Interaction of Bearing and Tensile Loads on Creep Properties of Joints

The interaction of bearing and tensile loads on the creep behavior of joints was studied. A specimen was designed for this study which possessed some of the general features of pin and rivet joint connections and an apparatus was constructed to apply both bearing and tensile loads to the joint model. Deformation measurements were made by use of a photogrid printed on the joint model

Arthroscopic Latarjet Learning Curve: Operating Time Decreases After 25 Cases

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the learning curve associated with the arthroscopic Latarjet procedure and create a timetable to proficiency. METHODS: Using retrospective data of a single surgeon, consecutive patients who had an arthroscopic Latarjet procedure performed between December 2015 and May 2021 were initially reviewed for inclusion in the study. Patients were excluded if medical data were insufficient for accurate surgical time record, their surgery was transitioned to open or minimally invasive, or if their surgery was performed in conjunction with a second procedure for a separate issue. All surgeries were performed on an outpatient basis and sports participation was the most common reason for initial glenohumeral dislocation. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients were identified. Of these, 51 met the inclusion criteria. Analysis of operative times for all 51 procedures demonstrated that proficiency with the arthroscopic Latarjet procedure was obtained after 25 cases. This number was determined by 2 methods using statistical analysis (P \u3c .05). The average operative time over the course of the first 25 cases was 105.68 minutes and beyond 25 cases was 82.41 minutes. Male gender was seen in 86.3 percent of the patients. The average age of the patients was 28.6 years old. CONCLUSIONS: With continued transition towards bony augmentation procedures for addressing glenoid bone deficiency there is an increasing demand for the arthroscopic bony glenoid reconstruction procedures including the Latarjet procedure. It is a challenging procedure with a substantial initial learning curve. For a skilled arthroscopist there is a significant decrease in overall surgical time after the first 25 cases. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The arthroscopic Latarjet procedure has advantages over the open Latarjet approach; however, it is controversial because it is technically challenging. It is important for surgeons to understand when they can expect to be proficient with the arthroscopic approach

Arthroscopic Latarjet Learning Curve: Operating Time Decreases After 25 Cases

PURPOSE: To demonstrate the learning curve associated with the arthroscopic Latarjet procedure and create a timetable to proficiency. METHODS: Using retrospective data of a single surgeon, consecutive patients who had an arthroscopic Latarjet procedure performed between December 2015 and May 2021 were initially reviewed for inclusion in the study. Patients were excluded if medical data were insufficient for accurate surgical time record, their surgery was transitioned to open or minimally invasive, or if their surgery was performed in conjunction with a second procedure for a separate issue. All surgeries were performed on an outpatient basis and sports participation was the most common reason for initial glenohumeral dislocation. RESULTS: Fifty-five patients were identified. Of these, 51 met the inclusion criteria. Analysis of operative times for all 51 procedures demonstrated that proficiency with the arthroscopic Latarjet procedure was obtained after 25 cases. This number was determined by 2 methods using statistical analysis (P \u3c .05). The average operative time over the course of the first 25 cases was 105.68 minutes and beyond 25 cases was 82.41 minutes. Male gender was seen in 86.3 percent of the patients. The average age of the patients was 28.6 years old. CONCLUSIONS: With continued transition towards bony augmentation procedures for addressing glenoid bone deficiency there is an increasing demand for the arthroscopic bony glenoid reconstruction procedures including the Latarjet procedure. It is a challenging procedure with a substantial initial learning curve. For a skilled arthroscopist there is a significant decrease in overall surgical time after the first 25 cases. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: The arthroscopic Latarjet procedure has advantages over the open Latarjet approach; however, it is controversial because it is technically challenging. It is important for surgeons to understand when they can expect to be proficient with the arthroscopic approach

Advanced Technology Composite Fuselage - Repair and Damage Assessment Supporting Maintenance

Under the NASA-sponsored contracts for Advanced Technology Composite Aircraft Structures (ATCAS) and Materials Development Omnibus Contract (MDOC), Boeing is studying the technologies associated with the application of composite materials to commercial transport fuselage structure. Included in the study is the incorporation of maintainability and repairability requirements of composite primary structure into the design. This contractor report describes activities performed to address maintenance issues in composite fuselage applications. A key aspect of the study was the development of a maintenance philosophy which included consideration of maintenance issues early in the design cycle, multiple repair options, and airline participation in design trades. Fuselage design evaluations considered trade-offs between structural weight, damage resistance/tolerance (repair frequency), and inspection burdens. Analysis methods were developed to assess structural residual strength in the presence of damage, and to evaluate repair design concepts. Repair designs were created with a focus on mechanically fastened concepts for skin/stringer structure and bonded concepts for sandwich structure. Both a large crown (skintstringer) and keel (sandwich) panel were repaired. A compression test of the keel panel indicated the demonstrated repairs recovered ultimate load capability. In conjunction with the design and manufacturing developments, inspection methods were investigated for their potential to evaluate damaged structure and verify the integrity of completed repairs

The influence of single-nucleotide polymorphisms on overall survival and toxicity in cabazitaxel-treated patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer

Purpose: Cabazitaxel, used in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC), is associated with adverse events which may require dose reductions or discontinuation of treatment. We investigated the potential association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes encoding drug transporters and drug-metabolizing enzymes with cabazitaxel toxicity, overall survival (OS) and pharmacokinetics (PK). Methods: A total of 128 cabazitaxel-treated mCRPC patients, of whom prospectively collected data on toxicity and OS were available and 24 mCRPC patients with available cabazitaxel PK measurements, were genotyped using genomic DNA obtained from EDTA blood. The SLCO1B1 (388A > G; *1B; rs2306283 and 521 T > C; *5; rs4149056 and haplotype SLCO1B1*15), SLCO1B3 (334 T > G; rs4149117), CYP3A4 (*22; rs35599367), CYP3A5 (*3; rs776746), ABCB1 (3435C > T; rs1045642), and TUBB1 (57 + 87A > C; rs463312) SNPs were tested for their association with clinical and PK parameters by univariate/multivariate logistic regression, log-rank test, or Kruskal–Wallis test. Results: The SLCO1B1*15 haplotype was significantly associated with a lower incidence of leukopenia and neutropenia (p = 0.020 and p = 0.028, respectively). Patients harboring a homozygous variant for SLCO1B1*1B experienced higher rate ≥ grade 3 (p = 0.042). None of the SNPs were associated with pharmacokinetics or OS. Conclusions: In this study, SLCO1B1 (SLCO1B1*15 and SLCO1B1*1B) was associated with cabazitaxel-induced adverse events in mCRPC patients. As the associations were opposite to previous studies in other drugs and contradicted an underlying pharmacokinetic rationale, these findings are likely to be false-positive and would ideally be validated with even larger (pharmacokinetic) cohorts

Commissioning of the vacuum system of the KATRIN Main Spectrometer

The KATRIN experiment will probe the neutrino mass by measuring the beta-electron energy spectrum near the endpoint of tritium beta-decay. An integral energy analysis will be performed by an electro-static spectrometer (Main Spectrometer), an ultra-high vacuum vessel with a length of 23.2 m, a volume of 1240 m^3, and a complex inner electrode system with about 120000 individual parts. The strong magnetic field that guides the beta-electrons is provided by super-conducting solenoids at both ends of the spectrometer. Its influence on turbo-molecular pumps and vacuum gauges had to be considered. A system consisting of 6 turbo-molecular pumps and 3 km of non-evaporable getter strips has been deployed and was tested during the commissioning of the spectrometer. In this paper the configuration, the commissioning with bake-out at 300{\deg}C, and the performance of this system are presented in detail. The vacuum system has to maintain a pressure in the 10^{-11} mbar range. It is demonstrated that the performance of the system is already close to these stringent functional requirements for the KATRIN experiment, which will start at the end of 2016.Comment: submitted for publication in JINST, 39 pages, 15 figure

How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

Prostaglandin E2 Signals Through PTGER2 to Regulate Sclerostin Expression

The Wnt signaling pathway is a robust regulator of skeletal homeostasis. Gain-of-function mutations promote high bone mass, whereas loss of Lrp5 or Lrp6 co-receptors decrease bone mass. Similarly, mutations in antagonists of Wnt signaling influence skeletal integrity, in an inverse relation to Lrp receptor mutations. Loss of the Wnt antagonist Sclerostin (Sost) produces the generalized skeletal hyperostotic condition of sclerosteosis, which is characterized by increased bone mass and density due to hyperactive osteoblast function. Here we demonstrate that prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), a paracrine factor with pleiotropic effects on osteoblasts and osteoclasts, decreases Sclerostin expression in osteoblastic UMR106.01 cells. Decreased Sost expression correlates with increased expression of Wnt/TCF target genes Axin2 and Tcf3. We also show that the suppressive effect of PGE2 is mediated through a cyclic AMP/PKA pathway. Furthermore, selective agonists for the PGE2 receptor EP2 mimic the effect of PGE2 upon Sost, and siRNA reduction in Ptger2 prevents PGE2-induced Sost repression. These results indicate a functional relationship between prostaglandins and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in bone