Search results for "Hand"
showing 10 items of 1364 documents
A fitness index model for Italian adolescents living in Southern Italy. The ASSO project
2016
BACKGROUND: Strong relations between physical fitness and health in adolescents have been established in the last decades. The main objectives of the present investigation were to assess major physical fitness components in a sample of Italian school adolescents, comparing them with international data, and providing a Fitness Index model derived from percentile cut-off values of five considered physical fitness components. METHODS: A total of 644 school pupils (15.9�1.1 years; M: N.=399; F: N.=245) were tested using the ASSO-Fitness Test Battery (FTB), a tool developed within the Adolescents and Surveillance System for the Obesity prevention project, which included the handgrip, standing br…
Initial information prior to movement onset influences kinematics of upward arm pointing movements
2016
International audience; To elaborate a motor plan and perform online control in the gravity field, the brain relies on priors and multisensory integration of information. In particular, afferent and efferent inputs related to the initial state are thought to convey sensorimotor information to plan the upcoming action. Yet it is still unclear to what extent these cues impact motor planning. Here we examined the role of initial information on the planning and execution of arm movements. Participants performed upward arm movements around the shoulder at three speeds and in two arm conditions. In the first condition, the arm was outstretched horizontally and required a significant muscular comm…
Resonance of cortico-cortical connections of the motor system with the observation of goal directed grasping movements
2010
Goal directed movements require the activation of parietal, premotor and primary motor areas. In monkeys, neurons of these areas become active also during the observation of movements performed by others, especially for coding the goal of the action (mirror system). Using bifocal transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in healthy subjects, we tested whether the observation of goal directed reach to grasp actions may lead to specific changes in the short-latency connections linking key areas of the mirror system, such as the anterior intraparietal cortex (AIP) and the ventral premotor cortex (PMv), with the primary motor cortex (M1). We found that AIP-M1 and PMv-M1 cortico-cortical interacti…
Genuair® Usability Test: Results of a National Public Survey of the Elderly
2016
Proper use of inhaler devices may be problematic in elderly patients due to age-related difficulties. A survey was administered to elderly patients to investigate the usability of the Genuair® device and patients' subjective viewpoint on the device. A representative sample of the Italian population aged ≥ 65 years was completed with a pre-defined sample of 89 patients with hand arthritis/arthrosis. Of 526 respondents, 88 were not self-sufficient. Only the replies of the 438 self-sufficient respondents were analyzed. A total of 107 participants (24%) reported having respiratory diseases, and 81 of these (76%) were users of inhaler devices. After the first test, the device was considered “pra…
Characteristics, Management Techniques, and Outcomes of the Most Common Soft-Tissue Hand Tumors: A Literature Review and Our Experience
2017
INTRODUCTION Diagnosis of the hand's soft-tissue tumors is often difficult because of the different anatomic structures present in this region and yet clinicians must be able to distinguish typical benign entities from life-threatening or limb-threatening malignant diseases. MATERIALS AND METHODS At the Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery at the University of Palermo, 629 patients with hand tumors were studied. Treatment was surgical for all of them; also radiotherapy and chemotherapy were necessary based on the histological diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS Our retrospective study with a literature review aims to present the most commonly observed soft-tissue hand lesions, analyzing thei…
Long-lasting handling affects behavioural reactivity in adult rats of both sexes prenatally exposed to diazepam
2001
Environmental stressors can substantially affect the adaptive response of rats to novelty in a sexually dimorphic manner. Gender-related differences are also observed in neurochemical and behavioural patterns of adult rats following prenatal exposure to diazepam (DZ). In the present study the behavioural reactivity to novelty is investigated in open field (OF) and in acoustic startle reflex (ASR) tests, in non handled (NH), short-lasting handled (SLH) and long-lasting handled (LLH) adult male and female rats prenatally exposed to DZ. A single daily s.c. injection of DZ (1.5 mg/kg) over gestation days 14-20 decreases GABA/BDZ receptor function in both sexes, as shown by the decreased electro…
Depressed mood and body mass index as predictors of muscle strength decline in old men
2000
OBJECTIVE: To study depressed mood as a predictor of strength decline within body weight categories over a 3-year follow-up period. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study over 3 years. SETTING: Honolulu, Hawaii. PARTICIPANTS: The subjects were 2275 men participating in the Honolulu Heart Program with an average age of 77.1 years (range 71–92 years), who were not cognitively impaired at baseline (Exam 4), and who participated in maximal hand grip strength measurements at baseline and 3 years later (Exam 5). MEASUREMENTS: Hand grip strength was measured using a dynamometer. Depressive symptoms were studied using an 11-item version of Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale with 9 as a c…
Self-esteem at school and self-handicapping in childhood: comparison of groups with learning disabilities.
2013
Recent research has focused on the role of self-esteem and self-handicapping strategies in the school domain. Self-handicapping refers to maladaptive strategies employed by adults and children for protection and maintenance of positive school self esteem. In this study the self-esteem and the self-handicapping strategies of children with dyslexia, reading comprehension disabilities, and mathematical disabilities were compared to a control group with normal learning. There were 56 children whose mean age was 8 (23 girls, 33 boys), attending Grade 3 of primary school. These pupils were selected by scores on a battery of learning tests commonly used in Italy for assessment of learning disabil…
Association between sarcopenia and quality of life among adults aged ≥ 65 years from low- and middle-income countries
2022
Background Sarcopenia has been associated with a lower quality of life (QoL). However, studies on this association from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce. Aims To examine the association between sarcopenia and QoL, in a large nationally representative sample of older adults from six LMICs. Methods Cross-sectional, community-based data from the WHO study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE) were analysed. Non-severe sarcopenia was defined as having low skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and weak handgrip strength but no slow gait speed, while severe sarcopenia was defined as having low SMM, weak handgrip strength, and slow gait speed. QoL was assessed with the 8-item WHO QoL in…
Sleep duration and sarcopenia in adults aged ≥ 65 years from low and middle-income countries
2022
Background: Sleep duration may influence risk for sarcopenia but studies on this topic are scarce, especially from low and- middle-income countries (LMICs). Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the association between sleep duration and sarcopenia among adults aged ≥ 65 years from five LMICs (China, Ghana, India, Russia, South Africa). Methods: Cross-sectional, community-based data from the WHO study on global ageing and adult health (SAGE) were analysed. Sarcopenia was defined as having low skeletal muscle mass (SMM) and weak handgrip strength, while severe sarcopenia was defined as having low SMM, weak handgrip strength, and slow gait speed. Self-reported sleep duration i…