Comparative study of three different fixation techniques for the treatment of Neer type IIb distal clavicle fractures: A retrospective cohort study.

Background: Recently, a locking plate (LP) combined with a suture button was applied for distal clavicle Neer type IIb fractures. However, to our knowledge, there is limited information on clinical outcomes surrounding locking plates combined with a suture button in the treatment of Neer type IIb distal clavicle fractures. The aim of this study was to compare the outcomes among three different fixation techniques for the treatment of Neer type IIb distal clavicle fractures. Methods: We performed a retrospective cohort study of 53 patients with Neer type IIb distal clavicle fractures who were treated with a hook plate (HP group, 16 patients), a locking plate alone (LP group, 18 patients), or a locking plate with a suture button (LPSB group, 19 patients) in our hospital between March 2014 and August 2019. The clinical and radiological outcomes were evaluated, including union time, postoperative complications, and function of the shoulder joint. Results: The follow-up period was at least 2 years for all patients. All patients in the LPSB group achieved bone healing at the final follow-up. No significant differences were observed, including age, sex, side, time to surgery, duration of surgery, and mean follow-up period among the three groups (p > 0.05). The union time was shorter in the LPSB group than in the other two groups (p < 0.05). Postoperative complications were lower in the LPSB group than in the other two groups (p < 0.05). The visual analog scale score and Constant-Murley score in the LPSB group were better than those in the other groups at 3 and 6 months postoperatively (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Compared with HP and LP alone, LPSB yields better clinical outcomes and lower complication rates in the treatment of Neer type IIb distal clavicle fractures.

A case report of a woman after childbirth with a dehisced abdominal wound as well as fat liquefaction and large skin necrosis.

Recently high-frequency electric knife and abdominal binder are widely used in the abdominal operation in China. Nevertheless, with the high occurrence of the abdominal wound, we think that whether both these operations could be used or not. Here, we report the case of a 40-year-old female patient where negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) was applied to her dehisced abdominal wound as well as fat liquefaction and large skin necrosis with pleasing results. The patient with high fever was referred to our department from her earlier hospital for 6 days after cesarean delivery. During the surgery, her earlier doctor used a high-frequency electric knife for convenient-using, and after the operation, the patient immediately used an abdominal binder for good shape. However, the abdominal surgical incision was opened at postoperative day 3, with fat liquefaction releasing large fatty acids along both abdominal sides with penetration under the abdominal binder. After admitted at postoperative day 6 with aggravating wound, surgery was considered because of no reduction in the size of the wound. A series of vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) or vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) as well as others, were operated. In the admitted 25th day, the wound was completely closed. NPWT is a practical and effective therapy for the treatment of numerous refractory and intractable wounds. Therefore, we suggest that the high-frequency electric knife and an abdominal binder should be avoided using an abdominal operation. This case is the first report of the use of NPWT over a dehisced abdominal wound with fat liquefaction and large skin necrosis on a postpartum patient in China.

A high-performance "sweeper" for toxic cationic herbicides: an anionic metal-organic framework with a tetrapodal cage.

This communication reports a novel metal-organic framework exhibiting an excellent performance in adsorbing small toxic cationic herbicides, i.e. methyl viologen and diquat, with large adsorption capacities and ultratrace residue levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first example of high-performance MOFs trapping toxic cationic herbicides.

[Determination of trace lead in Chinese medicinal materials by GFAAS with PdCl2 as a matrix modifier].

A method for the determination of lead in Chinese medicinal materials by GFAAS with PdCl2 as a matrix modifier was established. By comparing PdCl2 with NH4H2PO4 in improving effect on the determination of Pb, the dosage of PdCl2, acidity of medium, interference of coexistent ion, recovery of the method, precision of the method, and the detection limit were checked. The programmed temperature of graphite furnace was optimized. The results show that the improving effect of PdCl2 on Pb determination is better than that of NH4H2PO4. The dosage of PdCl2 is 0.3 microg. The best medium should be 1.0% HCl. The three kinds of acids, 0.4% H2SO4, 1.0% HClO4 and 1.8% HCl, did not weaken the signal of lead. The recovery of the method is 90%-104% and the precision is < 5.0%. The characteristic mass is 8.5 pg. The detection limit is 0.066 mg x kg(-1). It is concluded that the method is simple, sensitive, accurate and credible, and can be used widely.

[Simultaneous determination of fluoroacetamide and tetramine by gas chromatography].

A simple and fast gas chromatographic method was used for the simultaneous determination of fluoroacetamide and tetramine. The samples were extracted with acetone and the extracts were analyzed by gas chromatography. A megabore capillary column coated with FFAP and a nitrogen-phosphorous detector were used to obtain satisfactory selectivity and sensitivity. The detection limits and average recoveries were 5 ng and 69.1% for fluoroacetamide and 1 ng and 89.8% for tetramine.