•A meta-analysis was conducted for plant traits after soil compaction.•We analyzed 45 articles for morphology and 17 for physiology during 1959–2017.•Negative effects were highlighted at below-ground ...than above-ground traits.•Declines were higher in the Arenic soil than the Loamic or Siltic soils.•The shorter main roots reduce water uptake and thus plant physiological performance.
A main disadvantage of heavy machinery in forest operation is soil compaction. Compacted soils may be a barrier to seedling growth, even though the exact mechanisms of action are not clear yet, especially for different soil textures, plant species and ages. Previous meta-analyses did not find significant effects, mostly due to the limited size of their databases. We analyzed 45 articles for above-ground and below-ground morphological traits and 17 articles for physiological traits, and found significant declines following soil compaction. Declines were higher at below-ground than above-ground traits, in younger (<2-year-old) than older plants (2 to 20-year-old), in pots than in the field, and increased from the coarse-textured Arenic soils to the finer-textured Loamic or Siltic soils. Data from Clayic soils were insufficient for this analysis. More studies on older plants are also recommended. Responses of conifers and broadleaf species were similar. Our findings suggest that the shorter main roots developed due to soil compaction reduce water uptake and thus photosynthesis and the overall plant physiological performance. No significant changes of nitrogen availability to plants were detected. These results could help a successful seedling regeneration after forest operations.
As for all types of cancer, the incidence of melanoma increases with age. However, naevus counts (the principal risk factor for melanoma) decrease with age; hence the relationship between ageing and ...melanoma is complex. Subjects who maintain a high naevus count after the age of 50 years are more likely to be affected by melanoma, as their lesions do not senesce. Longer telomere length, which is strongly related to age, is linked to high naevus counts/melanoma risk; thus melanoma biology is influenced by factors that slow down ageing. Age is also an important prognostic factor in melanoma. Increasing age leads to worse survival in stages I, II and III. Sentinel lymph node (SLN) status, which is a strong predictor of melanoma survival, is also affected by age, as SLN positivity decreases with age. However, the prognostic predictive value of SLN status on survival increases with age, so, again, these relationships are complex. In patients with stage IV melanoma, age impacts on survival because it affects responses to treatment. This review examines the effects of age on melanoma risk, prognostic factors and responses to treatment.
Metastatic melanoma was the first malignancy in which immune checkpoint inhibitors demonstrated their successful efficacy. Currently, the knowledge on the interaction between the immune system and ...malignant disease is steadily increasing and new drugs and therapeutic strategies are overlooking in the clinical scenario. To provide a comprehensive overview of immune modulating drugs currently available in the treatment of melanoma as well as to discuss of possible future strategies in the metastatic melanoma setting, the present review aims at analyzing controversial aspects about the optimal immunomodulating treatment sequences, the search for biomarkers of efficacy of immunocheckpoint inhibitors, and innovative combinations of drugs currently under investigation.
To review the treatments of the cesarean-induced isthmocele in restoring infertility, associated techniques, and the risks of complications associated with their use.
Isthmocele is a reservoir-like ...pouch defect on the anterior wall of the uterine isthmus located at the site of a previous cesarean delivery scar. The flow of menstrual blood through the cervix may be slowed by the presence of isthmocele, as the blood may accumulate in the niche because of the presence of fibrotic tissue, causing pelvic pain in the suprapubic area. Moreover, persistence of the menstrual blood after menstruation in the cervix may negatively influence the mucus quality and sperm quality, obstruct sperm transport through the cervical canal, interfere with embryo implantation, leading to secondary infertility. The removal of the local inflamed tissue may be performed by laparoscopic, combined laparoscopic-vaginal, or vaginal surgery, and operative hysteroscopy, a minimally invasive approach to improve symptoms and restore fertility.
Isthmocele occurs after cesarean section, a common method of delivery and one of the most frequent surgical procedures, so that its upward incidence appears likely to continue in the near future. Because of its minimal invasiveness, resectoscopy may be the better choice for treatment, yielding good therapeutic results.
The use of battery tools is very common in many fields of work. In fact, the electric engine and batteries have several advantages over traditional endothermic engines, including low emissions, in ...terms of pollutants, vibration and noise. In this context, the chainsaw market started producing electric models powered by batteries. These machines can be useful in forestry, but information on their performance is scarce. The aim of this work was to compare the performance, in terms of cutting times, of three Stihl chainsaw models: the MS 220C-B (battery powered), and the MS 201 C-M and MS 261 C-M (both petrol powered). The study was carried out on five different wood species, also taking into consideration the presence/absence of wood defects in the cutting. More than 800 cuts on 15 m × 15 cm wood beams were video recorded, and the cutting times were later obtained to a resolution of 4/100 of a sec, using video-editing software. The results showed a poorer performance of the battery chainsaw than the petrol chainsaws, especially on certain wood species. However, this difference has been reduced when compared with older models. In conclusion, battery chainsaws need some additional improvements to be introduced into forestry, but their high potential is evident.
Current therapies for metastatic melanoma (anti-PD1 and BRAF/MEK inhibitors) can cause drug-induced vitiligo. The aim of this study is to dermatologically define and histologically characterize this ...new type of vitiligo, and assess the clinical course of the disease. Fourteen patients with metastatic melanoma treated with immune or targeted therapy were included in a dataset evaluating clinical data, vitiligo description and histopathological features. Vitiligo-like lesions occurred after a mean of 7.5 months from the start of the therapies (range 1-42 months), with a prevalence of the non-segmental variant (71.4%). Fifty percent of patients showed a clinical response (4 complete response and 3 partial response), 35.7% had stable disease, and one patient died after disease progression. Median survival from the start of the therapies was 32.5 months. Drug-induced vitiligo can be related to both immune and targeted therapies, is associated with a favourable prognosis, and has clinical characteristics different from the classical form.
In many centers, Stage I–II melanoma patients are considered “cured” after 10 years of disease‐free survival and follow‐up visits are interrupted. However, melanoma may relapse also later. We ...retrospectively analyzed a cohort of 1,372 Stage I–II melanoma patients who were disease‐free 10 years after diagnosis. The aim of this study was to characterize patients who experienced a late recurrence and to compare them to those who remained disease‐free to identify possible predictive factors. Multivariate Cox proportional‐hazards regression analyses were carried out to evaluate the influence of different factors on the risk of recurrence. Seventy‐seven patients out of 1,372 (5.6%) relapsed, 52 in regional sites and 25 in distant ones. The majority of patients (31 out of 52) experienced late recurrence in regional lymph nodes. Brain and lung were the most common site of single distant recurrence (24% each). Patients with multiple distant metastases showed a brain and lung involvement in, respectively, 40 and 48% of cases. A Cox proportional‐hazards regression model analysis showed the independent role of age under 40 years, Breslow thickness >2 mm, and Clark Level IV/V in increasing the risk of Late Recurrence. These patients should be followed‐up for longer than 10 years. The pattern of recurrence suggests that melanoma cells can be dormant preferentially in lymph nodes, brain and lung. A particular attention should be reserved to these anatomic sites during the follow‐up after 10 years of disease‐free.
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After a period of apparent cure lasting 10 or more years, a small percentage of melanoma patients experience late recurrence, in which dormant tumor cells reemerge to cause disease. The factors that precipitate recurrence are unclear, however. In this study, risk of late recurrence in melanoma was found to be elevated among stage I‐II patients who were under age 40 at diagnosis and had a Breslow thickness of more than 2 mm or a Clark level IV/V. The regional lymph nodes, brain, and lungs were primary sites of recurrence, suggesting that they are preferential sites of tumor cell dormancy.
The reproductive outcome in 41 consecutive patients with cesarean-induced isthmocele and secondary infertility was evaluated prospectively. Patients included menopausal women (mean SD; 95% CI age, 35 ...4.1; 29-42 years), with fertility duration of 3 to 8 (4.6 28) years with isthmocele, postmenstrual abnormal uterine bleeding, and suprapubic pelvic pain. Transvaginal ultrasound and office hysteroscopy were used to diagnosis isthmocele. Complete fertility tests were performed to exclude other causes of infertility in both female and male participants. Operative hysteroscopy was performed to correct the cesarean scar defect, and histologic findings were evaluated. Correction of isthmocele via operative hysteroscopy was successful in all cases evaluated. Patients became pregnant spontaneously between 12 and 24 months after isthmoplasty. Thirty-seven of the 41 patients (90.2%) delivered via cesarean section, and 4 (9.8%) had a spontaneous abortion in the first trimester. Isthmoplasty resulted in resolution of postmenstrual abnormal uterine bleeding and suprapubic pelvic pain in all patients. Thus, it was concluded that surgical treatment of cesarean-induced isthmocele using a minimally-invasive approach (operative hysteroscopy) restores fertility and resolves symptoms in women with a cesarean section scar and secondary infertility.
In recent years, battery technology has been greatly improved and some types of battery chainsaws are currently comparable with light-type petrol machines, suggesting their possible introduction into ...forest operations. In this context, the aim of this study was to test and compare the performance, in a Douglas-fir thinning, of two chainsaws similar in terms of weight and power, the Stihl MS 220 CB battery-powered saw and the Stihl MS 201 CM petrol-powered saw, measuring the working times and calculating the productivities. The results showed that, within a working day (about 6 h gross time), an average of 15 trees of 0.56 m3 was felled in each area. No statistically significant differences between the two chainsaws were found in terms of gross and net productivity; and the same result was obtained when focusing the analysis only on operations conducted using the chainsaws. Moreover, the average battery charge duration was 1.04 h, while the full tank duration for the petrol model was 1.12 h. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that, on the basis of their performance, battery chainsaws can be introduced into thinning operations, but a solution is needed to manage batteries in the forest, since the actual need is for 7–8 charges per workday.
Chainsaw operators are exposed to many hazards that can lead to health problems. The two most frequently documented ergonomics threats in the use of chainsaws are noise and vibration exposure. Since ...the use of battery chainsaws is increasing due to the growing improvements in battery life and power, the study aims to compare the difference in terms of noise emission and vibration levels of the following two new models of chainsaws: the battery-powered Stihl MSA 300 and the petrol-powered Stihl MS 261 C-M. Black pine and European beech logs were cross-cut in order to evaluate both noise and vibration exposure. The results show that the use of battery-powered chainsaws, in comparison to the petrol one, can reduce the daily vibration exposure by more than 51% and the noise dose by 11%. The daily vibration exposure of 1.60 ms−2 and 1.67 ms−2 measured for the battery-powered chainsaw on Black pine and on European beech, respectively, is far from the daily exposure action value set by the EU directives for health and safety requirements (2.5 ms−2). On the contrary, the daily noise exposure for the battery chainsaw was 93 dB(A), exceeding the upper exposure action value of 85 dB(A).
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