Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to G Villa.
In feeding the newborn with respiratory distress it must be considered the increased metabolic and water requirements. To feed this newborn we can choose among total parenteral nutrition, total enteral nutrition and a combination of the two methods. Data concerning 98 newborns with respiratory distress, admitted into Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of the Provincial Maternity Hospital of Milan, are described.
The main pathogenetic moment of the respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) is recognized to be the lack of alveolar surfactant. Many attempts of substitutive therapy with several kinds of surfactants have been tried (artificial, synthetic, from amniotic fluid, exosurf). After the considerable results obtained in animals, the use of substitutive surfactant proved to be useful also in human newborns with RDS. The authors report the personal data relative to the TA-surfactant (artificial surfactant made of phospholipids + DPPC + protein substances extracted from bovine lung). They analyse first results and, on this ground, they put forward some assumptions in order to obtain a more rational and efficient use.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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Explore the source record for details and available documents.
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The following study describes the functional status of the entire chronic hemodialysis ambulatory population in treatment at our center. The patients were evaluated from 3 points of view: ergonomic, phyiatric and psychological, thus going a snapshot picture in time of their status. Based on these three evaluations, the need for rehabilitation intervention was determined and rehabilitation treatment program was elaborated. The ergonomic evaluation determined the maximal sustained workload (MSW) from O2 consumption, minute ventilation, heart rate, subjective perception of fatigue and dyspnea. The phyiatric examination included a thorough musculoskeletal examination, application of a functional ability instruments (Karnofsky + FIM) and then integrated the results with the ergonomic + psychologic testing in order to generate phyiatric prescription. The psychologist had a conversation with all patients and applied 2 instruments for evaluation of health-related quality of life (CBA-H + SIP). The results of these studies indicated a markedly compromised aerobic capacity, which worsened with age in years rather than with years in dialysis. Phyiatric prescription were considered necessary in 78% of the patients with major goals being re-conditioning and joint mobilization in order to diminish the fragility of independence in this population. The psychological arm of the study revealed good adaptation to chronic dialysis in 75% of the population, with however absorption of a passive lifestyle. The remaining 25% of the population showed severe psychological distress and social withdrawal. Psychological support for this population is necessary to identify families at risk for stress and poor adaptability as well as to help motivate patients who require rehabilitation to participate in therapy.
Dental wear, at first considered a pathological condition, is now regarded as a physiological mechanism of teeth adaptation to continuous masticatory stresses. Excessive wear is limited by characteristic structural adaptations of dental hard tissues showing a phylogenetic trend and specialisation. Enamel is the main tissue subjected to wear; however, advanced enamel wear exposes increasingly large areas of dentine. Enamel hardness and anisotropy are the major factors contrasting wear and microfractures. Anisotropy is mainly related to the different orientation of prism bundles (and of hydroxiapatite cristals). Enamel wear development is also related to differences in microhardness, density, mineral composition and protein distribution. Masticatory loads distributed along the enamel-dentine junction uniformly disperse in the underlying dentine. In spite of its structural characteristics, dentine is relatively isotropic by the functional point of view. Even if its lower hardness opposes less efficaciously to wear, its biomechanical characteristics successfully contrast microfractures. The study of microwear (namely the microscopic analysis of worn dental surfaces) can be made both on original surfaces and on high definition silicone-resin replicas. Scanning electron microscope observations allow identification of surface damage (microtraces) produced by different physical and chemical agents. Microwear analysis may provide indications about alimentary and non alimentary habits, masticatory biomechanics and pathological situations (e.g., bruxism).