Perception of Patients on the Waiting List for Total Hip Arthroplasty on the Resumption of Elective Surgeries during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

 To analyze the profile and perception of patients on the waiting list for total hip arthroplasty (THA) about performing elective surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic.  From July to November 2021, patients on the THA waiting list were interviewed during outpatient consultations. To compare the groups regarding categorical variables, the Chi-square test or Fisher's exact test was applied, and for quantitative variables the Mann-Whitney test was applied.

Arthroscopic Treatment of Femoroacetabular Impingement in Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysiolysis: A Case Report.

Slipped capital femoral epiphysiolysis (SCFE) may result in femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) of the hip in up to one third of the cases. Residual deformity of the cam-type, or "pistol-grip", is associated with chondrolabral injury, resulting in pain, functional disability, and early osteoarthritis. The arthroscopic treatment with osteochondroplasty proved to be beneficial in a selected case of FAI secondary to SCFE.

Nanojet Trapping of a Single Sub-10 nm Upconverting Nanoparticle in the Full Liquid Water Temperature Range.

Upconverting nanoparticles (UCNPs) have been used as optical probes in a great variety of scenarios ranging from cells to animal models. When optically trapped, a single UCNP can be remotely manipulated making possible, for instance, thermal scanning in the surroundings of a living cell. When conventional optics is used, the stability of an optically trapped UCNP is very limited.

Reliability of rare-earth-doped infrared luminescent nanothermometers.

The use of infrared-emitting rare-earth-doped luminescent nanoparticles as nanothermometers has attracted great attention during the last few years. The scientific community has identified rare-earth-doped luminescent nanoparticles as one of the most sensitive and versatile systems for contactless local temperature sensing in a great variety of fields, but especially in nanomedicine. Researchers are nowadays focused on the design and development of multifunctional nanothermometers with new spectral operation ranges, outstanding brightness, and enhanced sensitivities.

Periacetabular hip osteotomy for residual dysplasia treatment: preliminary results.

Objective: To evaluate whether the change in the CE angle of Wiberg and the acetabular index after Ganz periacetabular osteotomy is statistically significant.

Methods: The pre- and postoperative CE angle of Wiberg and acetabular index of 14 hips operated at a tertiary hospital in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil were evaluated.

Results: The postoperative measurements showed significant differences in relation to the preoperative period.

Radiographic evaluation of cementation technique using polished, conical, triple-tapered femoral stem in hip arthroplasty.

Objective: To radiographically evaluate the quality of cementation and implantation technique using a polished, triple-tapered femoral stem in total hip arthroplasty (THA).

Method: Retrospective study with radiographic evaluation of 86 hips in 83 patients who underwent to primary THA with the triple-tapered cemented femoral stem C-Stem (DePuy Orthopedics, Warsaw, Indiana). Cases with at least one-year of follow-up were included, and data related to preoperative, immediate postoperative, and late postoperative radiographic evolution were recorded.

Citrate-stabilized lanthanide-doped nanoparticles: brain penetration and interaction with immune cells and neurons.

Aim: To unravel key aspects of the use of lanthanide-doped nanoparticles (NPs) in biomedicine, the interaction with immune and brain cells.

Materials & Methods: Effects of citrate-stabilized CaF and SrF: Yb, Er NPs (13-15 nm) on human dendritic cells and neurons were assessed in vitro. In vivo distribution was analyzed in mice at tissue and ultrastructural levels, and with glia immunophenotyping.

Paramagnetic Nanoparticles Leave Their Mark on Nuclear Spins of Transiently Adsorbed Proteins.

The successful application of nanomaterials in biosciences necessitates an in-depth understanding of how they interface with biomolecules. Transient associations of proteins with nanoparticles (NPs) are accessible by solution NMR spectroscopy, albeit with some limitations. The incorporation of paramagnetic centers into NPs offers new opportunities to explore bio-nano interfaces.

Enhancing optical forces on fluorescent up-converting nanoparticles by surface charge tailoring.

3D remote control of multifunctional fluorescent up-converting nanoparticles (UCNPs) using optical forces is being required for a great variety of applications including single-particle spectroscopy, single-particle intracellular sensing, controlled and selective light-activated drug delivery and light control at the nanoscale. Most of these potential applications find a serious limitation in the reduced value of optical forces (tens of fN) acting on these nanoparticles, due to their reduced dimensions (typically around 10 nm). In this work, this limitation is faced and it is demonstrated that the magnitude of optical forces acting on UCNPs can be enhanced by more than one order of magnitude by a controlled modification of the particle/medium interface.

Structural plasticity of calmodulin on the surface of CaF2 nanoparticles preserves its biological function.

Nanoparticles are increasingly used in biomedical applications and are especially attractive as biocompatible and biodegradable protein delivery systems. Herein, the interaction between biocompatible 25 nm CaF2 nanoparticles and the ubiquitous calcium sensor calmodulin has been investigated in order to assess the potential of these particles to serve as suitable surface protein carriers. Calmodulin is a multifunctional messenger protein that activates a wide variety of signaling pathways in eukaryotic cells by changing its conformation in a calcium-dependent manner.

Simple, common but functional: biocompatible and luminescent rare-earth doped magnesium and calcium hydroxides from miniemulsion.

Nanostructured (d∼ 20-35 nm) and highly luminescent Ca(OH):Ln and Mg(OH):Ln (Ln = Eu, Sm, Tb, Mg(Ca)/Ln = 20 : 1 atomic) nanostructures were obtained in inverse (water in oil - w/o) miniemulsion (ME), by exploiting the nanosized compartments of the droplets to spatially confine the hydroxide precipitation in basic environment (NaOH). The functional nanostructures were prepared using different surfactants (Span80 (span) and a mixture of Igepal co-630 and Brij 52 (mix)) to optimise ME stability and hydroxide biocompatibility as well as tune the droplet sizes. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) analyses testify the achievement of a pure brucite-Mg(OH)-phase and pure portlandite-Ca(OH)-phase with a high degree of crystallinity.

Multifunctional nanoprobes based on upconverting lanthanide doped CaF: towards biocompatible materials for biomedical imaging.

Water dispersible Gd,Yb,Er and Gd,Yb,Tm doped CaF nanoparticles (NPs) were prepared by one-pot hydrothermal synthesis using citrate ions as capping agents without the need for any post-synthesis reaction. UC emissions are easily observed in the visible and infrared regions upon NIR diode laser excitation at 980 nm. EPR spectroscopy confirms the substitutional nature of the rare-earth doping, while magnetometric studies reveal that the NPs have a useful magnetization.

Nanodevice-induced conformational and functional changes in a prototypical calcium sensor protein.

Calcium (Ca(2+)) plays a major role in a variety of cellular processes. Fine changes in its concentration are detected by calcium sensor proteins, which adopt specific conformations to regulate their molecular targets. Here, two distinct nanodevices were probed as biocompatible carriers of Ca(2+)-sensors and the structural and functional effects of protein-nanodevice interactions were investigated.

PEG-capped, lanthanide doped GdF3 nanoparticles: luminescent and T2 contrast agents for optical and MRI multimodal imaging.

A facile method for the synthesis of water dispersible Er(3+)/Yb(3+) and Tm(3+)/Yb(3+) doped upconverting GdF(3) nanoparticles is reported. Strong upconversion emissions are observed in the red (for Er/Yb doped) and near-infrared (for Tm/Yb doped) regions upon laser excitation at 980 nm. The PEG coating ensures a good dispersion of the system in water and reduces the radiationless de-excitation of the excited states of the Er(3+) and Tm(3+) ions by water molecules.

NIR-to-NIR two-photon excited CaF2:Tm3+,Yb3+ nanoparticles: multifunctional nanoprobes for highly penetrating fluorescence bio-imaging.

In this study, we report on the remarkable two-photon excited fluorescence efficiency in the "biological window" of CaF(2):Tm(3+),Yb(3+) nanoparticles. On the basis of the strong Tm(3+) ion emission (at around 800 nm), tissue penetration depths as large as 2 mm have been demonstrated, which are more than 4 times those achievable based on the visible emissions in comparable CaF(2):Er(3+),Yb(3+) nanoparticles. The outstanding penetration depth, together with the fluorescence thermal sensitivity demonstrated here, makes CaF(2):Tm(3+),Yb(3+) nanoparticles ideal candidates as multifunctional nanoprobes for high contrast and highly penetrating in vivo fluorescence imaging applications.

Lanthanide doped upconverting colloidal CaF2 nanoparticles prepared by a single-step hydrothermal method: toward efficient materials with near infrared-to-near infrared upconversion emission.

Colloidal Er(3+)/Yb(3+), Tm(3+)/Yb(3+) and Ho(3+)/Yb(3+) doped CaF(2) nanoparticles have been prepared by a one-pot hydrothermal procedure and their upconversion properties have been investigated.