Intraoperative Halo-Femoral Traction in Surgical Treatment of Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis Curves between 70° and 90°: Is It Effective?

Study Design A retrospective clinical study. Purpose To analyze the surgical outcomes of intraoperative halo-femoral traction (HFT) in patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) with Cobb angles between 70° and 90° and flexibility 70°. However, few studies have evaluated the results of HFT in AIS patients with Cobb angles between 70° and 90° and flexibility <35%. Methods The study comprised 24 AIS patients (18 females, six males; mean age, 17.4 years; mean preoperative Cobb angle, 80.1°; range, 70°–90°) who underwent surgery using intraoperative HFT. Neurological status was constantly assessed during the surgery using intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring. Results The mean follow-up period was 33.5 months. Radiographic outcomes demonstrated 85.7% correction of the major Cobb angle. Coronal and sagittal balance was achieved in all the patients, and shoulder levels were equalized. The traction was discontinued when a decrease in spinal cord potentials was observed during the surgery. Conclusions Intraoperative HFT is an effective and reliable method for the management of scoliosis curves between 70° and 90°. The most significant advantages of the method are avoidance of the morbidities related to anterior surgery, osteotomy, or vertebral column resection; its contribution in helping achieve adequate reduction and optimum balance by the gradually increased corrective force, lack of any need for extreme correction force during instrumentation; and the high correction rates achieved

Yield and Quality in Purple-Grained Wheat Isogenic Lines

Breeding programs for purple wheat are underway in many countries but there is a lack of information on the effects of Pp (purple pericarp) genes on agronomic and quality traits in variable environments and along the product chain (grain-flour-bread). This study was based on unique material: two pairs of isogenic lines in a spring wheat cv. Saratovskaya-29 (S29) background differing only in Pp genes and grain color. In 2017, seven experiments were conducted in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey with a focus on genotype and environment interaction and, in 2018, one experiment in Turkey with a focus on grain, flour, and bread quality. The eect of environment was greater compared to genotype for the productivity and quality traits studied. Nevertheless, several important traits, such as grain color and anthocyanin content, are closely controlled by genotype, offering the opportunity for selection. Phenolic content in purple-grained lines was not significantly higher in whole wheat flour than in red-colored lines. However, this trait was significantly higher in bread. For antioxidant activities, no differences between the genotypes were detected in both experiments. Comparison of two sources of Pp genes demonstrated that the lines originating from cv. Purple Feed had substantially improved productivity and quality traits compared to those from cv. Purple

Obstacles to Providing Urinary Incontinence Care Among Nurses in Turkey: A Descriptive Study.

Nurses play an important role in identifying, evaluating, monitoring, and managing patients with urinary incontinence (UI)

Obstacles to Providing Urinary Incontinence Care Among Nurses in Turkey: A Descriptive Study

WOS: 000496718300003PubMed: 31702991Nurses play an important role in identifying, evaluating, monitoring, and managing patients with urinary incontinence (UI). PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine nurses' knowledge, attitudes, practices, and obstacles to managing patients' UI. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted between September 2017 and February 2018 at 2 university hospitals, 2 private hospitals, and 4 state hospitals in a metropolitan city in Turkey. All registered nurses present at the times of data collection were eligible to participate. After providing informed consent, they were asked to complete a 25-item demographic characteristic questionnaire, a 7-item UI assessment and care implementation form, a 12-item form assessing obstacles faced during UI care provision, a 24-item UI knowledge questionnaire (higher scores indicated more knowledge; a score of 70% correct was considered adequate), and the Urinary Incontinence Attitude Scale. The latter comprised 15 Likert-type questions that measures attitudes toward UI symptoms, treatment, and prevention (maximum score of 60; higher scores infer positive attitude). Data were collected and entered into a software program for statistical analysis including Mann Whitney U, chi-square, and correlation tests. Incomplete forms were excluded. RESULTS: Of the 475 potential participants, 254 nurses completed all forms; 228 (89.8%) were women, 177 (69.7%) had a bachelor's degree, 146 (57.5%) worked in a state hospital, and 105 (41.3%) worked for 2 to 3 years. The mean score for UI knowledge was 15.22 +/- 3.43 (range 0-24), and the mean attitude score was 46.40 +/- 5.50 (range 15-60). The major nurse- or hospital-related obstacles to providing UI care were a lack of systems for patient follow-up (67.7%) and lack of patient education materials (60.2%). A weak positive correlation was noted between UI knowledge level and attitude (r = 0.263; P =.000). CONCLUSION: Although nurses had a positive attitude toward UI, UI knowledge scores were low. Lack of patient follow-up systems and patient education materials were important obstacles to nurses providing UI care. In addition to addressing these obstacles, postgraduation evidence-based UI education for nurses is needed to optimize care

Seedling resistance of some bread wheat genotypes to Fusarium pseudograminearum

Fusarium pseudograminearum is one of the most damaging Fusarium species that causes root, crown, and foot rots in wheat. Identification of resistant germplasm is one of the most efficient and environmentally sound control methods. However, up to date, limited wheat genotypes with partial resistance are available. Therefore, in this study, the seedling resistance reaction of 200 bread wheat genotypes plus 6 control genotypes obtained from CIMMYT to Fusarium pseudograminearum was determined under growth room conditions. Out of the 200 tested genotypes; 1 (0.5%), 35 (17.5%), 112 (56%), 45 (22.5%), and 7 (3.5%) were resistant, moderately resistant, moderately susceptible, susceptible and very susceptible to Fusarium pseudograminearum, respectively. Resistant and moderately resistant genotypes could be used in breeding studies for developing crown rot-resistant cultivars

The effect of halofuginone, a specific inhibitor of collagen type 1 synthesis, in the prevention of pancreatic fibrosis in an experimental model of severe hyperstimulation and obstruction pancreatitis

Background. The aim of this paper is to assess the effects of halofuginone, a specific inhibitor of synthesis of collagen Type 1, on fibrogenetic process in an experimental model of early pancreatic fibrosis

Discrepancy between cervical disc prostheses and anatomical cervical dimensions

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess appropriateness of the sizes of available cervical disc prostheses based on tomographic measurement of human cervical vertebrae. Methods: The anatomic dimensions of the C3–C7 segments were measured on 50 patients (age range 26–47 years) with computerized tomography scan and compared with the sizes of the popular cervical total disc prostheses (CTDP) at the market [Bryan (Medtronic), Prodisc-C (Synthes), Prestige LP (Medtronic), Discover (DePuy)]. The mediolateral and anteriorposterior diameters of the upper and lower endplates were measured with a digital measuring system. Results: Overall, 43.7% of the largest implant footprints were smaller in the anterior-posterior diameter and 42.6% in the mediolateral diameter were smaller than cervical endplate measurements. Discrepancy of the level C5/C6 and C6/C7 was calculated as 56.2% at the anteroposterior diameter and 43.8% at the center of mediolateral diameter. Conclusion: Large disparity has been found between the sizes of devices and cervical anatomic data.Companies that produce CTDP should take care of the anatomical dimensions and generate different sizes of CTDP. Spine surgeon should be familiar with the size mismatch in CTDP that may affect the clinical and radiological outcome of the surgery. Keywords: Discrepancy, Cervical disc prostheses, Anatomical cervical dimensions, Mismatch, Cervical degenerative disc diseas