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The study of articulatory complexity has proven to yield useful insights into the phonological mechanisms of spoken languages. In sign languages, this type of knowledge is scarcely documented. The current study compares an error-driven measure and a model-driven measure of complexity for signs in French Sign Language (LSF). The former measure is based on error rates of handshape, location, orientation, movement, and sign fluidity in a repetition task administered to non-signers; the latter measure is derived by applying a feature-geometry model of sign description to the same set of signs. A significant correlation is found between the two measures for the overall complexity. When looking at the effects of individual phonological classes on complexity, a significant correlation is found for handshape and location but not for movement. We discuss how these results indicate that a fine-grained theoretical model of sign phonology/phonetics reflects the degree of complexity asfrom the perceptual and articulatory properties of signs.

SIGN-HUB is a European project involving collaborators from seven countries funded within the Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation program. The scope of the project is both socio-cultural and linguistic, as its aim is to document and preserve the culture, the history, and the languages of European Deaf communities. After a brief description of the various components of the project, we focus on the documentation of the life stories of Deaf people and the creation of a digital sign language archive.

Few studies have investigated the influence of age on the relationships between systemic vascular damage, kidney dysfunction, and intrarenal hemodynamic changes in patients with hypertension without overt cardiovascular disease. The authors enrolled 126 elderly patients with hypertension (aged ≥65 years) and 350 nonelderly patients with hypertension (aged

SCOPO DEL LAVORO L’emicrania oftalmoplegica è definita come la paralisi di uno o più nervi cranici oculomotori che insorge durante o dopo un attacco di emicrania. Tratto distintivo di questa patologia è l’oftalmoplegia, con dolore retro o sopraorbitale, associata spesso a nausea e vomito. Cessata la cefalea, l’oftalmoplegia può durare per alcuni giorni e poi scomparire, ma dopo molti attacchi può persistere la paresi del muscolo extraoculare. Lo scopo di questo lavoro è quello di descrivere le caratteristiche neuroradiologiche tipiche dell’emicrania oftalmoplegica in un caso pediatrico. MATERIALI E METODI Si descrive il caso di un bambino di 9 anni che accede in pronto soccorso per insorgenza acuta di cefalea, diplopia e ptosi palpebrale all’occhio destro. All’ingresso viene eseguito esame obiettivo, TC cranio e RM encefalo con mezzo di contrasto (1.5T). Esegue RM di controllo a 2,12 e 24 mesi. RISULTATI Il Paziente si presenta sofferente, con riferita cefalea da qualche giorno, seguita dalla comparsa di diplopia e ptosi palpebrale destra. La TC e l’RM documentano ispessimento dell’emergenza del III nervo cranico di destra, caratterizzato da enhancement post-contrastografico dopo somministrazione di chelati del gadolinio. Trattato con terapia cortisonica, il bambino ha mostrato progressivo miglioramento clinico- radiologico, con pressochè completa regressione della sintomatologia e dell’enhancement nelle RM di controllo, pur mantenendosi l’ispessimento del nervo. I reperti descritti sono compatibili con diagnosi di emicrania oftalmoplegica in accordo a quanto descritto in letteratura. L’emicrania oftalmoplegica è un quadro clinico-radiologico caratterizzato da cefalea del tipo emicrania accompagnata o seguita nei giorni successivi da paresi di uno o più tra III, IV e/o VI nervo cranico, spesso reversibile e autolimitante. Tipicamente nel bambino, durante la fase acuta, la RM mostra ispessimento rotondeggiante o trapezoide e omogeneo enhancement del tratto cisternale del nervo coinvolto (di solito il III nervo cranico), con risoluzione pressoché completa dell’enhancement nel periodo quiescente. Tali reperti RM sono sostenuti dal fatto che l’attacco emicranico innescherebbe vasospasmo dei vasa nervorum con conseguente alterazione della barriera emato-encefalica (immatura e poco efficiente specie nel bambino e nella zona di emergenza del nervo). CONCLUSIONI L’emicrania oftalmoplegica è un quadro clinico-radiologico caratteristico a prognosi buona e autolimitantesi. La RM è una metodica di imaging fondamentale per la diagnosi di tale condizione. La conoscenza dei reperti tipici è importante per la corretta pianificazione terapeutica.

Infectious diseases have large economic impacts on the pig breeding industry worldwide. A few genetic markers associated to disease resistance have been recently identified and used in marker-assisted selection (MAS) in a few pig populations, as part of disease control programs. Neonatal Diarrhea (ND), Post-weaning Diarrhea (PWD), caused by enterotoxigenic E. coli, and Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, caused by PRRS virus (PRRSV), are diseases with high priority for the pig industry. Since interactions or antagonism between growth, innate immunity and disease resistance traits could exist, this work investigated if four disease resistance gene markers [mucin 4 (MUC4), rs338992994 associated with resistance to ND; fucosyltransferase 1 (FUT1), rs335979375 associated with resistance to PWD; and guanylate binding protein 1 (GBP1), rs340943904 and rs80800372 (also known as WUR10000125) associated with resistance to PRRS] could affect seven production traits (average daily gain, back fat thickness, lean meat cuts, feed gain ratio, ham weight, visible intermuscular fat and ham weight loss at first salting) and 15 haematological parameters in about 550 performance tested Italian Large White pigs. We also monitored allele frequencies of the same markers on Italian Large White boars sampled under the national selection breeding program over a 20 years-period. Moreover, we evaluated allele frequencies of these polymorphisms in four Italian local pig breeds (Apulo-Calabrese, Casertana, Cinta Senese and Nero Siciliano). The frequency of the resistance-associated alleles for the four polymorphisms was usually higher in all local pig breeds, indirectly supporting a higher rusticity of autochthonous breeds, compared to commercial populations. The two GBP1 polymorphisms were not in complete linkage disequilibrium in all breeds, except in Apulo-Calabrese. No significant allele frequency change for the investigated markers occurred over 20 years in the Italian Large White boar population in three of these markers. Only FUT1 showed a modest but significant change of allele frequencies over this period. Association analyses carried out in Italian Large White pigs for production traits, meat quality or haematological parameters under investigation showed no significant effect of any genotyped polymorphisms. Our results indicate that implementing MAS programs in Italian Large White pigs with polymorphisms associated with disease resistance have no direct effects on production traits. The selection program running for this heavy pig breed might not negatively impact disease resistance derived by the investigated major genes.

The role of vascular renal changes in mediating the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and renal damage is unclear. The purposes of this study were to investigate the relationship between SUA and renal resistive index (RRI), assessed by duplex Doppler ultrasonography, and to assess whether hemodynamic renal changes may explain the association between SUA and renal damage in hypertensive patients. A total of 530 hypertensive patients with and without chronic kidney disease were enrolled and divided into SUA tertiles based on sex-specific cutoff values. RRI and albuminuria were greater and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was lower in the uppermost SUA tertile patients when compared with those in the lowest tertiles (all P

In this study, we investigated whether auditory deprivation leads to a more balanced bilateral control of spatial attention in the haptic space. We tested four groups of participants: early deaf, early blind, deafblind, and control (normally hearing and sighted) participants. Using a haptic line bisection task, we found that while normally hearing individuals (even when blind) showed a significant tendency to bisect to the left of the veridical midpoint (i.e., pseudoneglect), deaf individuals did not show any significant directional bias. This was the case of both deaf signers and non-signers, in line with prior findings obtained using a visual line bisection task. Interestingly, deafblind individuals also erred significantly to the left, resembling the pattern of early blind and control participants. Overall, these data critically suggest that deafness induces changes in the hemispheric asymmetry subtending the orientation of spatial attention also in the haptic modality. Moreover, our findings indicate that what counterbalances the right-hemisphere dominance in the control of spatial attention is not the lack of auditory input per se, nor sign language use, but rather the heavier reliance on visual experience induced by early auditory deprivation.

Casertana is an endangered autochthonous pig breed (raised in south-central Italy) that is considered to be the descendant of the influential Neapolitan pig population that was used to improve British breeds in the 19th century. Casertana pigs are characterized by a typical, almost complete, hairless phenotype, even though a few Casertana pigs are normal haired. In this work, using Illumina PorcineSNP60 BeadChip data, we carried out a genome-wide association study and an FST analysis with this breed by comparing animals showing the classical hairless phenotype (n = 81) versus pigs classified as haired (n = 15). Combining the results obtained with the two approaches, we identified two significant regions: one on porcine chromosome (SSC) 7 and one on SSC15. The SSC7 region contains the forkhead box N3 (FOXN3) gene, the most plausible candidate gene of this region, considering that mutations in another gene of the same family (forkhead box N1; Foxn1 or FOXN1) are responsible for the nude locus in rodents and alopecia in humans. Another potential candidate gene, rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 10 (ARHGEF10), is located in the SSC15 region. FOXN3 and ARHGEF10 have been detected as differentially expressed in androgenetic and senescent alopecia respectively. This study on an autochthonous pig breed contributes to shed some light on novel genes potentially involved in hair development and growth and demonstrates that local animal breeds can be valuable genetic resources for disclosing genetic factors affecting unique traits, taking advantage of phenotype variability segregating in small populations.

Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) represents the main source of radiation expo- sure in trauma patients. The radiation exposure of young patients is a matter of considerable medical concern due to possible long-term effects. Multiple MDCT stud- ies have been observed in the young trauma population with an increase in radiation exposure. We have identi- fied 249 young adult patients (178 men and 71 women; age range 14-40 years) who had received more than one MDCT study between June 2010 and June 2014. According to the International Commission on Radio- logical Protection publication, we have calculated the cumulative organ dose tissue-weighting factors by using CT-EXPO software ® . We have observed a mean cumula- tive dose of about 27 mSv (range from 3 to 297 mSv). The distribution analysis is characterised by low effec- tive dose, below 20 mSv, in the majority of the patients. However, in 29 patients, the effective dose was found to be higher than 20 mSv. Dose distribution for the vari- ous organs analysed (breasts, ovaries, testicles, heart and eye lenses) shows an intense peak for lower doses, but in some cases high doses were recorded. Even though cumulative doses may have long-term effects, which are still under debate, high doses are observed in this spe- cific group of young patients.

We argue that the counterpart of Marantz’s generalization does not hold in the nominal domain, because there are idioms in which the determiner and the noun receive an idiomatic meaning while the PP that modifies the noun is not part of the idiom (we call these “PP-less idioms”). We show that PP-less idioms are fully expected if the hypothesis of parallelism between nominal structure and clausal structure is dropped and it is assumed that the first step of the derivation in the nominal domain involves merge of D and N. As for the mirror image of PP-less idioms, “PP-containing idioms”, namely DPs where N and the PP that follows the noun receive an idiomatic reading while D does not, we suggest that they are not generated by syntax but are rather the output of the morphological component.

The role of systemic vascular involvement in mediating the association between serum uric acid (SUA) and renal function in hypertension has not been explored. Main purpose of our study was to investigate whether morphofunctional vascular changes, assessed as carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), might mediate the association between SUA and renal damage. We enrolled 523 hypertensive subjects with or without chronic kidney disease and divided population into tertiles of SUA based on sex-specific cutoff values. cIMT and aPWV were higher in uppermost SUA-tertile patients when compared to those in the lowest ones (all P

Language and communication barriers undermine everyday life for deaf people. In particular in higher education settings, these students often receive limited information and thus struggle to gain full access to knowledge. Considering these linguistic issues from several perspectives, this paper highlights some of the problems that arise in the everyday life of deaf students. Possible short- and long-term solutions to these barriers are presented and discussed. For example, simplified written texts ensure clarity and immediate access to complex and technical texts, but only provide one step toward linguistic autonomy. Linguistic mediation through sign language guarantees both direct access to content and personal involvement in interactive settings.

The intima-media thickness (IMT) is considered as a surrogate marker for atherosclerotic disease. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship of carotid IMT with fetuin-A in patients with essential hypertension (EH) and normal renal function. The plasma levels of fetuin-A, interleukin 6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and the biomarker of oxidative stress 8-iso-PGF2alpha were assayed in samples from 105 untreated EH patients. Carotid IMT measurements were also performed. EH was studied overall and after dividing in EH with IMT ≥ and 0.9 mm (AUC (area under the curve) 0.738, P

Confronted with the loss of one type of sensory input, we compensate using information conveyed by other senses. However, losing one type of sensory information at specific developmental times may lead to deficits across all sensory modalities. We addressed the effect of auditory deprivation on the development of tactile abilities, taking into account changes occurring at the behavioral and cortical level. Congenitally deaf and hearing individuals performed two tactile tasks, the first requiring the discrimination of the temporal duration of touches and the second requiring the discrimination of their spatial length. Compared with hearing individuals, deaf individuals were impaired only in tactile temporal processing. To explore the neural substrate of this difference, we ran a TMS experiment. In deaf individuals, the auditory association cortex was involved in temporal and spatial tactile processing, with the same chronometry as the primary somatosensory cortex. In hearing participants, the involvement of auditory association cortex occurred at a later stage and selectively for temporal discrimination. The different chronometry in the recruitment of the auditory cortex in deaf individuals correlated with the tactile temporal impairment. Thus, early hearing experience seems to be crucial to develop an efficient temporal processing across modalities, suggesting that plasticity does not necessarily result in behavioral compensation.

FOLLOWING A WELL-ESTABLISHED tradition going back to the 1980s (cf. Volterra 1987/2004), we use the name Lingua dei Segni Italiana (Italian Sign Language [LIS]) for the language used by Italian deaf people (and by Swiss deaf people living in the Ticino canton). In addition, LIS is becoming more and more visible, and its status as a minority language in the general Italian community is growing stronger due to various reasons. On the one hand, the research has shown that LIS, as other sign languages, exhibits all of the fundamental linguistic properties of natural languages: It can convey the same range of meanings and has a natural history, as spoken languages do. In particular, its phonology, morphology, and syntax are as complex as those of spoken languages like Italian.1 These facts about LIS are becoming established outside the community of sign language users partly due to the fact that a LIS program is offered by one university (Ca' Foscari Venice), and courses in LIS are now taught in various universities around the country. Another fact that is strengthening the status of LIS is that national television channels are now required to broadcast some news programs with LIS interpreting, making LIS visible to the larger population. Still, LIS has not yet received formal recognition by the Italian authorities, although various bills are sitting in the Italian parliament for the recognition of LIS as a minority language. This lack of formal recognition has serious consequences (e.g., in the educational system). Deaf children are now generally mainstreamed, and there is no guarantee that LIS will be used in their education. Interpreting, not to mention bilingual/bimodal education, is still the exception rather than the rule. In general, LIS is rarely used in institutional settings and is mostly used in private exchanges and informal gatherings. Given this scenario, it is not surprising that existing research on LIS reflects an impressive degree of variation. Still, a comprehensive sociolinguistic study of LIS varieties used around the country has not been systematically carried out until recently. This article describes an extensive collection of data from ten cities with 165 signers, which at the time of writing had just been concluded and reports on some of the data emerging from the LIS corpus resulting from this collection. Initial plans to build a systematic corpus for LIS were made in 2006 thanks to the input of Ceil Lucas, whose contribution was essential for the collection of the ASL corpus (cf. Lucas, Bayley, and Valli 2001). Lucas approached some of the Italian researchers who were working on LIS and discussed with them the guidelines of a research project that would reproduce (with some important differences) the methodology of data collection used for ASL. Adam Schembri, who worked on a corpus for AUSLAN and BSL, and Robert Bayley were also consulted in this preliminary phase. Three universities (Venice, Milan-Bicocca, and Rome- La Sapienza) joined their efforts and applied to the Italian Ministry of University for a grant. The grant proposal (PRIN 2007 project, "Dimensions of Variation in Italian Sign Language") was approved (with some delay) in September 2008, so the actual data collection began in February 2009. Data collection in most cities took place in 2009, although data from two cities (Catanzaro and Milan) were collected in 2010. This article is organized as follows: In the following section we describe the general methodological issues we faced when planning the data collection and which motivated our choice of cities and participants. Then we describe the specific elicitation methods we adopted. After that, we describe in detail both the lexical variations we encountered and the results of the statistical analyses carried out on this part of the corpus. Finally, we present our conclusions. Building the LIS Corpus: Choosing Cities and Participants When we initially planned to build a LIS corpus on which we (and other researchers) could run statistical analyses to explore the sociolinguistics of LIS, we faced two problems. …

The aim of this study is to provide a detailed account for the phenomenon of movement epenthesis in Italian Sign Language (LIS). LIS displays at least two cases of epenthesis of movement, one affecting signs that involve contact with the body, the other affecting signs that do not (i.e. signs articulated in neutral space). The two cases of epenthesis of movement receive a unified analysis, once the mechanism of selection of the plane of articulation is spelled out. The general phenomenon of movement epenthesis is captured by a formal approach within a constraint-based framework, such as the one developed first for American Sign Language (ASL) in Brentari (1998). Cases of movement epenthesis in ASL will be discussed and compared to cases of LIS epenthesis

BACKGROUND It has not been fully elucidated whether microalbuminuria (MAU) and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) are associated with aortic distensibility independently of each other. Our study was aimed to evaluate the independent relationships of urinary albumin excretion rate (AER) and hsCRP with aortic stiffness in hypertensive patients. METHODS We enrolled 140 untreated nondiabetic essential hypertensives (mean age: 48 +/- 12 years). In all subjects, 24-hour AER and plasma levels of hsCRP were determined by immunoenzymatic assay. MAU was defined as an AER of 20-200 microg/min. Aortic stiffness was assessed by measurement of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). RESULTS Carotid-femoral PWV, adjusted for age and mean arterial pressure (MAP), was higher in subjects with MAU (n = 41) than in those without it (n = 99) (11.6 +/- 2.3 vs. 9.9 +/- 1.8 m/s; P < 0.001) and in subjects with hsCRP above the median value when compared to those with lower levels of hsCRP (10.8 +/- 2.1 vs. 10 +/- 2.1 m/s; P = 0.026). In multiple regression analysis, AER and hsCPR remained independent predictors of aortic stiffness (beta = 0.24; P < 0.001 and beta = 0.15; P = 0.03, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that in patients with essential hypertension, MAU and CRP are independently associated with an increased aortic stiffness.

Our study was aimed to assess the clinical correlates of different degrees of renal dysfunction in a wide group of non-diabetic hypertensive patients, free from cardiovascular (CV) complications and known renal diseases, participating to the REDHY (REnal Dysfunction in HYpertension) study. A total of 1856 hypertensive subjects (mean age: 47+/-14 years), attending our hypertension centre, were evaluated. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was estimated by the simplified Modification of Diet in Renal Disease Study prediction equation. A 24-h urine sample was collected to determine albumin excretion rate (AER). Albuminuria was defined as an AER greater than 20 mug min(-1). We used the classification proposed by the US National Kidney Foundation's guidelines for chronic kidney disease (CKD) to define the stages of renal function impairment. In multiple logistic regression analysis, the probability of having stage 1 and stage 2 CKD was significantly higher in subjects with greater values of systolic blood pressure (SBP) and with larger waist circumference. SBP was also positively related to stage 3 CKD. Stage 3 and stages 4-5 CKD were inversely associated with waist circumference and directly associated with serum uric acid. Age was inversely related to stage 1 CKD and directly related to stage 3 CKD. The factors associated with milder forms of kidney dysfunction are, in part, different from those associated with more advanced stages of renal function impairment.Journal of Human Hypertension advance online publication

BACKGROUND: The association of aldosterone with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) has not been fully elucidated. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationships of plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC) with MetS and left ventricular mass (LVM) in nondiabetic Caucasian patients with essential hypertension. METHODS: Measurements were taken with the patients off antihypertensive medications. The measurements included 24-h blood pressure (BP) readings, plasma renin activity (PRA) and aldosterone, and an echocardiogram. RESULTS: Subjects with MetS (n = 201) had higher age-adjusted PAC (10.2 +/- 5.8 vs. 11.6 +/- 5.9 ng/dl; P = 0.01) and greater age-adjusted LVM indexed for height2.7 (LVMH2.7) (56 +/- 19 vs. 62 +/- 20 g/m2; P = 0.001) than those without MetS (n = 249). The difference in respect of PAC between the two groups was independent of PRA and was attributable mainly to obesity. After adjusting for potential confounders, LVMH2.7 was associated with MetS as a whole (beta = 0.11; P = 0.02) and with body mass index (BMI) (beta = 0.19; P < 0.0001) in the overall population. The latter relationship was attenuated (beta = 0.15; P = 0.001) after further adjustment for PAC. In the MetS group the association of LVMH2.7 with PAC held (beta = 0.19; P = 0.007) in multivariate analyses. In subjects without MetS, this relationship had only borderline statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the elevated PAC related to obesity may help to explain the increased LVM observed in association with MetS, and may contribute to enhancing the cardiovascular risk associated with MetS.

BACKGROUND: Arterial stiffness and mild-to-moderate renal dysfunction are predictors of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality. Recently, the ambulatory arterial stiffness index (AASI) has been proposed as a surrogate index of arterial stiffness. It has been associated with an enhanced risk of stroke. The aim of our study was to assess the relationship between AASI and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in a group of hypertensive patients with no CV complications. METHODS: A total of 143 untreated hypertensive subjects (mean age: 44 +/- 12 years; men 57%), with serum creatinine

BACKGROUND Structural atherosclerotic damage, arterial stiffness, pulse pressure (PP), and renal hemodynamics may interact and influence each other. Renal resistance index (RRI) appears as a good indicator of systemic vascular changes. The aim of our study was to assess the independent relationships of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), and peripheral PP with RRI in hypertensives with various degrees of renal function. METHODS We enrolled 463 hypertensive patients (30-70 years) with normal renal function (group 0; n = 280) and with chronic kidney disease (groups I-V; n = 183). All subjects underwent ultrasonographic examination of intrarenal and carotid vasculature, as well as a 24-h ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. RESULTS A statistically significant difference in RRI, cIMT, aPWV, and clinic PP was observed in the different 6 groups (all P < 0.001), even after adjustment for age. RRI correlated with cIMT (r = 0.460, P < 0.001), aPWV (r = 0.386, P < 0.001), clinic PP (r = 0.279, P < 0.001), and 24-h PP (r = 0.229, P < 0.001) in the entire study population. These correlations were similar in subjects with and without renal dysfunction. In the overall study population, the association between RRI, cIMT, and clinic PP remained statistically significant even after adjustment for various confounding factors, whereas the relationship between RRI and aPWV was lost in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS cIMT and clinic PP rather than directly aPWV are associated with intrarenal hemodynamics. Our results confirm that in hypertensives RRI not only detects derangement of intrarenal circulation but may also be considered as a sensor of systemic vascular changes, independently of level of renal function.

This paper aims at investigating the syntactic behavior of cardinal numerals in Italian Sign Language (LIS). In particular, we will address the distribution of cardinals functioning as modifiers in the nominal domain. This topic will be discussed on the basis of different data sources (i.e. corpus data, elicited data, and acceptability judgments) with the purpose to benefit from the advantages of each source.

The position of wh-items is one of the most striking features of the syntax of sign languages (SLs). In contrast to spoken languages, where wh-words are generally found either clause-initially or in situ, SLs allow wh-signs in situ, in clause-final position (preferred for many SLs), or repeated in two different positions of the clause. Moreover, in many cases all these options coexist in the same language (and even within a single signer). Several proposals in the theoretical literature showed how grammars are able to generate such constructions; however, none of the proposals addresses the issue of what factors determine the choice of these options. We present corpus evidence showing that both linguistic and social factors constrain the distribution of wh-signs in LIS (Lingua dei Segni Italiana, Italian Sign Language). The result of multivariate analysis suggests that LIS is undergoing a grammatical change and becoming less like spoken Italian with respect to the position of wh-signs.

This paper focuses on those wh-questions in Italian Sign Language (LIS) featuring two lexically identical wh-signs. We show that wh1 (the first wh in linear order) is shorter than wh2 (the second wh in liner order). However, there is evidence that this different duration is due to a phrase-final lengthening, as wh2 occupies a sentence-final position. We therefore conclude that the two wh-signs are identical full copies: one sitting in Spec,CP on the right in LIS and the other one sitting in Spec,FocP on the left. We show that this construction yields a (focused) cleft question interpretation and we speculate that both copies are phonologically realized because the wh-signs in Spec,CP and Spec,FocP are the heads of two distinct chains. Finally, we distinguish identical wh-duplication from improper wh-duplication, namely cases where one of the two wh-elements is what we call qartichoke, an underspecified interrogative sign only surfacing in wh-questions.

Progress in digital ultrasound technology and diffusion of Doppler ultrasound evaluation of the kidney enable a widespread non-invasive evaluation of renal haemodynamics. Initially most attention has been paid to the study of extraparenchymal renal arteries, mainly to detect renovascular disease. However, this approach has low reproducibility and accuracy. Therefore, interest has gradually moved towards the duplex evaluation of intrarenal anatomy, where the best and most reliable signals are obtained from the large segmental or interlobar arteries that run directly towards the transducer. Among the sonographic parameters used in the last decade, great emphasis has been placed on the intrarenal resistive index (RRI), which is defined as the dimensionless ratio of the difference between maximum and minimum (end-diastolic) flow velocity to maximum flow velocity. It has been used for a long time for the diagnostic and prognostic assessment of renovascular disease . One of the earliest prospective uses of the RRI was in the prediction of kidney function outcomes following intervention for renal artery stenosis. In the pioneering study of Radermacher et al., an RRI[0.80 is associated with poorer outcomes, when surgery or angioplasty is used to correct renal artery stenosis ...

Few studies investigated the donkey (Equus asinus) at the whole genome level so far. Here, we sequenced the genome of two male donkeys using a next generation semiconductor based sequencing platform (the Ion Proton sequencer) and compared obtained sequence information with the available donkey draft genome (and its Illumina reads from which it was originated) and with the EquCab2.0 assembly of the horse genome. Moreover, the Ion Torrent Personal Genome Analyzer was used to sequence reduced representation libraries (RRL) obtained from a DNA pool including donkeys of different breeds (Grigio Siciliano, Ragusano and Martina Franca). The number of next generation sequencing reads aligned with the EquCab2.0 horse genome was larger than those aligned with the draft donkey genome. This was due to the larger N50 for contigs and scaffolds of the horse genome. Nucleotide divergence between E. caballus and E. asinus was estimated to be similar to 0.52-0.57%. Regions with low nucleotide divergence were identified in several autosomal chromosomes and in the whole chromosome X. These regions might be evolutionally important in equids. Comparing Y-chromosome regions we identified variants that could be useful to track donkey paternal lineages. Moreover, about 4.8 million of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the donkey genome were identified and annotated combining sequencing data from Ion Proton (whole genome sequencing) and Ion Torrent (RRL) runs with Illumina reads. A higher density of SNPs was present in regions homologous to horse chromosome 12, in which several studies reported a high frequency of copy number variants. The SNPs we identified constitute a first resource useful to describe variability at the population genomic level in E. asinus and to establish monitoring systems for the conservation of donkey genetic resources.

Background: Recent data suggest that renal haemodynamic parameters obtained by duplex Doppler sonography, especially the intrarenal resistive index (RI), may be associated with systemic vascular changes. However, conflicting data exist about the independent relationship between aortic stiffness and RI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between RI and arterial stiffness, assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (aPWV), in hypertensive patients. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: We enrolled 264 hypertensive subjects aged between 30 and 70 years. They were divided into two groups, either with normal renal function (n=140) or with chronic kidney disease (CKD) (n=124). Each patient underwent assessment of ultrasonographic renal RI and measurement of aPWV through oscillometric device. Results: Patients with renal RI>0.7 showed higher values of aPWV, both in the overall population (p

We analyze a hitherto undescribed case of ellipsis in Italian Sign Language (LIS) and show that it has common properties with VP ellipsis in languages like English. For example, the ellipsis site can contain a wh-trace and semantic restrictions on the type of predicate that can be omitted are only derivative. We thus propose a phonological deletion approach for the LIS construction. We also consider the issue of how the content of the ellipsis site is recovered from its linguistic antecedent. We present new arguments for a syntactic identity condition, although a limited number of mismatches between the ellipsis site and its antecedent, notably including vehicle change cases, must be accommodated.

In 2012, we conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study to assess the number of people living with HIV linked to care and, among these, the number of people on antiretroviral therapy. The health authority in each of the 20 Italian Regions provided the list of Public Infectious Diseases Clinics providing antiretroviral therapy and monitoring people with HIV infection. We asked every Public Infectious Diseases Clinic to report the number of HIV-positive people diagnosed and linked to care and the number of those on antiretroviral therapy during 2012. In 2012, 94,146 people diagnosed with HIV and linked to care were reported. The majority were males (70.1%), Italians (84.4%), and aged between 25 and 49 years (63.4%); the probable route of transmission was heterosexual contact in 37.5% of cases, injecting drug use in 28.1%, and male-to-male contact in 27.9%. Among people in care, 20.1% had less than 350 CD4 cells/μl, 87.6% received antiretroviral therapy, and among these, 62.4% had a CD4 cell count higher than 350 cells/μl. The overall estimated prevalence of individuals diagnosed and linked to care in 2012 in Italy was 0.16 per 100 residents (all ages). Adding the estimated proportion of undiagnosed people, the estimated HIV prevalence would range between 0.19 and 0.26 per 100 residents. In Italy, the majority of people diagnosed and linked to care receive antiretroviral therapy. A higher prevalence of individuals diagnosed and linked to care was observed in Northern Italy and among males. More information for developing the HIV care continuum is necessary to improve the entire engagement in care, focusing on test-and-treat strategies to substantially reduce the proportion of people still undiagnosed or with a detectable viral load.

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Background and Aim. Renal resistance index (RRI), assessed by Duplex-Doppler sonography, has been classically considered as a mere expression of intrarenal vascular resistance. Recent studies, however, have showed that RRI is also influenced by upstream factors, especially arterial compliance, confirming its possible role as a marker of systemic vascular alterations. Several studies have shown that carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) and carotid plaques (cP), assessed by ultrasonography, are documented markers of subclinical organ damage as well as expression of progressive atherosclerotic disease, and that they get worse with the progressive deterioration of renal function. The study was aimed to evaluate the relationship between RRI and severity of carotid atherosclerosis in hypertensive subjects with and without impaired renal function. Methods and Results. The study population, including 263 hypertensive patients (30-70 years), was split into 3 groups based on cIMT and presence of cP (cIMT≤0.9 mm and no cP; cIMT>0.9 mm and no cP; cP). All patients were also divided into 2 subgroups (normal renal function;CKD stage I-IV). A stepwise increase in RRI corresponding to the groups of progressive severity of carotid atherosclerosis was observed (respectively 0.61±0.07, 0.65±0.06, 0.68±0.06; p

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with a high prevalence of atherosclero-sis and an enhanced cardiovascular mortality. In adult subjects, several studies have shown the coexistence of SLE and renal artery stenosis, most of them with unilateral in-volvement or with renal dysfunction. We observed a 62-year-old man with SLE and a 10-year history of moderate-to-severe hy-pertension who was admitted to our hospital because of uncontrolled blood pressure val-ues (152/95 mmHg), despite drug therapy. No signs of renal impairment were evident. After an initial physical examination, which presented a periumbilical bruit, a renal ultra-sound was performed with evidence of bilateral renal artery stenosis. An angio-MR study also confirmed the diagnosis and showed a double renal artery on the right side. Many different factors can contribute to the bilateral renal artery stenosis in this patient. Chronic inflammatory state associated to SLE, metabolic alterations with dyslipidemia and steroid therapy may all be involved in the development of the renal atherosclerotic le-sions.

Introduction: The assessment of renal hemodynamic parameters by duplex Doppler sonography has been used for many years as a diagnostic tool in the daily work-up of kidney diseases. Recent data suggest that these parameters, especially the intrarenal resistive index (RI) may be also associated with changes of the systemic vascular tree and with an enhanced cardiovascular risk. However, conflicting data exist in literature about the independent association of carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) with RI. Aim: To evaluate the relationship between RI and carotid IMT in the hypertensive subjects consecutively attending our hypertension centre. Methods: We enrolled 264 subjects, aged between 30 and 70 years. They were stratified into two groups, either with normal renal function (n = 140) or with chronic kidney disease (CKD), ranging from stage 1 to stage 4 of the KDIGO classification (n = 124). The GFR was estimated by CKD-EPI equation. All the subjects underwent duplex Doppler assessment of the renal and carotid arteries by the GE Logiq P5 PRO instrument. Results: Patients with carotid IMT > 0.9 mm showed higher values of RI, both in the overall population (p < 0.001) and in the subgroups with (p< 0.01) and without CKD (p< 0.01). In addition, a statistically significant correlation was observed between carotid IMT and RI in the whole population (r = 0.43, p

INTRODUCTION: The assessment of renal hemodynamic parameters by duplex Doppler sonography has been used for many years as a diagnostic tool in the daily workup of kidney diseases. Recent data suggest that these parameters, especially the intrarenal resistive index (RI), may be also associated with systemic vascular changes and cardiovascular risk. However, conflicting data exist about the independent association of aortic stiffness with RI. AIM: The aim was to evaluate the relationship between RI and arterial stiffness, assessed by aortic pulse wave velocity (PWV), in the hypertensive subjects consecutively attending our hypertension centre. METHODS: We enrolled 264 subjects, aged between 30 and 70 years. They were divided into two groups, either with normal renal function (n = 140) or with chronic kidney disease (CKD), ranging from stage 1 to stage 4 of the KDIGO classification (n = 124). RESULTS: The aortic PWV was measured by a computerized oscillometric method (Arteriograph). The GFR was estimated byCKD-EPI equation.Asingle operator performed duplex Doppler assessment of the renal arteries. Doppler signals were obtained by placing the sample volume along the course of the interlobar arteries. The RI was calculated as the average of six measurements (three from each kidney). Patients with PWV> 12 m/s showed higher values of RI, both in the overall population (p< 0.001) and in the subgroups with (p

Per molti anni lo studio mediante eco-color-doppler dei parametri semiquantitativi emodinamici renali è stato utilizzato per rilevare le alterazioni della perfusione del rene trapiantato, per la diagnosi della stenosi dell’arteria renale o per valutare la progressione di alcune nefropatie. Più recentemente è stato osservato che tali parametri, ed in particolare l’indice di resistenza intrarenale (IR), non sono soltanto espressione della perfusione parenchimale, ma sono associati anche ad alterazioni morfo-funzionali sistemiche dell’albero vascolare. Vari studi hanno dimostrato come la stiffness aortica vada aumentando con il progressivo deterioramento della funzione renale. Tuttavia, dati contrastanti esistono in letteratura sull’esistenza di una relazione indipendente tra rigidità aortica e IR . L’obiettivo del nostro studio è stato quello di valutare, in soggetti ipertesi (con e senza compromissione della funzione renale), la relazione tra RRI e stiffness arteriosa valutata mediante velocità dell’onda sfigmica (PWV) aortica. Sono stati arruolati soggetti di età compresa tra i 30 e i 70 anni con valori pressori > 140/90 mmHg o già in trattamento con farmaci antipertensivi. Sono stati distinti 2 gruppi, uno con normale funzione renale (n =140) e uno con malattia renale cronica (CKD) I-IV stadio (n=124). La PWV aortica è stata misurata mediante metodica oscillometrica automatica computerizzata, (Arteriograph). Il GFR è stato stimato mediante l’equazione CKD-EPI. L’esame eco-doppler delle arterie renali è stato eseguito da un singolo operatore mediante apparecchio GE Logiq P5 PRO con un trasduttore di 4 MHz, funzionante a 2.5 MHz per l’analisi doppler. I segnali Doppler sono stati ottenuti ponendo il volume campione in corrispondenza delle arterie interlobari a livello della giunzione cortico-midollare. L’IR [(VPS-VTD)/VPS] è stato calcolato come media di sei misurazioni (tre da ciascun rene). I pazienti con PWV > 12 m/sec hanno mostrato valori di IR più elevati sia nella totalità della popolazione studiata (p < 0.001), sia nei sottogruppi con e senza CKD (in entrambi i casi p < 0.01). Inoltre, una correlazione diretta e statisticamente significativa è stata osservata tra PWV aortica e IR sia nell’intera popolazione studiata (r = 0.38; p < 0001) che nei sottogruppi con (r = 0.35; p < 0.001) e senza CKD (r = 0.31; p < 0.001). Tali correlazioni sono rimaste statisticamente significative anche dopo correzione per vari fattori confondenti come l’età, il sesso, la pressione arteriosa media, il BMI, il trattamento farmacologico antipertensivo, il GFR stimato. I nostri risultati, evidenziando una stretta correlazione tra IR renale e PWV aortica, sembrano confermare che l’IR, al di là di un suo valore prognostico prettamente renale, può essere considerato una “spia” di alterazioni vascolari sistemiche.

Although signed and speech-based languages have a similar internal organization of verbal short-term memory, sign span is lower than word span. We investigated whether this is due to the fact that signs are not suited for serial recall, as proposed by Bavelier, Newport, Hall, Supalla, and Boutla (2008. Ordered short-term memory differs in signers and speakers: Implications for models of short-term memory. Cognition, 107, 433-459). We administered a serial recall task with stimuli in Italian Sign Language to 12 deaf people, and we compared their performance with that of twelve age-, gender-, and education-matched hearing participants who performed the task in Italian. The results do not offer evidence for the hypothesis that serial order per se is a detrimental factor for deaf participants. An alternative explanation for the lower sign span based on signs being phonologically heavier than words is considered. © The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.

The aim of our study was to assess the independent relationships of urinary albumin excretion rate (AER), of creatinine clearance (CrCl) and of their interaction with aortic stiffness in hypertensive patients without overt renal insufficiency. We studied 222 untreated nondiabetic essential hypertensives. In patients with reliable 24-h urine collections, AER and CrCl were determined. Microalbuminuria (MAU) was defined as an AER of 20 to 200microg/min. Aortic stiffness was assessed by measurement of carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (c-f PWV). C-f PWV was higher in subjects with MAU than in those without it (p

The aim of the paper is to provide an overview of recent works on sign language and the organization of short-term memory (STM), and to set the ground for future exploration of the field. Following early discoveries in the mid Seventies, a lot of evidence has been accumulated showing that signed and spoken languages have a similar internal organization of verbal STM. Nonetheless, its capacity for signs is lower than that for words. Several explanations for this difference have been attempted, although none of them seems to be conclusive. Although a lot of work has been done, further research on sign language and STM is needed to clarify the causes of the reduced STM capacity for signs