RETRACTION of the paper: About some issues concerning shape memory alloys application s in neuro-rehabilitation, METABK 59(1) (2020), 137-140.

RETRACTION NOTICE for the paper: About some issues concerning shape memory alloys application s in neuro-rehabilitation, METABK 59(1) (2020), 137-140

Vanadium micro-alloyed high strength steels for forgings

To fulfill the industrial demand of forged steels with high tensile properties and microstructural requirements coupled with reduced cost, the possibility to increase the properties of C-Mn steels by means of precipitation strengthening as achieved by micro-alloying (and without the addition of expensive elements such as Mo and Cr) has been evaluated. In order to do that, the effect of V addition has been exploited by means of metallurgical modelling followed by a laboratory ingot manufacturing. Heat treatment has been designed aimed to achieve the desired target tensile properties. Results show that ASTM A694 F70 grade requirements can bel fulfilled by 0,15% V addition and a proper heat treatment in a ferrite-pearlite microstructure, representative of a forged component

Does partial tear repair of adjacent tendons improve the outcome of supraspinatus tendonfull-thickness tear reinsertion?

AbstractBackgroundPartial tearing of the infraspinatus and/or subscapularis tendon(s) is frequently associated with supraspinatus full-thickness tears. However, limited data regarding its influence on supraspinatus surgical repair is available.PurposeOur aim was to assess the functional and anatomical outcomes of open repair of supraspinatus full-thickness tears combined with adjacent partial tearing, comparatively to a control.MethodsWe retrospectively identified 22 patients (22 shoulders) with a partial tear, most of them being a delamination tear, of the infraspinatus and/or subscapularis tendons associated with a complete detachment of the supraspinatus tendon. Twenty-seven patients (27 shoulders) treated for an isolated complete detachment of the supraspinatus tendon by open repair served as controls. The mean age was 58 years. A proximalized trans-osseous reinsertion of the supraspinatus tendon was combined with a curettage-closure of the delamination tear. Patients were evaluated with standardized MRI at last follow-up.ResultsAt a mean of 75-month follow-up, the presence of a partial tear of either infraspinatus or subscapularis, or both, did not influence function and healing rates of supraspinatus tendon repair. Conversely to the control, when a retear occurred, the functional score tended to worsen. Preoperatively, fatty muscular degeneration was more pronounced when a partial tear was present. Fatty degeneration worsened regardless of repair healing.ConclusionOpen reinsertion of a supraspinatus full-thickness tear associated with a thorough treatment of partial tear of adjacent tendons led to optimal functional and anatomical mid term outcomes. Our results suggest the presence of a partial tear of adjacent tendons could be associated with poorer function in case of supraspinatus tendon re-rupture.Level of evidenceLevel III case-control study

RETRACTED: About some issues concerning shape memory alloys applications in neuro-rehabilitation

Shape memory alloys (SMAs) are a very promising class of metallic materials showing promising nonlinear properties, such as pseudo-elasticity behavior, shape memory effect and damping capacity, due to high mechanical hysteresis and internal friction. SMA have been recently applied in the field of neuromuscular rehabilitation, designing some new devices based on the above properties. The paper discusses possible uses of these materials in the treatment of movement disorders, such as dystonia or hyperkinesia, where their dynamic characteristics can be the key issue

Disegno metallurgico di una microstruttura alto resistenziale ad alta tenacità e deformabilità migliorata

A causa della domanda crescente di gas, si sta rendendo necessaria la costruzione di lunghi gasdotti cheattraversino regioni sismicamente attive e/o regioni artiche in cui movimenti del terreno causati dalla presenzadi “permafrost” possano sottoporre a deformazione il gasdotto stesso. Perché tali gasdotti possano lavorare insicurezza, è necessario l’utilizzo di tubi che soddisfino requisiti di “strain-based design”. Ciò implica la richiestadi un basso rapporto Y/T in direzione longitudinale del tubo, di una curva sforzo-deformazione continua, diun alto grado resistenziale in direzione trasversale. Inoltre, una adeguata tenacità è richiesta, anche a bassetemperature. Per raggiungere tali obiettivi è necessario un opportuno disegno metallurgico della microstrutturadella lamiera di partenza, attraverso la comprensione dei meccanismi microstrutturali che regolano leproprietà meccaniche, e che guidino di conseguenza la definizione della composizione chimica e dei parametridi processo da adottare. Il lavoro qui presentato riporta i risultati conseguiti in tal senso nell’ambito di unprogetto di cooperazione tra Baosteel e CSM

Long-term effectiveness of benralizumab in severe eosinophilic asthma patients treated for 96-weeks: data from the ANANKE study

Background: The efficacy of benralizumab has been broadly demonstrated in severe eosinophilic asthma (SEA), but only few real-life studies evaluated its long-term effects. Here we present novel data from the ANANKE study in which a large cohort of SEA patients was treated for up to 96 weeks. Methods: ANANKE (NCT04272463) is an observational retrospective Italian study investigating the key characteristics of SEA patients (collected during the 12 months prior to benralizumab initiation) and the clinical outcomes during benralizumab treatment (annual exacerbation rate [AER], lung function, asthma control, OCS use, healthcare resource utilization). A post hoc analysis was also conducted in groups of patients based on history of previous biologic therapy (bio-experienced versus naïve patients). Analyses were descriptive only. Results: Before benralizumab initiation, evaluable SEA patients (N = 162, 61.1% females, mean age 56.0 ± 12.7) showed a median blood eosinophil count (BEC) of 600 cells/mm3 (IQR: 430–890). Patients experienced frequent exacerbations (annualized exacerbation rate [AER]: 4.10, severe AER: 0.98), with impaired lung function and poor asthma control (median ACT score: 14) despite 25.3% reported oral corticosteroid (OCS) use. Nasal polyposis was present in 53.1% patients; 47.5% patients were atopic. After 96 weeks since the start of benralizumab, nearly 90% patients were still on treatment; benralizumab dramatically decreased exacerbations (AER: − 94.9%; severe AER: − 96.9%), improved respiratory parameters (median increase in pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume [pre-BD FEV1]: + 400 mL) and asthma control (median ACT score: 23) while eliminating OCS in 60% patients. Importantly, benralizumab effects were either maintained or progressively improved over time, accompanied by a nearly complete depletion of BEC. Benralizumab reduced AER both in naïve (any AER: − 95.9%; severe AER: − 97.5%) and bio-experienced patients (any AER: − 92.4%; severe AER: − 94.0%). Conclusions: Profound and sustained improvements in all asthma outcomes were observed with benralizumab. The correct identification of patients’ eosinophilic-driven asthma phenotype was essential to ensure the achievement of such remarkable results. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04272463

Female behavioral proceptivity functions as a probabilistic signal of fertility, not female quality, in a New World primate

The interests of males and females in mating contexts often conflict, and identifying the information conveyed by sexual signals is central to understanding how signalers manage such conflicts. Research into the information provided by female primate sexual signals has focused on exaggerated anogenital swellings as either reliable-indicators of reproductive quality (reliable-indicator hypothesis) or probabilistic signals of fertility (graded-signal hypothesis). While these morphological signals are mostly confined to catarrhine primates, these hypotheses are potentially widely applicable across primates, but have not been tested in taxa that lack such morphological signals. Here, we tested these hypotheses in wild black capuchins (Sapajus nigritus), a species in which females lack morphological sexual signals but produce conspicuous behavioral estrous displays. Specifically, we examined the proportion of time different females spent producing these signals with respect to measures of female quality (dominance rank, parity, age-related fecundity and cycle type) and in relation to the timing of fertility, as determined by analysis of fecal progesterone. Time spent displaying did not vary across females based on measures of female quality, but increased with the approach of ovulation. Further, male mating effort varied according to the timing of female fertility. Proceptive behaviors in this species thus meet predictions of the graded-signal hypothesis, providing the first support for this hypothesis based solely on behavioral signals

Feeling anxious? The mechanisms of vocal deception in tufted capuchin monkeys

An ability to deceive conspecifics is thought to have favoured the evolution of large brains in social animals, but evidence that such behaviours require cognitive complexity is lacking. Tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus spp.) have been documented to use false alarm calls during feeding in a manner that functions to deceive competitors. However, comparative evidence suggests that the production of vocalizations by nonhuman primates is largely underpinned by emotional mechanisms, calling into question more cognitive interpretations of this behaviour. To determine whether emotional states are plausibly necessary and sufficient to proximately explain deceptive alarm call production, we examined the association between self-directed behaviours (SDBs), as a proxy for anxiety, and the production of spontaneous false alarm calls among tufted capuchins. Specifically, we predicted that if anxiety is necessary for the production of false alarms, then individuals that produce spontaneous false alarms should exhibit more SDBs in those contexts in which they call. If anxiety is also sufficient to explain the false alarm call production, then we predicted that individuals that call more in a given context would show higher rates of SDBs in that context, and that high rates of calling would be temporally associated with high rates of SDBs. Our results support the contention that states of anxiety are necessary for an individual to spontaneously produce false alarms, but that such states are not sufficient to explain patterns of calling. The link between anxiety and deceptive calling thus appears complex, and cognitively based decision-making processes may play some role in call production