Early fracture of the modular neck of a MODULUS femoral stem

AbstractWe present the case of a 46-year-old woman who underwent revision surgery approximately 4 years after total hip arthroplasty because of a fracture of the modular neck of a MODULUS femoral stem. The fractured surfaces of the retrieved implant were inspected using optical and scanning electron microscopy. Three-dimensional finite element analysis was also performed to identify the stresses that might have caused the failure. We concluded that active, obese patients who are implanted with a high-offset, small-sized modular component could experience stress-induced fractures of the modular neck, with proper fixation and osseointegration of the distal stem, especially if residual bone or tissue is present on the inner surface of the neck that could contribute to micromovement and decreased proximal fixation

Experimental Determination of Bose-Hubbard Energies

We present the first experimental measurement of the ensemble averages of both the kinetic and interaction energies of the three-dimensional Bose--Hubbard model at finite temperature and various optical lattice depths across weakly to strongly interacting regimes, for an almost unit filling factor. The kinetic energy is obtained through Fourier transformation of a time-of-flight signal, and the interaction energy is measured using a newly developed atom-number-projection spectroscopy technique, by exploiting an ultra-narrow optical transition of two-electron atoms. The obtained experimental results can be used as benchmarks for state-of-the-art numerical methods of quantum many-body theory. As an illustrative example, we compare the measured energies with numerical calculations involving the Gutzwiller and cluster-Gutzwiller approximations, assuming realistic trap potentials and particle numbers at nonzero entropy (finite temperature); we obtain good agreement without fitting parameters. We also discuss the possible application of this method to temperature estimations for atoms in optical lattices using the thermodynamic relation. This study offers a unique advantage of cold atom system for `quantum simulators', because, to the best of our knowledge, it is the first experimental determination of both the kinetic and interaction energies of quantum many-body system.Comment: 22 pages, 20 figure

Simulation of Electrical and Thermal Properties of Granite under the Application of Electrical Pulses Using Equivalent Circuit Models

Since energy efficiency in comminution of ores is as small as 1% using a mechanical crushing process, it is highly demanded to improve its efficiency. Using electrical impulses to selectively liberate valuable minerals from ores can be a solution of this problem. In this work, we developed a simulation method using equivalent circuits of granite to better understand the crushing process with high-voltage (HV) electrical pulses. From our simulation works, we calculated the electric field distributions in granite when an electrical pulse was applied. We also calculated other associated electrical phenomena such as produced heat and temperature changes from the simulation results. A decrease in the electric field was observed in the plagioclase with high electrical conductivity and void space. This suggests that the void volume in each mineral is important in calculating the electrical properties. Our equivalent circuit models considering both the electrical conductivity and dielectric constant of a granite can more accurately represent the electrical properties of granite under HV electric pulse application. These results will help us better understand the liberation of minerals from granite by electric pulse application

Equivalent Circuit Models: An Effective Tool to Simulate Electric/Dielectric Properties of Ores-An Example Using Granite

The equivalent circuit model is widely used in high-voltage (HV) engineering to simulate the behavior of HV applications for insulation/dielectric materials. In this study, equivalent circuit models were prepared in order to represent the electric and dielectric properties of minerals and voids in a granite rock sample. The HV electric-pulse application shows a good possibility of achieving a high energy efficiency with the size reduction and selective liberation of minerals from rocks. The electric and dielectric properties were first measured, and the mineral compositions were also determined by using a micro-X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. Ten patterns of equivalent circuit models were then prepared after considering the mineral distribution in granite. Hard rocks, as well as minerals, are dielectric materials that can be represented as resistors and capacitors in parallel connections. The values of the electric circuit parameters were determined from the known electric and dielectric parameters of the minerals in granite. The average calculated data of the electric properties of granite agreed with the measured data. The conductivity values were 53.5 pS/m (measurement) and 36.2 pS/m (simulation) in this work. Although there were some differences between the measured and calculated data of dielectric loss (tan delta), their trend as a function of frequency agreed. Even though our study specifically dealt with granite, the developed equivalent circuit model can be applied to any other rock

Anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas producing granulocyte-colony stimulating factor: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>The granulocyte-colony stimulating factor-producing tumor was first reported in 1977, however, anaplastic pleomorphic type carcinoma of the pancreas producing granulocyte-colony stimulating factor is still rare.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 63-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with body weight loss (-10 kg during months) and upper abdominal pain from 3 weeks. Abdominal computed tomography demonstrated a pancreatic tumor 10 cm in size and multiple low-density areas in the liver. On admission, the peripheral leukocyte count was elevated to 91,500/mm³and the serum concentration of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor was 134 pg/mL (normal, < 18.1 pg/mL). Based on liver biopsy findings, the tumor was classified as an anaplastic pleomorphic-type carcinoma. Immunohistochemical staining showed that pancreatic carcinoma cells were positive for granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. The patient developed interstitial pneumonia, probably caused by granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, and died 11 days after admission.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>This is a rare case report of anaplastic pleomorphic-type carcinoma of the pancreas producing granulocyte-colony stimulating factor and confirmed by immunohistochemistry.</p

Identification of a novel uterine leiomyoma GWAS locus in a Japanese population

Uterine leiomyoma is one of the most common gynaecologic benign tumours, but its genetic basis remains largely unknown. Six previous GWAS identified 33 genetic factors in total. Here, we performed a two-staged GWAS using 13,746 cases and 70,316 controls from the Japanese population, followed by a replication analysis using 3,483 cases and 4,795 controls. The analysis identified 9 significant loci, including a novel locus on 12q23.2 (rs17033114, P = 6.12 × 10−25 with an OR of 1.177 (1.141-1.213), LINC00485). Subgroup analysis indicated that 5 loci (3q26.2, 5p15.33, 10q24.33, 11p15.5, 13q14.11) exhibited a statistically significant effect among multiple leiomyomas, and 2 loci (3q26.2, 10q24.33) exhibited a significant effect among submucous leiomyomas. Pleiotropic analysis indicated that all 9 loci were associated with at least one proliferative disease, suggesting the role of these loci in the common neoplastic pathway. Furthermore, the risk T allele of rs2251795 (3q26.2) was associated with longer telomere length in both normal and tumour tissues. Our findings elucidated the significance of genetic factors in the pathogenesis of leiomyoma