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Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the periodontal treatment outcomes in patients with periodontitis treated using conventional and microsurgical access flap procedure. Materials and Methods: Fifty chronic periodontitis patients were randomly assigned to conventional (Group I) and microsurgical (Group II) open flap debridement procedure. The parameters measured were probing pocket depth, clinical attachment loss (CAL), gingival recession (GR), bleeding on probing (BOP), wound healing, and postoperative pain. PD, CAL, GR, and BOP were assessed at pretreatment (baseline) and 3 months postoperatively. Wound healing was assessed using Landrey et al. healing index at 7th day and 3 months postoperatively and postoperative pain was assessed using number of analgesics taken for 7 days following surgery. Results: Healing Index score of 4 (very good healing) was found in 40% of sites of Group I and 95% of sites of Group II. Comparison of number of analgesics taken between groups on day 7 showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.01), indicating that pain was significantly reduced in Group II compared to Group I. At 3 months postoperatively, there was no significant reduction in PD, CAL, GR, and BOP between the groups. Conclusions: In open flap debridement procedure, a microsurgical approach can substantially improve the early healing and induce less postoperative pain when compared to a conventional macroscopic approach.

Abstract Introduction Total hip arthroplasty (THA) has revolutionized the treatment of hip joint arthritis. With the increased popularity and success of the procedure, research has focused on improving implant survival and reducing surgical complications. Optimal component orientation has been a constant focus with various philosophies proposed. Regardless of the philosophy, achieving an accurate acetabular position for each clinical scenario is crucial. In this paper, we review the recent developments in improving the accuracy and ideal positioning of the acetabular cup in routine primary THA. Methodology A review of the recent scientific literature for acetabular cup placement in primary THA was performed, with available evidence for safe zones, spinopelvic relationship, preoperative planning, patient-specific instrumentation, navigation THA and robotic THA. Conclusion Though the applicability of Lewinnek safe zones has been questioned with an improved understanding of spinopelvic relationships, its role remains in positioning the acetabular cup in a patient with normal spinopelvic alignment and mobility. Evaluation of spinopelvic relationships and accordingly adjusting acetabular anteversion and inclination can significantly reduce the incidence of dislocation in patients with a rigid spine. In using preoperative radiography, the acetabular inclination, anteversion and intraoperative pelvic position should be evaluated. With improving technology and the advent of artificial intelligence, superior and more accurate preoperative planning is possible. Patient-specific instrumentation, navigated and robotic THA have been reported to improve accuracy in acetabular cup positioning as decided preoperatively but any significant clinical advantage over conventional THA is yet to be elucidated.

Background: Intracranial meningiomas consist of a heterogenous group of histological subtypes, some of which are rare. Data that may play an important role in neurosurgical decision-making regarding the incidence and MRI features of these histological subtypes in the South African population groups, are lacking. Objectives: This study aimed to assess the spectrum of MRI findings and histological subtypes of meningiomas in the South African context, with the goal of improving the paucity of literature on the topic. Method: A retrospective review of the MRI features of 41 cases of histologically confirmed intracranial meningiomas was performed at a tertiary hospital level. Imaging features were audited and correlated with histological subtypes during statistical analysis. Results: Eleven different histological subtypes of meningioma were encountered. World Health Organization (WHO) Grade I meningothelial meningiomas were the most common histological subgroup. Overall, meningiomas were found to be predominantly isointense to grey matter on T1-weighted imaging, irrespective of the histological subtype, with greater signal variability on T2-weighted imaging. Morphologies of specific subtypes are in keeping with the literature. Conclusion: Analysis of this series of intracranial meningiomas did not demonstrate statistically significant differences in MRI features between histological subtypes to allow for accurate preoperative prediction of meningioma subtype or WHO grade. This highlights the importance of definitive histopathological diagnosis rather than over-reliance on presumed benign imaging features. Contribution: This original research article discusses the impact of histological subtype on the MRI appearance of intracranial meningiomas, with the aim to improve the paucity of literature on the subject in the context of the South African population.

Category: Hindfoot; Ankle Introduction/Purpose: Osteochondral lesions of the talus (OLT) peak in incidence during childhood, yet there exists a paucity of research on treatment among skeletally immature populations due to their high potential for spontaneous recovery without interventions. Unfortunately for patients who do require treatment, existing guidelines are based on adult studies, which likely differ in prognoses and outcomes due to varying capacity for regeneration. This paper compares outcomes across conservative and various surgical interventions for pediatric OLTs, with the synthesized evidence forming the basis of a treatment algorithm. Methods: An electronic literature search was conducted across PubMed, EMBASE, and MEDLINE databases for primary studies published prior to January 2022. Pediatric status in OLTs was defined as age < 18 at diagnosis, since many studies did not assess skeletal maturity. The main outcomes were clinical and radiological success rates, defined as achievement of good or fair outcomes according to measures used by individual studies. Articles were categorized by treatment method, and outcome rates were obtained via simple pooling. Results: 35 studies involving 714 lesions were included. Studies were categorized into five overarching treatment methods – (1) conservative treatment, (2) bone marrow stimulation, (3) retrograde drilling, (4) fixation, and (5) osteochondral transplantation. These interventions had pooled clinical success rates of (1) 45%, (2) 85%, (2) 90%, (4) 82%, and (5) 74%, respectively. The pooled radiological success rates were (1) 58%, (2) 85%, (3) 55%, (4) 89%, and (5) 81%. Escalation from conservative to surgical treatment occurred at a rate of 62% among studies in which this was reported. Articles were heterogeneous in measurement tools and pre- treatment characteristics; average baseline lesion size was (1) 129.8, (2) 131.0, (3) 87.8, (4) 137.8, and (5) 237.5mm^2 across the five treatment methods, and initial Berndt-Harty staging was likewise disparate. Conclusion: Conservative treatments yielded lower clinical and radiological success rates than surgical interventions, but warrant an initial trial in stable lesions due to their cost-effective and non-invasive nature. Surgery should be indicated for unstable lesions, or failed conservative treatment. Drilling and bone marrow stimulation are effective in lower grade lesions, while fixation should be considered for loosened fragments, and transplantation for large, non-salvageable lesions. Future research utilizing more robust methodology and reporting outcomes according to baseline lesion characteristics will consolidate these guidelines.

Background: This study has employed the multidimensional and flexible index that is the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) in achieving the objective of this study. Aims and Objectives: This study intends to assess and quantify the poverty levels of India using MPI. Materials and Methods: This study has selected eight indicators across three dimensions – health, education and social capital, and standard of living – in the estimation and applied the MPI method of cross-dimensional cut off across the indicators. Results: Upon completion, this study showed that India faces multidimensional poverty with an MPI of 0.4328. Conclusion: Estimation of multidimensional poverty can be done by even health-care professionals/institutes, notwithstanding constraints of data availability, to be used for policy considerations.

A comprehensive understanding of molecular and biochemical changes during sperm capacitation is critical to the success of assisted reproductive technologies. We reported involvement of the testis-specific isoform of Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (tACE) in bovine sperm capacitation. The objective of this study was to characterize the tACE interactome in fresh and heparin-capacitated bovine sperm through immunoprecipitation coupled with mass spectrometry. These interactions were validated by co-localization of tACE with beta-tubulin as an identified interactome constituent. Although interactions between tACE and several proteins remained unchanged in fresh and capacitated sperm, mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), inactive serine/threonine protein-kinase 3 (VRK3), tubulin-beta-4B chain (TUBB4B), and tubulin-alpha-8 chain (TUBA8) were recruited during capacitation, with implications for cytoskeletal and membrane reorganization, vesicle-mediated transport, GTP-binding, and redox regulation. A proposed tACE interactional network with identified interactome constituents was generated. Despite tACE function being integral to capacitation, the relevance of interactions with its binding partners during capacitation and subsequent events leading to fertilization remains to be elucidated.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0049548.].

The nascent field of microbiome science is transitioning from a descriptive approach of cataloging taxa and functions present in an environment to applying multi-omics methods to investigate microbiome dynamics and function. A large number of new tools and algorithms have been designed and used for very specific purposes on samples collected by individual investigators or groups. While these developments have been quite instructive, the ability to compare microbiome data generated by many groups of researchers is impeded by the lack of standardized application of bioinformatics methods. Additionally, there are few examples of broad bioinformatics workflows that can process metagenome, metatranscriptome, metaproteome and metabolomic data at scale, and no central hub that allows processing, or provides varied omics data that are findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable (FAIR). Here, we review some of the challenges that exist in analyzing omics data within the microbiome research sphere, and provide context on how the National Microbiome Data Collaborative has adopted a standardized and open access approach to address such challenges.