248 research outputs found
Application of acute maximal exercise to protect orthostatic tolerance after simulated microgravity
No full text Pages R837–R847: K. A. Engelke, D. F. Doerr, and V. A. Convertino. “Application of acute maximal exercise to protect orthostatic tolerance after simulated microgravity.” On p. 837, the author line of the article and abstract and the affiliation line should read as follows: KEITH A. ENGELKE, DONALD F. DOERR, CRAIG G. CRANDALL, AND VICTOR A. CONVERTINO Department of Physiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610; National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida 32899; Department of Physiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Ft. Worth, Texas 76107; and Physiology Research Branch, Clinical Science Division, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas 78235 </jats:p
Application of acute maximal exercise to protect orthostatic tolerance after simulated microgravity
No full text Pages R837–R847: K. A. Engelke, D. F. Doerr, and V. A. Convertino. “Application of acute maximal exercise to protect orthostatic tolerance after simulated microgravity.” On p. 837, the author line of the article and abstract and the affiliation line should read as follows: KEITH A. ENGELKE, DONALD F. DOERR,CRAIG G. CRANDALL, AND VICTOR A. CONVERTINO Department of Physiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610; National Aeronautics and Space Administration-Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, Florida 32899;Department of Physiology, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Ft. Worth, Texas 76107; and Physiology Research Branch, Clinical Science Division, Brooks Air Force Base, Texas 78235 </jats:p
The genetic background and vitamin D supplementation can affect irisin levels in Prader–Willi syndrome
No full textBackground Prader–Willi syndrome (PWS) is associated to distinctive clinical symptoms, including obesity, cognitive and behavioral disorders, and bone impairment. Irisin is a myokine that acts on several target organs including brain adipose tissue and bone. The present study was finalized to explore circulating levels of irisin in children and adult PWS patients.
Methods Seventy-eight subjects with PWS, 26 children (15 females, mean age 9.48 ± 3.6 years) and 52 adults (30 females, mean age 30.6 ± 10.7) were enrolled. Irisin serum levels were measured in patients and controls. Its levels were related with anthropometric and metabolic parameters, cognitive performance and bone mineral density either in pediatric or adult PWS. Multiple regression analysis was also performed.
Results Irisin serum levels in PWS patients did not show different compared with controls. A more in-depth analysis showed that both pediatric and adult PWS with DEL15 displayed significantly reduced irisin levels compared to controls. Otherwise, no differences in irisin concentration were found in UPD15 patients with respect to controls. Our study revealed that in pediatric PWS the 25(OH) vitamin-D levels affected irisin serum concentration. Indeed, patients who were not supplemented with vitamin D showed lower irisin levels than controls and patients performing the supplementation. Multiple regression analysis showed that irisin levels in pediatric and adult PWS were predicted by the genetic background and 25(OH)-vitamin D levels, whereas in a group of 29 adult PWS also by intelligent Quotient.
Conclusion We demonstrated the possible role of genetic background and vitamin-D supplementation on irisin serum levels in PWS patients
Glycerol-blended chitosan membranes with directional micro-grooves and reduced stiffness improve Schwann cell wound healing
No full textRegenerative medicine is continuously looking for new natural, biocompatible and possibly biodegradable materials, but also mechanically compliant. Chitosan is emerging as a promising FDA-approved biopolymer for tissue engineering, however, its exploitation in regenerative devices is limited by its brittleness and can be further improved, for example by blending it with other materials or by tuning its superficial microstructure. Here, we developed membranes made of chitosan (Chi) and glycerol, by solvent casting, and micro-patterned them with directional geometries having different levels of axial symmetry. These membranes were characterized by light microscopies, atomic force microscopy (AFM), by thermal, mechanical and degradation assays, and also tested in vitro as scaffolds with Schwann cells (SCs). The glycerol-blended Chi membranes are optimized in terms of mechanical properties, and present a physiological-grade Young's modulus (approximate to 0.7 MPa). The directional topographies are effective in directing cell polarization and migration and in particular are highly performant substrates for collective cell migration. Here, we demonstrate that a combination of a soft compliant biomaterial and a topographical micropatterning can improve the integration of these scaffolds with SCs, a fundamental step in the peripheral nerve regeneration process
AGLAIA: un dispositivo elettromedicale per il rilievo dei suoni polmonari
No full textIn questo lavoro si è progettato e realizzato
un innovativo dispositivo elettromedicale,
denominato "Aglaia", che si avvale delle tecnologie elettroniche
ed informatiche più avanzate e che in maniera
non invasiva e non fastidiosa per il paziente, tramite
la sola acquisizione e post-elaborazione tridimensionale
(3-D) dei suoni polmonari, consente un monitoraggio
altamente affidabile della funzionalità respiratoria
con lo scopo sia di prevenire patologie acute, che
Aglaia consente di rilevare allo stato incipiente o addirittura
latente, sia di verificare in tempo reale l'efficacia
di una terapia curativa di patologie in atto a carico
dell'apparato respiratorio.
Grazie ad una specifica sensoristica di rilevamento,
composta da sensori acustici e/o di vibrazione applicati
attraverso una fascia elastica indossabile o, alternativamente,
applicati singolarmente tramite nastri adesivi,
Aglaia consente un efficace acquisizione, un'accurata
elaborazione ed una dettagliata visualizzazione di
tutti i possibili suoni respiratori, eliminando la soggettività
d'interpretazione dei suddetti suoni prelevati tramite
stetoscopio.In this paper we have designed, realized
and tested an innovative, low-cost, electronic
medical device, named "Aglaia", which is a completely
new technological tool designed for the non-invasive
continuous real-time monitoring of breathing functions.
It diagnoses respiratory pathologies by the electronic
three dimensional (3-D) auscultation of lung sounds
and performing a correlation between lung sounds and
diseases. Both incipient and advanced respiratory
pathologies are detected.Thanks to its specific sensors,
which can be applied to the body chest with a wearable
elastic band or attached separately with adhesive
tape, Aglaia allows the effective auscultation, the accurate
processing and the detailed visualization (temporal
and frequency graphs) of any lung sound. When
using a simple stethoscope, the recognition and differentiation
of lung sounds depends on the individual's
hearing abilities, experience and skilfulness; then, the
auscultation and interpretation of sounds performed
by means of electronic stethoscope has a consistent
subjective component. Aglaia goes beyond the stethoscope
both to automatically process the acquired
signal (thereby removing subjectivity) and to perform
3-D auscultation by placing sensors all over the thorax
Wireless adaptive video streaming by real-time channel estimation and video transcoding
No full textA system composed by an MPEG-2 video transcoder to change bitrate, frame rate and frame size and a Cross Layer Controller gathering information from physical, MAC, driver, RTCP layers, calculating instantaneous network throughput, to optimize real-time adaptive a/v streaming over 802.11. © 2005 IEEE
Sistema non invasivo di monitoraggio delle funzionalità dell’apparato respiratorio
No full textIn questo lavoro è presentato un innovativo dispositivo elettromedicale, che si avvale delle tecnologie
elettroniche ed informatiche più avanzate e che in maniera non invasiva e non fastidiosa per il paziente,
tramite la sola acquisizione e post-elaborazione tridimensionale (3-D) dei suoni polmonari, consente un
monitoraggio altamente affidabile della funzionalità respiratoria con lo scopo sia di prevenire patologie
acute allo stato incipiente o addirittura latente, sia di verificare in tempo reale e/o in differita l’efficacia di
una terapia curativa di patologie in atto a carico dell’apparato respiratorio
Performance Optimization for Multimedia Transmission in Wireless Home Networks
No full textPublication in the conference proceedings of EUSIPCO, Florence, Italy, 200
Stimulating a hyper memory: A single case TMS study on an individual with Highly Superior Autobiographical Memory
No full textHighly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) is a rare ability to recall a profound number of personal events across one’s lifespan. HSAM recall is extremely quick, detailed and highly accurate, yet how autobiographical content is retrieved remains misunderstood. Here, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) on a single HSAM case to identify specific brain areas causally involved in exceptional retrieval. Participant was shown several dates previously verified they had a memory for (i.e., verifiable event recall) while TMS was administered over visual areas (V1), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) or vertex (control) 500 ms after each date onset. Time to access memories in response to a date, nature of the memory (i.e., personal or factual), and ratings of whether access was direct or generative were recorded. Results found left DLPFC TMS significantly slowed down participant reaction time, while V1 stimulation caused a speeding up, with both effects specific to generative memory retrieval. This is the first neuromodulation study on an HSAM subject and provides evidence the left DLPFC is causally involved in HSAM elaboration. V1 effect is discussed in terms of addition-by-subtraction, hypothesising that V1 modulation allows other areas to increase efficiency
Dimensions of a hyper memory: investigating the factors modulating exceptional retrieval in a single case of highly superior autobiographical memory (HSAM)
No full textHighly Superior Autobiographical Memory (HSAM) is a rare form of exceptional memory, characterised by an ability to recall personal episodes in response to dates. The single case "DT" is one of less than 100 HSAM individuals globally, and little is known about how these individuals organise the vast number of events they can recollect. We administered 2 novel priming tasks to explore navigation between autobiographical memories. In both tasks, a "prime" date appeared on the screen and DT was instructed to access and begin reliving a specific memory from that date. After 3 s, a "target" date appeared, and DT switched to the new memory. Latencies were recorded. Experiment 1 explored the influence of emotional valence on memory navigation. DT was quicker moving from positive or negative memories to neutral memories, compared to between neutral memories, supporting the role of emotionality in connecting memories in HSAM. Experiment 2 investigated semantic content and mental timeline configuration's role in organisation. DT was faster moving forward (e.g., 1996-1997) than backwards (e.g., 2023-2022), indicating a forwards perception of time. No differences were observed regarding semantic content. Results provide insight into DT's memory dimensions and support the use of this task to explore organisation
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