ANALYSIS OF NARROWBAND INTERFERENCE IN AN ULTRA-WIDEBAND AUTO-CORRELATION RECEIVER

I sistemi UWB sono una tecnologia piuttosto nuova e molto promettente per le comunicazioni wireless; si basano sul concetto di utilizzo di una banda molto larga, ottenuta trasmettendo impulsi molto brevi (dell'ordine dei nanosecondi). Alcune delle caratteristiche principali, che dipendono dalla banda molto ampia, sono la possibile notevole capacita', la possibilita' di gestire facilmente l'accesso multiplo, e quindi di permettere a numerosi utenti di condividere lo stesso canale, e la risoluzione temporale molto fine. Dal momento che questa tecnologia innovativa e' in fase di sviluppo, i problemi ancora da risolvere sono numerosi; uno dei tanti riguarda l'interferenza a banda stretta: la banda assegnata ai sistemi UWB e' attualmente gia' occupata da sistemi precedenti, come GPS, wireless LAN e Bluetooth, che sono a banda stretta, per cui le normative impongono ai sistemi UWB di trasmettere a potenza molto bassa, in modo da non interferire con i sistemi preesistenti. Allo stesso modo i sistemi a banda stretta possono interferire sulls trasmissione UWB e quindi sono necessari dei metodi per la risoluzione di questo problema

Psychic euosmia and obsessive compulsive personality disorder

Patients with obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) often refer to a prompt mood improvement upon encountering good scents in general, or fresh laundry borax on their clothes, pillows or home settings. The Authors propose the new term psychic euosmia in the mean of an overstated psychological predisposition for a real pleasant smell that elicits an immediate sense of pleasure, order and calm. The prompt reactions to a pleasant odor might be explained by the involvement of rhinencephalon and its proximity to mood-related limbic circuits, which bypass the cognitive awareness. Cleanliness may not preclude a subject to enjoy a good smell, even if we are representing smells that resemble freshness, in other words order. A potentially even more important argument is given by the continuum of personality disorders and their variability. Not all personality characteristics led to disturbed behaviors. In evolutionary perspectives having the ability to differentiate between unpleasant and pleasant odors should have made the difference in surviving. On the other hand, psychic euosmia could be considered a normal reaction, but in our clinical experience it is over-represented among OCPD subjects with marked orderliness and disgust. Therefore, detecting psychic euosmia might vicariously confirm the relevance of disgust as a cognitive driver of OCPD. Hereby we support research to characterize psychic euosmia as a feature of orderliness and cleanliness for OCPD

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in Movement Disorders. A Review

In addition to motor symptoms, patients with movement disorders often complain of psychiatric disturbances, including mood, anxiety, and impulse-control disorders and psychosis. These abnormalities are often misdiagnosed and left untreated, thus resulting in a worse prognosis and lower quality of life. Besides the use of standard pharmacological treatments, psychiatric abnormalities can be treated by means of nonpharmacological approaches. These approaches include various types of psychological therapies, the most widely used being cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). We reviewed all articles, conducted until 2014, that contained primary data derived from clinical trials and case reports on the effect of CBT in the most common movement disorders. One randomized, controlled study and several uncontrolled studies on the efficacy of CBT in Parkinson's disease (PD) have shown a short-term benefit of depression and anxiety. In Tourette's syndrome (TS), CBT has been assessed in a number of large controlled clinical trials that have demonstrated an improvement in psychiatric disturbances and tics. There are no controlled studies on the efficacy of CBT in other types of movement disorders, such as dystonia, Huntington's disease, and essential tremor. Only a limited number of studies have evaluated the efficacy of CBT in the management of psychiatric disorders in movement disorders. The evidence available suggests that CBT is useful in TS and probably useful in PD. We recommend the planning of randomized, controlled clinical trials to investigate the effects of CBT and group CBT in the treatment of psychiatric disturbances in movement disorders

Canine Trypanosoma cruzi infection in the Bolivian Chaco

A cross-sectional study on Trypanosoma cruzi was carried out in 2013 to evaluate the role of dogs as possible source of infection for humans in two rural communities of the highly endemic Bolivian Chaco (Bartolo, Chuquisaca Department, n = 57 dogs; and Ivamirapinta, Santa Cruz Department, n = 48 dogs). Giemsa-stained thick and thin smears, rapid immunochromatographic test (ICT) (Chagas Quick test, Cypress Diagnostic, Belgium) and polymerase chain reaction for T. cruzi on dried blood spots were performed. All smears proved negative by microscopic examination, whereas 23/103 (22%) were positive by ICT and 5/105 (5%) blood samples contained T. cruzi DNA, evidencing the potential role of dogs in the domestic transmission of the parasite

Innovative RFID Sensors for Internet of Things Applications

Radio-Frequency IDentification (RFID) devices and sensors are among the main innovations of the last years, with an enormous impact on the Internet of Things (IoT) physical communication layer as well as on logistics and robotics. The aim of the present paper is to review the main technologies available for RFID sensors, and to identify the corresponding state-of-the-art when these technologies are applied to realistic IoT scenarios. Firstly, the concepts of radio backscattering and harmonic backscattering are analyzed, highlighting the pros and cons of each approach. Then, state-of-the-art solutions are reported, and the performance of each of them are discussed, to provide an overview of the potential of RFID-based sensing in different scenarios

Efficacy of nicotine administration on obsessions and compulsions in OCD. a systematic review

Background: Preliminary studies have tested nicotine as a novel treatment for OCD patients who respond partially/ incompletely or not at all to frst and second-line treatment strategies, with the former represented by SSRIs or clomipramine, and the latter by switching to another SSRI, or augmentation with atypical antipsychotics, and/or combination with/switching to cognitive–behavioural therapy. Some studies found nicotine-induced reduction of obsessive thoughts and/or compulsive behaviour in OCD patients. We aimed to evaluate the efcacy of nicotine administration in OCD patients. Methods: We searched the PubMed, ScienceDirect Scopus, CINHAL, Cochrane, PsycINFO/PsycARTICLES, and EMBASE databases from inception to the present for relevant papers. The ‘Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses’ (PRISMA) standards were used. We included all studies focusing on the efects of nicotine administration on OCD patients’ obsessions or compulsions. Studies could be open-label, cross-sectional, randomized controlled trials, case series or case reports. Results: A total of fve studies could be included. Nicotine administration may ameliorate behavioural features and recurrent thoughts of severe, treatment-resistant OCD patients; however, in one study it was not associated with OC symptom improvement or cognitive enhancement across various executive function subdomains. Conclusions: Although encouraging, the initial positive response from the use of nicotine in OCD needs testing in large controlled studies. This, however, raises ethical issues related to nicotine administration, due to its addiction potential, which were not addressed in the limited literature we examined. As an alternative, novel treatments with drugs able to mimic only the positive efects of nicotine could be implemented

Human Babesiosis, Bolivia, 2013

To investigate human babesiosis in the Bolivian Chaco, in 2013 we tested blood samples from 271 healthy persons living in 2 rural communities in this region. Microscopy and PCR indicated that 3.3% of persons were positive for Babesia microti parasites (US lineage); seroprevalence was 45.7%. Appropriate screening should mitigate the risk for transfusion-associated babesiosis

Intestinal parasitic infections and associated epidemiological drivers in two rural communities of the Bolivian Chaco

Introduction: In 2013 a coproparasitological survey was carried out in two rural communities of the Bolivian Chaco to determine the prevalence of intestinal parasitic infections (IPIs) and to investigate on possible infection drivers through a questionnaire interview. Methodology: Faecal samples were examined by microscopy. Samples positive for Entamoeba histolytica complex and Blastocystis were molecularly examined to identify the species/subtypes involved. Results: The overall infection rate was 86%, identical in both communities and mostly due to protozoa. Soil-transmitted helminths were detected in <3% of children and adults. Discussion: The protozoa detected, including Blastocystis subtypes, indicate faecal contamination of the environment by both humans (as confirmed by the presence of Hymenolepis nana) and animals. Nested-PCR identified E. histolytica, thus signalling the possible occurrence of invasive amoebosis. Lack of safe water, environmental contamination, poor sanitation and hygiene, shared by both communities, are the main drivers of IPIs. In addition, unlike gender and socioeconomic factors, childhood (only for some species), crowding and cohabitation with animals proved to be further significant protozoon infection risk factors. Conclusions: These results highlight the need for the promotion of access to clean water, improved sanitation and better hygiene, thus reducing the frequency of preventive chemotherapy for STHs while continuing to monitor the population for possible recrudescence

Psychic euosmia among obsessive-compulsive personality disorder patients : a case control study

BACKGROUND: Psychic euosmia (PE) has been described as a supposed psychological predisposition for which pleasant smells elicit an immediate sense of pleasure, order and calmness in obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD). In this study we tried to verify the interpretation that PE is the counterpart of disgust that has been associated to contamination and moral purity. Disgust and morality are significantly associated in people with obsessive-compulsive personality traits. We expected that OCPD patients would experience higher levels of PE. AIM: To investigate the PE frequency in OCPD patients and healthy controls (HC) and to evaluate the relationship between PE and disgust. METHODS: A single-center, case-control study was conducted in an outpatient service for obsessive-compulsive and related disorders. The sample consisted of 129 subjects: 45 OCPD patients and 84 HC. In both groups we submitted the Disgust Scale Revised (DS-R) and the self-report Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Screening Personality Questionnaire to which we added an additional yes or no question to investigate the presence of PE. In order to verify differences between groups, t-test was employed for continuous variables and t-test for categorical variable; odds ratio was employed to analyze group differences in the PE survey. Correlation was explored with Pearson r correlations. RESULTS: No differences were observed between groups in gender composition or education. A slight significant difference was found in mean age (t = 1.988; P = 0.049). The present study revealed significantly higher proportions of PE among OCPD patients when compared to HC (OR: 5.3, 2.28-12.46). Patients with OCPD were more likely to report PE (n = 36; 80%) whereas a much lower proportion endorsed PE in the HC group (n = 36; 42.9%). Interestingly, no differences were observed between groups in mean score for the Disgust Scale. There was also no difference between the two groups in any of the Disgust Scale Revised subscales. Moreover, no significant correlations were observed in the OCPD group between PE and Disgust Scale Revised subscales. CONCLUSION: Results suggested that PE might be part of the clinical spectrum of OCPD, and it does not reflect the counterpart of disgust. This could also indicate that this phenomenon is a manifestation of orderliness or incompleteness. Further studies will need to be undertaken to better understand PE and its significance in OCPD

Association of traumatic events with levels of psychological distress and depressive symptoms in male asylum seekers and refugees resettled in Italy

Background: In recent years there has been a progressive rise in the number of asylum seekers and refugees displaced from their country of origin, with significant social, economic, public health and mental health implications. The aim of this study is to (1) describe the level of psychological distress and frequency of psychiatric disorders in a sample of male asylum seekers and refugees across different ethnic groups resettled in Italy; (2) establish whether the number of traumatic events experienced before, during and after the migration process is associated with level of psychological distress and depressive symptoms. Methods: In two large Italian catchment areas, over a period of 1 year a consecutive series of male asylum seekers and refugees, aged 18 or above and included in the Italian protection system, were screened for psychological distress and psychiatric disorders using validated questionnaires. Results: During the study period, 252 male asylum seekers or refugees were recruited. More than one-third of the participants (34.5%) showed clinically relevant psychological distress, and one-fourth (22.2%), met the criteria for a psychiatric diagnosis, mainly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and depressive disorders. The number of traumatic events turned out to be a risk factor for both clinically relevant psychological distress and depressive disorders. Receiving good social support emerged as a protective factor, while migrants with unclear status were at higher risk of psychological distress than those holding or awaiting a permission. Discussion: In an unselected sample of male asylum seekers and refugees, after around 1 year of resettlement in Italy, the frequency of psychological distress and psychiatric disorders was substantial and clinically relevant. The association between traumatic events, especially post-migration problems, and mental health conditions suggests the need of developing services to assist refugees and asylum seekers to address the multi-faceted problems they experience, such as social support in host country, legal problems concerning permit status and asylum procedure, and family reunification, as well as addressing trauma and mental health issues