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Percutaneous vertebroplasty (VP) provides substantial benefit to patients with painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (OVCF). However, the reoccurrence of vertebral fracture after VP is a major concern. The purpose of this study is to conduct a meta-analysis on the incidence of subsequent fractures after VP in patients with OVCF. PubMed and EMBASE were searched. In addition, we scrutinized the reference list of all relevant articles to supplement the database search. We included original articles reporting on new fracture rates after VP in OVCF patients. Subsequent fracture rates were pooled across studies using a random-effects meta-analysis. Thirty-nine studies with a total of 8047 participants from 12 countries were included in this meta-analysis. Patients' age ranged from 64.2 to 94.6 years (reported by 31 studies). The median follow-up was 21 months (36 studies). Pooled estimate for subsequent fractures after VP was 23.4% (95% CI, 19.8–27.2%; I2 = 93.0%, p < 0.01). New fractures after VP in 54.6% of cases occurred in the vertebral bodies adjacent to the treated vertebra (95% CI, 49.0–60.1%; I2 = 66.0%, p < 0.01). A significant proportion of patients undergoing VP for OVCF experience new fractures after treatment, most of which are developed in the vertebral bodies adjacent to the treated vertebra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a renewable and low-price material, wood has been used extensively in the construction, furniture and other fields. However, the mechanical strength of most wood species is moderate or low, which cannot meet the need of some advanced engineering structures and applications. High-strength wood resources are scarce and usually expensive. Therefore, it is of great significance for economic and sustainable development to improve mechanical properties of medium or low-density wood. Mechanical densification process is considered an effective method to improve wood mechanical properties. Compared with chemical methods, it has great advantages of preserving the eco-friendly characteristics of nature wood and environmental protection. Many researches and technologies of wood mechanical densification have been reported and attempted. This study summarized, classified and compared the different mechanical densification processes according to their commonality and individuality. The characteristics and disadvantages of different processes were also discussed and analyzed with a purpose of inspiring researchers and entrepreneurs to ameliorate the technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]