Desire thinking as a predictor of drinking status following treatment for alcohol use disorder: A prospective study.

Research has indicated that craving is one of the strongest predictors of treatment outcome and relapse in Alcohol Use Disorders (AUD) but there is little consensus on the factors that may influence its activation and escalation. Research has also shown that desire thinking is an important cognitive process which may exacerbate craving in problem drinkers. The aim of present study was to explore, for the first time, the role of desire thinking in prospectively predicting relapse, craving and binge drinking in patients receiving treatment for AUD.

[From the addiction rehabilitation program to the return to work: results of an employment and social intervention among young adults with substance dependence].

Introduction: Substance dependence problems are considered to be a relevant issue for a large proportion of the working population and represent a huge health and occupational cost. However, few studies have examined the return to work after addiction problems.

Aims: This exploratory follow-up study aims to evaluate the return to work, in terms of employment outcomes, perceived work environment and physical and mental health of patients who have completed an addiction rehabilitation program and an employment and social intervention.

Rasch analysis of the Fatigue Severity Scale in Italian subjects with multiple sclerosis.

Objective: To perform a psychometric analysis of the Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS) using Rasch analysis in a sample of Italian subjects with multiple sclerosis.

Methods: The 9-item FSS was administered to 156 Italian-speaking subjects with multiple sclerosis. Responses were assessed using Cronbach's alpha, item-remainder correlations, factor analysis and Rasch analysis.

Disentangling Action from Social Space: Tool-Use Differently Shapes the Space around Us.

Converging evidence suggests close relationships between the action and social space representations. The concepts of peripersonal space, as defined by cognitive neuroscience, and interpersonal space, as defined by social psychology, refer to approximately the same spatial area surrounding our bodies. The aim of this study was thus to assess experimentally whether the peripersonal (PPS) and interpersonal space (IPS) represent a similar psychological entity.

Prismatic Adaptation Induces Plastic Changes onto Spatial and Temporal Domains in Near and Far Space.

A large literature has documented interactions between space and time suggesting that the two experiential domains may share a common format in a generalized magnitude system (ATOM theory). To further explore this hypothesis, here we measured the extent to which time and space are sensitive to the same sensorimotor plasticity processes, as induced by classical prismatic adaptation procedures (PA). We also exanimated whether spatial-attention shifts on time and space processing, produced through PA, extend to stimuli presented beyond the immediate near space.

Psychological changes in alcohol-dependent patients during a residential rehabilitation program.

Background: Alcohol-dependent patients usually experience negative affects under the influence of alcohol, and these affective symptoms have been shown to decrease as a result of alcohol-withdrawal treatment. A recent cognitive-affective model suggests an interaction between drug motivation and affective symptoms. The aim of this multicenter study was to evaluate the psychological changes in subjects undergoing a residential rehabilitation program specifically designed for alcohol addiction, and to identify at discharge patients with greater affective symptoms and therefore more at risk of relapse.

Who is speaking? Implicit and explicit self and other voice recognition.

In the domain of self-recognition, voice is a critical feature for self/other distinction. The aim of this study was to explore if people have an implicit and/or explicit knowledge of their voice. A group of healthy participants were submitted to an implicit and an explicit self-voice recognition task.

Left insular cortex and left SFG underlie prismatic adaptation effects on time perception: evidence from fMRI.

Prismatic adaptation (PA) has been shown to affect left-to-right spatial representations of temporal durations. A leftward aftereffect usually distorts time representation toward an underestimation, while rightward aftereffect usually results in an overestimation of temporal durations. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study the neural mechanisms that underlie PA effects on time perception.

Searching for optimal rating scales in the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI).

The comparison of the performance of the numerical rating scale (NRS) versus visual analog scale (VAS) in the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) showed that the 11-point NRS is psychometrically superior to the 10-cm VAS. This finding is in agreement with previous studies and the recommendation by the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society. To illustrate the functioning of the response categories of both BASFI and BASDAI, we analyzed the rating scales (using the Rasch rating scale model) in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Personal space regulation in childhood autism spectrum disorders.

People appropriately adjust the distance between themselves and others during social interaction, and they may feel discomfort and move away when another person intrudes on their personal space. In the present study, we investigated personal space in children with persistent difficulties in the domain of social behavior, such as children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and in children with typical development (TD). The stop-distance paradigm was used to derive estimates of interpersonal distance, before and after a brief interaction with an unfamiliar adult confederate.

[Rehabilitative and economic effectiveness of an outpatient rehabilition practice].

Unlabelled: Up to date studies have assessed costs and outcomes of rehabilitation in outpatients. Aim of the current prospective study was to evaluate the rehabilitative and economical effectiveness of an outpatient rehabilitative practice.

Methods: The study was performed in 349 patients admitted for rehabilitation due to sequelae of orthopaedic surgery (repair of rotator cuff tear, anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction), limbs fracture (should, wrist, foot), whiplash neck pain, and chronic spinal pain (low back pain and neck pain).

[Malignant mesothelioma: analysis of a hospital case series].

The 2000-2010 case record of our Institute includes 77 cases of malignant mesothelioma (MM) [67 pleural (40 males, 27 females; mean age 63.9 years), 9 peritoneal (7 males, 2 females; 67.9 years) and one testicular (38 year-old man)], often associated, with various degree of probability, to previous asbestos exposure (occupational or environmental).

Rasch analysis of the 22 knee injury and osteoarthritis outcome score-physical function items in Italian patients with knee osteoarthritis.

Objectives: To replicate previous Rasch analysis (RA) that yielded the 7-item Physical Function Short Form of the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS-PS7) in order to verify the consistency of the item selection process, and to analyze its main psychometric properties in a sample of Italian patients with osteoarthritis (OA).

Design: Methodological research on cross-sectional data from a convenience sample.

Setting: University hospital.

Hematuria in a runner after treatment with whole body vibration: a case report.

The use of whole body vibration (WBV) for therapeutic purposes is far from being standardized and the training protocols reported in the literature vary considerably. Currently, the optimal threshold for a beneficial effect is undetermined, and caution regarding potential health risks due to WBV is always necessary. In this case report, we present a 34-year-old otherwise healthy elite athlete (steeplechase runner) who suffered two episodes of hematuria (HT) after WBV training.

Immediate effects of kinesiotaping on quadriceps muscle strength: a single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial.

Objective: To investigate the immediate effects on maximal muscle strength of kinesiotaping (KT) applied to the dominant quadriceps of healthy subjects.

Design: Single-blind, placebo-controlled crossover trial.

Setting: "Salvatore Maugeri" Foundation.

Patient satisfaction with hospital rehabilitation: validation of the SAT-16 questionnaire through Rasch analysis.

Aim: The SAT-16 is a 16-item self-administered questionnaire measuring patient satisfaction with the quality of care during stay in a rehabilitation unit. A comprehensive psychometric analysis of SAT-16 was performed using both classical test theory and Rasch analysis (RA) to examine its validity and metric properties, and provide further insights for its clinical use in rehabilitation settings.

Methods: A sample of 9458 patients, consecutively admitted to two Rehabilitation Centres, was examined with SAT-16.

Bibliometric indicators: a snapshot of the scientific productivity of leading European PRM researchers.

Aim: The aim of this paper was to explore the validity and practical usefulness of a set of bibliometric indicators with a focus on the scientific production of influential European researchers in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (PRM).

Methods: We randomly selected 24 European PRM specialists from the list of invited lecturers or chairpersons at the 17th ESPRM Congress in 2010. Using the time window 1996-2010, we recorded the number of papers published, total number of citations, and h-index from Web of Science (WoS) and Publish or Perish (PoP) databases.

Bibliometric indicators and core journals in physical and rehabilitation medicine.

Background And Objective: The concept of the "standing" of scientific journals (in terms of influence, prestige, popularity, etc.) is multi-dimensional and cannot be captured adequately by a single indicator. The aim of this report is to compare and comment on different bibliometric indicators related to some leading journals in rehabilitation, in order to provide further insights regarding their practical usefulness for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine.

Time and spatial attention: effects of prism adaptation on temporal deficits in brain damaged patients.

Growing evidence indicates that the representations of space and time interact in the brain but the exact neural correlates of such interaction remain unknown. Neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies show that processing of temporal information engages a distributed network in the right hemisphere and suggest a link between deficits in spatial attention and deficits in time perception. In the present study we used the procedure of prismatic adaptation (PA) to directionally manipulate spatial attention in order to explore the effect of attentional deviation on time perception in patients with right (RBD) vs.

Psychometric properties of QuickDASH - a classical test theory and Rasch analysis study.

The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive psychometric analysis of QuickDASH, using both classical test theory and Rasch analysis, in order to examine in detail its metric properties. A convenience sample of 283 patients with upper limb disorders was enrolled. The QuickDASH item responses were extracted from the subjects' responses to the official full-length Italian version of DASH.

Suggestions for refinement of the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Outcome Measure (DASH): a factor analysis and Rasch validation study.

Objective: To perform a comprehensive psychometric analysis of Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand (DASH) to examine its properties and provide insights for an improved version.

Design: Methodologic research on cross-sectional data from a convenience sample.

Setting: A free-standing rehabilitation center.

Functional outcome after stroke in patients with aphasia and neglect: assessment by the motor and cognitive functional independence measure instrument.

Background: The role of neuropsychological deficits in predicting functional outcome in patients with aphasia and neglect at the end of rehabilitation after stroke has been poorly investigated. This was the aim of this prospective study evaluated using a Functional Independence Measure (FIM) instrument.

Methods: Patients with a primary diagnosis of cerebrovascular accident [125 patients with aphasia, 45 with neglect and 131 without either aphasia or neglect (WAN)] were enrolled.

Predicting outcome after stroke: the role of aphasia.

Objective: Very few studies have investigated the predictive value of functional outcome, social outcome and discharge destination in patients with cerebrovascular accident (CVA) with aphasia. The aim of this study was to verify whether aphasia is predictor for outcome in patients with stroke with aphasia.

Methods: The study was carried out in 262 patients with primary diagnosis of CVA and aphasia, included over a 6-year period (2001-2007): 131 with and 131 without aphasia.

Using psychometric techniques to improve the Balance Evaluation Systems Test: the mini-BESTest.

Objective: To improve, with the aid of psychometric analysis, the Balance Evaluation Systems Test (BESTest), a tool designed to analyse several postural control systems that may contribute to poor functional balance in adults.

Methods: Performance of the BESTest was examined in a convenience sample of 115 consecutive adult patients with diverse neurological diagnoses and disease severity, referred to rehabilitation for balance disorders. Factor (both explorative and confirmatory) and Rasch analysis were used to process the data in order to produce a new, reduced and coherent balance measurement tool.