Hand function is often impaired after stroke, strongly affecting the ability to perform daily activities. Upper limb robotic devices have been developed to complement rehabilitation therapy offered ...to persons who suffered a stroke, but they rarely focus on the training of hand sensorimotor function. The primary goal of this study was to evaluate whether robot-assisted therapy of hand function following a neurocognitive approach (i.e., combining motor training with somatosensory and cognitive tasks) produces an equivalent decrease in upper limb motor impairment compared to dose-matched conventional neurocognitive therapy, when embedded in the rehabilitation program of inpatients in the subacute stage after stroke.
A parallel-group, randomized controlled trial was conducted on subjects with subacute stroke receiving either conventional or robot-assisted neurocognitive hand therapy using a haptic device. Therapy was provided for 15, 45-min sessions over four weeks, nested within the standard therapy program. Primary outcome was the change from baseline in the upper extremity part of the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA-UE) after the intervention, which was compared between groups using equivalence testing. Secondary outcome measures included upper limb motor, sensory and cognitive assessments, delivered therapy dose, as well as questionnaires on user technology acceptance.
Thirty-three participants with stroke were enrolled. 14 subjects in the robot-assisted and 13 subjects in the conventional therapy group completed the study. At the end of intervention, week 8 and week 32, the robot-assisted/conventional therapy group improved by 7.14/6.85, 7.79/7.31, and 8.64/8.08 points on the FMA-UE, respectively, establishing that motor recovery in the robot-assisted group is non-inferior to that in the control group.
Neurocognitive robot-assisted therapy of hand function allows for a non-inferior motor recovery compared to conventional dose-matched neurocognitive therapy when performed during inpatient rehabilitation in the subacute stage. This allows the early familiarization of subjects with stroke to the use of such technologies, as a first step towards minimal therapist supervision in the clinic, or directly at home after hospital discharge, to help increase the dose of hand therapy for persons with stroke.
EUDAMED database (CIV-13-02-009921), clinicaltrials.gov (NCT02096445). Registered 26 March 2014 - Retrospectively registered, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02096445.
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is a Eurasiatic species, distributed from SW Europe to C and SW Asia. In Italy, only the alien
subsp.
was recorded, as naturalized in the Central Apennines.
was described from Abruzzo (Central ...Apennines, Italy) by Gussone in 1826 and is currently regarded as a synonym of
subsp.
. Based on the study of living plants from
and the analysis of the original material traced in BOLO and NAP,
should be referred instead to
subsp.
, a taxon reported here for the first time in Italy. The name
is lectotypified with a specimen kept in NAP. Based on our study,
subsp.
should be excluded from Italian flora.
subsp.
should be considered native to Italy and added to the contingent of steppe plants of phytogeographic and conservation interest recorded in the Central Apennines. Finally, the conservation status assessment of
subsp.
according to IUCN categories and criteria, is proposed and discussed.
In this paper, based on field, herbarium and bibliographic research, new distributional data for 16 species and subspecies (13 natives and 3 aliens) are reported for Ventotene and Santo Stefano ...islands. Particularly, 6 are new or confirmed to Ventotene and 8 to Santo Stefano. One species is excluded from the flora of Ventotene and one is to be considered locally extinct. One native and one alien are new to Lazio administrative region.
A new species of
endemic to central Apennine growing in dry pastures on limestone in the montane belt, within Abruzzo and Lazio administrative regions (central Italy), is here described and ...illustrated and the IUCN assessment is proposed. This new species belongs to the morphologically very variable
species complex and it is close to
(south-eastern Europe and Caucasus), but it can be clearly distinguished by its smaller flowers, mainly light yellow-coloured, bracts longer than flowers, calyx pink-coloured (usually only at apex) and size of cauline leaves and leaflets. Furthermore, the name
is here lectotypified, by a second-step typification, on a specimen preserved at PAD.
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Report 2020 on plant biodiversity in Italy: native and alien vascular flora Bartolucci, Fabrizio; Galasso, Gabriele; Peruzzi, Lorenzo ...
Natural history sciences : atti della Società italiana di scienze naturali e del Museo civico di storia naturale in Milano,
05/2021, Volume:
8, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
This paper provides an updated overview, based on nomenclatural, taxonomical and distribution data, on the native and alien vascular flora of Italy, with details on the occurrence at national and ...regional administrative level. Recently described taxa occurring in Italy, which were not included in the checklists published in 2018, are listed. The list of extinct or possibly extinct native taxa and that of alien taxa of EU concern are updated.
Mosquito vector control is facing a number of important and timely challenges, mainly due to the rapid development of pesticide resistance and environmental concerns. In this scenario, screening of ...botanical resources for their mosquitocidal activity may offer effective and eco-friendly tools against Culicidae vectors. Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae) is a vector of lymphatic filariasis and of dangerous arboviral diseases, such as West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis. In this study, the chemical composition of five essential oils obtained from different plants, namely Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold var. italica (Pinaceae), Hyssopus officinalis L. subsp. aristatus (Lamiaceae), Satureja montana L. subsp. montana (Lamiaceae), Aloysia citriodora Palau (Verbenaceae) and Pelargonium graveolens L'Hér (Geraniaceae), was investigated by GC–MS analysis. Furthermore, it was evaluated their acute toxicity on larvae of C. quinquefasciatus. Then, the most effective oils were selected, in order to focus on the potential synergistic and antagonistic effects, testing them in binary mixtures on C. quinquefasciatus larvae. Results showed that the higher effectiveness was obtained by S. montana subsp. montana essential oil (LC50=25.6μL·L−1), followed by P. nigra var. italica (LC50=49.8μL·L−1) and A. citriodora (LC50=65.6μL·L−1), while the other essential oils showed LC50 values higher than 90μL·L−1. The larvicidal effectiveness can be enhanced by preparing simple binary mixtures of essential oils, such as S. montana+A. citriodora (ratio 1:1), which showed higher larvicidal toxicity (LC50=18.3μL·L−1). On the other hand, testing S. montana+P. nigra (1:1) an antagonistic effect was detected, leading to a LC50 (72.5μL·L−1) higher than the LC50 values calculated for the two oils tested separately. Overall, our results add useful knowledge to allow the employ of synergistic essential oil blends as effective, cheap and eco-friendly mosquito larvicides.
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•We tested binary mixtures of 5 essential oils as larvicides on Cx. quinquefasciatus.•The chemical composition of 5 essential oils was studied by GC–MS.•LC50 of the oils ranged from 25.6μL·L−1 to values higher than 90μL·L−1•Synergistic effects: S. montana+A. citriodora (1:1) led to LC50=18.3μL·L−1.•Antagonistic effects: S. montana+P. nigra (1:1) led to LC50=72.5μL·L−1.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
The present study aims to investigate the role of the prognostic nutritional index (PNI) on survival in patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) treated with sorafenib.
This multicentric ...study included a training cohort of 194 HCC patients and three external validation cohorts of 129, 76 and 265 HCC patients treated with Sorafenib, respectively. The PNI was calculated as follows: 10 × serum albumin (g/dL) + 0.005 × total lymphocyte count (per mm3). Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to investigate the association between the covariates and the overall survival (OS).
A PNI cut-off value of 31.3 was established using the ROC analysis. In the training cohort, the median OS was 14.8 months (95% CI 12-76.3) and 6.8 months (95% CI 2.7-24.6) for patients with a high (>31.3) and low (<31.3) PNI, respectively. At both the univariate and the multivariate analysis, low PNI value (p = 0.0004), a 1-unit increase of aspartate aminotransferase (p = 0.0001), and age > 70 years (p< 0.0038) were independent prognostic factors for OS. By performing the same multivariate analysis of the training cohort, the PNI <31.3 versus >31.3 was found to be an independent prognostic factor for predicting OS in all the three validation cohorts.
PNI represents a prognostic tool in advanced HCC treated with first-line Sorafenib. It is readily available and low-cost, and it could be implemented in clinical practice in patients with HCC.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Objectives
To evaluate imaging features of microvascular invasion (MVI) in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) developed after direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy in HCV-related cirrhosis.
Methods
...Retrospective cohort study on 344 consecutive patients with HCV-related cirrhosis treated with DAA and followed for 48–74 weeks. Using established imaging criteria for MVI, HCC features were analysed and compared with those in nodules not occurring after DAA.
Results
After DAA, HCC developed in 29 patients (single nodule, 18 and multinodular, 11). Median interval between therapy end and HCC diagnosis was 82 days (0–318). Forty-one HCC nodules were detected (14 de novo, 27 recurrent): maximum diameter was 10–20 mm in 27, 20–50 mm in 13, and > 50 mm in 1. Imaging features of MVI were present in 29/41 nodules (70.7%, CI: 54–84), even in 17/29 nodules with 10–20 mm diameter (58.6%, CI: 39–76). MVI was present in only 17/51 HCC nodules that occurred before DAA treatment (33.3%, CI: 22–47) (p= 0.0007). MVI did not correlate with history of previous HCC.
Conclusions
HCC occurs rapidly after DAA therapy, and aggressive features of MVI characterise most neoplastic nodules. Close imaging evaluations are needed after DAA in cirrhotic patients.
Key Points
•
In HCV cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma develops soon after direct-acting antiviral therapy.
•
HCC presents imaging features of microvascular invasion, predictive of more aggressive progression.
•
Cirrhotic patients need aggressive and close monitoring after direct-acting antiviral therapy.
The Herbarium Apenninicum (international code: APP), hosted in the Floristic Research Center of the Apennines (Abruzzo, central Italy), is approximately composed of about 80,000 specimens of vascular ...plants; 66,352 of them are mounted with data labels and entered in a database. The specimens from the Abruzzo administrative region (central Italy) correspond to more than half of the collection (57.8% of the specimens), while immediately afterwards, other neighboring provinces of central Italy follow. Outside of Italy, the most represented areas are Morocco and southern European countries. Most of the specimens were collected between 2001 and 2020; nevertheless, the herbarium also contains two historical collections from the end of the nineteenth century to the beginning of the twentieth century. The herbarium houses 146 types.
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The National Park of Gran Sasso and Monti della Laga (PNGSL) is located in Central Italy and covers an area of 143.311 ha across three administrative regions (Abruzzo, Marche, and Lazio). It is the ...protected area hosting the highest number of vascular plants in both Europe and the Mediterranean basin. The plan of the park recognizes the need to establish a list of plants of conservation interest to prioritize for protection. The aim of this study is to identify plants (vascular and bryophytes) for inclusion on a protection list, taking into account their phytogeographic importance as well as the threat of extinction, and subsequently propose an original categorization (protection classes) suggesting specific conservation actions and measures. We used original criteria to select plants of conservation interest among the 2678 plant taxa listed in the national park. We identified 564 vascular plant species and subspecies (including nine hybrids) and one bryophyte to be included in the proposed protection list. The case study of the PNGSL could be a model for other protected areas.
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