Good Rate Research Articles

Business Intelligence and Strategic Entrepreneurship for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGS) Through: (Green Technology Innovation and Green Knowledge Management)

Abstract The study aimed to investigate the effect of business intelligence on strategic entrepreneurship and the mediating role of green technology innovation and the moderate role of green knowledge management for sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the Jordanian entrepreneurial companies in King Hussein Business Park (KHBP). It was used the descriptive analytical approach, for data collection purposes the researcher uses a “random sample” consisting of (347) employees. The method of data collection was by a questionnaire distributed to the sample. The total returned questionnaires were (318) with a good response rate of approximately (79.5%). In this research, was used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicated there is: a positive and direct impact of business intelligence on (strategic entrepreneurship, and green technology innovation), a positive and impact of the green technology innovation on strategic entrepreneurship, and the green technology innovation mediate a positive effect between business intelligence, and strategic entrepreneurship and the green knowledge management moderates the impact of business intelligence on strategic entrepreneurship. The study findings emphasize the need to improve Business Intelligence to promote sustainability by incorporating environmental criteria into data analytics, allowing companies to make environmentally friendly decisions, urges companies to integrate Green Technology Innovation into their strategic plans by collaborating with technology providers and research organizations. The research also emphasizes the need for government initiatives that encourage the use of green technology innovation and green knowledge management..

Dry‐Pressed Fabrication of Lithium‐Ion Electrodes Over 500 μm Thick

AbstractIn stationary storage, thick electrodes can minimize inactive material components to increase energy density and decrease cost, but they face challenges in performance and manufacturability. This work discusses a method to fabricate thick‐format lithium‐ion electrodes and a model to explore transport constraints for functional thick electrodes. Thick lithium iron phosphate (LFP) electrodes were fabricated using a solvent‐free pressing process that adopts methods from alkaline electrode manufacturing for low‐cost scale‐up. LFP electrodes with thicknesses up to 1 mm and capacities up to ~15 mAh/cm2 exhibited good rate performance (~98 % utilization at C/10, ~95 % at C/5, ~76 % at C/2). A physics‐based LFP half‐cell model was developed to aid in characterizing transport within these thick electrodes, revealing opportunities to further improve performance by decreasing tortuosity.

State of thermophylic ichthyofauna in the water bodies of Arkhangelsk Oblast: Report 2. Biological characteristics of fish

The biological characteristics of warm-water fish species living in water bodies of the Arkhangelsk region are presented. Changes in size and mass parameters, age and sex structures and reproductive ability of the Severodvinsk sterlet in the temporal aspect were revealed. It has been established that it has good growth rates, a reserve in replenishing the spawning stock and a stable state of the natural reproduction system. The biological parameters of blue bream and rudd, rare species of fish that live in the lakes of the Kenozersky National Park, as well as a number of reservoirs in the Arkhangelsk region, were obtained. The biological characteristics of species that appeared in the river basin are considered. Northern Dvina as a result of self-dispersal - white-eye and asp, as well as the nutrition and feeding relationships of white-eye with native fish species. The attention of specialists to these alien fish species is due to the need to develop an environmental forecast for the development of the situation with their numbers in the context of ongoing global warming.

Update on the Treatment of Acute Infections in Knee Prostheses: Is it possible to retain the components? An in-depth look at the DAIR procedure.

Periprosthetic knee infections are serious complications after knee arthroplasty, affecting 1 to 2% of patients with primary surgery and up to 20% of revisions. The DAIR strategy (debridement, antibiotics, and implant retention) has emerged as a treatment for acute infections, allowing component retention in certain cases, with a high success rate. This review discusses its application, success factors, techniques such as the "double DAIR" and postoperative management, highlighting the importance of correct patient selection and the combination of a thorough and meticulous surgical technique with appropriate antibiotic therapy to optimize results. An exhaustive updated literature search was conducted regarding the use of DAIR in acute periprosthetic infections, highlighting the step-by-step procedure and some surgical tips that are helpful when performing it. Based on this, recommendations were made for physicians interested in the subject. A series of recommendations are made based on current literature, which are a useful guide when dealing with patients with acute infections in the context of knee prostheses, with a success rate greater than 70% in most cases where the patient is well selected. DAIR is a useful and effective tool in the eradication and treatment of acute periprosthetic infections, with a good success rate. It is a cheap, technically simple and reproducible procedure, so as a group, we suggest it be adopted globally by orthopedic surgeons.

Midostaurin-Associated acute pancreatitis.

The multikinase inhibitor midostaurin is the first targeted drug for the treatment of AML FLT3. It reduces mortality by 23% more than standard chemotherapy group. Although it has many gastrointestinal side effects, there is no data in the literature regarding its association with acute pancreatitis. We wanted to present an acute pancreatitis case that developed after midostaurin treatment in our clinic. A patient with AML FLT3 who developed abdominal pain, elevated amylase-lipase enzymes and increased volume around the pancreas on abdominal imaging after the addition of midostaurin to chemotherapy was hospitalized with a prediagnosis of acute pancreatitis. Oral feeding was stopped, intravenous hydration was provided and anti-symptomatic treatment was given. The patient was discharged on the 4th day of hospitalization after the acute pancreatitis clinic resolved. Drug induced acute pancreatitis is a rare clinical condition which is difficult to diagnose. It has a good prognosis and low mortality rate. The mechanisms of drug-induced pancreatitis include immunological reactions, direct toxic effect, accumulation of toxic metabolites, overstimulation of pancreatic acinar cells, ischemia, intravascular thrombosis and increased viscosity of pancreatic secretion. Although there are many gastrointestinal side effects of midostaurin, there are no clear data in the literature regarding the relationship with acute pancreatitis.

Recent advances in developing modified electrode interface for sensing tartrazine in real samples: a brief review

Many businesses, including sectors of food, textile, pharmaceuticals, and cosmetics, employ tartrazine or other synthetic dyes. These dyes cause severe health effects if used or consumed frequently. Hence, it is important to be aware and take precautions before their use. Up to now, researchers have introduced many electrochemical methods for deter­mination of tartrazine. Among them, voltammetric methods were developed, mostly using effective and selective electrodes with modifiers to accurately sense tartrazine in baking products such as soft drinks, candy, jelly, and other beverages. In this review, we have covered several works on carbon based, graphite based and gold electrodes, that have been offered for tartrazine detection with good recovery rates and detection limits. These works may aid in future research and development toward more accurate tartrazine detection.

Fiducial Reference Measurements for Air Quality Monitoring Using Ground-Based MAX-DOAS Instruments (FRM4DOAS)

The UV–Visible Working Group of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Changes (NDACC) focuses on the monitoring of air-quality-related stratospheric and tropospheric trace gases in support of trend analysis, satellite validation and model studies. Tropospheric measurements are based on MAX-DOAS-type instruments that progressively emerged in the years 2010 onward. In the interest of improving the overall consistency of the NDACC MAX-DOAS network and facilitating its further extension to the benefit of satellite validation, the ESA initiated, in late 2016, the FRM4DOAS project, which aimed to set up the first centralised data processing system for MAX-DOAS-type instruments. Developed by a consortium of European scientists with proven expertise in measurements, data extraction algorithms and software design specialities, the system has now reached pre-operational status and has demonstrated its ability to deliver a set of quality-controlled atmospheric composition data products with a latency of one day. The processing system has been designed using a highly modular approach, making it easy to integrate new tools or processing updates. It incorporates advanced algorithms selected by community consensus for the retrieval of total ozone, lower tropospheric and stratospheric NO2 vertical profiles and formaldehyde profiles. The ozone and NO2 products are currently generated from a total of 22 stations and delivered daily to the NDACC rapid delivery (RD) repository, with an additional mirroring to the ESA Validation Data Centre (EVDC). Although it is still operated in a pre-operational/demonstrational mode, FRM4DOAS was already used for several validation and science studies, and it was also deployed in support of field campaigns for the validation of the TROPOMI and GEMS satellite missions. It recently went through a CEOS-FRM self-assessment process aiming at assessing the level of maturity of the service in terms of instrumentation, operations, data sampling, metrology and verification. Based on this evaluation, it falls under class C, which is a good rating but also implies that further improvements are needed to reach full compliance with FRM standards, i.e., class A.

Modified Technique of Temporal Osteotomy in Fronto-Orbital Advancement in Anterior Plagiocephaly

Background: Nonsyndromic anterior plagiocephaly is one of the most common types of craniosynostosis. In recent years, various surgical techniques have been introduced to correct this deformity, which many surgeons believe have not been associated with adequate clinical and aesthetic results. The aim of the study was to introduce a new surgical technique (modified Z-technique of temporal region osteotomy) and to evaluate the aesthetic and anthropometric outcomes of frontal orbital correction for the management of patients with nonsyndromic anterior plagiocephaly. Methods: In this cohort study, 47 patients with nonsyndromic anterior plagiocephaly who were operated on in 15-Khordad and Mofid Hospital affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences during the years 2018 to 2023 with the modified z-technique of temporal region osteotomy, were investigated. Aesthetic outcomes and changes in anthropometric parameters of the skull were evaluated 2 years after surgery. Also, the length of surgery, the mean length of stay in the hospital and ICU, the amount of bleeding and postoperative complications were evaluated. Postoperative recurrence of deformity was evaluated according to the Whitaker classification. Results: The mean age of the patients was 11.1±4.15 months. Twenty-seven (57.44%) patients were female and 20 patients were male. The mean follow-up period of the patients was 19.3±3.54 months. The mean weight of the patients was 13.12±7.45 kg. The mean length of hospital stay and ICU stay were 5.44±0.50 and 1.78±0.63 days, respectively. A significant positive correlation was observed between the duration of surgery and the duration of stay in ICU (r=0.23, P=0.023). According to Whitaker’s classification, 39 (82.97%) patients were classified in class I, 4 (8.51%) in class II, 2 (4.25%) in class III, and 2 (4.25) in class IV. Aesthetically, the surgical results were excellent (class I Whitaker) in 82.97%. No serious complications such as infection, CSF rhinorrhea, hematoma occurrence, skull defect occurrence, fever, bleeding, and postoperative mortality were reported. Conclusion: Our study showed that the modified z-technique of temporal region osteotomy was associated with good and excellent aesthetic and clinical results. Bleeding rate, average length of hospital stay, and average length of ICU stay in patients with nonsyndromic anterior plagiocephaly treated with modified Z-technique of temporal region osteotomy were low and comparable with other with other reported series. No cases of serious complication and death were reported during the follow-up period. Nonsyndromic anterior plagiocephaly can be successfully treated with modified Z-technique of temporal region osteotomy with good results and low complication rates.

Non-destructive assessment of the internal defects of FRED® pear by a low radio-frequency capacitive technique

Postharvest pear fruit internal browning damages were assessed non-destructively using a capacitive instrumental chain in the super low (SLF) – low (LF) radiofrequency region combined with Image analysis. A rapid, inexpensive, and non-destructive instrumental chain was set up: an LCR meter interfaced with a PC receives and transmits signals through a parallel plate capacitor in the frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 kHz. The capacitance data were used to classify the FRED® pear fruit into two classes, “with defects” and “healthy”, using the unsupervised fuzzy C-means clustering analysis. The main results show good classification rates: 91 % of the samples are correctly classified as damaged. Further samples should be implemented to understand how the model performs with samples from different ripening stages. Despite this, the technique appears promising for non-destructive internal quality assessment in pear fruit.

How does climate policy uncertainty shape corporate investment behavior?

In the context of global carbon emission reduction, the uncertainty brought by climate policy would affect the corporate investment behavior. Our study explores the impact of climate policy uncertainty on corporate investment by using a sample of Chinese A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2008 to 2022. We find that when climate policy uncertainty increases, the corporate investment will decrease, with state-owned enterprises and high-carbon-emitting companies being more significantly affected. In addition, the mechanism analysis indicates that managerial climate attention and good ESG ratings can mitigate the negative impact of climate policy uncertainty on the corporate investment. Furthermore, major public emergency as the COVID-19 pandemic significantly amplifies the effects of climate policy uncertainty to corporate investment. Our results remain valid after a series of robustness tests, providing insights for corporate investment behavior in the face of climate policy uncertainty.

A randomised controlled feasibility trial of Behavioural activation as a treatment for people with diabetes and depression: (DiaDeM feasibility trial).

There is a lack of evidence on effective treatments for depression in people with T2DM, particularly in Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). This study aims to test the feasibility and acceptability of a culturally adapted Behavioural Activation (BA) intervention (DiaDeM) for people with depression and T2DM in two South Asian LMICs. A multicountry, individually randomised-controlled feasibility trial was conducted from March 2022 to November 2022. We recruited adults from diabetes healthcare facilities in Bangladesh and Pakistan with a diagnosis of depression and T2DM. Consenting individuals were randomised to either optimised usual care or the DiaDeM intervention, which comprised six BA sessions delivered by non-mental health facilitators over six to twelve weeks. Participants were followed up at three and six months post-randomisation. The feasibility and acceptability of recruitment and retention, intervention delivery, and data collection were assessed. A mixed-methods process evaluation was also performed to inform the main trial. The DiaDeM feasibility trial successfully recruited 128 participants, with 85 % retention at six months follow-up. The majority of participants engaged with the intervention, demonstrating good adherence to the Behavioural Activation (BA) sessions. Data completeness for key outcomes, including depression severity and HbA1c levels, was high across all time points (>90 %). The process evaluation showed high acceptability of the intervention, with participants reporting increased motivation and improved management of both T2DM and depression. Good recruitment and retention rates, completeness of data collection, and high acceptability of the intervention showed that it would be feasible to undertake a full-scale trial.

A convolutional neural network to control sound level for air conditioning units in four different classroom conditions

Air conditioning units (ACUs) are widely used in educational areas like classrooms in order to ensure the occupant’s well-being and to control CO2 concentration (by ventilating using fresh outdoor air). However, the noise level of these ACUs can disrupt the learning environment. Consequently, we propose an approach based on machine learning that is able to distinguish between the different acoustic situations in a classroom, and to dynamically adjust the air volume flow accordingly. To this end, the present algorithm was trained with sound recordings in four different scenarios in a classroom. Both Mel spectrogram and Cochleagram are considered and applied for the task of training the convolutional neural networks (CNN) model, thus enhancing published works in the literature, which only considered the Mel spectrogram. Results show how the Cochleagram is pre-eminent to handle the CNN model training over the Mel spectrogram. Accordingly, we use the Cochleagram for the CNN model training, which is subsequently used for detecting the current situation in the room and adapting the ACU operation to this situation. The results show that running ACUs in high mode provides a learning environment with low CO2 concentration and high noise. Instead, controlling ACU based scenario predictions made by the CNN model provides a good learning environment with adequate CO2 concentration and acceptable noise level. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of using sound classification as a trigger for ventilation control, with the CNN model achieving a good accuracy rate in sound recognition. This underscores the potential of integrating advanced machine learning techniques into building management systems to foster environments that adapt to the needs of their inhabitants automatically. The results of the present work are useful for improving the comfort of the occupants through dynamic ACUs adjustments based on acoustical situations.

Advancements in Dexterity Measurements: the digital Nine Hole Peg Test

Abstract Digitalization in the healthcare sector is progressing rapidly. In the field of measuring instruments for manual dexterity, digitization has resulted in major limitations in terms of ease of use and usability. This study describes the development of a digital nine-hole peg test (dNHPT) for assessing hand dexterity that can be used just as easily and quickly as the original nine-hole peg test. The extensive validation of the dNHPT includes the investigation of validity, reliability, clinical utility and user-friendliness This paper presents the validation of clinical utility and usability of the dNHPT. The comparison of the original ninehole peg test (NHPT) und the dNHPT show similar clinical utility of the dNHPT and the NHPT (74% of all ratings of dNHPT are equal to or better than the NHPT) and good to excellent System Usability Scale Scores of 78 (CI95: 75;81) and 85 (CI95: 80;89). Several recommendations for further development of the dNHPT were identified. The newly developed dNHPT presented here supports the quality of data collection through automated time measurement and result presentation and shows good usability and clinical utility ratings.

Ni2P/Cu3P bimetallic phosphide embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon as SIB anode: Constructed hetero interface promoting fast Na+ diffusion and storage performance

Transition metal phosphides (TMPs) have attracted widespread attention as electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) due to their high theoretical specific capacity, various bonding types, metallic characteristics, and low cost. However their sluggish reaction kinetics and inferior capacity decay severely hamper their application. Designing TMPs with novel nano/microstructures effectively overcomes these challenges. Herein, Nickel Phosphide/Copper Phosphide embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon (Ni2P/Cu3P@NC) was synthesized by carbonization and phosphidation process. When used as an SIB anode, Ni2P/Cu3P@NC exhibited a reversible specific capacity of 530 mAh/g after 200 cycles at 0.2 A/g, 428 mAh/g after 1000 cycles at 1.0 A/g, and good rate capability (334 mAh/g at 2.0 A/g). Ex-situ XRD combined with in-situ EIS confirm the irreversible conversion mechanism. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations show that the heterointerface formed between Ni2P and Cu3P serves as a channel for fast ion delivery and promotes Na+ storage performance. Furthermore, the practical application was further investigated by assembling Ni2P/Cu3P@NC//Na3V2(PO4)3 full cells.

Virtual Reality Based Executive Function Training in Schools: The Experience of Primary School-Aged Children, Teachers and Training Teaching Assistants

Executive function (EF) is a set of higher order cognitive processes through which learning and everyday goals are realised. They comprise the fundamental building blocks of how we plan, execute, monitor and regulate tasks, and impact our cognitive, socioemotional and behavioural responses. An important question to consider is how we can support children to develop effective EF skills through motivating and age-appropriate training. Virtual reality (VR) offers an interesting avenue to enhance motivation due to the experience of presence and immersion, however, whether children experience presence and immersion similarly to adults is unknown and could impact the educational utility of VR over other media. In order to understand whether VR is suitable for an educational setting we must understand the experience of key stakeholders, such as school-aged children and adults that will be facilitating use in the educational context. Therefore, the current study aims to understand the experience of key stakeholders using EF training delivered in a VR environment, to enable reflection on the feasibility and usability of the technology. This study aimed to explore the qualitative experiences of 8 primary school-aged children, 5 teachers and 13 training teaching assistants, after playing an EF training game, Koji’s Quest, on a VR head mounted display. Firstly we found that most teachers and trainee teachers gave good ratings of usability, but in their subjective descriptions of use focused on hedonic experiences, whereas, children focused on pragmatic experiences. Results also indicate that adults may favour ‘being’ definitions of presence, whereas child participants appear to incorporate both ‘being’ and ‘doing’ definitions into their accounts. This research has implications for how VR based EF training can be maximised within an educational setting.

The Sleep Course: An inclusive trial examining the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of a digital sleep intervention for adults with self-reported sleep difficulties

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia (CBTi) is a well-established first-line treatment for insomnia and sleep difficulties, yet numerous barriers hinder its widespread adoption. One potential criticism of the existing evidence base for CBTi is that many trials exclude participants that would commonly be seen in in primary care, such as those aged over 65, with comorbid health conditions, or prescribed sleep medication. The current pilot study therefore aimed to assess the acceptability and efficacy of a brief, digitally delivered sleep intervention, the Sleep Course using a broad range of participants. Participants (n = 74) completed the 6-week, 4-lesson intervention alongside measures of sleep disturbance, sleep-related impairment, depression, anxiety and sleep-wake patterns (via sleep diary). Generalized estimating equations analysis modelled change in participants' outcomes from pre- to post-treatment and 3-month follow-up, and subgroup analyses explored the role of possible moderators (e.g., age over 65, co-morbidities, and concurrent prescription medication use). The intervention was associated with good rates of satisfaction (79 %) and lesson completion (70 %). Results showed significant and large reductions in insomnia, sleep disturbance and associated symptoms (e.g., d = 1.06–1.37 change in insomnia symptoms). Evidence of high acceptability and clinical improvement was found irrespective of age, physical comorbidity, and sleep medication use. However, there was evidence of less improvement among those taking medications or having tried psychological treatment in the past. These results provide strong preliminary evidence for the intervention as an acceptable, efficacious and scalable treatment for a broad range of participants with sleep difficulties. Larger randomised controlled trials are needed.

Investigation of Multiple LED Array Failure on DCO-FBMC Modulation for Indoor Visible Light Communication

Visible light communication (VLC) is a high-speed and power-efficient optical wireless communication method that has gained momentum for data transmission in indoor environments. Indoor VLC systems often use multiple LED arrays to increase the uniformity of brightness and enhance the received energy and the four LED array model is the most commonly used. To suppress the impact of intersymbol interference (ISI) and achieve higher data rates, multicarrier modulation techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) and filter bank multicarrier (FBMC) have been introduced in VLC systems. The FBMC technique is a promising candidate for the 5G communication system and it has recently been applied to VLC systems. FBMC has several advantages: higher spectrum efficiency, narrower out-of-band radiations and asynchronous transmission. This study investigates the performance of an FBMC-based VLC system when one or more lamps in the multiple LED arrays experience failure. The VLC- FBMC model was implemented using a 4-QAM and 16-QAM format with three various LED array configurations while assuming a line of sight (LOS) model. The LED array model was evaluated based on its ability to achieve good bit error rate (BER) performance, communication quality and high bit rate and meet the required signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The proposed FBMC model simulation's outcome indicates that the system is still able to transmit data reliably, even in the event of a failure of up to 50% of the lamps. The results indicate that the 2- and 4-lamp models yielded good BER performance, achieving a value of 3.6 × 10−5 and 5.4 × 10−5 respectively. Furthermore, the simulation demonstrated that the optical FBMC-based VLC system attained a high bit rate of 73.2 Mbit/s in the 4-QAM format using the 2-lamp model and a bit rate of 29.3 Mbit/s in 16-QAM format using the 4-lamp model, while maintaining acceptable BER performance.

Dual-Band Electrochromic Supercapacitor Utilizing Metal-Organic Coordination Polymer with Multi-Redox Feature.

Electrochromic supercapacitors, which indicate energy states through optical color changes, are gaining significant attention for their potential in energy saving and recycling. In this study, a novel metal-organic coordination polymer (DTPB-MCP) is successfully synthesized using an N,N'-diphenyl-1,4-phenylenediamine (DTPB)-functionalized phenanthroline ligand. The resulting DTPB-MCP film demonstrated desirable electrochromic performance in both the visible light (ΔT:77.6% at 730nm) and near-infrared (ΔT: 49.2% at 1410nm) regions, as well as decent energy-storage capabilities (16.4mFcm- 2 at 0.1mAcm- 2), attributed to the presence of multiple redox centers. Furthermore, a hybrid electrochromic supercapacitor is also developed by combining DTPB-MCP with V₂O₅ (DTPB-MCP//V₂O₅), showcasing a significant optical contrast (47.6% at 750nm and 14.5% at 1420nm), an acceptable capacitance of 11.5mFcm- 2 with good rate performance, and impressive cycling stability (maintaining 81% of capacitance after 2750 charging/discharging cycles). In addition, >60% of electric energy can be reused to drive small household appliances during the bleaching process. The design principles outlined in this study offer valuable insights into the development of high-performance dual-band electrochromic energy-storage materials, highlighting their potential applications in energy recovery and reuse.

The emerging role of photodynamic therapy in the treatment of cutaneous infections.

Cutaneous infections pose ongoing challenges to standard treatments due to resistance and limited efficacy. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) emerges as a promising supplement or an alternative to address complicated cases. In this review, we comprehensively review PDT's safety and efficacy in treating cutaneous infections. A PubMed systematic review with search terms for PDT treatment, hair, skin, and nail infections. There were a total of 43 studies on the use of PDT in cutaneous infections which discussed the treatment of viral (N.=20), bacterial (N.=11), fungal (N.=9), and protozoal (N.=3) infections. There is evidence for using PDT, mostly 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) and methyl aminolevulinate (MAL), in the treatment of cutaneous infections. Most evidence for viral infections involved treatment with 5-ALA PDT in condyloma acuminatum (CoAc), verruca vulgaris, and molluscum contagiosum. In bacterial infections, 5-ALA and MB PDT have been used to achieve complete remission in refractory Pseudomonas and atypical mycobacteria infections without recurrence. In onychomycosis, MAL PDT achieved a 40.9% cure rate and MB PDT showed a 77.8-100% cure rate with no reports of recurrence. Parasitic infections, such as leishmaniasis have also been successfully treated with both 5-ALA and MAL PDT. PDT is a promising treatment option for cutaneous infections, with growing evidence for its utility in treating cutaneous bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections, particularly those that fail standard treatments. Side effects were mostly limited to localized pain with good outcomes and low recurrence rates.

Good Long-term Outcomes after Repair of Chronically Displaced Medial Meniscus Bucket-handle Tears

Abstract Background: Meniscal repair in bucket-handle tears has proven to be effective. However, when such lesions are chronically displaced and adhered to intercondylar soft tissues, their repair may be considered unfeasible. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to show the surgical technique for the reduction and repair of this type of injury and to evaluate the long-term outcomes of such repairs. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective case series of eight patients who were identified between 2006 and 2015 and presented with chronically displaced, medial meniscus bucket-handle tears. The bucket-handle tears were reduced, and the medial meniscus was repaired in all cases. The knee was immobilized in full extension and maintained nonweight bearing for 2 weeks. Then, the range of movement was limited from 0° to 90° and kept partially weight bearing for 4 more weeks. Results: The mean age of the patients was 27.2 years. The mean time to surgery was 7.12 ± 4.4 months, and the mean follow-up time was 10.0 ± 3.4 years. The average preoperative and postoperative Lysholm score was 58.0 ± 16.2 and 95.9 ± 3.4, respectively (P = 0.008). The mean preoperative and postoperative Tegner was 5.5 ± 1.1 and 5.1 ± 1.1, respectively (P = 0.109). The average KT-1000 of the participants was 1.2 ± 1.2, and the mean International Knee Documentation Committee was 92.9 ± 5.0. The average Ählback score at follow-up was 0.83 ± 0.4. Conclusions: The treatment of chronically dislocated bucket-handle tears can be successfully achieved by the sequential release and suture of the torn meniscus. Good outcomes and low rates of osteoarthritis were observed at 10-year follow-up. Level of Evidence: IV