Social capital components and social support of persons with multiple sclerosis: a systematic review of the literature from 2000 to 2018

Purpose: To identify experiences of persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) in terms of social capital and its components (i.e., social networks, trust, and interpersonal relationships) and social support based on the current scientific knowledge. Methods: Systematic literature review was conducted through PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest, and PsycINFO. Included articles were published from 2000 to 2018 and met specific selection criteria. Screening of records determined eligible studies for inclusion to data extraction and synthesis process. Results: A total of 551 abstracts were screened, of which 34 studies met all selection criteria. The themes that emerged referred to the impact of physical and cognitive impairments on social functioning, stigma, psychosocial, emotional and mental challenges, association of quality of life with social capital components and social support, and contribution of social support to improvement of social functioning and health of persons with MS. Persons with MS face a series of issues regarding social support and social capital-related components, primarily facing psychological difficulties, difficulties with making and maintaining interpersonal relationships, and limitations for participating in social and daily activities due to the symptoms of MS, particularly fatigue. Conclusion: It appears that the ability to seek and maintain social relationships and to participate in social and daily activities is important for persons with MS. This has an impact on their quality of life, as well as on their health functioning, however issues around mobility and stigmatization of their condition hinder their social functioning

L’ambiente carsico e l’idrogeologia dei gessi di Sassalbo (MS)

Nel Canale dell’Acqua Torbida (Alta Lunigiana), si trova il maggiore affioramento di evaporiti triassiche della Toscana. Rispetto ai gessi dell’Alta val Secchia (RE), di cui sono il lembo meridionale, appaiono molto meno tettonizzati. L’area carsica, che comprende in prevalenza calcari cavernosi, ha una superficie complessiva di circa 2,2 km2 in cui sono ben rappresentate forme carsiche superficiali, sia macro che micro. Anche i fenomeni carsici sotterranei sembrano essere ben sviluppati: la loro genesi è stata attribuita a periodi di avanzata e arretramento dei ghiacciai durante l’ultimo glaciale. Attualmente nel catasto toscano sono registrate 5 cavità, di cui 4 rilevate. Nell’ambito del Progetto Trias II (studio interdisciplinare svolto dalla Società Speleologica Italiana per conto del Parco Nazionale dell’Appennino Tosco-Emiliano) è stato possibile studiare l’area dal punto di vista morfologico, speleologico e idrochimico, monitorando in continuo alcune delle principali risorgenti carsiche parallelamente ai torrenti cui esse potevano risultare connesse. Nel presente lavoro, dopo breve illustrazione delle morfologie epigee ed ipogee, vengono presentati i risultati del monitoraggio idrologico. Le analisi hanno permesso di evidenziare come in molti casi le acque del carso di Sassalbo siano chimicamente molto simili a quelle del sistema ad ansa ipogea del Tanone della Gacciolina in Alta val di Secchia. Fanno eccezione altre sorgenti, alimentate quasi esclusivamente dalla serie marnoso arenacea e dal macigno, che presentano comportamenti idrodinamici differenti in funzione dei loro specifici bacini di alimentazione.Karst and hydrology of the Sassalbo Gypsa (Massa Carrara – Italy) The largest triassic evaporitic outcrop of Tuscany is located inside the Acqua Torbida creek (Upper Lunigiana). They represent the southernmost and less tectonized part of the Upper Secchia Gypsa (RE). The karst area (some 2,2) consists mostly of limestone (Calcari Cavernosi) with well developed macro – and micro – forms. The underground phenomena are mainly related to the mouventes of glacial tongues during the last Glacial. 5 cavities are presently known and inserted in the Tuscany Cadaster, 4 of which mapped. In the framework of the Trias II Project (an interdisciplinary study sponsored by the Appennino Tosco-Emiliano National Park and performed by the Italian Speleological Society) this area has been investigated from the morphological, speleological, hydrochemical point of view while some of the major springs and related rivers were monitored. In the paper after a short description of the epigean and hypogean forms, the achieved result during the hydrological study are presented. This study evidenced that in many occurrences the behavior of the Sassalbo karst waters is very similar to that of the Tanone della Gacciolina cave in the Upper Secchia Valley. Only a few springs exhibit a different behavior being rather completely fed by the marnoso-arenacea and macigno formations

A Modular, Low Latency, A2B-based Architecture for Distributed Multichannel Full-Digital Audio Systems

Despite the increasing demand for multichannel audio systems, existing solutions are still mainly analog or audio-over-IP based, leading to well-known limitations: bulky wiring, high latency (0.5-2 ms), and expensive devices for protocol stack management. This paper presents a cost-effective, low latency, full-digital solution that overcomes all the previously mentioned problems. The proposed architecture is based on the new Automotive Audio Bus (A2B) protocol. It guarantees deterministic latency of 2 samples, 32 downstream/upstream channels over a single Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) cable and phase-aligned signals. A single A2B chip is required for each node, reducing dramatically the system cost. The developed architecture is composed by a main board and an A2B network. The main board handles up to 64 channels, and it converts standard protocols usually employed for audio signal delivery, such as AES10, AVB and AES67, into A2B streams and vice versa. The A2B network can include a series of devices, for instance power amplifiers, codecs, DSPs, and transducers. There are many application examples including, but not limited to, transducer arrays (e.g., microphone, loudspeaker, accelerometer arrays), audio distribution in meeting rooms, Wave Field Synthesis (WFS), Ambisonics immersive audio systems and Active Noise Control (ANC). A modular and portable WFS system was developed employing the above-described architecture. It is based on eight channels soundbars, which can be daisy-chained in reconfigurable geometries and featuring up to 192 channels

CA-IX-Expressing Small Extracellular Vesicles (sEVs) Are Released by Melanoma Cells under Hypoxia and in the Blood of Advanced Melanoma Patients

Cutaneous melanoma is a highly aggressive skin cancer, with poor prognosis. The tumor microenvironment is characterized by areas of hypoxia. Carbonic anhydrase IX (CA-IX) is a marker of tumor hypoxia and its expression is regulated by hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1). CA-IX has been found to be highly expressed in invasive melanomas. In this study, we investigated the effects of hypoxia on the release of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) in two melanoma in vitro models. We demonstrated that melanoma cells release sEVs under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions, but only hypoxia-induced sEVs express CA-IX mRNA and protein. Moreover, we optimized an ELISA assay to provide evidence for CA-IX protein expression on the membranes of the sEVs. These CA-IX-positive sEVs may be exploited as potential biomarkers for liquid biopsy

Invariance of the trait emotional intelligence construct across populations and sociodemographic variables

Cultural, linguistic and sociodemographic peculiarities may influence trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI). An instrument capable of assessing trait EI in different populations can foster cross-cultural research and make an important contribution to the construct's nomological network. Accordingly, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between trait EI and key sociodemographic variables through univariate analyses of variance and tests of multigroup measurement equivalence. We used datasets Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue-SF) datasets from four countries. Collectively, these datasets comprised 2228 participants, 23% from Brazil, 15% from Chile, 23% from Italy, and 39% from the United Kingdom. The sociodemographic variables that we used for trait EI comparisons were gender, age, educational level, civil and occupational status. Our results indicated significant global trait EI differences across countries for civil status, occupation, educational attainment, and age. Measurement invariance across the datasets was acceptable, especially for age, gender and education. In conclusion, the present psychometric evidence supports the suitability of the TEIQue-SF for the accurate assessment of trait EI in transcultural research

Older People Living in Nursing Homes: An Oral Health Screening Survey in Florence, Italy

The oral health state plays an important role in the concept of ‘elderly frailty’, since institutionalized older people are prone to suffering from bad oral conditions. The aim of this study is to assess the state of oral health in the older residents of nursing homes and to measure its potential association with the cognitive state, the degree of functional autonomy, and the malnutrition risk. Methods: We enrolled 176 subjects from 292 residents in five nursing homes in Florence. For each subject, we performed the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool, the Pfeiffer test, the Minimum Data Set—Long Form, a dental examination, and the Geriatric Oral Health Assessment Index questionnaire. The results show that the oral condition was poor in 43.8% of cases, medium in 38.1%, and good in 18.2%. A worse oral health state was significantly associated (p < 0.05) with a worse cognitive state and with a higher dependency in daily living activities. The malnutrition score among the older people was unrelated to the oral health condition (p = 0.128). It can be concluded that the oral health condition in older institutionalized subjects is an open challenge for the public healthcare system, since the maintenance of adequate good oral health is an essential element of good physical as well as cognitive and psychological health

Linguistic and content validation of the translated and culturally adapted patient-generated subjective global assessment (PG-SGA)

The Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) is an instrument to screen, assess and monitor malnutrition and risk factors, and to triage for interventions. After having translated and culturally adapted the original PG-SGA for the Italian setting, according to International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR) Principles, we tested linguistic validity, i.e., perceived comprehensibility and difficulty, and content validity (relevance) of the Italian version of the PG-SGA in patients with cancer and a multidisciplinary sample of healthcare professionals (HCPs). Methods: After the translation and cultural adaptation of the original PG-SGA for the Italian setting, the patient component (i.e., PG-SGA Short Form (SF) was tested for linguistic validity (i.e., comprehensibility ad difficulty) in 120 Italian patients with cancer and 81 Italian HCPs. The full PG-SGA, i.e., patient and professional component of the PG-SGA, was tested for content validity, i.e., relevance, in 81 Italian HCPs. The data were collected by a questionnaire and evaluations were operationalized by a 4-point scale. Through item and scale indices we evaluated the comprehensibility (I–CI, S–CI), difficulty (I-DI, S-DI) and content validity (I-CVI, S-CVI). Scale indices 0.80–0.89 were considered acceptable, and scale indices ≥0.90 were considered excellent. Results: Patients perceived comprehensibility and difficulty of the PG-SGA SF (Boxes) as excellent (S–CI = 0.98, S-DI = 0.96). Professionals perceived comprehensibility of the professional component (Worksheets) as excellent (S–CI = 0.92), difficulty as acceptable (S-DI = 0.85), and content validity of the full PG-SGA as excellent (S-CVI = 0.92). Dietitians gave higher scores (indicating better scores) on comprehensibility, difficulty, and content validity of Worksheet 4 (physical exam) than the other professions. In Worksheet 4, four items were considered most difficult to complete and were considered below acceptable range. Relevance was perceived as excellent by professionals for both the patient component (S-CVI = 0.93) and the professional component (S-CVI = 0.90), resulting in S-CVI = 0.92 for the full PG-SGA. Slight textual modifications were implemented resulting in the final version of the Italian PG-SGA. Conclusions: Translation and cultural adaptation of the original PG-SGA resulted in the Italian version of the PG-SGA that maintained its original purpose and meaning and can be completed adequately and easily by patients and professionals. The Italian PG-SGA is considered relevant for screening, assessing and monitoring malnutrition and risk factors, as well as triaging for interventions by Italian HCPs.</p

A wireless crackmeters network for the analysis of rock falls at the Pietra di Bismantova natural heritage site (Northern Apennines, Italy)

The Pietra di Bismantova (Northern Apennines, Italy) is a large calcareous sandstone rock slab which is distinctively bordered by sub-vertical cliffs that are affected by rock falls, a risk for people visiting the area and for key assets located at the foot of this natural heritage site. A wireless sensor network based on wireless nodes, crack meters and thermometers has been made operative in January 2015 in order to study the response of fractures to changing environmental conditions and support the spatial and temporal zonation of rock fall hazard in this natural heritage site. Results from the first eight months of monitoring show that intense snowfall and low temperatures can determine short-term pulses of fracture opening while the increase of temperature throughout summer determines long-term fracture closing trends. Moreover, as soon as February 2015 one of the crack meters monitored the rapid trend of crack opening that occurred prior to the failure of a large rock slab of about 200 cubic meters