37 research outputs found
Yersinia enterocolitica causing suppurative arthritis of the shoulder
No full textYersinia enterocolitica is a rare cause of extra-intestinal disease. A case in a 60 year old butcher with hepatic cirrhosis who developed suppurative arthritis of the shoulder caused by Y enterocolitica is presented. There was no evidence of gastrointestinal infection or septicaemia. The severity of the illness was associated with various factors, including the underlying disease, the type of occupation, and the difficulties encountered in defining the optimal therapeutic regimen
Fast Simulations of Highly-Connected Spiking Cortical Models Using GPUs
No full textOver the past decade there has been a growing interest in the development of parallel hardware systems for simulating large-scale networks of spiking neurons. Compared to other highly-parallel systems, GPU-accelerated solutions have the advantage of a relatively low cost and a great versatility, thanks also to the possibility of using the CUDA-C/C++ programming languages. NeuronGPU is a GPU library for large-scale simulations of spiking neural network models, written in the C++ and CUDA-C++ programming languages, based on a novel spike-delivery algorithm. This library includes simple LIF (leaky-integrate-and-fire) neuron models as well as several multisynapse AdEx (adaptive-exponential-integrate-and-fire) neuron models with current or conductance based synapses, different types of spike generators, tools for recording spikes, state variables and parameters, and it supports user-definable models. The numerical solution of the differential equations of the dynamics of the AdEx models is performed through a parallel implementation, written in CUDA-C++, of the fifth-order Runge-Kutta method with adaptive step-size control. In this work we evaluate the performance of this library on the simulation of a cortical microcircuit model, based on LIF neurons and current-based synapses, and on balanced networks of excitatory and inhibitory neurons, using AdEx or Izhikevich neuron models and conductance-based or current-based synapses. On these models, we will show that the proposed library achieves state-of-the-art performance in terms of simulation time per second of biological activity. In particular, using a single NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti GPU board, the full-scale cortical-microcircuit model, which includes about 77,000 neurons and 3 · 108 connections, can be simulated at a speed very close to real time, while the simulation time of a balanced network of 1,000,000 AdEx neurons with 1,000 connections per neuron was about 70 s per second of biological activity
Adaptation and Validation of the Italian Pediatric Voice Handicap Index
No full textObjective: To evaluate the internal consistency, reliability and clinical validity of the Italian version of the Pediatric Voice Handicap Index (pVHI). Patients and Methods: The parents of 30 children with dysphonia and 43 asymptomatic children were included in the study. Each parent was asked to complete the Italian pVHI autonomously. The voice of each child was assessed perceptually through the GRB parameters of the GRBAS scale. Internal consistency was analyzed through Cronbach’s α coefficient. For test-retest reliability analysis, the Italian pVHI was filled twice, with a 2-week interval, and the scores obtained were compared through the Pearson correlation test. Clinical validity was assessed comparing the scores obtained in the pathological and the control group using the Mann-Whitney test. Finally, the correlation between pVHI and the perceptual parameters was assessed. Results: All of the parents filled in the entire questionnaire autonomously. An optimal internal consistency was found (α = 0.95); the test-retest reliability in the parents of both groups of children was high (r > 0.88). The control group scored significantly lower than the pathological group (p = 0.0001). The pVHI scores positively correlated with perceptual assessment of voice disorders. Conclusion: The Italian pVHI is easily administered, highly reproducible, and exhibits excellent clinical validity
Carbohydrate-derived alkylcobalt carbonyl: {[(1,2 : 5,6-di-O,O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-glucofuranos-3-yl)oxycarbonyl]methyl}cobalt tricarbonyl triphenylphosphine
No full textA carbohydrate-derivative alkylcobalt carbonyl, {[(1,2:5,6-di-O,O-isopropylidene-alpha -D-glucofuranos-3-yl) oxycarbonyll methyl I cobalt tricarbonyl triphenylphosphine (3) was prepared and characterized by IR, NMR, and CD spectra, as well as by X-ray diffraction. The supramolecular chemistry in the crystalline P2(1)2(1)2(1) (chiral) phase and in solution was analyzed and compared. The bulky carbohydrate-based ligand stabilized one chiral conformation, which, however, is less ordered than for analogous compounds with more flexible and less bulky chiral groups. Intermolecular, H-bond interactions are more important in the P2(1)2(1)2, phase of complex 3 than at other analogous compounds
Adaptation and Validation of the Italian MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI)
No full textIntroduction: Oropharyngeal dysphagia is a common symptom in patients with head and neck tumours. The MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) is a questionnaire currently used in North America for the assessment of dysphagia-related disability in patients with head and neck cancer. The aim of the study is to analyze reliability and clinical validity of the Italian MDADI. Material and method: 48 persons with no history of dysphagia and 50 head and neck cancer patients with a chronic and stable dysphagia have been included in the study. Each subject completed alone the Italian MDADI twice with a week interval between the two questionnaire completion. Intra-subject reliability was analyzed through Pearson test in both groups of subjects. Clinical validity was calculated through the non parametric Mann Whitney test of the first MDADI assessment in both groups. Results: Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were high for each MDADI subscale in subjects without dysphagia as well as in those with dysphagia. The difference between MDADI values in subjects with and without dysphagia was significant for each subscale. Discussion : The Italian MDADI is reliable and clinically valid. The application of the MDADI is recommended in clinical practice as well as in descriptive, outcome and efficacy research
Swallowing disorders : management data
No full textAim of the investigation was to assess the workload and verify the results of oropharyngeal dysphagia management in a large state hospital by means of a descriptive, observational prospective study and descriptive statistical analysis. 81 patients [37 females, 44 males, mean age 61.3 (+/- 13) years] suffering from oropharyngeal dysphagia were evaluated and treated in the in- and outpatient Divisions of the "Azienda Ospedaliera S. Giovanni Battista" in Turin. Treatment of oropharyngeal dysphagia included changes in consistency and texture of food, compensatory postures of head, strengthening exercises for oropharyngeal muscles, and stimulation of pharyngeal sensitivity. In data collection and analysis, the following were used as outcome measures: mode of nutrition delivery (oral, enteral, parenteral), dietary adjustments, presence of aspiration or penetration, and use of compensatory head positioning. Results showed that the number of patients fed by parenteral or enteral tube (50/81 prior to treatment) dropped to 36/81 upon discharge from hospital. Those unable to take anything by mouth, from 55 dropped to 9. The number of patients with aspiration or penetration dropped, respectively, from 47 and 8 to 20 and 4. Postural changes were used in 15 cases. Data obtained indicate that oropharyngeal dysphagia rehabilitation outcomes are promising. Better understanding of the rheological characteristics of food and a stricter, more rigorous evaluation of the outcomes on activities and social participation are warranted
Management of oropharyngeal dysphagia : outcomes in a group of 81 adult patients
No full textBACKGROUND: Aim of the study is to assess outcomes in the management of 81 patients with diagnosis of oropharyngeal dysphagia.
METHODS: Design: retrospective study on the outcome of logopedic treatment. Setting: patients have been assessed and treated as in- and out-patients of the Azienda Ospedaliera "S. Giovanni Battista" of Turin. Patients: 81 patients, 37 female and 44 male, mean age of 61,3 years, with diagnosis of oropharyngeal dysphagia.Intervention: phoniatric and logopedic assessment and management including: food consistency change, compensatory head posture, oropharyngeal muscle strengthen and pharyngeal sensibility stimulation. Survey: tube feeding, dietary adjustments, presence of aspiration or penetration and postural techniques utilization were used as outcome measures.
RESULTS: The number of patients on tube feeding changed from 50 out of 81 before treatment to 36 out of 81 at discharge time. Subjects who couldn't take anything by mouth decreased from 55 to 9. The number of patients with aspiration or penetration changed respectively from 47 and 8 to 20 and 4. Postural techniques were used in 15 cases.
CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that outcomes of oropharyngeal dysphagia rehabilitation are promising. The role of tube feeding and of food consistencies is of key importance in the management of deglutition disorders. All clinicians dealing with dysphagic patients should know the importance of food rheologic characteristics, the consequences of alimentation by nasogastric tube and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostom
The beta-2 draft of the international classification of impairment, disabilities and handicap: application to communication disorders
No full textLong-term prognostic significance of early screening of abnormal glucose metabolism in patients with acute myocardial infarction
No full textThalamo-cortical spiking model of incremental learning combining perception, context and NREM-sleep
No full textThe brain exhibits capabilities of fast incremental learning from few noisy examples, as well as the ability to associate similar memories in autonomously-created categories and to combine contextual hints with sensory perceptions. Together with sleep, these mechanisms are thought to be key components of many high-level cognitive functions. Yet, little is known about the underlying processes and the specific roles of different brain states. In this work, we exploited the combination of context and perception in a thalamo-cortical model based on a soft winner-take-all circuit of excitatory and inhibitory spiking neurons. After calibrating this model to express awake and deep-sleep states with features comparable with biological measures, we demonstrate the model capability of fast incremental learning from few examples, its resilience when proposed with noisy perceptions and contextual signals, and an improvement in visual classification after sleep due to induced synaptic homeostasis and association of similar memories
