Midline-preserving vs. midline-removing surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis: national registry study based on the Finnish spine registry (FinSpine).

Purpose: Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) can be treated surgically by decompressing the affected nervous structures, either by removing or preserving the midline structures. There is no conclusive evidence demonstrating the superiority of either surgical technique in the treatment of LSS. Our purpose was to compare the posterior midline-preserving techniques with midline-removing techniques separately for central stenosis and lateral recess stenosis to evaluate whether either technique leads to superior postoperative results in terms of functional outcome or pain reduction, by using data from the Finnish Spine Registry (FinSpine).

Regular postexercise sauna bathing does not improve heart rate variability: A multi-arm randomized controlled trial.

Regular exercise has been shown to increase heart rate variability (HRV) for different populations. Acute and short-term studies using heat therapy and sauna bathing have also shown HRV improvements. However, long-term adaptations in HRV to regular exercise and sauna bathing remain unexplored.

Tackling the challenges of food waste diary studies - Testing strategies with Finnish data.

This study reports food waste diary results in Finland from 2019 (296 households) and 2022 (372 households) using an online food waste diary Kotihukka. According to the results, Finnish households waste 15.5-16.

Dietary climate impact correlates ambiguously with health biomarkers- a randomised controlled trial in healthy Finnish adults.

Purpose: A transition to more plant-rich diets is an effective way to reduce the climate impact of a diet. Using a whole-diet approach, we studied how partial replacement of animal-sourced with plant-sourced proteins affected the dietary climate impact while simultaneously considering diet-related health biomarkers.

Methods: In a 12-week randomised controlled trial, 107 women and 29 men were assigned into three diet groups (ANIMAL, 50/50, PLANT) with animal-to-plant-protein ratios of 70/30, 50/50, and 30/70, respectively.

1-year results of lumbar spinal stenosis surgery in Finland: a national FinSpine register study.

Background And Purpose: While the rates of lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) surgery have increased continuously internationally, the role of fusion surgery in the treatment of LSS has been under debate. We aimed to assess the outcome of LSS surgery at 1 year postoperatively and to compare decompression surgery with or without fusion based on the Finnish national spine register FinSpine data.

Methods: FinSpine data of surgically treated LSS from 2015 to 2022 was included.

Preoperative Evaluation of Oswestry Disability Index in Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: New Evidence of Time Independence of Variation Up to 1 Year.

Background: The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) is a well-validated and widely used patient-reported outcome instrument to evaluate lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) patients' treatment outcomes. The objective of the present study was to determine long the average interval between 2 preoperative measurements can be before a clinically significant difference of 10 points or more might appear.

Methods: This was a retrospective observational study utilizing prospectively collected data from a single university hospital database, which was compatible with the national registry.

Comparative analysis of patient-reported outcomes in joint arthroplasty surgeries.

Background: This study aims to report and analyze disease-specific patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) effect size (ES) variations, in patients undergoing major arthroplasty surgery.

Material And Methods: All institution-based data of primary knee, hip, or shoulder arthroplasty patients at Turku University hospital (Finland) between January 2020 -December 2022 were collected, and treatment outcome assessed as a PROM difference between baseline and one-year follow-up. PROM ES were calculated for each patient and patient group separately, and patients with ES >0.

A Comprehensive Approach to PROMs in Elective Orthopedic Surgery: Comparing Effect Sizes across Patient Subgroups.

: There is limited knowledge regarding the comparative patient-reported outcomes (PROMs) and effect sizes (ESs) across orthopedic elective surgery. : All patient data between January 2020 and December 2022 were collected, and treatment outcomes assessed as a PROM difference between baseline and one-year follow-up. The cohort was divided into subgroups (hand, elbow, shoulder, spine, hip, knee, and foot/ankle).

Mortality and subsequent fractures of patients with olecranon fractures compared to other upper extremity osteoporotic fractures.

Background: The incidence rate of olecranon fractures is highest in the elderly population. The aim of this study was to determine whether patients with olecranon fractures have similar demographic and risk characteristics compared to patients with osteoporotic upper extremity fractures.

Methods: A retrospective data analysis was performed with diagnoses for olecranon fracture, distal radius fracture and proximal humerus fracture between 2014 and 2016.

Methodological choices in size and density fractionation of soil carbon reserves - A case study on wood fiber sludge amended soils.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is in the focus of research due to its central role in regulating climate and maintaining fertility and resilience of soils. Methodologically, shifting from whole soil C measurements to specific SOC fractions increases possibility to detect small changes in the vast SOC storage, and enhances estimation of SOC stability. However, SOC fractionation schemes are numerous and variable.

A site-specific prediction model for nitrogen leaching in conventional and organic farming.

Food production has a profound eutrophication impact on waterbodies via nutrient leaching. To provide reliable life cycle assessments of the eutrophication potential of agricultural products, accurate nitrogen leaching models are needed. Although many dynamic nitrogen leaching models are in use, their suitability for farm-level assessments remains limited when their requirements for site specific data or numerous parameters are not met.

Short communication: Predicting blood plasma non-esterified fatty acid and beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations from cow milk-addressing systematic issues in modelling.

Negative energy status in early lactation is linked to a variety of metabolic disorders, reduced fertility, and decreased milk production. To improve the energy status of cows by breeding and management, the identification of negative energy status is crucial. While biomarkers such as non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) concentration and beta-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in blood plasma could be used to identify a negative energy state, measuring them directly from blood is both invasive and expensive.

Effects of regular sauna bathing in conjunction with exercise on cardiovascular function: a multi-arm, randomized controlled trial.

Regular exercise and sauna bathing have each been shown to improve cardiovascular function in clinical populations. However, experimental data on the cardiovascular adaptations to regular exercise in conjunction with sauna bathing in the general population are lacking. Therefore, we compared the effects of exercise and sauna bathing to regular exercise using a multi-arm randomized controlled trial.

Standalone sauna vs exercise followed by sauna on cardiovascular function in non-naïve sauna users: A comparison of acute effects.

Background And Aims: Sauna bathing and aerobic exercise have each been shown to affect cardiovascular function. However, direct comparisons between standalone sauna bathing and a combination of exercise and sauna on vascular indices remain limited. Therefore, we conducted a cross-over study using matched durations to explore the hemodynamic changes of sauna exposure when compared to a combination of aerobic exercise and sauna exposure.