Preliminary Validation of the CI-FRA Checklist: A Simple Screening Tool for Measuring the Early Signs of Reading and Spelling Disorders in Italian Primary Students

Although several screening tests for recognizing early signs of reading and spelling difficulties have been developed, brief and methodologically grounded tools for teachers are very limited. The present study aimed to lay the foundation for a new screening tool for teachers: the Checklist for early Indicators of risk Factors in Reading Ability (CI-FRA). The proposed checklist consists of 20 items, based on a 7-point Likert scale, and it investigates five domains: reading, writing, attention, and motor skills. Six hundred sixtyseven children were evaluated by 40 teachers during the first year of primary school and, longitudinally, in the second year. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were applied to verify structural validity. Concurrent validity was assessed by Spearman correlation to analyze the link between CI-FRA and reading and spelling standardized tests and cognitive tests. Reliability was assessed by Cronbach a and interclass correlation coefficient. The CFA reported a three-factor structure as the optimal solution, including language (reading and writing), visuospatial attention, and fine motor skills subscales. Good reliability, good internal consistency, and acceptable test\u2013 retest indices were found. Concurrent validity was confirmed by significant correlations between CI-FRA total score and standardized reading and spelling test, as well as by correlations between CI-FRA subscales and neuropsychological standardized test scores. Preliminary evaluation of sensitivity by receiver operating characteristic curves showed that the CI-FRA score has particularly high sensitivity and specificity for word reading speed deficit. In conclusion, the results confirm that CI-FRA is a theoretically grounded and statistically valid tool that could help the teachers to screen for early signs of reading and spelling difficulties

A framework for prioritising present and potentially invasive mammal species for a national list

The European Union (EU) has recently adopted a regulation on invasive alien species that foresees the possibility of developing lists of species of National Concern. We developed a prioritisation process for alien mammals already established in Italy, but not yet included in the EU list (n = 6 species) and a systematic horizon-scanning procedure to obtain ranked lists for those species that are already introduced worldwide or traded in Italy (n = 213). Experts were asked to score these species, by evaluating their likelihood of establishment and spread and the magnitude of their potential impacts on biodiversity, economy, human-health and society. The manageability of each species was also evaluated, both for the proritisation and the horizon-scanning processes. We produced five lists that ranked species according to their potential spread and impacts and their manageability. These will allow policy-makers to select outputs according to a balance between risk assessment and risk management, establishing priorities for alien species management at the national level

High Risk of Secondary Infections Following Thrombotic Complications in Patients With COVID-19

Background. This study’s primary aim was to evaluate the impact of thrombotic complications on the development of secondary infections. The secondary aim was to compare the etiology of secondary infections in patients with and without thrombotic complications. Methods. This was a cohort study (NCT04318366) of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients hospitalized at IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital between February 25 and June 30, 2020. Incidence rates (IRs) were calculated by univariable Poisson regression as the number of cases per 1000 person-days of follow-up (PDFU) with 95% confidence intervals. The cumulative incidence functions of secondary infections according to thrombotic complications were compared with Gray’s method accounting for competing risk of death. A multivariable Fine-Gray model was applied to assess factors associated with risk of secondary infections. Results. Overall, 109/904 patients had 176 secondary infections (IR, 10.0; 95% CI, 8.8–11.5; per 1000-PDFU). The IRs of secondary infections among patients with or without thrombotic complications were 15.0 (95% CI, 10.7–21.0) and 9.3 (95% CI, 7.9–11.0) per 1000-PDFU, respectively (P = .017). At multivariable analysis, thrombotic complications were associated with the development of secondary infections (subdistribution hazard ratio, 1.788; 95% CI, 1.018–3.140; P = .043). The etiology of secondary infections was similar in patients with and without thrombotic complications. Conclusions. In patients with COVID-19, thrombotic complications were associated with a high risk of secondary infections

Tassonomia integrata morfologica e molecolare di leptocefali del mare Adriatico.

La campagna scientifica di pesca profonda svolta dalla m/n Andrea dell\u2019Universit\ue0 di Bologna nel 2010 nell\u2019Adriatico meridionale ha permesso di collezionare un elevato numero di leptocefali di Anguilliformi. Il \u201cleptocefalo\u201d \ue8 una peculiare forma larvale dei Teleostei del superordine Elopomorpha, la cui caratterizzazione bio-ecologica risulta ancora oggi incompleta (Miller 2009). In particolare, la mancanza di chiavi dicotomiche esaustive limita la conoscenza tassonomica specifica dei leptocefali del Mediterraneo. Questo lavoro ha l\u2019obiettivo di aggiornare la descrizione tassonomica di leptocefali pescati in Adriatico integrando la tradizionale analisi morfologica con quella genetica eseguita mediante DNA barcoding. Il DNA barcoding \ue8 una metodica molecolare basata sull\u2019analisi della variabilit\ue0 di un marcatore di sequenza universale (COI) che consente di ottenere una identificazione tassonomica a livello specifico in modo univoco (Hebert 2003 a,b; Ward 2005)

Visual search during motion perception

Eye movements during motion tracking or smooth pursuit have been widely investigated. However, it is still unclear how eye movements and motion perception system are related. We aim to analyze the pattern of gaze during coherent motion perception in absence of tracking at the very early stage of the motion perception process. Moreover, we would measure if good performances in motion perception are guided by specific gaze pattern. We measured the gaze in twenty-five healthy subjects using eye tracker system (SMI500) during motion perception tasks (coherent motion test), and during visual search of static elements (i.e. searching coloured dots within a group of white dots). The subjects are divided in two groups: good motion perception performers (scoring above the 50% of the total trials) and bad motion performers. The gaze is analyzed by means of specific parameters obtained from the eye movements recordings: the length of the eye movement track plotted on a bidimensional plane, the area of the confidence ellipse of the eye position, the standardized length (obtained by the ratio between the length and the area of the confidence ellipse), the flattening and the slope of the confidence ellipse. Significant differences in gaze patterns are found between motion perception and static visual search tasks. The gaze during motion perception is characterized by stronger flattening of confidence ellipse and longer length of eye movement track. The good performers have significantly longer length and standardized length of the eye movements track as compared to bad performers. These results show that the motion detection requires longer gaze path with respect to static visual search and that the path length is longer in good than in bad performers. In conclusion, the efficiency in motion detection is related to longer length of the gaze path (i.e. mean velocity) more than to the area scanned by the different gaze positions

First Record Of Leptocephali Of The False Moray, Chlopsis Bicolor Rafinesque 1810 Actinopterygii, Anguilliformes, Chlopsidae) From The Adriatic Sea: Morphological And Molecular Identification.

Leptocephali are the characteristic larval forms of the superorder Elopomorpha, very difficult to identify at the species level and sharing few or no characters with the respective adult forms. In this study we used DNA barcoding coupled to classical taxonomy for the species identification of Chlopsis bicolor (Rafinesque, 1810) leptocephali. In the Mediterranean some individuals of C. bicolor in developmental stage, collected along the Sicilian shore of the Messina Strait, were already identified and their detailed morphological descriptions were provided. However, very few specimens of C. bicolor from the Adriatic Sea have been reported and this work represents the first record of its larval form. Three leptocephali of the false moray C.bicolor were morphologically identified among other eel larvae collected during scientific cruises performed in South Adriatic between 2010 and 2012. Moreover we sequenced a 655bp region of COI (cytochrome c oxidase I) in addition to classical taxonomy to provide a larval barcode voucher for species identification. COI barcoding has proven to be successful in larval fish identification, revealing also a good performance as a diagnostic method for the identification of leptocephali. Anyway, the limited number of anguilliform species annotated in the reference databases (Barcode of Life Data Systems and GenBank) allowed us to validate our barcode only at the family level (Chlopsidae). Nevertheless, the morphological description provided in this work together with the barcode sequence published in the project \u2018Barcoding of the Adriatic Leptocephali\u2019 (BAL) on the Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD, http://www.barcodinglife.org), represent a useful contribution to the knowledge of this species

Complementing morphological classification of Anguilliform leptocephali with DNA barcoding

DNA barcoding is a molecular tool that enables rapid and accurate identification of biological species by sequencing a short, standardized region of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase I ( COI) as internal species tag. The aim of the present study was to use DNA barcoding in addition to classical taxonomy in order to obtain a more reliable species-identification of leptocephali, the characteristic larval forms of the superorder Elopomorpha, often difficult to identify and to match with their adult stage. Based on the examination of external morphology, meristics, and pigmentation, 2785 leptocephalus larvae collected in the Adriatic Sea between 2010 and 2012, were ascribed to 7 morphotypes, belonging to Anguilliform order (Ariosoma balearicum, Conger conger, Gnathophis mystax, Nettastoma melanurum, Dalophis imberbis, Chlopsis bicolor, Facciolella sp.) and 69 specimens were sequenced for a 655 bp region of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI) to confirm the previous morphological analysis. The highly consistent results obtained revealed a good performance of COI barcoding as a diagnostic method for the identification of these larvae, but the limited number of leptocephali species annotated in the reference databases for barcode (Barcode of Life Data Systems and GenBank) allowed to validate only partially the morphological analysis. Moreover two species, Gnathophis mystax and Facciolella sp., showed unexpected outcomes. The data obtained in this work represent the first results of a wider project aimed at the creation of a new barcode database for the assessment of leptocephali diversity in the Mediterranean Sea (Barcoding of the Adriatic Leptocephali [BAL]), contributing to the knowledge of these unusual larvae and of their adult forms

L'effetto Simon: il suo decorso temporale con stimoli visivi e risposte oculo-motorie

L’effetto Simon consiste in una prestazione più veloce ed accurata quando la posizione della risposta corrisponde alla posizione dello stimolo anche se questa non è rilevante per il compito. Il presente lavoro ha studiato l’emergere dell’effetto Simon e il suo decorso temporale con stimoli visivi e risposte oculo-motorie utilizzando un paradigma di tipo standard: stimoli e risposte condividevano infatti una relazione anatomico-spaziale. I risultati hanno mostrato un effetto (1) ampio e significativo sia nei tempi di reazione saccadici che negli errori e (2) con un decorso temporale descrescente, supportando l’ipotesi che esso sia dovuto ad un meccanismo visuomotorio

Microwave Devices for Wearable Sensors and IoT

The Internet of Things (IoT) paradigm is currently highly demanded in multiple scenarios and in particular plays an important role in solving medical-related challenges. RF and microwave technologies, coupled with wireless energy transfer, are interesting candidates because of their inherent contactless spectrometric capabilities and for the wireless transmission of sensing data. This article reviews some recent achievements in the field of wearable sensors, highlighting the benefits that these solutions introduce in operative contexts, such as indoor localization and microwave sensing. Wireless power transfer is an essential requirement to be fulfilled to allow these sensors to be not only wearable but also compact and lightweight while avoiding bulky batteries. Flexible materials and 3D printing polymers, as well as daily garments, are widely exploited within the presented solutions, allowing comfort and wearability without renouncing the robustness and reliability of the built-in wearable sensor