The potential use of carbon fibre laminate composites is limited by the weak out-ofplane properties, especially delamination resistance. The effect of incorporating titanium carbide to the mesophase pitch matrix precursor of carbon fibre laminate composites on interlaminar shear strength is studied both on carbonised and graphitised composites. The presence of titanium carbide modifies the opti...

Photoacoustic spectroscopy was used to predict the interlaminar shear strength of a carbon/epoxy composite. Samples were artificially aged by exposing the samples to elevated temperatures in an air environment. Short-beam shear tests were performed to determine mechanically the interlaminar shear strength of the samples. Photoacoustic spectra of the samples were also collected and compared to m...

s reviewed n = 350 Abstracts excluded n = 252s excluded n = 252 Full manuscripts reviewed n = 90 Manuscripts considered for inclusion Systematic reviews = 8 Randomized trials = 20 Observational studies = 30 Full manuscripts not available n = 8 Pain Physician: January/February 2009:12:163-188 170 www.painphysicianjournal.com Randomized Trials Methodologic Quality Assessment Of the 20 randomized ...

The use of composite materials offshore has increased over the last years. Long term performance of a component is an important consideration for users and authorities when evaluating a composite solution. Long term data of composites are widely available for many material combinations. Data in sea water environment are more difficult to find. However, most of the available long-term data is re...

The main objective of this study was to examine the role of neural activity in the development of cell layers in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN). We studied this relationship in postnatal tree shrews either by completely blocking retinal ganglion cell activity with TTX or by selectively blocking activity to the developing ON-center LGN layers (1 and 2) with 2-amino-4-phosphonobutyri...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE An ESI for managing LBP is one of the most commonly performed interventions. The purpose of this observational study was to assess the effect of a therapeutic trial of a fluoroscopic interlaminar ESI for axial LBP and to analyze the outcome predictors. MATERIALS AND METHODS All patients who received an interlaminar ESI for axial LBP at our facility in 2007 and 2008 were...

CONTEXT Lumbar central spinal stenosis is common and often results in chronic persistent pain and disability, which can lead to multiple interventions. After the failure of conservative treatment, either surgical or nonsurgical modalities such as epidural injections are contemplated in the management of lumbar spinal stenosis. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION Recent randomized trials, systematic reviews ...

Study Design Prospective clinical study. Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of interlaminar fusion and short segment pedicle screw fixation on thoracolumbar vertebral injuries for preventing pain and post-traumatic kyphosis. Overview of Literature The treatment of thoracolumbar injuries continues to be one of the most controversial areas in spine care. The main aim...

It is thirty-seven years since Mixter and Barr (1934) presented their classical paper on the surgical treatment of ruptured intervertebral discs. In 1941 they published the short-term results in ninety-four patients with lumbar lesions. They showed that fusion of the spine at the time of laminectomy lowered the incidence of subsequent back symptoms and concluded that laminectomy weakened the ba...

BACKGROUND Spondylolisthesis is the major cause of refractory low back pain. There are many studies of the surgical treatment of spondylolisthesis, but few of conservative treatments. There is also no optimal conservative treatment protocol, however, low back pain caused by low-grade spondylolisthesis is controlled with non-surgical pain management. Acupuncture has become a useful method for tr...