Outcomes of mono-lateral limb reconstruction system in infected non-union of long bones

Background: We planned to evaluate functional and radiological outcomes of mono-lateral limb reconstruction system for infected non-union of long bones and to analyse its complications occurring.Methods: It was a prospective study, conducted during period of September 2015 to August 2017 and consisted of 73 cases of these 60 cases were available for final assessment. This infected non-union were classified by AO classification and were treated with mono lateral limb reconstruction system. All the cases were evaluated by ASAMI criteria for bony and functional outcomes. Our mean follow up period was 16.8 months.Results: Among 60 cases of infected non-union with mono-lateral external fixator were followed for mean 16.8 months. According to these ASAMI criteria in our study 26.6% had excellent; 46.6% had good; 16.6% fair; and 10% poor bony outcome. And the functional outcomes were 13.3%, 60%, 16.6%, 10% were excellent, good, fair and poor respectively. Among the cases 50% had pin tract infections and loosening. Two cases pin revision was done. Sinus tract got cleared in all cases except 6 where multiple sinus tracts were present and healing did not occur. There were no infections at the corticotomy site. Delay in the consolidation phase was present in all cases. There was no difficulty in transportation of bone. Post-operatively wound dehiscence in eight cases was managed with split skin graft cover. Limb length discrepancy upto 2.5 cms in lower limb was managed with modified footwear with heel and sole raise. Non-healing fractures united in mean 5.9 months after start of treatment. Non-union site united in 90% cases. Conclusions: Mono-lateral limb reconstruction system is efficient method for treatment of infected non-union of long bones. It has an additional advantage of correcting limb length discrepancies which sometimes occur during the course of treatment.Keywords: Non-union, Infection, Long bones, Limb reconstruction system, External fixato

Designing greenhouse subsystems for a lunar mission: the LOOPS - M Project

The 2020s is a very important decade in the space sector, where international cooperation is moving towards the exploration of the Moon and will lead to stable lunar settlements, which will require new, innovative, and efficient technologies. In this context, the project LOOPS–M (Lunar Operative Outpost for the Production and Storage of Microgreens) was created by students from Sapienza University of Rome with the objective of designing some of the main features of a lunar greenhouse. The project was developed for the IGLUNA 2021 campaign, an interdisciplinary platform coordinated by Space Innovation as part of the ESA Lab@ initiative. The LOOPS-M mission was successfully concluded during the Virtual Field Campaign that took place in July 2021. This project is a follow-up of the V-GELM Project, which took part in IGLUNA 2020 with the realization in Virtual Reality of a Lunar Greenhouse: a simulation of the main operations connected to the cultivation module, the HORT3 , which was already developed by ENEA (Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development) during the AMADEE-18 mission inside the HORTSPACE project. This paper will briefly describe the main features designed and developed for the lunar greenhouse and their simulation in a VR environment: an autonomous cultivation system able to handle the main cultivation tasks of the previous cultivation system, a bioconversion system that can recycle into new resources the cultivation waste with the use of insects as a biodegradation system, and a shield able of withstanding hypervelocity impacts and the harsh lunar environment. A wide overview of the main challenges faced, and lessons learned by the team to obtain these results, will be given. The first challenge was the initial inexperience that characterized all the team members, being for most the first experience with an activity structured as a space mission, starting with little to no know-how regarding the software and hardware needed for the project, and how to structure documentation and tasks, which was acquired throughout the year. An added difficulty was the nature of LOOPS-M, which included very different objectives that required different fields of expertise, ranging from various engineering sectors to biology and entomology. During the year, the team managed to learn how to handle all these hurdles and the organizational standpoint, working as a group, even if remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Through careful planning, hard work and the help of supervisors, the activity was carried out through reviews, up to the prototyping phase and the test campaign with a successful outcome in each aspect of the project. By the end of the year everyone involved had acquired new knowledge, both practical and theoretical, and learned how to reach out and present their work to sponsors and to the scientific community

Pyroelectric energy conversion using Ba₀.₈₅Sr₀.₁₅Zr₀.₁Ti₀.₉O₃ ceramics and its cement-based composites

In this article, we focus on cement-binded Ba₀.₈₅Sr₀.₁₅Zr₀.₁Ti₀.₉O₃ ceramics for pyroelectric applications. It was prepared with the Ba₀.₈₅Sr₀.₁₅Zr₀.₁Ti₀.₉O₃ -to-cement ratios of 85%:15% and 80%:20% by weight. In order to improve the effectiveness of thermal-to-electric energy conversion, the synchronized switch harvesting on inductor technique is experimentally tested on cement composites. Our experimental findings reveal that this concept based on synchronized switch harvesting on inductor can significantly increase the amount of power extracted from pyroelectric materials. Furthermore, the optimized power across 15% and 20% cement composites were found to be 7.2 and 6 nW, respectively, in series synchronized switch harvesting on inductor and 8.5 and 7 nW, respectively, in parallel synchronized switch harvesting on inductor. These values are significantly higher when compared with non-switched circuit for pyroelectric applications. Although, from the obtained results for the prepared composites, the power output is less when compared with pure Ba₀.₈₅Sr₀.₁₅Zr₀.₁Ti₀.₉O₃, they have some advantages: these composites can be made without any sintering process and are compatible for structural applications

Centering inclusivity in the design of online conferences - An OHBM - Open Science perspective

As the global health crisis unfolded throughout the world, many academic conferences moved online in 2020. This move has been hailed as a positive step towards inclusivity in its attenuation of economic, physical and legal barriers and effectively enabled many individuals who have traditionally been underrepresented to join and participate. A number of studies have outlined how moving online made it possible to gather a more global community and has increased opportunities for individuals with various constraints, e.g. caregiving responsibilities. Yet, the mere existence of online conferences is unfortunately no guarantee that everyone can attend and participate meaningfully. In fact, many elements of an online conference are still significant barriers to truly diverse participation: the tools used can be inaccessible for some individuals; the scheduling choices can favour some geographical locations; the setup of the conference can provide more visibility to well-established researchers and reduce opportunities for early career researchers. While acknowledging the benefits of an online setting, especially for individuals who have traditionally been underrepresented or excluded, we recognize that fostering social justice requires inclusivity to actively be centered in every aspect of online conference design. Here, we draw from the literature and from our own experiences to identify practices that purposefully encourage a diverse community to: attend, participate in, and lead online conferences. Reflecting on how to design more inclusive online events is especially important as multiple scientific organizations have announced that they will continue offering an online version of their event when in-person conferences can resume

Centering inclusivity in the design of online conferences—An OHBM–Open Science perspective

As the global health crisis unfolded, many academic conferences moved online in 2020. This move has been hailed as a positive step towards inclusivity in its attenuation of economic, physical, and legal barriers and effectively enabled many individuals from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented to join and participate. A number of studies have outlined how moving online made it possible to gather a more global community and has increased opportunities for individuals with various constraints, e.g., caregiving responsibilities. Yet, the mere existence of online conferences is no guarantee that everyone can attend and participate meaningfully. In fact, many elements of an online conference are still significant barriers to truly diverse participation: the tools used can be inaccessible for some individuals; the scheduling choices can favour some geographical locations; the set-up of the conference can provide more visibility to well-established researchers and reduce opportunities for early-career researchers. While acknowledging the benefits of an online setting, especially for individuals who have traditionally been underrepresented or excluded, we recognize that fostering social justice requires inclusivity to actively be centered in every aspect of online conference design. Here, we draw from the literature and from our own experiences to identify practices that purposefully encourage a diverse community to attend, participate in, and lead online conferences. Reflecting on how to design more inclusive online events is especially important as multiple scientific organizations have announced that they will continue offering an online version of their event when in-person conferences can resume

Centering inclusivity in the design of online conferences—An OHBM–Open Science perspective

As the global health crisis unfolded, many academic conferences moved online in 2020. This move has been hailed as a positive step towards inclusivity in its attenuation of economic, physical, and legal barriers and effectively enabled many individuals from groups that have traditionally been underrepresented to join and participate. A number of studies have outlined how moving online made it possible to gather a more global community and has increased opportunities for individuals with various constraints, e.g., caregiving responsibilities. Yet, the mere existence of online conferences is no guarantee that everyone can attend and participate meaningfully. In fact, many elements of an online conference are still significant barriers to truly diverse participation: the tools used can be inaccessible for some individuals; the scheduling choices can favour some geographical locations; the set-up of the conference can provide more visibility to well-established researchers and reduce opportunities for early-career researchers. While acknowledging the benefits of an online setting, especially for individuals who have traditionally been underrepresented or excluded, we recognize that fostering social justice requires inclusivity to actively be centered in every aspect of online conference design. Here, we draw from the literature and from our own experiences to identify practices that purposefully encourage a diverse community to attend, participate in, and lead online conferences. Reflecting on how to design more inclusive online events is especially important as multiple scientific organizations have announced that they will continue offering an online version of their event when in-person conferences can resume