Mechanical Engineering Design Project report: Enabler control systems

The Controls Group was assigned the responsibility for designing the Enabler's control system. The requirement for the design was that the control system must provide a simple user interface to control the boom articulation joints, chassis articulation joints, and the wheel drive. The system required controlling hydraulic motors on the Enabler by implementing 8-bit microprocessor boards. In addition, feedback to evaluate positions and velocities must be interfaced to provide the operator with confirmation as well as control

The impact of diabetes in implant oral rehabilitations: A bibliometric study and literature review

Introduction: Diabetes represents a potential risk factor for bone healing and dental implant treatment predictability. The aim of the present investigation was to perform a bibliometric evaluation of articles on the topic of the impact of diabetes on implant oral rehabilitations. Material and methods: A Boolean keywords search was performed on Scopus database and recorded the list of articles, authors and affiliations. The journal impact factor was calculated by the Journal Citation Report Clarivate electronic database. The total papers, number of citations and journal impact factors were calculated. Results: a total of 476 papers and 162 authors were assessed. The mean authors total citations were 2880.11± 4070.24 and the mean impact factor value was 1.942±1.15 Conclusions: uncontrolled diabetes impacts on dental implant rehabilitation with an increased risk of implant failure and periimplant disease in long-term rehabilitation

The role and the effect of magnesium in mental disorders: A systematic review

Introduction: Magnesium is an essential cation involved in many functions within the central nervous system, including transmission and intracellular signal transduction. Several studies have shown its usefulness in neurological and psychiatric diseases. Furthermore, it seems that magnesium levels are lowered in the course of several mental disorders, especially depression. Objectives: In this study, we wish to evaluate the presence of a relationship between the levels of magnesium and the presence of psychiatric pathology as well as the effectiveness of magnesium as a therapeutic supplementation. Methods: A systematic search of scientific records concerning magnesium in psychiatric disorders published from 2010 up to March 2020 was performed. We collected a total of 32 articles: 18 on Depressive Disorders (DD), four on Anxiety Disorders (AD), four on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), three on Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), one on Obsessive\u2013Compulsive Disorder (OCD), one on Schizophrenia (SCZ) and one on Eating Disorders (ED). Results: Twelve studies highlighted mainly positive results in depressive symptoms. Seven showed a significant correlation between reduced plasma magnesium values and depression measured with psychometric scales. Two papers reported improved depressive symptoms after magnesium intake, two in association with antidepressants, compared to controls. No significant association between magnesium serum levels and panic or Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) patients, in two distinct papers, was found. In two other papers, a reduced Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) score in depressed patients correlated with higher levels of magnesium and beneficial levels of magnesium in stressed patients was found. Two papers reported low levels of magnesium in association with ADHD. Only one of three papers showed lower levels of magnesium in ASD. ED and SCZ reported a variation in magnesium levels in some aspects of the disease. Conclusion: The results are not univocal, both in terms of the plasma levels and of therapeutic effects. However, from the available evidence, it emerged that supplementation with magnesium could be beneficial. Therefore, it is necessary to design ad hoc clinical trials to evaluate the efficacy of magnesium alone or together with other drugs (antidepressants) in order to establish the correct use of this cation with potential therapeutic effects

The role of co-parenting alliance as a mediator between trait anxiety, family system maladjustment, and parenting stress in a sample of non-clinical Italian parents

This study investigated the role of co-parenting alliance in mediating the influence of parents' trait anxiety on family system maladjustment and parenting stress. A sample of 1606 Italian parents (803 mothers and 803 fathers) of children aged one to 13 years completed measures of trait anxiety (State Trait Anxiety Inventory-Y), co-parenting alliance (Parenting Alliance Measure), family system maladjustment (Family Assessment Measure-III), and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Inventory-Short Form). These variables were investigated together comparing two structural equations model-fitting including both partners. A model for both mothers and fathers was empirically devised as a series of associations between parent trait anxiety (independent variable), family system maladjustment and parenting stress (dependent variables), mediated by coparenting alliance, with the insertion of cross predictions between mothers and fathers and correlations between dependent variables for both parents. Results indicated that the relation between mothers and fathers' trait anxiety, family system maladjustment and parenting stress was mediated by the level of co-parenting alliance. Understanding the role of couples' co-parenting alliance could be useful during the family assessment and/or treatment, since it is an efficient and effective tool to improve the family system maladjustment and stress

Herschel Far-IR counterparts of SDSS galaxies: Analysis of commonly used Star Formation Rate estimates

We study a hundred of galaxies from the spectroscopic Sloan Digital Sky Survey with individual detections in the Far-Infrared Herschel PACS bands (100 or 160 $\mu$m) and in the GALEX Far-UltraViolet band up to z$\sim$0.4 in the COSMOS and Lockman Hole fields. The galaxies are divided into 4 spectral and 4 morphological types. For the star forming and unclassifiable galaxies we calculate dust extinctions from the UV slope, the H$\alpha$/H$\beta$ ratio and the $L_{\rm IR}/L_{\rm UV}$ ratio. There is a tight correlation between the dust extinction and both $L_{\rm IR}$ and metallicity. We calculate SFR$_{total}$ and compare it with other SFR estimates (H$\alpha$, UV, SDSS) finding a very good agreement between them with smaller dispersions than typical SFR uncertainties. We study the effect of mass and metallicity, finding that it is only significant at high masses for SFR$_{H\alpha}$. For the AGN and composite galaxies we find a tight correlation between SFR and L$_{IR}$ ($\sigma\sim$0.29), while the dispersion in the SFR - L$_{UV}$ relation is larger ($\sigma\sim$0.57). The galaxies follow the prescriptions of the Fundamental Plane in the M-Z-SFR space.Comment: 24 pages, 23 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Olfactory and gustatory dysfunctions in SARS-CoV-2 infection

Among Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) manifestations, Olfactory (OD) and Gustatory (GD) Dysfunctions (OGD) have drawn considerable attention, becoming a sort of hallmark of the disease. Many have speculated on the pathogenesis and clinical characteristics of these disturbances; however, no definite answers have been produced on the topic. With this systematic review, we aimed to collect all the available evidence regarding the prevalence of OGD, the timing of their onset and their resolution, their rate of recovery and their role as diagnostic and prognostic tools for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection

Body Mass Index in Children and Their Parents: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Study Population of Children from Southern Italy

The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased over the last decades. Parental obesity plays an important role in determining childhood obesity. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between parental and offspring’ weight status in a population of children from South of Italy, as no data have ever been published from this area. We recruited 636 children (5.7 ± 1.5 years old) and their parents. Seventy-three (11.5%) and sixteen (2.5%) children were overweight and obese, respectively. Offspring weight status was significantly associated with parents’ weight status. The linear regression analysis showed that offspring BMI was more affected by paternal than by maternal BMI. Our data confirmed that parents’ weight status plays an important role on children’s BMI. Interestingly, in our study, parents’ height and weight were measured and not reported as in most of the previous papers, strengthening our conclusions. We suggest that intensive nutritional education and preventive programs should be performed in children with overweight / obese parents rather than in children with normal weight parent. Furthermore, nutritional education should be performed also for overweight parents to modify preventable risk factor for pediatric obesity

Choroidal Changes in Blood Flow in Patients with Intermediate AMD after Oral Dietary Supplement Based on Astaxanthin, Bromelain, Vitamin D3, Folic Acid, Lutein, and Antioxidants

Background and Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of oral administration of the combination of astaxanthin (AXT), lutein, folic acid, vitamin D3, and bromelain with antioxidants on choroidal blood flow in patients with age-related intermediate macular degeneration (AMD). Materials and Methods: Patients affected by intermediate AMD and treated with daily oral nutritional supplement with AXT, bromelain, vitamin D3, folic acid, lutein, and antioxidants for a period of at least 6 months were included in this retrospective study. A control group homogenous for age and sex was also included in the analysis. All participants underwent a complete ophthalmologic examination, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), and optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) evaluation. Outcome measures were choroidal thickness (CHT) and choriocapillary vessel density (CCVD) after six months of AXT assumption. Results: CCVD values showed statistically significant difference between cases and controls at baseline (p < 0.001) and in the cases during follow-up (p < 0.001). The CHT measurements showed statistically significant difference between cases and controls (p = 0.002) and in the cases during follow-up (p < 0.001). Conclusions: The combined use of structural OCT and OCTA allows for a detailed analysis in vivo of perfusion parameters of the choriocapillaris and choroid and evaluation of changes of choroidal blood flow after oral nutritional supplements that affect blood flow velocity