Efficient Repair Method Research Articles

Preparation and Characterization of Polylactic Acid/Nano Hydroxyapatite/Nano Hydroxyapatite/Human Acellular Amniotic Membrane (PLA/nHAp/HAAM) Hybrid Scaffold for Bone Tissue Defect Repair

Bone tissue engineering is a novel and efficient repair method for bone tissue defects, and the key step of the bone tissue engineering repair strategy is to prepare non-toxic, metabolizable, biocompatible, bone-induced tissue engineering scaffolds of suitable mechanical strength. Human acellular amniotic membrane (HAAM) is mainly composed of collagen and mucopolysaccharide; it has a natural three-dimensional structure and no immunogenicity. In this study, a polylactic acid (PLA)/Hydroxyapatite (nHAp)/Human acellular amniotic membrane (HAAM) composite scaffold was prepared and the porosity, water absorption and elastic modulus of the composite scaffold were characterized. After that, the cell-scaffold composite was constructed using newborn Sprague Dawley (SD) rat osteoblasts to characterize the biological properties of the composite. In conclusion, the scaffolds have a composite structure of large and small holes with a large pore diameter of 200 μm and a small pore diameter of 30 μm. After adding HAAM, the contact angle of the composite decreases to 38.7°, and the water absorption reaches 249.7%. The addition of nHAp can improve the scaffold's mechanical strength. The degradation rate of the PLA+nHAp+HAAM group was the highest, reaching 39.48% after 12 weeks. Fluorescence staining showed that the cells were evenly distributed and had good activity on the composite scaffold; the PLA+nHAp+HAAM scaffold has the highest cell viability. The adhesion rate to HAAM was the highest, and the addition of nHAp and HAAM could promote the rapid adhesion of cells to scaffolds. The addition of HAAM and nHAp can significantly promote the secretion of ALP. Therefore, the PLA/nHAp/HAAM composite scaffold can support the adhesion, proliferation and differentiation of osteoblasts in vitro which provide sufficient space for cell proliferation, and is suitable for the formation and development of solid bone tissue.

Dural tear repair surgery comparative analysis: a stitch in time saves nine

PurposeA dural tear is a common iatrogenic complication of spinal surgery associated with a several post-operative adverse events. Despite their common occurrence, guidelines on how best to repair the defect remain unclear. This study uses five post-operative outcomes to the compare repair methods used to treat 106 dural tears to determine which method is clinically favourable.MethodsData were retrospectively collected from Southampton General Hospital’s online databases. 106 tears were identified and grouped per repair method. MANOVA was used to compare the following five outcomes: Length of stay, numbers of further admissions or revision surgeries, length of additional admissions, post-operative infection rate and dural tear associated neurological symptoms. Sub-analysis was conducted on patient demographics, primary vs non-primary closure and type of patch. Minimal clinically important difference (MCID) was calculated via the Delphi procedure.ResultsAge had a significant impact on patient outcomes and BMI displayed positive correlation with three-fifth of the predefined outcome measures. No significant difference was observed between repair groups; however, primary closure ± a patch achieved an MCID percentage improvement with regards to length of original stay, rate of additional admissions/surgeries and post-operative infection rate. Artificial over autologous patches resulted in shorter hospital stays, fewer readmissions, infections and neurological symptoms.ConclusionThis study reports primary closure ± dural patch as the most efficient repair method with regards to the five reported outcomes. This study provides limited evidence in favour of artificial over autologous patches and recommends that dural patches be used in conjunction with primary closure.Level of evidence IDiagnostic: individual cross-sectional studies with consistently applied reference standard and blinding.

Mesenchymal stem cells for enhancing biological healing after meniscal injuries.

The meniscus is a semilunar fibrocartilage structure that plays important roles in maintaining normal knee biomechanics and function. The roles of the meniscus, including load distribution, force transmission, shock absorption, joint stability, lubrication, and proprioception, have been well established. Injury to the meniscus can disrupt overall joint stability and cause various symptoms including pain, swelling, giving-way, and locking. Unless treated properly, it can lead to early degeneration of the knee joint. Because meniscal injuries remain a significant challenge due to its low intrinsic healing potential, most notably in avascular and aneural inner two-thirds of the area, more efficient repair methods are needed. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been investigated for their therapeutic potential in vitro and in vivo. Thus far, the application of MSCs, including bone marrow-derived, synovium-derived, and adipose-derived MSCs, has shown promising results in preclinical studies in different animal models. These preclinical studies could be categorized into intra-articular injection and tissue-engineered construct application according to delivery method. Despite promising results in preclinical studies, there is still a lack of clinical evidence. This review describes the basic knowledge, current treatment, and recent studies regarding the application of MSCs in treating meniscal injuries. Future directions for MSC-based approaches to enhance meniscal healing are suggested.

Study on Microstructure and Numerical Simulation of Tailored Hot Stamping Tools Refabricated by Surfacing Co-Based Alloy

Heated tailored hot stamping tool would suffer serious wear at high temperature after a period of use. An economical and efficient repair method is proposed to refabricate the failed tool. In this study, the physical properties and microstructure of the refabricated tool were revealed. 5CrNiMo substrate and Co-based surfacing layer could form excellent metallurgical bonding. Co-based surfacing layer exhibited higher hardness and high-temperature strength. Temperature field and stress field of 5CrNiMo homogenous tool and 5CrNiMo+Co-based tool for heated tailored tool were simulated, the results showed that the highest temperature and maximum stress always occurred at the time of t = 3s or t = 4s. The refabricated tool could better satisfy the high-temperature strength requirement than homogenous 5CrNiMo. At last, the feasibility of surfacing Co-based alloy on 5CrNiMo tool was verified, and B-pillar also was produced successfully by the refabricated tool.

Polymer Flexible Joint as a Repair Method of Concrete Elements: Flexural Testing and Numerical Analysis

Polymer Flexible Joint (PFJ) is a method for repairs of concrete elements, which enables carrying loads and large deformations effectively. This article presents the possibility of applying PFJ on beams subjected to bending and describes the influence of such joints on concrete elements. An experimental investigation was conducted to determine the behavior of concrete in a four-point bending test. The research program included flexural tests of plain concrete elements with a notch, as well as tests of elements which were repaired with PFJ after failure. Based on the experimental results, the numerical characteristics of analyzed polymer and concrete were calibrated. A nonlinear numerical model is developed, which describes the behavior of concrete elements and polymer in the experiments. The model is used to numerically analyze deformations and stresses under increasing load. The influence of flexible joint on concrete elements is described and behavior of elements repaired with PFJ is compared to original elements. Particular attention was paid to the stress redistribution in concrete. The application of flexible joint positively influences load capacity of the connected concrete elements. Furthermore, because of stress redistribution, connected elements can bear larger deformations than original ones. PFJ can therefore be considered an efficient repair method for connecting concrete elements.

Dynamic Repair and Robust Optimization of Complex Networks

Network repair is indispensable for maintaining network security. Conventional static repair is relatively inefficient. In this study, by considering the energy transfer between nodes, a dynamic repair model was established. The fundamental reason for the secondary failure of repaired nodes during the dynamic repair process is the coupling structure of failure networks. A dynamic repair strategy was proposed that can effectively prevent the secondary failure of repair nodes influenced by energy during repair and can cause the redundant capacity of repair nodes to be used reasonably. By turning off the energy transfer function of the link to control the excessive flow of energy into the repair node to avoid the occurrence of secondary failure; on the other hand, by sharing part of the load of the failure node, realize the rational use of the redundant capacity of the repair node to reduce the impact of the failure node on the overall function of the network. The proposed strategy mitigated the effect of failure nodes on network functions and substantially improved the recovery efficiency of network functions. Furthermore, redundant edges, behaving as energy redundant links in a network structure, can considerably improve the robustness of the network by optimizing the removal of redundant edges. Dynamic repair is not only an efficient repair method but also a highly flexible choice for network repair.

Properties and efficient scrap-and-build repairing of mechanically sheared 3\u2019 DNA ends

Repairing of DNA termini is a crucial step in a variety of DNA handling techniques. In this study, we investigated mechanically-sheared DNA 3’-ends (MSD3Es) to establish an efficient repair method. As opposed to the canonical view of DNA terminus generated by sonication, we showed that approximately 47% and 20% of MSD3Es carried a phosphate group and a hydroxyl group, respectively. The others had unidentified abnormal terminal structures. Notably, a fraction of the abnormal 3’ termini (about 20% of the total) was not repaired after the removal of 3’ phosphates and T4 DNA polymerase (T4DP) treatment. To overcome this limitation, we devised a reaction, in which the 3’− > 5’ exonuclease activity of exonuclease III (3’− > 5’ exonuclease, insensitive to the 3’ phosphate group) was counterbalanced by the 5’− > 3’ polymerase activity of T4DP. This combined reaction, termed “SB-repairing” (for scrap-and-build repairing), will serve as a useful tool for the efficient repair of MSD3Es.

Fatigue performance of PVA fibre reinforced cementitious composite overlays

ABSTRACT Pavement maintenance and rehabilitation is as much important as the construction work itself. In this scope, applying the correct and efficient repair method is highly critical for economic and technical reasons. Depending on the damage level, many alternative repair methods exist. Using an overlay is one common method, where a new layer can be directly applied over or replace the top part of an existing pavement. This overlay can be made from asphalt or concrete as well. With the advances in the concrete technology, the long service life of concrete pavements compared to asphalt let this overlay gains importance recently. Yet, the rigid nature of concrete requires a high thickness for an overlay. In this work, Engineered Cementitious Composite (ECC) type of concrete was suggested to be used as an overlay considering its ability, with a less thickness, to reduce the reflection of the cracks from the old pavement. To testify this property, the performance of two ECC mixtures as a concrete pavement overlay was investigated under fatigue loading. Using Weibull distribution, the failure probability of these mixtures was determined, and it was shown that the mineral admixture type utilized significantly affects the fatigue performance of ECC.

Minimizing crack energy release rate by topology optimization

Fatigue cracked primary aircraft structural parts that cannot be replaced need to be repaired by other means. A structurally efficient repair method is to use adhesively bonded patches as reinforcements. This paper considers optimal design of such patches by minimizing the crack extension energy release rate. A new topology optimization method using this objective is developed as an extension of the standard SIMP compliance optimization method. The method is applied to a cracked test specimen that resembles what could be found in a real fuselage and the results show that an optimized adhesively bonded repair patch effectively reduces the crack energy release rate.

Bonded patch repairs for metallic structures – A new recommended practice

Bonded patch repairs are an efficient repair method for corroded or cracked metal structures, if welding is inconvenient. Avoiding the fire hazard of welding is a major reason for using patch repairs, but it can also be reduced distortions of the metal parts, protecting heat sensitive materials or equipment near the repair such as cables and so on. The lack of guidelines for performing such repairs has been a major hindrance for using this technology. A new recommended practice ‘Design, Fabrication, Operation and Qualification of Bonded Repair of Steel Structures’ has been published addressing: when a repair can be applied, which failure mechanisms need to be addressed, which material properties are needed, fabrication-related issues and in-service inspection. This paper will give a brief introduction to the document and its application areas.

Numerical evaluation of three-dimensional scarf repairs in carbon-epoxy structures

The widespread employment of carbon-epoxy laminates in high responsibility and severely loaded applications introduces an issue regarding their handling after damage. Repair of these structures should be evaluated, instead of their disposal, for cost saving and ecological purposes. Under this perspective, the availability of efficient repair methods is essential to restore the strength of the structure. The development and validation of accurate predictive tools for the repairs behaviour are also extremely important, allowing the reduction of costs and time associated to extensive test programmes. Comparing with strap repairs, scarf repairs have the advantages of a higher efficiency and the absence of aerodynamic disturbance. This work reports on a numerical study of the tensile behaviour of three-dimensional scarf repairs in carbon-epoxy structures, using a ductile adhesive (Araldite ® 2015). The finite elements analysis was performed in ABAQUS ® and Cohesive Zone Modelling was used for the simulation of damage onset and growth in the adhesive layer. Trapezoidal cohesive laws in each pure mode were used to account for the ductility of the specific adhesive mentioned. A parametric study was performed on the repair width and scarf angle. The use of over-laminating plies covering the repaired region at the outer or both repair surfaces was also tested as an attempt to increase the repairs efficiency. The obtained results allowed the proposal of design principles for repairing composite structures.