Search results for "Segmental"
showing 10 items of 89 documents
Avoiding lumbar segmental arteries injury in oblique lateral interbody fusion procedure
2020
Lumbar interbody fusion is performed to treat several spinal disorders and involves the insertion of a structural graft into an intervertebral disk space to promote bony arthrodesis. Although the posterior approach to the lumbar spine was long the most frequently adopted surgical strategy to perform fusion, anterior approaches, first introduced in 1906, have recently blossomed. Patient expectations and increasing demands for shorter hospital stay and early recovery have led to more innovative surgical techniques to reduce iatrogenic injury and postoperative morbidity. Depending on the level to be treated, several approaches have been developed, each dealing with peculiar anatomic obstacles:…
Dielectric Spectroscopy of Recycled Polylactide
2014
The effects of multiple mechanical recycling on amorphous polylactide (PLA) were simulated by means of five successive injection-grinding cycles. The influence of the induced thermo-mechanical degradation on the dielectric properties of PLA was analysed. The relaxation spectra were studied in terms of the complex dielectric permittivity (ε0 and ε00) and the dielectric loss tangent, tg(d) in the frequency range from 102 to 107 Hz over the temperature interval from 0 C to 140 C. It was possible to distinguish two relaxations zones, one at low temperatures and high frequencies (b relaxation) and another at higher temperatures and lower frequencies (a relaxation). The individual relaxations wer…
Molecular Mobility in Oriented and Unoriented Membranes Based on Poly[2-(Aziridin-1-yl)ethanol]
2021
Unoriented and oriented membranes based on dendronized polymers and copolymers obtained by chemical modification of poly[2-(aziridin-1-yl) ethanol] (PAZE) with the dendron 3,4,5-tris[4-(n-dodecan-1-yloxy)benzyloxy]benzoate were considered. DSC, XRD, CP-MAS NMR and DETA, contribute to characterize the tendency to crystallize, the molecular mobility of the benzyloxy substituent, the dendritic liquid crystalline group and the clearing transition. The orientation of the mesogenic chain somewhat hindered this molecular motion, especially in the full substituted PAZE. The fragility, free volume and thermal expansion coefficients of these membranes near the glass transition are related to the orie…
Optimized In Silico Modeling of Drug Absorption after Gastric Bypass: The Case of Metformin
2021
Bariatric surgery is an effective treatment for severe obesity and related comorbidities, such as type II diabetes. Gastric bypass surgery shortens the length of the intestine, possibly leading to altered drug absorption. Metformin, a first-line treatment for type II diabetes, has permeability-dependent drug absorption, which may be sensitive to intestinal anatomic changes during bypass surgery, including Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). Previous computer simulation data indicate increased metformin absorption after RYGB. In this study, we experimentally determined the region-dependent permeability of metformin, using the rat single-pass intestinal perfusion method (SPIP), which we then imp…
New Insights into Segmental Packing, Chain Dynamics and Thermomechanical Performance of Aliphatic Polyurea Composites: Comparison between Silica Oxid…
2021
Polyurea (PU) is intrinsically reinforced by its microphase-separated morphology, giving its excellent mechanical properties. In this study, it is shown how a high-index PU formulation applies easy diffusion of hard segments into the soft phase of the PU matrix and tune its chain mobility. Moreover, the interaction of micro (>100 nm), nano (<100 nm) fillers with the microdomains and their thermomechanical properties are unraveled. Herein, nanosilica oxide (NS) and micro titanium (III) oxide (Ti2O3) are incorporated at low loadings into a solvent-free two-component aliphatic PU via insitu polymerization. While NS achieves an interfacial interaction with urea groups and forms a tight ha…
Segmental anatomy of the vastus lateralis: guidelines for muscle-sparing flap harvest.
2014
Background: The vastus lateralis muscle is a versatile donor site for pedicled and free flaps that, despite great potential, remains unpopular. Although the muscle is classically described as a single belly, evidence exists for a more complex morphology. The aim of this study was to investigate the segmental anatomy of the vastus lateralis muscle and the feasibility of selective flap harvest. Methods: Ten cadaveric lower limbs were investigated. Muscular partitions were identified according to morphologic architecture, vascular supply, and nerve supply; guidelines for selective flap harvest were described. Twenty-three segmental vastus lateralis (n = 14) or chimeric anterolateral thigh-vast…
The Rehabilitation of Segmental Bridges Subjected to Time-dependent Deflections Through Additional Prestressing
2022
Segmental bridges built by cantilevering with in-situ casting in the ‘60s-‘80s of the XX Century present a central hinge on the main span or a central simply supported span between the two cantilevers (drop-in span). Due to time-dependent phenomena like creep of concrete and to unexpected loss of prestressing, several bridges of this typology show an abnormal deflection at hinges causing discomfort of traffic as well as insufficiencies of checks at Service and Ultimate Limit States. Moreover, these bridges are today at the end of their nominal service life, impacting significantly on Italian road network. A methodology for retrofitting these bridges by partial recovering of deflection and o…
Elective segmental ureterectomy for transitional cell carcinoma of the ureter: Long-term follow-up in a series of 73 patients
2012
What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? Upper Urinary Tract (UUT) Transitional Cell Carcinoma (TCC) is an uncommon disease and represents approximately 5% of all urothelial carcinomas. We report our series on 73 patients treated with Kidney Sparing Surgery for UUT TCC. Good results have been achieved in terms of oncological outcome comparing this conservative approach to the radical nephrourectomy. OBJECTIVES: • To report the long-term oncological outcome in patients with transitional cell carcinoma of the ureter electively treated with kidney-sparing surgery. • To compare our data with the few series reported in the literature. PATIENTS AND METHODS: • We considered 73 pat…
Effect of sisal and hydrothermal ageing on the dielectric behaviour of polylactide/sisal biocomposites
2017
[EN] The dielectric properties of virgin polylactide (PLA) and its reinforced composites with different weight amounts of sisal fibres were assessed at broad temperature (from - 130 degrees C to 130 degrees C) and frequency ranges (from 10(-2)-10(7) Hz), before and after being subjected to accelerated hydrothermal ageing. The synergetic effects of both the loading of sisal and hydrothermal ageing were analysed by means of dielectric relaxation spectra. The relaxation time functions were evaluated by the Havriliak-Negami model, substracting the ohmic contribution of conductivity. The intramolecular and intermolecular relaxations were respectively analysed by means of Arrhenius and Vogel-Fulc…
Kazoo training for L2 pronunciation practice and reduced foreign accentedness?
2019
This paper presents a controlled pretest–training–posttest study on using a small membraphone instrument called kazoo for L2 pronunciation practice and reducing foreign accentedness. Learners were recorded for free speech before and after a six-week pronunciation and oral skills course including L2 prosody training with personal kazoos. A control group did not receive any kazoo training but did similar tasks in regular speech. Samples of all learners’ free speech before and after the course were rated for foreign accentedness by L1 speakers. In addition, learners taking part in the kazoo group were interviewed in focus groups to ascertain their views on kazoo training. The results imply tha…