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  • Bergmann Braswell posted an update 6 hours, 26 minutes ago

    En bloc surgery is the mainstay treatment for primary malignant bone tumors, as well as in the cervical spine. Unfortunately, literature on the topic is limited to case reports and small series.

    We reviewed all patients affected by primary cervical spine bone tumors treated with en bloc surgeries from 1996 to 2016 and identified 30 eligible cases. We evaluated the clinical presentation and tumor characteristics and reported surgical results, complications, recurrence, and survival rates.

    Only 17 of 30 patients had not been previously treated at presentation. Osteosarcoma and chordoma were the most frequent tumors, and pain was reported in all cases. En bloc spondylectomy, hemispondylectomy, and posterior arch en bloc resection were performed in 16, 12, and 2 patients, respectively. The obtained margin was adequate (wide and marginal) in 60% of cases and intralesional in the remaining cases. Two deaths occurred in the immediate postoperative period. Neurological deterioration, dural tear,and dysphagia were the most frequent complications. The 5-year local recurrence-free survival was 70.4%. Therecurrence rate was 38.5% and 11.7% in previously and non-previously treated patients, respectively (χ

    2.94; P=0.086). Overall survival at 5 years was 58% and 47% for all series and malignant tumors, respectively.

    Primary cervical spine bone tumors present a difficult approach. Findings suggest that patients treated with en bloc surgery show recurrence and survival rates comparable to the same tumors located in the thoracolumbar spine.

    Primary cervical spine bone tumors present a difficult approach. Findings suggest that patients treated with en bloc surgery show recurrence and survival rates comparable to the same tumors located in the thoracolumbar spine.

    There are few objective measures for evaluating individual performance throughout surgical residency. Two commonly used objective measures are the case log numbers and written board examination scores. The objective of this study was to investigate possible correlations between these measures.

    We conducted a retrospective review of the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS) written board scores and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education case logs of 27 recent alumni from neurologic surgery residency training programs at The Ohio State Wexner Medical Center and the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

    The number of spine cases logged was significantly correlated with the ABNS written examination performance in univariate linear regression (r

    = 0.0182, P= 0.0265). However, case numbers from all other neurosurgical subspecialties did not significantly correlate with ABNS written board performance (P > 0.1).

    Identifying which objective measures correlate most closely with resident education could help optimize the structure of residency training programs. We believe that early exposure to focused aspects of neurosurgery helps the young resident learn quickly and efficiently and ultimately score highly on standardized examinations. Therefore program directors may want to ensure focused exposure during the early years of residency, with particular attention to worthwhile rotations in spine neurosurgery.

    Identifying which objective measures correlate most closely with resident education could help optimize the structure of residency training programs. We believe that early exposure to focused aspects of neurosurgery helps the young resident learn quickly and efficiently and ultimately score highly on standardized examinations. Therefore program directors may want to ensure focused exposure during the early years of residency, with particular attention to worthwhile rotations in spine neurosurgery.

    Exvivo animal brain simulation models are being increasingly used for neurosurgical training because these models can replicate human brain conditions. The goal of the present report is to provide the neurosurgical community interested in using exvivo animal brain simulation models with guidelines for comprehensively and rigorously conducting, documenting, and assessing this type of research.

    In consultation with an interdisciplinary group of physicians and researchers involved in exvivo models and a review of the literature on the best practices guidelines for simulation research, we developed the “exvivo brain model to assess surgical expertise” (EVBMASE) checklist. The EVBMASE checklist provides a comprehensive quantitative framework for analyzing and reporting studies involving these models. We applied The EVBMASE checklist to the studies reported of exvivo animal brain models to document how current exvivo brain simulation models are used to train surgical expertise.

    The EVBMASE checklist includes defined subsections and a total score of 20, which can help investigators improve studies and provide readers with techniques to better assess the quality and any deficiencies of the research. We classified 18 published exvivo brain models into modified (group 1) and nonmodified (group 2) models. The mean total EVBMASE score was 11 (55%) for group 1 and 4.8 (24.2%) for group 2, a statistically significant difference (P= 0.006) mainly attributed to differences in thesimulation study design section (P= 0.003).

    The present findings should help contribute to more rigorous application, documentation, and assessment of exvivo brain simulation research.

    The present findings should help contribute to more rigorous application, documentation, and assessment of ex vivo brain simulation research.

    Although the Veterans RAND 12-item Physical Component Survey (VR-12 PCS) has been broadly used to evaluate patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in spine surgery, its feasibility for use in patients undergoing minimally invasive lumbar discectomy (MIS LD) has not been well studied. This study aimed to assess the feasibility of VR-12 PCS for use up to 2 years postoperatively for MIS LD by correlation with PROMs for physical function.

    Patients undergoing primary single-level MIS LD procedures were reviewed retrospectively. Results on the VR-12 PCS, 12-Item Short Form (SF-12) PCS, and Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS PF) were recorded preoperatively and up to 2 years postoperatively. Improvements in postoperative PROMs were calculated and assessed for significant differences from baseline values. Correlation significance and strength were evaluated between VR-12 PCS and SF-12 PCS or PROMIS PF. Scatterplots were constructed to demonstrate relationships of VR-12 PCS with SF-ing patient-reported physical function in MIS LD patients.In Thailand in 2016, more than 70% of all deaths due to road accidents were motorcyclist deaths. This study uses a correlated random parameters ordered probit model with heterogeneity in means (CRPOPHM) to obtain insight into differences in the significant factors determining the severity of motorcyclist injury between motorcycle crashes in urban and rural roadways, using data on motorcycle crashes in Thailand from 2016 to 2019. see more Using a rating system for injury severity level from minor injury to severe injury and to fatal injury, a wide range of potential risk factors are considered, including rider characteristics and actions, roadway characteristics, environmental and temporal characteristics, and crash characteristics. The findings indicate that, although some factors are significant in both urban and rural models, factors such as male rider, illegally overtaking, drowsiness, four-lane or wider highway, flush or depressed median, road on slope, weekend, nighttime with light, crash with van or minibus, and rear-ending or sideswiping crash, are significant only in the rural model, whereas the factors barrier median, occurring between 1800 and 2359, and striking a passenger car are statistically significant in only the urban model. These findings further suggests that difference in effect of unobserved characteristics could be seen in different crash locations, and splitting the model estimation between both location types could be done to develop effective guidance for policies to mitigate the severity of motorcyclist injuries. In addition, practical policy-related recommendations drawn from the results of the analysis are provided. With respect to methodology, the proposed CRPOPHM method outperforms lower-ordered models in terms of statistical fit and captures unobserved heterogeneity to a greater extent.Individual collision types have different underlying causes and thus the relationships between roadway/traffic characteristics and crash frequency are likely to differ across unique collision types. One way these different influences have been studied is by developing separate statistical models for each collision type. While this is the most straightforward approach, developing collision-specific models can be very tedious and can produce unreliable estimates for collision types that are less frequently observed. Moreover, ignoring correlations between different collision types may result in biased and inefficient parameter estimation. To overcome these limitations, researchers have adopted a multivariate approach that explicitly accounts for the correlation among individual collision types. As an alternative to multivariate approach, two-stage approaches have been proposed in which one model is estimated to predict total crash frequency and its prediction is combined with another model, used to predict the -suburban collector roadway segments in Pennsylvania. The goodness of fit statistics show that the NB-MNL model performs better than collision-specific NB models, MVNB model and joint NB-MFS model and is thus a promising approach in predicting crash frequency by collision type.To ensure safety, it is necessary to test the connected vehicle (CV) technology before application. The goal of this study is to provide a case reference for the testing of the connected vehicle technology. The connected vehicle technology test platform is built based on the driving simulator. Taking fog zone, tunnel zone, and work zone as analysis cases, drivers were invited to participate in driving simulation experiments, related data was collected, and the impact of connected vehicle technology on driving behavior and safety was analyzed. The results of the fog zone imply that drivers have a high degree of compliance with the connected vehicle technology. However, it also increases the visual workload of drivers to a certain extent. The results of the tunnel zone indicate that the connected vehicle technology can enhance driving safety by enabling drivers to remain cautious. The results of the work zone demonstrate that the connected vehicle technology is able to promote drivers’ ability of controlling speed and lane-changing. Overall, the results show that the connected vehicle technology has a positive effect on enhancing driving behavior and safety. The research framework and the development of the connected vehicle technology test platform based on the driving simulator given in the paper are dynamic and reproducible, which provides a reference for researchers in related fields, and the case analysis in this paper enriches the research of connected vehicle technology.