Vibration based diagnostics on rolling contact fatigue test bench

The paper presents the first results of a study on vibrations associated with a rolling contact fatigue test bench and how this mechanical behavior may be correlated to the fatigue damage of the specimens. In particular, the aim of this study was to evaluate the possibility to detect and quantify, thanks to vibration analysis, the damage on two discs subjected to rolling contact fatigue. The first part of this work regards a description of the bench with a focus on the results acquired by its static and modal fem analyses. Then, some pure rolling and sliding condition tests were carried out and a procedure to monitor both the specimens damage state and to record accelerometric data was implemented by placing a set of piezoaccelerometers on the machine and developing a virtual instrument for automatic data handling and analysis. Tests were also periodically stoppedand the rolling contact surface profile was acquired by means of a linear video camera in order to evaluate its progressive damage. Data acquired were analyzed, considering also the results from the first part of work, both using a standard approach, such as a spectral analysis (FFT, PSD and waterfall), and by implementing custom digital weighting filters for a windowed RMS in order to estimate, realtime during the measurement, a good estimator for the specimen damage state development

Validation of a smart mirror for gesture recognition in gym training performed by a vision-based deep learning system

This paper illustrates the development and validation of a smart mirror for sports training. The application is based on the skeletonization algorithm MediaPipe and runs on an embedded device Nvidia Jetson Nano equipped with two fisheye cameras. The software has been evaluated considering the exercise biceps curl. The elbow angle has been measured by both MediaPipe and the motion capture system BTS (ground truth), and the resulting values have been compared to determine angle uncertainty, residual errors, and intra-subject and inter-subject repeatability. The uncertainty of the joints’ estimation and the quality of the image captured by the cameras reflect on the final uncertainty of the indicator over time, highlighting the areas of improvement for further development

Malpractice claims related to recurrent laryngeal nerve injury: Forensic remarks regarding 15 cases

Abstract Malpractice claims concerning recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injuries are often related to thyroid surgery, but they can also involve surgeons of different specialties. Our survey was made considering expert opinions on claims for medical malpractice evaluated at Brescia Institute of Forensic Medicine in Italy during the period 1992–2012. Fifteen cases concerned RLN injury. Malpractice was identified in 10 cases, according to the following conditions: low pre and intra-operative risk of nerve injury, no documentation showing that the nerve was isolated and preserved despite the existence of potential risk factors. An accurate, well written and complete surgical report is the main tool for the expert examination in malpractice claims

Symmetrical anatomical variant of the anterior belly of the digastric muscle: clinical implicat

The digastric muscle is an important surgical landmark. Several anatomical variants of the digastric muscle are reported in literature and, in particular, the presence of accessory anterior bellies of the muscle is not uncommon. Here, an unreported symmetrical variant of the digastric muscle was found during a dissection of the suprahyoid region. The dissection showed digastric muscles with an accessory anterior belly, which originated from the anterior belly of muscles in proximity and anteriorly to the intermediate tendon. The accessory bellies were fused together on the midline and were attached with a unique tendon to the inner surface of the mental symphysis. These muscles completely filled the submental triangle. This unreported anatomical variant could be considered an additional contribution to description of the anatomical variants of the digastric muscle, with several implications in head and neck pathology, diagnosis and surgery.

The myloglossus in a human cadaver study: common or uncommon anatomical structure?

Background: Additional extrinsic muscles of the tongue are reported in literature and one of them is the myloglossus muscle (MGM). Since MGM is nowadays considered as anatomical variant, the aim of this study is to clarify some open questions by evaluating and describing the myloglossal anatomy (including both MGM and its ligamentous counterpart) during human cadaver dissections. Materials and methods: Twenty-one regions (including masticator space, sublingual space and adjacent areas) were dissected and the presence and appearance of myloglossus were considered, together with its proximal and distal insertions, vascularisation and innervation. Results: The myloglossus was present in 61.9% of cases with muscular, ligamentous or mixed appearance and either bony or muscular insertion. Facial artery provided myloglossal vascularisation in the 84.62% and lingual artery in the 15.38%; innervation was granted by the trigeminal system (buccal nerve and mylohyoid nerve), sometimes (46.15%) with hypoglossal component. Conclusions: These data suggest us to not consider myloglossus as a rare anatomical variant.

Effect of chestnut tannins and short chain fatty acids as anti-microbials and as feeding supplements in broilers rearing and meat quality

Chestnut tannins (CT) and saturated short medium chain fatty acids (SMCFA) are valid alternatives to contrast the growth of pathogens in poultry rearing, representing a valid alternative to antibiotics. However, the effect of their blends has never been tested. Two blends of CT extract and Sn1-monoglycerides of SMCFA (SN1) were tested in vitro against the proliferation of Clostridium perfringens, Salmonella typhymurium, Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni. The tested concentrations were: 3.0 g/kg of CT; 3.0 g/kg of SN1; 2.0 g/kg of CT and 1.0 g/kg of SN1; 1.0 g/kg of CT and 2.0 g/kg of SN1. Furthermore, their effect on broiler performances and meat quality was evaluated in vivo: one-hundred Ross 308 male birds were fed a basal diet with no supplement (control group) or supplemented with CT or SN1 or their blends at the same concentration used in the in vitro trial. The in vitro assay confirmed the effectiveness of the CT and SN1 mixtures in reducing the growth of the tested bacteria while the in vivo trial showed that broiler performances, animal welfare and meat quality were not negatively affected by the blends, which could be a promising alternative in replacing antibiotics in poultry production

How has internet addiction research evolved since the advent of internet gaming disorder? An overview of cyberaddictions from a psychological perspective

During the past two decades, Internet addiction (IA) has been the most commonly used term in research into online activities and their influence on the development of behavioral addictions. The aim of this review is to assess the impact of the concept of Internet gaming disorder (IGD), proposed by the American Psychiatric Association, on the scientific literature regarding IA. It presents a bibliometric analysis of the IA literature starting from the time IGD was first proposed, with the objective of observing and comparing the topics that have arisen during this period among the different IA themes researched. The findings demonstrate a steady evolution, particularly regarding publications related to the general aspects of IA: its clinical component, its prevalence and psychometric measures, the growing interest in the contextual factors promoting this addictive behavior, scientific progress in its conceptualization based on existing theoretical models, and neuropsychological studies. Nevertheless, many of the studies (22 %) focus on specific IA behaviors and show heterogeneity among the cyberaddictions, with online gaming (related to IGD) most common, followed by cybersex and social networking. Although research on the general concept of IA continues, investigators have begun to pay attention to the diverse spectrum of specific cyberaddictions and their psychological components