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Recently, hybrid glenoid components have been developed, consisting of cementless highly porous metal central peg, monoblock keel or cage along with cemented backside polyethylene surface. The aims of this study were twofold: (1) to determine the revision and complication rates of hybrid glenoid components, consisting of porous metal pegs or coatings attached to the polyethylene, for aseptic loosening in TSA and (2) to evaluate the rate of radiolucent lines in patients who underwent TSA with hybrid glenoid components consisting of porous metal pegs or coatings attached to the polyethylene. The US National Library of Medicine (PubMed/MEDLINE), EMBASE and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were queried for publications utilizing the following keywords: "hybrid" OR "bone-ingrowth" OR "bone ingrowth" AND "TSA" OR "total" AND "shoulder" AND "arthroplasty" OR "replacement". Five articles were included for analysis (470 operated shoulders, mean follow-up: 47.5 months). The overall weighted mean modified methodology Coleman score was 51.2/100, indicating a moderate level of overall methodological quality. The survival rate of hybrid glenoid components was 97.4% (458 out of 470 cases), while the rate of glenoid-related complications was 2.8% (13 cases). Finally, there were 54 cases (out of 313 reported; 17.3%) with glenoid radiolucency (none of them required revision). TSA with hybrid fixation glenoid components was associated with high survivorship and low rate of glenoid component-related complications at 4 years mean follow-up. In addition, there was limited evidence to show that the short- to mid-term outcome of TSA using hybrid glenoid components is not inferior to the outcome of cemented all-polyethylene glenoid components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several clinical studies have compared the clinical and functional outcomes of arthroscopic anatomic complete repair and arthroscopic partial repair for massive rotator cuff tears (MRCTs). To our knowledge, no systematic review of these comparative trials has been published yet. A systematic analysis was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) using the MEDLINE/PubMed database and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Six studies were eligible for analysis, and they were level III case–control studies. There were 223 cases of complete repair and 208 cases of partial repair (mean age range 59–67 years, mean follow-up range 24–45 months). All studies reported significant postoperative improvement in the reported subjective scores and range of motion in both groups. Complete repair was associated with at least equal or better functional outcomes compared to the partial repair. The rate of complications requiring reoperation in the complete and partial repair cohorts was 1.3% and 3.4%, respectively. Although the overall rate of radiographic integrity of the complete and partial repair cohorts was 61.1% and 26.7%, respectively, we found no clinical relevance in this finding. There is moderate-to-good quality evidence to support that both arthroscopic complete and partial repairs of MRCTs are associated with satisfactory functional outcomes and low rate of complications requiring reoperation. Complete repair is associated with at least equal or better functional outcomes compared to the partial repair and, therefore, it should remain the first line of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: hip fractures in elderly patients have been associated with high morbidity and mortality rate and are dependent on the presence of associated comorbidities. SARS-CoV-2 disease (Covid-19) is nowadays considered to be an independent risk factor increasing mortality rates. The aim of our report was to analyse the management of a vaccinated versus a non-vaccinated elderly patient that were both diagnosed positive to SARS-CoV-2 after having sustained an intracapsular neck of femur fracture. Methods: Two patients (Patient A 91 and Patient B 88 years old, both female) were referred to our hospital after sustaining an intracapsular neck of femur hip fracture as a result of low energy trauma. Both patients tested positive for Covid-19 during their preoperative screening tests. Patient A had not been vaccinated against Covid-19 in contrast to patient B who had completed the 2 dose regimen of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine. Patient A presented on arrival Leukopenia (WBC: 1.2 µc/l, Neutrophils 0.4 mcL ) and Thrombocytopenia (PLT 70.000 ). The Procalcitonin, C-Reactive Protein and Ferritin levels long as Arterial blood Gases were measured in both patients on arrival. Patient A required administration of Granulocyte colony stimulating factor and platelet transfusion prior to surgery. Results: Both patients underwent uncemented hip hemiarthroplasty. Patient A was operated 5 days after hospital admission as optimization of the patient's Covid-19 related Leukopenia and Thrombocytopenia was required and Patient B was operated within 24 hours after hospital admission. Patient A required transfusion of 4 blood Units (bleeding related to Thrombocytopenia) compared to 2 blood units that were administered in Patient B. Patient A developed Covid 19 related Pneumonia and Lung disease on the 6th postoperative day (PO2 SO2 ) and required high flow nasal cannula therapy for 7 days followed by oxygen therapy for 8 days delaying her mobilization and hospital discharge. Patient A was discharged on the 29th post-operative day and Patient B was discharged on the 6th post-operative day. Conclusion: Covid 19 related complications in elderly hip fracture patients are challenging and require multidisciplinary approach and hospital resources. However, Vaccination against covid-19 seems to prevent Covid related complications and can improve the outcome. Large series studies and further research is required to support our thesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gas turbine engines exhibit very high maintenance costs. Moreover, in the case of aero applications an in-flight engine incidence, shall, by all means, be avoided, a condition that drives total maintenance costs even higher. A measure in favor of balancing these costs is to monitor continuously the variation of engine performance data recorded during flight, establish methods to deduce useful information regarding the engine “health” status and, as a result, take appropriate actions to maintain a good engine operating condition. The current work presents such a method tailored on the “F100-PW-229” engine that is operated by the ellenic Air Force as the propulsion system of the “F-16 block 52M” aircraft [3]. CEDATS and MS Excel were the computational tools used for the current engine performance study. CEDATS is a software developed for the engine users. It provides basic data trend monitoring functions and engine fault warnings. It is well known that there is always space for improvement for such health monitoring tools since there are cases where engine operating faults are not captured. Within the frame of the current work, a data post – processing method on the engine performance data time series was applied using MS Excel, in order to raise early warnings of an uncaptured compressor operating fault.

Abstract Background Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury or reconstruction can cause knee impairments and disability. Knee impairments are related to quadriceps performance – accelerated reaction time (ART) – and disability to performance of daily living activities which is assessed by questionnaires such as the Lysholm knee score. The purposes of this study were to investigate the effect of cross exercise, as supplementary rehabilitation to the early phase of ACL reconstruction: a) on quadriceps ART at the angles 45°, 60° and 90° of knee flexion and, b) on the subjective scores of disability in ACL reconstructed patients. Methods 42 patients who underwent ACL reconstruction were randomly divided into 3 groups, two experimental and one control. All groups followed the same rehabilitation program. The experimental groups followed 8 weeks of cross eccentric exercise (CEE) on the uninjured knee; 3 d/w, and 5 d/w respectively. Quadriceps ART was measured at 45°, 60° and 90° of knee flexion pre and nine weeks post-operatively using an isokinetic dynamometer. Patients also completed pre and post operatively the Lysholm questionnaire whereby subjective scores were recorded. Results Two factor ANOVA showed significant differences in ART at 90° among the groups (F = 4.29, p = 0.02, p < 0.05). Post hoc Tukey HSD analysis determined that the significant results arose from the first experimental group in comparison to the control (D = -0.83, p = 0.01). No significant differences were revealed at 45° and 60°. Significant differences were also found in the Lysholm score among the groups (F = 4.75, p = 0.01, p < 0.05). Post hoc analysis determined that the above significant results arose from the first experimental group in comparison with the control (D = 7.5, p < 0.01) and from the second experimental in comparison with the control (D = 3.78, p = 0.03). Conclusion CEE showed improvements on quadriceps ART at 90° at a sequence of 3 d/w and in the Lysholm score at a sequence of 3 d/w and 5 d/w respectively on ACL reconstructed patients.