Adenotonsillectomy in children with recurrent acute tonsillitis: review and implications for practice

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New Insight on Medieval Painting in Sicily: The Virgin Hodegetria Panel in Monreale Cathedral (Palermo, Italy)

: The Virgin Hodegetria, located in the Cathedral of Santa Maria Nuova in Monreale, near Palermo (Italy), probably dating the first half of the 13th century, is one of the earliest examples of medieval panel painting in Sicily. A diagnostic campaign was carried out on the panel aiming to identify the constituting materials and the executive technique, as well as to assess the state of conservation for supporting the methodological choice of the restoration intervention. Both non invasive (X-ray radiography, digital microscope, multispectral imaging, ED-X-ray fluorescence) and micro-invasive (polarised light microscopy, ESEM-EDX, ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and micro-Raman spectroscopy) analyses were performed. According to the results, the executive technique followed the 13th–14th-century Italian painting tradition. A complex structure was applied on the wooden support, consisting of a double layer of canvas and several ground layers of gypsum and glue based binder. The underdrawing was made by a brush using carbonaceous black pigment. The original palette includes red ochre, red lead, azurite, carbon black and bone black. During the several restorations, mercury-based red, indigo, smalt blue, orpiment and synthetic mars were used. The original silver leaf of the frame was covered with red tin-based lake and subsequently regilded with gold leaf. Proteinaceous and oil binders were also detecte

Short-wave diathermy in the clinical management of musculoskeletal disorders: a pilot observational study

Musculoskeletal disorders are the most common cause of pain and functional limitation in the general population. The study aim was to evaluate short-wave diathermy (SWD) effects on pain and quality of life in people with musculoskeletal disorders. Eighty participants (31 men, mean age 56 \ub1 12.49 years) were enrolled, recruiting from outpatient clinics at the Rehabilitation Unit, University Hospital, Padova. Inclusion criteria were pain lasting more than 15 days, pain visual analog scale (VAS) score higher than 50/100 mm, and a diagnosis of osteoarthritis, neck/back pain, or tendinopathies. All participants underwent ten sessions of percutaneous SWD, 3 times/week. Each session lasted 15\u201320 min, with frequencies of 4 or 8 MHz and heat intensity between 40 and 60 W. Outcomes were assessed before and after treatment. Primary outcome was pain reduction, evaluated by short form McGill pain questionnaire, which includes VAS and present pain intensity (PPI). Secondary outcome was improvement in social and work-related activity limitations. Participants were grouped based on classification of pain [nociceptive and neuropathic pain (group A) vs nociceptive only (group B)]. VAS and PPI improved significantly (p < 0.01). No difference in pain reduction (VAS and PPI) emerged between the groups. Limitations due to pain in work-related and non-work-related activities decreased (p < 0.01); use of pain medications was reduced at T1 vs T0 (p < 0.01). Our results suggest that SWD is effective\ua0in reducing musculoskeletal pain in the short term, providing relief and improving quality of life

Printing zno inks: From principles to devices

Solution-based printing approaches permit digital designs to be converted into physical objects by depositing materials in a layer-by-layer additive fashion from microscale to nanoscale resolution. The extraordinary adaptability of this technology to different inks and substrates has received substantial interest in the recent literature. In such a context, this review specifically focuses on the realization of inks for the deposition of ZnO, a well-known wide bandgap semiconductor inorganic material showing an impressive number of applications in electronic, optoelectronic, and piezoelectric devices. Herein, we present an updated review of the latest advancements on the ink formulations and printing techniques for ZnO-based nanocrystalline inks, as well as of the major applications which have been demonstrated. The most relevant ink-processing conditions so far explored will be correlated with the resulting film morphologies, showing the possibility to tune the ZnO ink composition to achieve facile, versatile, and scalable fabrication of devices of different natures

Yeast-Derived Formulations Are Differentially Fermented by the Canine and Feline Microbiome As Assessed in a Novel in Vitro Colonic Fermentation Model

The current study evaluated the effect of five yeast-derived formulations (T1-T5) on microbial metabolism and composition of the canine and feline gut microbiota using a novel in vitro colonic incubation approach. This novel in vitro model allowed for growth of the entire spectrum of dog- and cat-derived bacteria from the inoculum, thus offering an excellent platform to evaluate effects of nutritional interventions on the gut microbiota. Further, yeast-derived ingredients differentially increased production of acetate, propionate, butyrate, ammonium, and branched short-chain fatty acids, with T5 and T1 consistently stimulating propionate and butyrate, respectively. 16S-targeted Illumina sequencing coupled with flow cytometry provided unprecedented high-resolution quantitative insights in canine and feline microbiota modulation by yeast-derived ingredients, revealing that effects on propionate production were related to Prevotellaceae, Tannerellaceae, Bacteroidaceae, and Veillonellaceae members, while effects on butyrate production were related to Erysipelotrichaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, and Fusobacteriaceae. Overall, these findings strengthen the health-promoting potential of yeast-derived ingredients

sodium calcium exchanger as main effector of endogenous neuroprotection elicited by ischemic tolerance

Abstract The ischemic tolerance (IT) paradigm represents a fundamental cell response to certain types or injury able to render an organ more "tolerant" to a subsequent, stronger, insult. During the 16th century, the toxicologist Paracelsus described for the first time the possibility that a noxious event might determine a state of tolerance. This finding was summarized in one of his most important mentions: "The dose makes the poison". In more recent years, ischemic tolerance in the brain was first described in 1991, when it was demonstrated by Kirino and collaborators that two minutes of subthreshold brain ischemia in gerbils produced tolerance against global brain ischemia. Based on the time in which the conditioning stimulus is applied, it is possible to define preconditioning, perconditioning and postconditioning, when the subthreshold insult is applied before, during or after the ischemic event, respectively. Furthermore, depending on the temporal delay from the ischemic event, two different modalities are distinguished: rapid or delayed preconditioning and postconditioning. Finally, the circumstance in which the conditioning stimulus is applied on an organ distant from the brain is referred as remote conditioning. Over the years the "conditioning" paradigm has been applied to several brain disorders and a number of molecular mechanisms taking part to these protective processes have been described. The mechanisms are usually classified in three distinct categories identified as triggers, mediators and effectors. As concerns the putative effectors, it has been hypothesized that brain cells appear to have the ability to adapt to hypoxia by reducing their energy demand through modulation of ion channels and transporters, which delays anoxic depolarization. The purpose of the present review is to summarize the role played by plasmamembrane proteins able to control ionic homeostasis in mediating protection elicited by brain conditioning, particular attention will be deserved to the role played by Na+/Ca2+ exchanger

ENT management of children with adenotonsillar disease during COVID-19 pandemic : ready to start again?

Clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in children are milder, but the real burden of disease is unknown. After the lockdown, in our Region Lombardia we have been requested to progressively resume medical services including outpatient assessment and priority surgery. Therefore, we screened surgical waiting lists with identification of 47 children candidates to priority surgery (among 358). No homogeneous national health surveillance/screening programs are ongoing or have been conceived to test susceptible population among children/healthcare workers in preparation of coming down to routinely daily activities, and diagnostic strategies are not completely accurate in children. So, restoring medical services now might be untimely