Functional outcomes of all-inside arthroscopic anterior talofibular ligament repair with loop suture versus free-edge suture.

BACKGROUND: Anatomic repair of anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) is used to manage chronic lateral ankle instability (CLAI). However, the optimal suture configuration used to repair the ATFL is not yet determined. It remains unclear whether suture configuration affects clinical outcomes in such patients. PURPOSE: To compare the functional outcomes of all-inside arthroscopic ATFL repair using either a loop suture and or a free-edge suture configuration in CLAI patients. STUDY DESIGN: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included 71 patients with CLAI who had undergone an all-inside arthroscopic ATFL repair procedure with either loop suture (n = 36) or free-edge suture (n = 35) from February 2016 to July 2018. Comparable pre-operatively, the Visual analogy score (VAS), American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society scoring system (AOFAS), Karlsson Ankle Functional Score (KAFS) scoring system, Anterior Talar Translation (ATT) and Active Joint Position Sense (AJPS) were used to evaluate postoperative ankle function. RESULTS: There were no postoperative wound complications, implant reactions, or neurological or vascular injuries. Postoperative hospitalization, VAS, AOFAS, KAFS, AJPS and the time of return to sport were similar between the loop suture group and free-edge suture group. Requiring a longer procedure time, patients with loop suture configuration achieved better ATT. CONCLUSION: All-inside arthroscopic ATFL repair procedure for CLAI treatment provides better ATT and comparable functional outcomes when a loop suture configuration is used instead of a free-edge suture configuration. A statistical difference in ATT was observed. Given the relatively short follow-up, it is questionable whether this will have any clinical relevance.

Two-Dimensional PtS2/MoTe2 van der Waals Heterostructure: An Efficient Potential Photocatalyst for Water Splitting.

Recently, the energy shortage has become increasingly prominent, and hydrogen (H2) energy has attracted extensive attention as a clean resource. Two-dimensional (2D) materials show excellent physical and chemical properties, which demonstrates considerable advantages in the application of photocatalysis compared with traditional materials. In this investigation, based on first-principles methods, 2D PtS2 and MoTe2 are selected to combine a heterostructure using van der Waals (vdW) forces, which suggests a type-II band structure to prevent the recombination of the photogenerated charges. Then, the calculated band edge positions reveal the decent ability to develop the redox reaction for water splitting at pH 0. Besides, the potential drop between the PtS2/MoTe2 vdW heterostructure interface also can separate the photogenerated electrons and holes induced by the charge density difference of the PtS2 and MoTe2 layers. Moreover, the fantastic optical performances of the PtS2/MoTe2 vdW heterostructure further explain the promising advanced usage for photocatalytic decomposition of water.

Anti-Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Antibody Ameliorates Cartilage Degradation in a Rat Model of Chronic Sports Arthritic Injury.

BACKGROUND Although a relationship between vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and articular cartilage degeneration has been reported, little is known regarding its role in articular cartilage injury induced by sports activities. In this study, we evaluated the role of VEGF in a rat model of chronic sports arthritic injury. MATERIAL AND METHODS Animals were divided into 3 groups: Control (n=10), Vehicle (chronic sports arthritic injury, n=10), and Bevacizumab (chronic sports arthritic injury treated with anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody Bevacizumab, n=10). RESULTS No significant difference in body weight was observed following the establishment of chronic sports arthritic injury among these 3 groups. Compared with the Vehicle group, Bevacizumab exhibited improved structure of articular cartilage (revealed by HE staining), as well as elevated cartilage content (revealed by Safranin O staining). Moreover, altered cytokines were observed after Bevacizumab treatment, indicating the significant decrease in levels of interleukin (IL)-1ß, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1, and MMP-3, and a clear increase in levels of transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß1. CONCLUSIONS All these findings demonstrate that Bevacizumab treatment ameliorated cartilage degradation in rats subjected to chronic sports arthritic injury. Our results provide evidence supporting use of targeted therapy for VEGF in the clinical treatment of chronic sports arthritic injury.

Evaluation of efficacy and safety of minimally invasive segmentectomy in the treatment of lung cancer.

The aim of the study was to investigate the efficacy and safety of minimally invasive segmentectomy in the treatment of lung cancer. A total of 86 lung cancer patients in early stage were selected for the treatment between May, 2010 and December, 2010. The patients were randomly divided into the control (n=43) and observation (n=43) groups. Patients in the control group received conventional thoracotomy as treatment, while thoracoscopic segmentectomy was performed for patients in the observation group. Factors including intraoperative bleeding amount, number of dissected lymph nodes, surgery duration, postoperative intubation time and length of stay (LOS) were compared between the two groups. A visual analogue scale was used for comparison of the postoperative incisional pain experienced by patients in the two groups. The incidence rate of postoperative complications of patients in the two groups was observed. We also assayed variations in the levels of serum inflammatory factors C-reaction protein (CRP), interleukin (IL) -6 and -10 of patients prior to operation and on the 3rd, 5th and 7th days and after operation via ELISA, and on the 7th day after operation, we determined the pulmonary function of patients. During the 5-year follow-up, the recurrence and survival rate of patients in the two groups were observed. In the observation group, the intraoperative bleeding amount of patients was significantly lower than that in the control group, and the surgery duration, postoperative intubation time and LOS were all shorter than those in the control group (P<0.05). By contrast, no significant difference was detected in a comparison of the number of dissected lymph nodes of patients between the two groups (P>0.05). Additionally, in the observation group, patients suffered less pain after operation than those in the control group (P<0.05), and on the 3rd, 5th and 7th days after operation, the levels of CRP, IL-6 and -10 in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05). After operation, the incidence rate of complications in the observation group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05), and the recovery in pulmonary function after operation was superior to that in the control group (P<0.05). In addition, the 5-year survival rate of patients in the observation group was significantly higher than that in the control group, and the recurrence rate was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Minimally invasive segmentectomy shows better efficacy in the treatment of lung cancer at early stage than the conventional thoracotomy. In addition to the high safety during surgery, this technique can lower the incidence rate of postoperative complications, protect the pulmonary function, increase the survival rate and decrease the recurrence rate, which shows great value in clinical practice.

Expression of epidermal growth factor-like domain 7 correlates with clinicopathological features of osteosarcoma.

Epidermal growth factor-like domain 7 gene (EGFL7) encodes an angiogenesis related factor and plays a crucial role in many human cancers. Previous studies have suggestedthat EGFL7 acts as a facilitator for tumor angiogenesis. However, little is known as to its role in osteosarcoma. Our aim was to investigate the expression of EGFL7 and to explore its correlation with the clinicopathological features of osteosarcoma. Tumor tissues from 32 Chinese young patients (below age of 24) with osteosarcoma were collected and subjected to EGFL7 detection by immunohistochemistry. The tissues from 10 patients with osteochondroma were collected and analyzed as controls. The intratumoral microvessel density (MVD) was examined by immunohistochemical staining using CD34 antibody. The results showed that patients with osteosarcoma had higher levels of EGFL7 in the tumor tissues compared to patients with osteochondroma (p<0.001). The expression of EGFL7 was significantly higher in advanced osteosarcoma (Enneking IIB-III) than that in early tumor stage (Enneking IA-IIA) (p<0.01). There is also a significant correlation between increased expression of EGFL7 and the Enneking stage (R = 0.714, p<0.001). Moreover, we detected a higher level of EGFL7 expression in tumor tissues of patients with recurrent or metastatic (bone or lung) osteosarcoma than those without recurrence or metastasis after 3 years' follow-up (p<0.01). There is no detectable difference of EGFL7 expression between tumor tissues from different tumor location and sex. Finally, we showed that high level of EGFL7expression was significantly correlated with high MVD (R = 0.829, p<0.001). In conclusion, our study demonstrates for the first time that there was a tumor grade-dependent up-regulation of EGFL7 in osteosarcoma. Elevated EGFL7 expression correlated with poor clinical outcome: i.e. advanced tumor stage, recurrent and metastatic osteosarcoma. Our findings support EGFL7 as a potential prognostic marker, and may provide novel insights for the diagnostics and therapeutics of osteosarcoma.