Abstract INTRODUCTION Anopheles stephensi is the main malaria vector in Southeast Asia. Recently, plant-sourced larvicides are attracting great interests. METHODS: The essential oil was extracted from the leaf of Cinnamomum camphora (L.), and a bioassay was conducted to determine the larvicidal efficacy. The chemical composition of the essential oil was determined by GC-MS analysis. RESULTS: The oil showed strong, dose-dependent larvicidal activities. The onset of larvicidal efficiency was rapid. The LC50 and LC95 were determined as 0.146% and 1.057% at 1 h, 0.031% and 0.237% at 12 h, 0.026% and 0.128% at 24 h, respectively. The oil contains 32 compounds. CONCLUSIONS The essential oil of C. camphora leaf has an excellent larvicidal potential for the control of A. stephensi.

OBJECTIVES: Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) affect the elderly population, especially postmenopausal women. Percutaneous kyphoplasty is designed to treat painful vertebral compression fractures for which conservative therapy has been unsuccessful. High-viscosity cement can be injected by either a hydraulic pressure delivery system (HPDS) or a balloon tamp system (BTS). Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare the safety and clinical outcomes of these two systems. METHODS: A random, multicenter, prospective study was performed. Clinical and radiological assessments were carried out, including assessments of general surgery information, visual analog scale, quality of life, cement leakage, and height and angle restoration. RESULTS: Using either the HPDS or BTS to inject high-viscosity cement effectively relieved pain and improved the patients’ quality of life immediately, and these effects lasted at least two years. The HPDS using high-viscosity cement reduced cost, surgery time, and radiation exposure and showed similar clinical results to those of the BTS. In addition, the leakage rate and the incidence of adjacent vertebral fractures after the HPDS treatment were reduced compared with those after treatment using the classic vertebroplasty devices. However, the BTS had better height and angle restoration abilities. CONCLUSIONS: The percutaneous HPDS with high-viscosity cement has similar clinical outcomes to those of traditional procedures in the treatment of vertebral fractures in the elderly. The HPDS with high-viscosity cement is better than the BTS in the treatment of mild and moderate OVCFs and could be an alternative method for the treatment of severe OVCFs.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the range of motion and stability of the human cadaveric cervical spine after the implantation of a novel artificial disc and vertebra system by comparing an intact group and a fusion group. METHODS: Biomechanical tests were conducted on 18 human cadaveric cervical specimens. The range of motion and the stability index range of motion were measured to study the function and stability of the artificial disc and vertebra system of the intact group compared with the fusion group. RESULTS: In all cases, the artificial disc and vertebra system maintained intervertebral motion and reestablished vertebral height at the operative level. After its implantation, there was no significant difference in the range of motion (ROM) of C3-7 in all directions in the non-fusion group compared with the intact group (p>0.05), but significant differences were detected in flexion, extension and axial rotation compared with the fusion group (p<0.05). The ROM of adjacent segments (C3-4, C6-7) of the non-fusion group decreased significantly in some directions compared with the fusion group (p<0.05). Significant differences in the C4-6 ROM in some directions were detected between the non-fusion group and the intact group. In the fusion group, the C4-6 ROM in all directions decreased significantly compared with the intact and non-fusion groups (p<0.01). The stability index ROM (SI-ROM) of some directions was negative in the non-fusion group, and a significant difference in SI-ROM was only found in the C4-6 segment of the non-fusion group compared with the fusion group. CONCLUSION: An artificial disc and vertebra system could restore vertebral height and preserve the dynamic function of the surgical area and could theoretically reduce the risk of adjacent segment degeneration compared with the anterior fusion procedure. However, our results should be considered with caution because of the low power of the study. The use of a larger sample should be considered in future studies.