Hyaluronic Acid and Platelet Rich Plasma in Hip Osteoarthritis: Work in Progress

In OA, the concentration and the molecular weight of HA are reduced, resulting in synovial fluid of lower elasticity and viscosity: diluitional effects, reduced hyaluronan synthesis and free radical degradation are the factors which contribute to the lower concentrations of HA. When the visco elasticity of synovial fluid is reduced, the transmission of mechanical force to cartilage may increase its susceptibility to mechanical damage [2]

Sonoelastography in the diagnosis of tendinopathies: An added value

BACKGROUND: sonoelastography helps in the detection of abnormalities not yet evident on B-mode exam. METHODS: in this observational study, we report a collection of cases of symptomatic patients without alterations at ultrasound imaging but with evidence of pathological findings at sonoelastography. Patients, with clinical history suggestive for tendinopathies or surgically treated, and negative at the ultrasound exam, were submitted to sonoelastography. Out of 846, 632 patients with positive ultrasound exam were excluded. Sonoelastography was therefore performed in the remaining 214. RESULTS: the examination was positive in 168 cases: 78 patients were affected with shoulder diseases, while elbow pathology was observed in 31 subjects; patellar, Achilles and plantar fascia disorders were reported in 19, 27, and 13 patients, respectively. CONCLUSION: sonoelastography can reveal tendon abnormalities of clinical relevance in a high percentage of cases, where the ultrasound exam was negative, making the method a complementary tool to ultrasound evaluation

Face Authentication using Speed Fractal Technique

In this paper, a new fractal based recognition method, Face Authentication using Speed Fractal Technique (FAST), is presented. The main contribution is the good compromise between memory requirements, execution time and recognition ratio. FAST is based on Iterated Function Systems (IFS) theory, largely studied in still image compression and indexing, but not yet widely used for face recognition. Indeed, Fractals are well known to be invariant to a large set of global transformations. FAST is robust with respect to meaningful variations in facial expression and to the small changes of illumination and pose. Another advantage of the FAST strategy consists in the speed up that it introduces. The typical slowness of fractal image compression is avoided by exploiting only the indexing phase, which requires time O(D log (D)), where D is the size of the domain pool. Lastly, the FAST algorithm compares well to a large set of other recognition methods, as underlined in the experimental results

Sarcopenia: age-related skeletal muscle changes from determinants to physical disability.

Human aging is characterized by skeletal muscle wasting, a debilitating condition which sets the susceptibility for diseases that directly affect the quality of life and often limit life span. Sarcopenia, i.e. the reduction of muscle mass and/or function, is the consequence of a reduction of protein synthesis and an increase in muscle protein degradation. In addition, the capacity for muscle regeneration is severely impaired in aging and this can lead to disability, particularly in patients with other concomitant diseases or organ impairment. Immobility and lack of exercise, increased levels of proinflammatory cytokines, increased production of oxygen free radicals or impaired detoxification, low anabolic hormone output, malnutrition and reduced neurological drive have been advocated as being responsible for sarcopenia. It is intriguing to notice that multiple pathways converge on skeletal muscle dysfunction, but the factors involved sometimes diverge to different pathways, thus intersecting at critical points. It is reasonable to argue that the activity of these nodes results from the net balance of regulating mechanisms, as in the case of the GH/IGF-1 axis, the testosterone and Cortisol functions, the pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and receptors. Both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms operate in regulating the final phenotype, the extent of muscle atrophy and reduction in strength and force generation. It is widely accepted that intervention on lifestyle habits represents an affordable and practical way to modify on a large scale some detrimental outcomes of aging, and particularly sarcopenia. The identification of the molecular chain able to reverse sarcopenia is a major goal of studies on human aging

Il suolo ci regala tanto. Non calpestiamolo

LIFE + SAM4CP “Soil Administration Model 4 Community Profit” (www.sam4cp.com), aims to demonstrate that the planning and regulation of land use require the integration of policies for the protection of soil resources and evaluation the economic implications, in terms of cost/benefit, their impact on the ecosystemic functions of the resource itself. With effects on the production capacity, availability of raw materials, biodiversity, carbon cycle, water cycle, landscape heritage and environmental functions of rural areas and the hydrogeological hazards. The project aims to propose simulation models on the impacts of soil sealing both the consequences, regarding ecosystem and economic, for the community, to be used in the context of urban planning and policies of government land