Synthesis of NiCo2O4 Nanostructures and Their Electrochemial Properties for Glucose Detection.

In this work, we prepared spinel-type NiCo2O4 (NCO) nanopowders as a low-cost and sensitive electrochemical sensor for nonenzymatic glucose detection. A facile and simple chemical bath method to synthesize the NCO nanopowders is demonstrated. The effect of pH and annealing temperature on the formation mechanism of NCO nanoparticles was systematically investigated. Our studies show that different pHs of the precursor solution during synthesis result in different intermediate phases and relating chemical reactions for the formation of NCO nanoparticles. Different morphologies of the NCO depending on pHs are also discussed based on the mechanism of growth. Electrochemical performance of the prepared NCO was characterized towards glucose, which reveals that sensitivity and selectivity of the NCO are significantly related with the final microstructure combined with constituent species with multiple oxidation states in the spinel structure.

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma misdiagnosed as heterotopic ossification after periprosthetic femoral fracture: A case report.

Extraskeletal osteosarcoma is a malignant tumor of soft tissue characterized by osteoid production and has a very low prevalence, comprising approximately 4% of all osteosarcomas and about 1% of all soft tissue sarcomas, and a total of about 350 cases have been reported until now. Heterotopic ossification is a pathological finding of bony tissue in soft tissue regions such as muscle, skin and subcutaneous tissue. We report a case of an 86-year-old woman with a history of total hip arthroplasty (THA), in which open reduction and internal fixation were done for periprosthetic femoral Fracture. The ossified lesion misdiagnosed as heterotopic ossification initially was diagnosed as extraskeletal osteosarcoma at 6 months after the surgery. Both extraskeletal osteosarcoma and heterotopic ossification have no definite symptoms, but show radiopaque shadows on simple radiograph. Therefore, careful attention and thorough evaluation with multiple imaging tests may be necessary for the differential diagnosis of these entities.

Radiologic features in symptomatic/asymptomatic heels of patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

AIM: Most heel pain occurs at the posterior or plantar aspect, where main entheses of the heel are located. However, simple radiographs as basic work-up tools, their features based on their association with local symptoms in the heel in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) patients, have rarely been described. METHOD: Forty patients with AS and unilateral heel pain were enrolled to evaluate radiographic differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic heels. The two groups were assessed according to symptom location: posterior (group PS) or plantar (group PL). Typical abnormalities in bone and/or soft tissue on the heel due to inflammation were compared. RESULTS: In group PS (20 cases), 19 (95%) symptomatic feet and 7 (35%) asymptomatic feet showed abnormal findings on the posterior heel and symptomatic feet showed 6 (30%) plantar abnormalities. Erosion of the posterior calcaneal tuberosity, obliteration of the retrocalcaneal recess (RR), and swelling shadows with increased thickness on posterior soft tissue were observed more frequently and significantly in symptomatic feet in group PS (P < 0.05). In group PL (20 cases), 11 (55%) symptomatic feet and 8 (40%) asymptomatic feet showed abnormalities on the plantar heel and symptomatic feet showed 14 (70%) posterior abnormalities, and none showed significant differences between symptomatic and asymptomatic feet. CONCLUSION: Among simple radiographic alterations on heels with AS, such changes around the enthesis of the Achilles as bony erosion and RR obliteration with swollen posterior soft tissue are strongly related to current painful posterior heels. Assessment of enthesitis of the Achilles tendon in AS using plain radiography seems to be valid.

Risk factor analysis of adjacent segment disease requiring surgery after short lumbar fusion: the influence of rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: The influence of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on the lumbar spine has received relatively little attention compared with cervical spine, and few studies have been conducted for adjacent segment disease (ASD) after lumbar fusion in patients with RA. PURPOSE: The present study aims to determine the incidence of ASD requiring surgery (ASDrS) after short lumbar fusion and to evaluate risk factors for ASDrS, including RA. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study. PATIENT SAMPLE: The present study included 479 patients who underwent lumbar spinal fusion of three or fewer levels, with the mean follow-up period of 51.2 (12-132) months. OUTCOME MEASURES: The development of ASD and consequent revision surgery were reviewed using follow-up data. METHODS: The ASDrS-free survival rate of adjacent segments was calculated through Kaplan-Meier method. The log-rank test and Cox regression analysis were used to evaluate risk factors comprising RA, age, gender, obesity, osteoporosis, diabetes, smoking, surgical method, and the number of fusion segments. RESULTS: After short lumbar fusion, revision surgery for ASD was performed in 37 patients (7.7%). Kaplan-Meier analysis predicted that the ASDrS-free survival rate of adjacent segments was 97.8% at 3 years, 92.7% at 5 years, and 86.8% at 7 years. In risk factor analysis, patients with RA showed a 4.5 times higher risk of ASDrS than patients without RA (p<.001), and patients with three-segment fusion showed a 2.7 times higher risk than patients with one- or two-segment fusion (p=.005). CONCLUSIONS: Adjacent segment disease requiring surgery was predicted in 13.2% of patients at 7 years after short lumbar fusion. Rheumatoid arthritis and the number of fusion segments were confirmed as risk factors.

Comparison of outcomes according to fixation technique following the modified Ludloff osteotomy for hallux valgus in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

BACKGROUND: Clinical and radiological outcomes including fixation stability of osteotomy site were compared in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients who underwent modified Ludloff osteotomy to correct hallux valgus with osteotomy site fixation using two screws versus those who underwent additional fixation using a plate. METHODS: The fixation technique performed with two screws was used to fix the osteotomy sites following modified Ludloff osteotomy in 15 patients (15 feet, Group S), while the augmented plate fixation technique was used in 14 patients (16 feet, Group P). Surgical outcomes were analysed using the American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) scores, and radiologic parameters measured before surgery and during follow-up examinations. To evaluate the stability of each osteotomy site fixation technique, the 1-2 inter-metatarsal angle (IMA) and angle of the altered margin of the lateral cortex (AMLC) were measured immediately and 6 weeks after surgery, and variations in the angles were compared. In addition, bone mineral density (BMD) values were compared between patients with correction loss at the osteotomy site and those with no loss of correction. RESULTS: No significant differences between groups were found for total AOFAS scores before surgery and at the final follow-up. However, significant differences were observed in the 1-2 IMA, beginning at 6 weeks postoperatively and continuing through the final follow-up. The 1-2 IMA and angle of AMLC measured immediately after and 6 weeks after surgery showed significantly greater variation in Group S than in Group P. In Group S, patients with correction loss (5 feet) at osteotomy site showed significantly lower BMD values than those with no loss of correction (10 feet). Despite the lower BMD values of patients in Group P than in Group S, a loss of correction did not occur in these patients. CONCLUSIONS: Correction loss occurred at the osteotomy site within 6 weeks postoperatively in patients who underwent fixation using only the two-screw fixation technique following modified Ludloff osteotomy; such loss could be reduced using the augmented plate fixation technique even in patients with osteoporosis.

Large step-phase measurement by a reduced-phase triple-illumination interferometer.

We present a reduced-phase triple-illumination interferometer (RPTII) as a novel single-shot technique to increase the precision of dual-illumination optical phase unwrapping techniques. The technique employs two measurement ranges to record both low-precision unwrapped and high-precision wrapped phases. To unwrap the high-precision phase, a hierarchical optical phase unwrapping algorithm is used with the low-precision unwrapped phase. The feasibility of this technique is demonstrated by measuring a stepped object with a height 2100 times greater than the wavelength of the source. The phase is reconstructed without applying any numerical unwrapping algorithms, and its noise level is decreased by a factor of ten.