Background: We analyzed the clinical and radiological parameters influencing functional outcomes and neurological recovery in patients with cervicothoracic junctional tuberculosis (TB). Methods: This was a retrospective analysis of 16 cases of cervicothoracic junction (CTJ) spinal TB; 11 patients were managed operatively, while five were managed conservatively. Patients’ outcomes were assessed at 1 month, 1 year, and yearly thereafter and included an analysis of multiple outcome scores, various radiographic parameters, and sensitivity or resistance to anti-tubercular therapy. Results: Patients averaged 25.94 years of age, and typically had three-level vertebral involvement. They were followed for a mean duration of 24 months, and the duration of anti-tubercular therapy averaged 17 months. Patients demonstrated clinical improvement on Japanese Orthopedic Association score and Neck disability index (P < 0.005) starting from 1 month following initiation of treatment which continued in subsequent follow-up, along with change in radiological parameters consisting of mean segmental kyphotic angle from 18.98° to 15.13°, C2–C7 SVA from 16.13 mm to 22.61 mm, T1 slope from 22.80° to 14.66°, thoracic inlet angle from 75.35° to 63.25°, neck tilt from 51.81° to 48.33°, and cervical lordosis from 4.66° to −0.44° (P > 0.05) at the end of 1 year. Conclusion: Tuberculous affection of the dynamic CTJ is a challenging scenario in clinical practice and its management involves consideration of disease extent, neurological status, and effort toward restoration of normal alignment of spine in sagittal and coronal plane to get favorable clinical outcomes.

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The quality of phase change material (PCM) employed determines the thermal behavior of latent heat storage systems (LHSS). In this paper, the behavioral aspects, related to the storage characteristics of PCMs, are evaluated numerically using COMSOL Multiphysics ® 4.3a software. Experiments are also conducted to validate the numerical results. Paraffin-based nanofluid seeded with 4% copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles, as phase changing material, is studied to evaluate the effect of nanoparticles addition on the storage qualities of the LHSS. It was observed that with 4% CuO nanoparticle seeding, the rate of melting and solidification get enhanced by 1.7 times and 1.8 times respectively compared to pure paraffin-filled LHSS. It was observed that with addition of 4% CuO nanoparticles, the density, viscosity and thermal conductivities is increased by about 29%, 18.3%, 55% respectively compared to base material (i.e., pure paraffin). However, the latent and sensible heats get reduced by 26% and 18.5% respectively. In addition, seeding of CuO reduces the charging time by 70% compared to the LHSS based on pure paraffin.

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<p>Detailed procedure for the synthesis of lipidated peptides.</p>