Symptoms of anxiety and depression and their relationship with barriers to physical activity in patients with intermittent claudication

OBJECTIVES: Although the practice of physical exercise in patients with intermittent claudication (IC) is often encouraged, adherence is low. The difficulty in performing physical training may be related to the psychological characteristics of patients with claudication. To verify the association between anxiety and depression symptoms and barriers to physical exercise and walking capacity in patients with IC. METHODS: One-hundred and thirteen patients with a clinical diagnosis of IC were included in the study. Patients underwent clinical evaluation by a vascular surgeon, answered the Beck Depression Inventory, and Beck Anxiety Inventory tests were applied by the psychologist. The patients performed the 6-minute test and reported their barriers to physical activity practice in a questionnaire. RESULTS: Patients with signs of depression had a shorter pain-free walking distance (p=0.015) and total walking distance (p=0.035) compared to patients with no signs of depression. Pain-free walking distance (p=0.29) and total walking distance (p=0.07) were similar between patients with and without signs of anxiety. Patients with symptoms of moderate to severe depression reported more barriers to physical activity practice compared to patients without signs of depression. CONCLUSION: Symptoms of anxiety and depression are prevalent among patients with peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAD). Depression symptoms are associated with personal barriers to exercise, while anxiety symptoms are not. The main barriers to physical activity among patients with IC are exercise-induced pain and the presence of other diseases

COVID-19 symptoms at hospital admission vary with age and sex: results from the ISARIC prospective multinational observational study

Background: The ISARIC prospective multinational observational study is the largest cohort of hospitalized patients with COVID-19. We present relationships of age, sex, and nationality to presenting symptoms. Methods: International, prospective observational study of 60 109 hospitalized symptomatic patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 recruited from 43 countries between 30 January and 3 August 2020. Logistic regression was performed to evaluate relationships of age and sex to published COVID-19 case definitions and the most commonly reported symptoms. Results: ‘Typical’ symptoms of fever (69%), cough (68%) and shortness of breath (66%) were the most commonly reported. 92% of patients experienced at least one of these. Prevalence of typical symptoms was greatest in 30- to 60-year-olds (respectively 80, 79, 69%; at least one 95%). They were reported less frequently in children (≤ 18 years: 69, 48, 23; 85%), older adults (≥ 70 years: 61, 62, 65; 90%), and women (66, 66, 64; 90%; vs. men 71, 70, 67; 93%, each P < 0.001). The most common atypical presentations under 60 years of age were nausea and vomiting and abdominal pain, and over 60 years was confusion. Regression models showed significant differences in symptoms with sex, age and country. Interpretation: This international collaboration has allowed us to report reliable symptom data from the largest cohort of patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Adults over 60 and children admitted to hospital with COVID-19 are less likely to present with typical symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are common atypical presentations under 30 years. Confusion is a frequent atypical presentation of COVID-19 in adults over 60 years. Women are less likely to experience typical symptoms than men

Giovanni Sacchi. La bottega dei modelli per il design. Catalogo della mostra

La mostra fotografica di cui Dal Falco ha curato l'allestimento e con Antonio Paris e Felice Ragazzo la cura scientifica del catalogo è dedicata al più importante modellista italiano del novecento la cui singolare attività è stata connotata da una grande capacità interpretativa e rigore. La mostra propone una selezione di modelli in legno di cirmolo conservati presso la Collezione Permanente del Design della Triennale di Milano costruiti da Sacchi nell’arco di 50 anni distinti in tre sezioni e organizzati in ordine cronologico. Quest’omaggio al lavoro di Sacchi è anche occasione per riflettere sul significato della creatività e dell’innovazione nel design che da un lato non possono prescindere dalla storia e dall’altro devono confrontarsi con nuove tecnologie quali la prototipazione rapida. Alla mostra hanno aderito le istituzioni: Università La Sapienza di Roma, Dipartimento Itaca - Sezione Arti, Design e Nuove Tecnologie, Collezione permanente del design italiano della Triennale di Milano, Factory LSD Roma Design più II edizione, Corso di Laurea in Disegno Industriale, Rivista diid Disegno Industriale, con il patrocinio della Provincia e del Comune di Roma e dell’Adi Associazione per il Disegno industriale

Dynamic path planning in human-shared environments for low-resource mobile agents

Mobile agents are widely employed in industrial applications. However, in an environment where humans and robots coexist, the robot should be able to navigate autonomously while safely avoiding moving obstacles, especially human operators. In this paper, we propose a dynamic path planner providing an additional costmap layer in which the area around the detected human is inflated by a Gaussian cost. The latter is proportional to the obstacle's speed and orientation, leading to a safer avoidance behaviour during navigation. The algorithm, suitable for low-resource mobile agents, has been developed in ROS1 and then experimentally validated on the Locobot mobile manipulator in a laboratory environment

A software architecture for low-resource autonomous mobile manipulation

Mobile manipulators can significantly contribute to enhance the flexibility of several processes, such as automated order-picking systems and various logistic applications, thanks to their capability to manipulate objects and deliver them to different locations. A primary role is envisaged for them in Smart Factories, as workmates of the operators, if they are able to safely navigate in human-shared environments. This paper proposes a lightweight and flexible ROS1-based software architecture, designed for low-resource mobile manipulators, to make them able to autonomously search for the items requested by a human operator, independently from the starting pose, and pick and place them in a predefined depot location. The validity of the proposed architecture, which is potentially applicable to different low-resource mobile manipulators, is proven through its experimental implementation on a Locobot mobile robot

Prevalence of Metabolic Syndrome in Patients With Intermittent Claudication and its Correlation With the Segment of Arterial Obstruction

The metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Intermittent claudication reflects the presence of peripheral arterial disease (PAD). The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of the MetS in claudicants and its correlation with age, gender, localization of arterial obstruction, and symptomatic coronary disease. Patients (n = 170) with intermittent claudication were studied. The mean age was 65 years (33-89). Metabolic syndrome was diagnosed in 98 patients (57.6%). The mean age of patients with MetS was 63.5 years compared with 67.0 years for patients without MetS (P = .027). Considering patients aged >= 65 years, MetS was present in 46 (48.9%) individuals and in 52 (68.4%) patients younger than 65 years (P = .011). Metabolic syndrome must be actively searched for in claudicant patients

Rehabilitation of Peripheral Neuropathies: From Lexical Analysis of the Literature to Identification of Clinical Protocols

Peripheral nervous system diseases are a complex and heterogenous group of diseases affecting the different nerves with various severity and impact on quality of life. The current literature does not provide a structured guide for the rehabilitation of these conditions. We performed a lexical literature evaluation based on graph theory to clarify this topic. We performed a search on PubMed and calculated the frequencies of the words indicating rehabilitation approaches, nerves, and diseases. We found the usefulness of exercises and different physical agents, like laser and ultrasound therapy and neuromuscular stimulation vibration therapy. Orthoses are useful for entrapment, trauma, and hereditary diseases. Correct knowledge and assessment of the neuropathies are fundamental for the therapeutic decision and to guide rehabilitation. Despite the usefulness shown by the different approaches to modulating pain, improving muscle strength and endurance, and ameliorating balance and the sensory system, further studies are needed to define the best-personalized protocols

New chitosan salt in gastro-resistant oral formulation could interfere with enteric bile salts emulsification of diet fats: preliminary laboratory observations and physiologic rationale.

none10Fratter A.; Frare C.; Uras G.; Bonini M.; Casari Bariani E.; Ragazzo B.; Gaballo P.; Longobardi P.; Codemo C.; Paoli A.Fratter, A.; Frare, C.; Uras, G.; Bonini, M.; Casari Bariani, E.; Ragazzo, B.; Gaballo, P.; Longobardi, P.; Codemo, C.; Paoli, A