyme genes and the accumulation of flavonoid products within these plants. Microwave irradiation (300 W/25–75 s) significantly upregulated the transcription of various flavonoid biosynthetic enzyme genes, including FtPAL, FtCHI, and FtFLS2, in Tartary buckwheat sprouts during incubation. Maximum rutin content (25064.19 mg/kg dry weight (DW)) was observed in 5-day-old sprouts after they were treated with microwave irradiation at 300 W/75 s, while maximum chlorogenic acid (497.95 mg/kg DW) and vitexin (345.75 mg/kg DW) content were observed after irradiation at 300 W/50 s. Additionally, maximum quercetin content (342.98 mg/kg DW) was reached in 3-day-old sprouts after irradiation at 300 W/50 s. Significant increases in myricetin and dihydromyricetin content were also observed with extended exposure time (300 W/25–125 s); however, this was countermanded by increasing the power value from 300 W to 500 W. These results suggest that among other treatment conditions, microwaving Tartary buckwheat sprouts at 300 W/50–75 s displays the best results in increasing the flavonoid content in these samples.

This is a prospective case-controlled study.The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a modified transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) on the immediate post-operative symptoms in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) accompanied with stenosis.A total of 204 LDH patients with single-level TLIF were enrolled. According to the sequence of the placement of rods and cage, patients were divided into group R (rod-prior-to-cage) and group C (cage-prior-to-rod). Neurological function was evaluated by the Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score. Radiological assessment includes height of intervertebral space (HIS), foraminal height (FH), foraminal area (FA), and segmental lordosis (SL). Change of original symptoms (pain/numb) and new-onset symptoms (pain/numb) after surgery were also recorded.Patients in group R had less change of HIS at L3/4, L4/5, and L5/S1 levels compared with pre-operation (all p 0.05), whereas group C had larger change (all p 0.05). No statistical difference was found in FH between the two groups before and after surgery at L3/4, L4/5, and L5/S1, respectively (all p 0.05). In terms of FA, patients in group R had better improvement after surgery than those in group C at L3/4 and L4/5 (both p 0.05). Patients in both groups acquired good improvement of neurological function. However, there were fewer patients in group R who experienced post-operative leg pain or numb compared with those in group C (p 0.05).The modified open TLIF can significantly reduce the incidence of immediate post-operative symptoms for patients with single-level lumbar disc herniation via installation of rods prior to insertion of cage and the "neural standard" should serve as the goal of decompression for spine surgeons to restore disc/foraminal height and to minimize nerve distraction.