Capacity to ambulate represents an important milestone in the recovery process after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The purpose of this study was to determine the analgesic effect of two analgesic ...techniques and their impact on functional walking capacity as a measure of surgical recovery.
Forty ASA II–III subjects undergoing TKA were enrolled in a randomized, double-blind, single-centre study receiving 48 h postoperative analgesia with either periarticular infiltration of local anaesthetic (Group I) or continuous femoral nerve block (Group F). Breakthrough pain relief was achieved with patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) morphine. The main outcome was postoperative morphine consumption. Early (postoperative days 1–3) and late (6 weeks) functional walking capacity (2 and 6 min walk tests, 2MWT and 6MWT, respectively), degree of physical activity (CHAMPS), health-related quality of life (SF-12), and clinical indicators of knee function (WOMAC, Knee Society evaluation, and range of motion) were measured.
Patients in Group F used the PCA less (P=0.02) to achieve adequate analgesia. Postoperative 2MWT was similar in both groups (P=0.27). Six weeks after surgery, recovery of 6MWT, physical activity, and knee function were significantly improved in Group F (P<0.05). Preoperative walking capacity, physical activity and early total walking time were the independent predictors of early recovery. Distance and time spent walking were the predictors of functional walking exercise capacity at 6 weeks after surgery.
Femoral block is associated with lower opioid consumption and a better recovery at 6 weeks than periarticular infiltration. Early postoperative activity measures (2MWT and walking time) were proved to be possible indicators of knee function recovery at 6 weeks after surgery.
The modification of gene expression profile, a first step in adaptation to exercise, leads to changes in the level of molecules associated with skeletal muscle activity and energy metabolism—such as ...myokines—as well as those involved in their transcriptional regulation, like microRNA. This study aimed to investigate the influence of strenuous exercise on circulating microRNAs and their possible association with myokine response. Pre-competition and post-competition plasma samples were collected from 14 male athletes participating in a vertical run (+1,000 m gain, 3,600 m length). Circulating total (t-miRNA) and extracellular vesicle-associated (EV-miRNA) miRNAs were extracted from the pooled plasma. Nanoparticle tracking analysis was performed to investigate pre- and post-competition EV concentration and size distribution. A panel of 179 miRNAs was assayed by qPCR and analyzed by Exiqon GenEx v6 normalized on the global mean. t-miRNA and EV-miRNAs whose level was ≥5-fold up- or down-regulated were validated for each single subject. Target prediction on MirWalk v3.0, Gene-Ontology, and pathway enrichment analysis on Panther v17.0 were performed to define the potential biological role of the identified miRNAs. A panel of 14 myokines was assayed in each sample by a multiplex immunoassay. In whole plasma, five miRNAs were upregulated and two were downregulated; in the EV fraction, five miRNAs were upregulated and three were downregulated. Nanoparticle tracking analysis revealed a similar EV size distribution in pre- and post-competition samples and a decreased concentration in post-competition samples related to pre-competition samples. Gene-Ontology and pathway enrichment analysis revealed that the identified t-miRNAs and EV-miRNAs were potentially involved in metabolism regulation in response to exercise. Correlation between fold-change of the post-competition relative to pre-competition plasma level of both t-miRNAs and EV-miRNAs and myokines further confirmed these results. This study provides an example of a systemic response to acute endurance exercise, in which circulating miRNAs play a pivotal role.
SENTINEL FOR APPLICATIONS IN AGRICULTURE Gomarasca, M. A.; Tornato, A.; Spizzichino, D. ...
International archives of the photogrammetry, remote sensing and spatial information sciences.,
07/2019, Letnik:
XLII-3/W6
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The European Union and the European Space Agency (EU/ESA) have promoted since 1998 (Baveno Manifesto*) the GMES Programme (Global Monitoring for Environment and Security), nowadays called Copernicus ...(www.copernicus.eu). In the agriculture domain, the use of Copernicus Sentinel imagery and its services are providing several new opportunities. The knowledge of fundamentals of Earth Observation/Geographic Information EO/GI, namely Geomatics, for the development of innovative strategies for professional skills adequacy and capacity building, supporting Copernicus user uptake, becomes mandatory (Gomarasca, 2009). The target is to help bridging gaps between supply and demand of education and training for geospatial sector (www.eo4geo.eu). The innovative and strategical novelties are the complete free access to Sentinel time series imagery and digital image processing software “Sentinel toolboxes” such as SNAP (Sentinel Application Platform) for different environments (Windows, Mac, Unix). The paper introduce topics as crop mapping and monitoring, biophysical parameters, phenology and yield estimations, through several concluded or ongoing international projects such as: ERMES -FP7 (http://www.ermes-fp7space.eu/it/homepage/, Busetto et al. 2017) and SATURNO (https://www.progettosaturno.it/, Nutini et al., 2018) devoted to the regional agricultural monitoring. As conclusion, SNAP software for image processing of Sentinel data was demonstrated and tested together with Earth Engine software for specific vertical agriculture applications. The topics reported in this paper have been part of the Summer School ‘Sentinel for Applications in Agriculture’ supported by the Copernicus programme, several scientific associations (AIT, ASITA, EARSeL - European Association of Remote Sensing Laboratories), the European Erasmus+ project EO4GEO, University Departments and Geo-Information Companies.
" This volume presents a comprehensive and complete treatment. In a systematic way the complex topics and techniques are covered that can be assembled under Geospatial Information namely, Geodesy, ...Cartography, Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing, Informatics, Acquisition Systems, Global Positioning Systems, Digital Image Processing, Geographic Information Systems, Decision Support Systems, and WebGIS. It describes in detail and at an accessible level - too much math has been avoided - the state of current knowledge. Per chapter a detailed bibliography has been included.As such, it will serve as a working tool not only to geoscientists and geographers but also to engineers, architects, computer scientists, urban planners, specialists in GIS, remote sensing, forestry, agricultural science, soil science geometry, environmental scientists and managers.Applications can be found in security, risk management, monitoring, info-mobility, geo-positioning, food traceability, etc.From the reviews:""The book is rigorous and synthetic, describing with precision the main instruments and methods connected to the multiple techniques today available. The objective pursued is to publish an integrated text, containing simple and comprehensible concepts relevant to experts in Geo-spatial Information."" S. Dequal, Professor of Topography and Photogrammetry, DITAG, Polytechnic of Turin, Italy""This book fills a void of telling and showing the reader how remote sensing as a part of geomatics really works. With a clearly presented historical review up to the present time, the author illustrates the basic theories and use of the different remote sensing sensors and how to analyze the data from them for their application. This book would be a complement to the standard remote sensing books and I would highly recommend it for all land oriented professionals and especially graduate students who need a clear explanation of how remote sensing works"". Chris J. Johannsen, Professor Emeritus of Agronomy, Department of Agronomy, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA""Basics of Geomatics"" is structured in a clear and effective way into thematic chapters that provide a fundamental, yet comprehensive coverage of each of the major disciplines making up the field of Geomatics. Thanks to its clarity and completeness, the text, supplemented by many useful tables and illustrations will serve as a basic reference work for both beginners and experienced readers"".John L. van Genderen, Professor, International Institute for Geoinformation Science and Earth Observation (ITC), Department of Earth Observation Science, Enschede, The Netherlands."
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