Congenital tibial deficiencies: Treatment using the Ilizarov's external fixator

SummaryIntroductionCongenital longitudinal deficiency of the tibia is a rare and often syndromic anomaly. Amputation is usually the preferred treatment option in complete absence of the tibia; however, a conservative management might be implemented in partial forms or in case of amputation refusal. Our experience with the Ilizarov fixator, convinced us this device was the best suited for progressive correction of lower limbs length discrepancies and articular or bone angular limb deformities (ALD). The aim of this study is to highlight the interest of the Ilizarov fixator in the multistage conservative treatment of congenital tibial deficiencies.Material and methodsA retrospective study was conducted in nine patients suffering from Type I or II congenital tibial deficiencies (Jones) and sequentially managed using the Ilizarov technique. The functional outcome after treatment completion was then clinically assessed.ResultsThe different stages of correction were recorded for each individual patient. Patients were assessed at a mean follow-up of 18,3 years (4–32 years). The mean maximum knee flexion was 35° (0°–90°) in type I deficiencies and 118° (90°–140°) in type II deficiencies. One patient underwent amputation and a bilateral knee arthrodesis was performed in another case.DiscussionFew series in the literature report a comparable length of follow-up period in the conservative management of severe congenital tibial deficiencies. In our study, the Ilizarov fixator provided satisfactory progressive corrections of severe congenital tibial deficiencies.Level of EvidenceLevel IV therapeutic retrospective study

The effect of WACO2 ratio on CO2 geo-sequestration efficiency in homogeneous reservoirs

Various factors such as reservoir temperature, wettability, caprock properties, vertical to horizontal permeability ratio, salinity, reservoir heterogeneity, injection well configuration affect the CO2 geo-sequestration efficiency. Furthermore, it was previously investigated that CO2 storage efficiency can be improved by using water alternating CO2 (WACO2) technology. However, the effect of the WACO2 ratio (the ratio of the total amount of injected CO2 to the total amount of injected water) on CO2 storage efficiency has not been addressed adequately. Thus, in this paper, a 3D homogeneous reservoir simulation model has been developed to study the impact of the WACO2 ratio on CO2 mobility and CO2 trapping capacity using five different WACO2 ratios (i.e. 3, 2, 1, 1/2, and 1/3). For all WACO2 ratios tested, 9000 kton (kt) of CO2 were injected during 3 CO2 injection cycles (2 years each) and at an injection rate of 1500 kt per year. Each CO2 injection cycle was followed by a 2 years water injection cycle with injection rates of 500 kt/year, 750 kt/year, 1500 kt/year, 3000 kt/year, and 4500 kt/year for the 3, 2, 1, 1/2, and 1/3 WACO2 ratios, respectively. Then, this 12 years WACO2 injection period was followed by a 100 years post-injection period. Our results clearly indicate, after 100 years post-injection period, that the WACO2 ratio has an important effect on the CO2 migration distance, CO2 mobility and CO2 trapping capacity. The results demonstrate that lower WACO2 ratio leads to reduce the vertical CO2 plume migration and CO2 mobility. Furthermore, low WACO2 ratio enhances the capacities of capillary and solubility trapping mechanisms. Thus, we conclude that WACO2 has a significant impact on the geo-sequestration efficiency and less WACO2 ratios are preferabl

A method to localize gamma-ray bursts using POLAR

The hard X-ray polarimeter POLAR aims to measure the linear polarization of the 50-500 keV photons arriving from the prompt emission of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The position in the sky of the detected GRBs is needed to determine their level of polarization. We present here a method by which, despite of the polarimeter incapability of taking images, GRBs can be roughly localized using POLAR alone. For this purpose scalers are attached to the output of the 25 multi-anode photomultipliers (MAPMs) that collect the light from the POLAR scintillator target. Each scaler measures how many GRB photons produce at least one energy deposition above 50 keV in the corresponding MAPM. Simulations show that the relative outputs of the 25 scalers depend on the GRB position. A database of very strong GRBs simulated at 10201 positions has been produced. When a GRB is detected, its location is calculated searching the minimum of the chi2 obtained in the comparison between the measured scaler pattern and the database. This GRB localization technique brings enough accuracy so that the error transmitted to the 100% modulation factor is kept below 10% for GRBs with fluence Ftot \geq 10^(-5) erg cm^(-2) . The POLAR localization capability will be useful for those cases where no other instruments are simultaneously observing the same field of view.Comment: 13 pages, 10 figure

From Design to Production Control Through the Integration of Engineering Data Management and Workflow Management Systems

At a time when many companies are under pressure to reduce "times-to-market" the management of product information from the early stages of design through assembly to manufacture and production has become increasingly important. Similarly in the construction of high energy physics devices the collection of (often evolving) engineering data is central to the subsequent physics analysis. Traditionally in industry design engineers have employed Engineering Data Management Systems (also called Product Data Management Systems) to coordinate and control access to documented versions of product designs. However, these systems provide control only at the collaborative design level and are seldom used beyond design. Workflow management systems, on the other hand, are employed in industry to coordinate and support the more complex and repeatable work processes of the production environment. Commercial workflow products cannot support the highly dynamic activities found both in the design stages of product development and in rapidly evolving workflow definitions. The integration of Product Data Management with Workflow Management can provide support for product development from initial CAD/CAM collaborative design through to the support and optimisation of production workflow activities. This paper investigates this integration and proposes a philosophy for the support of product data throughout the full development and production lifecycle and demonstrates its usefulness in the construction of CMS detectors.Comment: 18 pages, 13 figure

Immunohistochemical localization of collagen types I and VI in human skin wounds

A total of 74 human skin wounds were investigated and collagen types I and VI were localized in the wound area by immunohistochemistry. Collagen type I appeared in the form of ramifying string-like structures after approximately 5–6 days, but positive reactions in the form of a spot-like staining around isolated fibroblasts also occurred in a skin wound aged 4 days. Collagen VI was detectable after a post-infliction interval of at least 3 days showing a strongly positive reacting network associated with fibroblasts in the wound area. Both collagens appeared almost constantly after a wound age of 6–7 clays and could also be found in wounds aged a few months. Therefore, although a positive reaction for collagen type I in the form of string-like and ramifying structures around wound fibroblasts indicates a wound age of at least 5–6 days, a spot-like positive staining for collagen type I cannot exclude a wound age of at least 4 days. A positive staining for collagen type VI represents a post-infliction time of 3 days or more. The almost constant appearance of these collagen types suggests that negative results in a sufficient number of specimens indicate a wound age of less than 6–7 days, but cannot completely exclude longer post-infliction intervals. Since collagen type I and VI are also found in the granulation/scar tissue of lesions with advanced wound age, the immunohistochemical analysis of these proteins provides no further information for an age determination of older skin wounds

POLAR, an instrument to measure GRB polarization. Design and laboratory tests.

International audienceReliable polarization measurements of photons from Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) would make the understanding of the GRB phenomenon progress enormously. POLAR is a concept for an instrument that would enable such a measurement. We report about performances predicted by of Monte-Carlo and on laboratory tests to validate some critical aspects of the desig

The electromagnetic calorimeter of the AMS-02 experiment

The electromagnetic calorimeter (ECAL) of the AMS-02 experiment is a 3-dimensional sampling calorimeter, made of lead and scintillating fibers. The detector allows for a high granularity, with 18 samplings in the longitudinal direction, and 72 sampling in the lateral direction. The ECAL primary goal is to measure the energy of cosmic rays up to few TeV, however, thanks to the fine grained structure, it can also provide the separation of positrons from protons, in the GeV to TeV region. A direct measurement of high energy photons with accurate energy and direction determination can also be provided.Comment: Proceedings of SF2A conference 201

POLAR: a compact detector for GRB polarization measurements

Présenté par J.P. VialleInternational audienceThrough polarization measurements of X-rays can provide essential information for identifying processes responsible of their emission by astrophysical objects, almost no experimental data exist yet. We propose here a novel wide field compact detector for hard X-ray polarization measurements based on Compton scattering process and made of low-Z fast scintillators