Search results for " FEM"

Visual distractors differentially interfere with the reaching and grasping components of prehension movements

1998

In the present study we addressed the issue of how an object is visually isolated from surrounding cues when a reaching-grasping (prehension) movement towards it is planned. Subjects were required to reach and grasp an object presented either alone or with a distractor. In five experiments, different degrees of elaboration of the distractor were induced by varying: (1) the position of the distractor (central or peripheral); (2) the time when the distractor was suppressed (immediately or delayed, with respect to stimulus presentation); and (3) the type of distractor analysis (implicit or explicit). In addition, we tested whether the possible effects of the distractor on reaching-grasping wer…

Cancer incidence in Italian contaminated sites

2014

INTRODUCTION: The incidence of cancer among residents in sites contaminated by pollutants with a possible health impact is not adequately studied. In Italy, SENTIERI Project (Epidemiological study of residents in National Priority Contaminated Sites, NPCSs) was implemented to study major health outcomes for residents in 44 NPCSs. METHODS: The Italian Association of Cancer Registries (AIRTUM) records cancer incidence in 23 NPCSs. For each NPCSs, the incidence of all malignant cancers combined and 35 cancer sites (coded according to ICD-10), was analysed (1996-2005). The observed cases were compared to the expected based on age (5-year period,18 classes), gender, calendar period (1996-2000; 2…

FISH screening of aneuploidies in preimplantation embryos to improve IVF outcome

2005

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) has transformed the approach to the infertility patient in the IVF setting. Although the principal applications of PGD have been to prevent the transmission of sex-linked diseases, in time and with growing knowledge of the chromosomal abnormalities observed in preimplantation embryos, its applications have widened. Nowadays, apart from its implications in the prevention of transmission of chromosomal and genetic abnormalities, PGD is being used with increased frequency to improve the IVF outcome in patients with advanced maternal age (or =38 years of age), recurrent miscarriage (or =2 miscarriages), recurrent IVF failure (or =3 failed IVF attempts) an…

Hysteroscopic resection of the septum improves the pregnancy rate of women with unexplained infertility: a prospectine controlled trial

2009

Objective: To assess fecundity of infertile women after surgical correction of uterine septum. Design: Prospective controlled trial. Setting: Three academic infertility clinics. Patient(s): Forty-four women affected by septate uterus and otherwise unexplained infertility represented the study group (group A), and 132 women with unexplained infertility were enrolled as control subjects (group B). Intervention(s): Hysteroscopic metroplasty was performed in group A, and group B was managed expectantly. All women were followed-up for 1 year without any other intervention. Main Outcome Measure(s): Fecundity rate was calculated as the number of pregnancies per 100 person-months Result(s): Pregnan…

Effect of sperm DNA fragmentation on pregnancy outcome depends on oocyte quality

2010

Objective To quantify the effect of sperm DNA fragmentation (SDF) on reproductive outcome by evaluating the most statistically significant bias factors using logistic regression. Design Prospective blind observational cohort study. Setting University affiliated private IVF unit. Patient(s) Two hundred ten male partners of couples undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) or first intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles with fresh or thawed sperm with the women's own or donated oocytes. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) SDF determined before and after swim-up (n = 420), odds ratio calculated of the effect of an increase of one unit of SDF on pregnancy, and stratified regress…

Instantaneous transfer entropy for the study of cardio-respiratory dynamics

2015

Measures of transfer entropy have been proposed to quantify the directional coupling and strength between two complex physiological variables. Particular attention has been given to nonlinear interactions within cardiovascular and respiratory dynamics as influenced by the autonomic nervous system. However, standard transfer entropy estimates have shown major limitations in dealing with issues concerning stochastic system modeling, limited observations in time, and the assumption of stationarity of the considered physiological variables. Moreover, standard estimates are unable to track time-varying changes in nonlinear coupling with high resolution in time. Here, we propose a novel definitio…

Ingenol mebutate gel is effective against anogenital warts - a case series in 17 patients.

2015

An exploratory, prospective, open-label trial of ingenol mebutate gel 0.05% for the treatment of external anogenital warts

2017

BACKGROUND Anogenital warts (AGW) can cause physical discomfort and decreased quality of life. Recent case reports suggest that ingenol mebutate gel might be an effective treatment of AGW. OBJECTIVE To explore primarily the safety, and secondarily the efficacy of ingenol mebutate gel 0.05% in patients with AGW. METHODS This was an exploratory, open-label, 1-arm trial of ingenol mebutate gel 0.05% administered up to three times to patients with AGW. Safety was assessed by occurrence and severity of local skin reactions (LSRs) and treatment-related adverse events (AEs). Efficacy was assessed by complete clearance and reduction in AGW count 14 days after last treatment, and recurrence 12 weeks…

Usefulness of echocardiography in the assessment of internal medicine inpatients: An analysis according to ACC/AHA guidelines

1999

BACKGROUND: We aimed to analyze the importance of echocardiography in our Internal Medicine Institute. We think that this technique could have a large impact in the evaluation of the internistic inpatient who is usually affected by multiple pathological problems. METHODS: Analysis was performed according to the ACC/AHA guidelines for the application of echocardiography. The data of 1211 consecutive inpatients were analyzed. RESULTS: Sixty-three per cent of all the patients had two or more associated diseases. Moreover, patients in whom echocardiography could be considered appropriate or useful were 67%. Our results point out that echocardiographic examination is generally a technique of gre…

Could university training and a proactive attitude of coworkers be associated with influenza vaccination compliance? A multicentre survey among Itali…

2016

Background: Although influenza vaccination has been demonstrated to be safe and effective, vaccination coverage rates among health care workers and among medical residents appear generally low. Several investigations have been performed worldwide to analyze the healthcare workers' educational deficiencies. This multicentre survey aimed to investigate at a nationwide level training quality and work environment associated with seasonal influenza vaccination uptake among Italian medical residents. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was carried out from April 2012 to June 2012 on medical residents regularly attending the post-graduate medical schools of 18 Italian Universities via an anonymo…