Browsing by Author "Merlo, Andrea"

Objective: To describe the effects of therapy on masseter activity and chewing kinematic in patients with unilateral posterior crossbite (UPC). Design: Fifty children (age: mean +/- SD: 9.1 +/- 2.3 years) with UPC (34 on the right side, 16 on the left side) and twenty children (age: 9.5 +/- 2.6 years) with normal occlusion were selected for the study. The mandibular motion and the muscular activity during chewing soft and hard boli were simultaneously recorded, before and after correction with function generating bite, after a mean treatment time of 7.3 +/- 2.4 months plus the retention time of 5-6 months. The percentage of reverse cycles and the percent difference between ipsilateral and contralateral peaks of the masseter electromyography envelopes were computed. Results: Before therapy, the percentage of reverse cycles during chewing on the crossbite side was greater in patients than in controls (P < 0.001) and significantly reduced after therapy (P < 0.001) towards the reference normal value (soft bolus; pre: 57 +/- 30%, post:12 +/- 17%; hard bolus; pre: 65 +/- 34%, post: 12 +/- 13%; reference value: soft bolus 4 +/- 2%, hard bolus 5 +/- 3%). Before therapy the percent difference between electromyography envelope peaks in patients was lower than in controls (P < 0.01) and significantly increased after therapy (P < 0.05) becoming similar to the reference normal value. Conclusions: The correction induced a normal-like coordination of masseter muscles activity together with a significant reduction of the reverse chewing patterns. The previous altered muscular activation corresponded to the altered kinematics of reverse chewing cycles that might be considered a useful indicator of the severity of the masticatory function involvement. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The second ExoMars mission will be launched in 2020 to target an ancient location interpreted to have strong potential for past habitability and for preserving physical and chemical biosignatures (as well as abiotic/prebiotic organics). The mission will deliver a lander with instruments for atmospheric and geophysical investigations and a rover tasked with searching for signs of extinct life. The ExoMars rover will be equipped with a drill to collect material from outcrops and at depth down to 2 m. This subsurface sampling capability will provide the best chance yet to gain access to chemical biosignatures. Using the powerful Pasteur payload instruments, the ExoMars science team will conduct a holistic search for traces of life and seek corroborating geological context information. Key Words: Biosignatures-ExoMars-Landing sites-Mars rover-Search for life. Astrobiology 17, 471-510.