Background and Aim: Diagnosing the status of the posterior ligament complex (PLC) plays an essential role in the management of patients with thoracolumbar fractures. In this study, due to the inefficiency of existing imaging modalities in the accurate detection of PLC damage, we investigated the relevance of some imaging parameters to specific guidelines for rapid PLC injury detection. Methods...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the relationship between disease damage and bone mineral density (BMD) in women with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 307 women with SLE. Patients attended a single clinic visit that included an interview, physical examination, laboratory testing and BMD measurements (hip and/or lumbar spine). Women were stratified ...

PURPOSE To determine the association between the number of flares systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients experience and damage accrual, independently of other known risk factors. METHODS SLE patients (34 centres, nine Latin American countries) with a recent diagnosis (≤2 years) and ≥3 evaluations were studied. Disease activity was ascertained with the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease...

Results of damage prediction in buildings can be used as a useful tool for managing and decreasing seismic risk of earthquakes. In this study, damage spectrum and C4.5 decision tree algorithm were utilized for damage prediction in steel buildings during earthquakes. In order to prepare the damage spectrum, steel buildings were modeled as a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) system and time-history...

7 AIM: Poor sleep quality, a novel risk factor of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), is 8 highly prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). The association 9 between poor sleep quality and cardiovascular damage in patients with CKD is 10 unclear. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and related risk factors of sleep 11 disturbance and determine the relationship between sleep qual...

OBJECTIVE The Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI) is a validated instrument for assessing organ damage in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Trained physicians must complete it, thus limiting utility where this is impossible. METHODS We developed and pilot tested a self-assessed organ damage instrument, the Lupus Damage Index...

BACKGROUND Varicocele is associated with high levels of DNA damage in spermatozoa due to oxidative stress and elevated levels of sperm DNA fragmentation, which has been currently proposed to be an essential additional diagnostic test to be recommended for patients with clinical varicocele. The aim of this study was to evaluate the parameters of semen and the DNA fragmentation index (DFI) in pat...