Fracture of the posterior malleolus: an underdiagnosed condition

The ankle joint is the most commonly injured joint during sports activity. While ankle sprains occur more frequently, ankle fractures are less common. Due to its low incidence, the isolated fracture of the posterior malleolus still represents a diagnosis challenge. This article reports a case of a female with a posterior malleolus isolated fracture after falling while performing sports activity. Clinical examination and conventional radiography were consistent with diagnosis of a simple ankle sprain and the patient was discharged with a conservative approach for lateral ankle sprain. Due to persistent pain the patient return for additional examination, which the differential diagnosis revealed an isolated fracture of the posterior malleolus without displacement of the fragment. The patient was immobilized with a suropodalic splint for 4 weeks followed by additional conservative. At the fourth month of follow-up, the patient was asymptomatic and showed good clinical and functional outcomes. This case highlights the importance of a comprehensive medical history and detailed clinical examination which may reveal pathological features that require a differential diagnosis

Tibial tunnel positioning on lateral radiographs in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction: a single surgeon experience

Background: Accurate tunnel positioning in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgery is one of the cornerstones for its success. However, it is still controversial and target of disagreement within the orthopedic literature. Therefore, it was aimed to evaluate the tibial tunnel placement in anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction surgeries of a single orthopedic surgeon.Methods: The postoperative knee sagittal radiographs of anterior cruciate ligament reconstructed knees from a single surgeon were retrospectively collected. To assess the tunnel positions was used predefined criteria (in percentage and in millimeters) within the intervals found in the literature (41-43 percent and 21-23 millimeters).Results: There were no significant differences between the number of results (% and mm), within and without the intervals that were considered acceptable for this measure (P >0.05). It was found significant differences in the absolute deviation (%) throughout non-consecutive years (P <0.05). There was no correlation between the absolute deviations and the years of experience (r =-0.080, P =0.663).Conclusions: Significant differences were found in the absolute deviation (%) throughout non-consecutive years, suggesting variations in the tunnel position throughout the years.

Preface to the fourth international workshop on models and model-driven methods for service engineering - 3M4SE 2013

The Fourth International Workshop on Models and Model-driven Methods for Service Engineering -3M4SE 2013- aims at helping the convergence of research on model-driven development and practical application of the model-driven approach in the area of enterprise computing and service engineering. The workshop addresses questions with respect to the requirements on, concepts for, properties of and experience with models and model-driven methods for service engineering in the area of enterprise computing. A special focus has been on the combined application of model-driven and semantic approaches in the different phases of the service lifecycle

Towards an MDA-based development methodology for distributed applications

This paper proposes a development methodology for distributed applications based on the principles and concepts of the Model-Driven Architecture (MDA). The paper identifies phases and activities of an MDA-based development trajectory, and defines the roles and products of each activity in accordance with the Software Process Engineering Metamodel (SPEM). The development methodology presented in this paper is being developed and applied in the European 5th Framework project MODA-TEL, which aims at assessing the applicability and potential of MDA in the context of telecom services and applications. This paper also discusses the application of the proposed methodology on a typical telecom service case study. The paper claims that the proposed methodology is general enough to be applicable to distributed applications in other domains as well

An Insight into the Release Kinetics

The authors acknowledge the financial support from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT-MEC), Portugal, through the dedicated project (PTDC/EDM-EDM/30828/2017) (BeLive) Publisher Copyright: © 2023 by the authors.This work explores the unique features of magnetic-responsive hydrogels to obtain liposomal hydrogel delivery platforms capable of precise magnetically modulated drug release based on the mechanical responses of these hydrogels when exposed to an external magnetic field. Magnetic-responsive liposomal hydrogel delivery systems were prepared by encapsulation of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocoline (DPPC) multilayered vesicles (MLVs) loaded with ferulic acid (FA), i.e., DPPC:FA liposomes, into gelatin hydrogel membranes containing dispersed iron oxide nanoparticles (MNPs), i.e., magnetic-responsive gelatin. The FA release mechanisms and kinetics from magnetic-responsive liposomal gelatin were studied and compared with those obtained with conventional drug delivery systems, e.g., free liposomal suspensions and hydrogel matrices, to access the effect of liposome entrapment and magnetic field on FA delivery. FA release from liposomal gelatin membranes was well described by the Korsmeyer–Peppas model, indicating that FA release occurred under a controlled diffusional regime, with or without magnetic stimulation. DPPC:FA liposomal gelatin systems provided smoother controlled FA release, relative to that obtained with the liposome suspensions and with the hydrogel platforms, suggesting the promising application of liposomal hydrogel systems in longer-term therapeutics. The magnetic field, with low intensity (0.08 T), was found to stimulate the FA release from magnetic-responsive liposomal gelatin systems, increasing the release rates while shifting the FA release to a quasi-Fickian mechanism. The magnetic-responsive liposomal hydrogels developed in this work offer the possibility to magnetically activate drug release from these liposomal platforms based on a non-thermal related delivery strategy, paving the way for the development of novel and more efficient applications of MLVs and liposomal delivery systems in biomedicine.publishersversionpublishe