The Hebei Province Medical Science Special Major Projects Research Fund.

In this study, we proposed for the first time the theory of "settlement phenomenon" in tibial plateau and carefully explored the role of settlement of tibial plateau in the occurrence and progression of medial compartment knee osteoarthritis (OA) through investigating the relationship between the degree of settlement and the radiographic severity of OA. One hundred twenty-seven patients with knee medial compartment OA were recruited and examined with weight-bearing radiographs of the entire lower limb. The radiographic severity of OA was evaluated using the Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grading methods. The settlement value, hip-knee-ankle angle, minimum medial joint space width, and condylar plateau angle were measured at the same time. The settlement value increases with the upgrading of KL grades (r = 0.352, P < 0.001) and is significantly correlated with the changes of hip-knee-ankle angle, minimum medial joint space width, and condylar plateau angle (r = -0.527, -0.271, and 0.415, P < 0.001, respectively). These results suggest that the settlement of tibial plateau could be an evaluable indicator of medial compartment knee OA and be used in the early diagnosis and progression of OA.

No abstract

Patients involved with the above-mentioned medical conditions were at risk for surgical site infection after open reduction and internal fixation of ankle fracture. The present study may in this respect serve as a baseline reference and this knowledge will allow the formulation of public health strategies to prevent surgical site infection after orthopedic surgery.

A new method was developed to fabricate nanospheres and vesicles as drug carriers. The drug-loaded nanospheres and vesicles were prepared by self-assembly of alginate in aqueous media containing Ca 2+ and CO 3 2ions under very mild conditions. The preparation method did not involve any organic solvent and surfactant and could offer good control over the morphology and the size of self-assemblies. Through adjusting the preparation conditions, nanosized drug-delivery systems with different shapes, that is, nanospheres and vesicles, could be obtained. The morphologies of the drug-delivery systems were observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), an anticancer drug, was encapsulated in the nanospheres and vesicles, and in vitro drug release behavior was investigated. The effect of drug-loading content on the release was studied. The release of 5-FU could be effectively sustained from both drug-loaded nanospheres and vesicles because the presence of CaCO 3 in the nanospheres/vesicles could reduce the permeability of the entrapped drug for the alginate-based self-assemblies.