Biomechanical stability of different suture fixation techniques for tibial eminence fractures.

Purpose: Displaced tibial eminence fractures require surgical fixation in order to obtain a stable knee joint. Suture fixation with FiberWire(®) seems to be the most favorable therapeutic option. Biomechanical studies show failure of this technique most commonly due to a suture cutout with subsequent fracture of the tibial eminence fragment.

Cone beam CT in assessment of tibial bone defect healing: an animal study.

Rationale And Objectives: To evaluate cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) for monitoring of tibial bone defect healing in comparison to histopathological findings.

Materials And Methods: Circumscribed tibial bone defects were created in 16 mini-pigs and imaging of the tibia was performed on day 42 using a modern CBCT scanner with flat panel detector (PaX-Duo3D, Vatech, Korea). The extent of osseous consolidation including remaining calcium phosphate granules was measured quantitatively by a CBCT volumetry tool using commercially available software (Osirix Imaging software, Pixmeo, Geneva, Switzerland).

Influence of foot positions on the spine and pelvis.

Objective: The management of knee osteoarthritis includes the use of wedged shoe insoles to unload the affected knee compartment. Although the biomechanical effects of shoe insoles on the knee joint are known and described, only little is known about their influence on the pelvis and spine. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different foot positions, such as how they could be achieved by shoe insoles, on pelvic position and spinal posture.

Recovery after hip fractures: influence of bipolar hemiarthroplasty on physical disability and social dependency in the elderly.

Surgical treatment of femoral neck fractures is associated with a significant impact on quality of life. The aim of this study was to determine the long-term influence of displaced femoral neck fractures treated by bipolar hemiarthroplasty on the activities of daily living, quality of life and social dependency. We studied 487 geriatric patients treated in the years 1989 to 2003.

[Quality of documentation and care for victims of violence for the example of a trauma surgery emergency department in a major city].

Background: People who have become victims of violence have manifold problems. Besides medical diagnostics and therapy, it is necessary to recognise the situation in which these patients have become such victims, to document the consequences of this violence for use in court and to offer further assistance. Victims of violence often contact primarily a trauma ambulance.

Sea-level assessment of dynamic cerebral autoregulation predicts susceptibility to acute mountain sickness at high altitude.

Background And Purpose: Dynamic cerebral autoregulation is impaired in subjects who develop acute mountain sickness (AMS), a neurological disorder characterized by headache. The present study examined if the normoxic sea-level measurement of dynamic cerebral autoregulation would predict subsequent susceptibility to AMS during rapid ascent to terrestrial high altitude.

Methods: A dynamic cerebral autoregulation index was determined in 18 subjects at sea level from continuous recordings of middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (Doppler ultrasonography) and arterial blood pressure (finger photoplethysmography) after recovery from transiently induced hypotension.

Basing musculoskeletal curriculum changes on the opinions of practicing physicians.

Aim: To establish which musculoskeletal conditions are deemed to be the most important in clinical practice. To use this information to inform the development of a new musculoskeletal curriculum, with emphasis on common and relevant conditions.

Methods: A survey listing 29 musculoskeletal conditions was sent to 150 doctors in Auckland, New Zealand.

Initial stability of two different adhesives compared to suture repair for acute Achilles tendon rupture--a biomechanical evaluation.

Purpose: Treatment of acute subcutaneous Achilles tendon rupture remains challenging. Whereas the results of conservative and operative treatment are inconsistent, early mobilisation treatment seems to be beneficial. Besides suture repair, operative treatment using adhesives reveals promising results.

Angle stable locking nails versus conventionally locked intramedullary nails in proximal tibial shaft fractures: a biomechanical study.

Introduction: A tibial nail with fixed-angle locking screws intends to combine the advantages of angular stability and intramedullary stabilization in extraarticular proximal tibial fractures. The goal of this study is to analyze if the angle stable tibial nail (ASN) is biomechanically more stable than an established conventional standard nail (CN).

Methods: Two types of nails were compared on a series of ten matched pairs of human tibiae.

A novel type of macrothrombocytopenia associated with a defect in α2,3-sialylation.

We describe a novel type of human thrombocytopenia characterized by the appearance of giant platelets and variable neutropenia. Searching for the molecular defect, we found that neutrophils had strongly reduced sialyl-Lewis X and increased Lewis X surface expression, pointing to a deficiency in sialylation. We show that the glycosylation defect is restricted to α2,3-sialylation and can be detected in platelets, neutrophils, and monocytes.

Comparison of two different matrix-based autologous chondrocyte transplantation systems: 1 year follow-up results.

Purpose: The treatment of full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee is a common problem in orthopaedic surgery. Autologous chondrocyte transplantation (ACT) is one of the few reliable treatment options of cartilage defects with good long-term outcomes. The improvement of ACT led to the matrix-based ACT (MACT).

The effect of simulating leg length inequality on spinal posture and pelvic position: a dynamic rasterstereographic analysis.

Introduction: Leg length inequalities (LLI) are a common finding. Rasterstereography offers a non-invasive, contact-free and reliable method to detect the effects of LLIs on spinal posture and pelvic position.

Materials And Methods: A total of 115 subjects were rasterstereographically examined during different artificially created leg length inequalities (5-15 mm) using a platform.

Quantitative assessment of bone defect healing by multidetector CT in a pig model.

Objective: To evaluate multidetector CT volumetry in the assessment of bone defect healing in comparison to histopathological findings in an animal model.

Materials And Methods: In 16 mini-pigs, a circumscribed tibial bone defect was created. Multidetector CT (MDCT) of the tibia was performed on a 64-row scanner 42 days after the operation.

DELLAs regulate chlorophyll and carotenoid biosynthesis to prevent photooxidative damage during seedling deetiolation in Arabidopsis.

In plants, light represents an important environmental signal that triggers the production of photosynthetically active chloroplasts. This developmental switch is critical for plant survival because chlorophyll precursors that accumulate in darkness can be extremely destructive when illuminated. Thus, plants have evolved mechanisms to adaptively control plastid development during the transition into light.

Reliability and validity of 4D rasterstereography under dynamic conditions.

Purpose of this study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of 4D rasterstereography under dynamic conditions. Therefore simulated anatomical fixed points on a wooden plate were measured during different movements. Seven different motion patterns in all three angles of space were evaluated.

Fixed-angle plates in patella fractures - a pilot cadaver study.

Objective: Modified anterior tension wiring with K-wires and cannulated lag screws with anterior tension wiring are currently the fixation of choice for patellar fractures. Failure of fixation, migration of the wires, postoperative pain and resulting revision surgery, however, are not uncommon. After preliminary biomechanical testing of a new fixed-angle plate system especially designed for fixation of patella fractures the aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical and anatomical feasibility of implanting such a plate-device at the human patella.

The role of predation in disease control: a comparison of selective and nonselective removal on prion disease dynamics in deer.

Effective measures for controlling chronic wasting disease (CWD), a contagious prion disease of cervids, remain elusive. We review theoretic relationships between predation and host-parasite dynamics and describe a mathematical model to evaluate the potential influence of random removal through harvest or culling and selective predation by wolves (Canis lupus) upon CWD dynamics in deer (Odocoileus spp.) populations.

Do locked compression intramedullary nails improve the biomechanical stability of distal femoral fractures?

Background: A distal femur nail with fixed-angle locking screws intends to combine the advantages of angular stability and intramedullary stabilization in extraarticular distal femur fractures. The goal of this study was to analyze whether the locked compression distal femur nail (LCN) was biomechanically more stable than a conventional standard distal femur nail (CN).

Methods: Both nails were compared on a series of 10 matched pairs of human femora.

Understanding risk perceptions to enhance communication about human-wildlife interactions and the impacts of zoonotic disease.

Inclusion of wildlife in the concept of One Health is important for two primary reasons: (1) the physical health of humans, domesticated animals, and wildlife is linked inextricably through shared diseases, and (2) humans' emotional well-being can be affected by their perceptions of animal health. Although an explicit premise of the One Health Initiative is that healthy wildlife contribute to human health, and vice versa, the initiative also suggests implicitly that wildlife may pose threats to human health through zoonotic disease transmission. As people learn more about One Health, an important question surfaces: How will they react to communications carrying the message that human health and wildlife health are linked? In the absence of adequate relevant research data, we recommend caution in the production and dissemination of One Health messages because of possible unintended or collateral effects.

A transcuneiform fracture-dislocation of the midfoot.

Isolated fractures of the ossa cuneiformia are rare fractures of the foot and they usually occur in the context of a direct trauma. We report about a patient with a dislocation of the midfoot and concomitant fractures of the cuneiforme bones I-III due a car traffic accident. X-rays of the foot confirmed a lateral dislocation of the midfoot with multiple fractures of all ossa cuneiformia.

Treatment strategies for intramedullary nailing of femoral shaft fractures.

Intramedullary nailing has become the gold standard to treat femoral shaft fractures. It is unknown which nailing technique orthopedic surgeons prefer. The goal of this study was to determine current techniques and perioperative complications of intramedullary nailing of diaphyseal femoral fractures.

Platelet-rich plasma on calcium phosphate granules promotes metaphyseal bone healing in mini-pigs.

The role of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) as a promoter of bone healing remains controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of PRP in combination with calcium phosphate granules (CPG) on bone defect healing in a metaphyseal long bone defect. A metaphyseal bone defect at the proximal tibia of 16 mini-pigs was filled with CPG combined with autologous PRP or CPG solely (control group).

[Platelet-rich plasma combined with autologous cancellous bone : An alternative therapy for persistent non-union?].

Background: In addition to a stabile osteosynthesis autologous cancellous bone graft remains an essential therapy option in persistent non-union. Despite this therapy regimen persistent non-union can occasionally occur. The aim of this study was to evaluate the treatment of persistent non-union with a combination of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and autologous cancellous bone.

Negative predictive value of normal adenosine-stress cardiac MRI in the assessment of coronary artery disease and correlation with semiquantitative perfusion analysis.

Purpose: To prospectively determine the negative predictive value of normal adenosine stress cardiac MR (CMR) in routine patients referred for evaluation of coronary artery disease (CAD), predominantly with intermediate to high pretest risk.

Materials And Methods: Consecutive patients referred for coronary angiography were examined in a 1.5 Tesla whole-body scanner before catheterization.

von Willebrand factor promotes leukocyte extravasation.

von Willebrand factor (VWF) is an important player in hemostasis but has also been suggested to promote inflammatory processes. Gene ablation of VWF causes a simultaneous defect in P-selectin expression making it difficult to identify VWF-specific functions. Therefore, we analyzed whether blocking antibodies against VWF would be able to interfere with neutrophil extravasation.