Unlike the posterior approach where contamination is common, the anterior video-assisted approach allows a biopsy without skin contact. This approach to the spine is the most effective way to eliminate the risk of contamination. Our results confirm the absence of any relationship between infection and disc degeneration. We suggest that the 6 positive samples in our study may be related to contamination. The absence of infection at 1-year followup is an additional argument in favour of our results. In conclusion, our study shows no association between infection and disc degeneration. The pathophysiology of disc degeneration is complex, but the current literature opens new perspectives.
Tide gauge records are commonly used as proxies to detect coastal floods and project future flood frequencies. While these proxies clearly show that sea-level rise will increase the frequency of coastal flooding, tide gauges do not account for land-based sources of coastal flooding and therefore likely underestimate the current and future frequency of coastal flooding. Here we present a new sensor framework for measuring the incidence of coastal floods that captures subterranean and land-based contributions to flooding. The low-cost, open-source sensor framework consists of a storm drain water level sensor, roadway camera, and wireless gateway that transmit data in real-time. During five months of deployment in the Town of Beaufort, North Carolina, 24 flood events were recorded. 25% of those events were driven by land-based sources – rainfall, combined with moderate high tides and reduced capacity in storm drains – and would not have been detected using tide gauge proxies. This finding suggests that tide-gauge proxies likely underestimate flood frequency in areas where the stormwater networks are at a reduced drainage capacity due to inundation by receiving waters. Our results highlight the benefits of capturing multiple drivers of coastal flooding by instrumenting stormwater networks directly. More accurate estimates of the frequency and drivers of floods in low-lying coastal communities can enable the development of more effective long-term adaptation strategies.
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