Speech Fluency Improvement in Developmental Stuttering Using Non-invasive Brain Stimulation: Insights From Available Evidence.

Developmental stuttering (DS) is a disturbance of the normal rhythm of speech that may be interpreted as very debilitating in the most affected cases. Interventions for DS are historically based on the behavioral modifications of speech patterns (e.g.

The Relationship between Kinesiophobia and Return to Sport after Shoulder Surgery for Recurrent Anterior Instability.

 To evaluate the relationship between kinesiophobia and patient's return to sport after shoulder stabilization surgery. The hypothesis was that kinesiophobia represents an independent factor correlated to the difference between preinjury and postoperative level of sport.  This study retrospectively evaluated 66 patients (mean age: 35.

Retrospective study 2005-2015 of all cases of fetal death occurred at ≥23 gestational weeks, in Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy.

Background: Intrauterine fetal death (IUFD) is a tragic event and, despite efforts to reduce rates, its incidence remains difficult to reduce. The objective of the present study was to examine the etiological factors that contribute to the main causes and conditions associated with IUFD, over an 11-year period in a region of North-East Italy (Friuli Venezia Giulia) for which reliable data in available.

Methods: Retrospective analysis of all 278 IUFD cases occurred between 2005 and 2015 in pregnancies with gestational age ≥ 23 weeks.

Effect of Temperature on the Mechanical Properties and Polymerization Kinetics of Polyamide-6 Composites.

This work reports the preparation of carbon fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites via the in situ anionic ring opening polymerization of ε-caprolactam. Vacuum assisted resin transfer molding was used to fabricate polyamide-6/carbon fiber composites at different molding temperatures. As a result, the higher polymerization of ε-caprolactam was observed with the condition at 140 °C for satisfactory impregnation.

Effect of muscular activation on surrounding motor networks in developmental stuttering: A TMS study.

Previous studies regarding developmental stuttering (DS) suggest that motor neural networks are strongly affected. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was used to investigate neural activation of the primary motor cortex in DS during movement execution, and the influence of muscle representations involved in movements on "surrounding" ones. TMS was applied over the contralateral abductor digiti minimi (ADM) motor representation, at rest and during the movement of homologue first dorsal interosseous muscles (tonic contraction, phasic movements cued by acoustic signalling, and "self-paced" movements).

Stuttering as a matter of delay in neural activation: A combined TMS/EEG study.

Objective: Brain dynamics in developmental stuttering (DS) are not well understood. The supplementary motor area (SMA) plays a crucial role, since it communicates with regions related to planning/execution of movements, and with sub-cortical regions involved in paced/voluntary acts (such as speech). We used TMS combined with EEG to shed light on connections in DS, stimulating the SMA.

Psychometric properties of three different scales for subjective evaluation of shoulder pain and dysfunction in Italian patients after shoulder surgery for anterior instability.

Background: The Italian versions of Shoulder Pain and Disability Index (SPADI), Simple Shoulder Test (SST), and University of California-Los Angeles (UCLA) Shoulder Rating Scale have been validated to assess shoulder dysfunction in patients treated for neck cancer. The present study investigated the psychometric properties of the Italian versions of the SPADI, SST, and UCLA in patients after shoulder surgery for anterior instability.

Materials And Methods: The study population included 98 patients.

The Degree of Shoulder Involvement in Sports (DOSIS) scale is a valid and responsive instrumentation for shoulder assessment in patients after surgery for anterior instability.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate validity and responsiveness of the Degree of Shoulder Involvement in Sport (DOSIS) scale.

Methods: A web-based survey was developed to test the construct validity of the DOSIS scale. Fifty-three patients with a median age of 33 years (range 17-59) were included in the study.

Expansion of CD25-Negative Forkhead Box P3-Positive T Cells during HIV and Infection.

Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV alter the immune system, and coinfected (HIV-TB) individuals usually present deregulations of T-lymphocytic immune response. We previously observed an increased frequency of "unconventional" CD4CD25FoxP3 Treg (uTreg) population during HIV-TB disease. Therefore, we aimed to explore the phenotype and function of uTreg and conventional CD4CD25FoxP3 Treg subsets (cTreg) in this context.

Altered Modulation of Silent Period in Tongue Motor Cortex of Persistent Developmental Stuttering in Relation to Stuttering Severity.

Motor balance in developmental stuttering (DS) was investigated with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), with the aim to define novel neural markers of persistent DS in adulthood. Eleven DS adult males were evaluated with TMS on tongue primary motor cortex, compared to 15 matched fluent speakers, in a "state" condition (i.e.

Subacute cognitive disorders as initial presentation of intravascular lymphoma: a case report and review of literature.

Intravascular lymphoma is a rare subtype of diffuse large B cell lymphoma, characterized by proliferation of mature B cells within the lumina of small and medium vessels of many organs, without parenchymal involvement. The clinical phenotype is extremely variegated; moreover, neurological symptoms such as encephalopathy and focal neurological deficits occur and often coincide with disease's debut. We described the clinical course of a patient with intravascular diffuse large B cell lymphoma presented with subacute cognitive decline without focal signs, later associated to aspecific general symptoms that rapidly evolved to a severe inexplicable encephalopathy accompanied to systemic failure.

Effect of filler content on bending properties of dental composites: numerical simulation with the use of the finite-element method.

The purpose of this work is to investigate the influence of filler content on the bending properties of dental composites by use of the finite-element method (FEM). The proposed numerical model was constructed from isotropic shell elements representing silica filler, and isotropic beam elements representing the remaining matrix resin. The proposed model was applied to failure analysis under three-point bending conditions.

Tuberculosis and HIV: a partnership against the most vulnerable.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Each year, there are eight million new Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTB) infections and three million TB-related deaths. The catastrophic effects of TB are borne disproportionately among the most vulnerable.

[Visitors' opinion on the system of patient visits in an intensive care unit].

The objective of this study is to identify whether the current system of visits schedule and patient's information at a Clinical and Surgical Intensive Care Unit (ICU) satisfy the patient's visitors. To do it, two hundred questionnaires were distributed, during a month, and one hundred and sixty returned. The results showed that 70% of the visitors are satisfied with the current schedule; 67% come in daily; 66% are satisfied with the time they have for visiting, 54% asked for access in out of the current schedule, 69% are satisfied with staff information about patients; 88% of the visitors are patient's relatives.

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme isoforms (high and low molecular weight) in urine of premature and full-term infants.

Angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) isoforms in urine from healthy and mildly hypertensive untreated patients have been described in the literature. Healthy subjects have high- and low-molecular-weight ACEs (170 and 65 kDa), whereas mildly hypertensive untreated patients have only low-molecular-weight ACEs (90 and 65 kDa), both of which resemble ACE from the N-terminal domain. Previous studies have shown that ACE is regulated during development, and renal tubules of premature human infants are not completely mature, given that nephrogenesis is not complete until the 36th week of gestation.

Evaluation of an enzymatic immunohistochemical technique in human trichinellosis.

A comparative study was undertaken between an enzymatic immunohistochemical technique (EIT) developed for the diagnosis of human trichinellosis and the indirect immunofluorescence test (IIF), analysing sera from outbreaks of human trichinellosis in Argentina. The EIT was developed using a biotinylated anti-human gammaglobulin and a preformed macromolecular complex of avidin and biotinylated peroxidase. In both tests, the antigen used consisted of infected rat tissue sections containing muscle larval cysts of Trichinella spiralis.

Diagnosis of porcine trichinellosis: parasitological and immunoserological tests in pigs from endemic areas of Argentina.

In order to compare the reliability of serological and parasitological techniques for the diagnosis of porcine trichinellosis from endemic areas in Argentina, 116 pigs were studied: 61 animals from two separate outbreaks and 55 from a small abattoir. Direct diagnostic techniques included trichinoscopy and the artificial digestion method. Indirect diagnostic tests used in this study were the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), employing the excretory-secretory products of muscle larvae (ML) as antigen, and the indirect immunofluorescence assay using as antigen ML in suspension (IIF-susp), cryostat sections of infected rat muscle or of free ML (IIF-slide).

Impaired response to angiotensin II in type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. Role of prostaglandins and sodium-lithium countertransport activity.

The pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy remains elusive. A role for renal prostaglandins in antagonizing the hormonal effects of renin-angiotensin II has been postulated as a putative factor leading to hyperfiltration in patients with Type 1 (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. Our aim was to elucidate the effects of angiotensin II on kidney haemodynamics and on blood pressure in eight normal subjects, in nine normotensive, in nine hypertensive with normal sodium-lithium countertransport activity in erythrocytes, in seven hypertensive without and in eight hypertensive Type 1 diabetic patients with microalbuminuria and with high sodium-lithium countertransport activity in erythrocytes.

Effects of chronic alcohol intake on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in subjects with type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes.

Purpose: To study the effects of chronic alcohol intake on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism in subjects with non-insulin-dependent (type II) diabetes (NIDDM). To also evaluate the effect of alcohol withdrawal on metabolic control.

Patients And Methods: The study group consisted of 46 alcohol-consuming patients with NIDDM (NIDDM-B group), 35 non-alcohol-consuming patients with NIDDM (NIDDM group), and 40 normal control subjects.

Does ethanol intake interfere with the evaluation of glycated hemoglobins?

Ethanol and/or its metabolites interfere with the chromatographic assay of glycated hemoglobins. Fasting plasma glucose, blood ethanol, HbA(1), HbA(1c), HbA(1a+b), MCV and GGT were determined in 22 control subjects; 22 alcoholics, 22 diabetic patients and 22 alcoholic diabetic patients. Fasting plasma glucose and all hemoglobin fractions were lower in alcoholic subjects and, except for HbA(1a+b), higher in diabetic patients and in alcoholic diabetic patients.

Comparisons of Photosynthetic Responses of Xanthium strumarium and Helianthus annuus to Chronic and Acute Water Stress in Sun and Shade.

We have examined the effects of mild, chronic water stress and acute water stress on two water stress sensitive plants, Xanthium strumarium and Helianthus annuus. Using a combination of the leaf disc O(2) electrode to measure the light responses of photosynthesis and 77 K fluorescence to monitor damage to the primary photochemistry, we have found the following: (a) The CO(2) saturated rate of photosynthesis at high light is the most water stress sensitive parameter measured. (b) The apparent quantum yield (moles O(2) per mole photons) was slightly, if at all, affected by mild water stress (>-1.