Smartphone-based solutions for fall detection and prevention: the FARSEEING approach.

Falls are not an inevitable consequence of aging. The risk and rate of falls can be reduced. Recent improvements in smartphone technology enable implementation of a wide variety of services and applications, thus making the smartphone more of a digital companion than simply a communication tool. This paper presents the results obtained by the FARSEEING project where smartphones are one example of intervention in a population-based scenario. The applications developed take advantage of the smartphone-embedded inertial sensors and require that subjects wear the smartphone by means of a waist belt. The uFall Android application has been developed for monitoring the user's motor activities at home. The application does not require any direct interaction with the user and it is also capable of running a real-time fall-detection algorithm. uTUG is a stand-alone application for instrumenting the Timed Up and Go test, which is a test often included in fall risk assessment protocols. The application acts like a pocket-sized motion laboratory, since it is capable not only of recording the trial but also of processing the data and immediately displaying the results. uTUG is designed to be self-administrable at home.

Foot worn inertial sensors for gait assessment and rehabilitation based on motorized shoes.

Fall prevention in elderly subjects is often based on training and rehabilitation programs that include mostly traditional balance and strength exercises. By applying such conventional interventions to improve gait performance and decrease fall risk, some important factors are neglected such as the dynamics of the gait and the motor learning processes. The EU project "Self Mobility Improvement in the eLderly by counteractING falls" (SMILING project) aimed to improve age-related gait and balance performance by using unpredicted external perturbations during walking through motorized shoes that change insole inclination at each stance. This paper describes the shoe-worn inertial module and the gait analysis method needed to control in real-time the shoe insole inclination during training, as well as gait spatio-temporal parameters obtained during long distance walking before and after the 8-week training program that assessed the efficacy of training with these motorized shoes.

[Prevalence and determinants of low back pain in hospital workers]. / Prevalenza e fattori determinanti delle lombalgie tra i dipendenti dell'ospedale di Terni.

This study evaluated the prevalence and determinants of low back pain (LBP) in Terni hospital workers. Each ward sister completed a questionnaire about potential determinants of LBP associated with physical loads. Moreover, a trained ward sister administered a questionnaire about the characteristics of low back pain to 512 subjects. In the previous year the prevalence of LBP was 58.8%. It was more common in subjects under 45 years of age. >3 LBP episodes annually were more frequent in operating rooms and medical wards. LBP lasted >1 week in 29% of females and in 23% of males. LBP caused change of duties or time off work in 11% of females and in 8% of males.

Prevalence of occupational allergy due to live fish bait.

BACKGROUND: Larvae of insects and worms, used as live fish bait (LFB), are a common source of allergy in anglers and occupationally exposed workers, but the prevalence and predictors have not yet been investigated. OBJECTIVE: This study assessed the prevalence and associated factors of occupational allergy in workers exposed to LFB. METHODS: We assessed the prevalence of sensitization to LFB and work-related symptoms (WRS) in 76 workers occupationally exposed to it. All workers completed a case history questionnaire and underwent skin prick tests (SPT) for common aeroallergens and bluebottle (Calliphora vomitoria), bee moth (Galleria mellonella), mealworm (Tenebrio molitor), and gusano rojo (Cilecomadia moorei). Specific IgE were tested in 64 subjects. Two-thirds of the workers had a high level of LFB exposure. RESULTS: Sensitization to LFB was found in 24 workers (31.6%). Seven subjects (9.2%) reported WRS (asthma in 3, rhinoconjunctivitis in 5, and contact urticaria in 1), and 5 were positive for SPT and serum IgE to one or more LFB extracts. One was also exposed to LFB while fishing. Sensitization to LFB extracts and WRS were strongly associated (Odds Ratio = 6.6, P < 0.05). The 7 subjects with WRS had been exposed longer than asymptomatic subjects with positive skin tests to LFB (P < 0.05). No differences in sex, age, smoking habit, duration or level of exposure, and atopy were detected in symptomatic or in sensitized subjects, compared with normal workers. CONCLUSION: Sensitization to LFB and WRS are relatively frequent in occupationally exposed workers. No associated factors of occupational allergy to LFB could be detected.

[Clinical and functional course of occupational asthma in pharmacologic treatment and during persistent exposure. A 3-year follow-up]. / Andamento clinico e funzionale dell'asma professionale in trattamento farmacologico e durante il persistere dell'esposizione. Follow-up di tre anni.

According to act 626/1994, employers have the duty to inform and train workers and their representatives. The implementation of training activities requires the following points: planning the training progra according to the needs of the target population, use of the methods aimed at promoting learning and the adoption of safe behaviour, setting-up of evaluation tools. The disciplines of risk perception and communication and adult training may provide useful contribution in this frame. At the light of the preliminary experiences in this field, the importance of the following items for workers, workers representatives and employers is emphasized: probabilistic causality models, role of cognitive and emotional factors in the learning process, definition of carcinogenic according to national and internationals organisation, meaning of TLV with respect to carcinogenic exposure, interaction between carcinogens in the case of multiple exposition, risk evaluation, preventive measures, transfer of carcinogen risk from workplace to domestic environment, due to lack of compliance with basic hygienic rules such proper use of work clothes.

[Occupational asthma and rhinitis caused by colophony among linoleum production workers]. / Asma e rinite professionale da colofonia negli addetti alla produzione del linoleum.

According to act 626/1994, employers have the duty to inform and train workers and their representatives. The implementation of training activities requires the following points: planning the training progra according to the needs of the target population, use of the methods aimed at promoting learning and the adoption of safe behaviour, setting-up of evaluation tools. The disciplines of risk perception and communication and adult training may provide useful contribution in this frame. At the light of the preliminary experiences in this field, the importance of the following items for workers, workers representatives and employers is emphasized; probabilistic causality models, role of cognitive and emotional factors in the learning process, definition of carcinogenic according to national and internationals organisation, meaning of TLV with respect to carcinogenic exposure, interaction between carcinogens in the case of multiple exposition, risk evaluation, preventive measures, transfer of carcinogen risk from workplace to domestic environment, due to lack of compliance with basic hygienic rules such proper use of work clothes.

Plasma amino acid patterns in experimental acute hepatic failure: comparison between hepatectomy and liver devascularization in pigs.

To clarify the physiopathologic mechanism leading to a marked increase in aromatic amino acids (AAA) in acute hepatic failure (AHF), we compared two experimental models of AHF. Ten pigs were submitted to one-stage hepatic devascularization (group A); in eight other pigs total hepatectomy was performed (group B). The animals were maintained under constant glucose infusion. The mean survival time in group A was 23 +/- 2 hours; after hepatectomy it was 30 +/- 4 hours. Hepatic coma progressively deepened from 8 +/- 3 hours in Group A animals and was delayed until 17 +/- 5 hours in the anhepatic pigs. AAA, methionine, and tryptophan immediately increased markedly in pigs with liver ischemia. In group B animals, AAA showed a slight increase only 18 hours after hepatectomy, whereas there were no significant differences in methionine and tryptophan. The different amino acid patterns in the two groups of animals demonstrate that hepatocyte necrosis is a major source of plasma amino acids after liver devascularization. The slight increase in AAA after total hepatectomy suggests that a release mechanism from muscular mass is involved in the later stages of the experiment. The onset of coma is related to the increase in AAA rather than to alterations in blood ammonia that did not differ in either group of animals.