The Chevron Bunionectomy for Moderate to Severe Deformity: Effects of Varying Procedural Factors in Hallux Valgus Correction

With growing popularity of minimally invasive surgery, the Chevron bunionectomy has been investigated for use in moderate to severe hallux valgus. This study investigates procedural components of lateral release, fixation, and 2nd digit procedures to evaluate effects on outcome. 109 out of 325 patients of a distal Chevron osteotomy with a minimum preoperative IMA of 15° completed the phone survey rating satisfaction and pain levels. Patients were contacted an average of 5.2 years postoperatively. 83% of patients reported being extremely to very satisfied with their outcome. Only 9 patients complained of current foot pain greater than or equal to 5 on a scale from 0 to 10 (with 0 being no pain). Intermetatarsal angle improved by an average of 7.2 degrees from 17.0 degrees preoperatively to 9.2 degrees postoperatively. Hallux valgus angle improved on average 20.5 degrees from 33.9 degrees preoperatively to 13.4 degrees postoperatively. Potential effects of risk factors on patient outcomes were also studied. No impacts of health history or 2nd digit procedures were found on patient satisfaction, pain levels, or radiographical improvement. However, surgeries including a lateral release were found to significantly improve IMA correction (p\u3c.01). No preference radiographically was discovered between open lateral release (OLR) and transarticular release (TAC). A higher rate of patients reported their satisfaction level of none to moderate for TAC (33%) than those without a release (17%) or OLR (12%). All measures comparing fixation methods proved unremarkable excluding a higher occurrence of K wire removal (40%) versus removal for bioabsorbable pins (10%). No cases of deep vein thrombosis or avascular necrosis were reported. Further studies investigating the differences between release types and frequency of implant removal are recommended

The Turn from Radicalism: Self-Regulation of the American Labor Movement, 1909-1919

The American Labor Movement of the first decade of the twentieth century was a host to radical labor union organizers and diverse schools of radical thought. By 1919, however, the Movement had shifted away from radicalism toward more pragmatic cooperation between owners and workers. This thesis uses the national organ of the American Flint Glass Workers\u27 Union to recount this same radicalism and traces its disappearance from the Labor Movement during and after American involvement in the First World War. Using events recorded in The American Flint, it argues that the workers themselves, motivated by patriotic zeal or self-preservation, purged their own ranks of radical elements. This thesis takes a step toward providing a more nuanced understanding of the American Labor Movement as it entered a crucial moment in its history, one that is described as the “ lean years” or the “collapse of organized labor” in America

American Airlines: Bankrupt, Like Every Other Legacy Airline

American held out to the end, being the last of the large legacy carriers to file for Chapter 11 protection. This case reviews the history of American from its inception through its filing. Current strategies and industry trends are also examined

Comparing High School Students\u27 and Adults\u27 Perceptions of Technology

This study compared high school student’s perceptions of technology and technological literacy to those perceptions of the general public. Additionally, individual student groups were compared statistically to determine significant differences between the groups. The ITEA/Gallup Poll instrument was used to survey high school student’s perceptions of technology in the study. The student population in question consisted of three subgroups: students enrolled in a standards-based technology education courses, students enrolled in a Project Lead the Way (PLTW) Principles of Engineering pre-engineering course, and students enrolled in a general education course (language arts, mathematics, or science). In addition, each student group’s perceptions of technology were compared to one another to determine differences within each group. Responses from 4 items in the ITEA/Gallup Poll showed descriptive differences between students and adults, and responses from 13 items showed a significant difference between the three student groups. Of those 13 items showing a significant difference between all three groups, 7 of the 13 items showed a significant difference between technology education and PLTW respondents, 6 of the 13 items showed a significant difference between PLTW and general education respondents, and 8 of the 13 items showed a significant difference between technology education and general education group respondents

Peptide redesign for inhibition of the complement system: Targeting age-related macular degeneration.

PurposeTo redesign a complement-inhibiting peptide with the potential to become a therapeutic for dry and wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).MethodsWe present a new potent peptide (Peptide 2) of the compstatin family. The peptide is developed by rational design, based on a mechanistic binding hypothesis, and structural and physicochemical properties derived from molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. The inhibitory activity, efficacy, and solubility of Peptide 2 are evaluated using a hemolytic assay, a human RPE cell-based assay, and ultraviolet (UV) absorption properties, respectively, and compared to the respective properties of its parent peptide (Peptide 1).ResultsThe sequence of Peptide 2 contains an arginine-serine N-terminal extension (a characteristic of parent Peptide 1) and a novel 8-polyethylene glycol (PEG) block C-terminal extension. Peptide 2 has significantly improved aqueous solubility compared to Peptide 1 and comparable complement inhibitory activity. In addition, Peptide 2 is more efficacious in inhibiting complement activation in a cell-based model that mimics the pathobiology of dry AMD.ConclusionsWe have designed a new peptide analog of compstatin that combines N-terminal polar amino acid extensions and C-terminal PEGylation extensions. This peptide demonstrates significantly improved aqueous solubility and complement inhibitory efficacy, compared to the parent peptide. The new peptide overcomes the aggregation limitation for clinical translation of previous compstatin analogs and is a candidate to become a therapeutic for the treatment of AMD

DNA i-motif Stabilization by Ligand Binding to Loop Regions

DNA i-motifs are a secondary structure of DNA that can be useful in a variety of ways, but this experiment investigates the maximum potential to stabilize i-motifs artificially with a small molecule binding to loop regions. DNA with different position and number of loops was tested to see to what extent the i-motif could be stabilized . A drug, Actinomycin D, was used for its known high affinity for a particular DNA sequence, which we used to make the loops of the i-motif. The binding constant for the drug to the DNA was determined through fluorescense spectroscopy while the presence of the i-motif structure was confirmed using Circular Dichroism spectra. The resulting dissociation constants showed that AMD had a higher affinity for the DNA strands when in the i-motif conformation at pH 5.4. The small molecule had the greatest binding constant when more than one binding site was present except in the case of L13HP due to steric hindrance by the nature of the i-motif structure