Pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMF) as a valid tool in orthognathic surgery to reduce post-operative pain and swelling: a prospective study.

PURPOSE: PEMF (pulsed electromagnetic fields) founds application in several medical fields to accelerate bone wounds healing and to reduce inflammation. The aim of our study was to evaluate the effectiveness of PEMF in reducing postoperative swelling and pain in patients undergoing orthognathic surgery. METHODS: A prospective observational monocentric study was conducted on a sample of 30 patients undergone to orthognathic surgery in Maxillofacial Surgery Unit of University of Naples Federico II. The patients who followed these inclusion criteria were enrolled in the study: age ≥ 18 years, Class III malocclusion, Surgical procedure of Le Fort I osteotomy + Bilateral Sagittal Split Osteotomy (BSSO), Written informed consent. Patients were divided into two groups: Group SD) postoperative standard treatment with medical therapy and cryotherapy, Group SD + PEMF) postoperative standard therapy + PEMF. Each patient underwent a 3D facial scan, at one (1d) and four (4d) days after surgery to compare the swelling reduction. The pain score was assessed through VAS score and analgesics administration amount. RESULTS: In SD + PEMF group, the facial volume reduction between 1d and 4d scan was on average 56.2 ml (6.23%), while in SD group, it was 23.6 ml (2.63%). The difference between the two groups was 3.6% (p = 0.0168). VAS pain values were significantly higher in SD group compared to SD + PEMF group in the second day after surgery (P = 0.021) and in the total 4 days (P = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that PEMF is valid tool to promote faster postoperative swelling and pain reduction in patients undergoing orthognathic surgery.

Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy (SLNB) for Early-Stage Head and Neck Squamous-Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue: Twenty Years of Experience at I.N.T. "G.Pascale".

Oral tongue squamous-cell carcinoma (OTSCC) is the most prevalent malignancy in the head and neck region. Lymphatic spread, particularly to cervical lymph nodes, significantly impacts 5-year survival rates, emphasizing the criticality of precise staging. Metastatic cervical lymph nodes can decrease survival rates by 50%. Yet, elective neck dissection (END) in T1-2 cN0 patients proves to be an overtreatment in around 80% of cases. To address this, sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) was introduced, aiming to minimize postoperative morbidity. This study, conducted at the ENT and Maxillofacial Surgery department of the Istituto Nazionale Tumori in Naples, explores SLNB's efficacy in early-stage oral tongue squamous-cell carcinoma (OTSCC). From January 2020 to January 2022, 122 T1/T2 cN0 HNSCC patients were enrolled. Radioactive tracers and lymphoscintigraphy identified sentinel lymph nodes, aided by a gamma probe during surgery. Results revealed 24.6% SLN biopsy positivity, with 169 SLNs resected and a 21.9% positivity ratio. The study suggests SLNB's reliability for T1-2 cN0 OTSCC patient staging and early micrometastasis detection.

Quantitative and qualitative workload assessment in steep terrain forest operations: fostering a safer work environment through yarder automation.

Many forestry roles have changed from being manual tasks with a high physical workload to being a machine operator task with a high mental workload. Automation can support a decrease in mental fatigue by removing tasks that are repetitive and monotonous for the operators. Cable yarding presents an ideal opportunity for early adoption of automation technology; specifically the carriage movement along a defined corridor. A Valentini V-850 cable yarder was used in an Italian harvesting setting, in order to gauge the ergonomic benefit of carriage control automation. The study showed that automating yarder carriage movements improved the ergonomic situation of the workers directly involved in the related primary tasks. However, the caveat is that improving one work task may negatively affect the other work tasks, and therefore introducing automation to a worksite must be done after considering all impacts on the whole system. Practitioner summary: Automation decreased the winch operator's mental workload while improving overall productivity. At the same time, the mental and physiological workload of the operator tasked with bucking were slightly increased. Ideally, winch automation should be coupled with bucking mechanisation to balance the intervention and boost both operator well-being and productivity.

Postural risk assessment of mechanised firewood processing.

The study assessed the postural risk of mechanised firewood processing with eight machines, representing the main technology solutions available on the market. Assessment was conducted with the Ovako Working posture Analysis System (OWAS) on 1000 still frames randomly extracted from videotaped work samples. The postural risk associated with firewood processing was variable and associated with technology type. Simple, manually operated new machines incurred a higher postural risk compared with semi- or fully automatic machines. In contrast, new semi-automatic and automatic machines were generally free from postural risk. In all cases, attention should be paid to postural risk that may occur during blockage resolution. The study did not cover the postural risk of firewood processing sites as a whole. The study provided useful information for selecting firewood processing machinery and for improving firewood machinery design, as part of a more articulate strategy aimed at enhancing the safety of firewood processing work sites. Practitioner Summary: The postural risk associated with mechanised firewood processing (eg cutting and splitting) depends on the type of equipment. Postural risk is highest (OWAS Action Category 2) with new in-line machines, designed for operation by a single worker. Fully automatic machines present minimum postural risk, except during blockage resolution.

Noise emissions in wood chipping yards: Options compared.

Industrial comminution is becoming increasingly popular, as the result of a growing demand for wood biomass. Such task is performed with either chippers or grinders, which are large, powerful machines, capable of generating much noise. In turn, high noise levels may have negative impacts on the health and comfort of workers, and of the people living in the surroundings of a wood fuel yard. This study gauged the difference between the two main technology options (i.e. chippers and grinders) in order to offer additional decision elements to wood yard planners. The chipper on test generated more noise than the grinder, due to its better ability to process wood and to transmit more energy into it. Since the chipper was equipped with less working tools and turned slower than the grinder, it generated its noise peaks at lower frequency bands. The grinder on test was more suitable for use in wood yards located near settled areas, and was an obvious choice whenever dealing with a diversified and occasionally contaminated raw material stream.

The effect of a slack-pulling device in reducing operator physiological workload during log winching operations.

The authors conducted a comparative test to determine whether the introduction of a hydraulic slack puller allowed reducing the physiological workload of operators assigned to log winching tasks. The tests were conducted in northern Italy, on the mountains near Como. The study involved five volunteer subjects, considered representatives of the regional logging workforce. Physiological workload was determined by measuring the operators' heart rate upon completion of specific tasks. The slack puller improved the efficiency of downhill winching, since it allowed a single operator to pull out the cable on his own, without requiring the assistance of a colleague. However, introduction of the slack puller did not result in any reductions of operator physiological workload. The main stressor when working on a steep slope is moving up and down the slope: pulling a cable is only a secondary stressor. Any measures targeting secondary stressors are unlikely to produce dramatic reductions of operator workload.

Exposure of mobile chipper operators to diesel exhaust.

The current boom of forest biomass is making mobile chippers increasingly popular among forest operators. This motivates concern about the potential exposure of chipper operators to noxious chemicals derived from diesel fuel combustion. The objective of this study was to determine operator exposure to BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) generated from diesel combustion. This study sampled 28 mobile chipping operations in the Italian mountains, in order to determine professional exposure to BTEX and PAHs among chipper operators. IOM, Radiello®, and XAD2 samplers were used for the purpose. Operations were divided into industrial and small scale, the former based on powerful chippers with enclosed cabs and the latter on smaller machines without enclosed cabs. We could not detect any measurable exposure to BTEX, while exposure levels for PAHs were very low, especially for what concerned recognized cancer agents. That is likely related to work environment and organization because mobile chippers work in the open-air forest environment and in the presence of very few other machines. PAH concentration was significantly higher inside cabs than outside. None of the operators involved in this research was exposed to BTEX or PAHs above occupational exposure limits.

Determining the exposure of chipper operators to inhalable wood dust.

The study surveyed wood chipping operations in order to determine the exposure of chipper operators to wood dust and suggest suitable countermeasures. The survey included both industrial and small-scale chipping operations, all located in Central Italy, on the Apennine mountain range. During the survey, 60 samples were collected using standardized methods. For the purpose of the tests, each operator carried a wearable active sampler connected to a suction pump. When operators sat inside an enclosed cab, samples were also collected outside the cab in order to gauge the dust abatement effect of a protected work station. Exposure to dust varied widely with wood conditions and machine productivity, and only occasionally exceeded the 5mg m(-3) legal limit. Operators working inside a cab were three times less exposed than operators working outside, and they were never exposed to concentrations exceeding the legal limit. It is adviceable that people working full-time as chipper operators are positioned inside an enclosed cab, for limiting their exposure to wood dust. Small-scale operators are generally part-timers, which further reduces their long-term exposure.

Technology alternatives for tapping the pruning residue resource.

Four commercial harvesters were compared with respect to recovery of pruning residues for energy conversion. These harvesters were tested side-by-side on 17 test fields, totaling 15 ha. The test fields consisted of vineyards and apple and pear orchards. The residue yield was between 0.7 and 9 green tonne per hectare, at a moisture content from 37% to 48%. Yield was highest for the orchards, and lowest for vineyards. Harvesters collected the residues and moved them to the roadside at a cost of between 11 and 60€ per green tonne, depending on field conditions and technology choice. Single-pass harvesting was the cheapest, especially if applied through a dedicated tractor and a towed unit with a large integral container. Two-pass harvesting was the most flexible, but also the most expensive: it should be favored only when space, weather or other management constraints limit the application of the other systems.

COCOMAPS: a web application to analyze and visualize contacts at the interface of biomolecular complexes.

SUMMARY: Herein we present COCOMAPS, a novel tool for analyzing, visualizing and comparing the interface in protein-protein and protein-nucleic acids complexes. COCOMAPS combines traditional analyses and 3D visualization of the interface with the effectiveness of intermolecular contact maps. AVAILABILITY: COCOMAPS is accessible as a public web tool at http://www.molnac.unisa.it/BioTools/cocomaps CONTACT: romina.oliva@uniparthenope.it; lcavallo@unisa.it.

Performance of a mobile mechanical screen to improve the commercial quality of wood chips for energy.

The study analyzed the performance of a mobile screening device for upgrading coarse wood chips to residential user standards, by removing oversize particles and fines. The machine was designed for transportation to forest landings, logistic terminals and plant chip yards. Average productivity was 1.9 oven-dry tons (odt) h(-1), corresponding to a screening cost of 28.5€ odt(-1). This figure was lower than the price increase obtained by upgrading industrial chips to residential user standards. Hence, screening offered a profit of 4.7€ odt(-1), or 16% of the original screening cost. The screening process was capable of upgrading chips from industrial to residential specifications, by reducing the incidence of oversize particles below the 1% critical threshold. Screening also allowed a substantial reduction in the content of fines. A similar effect was not verified for crushed wood, which failed to meet the specifications for residential fuel.

Relating safety, productivity and company type for motor-manual logging operations in the Italian Alps.

The study compared the performance of four different logging crews with respect to productivity, organization and safety. To this purpose, the authors developed a data collection method capable of providing a quantitative analysis of risk-taking behavior. Four crews were tested under the same working conditions, representative of close-to-nature alpine forestry. Motor-manual working methods were applied, since these methods are still prevalent in the specific study area, despite the growing popularity of mechanical processors. Crews from public companies showed a significantly lower frequency of risk-taking behavior. The best safety performance was offered by the only (public) crew that had been administered formal safety training. The study seems to deny the common prejudice that safety practice is inversely proportional to productivity. Instead, productivity is increased by introducing more efficient working methods and equipment. The quantitative analysis of risk-taking behavior developed in this study can be applied to a number of industrial fields besides forestry. Characterizing risk-taking behavior for a given case may eventually lead to the development of custom-made training programmes, which may address problem areas while avoiding that the message is weakened by the inclusion of redundant information. In the specific case of logging crews in the central Alps, the study suggests that current training courses may be weak on ergonomics, and advocates a staged training programme, focusing first on accident reduction and then expanding to the prevention of chronic illness.

Industrial harvesting of olive tree pruning residue for energy biomass.

In Mediterranean countries, olive tree pruning residue represents an abundant source of energy biomass, still largely unexploited for lack of cost-effective harvesting technology. The authors tested two industrial pruning harvesters, capable of overcoming the limits of lighter units appeared in the past years. One of the machines was designed for application to a powerful farm tractor, whereas the other was a self-propelled dedicated harvester. Data were collected from 10 operations, covering a total of 69 hectares and producing over 190 tonnes of wood fuel. Recorded productivity varied between 3 and 9 tonnes per scheduled machine hour (SMH), or 2-7 oven dry tonnes (odt) SMH(-1). Harvesting cost varied from 17 to 52 euro t(-1), with an average value of 28 euro t(-1): these values correspond, respectively to 22, 70 and 40 euro odt(-1). This compares very favourably with the average 1-1.5 ton SMH(-1) offered by lighter commercial units. Productivity was related to residue density, row length and forwarding distance. Mechanical availability was high and over 90%, for both machines. The authors also developed a simple deterministic model capable of predicting harvesting productivity and cost, as a function of significant site and economic conditions. The model can also be used to determine the break-even utilization level, below which the operational flexibility of a tractor-mounted operation becomes preferable to the higher productivity of a specialised unit.