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Background Coronavirus disease 2019 is revolutionizing healthcare delivery. The aim of this study was to reach a consensus among experts as to the possible applications of telemedicine in the proctologic field. Methods A group of 55 clinical practice recommendations was developed by a clinical guidance group based on coalescence of evidence and expert opinion. The Telemedicine in Proctology Italian Working Group included 47 Italian Society of Colorectal Surgery nominated experts evaluating the appropriateness of each clinical practice recommendations based on published RAND/UCLA methodology in 2 rounds. Results Stakeholder median age was 53 years (interquartile range limits 40–60), and 38 (81%) were men. Nine (19%) panelists reported no experience with telemedicine before the pandemic. Agreement was obtained on a minimum of 3 to 5 years of practice in the proctologic field before starting teleconsultations, which should be regularly paid, with advice and prescriptions incorporated into a formal report sent to the patient by e-mail along with a receipt. Of the panelists, 35 of 47 (74%) agreed that teleconsultation carries the risk of misdiagnosis of cancer, thus recommending an in-person assessment before scheduling any surgery. Fifteen additional clinical practice recommendations were re-elaborated in the second round and assessed by 44 of 47 (93.6%) panelists. The application of telemedicine for the diagnosis of common proctologic conditions (eg, hemorrhoidal disease, anal abscess and fistula, anal condylomas, and anal fissure) and functional pelvic floor disorders was generally considered inappropriate. Teleconsultation was instead deemed appropriate for the diagnosis and management of pilonidal disease. Conclusion This e-consensus revealed the boundaries of telemedicine in Italy. Standardization of infrastructures, logistics, and legality remain to be better elucidated.

Highlights • Agenesis of the dorsal pancreas is a rare congenital anomaly. • The possibility of finding this disorder is increasing with the use of advanced radiological techniques. • Some patients experience no symptoms. • Rarely, they may also develop pancreatic exocrine insufficiency or pancreatic adenocarcinoma. • This diagnosis could be missed by US, due to difficulty on visualization of body and tail of pancreas., Introduction Agenesis of the dorsal pancreas (ADP) is a rare congenital anomaly resulting in missing corpus and cauda of the pancreas. The possibility of finding this disorder is increasing with the use of advanced radiological techniques like CT scan or MRI. Presentation of case We reported 2 cases of a partial ADP as radiological finding: the first one was a 79-year-old asymptomatic patient who presented to perform a CT staging scan for bladder tumor, while the second case was a 73-year-old patient with obstructive jaundice and with suspected common bile duct calculi. In the second patient US, CT scan and MRI were performed, and after that also an ERCP was scheduled. Discussion The prevalence of agenesis of the dorsal pancreas is not exactly known; in the literature, only 50 cases have been reported. Its cause and pathogenesis are not fully understood. Some patients experience no symptoms, while others may develop hyperglycemia, diabetes mellitus, bile duct obstruction, abdominal pain, pancreatitis, or other conditions. Conclusion Considering that dorsal agenesis is sporadically found, often do not have related symptoms and it does not require a specific treatment, whether further examinations are needed to determine the type of agenesis remains questioned.

Highlights • Spigelian Hernia is a rare abdominal wall hernia. • Urgent presentation with small bowel obstruction is uncommon. • Laparoscopy could be an option in elective surgery but in emergent setting laparotomy is required. • Mesh repair is mandatory to avoid recurrence., Introduction Spigelian Hernia is an uncommon pathology of abdominal wall (0.12–2.4%), usually small sized and with vague symptoms. It rarely presents as Small Bowel Obstruction or reaches dimensions that becomes clinically remarkable. Presentation of case 84-year-old woman entered our Surgical Department for Small Bowel Obstruction due to a giant (8 × 7 cm) abdominal wall hernia, which was intraoperatively identified as Spigelian Hernia. We performed a minilaparotomy with reduction of viable small bowel and preperitoneal positioning of polypropilene mesh. Postoperative course was uneventfull. Discussion Due to its small dimensions and infrequence, the diagnosis could be challenging even if the patient undergoes a CT scan. The presentation with clear signs of small bowel obstruction associated with a large abdominal hernia is rare and suggests a urgent surgical approach with mesh repair to avoid recurrences. Conclusion Even if rarely symptomatic, the Spigelian Hernia is an entity to consider in the differential diagnosis of small bowel obstruction in a virgin abdomen. Preoperative diagnosis, when available, is mandatory to guide a correct surgical approach.

TiO2 nanotubes demonstrated to be a versatile nanostructure for biomaterials, clean energy and water remediation applications. However, the cost of titanium and the poor mechanical properties of the nano tubes hinder their adoption at large scale. This work presents a straightforward and scalable method for transferring photoactive anodic TiO2 nanotubes from titanium foils to commodity thermoplastic polymers, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, polycarbonate, and polymethylmetacrylate, allowing the reusing of the remaining titanium. The obtained flexible nanocomposites reach a maximum photonic efficiencies of 0.038% (ISO-10678:2010) representing the 93% of photonic efficiency of TiO2 nanotubes on titanium. In addition, the nanocomposites and TiO2 nanotubes on titanium present similar antibacterial properties under 1 mW cm(-2) UV-A, 60% of Escherichia coil survival after 1 h of exposition. The final objective of this work is to point out main concepts and key parameters for a low-cost fabrication of a photoactive nanocomposite material. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nanomaterials represent a possible solution to solve many of the current issues involving water quality, but several limitations exist for efficient applications, primarily concerning the dispersion of such nanomaterials in water, their recovery after water treatment and the resulting impact on human health and ecosystems. We present an approach based on the incorporation of several nanomaterials into polymeric composites as a valid solution to overcome these problems. We embedded active TiO2 nanostructures in poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), with the advantage of no need of recovery of the nanoparticles after water treatment. Furthermore, we combined titanium dioxide nanoparticles with single walled carbon nanotubes, as acceptor of electrons, and obtained a significantly higher photocatalytic efficiency under UV irradiation, compared to the systems with TiO2 only. Photoactive materials even under visible light were synthesized thanks to the functionalization of the TiO2 nanoparticle surface with meso-tetraphenylporphyrin-4,4',4",4"/-tetracarboxylic acid (TCPP) as dye sensitizer. We realized these polymeric nanocomposites by low-cost solution casting and evaluated their photocatalytic activity by degradation of some dyes and phenol in an aqueous medium. A significant antibacterial activity, measured through CFU (colony forming units) count using Escherichia coli as a model organism, is also reported. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In this work, we present polymeric nanocomposites as valid systems for water treatment. This new class of materials has attracted extensive attention in the recent years in several fields of science and technology, because they join structural flexibility and relatively simple processing of the polymers with the properties of the nanomaterials, such as the photocatalytic activity of TiO2. We hence embedded in PMMA titanium dioxide nanotubes, synthesized by electrochemical anodization, obtaining very cheap materials for water purification. We realized these polymeric nanocomposites by sonication and solution casting method, and we evaluated their photocatalytic activity by the bleaching of Methylene Blue (MB) dye in aqueous medium. We also tested the antibacterial activity through CFU (Colony Forming Units) count using Escherichia coli as a model organism.

We present an innovative device based on a nanoporous Ge electrode decorated by gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). A study aimed at obtaining the best AuNP deposition conditions, which allow the decoration of Ge walls with AuNPs, avoiding particles aggregation is reported.The performance of the electrode has been evaluated by the electrocatalytic reduction of iodoethane in acetonitrile solution, a model reaction in organic electrocatalysis. Keywords: Nanoporous Ge, Gold nanoparticles, Electrodeposition, Electrocatalysis

The electrical transport properties of n -type crystalline-Ge amorphized by ion implantation have been determined by resistivity and Hall effect measurements in the 64–255 K temperature range. Amorphous layer was realized by implanting Ge + ions in Ge single crystal maintained at ∼77 K at fluences above the amorphization threshold. The samples exhibited a surprising lower sheet resistance with respect of un-implanted crystalline Ge, resulting from positive charge carriers and very high mobility. Experimental observations are consistent with a p -type conduction induced by surface states and a high mobility channel at the amorphous-crystal interface.

In this work, we study the nanostructuring effects of nanosecond laser irradiations on 5 nm thick Au film sputter-deposited on Si. After deposition of Au on Si substrate, nanosecond laser irradiations were performed increasing the laser fluence from 750 to 1500 mJ/cm 2 . Several analyses techniques, such as Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy were crossed to study the morphological evolution of the Au film as a function of laser fluence. In particular, the formation of Au nanoparticles was observed. The analyses allowed a quantitative evaluation of the evolution of the nanoparticles size, surface density, and shape as a function of the laser fluence. Therefore, a control the structural properties of the Au nanoparticles is reached, for example, for applications in Si nanowires growth or plasmonics.

Transmission Electron Microscopy was combined with Time Resolved Reflectivity to study the amorphous-crystalline (a-c) interface evolution during Solid Phase Epitaxy Regrowth (SPER) Of Si0.83Ge0.17 films deposited on Si by Molecular Beam Epitaxy and amorphized with Ge+ ion implantation. Starting from the Si/SiGe interface, a 20 nm thick layer regrows free of defects with the same SPER rate of pure Si. The remaining SiGe regrows with planar defects and dislocations, accompanied by a decrease of the SPER velocity. The sample was also studied after implantation with B or P. In these cases, the SPER rate raises following the doping concentration profile, but no difference in the defect-free layer thickness was observed compared to the un-implanted sample. On the other hand, B or P introduction reduces the a-c interface roughness, while B-P co-implantation produces roughness comparable to the un-implanted sample. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Hall effect measurements in the 4-300 K temperature range have been used to investigate the electrical properties of B doped Si1-xGex layers (with 0 less than or equal to x less than or equal to 0.2) grown on Si(100) by MBE. The Hall concentration and mobility of strained and relaxed Si1-xGex layers have been converted into carrier concentration and drift mobility using the appropriate Hall scattering factor r(H) that has been determined by the comparison between the chemical B concentration profile (measured by secondary ion mass spectrometry) and the Hall carrier concentration. The mobility of both relaxed and strained layers was equal to that of Si and independent of the Ge concentration for x < 0.2 and B concentration greater than or equal to 10(18) cm(-3). The Hall scattering factor as a function of temperature has been determined.