Descriptive analysis of Fibulin-3 and the extracellular vesicle marker, Alix, in drusen from a small cohort of postmortem human eyes.

Fibulin-3 (Fib3) is a secreted glycoprotein that is expressed in the retina and has been associated with drusen formation in age-related macular degeneration (AMD). The purpose of this study was to assess whether Fib3 is associated with extracellular vesicles (EVs) in drusen from non-diseased and AMD human donors. De-identified sections of human eyes were received from the National Disease Research Institute (NDRI, Philadelphia).

The biomechanical cost of variable angle locking screws.

Introduction: Variable angle (VA) locking plates in fracture fixation surgery allow screws to be fastened to the plate within a conical "locus of vectors" in order to avoid existing prostheses, joint surfaces, or poor quality bone. Clinical failures of VA constructs in which screws have rotated at the plate/screw interface have been reported raising the concern that there may be a biomechanical cost for the increased flexibility that VA provides. The objective of this study was to test the mechanical properties of one commonly used VA locking mechanism with screws placed in both nominal and off-axis trajectories and compare these against the standard locking mechanism.