Reconfiguration strategy for fully actuated translational cable-suspended parallel robots.

In Cable-Suspended Parallel Robots (CSPRs), reconfigurability, i.e., the possibility of modifying the position of the cable connection points on the base frame, is particularly interesting to investigate, since it paves the way for future industrial and service applications of CSPRs, where the base frame can also be replaced by mobile agents.

Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns in Diabetic Foot Infections, an Epidemiological Study in Northeastern Italy.

This study is a retrospective epidemiological assessment of bacterial species isolated from a cohort of out-patients with diabetic foot infections referred to our "Diabetic Foot Unit" over one year, with particular attention to index pathogens, as identified by the EARS Network. and accounted for 33.5% and 11.

Multidisciplinary Approach for the Management and Treatment of Diabetic Foot Infections with a Resorbable, Gentamicin-Loaded Bone Graft Substitute.

Diabetic patients are at increased risk of developing foot ulcers which may cause bone infections associated with a high probability of both amputation and mortality. Therefore, prompt diagnosis and adequate treatment are of key importance. In our Diabetic Foot Unit, effective multidisciplinary treatment of osteomyelitis secondary to diabetes involves the application of a gentamicin-eluting calcium sulphate/hydroxyapatite bone graft substitute to fill residual bone voids after debridement.

Diabetic foot management: multidisciplinary approach for advanced lesion rescue.

The diabetic foot is a complication of diabetes affecting 15% of diabetics in their lives. It is associated to diabetic neuropathy and peripheral vascular disease and its incidence has increased. The ulceration is the initial cause of a dramatic process leading, if not correctly treated, to amputations.

Intima-media thickness remodelling in hypertensive subjects with long-term well-controlled blood pressure levels.

Aim of this study was to evaluate in a long follow-up the carotid artery remodelling in a cohort of young hypertensive subjects having good blood pressure (BP) control. We studied 20 grade I hypertensives (HT) by assessing the B-mode ultrasound of mean carotid intima-media thickness (mean-IMT) and maximum IMT (M-MAX) in each carotid artery segment (common, bulb, internal), bilaterally. We compared their ultrasound measurements with those recorded 5 and 10 years earlier.

Cognitive Functions across the GNB3 C825T Polymorphism in an Elderly Italian Population.

To verify whether the C825T polymorphism of the GNB3 influences the response to neuropsychological tests, mini-mental state examination, digit span (DS), immediate and delayed prose memory, memory with interference at 10 and 30 seconds (MI 10 and 30), trail making tests (TMTs) A and B, abstraction task, verbal fluency (VF) test, figure drawing and copying, overlapping figures test and clock test were performed in 220 elderly men and women free from clinical dementia and from neurological and psychiatric diseases randomly taken from the Italian general population and analysed across the C825T polymorphism. The performance of DS, immediate and delayed prose memory, VF, and TMTs was worse in subjects who were TT for the polymorphism in comparison to the C-carriers. The performance of all tests declined with age.

Orthostatic hypotension does not increase cardiovascular risk in the elderly at a population level.

Background: The general belief that orthostatic hypotension (OH) predisposes to cardiovascular events is based on sparse and contradictory data, rarely derived from population studies.

Methods: A total of 1,016 men and women aged ≥65 years was studied in a 12-year epidemiological population-based study. Cardiovascular events were detected in subjects with and without OH (blood pressure (BP) decrease ≥20mm Hg for systolic or ≥10mm Hg for diastolic), and Cox analysis was performed including OH as an independent variable.

High dietary fiber intake prevents stroke at a population level.

Background & Aims: This research was aimed at clarifying whether high dietary fiber intake has an impact on incidence and risk of stroke at a population level.

Methods: In 1647 unselected subjects, dietary fiber intake (DFI) was detected in a 12-year population-based study, using other dietary variables, anagraphics, biometrics, blood pressure, heart rate, blood lipids, glucose, insulin, uricaemia, fibrinogenaemia, erytrosedimentation rate, diabetes, insulin resistance, smoking, pulmonary disease and left ventricular hypertrophy as covariables.

Results: In adjusted Cox models, high DFI reduced the risk of stroke.

Arterial stiffness and related variables across menopausal status: an epidemiologic study.

Objectives: To determine if postmenopausal women have different arterial stiffness, blood pressure (BP) values, or metabolic patterns in comparison to fertile women and to men at a population level.

Methods: This is a population-based epidemiologic study of 1853 representative men and women aged 18-95 years. Clinostatic humeral BP was measured using Omron 705CP.

Cognitive functions and cognitive reserve in relation to blood pressure components in a population-based cohort aged 53 to 94 years.

In 288 men and women from general population in a cross-sectional survey, all neuropsychological tests were negatively associated with age; memory and executive function were also positively related with education. The hypertensives (HT) were less efficient than the normotensives (NT) in the test of memory with interference at 10 sec (MI-10) (-33%, P = 0.03), clock drawing test (CLOX) (-28%, P < 0.

The C825T GNB3 polymorphism, independent of blood pressure, predicts cerebrovascular risk at a population level.

Background: The role of C825T polymorphism of the candidate GNB3 gene in predicting cerebrovascular outcome has been poorly explored in longitudinal setting at a population level.

Methods: In an epidemiological setting, 1,678 men and women from general population were genotyped for C825T polymorphism of GNB3 gene and follow-up for 10 years to detect nonfatal and fatal cerebrovascular events (CE). Established cerebrovascular risk factors were used to adjust the multivariate Cox analysis for confounders.

Dietary iron intake and cardiovascular outcome in Italian women: 10-year follow-up.

Background: Both low and high iron levels have been associated with cardiovascular outcome. The aim of this study was to determine if dietary iron intake is a cardiovascular predictor in women at a population level.

Methods: A 138-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was administered to 906 women aged 61.