Shorter recovery can be achieved from using walking boot after operative treatment of an ankle fracture.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Ankle fractures, even if treated surgically, usually take a long time to heal. For all patients with ankle fracture, immobilisation is a critical part of treatment. Short-leg walking boots (WBs) have been reported to be an effective alternative to plaster casts (PCs) that could shorten this postoperative recuperative period. The aim of this study was to compare the functional recovery of a conventional PC with that of a WB after surgery for ankle fractures. METHODS: Forty-seven patients (mean age, 53.9 ± 12 years) who had undergone surgical operation for an unstable ankle fracture from January 2008 to October 2014 were reviewed retrospectively. Either a PC or a WB was prescribed postoperatively, with 25 patients and 22 patients, respectively. The time that it took the patient to stand unipedal on the affected side after allowing full-weight bear and to walk without crutches were used for assessment of functional recovery. The prevalence of postoperative loss of reduction and nonunion was also reviewed. RESULTS: Both the time of being able to stand unipedal on the injured side and to walk without crutches were significantly shorter in patients using WBs (WB, 2.6 weeks; PC, 4.5 weeks, p = 0.01; WB, 1.4 weeks; PC, 3.1 weeks, p = 0.03). There were no patients with loss of reduction or nonunion. CONCLUSION: Patients who used WBs showed a significantly faster recovery. WBs have an adjustable heel lift that allows users to change the ankle position slightly plantarflexed that helps walking in a postoperative swollen ankle. WBs are easy to slip on, and it is easy to adjust the ankle position in conformity with swelling so that the least painful position could be maintained during walking. WBs have good fixity to allow immediate weight-bearing postoperatively, and there were no cases with loss of reduction postoperatively. The Rocker bottom design minimises the sagittal plane motion in the specific joint of the foot, which also facilitates the course of recuperation. An ankle fracture fixed appropriately endures loading when a WB is used. The WB treatment results in faster functional recovery, allowing the patients to return to normal activity at a faster rate.

Genotype of stearoyl-coA desaturase is associated with fatty acid composition in Japanese Black cattle.

To investigate the genetic factors that affect fatty acid composition of beef, we compared the full-length bovine stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) cDNA from 20 Japanese Black steers. Two types of the SCD gene with single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were observed in the ORF of SCD cDNA, in which an amino acid replacement from valine (type V) to alanine (type A) was predicted. We developed a method for genotyping these two SCD genes based on PCR-RFLP. We have classified 1003 Japanese Black carcasses into three genotypes, VV, VA, and AA, and compared fatty acid composition among them. The SCD type A gene contributed to higher MUFA percentage and lower melting point in intramuscular fat. The SCD genotype was not the only genetic factor contributing to fatty acid composition of Japanese Black steers, but the SCD genotype was considered one of the causes of genetic variation in fatty acid composition of Japanese Black steers. Transcription factors such as sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) may account for the remaining part of the genetic variation in fatty acid composition.

Analyses of beta-1 syntrophin, syndecan 2 and gem GTPase as candidates for chicken muscular dystrophy.

Despite intensive studies of muscular dystrophy of chicken, the responsible gene has not yet been identified. Our recent studies mapped the genetic locus for abnormal muscle (AM) of chicken with muscular dystrophy to chromosome 2q using the Kobe University (KU) resource family, and revealed the chromosome region where the AM gene is located has conserved synteny to human chromosome 8q11-24.3, where the beta-1 syntrophin (SNTB1), syndecan 2 (SDC2) and Gem GTPase (GEM) genes are located. It is reasonable to assume those genes might be candidates for the AM gene. In this study, we cloned and sequenced the chicken SNTB1, SDC2 and GEM genes, and identified sequence polymorphisms between parents of the resource family. The polymorphisms were genotyped to place these genes on the chicken linkage map. The AM gene of chromosome 2q was mapped 130 cM from the distal end, and closely linked to calbindin 1 (CALB1). SNTB1 and SDC2 genes were mapped 88.5 cM distal and 27.6 cM distal from the AM gene, while the GEM gene was mapped 18.5 cM distal from the AM gene and 9.1 cM proximal from SDC2. Orthologues of SNTB1, SDC2 and GEM were syntenic to human chromosome 8q. SNTB1, SDC2 and GEM did not correspond to the AM gene locus, suggesting it is unlikely they are related to chicken muscular dystrophy. However, this result also suggests that the genes located in the proximal region of the CALB1 gene on human chromosome 8q are possible candidates for this disease.