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Rocco Papalia,1 Guglielmo Torre,1 Sebastiano Vasta,1 Biagio Zampogna,1 Douglas R Pedersen,2,3 Vincenzo Denaro,1 Annunziato Amendola3 1Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Rome, Italy; 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, 3Department of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA Background: Bone bruises are frequently associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears as a result of trauma or direct shear stress of the bone. Purpose: To review the evidence regarding the characteristics of the bone bruise associated with ACL tears, its relevance on clinical outcomes, and its progression over time. In particular, the long-term effects of the bone bruise on the knee osteochondral architecture and joint function were evaluated. Study design: Review; level of evidence: 4. Methods: An electronic search was performed on PubMed. Combinations of keywords included: “bone bruise AND knee”; “bone bruise AND anterior cruciate ligament”; “bone bruise AND osteo-chondral defects”. Any level of evidence studies concerning bone bruises in patients with partial or complete ACL tears were retrieved. Results: A total of 25 studies were included; three of them investigated biomechanical parameters, seven were concerned with clinical outcomes, and 15 were radiological studies. Evaluation of the bone bruise is best performed using a fat-saturated T2-weighted fast spin echo exam or a short tau inversion recovery sequence where fat saturation is challenging. The location of the injury has been demonstrated to be more frequent in the lateral compartment of the joint (lateral femoral condyle and lateral tibial plateau). It is associated with ACL tears in approximately 70% of cases, often with collateral ligament or meniscal tears. Mid- and long-term outcomes demonstrated a complete healing of the marrow lesions at magnetic ρresonance imaging, but chondral defects detected with T1ρ sequences are still present 1 year after the ACL injury. Functional examination of the knee, through clinical International Knee Documentation Committee scores, did not show any correlation with the bone bruise. Conclusion: Although bone bruise presence yields to higher pain levels, no correlation with functional outcomes was reported. Most studies have a short-term follow-up (

The milk production is strongly influenced by the dairy cow welfare related to a good nutrition and the analysis of the digestibility of feeds allows us to evaluate the health status of the animals. Through faeces' visual examination it is possible to estimate the quality of diet fed in terms of lacking in fibre or too high in non-structural carbohydrates. The study was carried out in 2021, on four dairy farms in central Italy. The purpose of this work is the classification and evaluation of dairy cow faeces using RGB image analysis through an artificial intelligence (AI) (convolutional neural network (CNN)) algorithm. The main features to analyse are pH, colour and consistency. For the latter two RGB imaging was combined with deep learning and AI to reach objectivity in samples' evaluation. The images have been captured with several smartphones and cameras, under various light conditions, collecting a data set of 441 images. Images acquired by RGB cameras are then analysed through CNN technology that extracts features and data previously standardized by a faecal score index assigned after a visual analysis and based on five classes. The results achieved with different training strategies show a training accuracy of 90% and a validation accuracy of 78% of the model which allow us to identify problems in bovine digestion and to intervene promptly in feed variation. The method used in this study eliminates subjectivity in field analysis and allows future improvement of increasing the data set to strengthen the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present paper design, realization and testing of a novel small scale adsorption refrigerator prototype based on activated carbon/ethanol working pair is described. Firstly, experimental activity has been carried out for identification of the best performing activated carbon available on the market, through the evaluation of the achievable thermodynamic performance both under air conditioning and refrigeration conditions. Once identified the best performing activated carbon, the design of the adsorber was developed by experimental dynamic performance analysis, carried out by means of the Gravimetric-Large Temperature Jump (G-LTJ) apparatus available at CNR ITAE lab. Finally, the whole 0.5 kW refrigerator prototype was designed and built. First experimental results both under reference air conditioning and refrigeration cycles have been reported, to check the achievable performance. High Specific Cooling Powers (SCPs), 95 W/kg and 50 W/kg, for air conditioning and refrigeration respectively, were obtained, while the COP ranged between 0.09 and 0.11, thus showing an improvement of the current state of the art. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: PRP is obtained by centrifugation of whole blood with the aim of producing plasma with high concentration of platelets. The literature provides little information about the variability of the clinical efficacy of PRP in relation to the biological characteristics of the product. Objectives of the study in question are: clinical evaluation of effectiveness of PRP "home made" a group of 89 patients, analysis of cytokine profile and concentrations of growth factors in a 10 patients homogeneous group, during treatment with intra-articular and peritendinous injections of PRP; description of possible correlation between changes in cytokine pattern and concentration of growth factors with clinical response to treatment in the same group of patients. Methods: 89 patients were selected and declared fit to receive treatment with PRP "home made". In view of the underlying disease, (Tendinopathy, Epicondylitis, Chondral Lesions, Degenerative lesions of grade I-II-III-IV, Rotator Cuff Lesions) patients underwent to 3-5 cycles of intra-articular or peritendinous injections of PRP, at intervals of 7 or 15 days apart. Scores of clinical evaluation were administered to each patient before treatment, before any infiltration, and six months after the last injection. The concentration of growth factors, and inflammatory cytokines present in the PRP, were evaluated in a homogeneous group of 10 patients with degenerative lesions of the knee cartilage of grade III-IV sec. Kellgren- Lawrence century. Finally correlation between growth factors, cytochine and haematological parameters of the patient and PRP with clinical parameters was analyzed. Results: Overall Response Rate (ORR) was noted in 69 of 83 patients (84%). In addition, all the scores used have shown a significant rate (P <0.05) in the period immediately after the second injection. Analysis of the growth factors showed a progressive increase in concentration than baseline, after the first application, with a peak level at the second (beginning of the period of clinical improvement statistically significant), and subsequent decrease at the third infiltration. Several more (P=0.01) or less (P=0.05) significant correlations were identified, both with clinical scores and haematological index. The pattern of inflammatory cytokines, after a stable trend from time 0, showed a decrease after the second clinical application, at the peak of growth factors and beginning of the patient's clinical improvement. Conclusions: the results reported clinical efficacy in 84% of patients treated. In addition, the biological analysis showed at the beginning of the clinical improvement the increase in growth factors and decrease in inflammatory cytokines. More level I studies are necessary to identify the best production methodology and application of the product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the role of the menisci in knee stability, proprioception, and homeostasis has been well established, significant efforts have been made to repair meniscal tears, resulting in excellent clinical outcomes and a reduction in the progression of knee osteoarthritis (OA). However, varying failure rates have been reported, raising questions regarding the healing potential in cases of complex injuries, poorly vascularized and degenerated areas, and generally in the presence of unfavorable biological characteristics. Therefore, over the last few decades, different strategies have been described to increase the chances of meniscal healing. Biological augmentation of meniscal repair through various techniques represents a safe and effective strategy with proven clinical benefits. This approach could reduce the failure rate and expand the indications for meniscal repair. In the present study, we thoroughly reviewed the available evidence on meniscal repair surgery and summarized the main techniques that can be employed to enhance the biological healing potential of a meniscal lesion. Our aim was to provide an overview of the state of the art on meniscal repair and suggest the best techniques to reduce their failure rate.

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the virus responsible for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Patients with COVID-19 manifested symptoms mainly related to the respiratory system, but also the musculoskeletal system can be involved. COVID-19 has been described as a possible cause of knee osteonecrosis (ON). A systematic review was performed to investigate the hypothetical correlation between COVID-19 and knee ON., Methods: Inclusion criteria were all articles reporting cases of knee ON after a diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Considering that COVID-19 is an emerging disease, all levels of evidence studies were included., Results: Finally, two case series and three case reports were included. We extracted data regarding demographic and clinical characteristics, details of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), use of corticosteroids (CCS), temporal correlation between ON and COVID-19, treatment of the lesion and its outcomes. A total of seven cases of post-COVID knee ON have been described. Knee pain arose on average 11 weeks after the diagnosis of COVID-19. All patients had knee MRI showing ON. CCS were used to treat COVID-19-related symptoms in four cases. Conservative treatment was successful in five patients., Conclusions: The correlation between COVID-19 and ON remains unclear. Probably post-COVID-19 ON has a multifactorial origin in which factors related to the patient, consequences of COVID-19 and CCS therapy add up to cause a reduction of blood supply and bone vitality until ON is triggered. A greater number of patients is needed to clarify the role of COVID-19 in the etiopathogenesis of knee ON., Competing Interests: Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at https://aoj.amegroups.com/article/view/10.21037/aoj-23-67/coif). R.P. serves as an unpaid editorial board member of Annals of Joint from December 2022 to November 2024. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (2024 Annals of Joint. All rights reserved.)

Background: An athlete's career inevitably goes through periods of forced physical exercise interruption like a knee injury. Advanced echocardiographic methods and cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) are essential in evaluating athletes in the period elapsing after the injury. However, the feasibility of a maximal pre-surgery CPET and the capacity of resting advanced echocardiographic techniques to predict cardiorespiratory capacity still need to be clarified., Methods: We evaluated 28 non-professional athletes aged 18-52, involved in prevalently aerobic or alternate aerobic/anaerobic sports activities, affected by a knee pathology with indications for surgical treatment. The evaluation was performed at rest by trans-thoracic echocardiography, including global longitudinal strain (GLS) and myocardial work (MW) assessment, and during exercise by CPET., Results: The percent-predicted peak oxygen consumption (peak VO2%) was 82.8±13.7%, the mean respiratory exchange ratio was 1.16±0.08, and the mean ventilation/carbon dioxide (VE/VCO2) slope was 24.23±3.36. Peak VO2% negatively correlated with GLS (r=-0.518, P=0.003) and global wasted work (GWW) (r =-0.441, P=0.015) and positively correlated with global work efficiency (GWE) (r=0.455, P=0.012). Finally, we found that the VE/VCO2 slope during exercise was negatively correlated with GWE (r=-0.585, P=0.001) and positively correlated with GWW (r=0.499, P=0.005)., Conclusions: A maximal CPET can be obtained in deconditioned athletes because of a knee injury, allowing a comprehensive functional pre-surgery evaluation. In these patients, peak VO2 is reduced due to decreased physical activity after injury; however, a lower cardiopulmonary efficiency may be a concause of the injury itself. In addition, we demonstrated that the MW indexes obtained at rest could predict exercise capacity and ventilatory efficiency as evaluated by CPET.

Humans are the most versatile tool users among animals. Accordingly, our manual skills evolved alongside the shape of the hand. In the future, further evolution may take place: humans may merge with their tools, and technology may integrate into our biology in a way that blurs the line between the two. So, the question is whether humans can embody a bionic tool (i.e., experience it as part of their body) and thus if this would affect behavior. We investigated in virtual reality how the substitution of the hand with a virtual grafting of an end-effector, either non-naturalistic (a bionic tool) or naturalistic (a hand), impacts embodiment and behavior. Across four experiments, we show that the virtual grafting of a bionic tool elicits a sense of embodiment similar to or even stronger than its natural counterpart. In conclusion, the natural usage of bionic tools can rewire the evolution of human behavior., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing interests., (© 2024 The Authors.)

Neurological disorders such as stroke, Parkinson's disease (PD), and severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) are leading global causes of disability and mortality. This study aimed to assess the ability to walk of patients with sTBI, stroke, and PD, identifying the differences in dynamic postural stability, symmetry, and smoothness during various dynamic motor tasks. Sixty people with neurological disorders and 20 healthy participants were recruited. Inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors were employed to measure spatiotemporal parameters and gait quality indices during different motor tasks. The Mini-BESTest, Berg Balance Scale, and Dynamic Gait Index Scoring were also used to evaluate balance and gait. People with stroke exhibited the most compromised biomechanical patterns, with lower walking speed, increased stride duration, and decreased stride frequency. They also showed higher upper body instability and greater variability in gait stability indices, as well as less gait symmetry and smoothness. PD and sTBI patients displayed significantly different temporal parameters and differences in stability parameters only at the pelvis level and in the smoothness index during both linear and curved paths. This study provides a biomechanical characterization of dynamic stability, symmetry, and smoothness in people with stroke, sTBI, and PD using an IMU-based ecological assessment.

Background: In recent years, kinematic alignment (KA) is becoming a valid alternative to mechanical alignment (MA) in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). However, to avoid early failures, the restricted kinematic alignment (rKA) approach has been developed to restore native knee kinematics without reproducing extreme knee phenotype. This systematic review aims to evaluate clinical and radiological outcomes between rKA and MA for TKA., Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted following PRISMA guidelines on Pubmed, Scopus and Cochrane Library. The following search string was adopted: (((restricted kinematic) AND (mechanical)) AND (alignment)) AND (knee). We included studies that analyzed rKA versus MA in terms of clinical outcomes and complications with a minimum of 6 months of follow up. The following rKA- and MA-related data were evaluated: patient-reported outcome scores (PROMs), radiographic analysis of lower limb alignment, and complications. Criteria from the Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies were used to assess the methodological quality of the articles., Results: This systematic review included seven clinical studies with a total of 892 knees (471 for MA group and 421 for rKA group, respectively). Overall, post-operative PROMs were similar between rKA and MA. Moreover, rKA reached better results regarding Forgotten Joint Score and post-operative patient satisfaction. Finally, no higher complication rate was observed with the rKA approach., Conclusion: The rKA aims to restore native knee kinematics, avoiding extreme deformities. Clinical outcomes are not inferior or even better for rKA compared with MA, without increasing the risk of short-middle-term implant failure. However, there is a high heterogeneity regarding the 'restricted' protocols used., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Groin pain is a common issue in athletes, with a particularly high incidence in male soccer players. Adductor muscles are the most involved site of the groin, accounting for up to one-fourth of muscle injuries of that region. Physical therapy and rehabilitation programs for adductor-related groin pain using active exercises are effective in getting athletes back to sport. However, the return-to-play time varies according to the injury severity. Minor lesions can recover in 1-2 weeks, while severer injuries require 8-12 weeks. To enhance tendon healing and shorten the return to play time, intrandentinous injections of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) have been proposed. An increasing body of evidence in literature have shown efficacy of platelet rich plasma in aiding the healing process in tendinopathies. Similarly, more recent evidences have proven hyaluronic (HA) acid to have anti-inflammatory, proliferative, repairing, and analgesic effects. This case report presents the clinical application of combined PRP and a multifractioned (a mixture of different molecular weights) HA in a 24-year-old athlete suffering from a hip adductor rupture.

Since the spinal cord has traditionally been considered a bundle of long fibers connecting the brain to all parts of the body, the study of its role has long been limited to peripheral sensory and motor control. However, in recent years, new studies have challenged this view pointing to the spinal cord's involvement not only in the acquisition and maintenance of new motor skills but also in the modulation of motor and cognitive functions dependent on cortical motor regions. Indeed, several reports to date, which have combined neurophysiological techniques with transpinal direct current stimulation (tsDCS), have shown that tsDCS is effective in promoting local and cortical neuroplasticity changes in animals and humans through the activation of ascending corticospinal pathways that modulate the sensorimotor cortical networks. The aim of this paper is first to report the most prominent tsDCS studies on neuroplasticity and its influence at the cortical level. Then, a comprehensive review of tsDCS literature on motor improvement in animals and healthy subjects and on motor and cognitive recovery in post-stroke populations is presented. We believe that these findings might have an important impact in the future making tsDCS a potential suitable adjunctive approach for post-stroke recovery.

Meniscal extrusion (ME) is strongly correlated with cartilage wear and osteoarthritis (OA), be-cause of the altered kinematic and the decreased contact area between the tibia and femur. The aim of this narrative review is to analyze the process of ME, focusing on the possible causes, and to evaluate the correlation between ME and knee OA, in order to provide early diagnosis and treatments. Studies written in English that analyzed the causes of ME, provided indications re-garding diagnosis and treatment, and evaluated the relation between ME and early OA were in-cluded. Injuries, degeneration of the meniscal substance and meniscus root tears are associated with significantly increased ME. An extruded meniscus could be a manifestation of other pa-thologies such as disruption of coronary ligaments, cartilage loss, knee malalignment, ligament injuries, or OA. ME is strongly associated with osteoarthritis features, particularly with bone marrow lesion and cartilage damage. Magnetic resonance imaging represents the gold standard for the detection of ME. The severity of the medial meniscus extrusion may also affect healing af-ter repair, and meniscus extrusion is not completely reduced by meniscus posterior root tear re-pair. In this study, we proved that ME represents an important risk factor for early knee OA. We provided alternative theories of ME, such as meniscal fibers injury first and "dynamic extrusion of the menisci". The phenomenon of aging has been described as a new concept in the etiology of ME. Finally, we stated all the main techniques and characteristics of the diagnostic process, as well as the current knowledge in the therapeutic field., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Cocoon sorting is one of the most labor-demanding activities required both at the end of the agricultural production and before the industrial reeling process to obtain an excellent silk quality. In view of the possible relaunch of European sericulture, the automatization of this production step is mandatory both to reduce silk costs and to standardize fiber quality. The described research starts from this criticality in silk production (the manual labor required to divide cocoons into different quality classes) to identify amelioration solutions. To this aim, the automation of this activity was proposed, and a first prototype was designed and built. This machinery is based on the use of three cameras and imaging algorithms identifying the shape and size of the cocoons and outside stains, a custom-made light sensor and an AI model to discard dead cocoons. The current efficiency of the machine is about 80 cocoons per minute. In general, the amelioration obtained through this research involves both the application of traditional sensors/techniques to an unusual product and the design of a dedicated sensor for the identification of dead/alive pupae inside the silk cocoons. A general picture of the overall efficiency of the new cocoon-sorting prototype is also outlined.

(1) Background: Extra virgin olive oil production is strictly influenced by the quality of fruits. The optical selection allows for obtaining high quality oils starting from batches with different qualitative characteristics. This study aims to test a CNN algorithm in order to assess its potential for olive classification into several quality classes for industrial purposes, specifically its potential integration and sorting performance evaluation. (2) Methods: The acquired samples were all subjected to visual analysis by a trained operator for the distinction of the products in five classes related to the state of external veraison and the presence of visible defects. The olive samples were placed at a regular distance and in a fixed position on a conveyor belt that moved at a constant speed of 1 cm/s. The images of the olives were taken every 15 s with a compact industrial RGB camera mounted on the main frame in aluminum to allow overlapping of the images, and to avoid loss of information. (3) Results: The modelling approaches used, all based on AI techniques, showed excellent results for both RGB datasets. (4) Conclusions: The presented approach regarding the qualitative discrimination of olive fruits shows its potential for both sorting machine performance evaluation and for future implementation on machines used for industrial sorting processes.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is a commercial product of high quality, thanks to its nutritional and organoleptic characteristics. The olives ripeness and the choice of harvest time according to their color and size, strongly influences the quality of the EVOO. The physical sorting of olives with machines performing rapid and objective optical selection, impossible by hand, can improve the quality of the final product. The aim of this study concerns the classification of olives into two qualitative classes, based on the maturity stage and the presence of external defects, through an industrial RGB optical sorting prototype, evaluating its performance and comparing the results with those obtained visually by trained operators. EVOOs obtained from classified olives were characterized through chemical, physical-chemical analysis and sensory profile. For the first time, the optoelectronic technologies in an industrial system was tested on olives to produce superior quality EVOO. The selection allows late harvest, obtaining oils with good characteristics from fully ripe and unripe fruits together, separating defective olives with appropriate calibration and training. Optoelectronic selection creates the opportunity to blend the obtained oils destined to different applications according to the needs of the consumer or producer, using a vanguard technology at low cost.

UAVs are sensor platforms increasingly used in precision agriculture, especially for crop and environmental monitoring using photogrammetry. In this work, light drone flights were performed on three consecutive days (with different weather conditions) on an experimental agricultural field to evaluate the photogrammetric performances due to colour calibration. Thirty random reconstructions from the three days and six different areas of the field were performed. The results showed that calibrated orthophotos appeared greener and brighter than the uncalibrated ones, better representing the actual colours of the scene. Parameter reporting errors were always lower in the calibrated reconstructions and the other quantitative parameters were always lower in the non-calibrated ones, in particular, significant differences were observed in the percentage of camera stations on the total number of images and the reprojection error. The results obtained showed that it is possible to obtain better orthophotos, by means of a calibration algorithm, to rectify the atmospheric conditions that affect the image obtained. This proposed colour calibration protocol could be useful when integrated into robotic platforms and sensors for the exploration and monitoring of different environments.

Background: Outcomes following meniscal allograft transplantation (MAT) are an evolving topic., Purpose: To review clinical outcomes in younger, previously active patients who underwent an isolated MAT or MAT plus any osteotomy. Concurrent surgeries, complications, and graft survivorship are presented., Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4., Methods: Inclusion criteria included having undergone MAT with a minimum of 1 year of follow-up with at least 1 of the following patient-reported outcome (PRO) measures collected pre- and postoperatively: visual analog scale for pain, Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Arthritis Index, the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey, and overall satisfaction. From patient records, we recorded descriptive data, side (medial/lateral), previous or concurrent procedures, perioperative complications, revisions, and conversion to arthroplasty. Two-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test for differences in age and body mass index (BMI). A 2 × 2 chi-square test was used to determine if the spectrum of procedures performed on our study's patient group was representative of the entire population. PRO results were analyzed using a multivariate ANOVA., Results: From a total of 91 eligible patients, 61 (63 knees) met our inclusion criteria. Mean presurgery age was 25.5 ± 9.2 years, and mean BMI was 26.7 (range, 18.5-38.4). At follow-up (mean, 4.8 years; range, 1.0-13.6 years) overall PROs were statistically and clinically improved at final follow-up ( P ≤ .003); effect sizes were moderate and large. KOOS Pain and KOOS Activities of Daily Living showed some main or interaction effects that were trivial or small. Patient satisfaction with the treatment was ≥7 out of 10 in 85% of patients. A minimum of 1 subsequent surgery for various concerns was necessary in 23% of the 93 knees. Graft survival in the included patients was 100%., Conclusion: Complications (conditions requiring at least 1 subsequent surgery) affected about one-quarter of the patients who underwent MAT. Nevertheless, MAT seemed to provide our patients with adequate pain relief and improved function., Competing Interests: One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: Y.E.B. has received education payments from Wardlow Enterprises. A.A. has received consulting fees from Arthrex, Bioventus, and Limacorporate SpA; nonconsulting fees from Arthrex; and royalties from Arthrex and has an investment interest in Anika Therapeutics. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto., (© The Author(s) 2022.)

Purpose: This study aimed to systematically analyze the postoperative clinical, functional, and imaging outcomes, complications, reoperations, and failures following patellofemoral cartilage restoration surgery., Methods: This review was conducted according to the guidelines of Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library databases were searched up to August 31, 2018, to identify clinical studies that assessed surgical outcomes of patellofemoral cartilage restoration surgery. The Methodological Index for Non-Randomized Studies (MINORS) was used to assess study quality., Results: Forty-two studies were included comprising 1,311 knees (mean age of 33.7 years and 56% males) and 1,309 patellofemoral defects (891 patella, 254 trochlear, 95 bipolar, and 69 multiple defects, including the patella or trochlea) at a mean follow-up of 59.2 months. Restoration techniques included autologous chondrocyte implantation (56%), particulated juvenile allograft cartilage (12%), autologous matrix-induced chondrogenesis (9%), osteochondral autologous transplantation (9%), and osteochondral allograft transplantation (7%). Significant improvement in at least one score was present in almost all studies and these surpassed the minimal clinically important difference threshold. There was a weighted 19%, 35%, and 6% rate of reported complications, reoperations, and failures, respectively. Concomitant patellofemoral surgery (51% of patients) mostly did not lead to statistically different postoperative outcomes., Conclusion: Numerous patellofemoral restoration techniques result in significant functional improvement with a low rate of failure. No definitive conclusions could be made to determine the best surgical technique since comparative studies on this topic are rare, and treatment choice should be made according to specific patient and defect characteristics., Level of Evidence: Level IV, systematic review of level II to IV studies.

Sport participation and exercise practice are considered to be beneficial for mental status, yielding an improved mood and better quality of life. On the other hand, good mental fitness is thought to lead to better physical status and sport performance. The key aim of this narrative review is to provide an unstructured overview on the topic with special considerations on the role of mental and physical health to summarize the evidence on their reciprocal influence. While very few papers describe the role of mental health measures in affecting physical performance, more evidence is available concerning the effect of exercise and sport in improving mental health outcomes. Furthermore, there is a consistent role of depressive and anxiety symptoms in influencing the risk of sport injury in either recreational or elite athletes. Moreover, the importance of investigating mental health issues in elite and retired athletes is highlighted. On the basis of the available literature, several biases were found to affect the provided evidence mainly because of the complexity of a proper study design in this field.

Precision irrigation represents those strategies aiming to feed the plant needs following the soil's spatial and temporal characteristics. Such a differential irrigation requires a different approach and equipment with regard to conventional irrigation to reduce the environmental impact and the resources use while maximizing the production and thus profitability. This study described the development of an open source soil moisture LoRa (long-range) device and analysis of the data collected and updated directly in the field (i.e., weather station and ground sensor). The work produced adaptive supervised predictive models to optimize the management of agricultural precision irrigation practices and for an effective calibration of other agronomic interventions. These approaches are defined as adaptive because they self-learn with the acquisition of new data, updating the on-the-go model over time. The location chosen for the experimental setup is a cultivated area in the municipality of Tenna (Trentino, Alto Adige region, Italy), and the experiment was conducted on two different apple varieties during summer 2019. The adaptative partial least squares time-lag time-series modeling, in operative field conditions, was a posteriori applied in the consortium for 78 days during the dry season, producing total savings of 255 mm of irrigated water and 44,000 kW of electricity, equal to 10.82%.

Background: A few literatures reported that the outcomes of total knee replacement (TKR) in posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) were lower compared to TKR in primary osteoarthritis (primary OA). The study's purpose was to compare the comorbidity and outcome of TKR among fracture PTOA, ligamentous PTOA, and primary OA. The secondary aim was to identify the effect of postoperatively lower limb mechanical axis on an 8-year survivorship after TKR between PTOA and primary OA., Methods: Seven hundred sixteen patients with primary OA, 32 patients with PTOA (knee fracture subgroup), and 104 PTOA (knee ligamentous injury subgroup) were recruited. Demography, comorbidities, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI), operative parameters, mechanical axis, functional outcome assessed by WOMAC, and complications were compared among the three groups., Results: PTOA group was significantly younger (p<0.0001) with a higher proportion of men (p=0.001) while the primary OA group had higher comorbidities than the PTOA group, including anticoagulant usage (p=0.0002), ASA class ≥3 (p<0.0001), number of diseases ≥ 4 (p<0.0001), and CCI (p<0.0001). Both the fracture PTOA group (p<0.0001) and ligamentous PTOA group (p = 0.009) had a significantly longer operative time than the primary OA group. The fracture PTOA group had significantly lower pain components and stiffness components than the primary OA group. There was no significant difference in the rate of an aligned group, outlier group, and an 8-year survivorship in both groups., Conclusion: The outcome following TKR in the fracture PTOA was poorer compared to primary knee OA in the midterm follow-up. However, no difference was detected between the ligamentous PTOA and primary knee OA. The mechanical axis alignment within the neutral axis did not affect the 8-year survivorship after TKR in both groups., Level of Evidence: Level III; retrospective cohort study.

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears are common in collegiate athletes. The rate of return to the preinjury level of sport activities after ACL reconstruction continues to evolve., Purpose/hypothesis: The purpose was to determine the return-to-sport rate after ACL reconstruction in a cohort of National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes in different sports. It was hypothesized that, with intensive supervision of rehabilitation, the return-to-sport rate would be optimal., Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4., Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 75 collegiate athletes from a single institution who had undergone unilateral or bilateral ACL reconstruction between 2001 and 2013 and participated in an extensive supervised rehabilitation program. Prospectively collected athlete data as well as data about preinjury exposure, associated lesions, surgical technique, time lost to injury, number of games missed, time to return to full sport activity or retire, and subsequent surgical procedures were extracted from the medical and athletic trainer records., Results: The 75 patients (40 male, 35 female; mean age, 20.1 years) underwent 81 reconstruction procedures (73 primary, 8 revision). The mean follow-up was 19.3 months. The overall return-to-sport rate was 92%. After reconstruction, 9 athletes (12%) retired from collegiate sports, but 3 of them returned to sport activities after graduation. Overall, 8 athletes (11%) experienced an ACL graft retear., Conclusion: The return-to-sport rate in our National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes compared favorably with that reported in other studies in the literature. The strict follow-up by the surgeon, together with the high-profile, almost daily technical and psychological support given mainly by the athletic trainers during the recovery period, may have contributed to preparing the athletes for a competitive rate of return to sport at their preinjury level., Competing Interests: One or more of the authors has declared the following potential conflict of interest or source of funding: C.M.H. has received hospitality payments from Tornier. M.J.B. has received speaking fees from Arthrex. B.R.W. has received educational support from Wardlow Enterprises and consulting fees and speaking fees from Linvatec. A.A. has received consulting fees, speaking fees, and royalties from Arthrex. AOSSM checks author disclosures against the Open Payments Database (OPD). AOSSM has not conducted an independent investigation on the OPD and disclaims any liability or responsibility relating thereto., (© The Author(s) 2021.)

Background: Readmission following total joint arthroplasty has become a closely watched metric for many hospitals in the United States due to financial penalties imposed by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The purpose of this study was to identify both preoperative and postoperative reasons for readmission within 30 days following primary total hip and total knee arthroplasty (TKA)., Methods: Retrospective data were collected for patients who underwent elective primary total hip arthroplasty (THA; CPT code 27130) and TKA (27447) from 2008 to 2013 at our institution. The sample was separated into readmitted and nonreadmitted cohorts. Demography, comorbidities, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI), operative parameters, readmission rates, and causes of readmission were compared between the groups using univariate and multivariate regression analysis., Results: There were 42 (3.4%) and 28 (2.2%) readmissions within 30 days for THA and TKA, respectively. The most common cause of readmission within 30 days following total joint arthroplasty was infection. Trauma was the second most common reason for readmission of a THA while wound dehiscence was the second most common cause for readmission following TKA. With univariate regression, there were multiple associated factors for readmission among THA and TKA patients, including body mass index, metabolic equivalent (MET), and CCI. Multivariate regression revealed that hospital length of stay was significantly associated with 30-day readmission after THA and TKA., Conclusion: Patient comorbidities and preoperative functional capacity significantly affect 30-day readmission rate following total joint arthroplasty. Adjustments for these parameters should be considered and we recommend the use of CCI and METs in risk adjustment models that use 30-day readmission as a marker for quality of patient care., Level of Evidence: Level III/Retrospective cohort study.

In recent years, the interest in stromal vascular fraction (SVF) therapy for conservative treatment of osteoarthritis has grown significantly. This study aims to assess three different processing systems (micro-fragmentation, filtration, or slow centrifugation) in terms of cell proliferation in vitro and clinical results of intraarticular injections for the treatment of knee OA. From December 2017 to June 2018, 25 procedures were performed using three different systems. A considerable improvement of the clinical condition in almost all patients already one month after the treatment with a stable effect at 6 and 12 months was recorded. Patients treated with SVF, obtained by the micro-fragmentation system, had better outcomes one month after the treatment with a mean improvement of the symptomatology higher than that found in patients treated with the filtration or slow centrifugation system. The SVF product from the same system had a higher cell proliferation capacity in vitro., (Copyright 2020 Biolife Sas. www.biolifesas.org.)