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Biomedical subjects

F Franco

Publications and source records attributed to F Franco.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Pointing and social awareness: declaring and requesting in the second year.

The production of pointing and other gestures (e.g. reaching or indicative gestures) by 47 infants aged 1;0 to 1;6 was investigated in two experiments contrasting declarative-referential vs. imperative-instrumental conditions of communication. A further group of seven infants aged 0;10 was examined in order to highlight pre-pointing transitional phenomena. Data analyses concerned gestures and associated vocalizations and visual checking with a social partner. Results show that gestures are produced differentially in the experimental conditions: while reaching is only produced in imperative-instrumental contexts, pointing is characteristic of declarative-referential contexts. The pattern of visual checking with the social partner also differentiates gestures; moreover, it shows developmental changes in the case of pointing. Results suggest that pointing relies on some awareness of 'psychological' processes (e.g. attention and sharing) in the other and the self, and that it is this which may account for the specific relevance of pointing for language development.

Awareness↗
PubMed1995

Human T-cell leukemia virus type II infection among high risk groups and its influence on HIV-1 disease progression.

The prevalence and the risk factors of the human T-cell leukemia virus type I/II (HTLV-I/II) infection were evaluated among 552 individuals at high risk for HIV-1. HTLV infections showed a low (1.6%) prevalence, were restricted to intravenous drug addicts and were due to HTLV-II alone. Moreover, in order to weigh the influence of HTLV-II on the natural history of HIV-1 infection, the clinical outcome of HIV-1 disease was compared between subjects with and without HTLV-II coinfection. Our findings showed that HTLV-II does not adversely affect the outcome of HIV-1 infection. Infact, a slower disease progression has been recorded in some HTLV-II coinfected subjects.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1995

Use of pointing and other gestures by young children with Down syndrome.

Pointing, reaching, and other communicative gestures were elicited from 22 children with Down syndrome ages 21 to 47 months in two communicative contexts (referential/declarative vs. instrumental/imperative) and with two partners (mother vs. agemate with Down syndrome). Linguistic competence was assessed using the Vineland and Reynell Scales. High levels of pointing were produced in both communicative contexts and with each partner. Advance visual checking of the partner appeared to indicate awareness of the necessary conditions for successful declarative pointing. Comparisons with matched data from typically developing infants revealed both similarities and differences in gesture use. Findings were discussed in relation to delayed language development in children with Down syndrome.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1993

Prevalence of dental caries and gingivitis in a population of Mexican schoolchildren.

The prevalence of dental caries and gingivitis was assessed in schoolchildren of the Tlalpan region in Mexico City. A total of 700 children (age range: 11-17 yr) of both sexes were examined. The sample population included children attending the Middle-School System, where two shifts are run (A.M. and P.M.). Decayed, missing and filled surfaces (DMFS), and Gingival Index (GI) were recorded for all existing teeth. Analysis of the data showed that mean DMFS scores increased with chronological age in both genders, were higher in the P.M. session, and more elevated in females. Similarly the mean GI scores also increased with age, and were higher in the P.M. session. In contrast to the DMFS scores, males presented higher GI scores than females at all age intervals. The results of our study indicated a distinctively high prevalence of caries and gingivitis in Mexican schoolchildren.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

[The treatment of acute cholecystitis by percutaneous cholecystostomy].

The authors report on their personal experience with percutaneous cholecystostomy (PC) in 36 cases of acute cholecystitis (AC). PC was successful in 34 cases, improving the clinical condition of the patients within the first hour following treatment and normalizing the laboratory data within 24-48 hours. Twenty-seven patients with calculous AC underwent cholecystectomy within 4-15 days. In 6 cases (3 calculous and 3 acalculous ACs) PC was the only treatment performed; in one case (calculous AC) PC was combined with lithotomy, the stone fragments being extracted via the cholecystostomy. According to literature reports, to date PC has been performed mainly--as an alternative to surgical cholecystostomy--on the patients unsuitable for cholecystectomy due to their age or to severe impairment of their conditions. In our experience, the procedure can be performed on a wider range of patients as a final (notably in acalculous AC) or temporary step (notably in calculous AC where it may allow cholecystectomy to be delayed and thus performed under better clinical conditions, with decreased morbidity and mortality risks).

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Selective production of vocalization types in different communication contexts.

This study investigates the production of vocalization in adult-infant-toy interactions from 0;4 to 0;11. The hypothesis is that vocalizations are selectively uttered in relationship to their production context. Five infants (two girls, three boys) were intensively studied. Non-segmental acoustic features of vocalizations in four communicative contexts were analysed in relation to the individual infants, in order to reveal individual differences. The data were submitted to discriminant function analysis. Results show that (a) different patterns of non-segmental features characterize sounds produced in different contexts; (b) both inter-subject differences and intra-subject consistency are observed; (c) 'selective production' disappears after 0;9. These results are discussed in relationship to sound-meaning development.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1991

[Human subcutaneous dirofilariasis: 2 new cases in northern Italy].

Two new cases of human subcutaneous dirofilariasis in Northern Italy are described. The first one occurred in a 56 year-old man living in Venezia Lido and was localised in the frontal region; the second one in a 52 year-old woman living in Modena and was localised in the sacrococcygeal region. Both lesions were associated with Dirofilaria repens. In the same geographical areas other cases of this zoonosis had occurred in the past.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

[Diagnostic imaging of pancreatic metastasis].

The authors present their personal series of pancreatic metastases (8 cases) which were evaluated with different imaging modalities--i.e., sonography, computed tomography, and angiography. Possibilities and limitations of non-invasive modalities are pointed out, and the usefulness of angiography is emphasized for the identification of small hypervascular lesions. The fairly rare diagnosis of these tumoral lesions is due to 3 causes: low incidence of pancreatic metastases; their frequently small size which justifies eventual false negatives; the frequent lack of symptoms calling for imaging modalities. Moreover, pancreatic metastases are usually diagnosed in an advanced stage. Thus, the therapeutic approach must be planned in every single case, in relation to the perspectives of survival and to the residual quality of life.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The incidence of optic neuropathy in 84 patients treated with ethambutol.

The authors examined 84 patients with pulmonary TBC treated with ethambutol (25 mg/Kg/die). The patients were divided into two groups on the basis of zinc plasma levels: 53 patients with zinc plasma level greater than 1 mg/l and 31 with zinc plasma levels less than 0.7 mg/l. The two groups underwent periodical follow-up of visual acuity, fundus, color vision (Fransworth 100 HUE) and visual field. The checks were monthly on the first group and fortnightly in the second. Eight patients presented signs of optic neuropathy. Patients with lower zinc plasma levels showed a higher percentage of optic neuropathy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Role of cyclic AMP in steroid action in rat intestine.

We have investigated the effect of mineralocorticoids on intestinal fluid and electrogenic glucose-linked Na+ transport across isolated sections of the rat small intestine. A rapid in vitro response is observed that contrast with the delay normally associated with steroid hormone responses. Cyclic AMP is known to affect intestinal glucose, water and Na+ transport and the effects of the steroids may be understood in terms of an inhibitory effect on intestinal cyclic AMP production. An inhibitory effect of the steroids on membrane-bound adenylate cyclase has been demonstrated and dose-response effects suggest the presence of specific membrane-bound glucocorticoid receptors.

Aldosterone↗
PubMed1988

Baby talk from the perspective of discourse production: linguistic choices and context coding by different speakers.

Twenty men and 20 women with children under 3 years of age, and 20 men and 20 women without children were asked to select the most suitable utterance for a series of drawings representing different contexts of mother/father-infant interaction. Data were analyzed in three sections related to different hypotheses: In Phase 1, informational content and syntactic construction of sentences were selected in strict relationship with context by all speakers ("closeness to context" rule); in Phase 2, different speech acts were selected by different speakers within the same context (analysis of illocutionary force and canonicality); in Phase 3, the same contexts were linked to different interactional dimensions for the four groups, which formed different representations of the same interactional scene. Results are discussed in an attempt to integrate specific rules of adult-infant interaction and more general aspects of discourse production.

Adult↗