Application of T-Thesys Therapy in post-operative recovery in knee-surgical interventions: A case study

T-Thesys therapy is an innovative treatment that can be used even in the presence of recent injuries. For this reason, we studied the T-Thesys use in the post-operative phase of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction of the knee. For our study, we selected 51 patients for ACL surgery, and we divided participants in two groups: the Experimental Group (EG) and the Control Group (CG). The EG consisted of 34 patients (age: 26.9 ± 7.65 years) who underwent T-Thesys therapy after surgery, while the CG included 17 patients (age: 26.7 ± 6.8 years) who was not subjected to T-Thesys therapy after surgery. T-Thesys therapy was performed on a daily basis and participants' parameters were monitored throughout the treatment. For the EG, we did not find any significant differences, however, subjective disorders seemed to disappear, almost entirely, at the seventh application. The CG showed no significant differences, even in the subjective disorders investigated. Therefore, the therapeutic treatment associated with T-Thesys therapy seems to not show any efficacy compared to the surgical treatment alone. However, from our findings emerged differences which tend to highlight a better clinical response, a faster recovery time, an improvement on the quality of life in patients, and, moreover, a better use of the National Health System resources

Report on advances for pediatricians in 2018: allergy, cardiology, critical care, endocrinology, hereditary metabolic diseases, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, neonatology, nutrition, respiratory tract disorders and surgery.

This review reported notable advances in pediatrics that have been published in 2018. We have highlighted progresses in allergy, cardiology, critical care, endocrinology, hereditary metabolic diseases, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, neonatology, nutrition, respiratory tract disorders and surgery. Many studies have informed on epidemiologic observations. Promising outcomes in prevention, diagnosis and treatment have been reported. We think that advances realized in 2018 can now be utilized to ameliorate patient car

Aujeszky’s disease in south‐Italian wild boars (Sus Scrofa): A serological survey

Aujeszky’s disease (AD, pseudorabies) is a viral disease of suids caused by Suid Herpesvirus 1 (SHV‐1) also referred as Aujeszky’s disease virus (ADV) or Pseudorabies virus (ADV). Domestic pig and Wild boar (Sus scrofa) are the natural host, but many species can be infected with ADV. The aim of our study was to evaluate seroprevalence of AD in wild boar hunted in the Campania Region, during the 2016–2017 hunting season. A total of 503 serum samples from wild boars hunted in the provinces of Campania Region (Southern Italy) were collected and were tested for antibody against ADV using an AD, blocking ELISA assay. A Seroprevalence of 23.85% (120/503, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 20.15–27.55) was found. Gender was not significantly associated with of ADV seropositivity (p > 0.05), while the presence of ADV antibodies was statistically associated with age (>36‐month, p < 0.0001) and location (Avellino, p = 0.0161). Our prevalence values are like those obtained in 2010 in our laboratory (30.7%), demonstrating a constant circulation of ADV in the area

Finite element modelling of 1-3 piezoelectric polymer composites with surface effects

This work for second author was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (grant number 15-19-10008-P)

Upper body strength endurance evaluation: A comparison between the handgrip strength and three body weight tests

BACKGROUND: The hand-grip strength test has been widely adopted to evaluate upper limb strength. Other field based tests as push-ups and pull-ups are commonly used for the same purpose. It is however unclear if these may be used interchangeably for upper body strength evaluation. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate strength endurance of the upper body and understand which test could be the most appropriate for upper body evaluation. METHODS: Thirty-eight healthy young male participants were tested with three tests comprised of: 1) push-ups (PS), 2) pull-ups (PL) and 3) parallel dips (PD) performed to exhaustion. Grip strength (GS), total number of repetitions, time-to-complete the test, repetition cadence and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were also retrieved for investigation. RESULTS: Repetitions, time-to-complete the test and repetition cadence significantly differed across the three tests (p&lt; 0.001). No difference in the RPE was present. No correlation was present between GS and the other tests. No correlation was present between RPE and performance values and time-to-complete the tests. BMI was positively correlated to RPE in all tests. All tests strongly correlate to each other (PS vs. PL r= 0.55; PS vs. PD r= 0.64; PL vs. PD r= 0.70) and to time-to-complete the test (PS r= 0.79; PL r= 0.69; PD r= 0.66). Only the results of the PD correlate to their respective repetition cadence (r= 0.66). CONCLUSIONS: GS is not suitable to evaluate strength endurance. PS, PL and PD are all suitable to evaluate strength endurance. However, PD may be preferred to evaluate the upper body, if velocity also needs to be taken into account

Strong field limit of black hole gravitational lensing

We give the formulation of the gravitational lensing theory in the strong field limit for a Schwarzschild black hole as a counterpart to the weak field approach. It is possible to expand the full black hole lens equation to work a simple analytical theory that describes at a high accuracy degree the physics in the strong field limit. In this way, we derive compact and reliable mathematical formulae for the position of additional critical curves, relativistic images and their magnification, arising in this limit.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figure

Can tongue position and cervical ROM affect postural oscillations? A pilot and preliminary study

The tongue is considered an important part of the postural system, so it is fundamental to understand how it can interfere with the humans’ postural oscillations. The aim of this preliminary investigation is to understand the effects of different tongue position and cervical ROM on postural oscillations measured in a stabilometric test. Thirteen voluntary subjects were recruited (30.8 ± 9.7 yrs.; 173.6 ± 14.9 cm; 72.6 ± 15.6 kg) and tested in three different random tongue conditions: comfortable tongue position (CT), palatal spot position (ST) and low tongue position (LT). All tests were performed with open eyes. Stabilometric test were performed with a pressure platform. In addition, the cervical ROM was assessed in the CT condition to create a baseline measurement and to find out baseline relationship with cervical ROM and postural oscillations. Data analysis indicates no significant difference in CoP sway path length for CT / ST / LT (260.7 ± 106.5 mm / 236.9 ± 79.3 mm / 272.9 ± 89.3 mm, respectively). A moderate but significant correlation is present between postural oscillations and cervical rotation ROM (R = -0.59; p = .03), indicating that good postural oscillations are connected with a free ROM of the highest part of the body. The results of this preliminary investigation do not support the use of different tongue position during postural assessment to discriminate some postural interferences of the tongue. At the same time the results suggest the relationship between cervical ROM and stability. These results suggest the necessity to study more in deep this phenomenon with other specific class of subjects

Rockfall threatening cumae archeological site fruition (Phlegraean fields park—naples)

Natural hazards threaten many archaeological sites in the world; therefore, susceptibility analysis is essential to reduce their impacts and support site fruition by visitors. In this paper, rockfall susceptibility analysis of the western slope of the Cumae Mount in the Cumae Archaeological Site (Phlegraean Fields, Naples), already affected by rockfall events, is described as support to a management plan for fruition and site conservation. Being the first Greek settlement in southern Italy, the site has great historical importance and offers unique historical elements such as the Cumaean Sibyl’s Cave. The analysis began with a 3D modeling of the slope through digital terrestrial photogrammetry, which forms a basis for a geomechanical analysis. Digital discontinuity measurements and cluster analysis provide data for kinematic analysis, which pointed out the planar, wedge and toppling failure potential. Subsequently, a propagation-based susceptibility analysis was completed into a GIS environment: it shows that most of the western sector of the site is susceptible to rockfall, including the access course, a segment of the Cumana Railroad and its local station. The work highlights the need for specific mitigation measures to increase visitor safety and the efficacy of filed-based digital reconstruction to support susceptibility analysis in rockfall prone areas

Influence of occlusal vertical dimension on cervical spine mobility in sports subjects

Introduction: In the scientific literature, a number of studies have reported conflicting results regarding the effects of occlusal vertical dimension (OVD) on sports-related skills. The purpose of this study was to increase OVD in sports subjects so as to specifically investigate the influence on cervical spine mobility. In particular, we measured cervical range of motion (ROM) before and after increasing OVD in individuals, either with or without malocclusion, analyzing both sports and sedentary subjects. Materials and methods: Participants were divided into two groups: a sports group (SG) and a control group (CG), each including 18 subjects. The SG was composed of sports subjects (age: 20.11±3.45 yrs; BMI: 25.39±2.32 kg/m2), whereas the CG consisted of age-matched sedentary subjects (age: 25.78±2.26 yrs; BMI: 24.88±2.87 kg/m2). Cervical range of motion (ROM) was evaluated, by way of an accelerometer (Moover®, Sensor Medica®), before (pre-test) and after (post-test) increasing OVD. Results: The main finding of this study was that sports subjects showed no significant difference, compared to control subjects, in cervical ROM in response to increased OVD. Moreover, we found that sports and sedentary subjects alike showed no significant change in cervical spine mobility as a result of increased OVD, regardless of whether they were affected by malocclusion (class II) or represented subjects with normocclusion (class I). Conclusion: In accord with several studies reported in the literature, the findings of our study indicate that occlusal splints failed to significantly improve the physical-performance endpoint measured, i.e. cervical ROM, in sports subjects as compared to sedentary individuals. Due to the paucity of studies, characterized by conflicting results, there is as yet no compelling scientific evidence as to whether OVD positively impacts sports performance or not. Accordingly, we suggest that further scientific investigation, regarding the relationship between sports performance and OVD, be conducted in the field of sport and exercise sciences

Випадковий атрактор напівлінійного стохастичного збуреного хвильового рівняння без одиничності розв’язку

Досліджено динаміку розв’язків напівлінійного хвильового рівняння, збуреного адитивним білим шумом, із точки зору теорії випадкових атракторів. Умови на параметри задачі не гарантують єдності розв’язку відповідної задачі Коші. Доведено теорему про існування випадкового атрактора для абстрактної некомпактної багатозначної випадкової динамічної системи, що була застосована до хвильового рівняння з негладким нелінійним доданком. Встановлено апріорну оцінку для слабкого розв’язку випадково збуреної задачі, що дозволило отримати існування принаймні одного слабкого розв’язку. На слабких розв’язках досліджуваної задачі побудовано багатозначний стохастичний потік. Доведено існування випадкового атрактора для побудованого багатозначного стохастичного потоку.In this paper we investigate the dynamics of solutions of the semilinear wave equation, perturbed by additive white noise, in sense of the random attractor theory. The conditions on the parameters of the problem do not guarantee uniqueness of solution of the corresponding Cauchy problem. We prove theorem on the existence of random attractor for abstract noncompact multi-valued random dynamical system, which is applied to the wave equation with non-smooth nonlinear term. A priory estimate for weak solution of randomly perturbed problem is deduced, which allows to obtain the existence at least one weak solution. The multi-valued stochastic flow is generated by the weak solutions of investigated problem. We prove the existence of random attractor for generated multi-valued stochastic flow.Исследована динамика решений полулинейного волнового уравнения, возмущенного аддитивным белым шумом, с точки зрения теории случайных аттракторов. Условия на параметры задачи не гарантируют единственности решения соответствующей задачи Коши. Доказано теорему о существовании случайного аттрактора для абстрактной некомпактной многозначной случайной динамической системы, которая была применена к волновому уравнению с негладким нелинейным слагаемым. Установлена априорная оценка для слабого решения случайно возмущенной задачи, которая позволила получить существование, по крайней мере, одного слабого решения. На слабых решениях исследованной задачи построен многозначный стохастический поток. Доказано существование случайного аттрактора для построенного многозначного стохастического потока