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Background: Musculoskeletal adaptations are common in overhead athletes. As they also are involved in injury prevention, there has been an increase in their evaluation through shoulder screening over the last years. However, for some evaluations, and especially for functional testing, there is a lack of normative values, which limits the interpretation of the values measured. Moreover, the influence of age, gender, and sport on upper limb functional tests remains underexplored. Methods: Five hundred eighty seven athletes (handball players, rugby players, swimmers, tennis players, and volleyball players) performed a battery of upper limb functional tests between 2018 and 2023, including the Modified-Athletic Shoulder Test, the Single Arm Medicine Ball Throw, the Seated Single Arm Shot Put Test, the Upper Limb Rotation Test, the Upper Quarter Y Balance Test, the Modified Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test, and the Posterior Shoulder Endurance Test. In total, normative values as well as the influence of age, gender, and sport on upper limb functional performance were obtained for 496 of them. Results: The Modified-Athletic Shoulder Test revealed sport-specific adaptations, with dominant arms significantly outperforming nondominant arms, notably in handball, rugby, and tennis. The Single Arm Medicine Ball Throw and Seated Single Arm Shot Put Test highlighted the influence of age and gender on upper limb power, with males consistently outperforming females. The Upper Limb Rotation Test demonstrated similar rotation in both arms across sports, while gender disparities were still observed. The Upper Quarter Y Balance Test exhibited surprising consistency in upper-quarter balance across sports and age groups (P > .05). The Modified Closed Kinetic Chain Upper Extremity Stability Test showed age-related improvements in stability, while the Posterior Shoulder Endurance Test demonstrated age-related differences in posterior shoulder endurance in swimmers. Conclusion: This study contributes to advances in sports medicine by better understanding functional shoulder performances in upper limb athletes. The differences observed according to the sport, gender, or age underscore the importance of sport-specific assessments and interventions. Moreover, the normative values provided will be essential for primary prevention as well as for determining return-to-play capacity after an injury or surgery.

Background: Volleyball players sollicit their shoulder with high velocity and high ranges of motion. Musculoskeletal adaptations have been described after some years of practice but have not been explored after some months of practice. The objective of this study was to analyze the short-term evolution of shoulder clinical measures and functional performance in youth competitive volleyball players. Methods: Sixty-one volleyball players were assessed twice, at preseason and at midseason. Shoulder internal and external rotation range of motion as well as forward shoulder posture and scapular upward rotation were measured in all players. Two functional tests were also performed: the upper quarter Y-balance test and the Single-arm medicine ball throw. The results obtained at midseason were compared to those measured at preseason. Results: Compared to preseason, an increase in absolute value of shoulder external rotation, total rotation range of motion and forward shoulder posture were observed at midseason (P

Melamine (Mel) was used as host matrix for liquid nitroglycerin (NG), to prepare Mel/NG solid powdered compounds containing up to 45 wt% of this explosive. The two preparation processes used for this purpose consisted in evaporating a solution of both components, either in ambient conditions or under reduced pressure by the Spray Flash-Evaporation (SFE) process. In Mel/NG materials, amorphous nitroglycerin is distributed in the crystallized melamine matrix as inclusions, which were found to be smaller in size in the material prepared by the SFE process. Mel/NG materials are not stable over time: they gradually lose the nitroglycerin they contain by evaporation.