CT-Guided Percutaneous Vertebroplasty in the Treatment of an Upper Thoracic Compression Fracture

Percutaneous vertebroplasty (PVP) has been used to relieve pain and to prevent further collapse of the vertebral body in patients with an osteoporotic compression fracture. The most commonly affected site for the use of PVP is the thoracolumbar junction. There are few reports that have described on the usefulness of PVP in the treatment of a high thoracic compression fracture. We report a case of an upper thoracic compression fracture that was treated with computed tomography (CT)-guided PVP. It was possible to obtain easy access to the narrow thoracic pedicle and it was also possible to monitor continuously the proper volume of polymethylmethacrylate employed, under CT guidance

Optical dispersion control in surfactant-free DNA thin films by vitamin B2 doping

A new route to systematically control the optical dispersion properties of surfactant-free deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) thin solid films was developed by doping them with vitamin B2, also known as riboflavin. Surfactant-free DNA solid films of high optical quality were successfully deposited on various types of substrates by spin coating of aqueous solutions without additional chemical processes, with thicknesses ranging from 18 to 100 nm. Optical properties of the DNA films were investigated by measuring UV-visible-NIR transmission, and their refractive indices were measured using variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. By doping DNA solid films with riboflavin, the refractive index was consistently increased with an index difference Δn ≥ 0.015 in the spectral range from 500 to 900 nm, which is sufficiently large to make an all-DNA optical waveguide. Detailed correlation between the optical dispersion and riboflavin concentration was experimentally investigated and thermo-optic coefficients of the DNA-riboflavin thin solid films were also experimentally measured in the temperature range from 20 to 85 °C, opening the potential to new bio-thermal sensing applications

Friction and Wear Behavior of Direct Metal Deposition on SUH3

Poppet valves made from high-frequency heat-treated SUH3 steel have insufficient durability, and scratches appear on the valve face in prolonged use. It is necessary to develop surface treatment technology with excellent durability to prevent the deterioration of engine performance. Therefore, a surface treatment technology with higher abrasion resistance than existing processes was developed by direct metal deposition to the face where the cylinder and valve are closed. In this study, heat pretreatment and deposition tests were performed on three materials to find suitable powders. In the performance evaluation, the hardness, friction coefficient, and wear rate were measured. Direct metal deposition using Inconel 738 and Stellite 6 powders without heat pretreatment were experimentally verified to have excellent durability

Defect Detection Using Deep Learning-Based YOLOv3 in Cross-Sectional Image of Additive Manufacturing

Deposition defects like porosity, crack and lack of fusion in additive manufacturing process is a major obstacle to commercialization of the process. Thus, metallurgical microscopy analysis has been mainly conducted to optimize process conditions by detecting and investigating the defects. However, these defect detection methods indicate a deviation from the operator’s experience. In this study, artificial intelligence based YOLOv3 of object detection algorithm was applied to avoid the human dependency. The algorithm aims to automatically find and label the defects. To enable the aim, 80 training images and 20 verification images were prepared, and they were amplified into 640 training images and 160 verification images using augmentation algorithm of rotation, movement and scale down, randomly. To evaluate the performance of the algorithm, total loss was derived as the sum of localization loss, confidence loss, and classification loss. In the training process, the total loss was 8.672 for the initial 100 sample images. However, the total loss was reduced to 5.841 after training with additional 800 images. For the verification of the proposed method, new defect images were input and then the mean Average Precision (mAP) in terms of precision and recall was 0.3795. Therefore, the detection performance with high accuracy can be applied to industry for avoiding human errors

Development of a certified reference material for the analysis of vitamins in multivitamin tablets

Abstract Multivitamin tablet certified reference material (CRM, 108-10-019) was developed for the analysis of seven water-soluble vitamins, including thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinamide, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, biotin, and folic acid. The CRM was prepared in powder form by grinding multivitamin tablets and then mixing, sieving, and bottling the powder. For the certification of each water-soluble vitamin, the isotope dilution mass spectrometry based on the liquid chromatography was applied. The methods for each analyte were validated by confirming the repeatability and reproducibility and by comparing with other CRMs. The property values and uncertainties for the vitamins were determined with 10 units from sample stored at − 20 °C. The homogeneity of each certified component was also examined in the range of 0.48–2.2%. All certified values for the seven water-soluble vitamins were stable for 3 or 6 years after the initial certification under storage conditions at − 20 °C. For fat-soluble vitamins, including retinol, α-tocopherol, cholecalciferol, and phylloquinone, two expert laboratories participated in analyses based on official methods, and the mean values of the reported results were assigned as reference values. The multivitamin tablet CRM (108-10-019) will be useful for validating analytical methods and for ensuring the quality of results for vitamin analysis in multivitamin tablets or similar products

Dynamic Lumbar Spinal Stenosis : The Usefulness of Axial Loaded MRI in Preoperative Evaluation

Two cases of dynamic lumbar spinal stenosis were identified by the authors using axial loaded magnetic resonance image (MRI). In both cases, the patients presented with neurogenic claudication but MRI in decumbency showed no definite pathologic condition associated with their symptoms. In contrast, axial loaded MRI demonstrated constrictive spinal stenosis and a significantly decreased dural sac caused by epidural fat buckling and thickening of the ligamentum flavum in both cases. In the second case, a more prominent disc protrusion was also demonstrated compared with decumbent MRI. After decompressive surgery, both patients had satisfactory outcomes. Axial loaded MRI can therefore give decisive information in dynamic spinal disorders by allowing simulation of an upright position

Spontaneous reporting of adverse drug events by Korean Regional Pharmacovigilance Centers

Purpose Patterns of prescriptions are markedly influenced by regional disease entities, medical education, culture, economic status, and available pharmaceutical companies. Features of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) may vary in different countries. In this study, we analyzed the causative drugs and clinical manifestations of spontaneously reported ADRs in Korea. Methods Six Korean Regional Pharmacovigilance Centers collected 1418 cases of spontaneously reported adverse drug events (ADES) by doctors, pharmacists, and nurses, and the clinical features and causative drugs were evaluated. The data were collected from general hospitals (76.5%), primary clinics, and pharmacies (23.5%). Results Based upon the World Health Organization (WHO)-Uppsala Monitoring Center criteria (certain-13.7%, probable-46.1%, possible-32.1%), 91.9% of the collected events were suspected to be ADRs and 15.8% of patients experienced serious ADRs. The most prevalent causative drugs were antibiotics (31.6%), followed by contrast dyes (14.0%), non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) (11.1%), anti-psychotics (5.4%), anti-convulsants (5.2%), cardiovascular agents (4.8%), anti-neoplastics (4.6%), and opiates and non-opiate pain killers (3.5%). Among the antibiotics, cephalosporins (8.1%) were the most common, followed by anti-tuberculosis agents (5.7%), quinolones (4.0%), vancomycin (3.1%), and penicillin (2.8%). The most common side effect was skin manifestations, which were seen in 42% of the patients, followed by neurologic manifestations (14%), gastrointestinal involvements (12.9%), generalized reactions (9.4%), and respiratory involvements (4.5%). Conclusion Antibiotics, contrast dyes, and NSAIDs were the most common causative drugs for ADRs, which reflects the prescription pattern and the prevalence of diseases in Korea. These data may be useful in establishing a Korean pharmacovigilance system. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Eliasson E, 2006, BRIT MED J, V332, P1163Camargo AL, 2006, EUR J CLIN PHARMACOL, V62, P143, DOI 10.1007/s00228-005-0086-7Classen DC, 2005, QUAL SAF HEALTH CARE, V14, P221, DOI 10.1136/qshc.2002.002972CLASSEN DC, 2005, QUAL SAF HEALTH CARE, V14, P225Stricker BHC, 2004, BRIT MED J, V329, P44CHOI JH, 2004, KOREAN J MED, V67, P290Thong BYH, 2003, ANN ALLERG ASTHMA IM, V90, P342Lacoste-Roussillon C, 2001, CLIN PHARMACOL THER, V69, P458DEMOLY P, 2001, CURR OPIN ALLERGY CL, V1, P305Edwards IR, 2000, LANCET, V356, P1255Gandhi TK, 2000, J GEN INTERN MED, V15, P149Bates DW, 1999, ARCH INTERN MED, V159, P2553Roughead EE, 1998, MED J AUSTRALIA, V168, P405Lazarou J, 1998, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V279, P1200Hunziker T, 1997, ALLERGY, V52, P388Classen DC, 1997, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V277, P301BATES DW, 1995, JAMA-J AM MED ASSOC, V274, P29RAWLINS MD, 1995, J ROY COLL PHYS LOND, V29, P41LEAPE LL, 1991, NEW ENGL J MED, V324, P377BERRY LL, 1988, AM J HOSP PHARM, V45, P1534FAICH GA, 1986, NEW ENGL J MED, V314, P1589JICK H, 1984, J ALLERGY CLIN IMMUN, V74, P555

Thrombosis of Left Common Iliac Artery Following Anterior Lumbar Interbody Fusion: Case Report and Review of Literatures

We report on a case of thrombosis of the left common iliac artery following anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) of L4-5 in a 79-year-old man with no previous medical problems, including peripheral vascular disease. After completing the ALIF procedure, the surgeon could not feel the pulsation of the left dorsalis pedis artery, and the oxygen saturation (SaO2) had fallen below 90% from pulse oxymetry on the left great toe. Thrombectomy was successfully performed after confirming the thrombus in the left common iliac artery using Computed Tomography (CT) angiography. Thrombosis of the common iliac artery is very rare following ALIF. However, delayed diagnosis can lead to disastrous outcome. Although elderly patients have no cardio-vascular disease or vessel calcification in pre-op evaluation, the possibility of a complication involving L4-5 should be considered