The effects of individualized and packaged mental training on dart throwing performance

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of individualized and packaged mental training (MT) programs on dart throwing performance and the development of psychological skills. [This is an excerpt from the abstract. For the complete abstract, please see the document.

Valutazione dell'efficacia di una nuova soluzione a base di Fentanyl transdermico per la gestione del dolore perioperatorio in corso di chirurgie ortopediche nel cane

Riassunto Obiettivo- valutazione dell’effetto analgesico dopo somministrazione transdermica di fentanyl per il controllo del dolore intra- e post-operatorio in cani sottoposti a chirurgie ortopediche. Materiali e Metodi- lo studio è stato effettuato su 12 cani di varie razze ed età, clinicamente sani, sottoposti a chirurgie neurologiche e ortopediche. Tutti i soggetti sono stati premedicati per via transdermica con fentanyl a 2,6 mg/kg 4 ore prima dell’inizio dell’anestesia. Durante queste 4 ore sono stati monitorati i valori di frequenza cardiaca (FC), frequenza respiratoria (FR), pressione arteriosa media (PAM) e temperatura (T°). I pazienti sono stati indotti con propofol EV e mantenuti con isofluorano in ossigeno. Durante l’anestesia e la chirurgia, oltre ai parametri di FC, FR, PAM e T° sono stati monitorati i seguenti valori basali: EtCO2, SpO2, EtIso ogni cinque minuti. In caso di aumento del 20% dei parametri cardiovascolari, è stato somministrato fentanyl EV. Alla fine della chirurgia sono stati indicati i seguenti tempi: ripresa del riflesso palpebrale, estubazione, sollevamento testa, decubito sternale e stazione quadrupedale. Nel post operatorio è stato valutato il dolore con scala del dolore Glasgow ogni 2 ore per le prima 8 ore, e ogni 4 ore per le successive 40 ore. In caso di punteggio ≥ a 5-6 i soggetti sono stati trattati con metadone a 0,1 mg/kg EV. Risultati-. Il propofol utilizzato per l’induzione è stato in media 5,3±2,1 mg/kg. Durante la chirurgia 3 cani su 12 hanno richiesto una analgesia aggiuntiva con fentanyl. Otto cani su 12 cani hanno richiesto una ventilazione controllata. Tre soggetti su dodici hanno ricevuto un’infusione di dopamina per mantenere una pressione arteriosa superiore a 60 mmHg. I tempi medi di estubazione, di comparsa di riflessi palpebrali, movimenti della testa, decubito sternale e stazione quadrupedale sono stati rispettivamente di: 8,25±7,78 minuti, 17,73±12,48 minuti, 20,85±13,73 minuti, 69,14±69,4 minuti, 109,6±108,8 minuti; un soggetto ha presentato un elevato grado di sedazione sia prima che dopo l’anestesia. Un soggetto ha richiesto una rescue analgesia nel postoperatorio effettuata con una unica somministrazione di metadone. Una lieve ipotermia è stata registrata nell’immediato postoperatorio in quasi tutti i pazienti. Due casi hanno mostrato una lieve ritenzione urinaria e riduzione dell’ingestione di cibo ed acqua. Conclusioni-questo studio ha dimostrato che la sola somministrazione transdermica di Recuvyra alla dose di 2.6 mg/kg 4 ore prima di un intervento chirurgico neurologico o ortopedico è sufficiente a garantire un’azione analgesica nel periodo postoperatorio ma può non essere sufficiente per il periodo intraoperatorio. ABSTRACT Objective-evaluation of the analgesic effectiveness of transdermal fentanyl solution for intra- and postoperative pain control during neurologic and orthopedic surgery in dogs Material and Methods-twelve healthy dogs of various breed and ages undergoing neurologic and orthopedic surgery were enrolled in this study. Dogs were premedicated with 2.6 mg/kg transdermic fentanyl solution 4 hours before the induction of anaesthesia. During this four hours heart rate (HR), respiratory rate (RR), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and temperature (T°) were monitored each hour. The patients were induced with propofol EV and maintained with isofluorane in oxygen. During anaesthesia and surgery, in addition to the parameter of HR, RR, MAP and T°, EtCO2, SpO2, EtIso were monitored every five minutes following baseline values. In the event of a 20% increase in cardiovascular parameter, fentanyl EV was administered. At the end of surgery the following recovery times were recorded: blink reflex, extubation, head lift, sternal recumbency and standing position. In the postoperative phase pain was assessed with the Glasgow pain scale every 2 hours for the first 8 hours and and every 4 hours for the next 40 hours. In the case of score ≥ 5-6 subjects were treated with methadone to 0.1 mg / kg IV. Results- Mean induction dose of propofol was 5.3±2.1 mg/kg. During the surgery 3 cases required rescue analgesia with fentanyl. Eight dogs received controlled mechanical ventilation. Three dogs received dopamine as agent for the MAP pressure maintenance. The mean recovery time recorded were 8.25±7.78 minutes for the blinking reflex, 17.73±12.48 minutes for the extubation, 20.85±13.73 minutes for the head lift, 69.14±69.4 minutes for the sternal recumbency and 109.6±108.8 minutes for the standing position. One dogs required a rescue analgesia with methadone in the postoperative period. A light hypothermia was assessed in the early postoperative phase in all the patients. In two cases urinary retention and food and water intake reduction was recorded. Conclusions- this study has shown that the only transdermal administration of Recuvyra at 2.6 mg / kg 4 hours before a neurological or orthopedic surgery is sufficient to ensure an analgesic in the postoperative period, whereas it could not be completely sufficient for the management of the intraoperative pain

Implementazione e analisi di un sistema di migrazione da CVS a Git realizzato presso Cineca

In questo lavoro di tesi si analizzano problemi legati ai sistemi di versionamento. In particolare, di metodi e tecniche per effettuare la migrazione dal sistema CVS a l sistema Git. Il lavoro di tesi è suddiviso in tre capitoli: - Nel primo viene presentato il problema, discusse le motivazioni che hanno portato alla necessità di effettuare una migrazione e presentate le principali funzionalità dei due sistemi di versionamento . - Nel secondo capitolo vendono presentate le soluzioni del problema con le relative tecniche utilizzate. Questo capitolo è stato suddiviso in due parti: nella prima vengono presentati gli strumenti utilizzati, le scelte operative per la migrazione, inoltre sono stati evidenziati i problemi riscontrati durante il processo. Nella seconda parte vengono presentati i risultati e le valutazioni del gruppo TAD dopo la migrazione: i vantaggi e gli svantaggi riscontrati. - Nel terzo capitolo vengono brevemente descritte le possibili evoluzioni

A Robotic Platform for Neurointervention

The purpose of this project is to remove surgeons during neuro-interventional procedures and allow them to teleoperate into the room. We have designed, fabricated, and tested a teleoperated - robotic platform capable of replicating the motion of an off-shelve medical device used during the procedure through real-time tracking and simultaneous motor control with an Arduino-ROS/MATLAB interface. In addition, the system is also equipped to handle functions like continuous wire feeding, making the platform more independent and functional in real-life scenarios. ​Doing this will improve the efficiency of the surgeons because they will no longer be exposed to high amounts of X-Ray radiation. Furthermore, the surgeons will no longer have to wear heavy lead vests because their exposure to radiation has significantly decreased

Improving the Lab-in-a-Box user experience for students in Liberia

To close gaps in access to STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) education and student learning in Liberia, Hawah V. Kamara (HVK) Children’s Foundation partnered with the Global Sustainable Aid Project (GSAP) organization to develop the Lab-in-a-Box system. The Lab-in-a-Box, an offline database, allows teachers and students in remote areas with limited Internet access to access teaching and learning materials. Our team partnered with HVK to improve the user experience for teachers and students, identify a new content management platform with login and monitoring systems, add new educational content, improve the bandwidth and battery of the system, and develop training programs to instruct onsite staff in setting up and operating the system

Responses to COVID-19 threats: An evolutionary psychological analysis.

Responses to COVID-19 public health interventions have been lukewarm. For example, only 64% of the US population has received at least two vaccinations. Because most public health interventions require people to behave in ways that are evolutionarily novel, evolutionary psychological theory and research on mismatch theory, the behavioral immune system, and individual differences can help us gain a better understanding of how people respond to public health information. Primary sources of threat information during the pandemic (particularly in early phases) were geographic differences in morbidity and mortality statistics. We argue that people are unlikely to respond to this type of evolutionarily novel information, particularly under conditions of high uncertainty. However, because individual differences affect threat perceptions, some individual differences will be associated with threat responses. We conducted two studies (during Phase 1 and 2 years later), using data from primarily public sources. We found that state-level COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates had no relationship with mental health symptoms (an early indicator of how people were responding to the pandemic), suggesting that people—in general—were not attending to this type of information. This result is consistent with the evolutionary psychological explanation that statistical information is likely to have a weak effect on the behavioral immune system. We also found that individual differences (neuroticism, IQ, age, and political ideology) affected how people responded to COVID-19 threats, supporting a niche-picking explanation. We conclude with suggestions for future research and suggestions for improving interventions and promoting greater compliance