Stereophotogrammetric Analysis of Pushing Kinematics of Wheelchair Rugby Players on an Inertial Ergometer

The aim of the work was the kinematic analysis of pushing technique of four wheelchair rugby players using a stereophotogrammetric motion capture system. The four players presented an increasing level of ability expressed by their wheelchair rugby classification point. An original contribution of the work is the fact that exercises were recorded on an inertial drum ergometer with players using their own game wheelchair. The ergometer inertia was tuned to reproduce the linear inertia of each player: subjects performed sprint tests without additional resistance and Wingate tests. The Initial Contact and Hand Release values at the wheel were recorded for each test in the early stages and at the end. The shoulder flexion/extension angle and the elbow flexion angle were plotted against each other to highlight a tendency to a synchronous joint kinematics with increasing classification points

Kinematic bidimensional analysis of the propulsion technique in wheelchair rugby athletes

Wheelchair rugby is a sport ideated for individuals with cervical spinal cord injury (CSCI) which is extremely important for maintaining their neuromuscular abilities and improving their social and psychological wellbeing. However, due to the frequent changes in direction and speed it considerably stresses the players' upper limbs. 13 athletes have undergone two sports-related tests on an inertial drum bench and several kinematic parameters have been registered. Most athletes use a semi-circular pattern which is considered protective for the upper limb. With increasing speed, range of motion (ROM) increases. Release angles increment and contact angles reduce, displacing the push angle forward to increase speed. Instead, the more anterior late push angle used to increase velocity is a factor which further loads the shoulder joint. However, other factors affecting propulsion technique, such as posture and wheelchair set up should be studied to further reduce loading on the upper limb

An Italian prospective multicenter study on colonoscopy practice and quality: What has changed in the last 10 years

Background: A relevant number of adenomas can be missed during colonoscopy. Aims: Assess the current status of colonoscopy procedures in Italian centers. Methods: A prospective observational study involving 17 hospitals (34 endoscopists) included consecutive patients undergoing standard colonoscopy. In the first phase, endoscopists performed consecutive colonoscopies. In the second phase, retraining via an online learning platform was planned, while in the third phase data were collected analogously to phase 1. Results: A total of 3,504 patients were enrolled. Overall, a BBPS score ≥6 was obtained in 95.6% of cases (94.8% and 96.9% in the pre- and post-training phases, respectively). 88.4% of colonoscopies had a withdrawal time ≥6 min (88.2% and 88.7% in the pre- and post-training phases). Median adenoma detection rate (ADR) was 39.1%, with no significant differences between the pre- and post-training phases (40.1% vs 36.9%; P = 0.83). In total, 81% of endoscopists had a ADR performance above the 25% threshold. Conclusion: High colonoscopy quality standards are achieved by the Italian hospitals involved. Quality improvement initiatives and repeated module-based colonoscopy-training have been promoted in Italy during the last decade, which appear to have had a significant impact on quality colonoscopy metrics together with the activation of colorectal cancer screening programs

A Study of Female Characters in Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth

reservedThis work is focused on the examination and analysis of some female characters in William Shakespeare’s major tragedies: Macbeth, Othello, and Hamlet. The paper has been divided in two parts: the first one is the historical part, which is used to indicate the position of women in society and analyse their way of life from childhood to adulthood, while the second part deals with the analysis and interpretation of female characters from the tragedies mentioned above. In order to do this, I divided Shakespearean female characters into three different categories: victims, temptresses and accomplices. However, in the course of my study, these characters will find their place in more than one category to show their three-dimensionality.This work is focused on the examination and analysis of some female characters in William Shakespeare’s major tragedies: Macbeth, Othello, and Hamlet. The paper has been divided in two parts: the first one is the historical part, which is used to indicate the position of women in society and analyse their way of life from childhood to adulthood, while the second part deals with the analysis and interpretation of female characters from the tragedies mentioned above. In order to do this, I divided Shakespearean female characters into three different categories: victims, temptresses and accomplices. However, in the course of my study, these characters will find their place in more than one category to show their three-dimensionality

Analysis of the syntactic and semantic properties encoded by different causal subordinators in the Historia Francorum by Gregory of Tours

openL’elaborato consiste in uno studio linguistico relativamente alla causalità nel latino tardo, sulla base di un’analisi delle congiunzioni potenzialmente causali rinvenute nel libro V dell’Historia Francorum di Gregorio di Tours. Tuttavia il lavoro riferisce e approfondisce anche aspetti della subordinazione causale propri dell’italiano contemporaneo, italiano antico e latino classico, in un confronto sistematico volto al raggiungimento di un’osservazione diacronica completa del fenomeno grammaticale interessato. A livello di analisi, i dati che sono stati raccolti ed esaminati vertono soprattutto intorno a quattro proprietà fondamentali nei rapporti causali: valore generale della proposizione subordinata (con indicazione e disamina di un’eventuale oscillazione), posizione della stessa rispetto alla reggente (preposta, posposta o interposta), tipologia di causa (eventiva, epistemica, illocutiva o mista) e eventuale presenza di focalizzatori. A livello di elaborato, le informazioni ricavate dai dati sono state utili ad avanzare una serie di conclusioni, ipotesi o considerazioni – avvalorate anche dal raffronto con altre pubblicazioni e indagini linguistiche – circa la causalità in generale nel latino tardo e più precisamente circa i subordinatori causali e il loro mutamento a livello semantico e sintattico; mutamento sia a partire dal latino classico sia in direzione dell’italiano antico

Implementation of Distributed Mapping Algorithms Using Mobile Wheelphones

In this thesis we consider the problem of multi-robot mapping of an unknown event of interest in an indoor planar region where the communication between the agents is provided by a Wi-Fi network. Stima di una funzione sensoriale tramite algoritmi di mapping implementati su dei veri dispositivi a dure ruote grazie all'utilizzo del Rapid Prototypin

Cellular modeling of babies born with microcephaly caused by vertical infection by Zika Virus

Em 2015, um número incomum de casos de bebês nascidos com microcefalia no Nordeste do Brasil chamou atenção, especialmente por apontarem um arbovírus, o Zika vírus (ZIKV), como possível causador de uma infecção congênita. O ZIKV é um Flavivírus transmitido pelo mosquito Aedes aegypti e cuja infecção produz efeitos brandos em humanos, com raras manifestações neurológicas e ocasionalmente síndrome de Guillain-Barré. Entretanto, em função de esclarecer os casos de microcefalia, estudos foram realizados comprovando que o ZIKV era capaz de infectar células do Sistema Nervoso Central (SNC), como neurônios e células da glia e, em especial, células mais imaturas, como as progenitoras neurais (NPC), abundantes no feto. Quando as NPC são infectadas pelo ZIKV, há menos migração celular, comprometimento da neurogênese e morte celular por apoptose, o que provavelmente acaba contribuindo para a microcefalia em recém-nascidos. O intuito desse projeto foi o de modelar in vitro o SNC de pacientes que nasceram com microcefalia congênita causada pela infecção vertical por ZIKV. Nosso objetivo foi verificar os efeitos celulares e moleculares da ação do vírus nestes pacientes durante a formação do SNC sob a hipótese de que a infecção maternal tenha induzido modificações celulares e moleculares que sejam responsáveis pelo fenótipo patogênico apresentado na síndrome congênita do Zika vírus (CZS). Nossos resultados mostraram que os fibroblastos utilizados para a reprogramação e estudo desses pacientes in vitro foi uma ótima alternativa mediante a dificuldade de obtenção de amostras. Além disso, as iPSC geradas através da reprogramação via transfecção de plasmídeos epissomais nos fibroblastos foram diferenciadas em astrócitos e neurônios. De acordo com a porcentagem de células diferenciadas, os pacientes foram divididos em dois grupos: um com 20% de astrócitos na cultura mista de neurônios (CZS-A), semelhante ao grupo controle, e outro grupo que apresentou baixa expressão de marcadores de astrócitos (CZS-B). A investigação da quantidade de sinapses nos neurônios derivados das iPSC dos pacientes com a CZS apresentavam menor expressão nas proteínas pré e pós-sinápticas (em ambos os grupos), assim como na sua colocalização, indicando que esses pacientes apresentam uma redução significativa de sinapses comparado ao grupo controle. Entretanto, foi observado uma redução significativa de proteína pós-sináptica e sua colocalização com a proteína pré- sináptica ao comparar os dois grupos de neurônios, sendo menor em pacientes CZS- B. Um quadro de redução significativa na produção de glutamato também foi observado nos astrócitos dos pacientes com CZS em comparação ao grupo controle, porém a curva de recaptação de glutamato apresentou o mesmo padrão de recaptação em ambos os grupos. Com esse trabalho e os resultados obtidos, podemos dizer que é possível modelar a CZS in vitro focando nos fenótipos celulares e moleculares, porém mais estudos serão necessários para confirmar esses achados e eventualmente correlacioná-los com as características clínicas encontradas nestas crianças.In 2015, an unusual number of cases of babies born with microcephaly in Northeastern Brazil drew attention, especially for pointing out an arbovirus, the Zika virus (ZIKV), as a possible cause of congenital infection. ZIKV is a flavivirus transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and whose infection produces mild effects in humans, with rare neurological manifestations and occasionally Guillain-Barré syndrome. However, to clarify the microcephaly cases, studies have been carried out proving that ZIKV was able to infect cells of the Central Nervous System (CNS), such as neurons and glial cells and, in particular, more immature cells, such as neural progenitors. (NPC), abundant in the fetus. When NPCs are infected with ZIKV, there is less cell migration, impaired neurogenesis, and cell death from apoptosis, which probably contributes to microcephaly in newborns. The aim of this project was to model in vitro the CNS of patients who were born with congenital microcephaly caused by vertical ZIKV infection. Our objective was to verify the cellular and molecular effects of the virus action in these patients during the CNS formation under the hypothesis that maternal infection has induced cellular and molecular changes responsible for the pathogenic phenotype presented in the congenital Zika virus syndrome (CZS). Our results showed that the fibroblasts used for reprogramming and studying these patients in vitro were a great alternative due to the difficulty of obtaining samples. Also, iPSCs generated by reprogramming via transfection of episomal plasmids in fibroblasts were differentiated into astrocytes and neurons. According to the percentage of differentiated cells, patients were divided into two groups: one with 20% of astrocytes in the mixed neuron culture (CZS-A), similar to the control group, and another group that presented low expression of astrocyte markers. (CZS-B). The investigation of the number of synapses in the iPSC-derived neurons of patients with CZS showed less expression in pre-and postsynaptic proteins (in both groups), as well as in their colocalization, indicating that these patients have a significant reduction in synapses compared to the control group. However, a significant reduction in postsynaptic protein and its colocalization with presynaptic protein was observed when comparing the two groups of neurons, lower CZS-B patients. A picture of a significant reduction in glutamate production was also observed in the astrocytes of patients with CZS compared to the control group. Still, the glutamate reuptake curve showed the same reuptake pattern in both groups. With this work and the results obtained, we can say that it is possible to model CZS in vitro, focusing on cellular and molecular phenotypes. However, more studies will be needed to confirm these findings and eventually correlate them with the clinical characteristics found in these children

Clinical expression of coeliac disease: Padova experience ABSTRACT 6° Congresso Nazionale SIGEP ROMA 12-14/10/1998

6° Congr.Naz. SIGEP, Roma 12-14/10/199