Art, Mobility, and Exchange in Early Modern Tuscany and Eurasia

This book explores how the Medici Grand Dukes pursued ways to expand their political, commercial, and cultural networks beyond Europe, cultivating complex relations with the Ottoman Empire and other Islamicate regions, and looking further east to India, China, and Japan. The chapters in this volume discuss how casting a global, cross-cultural net was part and parcel of the Medicean political vision. Diplomatic gifts, items of commercial exchange, objects looted at war, maritime connections, and political plots were an inherent part of how the Medici projected their state on the global arena. The eleven chapters of this volume demonstrate that the mobility of objects, people, and knowledge that generated the global interactions analyzed here was not unidirectional—rather, it went both to and from Tuscany. In addition, by exploring evidence of objects produced in Tuscany for Asian markets, this book reveals hitherto neglected histories of how Western cultures projected themselves eastwards

Biomechanical behaviour of native and sutured bronchi. An in-vitro study

BACKGROUND: Biomechanical behaviour evaluation of a suture is an important information for the surgeon to choose the best technique to perform. OBJECTIVE: To assess the biomechanical behavior of the native and mechanically sutured bronchi. METHODS: Ten bronchi were harvested from slaughtered pigs and then randomly separated in two groups, a control intact group and a sutured group where specimens were cut in half and sutured, to evaluate mechanical properties during a tensile test using a loading frame machine. In addition optoelectric motion tracking system was used to evaluate suture profile motion during the test. RESULTS: Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between the two groups for the parameters investigated. The control group showed a higher maximal stress resistance and stiffness than the suture group, while elongation at rupture was increased in the sutured group. All the sutures broke in symmetric manner, as the mean of the side difference of the sutured specimens was 0.93 ± 0.80 mm at rupture. CONCLUSIONS: Biomechanical behaviour of native and sutured bronchi was evaluated, giving highly reproducible parameters regarding mechanical properties that may help clinicians and bioengineers to rationalize the choice for a particular suture material or suture technique, increasing surgical outcomes

Electromechanical delay of the knee flexors muscles after anterior cruciate ligaments reconstruction using semitendinosus tendon. Preliminary study

Increasing in electromechanical delay has been found in patients after ACL reconstruction using both semitendinosus and gracilis tendons. Using only one tendon may improve electromechanical delay results in patients after ACL reconstruction surgery. The purpose of the study is to evaluate electromechanical delay in ACL reconstruction patients after one tendon surgery technique. In particular, in this study, patients undergone the reconstruction surgery using the semitendinosus tendon will be evaluated. An isokinetic dynamometer will be used for the test. After warming up, patients will be ask to perform a maximally explosive isometric

Quadriceps muscles activity during gait: comparison between PFPS subjects and healthy control

Purpose The purpose of the study was to evaluate if during a common activity as walking, altered quadriceps muscular activity may be present in patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) patients. Methods Forty subjects with clinically diagnosed PFPS and forty healthy males matching in age, weight, height and level of sport activity were enrolled in the study. Subjects were asked to walk on an instrumented walking path at their selfselected speed. Force platform and motion tracking system were used for the analysis of the gait. Wireless surface EMG probes were used to evaluate quadriceps muscles activity. Rectus femoris, vastus medialis and lateralis activity percentage, onset and offset time, walking speed, cadence, step length, stride length, knee ROM during gait were measured and reported. Tegner activity questionnaire was reported. Results Patient group showed a significant increasing in all quadriceps muscles activity when compared to the control (p < 0.05). In particular, for VM and VL muscle onset time was anticipated and offset time was postponed in PFPS group when compared with healthy group (p < 0.05). Knee range of motion during walking was significantly decreased in the patient group. Conclusions Young athletes with PFPS showed increased length of quadriceps muscles activity and reduced functional knee Rom while walking, comparing with healthy subjects, in particular muscular onset was anticipated in respect of the loading response event of the gait. Nonetheless, walking parameters were not affected by these alterations

Psychometric analysis of the questionnaires for the assessment of upper limbs available in their Italian version: a systematic review of the structural and psychometric characteristics

Introduction: There is no systematic review that analyzes the psychometric properties of questionnaires in Italian. Previous studies have analyzed the psychometric characteristics of instruments for the measurement of pathologies of upper limbs and their joints in different languages. The aim of the present study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the questionnaires published in Italian for the evaluation of the entire upper limb or some of its specific regions and related dysfunctions. Evidence acquisition: For the development of this systematic review, the following databases were used: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, Dialnet, Cinahl, Embase and PEDro. The selection criteria used in this study were: studies of transcultural adaptation to Italian of questionnaires oriented to the evaluation of upper limbs or any of their structures (specifically shoulder, elbow and wrist/hand), and contribution of psychometric variables of the questionnaire in its Italian version. Evidence synthesis: After reading the titles and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria to the complete documents, 16 documents were selected: 3 for the upper limb, 8 for the shoulder, 1 for the elbow and 4 for the wrist and hand. The cross-sectional psychometric variables show levels between good and excellent in all the questionnaires. Longitudinal psychometric variables had not been calculated in the vast majority of the analyzed questionnaires. Conclusions: Italian versions of the questionnaires show good basic structural and psychometric characteristics for the evaluation of patients with musculoskeletal disorders of the upper limb and its joints (shoulder, elbow and wrist/hand).</p