In the present study, swine thighbone samples with different water contents were prepared through process of dehydration. The influence of water content on the biotribological behavior of the bone tissue was studied with nanoindentation test, reciprocating sliding test and impact wear test. It is shown that the water contents had significant influence on the mechanical properties and biotribological behavior of the swine thighbone samples. In this experiment condition, with decreasing water content, the hardness and elastic modulus of the swine thighbone samples increased, while the tribological properties significantly decreased. The viscoelasticity of bone tissue decreased with decreasing water content, which mainly resulted in different wear mechanisms of the bone tissue samples under applied loading.
ObjectiveTo evaluate the inflammatory markers in patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) or non-inflammatory diseases undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) and to ascertain the variation trend of perioperative inflammatory markers and the influence of inflammation markers after THA. MethodsBetween January 2013 and December 2014, 153 consecutive patients with AS were included. According to the range of motion (ROM), the patients were divided into ankylosis group (ROM: 0°; group A, n=92) and stiff group (ROM: 3-46°; group B, n=61); 120 noninflammatory diseases patients having no bacterial infection and undergoing primary THA served as non-inflammatory group (group C). The inflammatory markers including C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) concentrations were measured before operation and at 1, 3, 5, and 7 days after operation, and the complication was observed. ResultsPerioperative serum CRP, IL-6, and ESR increased at first after operation, and then decreased in 3 groups. There were significant differences in CRP and ESR between at pre- and post-operation (P<0.05); the IL-6 at 1, 3, and 5 days after operation were significantly higher than that at preoperation (P<0.05), but no significant difference was found between at 7 days and at preoperation (P>0.05). CRP, IL-6, and ESR of group B were significantly higher than those of group A at preoperation (P<0.05); CRP and IL-6 of groups A and B were significantly higher than those of group C at preoperation and at 1 day after operation (P<0.05); ESR of groups A and B was significantly higher than that of group C at preoperation, and at 1 day and 3 days after operation (P<0.05); and no significant difference was shown among 3 groups at the other time points (P>0.05). No inflammatory activity or increased complication was observed. ConclusionAS and non-inflammatory diseases show similar change trend of inflammatory markers at preand post-operation. The inflammatory activity of AS has no significant effect on the changes of inflammation markers and does not increase the incidence of postoperative complications.
Neurofeedback, as an alternative treatment method of behavioral medicine, is a technique which translates the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals to styles as sounds or animation to help people understand their own physical status and learn to enhance or suppress certain EEG signals to regulate their own brain functions after several repeated trainings. This paper develops a neurofeedback system on the foundation of brain-computer interface technique. The EEG features are extracted through real-time signal process and then translated to feedback information. Two feedback screens are designed for relaxation training and attention training individually. The veracity and feasibility of the neurofeedback system are validated through system simulation and preliminary experiment.