1. A coated urea-formaldehyde polymer derived from a process comprising depositing NBPT onto urea-formaldehyde polymers selected from those sold under the name PERGOPAK\xae M by the Albemarle Corporation, wherein said NBPT is deposited onto said urea-formaldehyde polymers by contacting, in a drying device, a urea-formaldehyde polymer with a solution comprising a solvent selected from ethers, alcohols, hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons and said NBPT under conditions including elevated temperatures and sub-atmospheric pressures.
2. A coated urea-formaldehyde polymer derived from a process comprising contacting a urea-formaldehyde polymer selected from those sold under the name PERGOPAK\xae M by the Albemarle Corporation, with a solution comprising tetrahydrofuran and an active ingredient under conditions including elevated temperatures and sub-atmospheric pressures.
3. An active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer having an active ingredient concentration greater than about 35 wt. %, based on the weight of the active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer, wherein said active ingredient is selected from urease inhibitors, fungicides and insecticides.
4. An active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer having an active ingredient concentration greater than about 35 wt. %, based on the weight of the active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer, wherein said active ingredient is one or more of urease inhibitors, fungicides, and insecticides, said active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer made by
a) a process comprising depositing said active ingredient onto urea-formaldehyde polymers, wherein said active ingredient is deposited onto said urea-formaldehyde polymers by contacting, in a drying device, a urea-formaldehyde polymer with a solution comprising a solvent selected from ethers, alcohols, hydrocarbons, halogenated hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons and said active ingredient under conditions including elevated temperatures and sub-atmospheric pressures thereby forming said active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer; or
b) a process comprising contacting a urea-formaldehyde polymer with a solution comprising tetrahydrofuran and said active ingredient active ingredient under conditions including elevated temperatures and sub-atmospheric pressures thereby forming said active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer.
5. The active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer according to claim 4 wherein said active ingredient is selected from urease inhibitors, fungicides and insecticides.
6. The active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer according to claim 4 wherein said active ingredient is a urease inhibitor.
7. The active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer according to claim 4 wherein said urease inhibitor is NBPT.
8. The active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer according to claim 5 wherein the active ingredient concentration is in the range of from about 40 wt. % to about 80 wt. %, based on the weight of the active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer.
9. The active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer according to claim 4 wherein the storage life of the active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymers is at least twice that of active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymers that were coated using NMP as a solvent.
10. The active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer according to claim 8 wherein the storage life of the active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymers is at least twice that of active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymers that were coated using NMP as a solvent.
11. The use of the active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer according to claim 4 in agricultural applications wherein the function of a urease inhibitor is desired.
12. The use of the active-ingredient-coated urea-formaldehyde polymer according to claim 10 in agricultural applications wherein the function of a urease inhibitor is desired.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A system for repairing acetabulum fractures, the system comprising:
a bone plate comprising:
a body elongated in a longitudinal direction, the body having an upper face and a lower face opposite the upper face; and
a plurality of openings that extend through the upper and lower faces of the elongated body, each opening being at least partially defined by a sidewall; and
a bolt comprising:
a hollow shaft sized to pass through any of said plurality of openings of the elongated body, the shaft defining an opening at a distal end thereof and comprising internal threads that are configured to cooperatively couple with external threads of a screw, the shaft further defining a longitudinal axis; and
a head sized to cooperate with the sidewall of any of said plurality of openings to prevent the bolt from passing completely through an opening when the shaft of the bolt is advanced through the opening in a distal direction and into a pelvis through an interior surface of the pelvis, the head comprising a surface that is configured to cooperate with the sidewall to prevent the bolt from rotating about the longitudinal axis as a screw is advanced through the opening at the distal end of the bolt and is coupled with the internal threads of the bolt.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of openings is elongated such that the head of the bolt is permitted to translate relative to the sidewall when the head of the bolt is within the sidewall.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the head of the bolt is configured to cooperate with the sidewall to prevent translation of the bolt therein once a screw has been advanced sufficiently far into the bolt to secure the bone plate to a bone.
4. The system of claim 2, wherein the plurality of openings are elongated in the longitudinal direction along which the body of the bone plate is elongated
5. The system of claim 1, wherein the sidewall comprises a pair of substantially planar surfaces that slope inwardly in a direction away from the upper face and toward the lower face of the body of the bone plate.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the head of the bolt comprises a pair of substantially planar surfaces that are complementary to the substantially planar surfaces of the sidewall.
7. The system of claim 1, wherein the body of the bone plate comprises opposing side faces that extend between the upper and lower faces, wherein the side faces comprise pairs of opposing notches that extend inwardly toward each other, and wherein each pair of opposing notches is positioned longitudinally between adjacent openings.
8. The system of claim 1, further comprising a cannulated screw configured to couple with the bolt.
9. A bone plate comprising:
a body elongated in a longitudinal direction, the body having an upper face, a lower face opposite the upper face, and opposing side faces that extend between the upper and lower faces;
a plurality of openings that extend through the upper and lower faces of the elongated body, each opening being defined by a sidewall that extends from the upper face to the lower face of the body, wherein each sidewall comprises a surface that is configured to prevent rotation of a head of a bolt within the opening; and
a plurality of opposing pairs of notches defined by the sidewalls of the body, each pair extending inwardly toward each other and positioned longitudinally between adjacent openings.
10. The bone plate of claim 9, wherein each opening is elongated in the longitudinal direction so as to permit a head of a bolt to translate longitudinally therein prior to tightening of the bolt.
11. The bone plate of claim 9, wherein the surface of each sidewall that is configured to prevent rotation of a head of a bolt within an opening is substantially planar and is angled inwardly in a direction from the upper face toward the lower face of the body.
12. The bone plate of claim 11, wherein the substantially planar surface extends from the upper face to a position above the lower face that is no more than about 13 of a distance between the upper and lower faces.
13. The bone plate of claim 9, wherein the plurality of openings are aligned along a longitudinal axis of the bone plate.
14. An alignment assembly for acetabulum repairs, the alignment assembly comprising:
a substantially linear guiding arm;
a first translational arm configured to selectively translate relative to the guiding arm without rotating relative thereto;
an actuator configured to transition between an unfixed orientation and a fixed orientation, wherein, when the actuator is in the unfixed orientation, the first translational arm is permitted to translate relative to the guiding arm, and when the actuator is in the fixed orientation, the first translational arm is prevented from translating relative to the guiding arm;
an elongated protective sleeve that is fixed relative to the first translational arm and defines a central axis that is substantially parallel to the linear guiding arm, the protection sleeve defining an inner lumen through which a cannulated drill bit can pass; and
a first alignment arm that is fixed relative to the guiding arm and that comprises a target tip that is aligned with the central axis of the protection sleeve.
15. The alignment assembly of claim 14, wherein one or more of the first alignment arm and the first translational arm are selectively removable from the guiding arm.
16. The alignment assembly of claim 15, further comprising a second alignment arm and a second translational arm each configured to couple with the guiding arm, wherein the second alignment arm and the second translational arm have different lengths than those of the first alignment arm and the first translational arm, respectively.
17. The alignment assembly of claim 14, wherein the translational arm comprises the actuator.
18. The alignment assembly of claim 14, wherein the actuator comprises a clamping device.
19. The alignment assembly of claim 14, wherein the actuator can be transitioned between the unfixed and fixed orientations multiple times so as to advance the translational arm toward the alignment arm.
20. The alignment assembly of claim 14, further comprising a translational sheath coupled with the translational arm, wherein an inner surface of the translational sheath is complementary to an outer surface of the guiding arm such that the translation sheath and the guiding arm cooperate to prevent rotation of the translational arm relative to the guiding arm.
21. The alignment assembly of claim 14, further comprising a constriction sleeve configured to be received within and selectively coupled to the protection sleeve, wherein the constriction sleeve defines a smaller inner lumen than does the protection sleeve so as to permit a guidwire to pass therethrough along a more constricted path.
22. A system for introducing a bolt into the true pelvis of a patient for repairing an acetabulum fracture, the system comprising:
a flexible cable that terminates at a proximal end;
a plunger defining a lumen sized to receive the flexible cable therein, the plunger comprising a clamping system that is configured to transition between a translational state, in which the plunger is permitted to translate freely over the cable, and a clamping state, in which the plunger is fixed relative to the cable, the plunger further comprising an elongated tip; and
a bolt defining a lumen sized to receive the flexible cable therein, the bolt comprising a hollow shaft that includes internal threads configured to cooperatively couple with external threads of a screw, the bolt further comprising a head that defines an opening shaped to receive the elongated tip therein so as to align longitudinal axes of the plunger and the bolt,
wherein, when the plunger is fixed relative to the cable and the tip of the plunger is received within the bolt, movement of the cable in a first direction causes or maintains contact between the plunger and the bolt, which contact causes the bolt to move in the first direction, and movement of the cable in a second direction removes the tip of the plunger from the bolt.
23. The system of claim 22, wherein movement of the cable in the first direction provides sufficient force to the bolt to introduce the bolt into a bone such that the bone frictionally engages an outer surface of the bolt, and wherein removal of the tip of the plunger from the bolt requires a force smaller that the force of frictional engagement between the bone and the bolt.
24. The system of claim 23, wherein the bolt frictionally engages the tip of the plunger when the tip of the plunger is received therein.
25. The system of claim 22, wherein the plunger comprises a projection that extends radially outwardly from the tip of the plunger, and wherein the projection engages the head of the bolt when the cable is moved in the first direction.
26. The system of claim 25, wherein the projection comprises a rim that extends about a periphery of the plunger.
27. The system of claim 22, wherein the clamping system of the plunger comprises an internally threaded cap and a plurality of externally threaded prongs, and wherein the clamping system is transitioned from the translational state to the clamping state by tightening of the cap.
28. The system of claim 22, further comprising a cannulated screw configured to couple with the bolt.
29. A method of repairing an acetabulum fracture, the method comprising:
providing a bone plate that comprises a plurality of openings;
introducing the bone plate into the true pelvis of the patient;
positioning the bone plate against an interior surface of the pelvis;
drilling a hole through a pelvic bone in a direction from a lateral surface of the pelvis toward an interior of the pelvis;
inserting a bolt through an opening of the bone plate and into the hole in the pelvic bone in a direction from the interior of the pelvis toward the lateral surface of the pelvis; and
introducing a screw through the hole in the pelvic bone and into the bolt in the direction from the lateral surface of the pelvis toward the interior of the pelvis.
30. The method of claim 29, further comprising:
creating a first incision in an abdominal region of a patient; and
creating a second incision in a position that is lateral to the first incision,
wherein introducing the bone plate into the true pelvis is achieved by advancing the bone plate through the first incision, and wherein drilling a hole through the pelvic bone is achieved by advancing a drill bit through the second incision.
31. The method of claim 29, further comprising shaping the bone plate via a bending press or pliers prior to introducing the bone plate through the first incision.
32. The method of claim 29, further comprising tightening the screw, wherein the bolt and the bone plate cooperate with each other to prevent the bolt from rotating as the screw is tightened.
33. A method of repairing an acetabulum fracture, the method comprising:
providing a bone plate that comprises a plurality of openings;
positioning the bone plate against an interior surface of the pelvis of a patient;
drilling a hole through a pelvic bone in a direction from a lateral surface of the pelvis toward an interior of the pelvis;
introducing a cable through the hole and through an opening of the bone plate in a first direction from a lateral surface of the pelvis toward an interior of the pelvis;
advancing a bolt over the cable;
inserting a plunger into the bolt;
coupling the plunger to the cable; and
moving the cable in a second direction opposite the first direction so as to advance the bolt into the hole in the pelvic bone.
34. The method of claim 33, further comprising moving the cable in the first direction once the bolt is within the hole of the pelvic bone so as to remove the plunger from the bolt.
35. The method of claim 33, further comprising:
advancing a cannulated screw in the first direction over the cable and into the bolt; and
tightening the screw.
36. A method of repairing an acetabulum fracture, the method comprising:
providing a bone plate that comprises a plurality of openings;
providing an alignment assembly that comprises a target tip and a protective sleeve that are aligned along a central axis defined by the protective sleeve;
creating a first incision in an abdominal region of a patient;
introducing the bone plate through the first incision and into the true pelvis of the patient;
positioning the bone plate against an interior surface of the pelvis;
introducing the target tip of the alignment assembly through the first incision and into one of the openings of the bone plate;
creating a second incision that is lateral to the first incision; and
advancing the protective sleeve toward the target tip and into contact with a lateral surface of a pelvic bone while maintaining the alignment between the target tip and the protective sleeve.
37. The method of claim 36, wherein the protective sleeve includes a removable constriction sleeve therein, the method further comprising inserting a guidewire through the constriction sleeve and into the pelvic bone.
38. The method of claim 37, further comprising:
removing the constriction sleeve from the protective sleeve;
inserting a cannulated drill bit over the guidewire; and
drilling a hole in the pelvic bone along a line directed toward the target tip of the alignment assembly.
39. The method of claim 38, further comprising:
removing the guidewire through the cannulated drill bit; and
inserting a cable through the drill bit, through the hole in the pelvic bone, and through an opening of the bone plate.