Interphalangeal Arthrodesis of the Toe With a New Radiolucent Intramedullary Implant (Toegrip).

Background: Interphalangeal arthrodesis is a very common surgical treatment of rigid hammertoe and claw toe deformities. The K-wires habitually used in this procedure are sometimes complicated by pin tract infection, migration, discomfort, and breakage. The aim of this study is to evaluate the results of an interphalangeal arthrodesis with a new radiolucent angulated intramedullary implant.

Energy spectrum of iron nuclei measured inside the MIR space craft using CR-39 track detectors.

We have exposed stacks of CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors inside the MIR space craft during the EUROMIR95 space mission for almost 6 months. Over this long period a large number of tracks of high LET events was accumulated in the detector foils. The etching and measuring conditions for this experiment were optimized to detect tracks of stopping iron nuclei.

The high-LET radiation component measured during the EUROMIR-94 mission.

Stacks of CR-39 plastic nuclear track detectors were mounted inside the MIR-station during the EUROMIR-94-mission. We present LET-spectra determined separately for long range cosmic ray heavy ions and for short range target fragments produced in nuclear interactions of cosmic rays and measured charge distributions for relativistic and stopping particles.

Cosmic ray radiation effects caused by proton-induced fragmentation.

In space, radiation effects in which a large amount of energy is transferred by a single particle are observed. These effects can be caused by either the direct ionization of a cosmic ray heavy ion or alternatively by the ionization of short range target fragments which are produced inside the material by interactions of cosmic ray particles. Protons of the lower radiation belt contribute significantly to target fragmentation; especially in the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA).