Do prior intra-articular injections impact on the risk of periprosthetic joint infection in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty? A meta-analysis of the current evidences with a focus on the timing of injection before surgery

Purpose: Intra-articular injection is a well-established and increasingly used treatment for the patient with mild-to-moderate hip osteoarthritis. The objectives of this literature review and meta-analysis are to evaluate the effect of prior intra-articular injections on the risk of periprosthetic joint infection (PJI) in patients undergoing total hip arthroplasty (THA) and to try to identify which is the minimum waiting time between hip injection and replacement in order to reduce the risk of infection. Methods: The database of PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library was systematically and independently searched, according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. To assess the potential risk of bias and the applicability of the evidence found in the primary studies to the review, the Newcastle-Ottawa scale (NOS) was used. The statistical analysis was performed by using the software 'R' version 4.2.2. Results: The pooling of data revealed an increased risk of PJI in the injection group that was statistically significative (P = 0.0427). In the attempt to identify a 'safe time interval' between the injection and the elective surgery, we conducted a further subgroup analysis: in the subgroup 0-3 months, we noted an increased risk of PJI after injection. Conclusions: Intra-articular injection is a procedure that may increase the risk of developing periprosthetic infection. This risk is higher if the injection is performed less than 3 months before hip replacement

EMMON: a system architecture for large- scale, dense and real-time WSNs

In spite of the significant amount of scientific work in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), there is a clear lack of effective, feasible and usable WSN system architectures that address both functional and non-functional requirements in an integrated fashion. This poster abstract outlines the EMMON system architecture for large-scale, dense, real-time embedded monitoring. EMMON relies on a hierarchical network architecture together with integrated middleware and command&control mechanisms. It has been designed to use standard commercially– available technologies, while maintaining as much flexibility as possible to meet specific applications’ requirements. The EMMON WSN architecture has been validated through extensive simulation and experimental evaluation, including through a 300+ node test-bed, the largest WSN test-bed in Europe to dat

Direct targets of Klf5 transcription factor contribute to the maintenance of mouse embryonic stem cell undifferentiated state

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>A growing body of evidence has shown that Krüppel-like transcription factors play a crucial role in maintaining embryonic stem cell (ESC) pluripotency and in governing ESC fate decisions. Krüppel-like factor 5 (Klf5) appears to play a critical role in these processes, but detailed knowledge of the molecular mechanisms of this function is still not completely addressed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>By combining genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation and microarray analysis, we have identified 161 putative primary targets of Klf5 in ESCs. We address three main points: (1) the relevance of the pathways governed by Klf5, demonstrating that suppression or constitutive expression of single Klf5 targets robustly affect the ESC undifferentiated phenotype; (2) the specificity of Klf5 compared to factors belonging to the same family, demonstrating that many Klf5 targets are not regulated by Klf2 and Klf4; and (3) the specificity of Klf5 function in ESCs, demonstrated by the significant differences between Klf5 targets in ESCs compared to adult cells, such as keratinocytes.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Taken together, these results, through the definition of a detailed list of Klf5 transcriptional targets in mouse ESCs, support the important and specific functional role of Klf5 in the maintenance of the undifferentiated ESC phenotype.</p> <p>See: <url>http://www.biomedcental.com/1741-7007/8/125</url></p

Thermophysical Characterization of Nitrides Inert Matrices: Preliminary Results on Zirconium Nitride

Preliminary results have been obtained on a research program confirming the attainment of reliable procedures to perform property measurements on nitride fuels. The thermal transport properties of ZrN were measured; the results obtained so far confirm or extend the range of data available in literature. Increasing trends with temperature were observed, in line with predictions. These activities will be extended to nitride fuels and to systems containing Pu and other actinides like UN, (Ux,Pu1x)N, (Zr0.8,Pu0.2)N, and irradiated nitride samples.JRC.E.3-Materials researc

Thermophysical Characterization of Nitrides - Preliminary Results

Nitride and carbide nuclear fuels receive renewed interest worldwide since the beginning of the Generation IV initiative. In ITU, design and interpretation of experiments, along with characterization of both fresh and irradiated nitride fuels have been resumed [1]. Both modeling and experimental activities are included in this effort. This paper presents an overview of experimental results obtained from the first investigation campaigns.JRC.E.3-Materials researc

Radiation Damage Effects and Thermophysical Properties of Nitride Fuels

Nitrides and carbides are the object of renewed interest as candidate fuels or matrices for minor actinide incineration in advanced nuclear reactors (see e.g. the Gen.IV program [1]). In ITU such materials are investigated from both the experimental and the modelling point of view [2]. The experiments so far have covered fuels like UN and (Ux,Pu1-x)N and matrices like ZrN and (Zr0.8,Pu0.2)N.JRC.E.5-Nuclear chemistr

The dark side of DEMMON

Most research work on WSNs has focused on protocols or on specific applications. There is a clear lack of easy/ready-to-use WSN technologies and tools for planning, implementing, testing and commissioning WSN systems in an integrated fashion. While there exists a plethora of papers about network planning and deployment methodologies, to the best of our knowledge none of them helps the designer to match coverage requirements with network performance evaluation. In this paper we aim at filling this gap by presenting an unified toolset, i.e., a framework able to provide a global picture of the system, from the network deployment planning to system test and validation. This toolset has been designed to back up the EMMON WSN system architecture for large-scale, dense, real-time embedded monitoring. It includes network deployment planning, worst-case analysis and dimensioning, protocol simulation and automatic remote programming and hardware testing tools. This toolset has been paramount to validate the system architecture through DEMMON1, the first EMMON demonstrator, i.e., a 300+ node test-bed, which is, to the best of our knowledge, the largest single-site WSN test-bed in Europe to date

Experimental Studies on Behaviour and Properties of Nitride Fuels

see attachmentJRC.E.3-Materials researc

Collatamp sponges in the management of open fractures

Abstract. Open fractures are at high risk of infection and the prompt treatment of these injuries is critical to the success and is crucial to reduce the rate of complications.The basic steps of treatment include the immediate administration of systemic antibiotics, early surgical stabilization of the fracture associated with copious irrigation and radical debridement of the site of exposure, and when possible adequate soft tissue coverage. The systemic antibiotic therapy significantly improves the prognosis and reduces the occurrence of complications. However, in order to ensure adequate and sustained local concentration of antibiotic agent, high doses and for a long time are necessary. This increases the risk of side effects and bacterial resistance. The introduction of the antibiotic-loaded collagen sponges offers the advantages of a high local concentrations of antibiotic carrier delivering system with reduced systemic drug diffusion (less risk of side effects and resistance rate). Sponges are also biodegradable and fully resorbable and do not require additional surgery for their remova