267 Occupation and Multiple Sclerosis: an Italian case-control study

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Effects of biophysical stimulation in patients undergoing arthroscopic reconstruction of anterior cruciate ligament: prospective, randomized and double blind study

Pre-clinical studies have shown that treatment by pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) can limit the catabolic effects of pro-inflammatory cytokines on articular cartilage and favour the anabolic activity of the chondrocytes. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction is usually performed by arthroscopic procedure that, even if minimally invasive, may elicit an inflammatory joint reaction detrimental to articular cartilage. In this study the effect of I-ONE PEMFs treatment in patients undergoing ACL reconstruction was investigated. The study end-points were (1) evaluation of patients’ functional recovery by International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) Form; (2) use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), necessary to control joint pain and inflammation. The study design was prospective, randomized and double blind. Sixty-nine patients were included in the study at baseline. Follow-up visits were scheduled at 30, 60 and 180 days, followed by 2-year follow-up interview. Patients were evaluated by IKDC Form and were asked to report on the use of NSAIDs. Patients were randomized to active or placebo treatments; active device generated a magnetic field of 1.5 mT at 75 Hz. Patients were instructed to use the stimulator (I-ONE) for 4 h per day for 60 days. All patients underwent ACL reconstruction with use of quadruple hamstrings semitendinosus and gracilis technique. At baseline there were no differences in the IKDC scores between the two groups. At follow-up visits the SF-36 Health Survey score showed a statistically significant faster recovery in the group of patients treated with I-ONE stimulator (P < 0.05). NSAIDs use was less frequent among active patients than controls (P < 0.05). Joint swelling resolution and return to normal range of motion occurred faster in the active treated group (P < 0.05) too. The 2-year follow-up did not shown statistically significant difference between the two groups. Furthermore for longitudinal analysis the generalized linear mixed effects model was applied to calculate the group × time interaction coefficient; this interaction showed a significant difference (P < 0.0001) between the active and placebo groups for all investigated variables: SF-36 Health Survey, IKDC Subjective Knee Evaluation and VAS. Twenty-nine patients (15 in the active group; 14 in the placebo group) underwent both ACL reconstruction and meniscectomy; when they were analysed separately the differences in SF-36 Health Survey scores between the two groups were larger then what observed in the whole study group (P < 0.05). The results of this study show that patient’s functional recovery occurs earlier in the active group. No side effects were observed and the treatment was well tolerated. The use of I-ONE should always be considered after ACL reconstruction, particularly in professional athletes, to shorten the recovery time, to limit joint inflammatory reaction and its catabolic effects on articular cartilage and ultimately for joint preservation

The Survival of Non-capitalism

This article explores the importance of non-capitalist space within the global political economy. The issue of how to categorise and understand space in so-called peripheral regions such as Latin America has been a contentious one. Whilst many radical analyses have focused on the dynamics of capitalism in relation to the geography of development, explaining how it has been able to survive and grow, this article makes the case for a more multi-linear theoretical framework with which to view the socio-economic landscape. This is inspired not only by the later writings of Marx but also the specific Marxian class analysis of those involved in Rethinking Marxism. Via a focus on Oaxaca in southern Mexico, this article highlights both the survival and the recreation of spaces of non-capitalism, and provides an argument for why we should consider these to be important for transformative action more broadly, whilst also discussing their potential limitations

A Note on Probabilistic and Geometric Shaping for the AWGN Channel

When considering coded modulation schemes for the AWGN channel, two main practical limitations prevent achieving channel capacity, namely the need to use a finite constellation and coding inefficiencies. Constellation shaping was given new impetus in recent works by Böcherer et al., which combined probabilistically shaped ASK constellations with LDPC coding. One open question is how far their results are from optimal solutions based on the use of finite constellations. We investigate this issue and show through experimental analysis that most of the loss is due to inefficient coding design and little benefits should be expected by adding two-dimensional geometric shaping

Alcuni manoscritti relativi all\u2019insegnamento del calcolo delle probabilit\ue0 presenti nelle carte di Giusto Bellavitis (1803-1880)

Sono introdotti, riportati e analizzati i testi di cinque manoscritti relativi ad alcune lezioni sul calcolo delle probabilit\ue0 tenute da Bellavitis presso l\u2019Universit\ue0 di Padova, dove insegn\uf2, in corsi liberi, dal 1857 al 1867 \u201cTeoria delle probabilit\ue0\u201d e dal 1863 al 1867 \u201cGeometria superiore, e Calcolo delle probabilit\ue0\u201d . Questi manoscritti sono contenuti in un fascicolo relativo, in parte, anche a questioni geometriche. L\u2019unico a grafia di Bellavitis \ue8 datato 23.4.1864 e fa da copertina agli altri quattro. Il fatto che due siano seguiti da una serie di firme e un terzo contenga l\u2019elenco di studenti che frequentarono le lezioni di Geometria Superiore nel 1864, fa supporre che siano stati scritti da allievi che seguivano i corsi di probabilit\ue0 proprio in quell\u2019anno. Un manoscritto \ue8 autografo di Martini Silvio, nome che ritroviamo anche negli elenchi citati sopra. I manoscritti sono ben conservati. Il testo di ogni manoscritto \ue8 seguito da una sua parafrasi didascalica con esplicitazioni di enunciati di teoremi e calcoli accennati nel testo

What Is Artificial about Life?

The announcement of “Artificial Life” by the Craig Venter group, and the media stir that arose from the news, provoked thoughts about the current technologies in contemporary science and the cultural tension of such projections on the media. The increasingly blurred boundaries between specialist and generalist media, while promising a wider appreciation of scientific discovery, potentially allow unrealistic, ideological claims to dictate scientific research. This is particularly evident in biology, where the pervading paradigm is still dominated by a physically naïve reductionism in which the only relevant causative layer is the molecular one. The reductionist hypothesis is that everything one observes is the result of an underlying molecular mechanism almost independent of the context in which it operates. Molecular mechanisms are often necessarily studied in isolation and therefore operate in unnatural conditions. The mechanistic view of biological regulation implies that we think of genes as intelligent agents. Here we try to critically analyze the motivations behind the spread of such unrealistic simplifications

MaCoSa: un "libro di testo" elettronico?

The educational group MaCoSa (MAtematica per COnoscere e per SApere), which operates at the Department of Mathematics, University of Genoa, prepare material for years on the teaching of mathematics. Today, following the diffusion of new technologies has decided to create a free electronic version of textbooks for secondary school, to meet the needs of new teachers who find it difficult to realize in schools reflections conducted in university courses in mathematics education. With this paper we try to present this initiative, to find forms of cooperation with it, and encourage similar initiatives