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In the present study, we introduce a thermoplastic composite, hybridly laminated with continuous and discontinuous fiber-reinforced layers. The hybridization intends to mutually compensate poor mechanical performance of the discontinuous reinforcement and limiting shape complexity due to the continuity. The mechanical performance of the hybrid composite is the main concern of the present study. Especially, the impact response of the hybridly laminated composite plates with various stacking sequences is studied through drop-weight impact tests. It is obviously found that a panel stacked with only the continuous fiber-reinforced layers exhibits the strongest impact performance. The present study also shows that, although half of the stiff layers at the impact side are replaced with relatively ductile discontinuous fiber-reinforced layers, almost the same impact performance can be achieved. The energy absorption capability of the discontinuous fiber-reinforced layer is again observed when the ductile layer is situated between the two brittle layers; the in-between ductility due to the discontinuous reinforcement effectively delays successive brittle failure of the continuous fiber-reinforced layers. However, the alternate stack weakens the impact performance. Overall, the impact resistance is increased with the number of the continuous fiber-reinforced layers.

The aim of this study was to report the effect of acupotomy treatment for patient with headache. One patient with headache was treated with acupotomy. The patient reported that the headache had been relived significantly. Acupotomy treatment is effective on headache.

Objective Shoulder pain is a common complaint in outpatient clinics and can result in an inability to work or perform household activities, leading to significant socioeconomic burden. Acupotomy, as one kind acupuncture that has flat knife-shaped tip, has been widely used for treating shoulder pain. However, despite the widespread use of acupotomy in primary medical institutions, large sample size clinical trials have not sufficiently been performed. In this respect, this multi-center retrospective study aimed to investigate the effectiveness and safety of acupotomy in reducing shoulder pain and disability using data from multi-center primary care clinics. Methods This study was conducted in 25 Korean medicine clinics affiliated with the Korean Medical Society of Acupotomology, Republic of Korea, from August 2021 to December 2021. The medical records of patients who visited the clinics complaining of shoulder pain were gathered, and among them were those of patients who underwent acupotomy treatment and those who received acupuncture combined therapy. The Numeric Rating Scale (NRS), SPADI (Shoulder Pain and Disability Index), Range of Motion (ROM) and adverse event were evaluated at each visit. A linear mixed-effects models and paired t -test were used to identify the effectiveness of the treatment. Results Overall analysis showed that the NRS score of patients decreased from 4.95 ± 1.97 before treatment to 3.78 ± 2.03 after treatment (n = 332, difference in NRS score, 1.17; 95% CI: 0.96–1.38, t = 10.89 p < 0.001). SPADI score decreased from 19.05 ± 20.44 at baseline before treatment to 12.12 ± 17.26 after the last visit, which was statistically significant (n = 332, mean difference in SPADI score, 6.93; 95% CI: 4.71–9.15, t = 6.150, p < 0.001). No serious adverse event was reported in both groups. Conclusion This study showed the effectiveness of acupotomy therapy for shoulder pain, and as the treatment sessions increased, the effect of pain reduction and shoulder function improvement were also increased.

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