Ataxia in children: early recognition and clinical evaluation

Background: Ataxia is a sign of different disorders involving any level of the nervous system and consisting of impaired coordination of movement and balance. It is mainly caused by dysfunction of the complex circuitry connecting the basal ganglia, cerebellum and cerebral cortex. A careful history, physical examination and some characteristic maneuvers are useful for the diagnosis of ataxia. Some of the causes of ataxia point toward a benign course, but some cases of ataxia can be severe and particularly frightening. Methods: Here, we describe the primary clinical ways of detecting ataxia, a sign not easily recognizable in children. We also report on the main disorders that cause ataxia in children. Results: The causal events are distinguished and reported according to the course of the disorder: acute, intermittent, chronic-non-progressive and chronic-progressive. Conclusions: Molecular research in the field of ataxia in children is rapidly expanding; on the contrary no similar results have been attained in the field of the treatment since most of the congenital forms remain fully untreatable. Rapid recognition and clinical evaluation of ataxia in children remains of great relevance for therapeutic results and prognostic counseling

Active primate simulator Final report

Systems engineering data and design specifications for Biosatellite active primate simulato

Cervical neurenteric cyst and Klippel-Feil syndrome: An abrupt onset of myelopathic signs in a young patient

Neurenteric cysts (NECs), also called enterogenous cysts or enterogenic cysts, are congenital malformative anomalies of endodermal origin that manifest with a variety of disorders, including spine anomalies. Neurenteric cysts are uncommon developmental disorders reported in 0.7%–1.3% of all spinal tumors. Klippel-Feil syndrome (KFS) defines a malformative spine disorder presenting with congenital fusion of cervical vertebrae and/or other parts of the spine. In patients with KFS, NECs are rarely reported; they may be silent for long periods of time, showing a slow progressive course or manifesting with an acute, severe neurological presentation or with fluctuating myelopathic symptoms. We report a young patient affected by KFS associated with a NEC which, in a short period of time, progressively caused myelopathic symptomatology. Surgical intervention resulted in resolution of the neurological signs. Keywords: Neurenteric cyst, Klippel-Feil syndrome, Intramedullary cys

Primary headaches in children: clinical findings on the association with other conditions.

The aim of the present study is to report on the frequency of some comorbidities in primary headaches in childhood. Two hundred and eighty children (175 males and 105 females; ratio 1.7:1), aged 4 to 14 years, affected by primary headaches were consecutively enrolled in this study. In direct interviews, parents and children gave information about the association of their headaches with different conditions including asthma and allergic disorders, convulsive episodes, sleep disorders and increased body weight, affections some time associated in the literature to headache as comorbidities. In addition, anxiety and depression, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, tics, learning disabilities and obsessive-compulsive disorders, using psycho-diagnostic scales were evaluated. Two hundred and eighty children matched for age, sex, race and socio-economic status, were used as controls. No significant association of primary headaches was found with asthma and allergic disorders, convulsive episodes, sleep disorders and increased body weight. Overall behavioral disorders were more common in children who experienced headache than in controls. A significant association of primary headache was found with anxiety and depression (p value <0.001), but not with the other psychiatric disorders. Primary headaches in children are not associated with most of the psychiatric and systemic conditions herein investigated. On the contrary, there was a significant association with anxiety and depression, as frequently reported in adults

I tumori del rene

non presente (capitolo di libro

Calibration of optical tweezers with positional detection in the back-focal-plane

We explain and demonstrate a new method of force- and position-calibration for optical tweezers with back-focal-plane photo detection. The method combines power spectral measurements of thermal motion and the response to a sinusoidal motion of a translation stage. It consequently does not use the drag coefficient of the trapped ob ject as an input. Thus, neither the viscosity, nor the size of the trapped ob ject, nor its distance to nearby surfaces need to be known. The method requires only a low level of instrumentation and can be applied in situ in all spatial dimensions. It is both accurate and precise: true values are returned, with small error-bars. We tested this experimentally, near and far from surfaces. Both position- and force-calibration were accurate to within 3%. To calibrate, we moved the sample with a piezo-electric translation stage, but the laser beam could be moved instead, e.g. by acousto-optic deflectors. Near surfaces, this precision requires an improved formula for the hydrodynamical interaction between an infinite plane and a micro-sphere in non-constant motion parallel to it. We give such a formula.Comment: Submitted to: Review of Scientific Instruments. 13 pages, 5 figures. Appendix added (hydrodynamically correct calibration

Dynamic Vehicle Routing for Robotic Systems

Recent years have witnessed great advancements in the science and technology of autonomy, robotics, and networking. This paper surveys recent concepts and algorithms for dynamic vehicle routing (DVR), that is, for the automatic planning of optimal multivehicle routes to perform tasks that are generated over time by an exogenous process. We consider a rich variety of scenarios relevant for robotic applications. We begin by reviewing the basic DVR problem: demands for service arrive at random locations at random times and a vehicle travels to provide on-site service while minimizing the expected wait time of the demands. Next, we treat different multivehicle scenarios based on different models for demands (e.g., demands with different priority levels and impatient demands), vehicles (e.g., motion constraints, communication, and sensing capabilities), and tasks. The performance criterion used in these scenarios is either the expected wait time of the demands or the fraction of demands serviced successfully. In each specific DVR scenario, we adopt a rigorous technical approach that relies upon methods from queueing theory, combinatorial optimization, and stochastic geometry. First, we establish fundamental limits on the achievable performance, including limits on stability and quality of service. Second, we design algorithms, and provide provable guarantees on their performance with respect to the fundamental limits.United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (Award FA 8650-07-2-3744)United States. Army Research Office. Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (Award W911NF-05-1-0219)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award ECCS-0705451)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Award CMMI-0705453)United States. Army Research Office (Award W911NF-11-1-0092