Clinical and radiographic outcomes of upper thoracic versus lower thoracic upper instrumented vertebrae for adult scoliosis: a meta-analysis

<div><p>The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcomes of upper thoracic (UT) versus lower thoracic (LT) upper instrumented vertebrae (UIV) for adult scoliosis by meta-analysis. We conducted a literature search in three databases to retrieve related studies up to March 15, 2017. The preliminary screened studies were assessed by two reviewers according to the selection criteria. All analyses were carried out using the statistical software package R version 2.31. Odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to describe the results. The I2 statistic and Q statistic test were used for heterogeneity assessment. Egger's test was performed to detect publication bias. To assess the effect of each study on the overall pooled OR or standardized mean difference (SMD), sensitive analysis was conducted. Ten trials published between 2007 and 2015 were eligible and included in our study. Meta-analysis revealed that the UT group was associated with more blood loss (SMD=0.4779, 95%CI=0.3349-0.6209, Z=6.55, P<0.0001) and longer operating time (SMD=0.5780, 95%CI=0.1971-0.958, Z=2.97, P=0.0029) than the LT group. However, there was no significant difference in Oswestry Disability Index, Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) function subscores, radiographic outcomes including sagittal vertical axis, lumbar lordosis, and thoracic kyphosis, length of hospital stay, and revision rates between the two groups. No evidence of publication bias was found between the two groups. Fusion from the lower thoracic spine (below T10) has as advantages a shorter operation time and less blood loss than upper thoracic spine (above T10) in posterior long-segment fixation for degenerative lumbar scoliosis.</p></div

Three indel variants in chicken <i>Lpin1</i> exon 6/flanking region and the association with performance traits

<div><p></p><p>1. LPIN1 is a Mg²⁺-dependent phosphatidic acid phosphatase. Variation in chicken <i>Lpin1</i> exon 6 and its flanking regions were identified and three indel variants in 6 breeds and their associations with performance traits were studied.</p><p>2. Seven variants were detected from 6 breeds, which contained a synonymous tri-allelic variant (c.924A/T/C) and three indels. The exon 6 variants detected from chicken breeds were conservative among bird species. The indel variation frequency presented clear differences among breeds.</p><p>3. Two coding indels (c.1014-1018del3 and c.1125-1138del12) were multiples of 3 nucleotides and maintained the open reading frames of LPIN1 proteins. However, they were predicted to result in the clear change of the RNA secondary structure of chicken <i>Lpin1</i> exon 6 and LPIN1 protein conformation.</p><p>4. The association analysis showed that c.871-15-22del6 variation had a significant effect on body weight at hatch (BW0) and 2 weeks (BW2); c. 1014-1018del3 variation had a significant effect on BW4, BW6, caecum length and gizzard weight (GW) traits; c.1125-1138del12 variation had a significant effect on BW12, shank length at 4 weeks (SL4), carcass weight, lactate dehydrogenase traits (LDH), glucose (GLU) and albumin (ALB) traits. The genotype combination for c.1014-1018del3 and c.1125-1138del12 also presented significant effects on SL4, SL8, GW, leg muscle weight, ALB, GLU and LDH.</p><p>5. The study demonstrated that chicken <i>Lpin1</i> has an important effect on chicken hatch weight, serum GLU and ALB level.</p></div