Elastic scattering and reaction mechanisms of the halo nucleus 11Be around the Coulomb barrier.

Collisions induced by (9,10,11)Be on a 64Zn target at the same c.m. energy were studied. For the first time, strong effects of the 11Be halo structure on elastic-scattering and reaction mechanisms at energies near the Coulomb barrier are evidenced experimentally. The elastic-scattering cross section of the 11Be halo nucleus shows unusual behavior in the Coulomb-nuclear interference peak angular region. The extracted total-reaction cross section for the 11Be collision is more than double the ones measured in the collisions induced by (9,10)Be. It is shown that such a strong enhancement of the total-reaction cross section with 11Be is due to transfer and breakup processes.

Prevalence and incidence of multiple sclerosis in the city of Monreale, Italy.

The prevalence and incidence of multiple sclerosis (MS) in the city of Monreale, southern Italy were ascertained 10 years after a preliminary study in the same area. The study was undertaken in a population of 26,256 people. The patients were classified according to Poser's criteria. The prevalence of MS on 31 December 1991 was 72.4 per 100,000 population. The incidence of MS for the period 1981-1991 was 3.3/100,000 per year. The mean period between onset and diagnosis of MS was 4.9 years for those patients found during this survey and 9.2 years for those in the first study. This study shows an increase of MS prevalence in Monreale city and a high incidence. The findings parallel the reduction of the lag time between onset and diagnosis.

Validation of an Italian version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ-I).

OBJECTIVE: To validate a translated Italian version of the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire (FIQ). METHODS: The Italian version of the FIQ was administered to 50 patients affected by fibromyalgia (FM) (48 patients filled out the questionnaire again 10 days later) together with the Italian version of the Stanford Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), the Medical Outcomes Survey Short Form-36 (SF-36), and a tender point count (TPC) obtained by summing the score (0-3) of each tender point tested by thumb palpation. All patients were asked about the severity of pain today (10 cm visual analog scale) and the duration of symptoms. Test-retest reliability was assessed using Spearman correlations. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha of reliability. Construct validity of the FIQ was evaluated by correlations between the HAQ and subscales of the SF-36 as well as the TPC. RESULTS: The mean duration of symptoms was 6.5 years and the mean age of the participants was 57.4 years. Test-retest reliability was between 0.74 and 0.95 for physical functioning as well as for the total FIQ and other components. Internal consistency was 0.90 for the overall FIQ. Significant correlations were obtained between the FIQ items, the HAQ and the SF-36. CONCLUSIONS: The Italian FIQ is a reliable and valid instrument for detecting and measuring functional disability and health status in Italian patients with FM.