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Smartphone apps for self-management are valuable tools to help manage low back pain (LBP) patients. The purposes of this systematic review were to (a) summarize the available studies on the efficacy of smartphone apps for self-management of LBP and (b) identify free applications available in Italy that offer strategies for LBP self-management and provide a qualitative assessment using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS). According to the Prisma Checklist, six bibliographic databases were searched with the keywords 'low back pain', 'mobile application', 'smartphone', and 'telemedicine'. In total, 852 records were screened, and 16 were included in the systematic review. Of the six RCTs included, four reported a statistically significant decrease in pain in favor of the app group, and two RCTs did not. Only in a non-RCT was there an increase in the disability score. In the application research conducted on mobile stores, we identified and rated 25 applications through MARS. The overall scores ranged from 1.93 to 3.92 for the IOS app and 1.73 to 4.25 for the Play Store app. The findings suggest that few apps meet satisfying quality, content, and functionality criteria for LBP self-management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with Guillain-Barrè syndrome (GBS) showed significant longer-term psychological sequelae, due to persistent disability. In recent years, great advances have been made in medical care for patients with GBS. However, the focus has been mainly on patient care in the acute phase and improving survival instead of long-term disability. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of rehabilitation in people with GBS through a systematic review of randomized controlled trials. PRISMA guidelines were used to perform this systematic review. Six bibliographic databases were searched: PUBMED, WEB OF SCIENCE, PEDro, CINHAL, PSYCHINFO, and SCOPUS. Papers included in the systematic review should have a search design of a randomized controlled trial. The quality of the clinical trials included was evaluated according to Jadad score. After eliminating duplicates, 472 records got screened, three RCTs were included in the systematic review. Overall, the analysis of the three randomized controlled trials showed that various types of rehabilitation interventions are correlated to an improvement in the patient's well-being. Finally, it is not possible to extrapolate definite conclusions on the effectiveness of rehabilitation treatment in patients with GBS. Therefore, high-quality future studies are needed to confirm these hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the singularities of the isospectral Hilbert scheme Bn of n points over a smooth algebraic surface and we prove that they are canonical if , log-canonical if and not log-canonical if. We describe as well two explicit log-resolutions of B3, one crepant and the other -equivariant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an emerging risk factor for heart failure (HF). Although some progress has been made in improving survival among patients admitted for HF, the rates of hospital readmissions and the related costs continue to rise dramatically. We sought to examine whether NAFLD and its severity (diagnosed at hospital admission) was independently associated with a higher risk of 1-year all-cause and cardiac re-hospitalization in patients admitted for acute HF. We studied 212 elderly patients who were consecutively admitted with acute HF to the Hospital of Negrar (Verona) over a 1-year period. Diagnosis of NAFLD was based on ultrasonography, whereas the severity of advanced NAFLD fibrosis was based on the fibrosis (FIB)-4 score and other non-invasive fibrosis scores. Patients with acute myocardial infarction, severe valvular heart diseases, end-stage renal disease, cancer, known liver diseases or decompensated cirrhosis were excluded. Cox regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for the associations between NAFLD and the outcome(s) of interest. The cumulative rate of 1-year all-cause re-hospitalizations was 46.7% (n = 99, mainly due to cardiac causes). Patients with NAFLD (n = 109; 51.4%) had remarkably higher 1-year all-cause and cardiac re-hospitalization rates compared with their counterparts without NAFLD. Both event rates were particularly increased in those with advanced NAFLD fibrosis. NAFLD was associated with a 5-fold increased risk of 1-year all-cause re-hospitalization (adjusted-hazard ratio 5.05, 95% confidence intervals 2.78–9.10, p<0.0001) after adjustment for established risk factors and potential confounders. Similar results were found for 1-year cardiac re-hospitalization (adjusted-hazard ratio 8.05, 95% confidence intervals 3.77–15.8, p<0.0001). In conclusion, NAFLD and its severity were strongly and independently associated with an increased risk of 1-year all-cause and cardiac re-hospitalization in elderly patients admitted with acute HF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background and aim: To explore associations between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D] concentrations and liver histology in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Methods and results: We studied 60 consecutive patients with biopsy-proven NAFLD, and 60 healthy controls of comparable age, sex and body mass index (BMI). NAFLD patients had a marked decrease in winter serum 25(OH)D concentrations (51.0±22 vs. 74.5±15nmol/L, P <0.001) compared with controls. Metabolic syndrome (MetS; as defined by the Adult Treatment Panel III criteria) and its individual components occurred more frequently among NAFLD patients. The marked differences in 25(OH)D concentrations observed between the groups were little affected by adjustment for age, sex, BMI, creatinine, calcium, homeostasis model assessment (HOMA)-insulin resistance, and the presence of the MetS. Interestingly, among NAFLD patients, decreased 25(OH)D concentrations were closely associated with the histological severity of hepatic steatosis, necroinflammation and fibrosis (P <0.001 for all) independent of age, sex, BMI, creatinine, calcium, HOMA-insulin resistance, and presence of the MetS. Conclusions: Compared with controls, NAFLD patients have a marked decrease in serum 25(OH)D concentrations, which is closely associated with histopathological features of NAFLD. Further investigation into whether vitamin D3 may play a role in the development and progression of NAFLD appears to be warranted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Let X be a smooth quasi-projective complex algebraic surface and be the Hilbert scheme of n points on X. We compute the cohomology of the Hilbert scheme with values in the double tensor power of the tautological bundle , associated to a line bundle E on the surface X. To cite this article: L. Scala, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris, Ser. I 343 (2006). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is closely correlated to several metabolic syndrome features. We assessed prospectively whether NAFLD predicts future cardiovascular disease (CVD) events among type 2 diabetic individuals, independent of metabolic syndrome features and other classical risk factors. We carried out a prospective nested case-control study in 2,103 type 2 diabetic patients who were free of diagnosed CVD at baseline. During 5 years of follow-up, 248 participants (case subjects) subsequently developed nonfatal coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction and coronary revascularization procedures), ischemic stroke, or cardiovascular death. Using risk-set sampling, 496 patients (control subjects) among those who remained free of diagnosed CVD during follow-up were randomly selected in a 2:1 ratio, matched for age and sex to the case subjects. After adjustment for age, sex, smoking history, diabetes duration, HbA1c, LDL cholesterol, liver enzymes, and use of medications, the presence of NAFLD was significantly associated with an increased CVD risk (odds ratio 1.84, 95% CI 1.4-2.1, P < 0.001). Additional adjustment for the metabolic syndrome (as defined by National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria) appreciably attenuated, but did not abolish, this association (1.53, 1.1-1.7, P = 0.02). In conclusion, NAFLD is significantly associated with a moderately increased CVD risk among type 2 diabetic individuals. This relationship is independent of classical risk factors and is only partly explained by occurrence of metabolic syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]