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Background Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA) is an option for the treatment of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee (SONK). However, there are limited studies focusing on this area. This study presents medium-term clinical outcome data of UKA for SONK. Methods We reviewed 50 SONK knees in 48 patients that were treated by UKA. The mean age, height, and body weight were 73 years, 153 cm, and 57 kg, respectively. The mean follow-up was 8.4 years (range, four to 15 years). Preoperatively, we measured the size and the volume (estimated by width × length × depth) of the necrotic bone mass on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. The clinical results were evaluated serially at follow-up visits radiographically and with the Knee Society Scoring (KSS) and Oxford Knee Scoring (OKS) systems. Results There were no revisions, re-operations, or major complications. The mean sizes of the necrotic lesions were 17.2 mm (14.7–22.3 mm) in width, 28.2 mm (6.2–34.7 mm) in length, and 11.3 mm (3.2–14.5 mm) in depth. The mean volume was approximately 5.4 cm 3 (0.7–10.3 cm 3 ). The mean flexion of the knee, KSS Knee Score, Function Score, and OKS increased from a preoperative 128.7–137.5°, 52.3–91.3, 39.7–90.2, and 21.6–40.2, respectively, at the latest follow-up. At the last follow-up, all patients had good or excellent OKS. Conclusions This study demonstrates that UKA is a good option and is reliable for the treatment of SONK irrespective of necrotic bone mass size.

We investigated genetic variation of a rice HEADING DATE 1 ( HD1 ) homolog in foxtail millet. First, we searched for a rice HD1 homolog in a foxtail millet genome sequence and designed primers to amplify the entire coding sequence of the gene. We compared full HD1 gene sequences of 11 accessions (including Yugu 1, a Chinese cultivar used for genome sequencing) from various regions in Europe and Asia, found a nucleotide substitution at a putative splice site of intron 1, and designated the accessions with the nucleotide substitution as carrying a splicing variant. We verified by RT-PCR that this single nucleotide substitution causes aberrant splicing of intron 1. We investigated the geographical distribution of the splicing variant in 480 accessions of foxtail millet from various regions of Europe and Asia and part of Africa by dCAPS and found that the splicing variant is broadly distributed in Europe and Asia. Differences of heading times between accessions with wild type allele of the HD1 gene and those with the splicing variant allele were unclear. We also investigated variation in 13 accessions of ssp. viridis , the wild ancestor, and the results suggested that the wild type is predominant in the wild ancestor.

This study investigated the effects of cod protein (CP) on the serum, liver, fecal lipid contents and fatty acid (FA) composition in the liver of obese type-2 diabetic KK- A y mice. Male KK- A y mice were fed a casein-based semi-purified diet (Control) or a diet with substitution of part of the dietary protein (50%) by CP for 4 weeks. The CP diet significantly decreased the contents of serum triacylglycerol (TAG), serum non-esterified FAs, serum alanine aminotransferase, and liver TAG compared with the Control diet. In addition, dietary CP decreased saturated FA, monounsaturated FA, and the FA desaturase indices (C16:1/C16:0 and C18:1/C18:0) in the liver. The changes in FA desaturase indices induced by the FP diet could be inhibited by stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD)-1 activity due to suppression of the SCD-1 mRNA expression level. These results suggest that the intake of CP has a beneficial effect on the liver in the presence of obesity and diabetes.

A series of 2-(2-phenylmorpholin-4-yl)pyrimidin-4(3H)-ones was synthesized and examined for their inhibitory activity against glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β). We found 21, 29 and 30 to possess potent in vitro GSK-3β inhibitory activity with good in vitro PK profiles. 21 demonstrated significant decrease of tau phosphorylation after oral administration in mice and excellent PK profiles.

In vitro and animal studies indicate that n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) suppress carcinogenesis. This study presents a new insight on effectiveness of marine phospholipids for suppression of colon carcinogenesis. The purpose of this study was to investigate growth inhibition and apoptosis inducing effects of n-3 PUFA in the form of marine phosphatidylcholine (PC) on chemically induced (1,2-dimethylhydrazine) colon cancer in rats. Growth inhibition of Caco-2 cells was determined by colorimetric sodium 2-(4-iodophenyl)-3-(4-nitrophenyl)-5-(2,4-disulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium (WST-1) dye reduction assay. For animal studies, the rats were fed 5 different diets containing docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-ethyl ester, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA)-ethyl ester, squid meal PC (rich in DHA), starfish PC (rich in EPA), and corn oil. The 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (30 mg/kg) or saline was injected 48 hours before the experiment. Rats were anesthetized, and apoptotic as well as mitotic cells in crypt were counted based on morphological criteria in isolated crypts. Squid meal and starfish PC potently inhibited the growth of Caco-2 cells. The experimental diets containing n-3 PUFA suppressed colon cancer in rats. Rats that consumed diets containing DHA-ethyl ester, EPA-ethyl ester, squid meal PC, and starfish PC showed increased apoptosis (P < .01) and suppressed proliferation. These results suggest that marine PC-containing diets might be an effective dietary protective factor against colon cancer.

The uncatalyzed intramolecular [4+2]cycloaddition of 2 E , 7 E ,9( E )-decatrienoates, conducted at 140 °C in a medium of smectic liquid cryctals proceeds with a remarkably high level of chemical efficiency and diastereselectivity, in contrast to the isotropic phase reactions which result in much lower yield and selectivity.

The E1 reactions of sec - and tert -alkyl phosphates to isomeric olefins, as catalyzed by trifluoromethanesulfonic acid proceed smoothly with remarkably high regio- and diastereoselectivity in a smectic liquid crystalline phase medium, in contrast to isotropic reactions, which result in much lower selectivity.

1. 1. Compositions of lipids and proteins of erythrocytes (RBC) and gills from Japanese charr (Salvelinus leucomaenis) which were exposed to 0.4 and 0.7 ppm ozone for 30 min were compared with those of the control. 2. 2. On exposure to ozone, both RBC and gill membrane phospholipid content, especially phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), dropped. 3. 3. The decrease of PE was brought about by the decrease of docosahexaenoic acid content which comprised the major component of PE. 4. 4. RBC membrane protein with 215 and 225 kDa, which is equivalent to cytoskeletal protein, selectively disappeared on exposure to ozone.