Piaggio (Italy)

Femoral shaft fractures are commonly treated with intramedullary nailing; however, this procedure can lead to complications. This study explores the role of ultrasound in diagnosing femoral hardware impingement. We present the findings in two patients with persistent thigh pain after femoral intramedullary nailing. Ultrasound successfully identified hardware impingement. Removal of the offending screw led to symptom resolution, with a follow-up US confirming the absence of residual conflicts.

BackgroundAccurate cellular models are critical for understanding tissue function and accelerating drug discovery. While in vitro systems like spheroids and organoids are widely used, they are costly, low-throughput, and often lack reproducibility. Here, we introduce Evolvoid, a computational pipeline based on genetic algorithms that generates virtual 3D spheroid-like cell constructs with optimized morphologies by simulating key biophysical principles — such as thermodynamic principles, nutrient transport and their uptake by cells.ResultsBy integrating finite element simulations with evolutionary principles, our in silico platform evolves populations of randomly generated shapes, iteratively selecting individuals that best satisfy a biophysically informed fitness function. The fitness function encodes selection pressures based on general biophysical constraints — namely, the minimization of surface energy and the maintenance of cell viability under variable oxygen conditions. The Shannon entropy is used to track genome complexity over generations. In consistence with evolutionary dynamics, the complexity increases progressively. Moreover, albeit based on basic biophysical optimization rules, the fittest individuals generated by Evolvoid closely resemble the shape and size of cellular spheroids obtained in vitro.ConclusionEvolvoid is modular, scalable, and tunable to different construct sizes, cell types, or culture conditions, and thus provides a versatile platform for designing and optimizing 3D cellular models entirely in silico. It offers a foundation for developing high-fidelity, cost-effective digital shape twins of biological systems, supporting the advancement of lab-on-a-laptop technologies and new approach methodologies, thereby reducing the reliance on in vitro and animal models.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13036-026-00642-z.

Meditation is a complex cognitive practice associated with significant neurophysiological changes, particularly in long-term practitioners. These individuals represent an ideal human model for investigating neural changes associated to their consistent, frequent, and sustained cognitive engagement. However, in Western societies, long-term practitioners are relatively rare compared to Eastern monastic communities. In this study, we leverage a collaboration with a unique monastic population, the Monks and Geshes of the Tibetan University of Sera Jey in India, to examine the long-term effects of meditation on resting-state effective brain connectivity. Specifically, we hypothesize that different levels of meditation experience modulate intrinsic connections in two resting-state brain networks: the default mode network (DMN) and the salience network (SN). To test this, we apply dynamic causal modeling for EEG to analyze effective connectivity and validate our hypothesis. Our results reveal that long-term meditation practice can alter connectivity within the DMN and SN, with distinct patterns of modulation based on meditator experience. Experienced meditators appear to exhibit enhanced self-referential processing in the DMN and reduced reactivity in the SN, supporting the notion that meditation refines attentional control and internal awareness. These findings provide new insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying long-term meditation and highlight the role of monastic practitioners as an invaluable model for studying experience-related modifications in the human brain.

Pharmaceutical residues, especially non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), are emerging contaminants that hinder sustainable water management and limit wastewater upcycling. In this work, we address the challenge of wastewater upcycling via the scale-up of a hybrid advanced oxidation process (AOP) that couples hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) and non-thermal electrical discharge (ED) plasma, and that will enable the in situ generation of ROS. In order to demonstrate process scalability, the hybrid HC/ED plasma system was initially validated at pilot scale (600 L h-1) and subsequently up-scaled to a semi-industrial reactor (3200 L h-1), specifically designed starting from the pilot unit. The effective exploitation of HC/ED plasma synergy led to the process achieving the quantitative degradation of model pollutants, specifically ibuprofen and diclofenac (10 mg/L), in competitive times (13 passes) and without detectable byproducts, thereby validating the process' robustness and successful scale-up. Although current wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) recover nutrients from sludge, biologically treated effluents still contain pharmaceutical residues. This work therefore, potentially solves this issue by providing a sustainable strategy for complete wastewater upcycling in WWTPs, delivering safe regenerated water for agricultural and irrigation reuse, while closing the water cycle.

Ozone (O3) is a reactive oxidant increasingly applied in biomedical settings, yet its dose-dependent effects on innate immune cells, particularly those from non-human species, remain insufficiently defined. Within a One Health framework, this study examined how two clinically relevant O3 exposure regimens (30 µg/mL and 90 µg/mL) affect porcine neutrophils and monocytes isolated from peripheral blood. Cell viability, reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) production, and the activity of key enzymes (myeloperoxidase, elastase, alkaline phosphatase, arginase) were assessed at 1 h and 24 h post-exposure. The lower dose induced mild functional activation without compromising viability, whereas the higher dose triggered pronounced oxidative stress, enhanced degranulation, and reduced neutrophil viability by more than 60%. Neutrophils exhibited a stronger and more dynamic response than monocytes, which retained viability and differentiation capacity at 30 µg/mL but showed impaired function at 90 µg/mL. These findings highlight the dual nature of O3, where controlled exposure may support immunomodulation, while excessive dosing disrupts cell function. Defining safe and effective therapeutic windows remains critical for future applications.

Yoga mudras and bandhas are essential for harmonizing the body, mind, and spirit, making them profoundly important in our lives. Bandhas, which are internal muscular locks, help regulate and enhance energy, fortifying the body, stimulating internal organs, and preparing individuals for deeper meditation whereas, mudras, are subtle hand gestures that assist in redirecting and balancing the flow of prana (life energy), calming the mind, enhancing focus, and promoting physical healing. When used together, mudras and bandhas create a powerful synergy that not only boosts emotional stability and physical well-being but also opens pathways for spiritual growth and self-awareness, offering a comprehensive approach to living with inner peace, vitality, and harmony. Physical fitness is a crucial component of health, enhancing physical strength, endurance, and cardiovascular wellness. This, in turn, reduces the risk of various diseases, elevates mood, and improves daily functioning. The present qualitative review study aims to established the role of traditional Indian Bandhas and Mudras on optimising physical Fitness and overall health of an individual. The findings of the study revealed that bandhas and mudras act as supplement to improve health, physical fitness and overall quality of life along with other physical activities.

The authors have developed a novel multimodal robot named TraQuad, which integrates the features of legged and tracked robots. This robot aims to combine agility, maneuverability, traction, and efficiency for traversing various environments. Legged locomotion allows the robot to select optimal contact points on the terrain, while tracked locomotion enables faster movement over relatively simpler uneven terrains with greater efficiency. TraQuad can turn about its central vertical axis and execute sharp turns with a 0.25 m turn radius. It can climb steep slopes of 31<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{\circ }$</tex-math></inline-formula> at a velocity of 0.9 m/s. Utilizing multimodal locomotion, it can climb rocks and overcome obstacles by either skipping or stepping on them. Climbing rocks 1.75 times the height of the tracks requires a peak torque of 5.14 N<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\cdot$</tex-math></inline-formula>m, whereas stepping on a block of the same height requires a peak torque of 8.15 N<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\cdot$</tex-math></inline-formula>m. Skipping a block 1.5 times the height of tracks requires a peak torque of 11.8 N<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\cdot$</tex-math></inline-formula>m. This demonstrates that climbing obstacles while maintaining contact with them is more economical than stepping on them, proving the viability of tracked-legged locomotion. These advancements highlight the potential of TraQuad as a robust solution for navigating diverse and challenging environments.

Accurate emulation of satellite communication links is vital for testing and evaluating performance under conditions that mirror the real world variability. As satellite systems strive for ever higher data rates and increasingly adaptive behaviors, the challenge lies not only in replicating signal impairments but also in exercising algorithms that dynamically mitigate them to maximize throughput. The Adaptive Coding and Modulation (ACM) Testbed inserts in the topic providing a modular, high fidelity platform to support the design and validation of satellite communication links. This paper presents an overview of the ACM Testbed architecture and its core components, including Control/Simulation, Mass Memory Emulator, Transmitter, Channel Emulator, and Receiver. Designed to emulate real satellite orbits and link impairments, the system supports advanced modulation and coding schemes, orbit-aware link adaptation, and modular configuration of mission scenarios. The architecture includes a physics-based orbit emulator that computes key signal propagation parameters such as Doppler shift, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), path loss, and antenna gain patterns. Furthermore, the testbed enables accurate modeling of atmospheric losses, thermal noise, and antenna effects based on user-configurable parameters, allowing high-resolution emulation of dynamic satellite-ground link conditions. These features make the platform well suited for validating link performance, ACM/VCM algorithms, and third-party equipment such as payload data transmitters (PDT).