Therefore, an individual trial was performed by changing the stra

Therefore, an individual trial was performed by changing the strategy for treating neonates with ibuprofen to induce the closure of PDA. AG-120 In a retrospective study, patients receiving 20, 10, and 10 mg/kg bodyweight ibuprofen (group 1) were compared by chart review with those receiving 10, 5, 5 mg/kg (group 2). The rate of PDA closure, the incidence of side effects related to the use of ibuprofen, and the need for surgical intervention for closure of the PDA were analyzed. A higher rate of closure after three doses in group 1 could be observed (60.9 vs 52.6%; p = 0.75), which was not significant but indicated a clear positive trend. If closure

of the PDA was unsuccessful, intravenous ibuprofen was continued for an additional 2 days. After 5 days, 91.3% of PDA in group 1 was closed compared with 68.4% PDA in group 2. In summary, only 8.7% of the group 1 neonates needed surgical closure of PDA after insufficient medicamentous closure compared with 31.6% in group

2 (p = 0.25). Although not statistically significant, a clear positive trend for using the higher-dose medication can be seen. More work dealing with the limitations of a retrospective study must be done. Based on the data from this study, high-dose ibuprofen seems able to increase the rate of effective medicamentous GSK1838705A PDA closure without any further unwanted side effects.”
“Polychlorinated biphenyls and methylmercury are two of the most ubiquitous environmental contaminants in Guizhou province. Rice is eaten with almost every meal and provides more calories than any single food in Guizhou province. The estimated tolerable daily intake of total mercury, MeHg, Se and PCBs from Guizhou contaminated rice by Chinese people showed that MeHg and/or PCBs exceeded the corresponding limits. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of exposure to environmental contaminated rice on neurobehavioral

development and neurobiological disruptions in mice. Animals were treated from postnatal day (PND) 22 to 91. At PND 26-91 days of age, mice were tested for neurobehavioural development and neurochemical level selleck products changes. We showed that dietary exposure to environmentally contaminated rice gave rise to different changes in antioxidants. Reduced superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity and excess increased nitric oxide (NO) indicated aggravation of oxidative status after long-term dietary intake of Hg and PCBs. Neurobehavioral derangement in the central nervous system and significant delay in the Morris water maze test response on PND 91 are correlated with the increased of c-fos/c-jun expression levels in the cerebral cortex. These results suggest that MeHg neurotoxicity might be a greater hazard than that associated with PCB, but PCB may augment the neurobehavioral deficits caused by increased levels of mercury exposure. The simultaneous intake of selenium might have a protective effect on Hg accumulation in the body, and vitamin C might protect mice against the toxic effects of PCB.

Reference interval development

Reference interval development www.selleckchem.com/products/SB-203580.html has classically relied on concepts elaborated by the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry Expert Panel on Reference Values during the 1980s. These guidelines involve obtaining and classifying samples from a healthy

population of at least 120 individuals and then identifying the outermost 5% of observations to use in defining limits for two-sided or one-sided reference intervals. More recently, decision limits based on epidemiological outcome analysis have also been introduced to aid in test interpretation. The reference population must be carefully defined on the basis of the intended clinical use of the underlying test. To determine appropriate reference intervals for use in male fertility assessment, a reference population of men with documented time to pregnancy of < 12 months would be most suitable. However, for epidemiological assessment of semen testing results, a reference population made up of unselected healthy men would NSC23766 manufacturer be preferred. Although reference and decision limits derived for individual semen analysis test results will undoubtedly be

the interpretational tools of choice in the near future, in the long term, multivariate methods for the interpretation of semen analysis alone or in combination with information from the female partner seem to represent better means for assessing the likelihood of achieving a successful pregnancy in a subfertile couple.”
“It is beneficial to seek scientific basis for the effects of functional foods. Natural pigments derived from plants are widely known as possible antioxidants. Black soybean contains a larger amount of anthocyanins than regular soybean. Here we studied the anti-oxidative effect of a beverage obtained

via citric acid fermentation of black soybean (BBS), using a rat model of renal oxidative injury induced by a renal carcinogen, ferric nitrilotriacetate. BBS (10 ml/kg) was orally administered 30 min before ferric nitrilotriacetate treatment. Renal lipid peroxidation was significantly suppressed in the BBS-pretreated animals concomitant with decrease in 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal-modified proteins AZD8931 ic50 and 8-hydroxy-2`-deoxyguanosine. Maintenance of renal activities of antioxidative enzymes including catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and quinone reductase was significantly better in the BBS-pretreated rats. Elevation of serum creatinine and urea nitrogen was significantly suppressed in the BBS-pretreated rats. These data suggest that dietary intake of BBS is useful for the prevention of renal tubular oxidative damage mediate by iron, and warrant further investigation.”
“Waste rubber cannot be reprocessed by melting because of its three-dimensionally crosslinked molecular structure.

Systems biology offers ways to combine knowledge from these disci

Systems biology offers ways to combine knowledge from these disciplines by building integrative models that are quantitative and predictive. Can such models

be useful for gaining a deeper understanding of epithelial morphogenesis? Here, we take inventory of some recurring themes in epithelial morphogenesis that systems approaches could strive to capture. Predictive understanding of morphogenesis at the systems level would prove especially valuable for diseases such as cancer, where epithelial tissue architecture is profoundly disrupted. WIREs Syst Biol Med 2012, 4:5178. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.159″
“Huntington’s disease (HD) is a rare neurodegenerative disease with a multitude of symptoms, which requires selleckchem access to specialized multidisciplinary care for adequate management. The aim of this study was to survey the characteristics

of care in various HD centers in South America (SA). Methods: A questionnaire was sent to 24 centers involved in the care for HD patients in SA. Results: Of the total 24 centers, 19(79.2%) click here are academic units. The majority of centers (62.5%) are general movement disorders clinics. Multidisciplinary care is available in 19 (79.2%) centers and in 20 (83.3%) care is provided free of charge. Genetic testing and counseling are available in 25 and 66.6% of centers, respectively. The majority of centers (83.3%) have no institutional support for end-stage care. Conclusions: Although HD centers in SA are committed to providing multidisciplinary care, access to genetic counseling and end-stage care are lacking in most centers.”
“P>We present a case of endocarditis caused by Aspergillus in a lung transplant (LT) patient and review 6 previously reported cases. All cases were caused by Aspergillus fumigatus. Five patients Emricasan mouse (71%) were transplanted due to cystic fibrosis. None of the patients had any previously known valvular heart

disease. The time that elapsed between LT surgery and the diagnosis of Aspergillus endocarditis was 8 +/- 6 months. Large peripheral emboli were observed in 6 patients (85%); blood cultures were negative in all. Transthoracic echocardiography did not detect the presence of vegetations in 3 patients (43%); the vegetations measured > 1.5 cm in all cases. Five patients (71%) died from disseminated disease. Both survivors underwent combined therapy with antifungal drugs and surgical treatment.”
“Stroke represents the second common cause of death in adults. Objective: It was to evaluate the incidence and causes of mortality after 30 days in a group of patients with an atherothrombotic ischemic stroke who were followed-up for a period of up to two years. Methods: We analyzed retrospectively the medical records of patients with ischemic stroke, who did not undergo thrombolysis, of the Santa Marcelina Hospital. We applied a research protocol to obtain information about risk factors and the etiology of death. Results: They were followed 337: mean age was 66.6 years (SD 9.

Patients completed a questionnaire eliciting their preferences fo

Patients completed a questionnaire eliciting their preferences for prognostic information. Sociodemographic characteristics, involvement preferences, anxiety, depression, fear of recurrence, striving for quality

of life (QOL) or quantity of life and trust in physicians were explored as predictors for (a) wanting to be informed about prognosis and (b) the initiation of discussion about Selleckchem MEK inhibitor prognosis.

Results: Patients wanting all prognostic information had more fear for the disease to recur (p < 0.05) and were inclined to be more actively involved during consultation (p < 0.001). Post hoc analyses showed that patients with worse QOL scores reported more fear of recurrence. Anxiety, depression, trust and tendency to strive for QOL or quantity of life were not related to preferences concerning prognostic Selleckchem OICR-9429 information.

Conclusions: The more fear patients have for esophageal cancer to recur, the more information they want about prognosis. Thus,

patient’s fear for recurrent disease is not a reason for withholding prognostic information. Results also suggest that there is no harm in asking patients what information they want. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.”
“Methanolic leaf and fruit extracts of Datura metel were found highly effective in suppressing against Macrophomina phaseolina, the cause of charcoal rot disease. These extracts were further subjected to successive fractionation with n-hexane, chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol. All the concentrations (3.125-200 mg mL(-1)) of chloroform, ethyl acetate and n-butanol

fractions of leaf extract, and n-hexane fraction of fruit extract completely inhibited the target fungal growth. Two compounds A and B from the n-hexane fraction of fruit extract and compound C from n-butanol fraction of leaf extract were obtained SBI-0206965 by TLC. Compound B exhibited the best antifungal activity with an MIC value of 7.81 mu g mL(-1) that was at par with that of commercial fungicide mancozeb (80% w/w). This study concludes that M. phaseolina can be effectively controlled by natural antifungal compounds in n-hexane fraction of methanolic fruit extract of D. metel.”
“AimThe aim of the present study was to assess the effect of childbirth preference among nulliparous Chinese women and their partners on actual mode of delivery, and to assess women’s change in preference from vaginal delivery to cesarean and the factors associated with this change.

MethodsA cohort study was conducted from July to October 2011 in the First Hospital of Tsinghua University, Beijing. Nulliparous women at the gestational age of 36-40 weeks and their partners were included. Their childbirth preference was recorded twice: once in pregnancy and again 2 or 3 days post-partum.

ResultsWomen preferring cesarean during pregnancy had a 3.9-fold higher chance of undergoing a cesarean than those preferring vaginal delivery (P=0.004), while the partner’s preference had no effect (P=0.35).

(C) 2011 International

(C) 2011 International Entinostat concentration Society for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“The comet assay was performed on mouse and human spermatozoa to examine the effect of alkaline DNA unwinding time. The spermatozoa were treated in vitro with the DNA-damaging agents, methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) or hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), and then embedded in agarose gel on glass slides. The slides were immersed in alkaline solution (. pH 13) for 1, 5, 10 and 20 min, and then subjected to the electrophoresis under neutral conditions.

In mouse spermatozoa, comet tails seen in solvent controls became brighter and longer as the alkaline DNA unwinding time increased. However, in the MMS-treated mouse spermatozoa, a smaller difference in the damage from that in the solvent control was seen with time within a dose. DNA damage induced by H2O2 could also be detected accurately after alkali treatment for 1-20 min. In human spermatozoa, DNA damage induced by MMS and H2O2 could be detected in a dose-dependent manner after alkali treatment for 1 min. The ability of the comet assay to selleck chemicals llc detect DNA damage was not adversely affected by the short period (1 min) of the alkaline DNA unwinding time. Asian Journal of Andrology (2011) 13, 172-174; doi: 10.1038/aja.2010.105; published online 8 November 2010″
“10-30% BTSA1 purchase of dialysis population awaiting

renal transplantation is sensitized. Present desensitization protocols use intravenous immune globulins, rituximab,

and plasmapheresis in various combinations; however, these regimens are unaffordable by many in developing countries. We tried desensitization with mycophenolate mofetil and plasmapheresis. Methods. Patients with high PRA titre (> 50%) or positive crossmatch (> 10%) were treated with MMF for a month before proposed transplant and were given five sittings of plasmapheresis. Results. 11 of 12 patients had normalization of PRA/crossmatch with this regimen and were successfully transplanted. One patient lost the graft due to graft vein thrombosis, and two patients died within three months after transplant due to septicemia and pulmonary embolism, respectively, with a functioning graft. No patient, including the two who died, developed clinical rejection over a mean follow-up of 10 months (range 1-16 months). Mean serum creatinine at last follow up was 1.1 mg/dL (range 0.9-1.3 mg/dL). Conclusions. Though the number of patients studied is small, we feel that highly sensitized patients awaiting living donor renal transplant should be tried on this simple and cost-effective regime before transplant. The more aggressive and expensive approaches incorporating IVIg and rituximab should be used only if this relatively low-cost regime is unsuccessful.


“The hydrodistilled essential oils from Pistacia vera L s


“The hydrodistilled essential oils from Pistacia vera. L stem exudates have been tested against three bacteria (Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus spp) using three methods: agar disc diffusion, determination of MIC (minimum inhibitory concentration) and in the liquid phase by Maruzella method. The results obtained showed that essential oil resin of P. vera L. has antimicrobial activity against gram negative bacteria (E. coli and Proteus spp.) as well as gram positive bacteria

(S. aureus), when Proteus spp. was the greatest inhibited of all the strains tested.”
“Background: AZD2014 mw Radical cystectomy is the standard of care for patients with localized muscle-invasive bladder cancer; however, 50% of patients still relapse in distant sites following surgery. A systemic approach is needed to improve outcomes in bladder cancer in the metastatic and pen operative settings.

Methods: We reviewed the literature for use of systemic chemotherapy in bladder cancer and its role in metastatic, neoadjuvant, and adjuvant settings, including patients with comorbidities and renal dysfunction. Current controversies on the role of chemotherapy in neoadjuvant and adjuvant settings as well as the role of novel agents are discussed.

Results: First-line cisplatin-based polychemotherapy improves survival in the metastatic setting and is the standard of care. Approved regimens for subsequent-line therapy do not

exist. Chemotherapy has a modest benefit in the neoadjuvant setting, but evidence is insufficient to justify its role in the adjuvant setting despite MCC950 in vitro a possible benefit. Carboplatin cannot be substituted for cisplatin in fit patients, and the addition of taxane to a standard regimen cannot be recommended.

Conclusions: Systemic chemotherapy plays a central role in the management Evofosfamide chemical structure of invasive bladder cancer in the metastatic and neoadjuvant settings, but its role in the adjuvant setting remains undefined. Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is underutilized and should be routinely used. Pathological downstaging strongly correlates with improved outcomes and may serve as a surrogate

end point for survival. An urgent need exists for the development of novel therapeutic agents to improve outcomes.”
“Study Design. A case report describing chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO) with initial presentation limited to spine, successfully treated by anti-TNF-alpha therapy after failure of conventional treatment methods.

Objective. To describe an unusual manifestation and treatment of a rare disease.

Summary of Background Data. CRMO is a rare inflammatory bone disease that should be differentiated from bacterial osteomyelitis. Rarely, it can affect the spine and in this case the most important differential diagnosis is infectious spondylodiscitis. The disease has an unpredictable course with exacerbations and spontaneous remissions.

Retrospective single center analysis

Objective The p

Retrospective single center analysis.

Objective. The purpose of our study is to quantify the development of a postoperative radiculitis in our minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion patient population.

Summary of Background Data. The application of recombinant human Bone Morphogenetic Protein-2 (BMP) in spinal surgery has allowed for greater success in spinal fusions. This has led to the FDA approving its use in anterior lumbar interbody fusion. However, its well-recognized benefits have generated its “”off-label”" use in the cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine. Despite BIX 01294 price its benefits, the adverse effects of its inflammatory properties are just starting to get recognized. Some clear adverse reactions have

been documented in the literature in the cervical spine. However, we feel that these inflammatory properties may be present in the lumbar spine as well.

Methods. We performed a retrospective chart review of 43 patients who had undergone a minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions. Thirty-five of these patients had BMP and 8 patients did not have BMP. We documented whether there was a preoperative SBE-β-CD radiculopathy

present and whether a radiculopathy was present postoperative. We reviewed radiographic postoperative imaging to establish a structural cause for any radiculopathy. If new or increasing radicular symptoms were present, we attempted to assess the duration of these symptoms.

Results. Our analysis, showed that 0 of the 8 patients of the non-BMP group had new radicular symptoms that were not attributed to structural causes. In the BMP group, 4 of the 35 patients (11.4%) had new PI3K inhibitor radicular symptoms without structural etiology.

Conclusion. Our analysis suggest that patients undergoing minimally invasive transforaminal lumbar interbody fusions procedures have a higher

incidence of developing new radicular symptoms that could be attributed to BMP.”
“Aims. Hyperinsulinemia in overweight status, obesity, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is often accompanied by cancer. Gender is important in cancer epidemiology, clinical presentation, and response to therapy in different histological types of malignancy. Insufficient information is available concerning gender differences in DM with organ-specific and nonorgan-specific cancers. This study aimed to analyze gender differences in hospitalized cancer patients with or without type 2 DM. Methods. We retrospectively reviewed ten years of patients hospitalized in one institution, enrolling 36,457 female and 50,004 male cancer patients of which 5,992 females and 8,345 males were diagnosed as type 2 DM. Results. Statistically significant increases in incidence of type 2 DM were found in patients of both genders with pancreatic, liver, and urinary tract cancer. Increased incidence of type 2 DM was found in lung and hematologic malignancies in females and prostate cancer in males. Increases in mortality rates of females with type 2 DM (2.

, Ultramicroscopy 68, 223 (1997)] and found that SPs traveling in

, Ultramicroscopy 68, 223 (1997)] and found that SPs traveling in both directions in such a cavity yield interference patterns in the farfield, which can be measured as specular and retroreflection. We have studied and designed the structures using finite element method in addition to a heuristic model, fabricated the devices using photolithography and

experimentally verified the operation of the resonators, by observing the interference patterns of the specular and retroreflection in the farfield. We have found that the experimental results agree with the simulations, and CT99021 PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitor explained the discrepancies. These structures can be useful in the study of the propagation length of SPs via observation in the farfield of the specular and the retroreflected light in laser industry and could be miniaturized P5091 to yield small biosensors. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3487940]“
“To maximize the efficiency of diagnostic video/EEG telemetry, we retrospectively studied the occurrence of clinical events during admission in 254 patients One hundred fifty-nine

patients had psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) and 95 had epileptic seizures (ES) Twenty-five with PNES and none with ES had an event before or during electrode placement (P < 0.0001). In the remaining 229, the initial event occurred within 48 hours of electrode placement in 98.5% patients with PNES and 100.0% of patients with ES. Time to occurrence SYN-117 datasheet of initial event did not differ between groups (P = 0.69). 17.1% patients with PNES and 51.6% with ES had events between 12 AM and 6

AM (P = 0.001) In conclusion, during diagnostic video/EEG telemetry, most patients who experience PNES or ES have diagnostic, typical events within 2 days Although time to initial event after electrode placement does not differ between diagnoses, events prior to or during placement are most likely PNES and events at night are most likely ES (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved.”
“The aim of the present study was to investigate the variability of hepatitis C virus (HCV) CD81 binding regions (CD81-1/2) in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC)-derived and serum-derived HCV-RNA samples. HCV-RNA was isolated from PBMC (104 cells) and serum samples from 37 patients chronically infected with HCV genotype 1a/1b (n = 21/16). The hypervariable regions 1/2 (amino acid 384-410, amino acid 474-482) and regions CD81-1/2 (amino acid 474-494, amino acid 522-551) were analysed. Mutational frequency of amino acid sequences was compared between PBMC-derived and serum-derived HCV variants as well as local accumulation of mutations. Furthermore, CD81 was quantified on PBMC. Mutational frequency was not different between PBMC-derived and serum-derived HCV variants.

The Varshni and Bose-Einstein parameters have been found to be cl

The Varshni and Bose-Einstein parameters have been found to be close to the parameters of narrow band-gap III-V semiconductors.”
“A uniformly sized molecularly imprinted polymer for the peripheral vasodilator drug tolazoline (T-MIP) was prepared, and a nonimprinted polymer (NIP) was also synthesized in the same way but in the absence of the template. The T-MIP was prepared with methylacrylic

acid as functional monomer and ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker by a multistep swelling and polymerization method. These imprinted materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, nitrogen adsorption, and static adsorption experiments. Binding studies were also performed to evaluate the uptake of T-MIP and NIP with the results that T-MIP had a significantly higher AZD7762 binding capacity for tolazoline (T) than did NIP. The maximum static adsorption capacities of T-MIP and NIP for

T were 78.9 and 38.8 mu mol/g, respectively. The T-MIPs and NIPs were used as stationary phases of solid-phase extraction (SPE), and a relative selectivity coefficient (k’) value of 5.21 was obtained, which showed that the T-MIP sorbent had higher selectivity than the NIP sorbent. The method was applied to the determination of T in urine samples. The prepared polymer sorbent showed promise for SPE for gas chromatography determination Vactosertib solubility dmso of T in urine samples. (C) 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 115: 198-203, 2010″
“A comprehensive approach using multiple qualitative and quantitative methods coupled with multivariate statistical analysis was developed for the quality evaluation of Arnebiae Radix currently marketed in China. A simple, rapid and accurate liquid chromatographic method by optimization of the current ones was established for determination of beta, beta’-dimethylacrylalkannin. Moreover, hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) and principle component analysis (PCA) QNZ cost were applied to classify and differentiate

the different samples. In the qualitative analyses, two known markers (l-shikonin and beta, beta’-dimethylacrylalkannin) were detected in all samples. The quantitative analyses showed that these samples were qualified with the high contents of both total hydroxynaphthoquinones and beta, beta’-dimethylacrylalkannin. However, their chemical profiles from either TLC or HPLC analysis as well as the pharmacognostic features showed some differences from each other. By HCA and PCA, all samples especially imported ones could be clearly separated and classified into two major groups, of which four samples including two indigenous herbs and two imported ones from Pakistan and the authentic herb of Arnebiae euchromae Radix were grouped together but could be further differentiated by PCA study. Some potential markers besides l-shikonin and beta, beta’-dimethylacrylalkannin were found accountable for such discrimination but need to be further elucidated.

At both two and six weeks after repair, internal range of motion

At both two and six weeks after repair, internal range of motion was significantly decreased whereas external range of motion was not. There were no differences between the groups in terms of collagen organization or mechanical properties.

Conclusions: In this model, immediate postoperative passive motion was found to be detrimental to passive shoulder mechanics. We speculate that passive motion results in increased scar formation small molecule library screening in the subacromial space, thereby resulting in decreased range of motion and increased joint stiffness. Passive motion had no effect on collagen organization or tendon mechanical properties measured

six weeks after surgery.”
“Primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is not an uncommon disease in the western countries. In Thailand, on the contrary, PHPT was a rare condition with various clinical presentations. All 45 PHPT patients who underwent parathyroidectomy at the Department of Surgery, Siriraj

Hospital selleck chemical during January 1997 and December 2007 were retrospectively reviewed. Demographic data, clinical presentation, localizations imaging, operative procedures, findings, complications, and pathological reports were analyzed. Median age was 49 years (range 15-89 years) with female: male ratio of 3 : 1. Only one patient (2.2%) was asymptomatic PHPT. Of all symptomatic cases, 30 (66.7%) had skeletal symptoms, 7 (15.6%) had renal impairment, and 39 (86.7%) had mixed symptoms. 42 patients (93.3%) had parathyroid scan and all had bilateral exploration of the neck. Postoperative hungry bone syndrome was noted in 10 patients (22%). On followup, skeletal and neuropsychiatric symptoms were improved but the renal impairment was remained. The s small number of asymptomatic PHPT in our study may refer to large number of underdiagnosed PHPT in general population. The guideline for screening serum Selleckchem Belnacasan calcium for diagnosis of PHPT in Thai populations will improve the long-term consequence of the disease but will need further information to identify the target group.”
“Background: Staple epiphysiodesis is an option for the

treatment of limb-length discrepancies, but it is not without complications. The purpose of this study was to review the outcomes of staple epiphysiodesis, including changes in the mechanical axis.

Methods: The study included patients who underwent, between 1990 and 2005, staple epiphysiodesis of the femur or tibia, or both, to address limb-length discrepancy. We reviewed preoperative, postoperative, and final long standing anteroposterior radiographs of fifty-four patients to assess limb-length discrepancy, shifts in the mechanical axis, changes in the mechanical axis zone, and changes in the anatomic lateral distal femoral angle and the medial proximal tibial angle. Postoperative radiographs were also reviewed to assess the adequacy of staple placement.