Comparison of demineralized allogeneic bone matrix grafting (the Urist procedure) and the Ilizarov procedure in large diaphyseal defects in sheep

The bone inductive capability of the Urist and Ilizarov procedures was compared in the repair of large diaphyseal defects in sheep. In 30 animals, a 4 cm segmental defect was created in the middle portion of the right femur and was stabilized with an external fixator. The sheep were divided into four groups according to the type of reconstruction of the defect. In group 1, a demineralized allogeneic bone matrix (DABM) cylinder was used; in group 2, DABM chips; and in group 3, gradual transport of a piece of bone detached from the proximal femoral fragment was used to fill the defect. Group 4 served as a control (the defect was left empty). New bone formation was assessed by serial radiographs until the time of death at 2 or 4 months. Postmortem specimens were analyzed with respect to bone mineral content, uptake of isotopes (45Ca and 3H-proline), and histology. The first signs of new bone formation were radiographically evident at 4 weeks. In the two groups in which reconstruction involved DABM (Urist procedures), new bone failed to form in eight of the 13 animals. Full bridging of the defect was observed at 8 weeks in one animal with a DABM cylinder and two with DABM chips. No decisive difference in bone yield could be demonstrated between the two Urist procedures. In the group treated with the Ilizarov procedure, new bone formation consistently occurred at a high rate; full bridging of the defect was observed in seven of the eight animals. Bone mineral scanning and histologic analysis essentially confirmed the radiographic results. Uptake of isotopes was selectively analyzed in two sheep from each experimental group in which new bone formation was exhibited in the defect; new bone formation was increased compared with that in the contralateral femur but was equal among the three experimental groups. Our study shows that gradual transport of a detached piece of autogeneic bone (Ilizarov procedure) is more effective than implantation of DABM (Urist procedure) in eliciting new bone formation in large diaphyseal defects in sheep. The variable bone induction by DABM may be explained by differences in host immune responses to the implants.     

Magnetic resonance findings in skeletal muscle tears

Magnetic resonance (MR) images of skeletal muscle tears can clearly delineate the severity of muscle injury. Although MR imaging is seldom necessary in patients with acute muscle trauma, it can be helpful in deciding on clinical management. The two major MR findings in acute muscle tears are deformity of the muscle and the presence of abnormal signal reflecting hemorrhage and edema. In acute tears, methemoglobin within the extravascular blood causes high-signal areas on both T1- and T2-weighted images. With partial tears, the blood may dissect in a distinctive linear pattern along the muscle bundles and fibers. As healing begins, the muscle signal diminishes, first on the T1-weighted images and then on the T2-weighted images. When there is residual abnormal signal on images obtained more than several months after the injury, it is presumed to represent hemorrhage from recurrent tears. In patients with a questionable history of a remote injury, the clinical presentation may be that of persistent pain or a soft tissue mass. In these cases MR imaging may identify the cause of the pain and can exclude a neoplasm by proving that the mass is a hypertrophied or retracted muscle. Thus, MR imaging has a limited, but occasionally important role in selected patients with skeletal muscle tears.     

Electronic gate detection for cell or particle counting and sizing in liquids: front-end characteristics, flow-dependent gate impedance, and its remediation

The detection sensitivity and the sizing resolution of electronic gating are inherently limited by fluctuating gate impedance and flow-induced noise. Instabilities of this type, as shown, are due to varying flow patterns of the carrier liquid beyond the gate. Their effects, although largely hidden in dc-operated gating, cause broadening and shift of cell/particle-size distributions under measurement. RF-operated gating, more specifically the demodulation operation, is much more hindered. For an investigation of these effects, a physical model is proposed along with a procedure for the identification of the system parameters. A detector of dedicated concept is used for evaluating the model, and, more specifically, for investigating the impact of configurational and hydrodynamic parameters. Experiments prove that the origin of flow-dependent gate impedance is to be located inside a zone of only a few-micrometer extent at the gate outlet. This is confirmed by the calculated electric field patterns. On such grounds, electrode configurations are proposed that minimize the current density in the zone of hydrodynamic instability and, hence, the flow-induced noise. The same configurations also minimize the impedance of the gate as signal source, facilitating broadband operation, and multifrequency cell impedance measurements.     

Use of postconsumer polyethylene in blends with polyamide 6: Effects of the extrusion method and the compatibilizer

Blends of polyamide and high‐density polyethylene show adequate properties for a large range of applications: they are used for the production of filaments, containers, and molding resins. The effect of the addition of 2 wt % of a compatibilizer, maleic anhydride grafted polyethylene, to the blend was studied and compared to the use of postconsumer polyethylene. The samples were extruded with single‐ and twin‐screw extruders with 25, 50, or 75 wt % f polyethylene, and the test specimens, molded by injection, were characterized by stress–strain tests, thermal properties, and morphologies. Processing the blends with postconsumer polyethylene in both extruders improved the mechanical properties in comparison to the blends processed with high‐density polyethylene and the compatibilizer. The morphologies of these blends showed that there was a decrease in the domain size of the disperse phase with the use of the compatibilizer or postconsumer polyethylene. The results indicate that for this blend, postconsumer polyethylene substituted, with advantages, for the necessity of a compatibilizer and the use of the high‐density polyethylene. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008.     

Comparative Study of Models on Confinement of Concrete Cylinders with Fiber-Reinforced Polymer Composites

The use of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites for strengthening and/or rehabilitation of concrete structures is gaining increasing popularity in the civil engineering community. One of the most attractive applications of FRP materials is their use as confining devices for concrete columns, which may result in remarkable increases of strength and ductility as indicated by numerous published experimental results. Despite a large research effort, a proper analytical tool to predict the behavior of FRP-confined concrete has not yet been established. Most of the available models are empirical in nature and have been calibrated against their own sets of experimental data. On the other hand, the experimental results available in the literature encompass a wide range of values of the significant variables. The objective of this work is a systematic assessment of the performance of the existing models on confinement of concrete columns with FRP materials. The study is conducted in the following steps: the experimental data on confinement of concrete cylinders with FRP available in the technical literature are classified according to the values of the significant variables; the existing empirical and analytical models are reviewed, pointing out their distinct features; the whole set of available experimental results is compared with the whole set of analytical models; and strengths and weaknesses of the various models are analyzed. Finally, a new equation is proposed to evaluate the axial strain at peak stress of FRP-confined concrete cylinders.     

Empirical assessment of a threshold model for sylvatic plague.

Plague surveillance programmes established in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, during the previous century, have generated large plague archives that have been used to parameterize an abundance threshold model for sylvatic plague in great gerbil (Rhombomys opimus) populations. Here, we assess the model using additional data from the same archives. Throughout the focus, population levels above the threshold were a necessary condition for an epizootic to occur. However, there were large numbers of occasions when an epizootic was not observed even though great gerbils were, and had been, abundant. We examine six hypotheses that could explain the resulting false positive predictions, namely (i) including end-of-outbreak data erroneously lowers the estimated threshold, (ii) too few gerbils were tested, (iii) plague becomes locally extinct, (iv) the abundance of fleas was too low, (v) the climate was unfavourable, and (vi) a high proportion of gerbils were resistant. Of these, separate thresholds, fleas and climate received some support but accounted for few false positives and can be disregarded as serious omissions from the model. Small sample size and local extinction received strong support and can account for most of the false positives. Host resistance received no support here but should be subject to more direct experimental testing.     

Hybrid finite-element method for discretising cylindrically symmetric parts in electrotechnical models

In many technical devices such as transformers and electrical machines, large differences in geometric dimensions are observed. As a consequence, the generation of a 3D computational grid for the whole device leads to unacceptably large numbers of elements or can even fail. In addition to the commonly applied cartesian or cylindrical symmetries of the overall geometry, the model can be subdivided into parts featuring translational or cylindrical symmetries. Such parts are discretised separately, accounting for the local symmetry, and are then combined with the surrounding 3D model. Excitations and boundary conditions of the submodels are not necessarily symmetric but are expected to be smooth in the direction of the symmetry. Then, the field distribution at the interface is well approximated by a set of spectral elements along the dimension of symmetry. Coupling between the model parts is carried out by means of Lagrange multipliers. A single-phase transformer with thin insulation sheets is taken as an example to illustrate the proposed hybrid discretisation. The cross-section of the cylindrically symmetric part containing thin sheets, is represented by a fine 2D finite-element mesh so that all the geometrical details can be resolved, and the rest of the structure is discretised by a 3D mesh. Nevertheless, a fully 3D field distribution is calculated in all model parts. Only a small number of harmonic functions is needed to account for the azimuthal field variation at the cylindrical interface. Hence, the number of unknowns in the numerical model is reduced significantly, while a high level of accuracy is maintained