A 10-Year National Analysis of Pediatric Elbow Fractures.

Elbow fractures comprise 15% of all fractures in children. Our study identifies risk factors and consumer products that contribute to pediatric elbow fractures. The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was used to collect demographic and consumer product information between 2010 and 2019 for patients younger than 17 years who presented to the emergency department with elbow fractures. Of the 458,433 elbow fractures, the average age of the patients was 7.4 ± 4.1 years and 55.6% were male children. The most common consumer product was sports and recreation equipment, followed by home furnishings. Male patients (P < .0001) and patients 8 years and older (79.2% vs 51.1%, P < .0001) experienced significantly greater rates of injury with sports and recreation equipment. This study evaluates the products associated with pediatric elbow fractures and highlights the importance of safe sports and recreation equipment use and the role of parental counseling in preventing falls from furniture.

United States university-based officer training and its influence on physical assessment test performance.

INTRODUCTION: Cadets participating in Reserve Officers' Training Corp (ROTC) at US universities undergo both Army Physical Fitness Test (APFT) and Occupational Physical Assessment Test (OPAT) evaluations prior to commissioning. The current study examined the relationship between ROTC physical training (PT) attendance and performance in the APFT and OPAT, and characterised physical activity of cadets outside of PT. METHODS: Twenty-six cadets' (21 males; age=20.81±2.48 years; height=171.16±8.62 cm; body mass=75.49±13.17 kg; body mass index=25.68±3.37 kg/m2) PT attendance, and diagnostic (week 1) and record (week 13) OPAT and APFT scores were documented. Paired samples t-tests evaluated differences in APFT and OPAT scores between the diagnostic and record tests. Pearson correlations were utilised to determine if a relationship existed between PT attendance and test performance. Participating cadets also completed monthly self-reported physical activity questionnaire (September, October, November); findings were reported using descriptive statistics. RESULTS: Cadets attended 87% of PT sessions between OPAT administrations and 85% between APFT administrations. Cadets significantly improved the following test components: standing long jump (p=0.034), seated power throw (p=0.029), shuttle run (p=0.005), sit-ups (p=0.003) and 2-mile run (p=0.045). A significant, positive correlation was found between PT attendance and APFT sit-ups improvements (r=0.473, p=0.015). Cadets' frequently reported additional physical activity days per week (range: 2.8-3.1 aerobic, 3.2-3.8 strength/power, 2.9-3.2 core strength/endurance). CONCLUSIONS: Regular participation in a single semester of ROTC PT was found to significantly increase cadets' scores in some, but not all, components of the APFT and OPAT. Self-reported physical activity results indicate that cadets regularly train outside of organised PT.

Mutation in Abl kinase with altered drug-binding kinetics indicates a novel mechanism of imatinib resistance.

Protein kinase inhibitors are potent anticancer therapeutics. For example, the Bcr-Abl kinase inhibitor imatinib decreases mortality for chronic myeloid leukemia by 80%, but 22 to 41% of patients acquire resistance to imatinib. About 70% of relapsed patients harbor mutations in the Bcr-Abl kinase domain, where more than a hundred different mutations have been identified. Some mutations are located near the imatinib-binding site and cause resistance through altered interactions with the drug. However, many resistance mutations are located far from the drug-binding site, and it remains unclear how these mutations confer resistance. Additionally, earlier studies on small sets of patient-derived imatinib resistance mutations indicated that some of these mutant proteins were in fact sensitive to imatinib in cellular and biochemical studies. Here, we surveyed the resistance of 94 patient-derived Abl kinase domain mutations annotated as disease relevant or resistance causing using an engagement assay in live cells. We found that only two-thirds of mutations weaken imatinib affinity by more than twofold compared to Abl wild type. Surprisingly, one-third of mutations in the Abl kinase domain still remain sensitive to imatinib and bind with similar or higher affinity than wild type. Intriguingly, we identified three clinical Abl mutations that bind imatinib with wild type-like affinity but dissociate from imatinib considerably faster. Given the relevance of residence time for drug efficacy, mutations that alter binding kinetics could cause resistance in the nonequilibrium environment of the body where drug export and clearance play critical roles.

Quinoline Photobasicity: Investigation within Water-Soluble Light-Responsive Copolymers.

Quinoline photobases exhibit a distinctly higher pKa in their electronically excited state than in the ground state, thereby enabling light-controlled proton transfer reactions, for example, in molecular catalysis. The absorption of UV light translates to a pKa jump of approximately 10 units, as established for small-molecule photobases. This contribution presents the first synthesis of quinoline-based polymeric photobases prepared by reversible addition-fragmentation chain-transfer (RAFT) polymerization. The integration of quinolines as photobase chromophores within copolymers offers new possibilities for light-triggered proton transfer in nanostructured materials, that is, in nanoparticles, at surfaces, membranes and interfaces. To exploit the light-triggered reactivity of photobases within such materials, we first investigated how the ground- and excited-state properties of the quinoline unit changes upon polymer integration. To address this matter, we combined absorption and emission spectroscopy with time-resolved transient-absorption studies to reveal photoinduced proton-transfer dynamics in various solvents. The results yield important insights into the thermodynamic and kinetic properties of these polymeric quinoline photobases.

Cupping Therapy Does Not Influence Healthy Adult's Hamstring Range of Motion Compared to Control or Sham Conditions.

Cupping therapy, a form of traditional Chinese medicine, has recently gained popularity as a therapeutic modality among sports medicine clinicians. While the use of cupping therapy to decrease musculoskeletal pain is supported by recent research findings, evaluations on the use of cupping therapy to influence range of motion (ROM) are limited. The purpose of the study was to identify if cupping therapy applied passively for 10 minutes increases flexibility compared to sham treatment or control conditions. Twenty-five participants with hamstring ROM less than 80° and no previous cupping therapy experience completed the study. Participants reported to the laboratory on three occasions for one of three randomly assigned treatment conditions (cupping, sham, or control) for 10 minutes while prone. Hamstring flexibility was evaluated three times (pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 10-minutes post-treatment) via ROM measured during an active straight leg raise. Participants returned on two other occasions to receive the remaining treatment conditions. A 3 (treatment condition) × 3 (time) repeated measures analysis of variance was utilized for statistical analysis. There was no interaction between condition and time (p = 0.78). Within-subjects effects for time (p = 0.76) was not significant. Post hoc pairwise comparison of treatment conditions found no differences between control and cupping (p = 0.36), cupping and sham (p = 0.35), or control and sham (p=0.98) conditions. Cupping therapy applied statically for 10 minutes does not increase hamstring flexibility compared to a sham treatment or control condition.

Block Copolymers Featuring Highly Photostable Photoacids Based on Vinylnaphthol: Synthesis and Self-Assembly.

The synthesis of a photoresponsive amphiphilic diblock quarterpolymer containing 5-vinyl-1-naphthol (VN) as a photostable photoacidic comonomer is presented. The preparation is realized via a sequential reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization starting from a nona(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (MEO9 MA/"O") hydrophilic block, which is then used as a macro-RAFT agent in the terpolymerization of styrene (S), 2-vinylpyridine (2VP), and TBS-protected VN (tVN). The terpolymerization proceeds in a controlled fashion and two diblock quarterpolymers, P(Om )-b-P(Sx -co-2VPy -co-VNz ), with varying functional comonomer compositions are prepared. These diblock quarterpolymers form spherical core-corona micelles in aqueous media according to dynamic light scattering (DLS) and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM). Upon irradiation, the photoacids within the micellar core experience a drastic increase in acidity causing a proton transfer from the photoacid to neighboring 2VP units. As a result, the hydrophilic/hydrophobic balance of the entire assembly is shifted, and the encapsulated cargo is released.

Polymeric Photoacids Based on Naphthols-Design Criteria, Photostability, and Light-Mediated Release.

The implementation of photoswitches within polymers offers an exciting toolbox in the design of light-responsive materials as irradiation can be controlled both spatially and temporally. Herein, we introduce a range of water-soluble copolymers featuring naphthol-based chromophores as photoacids in the side chain. With that, the resulting materials experience a drastic increase in acidity upon stimulation with UV light and we systematically studied how structure and distance of the photoacid from the copolymer backbone determines polymerizability, photo-response, and photostability. Briefly, we used RAFT (reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer) polymerization to prepare copolymers consisting of nona(ethylene glycol) methyl ether methacrylate (MEO9 MA) as water-soluble comonomer in combination with six different 1-naphthol-based ("N") monomers. Thereby, we distinguish between methacrylates (NMA, NOeMA), methacrylamides (NMAm, NOeMAm), vinyl naphthol (VN), and post-polymerization modification based on [(1-hydroxynaphthalen-2-amido)ethyl]amine (NOeMAm, NAmeMAm). These P(MEO9 MAx -co-"N"y ) copolymers typically feature a 4:1 MEO9 MA to "N" ratio and molar masses in the range of 10 kg mol-1 . After synthesis and characterization by using NMR spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography (SEC), we investigated how potential photo-cleavage or photo-degradation during irradiation depends on the type and distance of the linker to the copolymeric backbone and whether reversible excited state proton transfer (ESPT) occurs under these conditions. In our opinion, such materials will be strong assets as light-mediated proton sources in nanostructured environments, for example, for the site-specific creation of proton gradients. We therefore exemplarily incorporated NMA into an amphiphilic block copolymer and could demonstrate the light-mediated release of Nile red from micelles formed in water as selective solvent.

Fabrication and in situ functionalisation of mesoporous silica films by the physical entrapment of functional and responsive block copolymer structuring agents.

Stimuli-responsive mesoporous silica films were prepared by evaporation-induced self-assembly through the physical entrapment of a functional block copolymer structuring agent, which simultaneously serves to functionalise the mesopore. These polymer-silica hybrid materials exhibit remarkable ionic permselectivity under highly filled conditions, and offer the potential for local polymer functionalisation for enhanced and tunable ionic permselectivity. This innovative and simple approach for the in situ functionalisation of mesoporous silica has the potential to improve how we approach the design of complex architectures at the nanoscale for enhanced transport, and is thus relevant for a variety of technologies based on molecular transport in nanoscale pores including separation, sensing, catalysis, and energy conversion.

Optimisation of Surface-Initiated Photoiniferter-Mediated Polymerisation under Confinement, and the Formation of Block Copolymers in Mesoporous Films.

Nature as the ultimate inspiration can direct, gate, and selectively transport species across channels to fulfil a specific targeted function. Harnessing such precision over local structure and functionality at the nanoscale is expected to lead to indispensable developments in synthetic channels for application in catalysis, filtration and sensing, and in drug delivery. By combining mesoporous materials with localised charge-switchable poly(2-(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate) (PDMAEMA) brushes, precisely controlling pore filling and exploring the possibility of incorporating two different responsive polymers, we hope to approach the precision control of natural systems in the absence of an external force. Here, we report a simple one-step approach to prepare a mesoporous silica thin film with ~8 nm pores functionalised with a photoiniferter by combining sol⁻gel chemistry and evaporation-induced self-assembly (EISA). We show that surface-initiated photoiniferter-mediated polymerisation (SI-PIMP) allows the incorporation of a high polymer content up to geometrical pore blocking by the simple application of UV light in the presence of a monomer and solvent, proceeding in a controlled manner in pore sizes below 10 nm, with the potential to tune the material properties through the formation of surface-grafted block copolymers.

Copper(0)-Mediated Living Radical Polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate in a Non-polar Solvent.

The metal catalyzed polymerization of methyl methacrylate using Cu(0) as the catalyst source has been investigated in toluene. This work looks at polymerizations in a non-polar medium allowing control over the molecular weight and polydispersity with a 4-fold reduction in catalyst concentration versus conventional ATRP, while the use of an active ligand allows the reaction to proceed at room temperature. The use of an excess of PMDETA ligand allows for high conversions, and the addition of a small amount of CuBr(2) enhances living characteristics, enabling efficient chain extension.