Knee Arthroplasty in Severe Varus Advanced Knee Osteoarthritis with Proximal Tibia Malunion: a case report

Alignment is crucial for successful knee arthroplasty.1 Tibia malunion will make arthroplasty more challenging. In this case, we present advanced knee osteoarthritis with tibia vara due to malunion that needs corrective osteotomy during knee arthroplasty. Case Presentation: A 70 years old female presented to our office complaining pain in both knees markedly on the left, profoundly felt during walking. She has a history of being hit by motorcycle 15 months ago and left knee was more bent since then. Physical examination of the left knee showed severe varus, mild effusion, tenderness on medial tibial condyle, otherwise normal. Plain radiographs showed advanced bilateral knee osteoarthritis with left proximal tibia malunion. Patient underwent left knee arthroplasty with corrective tibia and fibula osteotomy. Solutions and Outcome: Patient underwent closed wedge tibial osteotomy together with fibula osteotomy followed by knee arthroplasty with posterior-stabilized implant and tibial stem extension in a single surgery. Tibial osteotomy was reinforced using plate and screws. Partial weight bearing was achieved in second postoperative day and discharged on the third day. Patient able to walk with painless left knee after 1 month. Discussion: Severe deformity that causes huge malalignment makes knee arthroplasty difficult. Some methods are available to correct malalignment.1 In this case, the surgeon chose to do closed wedge tibial osteotomy reinforced with plate and screws to correct the proximal tibia malunion. Arthroplasty was done using posterior-stabilized implant and tibial stem extension. Patient shows good result in alignment and function. Conclusion: Correcting the associated deformity is crucial in achieving good alignment in knee arthroplasty. Even in our case of severe genu varus due to proximal tibia malunion, correcting proximal tibia varus deformity prior to knee arthroplasty shows good alignment and function. References: Mullaji AB, Padmanabhan V, Jindal G. Total Knee Arthroplasty for Profound Varus Deformity. 2005;20(5):550–61.

Blackout Reduces Height of Easter Lily but End-of-day Red Light Treatment Using Light-emitting Diodes Does Not

One principle for reducing undesirable stem extension in greenhouse production is to counteract the decrease in red-to-far red ratio that occurs naturally during twilight periods. This study evaluated three lighting treatments on the morphology of easter lily (Lilium longiflorum): 1) a 1-hour end-of-day treatment providing 20 μmol·m−2·s−1 of monochromatic red light (EOD R), 2) blackout curtains closed 45 to 75 minutes before sunset and kept closed until 0 to 60 minutes after sunrise (BO), and 3) a control with natural twilight (CTRL). Plants under the BO treatment were 11% shorter than CTRL, while plants exposed to EOD R did not differ in height compared with BO or CTRL. There were no treatment effects on any other measured parameters, including aspects of flowering.

Defining Fertilization Strategies for Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) Production Under Sudano-Sahelian Conditions: Options for Late Basal Fertilizer Application

Soil nutrient deficiency and rainfall variability impair the production of sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L). Moench) in Sudano-Sahelian zone. The aim is to study the environmental factors that can determine the effect of fertilizer application on sorghum grain yield and to formulate tailored fertilization strategies according to sorghum varieties (hybrid and open pollinated improved varieties) and environmental context. Field experiments were conducted during the 2015 and 2016 growing seasons in Nioro du Rip and in Sinthiou Malème (Senegal). In a randomized complete block design arranged in a split-plot with four replications, three factors were tested: sorghum genotype (G: Fadda, Faourou, Soumalemba and Soumba with different cycle lengths), environment (E: irrigation and rainfed, different soil types and fertility levels), and fertilization management (M: five different combinations of application dose and application time) including T1 = no fertilizer applied; T2 (recommended practice, 100%) = 150 kg/ha of NPK (15-15-15) at emergence + 50 Kg/ha of urea (46%) at tillering + 50 kg/ha of urea at stem extension; T3 = 50% T2; T4 (100% delay) = 150 kg/ha of NPK +50 kg/ha of urea at stem extension +50 kg/ha of urea at heading ; T5 = 50% T4. Results showed that: (i) in most environments, stressed plants under late application treatments (T4 and T5) recovered biomass once the fertilizer was applied (ii); grain yield with T5 was higher than with T4 under well-watered conditions (sufficient and well distributed rainfall and eventual complementary irrigations) ; (iii) Fadda, a hybrid, responded differently to fertilization than the other varieties only for biomass production, (iv) late fertilizer application treatment (T4) gave higher grain yield than the recommended practice (T2) in the environment with low yield potential, and (v) long cycle duration genotypes benefited better from late fertilization compared to short cycle duration genotypes. This study showed that under Sudano-Sahelian conditions late fertilization of sorghum can be beneficial to grain yield if the rainy season has a slow start, depending on sorghum genotypes (i.e., cycle length), and on the initial N content of the soil.

TERMS OF WINTER WHEAT TREATMENT BY FUNGICIDES TO CONTROL DEVELOPMENT OF BROWN RUST PATHOGEN

The terms of winter wheat treatment against brown rust pathogens (PucciniareconditeRob. exDesmf. sp. tritici) can greatly differ depending on climatic conditions and applied materials. The question is not studied enough for the Tambov region. In the production brown rust control fungicides are often used at the early periods of plant development (tillering, stem-extension stage). It makes the second treatment necessary as the preparation effect finishes at the maximum manifestation of disease (plant development phase-milky ripeness of kernels). In the Tambov region, the first pustules of brown rust appear on winter wheat plants in the beginning of the earing phase. This period occurs at the end of May/beginning of June. It is logical to assume that the maximum suppression of the disease on wheat will be achieved by spraying precisely at these times. To test this assumption, the field trials were conducted using the preparations ‘Reks duo’ and ‘Abakus’. They were used in the stem-extension stage and earing phase of winter wheat. Biological efficiency of fungicide spraying in earing phase of wheat was significantly larger (98.2–98.8%). Application of fungicides spraying in stem-extension stage was 85.6-86.5%. The amount of the saved yield was 0.60–0.81 t/ha (14.2–19.1%). Maximum values of winter wheat productivity (5.05 t/ha) was obtained when the preparation ‘Abakus’ was applied in earing phase. Wheat treatment by the preparations ‘Reks duo’ and ‘Abakus’ in earing phase was found more economically profitable, and the level of profitability was 130.9 and 55.0%, in stem-extension stage it was 109.2 and 35.4% respectively. The results of the trials showed that fungicides spraying in earing phase is the most optimal.