Minor sperm abnormalities in young male post-pubertal patients with juvenile dermatomyositis

The objective of the present study was to identify sperm abnormalities in young male patients with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM). In 2005, 18 male JDM patients, diagnosed according to the criteria of Bohan and Peter, were followed at the Pediatric Rheumatology Unit and Rheumatology Division, of our Institution. Of the 18 males, 11 were pre-pubertal and 7 were post-pubertal. Two of 7 post-pubertal JDM male patients were excluded: one for orchidopexy for cryptorchidism and the other for testicular ectopia in the left testis. The remaining 5 post-pubertal JDM patients were prospectively evaluated on the basis of two semen analyses, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), urologic evaluation, testicular Doppler ultrasound hormone profile. The data of the JDM patients were compared with those of 5 age-matched healthy controls. The median age 18, was similar in JDM patients and controls. All JDM patients had teratozoospermia (abnormal sperm morphology), as did 4 (80%) of the controls. One of JDM patients had previous oligoasthenoteratozoospermia treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide with normalization of the number and concentration of the sperm after 5 years. All sperm parameters (sperm concentration, total sperm count and total motile sperm count by WHO, and sperm morphology by Kruger strict criteria), testicular volumes by Prader orchidometer and ultrasound, and hormones were similar in JDM patients compared with controls. The frequency of anti-sperm antibodies was similar in both groups. All JDM patients had minor sperm abnormalities in the head, midpiece, and/or tail of spermatozoids. Serial semen analyses in larger study populations are necessary to identify the extent and duration of sperm abnormalities in male patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.FAPESPCNP

Psoas abscess ten years after ipsilateral nephrectomy for pyonephrosis

Pyogenic abscess of the psoas muscle is a rare disease. The Authors report a recently observed case which developed 10 years after ipsilateral nephrectomy for pyonephrosis, reviewing the pertinent literature. The culture of the pus extracted only reproduced Proteus mirabilis. The relation between psoas abscess and nephrectomy is unclear. To make diagnosis is important to consider this condition in differential diagnosis in presence of fever and flank tenderness in a nephrectomized patient

Post laryngectomy speech rehabilitation outcome in elderly patients

The aim of our work has been to evaluate the different options of tracheoesophageal voice rehabilitation in over 70-year-old patients, who had undergone laryngectomy, assessing advantages and drawbacks of this method of vocal recovery. A retrospective study has been carried out. This has included 40 subjects, all aged more than 70 years old, who have been referred to tracheoesophageal voice rehabilitation. It has been realized a phonatory fistula between trachea and esophagus with prosthesis positioning by means of a primary puncture in 18 cases and it has been realized a secondary puncture in 22 cases. The results gathered in these patients were compared with data obtained from a group made of 39 patients, less than 70 years of age that therefore represented our control group. In primary tracheoesophageal puncture (TEP), the short-term success was 67 %, while in the 22 cases who underwent secondary TEP, the short-term success was 64 %. After 2 years from TEP, the long-term success was 82.5 %. In the control group, the short-term success was 65 % in primary TEP and 73 % in secondary TEP. After 2 years from TEP, the long-term success was 77 %. The evaluation of the results has shown the absence of a statistically significant difference both as regards complications incidence, during and after surgery (p > 0.9) and as regards overall success ratio of prosthesis implants between the two groups (p > 0.7). The possibilities of tracheoesophageal recovery of elderly patients do not show dissimilarities in comparison with the results in younger subjects

Silicon resonant microcantilevers for absolute pressure measurement

This work is focused on the developing of silicon resonant microcantilevers for the measurement of the absolute pressure. The microcantilevers have been fabricated with a two-mask bulk micromachining process. The variation in resonance response of microcantilevers was investigated as a function of pressure 10−1-105 Pa, both in terms of resonance frequency and quality factor. A theoretical description of the resonating microstructure is given according to different molecular and viscous regimes. Also a brief discussion on the different quality factors contributions is presented. Theoretical and experimental data show a very satisfying agreement. The microstructure behavior demonstrates a certain sensitivity over a six decade range and the potential evolution of an absolute pressure sensor working in the same rang

Editorial for the special issue on 2d nanomaterials processing and integration in miniaturized devices

Initially considered little more than a scientific curiosity, the family of 2D nanomaterials has become increasingly popular over the last decade [...]

The Role of the Internal Capacitance in Organic Memristive Device for Neuromorphic and Sensing Applications

Organic electronics has recently emerged as a promising candidate for the emulation of brain-like functionalities, especially at the device level. Among the proposed technologies, memristive devices have gained an increasing attention due to their non-volatile behavior which makes them suitable for the implementation of artificial neuronal networks. However, most of them have an energy-costly switching mechanism which limits the approach of brain like energy efficiency. Different from them, organic memristive devices (OMDs) have a narrow switching window and implement neuromorphic characteristics at voltages <= 1 V. Despite OMDs potentialities in bioinspired electronics, guidelines for the design of devices and materials are still missing. Here it is shown that the device capacitance represents a significant degree of freedom for targeting devices applications. It is also shown that a single OMD emulates activity dependent synaptic functions and neuronal temporal and spatial summation, taking advantage of its three-terminals configuration. Interestingly, despite the neuromorphic applications, OMDs can also sense and amplify incoming signals on the basis of their capacitive and/or resistive values. This spectrum of applications, ranging from volatile to non-volatile characteristics and from neuromorphic computing to bio signals sensing, sets the stage for the realization of integrated circuits for adaptive sensing

Analysis of the Compliance Properties of an Industrial Robot with the Mozzi Axis Approach

In robotic processes, the compliance of the robot arm plays a very important role. In some conditions, for example, in robotic assembly, robot arm compliance can compensate for small position and orientation errors of the end-effector. In other processes, like machining, robot compliance may generate chatter vibrations with an impairment in the quality of the machined surface. In industrial robots, the compliance of the end-effector is chiefly due to joint compliances. In this paper, joint compliances of a serial six-joint industrial robot are identified with a novel modal method making use of specific modes of vibration dominated by the compliance of only one joint. Then, in order to represent the effect of the identified compliances on robot performance in an intuitive and geometric way, a novel kinematic method based on the concept of \u201cMozzi axis\u201d of the end-effector is presented and discusse

On the Interpretation of Hysteresis Loop for Electronic and Ionic Currents in Organic Memristive Devices

Being promising elements for neuromorphic computation, memristive devices have been often described as crucial elements for mimicking important synapse properties, such as memory and learning. Among them, organic memristive devices (OMDs) can claim low-cost fabrication processes and the easy tunability of their electrical properties. Up to now, the major bottleneck for their larger uses in neuromorphic computation is low rate of the resistance switching and stability. Herein, a new approach is reported, based on the use of a liquid electrolyte, leading to the manufacturing of OMD with higher stability and faster resistive switching

Catalytic Abatement of Volatile Organic Compounds and Soot over Manganese Oxide Catalysts

A set of manganese oxide catalysts was synthesized via two preparation techniques: solution combustion synthesis (Mn3O4/Mn2O3-SCS and Mn2O3-SCS) and sol-gel synthesis (Mn2O3-SG550 and Mn2O3-SG650). The physicochemical properties of the catalysts were studied by means of N2-physisorption at −196◦ C, X-ray powder diffraction, H2 temperature-programmed reduction (H2-TPR), soot-TPR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The high catalytic performance of the catalysts was verified in the oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) probe molecules (ethene and propene) and carbon soot in a temperature-programmed oxidation setup. The best catalytic performances in soot abatement were observed for the Mn2O3-SG550 and the Mn3O4/Mn2O3-SCS catalysts. The catalytic activity in VOC total oxidation was effectively correlated to the enhanced low-temperature reducibility of the catalysts and the abundant surface Oα-species. Likewise, low-temperature oxidation of soot in tight contact occurred over the Mn2O3-SG550 catalyst and was attributed to high amounts of surface Oα-species and better surface reducibility. For the soot oxidation in loose contact, the improved catalytic performance of the Mn3O4/Mn2O3-SCS catalyst was attributed to the beneficial effects of both the morphological structure that—like a filter—enhanced the capture of soot particles and to a probable high amount of surface acid-sites, which is characteristic of Mn3O4 catalysts