Two-headed extensor digitorum longus with coexisting additional tendinous slips.

The extensor digitorum longus is a source of much anatomic variation, mostly related with extra tendinous slips or their unusual insertions. This report describes a new configuration of the extensor digitorum longus with two heads and two main tendons which bifurcate into five slips. These slips undergo further divisions and establish connections between the each other. Our findings provide a greater insight into the intricacies of human morphology.

The Effect of the Type of Activator Anion on the Hydration of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag.

In this study, ground granulated blast furnace slag was activated with a wide variety of sodium salts to compare the effects of their pH and anion size on the hydration progress and compressive strength development of GGBFS pastes. Research was carried out on samples activated with twelve different sodium salts and cured for one year. Changes in their phase composition (XRD), loss on ignition at different temperatures, expansion and microstructure (SEM + EDS) were examined over the entire curing period. The results showed that the presence of sodium ions is more important than the pH of the system, as activation took place even in the case of compounds whose solutions are characterized by a low pH, such as sodium tartrate or phosphate. The compressive strength of the pastes ranged from approximately 8 to 65 MPa after one year of curing.

Influence of Waste Glass Powder Addition on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Autoclaved Building Materials.

Lime quartz samples in which ground quartz sand was gradually substituted with waste glass powder (GP) were obtained under hydrothermal conditions to determine the influence of GP addition on the microstructure (observed by SEM), phase composition (analyzed by XRD), and compressive strength of autoclaved building materials. An additional series containing analytical grade NaOH and no GP was formed to evaluate the effect of sodium ions on tobermorite formation and its impact on the mechanical properties of the samples. GP addition hindered the formation of tobermorite during autoclaving. Instead, a higher amount of an amorphous and semi-crystalline C-S-H phase formed, leading to the densification of the composite matrix. Nevertheless, tobermorite-like structures were found during both XRD and SEM analyses, proving that the presence of small amounts of Al3+ ions allowed, to an extent, for the stabilization of the phase despite the high sodium content. The compressive strength values indicate that the presence of alkali in the system and the resulting formation of additional portions of C-S-H have a beneficial influence on the mechanical properties of autoclaved composites. However, the effect fades with increasing glass powder content which, together with a slight expansion of the samples, suggests that at high sand substitution levels, an alkali-silica reaction takes place.

Is it the coracobrachialis superior muscle, or is it an unidentified rare variant of coracobrachialis muscle?

The coracobrachialis muscle (CBM) originates from the apex of the coracoid process, in common with the short head of the biceps brachii muscle, and from the intermuscular septum. The CBM demonstrates variability in both the proximal and distal attachment, with some extremely rare varieties, such as the coracobrachialis superior, coracobrachialis longus and coracocapsularis muscle. This case report describes an extremely rare variant of the coracobrachialis superior muscle, or a very rare variant of the CBM. Our findings highlight the importance of muscle variants in the shoulder region, especially the coracoid region, and are significant for radiologists, anatomists, physiotherapists and surgeons specializing in the shoulder joint.