BACKGROUND CONTEXT Bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) (Infuse) has been approved for use in anterior lumbar fusion in conjunction with an LT cage. However, off-label use is seen with anterior cervical fusion, posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF), and transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF). The Federal Food and Drug Administration trial of BMP-2 in a PLIF application was halted beca...

Human immunodeficiency virus infection / acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a disease pertained to the human immune system. Given its crucial role in viral replication, HIV-1 protease (HIV-1 PR) is a prime therapeutic target in AIDS therapy. In this regard, the dynamic aspects of ligand-enzyme interactions may indicate an important role of conformational variability in HIV-1 PR in...

The aim of this study was to compare the clinical efficacy between transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF) and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) in treatment of lumbar spondylolisthesis. A total of 62 patients with lumbar spondylolisthesis were treated at our hospital from 2010 to 2013. These patients were divided into a TLIF group that included 36 patients (mean age: 60 years) and...

Detailed studies of flame-vortex interactions are extremely valuable to improve our understanding of turbulent combustion regimes. Combined experimental and numerical studies have already been performed in the premixed case during previous investigations. Therefore, we decided to carry out a detailed experimental investigation on the regimes observed during interaction of a vortex ring and a no...

Background The number of lumbar spine surgeries has been increasing during the last 20 years, which also leads to an increase in hospital costs and complications related to surgery. Therefore, there is a greater concern about the costs and safety of the techniques and implants used. Methods Patients (aged from 18 to 50 years) presenting with lumbago /sciatica (ICD-10-CM M54.3, M54.4) due to l...

Immune tolerance mechanisms supporting normal human pregnancy are exploited by breast cancer and other malignancies. We cloned from human placenta and breast cancer cells the novel human immunomodulator named placenta immunosuppressive ferritin (PLIF). PLIF is composed of a ferritin heavy chain-like domain and a novel cytokine-like domain, named C48. Both intact PLIF and C48 inhibit T cell prol...

Objective To compare the medium-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of Dynesys dynamic stabilization and posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF) for treatment of multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease. Methods Fifty-seven patients with multisegmental lumbar degenerative disease underwent Dynesys stabilization (n = 26) or PLIF (n = 31) from December 2008 to February 2010. The mean follo...