A Comparative Study of High-viscosity Cement Percutaneous Vertebroplasty vs. Low-viscosity Cement Percutaneous Kyphoplasty for Treatment of Osteoporotic Vertebral Compression Fractures

The clinical effects of two different methods–high-viscosity cement percutaneous vertebroplasty（PVP） and low-viscosity cement percutaneous kyphoplasty（PKP） in the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures（OVCFs） were investigated. From June 2010 to August 2013, 98 cases of OVCFs were included in our study. Forty-six patients underwent high-viscosity PVP and 52 patients underwent low-viscosity PKP. The occurrence of cement leakage was observed. Pain relief and functional activity were evaluated using the Visual Analog Scale（VAS） and Oswestry Disability Index（ODI）, respectively. Restoration of the vertebral body height and angle of kyphosis were assessed by comparing preoperative and postoperative measurements of the anterior heights, middle heights and the kyphotic angle of the fractured vertebra. Nine out of the 54 vertebra bodies and 11 out of the 60 vertebra bodies were observed to have cement leakage in the high-viscosity PVP and low-viscosity PKP groups, respectively. The rate of cement leakage, correction of anterior vertebral height and kyphotic angles showed no significant differences between the two groups（P〉0.05）. Low-viscosity PKP had significant advantage in terms of the restoration of middle vertebral height as compared with the high-viscosity PVP（P〈0.05）. Both groups showed significant improvements in pain relief and functional capacity status after surgery（P〈0.05）. It was concluded that high-viscosity PVP and low-viscosity PKP have similar clinical effects in terms of the rate of cement leakage, restoration of the anterior vertebral body height, changes of kyphotic angles, functional activity, and pain relief. Low-viscosity PKP is better than high-viscosity PVP in restoring the height of the middle vertebra.

Postoperative Fracture Healing Effects of Locking Compression Plate for the Treatment of Limb Fractures

Objectives To study the effects of applying locking compression plates in the treatment of patients with limb fractures on postoperative fracture healing.Methods:115 patients with limb fractures who were treated in our hospital from November 2019 to November 2020 were selected.In order to study the effective treatment method,the random-number table method was used in this study to divide the patients into two groups,namely the experimental group and the control group,and the locking compression plate treatment method and the pure plate and screw internal fixation treatment method were administered respectively to study their clinical application effects.Results:Compared with the control group,patients in the experimental group had a lower incidence of complications,shorter hospitalizations and shorter recovery time.Meanwhile,the experimental group had a better quality of recovery,and all data were significantly different from those of the control group,P<0.05,the intervention effect of the experimental group was better.Conclusion:The application of the locking compression plate in the treatment of patients with limb fractures is more conducive to promoting the postoperative healing of the patients'fractures,reducing the incidence of postoperative complications,and promoting the rapid recovery of patients,which has positive significance for clinical development.

Mechanical Properties and ITZ Microstructure of Recycled Aggregate Concrete Using Carbonated Recycled Coarse Aggregate

The effect of carbonation treatment and mixing method on the mechanical properties and interfacial transition zone（ITZ） properties of recycled aggregate concrete（RAC） was investigated. Properties of recycled concrete aggregate（RCA） were tested firstly. Then, five types of concretes were made and slump of fresh concrete was measured immediately after mixing. Compressive strength and splitting tensile strength of hardened concrete were measured at 28 d. Meanwhile, the microstructure of RAC was analyzed by backscattered electron（BSE） image. It was found that the water absorption ratio of carbonated recycled concrete aggregate（CRCA） was much lower when compared to the untreated RCA. Comparatively, the apparent density of CRCA was not significantly modified. The concrete strength results indicate that the mix CRAC-2 prepared with CRCA by adopting two-stage mixing approach shows the highest compressive strength value compared to the other mixes. The microstructural analysis demonstrate that the mix CRAC-2 has a much denser old ITZ than the untreated RAC because of the chemical reaction between CO2 and the hydration products of RCA. This study confirms that the ITZ microstructure of RAC can be efficiently modified by carbonation treatment of RCA and encourages broadening the application of construction and demolition wastes.

Influence of Microstructures and Residual Stress on Fatigue Crack Propagation Rate of High Carbon Steels

The cold-work tool steels T10A and GCr15 have been studied with regard to the influence of austenitization temperature, tempering temperature and the residual stress on the crack propagation rate and the critical crack length. The kinds of fracture morphology have been studied too. The crack propagation rate is dependent strongly on the austenitization temperature, the tempering temperature and the surface compressional residual stress in specimens.

Electroacupuncture combined with intermittent pneumatic compression therapeutic apparatus for diabetic peripheral neuropathy and the effect on HIF-1α and VEGF levels

Objective： To observe the clinical efficacy of electroacupuncture combined with intermittent pneumatic compression therapeutic apparatus for treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy, and the effect on serum VEGF and HIF-lα levels of patients. Methods： Ninety-six patients were randomly divided into electroacupuncture treatment group （EA group）, intermittent pneumatic compression treatment group （IPC group）, electroacupuncture combined with intermittent pneumatic compression treatment group （EA ＋ IPC group） and cobamamide group （CM group）, with 24 cases in each group. Electroacupuncture treatment （once a day）, intermittent pneumatic com pression treatment （twice a day） and intramuscular injection with cobamamide （1 rag, once a day） were carried out in EA group, IPC group and CM group, respectively, and intermittent pneumatic compres- sion treatment （twice a day） was conducted on the basis of electroacupuncture treatment （once a day） in EA＋IPC group. After treatment for 2 consecutive weeks, the differences in subjective symptoms, mo- tor nerve conduction velocity, sensory nerve conduction velocity and serum HIF-lα and VEGF levels of patients in the four groups before and after treatment were observed and compared. Results： After treatment for 2 weeks, the differences in total effective rate between EA group and CM group, IPC group and CM group, as well as EA ＋ IPC group and CM group were all significant （all P 〈 0.05）, and the total effective rate in EA＋ IPC group was significantly higher than that in EA group and IPC group （both P 〈 0.05）. After treatment for 2 weeks, the motor nerve conduction velocity and sensory nerve conduction velocity of median nerve and common peroneal nerve of patients in EA group, 1PC group and EA＋IPC group were all higher than that before treatment （all P 〈 0.05）; the motor nerve conduction velocity of median nerve and the sensory nerve conduction velocity of common peroneal nerve in EA group were all higher than that in CM group （both P 〈 0.05）; the motor nerve conduction velocity and sensory nerve conduction velocity of median nerve in IPC group were also all higher than that in CM group （both P 〈 0.05）; the motor nerve conduction velocity and sensory nerve conduction velocity of median nerve and common peroneal nerve in EA＋IPC group were all higher than that in CM group （both P 〈 0.05）; the sensory nerve conduction velocity of common peroneal nerve in EA ＋ 1PC group was higher than that in EA group and IPC group （both P 〈 0.05）, and the motor nerve conduction velocity of median nerve in EA＋IPC group was higher than that in IPC group （P 〈 0.05）. The serum HIF-1α and VEGF levels of patients in EA group, IPC group and EA ＋ IPC group after treatment significantly reduced （all P 〈 0.05）. and were lower than that in CM group after treatment （all P 〈 0.05）; the serum HIF-lα and VEGF levels of patients in EA ＋ IPC group after treatment were lower than that in EA group and IPC group, and the difference in serum HIF-lα level was statistically significant （both P 〈 0.05）. Conclusion： Electroacupuncture combined with intermittent pneumatic compression therapeutic apparatus can effectively improve the clinical symptoms of patients with diabetic peripheral neuropathy, the efficacy were better than electroacupuncture, intermittent pneumatic compression treatment and cobamamide.