The role of the occupational therapist in disaster areas: systematic review

Background. Disasters are increasingly more frequent events on our planet. During disaster the role of the occupational therapist will require a more specific operative framework within nongovernmental organizations and community health services. Design. Systematic review. Objective. The aim of this study is to evaluate the evidence that highlight occupational therapist’s role in disaster area through a systematic review. Materials and Methods. Research on MEDLINE was performed. All articles from 2005 to 2015 concerning rehabilitation and occupational therapy in disaster areas were included. Results. Ten studies were selected to be included in this review. Four interesting points emerged: the importance of having rehabilitation intervention in postdisaster situations, the necessity to include a rehabilitation team in the early phase of disaster response, the need to provide a method to address the difficult evacuation, and finding the safest method of transport of people with preexisting disabilities and new injuries. Conclusions. The amount of evidence with respect to specific intervention of the occupational therapist’s role in a disaster situation is limited. However some evidence suggests that it could be a good means for reducing the number of medical complications and deaths of persons with preexisting disabilities. The evidences found highlight the necessity to create a multidisciplinary team addressing needs in disasters situation, in which the occupational therapist could certainly contribute

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

Effect of different lignocellulosic fibres on poly(ε-caprolactone)-based composites for potential applications in orthotics

This work compares the mechanical and thermal behaviour of fully biodegradable biocomposites based on polycaprolactone reinforced with three different natural fibres, namely hemp, sisal and coir, for potential applications in the field of orthoses. The same properties were further compared to those of two commercially available materials commonly used in the same prospective field. The results confirmed that the addition of natural fibres, irrespective of the origin of the fibres (leaf, bast or fruit) to a biodegradable matrix allows for significant improvement of the mechanical behaviour of the ensuing composites compared to traditional thermoplastic materials used in orthotics

Evaluation of the disciplinary competences of the students of the Bachelor's degree in Nursing at 'Sapienza' University of Rome through the TECO: A cross-sectional study

The objective of the study is to evaluate whether the TECO-D is a useful tool for measuring the skills acquired by students during three years of the nursing bachelor's degree course at the 'Sapienza' University of Rome. The sample was recruited between January and April 2018. The distribution of the scores for the TECO-D shows an increasing average (standard deviation) from 177.3 ± 28 in the first year up to 214.1 ± 18.5 for graduating students. The test is comprehensive by sampling all relevant disciplines in a curriculum, usually determined by a fixed blueprint. The evaluation of the single macro areas showed statistically significant data reflecting increasing knowledge regarding the progression of the skills. Because of this, we can say that the TECO-D is a great tool for determining student's knowledge in order to evaluate study programs

Large-scale risk analysis in the Arno river basin (Italy)

We present the methodologies adopted and the outcomes obtained in the analysis of landslide risk in the basin of the Arno River (Central Italy) in the framework of a project sponsored by the Basin Authority of the Arno River, started in the year 2002 and completed at the beginning of 2005. A new landslide inventory of the whole area was realized, using conventional (aerialphoto interpretation and field surveys) and non-conventional methods (e.g. remote sensing techniques such as DInSAR and PS-InSAR). The great majority of the mapped mass movements are rotational slides (75%), solifluctions and other shallow slow movements (17%) and flows (5%), while soil slips, and other rapid landslides, seem less frequent everywhere within the basin. The assessment of landslide hazard in terms of probability of occurrence in a given time, based for mapped landslides on direct and indirect observations of the state of activity and recurrence time, has been extended to landslide-free areas through the application of statistical methods implemented in an artificial neural network (ANN). Unique conditions units (UCU) were defined by the map overlay of landslide preparatory factors (lithology, land cover, slope gradient, slope curvature and upslope contributing area) and afterwards used to construct a series of model vectors for the training and test of the ANN. Model validation confirms that prediction results are very good, with an average percentage of correctly recognized mass movements of about 85%. The analysis also revealed the existence of a large number of unmapped mass movements, thus contributing to the completeness of the final inventory. Temporal hazard was estimated via the translation of state of activity in recurrence time and hence probability of occurrence. The definition of position, typology and characteristics of the elements at risk has been carried out with two different methodologies, partially derived from the “Plans d’Exposition au Risque” proposed in France: i) buildings and infrastructures were directly extracted from digital terrain cartography at the 1:10,000 scale, whilst ii) nonurban land use was identified and mapped based on an updated and improved CORINE land cover map at the 1:50,000 scale. The definition of the exposure of the elements at risk relies upon contingent valuation methods and form-based interviews. Landslide intensity, usually defined as proportional to kinetic energy, was obtained considering landslide typology as a proxy for expected velocity. In the case of the Arno River Basin the definition of intensity is influenced by the fact that the large majority of mass movements are deep-seated reactivated slides evolving into flows. Two main cases were so considered: deep-seated rotational slides and shallow flows or planar slides with virtually constant depth. In the latter case, intensity as a function of volume was set proportional to the area of the mapped phenomenon. In the former case, a simple geometric model was used to compute the volume. Intersection of hazard values with vulnerability and exposure figures, obtained by reclassification of digital vector mapping at 1:10,000 scale, lead to the definition of risk values for each terrain unit for different periods of time into the future. Numerical results indicate that in absence of mitigation measures, large economic losses must be expected due to landslide activity in the few next years. The final results of the research are now undergoing a process of integration and implementation within land planning and risk prevention policies and practices at local and national level

Crosscultural Validation of the Community Integration Questionnaire-Revised in an Italian Population

Objective. The aims of this study are the translation, cultural adaptation, and validation of the Community Integration Questionnaire-Revised (CIQ-R) in Italian in a group of individuals with no clinical evidence of disability. Methods. The test's internal consistency and validity were assessed by following international guidelines. The test's internal consistency was examined using Cronbach's alpha (α) coefficient. Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to assess the test's concurrent validity compared with the Short Form-12 (SF-12) health survey. Results. The CIQ-R was administrated to 400 people with no clinical evidence of disease, impairment, or disability, aged between 18 and 64. Cronbach's α reported a value of 0.82 in the home integration subscale. The test also showed a good test-retest reliability, with an Intraclass Correlation Coefficient of 0.78, and a significant correlation between the total score of the CIQ-R and the Physical Component Summary (PCS) of the SF-12 (r=0.118), between the "social integration"subscale's score and PCS12 (r=0.121) and between the "Electronic Social Networking integration"subscale's score and PCS12 (r=0.184), with p<0.05. Conclusion. This is the first study to report the results of the translation and validation of the CIQ-R in Italian. The CIQ-R is an important tool for Italian professionals and can be useful in both clinical practice and research for measuring the level of community integration among the healthy population

Proper Motion of Water Masers Associated with IRAS 21391+5802: Bipolar Outflow and an AU-Scale Dusty Circumstellar Shell

We present VLBA observations of water maser emission associated with the star-forming region IRAS 21391+5802, which is embedded in a bright rimmed cometary globule in IC1396. The angular resolution of the maps is about 0.8 mas, corresponding to a spatial resolution of about 0.6 AU, at an estimated distance of 750 pc. Proper motions are derived for 10 maser features identified consistently over three epochs, which were separated by intervals of about one month. The masers appear in four groups, which are aligned linearly on the sky, roughly along a northeast-southwest direction, with a total separation of about 520 AU (about 0.7 arcseconds). The 3-D velocities of the masers have a maximum value of about 42 km/s (about 9 AU/yr). The average error on the derived proper motions is about 4 km/s. The overall pattern of proper motions is indicative of a bipolar outflow. Proper motions of the masers in a central cluster, with a projected extent of about 20 AU, show systematic deviations from a radial outflow. However, we find no evidence of Keplerian rotation, as has been claimed elsewhere. A nearly circular loop of masers lies near the middle of the cluster. The radius of this loop is 1 AU and the line-of-sight velocities of the masers in the loop are within 2 km/s of the systemic velocity of the region. These masers presumably exist at the radial distance where significant dust condensation occurs in the outflow emanating from the star.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. Version 2.12.00: Astrometric coordinates of maser revise

Multiple Sources toward the High-mass Young Star S140 IRS1

S140 IRS1 is a remarkable source where the radio source at the center of the main bipolar molecular outflow in the region is elongated perpendicular to the axis of the outflow, an orientation opposite to that expected if the radio source is a thermal jet exciting the outflow. We present results of 1.3 cm continuum and H2O maser emission observations made with the VLA in its A configuration toward this region. In addition, we also present results of continuum observations at 7 mm and re-analyse observations at 2, 3.5 and 6 cm (previously published). IRS 1A is detected at all wavelengths, showing an elongated structure. Three water maser spots are detected along the major axis of the radio source IRS 1A. We have also detected a new continuum source at 3.5 cm (IRS 1C) located ~0.6'' northeast of IRS 1A. The presence of these two YSOs (IRS 1A and 1C) could explain the existence of the two bipolar molecular outflows observed in the region. In addition, we have also detected three continuum clumps (IRS 1B, 1D and 1E) located along the major axis of IRS 1A. We discuss two possible models to explain the nature of IRS 1A: a thermal jet and an equatorial wind.Comment: 17 pages, 4 figures, to be published in A

DESAIN SISTEM DOKUMENTASI TUGAS AKHIR OTOMATIS BERBASIS PENGOLAHAN CITRA DIGITAL HASIL AKUISISI WEBCAM DENGAN MENGGUNAKAN JST BACKPROPAGATION

ABSTRAKSI: Dengan meningkatnya jumlah mahasiswa yang lulus saat ini, maka semakin banyak pula tugas akhir mahsiswa yang dibuat. Ini mendorong dibuatnya suatu sistem yang dapat mendokumentasikan buku – buku tugas akhir mahasiswa secara cepat dan sederhana. Sistem dokumentasi yang dilakukan di perpustakaan fakultas teknik elektro dan komunikasi IT Telkom untuk tugas akhir ini adalah dengan cara manual, yaitu dengan mengetikkan data yang ada pada buku tugas akhir tersebut melalui keyboard.Dalam tugas akhir ini akan dibuat suatu sistem untuk mendokementasikan buku – buku tugas akhir mahasiswa IT Telkom. Proses pendokumentasian tersebut dilakukan melalui pengenalan pola karakter alfabet dari suatu citra dari akuisisi webcam dengan menggunakan jaringan syaraf tiruan Backpropagation. JST Backpropagation adalah suatu jaringan supervisi (jaringan syaraf yang membutuhkan target) yang memiliki karateristik multilayer dan memiliki fasa propagasi maju dan propagasi mundur dalam melatih polanya.Dalam pengujiannya citra yang diambil berasal dari webcam dengan resolusi 640x480. Pengujian terhadap sistem dilakukan dengan pencarian fungsi aktivasi terbaik untuk mengoptimalkan JST, kemudian menguji sistem terhadap empat bentuk font, dan empat format ukuran tulisan, menguji terhadap buku tugas akhir dengan font yang dianggap paling baik dengan mengubah parameter threshold preprocessing.Dalam pengujian kehandalan sistem dari huruf yang telah diekstrak cirinya tersebut terlihat bahwa font yang cocok digunakan terhadap sistem ini adalah arial dengan akurasi hingga 89% dengan nilai threshold rata – rata yang menghasilkan akurasi tertinggi berada pada nilai 100.Kata Kunci : JST, backpropagation, image processing,ekstraksi ciriABSTRACT: With the increasing number of students who graduated today, so more final task is created. This push made a system that can document the books quickly and simply. Documentation system that is in the library faculty of electrical engineering and communications IT Telkom is manually, by typing the data from the book via the keyboard.In this final task will be made documentation system for final task book IT Telkom students. Documentation process is done through pattern recognition alphabet characters from a webcam image acquisition by using artificial neural networks Backpropagation. ANN Backpropagation is a supervised network (neural networks that require targets) that have characteristic multilayer and a propagation phase propagation forward and backward in the training pattern.In a test image taken from a webcam with 640x480 resolution. Testing of the system is done by searching the best activation function to optimize the ANN, and then test the system against the four forms of fonts, and text size of four formats, testing the book with the final task the font is best considered by changing the threshold preprocessing parameter.In the reliability testing of the system that has been extracted characters can be seen that the character that font matches used for this system is the arial with an accuracy up to 89% with the average threshold value - the average yield at the highest accuracy value 100.Keyword: JST, backpropagation, image processing, feature extractio