The psychosocial impact of assistive device scale: Italian validation in a cohort of nonambulant people with neuromotor disorders

The importance of adaptive seating system on body structure and function is widely accepted, but its impact on psychosocial aspects needs more consideration by health professionals. This article describes the Italian validation of the Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Device Scale (IT-PIADS) for non-ambulant people with neuromotor disorders. Once agreement has been given by the original authors, the scale was translated and adapted to the Italian culture. The IT-PIADS was administered to different wheelchairs users with heterogeneous diagnosis. The internal consistency and test-retest reliability were examined. Its concurrent validity was evaluated with the Italian version of the WheelCon-M-SF. The IT-PIADS was administered to 87 subjects. Cronbach's α was 0.92 (p < 0.05), and the testretest reliability (ICC) for competence, adaptability and self-esteem subscales were 0.96, 0.90, 0.93 respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient of the IT-PIADS with the WheelCon-M-I-SF scores showed significant data for competence and adaptability subscales. Psychosocial perception on assistive devices can be reliably measure. The IT-PIADS showed good psychometric properties and it is possible to confirm its validity for clinical and research purposes. Nevertheless, before using this measure with greater confidence, further psychometric properties tests of the IT-PIADS are recommended

Enhanced RF Behavior Multi-Layer Thermal Insulation

Abstract This paper shows that it is possible to exploit the modulated metasurface concept to control the unwanted coupling between antennas that are installed on the same satellite. The metasurface is combined with a Multi-Layer thermal Insulation blanket to reduce its specular reflection by spreading the energy incoherently in the surrounding space. In the design, sub-wavelength radiating elements printed on thin substrate have been used to make the metasurface response azimuthally independent, and to keep the weight of blanket down. The comparison between simulations and measurements confirms the validity of the idea

Defect tolerance of a gamma titanium aluminide alloy

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Reentry vehicles: evaluation of plasma effects on RF propagation

In the frame of communication technology relevant to the re-entry vehicles, the communication black-out occurring in the presence of plasma is one of the main challenging issues. The re-entry plasma is a complex physical system, where the ionization derives from a shock-wave and non-equilibrium phenomena. As discussed elsewhere, the time scales of plasma dynamics (including its evolution along mission trajectory) and radio wave propagation are well separated so that radio wave propagation is solved at an appropriate number of time "snapshots" in which plasma dynamics is held unchanged and considered as known. In this activity, a consistent effort has been devoted to model the electromagnetic problem. For the involved range of oprative frequencies and expected densities, the plasma can be considered as an inhomogeneous dielectric. The associated electromagnetic problem is solved in two steps, via use of the field equivalence principle. The vehicle-plasma system is substituted by equivalent (Love's) currents on its boundary, radiating in free space; the fields at the boundary are obtained by solving the propagation problem from the antenna, installed on the spacecraft, up to the plasma boundary, through the Eikonal approximation. Radiation is then obtained without further approximations. Unlike other well-known numerical methods (e.g. FEM), this technique is not intrinsecally limited by the electrical dimension of the vehicle-plasma system. This enables to analyze high frequency problems. Since the formation of the re-entry plasma critically depends on the re-entry vehicle shape and kinematics, the related model has been directly derived from the output data of the Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations. All the results of the above mentioned activities have been collected in a new software, the AIPT (Antenna In Plasma Tool, integrated into ADF-EMS Antenna Design Framework Electromagnetic Satellite) able to predict the electromagnetic propagation in the presence of plasm

Immunohistochemical evidence of a cytokine and chemokine network in three patients with Erdheim-Chester disease: Implications for pathogenesis.

OBJECTIVE: Erdheim-Chester disease (ECD) is a rare form of non-Langerhans' cell histiocytosis (LCH) of unknown etiology, characterized by diffuse histiocyte infiltration of bones and soft tissue. The purpose of this study was to assess cell proliferation and expression of cytokines, chemokines, and chemokine receptors that may potentially be important in histiocyte accumulation in ECD lesions. METHODS: Biopsies were performed on 3 patients with ECD. The diagnosis of the disease was based on clinical signs including typical radiologic osteosclerosis, and on the detection of foamy CD68+,CD1a- non-Langerhans' cell histiocytes on histologic examination. The expression of the proliferation marker Ki-67 as well as of selected chemokine/chemokine receptor pairs and cytokines was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: In all samples, Ki-67 was undetectable in CD68+ histiocytes. Conversely, these cells expressed the chemokines CCL2 (monocyte chemotactic protein 1), CCL4/macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta (MIP-1beta), CCL5/RANTES, CCL20/MIP-3alpha, and CCL19/MIP-3beta, and their counter-receptors CCR1, CCR2, CCR3, CCR5, CCR6, and CCR7. Moreover, ECD histiocytes expressed interferon-gamma-inducible 10-kd protein (CXCL10), which is specifically induced by interferon-gamma, and interleukin-6 and RANKL, which are both implicated in bone remodeling. Finally, all cases showed a Th1-type lymphocyte infiltrate. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that, similar to LCH, ECD lesions are characterized by a complex cytokine and chemokine network, which may orchestrate histiocyte activation and accumulation through an autocrine loop and contribute to the pathogenesis of the disease

Reentry vehicles: evaluation of plasma effects on RF propagation

In the frame of communication technology relevant to the re-entry vehicles, the communication black-out occurring in the presence of plasma is one of the main challenging issues. The re-entry plasma is a complex physical system, where the ionization derives from a shock-wave and non-equilibrium phenomena. As discussed elsewhere, the time scales of plasma dynamics (including its evolution along mission trajectory) and radio wave propagation are well separated so that radio wave propagation is solved at an appropriate number of time "snapshots" in which plasma dynamics is held unchanged and considered as known. In this activity, a consistent effort has been devoted to model the electromagnetic problem. For the involved range of oprative frequencies and expected densities, the plasma can be considered as an inhomogeneous dielectric. The associated electromagnetic problem is solved in two steps, via use of the field equivalence principle. The vehicle-plasma system is substituted by equivalent (Love's) currents on its boundary, radiating in free space; the fields at the boundary are obtained by solving the propagation problem from the antenna, installed on the spacecraft, up to the plasma boundary, through the Eikonal approximation. Radiation is then obtained without further approximations. Unlike other well-known numerical methods (e.g. FEM), this technique is not intrinsecally limited by the electrical dimension of the vehicle-plasma system. This enables to analyze high frequency problems. Since the formation of the re-entry plasma critically depends on the re-entry vehicle shape and kinematics, the related model has been directly derived from the output data of the Computational Fluid Dynamics simulations. All the results of the above mentioned activities have been collected in a new software, the AIPT (Antenna In Plasma Tool, integrated into ADF-EMS Antenna Design Framework Electromagnetic Satellite) able to predict the electromagnetic propagation in the presence of plasma

Rna interference strategies for future management of plant pathogenic fungi: Prospects and challenges

Plant pathogenic fungi are the largest group of disease-causing agents on crop plants and represent a persistent and significant threat to agriculture worldwide. Conventional approaches based on the use of pesticides raise social concern for the impact on the environment and human health and alternative control methods are urgently needed. The rapid improvement and extensive implementation of RNA interference (RNAi) technology for various model and non-model organisms has provided the initial framework to adapt this post-transcriptional gene silencing technology for the management of fungal pathogens. Recent studies showed that the exogenous application of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules on plants targeting fungal growth and virulence-related genes provided disease attenuation of pathogens like Botrytis cinerea, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Fusarium graminearum in different hosts. Such results highlight that the exogenous RNAi holds great potential for RNAi-mediated plant pathogenic fungal disease control. Production of dsRNA can be possible by using either in-vitro or in-vivo synthesis. In this review, we describe exogenous RNAi involved in plant pathogenic fungi and discuss dsRNA production, formulation, and RNAi delivery methods. Potential challenges that are faced while developing a RNAi strategy for fungal pathogens, such as off-target and epigenetic effects, with their possible solutions are also discussed

Double-Stranded RNA Targeting Dicer-Like Genes Compromises the Pathogenicity of Plasmopara viticola on Grapevine

Downy mildew caused by Plasmopara viticola is one of the most devastating diseases of grapevine, attacking all green parts of the plant. The damage is severe when the infection at flowering stage is left uncontrolled. P. viticola management consumes a significant amount of classical pesticides applied in vineyards, requiring efficient and environmentally safe disease management options. Spray-induced gene silencing (SIGS), through the application of exogenous double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), has shown promising results for the management of diseases in crops. Here, we developed and tested the potential of dsRNA targeting P. viticola Dicer-like (DCL) genes for SIGS-based crop protection strategy. The exogenous application of PvDCL1/2 dsRNA, a chimera of PvDCL1 and PvDCL2, highly affected the virulence of P. viticola. The reduced expression level of PvDCL1 and PvDCL2 transcripts in infected leaves, treated with PvDCL1/2 dsRNA, was an indication of an active RNA interference mechanism inside the pathogen to compromise its virulence. Besides the protective property, the PvDCL1/2 dsRNA also exhibited a curative role by reducing the disease progress rate of already established infection. Our data provide a promising future for PvDCL1/2 dsRNA as a new generation of RNA-based resistant plants or RNA-based agrochemical for the management of downy mildew disease in grapevine

Allele frequency of two intragenic microsatellite loci of SEL1L gene in Northern Italy population

Two cytosine-adenine (CA) repeats CAR/CAL and RepIN20 occur in the human SEL1L gene, which is regarded as a candidate gene for insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and Grave's disease. We have characterized these repeats to determine if they might serve as effective microsatellite markers for linkage analysis to clarify whether SEL1L gene plays a role in the pathogenesis of these autoimmune diseases. The allele frequencies and average heterozygosity of the microsatellite repeats were analysed in 94 DNA samples from peripheral blood mononuclear (PBMC) cells from adults of Northern Italy. The average heterozygosity was 0.68 for CAR/CAL polymorphism and 0.85 for RepIN20. The size of PCR fragments of CAR/CAL ranged from 207\u2013225 bp and the most frequent allele was 207 bp (40.4%). The size of the fragments of RepIN20 ranged from 237\u2013255 bp and the most frequent allele was 249 bp (30.8%). In the light of the highly polymorphic nature of both microsatellites and their intragenic location in SEL1L gene, we suggest that they could provide a means for linkage analysis to clarify the potential role of SEL1L in conferring susceptibility to IDDM or Grave's disease

A fine physical map of the CACNA1A gene region on 19p13.1-p13.2 chromosome

The P/Q-type Ca(2+) channel alpha(1A) subunit gene (CACNA1A) was cloned on the short arm of chromosome 19 between the markers D19S221 and D19S179 and found to be responsible for Episodic Ataxia type 2, Familial Hemiplegic Migraine and Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 6. This region was physically mapped by 11 cosmid contigs spanning about 1. 4Mb, corresponding to less than 70% of the whole region. The cosmid contig used to characterize the CACNA1A gene accounted only for the coding region of the gene lacking, therefore, the promoter and possible regulation regions. The present study improves the physical map around and within the CACNA1A by giving a complete cosmid or BAC contig coverage of the D19S221-D19S179 interval. A number of new STSs, whether polymorphic or not, were characterized and physically mapped within this region. Four ESTs were also assigned to cosmids belonging to specific contigs