Non-markovian effects on the dynamics of entanglement.

A procedure that allows us to obtain the dynamics of N independent bodies each locally interacting with its own reservoir is presented. It relies on the knowledge of single-body dynamics and it is valid for any form of environment noise. It is then applied to the study of non-Markovian dynamics of two independent qubits, each locally interacting with a zero-temperature reservoir. It is shown that, although no interaction is present or mediated between the qubits, there is a revival of their entanglement, after a finite period of time of its complete disappearance.

[Tension-free hernioplasty in the treatment of inguinal hernia in the adult: our experience with local anesthesia and a review of the literature]. / Ernioplastica "tension-free" nel trattamento dell'ernia inguinale dell'adulto: la nostra esperienza in anestesia locale e revisione della letteratura.

BACKGROUND: In the last years the real innovation in the treatment of groin hernia is represented by tension-free hernioplasty under local anaesthesia, based on the techniques of Lichtenstein and Trabucco, which use synthetic prosthesis (polypropylene) to restore the floor of inguinal tract and enable an early deambulation and return to work. METHODS: In 21 months the authors have treated, only under local anaesthesia, 100 patients, 95 men and 5 women; the age ranged from 18 to 82 years; some of them suffer from systemic pathology (7 patients with cardiovascular diseases, 1 with epilepsy, 3 with pulmonary diseases, 1 with liver cirrhosis). All patients underwent short-term antibiotic prophylaxis. No mortality was recorded. The mean follow-up was 12.5 months with only one little and low recurrence detected. RESULTS: Good results were obtained also in terms of intraoperative complication (nausea, vomiting, bradycardia, pain) and post-operative complications, (ecchymosis of scrotum and penis, edema of the scrotum, swelling of the skin suture, subcutaneous hematoma, inguinal pain, fever), not life-threatening, well tolerated and resolved spontaneously. CONCLUSIONS: The authors stress the advantages of local anaesthesia, the economic spare due, to one day hospital stay, the safety of the technique also in patients with severe general diseases (0.9-1% in USA). The authors survey the international literature confirming the great effectiveness of tension-free inguinal hernioplasty, in particular in terms of recurrences (Trabucco 0-0.025%, Amid 0.1%).

Advantages and disadvantages of mechanical vs. manual anastomosis in colorectal surgery. A prospective study.

The merits of mechanical versus manual anastomosis were evaluated in a prospective study of 48 patients undergoing resection of colonic or rectal cancer. The analyzed factors included the time required for construction of the anastomosis, the length of hospital stay, the cost/benefit ratio and complications. The anastomosis was manually performed with monolayer polyglactin 910 sutures in 24 cases and mechanically with an E.E.A. stapler in 24. The anastomosis time averaged 14 min in the suture group and 14.3 min in the stapling group, and the respective hospitalization times were 16 and 17 days. The mean cost was 48,000 lire in the manual, and 200,000 lire in the mechanical group. Four complications occurred in each group. Apart from the cost, no intergroup difference was statistically significant.

A ballistometer for the study of the plasto-elastic properties of skin.

The ballistrometer is based on the "drop impact" of a body onto a stationary surface. A collision in one dimension is provoked by allowing a hard body to drop from a given height onto the skin surface to be tested. After the collision, the impacting body undergoes a variable number of rebounds decreasing in amplitude. By measuring the height of the rebounds, the amount of energy returned by the tissue is calculated in terms of coefficient of restitution e. The equipment, consisting of a hammer unit, a feeder-amplifier, and a plotter, is described. Ballistometry has been carried out on skin areas of 46 normal subjects ranging in age from 8 to 80 years, as well as on pathologic and cadaveric skin. The results show a progressive decrease of e with advancing age, as well as differences related to various skin regions. The tests performed on pathologic skin showed a lowered e in epidermal hyperplasia, hyperkeratosis, sclerosis, and dermal infiltration. An increase of e was observed when a high water content was present in the skin.