Combined Biologic Augmentation Strategies with Collagen Patch Graft, Microfractures, and Platelet Concentrate Injections Improve Functional and Structural Outcomes of Arthroscopic Revision Rotator Cuff Repair

Background: Arthroscopic revision rotator cuff repair (ARRCR) is challenging. Biologic strategies seem to be promising. The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the combination of microfractures of the greater tuberosity, augmentation with collagen patch graft, and platelet concentrate injections in ARRCR. Methods: A retrospective comparative study was conducted on patients that underwent ARRCR with a minimum follow-up of two years. Patients in the augmentation group underwent ARRCR combined with microfractures, collagen patch graft, and postoperative subacromial injections of platelet concentrate. A standard rotator cuff repair was performed in the control group. Primary outcome: Constant-Murley score (CMS). Secondary outcomes: disease-specific, health-related quality of life using the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder, and Hand (DASH) score; assessment of tendon integrity with magnetic resonance at least six months after surgery. Significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Forty patients were included. Mean follow-up was 36.2 ± 8.7 months. The mean CMS was greater in the augmentation group (p = 0.022). No differences could be found for DASH score. Healing failure rate was higher in the control group (p = 0.002). Conclusion: Biologic augmentation of ARRCR using a combination of microfractures, collagen patch graft, and subacromial injections of platelet concentrate is an effective strategy in improving tendon healing rate. Level of evidence: retrospective cohort study, level III

Anti-COVID vaccination for adolescents: A survey on determinants of vaccine parental hesitancy

Vaccine hesitancy has been considered one of the most severe threats to global health, as it represents an obstacle to achieving adequate vaccination coverage. Recent research studies aimed at investigating the propensity for anti-COVID vaccination among adults have found a high prevalence of vaccine hesitancy, but few data are available on parental vaccine hesitancy. We therefore built an anonymous online survey to investigate the factors related to the vaccine hesitancy of parents of adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age, with a special focus on demographic factors and the domains of confidence and complacency. The online survey was conducted by using the Crowd Signal platform from 15 July to 16 August 2021, in Italy. A total of 1799 analyzable questionnaires were analyzed. Overall, Favorable and Doubtful parents declared a higher level of confidence on safety and efficacy of pediatric vaccines and on confidence in health institutions than Hesitant/Reluctant ones (p-values &lt; 0.001). The univariate multinomial logistic regression analysis and the multivariate multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that the Hesitant/Reluctant parents were younger than 40 years of age, with a secondary-school or three-year degree, free-lance, with a family income below €28,000, with an erroneous perception of the risk of COVID-19 as disease and with fear of anti-COVID vaccination. These results, which should be confirmed in a larger population and in different geographical areas, should lead Institutions and stakeholders to identify targeted communication tools to improve trust in health institutions, especially by younger parents

J1−J2J_1-J_2 Quantum Heisenberg Antiferromagnet: Improved Spin-Wave Theories Versus Exact-Diagonalization Data

We reconsider the results cocerning the extreme-quantum $S=1/2$ square-lattice Heisenberg antiferromagnet with frustrating diagonal couplings ($J_1-J_2$ model) drawn from a comparison with exact-diagonalization data. A combined approach using also some intrinsic features of the self-consistent spin-wave theory leads to the conclusion that the theory strongly overestimates the stabilizing role of quantum flutcuations in respect to the N\'{e}el phase in the extreme-quantum case $S=1/2$. On the other hand, the analysis implies that the N\'{e}el phase remains stable at least up to the limit $J_{2}/J_{1} = 0.49$ which is pretty larger than some previous estimates. In addition, it is argued that the spin-wave ansatz predicts the existence of a finite range ($J_{2}/J_{1}<0.323$ in the linear spin-wave theory) where the Marshall-Peierls sigh rule survives the frustrations.Comment: 13 pages, LaTex, 7 figures on reques

Development of serious games for music education

Serious games have proved to be an effective educational tool in many fields. The first goal of this paper is to illustrate some possible applications to music and their advantages. Moreover, music can be characterized by heterogeneous multimedia contents. Among the different facets music information is made of it is worth citing music symbols, their graphical representations as scores, their audio renderings as tracks, etc. The international standard known as IEEE 1599 is an XML multilayer format for heterogeneous music contents, and describes such different aspects in an integrated and synchronized context. Making relationships among music contents explicit provides a potentially rich educational environment. Consequently, this paper discusses the concept of multilayer learning object, introduces the IEEE 1599 standard, and finally shows some applications and case studies

Pre-metamorphic melt infiltration in metasediments : geochemical, isotopic (Sr, Nd, and Pb), and field evidence from Serie dei Laghi (Southern Alps, Italy)

Gradual transitions from K-feldspar free gneisses to K-feldspar bearing augengneisses are sometimes observed in metamorphic terranes. They have been explained with metasomatic porphyroblastic growth connected with regional metamorphism, or with pre-metamorphic presence of magmatic megacrysts. A transition of this kind can be observed in the Serie dei Laghi (Southern Alps, Italy), where coarse-grained metaarenites (Cenerigneiss) grade into Ceneri augengneisses with large K-feldspar porphyroclasts, and banded amphibolites of the \u2018\u2018Strona Ceneri Border Zone\u2019\u2019 grade into Hbl augengneisses rich in K-feldspar. The Ceneri augengneisses are chemically indistinguishable from the Cenerigneiss, but have higher 87Sr=86Sr (0.7256\u20130.7258 vs. 0.7215\u20130.7233), similar to those of the Ordovician granites that were intruded, before the regional metamorphism, into the protoliths of both Cenerigneiss and amphibolites. The Cenerigneiss contains two types of zircons: (1) highly luminescent, rounded grains or fragments, yielding U\u2013Pb SHRIMP ages from 0.43 to 1.0 Ga; (2) euhedral grains with oscillatory zoning (magmatic), with U\u2013Pb SHRIMP concordant ages of 466 13 Ma. This age coincides with the Rb\u2013Sr whole rock emplacement age of the Ordovician granitoids (466 5Ma).The Hbl augengneisses form three groups with distinct geochemical patterns, whose distributions on inter-element diagrams trend towards the Ordovician metagranites and meta-aplites. In addition, the Hbl augengneisses have higher 87Sr=86Sr (0.7132\u20130.7147 vs. 0.7031\u20130.7046) and lower 143Nd=144Nd (0.51214\u20130.51219 vs. 0.51273\u20130.51297) than the amphibolites, suggesting the addition of an isotopically evolved component. The observed chemical and isotope patterns, as well as the vicinity of the augen gneisses to the Ordovician intrusions, lead us to conclude that the Ceneri augengneisses and Hbl augengneisses are the result of infiltration of residual hydrous magmas into the protolith of both the Cenerigneiss and the amphibolites at the time of Ordovician granite emplacement, long before the regional metamorphism in the Serie dei Laghi

Long COVID in Children and Adolescents

Severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. In children, the acute SARS-CoV-2 infection is often asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic, and life-threatening complications are rare. Nevertheless, there are two long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection in children that raise concern: multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) and long COVID. While the understanding and the experience regarding the acute phase of SARS-CoV-2 infection have remarkably increased over time, scientific and clinical research is still exploring the long-term effects of COVID-19. In children, data on long COVID are scant. Reports are conflicting regarding its prevalence, duration and impact on daily life. This narrative review explored the latest literature regarding long COVID-19 in the pediatric population. We showed that long COVID in children might be a relevant clinical problem. In most cases, the prognosis is good, but some children may develop long-term symptoms with a significant impact on their daily life. The paucity of studies on long COVID, including a control group of children not infected by SARS-CoV-2, prevents us from drawing firm conclusions. Whether the neuropsychiatric symptoms widely observed in children and adolescents with long COVID are the consequence of SARS-CoV-2 infection or are due to the tremendous stress resulting from the restrictions and the pandemics is still not clear. In both cases, psychological support can play a fundamental role in managing COVID pandemics in children. More knowledge is needed to share a standardized definition of the syndrome and improve its management and treatment

Alignment and preliminary outcomes of an ELT-size instrument to a very large telescope: LINC-NIRVANA at LBT

LINC-NIRVANA (LN) is a high resolution, near infrared imager that uses a multiple field-of-view, layer-oriented, multi-conjugate AO system, consisting of four multi-pyramid wavefront sensors (two for each arm of the Large Binocular Telescope, each conjugated to a different altitude). The system employs up to 40 star probes, looking at up to 20 natural guide stars simultaneously. Its final goal is to perform Fizeau interferometric imaging, thereby achieving ELT-like spatial resolution (22.8 m baseline resolution). For this reason, LN is also equipped with a fringe tracker, a beam combiner and a NIR science camera, for a total of more than 250 optical components and an overall size of approximately 6x4x4.5 meters. This paper describes the tradeoffs evaluated in order to achieve the alignment of the system to the telescope. We note that LN is comparable in size to planned ELT instrumentation. The impact of such alignment strategies will be compared and the selected procedure, where the LBT telescope is, in fact, aligned to the instrument, will be described. Furthermore, results coming from early night-time commissioning of the system will be presented.Comment: 8 pages, 6 pages, AO4ELT5 Proceedings, 201

Performance evaluation of a commercial protective coating through field-exposure tests on three stone substrates

In the last decades, there have been several studies on Cultural Heritage regarding the performance of protective and consolidating coatings for the prevention of decay. A coating must have several characteristics such as efficiency, breathability, and must be durable and reversible. In this research work, the performance of a commercial protective product (Fosbuild FBLE 200) was evaluated. This coating is composed of a TiO2 nanopowder dispersed in an aqueous solution of an acrylic polymer. The product, which exhibits depolluting, antimicrobial, water-repellent and self-cleaning properties, has been applied on three different lithotypes: Carrara marble, Noto stone, and Comiso stone. Field-exposure tests were carried out in two different outdoor environments (Catania and Palermo) in order to assess its suitability. Promising results were obtained for the Carrara marble after one year of exposure; however, a decrease in effectiveness was observed at the end of the second year

Persistent topology for natural data analysis - A survey

Natural data offer a hard challenge to data analysis. One set of tools is being developed by several teams to face this difficult task: Persistent topology. After a brief introduction to this theory, some applications to the analysis and classification of cells, lesions, music pieces, gait, oil and gas reservoirs, cyclones, galaxies, bones, brain connections, languages, handwritten and gestured letters are shown