One-stage Pelnac Reconstruction in Full-thickness Skin Defects with Bone or Tendon Exposure.

Dermal regeneration template, such as Integra and Pelnac, was originally designed for treating large area burn injury by inducing regeneration of dermis. To date, it has been widely applied in various acute and chronic wound sites. The present study demonstrated that application of artificial dermis alone induced 1-stage wound healing for wounds with bone or tendon exposure that should usually be repaired by flap surgery. Eight patients who presented with skin defects with bone and/or tendon exposure were treated by 1-stage Pelnac approach. All wounds healed within 20 weeks without skin graft or flap surgery. The wound area was reconstructed by nearly normal skin structure and linear scar. In the case of scalp defect, evidence of hair follicle cell migration and regeneration during healing process was observed. Thereby, the 1-stage Pelnac reconstitution can be considered as a novel method for inducing regrowth of epidermis and hair follicles to cure large full-thickness skin defect with bone and tendon exposure in 1 stage.

One-stage wound healing of fingertip injuries induced by treatment of artificial dermis.

BACKROUND: Fingertip injuries are common in both adults and children. Many operative and non-operative management techniques have been reported to restore the function and cosmetic shape of fingertips after injuries. Although these methods may be used for different indications in clinical settings, few of them can treat all kinds of fingertip injuries. In addition, there is controversy as to whether the surgical approach or the conservative approach is the optimal management for fingertip injuries. METHODS: Thirty-six fingers of 33 patients with fingertip injuries were included in the study. All wounds were treated with surgical debridement and artificial dermis coverage without further surgical treatment. Follow-up duration was 24.5 months on average. RESULTS: All injuries were categorised into four types - Allen's classification of fingertip injury type II, type III, type IV, and transverse amputations proximal to the lunula and close to the level of the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint - and 28 of them had bone exposure. The defects of all fingers were restored in one stage within an average of 8 weeks. Although the length and width of the new fingertips were less than those of the contralateral fingertips, almost all patients were satisfied with the functional and cosmetic outcomes of their regenerated fingers. CONCLUSIONS: One-stage wound healing of fingertip injuries induced by artificial dermis treatment is an easy and effective approach to restoring defects after injury with excellent functional and cosmetic results. Nearly all kinds of fingertip injuries can be managed with this method without any further surgical treatment. Therefore, this is a good alternative for the management of fingertip injuries.

A facile method of activating graphitic carbon nitride for enhanced photocatalytic activity.

Activated graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) with enhanced photocatalytic capability under visible light irradiation was fabricated by using a facile chemical activation treatment method. In the chemical activation, a mixed solution of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia was employed. The yield can reach as high as 90% after the activation process. The activation process did not change the crystal structure, functional group, morphology and specific surface area of pristine g-C3N4, but it introduced H and O elements into the CN framework of g-C3N4, resulting in a broader optical absorption range, higher light absorption capability and more efficient separation of photogenerated electrons and holes. The photoactivity was investigated by the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under visible light irradiation. As compared to the pristine g-C3N4, the activated g-C3N4 exhibited a distinct and efficient two-step degradation process. It was found that the RhB dye in the activated g-C3N4 was mainly oxidized by the photogenerated holes. It is believed that sufficient holes account for the two-step degradation process because they would significantly improve the efficiency of the N-de-ethylation reaction of RhB.

Facile Fabrication of N-Doped Graphene as Efficient Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction Reaction.

A facile bottom-up method is reported here for the fabrication of N-doped graphene for oxygen reduction. It consists of a two-step calcination strategy and uses α-hydroxy acids (AHAs) as carbon source and melamine as nitrogen source. Three different AHAs, malic acid, tartaric acid, and citric acid, were chosen as the carbon sources. The prepared N-doped graphenes have a typical thin layered structure with a large specific surface area. It was found that the N content in the obtained N-doped graphenes varies from 4.12 to 8.11 at. % depending on the AHAs used. All of the samples showed high performance in oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). The N-doped graphene prepared from citric acid demonstrated the highest electrocatalytic activity, which is comparable to the commercial Pt/C and exhibited good durability, attributing to the high pyridinic N content in the composite.