Comparison of Partial Meniscectomy With Meniscal Repair With Respect to Functional Outcome.

Introduction Meniscus tear is a commonly encountered sports-related injury requiring surgical intervention due to knee mobility dysfunction and discomfort. Previously, it has been thought that these are non-functional vestigial structures and they used to be excised commonly. Recent studies have shown that meniscal repair gives superior results when compared with partial meniscectomy. Methods This quasi-experimental study was conducted at the Orthopedics Department, Khyber Teaching Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan. A total of 92 patients of both genders with meniscal injuries were included. Forty-six of them underwent meniscal repair (Group A), and 46 underwent partial meniscectomy (Group B). Functional outcome was noted after 12 weeks and recorded. Results The age range was from 18 to 50 years with a mean of 28.630±6.64 years in Group A and 29.630±8.12 years in Group B. Functional outcome was excellent in 44 (95.7%) patients who underwent meniscal repair as compared to 23 (50%) patients who underwent partial meniscectomy (P= 0.000). Conclusion It is concluded that meniscal repair should be pursued over partial meniscectomy when surgically treating meniscal tears.

Comparison of the Latarjet Procedure With the Modified Putti-Platt Surgery for Recurrent Anterior Shoulder Dislocation With Respect to Functional Outcome.

Introduction Shoulder dislocation is the most common injury encountered in orthopedic outpatient department. The choice of procedure depends on the expertise of surgeons. The objective of this study was to compare the Latarjet procedure with the modified Putti-Platt surgery for recurrent anterior shoulder dislocation in terms of functional outcomes. Materials and methods A quasi-experimental study evaluated 60 patients with recurrent anterior shoulder instability. Patients were assigned to either Latarjet or modified Putti-Platt surgery. Functional outcomes were assessed at six months using the Constant-Murley shoulder score. Results This study encompassed 60 patients (mean age: 23.93±5.88 years) undergoing shoulder procedures. Functional outcomes exhibited a majority of 55% excellent, 35% good, 6.7% fair, and 3.3% poor outcomes. No significant differences in functional outcomes were found between the procedures. Conclusion Both procedures may be viable options for recurrent shoulder instability. The choice may depend on patient factors and surgeon preference. Further research is needed to refine techniques and identify ideal candidates.

Effects of soil fluoride pollution on wheat growth and biomass production, leaf injury index, powdery mildew infestation and trace metal uptake.

Fluoride (F) is an emerging pollutant that originates from multiple sources and adversely affects plant growth and nutrient bioavailability in soil. This greenhouse study investigated the effects of soil F (0, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 mg kg-1) on morpho-physiological growth characteristics of wheat, soil F contents, and bioavailability and uptake of F, phosphorus (P), sulphur (S), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), aluminium (Al), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), silicon (Si) and zinc (Zn) by wheat. Higher F significantly reduced plant height and number of leaves particularly at early growth stages and increased visible leaf injury index. Powdery mildew infestation coincided with leafy injury and was higher in elevated soil F treatments. Fluoride treatments (>50 mg kg-1) significantly increased water (H2O)- and calcium chloride (CaCl2)-extractable F contents in soil. Water-extractable soil F contents from soil in all concentration were higher than CaCl2-extractable F. This increased F bioavailability resulted in significantly higher F uptake and accumulation in live leaves, dead leaves and grains of wheat which followed order: live leaves > dead leaves > grains. Leaf injury index and number of dead leaves correlated significantly positively with soil H2O- and CaCl2-extractable F contents. Patterns of nutrient (P, K, S) and trace metals (Al, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Si, Zn) varied significantly with F concentrations and between live and dead leaves, and grains except for Zn. Dead leaves generally had higher nutrients and trace metals than live leaves and grains. Fluoride contents in live leaves, dead leaves and grains showed positive correlations with nutrient elements but negative with trace metals. Number of dead leaves correlated negatively with Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, S and Si but positively with P and Zn contents in dead leaves whereas leaf injury index showed positive correlation with Fe, K, P, Si, Zn, S but negative with Al, Ca and Mg contents. These observations provided evidence of higher F uptake and associated impairment in nutrient and trace metal accumulation which caused leaf injury accompanied by powdery mildew infestation in wheat. However, further research in the region is required to confirm the relationship between F pollution, leaf injury and trace metal accumulation in crops under field conditions.

Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry based sensitive analytical approach to detect and quantify non-polar pesticides accumulated in the fat tissues of domestic animals.

A fast and simple technique is proposed for the detection and quantitative determination of six non-polar pesticides including pyrethroids (cypermethrin, deltamethrin), organochlorines (hexachlorobenzene, α-hexachlorocyclohexane) and organophosphorus (chlorpyrifos, fenitrothion) accumulated in fat tissues of local cattle, sheep and goats. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry detection (GC-MS) adapted to cleanup procedures based on solid-phase extraction from QuEChERS method was adopted. The work was performed for quantitative affirmation of most customarily used pesticides in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region of Iraq and also the impact of boiling (100 °C, 30 min) and broiling (176 °C, 20 min) on chosen pesticides was evaluated. Among the results of 150 fat samples presented, the dominant compound in cattle samples was hexachlorobenzene (0.236 mg kg-1); while, in sheep and goats it was deltamethrin (0.248 and 0.122 mg kg-1 respectively). Boiling reduced pesticide concentration significantly (P < 0.05) and the most reduced group was pyrethroids in both techniques. Good responses for the six analytes were obtained at validation level of 0.01-0.1 mg kg-1. The linear coefficient was between 0.9997 and 0.9999 and limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) ranged 0.0052-0.014 mg kg-1 and 0.015-0.044 mg kg-1 respectively. Acceptable recoveries (81.5-98.6%) and relative standard deviation (0.3-9.3%) were obtained in different spiked levels. The validation results confirmed that the proposed GC-MS technique can be utilized as a dependable screening apparatus for the quantitative screening of studied pesticides in fat tissues with accuracy and sensitivity, if deployed along with solid-phase extraction based QuEChERS method.