The S1PR1 agonist SEW2871 promotes the survival of skin flap.

Skin flap transfer is an important method to repair and reconstruct various tissue defects; however, avascular necrosis largely affects the success of flap transfer. The sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor 1 (S1PR1) agonist SEW2871 has been proven to ameliorate ischemic injury; however, its effect on flap survival has not been reported. In this study, an experimental skin flap model was established in rats to investigate the roles of SEW2871. The results indicated that SEW2871 greatly increased the survival of the skin flap, alleviated pathological injury, promoted the angiogenesis, and inhibited cells apoptosis in skin flap tissues. SEW2871 activated S1PR1 downstream signaling pathways, including heat shock protein 27 (HSP27), extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK), and protein kinase B (Akt). In addition, SEW2871 promoted the expression of S1PR1. These findings may provide novel insights for skin flap transfer.

A Novel Hierarchical Coding Progressive Transmission Method for WMSN Wildlife Images.

In the wild, wireless multimedia sensor network (WMSN) communication has limited bandwidth and the transmission of wildlife monitoring images always suffers signal interference, which is time-consuming, or sometimes even causes failure. Generally, only part of each wildlife image is valuable, therefore, if we could transmit the images according to the importance of the content, the above issues can be avoided. Inspired by the progressive transmission strategy, we propose a hierarchical coding progressive transmission method in this paper, which can transmit the saliency object region (i.e. the animal) and its background with different coding strategies and priorities. Specifically, we firstly construct a convolution neural network via the MobileNet model for the detection of the saliency object region and obtaining the mask on wildlife. Then, according to the importance of wavelet coefficients, set partitioned in hierarchical tree (SPIHT) lossless coding is utilized to transmit the saliency image which ensures the transmission accuracy of the wildlife region. After that, the background region left over is transmitted via the Embedded Zerotree Wavelets (EZW) lossy coding strategy, to improve the transmission efficiency. To verify the efficiency of our algorithm, a demonstration of the transmission of field-captured wildlife images is presented. Further, comparison of results with existing EZW and discrete cosine transform (DCT) algorithms shows that the proposed algorithm improves the peak signal to noise ratio (PSNR) and structural similarity index (SSIM) by 21.11%, 14.72% and 9.47%, 6.25%, respectively.

Path Planning with Time Windows for Multiple UAVs Based on Gray Wolf Algorithm.

The Gray Wolf (GWO) algorithm aims to address the path planning problem of multiple UAVs, and the scene setting is mainly to avoid threats, meet the constraints of UAVs themselves and avoid obstacles between UAVs. The scene setting is relatively simple. To address such problems, the problem of time windows is considered in this paper, so that the UAV can arrive at the same time, and the Gray Wolf algorithm is used to optimize the problem. Finally, the experimental results verify that the proposed method can plan a safe flight path in the process of multi-UAV flight and reach the goal point at the same time. The mean error of flight time between UAVs of the GWO is 0.213, which is superior to PSO (0.382), AFO (0.315) and GA (0.825).

Retrograde versus anterograde palm venous anastomosis in avulsion distal fingertip trauma: Functional and therapeutic outcomes (FTO) analysis.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: The advance in the microvascular surgeries has made successful replantation of amputee fingertip or toe. Anterograde palm venous anastomosis is generally preferred in avulsion distal fingertip trauma surgeries but is technically challenging. The retrograde venous anastomosis is proved to be easy and effective in larger defects hand reconstruction surgeries. The purposes of the analysis were to compare functional and therapeutic outcomes of retrograde palm venous anastomosis against anterograde palm venous anastomosis in the avulsion distal fingertip and thumb microvascular surgery. METHODS: Digits were replanted by retrograde palm venous anastomosis (n = 130, RPVA cohort) or anterograde palm venous anastomosis (n = 220, APVA cohort). The data regarding the survival of transplanted tissues, analgesia, 2-points discrimination, and total active movement after 2-years of surgeries were collected and analyzed. RESULTS: A higher percentage of digits with survived transplanted tissues found in the RPVA cohort than the APVA cohort (p = 0.004). 2-points discrimination found higher in the APVA cohort than the RPVA cohort (5.22 ± 1.56 mm vs. 4.81 ± 1.39 mm, p = 0.014). The pain was fewer in the RPVA cohort than the APVA cohort (p = 0.041). A total active motion was higher in the RPVA cohort than the APVA cohort (p = 0.025). Anterograde palm venous anastomosis (p = 0.021) were associated with the failure of transplanted digits tissues. CONCLUSIONS: Retrograde palm venous anastomosis had better functional and therapeutic outcomes than anterograde palm venous anastomosis in avulsion distal fingertip trauma. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.

Outcomes of volar locking plate (VLP) fixation for treatment of die-punch fracture of the distal radius: A retrospective single-surgeon study.

Distal radius fracture involving the lunate facet is a tough issue for surgeons, but currently there is scarcity of data on these injuries. This study aims to evaluate results of volar locking plate (VLP) for treatment of die-punch fractures of the distal radius.Between January 2013 and June 2017, a total of 37 patients with die-punch fractures of the distal radius were admitted and underwent VLP fixation. Clinical and radiographic data on these patients were extracted from their electronic medical records. Preoperative radiographs, CT scanning and 3D reconstruction were used to definitely diagnose this injury. Radiographs taken at immediate postoperation and at last follow-up were analyzed. Data on radial subsidence, articular step-off status, volar tilt, radial inclination, wrist motion range, grip strength and related complications at the final follow-up were documented for analysis. The overall outcomes of the injured limb were evaluated, based on the Gartland and Werley scoring system.The mean radial subsidence was 0.8 mm (0-3.3 mm), and articular step-off finally occurred in 4 patients (10.8%). The mean volar tilt was 9.5° (6°-15°), radial inclination 21° (12°-27°). The mean wrist was 84.2% in flexion of the contralateral uninjured wrist, 87.0% in extension, 92.2% in pronation and 94.5% in supination, respectively. The mean grip strength was 86% (range 56%-108%) of the contralateral un-injured upper limb. Gartland and Werley score demonstrated the excellent and good rate of 83.8%, with excellent result in 21 patients, good in 10, fair in 4 and poor in 2. Incidence of overall complications was 27.0% (10/37), with one requiring surgical intervention.VLP demonstrated its efficacy and safety for treatment of die-punch fractures. Prospective comparative studies with larger sample are required to compare the outcomes among different fixation methods, with expectation of precise and individualized treatment for every patient.Type of study/level of evidence: Therapeutic III.

Comparative study of type B distal radius fractures with and without lunate facet involvement treated by volar locking plate, an observational study.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to evaluate the results of volar locking plate for treatment of type B distal radius fractures involving the lunate facet and compare them with those without involvement in lunate facet. METHOD: s: This was a retrospective study. A total of 93 patients with type B distal radius were treated by single volar locking plate between January 2014 and December 2015. Preoperative digital radiographs were used to initially diagnose and further classify this injury according to AO/OTA classification system. CT scanning or reconstruction was used to diagnose the complex or suspicious cases. Patients with lunate facet involvement were defined as group 1 (n = 21) and the remaining without luante facet involvement as group 2 (n = 72). Postoperative immediate radiographs and radiographs at last visit were analyzed. We evaluated clinical outcomes at minimum of 12 months and performed statistical analysis using the SPSS 19.0 software package. RESULTS: Bony union was reached in all participants, at the median time of 8 weeks. At the final follow-up, there were no significant difference observed in term of volar tilt and radial inclination between both groups (P, 0.172; 0.514). Articular step-off in group 1 was significantly greater than those of group 2 (P, 0.016). Significant articular step-off (>2 mm) occurred in 4 patients (19.0%) in group 1 and 3 (4.2%) in group 2 (P = 0.044). At 3-months postoperatively, group 1 showed worse results than group 2 for most variables (P < 0.05). At 6-months postoperatively, the differences for wrist flexion, supination, ulnar deviation and VAS in motion remained significant between both groups (P < 0.05). At the last follow-up, no significant differences were observed for any variable (P > 0.05). Five minor complications occurred in group 1 and 11 in group 2, and the difference was not significant (P = 0.346). CONCLUSIONS: Patients with distal radius fractures involving lunate facet would obtain more slow recovery, especially for wrist flexion, supination, ulnar deviation and VAS in motion. In addition, patients with lunate facet fractures would be at higher risk of loss of reduction and final articular step-off.

Volar locking plate (VLP) versus non-locking plate (NLP) in the treatment of die-punch fractures of the distal radius, an observational study.

PURPOSE: This study aims to evaluate whether volar locking plate was superior over non-locking plate in the treatment of die-punch fractures of the distal radius. METHODS: A total of 57 patients with closed die-punch fractures of the distal radius were included and analyzed. Of them, 32 were treated by non-locking plate (NLP) and the remaining 25 were treated by volar locking plate (VLP). Preoperative radiographs, computer tomographs and three-dimensional reconstruction, radiographs taken at immediate postoperation and at last follow-up were extracted and evaluated. Patients' electronic medical records were inquired and related demographic and medical data were documented. The documented contents were volar tilt, radial inclination, ulnar variance, grip strength, Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) and visual analog scale (VAS) scores and complications. RESULTS: VLP group demonstrated a significantly reduced radial subsidence of 1.5 mm (0.7 versus 2.2 mm), during the interval of bony union (P < 0.001), compared to NLP group. Larger proportion of patients (88% versus 62.5%) in VLP group gained acceptable joint congruity (step-off <2 mm) at the final follow-up (P = 0.037). No significant differences were observed between the groups in the measurements of volar tilt, radial inclination, DASH, VAS and grip strength recovery at the last follow-up. There was a trend of fewer overall complications (5/25 versus 10/32) and major complications that required surgery interventions (1/25 versus 4/32) in VLP than NLP groups, although the difference did not approach to significance (P = 0.339, 0.372). CONCLUSIONS: VLP leaded to significantly better results of reduction maintainance and the final joint congruity than NLP, while reducing overall and major complications. However, the results should be treated in the context of limitations and the clinical significance of the difference required further studies to investigate.

Association of MIF in serum and synovial fluid with severity of knee osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Recent evidences suggest that inflammation contributes to the development and progression of osteoarthritis (OA). This study aims to determine macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) levels in serum and synovial fluid (SF) of patients with knee OA and to analyze the association of MIF levels with the radiographic severity of OA. DESIGN AND METHODS: 224 patients with knee OA and 186 healthy controls were enrolled in this study. RESULTS: Higher levels of serum MIF were found in knee OA patients compared with healthy controls. Knee OA patients with Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grade 4 showed significantly elevated MIF levels in serum and SF compared with those with KL grade 2 and 3. MIF levels in serum and SF of knee OA patients were significantly related to disease severity evaluated by KL grading criteria. CONCLUSION: MIF levels in serum and SF were closely related to the radiographic severity of OA.