Search

In this paper, the design, the prototyping, and the first experimental tests of a Capacitive Oil Level Sensor (CLS) intended for aeronautical applications are described. Due to potentially high vibrational stresses and the presence of high electromagnetic interferences (EMI), the working conditions on aircraft can be considered quite harsh. Hence, both the sensing part and the conditioning circuit should meet strict constraints. For this reason, in the design phase, great attention has been paid also to the mechanical characteristics of the probes. All the design aspects are exposed and the main advantages concerning alternative level sensing techniques are discussed and the preliminary experimental results of sensitivity, linearity, hysteresis, and settling time tests are presented and commented.

After spinal cord injury (SCI), patients face many physical and psychological issues including intestinal dysfunction and comorbidities, strongly affecting quality of life. The gut microbiota has recently been suggested to influence the course of the disease in these patients. However, to date only two studies have profiled the gut microbiota in SCI patients, months after a traumatic injury. Here we characterized the gut microbiota in a large Italian SCI population, within a short time from a not only traumatic injury. Feces were collected within the first week at the rehabilitation center (no later than 60 days after SCI), and profiled by 16S rRNA gene-based next-generation sequencing. Microbial profiles were compared to those publicly available of healthy age- and gender-matched Italians, and correlated to patient metadata, including type of SCI, spinal unit location, nutrition and concomitant antibiotic therapies. The gut microbiota of SCI patients shows distinct dysbiotic signatures, i.e. increase in potentially pathogenic, pro-inflammatory and mucus-degrading bacteria, and depletion of short-chain fatty acid producers. While robust to most host variables, such dysbiosis varies by lesion level and completeness, with the most neurologically impaired patients showing an even more unbalanced microbial profile. The SCI-related gut microbiome dysbiosis is very likely secondary to injury and closely related to the degree of completeness and severity of the lesion, regardless of etiology and time interval. This microbial layout could variously contribute to increased gut permeability and inflammation, potentially predisposing patients to the onset of severe comorbidities.

The increasing need to monitor Heart Rate (HR) has led to the development of dedicated devices based on miniaturized sensors and to their consequent pervasiveness. In this paper the aim is to develop a DAQ based system supervised by a LabVIEW Virtual Instrument to estimate the HR by means of an accelerometric plethysmograph. Two different signal processing techniques have been developed to estimate the HR respectively in time- and frequency domain, to study and compare their performances and to monitor the patient's heartbeat at rest by identifying possible pathological conditions or diseases.

Background Clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) is defined as the repetitive temporary placement of a catheter to empty the bladder. It has become the first-line and preferred method of drainage in patients with neurogenic lower urinary tract dysfunction. Aim We investigated the use of CIC in the real-life setting in Italy. Methods We administered interviews to health operators of centers for urinary rehabilitation. Results Overall, 110 healthcare professionals were invited to fill the questionnaire and 109 (72% males) answered it. Answers to the questionnaire showed that 65.2% of patients with urinary retention used CIC, 22.3% used a transurethral indwelling catheter, and 5.5% used a suprapubic catheter; 6.3% of patients used CIC during the daytime and used the indwelling catheter during the night. The most relevant factor, pertaining the patient, to decide to propose the use of CIC was manual ability, followed by good cognitive function, adequate anatomical condition, age, available adequate caregiver, psychological consistency and good socio-cultural level. Lubrification, usability and easy insertion were the most relevant characteristics of a catheter that favored the choice of the device for CIC. In addition, in the opinion of interviewed operators, the line of catheters with glycerin-water based lubrification had the main characteristics to be preferred for CIC. Conclusions CIC is a preferential intervention for urinary retention in the clinical practice in Italy, is chosen on the basis of patient's characteristics, and lubrification, usability and easy insertion are the most important features of catheters.

In the case of suprapontine lesions, the most common bladder dysfunction is neurogenic detrusor overactivity. Antimuscarinics can be considered the mainstay of treatment, while other therapies like cannabinoids look promising. Intravesical injection of botulinum toxin can be considered the main second-line treatment in case of failure of antimuscarinics. Conservative treatments should be associated with drugs. Cognitive effects of therapy shall be bared in mind for all the therapies with systemic absorption.