High quality sweet organic cherry ingredients by osmotic dehydration before freezing: the primary importance of cultivar

Sweet organic cherry (Prunus avium) is worth processing for its important nutritional value, linked to high anthocyanin content. Osmo-dehydrofreezing, a combined process where freezing is preceded by an osmotic dehydration step in concentrated sugar solution, could be the method of choice in order to maintain the original quality of fruit. The purpose of the present work was to evaluate the influence of cultivar on solid-liquid exchanges and on colour modification during osmotic dehydration carried out for 45 min at 25°C in a 65% (wt/wt) sucrose solution. For two consecutive years (2004, 2005) nine cultivars of sweet organic cherries were processed: two grown in the South and seven in the North of Italy. Water loss and soluble solids gain values were quite low, as already cited in literature, and they were strongly influenced by the cultivar. The process modi-fied cherry colour, causing a slight lightening mainly in cultivars with higher solid-liquid exchanges. The results underlined the utmost importance of the tis-sue structure, linked to the cultivar

Pathological hip fracture in the elderly: review and proposal of an algorithm

Objective. Current Italian guidelines recommend surgery within 24 hours from admission for hip fractures of the elderly. In such patients, a pathologic fracture of the proximal femur is not an uncommon event and may be consequent to bone metastases or primary tumours. This paper aims to investigate the current literature and to propose an algorithm to manage patients more securely. Methods. A review of the literature on diagnostic and therapeutic tools in pathologic fractures of the hip was conducted. Evidence from the literature was merged to define a flowchart for a safe clinical-diagnostic pathway. Results. Proper imaging is essential in the management of bone metastases, along with appropriate laboratory tests and within a multi-disciplinary setting. While bone metastases are the expression of a systemic disease, bone sarcomas have an extremely aggressive local course and an incorrect surgical procedure could heavily affect prognosis of the patient. The surgeon should not rush to treat a suspicion of a pathological fracture without having performed all necessary investigations. Conclusions. Orthopaedists must doubt a pathologic fracture. An algorithm could help standardise procedures and provide a tool for safe management of these patients

Eficacia de la corriente TENS combinada con ejercicios lumbopélvico de core para mejorar el grado de discapacidad funcional

The main objective of this research was to determine the efficacy of electroanalgesia therapy "TENS" combined with lumbopelvic strengthening exercises "Core" to reduce the degree of functional disability caused by chronic nonspecific low back pain in patients who attend the service of afternoon shift physiotherapy of the Social Welfare Institute of the city of Pilar. The methodology used in the work has been of a quasi-experimental design, of a descriptive observational nature with a quantitative approach, the variables that were taken into account were the sociodemographic characteristics of the patients, their level of functional disability and the level of pain of the patients. For the evaluation of the degree of disability, the Roland Morris questionnaire was used and for the evaluation of pain, the visual analog pain scale was used, in both cases before and after treatment. For the tabulation and processing of the data obtained, the statistical analysis software SPSS and Excel were used. Among the main findings, and thanks to the Wilcoxon statistical test, which showed a statistical significance of P < 0.000, it can be stated that the treatment is effective in reducing the level of functional disability and pain in patients. Based on the foregoing, we can say that the "TENS" electroanalgesia treatment combined with "Core" lumbopelvic strengthening exercises represents a valid treatment alternative to be taken into account for clinical practice.La Presente investigación tuvo como objetivo principal, determinar la eficacia de la terapia de electroanalgesia “TENS” combinada con ejercicios de fortalecimiento lumbopélvicos “Core” para disminuir el grado de discapacidad funcional provocado por el dolor lumbar crónico inespecífico (DLI) en los pacientes que acuden al servicio de fisioterapia turno tarde del Instituto de Previsión Social de la ciudad de Pilar. La metodología utilizada en el trabajo ha sido de diseño cuasi experimental, de carácter  observacional descriptivo con un enfoque cuantitativo, las variables que se tuvieron en cuenta fueron, las características sociodemográficas de los pacientes, su nivel de discapacidad funcional y el  nivel de dolor de los mismos, para la evaluación del grado de discapacidad se utilizó el cuestionario de Roland Morris y para la evaluación del dolor se utilizó la escala visual análoga del dolor, en ambos casos en un antes y después del tratamiento. Para la tabulación y el procesamiento de los datos obtenidos se utilizaron los softwares de análisis estadístico SPSS y Excel. Entre los principales hallazgos, y gracias a la prueba estadística de Wilcoxon, que demostró una significancia estadística de P< 0,000 se puede afirmar que el tratamiento es efectivo para disminuir el nivel de discapacidad funcional y el dolor en los pacientes. Por lo expuesto, podemos decir que el tratamiento de electroanalgesia “TENS” combinada con ejercicios de fortalecimientos lumbopélvicos “Core” representa una alternativa válida de tratamiento a ser tenida en cuenta para la práctica clínica

Resection Techniques During Robotic Partial Nephrectomy: A Systematic Review

CONTEXT: The resection technique used to excise tumor during robotic partial nephrectomy (RPN) is of paramount importance in achieving optimal clinical outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To provide an overview of the different resection techniques used during RPN, and a pooled analysis of comparative studies. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: The systematic review was conducted according to established principles (PROSPERO: CRD42022371640) on November 7, 2022. A population (P: adult patients undergoing RPN), intervention (I: enucleation), comparator (C: enucleoresection or wedge resection), outcome (O: outcome measurements of interest), and study design (S) framework was prespecified to assess study eligibility. Studies reporting a detailed description of resection techniques and/or evaluating the impact of resection technique on outcomes of surgery were included. EVIDENCE SYNTHESIS: Resection techniques used during RPN can be broadly classified as resection (non-anatomic) or enucleation (anatomic). A standardized definition for these is lacking. Out of 20 studies retrieved, nine compared "standard" resection versus enucleation. A pooled analysis did not reveal significant differences in terms of operative time, ischemia time, blood loss, transfusions, or positive margins. Significant differences favoring enucleation were found for clamping management (odds ratio [OR] for renal artery clamping 3.51, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.13-10.88; p = 0.03), overall complications (OR for occurrence 0.55, 95% CI 0.34-0.87; p = 0.01) major complications (OR for occurrence 0.39, 95% CI 0.19-0.79; p = 0.009), length of stay (weighted mean difference [WMD] -0.72 d, 95% CI -0.99 to -0.45; p < 0.001), and decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate (WMD -2.64 ml/min, 95% CI -5.15 to -0.12; p = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: There is heterogeneity in the reporting of resection techniques used during RPN. The urological community must improve the quality of reporting and research produced accordingly. Positive margins are not specifically related to the resection technique. Focusing on studies comparing standard resection versus enucleation, advantages with tumor enucleation in terms of avoidance of artery clamping, overall/major complications, length of stay, and renal function were found. These data should be considered when planning the RPN resection strategy. PATIENT SUMMARY: We reviewed studies on robotic surgery for partial kidney removal using different techniques to cut away the kidney tumor. We found that a technique called "enucleation" was associated with similar cancer control outcomes in comparison to the standard technique and had fewer complications, better kidney function after surgery, and a shorter hospital stay