A distal femoral supra-condylar plate: biomechanical comparison with condylar plate and first clinical application for treatment of supracondylar fracture.

PURPOSE: An anatomical supra-condylar plate is designed and analysed by biomechanical testing. METHODS: The biomechanical properties of the supra-condylar and condylar plate were compared in six matched pairs of cadaveric femurs. A transverse osteotomy gap was created to simulate an OTA/AO type A3 supracondylar fracture. The left and right specimens were fitted with supra-condylar and condylar plate, respectively. Nondestructive axial compression, three-point bending and torsion tests were performed, and the peak load of the bone-implant construction was measured. The fracture site suitable for supra-condylar plate application and its correlation with femoral length were calculated. The gender influence on it was also discussed. RESULTS: The difference of stiffness between the supra-condylar and condyle groups were not significant (P > 0.05) at 363.4 and 362.5 N/mm for compression, 229.5 and 237.6 N/mm in the sagittal plane and 195.5 and 188.4 N/mm in the coronal plane for three-point bending, and 7.5 and 7.9 Nm/deg for axial torsion, respectively. The peak load was 4438 ± 136.15 N and 5215 ± 174.33 N, respectively, for the two groups. The average extent of the fracture site suitable for the application of the supra-condylar plate was 70.86 ± 4.61 mm. The femoral length and gender showed no influence on it. CONCLUSION: Despite the limited bone contact area provided by the supra-condylar plate, its construct stiffness is comparable to the condylar plate. The supra-condylar plate can be used to treat carefully-selected extra-articular supracondylar fractures.

Genome characterization of the oleaginous fungus Mortierella alpina.

Mortierella alpina is an oleaginous fungus which can produce lipids accounting for up to 50% of its dry weight in the form of triacylglycerols. It is used commercially for the production of arachidonic acid. Using a combination of high throughput sequencing and lipid profiling, we have assembled the M. alpina genome, mapped its lipogenesis pathway and determined its major lipid species. The 38.38 Mb M. alpina genome shows a high degree of gene duplications. Approximately 50% of its 12,796 gene models, and 60% of genes in the predicted lipogenesis pathway, belong to multigene families. Notably, M. alpina has 18 lipase genes, of which 11 contain the class 2 lipase domain and may share a similar function. M. alpina's fatty acid synthase is a single polypeptide containing all of the catalytic domains required for fatty acid synthesis from acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA, whereas in many fungi this enzyme is comprised of two polypeptides. Major lipids were profiled to confirm the products predicted in the lipogenesis pathway. M. alpina produces a complex mixture of glycerolipids, glycerophospholipids and sphingolipids. In contrast, only two major sterol lipids, desmosterol and 24(28)-methylene-cholesterol, were detected. Phylogenetic analysis based on genes involved in lipid metabolism suggests that oleaginous fungi may have acquired their lipogenic capacity during evolution after the divergence of Ascomycota, Basidiomycota, Chytridiomycota and Mucoromycota. Our study provides the first draft genome and comprehensive lipid profile for M. alpina, and lays the foundation for possible genetic engineering of M. alpina to produce higher levels and diverse contents of dietary lipids.

The draft genome of the transgenic tropical fruit tree papaya (Carica papaya Linnaeus).

Papaya, a fruit crop cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions, is known for its nutritional benefits and medicinal applications. Here we report a 3x draft genome sequence of 'SunUp' papaya, the first commercial virus-resistant transgenic fruit tree to be sequenced. The papaya genome is three times the size of the Arabidopsis genome, but contains fewer genes, including significantly fewer disease-resistance gene analogues. Comparison of the five sequenced genomes suggests a minimal angiosperm gene set of 13,311. A lack of recent genome duplication, atypical of other angiosperm genomes sequenced so far, may account for the smaller papaya gene number in most functional groups. Nonetheless, striking amplifications in gene number within particular functional groups suggest roles in the evolution of tree-like habit, deposition and remobilization of starch reserves, attraction of seed dispersal agents, and adaptation to tropical daylengths. Transgenesis at three locations is closely associated with chloroplast insertions into the nuclear genome, and with topoisomerase I recognition sites. Papaya offers numerous advantages as a system for fruit-tree functional genomics, and this draft genome sequence provides the foundation for revealing the basis of Carica's distinguishing morpho-physiological, medicinal and nutritional properties.