Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and plain X-ray and CT studies were performed in patients with a history of lumbar back pain due to spinal disc disease. Spin-echo pulse sequences (SE), phase-contrast techniques (partial saturation sequences with delayed readout, PS), and fat-suppressing inversion recovery sequences (STIR) were employed. In 74 of 325 patients, PS and STIR images displayed verte...

The objective of this study was to develop a numerical model for the prediction of temperature distribution, effective plastic strain distribution, and especially material flow in friction stir welding of copper plates. The DEFORM-3D software was used by incorporating a lagrangian incremental formulation. Threedimensional results of the material flow pattern which were extracted using the point...

PURPOSE To determine the value of the 2D multiple-echo data image combination (MEDIC) sequence relative to the short-tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequence regarding the depiction of chondral lesions in the patellofemoral joint. MATERIALS AND METHODS During a period of 6 month patients with acute pain at the anterior aspect of the knee, joint effusion and suspected chondral lesion defect in t...

In order to monitor dynamic physiological events in near-real time, a variety of photoacoustic computed tomography (PACT) systems have been developed that can rapidly acquire data. Previously reported studies of dynamic PACT have employed conventional static methods to reconstruct a temporally ordered sequence of images on a frame-by-frame basis. Frame-by-frame image reconstruction (FBFIR) meth...

Hot-rolled AZ31 (Mg-2.57Al-0.84Zn-0.32Mn, in mass percentage) magnesium alloy is subjected to friction stir processing in air (normal friction stir processing, NFSP) and under water (submerged friction stir processing, SFSP). Thermal history of the two FSP procedures is measured, and its effect on microstructures and mechanical properties of the experimental materials is investigated. Compared ...

BACKGROUND Rhizoma Chuanxiong (RC; Chuanxiong), which is the dried rhizome of Ligusticum chuanxiong (Umbelliferae), is commonly used in Chinese medicine (CM) for improving blood circulation and dispersing blood stasis. RC is usually processed before use in clinical practice to enhance its therapeutic efficacy. This study aimed to investigate the temporal variations of the major constituents of ...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Lumbar pedicle marrow hyperintense signal on T2- and STIR-weighted images is not an uncommon finding. We hypothesize that these marrow signal intensity changes and their behavior within the pedicle are associated with clinical symptoms and that their improvement or resolution correlates with clinical improvement. We investigated the prevalence of these pedicle marrow chan...

The effect of the microstructure heterogeneity on the tensile plastic deformation characteristic of friction-stir-welded (FSW) dual-phase (DP) steel was investigated for the potential applications on the lightweight design of vehicles. Friction-stir-welded specimens with a butt joint configuration were prepared, and quasi-static tensile tests were conducted, to evaluate the tensile properties o...

BACKGROUND Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly used to detect inflammation in the spine of patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS). OBJECTIVES To detect differentially the presence and extent of inflammation in the three spinal segments of patients with AS by MRI. METHODS In 38 patients with active AS, acute spinal lesions were assessed by T(1) weighted, gadolinium enhanced, ...

In this investigation, special consideration was given to observe the influence of the acquired ultra-fine-grain (UFG) structure through friction stir processing (FSP) on mechanical and damping properties. As the mechanical behaviour of the composites are intensely related to their microstructure. For deeply understanding the possible mechanism and detailed microstructural observations at a lon...