Musculoskeletal disorders among robotic surgeons: A questionnaire analysis

Objective: Robotic surgical systems offer better workplace in order to relieve surgeons from prolonged physical efforts and improve their surgical outcomes. However, robotic surgery could produce musculoskeletal disorders due to the prolonged sitting position of the operator, the fixed position of the console viewer and the movements of the limbs. Until today, no one study has been reported concerning the association between robotics and musculoskeletal pain. The aim of this work was verify the prevalence of musculoskeletal disorders among Italian robotic surgeons. Material and methods: Between July 2011 and April 2012 a modified Standardized Nordic Questionnaire was delivered to thirty-nine Italian robotic centres. Twentytwo surgeons (56%) returned the questionnaires but only seventeen questionnaires (43.5%) were evaluable. Results: Seven surgeons (41.2%) reported musculoskeletal disorders, by since their first use of the robot which significantly persisted during the daily surgical activity (P < 0.001). Regarding the body parts affected, musculoskeletal disorders were mainly reported in the cervical spine (29.4%) and in the upper limbs (23.5%). Six surgeons (35.3%) defined the robotic console as less comfortable or neither comfortable/uncomfortable with a negative influence on their surgical procedures. Conclusions: In spite of some important limitations, our data showed musculoskeletal disorders due to posture discomfort with negative impact on daily surgical activity among robotic surgeons. These aspects could be due to the lack of ergonomic seat and to the fixed position of the console viewer which could have produced an inadequate spinal posture. The evaluation of these postural factors, in particular the development of an integrated and more ergonomic chair, could further improve the comfort feeling of the surgeon at the console and probably his surgical outcomes

Sensory profiling and consumer acceptability of new dark cocoa bars containing Tuscan autochthonous food products

A new set of cocoa bars named Toscolata® were developed containing top-quality extra virgin olive oil, dried apples cultivars, and chestnut flour. The present work has been conducted to define the sensory profile of these products through tasting by trained experts and consumers to study the acceptability, preference, and quality perception. The four sensorial profiles of the bars differed in the level of persistence, bitterness, aromaticity, acidity, astringency, and tastiness. In particular, the sour attribute could be traced to the presence of dried apple. Bars containing apple and chestnut flour obtained higher acceptance ratings, compared to those with extra virgin olive oil. The bar with chestnut flour was preferred by consumers who considered it to be sweeter due to the presence of natural sugars, which lowered the bitter sensation of cocoa. These results showed that the selection of the preferred bar by consumers was mainly based on the level of bitterness and, in particular, elderly consumers expressed a strong preference for the sweetest product. As far as we know, this is the first study comparing the results of a panel of expert tasters with that of consumers in the tasting of dark chocolate

CFD MODELING OF SOLAR COLLECTOR WITH NANO-FLUID DIRECT ABSORPTION FOR CIVIL APPLICATION

Direct solar absorption has been considered often in the past as a possible configuration of solar thermal collectors for residential and small commercial applications. Of course, a direct absorption could improve the performance of solar collectors by skipping one step of the heat transfer mechanism of standard devices and by modifying the temperature distribution inside the collector. In fact, classical solar thermal collectors have a metal sheet as absorber, designed such that water has the minimum temperature in each transversal section, in order to collect as much as possible the solar thermal energy. On the other hand, in a direct configuration, the hottest part of the system is the operating fluid and this allows to have a more efficient conversion. Nanofluids, i.e. fluids with a suspension of nano-particles, as carbon nano-horns, could be a good and innovative family of absorbing fluids, for their higher absorption coefficient with respect to the base fluid and stability under moderate temperature gradients. Moreover, carbon nanohorns offer the significant advantage to be non-toxic unlike other carbon nanoparticles (e.g. carbon nanotubes). In this work, an original 3D model of the absorption phenomena in nano-fluids flowing in a cylindrical tube is coupled with a CFD analysis of the flow and temperature field. Recent measurements of the optical properties of nano-fluids with different concentrations have been used for the radiation heat transfer modeling and included in the fluid dynamic modeling as well. Heat losses due to conduction, convection and radiation at the boundaries are included in the model. The results are compared with the typical performance of flat solar collectors present on the marke

Cocoa Bar Antioxidant Profile Enrichment with Underutilized Apples Varieties

The impact of dried apples (Malus x domestica Borkh.) addition on improving the antioxidant characteristics of dark chocolate was evaluated. The antioxidant activity was measured through DPPH scavenging activity and showed an increase in the cocoa bar with 'Nesta' dry apple (17.3% vs. 46.8%) in comparison to cocoa mass. The 15 polyphenols analyzed by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS indicated great variability among the apple varieties. Quercetin was detected in the highest concentrations (ranged from 753.3 to 1915.5 mu g g(-1)), while the lowest were for kaempferol 7-O-glucoside, measured only in 'Mora' and 'Nesta' cocoa bars (from 0.034 to 0.069 mu g g(-1), respectively). P-coumaric acid, trans-ferulic acid, and chlorogenic acid contribute largely to the antioxidant activity in cocoa bars. Principal component analysis shows that a cocoa bar with the addition of 'Nesta' dry apple differ from others due to its higher content of polyphenols (1614 +/- 61.8 mg gallic acid equivalents per 100 g). In conclusion, data confirm that cocoa bars with dry apples might be considered as a polyphenol-enriched food

Ultra-High performance concrete (UHPC) with polypropylene (Pp) and steel Fibres: Investigation on the high temperature behaviour

Ultra-high performance concretes (UHPC) are advanced cement-based materials characterised by superior me-chanical properties with respect to normal and high-strength concretes; however, their dense and compact matrix can facilitate the onset of spalling at high temperatures. This problem is often coped up by adding polypropylene (PP) fibres to the mix design, alone or with other types of fibres; steel fibres enhance the material’s tensile ca-pacity. The paper presents a series of tests on two UHPC types (150 and 180 N/mm2) with PP fibres (0.27% of volume) and variable content of steel fibres (0% to 1.92%), aimed at investigating the residual mechanical properties of the material after high temperature exposure. The experimental results are compared to available research on small UHPC specimens exposed to high temperatures, with dosages in PP fibres from 0.03% to 2%, and in steel fibres from 0 to 3%. The results of this research demonstrate that UHPCs need hybrid fibre rein-forcement (PP +steel) to withstand high temperatures, and that the residual strength increases after 200 ◦C exposure, at all steel fibre dosages; this is in line with literature. Available research also shows that strength loss is possible in hot conditions, as found in the present research, while PP fibres alone do not always prevent the occurrence of spalling in small UHPC sample

Implementation and Test of a LED-Based Lamp for a Lighthouse

A novel sustainable source was developed for an existing Italian lighthouse, exploiting the light emitting diode (LED) technology and the norms evolution. The research work started with the optical design of the device, while this work concerns the realization, installation, and test of the new LED lamp. The lamp recombines multiple separated LEDs, realizing a quasipunctual localized source. After installation in the lighthouse, specific photometric tests verified that the proposed power-saving source satisfied the illumination requirements of the marine signaling norms. The advantages of the LED-based lamp are reduced energy consumption, enhanced efficiency, longer life, decreased faults, slower aging, and lower maintenance costs. The obtained LED signalling device is more durable and reliable. In the future the application of these power-saving long-life sources could be extended to other maritime signaling devices or to other traffic signs

Poly(Ethylene glycol) diacrylate hydrogel with silver nanoclusters for water Pb(II) ions filtering

Poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate (PEGDA) hydrogels modified with luminescent silver nanoclusters (AgNCs) are synthesized by a photo-crosslinking process. The hybrid material thus obtained is employed to filter Pb(II) polluted water. Under the best conditions, the nanocomposite is able to remove up to 80–90% of lead contaminant, depending on the filter composition. The experimental results indicate that the adsorption process of Pb(II) onto the modified filter can be well modeled using the Freundlich isotherm, thus revealing that the chemisorption is the driving process of Pb(II) adsorption. In addition, the parameter n in the Freundlich model suggests that the adsorption process of Pb(II) ions in the modified hydrogel is favored. Based on the obtained remarkable contaminant uptake capacity and the overall low cost, this hybrid system appears to be a promising sorbent material for the removal of Pb(II) ions from aqueous media

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of SNOT-20 in Portuguese

Introduction. Chronic rhinosinusitis is a highly prevalent disease, so it is necessary to create valid instruments to assess the quality of life of these patients. The SNOT-20 questionnaire was developed for this purpose as a specific test to evaluate the quality of life related to chronic rhinosinusitis. It was validated in the English language, and it has been used in most studies on this subject. Currently, there is no validated instrument for assessing this disease in Portuguese. Objective. Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of SNOT-20 in Portuguese. Patients and Methods. The SNOT-20 questionnaire underwent a meticulous process of cross-cultural adaptation and was evaluated by assessing its sensitivity, reliability, and validity. Results. The process resulted in an intelligible version of the questionnaire, the SNOT-20p. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91, P < .001), reliability testing-retesting (r = 0.994, P < .001), content validity, validity of discrimination of patients without chronic rhinosinusitis (U = 44, P < .0001) and assessment of sensitivity to change (SRM = 1.53 and 1.09) were evaluated. Conclusion. We conducted a successful process of cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the SNOT-20 questionnaire into Portuguese