Rare presentation of bilateral thumb psoriatic arthritis treated with arthrodesis: a case report.

Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a seronegative inflammatory arthritis that occurs concomitantly with cutaneous manifestations and tendinous pathology that affects up to 1% of the general population. While the majority of cases are mild, nearly 20% of PsA patients will progress to severe disease manifesting as debilitating polyarticular inflammation and joint destruction. PsA is most commonly asymmetric and bilateral severe disease involving the same joints in each hand has rarely been reported in the literature.

The effects of PTH, loading and surgical insult on cancellous bone at the bone-implant interface in the rabbit.

Enhancing the quantity and quality of cancellous bone with anabolic pharmacologic agents may lead to more successful outcomes of non-cemented joint replacements. Using a novel rabbit model of cancellous bone loading, we examined two specific questions regarding bone formation at the bone-implant interface: (1) does the administration of intermittent PTH, a potent anabolic agent, and mechanical loading individually and combined enhance the peri-implant cancellous bone volume fraction; and, (2) does surgical trauma enhance the anabolic effect of PTH on peri-implant bone volume fraction. In this model, PTH enhanced peri-implant bone volume fraction by 30% in loaded bone, while mechanical loading alone increased bone volume fraction modestly (+10%).

Failure of the Patellar Tendon with the Patella Everted versus Noneverted in a Matched-Pair Cadaver Model.

Avoidance of patellar eversion during total knee arthroplasty may help to prevent injury to the patellar tendon. The purpose of this study was to compare the load-to-failure of the everted versus the noneverted patella in a cadaveric model. Fourteen cadaver knees (seven pairs) were loaded to failure with the patella everted in one knee and not everted in the other.

Phytoavailability of cadmium in long-term biosolids-amended soils.

Agronomic use of biosolids has raised concern that plant availability of biosolids-Cd will increase with time after cessation of biosolids application. It has been demonstrated that chemical extractability of Cd is persistently decreased in biosolids-amended soils. This study was conducted to determine if Cd phytoavailability in long-term biosolids-amended soils was also persistently decreased.

Accuracy of computer navigation for acetabular component placement in THA.

The accuracy and precision of any computer-aided surgical device is critical to its utility. We asked the following question: how accurate and precise are the values measured by an imageless computer navigation system as compared with those measured using postoperative CT scans? Twenty-five patients (26 hips) underwent primary THA using an imageless computer navigation system for placement of the acetabular component. Inclination and anteversion were measured in the operative coordinate system as defined by Murray.

Mechanical compression of articular cartilage induces chondrocyte proliferation and inhibits proteoglycan synthesis by activation of the ERK pathway: implications for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine.

Articular cartilage is recalcitrant to endogenous repair and regeneration and is thus a focus of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine strategies. A prerequisite for articular cartilage tissue engineering is an understanding of the signal transduction pathways involved in mechanical compression during trauma or disease. We sought to explore the role of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 (ERK 1/2) pathway in chondrocyte proliferation and proteoglycan synthesis following acute mechanical compression.

Doublecortin is expressed in articular chondrocytes.

Articular cartilage and cartilage in the embryonic cartilaginous anlagen and growth plates are both hyaline cartilages. In this study, we found that doublecortin (DCX) was expressed in articular chondrocytes but not in chondrocytes from the cartilaginous anlagen or growth plates. DCX was expressed by the cells in the chondrogenous layers but not intermediate layer of joint interzone.

Determining speciation of Pb in phosphate-amended soils: method limitations.

Determining the effectiveness of in situ immobilization for P-amended, Pb-contaminated soils has typically relied on non-spectroscopic methods. However in recent years, these methods have come under scrutiny due to technical and unforeseen error issues. In this study, we analyzed 18 soil samples via X-ray diffraction (XRD), selective sequential extraction (SSE), and a physiologically based extraction test (PBET).

An improved understanding of soil Cd risk to humans and low cost methods to phytoextract Cd from contaminated soils to prevent soil Cd risks.

We believe greater consideration should be given the agronomic and nutritional/bioavailability factors that influence risk from Cd-contaminated soils. We have argued that the ability of rice to accumulate soil Cd in grain while excluding Fe, Zn and Ca (even though the soil contains 100-times more Zn than Cd) was important in adverse effects of soil Cd is farm families in Asia. Further, polished rice grain is deficient in Fe, Zn and Ca for humans, which promotes Cd absorption into duodenal cells.

Spectroscopic speciation and quantification of lead in phosphate-amended soils.

The immobilization of Pb in contaminated soils as pyromorphite [Pb(5)(PO(4))(3)Cl, OH, F] through the addition of various phosphate amendments has gained much attention in the remediation community. However, it is difficult to fully determine the speciation and amount of soil Pb converted to pyromorphite by previously employed methods, such as selective sequential extraction procedures and scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, which often lead to erroneous results in these non-equilibrated and heterogeneous systems. Statistical analysis by linear combination fitting (LCF) applied to X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) spectroscopic data of Pb-contaminated soil samples relative to known Pb reference material provides direct, in situ evidence of dominate Pb species in the amended soils without chemical or physical disruption to the Pb species as well as a weighted quantification output.

Lead sorption on ruthenium oxide: a macroscopic and spectroscopic study.

The sorption and desorption of Pb on RuO2.xH2O were examined kinetically and thermodynamically via spectroscopic and macroscopic investigations. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) was employed to determine the sorption mechanism with regard to identity and interaction of nearest atomic neighbors, bond distances (R), and coordination numbers (N).

Outcome of gastrocnemius recession and tendo-achilles lengthening in ambulatory children with cerebral palsy.

Preoperative and postoperative gait analysis data were retrospectively studied for 54 children with cerebral palsy who had undergone either gastrocnemius recession (GR) or tendo-achilles lengthening (TAL) as part of multi-level surgery. Decision-making between GR and TAL was based on the Silfverskiöld test. The TAL group had greater equinus preoperatively than the GR group.

In situ soil treatments to reduce the phyto- and bioavailability of lead, zinc, and cadmium.

A study was established near a former Zn and Pb smelter to test the ability of soil amendments to reduce the availability of Pb, Zn, and Cd in situ. Soil collected from the field was amended in the lab with P added as 1% P-H3PO4, biosolids compost added at 10% (referred to hereafter as "compost"), and a high-Fe by-product (referred to hereafter as "Fe") + P-triple superphosphate (TSP) (2.5% Fe + 1% P-TSP) and incubated under laboratory conditions at a constant soil pH.

Potential role for antiangiogenic proteins in the myocardial infarction repair process.

Objective: Although angiogenic proteins have been identified as positive modulators of myocardial revascularization following acute myocardial infarction, little if anything is known regarding the role that antiangiogenic proteins have in myocardial revascularization. We explored the temporospatial distribution of endothelial-monocyte activating polypeptide (EMAP) II to determine whether antiangiogenic proteins have a role in the repair of myocardial tissue following infarction.

Methods: A rat model of myocardial infarction was utilized to examine EMAP II distribution (in situ hybridization) and protein expression (Western analysis) over a 6-week period.

Sorption and desorption of cadmium by different fractions of biosolids-amended soils.

To evaluate the importance of both the inorganic and organic fractions in biosolids on Cd chemistry, a series of Cd sorption and desorption batch experiments (at pH 5.5) were conducted on different fractions of soils from a long-term field experimental site. The slope of the Cd sorption isotherm increased with rate of biosolids and was different for the different biosolids.

Treatment of contaminated soil with phosphorus and manganese oxide reduces lead absorption by Sprague-Dawley rats.

This study was conducted to determine the extent of Pb absorption into young rats (Rattus norvegicus var. Sprague-Dawley) fed untreated Pb-contaminated soil or Pb-contaminated soil treated with two different sources of P and P + Mn oxide. Data were compared from an in vitro, physiologically based extraction test (PBET) with the animal data to support the validity of the in vitro test to assess bioavailable Pb from a treated Pb-contaminated soil.

Sorption of arsenate and arsenite on RuO2 x xH2O: a spectroscopic and macroscopic study.

The sorption reactions of arsenate (As(V)) and arsenite (As(III)) on RuO2 x xH2O were examined using macroscopic and spectroscopic techniques. Constant solid:solution isotherms were constructed from batch sorption experiments and sorption kinetics assessed at pH 7. X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) was employed to elucidate the solid-state speciation of sorbed As.

Assessment of a sequential extraction procedure for perturbed lead-contaminated samples with and without phosphorus amendments.

Sequential extraction procedures are used to determine the solid-phase association in which elements of interest exist in soil and sediment matrixes. Foundational work by Tessier et al. (Tessier, A.

In vitro formation of pyromorphite via reaction of Pb sources with soft-drink phosphoric acid.

Pyromorphite (Pb(5)(PO(4))(3)Cl) is a Pb mineral whose rapid kinetic formation and thermodynamic stability (Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 37 (1973) 367, Geochim.

Effects of aging and pH on dissolution kinetics and stability of chloropyromorphite.

The objectives of this research were to understand the effect of aging time on chloropyromorphite stability by dissolution, to examine physical and chemical alterations of the pyromorphite samples, and to model the kinetic data collected from the dissolution experiments. The results of this investigation indicate that chloropyromorphite formation is kinetically rapid and that its dissolution in acid is thermodynamically stable, ideal conditions for Pb immobilization that has emerged as a potential remediation strategy. In terms of aging prior to dissolution, X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectroscopies were unable to distinguish fundamental differences in progressively aged samples; however, high-resolution thermogravimetric analysis (HRTGA) did demonstrate thatthe thermostability of the chloropyromorphite material increased with increasing residence time.