Internet-delivered emotional self-management program for the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: Usability testing.

Introduction: Internet-based self-help interventions have the potential to help people address their emotional needs at relatively low costs. However, if the system does not offer optimal functions, it could reduce end-user adherence and satisfaction with treatment and compromise the effectiveness of the program. This study evaluated the usability of an Internet-based self-help intervention for emotional self-management among the general population of Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Testing Dynamic Balance in People with Multiple Sclerosis: A Correlational Study between Standard Posturography and Robotic-Assistive Device.

Background: Robotic devices are known to provide pivotal parameters to assess motor functions in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) as dynamic balance. However, there is still a lack of validation studies comparing innovative technologies with standard solutions. Thus, this study's aim was to compare the postural assessment of fifty people with MS (PwMS) during dynamic tasks performed with the gold standard EquiTest and the robotic platform hunova, using Center of Pressure (COP)-related parameters and global balance indexes.

Exploring the Relationship of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms and Impulsiveness with the Quality of Life of Older Patients with Cardiovascular Disease: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: This study aimed to evaluate the relationship of selected clinical (i.e., body mass index, BMI) and psychological factors (i.

Relationship between Timed Up and Go performance and quantitative biomechanical measures of balance.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) impairs sensory-motor functions, with debilitating consequences on postural control and balance, which persist during the chronic stages of recovery. The Timed Up and Go (TUG) test is a reliable, safe, time-efficient, and one of the most widely used clinical measures to assess gait, balance, and fall risk in TBI patients and is extensively used in inpatient and outpatient settings. Although the TUG test has been used extensively due to its ease of performance and excellent reliability, limited research has been published that investigates the relationship between TUG performance and quantitative biomechanical measures of balance.

Validation of the Italian Version of the Web Screening Questionnaire for Common Mental Disorders.

Background: The ever-increasing spread of Internet-based systems for common mental disorders has generated the need for brief online screening methods. This study aims to test the psychometric properties of the Web Screening Questionnaire (WSQ) to examine its suitability for screening for common mental health problems among a community sample of Italian adults.

Methods: A total of 1282 subjects (F = 819; mean age = 42.

The Efficacy of Cognitive Remediation Therapy for Anorexia Nervosa: A Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.

Background: Cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) for anorexia nervosa (AN) is an intervention specifically focused on addressing cognitive difficulties associated with the eating disorder. This systematic review of systematic reviews and meta-analysis aimed to provide a summary of the existing literature examining the efficacy of CRT in improving the neuropsychological, psychological, and clinical parameters of patients with AN.

Methods: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were sought in electronic databases, encompassing studies that explored the impact of CRT on AN.

Usability study of SOSteniamoci: An internet-based intervention platform to support informal caregivers in Italy.

Background: Providing informal care can be experienced as stressful and lead to caregiver burden. Internet-based interventions, a specific form of eHealth, have proven to be a good option to support informal caregivers. SOSteniamoci, an internet-based intervention already tested in Lithuania, was translated and adapted for Italian caregivers.

A Computer Interface Controlled by Upper Limb Muscles: Effects of a Two Weeks Training on Younger and Older Adults.

As the population worldwide ages, there is a growing need for assistive technology and effective human-machine interfaces to address the wider range of motor disabilities that older adults may experience. Motor disabilities can make it difficult for individuals to perform basic daily tasks, such as getting dressed, preparing meals, or using a computer. The goal of this study was to investigate the effect of two weeks of training with a myoelectric computer interface (MCI) on motor functions in younger and older adults.

Standard versus innovative robotic balance assessment for people with multiple sclerosis: a correlational study.

Introduction: Balance disorders are common in people with Multiple Sclerosis (PwMS) and, together with other impairments and disabilities, often prevent PwMS from performing their daily living activities. Besides clinical scales and performance tests, robotic platforms can provide more sensitive, specific, and objective monitoring. Validated technologies have been adopted as gold standard, but innovative robotic solutions would represent an opportunity to detect balance impairment in PwMS.

Extracorporeal liver support techniques: a comparison.

ExtraCorporeal Liver Support (ECLS) systems were developed with the aim of supporting the liver in its detoxification function by clearing the blood from hepatic toxic molecules. We conducted a retrospective comparative analysis on patients presenting with liver failure who were treated with different extracorporeal techniques in our intensive care unit to evaluate and compare their detoxification abilities. To verify the effectiveness of the techniques, mass balance (MB) and adsorption per hour were calculated for total bilirubin (TB), direct bilirubin (DB), and bile acids (BA) from the concentrations measured.

Automatic video analysis and classification of sleep-related hypermotor seizures and disorders of arousal.

Objective: Sleep-related hypermotor epilepsy (SHE) is a focal epilepsy with seizures occurring mostly during sleep. SHE seizures present different motor characteristics ranging from dystonic posturing to hyperkinetic motor patterns, sometimes associated with affective symptoms and complex behaviors. Disorders of arousal (DOA) are sleep disorders with paroxysmal episodes that may present analogies with SHE seizures.

Progress in Dental Adhesive Materials.

There have been significant advances in adhesive dentistry in recent decades, with efforts being made to improve the mechanical and bonding properties of resin-based dental adhesive materials. Various attempts have been made to achieve versatility, introducing functional monomers and silanes into the materials' composition to enable the chemical reaction with tooth structure and restorative materials and a multimode use. The novel adhesive materials also tend to be simpler in terms of clinical use, requiring reduced number of steps, making them less technique sensitive.

ADRIS: The new open-source accessible driving simulator for training and evaluation of driving abilities.

Background And Objective: Independent living and transportation are crucial aspects for people living with a disability. After an injury, it is important to assess driving ability, in terms of physical and psychological conditions, and to test the effects of prescribed drugs. Within this framework, driving simulators are suitable tools for training driving skills; however, available tools are expensive or lack appropriate sets of behavioral measures to fully characterize the drivers' ability.

Markerless vs. Marker-Based Gait Analysis: A Proof of Concept Study.

The analysis of human gait is an important tool in medicine and rehabilitation to evaluate the effects and the progression of neurological diseases resulting in neuromotor disorders. In these fields, the gold standard techniques adopted to perform gait analysis rely on motion capture systems and markers. However, these systems present drawbacks: they are expensive, time consuming and they can affect the naturalness of the motion.

A Lifespan Approach to Balance in Static and Dynamic Conditions: The Effect of Age on Balance Abilities.

Postural control is a complex sensorimotor skill that is fundamental to our daily life. The abilities to maintain and recover balance degrade with age. However, the time decay of balance performance with age is not well understood.

Modified Functional Reach Test: Upper-Body Kinematics and Muscular Activity in Chronic Stroke Survivors.

Effective control of trunk muscles is fundamental to perform most daily activities. Stroke affects this ability also when sitting, and the Modified Functional Reach Test is a simple clinical method to evaluate sitting balance. We characterize the upper body kinematics and muscular activity during this test.

Clusters of SARS-CoV-2 Lineage B.1.1.7 Infection after Vaccination with Adenovirus-Vectored and Inactivated Vaccines.

A SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.

Chairside CAD/CAM Materials: Current Trends of Clinical Uses.

Restorative materials are experiencing an extensive upgrade thanks to the use of chairside Computer-aided design/computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) restorations. Therefore, due to the variety offered in the market, choosing the best material could be puzzling for the practitioner. The clinical outcome of the restoration is influenced mainly by the material and its handling than by the fabrication process (i.

Comparison of posterior indirect adhesive restorations (PIAR) with different preparations designs according to the adhesthetics classification.

Aim: To investigate whether different restoration designs, overlay types, and full crowns in posterior teeth have similarly acceptable marginal sealing and quality.

Materials And Methods: For Part 1 of the present study (investigation of fracture resistance), 70 extracted molars were divided into five groups (N = 14), prepared with four different posterior indirect adhesive restoration (PIAR) overlay design types, according to the adhesthetics classification. The groups were: 1.

Worsening of gas exchange parameters at high FiO in COVID-19: misleading or informative?

Background: In COVID-19, higher than expected level of intrapulmonary shunt has been described, in association with a discrepancy between the initial relatively preserved lung mechanics and the hypoxia severity. This study aim was to measure the shunt fraction and variations of PaO/FiO ratio and oxygen alveolar-arterial gradient (A-a O) at different FiO.

Methods: Shunt was measured by a non-invasive system during spontaneous breathing in 12 patients hospitalized at COVID-19 Semi-Intensive Care Unit of Papa Giovanni XXIII Hospital, Bergamo, Italy, between October 22 and November 23, 2020.

Comparison of posterior indirect adhesive restorations (PIAR) with different preparation designs according to the adhesthetics classification. Part 1: Effects on the fracture resistance.

Aim: To investigate whether: 1) in the adhesive era, a full-crown restoration in a molar tooth is more resistant compared with an overlay-type restoration; b) a posterior indirect adhesive restoration (PIAR) is similar to a sound tooth from a mechanical point of view.

Materials And Methods: Seventy extracted molars were divided into five groups (1. Butt Joint; 2.

At the peak of COVID-19 age and disease severity but not comorbidities are predictors of mortality: COVID-19 burden in Bergamo, Italy.

Background: Findings from February 2020, indicate that the clinical spectrum of COVID-19 can be heterogeneous, probably due to the infectious dose and viral load of SARS-CoV-2 within the first weeks of the outbreak. The aim of this study was to investigate predictors of overall 28-day mortality at the peak of the Italian outbreak.

Methods: Retrospective observational study of all COVID-19 patients admitted to the main hospital of Bergamo, from February 23 to March 14, 2020.