Risk factors for operated carpal tunnel syndrome: a multicenter population-based case-control study

Background. Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a socially and economically relevant disease caused by compression or entrapment of the median nerve within the carpal tunnel. This population-based case-control study aims to investigate occupational/non-occupational risk factors for surgically treated CTS. Methods. Cases (n = 220) aged 18-65 years were randomly drawn from 13 administrative databases of citizens who were surgically treated with carpal tunnel release during 2001. Controls (n = 356) were randomly sampled from National Health Service registry records and were frequency matched by age-gender-specific CTS hospitalization rates. Results. At multivariate analysis, risk factors were blue-collar/housewife status, BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, sibling history of CTS and coexistence of trigger finger. Being relatively tall (cut-offs based on tertiles: women ≥165 cm; men ≥175 cm) was associated with lower risk. Blue-collar work was a moderate/strong risk factor in both sexes. Raised risks were apparent for combinations of biomechanical risk factors that included frequent repetitivity and sustained force. Conclusion. This study strongly underlines the relevance of biomechanical exposures in both non-industrial and industrial work as risk factors for surgically treated CTS

Analisi comparativa sperimentale sulle metodologie di addensamento delle terre in laboratorio

Tale studio è posto all'interno di una ricerca più ampia relativa al migliorametno della progettazione e del controllo delle stabilizzazioni a calce. il costipamento dei terreni in laboratorio, necessario per la fase di progettazione, avviene tramite l'apparecchiatura Proctor, dispositiv poco rappresentativo delle reali sollecitazioni cui è sottoposto il terreno in sito. Sono quindi state indagate le possibilità di utilizzare per tale scopo un macchinario come la Pressa Giratoria, attualmente normalizzata solamente per la compattazione dei conglomerati bituminosi, ma che meglio rappresenta il comportamento del terreno sotto l'azione dei rulli

Analysis of the trellis complexity of interleavers and turbocodes

The trellis complexity of causal and noncausal interleavers are studied via the introduction of the input-output interleaver code. The "average" complexity of a uniform interleaver is computed. The trellis complexity of a turbo code is then tied to the complexity of the constituent interleaver. A procedure of complexity reduction by coordinate permutation is also presented, together with some examples of its application

BANDWIDTH EFFICIENT CONCATENATED CODES FOR EARTH OBSERVATION TELEMETRY

International Telemetering Conference Proceedings / October 22-25, 2001 / Riviera Hotel and Convention Center, Las Vegas, NevadaTelemetry for Earth-Observation missions is characterized by very high data rates and stringent requirements. Channel codes both power and bandwidth efficient must be used to improve downlink performance and to achieve the very low values of error rates needed at the received side. In this paper, we review and analyzed three codes of possible interest for these applications: turbo codes, serial turbo codes and product codes. These schemes are evaluated and compared both by simulation and analytical techniques. A particular attention is devoted to complexity, a key issue for practical implementation at high data rates.International Foundation for TelemeteringProceedings from the International Telemetering Conference are made available by the International Foundation for Telemetering and the University of Arizona Libraries. Visit http://www.telemetry.org/index.php/contact-us if you have questions about items in this collection

Problematic donation procedures vs. futuristic research and treatment applications: A dichotomous social representation of stem cells in Italy

Introduction Currently, stem cells (SC) are one of the most studied issues of medical research as well as a widespread, complex, socially and ethically relevant issue. Objective The general aim of the present study is to explore how social representations (SR) of SC is different for people more or less willing to donate SC, also comparing bone marrow SC (BMSC) donation and umbilical cord blood SC (UCBSC) donation. Method A paper-and-pencil survey was administrated to 78 Italian respondents. A structural analysis of SC-SRs (prototypical and co-occurrence analysis) was conducted comparing people with a high/low intention to donate UCBSC/BMSC. Results Similarly to other bioethically relevant issues, SR of SC seems to be ambivalent and dichotomously organized, with the donation procedure been a barrier. Conclusion These results are in line with studies finding two sets of dichotomies: on the one hand, a gift-of-life/replacement-of-body-parts dichotomy coexisting within people's SR of organ donation; on the other hand, a help/pain and needle dichotomy within blood donation's SR. Directions for future research are suggested

MP36-10 Chest follow-up schedule of surgically resected renal cell carcinoma should be differentiated according to histological subtype

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: European Association of Urology, National Comprehensive Cancer Network and American Uro- logical Association provide follow-up guidelines for surgically treated Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC). However these guidelines are not sup- ported by good quality evidence. The potential exposure of the patients (pts) to the risks connected to unnecessary ionizing radiations is an important factor to consider. Aim of this study was to evaluate the oncological outcomes in a large cohort of pts to better tailor follow-up schedules of pts that underwent surgery for RCC. METHODS: We enrolled 1932 pts surgically treated for spo- radic pT1 pN0, M0 RCC from 7 Italian Accademic Centers with mini- mum follow-up of 6 months. The exclusion criteria were: high nuclear grade, presence of intratumoural necrosis, lymphovascular invasion, collecting system invasion, rare histological RCC subtype and positive surgical margin. Recurrences were classified in accordance to their location: abdomen, chest, multiple districts and other sites (including central nervous system, bone and skin). RESULTS: Median age of the pts was 60 years (53-70). 1174 pts underwent partial nephrectomy and 758 radical nephrectomy. His- tological subtype of the specimens were: 1491 Clear Cell RCC (ccRCC), 244 papillary RCC (pRCC) and 197 chromopobe RCC (chRCC). Median follow-up was 90 months (36-125). 145 (7,5%) pts developed a recurrence. Site and rate of recurrences are reported in table 1. Statistical analysis identifies a significant difference in the incidence of all site recurrences among all histological subtypes (P1\u204440,0017); significant statistical difference was observed also in the incidence of primary chest recurrences for all histological subtypes (P1\u204440,002). In the chRCC subgroup no chest recurrences were observed. 20 pts with ccRCC have a chest recurrence, 13 of them more than 5 years from surgery. CONCLUSIONS: According to our data currently guidelines for RCC surveillance potentially expose a considerable number of pts to unnecessary chest examinations. Furthermore concluding follow-up after 5 years could lead to lose many primary chest recurrences in pts with ccRCC. In conclusion chest follow-up schedules should be differ- entiated and tailored on the basis of histological subtype