Hemiarthroplasty of the Hip in a 52-Year-old Patient with Osteogenesis Imperfecta-Related Femoral Neck Fracture: A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI)-related femoral neck fractures are rare. This is rarely described in the literature. This article presents a way to surgically treat such a fracture. CASE REPORT: We describe the case of a 52-year-old patient with OI Type III with a displaced femoral neck fracture with varus deformity. We performed a hemiarthroplasty of the hip with valgus and shortening osteotomy of the proximal femoral shaft. CONCLUSION: The incidence of OI is 1 in 10,000-,000 births. People suffering from OI are known to be at more risk of fractures. Due to the bone deformity and weakness, treatment of fractures in patients with OI is a big challenge for orthopedic surgeons. Combined osteotomy and hemiarthroplasty is a reliable technique to treat a femoral neck fracture in a patient with typical OI-related varus deformity of the femora.

Application of vaginal temperature measurement in bitches.

Finding innovative, non-invasive methods for continuously measuring body temperature minimizing human interference is important for accurate data collection. The objective of this study was to assess feasibility and accuracy of continuous body temperature measurements with loggers placed in the vaginal cavity of bitches. First, an in vitro experiment was performed to compare values obtained by temperature loggers (n = 26) to a calibrated liquid-in-glass thermometer. The mean differences between the two methods were low. Next, an in vivo experiment was performed using five healthy bitches, and values obtained by the vaginal loggers were compared to measurements collected rectally with digital thermometers. The results show that rectal and vaginal temperatures were correlated. The mean differences between rectal and vaginal temperatures were negligible. We conclude that the utilized temperature loggers provide accurate and reliable data.

Purification of assembly-competent tubulin from Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

We have developed a straightforward, two-step procedure to isolate highly purified yeast tubulin that reproducibly assembles into microtubules. The starting extracts are obtained from cells genetically engineered to overproduce both the alpha and beta subunits of tubulin, under control of the galactose promoter, to approximately 10-times wild-type levels. The first step of purification is carried out with the high-speed supernatant of lysed cells loaded onto a DEAE-Sephadex column; after this step the tubulin preparation is approximately 30% pure. In the second step, the tubulin fractions are loaded onto an immunoaffinity column prepared by coupling the anti-(alpha-tubulin) monoclonal antibody YL 1/2 to Sepharose-4B. Following elution with 0.8 M KCl, the tubulin present in the peak is 90% pure. Upon addition of porcine brain microtubule-associated proteins or DEAE-dextran, this tubulin preparation is functionally active for assembly into microtubules, as visualized by electron microscopy on negatively stained samples. Virtually identical microtubule structures are produced in parallel experiments on the assembly of yeast or porcine brain tubulin, with differences observed only at acidic pH values. Overall, this relatively simple procedure provides a useful tool for the production of functional tubulin suitable both for structural studies and for investigations of the assembly process.