Effect of spent coffee grounds and rice husk amount towards the swelling properties of hydrogel using graft polymerization

Hydrogels are widely known for their ability to absorb water without being dissolved. This characteristic, which is known as swelling has been studied by many researchers in various sectors such as medicine, pharmacy, agriculture, health science and many more. This paper presents a study on the swelling properties of hydrogel that was grafted with spent coffee grounds and rice husk ash. The hydrogel was prepared with acrylic acid as the monomer and acrylamide as the co-monomer. The hydrogel was grafted with spent coffee grounds and rice husk ash separately, with varied weight percent (wt%). The hydrogel was characterized using Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Thermal Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The 0.1 (wt%) rice husk ash grafted hydrogel has the best swelling properties as shown by the highest water absorption, with the most porous structure and the highest crystalline temperature (122.0 °C). The FTIR wavenumber showed that the hydrogel is grafted properly as new wavenumbers are formed, whereas the TGA analysis shown that it had the highest decomposition temperature (658.6 °C)

Are people following hip and knee arthroplasty at greater risk of experiencing a fall and fracture? Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative

Introduction: Falls are a major challenge for older people and are a significant source of mortality and morbidity. There has been uncertainty as to whether people with total hip (THA) or knee (TKA) arthroplasty have a greater risk of falls and associated fractures. This analysis was to explore this question with a large community dataset. Materials and Methods: Data from all people enrolled onto the US Osteoarthritis Initiative programme who had undergone a THA (n=104) or TKA (n=165), within a 12 month period, were compared to those who had not undergone an arthroplasty (n=4631). Data was collected on: the number of participants who reported a fall within a 12 month period; the frequency of falls in this period; and whether a fracture was sustained during this period. Odd ratios were calculated for the probability of experiencing a fall or fracture between the groups. Results: There was no statistical difference in falls between people following THA (OR 0.90; 95% CI: 0.58 to 1.41) or TKA (OR: 0.95; 0.67 to 1.35) compared to a non-arthroplasty cohort. Whilst there was no statistical difference in fracture risk between people following TKA compared to non-arthroplasty individuals (OR: 1.25; 95% CI: 0.57 to 2.70), those who underwent THA had a 65% lower chance of experiencing a fracture in the initial 12 post-operative months compared to the non-THA cohort (OR 0.35; 95% CI: 0.19 to 0.65; p<0.01). Conclusions: There appears a lower chance of experiencing a fracture for people following THA compared to those who have not