Transverse carpal ligament and forearm fascia release for the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome change the entrance angle of flexor tendons to the A1 pulley: the relationship between carpal tunnel surgery and trigger finger occurrence.

PURPOSE: The appearance of trigger finger after decompression of the carpal tunnel without a preexisting symptom has been reported in a few articles. Although, the cause is not clear yet, the loss of pulley action of the transverse carpal ligament has been accused mostly. In this study, we planned a biomechanical approach to fresh cadavers. METHODS: The study was performed on 10 fresh amputees of the arm. The angles were measured with (1) the transverse carpal ligament and the distal forearm fascia intact, (2) only the transverse carpal ligament incised, (3) the distal forearm fascia incised to the point 3 cm proximal from the most proximal part of the transverse carpal ligament in addition to the transverse carpal ligament. The changes between the angles produced at all three conditions were compared to each other. RESULTS: We saw that the entrance angle increased in all of five fingers in an increasing manner from procedure 1 to 3, and it was seen that the maximal increase is detected in the middle finger from procedure 1 to procedure 2 and the minimal increase is detected in little finger. DISCUSSION: Our results support that transverse carpal ligament and forearm fascia release may be a predisposing factor for the development of trigger finger by the effect of changing the enterance angle to the A1 pulley and consequently increase the friction in this anatomic area. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study is a cadaveric study which is directly investigating the effect of a transverse carpal ligament release on the enterance angle of flexor tendons to A1 pulleys in the hand.

Selection of appropriate sampling stations in a lake through mapping.

Much valuable information is obtained from water quality measurements and monitoring of lakes around the world. A powerful tool is the use of mapping techniques, as it offers potential use in water quality research. Both remote sensing techniques and traditional water quality monitoring are required to collect data at sampling stations. This study suggests another approach to determine the most appropriate distribution of sampling stations in water reservoirs that will be mapped for water quality parameters. Tests were conducted for the proposed approach for Secchi disc depth (SDD), chlorophyll-a, turbidity and suspended solids parameters in Lake Beysehir, Turkey. Results of analysis are available for a total of 30 sampling stations in August 2006. Ten sampling stations were used to model Lake Beysehir while the others were used for validation of the model. Sampling stations that offered the best representation of the lake for each parameter were determined. Then, the best representative sampling stations for all parameters in the study were determined. Moreover, in order to confirm the accuracy of these re-determined sampling stations, modelling was performed on the results of the analysis of June 2006, and it was found that the values obtained from the re-determined sampling stations were acceptable.

Mapping chlorophyll-a through in-situ measurements and Terra ASTER satellite data.

This paper presents an application of water quality mapping through real-time satellite and ground data. The Lake Beysehir which is the largest freshwater lake and drinking water reservoir in Turkey was selected as the study area. Terra ASTER satellite image is used as remote sensing data source for water quality mapping in addition to simultaneously performed in-situ measurements. Ground data is collected simultaneously with the ASTER overpass on June 09, 2005 over the Lake Beysehir. The spatial distribution map is developed by using multiple regression (MR) technique for water quality parameter, which is chlorophyll-a (chl-a). The results indicate that simultaneous ground and satellite remote sensing data are highly correlated (R (2) > 0.86). In the image processing step, geometric correction, image filtering and development of water quality map procedures are performed with the ERDAS Imagine and ArcGIS 9.0 software. The trophic status of Lake Beysehir is considered to be oligotrophic with an average 1.55 microg/l chl-a concentration.

Seasonal and spatial variability of metals concentrations in Lake Beysehir, Turkey.

Lake Beysehir is the largest fresh water lake and also the largest reservoir for drinking, and irrigation water in Turkey. The lake has an area of 656 km2 with an average depth of 5 m. Metal concentrations of aluminium (Al), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb) and zinc (Zn) were determined in Lake Beysehir on 9 June and 19 August 2005, and 12 June and 22 August 2006. The water samples were collected from 40 sampling stations. The aim of this research is to determine metal concentrations and their seasonal and spatial variability in the lake. Generally, metal concentrations of Lake Beysehir were found to decrease in the sequence of Fe > Al > Zn > Cr > Ni > Pb > Cu > Cd as 92.8, 81.8, 7.4, 2.7, 2.2, 1.9, 1.7 and 0.5 microg L(-1), respectively. The results showed that the mean concentrations of the metals in the lake water did not exceed WHO (World Health Organization), US EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) or TWQCR (Turkish Water Pollution and Control Regulations) drinking water guidelines. On the other hand, maximum levels of metals sporadically exceeded these standards in some sampling stations, especially for Al, Cr, Fe, and Pb.

The use of stereophotogrammetry in oral surgery: measurement of area changes after secondary epithelization and grafting vestibuloplasties.

OBJECTIVE: Stereophotogrammetry (SPT) is a method in which three-dimensional coordinates are calculated from multiple two-dimensional projections. The purpose of this study was to compare the surface area changes between the secondary healing and grafting vestibuloplasty techniques in the mandible by using a stereophotogrammetric technique (SPT). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Thirteen patients were included in this study: six patients were managed by using full-thickness skin or palatal mucosa grafts (two full-thickness palatal mucosal grafts and four full-thickness skin grafts); the remaining seven patients, who did not accept a second surgery for graft harvesting, underwent secondary epithelization vestibuloplasties. Postoperative changes of surgical areas were measured by using SPT. STATISTICAL ANALYSES: The Wilcoxon (intragroup comparisons) and Mann-Whitney U (intergroup comparisons) tests were used for analysis of data. RESULTS: In the grafting vestibuloplasty group, the surface area gain was statistically significant (P < 0.05). In the secondary epithelization vestibuloplasty group, there was no significant difference (P > 0.05), with even decrease of surface area being noted in some cases. CONCLUSION: SPT is a valid method for measurement of intraoral soft tissue changes.

Joint angles during successful and unsuccessful tennis serves kinematics of tennis serve.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to investigate the joint angle differences in successful and unsuccessful tennis serves of junior tennis players. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nine healthy junior tennis players (5 girls, 4 boys; mean age 11.8+/-0.8 years; height 153.6+/-7.2 cm; body mass index 42.3+/-4.1 kg; playing experience 6.2+/-1.5 years) volunteered to participate in this study. They were asked to perform tennis serves as fast as they can as if they were in an actual game. Successful and unsuccessful serves were recorded using two high speed cameras and then analyzed using Pictran software. Angle changes in pre-impact, impact and post-impact phases were compared. RESULTS: The results of paired sample t-tests revealed nosignificant differences between successful and unsuccessful tennis serves in all three phases. CONCLUSION: This study failed to show differences between successful and unsuccessful tennis serves in pre-impact, impact and post-impact phases. However, future research with more detailed analyses would be needed to reveal the possible changes in the joints while serving.