Which Surgical Intervention for Patients Suffering from Isthmic Lumbar Spondylolisthesis, Posterolateral Fusion (PLF) or Posterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion (PLIF), Shows the Most Improvement in Lower Back Pain for Patients Younger than 65 Who Have Failed 6 Months of Conservative Therapy?

Objective: The objective of this selective EBM review is to determine whether or not posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) is a superior surgical intervention compared to posterolateral fusion (PLF) for treating patients younger than 65 years old with isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis who have failed 6 months of conservative therapy. Study Design: Systemic review of three English language primary studies comparing the efficacy of PLF and PLIF surgical approaches for isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis published after 2006. Data Sources: Three randomized controlled trials published after 2006 selected from PubMed based on their relevance to the proposed question. Outcomes Measured: The outcomes measured in the trials focused on Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) scores reported by the patients indicating the level of lower back pain they were having prior to and after the completion of the surgery. Results: All three studies confirmed that both PLF and PLIF surgical interventions for isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis in patients 65 years or younger who failed 6 months of conservative therapy showed improvement over the pre-operation baseline. Two of the studies indicated that there was no difference in terms of long term pain relief (1+ years post-operation) when performing PLF versus PLIF; however, one of the studies indicated that PLF showed statistically significant reduction in pain long term. One of the studies also showed that pain levels 3 months post operation were lower with PLIF compared to PLF. Conclusions: Both PLF and PLIF are surgeries that can reduce the lower back pain felt by patients with isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis. The results of the review indicate that there is no clear evidence as to which surgical approach is superior in terms of decreasing lower back pain in patients after surgery. Other factors such as surgeon experience and preference for performing these procedures along with patient anatomy should continue to guide surgeons in deciding the most appropriate approach to surgical repair for isthmic lumbar spondylolisthesis

Residence, perceived latitude of choice and desired control among the long-livin

Perceived control, perceived choice, and residential setting are important factors which need to be addressed in research involving long-living. The focus of this study was to determine the relationships among thee variables. The search for an interaction between residential setting (either high or low constraining) and perceived choice and its effect on perceived control distinguishes this study from previous research

Interview with James R. Hopkins

James Hopkins talks about the Kokosing river valley.https://digital.kenyon.edu/lak_interviews/1009/thumbnail.jp

Dynamic Industry Structure and Benefit Pass Through Rates from Generic Advertising

Marketing,

Composition of Ancient Peruvian Copper

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210omplete quantitative analyses were made of samples of metal taken from fifteen Peruvian copper objects that came from various sites and ranged in date from the fourth to the fifteenth century A.D. Twelve of the samples were found to be composed of arsenical copper containing a wide variety of impurities. One was native copper and one other was apparently native copper modified by heat treatment. Only one sample contained enough tin to warrant classification as bronze. Some tentative general conclusions are advance

Wet Analysis of Gold-Silver Alloys of High Gold Content

Author Institution: Department of Chemistry, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OhioGold-silver alloys dissolve completely in mixtures of hydrochloric and nitric acids acids containing potassium chloride in high concentration. In an analytical procedure based on this observation, silver is separated and determined as the chloride, and gold as the metal after reduction with sulfite. Analyses of test alloys, synthetic mixtures, and ancient objects showed that this new procedure is practicable and that results of satisfactory accuracy can be obtained

Development and Application of Operational Techniques for the Inventory and Monitoring of Resources and Uses for the Texas Coastal Zone

There are no author-identified significant results in this report