Should orthopedic surgeons consider the effects of gabapentin administration on bone healing while treating a long bone fracture: experimental study in a rat model

Objective : The main purpose of the present study was to assess the radiographic, histological, and mechanical effects of gabapentin on fracture healing in a rat model of femur fracture. Materials and methods : A standard transverse fracture of the mid-diaphysis was created. A total of 60 female Wistar-Albino rats with the mean age of 13.5 ± 1.2 weeks were used for this experimental trial. The rats were randomized into four groups with 15 animals included in each group. Group A and B were the control groups whereas C and D were the treatment groups. Drugs were delivered by oral gavage twice a day with the daily dosage calculated according to body surface area conversion to the human equivalent dosing regimen of 1200 mg/day. Radiographic, histological, and biomechanical evaluation was performed. Results : We could not detect any statistically significant difference between the control and gabapentin treatment groups according to the comparative assessment of radiographic scores on the 15th and 30th days. Although no significant differences were found between the groups on the 15th day, histological scores were better in the control group on the 30th day. According to the results of biomechanical testing, the fractured femurs resected from the control group exhibited significantly more strength on the 30th day. Conclusions : According to the data we acquired during the present study, administration of gabapentin negatively affects the fracture healing process especially in the aspects of histological progression as well as the biomechanical strength of the callus in a rat model.

Screening applications in drug discovery based on microfluidic technology

Luteolin ameliorates colistin-induced nephrotoxicity in the rat models

To study the protective, preventive effect of luteolin from colistin-induced nephrotoxicity.

Relevance of inhomogeneous–anisotropic models of human cortical bone: a tibia study using the finite element method

Cortical bone is an inhomogeneous and anisotropic tissue subjected to large loads during typical daily activities. While studies assuming isotropic material properties are frequent, anisotropy and inhomogeneity of cortical bone have been rarely taken into account. Moreover, the question, whether an assumption of anisotropy and inhomogeneity has an impact in the mechanical analysis of cortical bone, has not been explored in the literature. This study explores the relevance of anisotropy in human cortical bone. The cortical bone model has been divided into six radial regions and a different set of orthotropic material properties has been assigned to each region. This inhomogeneous and anisotropic elastic tibia model has been compared with a corresponding isotropic model under various loading modes using the finite element method. In particular, the variation in the maximum von Mises stress and strain values has been observed along the bone axis. We have observed that the isotropic model may overestimate the maximum von Mises strain up to 15% under pure compression and underestimate up to 50% under pure torsion relative to the inhomogeneous–anisotropic model. Our results suggest that consideration of anisotropy and inhomogeneity of the bone may make a significant difference in the predicted maximum von Mises strain values, which can be important for strain-based damage accumulation studies and fracture risk evaluation

Counter-Conduct in the University Factory: Locating the Occupy Sussex Campaign

Deploying the Foucauldian concepts of “conduct” and “counter-conduct”, this article provides an analysis of “Occupy Sussex”—a two-month-long student occupation launched in opposition to the outsourcing of service staff at the University of Sussex. Situated in the context of a post-Fordist political economy, we argue that the British university constitutes an especial site of conduct formation—a University Factory—wherein individuals are sorted and socialised as immaterial labourers. We argue that Occupy Sussex was a reaction to such conduct formation. As such, counter-conduct is deployed as a concept that can effectively map the tactics and strategies undertaken by Occupy Sussex against the university management. Moreover, counter-conduct is used in order to trace prefigurative attempts to redefine the university within the space of the occupation—away from the University Factory, towards collective self-management, alternative understandings of the “university experience” and an emergent notion of “community”. Finally, the use of counter-conduct serves to highlight the dangers of appropriation and co-optation; how university management attempted to co-opt and thus defuse the counter-conduct of Occupy Sussex.

Exit from democracy: illiberal governance in Turkey and beyond

This essay gives a synoptic overview of what we will describe as Turkey’s ‘exit from democracy’, a shift to authoritarianism and an Islamist ‘revolution from above’ that comes on the back of a much longer ‘passive revolution’. Secondly, it engages with the ideas and papers emanating from an International Symposium on ‘Populism, majoritarianism and crises of liberal democracy’, which the authors convened at the University of Graz in October 2015.1

Continuous chromosomal instability in human pluripotent stem cells – the role of DNA replication

Effects of Recombinant Human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 Dose and Ceramic Composition on New Bone Formation and Space Maintenance in a Canine Mandibular Ridge Saddle Defect Model

Treatment of mandibular osseous defects is a significant clinical challenge. Maintenance of the height and width of the mandibular ridge is essential for placement of dental implants and restoration of normal dentition. While guided bone regeneration using protective membranes is an effective strategy for maintaining the anatomic contour of the ridge and promoting new bone formation, complications have been reported, including wound failure, seroma, and graft exposure leading to infection. In this study, we investigated injectable low-viscosity (LV) polyurethane/ceramic composites augmented with 100 μg/mL (low) or 400 μg/mL (high) recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) as space-maintaining bone grafts in a canine mandibular ridge saddle defect model. LV grafts were injected as a reactive paste that set in 5-10 min to form a solid porous composite with bulk modulus exceeding 1 MPa. We hypothesized that compression-resistant LV grafts would enhance new bone formation and maintain the anatomic contour of the mandibular ridge without the use of protective membranes. At the rhBMP-2 dose recommended for the absorbable collagen sponge carrier in dogs (400 μg/mL), LV grafts maintained the width and height of the host mandibular ridge and supported new bone formation, while at suboptimal (100 μg/mL) doses, the anatomic contour of the ridge was not maintained. These findings indicate that compression-resistant bone grafts with bulk moduli exceeding 1 MPa and rhBMP-2 doses comparable to that recommended for the collagen sponge carrier support new bone formation and maintain ridge height and width in mandibular ridge defects without protective membranes.

Taking Identity Seriously: When Identity Meets Regulation

Financial stability is a public good. Banking regulation has a vital role to play in the provision and maintenance of financial stability. This article introduces a multiple identity approach to the regulation of the banking sector. It conceptualizes bankers and regulators sharing a common social identity with the rest of the society, namely taxpayer identity besides their respective banker and regulator identities. The article underlines the balance between two social identities, and the reasons why bankers and regulators cannot achieve a balance between the two. Finally, motivated by the multiple identity approach on the political economy of banking regulation, the article discusses two major policy recommendations for regulatory design, at least, to partially address the multiple identity problem.

The Effect of Rapid Antigen Detection Test on Antibiotic Prescription Decision of Clinicians and Reducing Antibiotic Costs in Children with Acute Pharyngitis

We aimed to investigate the effect of rapid antigen detection test (RADT) in the diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis, its impact on antibiotic prescription decision of pediatricians and influence on reduction of antibiotic treatment costs in children with pharyngitis. The study group consisted of 223 patients who were diagnosed with pharyngitis by pediatricians. The sensitivity and specificity of RADT were 92.1% (95% Cl: 78.6–98.3%) and 97.3% (95% Cl: 93.8–99.1%), respectively. In the first assessment, before performing RADT, pediatricians decided to prescribe antibiotics for 178 (79.8%) patients with pharyngitis. After learning RADT results, pediatricians finally decided to prescribe antibiotics for 83 (37.2%) patients with pharyngitis, and antibiotic prescription decreased by 42.6%. Antibiotic costs in non-Group A streptococcus pharyngitis, Group A streptococcus pharyngitis and all subjects groups decreased by 80.8%, 48%, and 76.4%, respectively. Performing RADT in children with pharyngitis has an important impact on treatment decision of clinicians, reduction of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions and antibiotic costs.