synopsisThe dynamic mechanical properties of a series of epoxy polymers of known iietwork structure have been investigated. It was shown that the distance between crosslinks could be predicted from either the shift in the glass transition temperature T, or by use of the dynamic modulus above I",. The front factor in the equation of state for rubber elasticity was near unity for stoichiometric equivalence of epoxy and amine and increased slowly with excess of either component.

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SynopsisThe diffusion of a disperse dye, 1-amino-4-hydroxyanthraquinone (C.I. Disperse Red 15) into poly(ethy1ene terephthalate) fibers has been studied as a function of heatsetting temperature and draw ratio. It was found that the dynamic loss modulus E", measured under the dyeing conditions, was related to the dye diff usivity D. This indicates that the diffusion is controlled by the mobility of the polymer chain segments. Both the diffusivity and dye saturation values do not vary monotonically with heatsetting temperature but exhibit a minimum at a heahetting temperature near 175°C. X-ray diffraction measurements were used to show that this behavior is attributable t.0 crystallinity and crystal size changes resulting from heat-setting.

Nylon 66 films exhibiting form I melting behavior show the γ mechanical relaxation at −140°C. Samples which have form II melting behavior do not show this relaxation. The γ relaxation disappears when material having form I behavior is converted to material having form II behavior by annealing or by cold drawing. The form I and form II types of melting behavior are also found in poly(ethylene terephthalate); the interconversions and thermal behavior of the forms are analogous to the nylon 66 case. In poly(ethylene terephthalate), the β relaxation at −40 to −60°C is present only when form I melting behavior is found. Conversion to form II melting behavior by annealing or drawing (80°C) again causes the relaxation to disappear. No β relaxation was found in amorphous polymer. The γ dispersion in nylon 66 and the β dispersion in poly(ethylene terephthalate) can therefore be associated with the crystalline structure responsible for form I melting behavior. Form I melting behavior has been associated with foldedchain crystals based on previous work. It is therefore postulated that the γ dispersion in nylon 66 and the β dispersion in poly(ethylene terephthalate) are associated with motions in the chain folds. This assignment is not inconsistent with the change in the γ dispersion of nylon 66 with the number of backbone CH2 units, since these will affect the fold structure.

Background The bimodular femoral neck implant (modularity in the neck section and prosthetic head) offers several implant advantages to the surgeon performing THAs, however, there have been reports of failure of bimodular femoral implants involving neck fractures or adverse tissue reaction to metal debris. We aimed to assess the results of the bimodular implants used in the THAs we performed. Questions/purposes We asked: (1) What is the survivorship of the PROFEMUR 1 bimodular femoral neck stems? (2) What are the modes of failure of this bimodular femoral neck implant? (3) What are the major risk factors for the major modes of failure of this device?Methods Between 2003 and 2009, we used one family of bimodular femoral neck stems for all primary THAs (PRO-FEMUR 1 Z and PROFEMUR 1 E). During this period, 277 THAs (in 242 patients) were performed with these implants. One hundred seventy were done with the bimodular PROFE-MUR 1 E (all are accounted for here), and when that implant was suspected of having a high risk of failure, the bimodular PROFEMUR 1 Z was used instead. One hundred seven THAs were performed using this implant (all are accounted for in this study). All bearing combinations, including metal-on-metal, metal-on-polyethylene, and ceramic-on-ceramic, are included here. Data for the cohort included patient demographics, BMI, implant dimensions, type of articular surface, length of followup, and C-reactive protein serum level. We assessed survivorship of the two stems using Kaplan-Meier curves and determined the frequency of the different modes of stem failure. For each of the major modes of failure, we performed binary logistic regression to identify associated risk factors. Results Survivorship of the stems, using aseptic revision as the endpoint, was 85% for the patients with the PROFE-MUR 1 E stems with a mean followup of 50 months (range, 1-125 months) and 85% for the PROFEMUR 1 Z with a mean followup of 50 months (range, 1-125 months)(95% CI, 74-87 months). The most common modes of failure were loosening (9% for the PROFEMUR 1 E), neck fracture (6% for the PROFEMUR 1 Z and 0.6% for the PROFEMUR 1 E), metallosis (1%), and periprosthetic fracture (1%). Only the bimodular PROFEMUR 1 E was associated with femoral stem loosening (odds ratio [OR] =1.1; 95% CI, 1.04-1.140; p = 0.032). Larger head (OR = 3.2; 95% CI, 0.7-14; p = 0.096), BMI (OR = 1.19; 95% CI, 1-1.4; p = 0.038) and total offset (OR = 1.83; 95% CI, 1.13-2.9; p = 0.039) were associated with neck fracture.

IV.

IntroductionInstability after total knee arthroplasty is a critical problem. The purpose of this study was to clarify the stability of implanted knees during walking by comparing differences in dynamic instability during knee acceleration between individuals with or without previously experienced subjective instability, as measured by self-reported questionnaire.Materials and methodsWe examined 92 knees with medial pivot implants. Mean patient age and follow-up duration were 78.4 years and 32.8 months, respectively. An accelerometer was used to investigate the accelerations along three axes; that is, vertical (VT), mediolateral (ML), and anteroposterior (AP) directions in 3-dimensional (3D) space. The analysis in the stance phase and gait cycle was performed by: (1) root mean square (RMS) values of acceleration and (2) frequency domain analysis using fast Fourier transformation (FFT). A self-reported knee instability score was used for the subjective feeling of instability.ResultsA total of 76 knees did not feel unstable (group 0), but 16 knees felt unstable (group 1) in patients during activities of daily living. Regarding the RMS, there were no differences in each direction between the groups. For FFT, the cumulative amplitude in the frequency < 30 Hz also showed no significant differences in all directions between the groups during the stance phase (VT, p = 0.335; ML, p = 0.219; AP, p = 0.523) or gait cycle (VT, p = 0.077; ML, p = 0.082; AP, p = 0.499).DiscussionGait analysis based on the acceleration data showed that there were no between-group differences in objective dynamic instability during acceleration of the knee, with or without reports of previously experienced subjective instability, as assessed by the self-reported questionnaire.