Physical Therapy Management Of A Manual Laborer With Chronic Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy: A Case Report

Background: Tendinopathy is characterized by tendon thickening, localized pain and chronic degeneration reflective of failed healing. 38% of manual laborers who participate in daily moderate to heavy lifting will experience Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy(RCT). There is a lack of research investigating the PT management of manual laborers who have RCT, but must continue to participate in harmful activities to fulfill occupational responsibilities. Purpose: The purpose of this case report was to describe the PT management of a patient with rotator cuff tendinopathy who, due to work requirements continued to participate in activities detrimental to the health of the supraspinatus and function of the shoulder girdle.https://dune.une.edu/pt_studcrposter/1036/thumbnail.jp

Intrinsically Conductive Polymer Fibers from Thermoplastic <i>trans</i>-1,4-Polyisoprene

Herein, we report a new strategy to prepare conductive polymer fibers to overcome the insurmountable weakness of current conductive polymer fibers. First, special thermoplastic polymers are processed into polymer fibers using a conventional melt-spinning process, and then the nonconductive polymer fibers are converted into intrinsically conductive polymer fibers. Using this new strategy, intrinsically conductive polymer fibers have been prepared by melt spinning low-cost thermoplastic <i>trans</i>-1,4-polyisoprene and doping with iodine, which can be as fine as 0.01 mm, and the resistivity can be as low as 10^–2 Ω m. Moreover, it has been found that drawing can improve the orientation of <i>trans</i>-1,4-polyisoprene crystals in the fibers and, thus, the conductivity of the conductive polymer fibers. Therefore, conductive fibers with excellent conductivities can be prepared by large drawing ratios before doping. Such conductive polymer fibers with low cost could be used in textile, clothing, packing, and other fields, which would benefit both industry and daily life. The newly developed method also allows one to produce conductive polymers of any shape besides fibers for antistatic or conductive applications

Hierarchical Layered Heterogeneous Graphene-poly(<i>N</i>‑isopropylacrylamide)-clay Hydrogels with Superior Modulus, Strength, and Toughness

Biological composites are renowned for their elaborate heterogeneous architectures at multiple scales, which lead to a unique combination of modulus, strength, and toughness. Inspired by biological composites, mimicking the heterogeneous structural design principles of biological composites is a powerful strategy to construct high-performance structural composites. Here, we creatively transfer some heterogeneous principles of biological composites to the structural design of nanocomposite hydrogels. Unique heterogeneous conductive graphene-PNIPAM-clay hydrogels are prepared through a combination of inhomogeneous water removal processes, <i>in situ</i> free-radical polymerization, and chemical reduction of graphene oxide. The nanocomposite hydrogels exhibit hierarchical layered heterogeneous architectures with alternate stacking of dense laminated layers and loose porous layers. Under tensile load, the stiff dense laminated layers serve as sacrificial layers that fracture at a relatively low strain, while the stretchable loose porous layers serve as energy dissipation layers by large extension afterward. Such local inhomogeneous deformation of the two heterogeneous layers enables the nanocomposite hydrogels to integrate superior modulus, strength, and toughness (9.69 MPa, 0.97 MPa, and 5.60 MJ/m³, respectively). The study might provide meaningful enlightenments for rational structural design of future high-performance nanocomposite hydrogels

Conductive Graphene–Melamine Sponge Prepared via Microwave Irradiation

A conductive graphene–melamine sponge (MS) prepared via microwave irradiation is reported in this paper. Graphene oxide supported on the MS was prereduced first at 100 °C and then further reduced in a household microwave oven at over 1000 °C. It was surprising to find that graphene oxide on the MS was reduced perfectly while the three-dimensional structure of the MS was kept well after high-temperature reduction via microwave irradiation. Slight pyrolysis of MS was also found during 5 s microwave irradiation, resulting in nitrogen generation from the pyrolysis of the MS being doped into graphene, which could benefit the electric conductivity of the prepared graphene–MS. The electric conductivity of the prepared graphene–MS is about 0.12–1.0 S/m because of the high reduction degree of graphene oxide and nitrogen doping. On the other hand, different from the pure MS, the newly developed conductive graphene–MS possesses superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties. Overall, the newly developed conductive graphene–MS contained 94.3 wt % MS and 5.7 wt % N-doped graphene and is a cost-effective material with good elasticity, high conductivity, superhydrophobicity, and superoleophilicity

Conductive Graphene–Melamine Sponge Prepared via Microwave Irradiation

A conductive graphene–melamine sponge (MS) prepared via microwave irradiation is reported in this paper. Graphene oxide supported on the MS was prereduced first at 100 °C and then further reduced in a household microwave oven at over 1000 °C. It was surprising to find that graphene oxide on the MS was reduced perfectly while the three-dimensional structure of the MS was kept well after high-temperature reduction via microwave irradiation. Slight pyrolysis of MS was also found during 5 s microwave irradiation, resulting in nitrogen generation from the pyrolysis of the MS being doped into graphene, which could benefit the electric conductivity of the prepared graphene–MS. The electric conductivity of the prepared graphene–MS is about 0.12–1.0 S/m because of the high reduction degree of graphene oxide and nitrogen doping. On the other hand, different from the pure MS, the newly developed conductive graphene–MS possesses superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties. Overall, the newly developed conductive graphene–MS contained 94.3 wt % MS and 5.7 wt % N-doped graphene and is a cost-effective material with good elasticity, high conductivity, superhydrophobicity, and superoleophilicity

Bioinspired Hierarchical Alumina–Graphene Oxide–Poly(vinyl alcohol) Artificial Nacre with Optimized Strength and Toughness

Due to hierarchical organization of micro- and nanostructures, natural nacre exhibits extraordinary strength and toughness, and thus provides a superior model for the design and fabrication of high-performance artificial composite materials. Although great progress has been made in constructing layered composites by alternately stacking hard inorganic platelets and soft polymers, the real issue is that the excellent strength of these composites was obtained at the sacrifice of toughness. In this work, inspired by the layered aragonite microplatelets/chitin nanofibers–protein structure of natural nacre, alumina microplatelets–graphene oxide nanosheets–poly­(vinyl alcohol) (Al₂O₃/GO–PVA) artificial nacre is successfully constructed through layer-by-layer bottom-up assembly, in which Al₂O₃ and GO–PVA act as “bricks” and “mortar”, respectively. The artificial nacre has hierarchical “brick-and-mortar” structure and exhibits excellent strength (143 ± 13 MPa) and toughness (9.2 ± 2.7 MJ/m³), which are superior to those of natural nacre (80–135 MPa, 1.8 MJ/m³). It was demonstrated that the multiscale hierarchical structure of ultrathin GO nanosheets and submicrometer-thick Al₂O₃ platelets can deal with the conflict between strength and toughness, thus leading to the excellent mechanical properties that cannot be obtained using only one size of platelet. We strongly believe that the work presented here provides a creative strategy for designing and developing new composites with excellent strength and toughness

Conductive Graphene–Melamine Sponge Prepared via Microwave Irradiation

A conductive graphene–melamine sponge (MS) prepared via microwave irradiation is reported in this paper. Graphene oxide supported on the MS was prereduced first at 100 °C and then further reduced in a household microwave oven at over 1000 °C. It was surprising to find that graphene oxide on the MS was reduced perfectly while the three-dimensional structure of the MS was kept well after high-temperature reduction via microwave irradiation. Slight pyrolysis of MS was also found during 5 s microwave irradiation, resulting in nitrogen generation from the pyrolysis of the MS being doped into graphene, which could benefit the electric conductivity of the prepared graphene–MS. The electric conductivity of the prepared graphene–MS is about 0.12–1.0 S/m because of the high reduction degree of graphene oxide and nitrogen doping. On the other hand, different from the pure MS, the newly developed conductive graphene–MS possesses superhydrophobic and superoleophilic properties. Overall, the newly developed conductive graphene–MS contained 94.3 wt % MS and 5.7 wt % N-doped graphene and is a cost-effective material with good elasticity, high conductivity, superhydrophobicity, and superoleophilicity