Preoperative severe vitamin D deficiency is a significant independent risk factor for poorer functional outcome and quality of life 6 months after surgery for fragility hip fractures.

Hip fractures are common in the elderly, and many patients with hip fractures have low vitamin D levels. This study found that severe vitamin D deficiency is linked to poorer recovery of function and quality of life after hip fracture surgery. INTRODUCTION: Vitamin D deficiency is prevalent in hip fracture patients and associated with increased mortality and complications. However, there is limited long-term data on how vitamin D levels affect functional outcomes after hip fracture surgery. The aim of this study is to ascertain the association between vitamin D levels and recovery from hip surgery. METHODS: Patients who underwent hip fracture surgery from January 2012 to December 2016 and had vitamin D levels assessed during admission were included. Retrospective analysis was performed on patients' demographic data such as age, gender and clinical parameters such as preoperative vitamin D, haemoglobin levels, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), and type and site of surgery. Patients were divided according to four different vitamin D levels-severe vitamin D deficiency (≤10 ng/mL), mild deficiency (10-20 ng/ml), insufficiency (20-30 ng/ml), and normal (>30ng/ml). Functional outcomes were measured by Harris Hip Score (HHS), Parker Mobility Score (PMS), and individual domains of 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF36). Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to examine the association between vitamin D deficiency and functional outcome scores. RESULTS: Out of 664 patients identified, 9% had severe vitamin D deficiency and 39% mild deficiency. Patients with severe vitamin D deficiency had significantly poorer baseline and 6-month PMS and SF36 Physical Functioning (PF). In multivariate analysis, severe vitamin D deficiency was associated with lower 6-month PMS and SF36 PF. CONCLUSION: Preoperative severe vitamin D deficiency is an independent risk factor for poorer recovery of function and quality of life after hip fracture surgery.

Thrombus formation: direct real-time observation and digital analysis of thrombus assembly in a living mouse by confocal and widefield intravital microscopy.

We have developed novel instrumentation using confocal and widefield microscopy to image and analyze thrombus formation in real time in the microcirculation of a living mouse. This system provides high-speed, near-simultaneous acquisition of images of multiple fluorescent probes and a brightfield channel, and supports laser-induced injury through the microscope optics. Although this imaging facility requires interface of multiple hardware components, the primary challenge in vascular imaging is careful experimental design and interpretation. This system has been used to localize tissue factor during thrombus formation, to observe defects in thrombus assembly in genetically altered mice, to study the kinetics of platelet activation and P-selectin expression following vascular injury, to analyze leukocyte rolling on arterial thrombi, to generate three-dimensional models of thrombi, and to analyze the effect of antithrombotic agents in vivo.

Effects of nutrients on crude oil biodegradation in the upper intertidal zone.

To enhance biodegradation, nutrients in the form of slow-release fertilizer (SRF) were applied to oil-contaminated microcosms (3%, v/v) which simulated intertidal environmental systems. Although nutrient concentrations in the interstitial water were not proportional to those in amended SRF, microbial activity, growth of oil-degrading microorganisms, and oil-degradation rate were closely related to the concentration of nutrients in the interstitial water. Adding nutrients at higher dose (microcosm I, 144.4 mg C/kg sand/day, versus microcosm II, 8.5 mg C/kg sand/day) had a positive effect on oil degradation rate, which was especially obvious during the early phase of treatment. Use of pristane, phytane, and nor-hopane as biomarkers enabled the detection of significant treatment differences in hydrocarbon biodegradation, which were not reliable enough when the data were normalized to sand mass.