Operative treatment for pincer type femoroacetabular impingement:a case report

Femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) is a condition characterized by the impingement of the femur and acetabulum. In Japan, this disorder has become recognized gradually. Here we report a rare case of surgically treated FAI, associated with an osseous protrusion on the acetabulum of a 30-year-old female. Plain computed tomography (CT) and reconstructive 3D-CT images clearly demonstrated an anterolateral bony protrusion. Hip arthroscopy showed no degeneration of the cartilage on either the femoral or acetabular side, but degeneration at the edge of labrum was observed in the region of the bony protrusion. The complete removal of the bony protrusion under hip arthroscopy was thus considered impracticable, and a small skin incision was therefore made anteriorly to approach the acetabulum. The Short-Form 36-Item Health Survey (SF-36) revealed improvement in all scores.</p

Multidisciplinary treatment system for bone metastases for early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of malignant spinal cord compression

Malignant spinal cord compression (MSCC) is a serious complication of cancers. The present study aimed to establish a multidisciplinary treatment system for urgent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and referral to orthopedists in order to prevent neurological deficits caused by MSCC. In the present study, the extent to which this system achieved early diagnosis and treatment and prevented MSCC‑caused neurological deficits was examined. The records from patients with neurological deficits caused by MSCC before (between April 2007 and March 2012; group A) and after (between April 2012 and March 2017; group B) the establishment of the multidisciplinary system at the Shikoku Cancer Center (Ehime, Japan) were retrospectively evaluated. The numbers of patients with neurological deficits were 38 and 7 in groups A and B, respectively. All patients received radiotherapy. The incidence of neurological deficits was 13.2 and 3.4% in groups A and B, respectively (P<0.001). The proportion of patients with improvement in the severity of neurological deficits was 5.3 and 28.6% in groups A and B, respectively (P<0.001). The interval between physicians' recognition of a neurological deficit and MRI and the start of treatment, the number of cases, and the severity of neurological deficits were evaluated in groups A and B. The median interval between recognition of a neurological deficit by physicians and MRI was 3 and 0 days in groups A and B, respectively (P<0.001). The median interval between physicians' recognition of a neurological deficit and the start of treatment was 3 and 0 days in groups A and B, respectively (P<0.001). By using a multidisciplinary treatment system, the incidence and severity of neurological deficits following treatment were significantly improved. Therefore, the multidisciplinary treatment system used in the present study may be useful for early diagnosis, treatment and prevention of MSCC in patients with bone metastases

Development of Anammox Reactor Equipped with a Degassing Membrane to Improve Biomass Retention

In up-flow anammox reactors, one of the contributing factors of biomass wash-out is the adherence of nitrogen gas produced by anammox reaction to biomass. In this study, we operated an up-flow anammox reactor equipped with a degassing membrane to minimize the biomass wash-out from the reactor by separating the produced gas from the biomass. In addition, both the effect of degassing on the anammox reactor performance and the durability of the membrane submerged in the anammox reactor were investigated. The results show that the use of the degassing membrane in the anammox reactor could 1) Improve the biomass retention ability (by separating the produced gas from the biomass), and 2) Increase the component ratio of anammox bacteria in the reactor. In addition, degassing could reduce the N2O emission produced in the reactor (for the gas selectivity of the degassing membrane). No membrane fouling was observed even after two months of operation without washing, indicating an advantage to the use of the degassing membrane

Paint Coating Removal by Heating for High-Strength Bolted Joints in Steel Bridge and Its Influence on Bolt Axial Force

A series of experiments were carried out for developing a paint coating removal method for high-strength bolted joints in steel bridges. The paint-coated bolted joint specimens were heated to the target temperature of 200 °C by using a sheet-type ceramic heater. The maximum temperature of specimens could be controlled within 10% of the target value. The paint coating was easily removed by using general tools after heating. The behaviour of bolts with thermal expansion and shrinkage was monitored by strain gauges attached to the bolts during heating. It was estimated that the axial forces of the bolts were reduced by 2.6% of the initially installed axial forces, on average

Paint Coating Removal by Heating for High-Strength Bolted Joints in Steel Bridge and Its Influence on Bolt Axial Force

A series of experiments were carried out for developing a paint coating removal method for high-strength bolted joints in steel bridges. The paint-coated bolted joint specimens were heated to the target temperature of 200 °C by using a sheet-type ceramic heater. The maximum temperature of specimens could be controlled within 10% of the target value. The paint coating was easily removed by using general tools after heating. The behaviour of bolts with thermal expansion and shrinkage was monitored by strain gauges attached to the bolts during heating. It was estimated that the axial forces of the bolts were reduced by 2.6% of the initially installed axial forces, on average

Anaerobic treatment of municipal wastewater at ambient temperature: Analysis of archaeal community structure and recovery of dissolved methane

Anaerobic treatment is an attractive option for the biological treatment of municipal wastewater. In this study, municipal wastewater was anaerobically treated with a bench-scale upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor at temperatures from 6-31℃ for 18 months to investigate total chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal efficiency, archaeal community structure, and dissolved methane (D-CH4) recovery efficiency. The COD removal efficiency was more than 50% in summer and below 40% in winter with no evolution of biogas. Analysis of the archaeal community structures of the granular sludge from the UASB using 16S rRNA gene-cloning indicated that after microorganisms had adapted to low temperatures, the archaeal community had a lower diversity and the relative abundance of acetoclastic methanogens decreased together with an increase in hydrogenotrophic methanogens. D-CH4, which was detected in the UASB effluent throughout the operation, could be collected with a degassing membrane. The ratio of the collection to recovery rates was 60% in summer and 100% in winter. For anaerobic treatment of municipal wastewater at lower temperatures, hydrogenotrophic methanogens play an important role in COD removal and D-CH4 can be collected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and avoid wastage of energy resources