PurposeThis study was conducted to evaluate the results of internal fixation for stable femoral neck fractures occurring in patients over 65 years old.Materials and MethodsBetween 2008 and 2014, we evaluated 25 patients over 65 years old with Garden type 1 and 2 femoral neck fractures that were treated with internal fixation after a minimum follow up of 1 year. There were 5 males and 20 females and the average age was 72.3 years (range, 65-84 years) at the time of surgery. Fracture site union, horizontal shortening and complications were evaluated as radiographic parameters and change of walking ability (as measured using Koval walking ability score) was investigated as a clinical parameter.ResultsUnion of fracture site was achieved in 24 out of the 25 cases (96.0%). The average length of horizontal shortening was 6.5 mm (range, 0.2-19.7 mm). At final follow up, 3 cases experienced complications: nonunion (n=1), avascular necrosis (n=1), and subtrochanteric fracture after minor trauma (n=1). Walking ability decreased an average of 1 step at the final follow up.ConclusionInternal fixation for stable femoral neck fractures occurring in patients over 65 years showed satisfactory union rates. However, care should be taken with this technique given the possibility of decreased walking ability resulting from horizontal shortening.

Recently, in an attempt to overcome the defects of quiescent power shutdown system, smart quiescent power control system has been developed. However, due to its higher investment costs, feasibility evaluation must be conducted. While LCCA (Life Cycle Cost Analysis) model is useful to estimate net savings of alternatives that differ with respect to initial costs and operating costs, the environmental burdens are not considered. On the contrary, LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) model is suitable to assess environmental impacts associated with the stages of a product's life but it does not consider costs. In this study, a comprehensive analysis on the economic and environmental impacts of smart quiescent power control system is conducted by using LCCA and LCA model. In addition, sensitivity analysis is carried out to quantify accuracy of estimates.

The paper presents the development of a cooling circuit design system that automatically creates 3D cooling circuit on a given section plane conforming to design specifications, generates 3D solid model of cooling line segments defined on a 2D sketch plane, and verifies interference of 3D cooling channel with the molding die surface. The system was developed mainly for designing plastic injection molding die of vehicular lamp, which helps the mold designer to rapidly construct cooling circuits but also reduce designer's unintended mistakes by conforming to the dimensional design specifications. It is used by an injection molding die manufacturing company in Korea, and reported approximately 20% reduction of cooling channel design time.