117,917 research outputs found
The Synthetic Scaffolds for Ventral Hernia Repair: Perspectives for Regenerative Surgery-Systematic Review
Ventral hernia (VH) frequently affects patients after abdominal surgery. The use of a mesh is often recommended. Different materials are described, from synthetic non-resorbable meshes to biological meshes. New generation meshes, also named scaffolds, aim to combine the advantages of both materials. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the cytological, histological, biomechanical, and clinical outcomes of the use of the newest resorbable synthetic scaffolds in VH repair, based on experimental studies in a pre-clinical setting. A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and to the Assessing the Methodological Quality of Systematic Reviews (AMSTAR) guidelines. Only experimental studies were included. Outcome parameters were building technique, in vitro cytocompatibility, in vivo histocompatibility, biomechanical analysis, and clinical outcomes. The articles included were nine. The total number of cases treated was 257. Materials analyzed included electrospun silk fibroin (SF)/poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV) hybrid scaffolds, biodegradable polyester poly-epsilon-caprolactone (PCL) in the form of nanofibers, biodegradable mesh in poly-4-hydroxybutyrate (P4HB), nanofibrous polylactic acid (PLA) scaffold with a polypropylene (PP) material to generate a sandwich-like mesh, the collagen sponge (CS) group, the hybrid scaffold (HS) containing CS and poly-L-lactide (PLLA), and the hybrid scaffold (HS) + bone marrow (HSBM). Resorbable synthetic scaffolds are new, safe, surgical materials for the treatment or prevention of ventral hernia in animal models. Scaffolds should be tested in a contaminated surgical field for emergency use. Rigorous schematic indications for data collection are needed to improve the quality of the data in order to definitively clarify the pathway involved in inflammatory induced response
Proxy dynamic delegation in grid gateway
Nowadays one of the main obstacles the research comes up against is the difficulty in accessing the required computational resources. Grid is able to offer the user a wide set of resources, even if they are often too hard to exploit for non expert end user. Use simplification has today become a common practice in the access and utilization of Cloud, Grid, and data center resources. With the launch of L-GRID gateway, we introduced a new way to deal with Grid portals. L-GRID is an extremely light portal developed in order to access the EGI Grid infrastructure via Web, allowing users to submit their jobs from whatever Web browser in a few minutes, without any knowledge about the underlying Grid infrastructure
A polycentric, randomized, double blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study on Lertal®, a multicomponent nutraceutical, as add-on treatment in children with allergic rhinoconjunctivitis: phase I during active treatment
Allergic rhinoconjunctivitis (AR) treatment is usually pharmacological in children, but medications are merely symptomatic, may not be completely effective, and may have relevant side effects. Thus, doctors and parents look at complementary medicine, including nutraceuticals. Lertal®, an oral nutraceutical, contains extract of Perilla, quercetin, and Vitamin D3 It has been reported that adults with AR diminished allergic symptoms and medication use during Lertal® therapy. Therefore, the current polycentric, randomized, double blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Lertal® as an add-on treatment in children with AR. In this study, 146 children (94 males and 52 females, mean age 9.1±1.88) were randomly assigned to Lertal® + standard treatment or Placebo + standard treatment and were visited at baseline (W0), and after 2 (W2) and 4 weeks (W4). Standard treatment consisted of continuous antihistaminic schedule. The primary endpoint was the Total Symptom Score (TSS - last 12 hours) change from the baseline to the end of the 4-week treatment. Both groups significantly (p less 0.0001 for both) reduced TSS (last 12 hours) after 4 weeks (% change: - 63.6% in Lertal®-group and - 60.7% in Placebo-group; p= n.s. intergroup analysis). Notably, 24 children had symptom worsening between W2 and W4: 8 in the Lertal®-group and 16 in the Placebo-group, with significant intergroup difference (p less than 0.05). All of them were poly-allergic subjects exposed to multiple allergens. There was no relevant adverse event. The present study documented that Lertal®, as add-on treatment, was able to significantly prevent the occurrence of clinical worsening and was safe in AR poly-allergic children
The relevance of symptom perception in the management of severe asthma in adolescents
Severe asthma is a compelling challenge in clinical practice. Adolescence represents a relevant aspect of this issue. We report a series of adolescents with severe asthma and evaluated before and after a one-year standardized guideline-oriented treatment. We explored the relevance of symptom perception, including nasal and bronchial complaints, assessed by visual analog scale (VAS) and the perception of asthma control measured by the asthma control test (ACT). The current study demonstrated that adolescents perceived a significant improvement in their symptoms (p < 0.0001) and asthma control (p < 0.001) after adequate treatment. In conclusion, the management of severe asthma in adolescents should be carefully addressed to also consider the patient's perception
The Anatomy of a Grid portal
In this paper we introduce a new way to deal with Grid portals referring to our implementation L-GRID is a light portal to access the EGEE/EGI Grid infrastructure via Web allowing users to submit their jobs from a common Web browser in a few minutes without any knowledge about the Grid infrastructure It provides the control over the complete lifecycle of a Grid Job from its submission and status monitoring to the output retrieval The system implemented as client-server architecture is based on the Globus Grid middleware The client side application is based on a java applet; the server relies on a Globus User Interface There is no need of user registration on the server side and the user needs only his own X509 personal certificate The system is user-friendly secure (it uses SSL protocol mechanism for dynamic delegation and identity creation in public key infrastructures) highly customizable open source and easy to install The X509 personal certificate does not get out from the local machine It allows to reduce the time spent for the job submission granting at the same time a higher efficiency and a better security level in proxy delegation and managemen
FAI800304-ICMJE – Supplemental material for PROMIS and FAAM Minimal Clinically Important Differences in Foot and Ankle Orthopedics
Supplemental material, FAI800304-ICMJE for PROMIS and FAAM Minimal Clinically Important Differences in Foot and Ankle Orthopedics by Man Hung, Judith F. Baumhauer, Frank W. Licari, Maren W. Voss, Jerry Bounsanga and Charles L. Saltzman in Foot & Ankle International</p
Lilies and roses; English and Latin poems [by] Jerome J. Licari.
3 p. l, xiii p., 1 l., 42 p., 1 l., 43-47 p
Finite Element Method in L-PBF of Ti-6Al-4V: Influence of Laser Power and Scan Speed on Residual Stress and Part Distortion
Laser powder bed fusion (L-PBF) is widely used in automotive, aerospace, and biomedical applications thanks to its ability to produce complex geometries. In spite of its advantages, parts produced with this technology can show distortion due to the residual stresses developed during the printing process. For this reason, numerical simulations can be used to predict thermal gradients and residual stresses that can result in part distortion. Thus, instead of performing experimental tests and using a trial and error approach, it is possible to use numerical simulation to save time and material. In this work, the effect of laser power and scan speed on residual stress and part distortion was analysed using a commercial finite element analysis (FEA) software DEFORM-3D™ with a layer-by-layer approach. Moreover, the accuracy of the numerical model with respect to process parameters and the utilised mesh was also studied. The results obtained from the numerical simulation were compared to the actual distortions to evaluate the accuracy of the FEM model. The predicted distortions using FEM analysis well fit the trend of the measured ones. The accuracy of the numerical model increases by considering a finer mesh
Migration Responses to Earthquakes. Evidence from Italy
In this paper, we analyze the migration responses to natural disasters by focusing on the three most devastating earthquakes in Italy in recent decades: L'Aquila 2009, Emilia Romagna 2012, and Central Italy 2016. Using municipality-level data for 2002-2019 and adopting a new difference-in-difference approach with multiple periods and multiple groups, we evaluate the causal effect of these events on internal and international inbound and outbound migration of both Italian and foreign citizens. The results suggest that, despite the massive destruction, there is no evidence that these earthquakes significantly impacted the migration of Italian citizens. We only found evidence of the effect of the earthquake in L'Aquila on the short-distance migration of foreign citizens
- …
