Search results for "Function"
showing 10 items of 14432 documents
Assessment of Physical Fitness and Risk Factors for the Occurrence of the Frailty Syndrome among Social Welfare Homes’ Residents over 60 Years of Age…
2022
The study aimed at assessing physical fitness and occurrence of the frailty syndrome among social welfare homes’ residents as well as defining factors which determine the level of frailty and its occurrence. The examination included 198 residents (115 females and 83 males of average age 75.5 ± 10.21) and was carried out with the use of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) test with the following cut-off points: 0–6—frail, 7–9—pre-frail, 10–12—non-frail. The research additionally collected data regarding age, gender, number of chronic diseases, education level, type of prior work and current physical activity. In addition, the height …
Laparoscopic subtotal gastrectomy for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer: a comparison with open procedure at the beginning of the learning cur…
2017
Background: In the last decades, after some initial concern, laparoscopic subtotal gastrectomy (LSG) is gaining popularity also for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer (AGC). The aim of this study is to compare a single surgeon initial experience on LSG and open subtotal gastrectomy in terms of surgical safety and radicality, postoperative recovery and midterm oncological outcomes. Methods: a case control study was conducted matching the first 13 LSG for AGC with 13 open procedures performed by the same surgeon. Operative and pathological data, postoperative parameters and midterm oncological outcomes were analyzed. Results: There was no significant difference in mortality (0%) and mor…
Association Between Free-Living Sit-to-Stand Transition Characteristics, and Lower-Extremity Performance, Fear of Falling, and Stair Negotiation Diff…
2022
Abstract Background Good sit-to-stand (STS) performance is an important factor in maintaining functional independence. This study investigated whether free-living STS transition volume and intensity, assessed by a thigh-worn accelerometer, is associated with characteristics related to functional independence. Methods Free-living thigh-worn accelerometry was recorded continuously for 3–7 days in a population-based sample of 75-, 80-, and 85-year-old community-dwelling people (479 participants; women n = 287, men n = 192). The records were used to evaluate the number and intensity (angular velocity of the STS phase) of STS transitions. Associations with short physical performance battery (SPP…
The Effects of COVID-19 lockdown on neuropsychiatric symptoms in patients with dementia or mild cognitive impairment: A systematic review and meta-an…
2022
The COVID-19 pandemic may have a disproportionate impact on people with dementia/mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to isolation and loss of services. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) in people living with dementia/MCI. Two authors searched major electronic databases from inception to June 2021 for observational studies investigating COVID-19 and NPS in people with dementia/MCI. Summary estimates of mean differences in NPS scores pre- versus post-COVID-19 were calculated using a random-effects model, weighting cases using inverse variance. Study quality and risk of bias were assessed by the Newcastl…
A Bio-Inspired Cognitive Agent for Autonomous Urban Vehicles Routing Optimization
2017
Autonomous urban vehicle prototypes are expected to be efficient even in not explicitly planned circumstances and dynamic environments. The development of autonomous vehicles for urban driving needs real-time information from vehicles and road network to optimize traffic flows. In traffic agent-based models, each vehicle is an agent, while the road network is the environment. Cognitive agents are able to reason on the perceived data, to evaluate the information obtained by reasoning, and to learn and respond, preserving their self-sufficiency, independency, self-determination, and self-reliance. In this paper, a bio-inspired cognitive agent for autonomous urban vehicles routing optimization…
Towards an Agent-Based Model for the Analysis of Macroeconomic Signals
2020
This work introduces an agent-based model for the analysis of macroeconomic signals. The Bottom-up Adaptive Model (BAM) deploys a closed Walrasian economy where three types of agents (households, firms and banks) interact in three markets (goods, labor and credit) producing some signals of interest, e.g., unemployment rate, GDP, inflation, wealth distribution, etc. Agents are bounded rational, i.e., their behavior is defined in terms of simple rules finitely searching for the best salary, the best price, and the lowest interest rate in the corresponding markets, under incomplete information. The markets define fixed protocols of interaction adopted by the agents. The observed signals are em…
Predictive signs and indicators of aggressiveness and violence: a comparison between a group of adolescents attending an external penal area, a group…
2006
Aim. We considered the spreading and the increasing of aggressive and violent behaviours. The most of them have two common roots: lack of actual motivation and brutality. Our research intends to detect specific indicators and predictive signs of violent and aggressive behaviours. In order to this, scientific literature shows that the most reliable indicators and predictive signs are linked to structural personality features (e.g. defensive strategies, impulse control). Methods. This cross sectional study compares a group of 26 male adolescents with Conduct Disorder (F91.8), a group of 29 male patients with Borderline Personality Disorder (F60.31) and a group of 33 male prisoners with Antiso…
Evaluation of Nanostructured Coatings for the Protection of Apuan Marble Stone
2019
Nowadays the use of multifunctional nanomaterials has significantly increased with interesting applications for the cultural heritage conservation sector, leading to the definition and use of products with innovative properties. Therefore, a preliminary validation of the performances and behavior over time of these treatments becomes an unavoidable key point for a correct use of these products before being applied to historical materials, in order to avoid irreparable damage over time. In this direction, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment with multifunctional nanostructured products on Apuan marble. The focus of the work was to test methods to accelerat…
Older and Younger Adults Perform Similarly in an Iterated Trust Game
2021
This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, with pre-doctoral FPU fellowship FPU14/07106 to MT, and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, with research projects PSI2014-52764-P and PSI2017-84926-P to JL. This research is part of MT’s thesis dissertation under the supervision of JL.
Effects of chronic airway disease on health status of geriatric patients.
2004
Background and aims: The impact of chronic airway disease on the health status of elderly patients is only to some extent explained by indexes of airflow limitation. The present study was designed to assess to what extent: 1) asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and chronic bronchitis with normal FEV1 (simple bronchitis) differ in their impact on health status; 2) health status depends upon non-respiratory factors. Methods: A total of 1601 outpatients over 65 - 198 with asthma, 228 with COPD, 91 with simple bronchitis, and 1084 with non-respiratory illnesses (control group) -were studied by collection of five health status indexes and multidimensional assessment. Discriminan…