Claysmall9000

The original article [1] contained an error whereby the captions to Fig. 3 and Fig. 8 were mistakenly interchanged.BACKGROUND Patients' pre-operative health and physical function is known to influence their post-operative outcomes. In patients with knee osteoarthritis, pharmacological and non-pharmacological options are often not optimised prior to joint replacement. This results in some patients undergoing surgery when they are not as fit as they could be. The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a pre-operative package of non-operative care versus standard care prior to joint replacement. METHODS/DESIGN This is a multicentre, randomised controlled feasibility trial of patients undergoing primary total knee replacement for osteoarthritis. Sixty patients will be recruited and randomised (21) to intervention or standard care arms. Data will be collected at baseline (before the start of the intervention), around the end of the intervention period and a minimum of 90 days after the planned date of surgery. Adherence will be reviewed each week during the intervention period (by telephone or in phe following information will be assessed qualitatively analysis of qualitative interviews exploring acceptability, feasibility, adherence and possible barriers to implementing the intervention, and acceptability of the different outcome measures. DISCUSSION The aims of the study specifically relate to testing the feasibility and acceptability of the proposed effectiveness trial intervention and the feasibility of the trial methods. This study forms the important first step in developing and assessing whether the intervention has the potential to be assessed in a future fully powered effectiveness trial. The findings will also be used to refine the design of the effectiveness trial. TRIAL REGISTRATION ISRCTN registry, ID ISRCTN96684272. Registered on 18 April 2018.BACKGROUND Pediatric femoral neck fracture is a rare injury but yields frequent complications. However, there is a paucity of data regarding the risk factors for these complications. PURPOSE The present article reports the rate of complications after femoral neck fracture in pediatric patients and investigates the possible risk factors. METHODS We retrospectively reviewed 44 children (mean age of 9.0 years, range from 2 to 14 years) who were surgically treated for femoral neck fracture in a single trauma center with a mean follow-up of 57.75 months (range from 11 to 224 months). Related clinical factors were recorded and analyzed by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS Fracture displacement or Delbet-type fracture had no relation to the injury mechanism. However, younger children experienced severe trauma, combined injury, and low fracture location more than older individuals did. Children with combined injuries were more likely to have a longer waiting time for surgical reduction. Common complications included avascular necrosis (AVN) in 14 cases, nonunion of fracture in 2 cases, coxa vara in 4 cases, and premature physeal closure (PPC) in 7 cases. Only the Delbet type was an independent predictor of AVN (OR = 0.14, p = 0.030). Inadequate reduction was associated with higher rates of coxa vara (OR = 33.19, p = 0.032). Epiphysis penetration in children younger than 10 years old increased the rate of PPC (p = 0.032). No significant risk factor was found for fracture nonunion. CONCLUSION For femoral neck fracture in pediatric patients, both the injury mechanism and fracture characteristics have age-related distributions. Early reduction should be carried out as early as possible based on the safe condition of the child, but for younger children, transepiphyseal fixation should be avoided. AVN may be intrinsic to injury characteristics rather than resulting from the choice of treatment mode.BACKGROUND The zinc content in the blood and tumor tissues of patients with osteosarcoma and the underlying regulation and molecular mechanism of zinc have not been reported. METHODS AND RESULTS This study showed that the zinc content in the blood and tumor tissues of patients with osteosarcoma significantly reduced. CCK-8 and Transwell chamber assays revealed that zinc treatment significantly inhibited the proliferation and invasion abilities of osteosarcoma cells. Western blot analysis indicated that the expression levels of caspase-3 and caspase-9 were significantly increased, suggesting that zinc inhibited the growth and promoted the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells. In addition, the expression levels of Wnt-3a and β-catenin, the marker proteins of the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways, were significantly increased in osteosarcoma cells after zinc intervention, which demonstrated that the pathway was clearly activated. However, the effect of zinc on the apoptosis, proliferation, and invasion abilities of osteosarcoma cells was reversed when the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathways was inhibited by XAV939 (Wnt antagonist) treatment. CONCLUSIONS This study is the first to report the changes in zinc levels in the blood and tumor tissues of patients with osteosarcoma and to preliminarily verify that zinc inhibits the proliferation and invasion and promote the apoptosis of osteosarcoma cells by inducing the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which ultimately inhibit cancer growth.BACKGROUND Spore-forming bacteria of the Bacillus genus are widely used probiotics known to exert their beneficial effects also through the stimulation of the host immune response. The oral delivery of B. click here toyonensis spores has been shown to improve the immune response to a parenterally administered viral antigen in mice, suggesting that probiotics may increase the efficiency of systemic vaccines. We used the C fragment of the tetanus toxin (TTFC) as a model antigen to evaluate whether a treatment with B. toyonensis spores affected the immune response to a mucosal antigen. RESULTS Purified TTFC was given to mice by the nasal route either as a free protein or adsorbed to B. subtilis spores, a mucosal vaccine delivery system proved effective with several antigens, including TTFC. Spore adsorption was extremely efficient and TTFC was shown to be exposed on the spore surface. Spore-adsorbed TTFC was more efficient than the free antigen in inducing an immune response and the probiotic treatment improved the response, increasing the production of TTFC-specific secretory immunoglobin A (sIgA) and causing a faster production of serum IgG.