Modified hindfoot alignment radiological evaluation and application in the assessment of flatfoot.

BACKGROUND: Alignment is indispensable for the foot and ankle function, especially in the hindfoot alignment. In the preoperative planning of patients with varus or valgus deformity, the precise measurement of the hindfoot alignment is important. A new method of photographing and measuring hindfoot alignment based on X-ray was proposed in this study, and it was applied in the assessment of flatfoot. METHODS: This study included 28 patients (40 feet) with flatfeet and 20 volunteers (40 feet) from January to December 2018. The hindfoot alignment shooting stand independently designed by our department was used to take hindfoot alignment X-rays at 10 degree, 15 degree, 20 degree, 25 degree, and 30 degree. We measured the modified tibio-hindfoot angle (THA) at the standard hindfoot aligment position (shooting at 20 degree) and evaluated consistency with the van Dijk method and the modified van Dijk method. In addition, we observed the visibility of the tibiotalar joint space from all imaging data at five projection angles and evaluated the consistency of the modified THA method at different projection angles. The angle of hindfoot valgus of flatfoot patients was measured using the modified THA method. RESULTS: The mean THA in the standard hindfoot aligment view in normal people was significantly different among the three evaluation methods (P < .001). The results from the modified THA method were significantly larger than those from the Van Dijk method (P < .001) and modified Van Dijk method (P < .001). There was no significant difference between the results of the modified THA method and the weightbearing CT (P = .605), and the intra- and intergroup consistency were the highest in the modified THA group. The tibiotalar space in the normal group was visible in all cases at 10 degree, 15 degree, and 20 degree; visible in some cases at 25 degree; and not visible in all cases at 30 degree. In the flatfoot group, the tibiotalar space was visible in all cases at 10 degree, visible in some cases at 15 degree and 20 degree, and not visible in all cases at 25 degree and 30 degree. In the normal group, the modified THA was 4.84 ± 1.81 degree at 10 degree, 4.96 ± 1.77 degree at 15 degree, and 4.94 ± 2.04 degree at 20 degree. No significant differences were found among the three groups (P = .616). In the flatfoot group, the modified THA of 18 feet, which was visible at 10 degree, 15 degree and 20 degree, was 13.58 ± 3.57 degree at 10 degree, 13.62 ± 3.83 degree at 15 degree and 13.38 ± 4.06 degree at 20 degree. There were no significant differences among the three groups (P = .425). CONCLUSIONS: The modified THA evaluation method is simple to use and has high inter- and intragroup consistency. It can be used to evaluate hindfoot alignment. For patients with flatfeet, the 10 degree position view and modified THA measurement can be used to evaluate hindfoot valgus.

Closed reduction and posterior percutaneous internal fixation for simple displaced talar neck fracture: a retrospective comparative study.

PURPOSE: Open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) is the most commonly used surgical technique for talar neck fracture, but there are high risks for complications and poor functional outcomes. In this study, we reported the closed reduction and percutaneous internal fixation (CRPIF) technique of the bilateral approach of the Achilles tendon for simple displaced talar neck fracture, in comparison with ORIF. METHODS: Data of 15 patients in the CRPIF group and 22 in the ORIF group were included. The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) score, Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, 12-item Short-Form Survey (SF-12) score, range of motion (ROM), complications, and radiographic results were recorded and compared. RESULTS: The mean follow-up in the CRPIF group was 33.9 months. Complications included two cases of avascular necrosis (AVN) and two cases of osteoarthritis. All patients achieved bony union and recovered their pre-operative mobility. The mean follow-up in the ORIF group was 39 months. Complications included two cases of bony nonunion, nine AVN, and seven cases of osteoarthritis. Moreover, the mobility of the ORIF group was significantly lower than the CRPIF group post-operatively. The AOFAS score, VAS score, and SF-12 physical component score (PCS) for the CRPIF group were better improved than those for the ORIF group (ALL, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The CRPIF technique of the bilateral approach of the Achilles tendon was an effective method for the treatment of simple displaced talar neck fractures. Compared with the ORIF, the limited blood supply of the talus was protected, provide better functional outcomes and biomechanical fixation, and lower incidence of resurgery and complication in the CRPIF.

The self-assembled zein hydrolysate-curcumin nanocomplex: improvement on the stability and sustainable release of curcumin.

BACKGROUND: The bioavailability of curcumin (Cur) is generally limited by its poor stability. However, it is beneficial to improve the stability of Cur by using self-assembled zein hydrolysate (ZH) as delivery carrier. This paper aimed to explore the formation mechanism of zein hydrolysate-curcumin nanocomplexes as a function of critical micelle concentration (CMC). RESULTS: In this work, The CMC of ZH (0.535 mg mL-1 ) was obtained by the pyrene fluorescent probe method. ZH-Cur nanocomplexes undergo hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interactions, and the fluorescence quenching effect was concentration dependent with the process of static quenching. Moreover, the differences of colloidal properties on ZH and ZH-Cur nanocomplexes were systematically compared by dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy near CMC. ZH presented irregular spherical shapes and would aggregate to form micelles at the CMC and above. The tight micellar structure promoted more uniform size distribution (double peaks reduced) and higher potentials (over -30 mV) within 10 days. In addition, the nanocomplexes demonstrated an obvious core-shell structure. Within 10 days of storage, the particle size distributions were uniform and the potentials increased significantly, indicating that the micellar nanostructure made the Cur stably embedded in the hydrophobic core of ZH. Finally, ZH-Cur nanocomplexes effectively improved the water solubility and encapsulation rate (over 70%) of Cur. Moreover, over 90% of Cur was released steadily within 91 h. CONCLUSION: This work provided a theoretical basis for the application of amphiphilic peptide micellar nanostructure as novel food-grade nanocarriers to transport hydrophobic bioactive substances. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.

A novel zein-selenium complex nanoparticle with controllable size: Quantitative design, physical properties and cytotoxicity in vitro.

In this study, after proposing a method for the preparation of selenium nanoparticles (Se NPs) with stable properties using zein, the physico-chemical properties of zein-Se NPs were tested. The complex structure of zein-Se NPs was deduced by SEM, and the binding mechanism was determined by FT-IR and XPS. The particle size of zein-Se NPs could be regulated from 11.4 ± 0.1 nm to 138.7 ± 0.9 nm under different preparation parameters, the reason for the change in particle size had been speculated. The pH responsiveness and 30-day storage stability of the zein-Se NPs were discussed. The zein-Se NPs still had strong DPPH radical scavenging activity after heat treatment. The zein-Se NPs were cell-friendly and was able to effectively protect cells from H2O2-induced cell-death. This study performed an extensive determination of the underlying physico-chemical properties of zein-Se NPs, we anticipate this approach will open up new possibilities in using natural material to stabilize Se NPs.

Supramalleolar Osteotomy vs Arthrodesis for the Treatment of Takakura 3B Ankle Osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: To compare the clinical/functional outcomes of supramalleolar osteotomy (SMOT) and ankle arthrodesis (AA) for the treatment of modified Takakura stage 3B ankle osteoarthritis. METHODS: Outcomes of 28 SMOT patients and 30 AA patients were reviewed at an average of 50 and 51 months, respectively. The baseline characteristics of the 2 groups were similar. The preoperative tibial articular surface angle and talar tilt angle in the SMOT group were 82.6 and 10 degrees and in the AA group, 83.9 and 9.1 degrees, respectively. The American Orthopaedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) ankle-hindfoot score, visual analog scale (VAS) score, 12-item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) mental component summary (MCS) and physical component summary (PCS) scores, range of motion (ROM), radiologic parameters, and complications were compared. RESULTS: The AOFAS, VAS, and SF-12 MCS and PCS scores improved significantly postoperatively in both groups (P < .001). The VAS and SF-12 PCS scores indicate marginally better improvement in the AA group (P < .05). The patient satisfaction value (P = .028) and the possibility of repeated surgery value (P = .012) were also significantly higher in the AA group. The early (P = .905) and late (P = .181) complications did not significantly differ between the 2 groups. The reoperation rate was significantly higher in the SMOT group (P = .038). CONCLUSION: Both SMOT and AA showed improvements in function, pain, alignment, and quality of life after surgery. Patients in the AA group reported better pain relief, had a lower reoperation rate, and better hindfoot alignment during a short- to mid-term follow-up time. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level III, retrospective comparative study.

Development, characterization and in vitro bile salts binding capacity of selenium nanoparticles stabilized by soybean polypeptides.

The paper presents the positive effect of soybean polypeptides (SP) on the stability and the potential hypolipidemic effect of selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs). After preparing SeNPs, SP with different molecular weight were introduced to stabilize SeNPs. We found that the SP with molecular weight >10 kDa (SP5) had the best stabilizing effect on SeNPs. We inferred that the steric resistance resulting from the long chains of SP5 protected SeNPs from collision-mediated aggregation, and the electrostatic repulsions between SP5 and SeNPs also played a positive role in stabilizing SeNPs. The as-prepared SP5-SeNPs were spherical, amorphous and zero valent. It was proved that SeNPs were bound with SP5 through O- and N- groups in SP5, and the main forces were hydrogen bonds and van der Waals forces. The bile salts binding assay showed that the SP5-SeNPs exhibited a high binding capacity to bile salts, which indicated their potential in hypolipidemic application.

Effects of five extraction methods on total content, composition, and stability of flavonoids in jujube.

The present study investigated the effects of different extraction methods including water-water bath (W-WB), ethanol-water bath (E-WB), deep eutectic solvent (DES) combined with ultrasound-assisted extraction (DES-UAE), microwave-assisted extraction (DES-MAE), and enzyme-assisted extraction (DES-EAE) on flavonoids (total flavonoid content, flavonoid composition, and stability) in jujube. The highest total flavonoid content of 8.03 mg/g was obtained by the DES-MAE extraction. Fifteen types of flavonoids were identified from jujube. The amount of rutin produced by the E-WB and DES-UAE methods was 66.88 ± 1.58 µg/g and 45.23 ± 3.22 µg/g, respectively. The retention of flavonoids in DES-UAE extracts were 98.15 ± 0.51%, 64.25 ± 2.21% after 2 h of high temperature treatment at 90 °C and 21 days of dark storage, respectively. The flavonoids extracted by different methods were suitable for dark storage under different light contrasts, where the retention of flavonoids extracted by DES-UAE method was 86.44 ± 2.45%. In conclusion, DES-UAE would be an efficient method for flavonoid extraction from jujube.

The novel pickering emulsion gels stabilized by zein hydrolysate-chitin nanocrystals coacervates: Improvement on stability and bioaccessibility for curcumin.

The aim of this paper was to explore the synergistic mechanism of the novel Pickering emulsion gels stabilized by zein hydrolysate (ZH, low DH of 5%)-chitin nanocrystals (CNCs) coacervates, and investigate their improvement on the stability and bioaccessibility of curcumin. Interestingly, the ZH with low DH of 5% exhibited aggregated precipitation at pH 5.0. The ZH was absorbed on the surface of CNCs to form ZH-CNCs coacervates by hydrogen bonding and electrostatic neutralization. Moreover, the novel Pickering emulsion gels stabilized by the appropriate ZH-CNCs coacervates showed better rheologicalproperties, emulsion stability and oxidation resistance. As new carriers for curcumin, they could effectively improve the stability and antioxidantactivity (over 90%). Further, the free fatty acid (FFA) release ratewas reduced to below 3.89% and the corresponding bioaccessibility increased to over 80% in vitro digestion. The novel delivery system was potentially designed in foods and pharmaceuticals for the purposes of enhanced stability, delayed lipolysis, or sustained nutrient release.

[Comparative analysis of genetic diversity revealed by genomic-sSR, EST-SSR and pedigree in wheat (Triticum asetivum L.)].

Two SSR molecular markers, genomic-SSR and EST (expressed sequence tagged)-SSR, were used to measure the genetic diversity among 18 accessions of common wheat with known pedigrees, which were collected from winter wheat production region in Northern China. In addtion, the genetic diversity revealed by pedigree, EST-SSR and genomic-SSR was also compared. The results showed that the average number of alleles per genomic-SSR locus is 3.34, which is higher than that of EST-SSR (2.31), indicating that genomic-SSR is more polymorphic than EST-SSR. Genomic-SSR and EST-SSR were used to calculate the genetic distance (GD) in different materials. The mean GD value of EST-SSR for the 18 wheat genotypes is 0.3996,which is lower than that of genomic-SSR (0.5458). At the locus level, the mean GD calculated using pedigree information is higher (0. 9716) than that of genomic-SSR and EST-SSR markers (0.5458 and 0.3996). Therefore, although polymorphism of EST-SSR is low as compared to genomic SSR,it provides a more accurate evaluation of genetic relationship, especially when accessions are very closely related in pedigree. The strategy for improving the genetic diversity of wheat was also discussed.