Collagen/polyester-polyurethane porous scaffolds for use in meniscal repair.

Focusing on the regeneration of damaged knee meniscus, we propose a hybrid scaffold made of poly(ester-urethane) (PEU) and collagen that combines suitable mechanical properties with enhanced biological integration. To ensure biocompatibility and degradability, the degradable PEU was prepared from a poly(ε-caprolactone), L-lysine diisocyanate prepolymer (PCL di-NCO) and poly(lactic--glycolic acid) diol (PLGA). The resulting PEU ( = 52 000 g mol) was used to prepare porous scaffolds using the solvent casting (SC)/particle leaching (PL) method at an optimized salt/PEU weight ratio of 5 : 1.

Evaluation of Porous (Poly(lactide--glycolide)--(ε-caprolactone)) Polyurethane for Use in Orthopedic Scaffolds.

To develop an orthopedic scaffold that could overcome the limitations of implants used in clinics, we designed poly(ester-urethane) foams and compared their properties with those of a commercial gold standard. A degradable poly(ester-urethane) was synthetized by polyaddition between a diisocyanate poly(ε-caprolactone) prepolymer (PCL di-NCO, = 2400 g·mol) and poly(lactic--glycolic acid) diol (PLGA, = 2200 g·mol) acting as a chain extender. The resulting high-molecular-weight poly(ester-urethane) (PEU, = 87,000 g·mol) was obtained and thoroughly characterized by NMR, FTIR and SEC-MALS.

Anatomical variations of flexor hallucis longus tendon increase safety in hindfoot endoscopy.

Purpose: The flexor hallucis longus (FHL) tendon is the main anatomical landmark during hindfoot endoscopy, and anatomical variations related to the FHL can pose a risk to the tibial nerve and posterior tibial vessels during hindfoot endoscopy. The aim of this study was to determine the distance between the FHL tendon and the tibial neurovascular bundle in the posterior ankle joint when an anatomical variant of the FHL is present. The hypothesis was that the shortest distance between the tibial neurovascular bundle and the FHL tendon in the working area of the hindfoot endoscopy is increased when an anatomical variant of the FHL is present.

Hard sphere-like glass transition in eye lens α-crystallin solutions.

We study the equilibrium liquid structure and dynamics of dilute and concentrated bovine eye lens α-crystallin solutions, using small-angle X-ray scattering, static and dynamic light scattering, viscometry, molecular dynamics simulations, and mode-coupling theory. We find that a polydisperse Percus-Yevick hard-sphere liquid-structure model accurately reproduces both static light scattering data and small-angle X-ray scattering liquid structure data from α-crystallin solutions over an extended range of protein concentrations up to 290 mg/mL or 49% vol fraction and up to ca. 330 mg/mL for static light scattering.

[Radical neck dissection in advanced thyroid cancer].

We try to ascertain whether total thyroidectomy with radical neck dissection offers a survival and recurrency advantage for thyroid cancer. Between January 2000 and September 2009 in the 3rd Surgical Unit of the "Sf. Spiridon" Hospital of Iaşi 189 operations were performed for malign thyroid disorders, 164 (86,77%) of which were performed for the papillary or foliculary cancer.