PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Fracture setting method could replace metal plates, with fewer complications

Fracture setting method could replace metal plates, with fewer complications
2021-06-23
(Press-News.org) A new biocompatible polymer-based composite material could soon replace metal plates in treating difficult and unstable fractures. Developed at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, the newly-developed material is as strong as dental composites yet non-toxic.

The material and a surgical method, which were published in Advanced Functional Materials, will be used in clinical studies in 2023 and 2024, with a focus on hand fractures.

Michael Malkoch, professor of fibre and polymer technology at KTH, says that the material and method, AdhFix, will enable customized plating for fixation of fractures with a more comfortable, less complicated recovery. Collarbone and rib fractures in particular are ideally suited for the proposed treatment, since such injuries are not easy to stabilize.

Metal plates cannot be easily customized in shape, and they tend to adhere to soft tissue, resulting in debilitating complications, says Malkoch. For example, researchers in the U.S. have found that nearly 64 percent of finger fractures treated with metal plates result in mobility complications.

The alternative surgical method, AdhFix, combines screws with a build-up of the polymer/hydroxyapatite composite instead. The composite is shaped in situ before being rapidly cured on demand via high-energy visible-light-induced thiol-ene coupling chemistry.

Evaluations on human cadaver hands with proximal phalanx fractures show that AdhFix withstands the forces from finger flexing exercises. In models of in vivo femur fractures in rats, the methodology supported bone healing without degradation, adverse effects or soft-tissue adhesions.

"No fracture is the same as the other, this is one of the absolute advantages of the material," says Malkoch. "A surgeon can tailor the fixation plate according to the patient's bone shape and the structure of the fracture. The hospital also does not have to store metal plates."

Malkoch says the material and method also may be applied to veterinary care as well. Animals with metal plates are known to avoid going outdoors in cool temperatures because the metal conducts the cold differently than the KTH researchers' composite.

INFORMATION:

The work was carried out with RISE in Gothenburg and hand surgeons working at Karolinska Institutet and Södersjukhuset. Daniel Hutchinson, researcher in polymer and fibre technology at KTH, led the study.


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
Fracture setting method could replace metal plates, with fewer complications

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Sneeze cam reveals best fabric combos for cloth masks (video)

Sneeze cam reveals best fabric combos for cloth masks (video)
2021-06-23
During the COVID-19 pandemic, cloth face masks became a way to help protect yourself and others from the virus. And for some people, they became a fashion statement, with many fabric choices available. But just how effective are they, especially in containing a sneeze? Now, researchers reporting in ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering used high-speed videos of a person sneezing to identify the optimal cloth mask design. Watch a video of the sneeze cam here. Early in the pandemic, worldwide shortages of surgical masks and N95 respirators led many people to make or purchase cloth face masks. Now, with safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines available, mask restrictions are ...

'Lady luck' - Does anthropomorphized luck drive risky financial behavior?

2021-06-23
A new study published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research posits that increased accessibility to anthropomorphized luck (i.e., "lady luck") can lead consumers to be more likely to pursue higher-risk financial behavior. In "Lady Luck: Anthropomorphized Luck Creates Perceptions of Risk-Sharing and Drives Pursuit of Risky Alternatives," authors Katina Kulow, Thomas Kramer, and Kara Bentley propose that preferences for higher-risk options (like lottery tickets with worse odds or investment opportunities with a low chance of return) are driven by shared risk perceptions that might engender feelings of security provided by the idea of "lady luck." This behavior, the authors note, "bodes ill for consumer welfare, given that many financial maladaptive activities ...

People willing to pay more for coffee that's ethical and eco-friendly, meta-analysis finds

2021-06-23
Beyond how much cream and sugar to add to their morning brew, coffee lovers also face more serious decisions: one of those is whether or not to buy ecolabelled coffee, which advertises itself as more ethical and environmentally friendly. But whether customers are willing to pay the extra price for these perks remains an unanswered question. In a study publishing in the journal Heliyon on June 23, researchers combined data from 22 studies to conclude that in general, people are willing to pay $1.36 more for a pound of coffee that's produced in an eco-friendly way and are especially partial to coffee that's labelled "Organic." "We hear in the media or sometimes read in the newspaper that there ...

Low-cost imaging technique shows how smartphone batteries could charge in minutes

2021-06-23
Researchers have developed a simple lab-based technique that allows them to look inside lithium-ion batteries and follow lithium ions moving in real time as the batteries charge and discharge, something which has not been possible until now. Using the low-cost technique, the researchers identified the speed-limiting processes which, if addressed, could enable the batteries in most smartphones and laptops to charge in as little as five minutes. The researchers, from the University of Cambridge, say their technique will not only help improve existing battery materials, ...

Pleistocene sediment DNA from Denisova Cave

Pleistocene sediment DNA from Denisova Cave
2021-06-23
Denisova Cave is located in the Altai Mountains in southern Siberia and is famous for the discovery of Denisovans, an extinct form of archaic humans that is thought to have occupied large parts of central and eastern Asia. Neandertal remains have also been found at the site, as well as a bone from a child who had a Neandertal mother and Denisovan father, showing that both groups met in the region. However, only eight bone fragments and teeth of Neandertals and Denisovans have been recovered so far from the deposits in Denisova Cave, which cover ...

Quantum birds

Quantum birds
2021-06-23
Humans perceive the world around them with five senses - vision, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Many other animals are also able to sense the Earth's magnetic field. For some time, a collaboration of biologists, chemists and physicists centred at the Universities of Oldenburg (Germany) and Oxford (UK) have been gathering evidence suggesting that the magnetic sense of migratory birds such as European robins is based on a specific light-sensitive protein in the eye. In the current edition of the journal Nature, this team demonstrate that the protein cryptochrome 4, found in birds' retinas, is sensitive to magnetic fields and could well be the long-sought magnetic sensor. First ...

Antibody therapy rescues mice from lethal nerve-muscle disease

2021-06-23
Researchers rescued mice from early death caused by a muscle-weakening disease, not by correcting the flawed gene that causes it, but instead by targeting another protein in the same signaling pathway. Led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine researchers, a new study found that an antibody treatment not only rescued young mice from a form of congenital myasthenia (CM) but also reversed disease relapse in adult mice. Published online in the journal Nature on June 23, the study revealed new details of the cause of CM, with the better understanding guiding ...

Life in these star-systems could have spotted Earth

2021-06-23
ITHACA, N.Y. - Scientists at Cornell University and the American Museum of Natural History have identified 2,034 nearby star-systems - within the small cosmic distance of 326 light-years - that could find Earth merely by watching our pale blue dot cross our sun. That's 1,715 star-systems that could have spotted Earth since human civilization blossomed about 5,000 years ago, and 319 more star-systems that will be added over the next 5,000 years. Exoplanets around these nearby stars have a cosmic front-row seat to see if Earth holds life, the scientists said in research published June 23 in Nature. "From the exoplanets' point-of-view, we are the aliens," said Lisa Kaltenegger, professor of astronomy and director of Cornell's Carl Sagan ...

Cutaneous reactions after mRNA COVID-19 vaccines

2021-06-23
What The Study Did: Hospital employees were surveyed about symptoms such as a rash, itching, hives or swelling around the face after receiving a messenger RNA COVID-19 vaccine. Authors: Lacey B. Robinson, M.D., M.P.H., of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, is the corresponding author. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2021.2114) Editor's Note: The article includes conflicts of interest and funding/support disclosures. Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, ...

Skin reactions after COVID-19 vaccination: Rare, uncommonly recur after second dose

2021-06-23
BOSTON - Skin problems such as itchiness, rashes, hives and swelling can occur in some individuals after receiving a COVID-19 vaccine, but it's not clear how common these reactions are or how frequently they recur with a subsequent vaccination. Research by led by allergists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) now provides encouraging indications that the reactions are rare, and that even when they do occur with an initial COVID-19 vaccination, they seldom recur after receiving a second vaccine dose. For the study, which is published in JAMA Dermatology, a team led by Kimberly G. Blumenthal, MD, MSc, co-director of the Clinical Epidemiology Program within MGH's ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

NJIT research team discovering how fluids behave in nanopores with NSF grant

New study shows association of historical housing discrimination and shortfalls in colon cancer treatment

Social media use may help to empower plastic surgery patients

Q&A: How to train AI when you don't have enough data

Wayne State University researchers uncover potential treatment targets for Zika virus-related eye abnormalities

Discovering Van Gogh in the wild: scientists unveil a new gecko species

Small birds spice up the already diverse diet of spotted hyenas in Namibia

Imaging detects transient “hypoxic pockets” in the mouse brain

Dissolved organic matter could be used to track and improve the health of freshwaters

Indoor air quality standards in public buildings would boost health and economy, say international experts

Positive associations between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

New imaging method illuminates oxygen's journey in the brain

Researchers discover key gene for toxic alkaloid in barley

New approach to monitoring freshwater quality can identify sources of pollution, and predict their effects

Bidirectional link between premenstrual disorders and perinatal depression

Cell division quality control ‘stopwatch’ uncovered

Vaccine protects cattle from bovine tuberculosis, may eliminate disease

Andrew Siemion to receive the SETI Institute’s 2024 Drake Award

New study shows how the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus enters our cells

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy proves effective for locally advanced penile squamous cell carcinoma

Study flips treatment paradigm in bilateral Wilms tumor, shows resistance to chemotherapy may point toward favorable outcomes

Doctors received approximately $12.1 billion from drug and device makers between 2013-2022

Discovery suggests new strategy against follicular lymphoma

Making the future too bright: how wishful thinking can point us in the wrong direction

Ochsner Health named to Newsweek’s America’s Greatest Workplaces 2024 for Job Starters

Three-year study of young stars with NASA’s Hubble enters new chapter

North Carolina takes the lead in PFAs research with Collaboratory’s $3 million investment to expand the state’s research capacity

Is it the school, or the students?

Exploring the relationship between HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and the incidence of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis – findings from Denmark

Music: Song lyrics have become simpler and more repetitive since 1980

[Press-News.org] Fracture setting method could replace metal plates, with fewer complications