Tailoring dual cross-linked polymer-ionic liquid composites by blending co-crystallizable polymers for stretchable electronics.

Facile adjustment of the behavior of dual cross-linked polymer-ionic liquid composites (PICs) for stretchable electronics was achieved solution blending of two copolymers having the same monomer pairs. Two poly(docosyl acrylate--butyl acrylate) (poly(A22-BA)) copolymers with different molar ratios were synthesized and solution-cast with ionic liquids (ILs) to fabricate ternary PICs. The phase behavior and the thermal and structural properties of the composites were investigated by varying the mixing ratio, providing insights into the cross-linking mechanisms.

Alkyl-Substituted Polycaprolactone Poly(urethane-urea)s as Mechanically Competitive and Chemically Recyclable Materials.

We report the mechanical performance and chemical recycling advantages of implementing alkyl-substituted poly(ε-caprolactones) (PCLs) as soft segments in thermoplastic poly(urethane-urea) (TPUU) materials. Poly(4-methylcaprolactone) (P4MCL) and poly(4-propylcaprolactone) (P4PrCL) were prepared, reacted with isophorone diisocyanate, and chain-extended with water to form TPUUs. The resulting materials' tensile properties were similar or superior to a commercially available polyester thermoplastic poly(urethane) and had superior elastic recovery properties compared to a PCL analogue due to the noncrystalline nature of P4MCL and P4PrCL.

Discovery of novel arylpyridine derivatives for motile ciliogenesis.

Motile cilia are crucial for maintaining healthy bodily functions by facilitating fluid transport and removing foreign substances or debris from the body. The dysfunction of motile cilia leads to ciliopathy. In particular, damage to the motile cilia of the airways can cause or worsen respiratory disease, making it an attractive target for therapeutic interventions.

Innate Immune Training Initiates Efferocytosis to Protect against Lung Injury.

Innate immune training involves myelopoiesis, dynamic gene modulation, and functional reprogramming of myeloid cells in response to secondary heterologous challenges. The present study evaluates whether systemic innate immune training can protect tissues from local injury. Systemic pretreatment of mice with β-glucan, a trained immunity agonist, reduces the mortality rate of mice with bleomycin-induced lung injury and fibrosis, as well as decreasing collagen deposition in the lungs.

The Influence of Styrene Content in Solution Styrene Butadiene Rubber on Silica-Filled Tire Tread Compounds.

In tire tread applications, achieving enhanced abrasion resistance, wet grip, and rolling resistance is crucial for optimizing overall performance. To realize improvements in these attributes for silica-filled tire tread compounds, it becomes imperative to improve the dispersity of silica filler by investigating the effect of each component in the tire tread compound. In this work, we study the effect of styrene content within solution styrene butadiene rubber (SSBR) on the properties of tire tread compounds.

Factors Affecting the Clinical Course of Subchondral Fatigue Fracture of the Femoral Head.

Background: Subchondral fatigue fracture of the femoral head (SFFFH) is a rare disease, and its disease entity is established in recent decades. Although there are a few studies on SFFFH, most of them are case series involving around 10 cases, and the clinical course of SFFFH is still not well known. This study analyzed the factors affecting the clinical course of SFFFH.

Regulating Na Electrodeposition by Sodiophilic Grafting onto Porosity-Gradient Gel Polymer Electrolytes for Dendrite-Free Sodium Metal Batteries.

Sodium metal batteries have been emerging as promising candidates for post-Li battery systems owing to the natural abundance, low costs, and high energy density of Na metal. However, exploiting an Na metal anode is accompanied by uncontrolled Na electrodeposition, particularly concerning dendrite growth, hampering practical Na metal battery applications. Herein, we propose sodiophilic gel polymer electrolytes with a porosity-gradient Janus structure to alleviate Na dendrite growth.

Incomplete Intertrochanteric Fracture: A Pattern Analysis Using Multiplanar Reformation Computed Tomography.

Background: Incomplete fractures are assumed to occur in the intertrochanteric area as fractures at other sites, but reports of incomplete intertrochanteric fractures (IIFs) are rare. In 1999, Schultz et al. defined isolated greater trochanter fractures (GTFs) as IIFs when intertrochanteric extension is observed on magnetic resonance (MR) images.

The Relationship between Femoral Stem Tilt and Stem Length in Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Retrospective Case-Control Study.

Background: The current trend of using short femoral stems in total hip arthroplasty (THA) is associated with angular deviation of the femoral stem towards the native femoral axis. The purpose of this study was to compare the difference in stem tilt angle between two different stems with a similar design except for the stem length.

Methods: This is a retrospective review of 66 patients who underwent primary THA between April 2012 and May 2016, using a trans-gluteal direct lateral approach by a single surgeon.

Further Imaging for Suspected Isolated Greater Trochanteric Fractures: Multiplanar Reformation Computed Tomography or Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

Background: Most isolated greater trochanter (IGT) fractures are treated conservatively. However, some require surgical fixation although indications for surgery have not yet been established. Many surgeons perform surgical fixation when the intertrochanteric extension crosses the midline on magnetic resonance (MR) images.

Defining the Macromolecules of Tomorrow through Synergistic Sustainable Polymer Research.

Transforming how plastics are made, unmade, and remade through innovative research and diverse partnerships that together foster environmental stewardship is critically important to a sustainable future. Designing, preparing, and implementing polymers derived from renewable resources for a wide range of advanced applications that promote future economic development, energy efficiency, and environmental sustainability are all central to these efforts. In this contribution, we take a comprehensive, integrated approach to summarize important and impactful contributions to this broad research arena.

Enhanced Polyester Degradation through Transesterification with Salicylates.

Polyesters constitute nearly 10% of the global plastic market, but most are essentially non-degradable under ambient conditions or in engineered environments. A range of degradable polyesters have been developed as more sustainable alternatives; however, limitations of practical degradability and scalability have hindered their viability. Here, we utilized transesterification approaches, including polymerization-transesterification, between a salicylate and a polyester to incorporate salicylate units into commercial polyester backbones.

Dendrite-Suppressing Polymer Materials for Safe Rechargeable Metal Battery Applications: From the Electro-Chemo-Mechanical Viewpoint of Macromolecular Design.

Metal batteries have been emerging as next-generation battery systems by virtue of ultrahigh theoretical specific capacities and low reduction potentials of metallic anodes. However, significant concerns regarding the uncontrolled metallic dendrite growth accompanied by safety hazards and short lifespan have impeded practical applications of metal batteries. Although a great deal of effort has been pursued to highlight the thermodynamic origin of dendrite growth and a variety of experimental methodologies for dendrite suppression, the roles of polymer materials in suppressing the dendrite growth have been underestimated.

Gross Trunnion Failure in the Bipolar Hemiarthroplasty; Raising Concern about Short Trunnion: A Case Report.

There have been some reports of gross trunnion failure (GTF) in total hip arthroplasty. Here, we report a case of GTF 19 years after bipolar hemiarthroplasty using a 28-mm head with a 14/16 taper bore. Compared to other GTF reports, the current case had some unusual aspects: bipolar hemiarthroplasty, 28-mm head, relatively late-onset, and no apparent findings of metallosis though a severe one was evident.

Culture-Expanded Autologous Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Treatment for Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head.

Backgroud: Outcomes of traditional treatment for osteonecrosis of the femoral head (ONFH) are not always satisfactory. Hence, cell-supplementation therapy has been attempted to facilitate necrotic-tissue regeneration. Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cell (ADMSC) transplantation is potentially advantageous over bone marrow-derived MSC implantation, but its outcomes for ONFH remain unclear.

Blend Miscibility of Poly(ethylene terephthalate) and Aromatic Polyesters from Salicylic Acid.

Poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) is one of the most prevalent polymers in the world due to its combined thermal, mechanical, and gas barrier attributes. Blending PET with other polymers is an appealing strategy to further tailor properties to meet the needs of an even more diverse range of applications. Most blends with PET are macrophase-separated; only a few miscible systems have been reported.

Total Hip Arthroplasty for Secondary Coxarthrosis in Patients with Hereditary Multiple Exostoses: Minimum 5-Year Follow-up Results and Surgical Considerations.

Background: Hereditary multiple exostoses (HME) is an autosomal dominant disorder. The lesion in the proximal femoral metaphysis can bring about hip dysplasia and subsequent degenerative arthritis. Due to its rare prevalence, there have been a few case reports of total hip arthroplasty (THA) for osteoarthritis secondary to HME.

Impingement Between the Metal Stem and the Ceramic Liner in Total Hip Arthroplasty: The Neck Is Not the Only Place Where Impingement Occurs.

Background: It is assumed that impingement between the ceramic liner and the stem increases the possibility of a liner fracture in total hip arthroplasty with a ceramic-on-ceramic bearing. The purpose of this study was to analyze the pattern of the impingement by evaluating the notches (U-shaped indented wear scars engraved on the stem) on radiographs to determine when and where impingement develops and to analyze the factors affecting its occurrence.

Methods: Among the primary total hip arthroplasty cases using a ceramic-on-ceramic bearing performed from November 1997 to December 2003, 244 cases of 197 patients (123 male patients and 74 female patients) that had follow-up of ≥15 years were included.

A novel arthroscopic classification of labral tear in hip dysplasia.

Background: Acetabular labral tears cause of pain in patients with symptomatic hip dysplasia. To date, no structured grading system has been developed to evaluate labral tears in these patients. The present study describes a new system of grading labral tears in patients with acetabular dysplasia.

Ceramic Liner Fracture Caused by an Impingement between the Stem Shoulder and the Ceramic Liner.

Mechanisms of ceramic liner fractures have not yet been fully elucidated. Impingement between a stem and ceramic liner is a proposed cause of ceramic liner fractures. We experienced a case of ceramic liner fracture caused by direct impingement between the stem shoulder and the ceramic liner.

Serial Changes in Image Findings of Herniation Pits from the First Appearance.

Backgroud: Herniation pits (HPs) have been considered to be an incidental finding, but recently femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) has been proposed as a possible cause of their formation. The findings on bone scans of HPs are variable in the literature: some showed increased uptake; the majority did not. We hypothesized that serial changes in image findings of HPs would explain the reason for the variable bone scan findings.

Enhanced mechanical deep dewatering of dewatered sludge by a thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment: Effects of temperature and retention time.

This study investigated effects of the thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment on mechanical deep dewaterability of dewatered sludge to extend understanding of dewatering characteristics of thermally hydrolyzed sludge. Floc sizes of dewatered sludge were gradually reduced during the thermal hydrolysis pre-treatment at 170 °C and 185 °C with increasing retention time whereas longer retention time (>60 min) increased floc sizes of thermally hydrolyzed sludges at 200 °C due to formation of undesired refractory organic materials (ROMs), which might hinder the disintegration of dewatered sludge flocs. Similar trends were found for thermal hydrolytic solubilization of dewatered sludge.

Multiblock Copolymers for Recycling Polyethylene-Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Mixed Waste.

Plastic pollution is one of the most pressing global environmental issues we face today, in part due to the continued rise in production and use of disposable plastic products. Polyolefins and polyesters are two of the most prevalent polymers in the world accounting for ∼80% of total nonfiber plastic production. Recycling, despite being intrinsically environmentally friendly and sometimes economically viable, remains at a surprisingly low level (<9% in the U.