Summary of Background Data. As the population ages, the incidence of degenerative spine conditions increases. More patients are being diagnosed with and treated for spinal deformities, including scoliosis.

Methods. We examined dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry lumbar spine images of 3185 individuals >= 40 years old (average, 60.8 years; range, 40-97 years), obtained July 2002 to

June 2005, to determine the presence of scoliosis (i.e., a curvature of >= 11.0 degrees) by digitally selleck compound measuring Cobb angles. Patients with a history of previous lumbar spinal surgery were excluded, leaving 2973 individuals for final evaluation. We used SAS system software, version 9.1 (SAS Institute, Inc., Cary, NC) to investigate the relationship between the prevalence of scoliosis BAY 63-2521 solubility dmso and the variables of age, race, and gender, we then examined for any effect that these variables had on curve severity.

Results. We identified scoliosis (i.e., a Cobb angle of >= 11 degrees) in 263 of 2973 patients. Age was associated with an increased prevalence of scoliosis, e.g., 40 to 50 years old, 3.14%; >= 90 years old, 50%. Prevalence rates differed among races (e.g., 11.1% for whites and 6.5% for African Americans) but were similar for men and women. Most patients had mild curves (80.6%), there was no difference in the

distribution of curve severity by gender or age, and African Americans were more likely to have mild curves (94.3%) than were other races.

Conclusion. The prevalence of scoliosis in our patients >= 40 years old was 8.85% and was associated with age and race,

but not with gender. Most curves in our population were mild; curve severity was associated with race but not with age or gender.”
“A novel 8-Bromo-cAMP mw toughening modifier, styrene-isoprene-butadiene rubber (SIBR), was used to improve the impact resistance and toughness of acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) resin via bulk polymerization. For comparison, two kinds of ABS samples were prepared: ABS-1 was toughened by a conventional modifier (a low-cis polybutadiene rubber/styrene-butadiene block copolymer), and ABS-2 was toughened by SIBR. The mechanical properties, microstructures of the as-prepared materials, and fracture surface morphology of the specimens after impact were studied by instrumented notched Izod impact tests and tensile tests, transmission electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The mechanical test results show that ABS-2 had a much higher impact strength and elongation at break than ABS-1. The microscopic results suggested that fracture resistance of ABS-1 only depended on voids, shear yielding, and few crazing, which resulted in less ductile fracture behavior.