PURPOSE To evaluate retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness profiles according to the foveal position relative to the optic disc in myopia METHODS In 164 eyes of 164 healthy myopic subjects, the disc-foveal angle was defined as the angle between a horizontal line through the disc center and the line connecting the fovea and disc center in fundus photographs overlaid on Cirrus-HD optical co...

The nucleus pulposus is a key player in very early disc degeneration. In the young disc, by acting as a water-like fluid, as opposed to a solid, it resists compression and instantaneously distributes forces evenly in all directions to the inner annulus. The disc anlage notochordal cells contribute not only to how the disc develops, but also to the matrix of the young disc at a time when the nuc...

Degeneration of the intervertebral discs, a process characterized by a cascade of cellular, biochemical, structural and functional changes, is strongly implicated as a cause of low back pain. Current treatment strategies for disc degeneration typically address the symptoms of low back pain without treating the underlying cause or restoring mechanical function. A more in-depth understanding of d...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the usefulness of back pain questionnaires for lumbar disc screening among Korean young males. METHODS We carried out a survey for lumbar disc screening through back pain questionnaires among the volunteers with or without back pain. Three types of back pain questionnaire (Oswestry Low Back Pain Score, Aberdeen Low Back Pain Scale, and Acute Low Back Pain Screeing Questi...

BACKGROUND The lumbosacral disc with the adjacent iliac crest and its relationships to neurologic, visceral, and vascular structures is difficult to approach with cannula-based retractor systems. Previous, less invasive approaches have been described to access this space. Anterior, presacral, and transforaminal approaches each have approach-related complications that have prevented their widesp...

The disc diffusion, Etest and agar dilution techniques were compared to evaluate the antimicrobial susceptibility profile of 70 Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolates to seven antimicrobial agents. The S. maltophilia isolates were consecutively collected from May 2000 to May 2002 from individual patients, who were hospitalized in a private Brazilian hospital. The antimicrobial susceptibility tes...

Observations of extrasolar planets reveal that planets can be found in close binary systems, where the semi-major axis of the binary orbit is less than 20 AU. The existence of these planets challenges planet formation theory because the strong gravitational perturbations due to the companion increase encounter velocities between planetesimals and make it difficult for them to grow through accre...

Brief strong depolarization of cerebellar Purkinje cells produces a slow inward cation current. This current, called depolarization-induced slow current (DISC), is triggered by Ca influx in the Purkinje cell and is attenuated by a blocker of vesicular fusion. Previous work in other brain regions, such as the substantia nigra and ventral tegmental area, has shown that dopamine can be released fr...

Massive early-type galaxies (ETGs) commonly have gas discs which are kinematically misaligned with the stellar component. These discs feel a torque from the stars and the angular momentum vectors are expected to align quickly. We present results on the evolution of a misaligned gas disc in a cosmological simulation of a massive ETG from the feedback in realistic environments project. This galax...