Consensus paper on postural dysfunction: recommendations for prevention, diagnosis and therapy.

Good fundamentals of posture and balance are essential for the efficient performance of both simple daily tasks and more complex movement patterns. In particular, postural balance is the ability to keep the body in equilibrium and to regain balance after the shift of body segments: postural control mechanisms of integration of the visual, vestibular and foot afferential channels contribute to this. This document provides recommendations based on scientific evidence, clinical practice, and consensus between experts concerning the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of postural dysfunction at the three stages of life as the developmental age, adult age, and old age > 65 years and follows the "National Guidelines on Classification and Measuring of Posture and its Dysfunctions" per the Italian Ministry of Health (December 2017). The paper answers four main questions: i) "Which measures can be adopted to prevent postural dysfunctions?" ii) "What can we do in order to make a correct diagnosis of postural dysfunction?" iii) "What are the correct treatment programs for postural dysfunctions?" iv) Which professional competencies and experiences are useful for preventing, diagnosing and treating postural dysfunctions? By the Consensus of the Experts and the scientific evidence, emerge that the approach to postural dysfunctions requires a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary team. Furthermore, rehabilitation treatment interventions must be specific to the age groups that have been indicated, to consider the integration of the main systems and subsystems of postural control that change with age.

Early changes in protein synthesis in epicardial coronary artery of pressure-overloaded heart.

In anesthetized dogs, a 4-h, approximately 30% increase in blood pressure induced by constriction of the abdominal aorta brought about an increase in the total RNA content in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LADCA) and the left ventricular (LV) myocardium (9.05 +/- 1.72 and 11.06 +/- 4.68%, respectively) but not in the left circumflex coronary artery (LCCA). Under the same experimental conditions, [14C]leucine incorporation increased in LADCA and LV myocardium (45.34 +/- 13.54 and 58.07 +/- 11.91%, respectively), but not in LCCA. The data indicate an early shift in protein synthesis in LADCA and simultaneously in the myocardium during a short-term pressor event. The difference in the shift of protein synthesis in the two main branches of the left coronary artery was related to the quantitatively different deformation of the LADCA and LCCA due to different deformation of the underlying myocardium and/or of the annulus fibrosus atrioventricularis during changes in the left or right ventricle volume [M. Gerová, E. Barta, M. Stolárik, and J. Gero, Am. J. Physiol. 262 (Heart Circ. Physiol. 31): H1049-H1053, 1992]. The results support the hypothesis that the deformation and/or rate of deformation of cells in the coronary wall may trigger an increase in protein synthesis. Changes in protein synthesis in the myocardium and LADCA were found to be reversible 2 h after releasing the aortic constriction.

Sub-10-fs operation of Kerr-lens mode-locked lasers.

We present results of a three-dimensional model of a Kerr-lens mode-locked titanium-doped sapphire laser in the sub-10-fs regime of operation. We find that space-time focusing of the pulse within the laser crystal imposes a limitation on the pulse duration as a function of the crystal length. Thus good compensation of the net group-velocity dispersion of the cavity is not sufficient for successful sub-10-fs operation of the laser. The dependence of the pulse duration on the intracavity dispersion is also presented, which demonstrates that pulses as short as 6 fs can be generated directly from the laser.

Biomechanical signals in the coronary artery triggering the metabolic processes during cardiac overload.

Peculiarities in structure and deformability of epicardial conduit coronary arteries are described. The thin wall of animal coronary artery contrasts the human coronary artery in which the remarkable wall thickness is due namely by the intima thickness. Deformation in length and diameter of conduit coronary arteries, due to the left and right ventricle volume increase, has been defined in non-beating canine heart. Ramus interventricularis anterior being firmly tethered to the myocardium undergoes about 3 times larger deformation than ramus circumflexus. In anaesthetized dogs a 30% increase in blood pressure, elicited by aortic constriction, induces an increase in diameter of coronary artery, in segment length, in blood flow and consequently in shear stress which represents a load for circumferentially running smooth muscle bundles, longitudinally running smooth muscle bundles, as well as for the endothelium. The above load lasting 4 h is already reflected by an increase in total RNA content and [14C] leucin incorporation in the left ventricle myocardium in the wall of ramus interventricularis anterior, not in ramus circumflexus. The findings fit completely with the different range of deformation of both the above coronary branches and indicates an increase in proteosynthesis not only in myocardium, but in ramus interventricularis anterior as well. An increase in ornithindecarboxylase activity in coronary wall leading to an increase in biogenic polyamines, is present in the case only, when blood pressure increase is induced by infusion of noradrenaline.

Mode locking with a compensated space-time astigmatism.

We present what is to our knowledge the first full spatial plus temporal model of a self-mode-locked titaniumdoped sapphire laser. The self-consistent evolution of the pulse toward steady state imposes strong space-time focusing in the crystal, where both the space and time foci are located. This combined focusing significantly improves the discrimination properties of the nonlinear resonator for shorter pulses and reduces the transient stage of pulse formation. Our theoretical results are in very good agreement with experiment.

Protein metabolism in coronary wall affected by cardiac load.

The relation between biomechanics of conduit coronary artery and metabolic processes in its wall were studied in cardiac pressure overload, in anaesthetized dogs. Two sorts of forces and/or coronary deformations were followed: (1) radial and length deformation of ramus interventricularis anterior (RIA) due to ventricle volume changes, and (2) shear stress in ramus circumflexus (RC) ensuing the blood flow changes. Increase in aortic pressure (33.9 +/- 2.30%) accompanied an increase in RIA diameter (4.6 +/- 0.38%) and an increase in segment length (8.0 +/- 1.0%) indicating that both circumferential and longitudinal oriented muscle bundles were loaded. Increase in RC blood flow (55.6 +/- 4.0%) and diameter (3.8 +/- 0.3%) resulted in an increase of shear stress (35.15 +/- 11.16%) that affects particularly the endothelial cells. Two hours lasting cardiac load suggested a tendency, 4 h lasting load resulted in a significant increase both in RNA content (11.06 +/- 4.68% and 9.05 +/- 0.72%) and in [14C]leucine incorporation (53.59 +/- 13.75% and 48.41 +/- 16.16%) in the myocardium and RIA wall, respectively. No change was found in RC wall. The process was reversible, 2 h after the load had ceased. The heterogeneity of metabolic processes reflected closely the heterogeneity in coronary deformation.