Impact of time to revision total knee arthroplasty on outcomes following aseptic failure.

INTRODUCTION: Prior studies have demonstrated an association between time to revision total knee arthroplasty (rTKA) and indication; however, the impact of early versus late revision on post-operative outcomes has not been reported. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective, observational study examined patients who underwent unilateral, aseptic rTKA at an academic orthopedic hospital between 6/2011 and 4/2020 with > 1-year of follow-up. Patients were early revisions if they were revised within 2 years of primary TKA (pTKA) or late revisions if revised after greater than 2 years. Patient demographics, surgical factors, and post-operative outcomes were compared. RESULTS: 470 rTKA were included (199 early, 271 late). Early rTKA patients were younger by 2.5 years (p = 0.002). The predominant indications for early rTKA were instability (28.6%) and arthrofibrosis/stiffness (26.6%), and the predominant indications for late rTKA were aseptic loosening (45.8%) and instability (26.2%; p < 0.001). Late rTKA had longer operative times (119.20 ± 51.94 vs. 103.93 ± 44.66 min; p < 0.001). There were no differences in rTKA type, disposition, hospital length of stay, all-cause 90-day emergency department visits and readmissions, reoperations, and number of re-revisions. CONCLUSIONS: Aseptic rTKA performed before 2 years had different indications but demonstrated similar outcomes to those performed later. Early revisions had shorter surgical times, which could be attributed to differences in rTKA indication. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III, retrospective observational analysis.

An In-situ and Direct Confirmation of Super-Planckian Thermal Radiation Emitted From a Metallic Photonic-Crystal at Optical Wavelengths.

Planck's law predicts the distribution of radiation energy, color and intensity, emitted from a hot object at thermal equilibrium. The Law also sets the upper limit of radiation intensity, the blackbody limit. Recent experiments reveal that micro-structured tungsten can exhibit significant deviation from the blackbody spectrum. However, whether thermal radiation with weak non-equilibrium pumping can exceed the blackbody limit in the far field remains un-answered experimentally. Here, we compare thermal radiation from a micro-cavity/tungsten photonic crystal (W-PC) and a blackbody, which are both measured from the same sample and also in-situ. We show that thermal radiation can exceed the blackbody limit by >8 times at λ = 1.7 µm resonant wavelength in the far-field. Our observation is consistent with a recent calculation by Wang and John performed for a 2D W-PC filament. This finding is attributed to non-equilibrium excitation of localized surface plasmon resonances coupled to nonlinear oscillators and the propagation of the electromagnetic waves through non-linear Bloch waves of the W-PC structure. This discovery could help create super-intense narrow band thermal light sources and even an infrared emitter with a laser-like input-output characteristic.

In situ healing of dendrites in a potassium metal battery.

The use of potassium (K) metal anodes could result in high-performance K-ion batteries that offer a sustainable and low-cost alternative to lithium (Li)-ion technology. However, formation of dendrites on such K-metal surfaces is inevitable, which prevents their utilization. Here, we report that K dendrites can be healed in situ in a K-metal battery. The healing is triggered by current-controlled, self-heating at the electrolyte/dendrite interface, which causes migration of surface atoms away from the dendrite tips, thereby smoothening the dendritic surface. We discover that this process is strikingly more efficient for K as compared to Li metal. We show that the reason for this is the far greater mobility of surface atoms in K relative to Li metal, which enables dendrite healing to take place at an order-of-magnitude lower current density. We demonstrate that the K-metal anode can be coupled with a potassium cobalt oxide cathode to achieve dendrite healing in a practical full-cell device.

Evaluation of Cleaning Efficacy of S-One and WaveOne File Systems Using Scanning Electron Microscopy Analysis: An In Vitro Study.

AIM: The aim of this study is to compare the canal cleaning ability of S-One file (AF BLUE) system with WaveOne Gold single file system, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In the present study, 40 freshly extracted permanent mandibular premolars with a single-root canal and straight roots were selected. The teeth were randomly divided into three groups. The canals were prepared by crown-down technique. Buccolingual sectioning of the samples were done followed by SEM evaluation. Data were statistically analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test. The statistical significance level was set at p value <0.05. RESULTS: The analysis of the results demonstrated that WaveOne presented higher cleaning capacity of root canals with a statistically significant difference, when compared to S-One file system (p value < 0.05). Both the file systems showed significant cleaning efficacy in the coronal and middle-thirds of the root canals when compared to the apical thirds. Also, the WaveOne showed better results than S-One (AF BLUE), and the results were statistically significant. CONCLUSION: With the limitation of the study, the cleaning ability of rotary file system is high in coronal and middle-third followed by apical third. In this study, the WaveOne showed better results than S-One (AF BLUE), and the results were statistically significant. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The aggressive cutting of dentin during canal preparation is less in WaveOne file than S-One file system. The cleaning efficiency is good in reciprocating file system (WaveOne) than continuous rotary file system (S-One).

The Role of Wettability on the Response of a Quartz Crystal Microbalance Loaded with a Sessile Droplet.

In this work, the interaction between a sessile droplet's contact angle and a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is elucidated. We differentiate the QCM's frequency response to changes in the droplet contact area from variations in the dynamic contact angle. This is done by developing a computational model that couples the electrical and mechanical analysis of the quartz substrate with the visco-acoustic behavior of the sessile droplet. From our analysis, we conclude that changes in the contact angle have an effect on the frequency response of the QCM when the droplet height is on the order of the viscous decay length or smaller. On the other hand, changes in the interfacial contact area of the sessile droplets have a significant impact on the frequency response of the QCM regardless of the droplet size.

Self-heating-induced healing of lithium dendrites.

Lithium (Li) metal electrodes are not deployable in rechargeable batteries because electrochemical plating and stripping invariably leads to growth of dendrites that reduce coulombic efficiency and eventually short the battery. It is generally accepted that the dendrite problem is exacerbated at high current densities. Here, we report a regime for dendrite evolution in which the reverse is true. In our experiments, we found that when the plating and stripping current density is raised above ~9 milliamperes per square centimeter, there is substantial self-heating of the dendrites, which triggers extensive surface migration of Li. This surface diffusion heals the dendrites and smoothens the Li metal surface. We show that repeated doses of high-current-density healing treatment enables the safe cycling of Li-sulfur batteries with high coulombic efficiency.

Response to Comment on "Water harvesting from air with metal-organic frameworks powered by natural sunlight".

In their comment, Bui et al argue that the approach we described in our report is vastly inferior in efficiency to alternative off-the-shelf technologies. Their conclusion is invalid, as they compare efficiencies in completely different operating conditions. Here, using heat transfer and thermodynamics principles, we show how Bui et al's conclusions about the efficiencies of off-the-shelf technologies are fundamentally flawed and inaccurate for the operating conditions described in our study.

Response to Comment on "Water harvesting from air with metal-organic frameworks powered by natural sunlight".

The Comment by Meunier states that the process we described in our report cannot deliver the claimed amount of liquid water in an arid climate. This statement is not valid because the parameters presented in our study were inappropriately combined to draw misguided conclusions.

Water harvesting from air with metal-organic frameworks powered by natural sunlight.

Atmospheric water is a resource equivalent to ~10% of all fresh water in lakes on Earth. However, an efficient process for capturing and delivering water from air, especially at low humidity levels (down to 20%), has not been developed. We report the design and demonstration of a device based on a porous metal-organic framework {MOF-801, [Zr6O4(OH)4(fumarate)6]} that captures water from the atmosphere at ambient conditions by using low-grade heat from natural sunlight at a flux of less than 1 sun (1 kilowatt per square meter). This device is capable of harvesting 2.8 liters of water per kilogram of MOF daily at relative humidity levels as low as 20% and requires no additional input of energy.

Characterization of Adsorption Enthalpy of Novel Water-Stable Zeolites and Metal-Organic Frameworks.

Water adsorption is becoming increasingly important for many applications including thermal energy storage, desalination, and water harvesting. To develop such applications, it is essential to understand both adsorbent-adsorbate and adsorbate-adsorbate interactions, and also the energy required for adsorption/desorption processes of porous material-adsorbate systems, such as zeolites and metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). In this study, we present a technique to characterize the enthalpy of adsorption/desorption of zeolites and MOF-801 with water as an adsorbate by conducting desorption experiments with conventional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analyzer (TGA). With this method, the enthalpies of adsorption of previously uncharacterized adsorbents were estimated as a function of both uptake and temperature. Our characterizations indicate that the adsorption enthalpies of type I zeolites can increase to greater than twice the latent heat whereas adsorption enthalpies of MOF-801 are nearly constant for a wide range of vapor uptakes.

Modeling of Evaporation from Nanopores with Nonequilibrium and Nonlocal Effects.

Evaporation from nanopores is of fundamental interest in nature and various industrial applications. We present a theoretical framework to elucidate evaporation and transport within nanopores by incorporating nonequilibrium effects due to the deviation from classical kinetic theory. Additionally, we include the nonlocal effects arising from phase change in nanoporous geometries and the self-regulation of the shape and position of the liquid-vapor interface in response to different operating conditions. We then study the effects of different working parameters to determine conditions suitable for maximizing evaporation from nanopores.

Zeolite Y Adsorbents with High Vapor Uptake Capacity and Robust Cycling Stability for Potential Applications in Advanced Adsorption Heat Pumps.

Modular and compact adsorption heat pumps (AHPs) promise an energy-efficient alternative to conventional vapor compression based heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems. A key element in the advancement of AHPs is the development of adsorbents with high uptake capacity, fast intracrystalline diffusivity and durable hydrothermal stability. Herein, the ion exchange of NaY zeolites with ingoing Mg2+ ions is systematically studied to maximize the ion exchange degree (IED) for improved sorption performance. It is found that beyond an ion exchange threshold of 64.1%, deeper ion exchange does not benefit water uptake capacity or characteristic adsorption energy, but does enhance the vapor diffusivity. In addition to using water as an adsorbate, the uptake properties of Mg,Na-Y zeolites were investigated using 20 wt.% MeOH aqueous solution as a novel anti-freeze adsorbate, revealing that the MeOH additive has an insignificant influence on the overall sorption performance. We also demonstrated that the labscale synthetic scalability is robust, and that the tailored zeolites scarcely suffer from hydrothermal stability even after successive 108-fold adsorption/desorption cycles. The samples were analyzed using N2 sorption, 27Al/29Si MAS NMR spectroscopy, ICP-AES, dynamic vapor sorption, SEM, Fick's 2nd law and D-R equation regressions. Among these, close examination of sorption isotherms for H2O and N2 adsorbates allows us to decouple and extract some insightful information underlying the complex water uptake phenomena. This work shows the promising performance of our modified zeolites that can be integrated into various AHP designs for buildings, electronics, and transportation applications.

Enhanced osteoblast proliferation and corrosion resistance of commercially pure titanium through surface nanostructuring by ultrasonic shot peening and stress relieving.

This investigation was carried out to study the effect of a novel process of surface modification, surface nanostructuring by ultrasonic shot peening, on osteoblast proliferation and corrosion behavior of commercially pure titanium (c p-Ti) in simulated body fluid. A mechanically polished disc of c p-Ti was subjected to ultrasonic shot peening with stainless steel balls to create nanostructure at the surface. A nanostructure (<20 nm) with inhomogeneous distribution was revealed by atomic force and scanning electron microscopy. There was an increase of approximately 10% in cell proliferation, but there was drastic fall in corrosion resistance. Corrosion rate was increased by 327% in the shot peened condition. In order to examine the role of residual stresses associated with the shot peened surface on these aspects, a part of the shot peened specimen was annealed at 400°C for 1 hour. A marked influence of annealing treatment was observed on surface structure, cell proliferation, and corrosion resistance. Surface nanostructure was much more prominent, with increased number density and sharper grain boundaries; cell proliferation was enhanced to approximately 50% and corrosion rate was reduced by 86.2% and 41% as compared with that of the shot peened and the as received conditions, respectively. The highly significant improvement in cell proliferation, resulting from annealing of the shot peened specimen, was attributed to increased volume fraction of stabilized nanostructure, stress recovery, and crystallization of the oxide film. Increase in corrosion resistance from annealing of shot peened material was related to more effective passivation. Thus, the surface of c p-Ti, modified by this novel process, possessed a unique quality of enhancing cell proliferation as well as the corrosion resistance and could be highly effective in reducing treatment time of patients adopting dental and orthopedic implants of titanium and its alloys.

Interfacial transport of evaporating water confined in nanopores.

A semianalytical, continuum analysis of evaporation of water confined in a cylindrical nanopore is presented, wherein the combined effect of electrostatic interaction and van der Waals forces is taken into account. The equations governing fluid flow and heat transfer between liquid and vapor phases are partially integrated analytically, to yield a set of ordinary differential equations, which are solved numerically to determine the flow characteristics and effect on the resulting shape and rate of evaporation from the liquid-vapor interface. The analysis identifies three important parameters that significantly affect the overall performance of the system, namely, the capillary radius, pore-wall temperature, and the degree of saturation of vapor phase. The extension of meniscus is found to be prominent for smaller nanoscale capillaries, in turn yielding a greater net rate of evaporation per unit pore area. The effects of temperature and ambient vapor pressure on net rate of evaporation are shown to be analogous. An increase in pore-wall temperature, which enhances saturation pressure, or a decrease in the ambient vapor pressure result in enhancing the net potential for evaporation and increasing the curvature of the interface.

Prolymphocytic leukaemia--report of three cases.

Prolymphocytic leukaemia is a rare subtype of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. Three such cases were reported here along with clinical details. All these cases were seen in males above 5th decade. These patients showed moderate to massive splenomegaly, inconspicuous lymphadenoapthy in two cases and one with minimal lymphadenopathy. Peripheral smear showed high leukocyte count with more than 55% of prolymphocytes. Bone marrow aspiration showed diffuse involvement and in one with minimal lymphadenopathy, lymphnode aspiration showed prolymphocytes. All the three patients died within a year after diagnosis.