We selected 4012 cCTG records (one trace for each patient) performed in healthy pregnancies from 30th to 42nd gestational week using foetal heart rate (FHR), short-term variability (STV), long-term ...irregularity (LTI), Delta, approximate entropy (ApEn), spectral components as low frequency (LF), median frequency (MF), high frequency (HF) and LF/(HF + MF) ratio were analysed. Reference nomograms were created and sensitivity and specificity for the prediction of foetal compromise were calculated which were 90% and 89%, respectively. Changes of cCTG parameters according to gestational week were evaluated: FHR (r = −.65) and LF (r = −.87) showed a statistically significant reduction (p < .05) with gestational age. STV (r = .59), LTI (r = .69), Delta (r = .67), and MF (r = .88) showed a statistically significant increase (p < .05) with gestational age. In contrast, for ApEn (r = −.098), HF (r = .14) and LF/(HF + MF) ratio (r = −.47) a non-statistically significant change was found (p > .05). The identification of reference ranges for cCTG indexes in according to gestational age could provide a more objective examination of cCTG trace.
The Advanced Virgo detector Agathos, M; Agatsuma, K; Astone, P ...
Journal of Physics: Conference Series,
05/2015, Letnik:
610, Številka:
1
Journal Article, Conference Proceeding
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The Advanced Virgo interferometer is the upgraded version of the Virgo detector having the goal to extend by a factor 10 the observation horizon in the universe and consequently increase the ...detection rate by three orders of magnitude. Its installation is in progress and is expected to be completed in late 2015. In this proceeding we will present the scheme and the main challenging technical features of the detector and we will give an outline of the installation status and the foreseen time schedule which will bring Advanced Virgo to its full operation.
The impairment of the sense of smell is often related to chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) with or without nasal polyps (CRSwNP, CRSsNP). CRSwNP is a frequent condition that drastically worsens the ...quality of life of those affected; it has a higher prevalence than CRSsNP. CRSwNP patients experience severe loss of smell with earlier presentation and are more likely to experience recurrence of their symptoms, often requiring revision surgery.
The present study performed a multicentric data collection, enrolling 811 patients with CRS divided according to the inflammatory endotype (Type 2 and non-Type 2). All patients were referred for nasal endoscopy for the assessment of nasal polyposis using nasal polyp score (NPS); Sniffin' Sticks olfactory test were performed to measure olfactory function, and SNOT-22 (22-item sinonasal outcome test) questionnaire was used to assess patients' quality of life; allergic status was evaluated with skin prick test and nasal cytology completed the evaluation when available.
Data showed that Type 2 inflammation is more common than non-type 2 (656 patients versus 155) and patients suffer from worse quality of life and nasal polyp score. Moreover, 86.1% of patients with Type 2 CRSwNP were affected by a dysfunction of the sense of smell while it involved a lesser percentage of non-Type 2 patients. Indeed, these data give us new information about type-2 inflammation patients' characteristics.
The present study confirms that olfactory function weights on patients' QoL and it represents an important therapeutic goal that can also improve patients' compliance when achieved. In a future - and present - perspective of rhinological precision medicine, an impairment of the sense of smell could help the clinician to characterize patients better and to choose the best treatment available.
Open conduit volcanoes like Stromboli can display elusive changes in activity before major eruptive events. Starting on December 2020, Stromboli volcano displayed an increasing eruptive activity, ...that on 19 May 2021 led to a crater-rim collapse, with pyroclastic density currents (PDCs) that spread along the barren NW flank, entered the sea and ran across it for more than 1 km. This episode was followed by lava flow output from the crater rim lasting a few hours, followed by another phase of lava flow in June 2021. These episodes are potentially very dangerous on island volcanoes since a landslide of hot material that turns into a pyroclastic density current and spreads on the sea surface can threaten mariners and coastal communities, as happened at Stromboli on 3 July and 28 August 2019. In addition, on entering the sea, if their volume is large enough, landslides may trigger tsunamis, as occurred at Stromboli on 30 December 2002. In this paper, we present an integration of multidisciplinary monitoring data, including thermal and visible camera images, ground deformation data gathered from GNSS, tilt, strainmeter and GBInSAR, seismicity, SO
2
plume and CO
2
ground fluxes and thermal data from the ground and satellite imagery, together with petrological analyses of the erupted products compared with samples from previous similar events. We aim at characterizing the preparatory phase of the volcano that began on December 2020 and led to the May–June 2021 eruptive activity, distinguishing this small intrusion of magma from the much greater 2019 eruptive phase, which was fed by gas-rich magma responsible for the paroxysmal explosive and effusive phases of July–August 2019. These complex eruption scenarios have important implications for hazard assessment and the lessons learned at Stromboli volcano may prove useful for other open conduit active basaltic volcanoes.
The use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) for assessing and treating cognitive and motor disorders is promoting home-based telerehabilitation. This approach involves ongoing ...monitoring within a motivating context to help patients generalize their skills. It can also reduce healthcare costs and geographic barriers by minimizing hospitalization. This systematic review focuses on investigating key aspects of telerehabilitation protocols for children with neurodevelopmental or neurological disorders, including technology used, outcomes, caregiver involvement, and dosage, to guide clinical practice and future research.
This systematic review adhered to PRISMA guidelines and was registered in PROSPERO. The PICO framework was followed to define the search strategy for technology-based telerehabilitation interventions targeting the pediatric population (aged 0-18) with neurological or neurodevelopmental disorders. The search encompassed Medline/PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases. Independent reviewers were responsible for selecting relevant papers and extracting data, while data harmonization and analysis were conducted centrally.
A heterogeneous and evolving situation emerged from our data. Our findings reported that most of the technologies adopted for telerehabilitation are commercial devices; however, research prototypes and clinical software were also employed with a high potential for personalization and treatment efficacy. The efficacy of these protocols on health or health-related domains was also explored by categorizing the outcome measures according to the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). Most studies targeted motor and neuropsychological functions, while only a minority of papers explored language or multi-domain protocols. Finally, although caregivers were rarely the direct target of intervention, their role was diffusely highlighted as a critical element of the home-based rehabilitation setting.
This systematic review offers insights into the integration of technological devices into telerehabilitation programs for pediatric neurologic and neurodevelopmental disorders. It highlights factors contributing to the effectiveness of these interventions and suggests the need for further development, particularly in creating dynamic and multi-domain rehabilitation protocols. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of promoting home-based and family-centered care, which could involve caregivers more actively in the treatment, potentially leading to improved clinical outcomes for children with neurological or neurodevelopmental conditions.
PROSPERO (CRD42020210663).
Local laser cooling of Yb:YLF to 110 K Seletskiy, Denis V; Melgaard, Seth D; Epstein, Richard I ...
Optics express,
2011-Sep-12, 2011-09-12, 20110912, Letnik:
19, Številka:
19
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Minimum achievable temperature of ~110 K is measured in a 5% doped Yb:YLF crystal at λ = 1020 nm, corresponding to E4-E5 resonance of Stark manifold. This measurement is in excellent agreement with ...the laser cooling model and was made possible by employing a novel and sensitive implementation of differential luminescence thermometry using balanced photo-detectors.
We report the analysis of paired photon pulses arising from two cascading transitions in continuously pumped erbium-doped YLiF_{4} 1% and 0.01% crystals at 1.6 K. The dependence of the pulse peak ...intensity on the squared number of involved erbium ions, between 10^{11} and 10^{13}, definitely identifies the cooperative nature of the two pulsed emissions, that are generated by the subsequent, spontaneous formation of coherent states. The observed fluctuations of the time interval between the paired pulses and, most importantly, its correlation with the second pulse duration demonstrate that the erbium ions coherence is indeed seeded by quantum fluctuations.
To analyze computerized cardiotocographic (cCTG) parameters (baseline fetal heart rate, baseline FHR; short term variability, STV; approximate entropy, ApEn; low frequency, LF; movement frequency, ...MF; high frequency, HF) in physiological pregnancy in order to correlate them with the stages of labor. This could provide more information for understanding the mechanisms of nervous system control of FHR during labor progression.
A total of 534 pregnant women were monitored on cCTG from the 37th week before the onset of spontaneous labor and during the first and the second stage of labor. Statistical analysis was performed using Kruskal-Wallis test and Wilcoxon rank-sum test with the Bonferroni adjusted α (< 0.05).
Statistically significant differences were seen between baseline FHR, MF and HF (P < 0.001), in which the first two were reduced and the third was increased when compared between pre-labor, and the first and second stages of labor. Differences between some of the stages were found for ApEn, LF and for LF/(HF + MF), where the first and the third were reduced and the second was increased.
cCTG modifications during labor may reflect the physiologic increased activation of the autonomous nervous system. Using computerized fetal heart rate analysis during labor it may be possible to obtain more information from the fetal cardiac signal, in comparison with the traditional tracing.
Neuronal activity regulates the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in brain. In darkness, reduced neuronal activity in the visual cortex markedly decreases total BDNF ...transcription level in adult rats. Epigenetic mechanisms are crucially involved in the regulation of gene expression in response to environmental stimuli. In this study, we examined the effect of 1 week of light deprivation (LD) on the activity-dependent changes in BDNF expression from different promoters in the visual cortex and hippocampus. We analyzed the correlation between the chromatin state of Bdnf promoters, exon-specific transcripts levels, and total protein levels in light-deprived rats and in rats reared under normal light-dark cycle. We found that 1 week of LD significantly reduced Bdnf mRNA and protein in the visual cortex but not in the hippocampus. However, epigenetic analysis revealed that LD increased histone-3 methylation and DNA methylation at the Bdnf promoter IV in both the visual cortex and hippocampus. These data highlight the spatial differences in signaling pathways that lead to the BDNF expression in response to diminished ambient light.
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