Fair referee assignment for the Italian soccer serieA

The Referee Assignment Problem (RAP) is a novel arising problem in sports management, in which a limited number of referees with different qualifications and availabilities should be assigned to a set of games already scheduled, in order to respect a list of constraints. Number and nature of these constraints may significantly vary for sports, nation and type of league. Almost each tournament has its own particular set of constraints to be satisfied, therefore it is very difficult to generalize this problem. The goal of the problem is to find a feasible assignment, i.e., a configuration which allows to respect all the constraints given. An extension of the RAP is the Fair Referee Assignment Problem (FRAP), in which the objective is to minimize the violation of a set of soft (optional) constraints, while satisfying all the hard (mandatory) ones. In this work, the Italian Major Soccer League, the so-called SERIE A, is addressed, and an integer programming model for the related FRAP is proposed. Soft and hard constraints have been formulated according to the rules suggested by the AIA (Italian Referee Association) which is in charge of referee assignment for the SerieA. The model has been tested on a real instance taken from the season 2011/2012. Results obtained show the efficacy and the effectiveness of the model

The place of echoendoscopy in Italy

L'échoendoscopie a fait ses débuts en Italie en 1981 grâce au travail d'un groupe de pionniers de l'Université de Bologne. A compter de cette date, l'échoendoscopie italienne a fait de considérables progrès en termes de technique et d'organisation tant sur le plan quantitatif que qualitatif, mais beaucoup de travail reste à faire surtout en ce qui concerne la ponction guidée sous écho-endoscopie (EUS-FNA) à visée diagnostique et thérapeutique. Dans ce domaine, une collaboration active entre le Groupe de Travail Italien pour l'échoendoscopie et les Clubs Français et Belge est largement souhaitable

Correlation between dynamic knee valgus and quadriceps activation time in female athletes

Objectives: The risk for female athletes suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury is 3.5 times more than males. The high rate of anterior cruciate ligament injuries in females compared to males appears to be due to worse neuromuscular control strategies. The unbalanced ratio between the medial and lateral quadriceps and the dynamic valgus knee contribute to increasing the risk of the lesion to the anterior cruciate ligament. This study aims to evaluate the correlation between the increased dynamic valgus knee and the reduction of the mediolateral quadriceps ratio in recruitment and timing during a movement that puts the anterior cruciate ligament under stress. Methods: We enrolled sixty athletes (30 males and 30 females): professional dancers, soccer, and volleyball players. To put stress on the anterior cruciate, the athlete falls with one leg from a 32 cm platform. Four surface EMG probes determined the rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis (VM), semitendinosus (ST), and biceps femoris (BF) activation time. An inertial motion sensor connected to the probes can quantify the preactivation time of the muscles. An open-source video post-production software (Kinovea) defined the angle dynamic valgus knee. Results: female athletes showed a delayed mediolateral quadriceps activation and wider dynamic valgus knee angles compared to males. Pearson's r test (t = 9.8, df = 58, p<0.05) showed a significant correlation of 0.79. Conclusions: These results seem to suggest a linear correlation between late activation of the vastus medialis recorded in women and the dynamic angles of the valgus. These findings confirm the need for training programs that increase neuromuscular control strategies

Endoscopic ultrasound in portal hypertension

L'échoendoscopie (USE), en combinant la qualité de l'imagerie endoscopique et échographique toujours plus sophistiquée, peut aujourd'hui fournir une évaluation presque complète du système porte et de la circulation veineuse collatérale porto-systémique. Pour cette raison, pendant ces dernières années, plusieurs études ont été publiées dans le but d'explorer le potentiel diagnostique de l'USE dans le domaine de l'hypertension portais (HP) et ses multiples utilisations cliniques, même s'il manque encore des preuves rigoureuses que le diagnostic endosonographique et la therapie assistée par USE puissent avoir un impact clinique clair et surtout influencer la prise en charge thérapeutique, le pronostic et la survie des malades

Isotopic characterization of rapid climatic events during OIS 3 and OIS4 in Villars Cave stalagmites (SW-France) and correlation with Atlantic and Mediterranean pollen records

International audienc

Safety of hospital discharge before return of bowel function after elective colorectal surgery

Background: Ileus is common after colorectal surgery and is associated with an increased risk of postoperative complications. Identifying features of normal bowel recovery and the appropriateness for hospital discharge is challenging. This study explored the safety of hospital discharge before the return of bowel function. Methods: A prospective, multicentre cohort study was undertaken across an international collaborative network. Adult patients undergoing elective colorectal resection between January and April 2018 were included. The main outcome of interest was readmission to hospital within 30 days of surgery. The impact of discharge timing according to the return of bowel function was explored using multivariable regression analysis. Other outcomes were postoperative complications within 30 days of surgery, measured using the Clavien–Dindo classification system. Results: A total of 3288 patients were included in the analysis, of whom 301 (9·2 per cent) were discharged before the return of bowel function. The median duration of hospital stay for patients discharged before and after return of bowel function was 5 (i.q.r. 4–7) and 7 (6–8) days respectively (P < 0·001). There were no significant differences in rates of readmission between these groups (6·6 versus 8·0 per cent; P = 0·499), and this remained the case after multivariable adjustment for baseline differences (odds ratio 0·90, 95 per cent c.i. 0·55 to 1·46; P = 0·659). Rates of postoperative complications were also similar in those discharged before versus after return of bowel function (minor: 34·7 versus 39·5 per cent; major 3·3 versus 3·4 per cent; P = 0·110). Conclusion: Discharge before return of bowel function after elective colorectal surgery appears to be safe in appropriately selected patients