BRAND: Brand recognition and attitude norms database.

Research involving brands has increased substantially in recent decades. However, no extensive and free dataset of consumer responses to branding stimuli exists. The present research develops and validates such a dataset, which we call the Brand Recognition and Attitude Norms Database (BRAND).

The Role of Cognitive Reserve in Protecting Cerebellar Volumes of Older Adults with mild Cognitive Impairment.

The present study aims to investigate the relationship between cerebellar volumes and cognitive reserve in individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). A description of proxies of cerebellar cognitive reserve in terms of different volumes across lobules is also provided. 36 individuals with MCI underwent neuropsychological (MoCA, MMSE, Clock test, CRIq) assessment and neuroimaging acquisition with magnetic resonance imaging at 3 T.

Typical CIDP, distal variant CIDP, and anti-MAG antibody neuropathy: An ultra-high frequency ultrasound comparison of nerve structure.

To date, little is known about the usefulness of ultra-high frequency ultrasound (UHF-US, 50-70 MHz) in clinical practice for the diagnosis of dysimmune neuropathies. We present a prospective study aimed at comparing UHF-US alterations of nerves and fascicles in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP), distal CIDP (d-CIDP) and anti-MAG neuropathy and their relationships with clinical and electrodiagnostic (EDX) features. 28 patients were included (twelve CIDP, 6 d-CIDP and 10 anti-MAG) and ten healthy controls.

Non-target embolic events during prostatic embolization with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH).

Background: This study evaluated nontarget embolization (NTE) during prostatic artery embolization (PAE) with ethylene vinyl alcohol copolymer (EVOH).

Results: Ten consecutive patients treated by PAE with EVOH for the presence of disabling benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH)-related lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) between June 22 and January 2023 were included in this prospective study. The inclusion criteria were as follows: LUTS attributed to BPH, LUTS duration ≥ 6 months, failure to respond to standard pharmacotherapy, IPSS > 18 or QoL score > 2, and prostate volume > 40 mL.

Frailty, psychological well-being, and social isolation in older adults with cognitive impairment during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: data from the GeroCovid initiative.

Background: The containment measures linked to the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the phyco-physical well-being of the population, especially older adults with neurocognitive disorders (NCDs). This study aims to evaluate whether the frailty of NCD patients was associated with different changes in multiple health domains, in particular in relation to loneliness and social isolation, pre- and post-lockdown.

Materials And Methods: Patients were recruited from 10 Italian Centers for Cognitive Disorders and Dementia.

Role of ultra-high-frequency ultrasound in the diagnosis and management of basal cell carcinoma: pilot study based on 117 cases.

Background: Ultrasound imaging has recently benefited from the introduction of a new 70 MHz transducer able to provide high-resolution images, i.e. ultra-high-frequency ultrasound (UHFUS).

Anatomical Variations of the Human Cochlea Using an Image Analysis Tool.

Understanding cochlear anatomy is crucial for developing less traumatic electrode arrays and insertion guidance for cochlear implantation. The human cochlea shows considerable variability in size and morphology. This study analyses 1000+ clinical temporal bone CT images using a web-based image analysis tool.

[Adaptation to Spanish and cross-cultural interpretation of the scale of lucidity and awareness in the subjects (Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams scale)].

Introduction: It is called lucid dreaming, when the dreamer is aware that he is dreaming and can control the dream content. We lack Spanish-speaking tools that assess the presence of lucid dreams, so our objectives were to carry out the adaptation to Spanish and cross-cultural interpretation of the Lucidity and Consciousness in Dreams Scale (LuCID) and to evaluate the presence of lucid dreamers.

Material And Methods: Cross-sectional study, carried out by means of translation and retro-translation of the LuCID scale.

Stress relaxation in tunable gels.

Hydrogels are a staple of biomaterials development. Optimizing their use in drug delivery or tissue engineering requires a solid understanding of how to adjust their mechanical properties. Here, we present a numerical study of a class of hydrogels made of 4-arm star polymers with a combination of covalent and reversible crosslinks.

Bayesian logistic shape model inference: Application to cochlear image segmentation.

Incorporating shape information is essential for the delineation of many organs and anatomical structures in medical images. While previous work has mainly focused on parametric spatial transformations applied to reference template shapes, in this paper, we address the Bayesian inference of parametric shape models for segmenting medical images with the objective of providing interpretable results. The proposed framework defines a likelihood appearance probability and a prior label probability based on a generic shape function through a logistic function.

Inner-ear augmented metal artifact reduction with simulation-based 3D generative adversarial networks.

Metal Artifacts creates often difficulties for a high quality visual assessment of post-operative imaging in computed tomography (CT). A vast body of methods have been proposed to tackle this issue, but these methods were designed for regular CT scans and their performance is usually insufficient when imaging tiny implants. In the context of post-operative high-resolution CT imaging, we propose a 3D metal artifact reduction algorithm based on a generative adversarial neural network.

Hepatitis C Virus Core Antigen (HCVAg): an affordable assay to monitor the efficacy of treatment in DAAs era.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) Core Antigen (HCVAg) and HCV-RNA were tested in 962 plasma/serum samples from 180 patients during Direct Antiviral Agents (DAAs) treatment and at follow-up. One hundred and eighty individuals were included: 71% carried advanced fibrosis and 43% were treatment-experienced. A Sustained Virological Response (SVR) was achieved in 166/180 (92%) individuals: 96/102 (94.

Visceral fat is associated to the severity of COVID-19.

Background: Excess visceral fat (VF) or high body mass index (BMI) is risk factors for severe COVID-19. The receptor for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is expressed at higher levels in the VF than in the subcutaneous fat (SCF) of obese patients.

Aim: To show that visceral fat accumulation better predicts severity of COVID-19 outcome compared to either SCF amounts or BMI.

Sonoelastography to Assess Muscular Stiffness Among Older Adults and its Use for the Diagnosis of Sarcopenia: A Systematic Review.

Changes in muscle stiffness have been reported with sarcopenia. Sonoelastography is an accessible and non-radiating imaging technique allowing quantification of elastic properties of tissue. We performed a systematic review of the literature to investigate whether sonoelastography can be a reliable method to assess sarcopenia in older patients.

Ultra-high-frequency ultrasound imaging of sural nerve: A comparative study with nerve biopsy in progressive neuropathies.

Introduction: Nerve ultrasound has been used increasingly in clinical practice as a complementary test for diagnostic assessment of neuropathies, but nerve biopsy remains invaluable in certain cases. The aim of this study was to compare ultra-high-frequency ultrasound (UHF-US) to histologic findings in progressive polyneuropathies.

Methods: Ten patients with severe, progressive neuropathies underwent ultrasound evaluation of the sural nerve before nerve biopsy.

Comparison of high-frequency and ultrahigh-frequency probes in chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Objectives: High-frequency ultrasound (HFUS 18-20 MHz) performed on patients with chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) shows a focal enlargement, particularly in the proximal segments of upper-arm motor nerves. Ultrahigh frequency ultrasound (UHFUS 30-70 MHz), having a higher spatial resolution, enables a better characterization of nerve structures. The aim of this study was to compare the two ultrasound probes in the evaluation of motor nerve characteristics in CIDP patients.

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous release of the carpal tunnel: comparison of the learning curves of a senior versus a junior operator. A cadaveric study.

Objective: The purpose was to evaluate, in a cadaveric cohort, the feasibility and the learning curve of ultrasound-guided percutaneous carpal tunnel release.

Materials And Methods: Fourteen carpal tunnel releases were carried out on unembalmed cadavers by a senior and a junior radiologist. Procedures were realized with an 18-MHz linear probe.

HABITAT: An IoT Solution for Independent Elderly.

In this work, a flexible and extensive digital platform for Smart Homes is presented, exploiting the most advanced technologies of the Internet of Things, such as Radio Frequency Identification, wearable electronics, Wireless Sensor Networks, and Artificial Intelligence. Thus, the main novelty of the paper is the system-level description of the platform flexibility allowing the interoperability of different smart devices. This research was developed within the framework of the operative project HABITAT (Home Assistance Based on the Internet of Things for the Autonomy of Everybody), aiming at developing smart devices to support elderly people both in their own houses and in retirement homes, and embedding them in everyday life objects, thus reducing the expenses for healthcare due to the lower need for personal assistance, and providing a better life quality to the elderly users.

Motor cortex neurovascular coupling: inputs from ultra-high-frequency ultrasound imaging in humans.

Objective: Neurovascular coupling reflects the link between neural activity and changes in cerebral blood flow. Despite many technical advances in functional exploration of the brain, including functional MRI, there are only a few reports of direct evidence of neurovascular coupling in humans. The authors aimed to explore, for the first time in humans, the local cerebral blood flow of the primary motor cortex using ultra-high-frequency ultrasound (UHF-US) Doppler imaging to detect low blood flow velocity (1 mm/sec).

Staphylococcus aureus vaccine preclinical and clinical development: current state of the art.

Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogen in both community and hospital settings. It is a significant etiological agent to treat in healthcare-related infections due to both its ability to cause invasive infection as well as to form biofilm on biomaterials and the high prevalence of resistance to first line antibiotics. The most challenging preventive strategy is vaccine development to guarantee a full and durable protection from staphylococcal diseases in all different high-risk populations, even if the lack of a known correlate of protection from S.

Automated analysis of human cochlea shape variability from segmented μCT images.

The aim of this study is to define an automated and reproducible framework for cochlear anatomical analysis from high-resolution segmented images and to provide a comprehensive and objective shape variability study suitable for cochlear implant design and surgery planning. For the scala tympani (ST), the scala vestibuli (SV) and the whole cochlea, the variability of the arc lengths and the radial and longitudinal components of the lateral, central and modiolar paths are studied. The robustness of the automated cochlear coordinate system estimation is validated with synthetic and real data.

Perirenal fat thickness measured with computed tomography is a reliable estimate of perirenal fat mass.

Deposition of perirenal adipose tissue has been associated with adverse renal and cardiovascular events. We compared various methods to measure perirenal adipose tissue using computerized tomography (CT)-scan and performed correlations with anthropometric measures associated with renal and cardiovascular events. Voluntary overweight and obese subjects undergoing a CT-scan for diagnostic purposes were included in the study.

Sculpting Silica Colloids by Etching Particles with Nonuniform Compositions.

We present the synthesis of new shapes of colloidal silica particles by manipulating their chemical composition and subsequent etching. Segments of silica rods, prepared by the ammonia catalyzed hydrolysis and condensation of tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS) from polyvinylpyrrolidone loaded water droplets, were grown under different conditions. Upon decreasing temperature, delaying ethanol addition, or increasing monomer concentration, the rate of dissolution of the silica segment subsequently formed decreased.